I learned the disturbing reason for my mysterious, overwhelming tiredness that very night, though the revelation came in the most unexpected way imaginable. After Katherine had carefully escorted me to my assigned room the previous evening, supporting much of my weight, I had wanted nothing more than to simply roll over and surrender to sleep's embrace. I had leaned heavily on Katherine's sturdy frame all the way through the winding corridors to reach this room, and my limbs felt impossibly heavy, as if they were made of lead or stone—like I couldn't possibly afford to raise them anymore, like even the simple act of lifting my arm required more energy than I possessed. If it hadn't been for Katherine's patient, steadfast help, I genuinely would have just flopped directly onto the bed without bothering to change into my nightdress, too exhausted to care about propriety or comfort. So, after she helped me change into suitable sleeping clothes and I finally sent away Katherine—who had been so visibly concerned she insisted we should immediately call a healer to examine me—convincing her through sheer stubbornness that I just needed uninterrupted sleep and would be perfectly alright by morning, I had fallen into unconsciousness almost immediately upon my head touching the pillow.
Then, abruptly, I woke.
But I wasn't in my bed anymore.
I found myself lying inexplicably in a small, perfect circle of space that was covered entirely in soft grass, the blades tickling my exposed skin. Beyond that small circle stretched, as far as the horizon itself extended, nothing but rice paddies—endless fields of rice stretching all the way to where the land met sky. The rice plants had clearly reached maturity and were ready for harvest—the kernels were a beautiful golden color and bent gracefully under their own considerable weight. The sight created a stunning golden scenery under the blazing, merciless sun that hung overhead. Yes, the sun was genuinely blazing with an intensity I'd never experienced. It was so unbearably hot that I could feel sweat already trickling steadily down the sides of my face, following the curve of my jaw. And I found I couldn't look directly at the sky without my eyes watering painfully from the brightness. Which was deeply odd and disorienting. In the North, the sun had never been this aggressive, this violent in its heat. That realization made me understand with certainty—I wasn't in the North anymore. I was somewhere in the South, though how I had traveled here was a complete mystery.
Then I heard it—distinct footsteps approaching from behind me, grass rustling with each step. I whipped my head around sharply, only to come face to face with a strange-looking woman I'd never seen before. She looked undeniably like a Southerner, possessing very much darker sun-kissed skin that glowed with health, lustrous black hair that cascaded down her back in thick waves, and the identical sharp, striking features characteristic of Southerners. She wore traditional Southern clothing that seemed designed for the oppressive heat—garments made from luxurious silky black fabric with elaborate lining and intricate flower patterns adorned beautifully in silver thread that caught the light. The top barely covered her chest, leaving little to imagination, and her entire belly was boldly on full display, flat and toned. But her skirt was surprisingly long and covered the rest of her legs completely, modestly, and it too was adorned extensively with glittery silver ornaments that chimed softly with her movements. She wore countless bangles made of the same gleaming silver, stacked from her delicate wrists all the way to her elbows. On her ears hung large, heavy silver bell-shaped earrings that swayed hypnotically with each movement of her head. Finally, my gaze traveled upward and met her eyes directly. Silver eyes with distinctive snake-like vertical slits.
Furnaiona. So this was what she used to look like in human form, back when she walked the earth.
"Why am I here?" I asked her bluntly, not bothering to hide my annoyance.
"Is that how you thank your life saver?" she asked back sharply, equally annoyed by my tone. Then she strode confidently toward me with predatory grace and bent down to look straight into my eyes at close range. Her silver eyes glistened with barely contained irritation.
"That damn parasitic elf almost siphoned your entire life force away," she said with obvious disgust, then let out a long, weary sigh. "Freaking parasites, all of them," she muttered as she flopped down carelessly next to me on the grass.
"I thought he was supposed to be your friend?" I asked her, studying her now-eased form with confusion.
"Friend? Hmm." She seemed to consider the word carefully. "That's not remotely the word I would use to describe those things," she said dismissively, looking out at the breathtaking scenery of the endless paddy fields, letting the warm winds sway and play with her long black locks.
"What exactly do you mean he siphoned my life away?" I demanded, my concern growing.
"And what do you mean you saved my life? Also, where the hell am I? And why am I here instead of my bed?" I let out all the accumulated questions I had in rapid succession, unable to contain them.
She just made an annoyed tsking sound with her tongue.
"Can you not be completely annoying for a single moment?" She looked at me with an openly scornful, contemptuous look.
"And ask one question at a time, girl. I'm not answering if you bombard me," she said imperiously.
I had to consciously breathe in and swallow down the rage that was threatening to be poured out onto this insufferable, scheming snake.
"Where am I?" I asked through gritted teeth, forcing the words out calmly.
"Hm. You're in my personal realm inside of you—which depicts my favorite scenery from when I was alive, which happens to be a golden rice field just about to be harvested," she explained matter-of-factly, her tone dripping with obvious mockery.
"Perhaps you didn't even know what these fields were because you're woefully ignorant," she added, and a small, cruel smile played slowly on her full lips.
"I knew those were rice fields!" I let out defensively, annoyed. Then I let out a long sigh, forcing myself to calm. No. I absolutely should not let this ancient, manipulative woman get the better of me emotionally.
"Why am I here?" I asked again, this time in a carefully composed manner, as if nothing in this world could possibly make me angry or lose control.
"Well—that damned elf started actively siphoning away the ambient magic you possessed because of me—which is directly connected to your fundamental life force because you carry the dragon blood in your veins. And it nearly killed you outright, so I had no choice but to bring your consciousness here for nourishment. To fill you up again with magic. And life force." She explained, then leaned toward me with a mischievous, knowing grin. "Didn't I do good by you? You should be grateful."
I was left genuinely speechless for a long moment, processing this revelation. The elf had been siphoning my magic—because I was a dragon vessel? That didn't make any logical sense to me. But then again, the reverse was also undeniably true. If it wasn't exactly that, then why had I felt so completely drained? Utterly out of life with a splitting headache to boot?
"But why? Why would he want my magic specifically?" I asked her, deeply confused by the motivation.
Then she laughed at my naivety, just like that—sudden and harsh. Her deep, husky voice rang loudly in my ears.
"Your magic? Your magic? YOURS?" she repeated mockingly, wiping dramatically at the corners of her eyes as if I'd told the funniest joke. "God, you're absolutely hilarious, girl."
Then she said with sudden, chilling seriousness, all humor vanishing from her face.
"You would be nothing without me dwelling inside you. An empty shell. A hollow vessel. And you have the sheer audacity to claim my ancient power as yours? Pah—" she shook her head in disbelief.
"You would say that," I shot back, "but where the hell would you be if you weren't conveniently inside of me? Let me guess—probably atoning for some terrible sin you committed, suffering in the Abyss for eternity? You would also be nothing but a silly character in a children's story book without me giving you form." I said clearly, my voice dripping with confidence. Let this arrogant thing know exactly where it stands in this relationship.
And I had hit the jackpot, struck a nerve. The way her silver eyes gleamed suddenly with pure rage and her delicate hands physically transformed into vicious claws told me everything I needed to know about how my words had landed.
"Let us cooperate reasonably," I told her with absolute resoluteness, not backing down despite her threatening posture. "Constantly dissing each other and pointing out each other's weaknesses is going to get us absolutely nowhere productive."