You're The Only One - Prinxiety [COMPLETED]

Chapter Sixteen: The Fire Stone Champion

Virgil walked through the crowd of people on the beach, ignoring the way eyes followed his movements. He could hear them whispering his name. It had been three days since the other kingdoms had arrived. Since then, he'd offered his assistance with many different dragon related problems. 

One dragon was starving to death because its handlers weren't aware it was a herbivore. He'd kept his temper in check despite having to explain this to them. There were a few more incidents where dragons lashed out at its handlers. Virgil had stepped in and fixed the issues pretty quickly. At this point, everyone on the beach knew him as the guy to ask for help if you were having trouble with your dragon. 

He made it his job to make sure that no one was in danger, whether it was the humans or the dragons. He tried not to draw attention to himself, but he'd rather suffer the anxiety than watch people get hurt.

Today felt different. The air felt charged and the sky was overcast. Virgil couldn't help the feeling of dread in his chest as he looked at the people around him. He could feel something bad.

"Virgil! Hey!" a familiar and sweet voice said, getting his attention. He turned to see Roman coming toward him with a smile. "I came to see you! I didn't get to talk to you much this morning, royal meetings you know? But I wanted to say that last night was really amazing and I really want-"

Screams broke out across the beach. Cries could be heard and a bloodcurdling roar echoed against the cliff. A definitive yell could be heard once the roar passed.

"WHERE'S BLACK?!"

The prince turned to look toward the stable boy, but he was already gone, running toward the source of the roaring. Roman hurried after him as his heart rate increased. Virgil pushed his way through the crowd, yelling in a demanding voice. "MOVE!"

They began to part for him. As they got closer to the chaos, they saw what it was that was causing the screams. It was a massive dragon with white and red scales. It had horns on its head that looked like they could pierce right through a human's body. Its body was covered in armored scales. The tip of its tail was sharpened like a spear and it was the width of a small tree trunk. It had ropes around it's legs and snout, but at least two of the people who had been holding them were on the ground bleeding.

Roman froze in his tracks on the edge of the clearing that had gathered around the scene. "What the hell is that?"

"One of the most dangerous species of dragons recorded by humanity," Virgil muttered to himself, looking pale with fear himself. The prince looked at him closely in horror; if he, of all people, was afraid of this dragon, Roman knew that this was extremely bad. "I have to knock it unconscious before it kills someone."

"What?" he whispered.

Virgil was already walking briskly toward the dragon and yelling at the people holding it to get back. They let go of the ropes and hurried toward their injured friends. Blood stained the sand as they hobbled away from the dragon. 

Putting his hands to his lips, he let out a sharp whistle. The dragon's head snapped toward him and it let out another bloodcurdling roar. Everyone flinched and cowered away from the beast, but not Virgil. He stared the dragon down, locking eyes with him. If he challenged it, it would focus on him rather than hurting anyone else. The dragon growled and lowered its head; it felt challenged.

The stable boy took a deep breath and then sprinted toward it. The dragon opened its mouth and shot a ball of white fire. Virgil didn't flinch as the heat got closer. He slid underneath the flames and jumped onto the dragon's head. The fire exploded against the sand where he had been standing. 

Virgil grabbed hold of the dragon's horns as tight as he could, pulling himself onto its neck. The dragon roared in rage and attempted to throw him off. He grunted and kept his grip on its horns despite the way his hands ached. 

He knew there was only one way to knock the dragon out without a tranquilizer. He needed to find a pressure point. With a dragon with so much armor plating, it was going to be difficult. 

Virgil analyzed the underside of its chin, noticing that there was a small gap between its jaw and its neck were the skin was softer. His eyes widened in realization. He narrowed his eyes and swung himself closer to the jaws of the beast. He grabbed hold of the patch of muscle and pinched as hard as he could.

The dragon howled in rage and began to thrash harder. Virgil winced as he felt the smaller horns on its neck jabbing into his ribs. He kept his grip on the nerve.

Eventually, the dragon's body shuddered and it collapsed onto the sand. Virgil jumped off and rolled against the sand, panting with effort. He felt his ribs and his abdomen to check for any wounds. He'd been fortunate to only receive minimal bruising. He got to his feet and looked around at the speechless crowd.

"Who's dragon is this?" he said.

The crowd remained quiet and then a large man made his way into the clearing. He passed Virgil without looking at him and stared at the dragon. "Why did you knock out my prized dragon?" he asked, voice terrifyingly calm. 

He turned toward the man and lifted his chin. "That dragon is far too dangerous to be kept on a highly populated beach. Are you aware of what species it is?"

"Oh yes, Varkus is my lovely Lava Surfer," he replied. 

"Who are you?" Virgil asked accusingly. 

The man turned toward him and grinned a little. "I am Ormus Zophar, the Champion of the Fire Stone Kingdom, and you, are the famous Virgil Black I presume. I almost didn't recognize you without the pitiful expression of fear from the dinner last night; and I expected you to be taller."

"And I would expect for a man who treasures his dragon to have the guts to handle it himself," he fired back.

The watching crowd rippled with murmurs. Ormus stared him down with a glare at his words, but Virgil just ignored him and continued. "If you race with that dragon, it could kill people. The other racers' lives will be in danger."

"Now what a shame that would be," he replied with mock concern.

The Fire Stone Champion walked away and left Virgil standing glaring after him. As the crowd moved to continue about their day, the prince ran to him and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Oh my god, are you okay?" he breathed. "I- I changed my mind, I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'll be fine, Princey," he muttered, walking toward the cliff to return to the stables. 

"You just said that it could kill someone!" Roman argued. 

Virgil stopped and looked him in the eye. He took a deep breath and an expression of determination settled over his face. "Your Highness, I promise... if that dragon kills someone, it won't be me."