Mosaic Windows

Chapter 26: You Win Some, You Lose Some, and You Really Win More

CW: killing a young creature for sport

When Virgil grabbed the dragon horn from the mantel on the fireplace, Roman couldn't help but feel dread about its past. It was small, and the end was dull and a light color. It looked like it came from a baby dragon... hopefully that's not true. Maybe the king killed a small adult dragon. The thought did little to comfort Roman, but thankfully this horrible deed will bring something good.

"The book says it only needs a few shavings from the inside of the horn. Do you think it'll have enough magic?" Virgil asked.

"We have to hope," Roman answered. He wished he could give a better answer, and prayed that this would work. "Let's go back to the kitchen and cook up this potion."

Virgil nodded and led the way. The rest of the ingredients were still on the counter and the prince set everything else down.

Roman turned the book back to the page with the potion on it as Virgil searched for something to cook it all in. He found a small pot and filled it with water, turning back to the book.

"You know, a lot of people consider potions like this magic, so it's weird to find it in a human book," Virgil said as he grabbed the first few ingredients.

"It is strange..." Roman commented as he grabbed a knife and started to shave off small pieces from the inside of the dragon horn. It felt like he was defiling part of a corpse... and technically he was. "It should work though, right? I mean, wouldn't anyone want to help a human that was cursed into a dragon witch? Even a monster hunter?"

"You would think... Even if this is a trap, none of these ingredients are poisonous." He took a pause to breathe fire on some logs in the stove. "But maybe the horn will hold enough magic to turn me back, and the hair will help make sure I turn into a human?"

"I'm feeling optimistic." Roman gave him a smile as he put the pieces of horn into a small bowl. "Do you have something to crush these? The book says it'll work best in a powder."

Virgil turned away from the water to let it boil. "Oh yeah, we should have a crushing bowl and stick somewhere."

He found one in a drawer and Roman started crushing the small slivers. Once the water started boiling, Virgil poured the powder in, and then took a few strands of his mothers hair off of the hair brush and into the water.

He stirred it carefully and watched as the potion turned into a strange dark blue color. He wasn't sure what to expect, but it seemed like the magic in the horn was doing something.

The book said to let it boil for a few minutes, and Virgil read the rest of the instructions as he waited. There wasn't much left to do, he just had to pour some into a cup and to drink it. It didn't say how much to drink, but hopefully just a small cup will do. As much as he wanted to be human again, the dark blue didn't look, or smell, very appetizing.

They let it cool down before Roman grabbed a ladle and poured some into a cup. He handed it to the prince and told him, "Just pretend it's a bunch of crushed blueberries, okay?"

"Right," Virgil agreed. He plugged his nose and downed it as fast as he could. The lemon and ginger stood out the most, and it was not a pleasant combination. Still, the hope to become human was enough to swallow a cup. Hopefully that was all it needed to take because two cups was asking too much.

He set the glass down and waited for a moment. Roman watched him carefully, looking at all of his dragon traits. Nothing happened.

"Uh, how do you feel?" he asked.

"Um... not any different? My mouth is a bit tingly," Virgil replied.

"Maybe it takes a moment? To digest it?"