Chapter 6

Revanche returned from London pleased with how well Neil was handling things at Tetly's, he had a flare for business and making a deal. Sitting in the library his long legs stretched out, feeling relaxed and glad to be back home Revanche commented to his mother that he had been by Raimi's cottage twice and it looked deserted, had she moved to a different place. Seeing the look that passed between his parents he sat up leaning forward asking what was going on. Natalie sighed saying that Raimi had gone up into the mountains and she doubted that he would see her again, Revanche frowned "why not? I don't see a problem with going up to the mountain to say hello." Natalie shook her head "I'm going to try and explain, I know you won't repeat anything I tell you. Something happened between Raimi and Connor, your father knows more about that then I do, but whatever it was, it sent her up into the mountains, all the new dragons have tried to talk to her, Alex spent two days up there trying to get Raimi to return to the cottage but it didn't do any good, I've been up there once, it was too hard to watch I had to leave, she's gone up to the mountain to die Revanche and that's just what she is doing, for over three weeks now she has not spoken or moved from where she is curled up on that mountain." Revanche frowned "I can't believe that, the last time I saw her she was doing fine, touchy as hell and on the edgy side but I didn't see any severe depression or anything like that, this sounds like nonsense to me, it's ancient dragons that return to the mountains to spend their final days before returning to the skies." Natalie looked down at her cup of coffee "it wasn't depression, darling, it is fear that has finally gotten the better of Raimi, she has fought it all her life, I think she just got tired of fighting, she fought as a hatchling to stay alive, she was turned on for her half human half dragon side, taken in by a band of roving warrior women, amazons from the way Shelaw told it, the human Raimi was allowed to be both human and dragon with these women but she was taught as a woman to ride, fight, how to defend herself and kill in a dozen different ways. Like Laurel living a nomads life always roaming, when she got the cottage she clung to it much like Laurel clung those first few years to Zinmer and the Manor House, it was a place of safety and of stability, a place to call her own. Then the race that eventually conquered their world came and the Amazons along with every other being on their world fought to stop them, it was a futile fight. The first thing that happened was the slaughter of anything with magical abilities, including the dragons, so to protect herself and try to survive a while longer Raimi turned to her human form and stayed there, constantly fearing they would find out she was half dragon. The Amazon's were defeated, most died those that didn't were captured and turned into slaves, chained together like animals, degraded at every turn as their captors tried to prove who the victor was, Shelaw said they used to drag their chain of amazons from town to town and in public squares rape them, abuse them, to show the towns people the if the Amazons could be defeated then it was a lost cause to fight. Raimi was branded with the mark of her captors and sold at public auction, eventually she managed to escape and Morpaw found her, freezing and starving, that's when she joined with his small group, she turned to her dragon side and but for a few times never became a woman again." Revanche stared his mother "go on" Natalie sighed "Raimi was brought here to our world, a place she hoped would be safe, when she turned to her woman's form the fear that radiated from her was almost visible, but she wanted the cottage, she wanted to be a woman as well as a dragon again, so she tried to hide her fear, her fear of being a woman again, her fear of being hurt, her fear of her dragons magical abilities. I can only imagine the horrors she has lived through in her short life, whatever happened with Connor was the final straw that broke her, that's why she's gone into the mountains to die." Revanche looked at his father "what did Connor do?" he asked quietly, Rav sighed tiredly seeing the look in Revanche's eyes, he was thinking the worst and Rav couldn't let that happen. "He went over to Raimi's, Connor is used to the women of London, giggling behind their fans and flirting with their eyes, married women who give a man a cold shoulder then pass him a note saying her husband would be gone that night, older women who enjoyed playing with young men. Connor thought Raimi was teasing when she told him to leave, she wasn't but he was thinking with his breeches by then. In a way I feel badly for Connor and your mother will pardon me for saying this, when he returned from that last adventure with Christopher and Kirk he should of fucked his way through every whore house in London, to relieve the stress, the fear he had of dying, the days filled with anxiety, but he didn't, they returned to find Miranda gone, and once again he found himself fighting to get her safely home, adding more tension to an all ready stressed young male body. So he sees Raimi, a woman the likes of which he'd never seen before and he pounced on her, in turn she slashed his chest with her talons, sending him snarling home, once his sanity returned he knew he had been wrong but the damage had been done. She thought they would take the cottage away from her for what she had done and come after her for hurting Connor." Natalie rubbed her temples "I had no idea, I thought they had just gotten into a fight of some kind that pushed her fear over the edge" Revanche stood up "I'm going to go try and talk to her, I just can't sit by and let her do this." Nedra purred "come softly my delightfully concerned one, Nedra can not bring back a spirit that is unwilling, sooooo we must make her want to stay, come to the Mountain but say nothing until Nedra tells you too." Both Rav and Natalie looked at their son in surprise when he grinned, seeing the curiosity on their faces he chuckled "Nedra is with Raimi, she doesn't stand a chance now, she has to come down off the mountain or face a very annoyed kick butt Nedra."

Nedra purred rubbing her body against that of the dragoness, Nedra felt the dryness of her scales, saw the gaunt look of her and purred deeper her warm soft fur brushing along the dragoness's back, "come my ohh sooooo fearful one, for Nedra you shall listen, yes Nedra knows you must listen to her and with the listening will help the remembering." Licking Raimi's hollowed cheeks Nedra purred, she saw Revanche land off to the side, a look of deep concern in his eyes, Nedra rubbed along Raimi's neck "remember and hear the screams of the dying dragons, can you hear their cries of pain, as first their magic was ripped from them, then destroyed, their shrieks of pain and rage are horrible to listen to are they not my fearful on." Nedra purred again as she felt a slight ripple of Raimi's scales "yes listen and hear, remember each dying cry and mourn for them, this you have never allowed yourself to do. Hear the crackling of the fire as it consumes the old woman that gave you her kindness and knowledge, hear her curses as she dies, listen and let her go to her peace." Nedra's tail stroked along the back of the weary fear filled dragoness, sensing the slight catch in her breath, the beating of her heart a little stronger. Revanche said not a word as he listened to the things Nedra was saying, his chin resting on his paws watching. Nedra the woman sat next to the dragoness, her hand gently caressing her long neck "feel the anger as you are finally driven to your knees, hear the sound of the chains and the snap of the shackle as it goes around your ankle, feel the cold steel as it goes about your neck and the finality of the sound of a lock closing, yes my bound one hear and feel it for it was a part of what brought you your fear, remember how you clutched your chains and raged, only to be driven to your knees again, feel the dragon in you wanting to fight back and your desire to live to keep fighting, so your dragon lay waiting inside you." Nedra softly kissed the dragoness as she began to feel a seething rage build, "yes, you hate don't you my precious one, you hate your captors, but more you hate yourself for bowing to your shame, for losing the fight, for being used, for you inability to break your bonds. Do you feel it again my ohhhh so lovely one, do you feel the anger turn to fear and with it the deep despair that you had allowed your fear to take control, remember fighting the fear and those that used you, never did you stop fighting." Nedra almost hissed in anger as she felt Raimi's rage turn to shivering fear and with it once again the need to end and finish what the demons had started. Revanche raised his head seeing the frown on Nedra's face, she shook her head at him "this you will not do to Nedra, no my tired one, once again turn your screams to anger, turn the smell of your burning flesh to rage as you did before, feel the desire for the revenge you sought and achieved. Remember the feel of the chain pulling free of the ring that held you, remember the feel of the chain wrapping around your capture's throat, feel once again his death and your victory, remember the sound of the collar falling from your throat to the ground." Revanche looked down at his tightly clinched paws, he watched and listened wanting to scream himself for Raimi, he saw the frustration on Nedra's face and felt shaken down to his core at the idea that they just might lose Raimi. Suddenly his head came up and he grinned "keep talking Nedra, we're not done yet, I'll be right back." Nedra softly purred to Raimi "will you finally let your captors become the victors this one last time? Will you give them what they sought all along? your defeat, will you finally let them bring you to your knees humbled and so filled with shame you can no longer lift your head, come my sweet poppet, Nedra knows you do not want this, she can feel it in your heart of hearts" purring again Nedra felt a leap of Raimi's heartbeat." Nedra almost threw back her head and laughed when Revanche returned, a wildly wiggling little body held in his arms, casually he sat down next to Raimi and Nedra, "I always wanted a puppy Nedra, but this fellow isn't happy in London and I'm back and forth so much I can't take good care of him, he's lonely, I should find a good farm family to take him in for me." Revanche set the puppy down, it wiggled and whined, licked her face which made her hiss loudly "my ohhhh sooooo silly morsel, this Nedra does not care to have animal slobber across her lips." Revanche heard himself laughing with a giggle, the two of them watched the puppy nuzzling and sniffing Raimi with little whimpering noises. Revanche whispered in Nedra's ear, with a smile Nedra nodded "the ohhhhh sooooo needy Connor, he feels great sorrow for his actions, many times have he and his delicious papa tried to apologize, it has brought tears to our sweet Laurel's eyes to see the cottage that is Raimi's ohhh sooo empty, you my ohhh so delectable Revanche made the cottage for our Raimi, yes Nedra knows this, never shall it be for any other, always it will sit waiting for her to return, the cottage is sad, the flowers wilting for want of care." As the puppy started to lick Raimi's snout, Revanche chuckled "I think he likes you Raimi, to bad you're up here to end it all or I would let you have him, but maybe he would be better off chasing some farmers chickens." As the puppy with a little grrrr reached for Raimi's tail, her wing moved just barely, pushing the puppy closer to her, Nedra purred silently to Revanche "Nedra is ohhh so pleased, my tasty bonbon, you have become intuitive and feel not just your own pain and loss but have empathy for others." A look of sadness passed over his face as he replied "I guess when you lose someone you love after the shock and the pain, after the anger at life for taking the one you love away, all you want to do is hold someone or something close, you need to know that you can still care for someone or something and that they can care in return if only for a moment in time. I don't think she ever had the chance to hold someone close and not have to worry about being hurt, maybe if she can love the puppy later she can love herself as well as another person." Nedra purring kissed Revanche's lips "and do you wish to be this person, my sweet delight?" Revanche sighed softly "I don't know Nedra, I honestly don't know, I want to say yes and no at the same time, I'm a man too and I don't know if she will ever let me be the man I want to be with her." Nedra ran a finger along his jaw "only if you have the patience and understanding and tempt with tiny peeks and treats." Revanche sighed but nodded "why did you make her remember all those horrible things? Nedra" Nedra Purred "no, my sweet one, Nedra arrives to find the tired one letting her memories swamp her, dragging her down with each one she became more depressed as they overwhelmed her, Nedra she simply made the fierce Raimi see each one and remember fully for then they are not rushing through her mind but out in the open, no longer to be hidden fanning her fears, many times fears faced head on are no longer fears but simply harsh memories that one can remember without having them crush you." Revanche nodded wondering what to do next, Nedra chuckled "next Nedra will stop this little beast from chewing on her body, Nedra will chose who and what she allows to chew on her and a slavering puppy is not one of them." Revanche laughed watching Nedra flick her finger against the puppies wet cold nose sending it jumping backwards, then she rubbed her hand caressingly over Raimi's forehead "my fierce one, your heart beats strong now in your chest, your mind is no longer crying out with pain begging for release, Nedra she can feel the tears waiting to finally flood out over your soul, let the tears come my sweet one for they can cleanse and heal, but most of all you have your pride and strength that allowed you once again to be the victor over death, you can now leave this mountain peak, knowing there is a cottage waiting, friends waiting to welcome you back into their loving arms, and it would appear a ravenous hound from hell to keep you company, one must wonder why our delectable Revanche chose an animal that will one day rival him in size." Revanche laughed loudly "because an Amazon needs an amazonian hound at her side, in a few months he will big enough to vault out windows with her." Nedra purred kissing Revanche lovingly, she whispered softly "now we allow Raimi her pride and leave her alone to cry her tears and leave this place with her head high."