Chapter 1: Forgotten Dream

Astrid ran breathless in the middle of the night. She was carrying someone on her back. The person she was carrying was a strange young man whom she had just rescued. She continued to run in the cold night. Her breath formed a white puff of air. Her fingers were stiff with cold, but Astrid forced herself to keep running. Her stomach ached with hunger, and her head was dizzy. Her leg was injured and red with inflammation from the cold. Astrid didn't want to give up yet. She kept running and running.

The first snow had fallen.

Everyone rushed into the house and closed the door tightly.

"I have to save this dragon," Astrid muttered to herself over and over.

Astrid's shoes were broken and hollow so that her toes were sticking out of the shoe. Astrid ignored her ankle, which was starting to hurt. The cold night temperature was so piercing, and it made Astrid's lungs seemed to burst. Astrid ignored all the pain she was feeling. She was thinking about running as far as possible until the people who were chasing them decided to give up and not chase her anymore.

“Dragon Prince, hold on! A little bit more. We'll be safe!" whispered Astrid to the handsome man in her back.

The man only growled weakly. His consciousness was almost gone.

“Hurry! I must hurry!" cried Astrid to herself anxiously.

"That's them! Kill them!" There was a fierce cry from a distance.

***

A few hours before...

Draco walked into the bar. Many mercenaries and hunters were busy chatting over a beer together on a cold night. This village was indeed filled with robbers, mercenaries, and hunters. There were street children who worked as thieves to be able to eat every day.

Human. Draco hated humans. But here he was, into the human den.

The men drinking and chatting gave Draco a wary glance. They had never seen Draco's face before. It was only natural that they were suspicious of the foreign man who came to their place at night.

Draco ignored other people's gazes at him and threw a bronze coin to order a drink at the bartender.

"Give me your best drink," Draco said.

A jumbo-sized beer was placed right in front of Draco.

"Did you just come to this village?" asked the bartender curiously.

"Yes, that's right," Draco replied curtly.

"What is the need for you to come here?" asked the bartender again.

"None of your business," Draco replied indifferently. He finished the beer in the large glass in a few sips.

The air in the human place always kept Draco tight. His energy was easily drained because the air was dirty and didn't contain much magic energy. Draco tried to maintain his human form and act as normal as possible. Shit! If it weren't for Albus forcing him to practice blending with humans, Draco wouldn't have wanted to come to this place.

The bartender quickly filled Draco's empty glass with beer. Draco finished his second beer quickly. The bartender hurriedly refilled Draco's glass to the brim.

Albus, the White Dragon, the mentor who raised him from infancy, instructed Draco to practice immersion with humans by himself. Among the training activities he was doing, Draco hated this one the most. He never felt comfortable around humans. He was disgusted.

Humans have slaughtered dragons in the past, and it was only natural that Draco hated them.

Albus had been waiting for Draco to wake up from his coma after hundreds of years. Now that Draco regained consciousness and returned to life, Albus tried to train Draco everything he needed to survive, including learning to live in disguise as a human. It had been more than a dozen years since Draco woke up from the long vegetative state. Right now, they were the only dragons left, as far as they could tell.

Honestly, this was Draco's first time to try drinking beer. His body felt warm, and his face flushed. Two beers apparently drunk Draco.

"Hey, Bart! I heard there are still dragons left around here. Some people seem to have seen a dragon by accident,” said Tom, a tall man with broken teeth. He was one of the most ambitious mercenaries.

"Is it a real deal? Are you sure the news is not a hoax?" asked Bart, a tall, slightly hunched mercenary, like a vulture.

“Yes, we need to slaughter that dragon first than the others. We can take the magic stone. The scales are also quite expensive to sell. We can show the carcass in the town square. I think we can get the Dragon Slayer title if we find it,” said Tom enthusiastically.

"I am coming along! But, how can you be sure this information is accurate?” asked Bart.

“I overheard the conversation of the sorcerers passing by. They said…"

BRAK!

Draco had already strangled Tom, the big man, then punched him several times in the face until it was bruised. Then Draco lifted Tom high and threw him out with one hand. The big man's body crashed into the door and broke it out of the room.

"Ouch!" shouted a woman in pain from the outside.

Tom's body hit the ground and crushed the woman in a fainted state.

"Oi! Who are you?" asked Bart, twirling the knife in his hand.

All the men in the bar were standing and glaring at Draco. They had their weapons drawn out and were ready to gang up on Draco.

Draco's face was red, and he looked drunk. The alcohol he drank earlier was too much, and now he's starting to lose consciousness.

“Do you intend to become Dragon Slayers? You won't be able to,” Draco sneered defiantly. His body swayed.

“Hey, you bastard! Who are you?" shouted Bart angrily.

"Me? I am the dragon you want to slaughter! Before you can slaughter me, I will slaughter all of you!” shouted Draco angrily.

He then changed his form to a red-eyed black dragon and rampaged inside the bar.

All the men who were there were glaring with open mouths in surprise.

"Dragon! Slaughter this Dragon! Attack!" shouted Bart in a loud voice.

All of the mercenaries and hunters present in the bar moved towards an all-out attack. The bartender sneaked out of the back door and ran away for help.

***

Astrid was walking across the terrace of the bar on an empty stomach. She intended to steal food at the bar. As a street child, her life was tough. When Astrid arrived at the bar's door, suddenly there was a loud sound, and a human body was thrown out of the bar. Astrid was pushed by the big man's body and fell crushed by him.

"Ouch!" cried Astrid.

Shit!

Astrid crept out of Tom's big, heavyweight. She saw several people float out in a fainting state. She dared to peek inside the bar. Everything inside the bar had fallen apart. Chairs and tables overturned, and some of them were crushed. The roof was broken, and the walls had collapsed. In fact, you could say, the building of the bar was almost in ruins.

Draco, with his dragon form, slowly turned back to human. He stood unsteadily amidst the chaos. His handsome face still looked red from drunkenness.

"Dragon!" exclaimed Astrid with admiration.

She looked around the bar and found no bartender's body anywhere. Her hunch said that bad luck would soon come upon this dragon.

This dragon was so beautiful and dazzling in Astrid's eyes. At first glance, Astrid had fallen in love with a drunken red-eyed black dragon. She wouldn't let anyone slaughter this dragon. Not tonight.

"Hey, what are you looking at, girl?" Draco asked ramblingly and suddenly fell unconscious from being too drunk.

Astrid came over and carried Draco's body. There was no resistance at all. Draco had completely passed out. Astrid started running with Draco on her back. She had to save the dragon tonight. Her feet stepped briskly towards the edge of the village.

***

"There he is!" shouted the voice of the bartender leading a pack of mercenaries.

If anyone caught the dragon, then his ranking would definitely rise among the mercenaries, and the rewards he received would be abundant. That's why everyone was competing to be able to slaughter the dragon.

This wasn't good! This was bad!

From the opposite direction, a grown man with long straight, platinum blonde hair walked quietly. His gray eyes had a deep and hypnotic gaze. He ran into Astrid. The man's face was so handsome and charismatic. His aura carried a mysterious calm.

"Go, child. Let all those men be my business,” he whispers to Astrid.

Astrid was surprised and turned her head. The man smiled faintly.

"Save him for me. Don't turn around. Run as fast as you can,” said the man in a calm tone.

Astrid nodded and turned around. She ran while carrying Draco on her back without turning around.

The man walked towards the mercenary army with a casual smile. He opened the silver fan in his hand and shook it gracefully.

"Beautiful night. The first snow had fallen. It is time to sleep and forget everything. The dragon is gone and is a mere imagination. It's just a dream that will be forgotten when you wake up,” said Albus, casting memory-erasing magic.

All the men who were there became weak and slept lying on the ground one by one. Albus casually walked carefully, trying not to step on a single human body lying. He headed to the village to clean up Draco's mess and erase the villagers' memories.

***

Astrid dropped Draco near the river. She tore off her skirt a little and soaked it with water. She then wiped Draco's face with the wet rags. Astrid looked closely at Draco's face. This dragon's face was so handsome. His hair was bluish-black. His lashes were long and beautiful. The skin was smooth, and the jaw was strong. His cherry-colored lips looked seductive. His body was slim and perfectly sculpted. He had long legs. This dragon was really charming.

“So handsome,” Astrid sighed, admiring Draco's face.

Impelled by her instinct, Astrid kissed Draco gently on the forehead.

“Go to sleep. You are fine now. Nothing will hurt you because I will take care of you,” whispered Astrid, stroking Draco's cheek gently.

Astrid smiled at Draco with her amber eyes then whispered a lullaby.

Sleep now, my prince, of life in the nights

Your face is shining and your wings spread brightly

For I know a secret I promise to keep

You are the dragon, and the one and only

Hush now, my dragon, and have a sweet dream

I will protect your life ‘till your dreams come true

And take the courage that you need dragon prince

For you, my last dragon, take pride and glory

You’re my dragon, you’re hope

You’re my dragon, you’re love.

Draco's face was seen sleeping peacefully in the moonlight. A faint smile crossed his face. He was fast asleep with a soft snore after Astrid sang him a lullaby and stroked his face.

Astrid kissed Draco's lips gently. Draco snorted softly. His smile looked so happy in his sleep. Draco's lips felt soft against Astrid's, making the girl touch hers with a flushed face. Oh, for the sake of the universe! She fell in love at first sight with this dragon.

Albus watched from a distance this rare sight. He smiled as he looked gently.

“Is she Draco's future Amicus? A human? How could it be possible?" asked Albus in his mind.

Albus shook his head.

"No, it can’t be. This is not possible. After all, this girl was just a human. She can't be an Amicus. It's hard to live a life following the fate of a dragon," muttered Albus with pity.

The girl in front of Albus was frail and hungry. However, Albus recognized this girl's kindness and sincerity towards Draco. But, Albus didn't want to involve this fragile human in the great destiny that awaited Draco. As the last dragon, Draco must have no weaknesses. Adding one fragile girl only added a soft spot in their holy struggle.

"What's your name, child?" asked Albus as he approached, exposing himself.

"Astrid."

Albus handed her a piece of bread, which Astrid greeted happily. She ate heartily.

"Where are you coming from? Do you have a home or family?" asked Albus as he studied Astrid. This girl looked like she was in her teens. Albus guessed Astrid's age to be about twelve or thirteen. Her body was small and thin due to a lack of nutrition.

Astrid shook her head quickly.

"Nothing. I have no home or family."

"Then, I'll take you to the orphanage," said Albus kindly.

"I do not want that. I want to be with him,” Astrid replied, sulking.

"Do you like him?" Albus asked, smiling while sitting beside Astrid.

Astrid nodded with a smile.

“Yes, he is a handsome dragon. He is my prince of dragons," replied Astrid.

“Thank you for saving him. Too bad, you have to part with him for your own good,” said Albus sympathetically.

Astrid scowled anxiously.

"I don't want to part with him," Astrid said.

"For your own good, you must forget about him, child," said Albus with concern.

"I do not want to forget him. I want to be with him," replied Astrid with tears in her eyes.

Albus gently stroked Astrid's brunette hair.

“Go to sleep and forget about tonight, Astrid. The dragon prince is only in your dreams. When you wake up, you forget everything about him,” whispered Albus casting an erasing-memory magic spell.

Astrid's body limped, and her eyes closed. She fell asleep soundly. A single tear flowed from her closed eyes. Albus took her to another city and put her in front of the door of the orphanage. When she woke up, Astrid had forgotten the dragon she had met that night.

“Sleep well, Astrid. Thanks for saving Draco. Have a good life,” whispered Albus while kissing Astrid's forehead gently. Albus cast a magic spell to keep Astrid's body warm.

"The dragon's blessing will always be with you, my child," whispered Albus, casting a protection spell so that Astrid would be blessed with a healthy body.

The next day, Draco woke up to find himself lying in Albus's dragon lair in the cave. His head felt fresh and clear.

"Did you sleep well?" asked Albus.

"Yeah, I had a strange dream," Draco said, trying to remember what happened last night, but his memory was blurry.

"What is that?" asked Albus.

"A girl was singing a lullaby for me. I still remember the lyrics clearly. But, I can't remember her face,” Draco said, stunned.

Draco touched his cheek. He recalled the girl caressing his face. He remembered the girl saying she didn't want to be separated from him. However, Draco couldn't remember the girl's face. He also didn't know the girl's name.

The girl's voice was beautiful. The touch of her lips was still soft against Draco's. Did that girl kiss him last night? Was this just a dream? Draco touched his lips. The touch felt real and made his chest rippled.

"Just a sweet dream," replied Albus with a relaxed smile.

Draco touched his chest. There was a feeling of warmth and longing in his chest. He missed the girl. He wanted to meet the girl—what a strange dream. The dream was too real for Draco. However, maybe Albus was right. That girl might never have been around. The girl was probably Draco's imagination. Draco sighed.

"Yes, too bad. Just a dream,” Draco replied with a sad smile. Draco secretly missed the girl.

Nearly a hundred years passed.