handmade cup: clear, cool, and ready for me to drink.
A smile blossomed on my lips as I leaned in to sip the pure, rich liquid of life.
I finished it with ease, using my wet hands to pat my dry mouth and moisturize my lips. Putting my hands together again, I asked one more time to quench my thirst, and again, it was delivered in the palm of my hands.
Once I finished the second helping of water, I sighed in relief.
"Thank you." I gave genuine thanks to the earth for providing what I needed.
Opening my eyes, I looked at the pixie, my smile growing wider. "Hello, little one. Thank you for your instructions."
"I'm not little!" she announced before she thought about it. "Okay, maybe I'm a bit on the smaller side. You're very welcome, Princess. I finally get to meet you!"
"May I ask your name?" I inquired.
"Marigold!" she cheered. "Just call me Mari. I am your fae pixie guide, one who was born with your magic."
"Born with my magic? Does that mean you were born right now?" I inquired.
"Nope." She shook her head swiftly. "I've been with you since the day you were born!"
Her excitement left me confused, but her words only added to my sudden restlessness.
"Since I was born? Does...that mean for twenty years you've been with me?"
"Indeed." Her wings fluttered as she flew up to my eye level.
Spreading out the bottom of her dress in greeting, she curtsied.
"I am Marigold Cyldrirth. I'm the fae pixie guide that sleeps within you. Due to the block placed upon you as a babe, I couldn't get out."
"Block placed upon me," I repeated. "By whom?"
Mari puffed her lips and put her hands on her hips. "The witch! The one who hates you with a passion."
"Widow," I concluded and looked at the ground. "What a pitiful woman."
She is the main reason for your suffering, but behind the mask of a mastermind is a web of lies and deceit, but perfection is never guaranteed with each decision and deal created. She made some individuals into living fools with glittering opportunities but hid the truth of where those lie. All that leads to enemies, and only time will tell when they will resurface to intact their revenge.
You love to talk in riddles.
"I apologize," I directed to both my dragon and Mari. "I'm assuming this block was the reason why I doubted myself so often?"
Marigold nodded quickly and looked even madder. "It was a mind game! Whenever you were confident and close to unlocking your fae magic, something would happen to make you feel unworthy or weak! Your burst of anger isn't that BTS thing! It's your dragon revolting against the binding shackles. It's a good thing you finally realized your worth, or you would have ended up dying from all the effort. Once magic gets tired of being in captivity, it withers away like a flower."
That is why your captivity was a blessing in disguise. The pent-up magic could be used to save you in the worst-case scenarios, giving your human body a break and enough time to begin to heal for this very process.
"You removed my memories of the mine incident so that my human brain wouldn't be stressed about it. I knew of its occurrence from what the guys explained, but no one could decipher what had occurred when I ran off into the mines and somehow landed in my cell, asleep."
What happens in the prison, stays there.
"Funny," I remarked with a small grin. "I'm happy that I'm finally able to understand my worth and potential. May I ask where we are?"
"Of course, Princess." Mari fluttered around my head before she clapped twice. A miniature gold map formed before her and a glowing turquoise dot flashed on and off in a specific spot.
"We are here!" She pointed to the very dot. "We're on the outskirts of this island. From the look of things, the prison is all the way over here." She moved her hand along the map, stopping on the other side of the map's edge where a red X flashed.
"We...escaped," I noted.
"Yes," Mari agreed. "But there's a problem."
"Isn't there always one," I noted. "What is it?"
"Omarion."
I arched an eyebrow at the map as four orange dots emerged near our flashing one, but one remained near the X where the prison was.
Your dragon mate is being held captive. Your men are close to discovering us. Minutes away.
"How do you know he's being held captive?" I inquired. "And what's this about being a mate?