Tears of a dragon

17. ROYALS

I didn't know what to do. Dusty was noticeably distressed, and I didn't know anything about Flame's history except that he was Dusty's old friend. My attention went to William, who had walked over to Dusty's cage but didn't have the courage to say anything. I decided that I, too, would come closer to him. I stepped to the edge of my cage and said; "Hey, are you okay?", breaking the silence at last. Dusty had a strained expression, and it was obvious that he wasn't okay. "Brother... he really shouldn't have called me that. After his betrayal we are neither bound by blood nor loyalty." He said. We let him continue; "That dragon used to be my best and only friend... He used to find out information about my opponents, and I could always trust him. We were, although not any more, as he said... like brothers." Dusty said and turned his head to face mine. He then said; "I understand you must be confused, and I am very sorry for the scene that unfolded. I really shouldn't bother you with my personal baggage."

"No, please continue. We don't mind, in fact I think it's quite good that you talk about how you feel, let it all out. And frankly, you've got me and William quite invested at this point." I said and smiled, which lightened up the atmosphere a bit. Dusty did as encouraged and continued; "He was originally meant to compete in the arena as any other dragon. But as time passed and we others grew, we realised that Flames suffered from dwarfism. This had the unexpected side effect of making him appealing as a pet. A much safer and comfortable life, but it comes at a price. A small dragon is still a dragon, and is still capable of killing a human. The first step was declawing him, which includes removing the tip of one's fingers. Then they sanded down his horns a bit. Finally, his ability to breathe fire was surgically removed. You wouldn't believe the amount of fire that used to come from that little dragon. It was what gave him his name, Flames."

Me and William gasped at the thought of such things- to be surgically modified like that. Where I was from this was unheard of. What an unusual and unnatural path of life.

Dusty went on; "We helped each other. Since he became a pet he would often feel lonely. When this happened he would sneak out from his owners home and come to my cage where we would talk and tell stories all night. He helped me through both hard and easy times, and even managed to change my opponents sometimes. He most definitely saved my life at some point." Dusty explained.

"I see... What happened between you?" I asked Dusty. "You see, when I was released from the arena, Flames and I had made an agreement. That he would leave his life as a pet and come live with me in the wild, as free dragons. That I would fly to a certain river, and that he would meet me there. I flew there, and I waited. Hours passed, but I didn't move, days passed, but I didn't leave. I was naive, there wasn't a single doubt in me that Flames wouldn't follow through. But what I didn't know was that there had been a great internal debate between the humans regarding my release. The decision had been controversial, and a new vote had ultimately decided to send a squad for my retrieval. I doubt that they actually expected their mission to succeed. I believe the act was more symbolic than anything." Dusty looked down at the ground and continued; "Because of my blind trust, the humans eventually found me and captured me again. It didn't have to be that way." He paused. "Flames still can't admit to why he didn't show up. But it doesn't matter, I know why now. He was sold and adopted into a new, royal family... he chose a life of luxury over a life of freedom." Dusty said, disappointed.

His story was interrupted by William, who came rushing towards me shouting "Blue, Blue!" I hadn't even noticed that he'd been gone. "Where have you been? And Blue, is that a nickname for me?" I said, unsure of if I liked the short name. "Doesn't matter, I have news!" William said hastily, cutting the smalltalk. "Your next opponent, Blue!" There was a shift in the atmosphere as soon as those words were spoken. "What is it?" I asked. William gulped, stared down at the ground and then back at me. "It's bad." He answered.

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Sorry for the delay! I've been sick :( But I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far!