“O mighty dragon! Show yourself! We will not leave until you appear before us!” Meyara shouted while avoiding the rain of fire which was still falling quite heavily. A ball of fire passed very close to her arm, burning the hem of her shirt which she immediately patted until it extinguished. “Adriel, can you look for something in our bags? Maybe the Chief has prepared something for us for this situation!”

"That's not possible!" Adriel said, panting from exhaustion. “Based on the travel paths we’ve discussed, we’re not supposed to be here. So the Chief couldn't have known that we would be facing a dragon!”

The road they were on was increasingly uphill, so that when Meyara avoided one of the fireballs by jerking her body to the side, she was unable to maintain her balance and fell backwards. Her body rolled uncontrollably, the rustle of dry leaves, the sound of her body colliding with rocks sticking out of the ground filled her ears, while she could only protect her head from the impact.

Panicking, Adriel couldn't think of a way to protect Meyara, so he could only see the girl rolling around while being hit by a shower of blue fire. When Meyara finally stopped rolling, Adriel approached the girl while spreading healing potions and casting the necessary spells.

“This sucks!” Meyara groaned as she finally got back up with Adriel’s arm supporting her back. “I already knew that this journey wouldn’t be easy. But at this rate, I might never get to meet the Queen!”

Meyara dropped her body in resignation, sitting on the ground still shaking in pain from the heat of the dragon fire. As if mocking her suffering and despair, the dragon's flames no longer touched her and only formed a circle around her and Adriel. She laughed dryly. Maybe the dragon had changed plans, from burning them alive to killing them slowly with the searing heat of the smoke.

On the other hand, Adriel had lost his mind. The panic that took over him made him almost empty all his supplies to find the best potion. Several vials rolled over and broke on the rocks. Colorful steam rose from the poor concoction, but its beauty was overshadowed by the horror that permeated the atmosphere.

Just then the dragon shadow appeared again. Meyara and Adriel felt its presence at the same time. Their bodies tensed, preparing to face the creature that might claim their lives right then and there.

However, no amount of preparation was able to reduce the fear that overwhelmed them when the dragon actually appeared before their eyes.

As Meyara expected, just by looking at its shadow, the dragon was indeed worthy of the title of the most admired creature. It stands tall in its splendor. Even though they are folded, the wings still look majestic with their sparkling scales. The sharp horn that previously seemed to cut through the air now seemed powerful enough to split the world. Let's say Meyara was exaggerating, but she swore she saw the tips of its horns emit lightning that dispelled the black clouds above.

"Woah," was the only word that came out of Meyara's mouth. Every breath left her lungs after she made eye contact with a creature she could only imagine before.

The dragon's pupils were pointed and glowing yellow. Meyara seemed hypnotized and would lose focus if Adriel didn't hold her hand tightly.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"You said, I'm just a victim?"

It was unclear where the sound came from. Neither Meyara, Adriel, nor the dragon opened their mouths. But Meyara was sure that the dragon was talking to her, it felt like the dragon was directly telepathic with her thoughts.

“D-did you hear that?” Adriel asked in a trembling voice. Apparently, Meyara wasn't the only one who heard the dragon's voice. “I thought someone had just sung a song I didn't know, but the more I thought about it, it wasn't the lyrics of the song, but a question for you.”

Instantly, the smell of smoke around them changed. No longer suffocating, but more calming like the aroma of dried herbs. The sharp smell of Adriel's broken potion was even less than the aroma. Fine dust and ashes flew up, as the flames around them were extinguished.

“You keep saying things I've never heard before in my life. And that's saying something considering I’ve been living for the longest time.” The voice that sounded like singing came back. This time Meyara was completely sure that the dragon was talking to them, without even opening its big mouth.

“W-what did you hear?” Meyara asked while grimacing in pain. It seemed that the wounds and bruises she suffered were not as light as she had thought.

“All the voices in this village come to me. I also heard what you said to the villagers, little girl. You’re fearless."

Meyara was stunned to hear that. "That’s absolutely not true."

Was she praised by a dragon? It felt strange, she couldn't feel happy or proud. Moreover, she didn't remember anything she had ever said to the residents of Glimmerwall that could have made the dragon come to her without a murderous aura.

Meanwhile, Adriel still couldn't get over his shock completely. He sat limply with his eyes not blinking even for once. The majesty of the dragon's figure had slowly hypnotized him, down to his deepest subconscious.

The young man's reaction was the most natural reaction a human should show. Meyara was really surprised, how could she act calm like this? Until her nose smelled the herbs again. Dragon had done something to calm her nerves.

"Because I admire your determination that allowed you to stay alive after meeting me, I will tell you what you might need if you really want to meet the Queen." The dragon moved gracefully. Swinging gently as if blending with the night breeze. One moment, the moonlight illuminated its face which no longer looked scary to Meyara.

"What's that?" Meyara whispered her question. Still amazed by this rare situation.

“The Queen always chooses her Imogen from the best citizens of a particular region.”

“I-Imogen?”

"That's right. The last Imogen chosen was the one who also came to me to ask for good luck. In the eyes of the world, she had died being sacrificed to the Dragon. But in fact, she lived to serve the Queen by throwing away her real name. Come to her residence in Earthhill."

Meyara immediately became lost in thought. Struggling to catch every word the dragon had said. She was still confused as to why this dragon wanted to help her. In the midst of a whirl of confusion, Meyara accidentally touched one of the remaining flames which was the size of a child's fist. The color is no longer blue but bright orange. It was clear that one of her fingers had been swallowed by the fire, but Meyara didn't feel burned at all.

It was strange. Being near the dragon's fire had made her feel hot all over, even the fabric of her clothes had burned by the fire. But touching it directly did not feel hurt in the slightest. What was the dragon's true intention?

The dragon was still looking at her silently. Meyara was almost certain that there were feelings of longing and melancholy in its gaze, but she immediately dismissed that impossible thought. The dragon also said something about Adriel, about the friendship between Meyara and him, but Meyara’s focus had not fully returned to grasp all that.

The huge rumble sounded again. The dragon immediately flew, cut through the night without saying goodbye. Leaving Meyara slowly lying with her eyes closed next to Adriel.

***