Scales

She

Many months went by. Gedonelune was in chaos. Liz and her followers were attacking vital locations of the Kingdom and then vanishing into thin air. No one had ever seen such magic. The entire region was looking for Liz Hart, but no one was able to find her. Many of her minions were found and interrogated, but none of them could really give them a clue about her location. They would either refuse to speak or talk nonsense. Sena was hopeless.

Meanwhile, inside an enormous mountain on an island people seemed to have forgotten about, nine dragons were sleeping peacefully. Their master was outside, creating magical barriers to avoid being found.

"Geez. All that Spacial Magic surely wore me out!" She couldn't help but think about Klaus. He was very fond of this type of magic. Why, after all this time, was she still thinking about him? It enraged her. She looked at her followers with a severe gaze. "If you stopped being caught by the Ministry, I wouldn't have to look for another hiding place everytime we attack!"

"We are sorry, My Queen." A short man responded. The terror in his voice was noticeable. "But, if I may, maybe you should only take the strongest of us to the missions? That way you'd make sure no one is left behind. Going through the portal requires a lot of magic skill."

"Or I could throw the weaker ones to my dragons, how about that?" Liz spoke back with impatience, spreading a grim silence across the place. "No. All of you are important to me. You named me your Queen, but I surely can't do this without your help." She smiled widely, as if her heart had never lost it's purity. Suddenly, a woman came running to the insides of the mountain calling for Liz.

"Marie" Liz recognized her. She was one of her best soldiers. Strong, loyal and efficient. She had never let her down. "What's going on?"

"There's...there's a man on the shore. He's unconscious." Marie tried to catch some breath, it seemed like she had run a mile.

"Show me." Liz ordered, and Marie took her to the beach. There, she saw a tall, skinny man passed out on the sand. She creeped closer to him, stopping right behind the shield she had just created. Liz scanned his features and recognized him immediately. His long brown hair, his handsome pale face, and his muscular complexion had disappeared entirely.

Liz pulled out her wand and created a gap on her shield. Her magic lifted the man towards her. She laid him down on the ground and closed the magic protection once again.

"Azusa Kuze, huh? Who would have thought" Marie looked at her, confused.

"Oh. Marie, this pleasant gentleman here is Azusa Kuze. He comes from Hinomoto and used to go to the Academy with me."

"Was he a friend of yours, Queen?"

"Oh yes. We were so close, in fact, that he tried to kill me!"

Marie's eyes widened when she heard those words. She clenched her fist instantly, staring at Azusa with fury. "Allow me to destroy him, my Queen!"

"Oh, no no no. Let's wake him up first." Liz raised her wand, and sparks flew around Azusa's face. He opened his eyes violently. He stared at Liz, and immediately tried to get up, tripping over and over until he finally stood up.

"Look who we have here! Azusa in the flesh!" Liz opened her arms as if inviting him to hug her, but he did not move.

"I...I travelled many days. I don't remember the last time I ate or had some water." His voice was rough and weak, barely audible.

"Oh, how come? Can't the great Azusa Kuze conjure up some water?" Liz asked, smirking.

"I lost my wand. I am too weak to do any magic. Please."

Liz sighed and turned to Marie "Alright. Marie, you know what to do."

"But, my Queen...he...you told me..."

"I'll be fine, don't worry dear. I want to hear his story." Marie walked away reluctantly, leaving them alone.

"So...why are you here?" Liz inquired.

"I want to join you. I heard you wanted to destroy Gedonelune. I want to fight for you."

Marie came back with a jug full of crystal clear water and handed it to Azusa. He drank it in no time.

"First of all, Azusa. Who told you I wanted to destroy Gedonelune?"

"I..." Azusa felt strange. His mind was foggy and he couldn't think straight. "Everyone is saying it. You've been attacking Gedonelune. You have dragons!"

"Yes. I have dragons. But I don't want to destroy Gedonelune. I want to rule Gedonelune. Second of all, how did you find me?"

He wanted to say it was just luck. He desperately wanted to say it was just luck. But what came out of his mouth was the truth.

"When you ate enchanted food from Hinomoto, it gave me the ability to trace you."

Liz stopped on her tracks. "You are trying to tell me that that stupid konpeito gave you a permanent trail of my magic!?"

"...Precisely." Azusa was amazed at how sharp she had gotten. He remembered her as clumsy, naïve and nonchalant. Soon, Liz's henchmen started to crowd the beach, fearing this stranger might want to hurt their Queen. At the same time, Azusa started to feel alarmingly dizzy and weak. He felt as if he would faint again.

"My dear people! Let's receive our new friend, Azusa Kuze!" Liz shouted to her followers, as if the prior conversation had never taken place and she had just encountered an old friend. The crowd cheered, and Liz continued with her speech.

"He was a friend of mine in the Academy, and now he has come back to me and fight with us!" They cheered once again. Azusa was bewildered. He had tried to kill her once, and now she was calling him friend? It seemed she was not as sharp as he had thought. In that moment, Liz gave him a rapid glare, as if responding to that thought. He swallowed, fearing she might have read his mind. But she proceeded.

"Now! I'll give him our characteristic warm welcome. I'll take him personally to his new chambers, so he can finally rest after the long journey." Everyone started cheering and laughing, looking at each other, making way for both of them to go inside the mountain. He followed her close, as she guided the way towards an obscure passage.

"You know, Azusa, I knew you would come to me someday. It was just a matter of time."

"Y-You knew?" He knew something was off. By now, he was sure the water contained some kind of truth potion. But why was he not able to cast his magic?

"Yes, I knew. And I've been preparing for it, you know? It took a long time. Oh, and you can't do magic because I'm controlling you. You are not the only one who learned how to do magic without speaking, dear. And yes, you moron, I can read minds." Azusa was panicking now. He had underestimated her so much that he was at her mercy. They got to the entrance of a cavern filled with darkness. Azusa couldn't stop walking, no matter how hard he tried.

"Azusa dear, did you really think I would forgive you that easily?" All he could do was scream and beg her for mercy.

"Please! Liz! Forgive me! I was foolish, and you gave me no choice! I was just trying to bring him back!" He was crying now. He could hear the terrifying screeches of the dragons, waiting for him.

"Oh, I understand. But see, now I'm trying to do what's best for my beloved creatures. They haven't tried human flesh since last week! They'll be delighted!"

"Liz I'm begging you! My Queen! Please have mercy! I'll make you powerful!" But he kept walking, slowly, painfully.

"Dear Azusa, you are not the first one to try to kill me by pretending to be loyal."

"My Queen, please, I don't want to die!" Azusa's desperate cries echoed through the whole cavern, making the dragons more and more eager. Suddenly, she made him stop walking.

"Okay. I forgive you."

"Really?" Azusa looked at her, full of hope.

"OF COURSE NOT!" And she pushed him abruptly towards the depths of the cavern. Azusa's shrieks of pain were heard across the whole island.