Chapter 7- The Escape

With his aid, she walked out bit by bit. 

His smiling face seemed to not take into consideration the looks of hatred the other men and women were giving him. 

Guiding her out safely, the door shut on her face with a resounding thud. He severed the connection with her mind, his mind controlled enough to not let his true self or feelings out. 

Once he was sure she couldn't hear them, In a thick, rough voice, he said,'That's enough for today'. His voice imbibed with energy, barely concealing the anger in his mind. The dot on his forehead grew larger, his irises returning to a pale green shade and then to dark brown. 

The dots on the foreheads of the crowd around him suddenly decreased in size, turning into a pin point and then vanishing. Their eyes returned to their normal colors but the crowd seemed displeased at their leaders actions. 

But their eyes betrayed the fear in their minds and one by one, the crowd around him disappeared, vanishing into smoke. 

The old man walked back to a room hidden behind the marble covered walls, covered in black except for a huge statue in marble at the center. 

It was a unique statue, it's eyes devoid of irises and a huge black dot on its forehead. It's features were rough, his face kind. His left hand was clenched into a fist, his right hand open, outstretched. His legs crossed over the throne, as if engrossed in meditation. What seemed to be an apple was placed on his right fist, not a bite taken out of it, as if offering it to his followers. 

Seated On his marble throne, he gazed down on his followers with kindness.  

The old man knelt down at the base of the throne, his tears falling into the floor. His voice filled with happiness, he said,' She has arrived, my Lord.'

He looked up at the kind face and continued,' After all this while, she has returned to our world' 

A light shone from the black dot and the statue moved. 

From the marble mouth, in a gravelly tone he said,' Take care of her. Recruit her', before returning to his immovable form.

Chapter 6 - The Mind

Waking up from her dream or what was another reality, she slowly came back to her senses. She could feel the minds of many pressing against hers, trying to find a loophole in her defenses, some way to gnaw their way into her mind. 

She thought of the naked draganoid from the other world and smiled. She remembered him, how he had been and what his voice had been like. She remembered what he had taught her and decided to use it, or rather, test it against them. 

Her red eyes seemed to throw the old man off guard. He seemed to be shocked at her eyes. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, almost as if it was what he wants to see.  

Her red eyes staring down on the men and women on the floor, they seemed to grow uneasy with each passing second. She felt the force on her mind increase and their chants increase in speed. 

Sharpening her mind to what was a pencil point, focusing only on her memory of him, she walked out. Cautiously, carefully. Walking backwards was not a skill she had mastered. She cursed herself for not playing along with Rima when she had tried to do it. 

The crowd seemed to be get agitated as her resistance continued. Their chants became frantic, their mouths foaming at the corners and spit flying out. Their eyes seemed to burn with intensity, not that she could see their irises. 

She felt a smile appear on her face, which turned to confusion when she glanced at the the old man. He seemed surprised at her resistance, which soon turned to.. Happiness? 

He seemed happy for her. 

Distracted momentarily, she suddenly felt a mind slip past into her defenses,  closing the path along the way. 

She could feel the mind. It seemed to be layered, each level hiding behind another, Its voices young and vibrant, much as that of a young man. His every thought was hidden at first, but he opened up and let go of his defenses for her to see. She was shocked at first by the depth and quantity of memories it stored. Every thought, emotion and memory he had ever felt and experienced, laid out open for her to see and use as she willed. An act of trust maybe. One of the voices started speaking and all at once,hundreds of voices filled her mind. She could only understand bits and pieces of what he(it? They?) said. 

She understood that it was the old man. His name, age, where he came from nothing she could understand. The chaos was too much. 

Then she felt his mind probing hers. She tried to pull up her defenses when she realized that he was trying to communicate something through the chaos. She felt horrified and then confused. The feeling emanating from his mind was pride. He felt pride in what she had achieved. And yet, there was a familiarity in his mind that quite didn't make sense to her. 

Chapter 5- The Block

Flying down to the ground, He set her down on the floor, ever so gentle. He took a wayward strand of hair and tucked it back into place. 

His nakedness bothered him, as did hers. She wished to be clothed, that even the robe she had on before seemed like a blessing. 

And suddenly, She was clothed. And so was he. And fashionably too, in a pair of shorts and a snug tshirt. 

He seemed amused at what she had done for him. She could hear his laugh echo through the pathways of her mind. 

'Being clothed is nothing to laugh at', She said, even as his laugh continued. 

'I am happy the way I am. But if this is how you wish to see me, so shall it be' he said, his voice breaking from the strain of not laughing. 

She turned and walked away, hoping to get out of this place and return to her world. 

'You could have said that there was a hole behind me before' she said, her voice accusing him. 

'I was under the impression that you knew' he said. 

After an awkward silence in their minds, he decided to break it. 

'You didn't ask what you wanted to know' 

She was shocked when he said that. His voice had turned serious, the mirth in his eyes long gone. 

'I do not want to know anything. I don't even know why I am here' 

He must have understood she was saying the truth, because he walked closer to her. She tried to walk backwards and allmost tripped. 'Careful' he said, letting go of her hand. And then, with his index finger, touched her forehead. 

And suddenly, she could feel another world, a world where she was standing frozen in place, her mind trying hard to stop the swarm of minds around her. 

His eyes turned sad as he seemed to understand what was happening. 

He took a step back, his eyes downcast. 

'I realize that I am just a block for you' he said,' Something to stop those people from entering your mind' 

He continued, telling her about he was surprised that she had been able to do this. 

He didn't know that she was surprised at what she had done as well. 

He told her to imagine him and walk out of the room, stabbing at anyone who dared approach her with their mind. He thought her a few things, which she seemed to grasp quickly. 

She seemed to not notice the time passing in this world. But soon, she understood it was time to leave and get back to her reality. 

As she walked away from him, what he said stuck in her mind. She hoped with all her might that she may meet him again one day. 

He seemed to have understood what she was hoping for, as he shouted 'Till we meet again', as she left his world. 

A quick glance back showed him, waving his hand at her, smiling, the horns on his head shining in the light of the rising sun. 

Chapter 4 - Reality

Alone. Alone!!! 

The dark surrounded her. The cool wind light on her skin, the mist wetting it. She seemed clothed in a robe, her hair and head covered by a hood. 

She felt alone. She knew she was alone. For the moment at least. 

The pressure seemed to have faded away, held momentarily at bay by someone or something. 

Suddenly, a human burst into her view. Through the mist, through the wind. 

It held a spear in its hand, but she knew that it was afraid of her more than she was of it. She did not question how she knew that, accepting it as a tool for survival. 

But what she failed to see was the being behind it. 

As she moved towards the human, her hands in the air, a pair of red eyes stared back at her from the shadows. 

Mesmerizing in it's uniqueness and powerful in its hue, it seemed to talk to her. 

She saw as it gained height so that she couldn't even see where it's eyes where anymore. 

And all of a sudden, it shrinked in size. 

Brushing apart the foliage in front and the human at its feet,as if it were a mere worm, he walked up to her, It's eyes at level with hers, a low snarl forming at its lips. 

A guttural noise emanating from its throat, it's eyes filled with an expression she couldn't understand. 

A pair of wings stood attached to it's back, proud of its existence. And as she saw the being in its entirety, she understood that it was a male. And that he was nude. He seemed humanoid, with features of what seemed to be a lizard. And it dawned on her that he was probably a dragon in a human form. 

He seemed none too pleased about his nudity though. But he moved forward, a clawed finger pointed at her. 

She moved back to fall into a hole, only to understand that he had been pointing at it all this while.

While she fell down, nothing seemed to matter anymore. Several hands tried to catch her, but all they succeeded in doing were ripping her clothes off. 

And suddenly, from the relative light of above, a flying being descended. 

She extended her hand towards him, hoping that he could see and hoping that he would catch her. 

He came close to her, caught her mid fall and hoisted her up. 

Flying into the sky above, she could feel his genitals pressed against her bare skin. 

He smiled and then roared into the sky. 

The wind blowing, caressing her skin, raising goosebumps along the way. 

And in her mind, a rough voice said...'Mine'.