Drasna wiped sweat from her brow, she’d just finished a lap around the monastery on her hands. She knelt by one of the waterfalls to wash her face, the cool mountain water felt refreshing and soothing. Drasna smiled and admired her reflection, then got an idea. She stood up and tried to emulate the belly roll she was taught in Vulcarose. Most of the techniques came easy to her and doubled as endurance training, but she was still struggling with the belly part of belly dancing. She was so engrossed in her practice she nearly jumped out of her skin when Anti unintentionally snuck up on her. Drasna quickly lost her balance and fell towards the water, but Anti was quick and grabbed hold of her wrist.

  “Whoa! Easy there dancing queen!”

  Drasna regained her balance, “Geez, don’t sneak up on people like that!”

  The half-elf giggled, “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to. What are you even doing? Some kind of new core workout?”

  Drasna shook her head, “I’m belly dancing, I’m learning to surprise Izzy, it’s actually a pretty good workout.”

  “Oh that’s right you went to Vulcarose last week! Do you mind if I join you? It actually looks like a lot of fun.”

  Drasna smiled with excitement, “Of course! I have a book in my satchel. I'm learning the baladi style. It’s quick and snappy, like throwing a two inch punch with your hips. I’m trying to add a few spins and flaming kisses to the routine.”

  “Miss Isobella is a lucky lady, I’m sure she’ll love it.”

  Drasna frowned, “Are you jealous?”

  “Of you and Isobella? Of course not, I’m happy you’re both happy, just as long as we still get to be besties.”

  Drasna snorted, “As if! You’re stuck with me!”

  Anti rolled her eyes, “Lucky me, now show me those dance moves!”

  Drasna got into position and raised her hands over her head and shot her hips left to right before spinning around. She focused her ki and exhaled smoke from the corners of her mouth, and punched a few cinders into existence. Anti clapped as her friend danced, but then Drasna stumbled and fell to the ground. As Anti moved to help the blond back up, she fell too. The entire mountain felt like it was shaking and crumbling apart.

  Drasna struggled to stand, as she and Anti would only fall back down, the sound of dozens of her fellow monks echoed across the monastery. Rocks began to tumble down from higher up, some landing in the water, splashing mud and dust into the air. Others landed on buildings and training dummies, crushing them under the weight. Drasna and Anti eventually managed to stand up by leaning against each other. They carefully made their way to the main hall, though their vision was becoming obscured by thick clouds of dust. The two pulled their scarves up over their noses to keep from coughing.

  As the duo neared the door to the main hall, the ground cracked and split beneath them. They yelped in surprise as they began to fall down, but a set of hands grabbed them by the hair and yanked them back. They both held the top of their heads, both from the pain and to see if their precious locks were still there. Drasna looked back to see master Tao, who quickly pulled the two up onto their feet and shoved them into the building.

  “Sorry for the tug girls, I grabbed the first thing I could. Now get inside! This is the safest place, nothing will fall on top of the hall.”

  The earthquake had come to an end after a few minutes, over a hundred monks had taken shelter in the main hall. They all waited with a mix of patience and worry, especially Drasna. The monastery could be rebuilt, she wasn’t worried about buildings or memories, new ones could be made. What worried the blond was Isobella at the base of the mountain, she trusted that her beloved warlock had some trick to stay safe, but she had to be sure.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Once the doors of the hall opened Drasna was the first one out, she squeezed her way through. He was struck with a deep sadness at the sights. The mercy and sun soul houses had been destroyed, and the dragon house had a hole in the wall. Her eyes darted in every direction, despite the protesting of Anti and master Tao, she took off down the mountain.

  Drasna ran down the mountain, leaping over new boulders on the path and weaving through fallen trees. The mountain pass she’d become so familiar with was almost unrecognizable, parts of the cliff had completely vanished. She’d leapt over a few five foot gaps already, she predicted several bridges would need to be constructed to even consider it safe to pass. Her worry for Isobella was too great to consider waiting, especially when twenty feet of missing road came into view. Using the momentum from running down the mountain she jumped across, landing with a roll. Drasna took a moment to pause after her gamble and shuttered as she looked back at the jump she’d just made.

  “Love really does make you do stupid things! If I screwed that up I’d be history…Just walk the rest of the way, Drasna, you’re no good to anyone dead.”

  Despite her newfound caution she managed to make her way to the chateau within another twenty minutes. She could count several broken windows and jagged rocks that had smashed many of the black berry bushes around the manor. The sight only made her worry more which led to her dashing straight to the door, not even bothering to knock. The door swung open revealing a maid with short blue hair looking around frantically.

  The maids head snapped towards the door, “Miss Drasna? I wasn’t expecting you to visit.”

  Tristan hastily entered the foyer, “Nicola, who are you talking to? Did you find Lady Isobella?”

  Drasna panicked, “What? Izzy is missing?”

  “Miss Drasna? What in the world are you doing here? Did you run down the mountain? How reckless!”

  “Scold me later! Where is Izzy?”

  Nicola spoke up with concern, while trying to push Drasna to sit, “Lady Isobella told us not to bother her today, but she’s not in her room, the garden, or anywhere on the property”

  Tristan explained, “The manor is built to withstand such events, very little harm should’ve come to any guests, but the disappearance of Lady Isobella is troubling, I fear something may have happened.”

  “Where haven’t you looked? Any rocks you need lifted, we can’t leave any stones unturned.”

  A confused and uneasy voice sounded from around the corner, “I beg your pardon, but has something happened?”

  Drasna, Tristan, and Nicola turned to the sound of the voice, Isobella was standing just outside the library. The noble was wearing nothing but her undergarments with her face bright red as she hugged her chest for modesty. Tristan quickly turned his head away out of respect, while Nicola rushed forward to try and cover her boss with her apron. Drasna ignored her girlfriend being half naked and locked her in a hug, sobbing.

  “YOU’RE OK!!!!”

  “L-lady Isobella, please you must cover up.”

  “M’lady what happened to your clothes, this is no time for such indecency, there’s been an earthquake.”

  Isobella was overwhelmed by three sources of high energy, scolding, and affection. She’d become effectively immobile from Drasna’s hug, while a soft apron was tied into place to cover her.

  When she processed the information, Isobella spoke up, “My apologies I was with lady Cala-...wait an earthquake?”

  Drasana sniffled and held Isobella at arms length, “Don’t scare me like that! I was so worried that I ran down the mountain to make sure you were okay. When I heard you were missing….I don’t know what I was gonna do.”

  Isobella blushed, “You, did that for me?”

  “Yes of course! I love you, Isobella, you’re all I could think of!”

  Isobella pulled Drasna back into a hug, “I…I’m sorry…I’m glad you’re safe too.”