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R E L E A S E

The guard grinned. He was a handsome fellow—slender built, fair skin, light freckles, and auburn hair with eyes that made her feel small. The man pulled the girl's arm closer and their bodies touched. Goosebumps raised her skin when her flesh met his cold touch. His face was behind her head. He edged closer. His nose touched her hair and he caught a whiff of strawberry jasmine with a hint of mint. He licked his lips. It was an addicting scent.

Repulsed by his actions, she wrenched herself away from him. Or at least, she tried to. The hairs on her body stood on end as his fangs retracted as a warning. The light from the hanged torch reflects back on his pitch-black eyes. It's growing bigger, she thought, absorbing any light reflected on them.

The vampire snickered, satisfied with her reaction, and teased her some more. His partner, another vampire soldier, opened the wooden door carved with symbols too ancient for her to recognize. A handsome redhead stepped inside the vast room, which smelled of musk and mildew. The auburn-haired vampire holding her snickered. She struggled to escape, pushing him away from her with all the strength she could muster, but he didn't even budge. Her struggling within his grasp only made him mad. His grip tightened, inflicting pain on the joints of her elbows.

She bit her lip to suppress the scream threatening to escape from her throat. His nails retracted, burying themselves deeper into her skin.

The other two vampires with them stood still. Their backs were turned. None of them cared what happened to her. In fact, they would even be pleased if she died right there. It was easier to deliver a dead meal to the foul beast. However, the red-head has plans for the hideous creature. That's why the girl needed to be alive.

The auburn-haired vampire pulled her arms next, giving his control to her body, and she whimpered. She could feel his strong arms locked over his shoulders for an embrace. This is it, she thought, as her face was forcefully pushed to the side, exposing her neck. Her end.

The vampire smirked.

Instead of biting her neck and sucking the life out of her soul, he edged closer to whisper next to her ear. Her body shivered once again. His cold voice echoed in the dark hallway. "You're gonna get it now, girl." he retorted as he swung her body to a wretched view.

They both watched as teeth gnashed the remains of dead meat. The animal bleats in agony. The creature ignored this as his mouth gaped wide. The animal's gurgled screams echoed in the cave as he swallowed and ate the sheep whole. Hungry still, his claws pulled over, scratching the soil and searching for its remains.

The girl's eyes grew wide. Wings spread behind him. Its distance occupied the space he was in. His tail, the length of a football field, lashed out furiously.

To a human like her, his body appeared vivid and colorful like a rainbow. However, it was only for a mere moment that she realized that it was only an illusion. When she blinked several times and focused her attention to the being some more, she noticed that his reptilian scales were dark as night. The sun's rays escaped through the shafts to reveal bony plates shining like the twilight sky.

One look at him and he would be mistaken for a dinosaur with a wing or maybe an angel? But that's impossible. The girl thought, Angels never took gold and stored it in their caves. Better yet, angels never sleep. Heavenly beings are known to guard the fate of humans. This one in front of her looks like it doesn't even care about her kind. Like these vampires, she thought again.

During her entrance, she almost slipped. The soldier pulled her up. He mumbled, "What a clumsy pest." The girl ignored his comment. Her eyes were fixated on the creature. She was stunned. In her mind, dragons do not exist. They were just myths, legends forged to retain the naivety of the townsfolk.

When the dragon didn't find the sheep's remains, he grunted and linked his front legs together, giving up. He is impatient and would rather let others do the searching.

He stretched his large, reptilian body before lying flat on the ground. Then he leaned his head over his obverse legs. The girl blinked. She looked up towards the space between the creatures' hairline and eyebrows.

Horns jutted out from his forehead. Every horn in his forehead represents his power. He had three, which meant he could incinerate kingdoms with just a breath of fire in his mouth or with a flick of his mind. Or he could go both ways.

Mortals fear him. His kind was the first of the dinosaurs, the first race to conquer the earth. When he was a wyrmling, his father used to tell him stories about a powerful witch known as Hecate. With her followers, the witches, they tried to put his ancestors to sleep thirty thousand years ago. When his ancestors fought back and the rest went into hiding, the witches realized that they could not all be killed.

"Hush, little one, there's no need to panic."

The tiny dragon mewled. The sight of the humans scared him. His eyes lingered on his father's blood, tainting the woman's sword. Nobody had seen a more pitiful creature like him. The dragon gazed upon her features: she was tall and willow-like. Her armor hugged the curves of her body well. She had very long, black hair and skin white as milk.

The dragon's eyes widened. He has not quite seen anyone like her. She was a stunner. She was hauntingly beautiful. And pretty, he thought. With large, almond-shaped, heavy-lashed eyes that continually change color from azure to hazel. Right now, those hazel eyes blazed with malice, hatred, and fury altogether that his naïve mind couldn't understand why. They just met.

The woman seems to be oblivious of the child's reaction to her impending beauty. She was busy wiping the blood off using her gold gauntlet. Furious, her eyes alter into different shades of color too fast for a human to pick up. It was supposed to be a clean kill if it weren't for the fact the pathetic beast fought her off.

She stood up and inspected her dress. There's no helping her sword now. The father's blood is too thick to remove.

Some of the Drakon's blood trickled towards the wyrmling's direction as she stopped a few meters away. A satisfied expression plastered her face. It will be your end next, she thought.

The witch flipped her raven hair that was tied neatly with a braid. Her full lips puckered up into a smile. At that moment, the dragon realized how wicked and ugly she was inside. Hands on her hips, she stated. "You will be with him soon enough."

The human soldier shouted a command. They advanced. All the spears pointed in his direction. Slowly, the group closed in on the creature while the little one pushed himself back into the corner. If it's only possible for him to squeeze through the cracks and leave the scary place, he would. But he couldn't. It's impossible. He was a babe, yet his height almost towered over them.

His head was lowered to the ground. His body trembled. He was frightened. He couldn't comprehend the reason as to why they killed his family or why they would do the same to him.

Maya's footsteps resounded. With her sword to the side, she expertly swung her weapon around, causing the dragon to flip out. She grinned. However, seeing his dread ruined the human's formation, her lips parted to chant a spell, easing his mind.

They looked each other in the eyes. There's no need for worry, my dear. Her purple eyes shifted burgundy. Go to sleep. He continued to stare at her. "I command you." As soon as she said that, her irises dilated. Dark mauve burst out of her pupils, spreading like wildfire, until it settled on Byzantium.

The dragon's eyelids drooped, his shoulders dropped, his body settled down, and fell to the ground. His shining silver-green eyes closed for eternal slumber.

Her silver boots clicked when she stopped. Certain that he was fast asleep, Maya raised the sword high above her head to deal with a mighty blow.

"Stop!" a voice shouted.

The humans turned their heads. They stepped back to give way to the approaching figure. As the soldiers stepped aside, they bowed their heads as she passed by. Maya gritted her teeth. Without even turning around, she already recognized who that person was. She parted her lips to speak, "If I don't do this, he will eventually grow up and kill all of us." Eyes closed, she could feel the newcomer standing behind her and placing an arm on her shoulder with such tenderness it made every muscle in her body tense, then still. "Sister." The voice was soft and musical-like.

Maya sighed and faced Hellewise. "He is but a young child," her sister added.

Maya stared at her sister's warm brown eyes and her expression softened. "It doesn't matter. He is still a dragon," she protested, almost a whisper.

Hellewise shook her head and clasped her sister's face. "The sins of the father are not the sins of the child."

Maya dropped the sword immediately. Her lips pursed. She wasn't fond of the way her sister could easily manipulate her. They treated each other as equals. Both had the distinctive idea that the two of them were precious.

But, it's not enough. The witch thought, Maya recoiled away from her sister's touch, shattering their relationship.

It's not like she had any other choice anyway.

Arguing with Hellewise is pointless. "Fine." It hurt Maya to push her sister away, but she had no choice but to be as cold as possible, especially now that Hellewise is in total disagreement with her quest to become immortal.

Maya trudged off the cave, followed by the soldiers, leaving Hellewise alone with the dragon. "But if that dragon wakes up and kills all the humans, it's all on you."

Hellewise was quiet as she watched them leave. Her eyes watered at the sight of Maya's figure getting smaller and smaller the more she walked away from her. Sorrow etched her heart. Her fist clasped to her chest. She and her sister used to be close. She didn't understand how they grew apart.

She sighed and turned around to face the now, sleeping, wyrmling. Utterly defenseless and unattended, she bent her knees and reached out her arm to touch his head. Her fingers trailed to brush his soft hair.

A small smile escaped her lips. Underneath the dark shadows crawling inside him, she could feel a power stronger than his brothers and sisters, radiated from within. It responded with warmth when it recognized her.

Greetings, my dear friend, Hellewise pondered. The warmth enveloped the dragon's heart. She quickly withdrew her hands as it tried to reach her.

My time is almost over. She giggled. He is meant to be with someone else.

Her lips pursed. Hellewise chant a different spell. For now, she needs that power to sleep with him, so when the prophecy comes to light... she stood up and glanced towards the direction her sister exited.

"They will be ready."