A Pet for the Dragons

104.

Merry Christmas from Arika and the dragons! Arika says hoe hoe hoe!

ARIKA

"I hope you get familiar with them soon enough. I cannot wait to see what dragon and human younglings would be like," The Empress said with dark wonder, a knowing look in her eyes. I swallowed hard, at a loss for words for a second. This reminded me of my interaction with the Golden Prince yesterday.

Was this the reason why we were summoned in the first place?

"I don't think that's possible," I decided to test it out. "Humans and dragons aren't compatible in that way," I told her, and all she did was laugh.

"What made you think so?" She asked.

"Er..." I didn't have anything to answer to that. Seeing my cluelessness, she asked. "Look at me, Arika. I might be a dragoness, but don't I look human too?"

"Yes?" I answered, unsure.

"And how did you think that happened? How do you think we can take this form?" She pushed. I licked my lips, trying to guess, but nothing came to mind. I'd never really paid attention to myths and legends before, so I had no idea.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I've not yet gained much knowledge on this matter," I told her politely, and she smiled.

"I see," She smiled. "I can lend you some books if you wish, but the answer is simple. Our ancestors copulated with your kind to create a more... efficient race. You see, the wings are great for soaring the skies, but they help little to create tools and build intricate things,"

"But why humans?" I couldn't help but ask naturally. "I'm sure there are other races that are far more efficient than humans,"

"There are," She nodded, her eyes unfocused as if she was simultaneously thinking of something else, "But none were as potent,"

Her answer still made no sense to me. As far as I knew, humans had no magic or other supernatural abilities. Before I could ask her more questions, the door to her chamber burst open abruptly, startling me.

It seemed like someone had kicked it open. It shocked me, but the Empress looked as unbothered as ever. She sighed deeply as she sipped from whatever she had in her golden cup. It was the first time I noticed the food on the table.

It looked exotic and deliciously inviting, but I had no appetite. I just wished to return to my dragons, but...

"MOTHER!" A voice echoed through the room before a dragon appeared on the balcony. I froze, hoping it wouldn't notice me while I studied him. It was a dragon, of course—a male one.

Though he did not look much older than sixteen in human years, I decided to reserve these human standards for his appearance alone. He could be older than me for all I knew. There was no way to guess. But who was he, and what was he doing here?"

Mother! Oh yes, he'd called the Empress mother. That meant—

"What is it this time, Ivar?" The Empress asked, annoyed. I studied Ivar closely. He didn't look anything like the Empress at all. He had no trace of her but looked and sounded very much like a prince.

His features were sharp, and he had a naturally commanding presence. I could tell that he'd break many dragon ladies' hearts in the future, that is, before they'd find out the kind of brat he was.

"Did you grant Elze the permission to use your— who is this?" The prince abruptly noticed me. I was already frozen in my place, but this time I sucked in a breath to remain as still as possible in the hopes that this stillness would grant me invisibility. But it didn't.

Instead, the prince stared at me for a full minute blatantly before a frown climbed on his face.

"What kind of hornless and scale-less creature is this?" He asked. I gasped because that sounded extremely offensive, but I shut my mouth before my sailorly tendencies could take over.

"Ivar," The Empress snapped at her son like a disciplinary mother would at the slip of her son's tongue, "This is Arika, a human. She's our most important guest," She said, and I couldn't help but shudder.

"I see," Ivar turned to look at me. Unlike the Empress and the Golden Prince, there was no look of knowing in his eyes that made me uncomfortable. He stared at me curiously.

"How did you get one?" He asked and instantly got glared at.

"Oh yes," He shook his head. "I'm Ivar, the Empress' Eldest son and the heir to—"

"This is one of my sons, Arika," The Empress cut her son dismissively. "I suppose this is my second son you've met," she smiled at me darkly, and I shuddered.

"Prince Yvune visited me yesterday," I told her.

"Of course he did. He likes to... wander a lot. I've tried to contain him but to no avail. I hope he didn't bother you much."

"No h-he didn't," I told her.

"I'm glad to hear that. At least one of my sons learnt some manners," She hissed with a smile as she glared at Ivar. The latter remained silent, knowing well not to cross the line. "Yvune told me about you. He's quite fond of you already." The Empress added.

"I-I'm glad to hear that," I lied, managing a fake smile.

"I'd have loved to talk to you more, but I need to teach my son a lesson about not barging in when I'm having breakfast with an important guest such as you," The Empress said sweetly, but her words instantly drained the colour from Ivar's face.

I sprang to my feet immediately. "I'm honoured that you spent your precious time with me. I don't wish to keep you from the important matters that the prince wishes to discuss with you," I told her as nicely as I could.

"We'll meet again soon," The Empress told me with a nod before turning to her son. I took this as my dismissal and didn't waste a second to leave her chamber. I took a deep breath of relief when I was finally out of her chamber. Judging by the bookshelves and all, it must've been her study. Whatever it was, I was glad to be finally away from that place. But I wasn't aware of the dragon awaiting me right outside.

"Arika," the dragon kid's face brightened as soon as he saw me. It was none other than the Golden Prince. "Come with me."

~

Read the next 50+ chapters on Patreon. The link is in my bio.

Thanks for reading <3