And I was foolish enough to help them anyway.
There were thousands of corrdors that lead to the surface. The elves were not allowed to know where they were and the passages were very carefully disguised. When I showed them the way into this tunnel half of them let out a gasp of mourning. They had passed their escape route every day and never realized it existed.
They had arranged for the dragons to be there. I'm not sure how. It didn't matter.
It was the first time I ever left my mountain without my armour and without my battalion. I was terrified but kept my hold on Teeka's hand. I don't think he realized once I left that I could never go back.
If he knew maybe we would have done things differently.
The dragons were from the federation and they carried us to a place called Philia where there was a mamoth marketplace and a large train station. It took a long time to get there and Teeka and I were the only ones in the basket our dragon was carrying.
Holding him all the way, I felt like I never had before. The world I knew was gone; I had given it up to help someone who meant more to me than anyone in my mountains. A life of security and comfort, where the sun never burns and the rain never falls... I gave that up for Teeka. And as we flew into the darkness, I felt closer to him that I had ever felt before.
He sighed into my shoulder as we landed, a sad, shy, mournfully sweet sound. I thought it was because he was sad the trip was over and we would no longer be able to cuddle together amid the clouds and starlight.
When I lost him we were at the train station that disappeared off the end of the world. He released my hand and completely unconcerned about me slipped off. I thought he was playing a game and followed after him in the crowd, but he was moving too quickly, too cunningly and when he came to a stop he was on the other side of a fence heading towards a train about to leave.
I looked for the gate that he had gone through. "Teeka, how did you get over there?"
"I crawled under," He continued walking along the fence towards the train.
I laughed. "How do I get over there?"
"Hopefully, you don't," My whole body stopped at his reply. My feet, my lungs, my brain...my heart.
"Where are you...are we going?" I asked trippin over myself to catch up with him.
"We are not going anywhere," He replied coldly, never looking at me, the fence slicing his features. "I am returning home."
I was stunned by the remark. "But... what about..."
He turned to me as if annoyed by my persistant disbelief. " Honestly, Rikola, you've always been a little gullible and far too emotional. I just wanted to be free again."
"But..." I don't know what I would have said if he didn't interrupt.
He leaned against the chain fence and glared at me. I'll never forget that glare, so hateful from one I loved so much. "I hate darkness. I hate goblins. I hate being someone’s bitch. And I hate you."
He pushed away from the fence and walked away from me and onto the train. He didn't even take the time to turn around. "Go home, Rikola.
He made the assumption that I had a place to go home too. But he had just ripped home away from me and left me alone, vulnerable, and unspeakably weak as the day began to dawn.