My plans of “taking a breather” ended up being a very nice change of pace. I’m not sure exactly how long it’s been since I last left my family. If I’m going to be honest, I haven’t really kept track of time. If I were to guess I’d say it’s been a year, but that’s just guessing. Me and my siblings did have our birthdays, so I suppose dad and mother had kept track. It has been some time since we did though.

There wasn’t really anything of note throughout the year. My siblings had their first flight though, and I even helped showing them the ropes. Aside from that we had a run-in with some human hunters prowling around in our woods. I was alone when I found them, so I just told them to never return or risk being killed.

I stopped reminiscing on the past and looked out over the horizon. I was lying on the mountain peak, just enjoying the fresh air. I looked down into the forest, trying to see if I could spot anything through the canopies. I did actually spot something, there was a clearing a little to the right were a pair of elk appeared to be feeding on some shrubbery.

My gaze panned around the peaceful forest until I spotted something very peculiar poking out of one of the treetops. If my vision didn’t betray me, I’d swear I saw a halberd for a second.

I immediately perked up, but just as quickly as it appeared the halberd disappeared into the leaves once again. Humans?

I immediately got up from the floor and stood at the cliff edge. I extended my wings, jumping off. The spot where I saw the weapon was not far, and I dived down at a near-45° angle.

I stopped a mere meter from the trees, hovering in the air for a few seconds before I let gravity take its toll once more. Oh, I probably forgot to mention that I can manipulate the force of gravity for short periods at a time. I hit the underbrush with a thud, crouching down so I could see trough the tree stumps. My dragon form had become rather large over the past year, so fitting in here was not easy.

I didn’t spot anything through the thicket, and I soon gave up on keeping my size. I transformed into my humanoid form instead, becoming much more flexible than before. I looked once more, trying to find where the halberd might be when I spotted it. A small party of humans were standing a couple meters from me, and they appeared to be in some sort of shock.

It didn’t look like they had spotted me yet, so I decided to keep it that way. I moved around the little group, surveying everyone in it. As I was changing angles I eventually came to a spot where the sun reflected off something, but it wasn’t the armor of the humans. The flash was very brief, so I returned to where it had happened and I spotted what it was. There was a transparent, mirror-like orb next to the group, looking about the size of a person.

Maybe this was some kind of advanced stealth spell. I decided to keep to the shadows for now and just observe. The group consisted of 3 halberdiers who were wearing plate armor, one archer and what looked like a mage. The weird sphere also looked to be a part of the group, but I couldn’t discern whom it housed. Not yet anyway.

Eventually the group seemed to calm down, and the archer went to where the sphere was and seemingly walked into it. He disappeared from my view, but after a few seconds he stepped out again with another person. The new person was clad in a comedically oversized cloak which made it impossible for me to see their face or anything beside the gigantic piece of fabric.

The new person spoke. “Did you find out what made the noise?”

The magician shook his head. “No, my liege. We assume it might have been one of the dragons landing in the forest somewhere.”

The cloaked individual then removed his hood, and I finally had a chance to look at their face and head. They were a blonde individual, and their voice sounded masculine, so I assumed it to be a man. I also noticed he had a scar going across his left eye, but what caught my attention the most was what rested on top of his head. He was wearing a crown.

“Very well. We shall continue our search for the purple dragon.”

They were looking for me?! Why?

My form changed instinctually into that of my armored form. Luckily the armor isn’t made of metal, so I didn’t make any more sounds than before, but I felt much more protected.

A thought then occurred to me. Now that I am in humanoid form, the humans would probably not suspect me of being a dragon. At best, they’d just think I was a normal dragonborn and at worst they’d suspect I was a dragonoid. I thought about maybe revealing myself and tagging along to maybe learn why, exactly, they were looking for me.

As an extra safety precaution, I decided to change the color of void to a dark-red instead as to remove any resemblance to the purple dragon they were looking for. It has never been easy to change the color outside the dimension, but I’ve become better at it over time.

I then stepped out of the bushes, revealing myself to the group. They, unsurprisingly, held their weapons up toward me.

“Halt! Who are you?”

I raised my hands in surrender and spoke. “I heard some rumors there was a dragon hunt in progress. I’d like to help.”

The cloaked figure turned to face me. His hood was affixed so that you couldn’t see his upper face, but I could see his mouth.

“A dragonborn? I thought your kind had great respect for your ancestors. What compels you to join our search?”

Hm, interesting. “I’d like to see firsthand what a dragon looks like.”

The cloaked man’s face contorted into a smile. “Very well. I won’t say no to an extra blade.”

The halberdiers lowered- well, heightened their weapons and pointed them up into the sky once more. One of the three went to the cloaked figure, whispering something into their ear. I perked my ears, utilizing my naturally heightened sense of hearing to my advantage.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, my liege? They may be planning an assassination.”

The hooded figure must have been using magic to mask their words, because I could not hear their reply.

“Very well.”

The halberdier stepped back to his group, then faced me. “His majesty the prince has spoken. You may travel with us for now.”

“So, what do you plan on doing when you find the dragon?”

We had set up camp for the night and I sat beside the prince at a campfire. He was keeping an eye on a teapot boiling above the flames, but answered my question quickly regardless.

“My father asked me to personally talk to the beast, seeing as they have been open to diplomacy so far. He thought we might come to some sort of agreement regarding peace, as their kind- your ancestors- are known for their aggressive and reckless behavior. Many a city has fallen to the hellfire-enhanced breath of a fire dragon, I’m afraid.”

I nodded. I must cast aside my bias toward dragons for now and see this situation from the human’s perspective. I know a dragon would never attack at random, but the humans might not understand their reasoning. “That is very noble of you. Back in my hometown your kind is known as ruthless and disloyal, I’m glad you could prove these stereotypes wrong.”

The prince nodded before turning his attention to the teapot over the fire. It looked entirely the same, but he took it off the wood stick all the same.

“This tea is infused with water mana. It doesn’t typically boil, even when it is well beyond the boiling point of steel. You have to keep a keen eye, though, as overheating it leads to a very undesirable aftertaste.”

I was curious as to what this water mana tea might be and asked for a cup. He obliged, pouring some of the liquid into a cup before handing it to me. “I suppose saying it to a dragonborn such as you is unnecessary, but be careful regardless. It is very hot.”

I shrugged before taking a small sip of the liquid. The taste was rather peculiar, at first it was sickly sweet then it softened into a taste more resembling blueberries. It was actually rather nice, if a bit sweet.

The prince leant forward in intrigue. “What do you think?” he asked, looking at me with great anticipation.

I cleared my throat a little. “It’s… interesting.”

The prince let out a soft laugh. “Commoners like you don’t appreciate the finer things… I shouldn’t blame you though. It takes some getting used to.”

I was a little insulted that he called me a commoner, but I didn’t really think too much about it. Instead, I turned my face to the campfire, watching it crackle and burn.

I suddenly felt something cold touch my left shoulder, and I looked down to see what it was.

Did he really just put his hand on my shoulder?!

I turned to face the prince when I was faced with a pair of outstretched lips. What the fuck?! Who does he think I am?!

I immediately brought my fist up to the prince’s chin, uppercutting him. In my anger I forgot to hold my strength back and I felt his lower jaw almost immediately shatter as I hit it. There was a loud crack as the bone was pulverized, and being honest it was a miracle I didn’t completely rip his neck off in the blow. The force had to transfer somewhere though, so his body followed right along his head, flying into the air like some sort of crash-test dummy.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

I immediately regretted my actions. That was a severe overreaction.

I stood up from the floor before kicking off the ground while I temporarily lowered gravity to aid my launch. I flew perpendicularly to the prince, eventually reaching the apex of his launch before I caught his unconscious body in my arms. He might be a dick, but he is my only chance to resolve this situation diplomatically. Sure, dragons beat the humans in power, but they have the numbers.

I fell toward the floor carefully, hitting the grassy ground with a soft thud. I didn’t know any healing spells, so the best I could do to mend the princes’ broken jaw was wrap some bandage around it. Luckily it seems there was no bleeding, only the bone itself shattered. There was a silk bedroll next to the campfire which I presumed to be the princes. I laid his body down on the soft material, then looked around camp for my own. I remembered I didn’t bring any, so I instead resorted to flying up into a tree and lying down on one of the branches.

It is the first time I've tried to sleep in a tree, actually. It was surprisingly comfortable, much to my surprise.

It didn’t take very long for me to fall asleep, even while thinking about what I'd just done to the prince. I simply didn’t care about the consequences, to be honest.

I woke up to a rather childish scream, and I immediately knew what the source was. The prince was lying beside the extinguished campfire, just completely bawling his eyes out. It was rather annoying to be honest. A grown man, crying like a baby. I suppose he did have a good reason to do so though...

I glided down to the ground and touched down a fair meter from the man-child, bending down over him to assess the situation. “Good morning, your highness. How’s the chin?”

The prince stopped his incessant screaming for a moment, pointing at me. “You… Demon! How dare you lay hands on the prince of Avyllon? You should feel sham-“

I wrapped my hand around the man’s neck, lifting him off the ground. “Listen, prince. How about you keep this little incident under the radar, ok? Else I might consider breaking the rest of your bones as well.”

The prince audibly gulped while wincing in pain from my hand touching his broken jaw. I dropped him to the ground, where he whined like a hurt dog before standing upright again. “Okay, okay, I get it…”

It didn’t take long for the small party to be ready for travel once more. I kept a keen eye on the prince in case he did anything, but I suppose my threat must have pierced through his thick skull. He kept his mouth shut, even though it was swollen and red.

The party wizard eventually caught wind of the situation and healed the prince some time later into our journey, much to the prince’s delight. we eventually came across something rather peculiar: a small hill in the forest floor. Apparently it must have been what we were looking for this entire time, because the scout immediately perked up upon spotting it.

We stopped for a moment and planned our approach. According to the party, the dragon would be residing inside the mountain. Little did they know the dragon in question was right alongside them…

I decided to humor them and followed along their plan. The prince would remain out here- the coward that he was- and the halberdiers would take point.

I felt a subtle pull originating from the cave, and I immediately was put on-edge. Was there actually a dragon inside this cave? I thought this would just be a dead-end but it turns out that their intel might actually hold water…

I immediately realized that if I could feel the dragon, it meant that it could feel my presence as well. I wasn’t really that worried about it though- no dragon can harm me after all. I was more worried that the dragon would be on-edge and that meant that it might instantly scorch the first humanoids it saw.

I didn’t really worry about the fact that the humans would die though. They could all bite the big one for all I cared- I just wanted to find out who this dragon was. They had not shown up on the war map after all, so they must either be very powerful or have very powerful magic on their side.

Either way it was a creature I wanted on my side.

Sure enough, as soon as the halberdiers reached the cave entrance a brilliant flash of green flame engulfed the entire opening. The halberdiers stood no chance against the superheated flames and as soon as the flames stopped, there were only some plate armor remaining on the ground.

I hesitated for a moment, before I finally turned my head around the cave edge. I didn’t immediately see anything out of the ordinary before i came face-to-face with two fiery green eyes in the darkness.

The eyes were filled with confusion, but also respect. I didn’t want to break eye contact just yet, so while keeping my gaze locked with its I stepped into the cave opening entirely.

The dragon seemed to be entirely speechless and after a while it spoke. “Y-you…”

I crossed my hands in front of my chest, waiting in anticipation for what the dragon would say next.

“I’ve… You’re…” The dragon seemed to be entirely speechless. “Queen.”

I gave a quick, small nod. “I am the dragon queen, yes.”

The dragon’s eyes blinked quickly before it turned away from my gaze. “Get away. Whatever you want to discuss, I don’t want to hear it.”

I raised one of my eyebrows in confusion. I looked back to see if the other humans were still behind me. Shocker, they booked it. The only person who remained outside the cave was the prince who looked like a scared little child.

I looked back into the darkness before sharpening my gaze and gaining night vision. I could now see the dragon in its entirety- it was much, much bigger than any I had seen so far. Its skin was green, almost glistening like as if their scales themselves were made of emeralds. The underbelly and lower neck of the dragon, from what I could see, was black and almost looked like it was made of pure darkness.

This dragon was not what it gave itself out to be. I looked down at the charred armor left by the halberdiers, realizing that the bodies were entirely gone. Bones and all.

I took a moment to think, before the realization finally dawned on me. “You’re a demon, aren't you? You’re just using your full power to take the shape of a dragon.”

The dragon’s eyes immediately snapped to mine at my words, now filled with anger. “How did you know?! The secret is closely guarded…”

The dragon’s eyes wandered back into the darkness and it appeared to be in thought. “Unless…”

Its eyes widened as it looked back at me. “You were there, weren’t you? You were the one who separated the first demon lord from god.”

I smirked, knowing that the “dragon” in front of me finally realized who I was. “That’s right. That would make you Andras, correct? Demon lord of the underworld.”

The demon scoffed, finally accepting defeat. “Okay, you got me. I am the demon lord.”

The dragon suddenly started to shrink in size. I kept my gaze firmly fixated on the demon’s transformation before it suddenly stopped, now looking more humanoid. The demon standing before me was on fire- burning with the same green flame it had just used to char the halberdiers. Its skin was black, almost looking like a liquid.

“There. You happy now?”

I looked to my side, spotting the prince once more before laughing. “Demon, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

The prince’s eyes immediately widened and he started trying to run away- but it was no use. I clenched my hand, making a bubble around the prince with no gravity before pulling him over to me. “Prince, Andras. Andras, Prince.”

The prince looked like he was going to piss his pants and nervously looked at the burning figure in front of me. “H-hello…”

Andras didn’t seem convinced and raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “Why is he here?”

I dropped the human back to the ground before increasing gravity on his feet so he couldn’t walk away. “He was here on a mission to solve a dragon issue diplomatically, isn’t that right?”

The prince tried to move but quickly realized that it was going nowhere before finally caving in to the situation, realizing his powerlessness. “Yes… that is true.”

I nodded. “You were here to talk to a purple dragon, isn’t that right?”

The prince nodded again. “Yes…”

I mockingly spun my hands around the cave, pointing at nothing in particular. “Well, I don’t see any purple dragons here.” I mockingly brought my hand up to my mouth, ghasping. “Unless…”

I snapped my fingers, instantly transforming into my dragon form and changing the color of void back to purple. “Unless she was right in front of you all along.”

The demon had taken us to his castle in the hells. There was a meeting room there where he promised we could talk without any interruptions.

The dragon must have known I’d ran as soon as I got the chance, so the moment I sat down in the meeting chair the dragon shackled my body to the chair with crushing gravity.

“Now, prince, care to explain the issue you have with dragonkind?”

For the first time in my life, I felt humbled. There was nothing I could do to change this situation for the better. Nothing at all.

I shakingly explained the situation to the dragon. There were rumors that a green dragon had been spotted in the skies, even burning down entire cities on occasion. I sighed, knowing fully well that the dragon in question was the demon lord now sitting right across from me at the table.

The purple dragon chuckled slightly. “And how does his highness intend to rectify this?”

I shakingly answered the question. “T-The king proposed a truce. W-We do not attack you; you do not attack us.”

The demon sitting across from me at the table didn’t seem too happy with the proposal, only closing his eyes in dissatisfaction. The purple dragon caught wind of this, asking him to speak his thoughts.

“I need to kill to survive. Ever since I was split from that fusion, it has taken an unusual number of souls to keep my physical form intact.”

I knew nothing I could say would better the situation, so I only kept quiet for now. The purple dragon put a hand on her chin, before she spoke. “Propose to your king a truce. We get a sacrifice of-“ she stopped, giving the demon time to speak. ““Ten human sacrifices a week.” The demon added. The purple dragon then continued. “-Ten humans a week, and we spare you. How does that sound?”

I nodded quietly. If I disagreed, God knows what would befall me.

The purple dragon smiled warmly, clapping her hands together. “That settles it then!”

The demon lord opened a portal to the living realm once more, and the dragon floated me up into the air and I was helplessly thrown through the portal to the other side.

It has been a few days since we let the prince go. I decided to stay in Andras’ cave for now, as I felt there was more destiny had in store for us two.

I asked him how he was able to mask his existence from my map. “Well, since I am a demon and not actually a real dragon, I suppose this map of yours wasn’t able to pick up on my demonic energy. Maybe there was too much of it compared to my draconic aura- I don’t know.”

We laid on top of the small hill Andras called home. It was rather nice, I could even see my home mountain from this position. “I just can’t believe you lived here all this time without our knowledge. My dad knows this forest like the palm of his hand.”

Andras chuckled slightly. “At times it has been difficult to lay low, but being a demon has its perks.”

I looked up at his looming dragon form. It was much, much bigger than I was, maybe 5 times bigger. “I take it your unusually big size also comes with the power…”

Andras looked down at me, remembering just how much bigger he was than me. “Well, you’re just a one-year-old hatchling and I am the most powerful demon of hell. It would be stranger if I wasn’t bigger than you.”

I felt a sort of connection to Andras. Sure, there was the family bond, but it almost felt as if there was something else too.

“Andras, have you been in a relationship before?”

The large dragon chuckled slightly, looking down at me. “No, I haven’t. Why do you ask?”

I looked at him again, slightly blushing. “Oh, nothing. I just wanted to ask.” I didn’t have the courage to admit my feelings just yet.

Andras looked out into the horizon with a hint of regret. “There was one woman who intrigued me, though. I never found the time to tell her how I felt and when she finally told me how she did, it was too late. She died shortly thereafter.”

I looked up at Andras in intrigue. “Oh? What was her name?”

Andras sighed slightly, looking down at his hand. “Heltana. She was the second strongest demon in the hells… but not anymore.”

I put my head against his belly, embracing the warmth. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Andras looked down at me with a smile. “It’s okay. She’s been dead for a long time.”

We both turned our attention to the sunset, watching as the sun glided slowly down beyond the mountains. We slept together that night. We didn’t do anything though, if that was what you thought.

Maybe someday.