----------------------------------------

“I hope you guys are ready, we will be heading out soon!”. Kai announced as he got close to their camping ground.

“Give us more time!!” Darcy screamed in response.

Samantha had no problem going immediately, Darcy, on the other hand, thought otherwise. She was a noble lady; after all, she had to take care of herself.

“Right! Let’s find the nearest lake, Up we go, we don’t have all day!!”. Kai was all smiles.

It seemed as though Kai had not a care in this world as she marched back the way he came from with the girls following behind him.

----------------------------------------

The kingdom of Klinestra sure was quiet—as a law, of course. Their king had died, but most citizens didn’t feel like mourning or doing anything of such sort.

King Sullivan wasn’t really bad king per se; he was just not a king for the people. The kingdom of Klinestra was simply flourishing for the other nations that surrounded it.

The fact that during his almost-two-millennia reign, the whole kingdom of Klinestra didn’t fall apart was enough reason for the citizens to mourn... Even if it was just in name.

This was also a very good time for one powerful city Lord to climb up the ranks and build his domain... Or so it would have been in another story for another day.

Lord Marshall was, still after all, the only child of Baron Mason, the gruesome strategist. Even if Marshall was never taught by his old man how to fight or strategies, he had lived for almost two millennia.

Even an idiot would have grown powerful after living so long; he was practically a living, walking, breathing body of knowledge.

With so much time and knowledge on his hands, there was only one thing he could do...

MAN IS ONLY HELD BACK BY THE THINGS HE HOLDS DEAR; those were the words engraved over the exit of Lord Marshall’s Study.

“Sigh… I can’t believe I have let myself grow this old.” Marshall soliloquized as he stood in front of the mirror in his study.

He touched his face whilst feeling pity for himself. “Have I really become an old man? Damn! I had a wife and a child. I really let myself go.”

This Marshall in front of the mirror was Marshall’s alter ego. Let’s go down memory lane...

It was a thousand years after the fall of King Salinger. Marshall had wandered along the years, drifting and taking what ever thrown at him.

He wasn’t poor nor was he lacking anything in his life; to be frank, he was living the dream… He was a dragon after all.

After his father’s death, Marshall didn’t mourn a lot nor did he cry his eyes out for days after Mason died. Mason was not what you would call a good father.

He only had Marshall because he needed an offspring that would take his place in servitude when he died. Dragons had very long life spans but after living close to fourteen millennia, Mason was ready to go but he had no heir.

And best of all, they aged slowly. Like damn, they could simply stop ageing if they wanted.

It was no problem for Mason to pick a woman; he was the king’s right-hand man. Nine months later Marshall was born and his mother was killed. For precautionary measures.

The father and son rarely met in the palace or anywhere at all. If they did, it would be in an assessment type of situation to see how far he had grown.

At the age of Seven, Marshall was already a machine to carry out orders. To be clear, he was simply a monster.

After Marshall’s mission to get Aria and young Kai to a safe place failed, he ran. He didn’t run to escape punishment, but to see the world and live his life out.

Or so he thought. Soon enough, well, not-so-soon enough, after a thousand years of living in another country, he got bored as heck.

The dragons, as he was a part of, were mystical creatures. They had transcended human comprehension, and they were in the same standing as those from the God realm, only below the higher-ranking god-people and laws.

Right now, Marshall occupied the luxuries of a king. He lived in a city as the protector of the people. Well not really.

You see, After Marshall ran away, he travelled. He travelled with no particular place or destination in mind; he just went where the light was brightest and where the people were busiest.

At the age of eight, he could already travel at the speed of a peak noble-rank wind mage. At this point, he could move almost at the speed of sound.

As a result, it didn’t take long for Marshall to travel out of the boundaries of the Klinestra Kingdom. The first thing that was out of place when he came there was that there was no magic in the air.

Well, there was magic in the air, but there was no mage or any Elementalist mage around. It was as if the era of magic had not yet started or maybe it was banned... It was odd.

Marshall scanned around the area—in fact, the entire expanse of land. He had discovered, after asking a few adults where this place was, that he was in the kingdom of Magenta.

Not minding the fact that a lot of the people he asked either looked at him with either looks of sympathy, shock or care. He wasn’t really accustomed to the normal emotions of normal human beings—emotions like love, care, sympathy, etcetera—all the things that made one humane.

They were mostly known for their technological advancement and weak bodies. They were humans after all.

There was a clear difference between the people of Magenta and the people of Klinestra. The people of Klinestra were obsessed with power and magic; in their society, the strongest was the king.

On the other hand, The people of Magenta put a lot of effort into bettering their lives. They honoured skills and praised intelligence; in their society, the most innovative was the king.

“This is perfect.” Young Marshall said to himself with a grin. Marshall didn’t have the normal thinking process of a normal human... It wasn’t as if he was human after all. At this point, this land felt like a gold mine for Marshall.

‘These people have never tasted real power; surely they will tremble at my feet.’ Marshall only knew a few human sensations: fear, terror, hate, greed, pride, and wrath; and he knew how to administer them well.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

A few days after Marshall had settled down in this new kingdom, he decided to do what all dragons do: pillaging. At least that’s what his father taught him. He wanted to do it, and he wanted to do it in style.

He had settled somewhere close to the capital of Magenta, Illinois. It was rather easy to find the capital; it was cleaner and bigger, the lights shone brighter and lastly, there was a huge expanse of land in the middle that had scattered but magnificent edifices within these walls.

To be precise, that was only one place where Marshall could stay. He had found a cave up a deserted mountain close to Illinois.

After a few days of settling in, Marshall flew down the mountain and decided to walk to the palace. He walked to the palace not because he was scared but because he wanted to make an impression.

Marshall walked towards the palace in ragged clothes. The scene was normal to those walking the street. The Queen of Magenta was very passionate about little children.

Most of the people walked past Marshall, not batting an eye at him. The rest looked at Marshall with sad, caring eyes filled with compassion.

The Palace of the Queen was centred as an intersection of many streets. All roads in Illinois led to the palace.

The palace walls were not really that high, but at least three meters.

“Hey, youngun, what are you doing here?” The guard in front of the huge gate asked.

The people of Magenta seemed to love the colour brown. Everything good, everything powerful, and everything worth looking at in Magenta either had the colour brown or was brown.

The Soldier in front of Marshall was wearing a light brown soldier’s uniform. The material used to make the uniform was was tough but Marshall sensed no magic in it… It was just a cloth, a thick one.

“Mmfh…mmfh. Mister, do you have food? I am very hungry…mmfh.” Marshall was still a child after all, even though he had the knowledge of things only adult humans could have.

Marshall appeared truly pitiful to the soldiers who stood guard. It was public knowledge that the Queen never turned down children, especially those who looked distraught and hungry.

“Come In,” The guard said as he opened a smaller part of the gate meant for children. “Take this,” the guard handed a token to the young boy. “… Show it to the soldier behind this door and he will lead you to eat some food.”

“Mmfh… Thank you.” Marshall wiped his tears with his arm as he trudged inside the mansion.

The beauty of the palace could only be downplayed by its lack of diverse colours. The palace was simply magnificent; it was even taller than that of King Salinger.

It looked like an aristocratic heaven; it had everything, from stone walkways to beautiful statues. The sad thing there was that the Queendom was barren, they had little water at this time; it simply hadn’t rained for months.

Marshall knew this. Marshall wasn’t a violent dragon; he only resorted to violence if there was no other way. Nonetheless, he still had to make an entrance.

----------------------------------------

It didn’t take long before Marshall was brought into the Queen’s court. He has been washed and clothed as per the Queen’s orders.

“My child, how are you feeling?” The Queen asked the moment Marshall was ushered into her court.

“Miss, I am better now! But I am still hungry!”

The moment the woman who ushered Marshall inside heard his words, she felt indignant, and the urge to correct him overwhelmed her. “Shh!! She is the Queen, not just any miss; call her your Queen.”

“~Oh, she is the queen?!?” Marshall said with wide eyes, laced with made-up shock. Marshall was quite an actor to be able to fool the woman by his side, but nothing could have prepared her for what Marshall said next. “…BUT where is the King?”

“!!!” The woman was shocked; she was sure if an adult said this, they would be sent to the mines for a hundred days.

The woman darted her eyes to the Queen, only to see her smiling. “???!” The view was truly odd.

It was public knowledge that the king of Magenta had died a gruesome death; he was killed by a poisoned apple that caused his insides to spew out of his body.

King Lloyd was a frivolous king; he loved to party but he loved his wife and kingdom even more. He had gone partying in another kingdom when he was poisoned.

To add insult to the injury, the kingdom sent his head as well as a letter of how he died in a sack…A SACK! It was dropped in front of the Palace gate and later brought to the Queen by her soldiers.

The death of the king made the Queen cry her eyes out; no one had seen her for days after her husband was confirmed dead.

As a result, no one ever brought up the issue of her husband in front of her, The few who did were left to wonder why they lived after they had served the Queen’s punishment.

“Hahahahaha… Child, what is your name? You do not seem from around here.” The Queen almost fell off her throne laughing.

“No, my Queen,” Marshall employed the use of quivering lips and glistening eyes. “…I am not from around here, My Name is Lloyd.”

There was no reason whatsoever why Marshall chose that name; he just found it fun and appealing.

“So tell me Lloyd what happened? Where are you from?” Queen Oliver asked with expectant eyes.

“Mmfh…my Mo— my mother!!”

Marshall cried his eyes out just as he had planned; he was one step closer to all he wanted. Amidst the cries, Marshall-now-Lloyd retold a made-up story of how he got to the border of Illinois.

According to the story, he had travelled with his parents, but they were devoured by wild beasts around Illonis’ border.

The story could be attested to be true because of these reasons: there was no one to debunk what he had said, and secondly, the queendom of Magenta had a thick forest along its borders.

“Sigh…You must have seen a lot for your age. But how did you get here? You told me that you are not from magenta.” Although Queen Olivia was compassionate and caring towards children, she was still a smart woman.

“~WAAAAA~ I am hungry!!” In response to the question thrown at him, Lloyd, instead of giving an answer, cried his eyes out.

Despite the fact that Lloyd had formulated plan, he was still a child; there was so much he could do. He knew that he had no answer to the question because the whole continent of Magenta was surrounded by water. Endless salty water.

“Ok, I see that you are hungry! Lets go eat, shall we?” Queen Olivia simply had to give in; her ears were already hurting.

After a hearty feast, Lloyd was now ready to talk.

“So my child, talk to me; now you are fed.” The Queen leaned in to look at Lloyd with expectant eyes.

Lloyd knew that he could not dodge the questions any more, He looked over at the Queen and started talking, “My Queen...”

No one knew what the Dragon child and the Queen spoke about, but it was clear that they spoke at length. The Queen was simply intrigued at the eloquent nature of little Lloyd’s speech and mannerism.

The Queen Olivia took a liking to little Lloyd; they had an odd bond between each other. It didn’t take long before they were inseparable; if not that Lloyd was a child, people would have spread gossip of them having an affair.

----------------------------------------

Many years later, when Queen Olivia was old and frail, Marshall-now-Lloyd had let himself age at the rate of a mortal to avoid suspicions.

During those few short years, Lloyd had solved their water problem. It wasn’t no easy task but the kingdom of Magenta paid handsomely.

Lloyd didn’t need to raid or plunder the land to get rich; they freely gave him their treasures He was close to having the riches of a great Dragon.

“What is this?”

Marshall was lazying around in his mountain when he felt it. This feeling he had grown to forget. It had been forty years since he last felt it.

It had been forty years since he felt fear, but now he felt it but it was faint—very faint. Nonetheless, because he felt it meant that something was about to happen.

It was at that moment that Kai’s stone enclosure became weak.

Queen Olivia now frail and weak, was on her death bed at the moment about to die. Over the years, they had bonded deeply.

—Knock Knock—

A special knock was heard on the door, and a weak smile grew over Queen Olivia’s shrivelled lips; she knew who it was.

“Here I was thinking that you had forgotten me.” Queen Olivia said as Marshall entered the door after knocking.

Between them, all formalities went out the window. At the moment, it looked like a son visiting his ailing mother.

“My Queen, don’t say that. How could I ever forget you? You are like a mother to me.” Marshall said with a smile as he walked towards the Queen and kissed her forehead.

“If only you would call me mother.” The Queen whispered, and Marshall heard it.

Marshall had already taken her as a mother. She was there when he had no one; of course she had a place in his heart, a very special place.

“So how are you feeling? You seem brighter today.” Marshall said with warmth in his eyes, The woman before him was truly special to him.

“The doctor said I would either get well soon or I will stay this way forever.”

Although forever to the Queen was no longer a long time; she knew she was to die soon, its what old people do.

Marshall spent his evening with the Queen. His heart writhed in pain because he knew this would be the last time he would spend time with her or see her again.

“Haa… I really enjoyed my day with you, I am happy. A single tear trickled down her left eye, soaking her sheets as she smiled weakly.

“I am happy too... Mother.” Marshall wasn’t sure if she heard her because her heart had stopped beating.

“AAAAHHHH!!!”

Marshall simply let out all the pain stored in his heart; he had been strong for along time.

----------------------------------------

A few days later, Marshall walked out of the Queendom of Magenta; he had nothing there for him any more.