Akara

He's the leader of the water dragons,
A friend to the fire dragon king,
And an ally with air and lightning.
He doesn't care for the earth king and cannot standany death dragon (death dragons destroyed the light dragons in jealousy three centuries ago. Many believe the light dragons no longer exist.)

Love brings us together.
Love tears us apart.
We meet in war, my cousin attacking your kingdom while my father is away.
You retaliate.

I am a sprite of no distinction.
Cautious, quiet, and meek.
Taken by you as a hostage for peace,
Leaving behind my land and family.

But I fell in love with you
As you fell in love with me.
So we reign together in harmony,
The water dragons grateful for a queen.

Then my father returns
And demands me in ransom for peace.
It was just as you intended,
But you never could have known that giving me up would be so hard.

Yet return me you do,
For you are a great king.
Selfless, to protect your people.
And I go back to the land I no longer call home.

For nights on end, I cry for you.
Calling your name in my sleep, "Akara. Akara!"
The harsh light of day is no better.
I start to fade.

You are called.
My family loves me.
That is why they asked for my return,
But they couldn't have known their mysterious daughter had fallen for the water king.

They saw me ache.
They watched me fade,
And realized there was nothing they could do.
So they called you.

As I awake one night calling your name,
At last your arms wrap around me.
I cry in joy and kiss your cheek.
At last, at peace I sleep.

The morning comes.
I feel you as I rise from slumber.
I see you and know you're not a dream.
I cup your face in wonder,
And you slowly open your eyes
And smile.

That smile! That joy!
No longer haunted by what we cannot have.
We kiss, holding each other close,
Desperate for the touch long denied.

"I missed you," I say.
You tuck me under your chin. "I know.
Your father sent for me.
Your family was afraid."

"I died each day without you," I tell him.
"I could not bear to live without your embrace."
He holds me closer. "Nor I, my love, nor I.
I could not face the days without you."

"I could not face the nights," I say.
Tears slide down my cheeks in painful memory.
"Every day I'd wake to find you gone," he says.
"Exhausted slumber brought sweet oblivion for such short time."

"There was none for me.
Days passed in sorrow,
Nights in agony.
Don't leave me again," I tell him.

"Never again," he vows.
"I swear on my kingdom, my heart, my life
That we will never again be parted,
You are mine, and never again will you know a day without my embrace."

"That's beautiful. It is," my father says, having appeared in my chambers.
I blush, embarrassed.
"But I'd rather not find you in my daughter's bed first thing in the morning.
It makes me quite ill."

"My apologies, sir," Akara replies.
"I heard her scream my name last night.
I could not help attend her.
She is, after all, my wife."

My father's eyes widen at the words.
"A dragon...m-marry a human?!" he sputtered.
"It's unheard of!" he exclaims.
My husband laughed, "She stole my heart. I could not help but claim her."

"No other dragons have been known to take a human wife,
But then, my Elle isn't exactly human, is she?"
He speaks with knowledge, though I don't know why.
Then my father nods to my surprise.

"The light dragons were dying,
Death destroying them all.
They knew they couldn't stand against death's might.
So they gave us their kingdom and children to protect."

"But that was 300 years ago!" I exclaim.
He smiles sadly. "True,
But their children grew up and married into our families.
They had their own children, but their light was too weak for them to be dragon.

All but extinguished, their light lives on in our blood.
We are all descendants of dragons now.
Then you were born, our light, our hope.
The brightest light was born again: a dragon child of light, at last.

You glowed when you were born,
Silent and bright.
We kept you safe and protected.
So no one would try to steal your light.

We would reign again as dragons,
With you as queen when I die.
But you were taken,
And our fear knew no bounds.

Yet he returned you freely in exchange for peace with his lands.
Except your light started fading,
It could no longer burn when your heart lay elsewhere.
So for your life, your light, and our hope: we return you to him."

My father was crying,
Shedding tears of despair.
I rose and took his hand.
"Father, I live again.

Light will rule this kingdom once more in years to come.
For the children of Akara will be strong,
And our children will be bright.
The light will outshine death once more.

We will never be extinguished.
Our race is too pure.
That's why we bind ourselves with strength.
Water, air, earth, and fire: our lovers once again.

Too long we denied need of them.
Too long without their strength,
And we could not carry on.
So death betrayed us.

But we learn from our follies.
Our mistakes have made us wiser.
We'll come back to this world if our lovers will have us."
I look on Akara with love, knowingourchildren, at least, would be strong.

"But they drown our light!" my father cries.
"Water keeps us light, carefree," I reply.
"Well, fire burns us to ashes"
"It keeps us burning bright."

"Air smothers us to nothing."
"No, it keeps our light alive.
Without it, we cannot survive.
And earth keeps us from soaring too high."

"Is it true? We've always thought the other dragon breeds keep each other in check."
"Only when needed," Akara reminds him.
"But the light dragons are just as necessary to keep us balanced.
Without it, death overtakes us all, and then dies itself.

We each need the others,
No matter our kind."
I smile, my lover once again at my side. I take his hand.
"We may have different kingdoms, but true love binds our worlds."

"Always and forever," says Akara.
"Forever and always," I reply.
A smile warms my very soul.
I shine. I fly, my lover at my side.
The first light dragon of my time.

We fly, we soar the skies.
Heading home, to lands unknown,
My lover frolics on his wings,
Dancing for me on air.

His body a deep, dark blue
Reminds me of the time we met.
When dragons filled skies of my birth
In retribution for the assault on their lands.

The castle crumbled around me.
Screams and terrified cries filled the air.
I lay buried in the rubble
Until long claws dug me free.

Knowing who I was, he took me
To keep me as ransom for peace.
But as his claws wrapped around me,
I felt completely at ease.

Three around my torso
One around my neck.
But the one between my legs was torture,
As it rubbed me to ecstasy.

Miles away he landed.
Three weeks ride, at least.
He set me gently on the ground,
And simply looked at me.

His large, round eyes stared down at me.
I felt color crawl up my cheeks.
I took a single step back before he stopped me with his gaze.
A clawed paw gently caressed my face, his eyes never leaving mine.
I saw him change.

The body, big and brutal,
Now formed a man with yellow eyes and jet black hair.
His hand lay still on my cheek.
He pulled me closer as I surrendered to my first kiss.

Oh, the water dragon,
He certainly knew how to drown me with his touch.
A lick, a nip, and I gasped for air.
Filled with his scent, I craved more.

He eased away.
"I had not meant to do that," he told me.
"But your scent has caused me much discomfort
On this long journey home.

I would have found another way to carry you
if I had known the wrong touch set you off.
My apologies, dear one.
You are more valuable as hostage than a lover."

I blushed fiercely.
Not knowing what to say.
"I-I—what's your name?" I asked him.
"Akara," he replies.

"Akara," I breathe the haunting name.
His eyes dilate in want, in need.
I step closer, one leg between his.
I am dwarfed by his presence.

He looks down at me.
Breathes fast and deep.
He growls and grabs my arms as if to shake me.
"You do not know what you seek."

My head angles to the side.
I lift my hands to his head,
bury my fingers in his hair.
"Try me," I challenge.

Once again I'm taken to dark ecstasy with his kiss.
I learn to breathe around his lips.
He touches his tongue to mine.
I jump and my legs wrap around him pressing my core to his center.

He groans and cups my backside
Holding me in place.
"I cannot do this," he whispers between kisses,
But he cannot stop. I refuse to let him.

I return his kisses with passion
Holding him to me.
"You captured me," I tell him.
"You must fulfill my needs."

He growls, sinks to his knees,
And lays me gently back against the ground.
"Do not say I didn't warn you," he tells me.
"Never," I smile and softly reply.

He presses against me harder
As I moan my approval.
His hands gently caress my body
And slowly remove my garments.

He kisses the flesh he reveals,
Reveling in the sounds I make.
I yelp, I scream, I moan for him.
Not knowing how much I can take.

Finally I beg him to come to me.
"Akara." He looks me in the eye.
"Now, please," I plead.
He softly brushes my center.

I scream my release.
He surges into me.
I writhe beneath him,
His look horrified.

"You're a virgin!"
I laugh. "Not anymore."
I lift my hips in desperation,
silently begging for him to move.

He responds to me
Groaning his pleasure.
"You will be the death of me."
I kiss him once more and close my eyes.

The power: it builds inside me
Warm and bright, I shine for him to see.
I hear his gasp, his cry of pleasure, feel his release in my womb.
It clenches tightly, holding him, stroking him with my own orgasm.

He rolls off me, pulling me atop him.
I rest my head against his chest.
"Again," I say.
"Not now," he says. "Sleep."

I hear the smile in his voice as he whispers,
"Later though, definitely."
I close my arms and drift to sleep,
Secure in his embrace.

I wake with claws around me,
A prison in their grip.
The dragon sleeps with his prisoner at his side,
Curled around my form.

I am no prisoner to be bound.
I reach past those deadly claws,
And slowly stroke his face.
Feeling the scales of his massive head.

He opens an eye
Removes his claws
And stares at me.
He growls.

I sit up and wrap my arm around his neck.
I kiss him behind his large jaw.
"Is it later yet?" I whisper.
He jerks his head up and groans.

A voice in my head speaks.
"You are not what the stories say.
You threw caution to the wind
And sought me boldly and still seek more."

I smile mysteriously
"Stories tell what little others know of me.
Just as they tell so little of you.
I'd never heard what a magnificent lover you are."

"And how would you know the difference, sweet Elle?
An innocent before I took you,
But innocent no more.
Your flower bloomed with me inside you."

"A poet too?
A master of words?
The sounds flow together
Like the waters of your birth."

"Don't change the subject.
Why would you choose me for your first time?"
"For the passion and pleasure you've given me?
Or maybe it was love at first sight," I laugh.

"You'd love a dragon?"
"I'd love a man with a dragon heart:
Honorable, loyal, compassionate and strong."
"There was no honor in taking you."

"A king needs to protect his people,
No matter the cost.
Your loyalty to them made you take me.
I don't mind being your hostage for peace.

Our lands have been at war too long."
"That's not what I meant,
And you know it, Elle."
"Oh, that was mostly my fault," I grin.

"My curiosity and lust got the better of me."
His eyes darken at the thought.
"You cannot take the blame
for what I know was wrong."

"I can take it for tempting you
With my body, my scent, my touch."
I took his muzzle in my hands.
"I'd gladly do it again, Akara."

He pulls away to shake his head.
"No, Elle, I cannot take advantage of you."
"But what if I want to take advantage of you?"
He exhales in desperation.
"Give me a chance, woman,
Allow me to think clearly."
"No," I smile, "you are mine now.
You cannot, will not, change that."

"Yours? Just what makes you think you can lay claim on a dragon?"
"Because my dragon is honorable.
To claim a virgin is to claim a wife.
To refuse causes strife between lands."

"This was your plan?
To trap me in marriage,
Gain a kingdom for your people?"
He looks at me with scorn.

"To bind our people.
To stop the war.
I am queen with or without your hand.
I am my father's heir.

Such a marriage would ally our people.
Force peace throughout our lands.
Though, I must admit:
It was not my first plan.

I had not intended to seduce you,
Not until my body betrayed me
And I knew the fire of your touch,
The cool lick of your kiss.

After that, I could not resist:
To touch you more.
My greatest wish
To fulfill the desire you ignited."

He thought a moment,
As if unsure.
A brief pause,
And then,

"I have loved you from afar,
For some time I've known of your kindness
Your intelligence and courage have drawn me.
Yet your father refused the alliance I offered for your hand.

You are not his only heir,
But now I believe I know why he denied my petition.
You are completely unique,
Your people need you more than mine."

"That is not for you to decide.
Nor my father's right.
I control my life, not you or him.
And I claim you as mine. Your people as my own."

"Surely you must know he'll return for you."
"Then we'll discuss it when he does."
I kissed his nose.
"Until then, I believe you promised 'later.'"

He groaned.
He changed.
Unleashing his desires,
I yielded to mine.

Once more.
Perfection.
Passion.
Peace.

A great ceremony was held.
The land of the water dragons rejoiced
For their king had finally found his queen.
Too bad it couldn't last.

My father returned to his castle of ruins,
Banished my cousin from the lands of his birth.
He searched high and low for his daughter, his heir.
And headed to the water kingdom to claim her return.

He demanded my release.
Refused to listen to my claims.
The water dragons he would leave in peace,
But only if I returned.

Akara let me go.
Both knowing we could not share happiness with our lands at war.
I never let him see me cry.
I never said goodbye.

I simply walked away that day.
I never thought he'd come back to me.
I accepted my place as future queen,
But something inside me slowly died.

I missed his touch.
I missed his face.
I missed his words,
His warm embrace.

He missed my love.
He missed my care.
But return to me,
He would not dare.

Until my father called his name.
Then he flew without stopping to our land.
A chance to see his queen,
An opportunity.

Together once more,
We flew back home.
We loved as we ruled.
And the light grew strong.