Chapter Text
Dragon
The tavern he walked in smelled of old wood and alcohol. It was darkly lit due to the small windows and the candles on the walls barely gave off enough light to see every corner. Most people didn’t look twice at him, why would they? He was just another hunter, buying a drink and looking for an adventure. Some drunkards sat at the table, their noses and cheeks already red from their pints, and it wasn’t even noon yet. Knights in silver armored chains laughed at a table in the corner with their spears right next to them and played cards for money. At the bar were more people with swords and shields at their belts but they didn’t look like knights, more like other hunters just like Alfred.
Behind the bar hung a large black board with a lot of quests to hunt down criminals and monsters to kill. Alfred looked over them, trying to find the one quest he came for. The quests sounded good and seemed to have a decent reward, however the quest he wanted was far more dangerous and thrilling, which is why he craved it.
“Looking for an adventure?” The barkeeper asked. Her long black locks laid on her shoulders and she poured whiskey for a customer beside him. Alfred just grinned, grazing his eyes further, not stopping until he found his quest. “Bounty or monster hunter?” she asked with a raspy voice.
“Both, actually, but today I’m looking for a specific monster,” Alfred answered. He has scanned the black board twice already but hasn’t noticed the quest for his monster yet. Was it already finished, has he come too late for the hunt? What a pity.
“We got plenty in our forest. It’s a hunter's paradise as they say.” Some hunters beside him chuckled and she leaned at the bar towards Alfred. “I’ve never seen you before, what do you drink?”
“I’m traveling a lot. So, uh, I don’t see the monster on your black board.” If the mission was already done then there was no reason for him to stay. He’ll find a monster like that somewhere else if he had to.
“What kind of monster? The Cave Goblins? The Swamp Monster?”
“The Dragon.” The second, this word came out of his mouth, the tavern went quiet. Everyone looked at him like he was a madman which he kind of was if he was honest to himself.
A quite big and muscular man approached him from the side. He had been standing with the other hunters at the bar and the other hunters stepped aside to let him through. It seemed as if this man was a very important and known hunter in these parts of the land. The brown haired man looked like he was in his late 40s or maybe even in his 50s. Quite old for a hunter. Most hunters don't really get old, they get eaten, poisoned or killed rather than get old. Being this old and a hunter was astounding, he must have good skills. No wonder they parted when he approached Alfred, they had respect.
“I hope you’re not going alone after the Dragon?” he asked and leaned against the bar beside Alfred. He sounded curious and somewhat worried.
“Why not?”
“I wouldn’t do that. A Dragon is not a Griffin or a Badalisc. It is far more dangerous to approach it alone, no matter how skilled you are,” he said.
That might be true and maybe Alfred should’ve listened to a hunter who was more experienced than him but he was very confident in his skills and was sure he could take down a Dragon. Also, Dragon and Gorgon slayers were basically nobles under the hunters. They were highly skilled and respectable, and Alfred wanted to be one of them. “I know that. I have killed a Dragon before.”
“All alone?”
“Yes,” Alfred lied. He’s never fought a Dragon before actually but it wouldn’t stop him either. It was about time he fought one. Those creatures were living in the most deserted places and them coming down to any village was a rare thing. The reward for the Dragon should be very high, so high he could live off of it for a whole year. He wouldn’t share it with anyone. If he killed a Dragon alone, he'd be even more respected than that man.
“Not bad,” the man commented but his eyes didn’t believe him or at least he thought that Alfred exaggerated and only killed a baby Dragon.
“So, why is there no quest on that Dragon?” Alfred asked. “I’ve heard the Dragon has been here for less than two months, there’s no way it has already been taken care of.”
“The quest is hung up at the mayor's office,” the hunter said. “The mayor wants every hunter to sign their name on a list. Without your name on the list, there is no reward.”
“Everyone on that list is an honorable guest of the mayor,” the barkeeper said.
“Does that mean that I can come for a visit and eat cake with him?” Alfred joked but the face of the hunter was serious.
“It means that you get a proper funeral when you get killed by that monster. You die a hero.”
It didn't sound bad to die a hero but he’d rather live as a hero. “How many have died so far?”
“12.”
Alfred breathed out. “That’s quite a lot in this short amount of time. Must be a strong one.”
“You can join me and my troupe after you get your name on that list,” the hunter said. “We are going together. The more hunters, the better the chances of killing it and surviving. When we survive, we will have a feast with a lot of food and alcohol, and the ladies love heroes who saved their town."
“Thanks for the offer but no. I’m going alone.” Alfred gave him a smile and made his way towards the door. He wanted the reward all to himself.
“What is your name, boy?” the man called out to him.
He stopped and turned around. “Alfred. And you?”
“Romulus. Be careful, Alfred. Dragons are no ordinary monsters and your belief in your skills can be deceiving. You have time to think about it.” He raised his beer and his face softened. “Don’t forget, there's going to be a feast and ladies.”
“I know what I’m doing.” Alfred flashed them a smile again. “I’ll see you at the feast, when I bring the Dragon’s head to the mayor.” He chuckled and went off.
-
The forest swallowed the sunlight during midday and made it harder to navigate through it. No wonder these creatures loved to live here, it was perfect for hunting and breeding. That’s why Alfred had to be very careful, he didn’t want to stumble across any monster, especially the mothers who just laid their young ones. That’s a lesson he had to learn the hard way when he once stumbled across a nest with eggs and picked them up, thinking he could eat it. The Griffin did not play around with him.
Strange rustling sounds were heard nearby from the bush and Alfred held his sword tight in his hand, ready to strike if something attacked him. Nothing came out of the bush and Alfred left it as a possibly small animal.
The forest was quite thick and he had to push away branches and squeeze through dense bushes. The smell of something burning caught his attention. It smelled of herbs and was quite intense. In the thick of the trees he recognized fog coming. “Are you kidding me?” Alfred muttered to himself. There was no way someone was so stupid to make a fire in a dense forest like this with monsters around.
He walked towards the smoke to tell those people how dangerous their act was but when he pushed himself through a bush, he saw a house standing between the trees. It was covered in moss and the bricks looked quite old. The roof of the house was not from this part of the land, it looked like it belonged to an eastern country rather than into a forest like that. Even if it was a house that was probably abandoned by someone a long time ago, it was still dangerous to camp there and light up the air with intense smoke.
He stepped on the porch with only one step and a small brown fence. He knocked just in case if someone was still there, they wouldn’t be all too startled by him. When he knocked once, the door suddenly opened. It surprised him and he blinked but stepped over the doorway anyway. “Hello? Someone in here?” The room he saw was full of herbs and the stenching smell was even stronger than outside. It looked messy with all those herbs and pots around but the floor was clean. It didn’t look as abandoned as he thought it’d be. The door slammed behind him and he turned around in shock. Must be the wind.
When he turned around again, there was a man sitting on the floor at a low table. Around the table was a red carpet with golden embellishment and some pillows were neatly placed at the table. The man looked like he was from the eastern land just like everything in the room down to the table on the carpet.
“You’re here to find the Dragon, aren’t you?” he asked calmly.
“Uh, yes,” Alfred said, a little unsure about the man. “Have you seen it?”
“I’ve seen many Dragons. Some of them are my friends.”
What a weird man he was. “Do you live here?”
“In this house?” He lifted a cup and took a sip from his tea.
“I mean the forest. It’s not the safest place to live in and brew herbs and stuff.” Alfred scanned the room, taking small steps to move around, and looking at the pots and the herbs. There were too many things he didn’t recognize including strange things laying in glass pots in yellowish liquid.
“I don’t live in a forest. It only looks like it because you were in a forest.”
Alfred raised his brow and stood at the end of the carpet. “Are you a wizard?”
The man leaned on his hand. “How did you guess?”
“It’s obvious with the herbs, the potions,” Alfred said and mentioned with his hand towards the brewing pot on the stove which was bubbling the stench. “...being strange.”
“My name is Yao and I have something for you.” He stood up and opened a closet full with little glasses and small bags. He took one of the bags which fit perfectly into his hand and walked up to Alfred. “You will need this.”
“I don’t need anything from you.” Alfred shook his head. He has encountered a wizard once or twice at a market, and they didn’t look very promising to him. Cooking up potions, living alone where no one can see or find them. They only turn up once in a blue moon somewhere to either get something from the market or do something strange in the wild.
“People don’t come strolling to my house by accident. They can’t see or find me even if they want to. You came here because something led you here,” Yao explained.
“A Dragon.”
“Fate.” Yao stretched the bag out to Alfred. “I’m only seen by people who need my help. Facing a Dragon is dangerous. Take this.”
Alfred’s hand automatically took the bag. It was soft but with a distinct weight. “What will it do?”
“It will help you win. Throw the substance inside at the monster and it’ll get 20x weaker.”
Alfred let out a breathy laugh. “I think I can manage on my own.” He didn’t need another person to tell him that he wouldn't make it alive if he fought the Dragon all on his own.
“Then use it on any other monster you encounter if you want. Carrying something that can help you in a life or death situation is always wise.”
Alfred didn’t want to take this but he also couldn’t say no. A secret trump card was indeed good. “What do I owe you?”
“You carry beans, don’t you?” Yao went to a shelf to take out a small pot.
“Werry beans. I got them in the south from a farmer. He paid me with them.” When he first got them, Alfred was excited to eat them but they were disgusting and he regretted taking them instead of money. But what else was he supposed to do when the farmer had no money but needed help?
“I just need three beans, that’s enough,” he said and Alfred got them out of his travel pocket and handed them over.
“Here you go. They aren’t tasty though.”
“You use them wrong. They are rare and very important in medicine,” Yao explained, which made Alfred realize he could have sold them to a hospital if they were important to them.
He threw the sack in his hand once and put it into his travel bag. “Well, thanks for the, uh, potion.”
“It’s not a potion.” Yao put the beans on his shelf.
“I’ll be going then. I’ll slay the Dragon and be a hero.” Alfred grinned. “You’ll hear about me. Alfred the Dragon Slayer.”
“Good luck then,” Yao said and watched Alfred stroll out of the house.
When he took a couple of steps into the dense forest and turned around to the wizards house, the house was gone. As if it never was there in the beginning. Wizards were very strange.
Upon coming to the bottom of the mountain, he already heard the distant growl of the Dragon. It made him excited about the fight he was about to have, and he was more than confident that he’ll manage to slay one on his own. It was written in the stars.
-
Every footstep and turn was calculated, all to make sure the Dragon wouldn’t see him. If the Dragon would see him before Alfred, then it could end very dangerously for the hunter. The little stones on the rocky mountain made it quite difficult to be quiet though. Anytime he made a step, they rolled down the hill, chasing off some birds. The rocky mountain was no easy thing to climb, the climb was steep and there were little to no trees around to hang on to. The view from up there was marvelous though. The dark forest was bigger than Alfred anticipated and stretched itself into the vast land with no river or towns in sight.
When he passed a tight passage going around the hill while trying not to fall off the cliff, he went deeper into the mountain range. Around him were walls of mountains which blocked the sunlight. Some trees with grassy land grew beneath them and spread through the range, leaving a path.
Alfred suddenly stopped in his tracks when he heard a low growl in the distance. It echoed against the walls and with no real sense of where the monster could be, he had to hide. He climbed to some large stones laying at the edge of the wall and crouched behind them. In front of him was a wall of the mountain and to his left was a very small greenery with three trees.
Then he saw it.
The Dragon.
It came from the opposite path around a corner. The first thing Alfred noticed was the size of the beast. It wasn’t as large as he imagined, which was a good thing for the hunter. The second thing he noticed were the scales. They were dark green and could blend in with the forest down below. No wonder, no one was able to hunt him down, down there, he was practically invisible. The wings were closed and attached to the forelegs.
The Dragon was walking past Alfred and the hunter was making himself ready to attack the monster from behind. He crept quietly out of his hiding place and took out his sword. The blade brushed along the sword holder and made a clearing sound to which the Dragon suddenly stopped walking. Alfred cursed under his breath and his body froze in shock when big yellow eyes with a black split in the middle suddenly stared at him.
The hunter in the tavern was right about the Dragons. They were not normal monsters. There was something so sinister and dangerous in those eyes, that he knew in that moment he might actually die.
The Dragon breathed out steam out of his nose and swiftly turned his whole body around. Alfred lifted his shield just in time before the Dragon breathed fire out of his mouth right onto Alfred, trying to burn him. The fire was extremely hot, making the shield heat up. Even if his shield was big enough, he had to crouch down a little to make sure his whole body was behind it. But the flames flew onto his clothes nonetheless and caught on fire.
He had to run away as quickly as possible and hide behind the trees when the Dragon stopped attacking him with fire. Alfred slapped his right leg and his shoulder to put down the fire and thought of a new strategy. He had to. It was the Dragon’s first fire blast and Alfred already caught on fire.
The Dragon didn’t pause and followed Alfred to the trees to use his fire again and blasted it against them.
Alfred quickly rolled away into the smoke that rose up after the Dragon’s fire attack. When the Dragon hit his fire into the rocky mountain ground, the dust and smoke flew around and made it somewhat easier to escape. With the smoking trees, he could sneak up to the Dragon and attack him from behind.
It was a good tactic which Alfred immediately implemented. He ran through the smoke with his sword in hand towards the Dragon about to slay his side. However, the Dragon easily heard him and turned around, swinging his tail at the hunter and throwing Alfred against the ground many feet away.
Alfred grunted in pain and lifted his hand to the back of his head. When he looked back at his hand, it was bleeding. Not much but the fall had bruised him badly. “Shit..” he mumbled and heard the growl of the Dragon which got him back to his senses. There was no time to dwell on the pain, his life was at stake.
He stood up and grabbed his sword and shield which laid some feet away. He quickly climbed up the mountain wall to be at a good height. If he couldn’t come close to the Dragon then he had to slay him from afar. He took out his bow and arrow and pointed it right at the Dragon.
It took the Dragon a moment in all that falling smoke to notice Alfred on top of the wall. When he catched the hunter’s position, he growled at him before coming towards him.
Alfred set the poisoned arrow at the Dragon’s vital organ, the heart and shot. The arrow however bounced off the hard scales and fell to the ground without harming the Dragon in any way. “Are you kidding me?!” He tried another arrow at a different spot but it bounced off again.
The monster came closer, his head at Alfred’s height and about to blast another fire stream. Once again, Alfred had to think as fast as he could and change his strategy. He took out his blade and yelled before jumping on the monster’s head and holding onto its horns. That took the beast aback and it stopped its attack with the fire and stumbled backwards. Alfred held on tight but had to let go of his right hand which held the blade.
The Dragon tried to shake him off, making it harder for Alfred but he still managed to lift his hand and pierce the knife into the corner of the monster's eye. He tried to target the eye but the monster was moving too much and it only cut the outer corner. The Dragon's eye closed in pain and a light growl escaped the monster. A quick glance to the eye and the blade made Alfred realize that the Dragon was bleeding.
A beak of hope settled itself in Alfred and he was about to pierce the blade into his eye again but the Dragon was moving his head more frantically now and Alfred who was only holding on to its horn with one hand slipped and fell to the ground.
Alfred had no time to move or stand up when the Dragon’s claw pressed him into the ground. The hunter couldn’t move anymore, all of his limbs were pressed under the Dragon who was squishing him tighter into the ground, pressing the air out of his lungs. “I won’t die here…” Alfred muttered. He was so close to winning, so close. He had one last chance but he had to hurry.
His hand was trying hard to take the bag off his bundle and get it out of underneath the Dragon’s claw. When Alfred saw the steam coming out of the monster’s nose, he panicked and took all of his strength to take his arm out of the Dragon’s claw. He saw the fire in the monster’s throat when it opened its mouth, and quickly threw the bag into the large mouth of the beast, right at the moment when the Dragon released his fire at Alfred.
The substance in the bag and the fire met and it exploded in brown smoke above Alfred. The hunter closed his eyes and put his arm over his nose. Something that resembled ash fell down on the hunter which was oddly cold followed by a sudden change in body weight on top of him. He opened his eyes and the claw of the Dragon was gone.
The Dragon was gone.
He sat up and looked around while the brown ash and smoke settled around him. At last, he was alive.
Something in front of him was shifting and he stood up and pulled out his sword. The smoke and ash slowly vanished and Alfred looked upon something that didn’t look like a Dragon at all. In front of him on the ground was a human.
“What..?”
The Dragon? was on all fours and tried to stand up when it noticed human hands on its body. “HUH!?” It yelled out, startling Alfred with its human voice. “What have you done to me?!” The Dragon fell to the side and sat on his naked butt. It stared in horror at its hands and down at its new body. “You made me HUMAN!”
“Uh..” Alfred looked confused at the human on the ground who was panicking. “That’s not what was supposed to happen. Why are you a human?”
“You’re asking me, you wanker!? That is your fault!”
Alfred was taken aback when the Dragon shouted at him. That was also not something he expected. Getting shouted at by a Dragon in human form. “It was supposed to make you weak,” he said and watched as the Dragon tried to stand up on his two feet but he wobbled too much and fell to his knees.
“Humans are weak!”
The Dragon was balancing himself, if one can call it balancing, more like stumbling over his new limbs. Alfred put his sword down and watched him try to stand up and attack him again but he tripped over his feet and fell on his face. “No, stop. I can’t kill you like that. I need a Dragon.”
There was no way Alfred could kill the Dragon like this. He was a human now. Was he supposed to stroll into town with a human head and pronounce it as a Dragon? They’d laugh about him.
He opened his bag for a rope and tied the Dragon’s hands behind his back. The Dragon tried to turn his head and bite him but wasn’t successful. “What am I supposed to do with a human?”
“I got an idea, turn me back!”
“I don’t know how, and-and why can you talk?” Alfred asked.
“What do you mean, why can I talk?” He glared at him with green eyes, as dark as his scales.
Alfred shrugged. “You’re a Dragon, you’re not supposed to understand me or speak my language.”
“All beings talk, especially if you curse them to be a human, you dumbfuck!”
“That’s not nice,” Alfred said and stood up.
“I’m gonna show you what’s not nice.” The Dragon turned and tried to stand up but fell to his side and turned on his back to try again but he looked like a worm, making Alfred raise his eyebrow in amusement at his attempt of attacking him. “Come here, I’ll tear you apart!”
“You’re going to hurt yourself if you keep turning,” Alfred said, watching the Dragon roll around on those stones and bruising himself.
“Shut up!”
Alfred sighed, he really should’ve asked the wizard what that potion would do with him. If he knew he would’ve taken something else instead. It’s great that he was alive of course but he needed a Dragon to get his reward. “Right, I’ll take you to the wizard.”
“I’m not going anywhere!”
“Do you want to turn back into a Dragon or not? Look, I can’t fight you if you’re a human. I need a Dragon, and that means you’re coming with me.” He put his bag and weapons on the ground and took off his long brown cloak. He couldn’t let the Dragon parade around naked, it was too inappropriate even if the Dragon was used to being naked.
He put the cloak around the Dragon and closed the buttons. Alfred was close to the human’s head to which the Dragon quickly bit his ear. “Ow!” Alfred pulled back while the Dragon smiled slyly at his successful attempt of hurting the hunter. “That’s all you can do?” he asked rhetorically and the Dragon glared at him again. He pulled out a cloth out of his back and bound it around the Dragon’s mouth. “No biting, understood?”
The Dragon just glared at him with those sinister and dangerous eyes. He might be a human but those stayed the same.
Alfred lifted the Dragon on his shoulder after putting on his weapons and bag again. The way down was more difficult than going up. The Dragon struggled against him but Alfred held him tight. If the Dragon continued to struggle like this all the way, he’d just put him down on the ground and let him roll down the hills.
-
At last they made it down the mountain. The sun was already setting and barely visible through the trees. It seemed that Alfred had no other choice than to find a place to rest and continue his search for the wizard in the early morning. There was however one more problem when he looked back at the mountain and his surroundings, especially the forest. The forest wasn’t dense as previously and the sun could easily shine through the leaves and leave a beautiful golden shimmer.
“Damn, I think we’re on the other side of the mountain.” He sighed and moved the Dragon on his shoulder into place again. They’ve been walking for over 3 hours and for a long time the Dragon was struggling against Alfred and complaining with grunts but he seemed to have gotten tired and stopped. “We have to go around the mountain to find the wizard. It may take some time though. I want you to behave, alright?” Alfred asked the Dragon but when he didn’t answer, he threw him up and down on his shoulder to get an answer. “Alright?”
The Dragon grunted angrily.
Alfred smiled at his reaction. “I’ll take it as a yes.”
They walked further until Alfred spotted a town down the hill. He decided against walking into it with an angry naked human Dragon on his shoulder and placed the monster down at a tree. He stretched his back and yawned. It was such a difficult day with all the walking and climbing and fighting and he just wanted to relax. He didn’t think that killing the Dragon would take that long.
“You’ll stay here and I’ll put up a trap to catch a rabbit or a squirrel or something…” He looked around the forest, knowing he had to get started, as it was already dawning and he had yet to find branches for a fire. He scratched his head and twitched when he touched the wound on his head. It wasn't bleeding anymore but it still had to be treated. “Don’t move,” he said to the Dragon and went to find some branches for the fire and the trap.
It didn’t take long to find small branches while he was occasionally looking over at the Dragon to make sure that he was still there at the tree. Anytime Alfred looked over, the Dragon was giving him poisonous glares. The hunter feared if he might fall asleep the Dragon would kill him. That would be a fun sleepless night for Alfred.
When he was trying to make a fire by rubbing two sticks together with his back to the Dragon, he heard a branch crack and immediately turned around. But in that moment someone smacked him across his head with his own shield. The punch was hard and he fell to his side.
“Shit,” Alfred mumbled and held his nose in pain. He looked at his hand and saw blood to which he touched the new wound at his temple. He looked around and saw the empty place at the tree and a running (stumbling) Dragon in his long cloak. “Oh no, you don’t.” Alfred immediately stood up and ran after him, taking his sword and shield with him.
From afar he saw how the Dragon fell down the hill and rolled down to the town's edge. Alfred had to hurry until his naked butt would cross the streets. It might be late evening but there’s always someone outside patrolling.
He followed him down and was closing in as the Dragon ran into the town. There were some people walking during the dawn and closing their shops, and they parted in shock when they saw the half naked human running. Alfred catched up to him and tackled him to the ground. The Dragon was biting Alfred's hands, scratched his arms and reached to scratch his face.
“Stop struggling against me!” Alfred said and tried to find a new rope but to no success. He had to calm him down and carry him out of the town.
“Die, you filthy human!” the Dragon yelled and continued to hurt Alfred until Alfred was suddenly pushed back by three knights in chain armor.
Two of the knights took the Dragon by his arms while he tried to scratch them and hurt them too. The other knight took both of Alfred’s arms behind. “You are arrested and come with us.”
“Amazing…” Alfred mumbled and got led away.
-
“You realize we had to arrest you for public fighting, right?” The knight asked them as Alfred and the Dragon were seated in two separate cells to keep them apart from fighting.
The cells were small and out of wood. There were only two of them and a door which led to the post where the knights would sit. “Of course.” Alfred had been in a cell before, about once or twice while being on a bounty hunt. He’d sit there for one night and go again.
“Let me out!” The Dragon yelled and shook the metal bars like a maniac while biting them, trying to bite himself out of this situation.
At least Alfred could sleep and be sure that the Dragon wouldn’t escape from him.
Another knight came in and gave Alfred a bucket of water and a cloth for his wounds. It was about time to treat them, he didn’t want to die of an infection. Then, the knight threw in pants for the Dragon.
“Put them on.”
The Dragon didn’t listen of course and glared at the knight with a growl.
The other knight took the word. “You’re arrested for nudity and will only leave this place once you’re fully clothed, do you understand?”
The knight got a grunt as a response.
“Both of you will stay the night until you’re fully sober-” he looked back at the human who was biting the metal bar and pulling and shaking on them. “Or until you fully calm down.” With that both knights walked away.
The Dragon continued to shake on the bars while Alfred disinfected his wounds from his fights. The Dragon had bruises as well but Alfred doubted he’d know how to treat them and it was more likely that he would try to choke him with that cloth.
After a couple of minutes of failed attempt to bite through the bars the Dragon grumbled and picked up the pants, realising that getting dressed was his only option to get out of here.
Alfred watched him from his bench that stayed at the wall which was for sleeping with no pillow or blanket. He was amused as the Dragon took both ends of the pants and put one foot inside the hole. “You’re doing it wrong.”
“Don’t look at me.” The Dragon got his foot out and turned away but Alfred leaned forward and continued watching.
“You put one leg first and then the other.”
“Don’t tell me how it’s done, I know what I’m doing,” he hissed at the hunter and continued to put one foot into one hole and his other foot into the other, wearing the pants upside down. He picked up the other end with the bigger hole and looked confused at how to get it on his hips.
“You have to wear it the other way around,” Alfred commented with a slight chuckle.
The Dragon grunted annoyed and got out of the two holes and switched it. He proceeded to put his foot into the bigger hole, not entirely going through, followed by the other. But when he tried to pull up the pants, his feet stayed on the fabric which caused him to lose his balance and fall over.
Alfred laughed loudly, it was too good of a show. A Dragon in human form trying to wear pants.
“Don’t make that noise!” the Dragon shouted but Alfred didn’t stop. He quickly pulled the pants up to his hips on the floor and his feet slipped through the other end. “I told you to stop, you wanker!” He stood up, stumbling over to the bars which were between him and Alfred and reached over to the hunter trying to scratch him. “That’s all your fault! I have to wear pants because of you. I’ll scratch your eyes out!”
Alfred’s laugh calmed down to a light chuckle as he looked the Dragon up and down. Alas, he looked decent now with the pants and his cloak with the three first buttons closed. It exposed some of his stomach and his feet were naked but at least he looked like a normal person, more or less. “You should calm down. You’re not going to escape from here. Just be calm and if you behave we’ll get out of here.”
The Dragon growled and stepped backwards with a glare. If glances could kill, Alfred would be dead like seven times already. He proceeded to sit down on the floor instead of the bench and looked around.
“It’s ugly.”
“You have a sense of beauty?” Alfred asked, surprised.
The Dragon huffed. “Of course I do, but you don’t.”
“It’s a post for criminals and vandalisers, it’s not going to be pretty,” he said and looked through the door which was open a split. “I wonder if they’ll feed us…I guess they won’t. We’ll have to starve the whole night. Great.”
He didn’t want to go without food for a long period of time. It drained his energy and he needed loads of it especially if he wanted to kill the Dragon. He looked over to him and saw how he was tracing along his arm and touching his face. When he came to his hair and grabbed it, he shuddered.
“That’s disgusting. My beautiful scales are gone.” He brushed over his arms again and then around his torso and to his back. “I can’t even fly in this form. You have useless bodies.”
“They’re not useless,” Alfred defended himself and his human race from a spiteful Dragon. “If we had useless bodies, we would live in caves like Goblins with no society or towns.”
“Living in a cave is their society.” The Dragon grumbled. “You can’t know if they have towns in their caves or not.”
“They don’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Of course I know, I’ve seen cave Goblins before and been inside it,” Alfred said.
The Dragon raised his thick brow. “And were you deep inside the caves or did you just see bare gray stone walls and assume they live like that?”
“Uh…”
“Have you seen their feeding grounds or their sleeping place?”
That is something Alfred had not seen indeed. It never occurred to his mind to even look for anything like that. “That-”
“You’re not better than Goblins. You are arrogant and stinky, and stupid and full of yourselves. I can’t believe you turned me into one of you.” He breathed out and a little flame came out of his open mouth.
Alfred wanted to counter his argument but when he saw the flame coming out of his mouth and the Dragon’s eyes widening and shining, all he wanted to say was forgotten and he quickly sat up knowing what the Dragon might do next. “No, wait. Whatever you’re thinking about, it’s not a good idea. Don’t do that.”
The Dragon didn’t listen of course and stood up. With a roar, fire came blasting out of his mouth, catching onto the ceiling and the walls.
“You’re not fireproof!” Alfred stood up and jumped to the bar to get his attention. “You don’t have scales, your skin can burn! You will burn!”
The Dragon didn’t stop and continued to spit fire to which Alfred had to step back. The wall on his side was starting to burn and the ceiling above him was getting dark and was falling apart. The knights came rushing in and the leader immediately ordered them to get water. None of the knights opened the cells for them and Alfred panicked.
“Hey, hey! You can’t leave us here!”
The flames were all around them and it was getting hard to breathe. The wood from the ceiling and walls was falling off and the smoke was cramping inside the room. A piece of wood fell down on the Dragon’s arm and he flinched when he felt the burning hot fire.
“I told you not to do it! You have human skin, you will burn to death!” Alfred shouted at him and his stupidity. But what else was he supposed to expect from an animal who was human for the first time.
“Then I’ll burn! It’s better than being killed by humans!” he shouted back.
Alfred breathed harder with the little air that was left, even the Dragon had difficulties and sat back on the floor. The knights wouldn’t make it to save them and he would die inside a cell rather than in a battle.
The wall crumbled again and this time the wall on his side fell completely. Half of it fell to the ground and Alfred saw freedom, and air to breathe. He immediately ran out and breathed in the almost clear air. He coughed and looked back, the Dragon was still inside the cage. “Oh, come on,” Alfred said to himself, knowing he will get inside and save that ungrateful being.
He ran back inside, covering his mouth with his hand and seeing the Dragon surrounded by flames. There was no way to get inside other than breaking the bars. He shook the bars which were now loose from the fire. Burnt ceiling wood and fire flames were falling on him and he ducked to shield his face. The metal bars went loose and he threw them behind himself while he was getting dizzy from all the smoke.
The Dragon laid on the floor already passed out and Alfred pulled him up on his shoulder and ran out of the cell but the ceiling broke out above him. The flames hit his face and made him lose the Dragon and fall down himself. He couldn’t breathe anymore but with one last push from himself and all of his strength he stood up, took the Dragon into his arms and ran out.
The post station was at the edge of the town and he ran to the field beside it. His head was barely able to recognize anything and he couldn't breathe anymore and he fell to the grass with the Dragon. Before he passed out he saw someone coming their way but who, he had no idea.
-
When Alfred awoke it was day and birds were chirping in the trees above him.
“He’s waking up,” someone said and Alfred blinked. “Hey, are you alright?”
“I think so…” Alfred mumbled. His head hurt and his throat was dry. Nothing new then.
“Great to see you awake, Alfred.”
“Huh?” Alfred sat up, curious to know who knew his name but his eyes widened when he saw his old friend. ”Mathias!”
“Long time no see.” He grinned with his ever bright smile.
Alfred sighed in relief. “It’s so great to see you again! Why-why am I here with you?” He looked around, noticing them in a forest clearing with his other friend Lukas. They were at a little campfire which had already burnt.
“We found you by the burning building yesterday. I thought you were escaping from there knowing you, so I took you away instead of leaving you there. Here, drink something.” He gave him a bottle of water which Alfred gladly took.
“Thank you so much-wait-where-?”
“He didn’t wake up yet,” Lukas said and pointed to the lying body by the two horses behind their backs. “But we think he’s fine.”
The Dragon was lying on the grass with a thin blanket over him. His face was red and his chest was going up and down which relieved Alfred. “That’s good. I already thought he escaped me again.”
“Again? What are you doing with him?” Mathias asked curiously and leaned forward. “Is a bounty on him?”
Alfred wasn’t sure if he should tell him about the Dragon but on the other hand, Mathias was an old friend of his who he trusted on many occasions. There was a chance that he and Lukas could help him. “Can I tell you the truth?”
“We’ve been through a lot together, of course.” He smiled widely.
Alfred leaned forward. “He’s actually a Dragon.”
“A Dragon?” Mathias bright smile wavered and a surprised expression replaced the smile. He glanced over to Lukas who was as baffled as him.
“Yes, I was fighting him in the mountains and I got this thing from a wizard and I threw it at him and then he turned into a human,” Alfred explained.
“That’s not natural,” Lukas said.
“It is not.” Mathias shook his head. “What do you plan to do with him?”
“I’ll find the wizard and turn him back into a Dragon to finish the fight.”
“Why would you do that?” Lukas asked.
Now it was Alfred’s turn to be confused. “I can’t fight a human.”
“It’s a Dragon,” Mathias said and then his eyes started to shine and a smile crossed his face again. “You could bring him alive!”
“What?”
“A Dragon in human form could be expensive,” Lukas said.
“I could ask in town how much he would cost,” Mathias said excitedly. “I bet it’s going to be a lot!”
Alfred looked back and forth and shook his head. “Why would a Dragon in human form be more expensive than a normal Dragon?”
“Because it’s rare,” Lukas said. “Something like him doesn’t exist anywhere.”
“I will ask in town,” Mathias said with a grin like he won a treasure.
“Now, wait a minute-” Alfred said but got cut off by a groaning Dragon who seemed to wake up.
“Tie him up.” Mathias and Lukas stood up to get their ropes.
The Dragon blinked his eyes open only to be met with two people grabbing him from his sleep and tying him up. The Dragon was taken aback and spit out fire almost hitting Mathias into his face but he quickly duck. “Oh-ho.” Mathias grinned and took another piece of cloth and tied it around his mouth so that he couldn’t open it anymore.
“A Dragon as human,” Lukas muttered as he held him. “Fascinating.”
Alfred stood up from his place, walking over to them and the messy Dragon who’s cheeks were slightly burned with dried up blood at his eye. His clothes were dirty and smelled of smoke. “You can’t take him to the town and sell him like that.”
“Of course we can. Alfred, think of the reward!” Mathias smiled at him.
“I know what reward I want and I want to get it the right way. I thank you for your help but I will turn him back into a Dragon and continue my fight.” He was a fool for thinking that he could just tell anyone his secret. Mathias was a good guy but he was money driven just like any other hunter he knew, just like himself.
“Why would you want to risk your life in a battle with him again? I’m sure the reward would be just as high, maybe even more, trust me on this.” Mathias slapped his shoulder in comfort.
“I don’t share,” Alfred said, his eyes now more serious. He wanted to slay a Dragon and not play dirty and give the mayor a human Dragon to play with. He wanted to be a Dragon slayer and be known for it. He wanted to fight that monster and he wanted his deserved reward.
Mathias noticed the change and got serious as well. “What do you want to do? Fight me to get your Dragon back? You don’t have any weapons.”
Right, his weapons were taken away by the knights when he was shoved into the cell.
“You really have to think about it, alright? Take your time while we pack. I tell you, bringing him like this would be the better option.”
Alfred breathed out. “Fine, I’ll think about it.”
“Great.” Mathias smiled again.
They put the Dragon who struggled against them on a horse and started to pack. The moment both of them turned their backs on him, he quickly pulled the sword out of Mathias’ his sword holder and kicked him forward. He let lose the other horse and jumped on the horse with the Dragon on it.
“Alfred!” Mathias shouted.
“Sorry but I don’t share,” he said and rode off on the horse.
He rode for about an hour until he was sure that they weren’t able to follow them. He halted at a river and put the Dragon down to a tree again. He kneeled in front of him while the Dragon glared again. “I need you to listen to me and understand me, please. Can you talk to me without biting or spitting fire?” The Dragon grunted and his face seemed to say no. “Alright, let’s do this differently then. I want to turn you back into a Dragon, I really do. And I think we should cooperate. We find the wizard, he turns you back into a Dragon and we proceed to fight equally because I believe you and I deserve a fair fight.” He watched the Dragon and his reaction. He still glared but with a more calm face. “Good, I’ll take off the cloth from your mouth and you tell me if you like the plan.”
He pulled the cloth down and let the Dragon talk. “The fight isn’t fair. I’ll win.”
“We’ll see about that once you turn back into a Dragon, because I won’t fight you like this neither will I sell you in your human form as an attraction. I know what’s going to happen to you if they get you into their hands. After they get the reward you’ll be sold to the highest bidder who could stick you into their zoo or worse, sedate you to study you. Then your head will be hung on a wall with other beasts as the only human Dragon. You might be a monster but I believe that no one deserves a fate like this. That’s just cruel. I believe in freedom and you have the freedom to be a Dragon and fight me.”
The Dragon was silent for a moment until he spoke again. “We find the wizard and then we’ll fight?”
Alfred grinned, relieved that the Dragon was considering his proposal. “As it’s supposed to be.”
“Good. I know I’ll win anyways. I was about to but you had to turn me into a human,” he sneered at him.
“We’ll see about that. I might have an advantage now, I know how to slay a Dragon,” he said with a smile and started to untie him.
“You can’t know that.”
“I do.” Alfred looked at the dry blood at the corner of his eye. It was the same spot he had pierced his blade through. The eyes were the vital organ for the Dragons and he’d use it for his advantage. Blind the Dragon and the victory was his. “We have a deal then.”
“We do”
Alfred threw the rope to the side and the Dragon rubbed his wrists. “I’m Alfred by the way. Do you have a name?”
“Arghhghrr,” the Dragon replied and Alfred looked stunned at him. He’ll never be able to pronounce that.
“...what if I just call you Arthur, huh? Your human name!” Alfred suggested with a smile.
“Disgusting.”
“It’s settled then,” he said and stood up approaching the river. “Come Arthur, you have to wash up, you’re very dirty.”