Snow woke up to find herself in her room, which didn't seem to be destroyed for some reason. She lay in her bed, her entire body aching and exhausted. She felt something warm and soft wrapped around her, which she found to be Crystal on turning, her arms wrapped around Snow as she slept beside her. Worry could be clear seen in the girl's sleeping face, and trails of tears before falling asleep. As Snow became more aware of her surroundings a sense of confusion started to set in, it surely didn't feel like a dream, largely due to the pain, but her room appeared to be intact, and though in pain did not feel dead, although she did not know how that would feel.
She slowly got up and out of the bed, not disturbing Crystal. She checked herself in the mirror, finding her body to be covered in bandages, one on her nose, one on the right side of her face, both her arms and legs being completely wrapped with her waist having a bandage wrapped around it too. She felt certain some of her bones were still broken from his punch, which she did feel as she walked around, though being a dragon she could almost shrug it off. She expected to find Alan simply sitting on the chair, waiting for her to wake up and notice him so he could continue a sinister speech, though that did not happen.
To think of it, how long have I even been asleep? Snow wondered as she looked around.
Not being sure how long she had been unconscious for she decided to go check outside, the moon specifically to find out its shape. The night before the she fought him, the moon seemed to be waning, slightly more than a half moon. When she stepped outside she found the moon to be smaller, barely a crescent remaining.
She figured Alan would be strong in physical combat, and her endurance isn't all that great, but still, she found it hard to believe his attacks were strong enough to make her unconscious for this long. He surpassed her expectations in every possible way. She realised she needed to be more careful going ahead, or kill him in his sleep, a cheap trick, but to kill a monster who would probably want to silence her, she found herself more than willing to put her pride to the side, and it just so happened to be night time.
"You weren't planning on doing something tonight, were you?" Someone asked from behind her. She didn't need to turn around to know who stood behind her, she could recognize the nearly emotionless evil voice easily. "Well, too bad, I am not asleep for you to be able to do anything, neither are you in any condition to stand a chance in a fight."
It didn't require him saying that for her to know. Though she found herself to not be affected all that much from her broken bones at first, the pain slowly increased as she moved around, having increased to the point of barely allowing her to walk. Fighting against him in this condition seemed like a death wish, more so when she couldn't even do anything to him at her best.
"Fine, do whatever you want, kill me if you want to," Snow scoffed.
He simply scoffed before giving her a somewhat sinister smile as he started walking towards her. She felt certain this would be as far as she got. She thought with her ice abilities she would be able to win any battle, but everyone here seemed on a whole different level compared to anyone she has fought before. She closed her eyes, giving up with a sigh as she resigned herself to fate.
When he got close to her, he wrapped his arms around her, picking her up and walking towards the dorms. Snow stared into the distance in shock, her brain unable to fully comprehend what just happened. She looked up towards him as they reached her room, his deep blue eyes looking kind to her for the first time. She didn't trust him, but still felt safe like that in his arms.
Alan went straight towards the bed and gently placed her on it, next to Crystal, still asleep. When he turned to leave, she grabbed his coat and tugged on it, though even she did not understand why. He let out a sigh and went to get the chair, placing the chair on her side, before sitting down.
"So, what did you want to know?" He inquired.
"Huh?" That made Snow confused. She simply wanted him to not leave for some reason, she hadn't wanted to know anything. Alan simply gave her his usual cold glare, followed shortly by another sigh as his body relaxed.
"You don't mean you are falling for someone who nearly killed you the last time you were awake." He mumbled as he placed his hand on his face.
Snow's eyes widened as she realised it. She didn't consider it as falling for him, but hearing something like that from someone she couldn't help blushing. She buried her face in her hands, pulling her legs close and curling up.
He let out another sigh before continuing. "I am willing to tell you anything you want to know, about me, or my goals, I won't lie so rest assured," Alan offered.
That made her look up with unexplainable joy. She understood he wanted to tell her everything, but she still didn't know how much she could trust him, even though she wanted to. She did understand that meant she was indeed, falling for someone who nearly killed her.
"What are you?" She questioned, not being able to help her curiosity, though she knew he wouldn't answer. This question settled in her mind when she found him to not be a Dark Wyvern, though she still did not know what species he belonged to.
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"Have you ever heard of an Excalius Dragon?" He inquired after some thinking. She has never heard of it, to her it sounded like a name an adventurer would give to their sword, a strange name for a species of dragons. "Well, I don't know everything either," he continued, "from what I do know, it's a species that is supposedly extinct."
She still felt unsure how an entire species, of drakes nonetheless, could be completely hidden for so long they were considered extinct. Species of monsters and drakes are only considered extinct if no contact has been made for a millennia, and he didn't seem to be lying.
"Another question," She asked after some thinking. "If you are from a supposedly extinct species, shouldn't you be trying to stay hidden instead of trying to become the demon lord."
"That is true, but, I know the extinction of my species is somehow related to this place, probably the being that lived here, and so I am trying to find answers." He answered with a shrug.
It did seem reasonable to her. If the rest of her species somehow went extinct, she would be trying to find answers as well. "Did you add the two of us to your team because we can be useful to you somehow?" This happened to be another question that came to her mind, though just now. It would make sense to her if he did.
"No, bot you at the very least." He replied without hesitation.
She sort of wished he didn't just see her as someone he could use and then throw away, but she didn't like the fact that she was useless to him either.
"What are you going to be doing now?" She asked her final question. Not that he gave her a limit for how many she can ask, but she didn't have anything else she wanted to know.
"Wait for two moon cycles now, for that time I will be continuing my search for artifacts. After that, help you get stronger and prepare for the final exam, which I will be doing for three moon cycles, which is till the final exam." He answered with a smile.
Snow did not expect that. She believed he would be going to continue with his mission, but he actually decided to help her instead. She couldn't help her excitement, or attempting to give him a hug, which made the two fall to the ground, Snow's arms wrapped tightly around Alan. The happiness was enough for her to not let go of him even though the fall did hurt. He sighed, hugging her back as he patted her on the head, lifting her up and laying her back on the bed to rest, leaving right after.
When he left she realized that Crystal seemed waking up, the noise of them falling probably having been the cause. She rubbed her eyes, saw Snow to be awake and froze there for a moment. After a moment Crystal gave Snow the same treatment Snow gave Alan, the good thing being they didn't fall, it still hurt a bit due to the broken bones, but Snow found the softness of the Blood Wolf to be enough to not push her back.
Suddenly she felt an ominous presence in her room, the light of one side of her room being turned off by itself, the outline of a dark figure barely visible in the darkness. It made both Snow and Crystal jump, looking fairly frightening. It scared Crystal enough for her to hide under the covers as Snow kept staring straight at the figure.
"Its good news you are awake now, Snow." The dark figure mumbled in a cold whisper. She thought to have heard that voice before, though she found it hard to recognise in such a scenario. "I believe you remember the one because of whom you have been able to become what you are."
Snow trembled on hearing that, remembering the voice now, finding it hard to believe she did not instantly recognise it. She placed one hand over Crystal's covered head, slightly bowing as she did. "What might bring you here today, master?" Snow felt Crystal's ears perk up on hearing that, though she did not know the reason behind it. Snow gently patted her on the head, attempting to convince her to stay inside.
"The reason for my visit is to ask you a question," he informed in a chilly tone of voice, attempting to scare her, and it seemed to be working, on Crystal a lot more as compared to Snow however. "What are you planning on doing now? You have been out for so long, do you not plan on taking your revenge on him."
His words and the way he said them made her skin crawl and hair stand on end. It seemed clear to her what he meant by it, to kill Alan. She nodded and again slightly bowed. When she looked up the figure seemed to be gone and the lights back on. Crystal slowly emerged from the covers and looked at Snow with a question in her eyes. She made a low growling sound, though that did not help Snow understand that question.
Snow simply gave her a hug. "Don't worry, I won't make the wrong choice, not again."
Even for the little girl it appeared clear as day that Snow carried some past trauma related to that figure. Crystal's eyes were thin-lined, narrowed at the one she believed to be an enemy. Blood wolves possessed night vision, and hence, Crystal could clearly see the figure Snow only saw a dark outline of. She also memorized the scent, determined on not letting that guy get away with threatening the lives of both her friends.
Outside the dorm areas Alan looked towards the sky. "Just how are you connected to all this, 'headmaster'."
He held an artifact in his hand, a compass, it's arrow spinning around and around for a moment, pointing towards the center of the academy after a few moments. "Seems like you are out of her dorm now, I hope you will be out of her life just as easily, you won't be needed by me." He mumbled to himself with a wry smile.
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"Great, great," The voice laughed, "It's finally starting to get interesting, no one even suspected it to be me that made her wake up at such a perfect time. Just when that guy was out there figuring what the compass points towards. The perfect time to bring her 'master' to his attention, all according to plan. I really wish to know what you will do knowing that she is just a puppet, or after finding out her past even more so, and I would certainly like to know about yours too. How did an Excalius Dragon even survive this late? Not knowing that bothers me, but I will soon find that out too. I hope you are ready my friend, things are going to get more dangerous now, for you mostly because you are on the surface. Let's see, will they successfully stop us? Or will the heroes- I mean, demon lords, of this era perish to my hands? Interesting, right?"
She listened closely to this friend of hers for a while, no sound being made by either. "No, there is no need for you to do anything for now, you have done your part a while ago, now just let it all unfold, no requirement to put yourself in more danger than necessary.