Trying to resist the urge to tell Treia’s mother everything, I kept my mouth shut, looking her in the face. She frowned at me, not expecting me to resist whatever had just influenced me.
“You see, there’s a few problems with that-”
“Dark aura, clear dark streaks through your horns… are you some sort of Nightbeast hybrid?”
Trying to think, a brilliant idea appeared in my head. “I actually don’t know what I am. I know I’m a sort of hybrid but it only tells me my human half. My other half is just replaced with question marks.”
Xaila frowned behind her mother, who also frowned, causing a very interesting view.
“And how does that-”
“Mother, he’s clearly exhausted,” Treia interrupted, flinching as her mother glared at her. “I mean…”
“Right, right,” her mother sighed, looking back at me and Mia, who I shook awake again. “You will answer my questions though, understand?”
I grumbled my affirmation.
~~~
After dunking Mia into the bath, I let her sleep as I washed her dirty hair. She woke up as I brushed it out, very annoyed about how much it hurt, but was elated when she looked in the mirror at herself.
After taking a quick back myself, we finally fell into the soft bed, Mia curling up next to me, holding onto my shirt as if trying to leave, not that I had any plans to do so.
I didn’t even realize I’d fallen asleep until I hissed at the light from a window, wrapping my arms around Mia a bit tighter, causing her to cuddle against my chest, letting off the occasional spark. We sat there for a good half an hour before there was a knock on the door.
I groaned and turned around, Mia looking over my shoulder at the door, contemplating whether or not she should freeze it shut. I rubbed her cold horn and she hissed lightly, though she calmed down.
“No freezing anything,” I whispered to her.
She looked up at me, not happy with that idea. After rubbing her hair for
“Who is it?” I grumbled, sitting up.
The door opened to reveal a very annoyed looking Xaila. She glared at me, clearly not happy about something. She took a deep breath as if readying herself for a speech.
“How is it that you’ve only just woken up? It’s the middle of the day!” She snapped. “My mother is nice enough to not wake people up when they’re sleeping and-” she then blinked, looking at my horns.
“What’s wrong with my horns?” I asked, putting my hands on them, confused. Then I froze and we stared at one another for a good thirty seconds.
Neither of us spoke, waiting for the other to make a move. Tense, she spoke up first.
“You’re an… Abyssal,” she muttered.
I nodded.
“And I’m assuming my sister knows this.”
Another nod.
“And you really don’t want to be found out, because…?”
I sighed. “I really didn’t plan this. I really don’t need everything to blow up in my face. I just want to live a normal life with my Bond.”
“You’re an Abyssal who has a Dragon as a Bond and doesn’t want to kill everyone.”
I frowned. “Who said we wanted to kill anyone?”
“The past.”
“From history, the reason the Abyssals were imprisoned is kinda a blank space,” I responded. “There’s no reliable records on what happened except for the cover story of why the Valkyries hate them. What I’m assuming is that you don’t know why the Valkyries came into being.”
Xaila looked at me, contemplating. Then she shook her head.
“Had something to do with gods somehow getting angry at Abyssals and the husband of the First Harbinger being killed. However, the Abyssals were sentenced for somewhere around a thousand or so years. But, for some reason, the Valkyries refused to let out the Abyssals after that sentence was over.”
Xaila gave me a confused look. “What sentence? We were told Abyssals were imprisoned forever.”
“That can’t be right. I’ve spoken with the Queen of the Abyss. She’d know. And I don’t think of her as one to lie unless necessary.”
“So, you’re saying the Valkyries have lied to us and there’s a massive problem with the gods?”
I nodded.
“Everything from here is going to get very, very difficult,” I grumbled.
***
Mia stared up at her Bond, trying to unravel the panic flaring through him. Prodding the annoying emotion with her own emotions, she found out where the panic was originating from; it had something to do with the female on the other side of the room.
Mia frowned, looking up to her Bond, who was absentmindedly petting her while trying to be… convincing? Calm? She pressed her snout (nose?) up against his cheek and he looked down at her, a small smile on his face.
Victory! She kept doing that until he put her on his lap and she was able to snuggle with his chest.
Mia then looked over to the female as she asked him something she didn’t understand.
“What do you want me to do then? I can’t just not tell my mother what you are. Plus, even if she didn’t kill you, you’d still eventually be found out by the Valkyries.”
Her Bond immediately grew smug and he grinned. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I have an idea of what to do about your mother and the Valkyries.”
Mia looked up to her Bond as she processed his thoughts. Was he going to-
Mia felt her own grin spread across her face and she cuddled against him to hide it. Sometimes, her Bond was really smart. Though… she wasn’t really sure how he planned to use Elf Girl in this.
***
I tried to not grimace as Treia looked at me in complete and utter horror.
“You need me-” she pointed to herself. “-to convince my insane mother-” she waved to the area where her mother was waiting. “-to make a System oath to not speak of what you are?”
“Uh… that basically sums it up,” I said, shrugging.
“ARE YOU INSANE?”
“Yep.”
She blinked, not expecting me to agree to her statement. “Then that must explain it then. You want me to die, huh?”
I rolled my eyes at her. “No. I just need you to take the brunt of it for me; she’s your mom. She can’t be that bad.”
“She can be that bad,” Xaila muttered from across the room.
I gave her a quizzical look. “Do you like talking from across rooms or something?”
Treia rolled her eyes. “It’s her favorite.”
I looked at Xaila for a few moments before shrugging. “Anyway, Treia. You’re gonna convince her, right?”
Treia scowled.
***
“A System oath. Really?” Treia’s mother said, giving her a flat look.
Treia tried to figure out how she got herself into this situation. She was currently trying to convince her mother to agree to a System oath for Jason, which, if she said so herself, wasn’t going well.
“Er, yeah. I’m not entirely sure why-”
Her mother sighed, shaking her head, her blond hair getting in front of her eyes. “Treia, I know you’re at a Party with him. You know exactly what he is. Just tell me.”
Treia gulped. “Um… about that…”
Xaila and Treia had always taken from their mother’s side more than their father. Their mother was a quarter Elf and, since their father was human, they were an eighth Elf, though that didn’t stop Elvish traits from appearing in them. Xaila had always been a great archer, winning so many tournaments that she’d been banned from attending them to give others a chance. Treia had always been far more attuned to nature than most humans, able to give eerily accurate observations of plants and what they could do, even without [Identify]. Due to this, she’d been dubbed by some of the servants the Plant Goddess, which her mother found endlessly funny when Treia was little.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Her mother’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me you made a System oath, Treia…”
Treia laughed nervously. “I, uh, did. He never gave me permission to tell you. And Xaila knows too, but she’s also under an oath.”
Her mother’s left eye twitched. “Oh, you’re kidding me. This boy knows how to deal with people, huh? If he’s this good, I would assume he was a Prince.”
Treia shifted herself, not going unnoticed. Her mother’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me-”
“Mother, please just agree, alright?”
Her mother shook her head. “You know what, fine. I’ll agree to this. Under one condition though.”
Treia tensed.
“You better explain why you thought it was a good idea to do off and hire someone to help you Level.”
***
“Abyssal Prince…” Treia’s mother said breathlessly. “I see now.”
She shook her head, clearly not able to see now. I shrugged, making an attempt to seem nonchalant about it and nearly failing.
Treia gave me a worried look, looking between me and her mother (I’m trying so hard to not make a “your mom” joke. It’s nearly killing me, kinda like your mo-). I looked back at her and wiggled my eyebrows, getting a glare in return. I then looked over to Xaila to see she’d left the room which surprised me a bit. She seemed like a girl who wouldn’t leave when she got upset, unlike someone else I knew (Cough, Leah, cough).
Looking down, even Mia seemed a bit tense, though she couldn’t understand anything we were saying and was depending on me to “translate” things for her. Personally, I was fine with doing whatever for my little serpent, so not much to say here.
I looked back to the mother of our favorite tree and watched as she seemed to think about something. Then she looked between Treia and me.
“You do know what the two of you mean, right?”
I blinked, confused. Looking over to Treia, I saw her eyes were wide and she waved her hands rapidly, cheeks growing red.
“Mother, that’s not what it’s like at all!” she protested, her face growing steadily redder the more she waved her hands.
“Oh, is that so?” her mom said, a smug look beginning to grow on her face.
Ohhh, I see. I think I like this already, I said, a grin spreading on my face.
“Jason, help me out- SERIOUSLY?!” Treia shrieked as she saw my face. “You’re supposed to be denying it.”
“Wouldn’t that make it more believable?” I asked innocently. “Plus, I think she knows-”
“JASON! Stop giving people the wrong idea!”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Yes, Treia, what are you implying exactly?” her mother asked, raising an eyebrow.
“WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!”
~~~
I leaned back as I watched Mia make food disappear down her throat, Xaila giving her a surprised look. I looked over to her and grinned.
“Don’t worry. She’s still a growing Dragon. She’ll get worse,” I said, patting my Bond’s head, eliciting a happy warble as she shoved down more bacon. “I need to teach her to eat her vegetables though,” I added, frowning as she avoided the salads.
Mia then glared up at me, sending me an image of her vaporizing the plates of salad with lightning. I shook my head and took a large bite of my salad just to spite her. She turned away and stuffed sausage into her mouth with a fork, which I’d had to teach her to use, nearly biting the fork itself. However, she still moved herself around in my lap, trying to get more comfortable.
“She’ll eat more?” Treia said, completely baffled. “How old is she?”
“Eight.”
Both of the sisters gave me a horrified look. I felt my grim fade.
“Uh, why does it feel like I broke some law?”
“Do you know how Evolution works?” Xaila asked, her voice deathly flat.
I tilted my head. “Nope. Wish to enlighten me?”
Their mother then snorted from the other side of the table. “His Dragon clearly hasn’t even gotten to her second Evolution yet. You two need to stop getting the wrong ideas.”
“But, then how does she have a human form? And she can keep it for an indefinite period of time, right? She has [Draconic Form]?” Treia asked
“Yep. She Bonded with me with the skill, though I think she only got it because she Bonded. I don’t understand what you two think I did to her- wait a moment,” I stopped myself. “How does a Dragon with a human form Evolve?”
“Evolution is based on deepening the Bond between two Bonded partners,” Treia and Xaila’s mom said, biting into a strange blue fruit. “Normally, the first two Evolutions, 0 - I and I - II, are trust based. Then, at Evolution II, they gain a human form. Most don’t commit to it, but the most common way for the Evolution to III is intercourse.”
I choked on my bread, nearly falling out of my chair. After nearly coughing it out and downing some Abyssal Waters, I exclaimed, “EXCUSE ME?!”
Xaila and Treia looked at one another. “You didn’t know?”
I gave them a glare. “Do you think I have some handbook like ‘An Idiot’s Guide to Bonds and Evolution’?”
Treia looked at me, bewildered. “Well, I assumed that you knew how Evolution worked since she had a human form!”
“I’m pretty sure I told you that our Bond was abrupt!”
“That doesn’t mean anything! You still could’ve had her for a while!”
“How though? She can’t even talk yet!”
Xaila looked between me and Treia with an annoyed expression. “Oh, quit your little lovers’ quarrel.”
We both glared at her. “Who invited you into this?” we both snapped, Xaila shrinking into her chair, muttering an apology.
The mother of the tree and xylophone looked on, mildly amused at me and Treia’s bickering. Mia, however, looked at the two of us, unimpressed and annoyed. After a few more seconds of me and Treia snapping at one another, she hit me on my horn with a fist and threw a chunk of ice at Treia.
I grabbed my throbbing horn and groaned as Treia laid on the floor, disoriented, her mom laughing in the background.
~~~
Pulling my cloak back on with my newly painted horns, I lifted Mia and walked out the door to the manor, in search of a guild to join. Remembering Treia’s suggestion, I began walking in the direction of the southern area of the city.
“You should think about joining the Dragon Keeper’s Guild. Other than the Valkyries, they’re one of the most powerful guilds out there, kind of the Travelers’ Guild,” she’d said. “I would bring you there myself, but…” she looked over to her not so happy mother. “Not a choice.”
Laughing under my breath, I lifted Mia up a bit higher so she could look around the city and continued on, ignoring the looks and questions I got from curious people about my Tier and Level.
Eventually, I could tell Mia had caught a familiar smell and let her jump off my shoulders, grab my hand, and lead me along giddily. However, she was distracted by some interesting food stalls and I got us some food with my quickly dwindling Crystal supplies. Avoiding my incoming money problem, we continued on until we reached a large building that Mia stared up at in awe.
I guess it’s her turn now, I thought to myself, looking down to my little Draconic Serpent.
***
Mia looked up at the large block of what looked like stone, trying to figure out why it smelled like Dragon and where the smell came from. She took a look up to her Bond, who shrugged, sending her emotions of encouragement.
She shivered before shifting into her Dragon Form and flying over the building, studying it carefully. She could tell this was some sort of test for Dragons, but what did it mean?
Landing in front of her Bond she watched him tap his fist against the wall, frowning.
“Interesting wall,” he muttered, though, of course, she had no clue what his language meant. She really needed to learn it. “Found anything?”
Using his emotions as a basis, she deduced that he was asking if she’s seen anything. She shook her head befores sniffing the wall.
She pulled her head back, snorting. It seemed like this particular wall had been touched often. She hit her forehead against it, causing a hollow thump. Looking at her Bond, he moved back before she slammed her tail against the wall, the thump reverberating throughout the entire building.
Confused at the lack of effect, she pushed out her Mana sense and realized something that she should’ve realized a while ago: the wall was filled with Mana. She looked at Jason, who was patting her scales as embarrassment filled her.
She lightly puffed frozen air at the wall and the wall began to crackle and move.
***
As the wall opened up to a wide hallway, Mia transformed back into her human form (Maybe I should call it her Humanoid Form) and settled into her spot in my arms, still embarrassed that she hadn’t noticed the Mana in the walls like I had at first.
Giving her a kiss on the forehead for her efforts, I walked through the opening, getting the feeling we were being watched, a suspicion confirmed when I tuned into Mia’s emotions. Confused, I looked down at Mia as she looked up at me, silent understanding passing through our momentary gaze.
As we kept walking, I realized the walls were completely bare, something I wouldn’t expect for a place like this, if what Treia said was to be taken into consideration.
Narrowing my eyes, I stopped in my tracks and took a moment to look around. Empty benches, quiet halls, indentations on the walls that didn’t have much to them. It kinda reminded me of the blankness of my Dreamscape.
Mia looked around with me, occasionally sticking her tongue out before remembering that she had a nose and sniffing instead. Eventually, we both looked up and I grinned at the giant Dragon staring down upon us.
It had many shades of blue, from cyan to such a dark blue that reminded me of the ocean. Its horns matched the blues, though its eyes were sea green. It had large wings, and I assumed they must spread out at around 50 yards across, each wing being nearly around half of that.
That was 25 of me stacked on top of one another! I thought, eliciting a giggle from Mia as that image formed in my head.
“Is this test over ye-” I started before the Dragon dropped from it’s - no, his perch, landing in front of us in a human form, giving me a quizzical look.
He had a much smaller pair of wings on his back, though they were still large. His horns were, unlike Mia’s, pointed upwards as they went back. His eyes were the same as they were in his Dragon form. He had dark skin, like he stood in the sun for hours on end.
“No. Your test is not over, Keeper,” he said, his voice deep.
“Then why did you call me a keeper if my test hasn’t been completed?”
He blinked before scowling. “That’s not the point-”
“So, I’m done and I’m considered a Keeper or is anyone who walks into her considered a Keeper?”
His eye twitched. “Do you like spouting nonsense?” he snapped, his glare boring into me.
“Yes.”
He froze in place, searching my face for any sign of a joke. Then he sighed. “Are you going to talk the entire time we battle?”
“Yes, why wouldn’t I?” I asked.
“Then let us battle!” he roared, shifting into a Dragon and shooting into our direction.
I grinned and let go of Mia.
***
Jasmine hugged her pillow, trying to imagine it as her Prince, Jason. Letting out a whimper, she curled herself into a ball, her horns pressing into another pillow, nearly stabbing through it.
She understood the reasoning of him running away. He didn’t want his friend or his Dragon to live in the Abyss forever, which was entirely possible since Abyssals had a very long lifespan, even without Leveling and could live for nearly five hundred years at base. Without her aging pill, she could live for nearly four thousand years.
With a sigh, she finally sat up and looked out her window to the destroyed Kingdom that was currently under repair.
Jasmine wondered how much longer they’d have to be in the Abyss. She hoped Jason could make a change.
***
Leah took a breath as she finally finished sorting out her thoughts. She’d been trying to come up with a plan to take down the Valkyries from the inside and had finally come to a realization: she’d have to join the people who wanted to kill her best friend-
No… why does friend seem too weak of a description for Jason? Leah thought. He’s definitely not my boyfriend, though he still owes me that date. Arg, this is like a one-sided relationship and I’m fighting a damn snake for it.
Leah then sighed. I care about him and he cares about me. That’s more than I should tell myself, but it is good enough for me.
Hernanda cleared her throat and gave Leah an annoyed look.
“Oh, what’s happening?” Leah asked, getting a series of sighs from across the table.
“Really, Demigod?” Hernada said, shaking her head. “You can get lost in your thoughts later. Come on and pay attention.
She’s right, Leah thought, nodding. I can think about my emotional crisis later.