Bab 31: The dragon and the bride
Xian was sitting directly on the cold and hard stone floor, his back resting on the wall farthest from the enchanted prison bars. Whatever he had tried, he had not been able to break free from this cage. It was frustrating and frightening but the young teen didn't feel any of these negative emotions. He was very calm, patiently waiting for an opportunity.
Even though Soon-Yi often scolded him for being reckless and brainless when he acted on impulse, following his instincts, her upbringing methods had, without a doubt, modeled him into a shrewd spy and cold-blooded assassin. Unfortunately, the leopard can't change its spots and Xian would make the clumsiest blunders at the most unexpected moments due to his inexperience and youth.
Yet, he was still safe from her true ire as he always kept in mind the most important lessons. These were deeply ingrained in him, as if it were a second nature. He had never heard of Justice from her, she'd never taught him about right and wrong and he had to figure out his own values. However, she insisted on Loyalty and above all Self-preservation, which had always struck him as an oddity. It seemed to Xian that, as circumstances changed over the centuries, the long-lived mages valued their own survival very dearly. This had been his only explanation to this apparent contradiction.
For an instant, Xian felt very upset and the female dragon squinted her eyes in suspicion. How could she know that he was on the verge of drowning in self-loathing because he kept on thinking about his foster mother? Was he a young child wailing and calling his mother whenever the tiniest difficulty arose? Surely not! Moreover, Soon-Yi's cold and strict demeanor had never showed any trace of motherly love and assistance.
On the other hand, the dragon mother was showering her egg with affection and attention. It was almost sickening how she started blabbering words of tenderness to a newly laid egg, far from hatching. Xian, however, remained his aloof self. He didn't even feel jealous in the slightest, and obviously not nostalgic either since he only had faint memories of his birth mother, and Soon-Yi, his foster mother, had always been anything but tender.
He truly felt that the dragon's behavior was ridiculous, but he didn't care much about that. He didn't know much about love, whether from family, friends or lovers, in any case. These feelings seemed alien to him. He had barely started to use this part of his heart with his very first friend, the red-haired Lysanian soldier Chen Yu. He didn't know what happened to his friend after they parted ways and it worried him, but of course, he was still more worried about his Lady Wei who had been missing for days now…
Xian reluctantly let himself drowse for a moment. The female dragon was constantly draining his magic, but the magic elements, highly concentrated in this location, kept on refilling his magic core. The never-ending movements of magic was exhausting. Even with his exceptional stamina, Xian knew he would soon reach his limits. However, thanks to that, his skin was not shining anymore.
Actually, it felt as if his magic core had been strengthened by the process and hopefully, its increased capacity would stop the magic from leaking and lighting his body from within. Xian didn't know if this wish of his would be granted because, as of now, he had not been able to test it out.
From the moment he had been transported to this cage, the female dragon had forcefully sucked non-stop the magic emanating from his core. It was brutal and painful, nothing like the gentle absorption from the big male dragon on his way here.
Apparently, the dragon that brought him to this place, and the female dragon were mates. The egg should thus be their offspring. However, as much as the male dragon cared for Xian in exchange for the magic elements, the female seemed to loath him to the highest degree.
As soon as she had recovered enough energy, thanks to the magic elements she sucked from Xian's core, she had violently launched herself toward the small human being. Even Xian lost his composure and self-control for an instant. This attack had been totally out of the blue and, for once, he had been grateful for the sturdy enchanted jail bars that protected him from this fury.
His cry of alarm had brought the huge male into the room, immediately stopping any further onslaughts. Xian had seen a few dragons already: mostly the legendary dragon, the Lysanian dragons they fought together, the female dragon but also some young ones coming to visit or to help. He was still in awe every time a new one came into view. However, it had been the first and only time he had felt relieved to see one. The legendary dragon had protected him, and the proud female on top of her mountain of gold had humbly and obediently lowered her head.
Xian somewhat vaguely remembered that hierarchy amongst the dragon kin was based on strength and he could easily guess that the legendary dragon that came for him was powerful and high-ranked.
As soon as the male left again, the female came back, leaving her egg in the golden nest, surrounded with riches. She didn't attack directly as a frontal assault would bring the male back and probably anger him. However, she increased her sucking rate, making the process a painful one, while glaring at Xian the whole time. In addition, she released her aura just enough for it to stay in the room and concentrated on pressuring Xian. It was overwhelming and, more than once, Xian almost fainted or cried for help. But in the end, he did neither.
He just stubbornly clenched his teeth and endured the pressure. Stubbornness surely was one of the few common traits between Xian and Soon-Yi. However, the young teen believed that, here and now, it was not a matter of pride but rather a matter of survival. Groveling and whimpering like a weakling wouldn't earn him any respect from the dragon mother, and the latter didn't seem inclined to pity him in the least. Strength was the one and only value the dragon recognized. Spirit beasts were still beasts, after all.
As the dragon mother and Xian were staring stonily at each other, the magic circle lit up and a white dragonling appeared, immediately capturing their attention. Even after the light disappeared, both Xian and the female dragon kept looking at the young and rather small dragon sprawling on the floor, as if transfixed. Xian couldn't help but think that the delicate look of the newcomer was both endearing and mesmerizing. Just like him, it seemed really out of place in the cage, under the unforgiving gaze of the female dragon.
All of a sudden, the dragon mother sighed through the jail bars. It was a warm breath, no unpleasant except that Xian's short golden hair was a mess afterwards. The boy felt a shiver nonetheless. Would the enchanted cage protect him, should the female dragon decide to use the real and deadly dragon's breath to roast him, like the others did during the previous battle?
He glanced at the mother from the corner of his eyes but the dragon had her back to him and was slowly returning to the nest, to check on her beloved egg. He could hear her mutter:
"First, he brings back a bride of the Absolute Sources bloodline, and now this renegade? I can't go out so I should take care of them? Stop joking, please!"
Xian couldn't help but ask:"Renegade?"
The dragon's big eyes focused instantly on him. "It's obvious that this white wimp does not belong to the Infinite Forest. He must be from the families that were banished and established themselves in Lysania!"
"Then who's a bride?". Xian's tone was menacing, now. He felt his face turning red from anger. Throwing caution to the wind, he roared "Don't make me laugh! That's nothing but rubbish, release me at once!"
At the back of his mind, a tiny voice told him that provoking a dragon was definitely not a good idea, even more so when one had no way to escape its wrath. He could even clearly visualize Soon-Yi coming to beat him up because for a moment, he had forgotten the first and foremost lesson about self-preservation. Feeling a chill, he winced and immediately regained his composure.
However, he had no time to apologize as he heard the dragon mother chuckling merrily. He stared at her in shock and the laugh died down. She settled down in the nest and closed her eyes. For the first time in a long while, the pressure stopped and the magic absorption rate went back to a tolerable level.
The female dragon said: "I'll take a short nap. Heal this dragonling, I will talk to him later."
The change in her attitude was disturbing but Xian complied, still wondering what happened a few moments ago. In any case, if the white dragonling was not an ally of his captors and was also treated as a prisoner, maybe Xian could devise a plan to escape with its help. Moreover, it might feel indebted to the one who healed him. It was certainly worth the risk of having a Spirit Beast locked with him in the same cell.
Xian concentrated and murmured his favorite healing spell. Behind him, he heard the dragon shift in its nest. "You're really an immature eyesore but your magic power is not half-bad. It's been a long time since I had such high-quality life elements. Absolute Sources are so scarce!" Xian heard her sigh but no warm breath came his way. Curious, he looked at her and his jaw almost dropped in surprise.
The female dragon had transformed into her human form and she was strikingly beautiful. She wore a loose robe which hardly concealed her charms. Xian was used to beauty, since he grew up mostly in Zhou Xi's harem in the Orchid Palace, but he was still somewhat embarrassed and averted his eyes.
The woman sat down in front of a mirror and indolently rang a small bell, while complaining: "Aaah, it's already so late. I don't have enough time for a nap. Such a pity!"
Two human-looking maids came at once to help her put on an elaborate dress, make-up and jewelry, and to style her hair. The bell was too small for a dragon to use, therefore they knew that their mistress was in human form and they acted accordingly.
In the meantime, Tian Jie woke up. He was surprised to be in the same cage as the Absolute Source he had been chasing. Moreover, he could feel the pure magic that had just healed him. Without a doubt, it came from the Absolute Source. Tian Jie was very grateful, even more than what Xian predicted. He was almost moved to tears.
In his whole life, nobody had cared for him in the slightest and therefore, being healed from such a grave injury was far more than he could process. He didn't know how to behave and didn't dare to absorb any magic elements from the Absolute Source without the latter's consent. The only thing he could do was to express his thanks as he truly had nothing to his name. Even his precious treasure had disappeared. He felt both thankful and ashamed. He knew he would have died shortly had his injury not been healed, or so he thought. How could he ever repay his savior?
At the same time, facing an Absolute Source and not being able to absorb the magic element was excruciating. It was almost as painful as his broken ribs and smashed innards from the previous strike. He quickly changed to his human form, knelt before Xian and gave his thanks, not daring to raise his head as his avid stare would immediately expose his greed. He closed his eyes and prayed that he would keep his sanity for a while longer.
Xian was taken aback. The dragonling's body had healed at an impressive speed, much faster than when he had used the same spell on himself or when he had healed Soon-Yi. Moreover, the rather small beast had changed into its human form and looked like a very handsome man in his twenties, and this member of the supposedly proud dragon species was kneeling and thanking him. It all seemed so unreal!
In truth, it was the first time Xian had seen a dragon's transformation. the dragonling seemed to be, in reality, an adult. It was shocking and even the female dragon seemed surprised.
"Ah, no way! That's unbelievable. I knew the banished families were the weakest scums and traitors, trying to overthrow our king many generations ago using underhanded means, but it turns out they are even more degenerate than before. Such a weakling, it's unsightly! Just looking at you, I'm ashamed of being of the same species. I'll let you use this Absolute Source until the end of the day." she said.
Xian frowned, this dragon was really unpleasant and arrogant, treating him like an object.
Tian Jie's eyes were filled with joy and gratitude.
The dragon ignored them both, she stopped her absorption of magic and left while the maids silently took turn to take care of the egg.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone