It seemed that the suggestion had truly taken him aback. That said, the fact remained that several generations of sacrifices had escaped his notice, which meant that he had to have been dormant for at least a hundred—if not two hundred—years. That hardly seemed like a significant amount of time to the spirits since they were like an intrinsic part of nature, but I had to wonder how that compared to a dragon’s average lifespan. But as I was considering this, my feet suddenly lifted from the ground, and the view before me changed completely!
“Alk?!” I cried.
“I am no fool, and I shan’t allow myself to be made out as one. Watch closely, for I shall not be granting you this opportunity again!” he said.
His arm was digging into my stomach, making it slightly hard to breathe. It was only then that I realized he was holding me under one arm! I had carelessly forgotten how susceptible he was to goading...
“Alk, if... If you wouldn’t mind putting me down... I’m perfectly capable of walking!” I said.
Then, I raised my head to see Alk glaring at Gnome and Salamander.
With a grumpy snort, Alk began to swiftly stride toward the exit. His one arm was still holding all my weight—as a result, it was putting a lot of pressure on my body.
“Silence, Fran! I refuse to accept their ridicule. My dignity is at stake!”
“That may be so, but you’re hurting my stomach!” I cried.
Alk hesitated, then grumbled again. “I didn’t realize your discomfort. You humans are such fragile creatures.”
It seemed that my desperation had finally gotten through to him. He rearranged his grip so that he was supporting me with his arm under my rear, much like one would hold a toddler. While this meant that I was able to breathe properly, it was a whole new level of humiliating! Having said that, Alk offered me a quiet apology. I felt a little too awkward to make any further fuss, so in the end, I held my tongue.
Is it just my imagination, or are the other spirits watching us...fondly?
As a young human, perhaps I was like an infant from their perspective, but that didn’t make this any less embarrassing! What I wouldn’t give for one of them to step in and put a stop to this! I supposed the only thing to do was distract myself from it all by focusing on observing my surroundings.
That should work as a means of escapism—even if it does nothing to solve the root of the problem!
“This path is wider and taller than I thought,” I said.
“It is enough to accommodate me in my original form.”
“Really?! Even as a full-size dragon?”
The way he was holding me meant that my viewpoint was a head above his. Even then, there was still some space between the top of my head and the cave’s ceiling. As for the width, we could have easily walked side by side here. Moreover, although I had been too preoccupied to notice it on my arrival, the cave was rather complex, and various, narrower tunnels shot off in different directions. The path to the shrine was wide and easy to follow, but I would wager that wandering into one of those tunnels would run the risk of never coming out again!
“As I mentioned, Fran, I shall only be doing this once. Make sure you memorize everything.”
“I-I will,” I stammered out. “My apologies for burdening you with this.”
Honestly speaking, I had still barely registered that we were on an expedition of the island, but Alk continued on relentlessly toward the cave’s exit.
“Speaking for myself, I slept for such a long time that I do not know exactly when I fell asleep. This ought to help me readjust somewhat.”
From the way his nose wrinkled slightly, it was safe to say that he still wasn’t pleased, but I was relieved that he didn’t seem to be taking his anger out on me. Before I knew it, I was able to spot a light at the end of the cave. We were almost there.
“Alk! Alk, look! I can see light!”
“Fran! Stop flailing!”
When I saw the blue sky, I thoughtlessly leaned forward from Alk’s grip, so he set me down on the ground. It felt as though I hadn’t seen natural light in a long, long time, and I rushed toward it. To my eyes, the bright sun was glaring.
“Ah! It’s dazzling!” I cried.
“It’s...quite overwhelming!”
My eyes had gotten so used to the cave’s gloom that they had become incredibly sensitive to the light. I threw my hands up in front of them immediately and could feel Alk writhing beside me. Perhaps he was suffering just as much as I was. We were like mere insects against such a grand force of nature, and for a while, we could only stand there and groan with our hands shielding our eyes. I almost felt like I was going to melt into a puddle...
Alk was all but gasping for breath. “The might of sunlight is not to be underplayed...”
“No, but the weather is lovely once one gets used to it,” I remarked.
Very gradually, our eyes recovered from the pain and grew accustomed to the sun. Mine had been the first to do so. Unlike Alk, who had been sleeping in a dark cave for at least a century, I was used to living under the natural light. The first thing I could see were the clouds—they were as fluffy as sheep against an unblemished blue sky. So much had happened that it felt like an age had passed since I had last seen them.
When I looked at Alk, who was still blinking a little rapidly, I realized that I didn’t know how he was planning to show me around.
That was when he placed his hand on my arm. “Fran, while it would be no trouble for me to return to my dragon form to fly you around, I would rather not catch the attention of any humans who might see fit to attempt to slay me. I shall stay as I am,” he said.
“As you are now? Are you sure?”
He snorted. “Why don’t I show you how sure I am?” he said, parting his jaws and flashing his sharp teeth at me. By the time I realized he was smiling, he had lifted me up onto his back.
“Ah! Um, Alk?”
“Be quiet for a moment, lest you bite your tongue.”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than a powerful headwind forced my eyes shut. I let out a strange scream. This was perhaps the most mortified I’d been all day! The roaring, billowing wind in my ears continued for some time, only to come to a sudden stop just as I experienced a split second of weightlessness. I opened my eyes tentatively to see vast stretches of blue and white spread out before me. I couldn’t help but gasp.
Alk snorted. “They said I needed to stretch my muscles, hmph! How ironic, coming from a group of geriatrics!”
Holding tightly to his shoulders, I took another look at the view beneath us. At the center of the island was a mountain surrounded by plains in all directions. Directly below us—meaning the area closest to our current position—was a beach with dazzlingly white sands. However, most of it was overgrown with thick vegetation that spread right to the water’s edge. In one corner of the beach, however, was a gaping hole—undoubtedly the cave we had just come from!
The island was bigger than I had expected. There were certain spots that seemed to twinkle, and I had to wonder if they were springs. Virtually untouched by human hands, the base of the mountain seemed to be drowning in a veritable sea of trees. I doubted one could easily find one’s way out after wandering into it...
Anyway, there was the green of the mountain, the blue of the ocean, the white of the beach... What a truly beautiful world we lived in!
Perhaps I had tightened my grip on Alk’s shoulders then because he turned to look at me. “Am I to take it that you are enjoying yourself, Fran?”
“I certainly am!” I said. “And I wouldn’t be seeing such a wonderful view if not for you. It’s so moving!”
“You are expressing a little too much joy for something so trifling... Although, I suppose humans are somewhat childish from my perspective.” Despite his words, he sounded rather pleased.
He had started to glide downward, and now, he shook his back to readjust where I sat on him. It was a relief to know that he didn’t intend to throw me off.
Now, what can I learn on this trip that’ll prove useful for life on this island?
As I tried to pay attention to taking in the sights again, Alk slowed down for me. We were fairly high up but not so high that I couldn’t analyze the island’s topography. I needed to memorize as much of it as I could while I was here!