Imperial

Chapter 3

Not a sound could be heard. The high-ranked human prowled towards me. With a fleeting hand gesture, he waved towards us. From the corner of my eye, I saw the bright red drake flinch away. "Look at them," he continued, and this time, even his baritone voice was cold. "All of them – thin, gangly and dirty."

The humans dared not speak, instead watching the Lord with grim eyes. Master stepped closer to me ever so slightly, his face reddening, although with embarrassment or anger, I could not tell.

"Look at this silver one here," Lord Raffael spread his arms, gesturing towards me pointedly. Confidently, he stalked towards me, not even worrying about the Master flinching beside me. "See how her wings sag, and her shoulders are hunched awkwardly? You have overworked her."

Master lowered his gaze.

"And this magnificent black drake!" Lord Raffael cried out, his eyes shining with a mix between awe and fury as he stared at the Black Beast. "Never have I ever seen a dragon so scarred!"

"Lord Raffael!" Another human bravely protested. He was standing beside a pale green dragoness covered in faint scars. The man's hazel eyes instantly filled with fear as the Lord turned towards him silently. Nonetheless, he continued hesitantly. "You cannot expect us to pamper the dragons? Damn it, they're just beasts!"

Scowling, Lord Raffael glared at Master once more, before he regarded the other person with disgust. Slowly, he stepped towards him, reaching towards the long and slim sword hanging from his belt. "What is your name, slave?"

"Carrowan," the slave answered immediately, fearfully watching the Lord approach. His hand squeezed the pale green dragoness's white horn tightly, trembling with the pressure exerted. Beads of sweat ran down Carrowan's creased face as Raffael drew his shining silver sword, still approaching quietly.

"Well, Carrowan," the Lord's blue eyes gleamed strangely as he brought the sword's tip up to the slave's neck. Seemingly content that everyone's attention was on him, Lord Raffael continued. "I should have your head just for saying that! But I'll deal with you later." Carelessly, the Lord turned around, sheathing his weapon once more. His eyes darted across the clearing, and for a split second, his gaze held mine.

Once again, the fields were silent. All of the humans nervously held their breath as they waited anxiously. I watched alongside the other dragons, curious as to what was to happen. Lord Raffael was strange. Just as cruel as the other humans, and yet he'd punish a human for calling a dragon a beast.

Not sure what to make of this young Lord, I scrutinised him carefully, before turning to the pale green dragoness. She shrugged, although her own bright blue eyes glowed eagerly at the thought of her own Master being punished.

Quietly, I snorted to her, "I wish my Master was punished." Whenever a dragon spoke, a human could only hear a series of growls and roars - which was often advantageous. It was easier to plan things, not to mention insult the humans without being understood.

The pale dragoness glanced back towards me, her blue eyes shining brightly. A fleeting look of rage swept across her face – a rage that only a slave could ever understand. "All of them should be punished," she declared emphatically, ignoring her own human who hissed a threat at her.

"Indeed," a deep, voice thundered, the single word laced in bitterness. I turned my head to face Black Beast, whom was glaring at the new humans with venomous grey eyes. "We'd be lucky if just one was punished."

Sighing, I lowered my head. Of course, our Masters would not be punished. We were punished every day, yet the humans weren't – ever. The Black Beast was right; we would be lucky if even just Carrowan was punished.

Our little conversation did not go unnoticed. Watching us silently despite not understanding a word, the humans twitched instincitvely, recognising the rage bottled within us. My Master's face was bright with embarrassment, although his black eyes glittered with fury. His grip around my horn tightened. Only the fact that Lord Raffael was near him stopped him from spitting insults at me.

Unlike my Master, the Lord appeared amused. His blue eyes seemed to gleam with faint mirth as his gaze drifted from the both dragonesses to Black Beast, and finally to me. For a few moments, Lord Raffael carefully observed us, before turning back towards Master. He appeared to be about to say something, but then thought better of it.

Of course, Master did not read the Lord's expression.

"My apologies, Lord Raffael," my Master bowed slightly, trying to sound polite. But I knew better; I knew he hated the words almost as much as he hated me. All he was doing was trying to avoid his own punishment. "I can have them punished for you?"

"No," Lord Raffael growled, the command simple and hard. His eyes narrowed. "Your dragons should not be punished for such simple things."

Master swallowed nervously, lowering his gaze.

"I presume that you know I'm not just here to check up on the dragons," the Lord finally stated. With the confidence of a predator, he circled the small clearing, examining once again all the humans and each of the dragons.

"Thought so," my Master uttered under his breath quietly, although I still heard him clearly. "Who'd come here just to check up on dragon's anyway? They are merely beasts."

I growled softly at him, although I knew that he was right. Never before had humans – especially high-ranked humans, checked up on our health. So why start now?

Somehow, the Lord heard my Master.

Lord Raffael snapped his gaze towards him once more. Piercing blue eyes held the Master's glare. "You need to be taught manners, slave. You should know by now that you do not talk to your own Master like that," anger laced his smooth voice.

He turned towards all of the humans. "I want these five dragons ready by dawn. All of them are to be clean, saddled, wings stretched and muscles warmed up ready for a long flight. Feed and water them well tonight. With that, he marched back to his escorts, who had been standing motionlessly in their black robes, watching the drama unfold.

Quietly, I continued to observe Lord Raffael as he walked away. Strange. He was definitely strange. Different to other humans, more confident, but... I could not describe it. And yet, he still had the same cruel temperament as all of the other humans.

Suddenly, Master roughly yanked my black horn. Hissing at him furiously, I bared my fangs. "Someday, you will pay for that." Of course, he did not understand a word I had said, but undoubtedly, that was just as well.

Not ignorant to my fury, my Master tugged my horn once more. Just because he could. The message was clear – he was in command and we were returning to the Dragon Stables, whether I liked it or not. Reluctant to move, I glanced behind me. Despite not doing anything, the past few minutes had been some of the best in my life. Expected to do nothing but be quiet - with fresh air around me. And just a hope of something different.

"Hurry up, beast," my Master grumbled in irritation, once again yanking my horn. This time, I did not snarl or growl. Instead, my lips curled back in fury, exposing my sharp fangs. But the human was not fazed the slightest. "All the loads of coal you will not do today must be made up when you return. And I do believe you need a punishment for growling out like that in front of the Lord."

Not just a threat - a promise.

As we neared the Stables' entrance, the Lord's clear voice rang out once again. "One more thing," Lord Raffael demanded, his icy blue eyes washing over each human accompanying a dragon. His hand flicked a strand of shoulder-length hair away from his face as he waited impatiently for everyone's attention. "As of now, you will be taking better care of the dragons. Don't even bother trying to exit the Stables until you have groomed and fed your dragon – properly. Before I leave tomorrow, I intend to inspect the condition of every dragon. And no one in the stables will like the consequences if Lord Carlos receives an unsatisfactory report from me."

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1451 words

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