A familiar woman in the night.

Chapter 15: A familiar woman in the night.

The moonlight sneaked into the tiny room, filling it up with it's gentle light. Isabella was fast asleep on her mattress, but Dylan, who was three feet away from her was tossing and turning continuously.

Though it was summer, tonight it was unusually cold but that was not what kept Dylan awake. It was due to this excessive warmth seeping into his heart because of Isabella.

He fixed his gaze on the sleeping beauty beside him and being not able to resist the pull, he slowly got out of his blanket and crawled to her mattress. He didn't dare to go onto it. Isabella would kill him tomorrow.

Leaning against the wall, he gently played with her tresses and his other hand played with the mysterious coin.

Though it would be hard for many to believe that magic really existed, Dylan believed Isabella without any speck of doubt.

Might be it was because of his five-year-old mind which believed in Isabella's tales of wizards and beasts, but he was glad he did. Because he knew this girl was not Stella at all.

He didn't have an inkling on how Isabella got here and where Stella disappeared that day. It was also a wonder that both Isabella and Stella looked same.

But there personalities were stark different. Stella was someone who had smiles for everyone. But Isabella had her smiles and tears reserved only for her people, the people she cherished.

While Stella would get along well with almost everyone, Isabella preferred to stay alone. She didn't like much socialising, and wouldn't waste her time and words on simple 'hii' and 'bye' greetings.

Dylan never hated Stella, but he didn't really get along well with her. She was strict on the concept of rules and mannerisms which he absolutely hated.

But with Isabella it was all different. She never had a term called 'rule-book' in her vocabulary. If she wanted to do something, then she will. The violation of rules would come later.

Stella can be a wonderful friend, but not an admirable leader. However, Isabella was a born leader. She didn't have patience to entertain everyone, but would rather introduce herself first and later see if they really wanted to deal with her or not.

"Urghh..."

Dylan left Isabella's locks as soon as he heard a low, painful grunt from her. She didn't wake up, but rolled around with a small frown on her face.

'She must be having cramps.' Dylan thought and searched if they have a heat bag to use but found none.

"Dylan.. What are you doing?" Isabella asked in a drowsy voice as she rubbed her eyes. Dylan halted his search and turned towards her.

"Oh nothing Princess. I will be going out for a while. Go back to sleep." Dylan spoke softly not to rouse her up completely and got out of the room. He didn't forget to lock the door before leaving.

It took him sometime to find a medical store. They were almost closing for the day when he arrived and thankfully they had a heat bag. Dylan also inquired about other remedies for severe cramps, ensuring he had ample medication.

After making sure he had purchased enough medication, he started walking back to home when he bumped into someone.

"Oh.. I am sorry." The lady apologized and gazed at Dylan.

"No. It's ..." Dylan abruptly stopped his sentence when he looked at the woman's face. He was sure he had never seen this woman before, for she had killing good looks and had the power to imprint herself in one's mind.

He would have known if he had crossed paths with her ever. But for some bizarre reason, she looked utterly familiar. Pale skin, black curly hair, lips painted dark red, and black eyes with a tinge of crimson.

He frowned as he racked his brain to recollect any possible encounter with this woman but got no answer.

"Did we meet somewhere before?" The gorgeous woman chuckled hearing this.

"This is the seventeenth time someone said this to me today." Only then did he realise that he used a common pick up line.

"Ahh no.. I didn't mean it that way. I am genuinely curious. Did we meet anywhere before?" Dylan asked again. Her vibes were just too familiar that he couldn't ignore it.

"Who knows. This world is too small and people keep crossing paths again and again. See you soon gentleman." The woman smirked and passed Dylan, who was stunned at the reply. So they indeed met each other previously. But when and where?

"Hey wait. I .."

Dylan looked left and right in the street. The lane was narrow, but it was long. How can someone cross it in just few seconds?

He wanted to check if the woman was still there but those vibes he felt before were just too wicked and vile that he would rather prefer to stay away.

Even after reaching home, Dylan still couldn't help but feel someone just behind him. As if a shadow following him. Going in, he saw Isabella peacefully sleeping and sighed a breathe of relief.

Didn't know why, but he felt there was someone ready to harm her. The first person on his guess list was Benjamin. Dylan was sure that Benjamin now had his eyes set on Isabella.

Going to her, he gently placed the heat bag on her stomach before covering her back with the blanket and then retired for the night.

As the night went deeper, the coin in Dylan's jacket, which was now hanging on the back of the door shone bright azure before it dimmed and got back to normal.

When the coin settled, the locked door slowly creaked open and a shadow entered the room followed by a cloaked figure who walked towards Isabella.

The intruder didn't do anything, but just kept looking at Isabella till it was time for dawn and left the room.

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"Dylan... Dylan.. Wake up. Dylan" Isabella showed no mercy and woke up Dylan early in the morning.

"What the hell? Why are you shouting early in the morning?" Dylan woke up grumpily hearing Isabella make a ruckus early in the morning. Courtesy to his days in juvie, he now had a habit of waking up early.

But still, he slept late at night yesterday and wanted an hour more to sleep.

"Yes. What the hell? You tell me what the hell is this. Why is the room door open?" Isabella pointed out to the door which was indeed wide open.

Dylan rubbed his face to shoo away the remnants of sleep and looked at the door. He remembered locking the door properly and even checked it twice before going to sleep. How the hell is the door open?

"Huh? I don't know. Did you perhaps go out in sleep?" Dylan questioned innocently which only angered Isabella more.

"I have no habit of sleep walking. And FYI, you were the one who went out last night. Not me."

Dylan kept quite for some time letting Isabella rant at him.

"Shh princess. Do you feel something?" Dylan questioned cautiously, but his gaze was still fixed on the door.

Isabella frowned but vigilantly moved her eyes across the room.

"I feel nothing. Don't try to divert the topic here... Dylan. I am speaking to you.."

"Princess. Wait a minute."Dylan stopped her and walked to the door. He first closed it before taking out the coin from his jacket. The fact that the golden coin was still there meant that there were no thieves at least.

"Isabella. What is this?" The angry bird went to Dylan and looked at the coin in his hands. The coin was always inactive and never displayed anything unusual. At least, that was what Isabella remembered.

But now looking into Dylan's hand, she saw few inscriptions on the coin glowing with a blue light. She raised her eye brows and took the coin from Dylan's hand to inspect it.

"What are those inscriptions by the way?" Dylan questioned as he settled against the wall. Isabella too plopped down beside him.

"I don't remember much of our script now. But this glowing thing is my name - Isabella Campbell."

"It is written in ancient Mythiopian script. This eagle like symbol is the symbol of Mythiopia. It is a griffin." Dylan raised his brows hearing this. Griffin?

Isabella laughed looking at Dylan's expression.

"Yes. The same griffin you are thinking. It is the same in Mythiopia. Haha."

"My father has one. It's name is Loren."

"And about this inscription. I don't remember much except my name. But here.. this part above the griffin is another name - Draphior Runescar. Beside that is your name."

"Huh? My name? How?" Dylan exclaimed. Did she etch his name there?

"Yup yours. Not only I, but you are also the owner of this coin now. So it now has your name too. Before giving it to you it was empty."

Dylan nodded. He didn't know how exactly this magic works but he simply chose to believe Isabella. "What about everything else written?"

"I don't know. I couldn't read this all completely. But on the back of the coin is a prophecy. Or that's what my father told me. I no more remember what that was about." Isabella stated as she graced the griffin on the coin. Her kingdom - Her Mythiopia - Her land.