Roger's Mirka Ch. 05

"Who is not ready to see you this way?" Lewis asked as he and Nesa entered the teepee. They were very careful not to open the flap too much, both to keep out the light and so no one could see Roger.

"This tribe. It just might start another fight as they would think of me just as a trespassing human and accidentally kill me. Do you guys think that Mirka is Isabella's sister?"

A look of deep concentration passed over Lewis's face, "She might be, but I highly doubt it. She might be a cousin."

Upon hearing this, a warm feeling came over Mirka. She like the thought that she had found a family member and a place to belong to.

***

On the sixth night, they had a celebration. There were tables set end to end that groaned with the weight of all the food on them. Barrels of wine and mead were set up for every one to drink. Mirka was sitting next to Isabella with their backs leaning into Roger. The little colts would throw whole roasted chickens up in the air for him to catch and eat. Isabella still had a tired look about her, but she was also content. She looked on as her little Casimiro sucked his thumb and watched the other children throw the chickens. They watched as elves and centaurs danced around the large fire to the music. Gifts were exchanged. Apenimon was named ambassador for the Folk tribe. He would be staying with the Kent tribe. He would also be the one to talk on behalf of the Folk tribe whenever there was a need before the elves. Mirka drank cup after cup of sweet wine and mead; every time she finished one, someone was filling it back up. When Casimiro came and sat on Isabella's other side, he curled up and fell asleep. Mirka placed her head on Isabella's shoulder and fell asleep with the world spinning.

When she woke up the next morning, her head was throbbing and she just wished everyone we be quiet. A wagon was being loaded with all the gifts that would be going back to Kent. She stood up and pushed away from Roger. He looked back at her, letting out a rough, short growl that sounded threatening; she knew he was just laughing at her. She gently punched his shoulder and said, "It's not funny. Last night was the first and last time I drink!"

After a breakfast of biscuits with tea, Mirka was feeling a little better. She walked over to her place in the party. Apenimon was holding two horses by the reigns. He leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Once it is safe, Roger wants to ride with you so you can talk."

She smiled and mounted up on her horse. It paced nervously when Roger in his medium form came to stand by her. There was a loud cheer and many waves of farewell as they left. Mirka was behind Rafa; she watched as Isabella just curled up on the trivet and went back to sleep. It was a slightly bumpy ride, but she and Casimiro didn't seem to mind. When they had been moving for about an hour, Roger changed and mounted the other horse.

Over the past week, they had many conversations. She found him charming and couldn't help the blush that came when ever he smiled at her. She acknowledged that she had fallen in love with him. She had even worked up the courage to ask him what form he took when he had sex only to have her worst fears solidified that he would change into his largest or "true" form. He also told her that he had heard that there was a way for a dragon to lock their shape temporally with a spell. But, it would take time for him to find someone who knew it.

As they entered a meadow with forested hills on either side, a group of five men came riding down at them. Mirka's first though was bandits until she recognized the long white robes they wore. Before she could say anything, the centaurs and elves sent a volley of arrows at the men. One of the men waved his hand; all of the well-aimed arrows fell out of the sky with a dull thud. The men brought their horses to a stop, looking down at the group of centaurs and elves.

"We mean you know harm," the leader said in a calm, strong voice. "We had something stolen from us a long time ago and we see that you have found her. All we want is Mirka and we will leave you alone. We are the Magi. We are not the only ones looking for her. The others will tear you apart to get Mirka back. Hand her over."

"Over my dead body," were the growled words she heard before Roger jumped off of his horse, before his feet could touch the ground, he had changed into the great white dragon. He raised his head as he landed, taking aim. He was going to burn them to a crisp, but he was knocked over as a larger black dragon came screaming down from the sky. As he hit the dirt, the black dragon bit the back of his neck, trying to pin him down. Roger pulled down and rolled away from the other dragon. When he got to his feet, he spread his wings and roared at the black dragon whothat mirrored his actions.

Mirka watched as the two dragons now stood with their wings spread, just glaring at the each other while waiting for one to make a move. A strong arm pulled her off of her horse.

"Its ok," came a voice in her ear. "We will take you back and..." The Magi, who had used the fact that everyone was watching the dragons as a way to get to her, now fell in a heap to the ground. Mirka didn't have to look far to know why. Isabella was up. Even her hair seemed to be charged as it moved in the gentle breeze of the valley. The other Magi began to move, but the leader put his hand up to stop them. Mirka didn't like the look he was giving Isabella. Apparently neither did Rafa; he quickly bucked off the trivet and picked Isabella up. Apenimon picked up Casimiro. They were both ready to take off. Mirka looked back to see how Roger was and her heart skipped a beat. Both dragons lunged at each other, but instead of attacking, they just butted heads then folded up their wings. They walked back towards their respective group. The black one sat down on his hunches with his tail curled around his feet as Roger changed back into his human form. He had a smile that stretched across his whole face even though his white shirt now had blood running down it. He pulled a blanket out of the wagon and took it back to the black dragon. It changed into a man, who wrapped the covering around his waist. They shook hands and were laughing.

"Everyone, meet Miroslav, an old friend,. Mirka, come here please." Mirka, Rafa and Apenimon moved towards Roger. They were joined by Juan Carlos, Zander and Caunidhrenon. The Magi walked around Rafa to stand by Miroslav.

"This is Roger Ardeth, Mirka's mate. I would defiantly say that they were meant to be together," Miroslav said as he put his arm around Roger's shoulder.

"Who are you?" Mirka asked.

"Always the bold one," Ardeth said with a smile.

"I am your father."

Mirka broke into a nervous laugh. "That can't be. I am human and you're a dragon like Roger."

"That's not true, Mirka" Nesa said softly. "Remember the light of your life force? No human has that much life force, but dragons do."

"But then how can I have a human form? Roger, you said it took you centuries to figure it out. According to you, I am only 20 and have spent most of that time trying to get away from slavers."

"I can show you how you have a human form with out learning how to," Ardeth said, "But I need everyone to move away quickly." Roger was the only one to stay where he was. He changed into his large form and watched his tail twitching like a cat's.

Ardeth went to touch Mirka's necklace. "You don't want to do that, it will burn you," she told him.

"Not this time," he said with a smile. He opened the clasp and started to pull it away from her. Pain erupted though her the second the stone and gold left her skin. She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her view was different. She was eye level with the tree canopy and the colors were more vivid. She backed up in surprise, finding she had too many feet as she was stumbled around. She flicked the long tail she had and put a three foot deep gouge in the earth. Very quickly she felt her self being pushed down. She moved her long neck to see that Roger had pinned her down with one of his massive feet before she could hurt any one. Ardeth put the necklace back on her.

The warm pain moved though her again. She opened her eyes to look up at Roger.

She pushed against that foot that was still gently holding her on the ground. "I don't need to be held any more." She was crying from the shock of it all. Roger just tilted his paw enough for her to realize why he was still holding her down; her dress lay around in shredded rags from when she changed. She was buck naked.

"Here you go."Mirka looked up to see Isabella kneeling down by her, holding out a blanket. Roger let her up, using his paw to give her privacy.

The Magi helped set up the royal tent for lunch and a much needed talk to put together the pieces of Mirka's past.

"Miroslav left her with us. We thought that the best way to hide her would be to hide her in plain site so we made the necklace. Too bad it actually worked so well. We had taken her to market to buy some cloth for clothes when she was taken. We continually tracked her. We almost had her at Wenatchee, but Hanif accidentally started the square on fire and they were able to escape. We caught up with them last week; they said that a dragon had carried her off in this direction. We knew that she wasn't dead. We had been tracking her, when we found your village. Unfortunately with the elves spell, we couldn't find the village itself. When we saw that you had left as a large group, we thought you might have moved to a different seasonal home and we followed. I have no idea how Miroslav got here."

"I wanted to see Roger and let him know that if he found a different mate, I would understand."

Mirka was lounging in Roger's arm. "So the necklace keeps me in a human form. How do I learn to be a dragon?"

"We'll teach you. You were always a fast learner."

"Is there any way she could be related to a human?" Lewis asked Ardeth

"No, why?"

"Well, as you found out we have a very special healer. She was born a mute but she had the ability to show you what she wants if she touches you. We helped her improve on it and now she can send her voice by thought. It is only suppose to work with blood kin, Nesa and I since we taught her," Lewis said. "For some reason, Mirka can hear her."

"When we were first telling Mirka she was a dragon, Nesa said some thing about a light. What did she mean?"

"We were going to lose either Isabella or her baby unless we could get the baby into a better position. The only way to do that was to take some of Mirka's life force to allow me to tap into Isabella's power and reposition the baby."

"Well, that's it right there. You can do that with humans and elves with no contamination. Bu, with dragons, it is a little different. If you join a dragon's life force with a human or elf, the dragon's protective magic will stay with it. Now Mirka and Isabella are spirit sisters. They will be able to talk the way you talk but they will know when the other one is in danger, even know were the other is on a map. It does not happen often." Miroslav looked sad as he said this.

"Why do you look sad? I am happy to be Isabella's spirit sister. I like having a sister."

"For now but what happens when you out live her? Look around. How many 100 year old humans do you see? When she dies, she will take a part of you with her. That quite hum of her life that you hear will be silenced for ever."

"That's true, but I would rather enjoy this bond right now, and I will be able to see her in her children and descendents." Mirka smiled over at Isabella. Isabella was leaning against Rafa as they ate. Mirka marveled at Casimiro's growth over the week. He had grown fast; he was starting to have fun and play. Mirka laughed as Rafa got up and ran after his son, who had gone running out of the tent. The laughter died on her lips when a knife appeared at Isabella's throat.

Hanif was holding it. Isabella glared at him. "Don't even try it. I have protected myself from you."

"But not from me," Ardeth said. With a few whispered words, Hanif was dragged to the center of the tent by an unseen force, forced into a kneeling position with his hands spread wide on the rug. "Now explain yourself."

"I will not stand by and see the prophecy come true."

Ardeth just leaned back and put his hands together, resting two steppled steepled fingers on his chin as he asked, "What prophecy is that? There have been so many." His voice had an almost board tone to it.

"You know exactly the prophecy I am talking about. If you are going to be obtuse, I will tell you it. 'There will be a daughter of a king who will have no voice but she will still speak. She can heal with a touch or destroy with a glance. Woe be it to all if she weds, for it will bring the end to all of us.'"

"You know that is not the full prophecy. Is that all you read of it? Or all you understood of it?"

"Why would I read more; it clearly tells us we have to kill her. We should also kill her mate and the foal to make sure that the prophecy is not fulfilled."

"There will be no need for that. The second half of the prophecy is this; 'If the marriage is done by force, a kind heart will turn to stone. But take hope for; if the marriage is made out of love, it will bring a new time of peace; but only if all six points are brought together.' So the main question we must ask is how this union came to be, isn't it true that centaurs kidnap their mates?"

"Yes," Centurion answered.

"So her marriage then was by force and you are right." Ardeth stood and drew his sword. Isabella locked eyes with him as he walked towards her. She made no move to stop him.

"If you kill her, the only thing you will be doing is bring death to your group." Roger said. "Her marriage to Rafa is out of love, not force. Please sit down and let me tell you the story of how Rafa and Isabella's marriage united the elves, werewolves, centaurs and even us dragons." Ardeth sat back down, releasing Hanif. The sun had set and the stars were out before Roger was done telling the story. Rafa had slipped back in and was holding Isabella. When Roger finished, he looked at Ardeth and asked, "So do you think it was by force or love?"

Rafa spoke before Ardeth could. "Isabella wants you to know that if you think it is by force, she will allow you to kill her. She doesn't want any one hurt, but I think it is more. She is trying to protect Casimiro and me."

Ardeth laughed. "That right there is the answer. She loves him and that part of the prophesy has already come true. It has already brought a time of peace to these groups. Don't you agree, Hanif?"

Hanif scowled but said, "You are my leader, I have to abide but what you have decided, but what of the six points?"

"She has five siblings; together they make the six points. She has to reunite with her siblings. If we take her to her father, he would not recognize her union with Rafa and will try to force her into a marriage he favors. Uniting them will be tricky. We may just have to leave that up to fate. Let's talk about happier things, like the marriage between Roger and Mirka."

More tents were put up as they would have to spend the night in the glade. Mirka lounged in Roger's arms as they talked about how they wanted their wedding. The next day a large golden tent was set up in the middle of the glade. Mirka was dressed in a long white dress that Miroslav produced from somewhere. Black and blue ribbons streamed down at the waist. Matching ribbons where braided into her hair and wrapped around the wildflowers that she would carry with her. She looked at herself in a mirror that Ardeth produced. She was paler than normal; her hands were making the flowers shake.

"What are you scared of?"Isabella asked.

"What if I trip? What if I make a fool of myself and say the wrong thing at the wrong time?"

"You won't make a fool of yourself. Even if you do, it will be something you and Roger will laugh at for years to come. But that is not what you are really afraid of, you are afraid of what will happen after?"Mirka hated the knowing smug that was on Isabella's face.

"What if Roger changes in the middle?"

"You keep forgetting that you are a dragon too. You will probably just transform to fit him,"Mirka actually laughed as Isabella blushed."Sorry but I think of Roger like a brother. I don't want to think about this any more."

Mirka hugged Isabella as music started to play outside of the tent.

"That's your cue to start walking. We will be right behind," Malovak said to Isabella.

After Isabella left the tent, Miroslav put his hands on Mirka's shoulder. "I find you just to give you way. At least I know it is in good hands that I place you. If you aren't ready, we can hold off."

"No, it is now or I might just get freaked out and run." Mirka smiled and took her father's arm as he led her out of the tent. The gathered crowd of centaurs, elves, werewolves, and Magi were standing in groups, making an aisle for Mirka to walk down. She didn't see any of them. All she could see is Ardeth standing on an old tree stump with Roger; Rafa stood to his left and Isabella waited on his right. Roger's back was to her. She could tell that he wanted to turn around.

Every step she took seemed to take forever. Every fear she had in the tent had melted when the sun touched her. All she wanted to do was get to Roger as fast as she could. Her father kept them at the steady pace until they reached the dragon.

Roger turned his head. She heard his breath leave him as he gasped. He had never seen anything so beautiful before. She blushed at the look on his face. A sense of pride filled her that she was making him look like that.

Ardeth's voice washed over her as he asked something. She heard her father's voice reply; she couldn't do anything but look into Roger's eyes. She felt her father put her hand into Roger's. It felt like a bolt of lighting had stuck her. Ardeth's voice continued on until it paused. It wasn't until she heard Isabella's voice in her head did she realize Ardeth had asked some thing.

"Mirka! Ardeth just asked if you take Roger as your husband. I know you are all goo-goo eyes for him right now, but at lest open one ear to Ardeth."

Mirka laughed as she said, "I Do."

Roger smiled with her. From that point on, Mirka did listened with at lest one ear. They made promises of commitment, faithfulness and to protect each other the best that they could. Ardeth told Roger that he could now kiss his bride; in a quick movement, Roger's arm snaked around her wrist bringing close to him and kissed her so passionately, she bent at the waist. Her arms went around him to return his kiss every bit as ardently. Eventually the sounds of whistles and cat calls reached their ears. They smiled as they straightened up and turned towards the crowd.

The newly wedded couple never left each other's side as they ate and danced the day way. By late afternoon the festivities had started to settle down. All the tents except the golden one had been torn down and packed away. Mirka and Roger would be staying here for their honeymoon.

When everyone was ready to leave, Mirka gave Isabella and Rafa one last hug goodbye. She stood with Roger's arm around her shoulders as they watched their friends leave. The Magi and elves had placed stones of protection around the area so that nothing could bother the new couple. Roger kissed her temple and she turned her face up to him. Her stomach dropped as he swooped her up in his arms to be carried back to their tent.

They kissed with every step. By the time they were at the enclosure, a pleasant tension had started to build in the pit of Mirka's belly. The tent was lit softly with lanterns with colored shades. With deft fingers, he untied the lacing holding up the dress to let it slide to the ground. The rub of silky cloth against her soft chemise sent shivers down her spine and made her break out in goose bumps. Her own hands slipped under the hem of his shirt; she gently ran her nails over the strong, chiseled mussels of his stomach.