Drakkon

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Three days passed by and I noticed that there was more of a hustle in the palace; servants were running around cleaning more, preparing more, and there was a livelier buzz all around. Meilin hadn't visited me during that time and I couldn't help but feel that he was ignoring me—either that or he was too busy to deal with me, much like he had done in the beginning.

When I was walking the gardens, alone since Vita had no need to be my bodyguard since the Peccata and Meilin were at the palace, I spotted Remus lying on the grass. I hesitated when nearing him, remembering that Vita had told me that I should never be alone with him because of his spontaneity. Pushing that aside, I took a few steps closer to him.

His ears perked up at the sound of my steps and he turned his head towards my direction. His blood red gaze met mine and he watched me blankly.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" I asked him with a warm smile.

He stared at me for the longest moment. "I don't mind."

"Thank you," I said as I took a seat next to him. I smoothed my hanfu with my hands and settled down until I was comfortable. "So, Remus, you're the youngest of the Peccata, huh? What're you doing by yourself?"

He pointed at the soft blue sky, still lying down on the grass and making no move to sit up. "I'm staring at the clouds."

"Why?"

"Because I want to."

"That's good logic," I said with a soft laugh.

We both were silent for a moment after that. His gaze darted towards me and he watched me from the corner of his eyes. "I'm not smart," he told me. "I'm kind of stupid. Master tells me that I can't control myself and that I'm reckless."

"I don't think you're stupid."

"I don't understand many things," he told me with a frown as he continued to stare at the sky. "Master says I can't kill everything that gets me mad and I don't mean to. I don't want to hurt you, or else Master will be mad."

"You're not going to hurt me," I told him softly.

"I don't want to hurt you," he said. "You're nice."

"You won't hurt me, Remus."

"Why are you even talking to me? Aren't I scary to look at?"

"I think you're fascinating," I told him honestly. "You're a handsome boy and your hair is the prettiest shade of silver I've ever seen. I don't think you're scary at all; I think you're beautiful."

His eyes widened and he sat upright. "Beautiful? Doesn't that mean really pretty?"

I nodded.

"You think I'm good looking?" He smiled at that, falling back on the ground and rubbing a strand of his hair between his fingers, his gaze locked on it. "I've never been told I'm handsome. Usually people say that about Minos or Atreus. Nikator too sometimes."

"Can I touch your horns?" I asked out of curiosity, staring at the protruding white horns.

"Nikator told me they remind him of a baby goat's horns," he told me as he let go of his hair and stared back at the sky. "You can touch them if you want."

I touched it and just as Nikator said, they were like the horns of an animal. Still, it was interesting to find them on someone's head.

"I'm not smart enough to understand many concepts, so I don't really understand what a bride is," he told me. "What are you going to do to Master? Why does he want a bride?"