Come Love A Stranger

Forty eight

Alador walked into the village, he saw humans walking around, minding their businesses. The sun has set and many of them were running to meet up with dinner at home. Their thoughts all bears almost the same thing but none of them holds the thought of what he wants to know or where he could find her, the one woman that brought him there. A small smile graced his lips as he decided to have a little fun and so with a stomp of his foot, ice started crawling over the earth.
The careless humans who were unaware of what he just did were busy going about their business until one person, a little boy stepped on the crawling ice and his foot got stuck and with that, the ice started climbing up his leg. Freezing every part it came in contact. Scared and terrified, the little boy shouted for his mother. The woman turned and on seeing what was happening to her son, rushed to him but on contact with him, the ice transferred to her and in a matter of a second, the mother and son became a life-sized ice sculptures.
People who saw what happened began screaming and running around but the ice was already covering all most every part of the village and as they step on it, one by one, they were all turning into ice sculptures. Alador laughed and to make sure none of them escaped, he caused a heavy wind to start blowing, making the humans unable to see in which directions they were heading and so they all kept getting trapped by the ice.
Not just the humans but even houses, animals and lifeless objects were all turned into ice sculptures and soon, half of the kingdom was already covered in shiny blue ice. Alador paid no mind to the screams and wails of humans, including children and just casually walked to the palace but on not seeing Mariah, he waved his hand, causing tree vines to uproot from the earth and cover the palace, trapping all inside. He was about to freeze everywhere over when he heard, “Alador, stop.”
He did stop and turned to know who called for him, and on seeing Mariah, he smiled, the full moon was shining brightly. Its light shining upon him and making him look more handsome than ever and standing surrounded by ice land, with his shining hair like sliver, he looked like the ice god. Even his skin was paler than necessary and though his eyes looked dangerous, Mariah was still able to see the pain hidden within and she remembered what Azura said, ‘he would be fighting to free himself but he cannot.’ “Finally,” he said, “you showed up.”
“You don’t have to do this, this people, they are all innocent and you would never hurt them. The Alador I know will never hurt anyone, his kind and gentle and loving, this isn’t you. You have to fight, please, fight to regain yourself. This is not who you are, please try to remember what it feels like to be alive, try to recall those emotions, please.”
In a blink of an eye, he was right before her, his black eyes bore into her green ones, “no, I will never be that Alador ever again,” and with that, he grabbed her and shape shifting into a dragon carried her out of there. Azura looked up from where she was trying to thaw his ice, she was worried, not knowing what would happen. She glanced at Bamushka who was trying to use her fire to still keep the humans alive and she knew that if she leaves, the humans would die because Bamushka can only keep them alive for a short while till she was able to thaw the ice.
“I’m sorry Mariah,” she whispered, “but you have to win this battle alone.”
***
Mariah felt his claws left her and fell and landed badly on the earth, with one look around she knew they were in the forest. Her body ached with the pain and she sprained her ankle with the fall, making her unable to stand up. She glanced up at the dragon staring at her, Alador would never hurt her, not like that. She forced herself to get up despite the pain, her eyes still on him, “you have to listen to me Alador,” she called, “it is me, your Mariah, you cannot do this.”
He swerved down immediately, taking his human form, “I can do whatever I want and neither you nor anybody can stop me. I am the most fearsome god and when I am done here with you, I shall go back and claim my rightful place on the thrown and then every being, both humans and gods shall bow before me. Do you understand that, my Mariah?” he taunted.
“Please, listen to me, this is not you, this is not…”
“This is me!” he yelled, “this is what you made me, I told you that you would turn me into a monster but you did not listen to me. Now, here we are, look what you have made me and you stand there to tell me t’s not me. Do not tell me that, you wanted this, you wanted me to become this and I have obliged to you my dear Mariah, have I not?”
“I’m sorry,” she pleaded, tears rolling down her cheeks, “I have no idea this is what would happen.”
“T’s too late, you have made your choice and not me and now, I am going to bring the one you chose over me and I would make you watch me kill him and as for you? Nay, I will not kill you, not yet anyway because if I do, I will lose this, this new me and I do not want to.”
“Listen to yourself, you cannot like what you have become, this is not you Alador. Listen deeply, listen to your heart and you would see…”
He surprised her by grabbing her hand forcefully and placing on his chest, over his heart, “feel it, do you feel anything? Do you feel any beat? Nay, and that is because I have no heart anymore, so do not tell me to listen to my heart for there is none.” He dropped her hand as forcefully as he had picked it and it hurts her but the pain she feels deep in her heart was stronger than any physical pain he inflicts on her.
“Do you not remember me?” she asked with her tear filled eyes, “can you not remember your promise? You promised that you would never hurt me, you swore that you would rather die than do that. Do you really not remember? You are breaking your promise, you are hurting me, Alador.” She saw his eyes flicker and a tiny golden light appeared in them but it was gone as soon as it came that if she hadn’t been looking closely, she would never have believed it was there.
“You talk too much and you are delaying me from what I want to do,” and with that, he waved his hand, tree vines sprouting from around and tying her up.
“No, no, Alador don’t, please, do not do this, please. I beg of you,” but even though she was begging so bitterly, he didn’t blink an eye and tied her up, including making a vine to cover her mouth that she was not able to speak out but could only mumble.
“There, peace and quiet. You know, looking at you now, I wonder what I ever found in you, you are not that beautiful, at least not to be compared to me. You are a weak human, you would grow old and wither away within a short time, so I really cannot see what had me so….” He paused, staring deep into her eyes then, “oh, that was it, your eyes, that was what captivated me,” he reached up and caressed her face softly, again, she saw that flicker along with pain and longing but it vanished as quickly as it came. Mariah knew he was still in there, she just needs to get to him, but how? “But do not worry, it would not work this time.”
He let her go and retreated a few steps from her, “calm, I shall bring your darling king to you and maybe, you can say goodbye to him,” as he spoke, he was gradually transforming into a dragon and when his transformation was complete, he stared at her and leapt up in the air.
Mariah wriggled, trying to save herself from the tree vines, she tried to call out to him, but all that could be heard was her mumbling and before long, he was out of her sight and her heart weighed down on her. Has she failed, has she failed in bringing him back?