Nora's POV

Stranger

Nora was hiding her face in her arms and sitting on the chair hugging her legs, it was an old rustic small house where she was living alone from the previous four years. 

The planks of the house seemed as sad as her, it was the beginning of November and the house was out of any woods for keeping it warm, she had learned from the old uncle how to run the house alone before he fell seriously sick and died on a gloomy evening. Since then she was living alone in this place. 

There were few letters on the table which she received every after three months enfolding some money in it which was enough for a bare living, she cannot buy new dress on Christmas with a few pennies. 

With these she could only drag her life and live in this deserted place, the town was on some distance but not too far that she could walk by herself when she needed to buy something. 

Today was her sixteenth birthday and she was waiting for the parcel which would include some money and good wishes, there were lot of papers she collected all the previous years, she could not buy textbook for her drawings which she learned on her own, she also learned how to read and write from the old uncle who was as mysterious as her circumstances. 

She used the blank part of the papers for her drawings, after messing up all the papers Nora scattered them on the table dismally.

Nora stood up to take a look outside if the unknown parcel forgot the way to her deserted house. 

It was near evening and the fog was increasing in the open yard soon it would turn everything dark and she had her precious torch to accompany not to faint with the horror of being alone. 

Whenever she visited town; she never forgot to buy the batteries for this torch stifling her other needs. 

"I better not expect it today," she murmured after looking through the window then she went to open the door, the door opened with creaking noises as if the joints needed repair. 

Nora looked at the front: the parcel did not reach on time this again and the evening was here; she should not expect definitely today. 

She was about to shut the door tightly and casted a mere glance toward the open yard just for the sake of it, the fog was slowly creeping in the surrounding, her eyes fell at something vague. 

Her first thoughts were to immediately shut the door and pray not to become a victim of what she heard in the town: when she visited town she heard rumors about a killer who first traps the people in various ways and then kills slowly. 

Nora was truly terrified but she had to check; she had to make it clear if she was in trouble; she could just run away silently toward the neighborhood which was at the distance of fifty feet approximately. 

Walking like a soundless feather falling on the ground: the distance was close enough that she could distinguish the facial features of the man which was in way matched to the portrait of the criminals she saw pasted on the walls of the town. 

Just like her coming: now was about to go back and remain in her house not bothering this stranger but after reaching near the door her heart trembled with the thought that if this man died because of her cowardly decision; her conscience would always blame her. If this person is injured or having some problem, or might this person be attacked by any forest animal…these thoughts give her some courage to stand against her fear.

Nora could see his bare body was bleeding from several open wounds; she shivered briefly before extending her hands to wake him up.

The man seemed dead in first glance but when she put her hand on his neck to check whether he was alive, she staggered back because the breathing was unusual. 

Before she could decide whether to bring him inside the house or not; Nora heard the sounds of the forest faunas, normally the jackals and other brutes show up near evening and freely roam around as if this place was also included in their territory. 

 "Wake up, I am not supposed to drag you inside the house, do I?" Nora spoke as if taking his permission. 

Taking deep breath; she was ready to drag him there was no other way, she cannot lift him up and then carefully place on the table like a mantel piece. 

As she moved, her eyes fell on the big jackal waiting for her to give it some face, it was no joke she was done for: the beast was about to leap at her, she was the only alive here in its eyes and capable prey for evening dinner, probably? 

The unconscious body of the man reacted with a lightning speed: immediately a transparent ice wall was created around the girl and himself.

It was so fast that the beast which leapt for killing collided with the ice wall and fell back; Nora looked back trembling but the man was again unconscious. 

It was one of the traits of all dragons no matter which race they belong to; they react at the danger even if they were about to die next moment. 

The beast collided with the ice wall again and again but it seemed unbreakable, it let it go for today and went back. 

Nora heaved a sigh of relief; at every attack of the beast she thought that the ice would break apart and then she could predict her late evening in the stomach of this beast? Her eyes were full of fear but idle, whole body was shivering due to fear. Her heart was feeling like it burst out on every attack.

But it looked that she had a few years to do some deeds in this world or spend her monotonous life the same way before dying; it was impossible she had whole her life ahead and this stranger whom she was scared now. 

Who was he? What did he do just now?

Clutching her throbbing heart and putting aside all thoughts, Nora dragged the man inside the house who perhaps did not mind being dragged like this? 

She shut the door and gulped some water first: it exhausted her much. 

When he saved her from a sudden and impending death; she possibly was obliged to help him this once, this was the only reason for now which she could justify to herself. 

Nora threw some of the old clothes on the ground and at the body of the man: this was the only way to keep warm because she cannot burn away the woods which she collected for the stove. 

Then she went on her bed tightly closing the door of her room. 

The man opened his eyes and looked around; his father sent him somewhere unknown where he never explored before; if it was not a life-threatening situation in the kingdom, he would not have reached his present condition. He was thinking all about what he faced.

All those who were accusing him wanted to kill him for every reason; this was clear like a day. 

He was the only son of the Dragon King Xaylross and he knew who was behind this all, who could it be other than Ovra the eternal enemy of his father's bloodline. 

The only purpose was to let the kingdom collapse and announce the name of new bloodline by killing Xaylross, and his loyal, his son was no exception. 

It was the matter of killing the whole race of rarest bloodline of the Ice Dragons, and his father cannot bear to see this happening in front of his own eyes. 

He closed his eyes, to return back and earn the anger of his father was a dangerous choice; his healing was natural and would be slow since he recently evolved. 

He was thinking about the girl who dragged him and shoved some warm clothes, he was an ice dragon which means he has no fear of catching the cold which the girl perhaps imagined in her mind or it was due to his exposed wounds.