Chapter 2: Locked

Nearly a hundred years later.

“Hueeek…” Astrid vomited out her stomach, which was filled with a sour-smelling liquid. Yeah, now Astrid's clothes were dirty too because of her vomit marks.

With trembling hands, Astrid wiped her dirty, sour-smelling mouth. Her breath was breathless. She tried to look around, but there was nothing she could see but pitch blackness.

Tonight, was a really unlucky night for Astrid. Her foster mother beat her unconscious, and when she woke up, Astrid found herself in a small cage. She could smell the putrid and fishy smell of the air around her. The cage was damp and wet with urine. There were feces in one corner of the cage. Astrid tried to get up and support herself with her thin hands. Her head was dizzy, and her stomach felt nauseous.

Was this hell? Was Astrid dead? No, she's still alive. A stroke of new bad luck. Astrid hated herself. Goddamn life!

Slowly, Astrid struggled to lift herself off the floor and sat back against the iron bars that belonged to her little cage. Her body broke out in cold sweat, and she felt weak. Her chest heaved and fell, trying to breathe oxygen in the foul-smelling air. Her head was still sore and throbbing.

Where was this? How many hours have passed? What happened to her? Astrid wondered. She slowly caught her breath, trying to compose herself. She accustomed her eyes to seeing in the dark.

Astrid just realized that she was in a warehouse full of goods. Vaguely heard the bustle of people outside the warehouse.

“Bring it in! This slave could be sold for a fortune,” said a man who spoke aloud.

BRAK!

A door opened, and four men pushed a cage into the warehouse, filling the space right next to Astrid's.

Astrid pretended to be unconscious, but she heard a creaking sound as the cage's base and the floor's surface touch roughly. At first glance, she could see the torchlight illuminating the interior of the warehouse.

“Heh, that girl is still passed out. Her body is skinny. We have to feed it to keep it alive until it is sold,” said one of the men holding a torch as he spat on the floor. The man signaled his comrades to come out of the warehouse. The sound of their footsteps drifted away. The hinges creaked as they closed.

Astrid could hear the sound of chains and locks locking the warehouse. Once again, she was surrounded by darkness. Astrid blinked, getting her eyes back to see in the dark. She then turned to the cage next to her.

A young man with bluish-black hair and red eyes was curling up in pain. His hands and feet were shackled by chains that wounded his wrists. The young man seemed to be the same age as Astrid. Actually, Astrid never knew how old she really was, but she thought she was around seventeen to nineteen years old. The young man seemed perhaps the same age as Astrid. She didn't know. Astrid wasn't really sure either. It's not that important in the current situation anyway.

The young man stared intently at Astrid in silence while biting his lip tightly. Her lips looked bleeding and dirty from frequent bites. His ruby-red eyes glowed in the darkness. Astrid's gaze was fixed on the pair of red eyes as if she was being sucked in towards the young man. Then, unexpectedly, Astrid saw another figure piled up in the young man's body.

Astrid felt her body sway. Okay, maybe she's hallucinating right now because of her poor health condition. Astrid rubbed her eyes to clean the dirt on them. When she looked at the young man, she still saw other figures piled up in the young man's body.

“Dragon… how is that possible? I must be crazy,” Astrid muttered to herself.

BANG!

The young man suddenly jumped at Astrid and lunged at the bars of her cage with a hiss.

"What do you see, human?" the young man hissed menacingly.

“Like I said before, a dragon. Are you not?" asked Astrid widened her eyes curiously.

Instead of feeling scared, Astrid was filled with enthusiasm and excitement. She had always admired the fairy tales of dragons, and as far as she was aware, dragons had been extinct. Humans had taken dragon magic power and used it to protect civilization. The existence of dragons was only a myth to humans today. However, Astrid couldn't believe her sight.

Was the dragon figure that Astrid saw just an illusion or reality? Was she dreaming or not? She wasn't sure.

"How do you know?" hissed the black-haired youth again.

Astrid just shrugged her shoulders.

"I do not know. But right now, I saw the dragon figure overlap with your figure as a young man. So, are you a dragon or not? Hmm? You tell me,” Astrid asked boldly.

The young man didn't answer, but he stretched out his hand quickly and gripped Astrid's neck tightly.

Astrid was not afraid. Instead, she smiled.

"Kill me, if you can. There have been so many misfortunes in my life. Death is luck for me. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I suffer, I always escape death. So, are you able to free me from my bad luck?" asked Astrid, smiling carefree.

Astrid wanted to live a peaceful life full of love. She wanted at least someone who cared and loved her. But, at this point, even if Astrid died, no one would grieve or cry over her. No one cared about Astrid. No one loved Astrid, including herself.

The young man strengthened his grip on Astrid's neck, making it hard for the girl to breathe. However, suddenly there was an invisible force thwarting the young man until his body hit the bars of the cage hard.

BANG! BRUK!

"Ukh!" groaned the young man with black hair and red eyes. His body was shaking in pain.

Astrid's mouth gasped, trying to get as much air as possible. She grabbed her neck and found herself still alive. Astrid opened her eyes and saw that the young man was flailing in pain in his cage. Astrid's gaze was fixed on the handcuffs that restrain the young man's wrists and feet.

“Magic handcuffs. Its power hurts you. Please give me your hand. I'll open the handcuffs for you,” whispered Astrid, taking out a soft wire hidden behind her shoulder-length loose hair.

The young man looked at Astrid doubtfully, but finally, he stretched out his hand. Astrid grabbed the handcuffs in the young man's hand and deftly worked the handcuffs' keyhole.

Click! Clank!

The handcuffs in the young man's hands opened and fell on the floor. Astrid grabbed the handcuffs and threw them away from the young man's location.

The youth rubbed his wrists, and he could quickly feel his energy replenished.

"Give me your two feet, hurry," said Astrid.

Obediently the young man stretched out his two bare feet. Astrid deftly removed the handcuffs from the young man's feet.

"Done. What is your name?" asked Astrid, grinning.

"Draco," replied the young man.

“Hi, Draco. I'm Astrid. Nice to meet you,” Astrid replied straightforwardly.

Draco just stared at Astrid silently, not knowing how to react. Right now, he was trying to conserve his energy as much as possible. His body still felt limp, and he needed enough energy to escape. Draco didn't know whether the girl in front of him could be trusted or not. But one thing was certain, Astrid had freed him from the shackles of magic that tormented and drained his energy.

A human had saved Draco. Even though humans nearly wiped out the dragon race, making Draco the only last dragon alive today. Draco hated humans. He didn't believe in a cunning and vicious creature called a human. However, the female human before him was different. This woman sympathized with his pain. This woman cared for him. This woman freed him from suffering. This woman was a human.

"Now then, Draco. It looks like we're being sold off at the slave market soon. I have freed you from the magic handcuffs. You owe me a favor. Get me out of here! We have to run away as soon as possible,” said Astrid with a wide grin and beaming gaze.

Draco nodded and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate with a serious face. His body glowed and emitted a silver light that enveloped the surface of his body. He put his strength into his hands, and then as fast as a bolt of lightning, he pulled the cage bars bent and gave a gap for him to crawl out.

Draco jumped over the wooden boxes until he reached the small barred window close to the ceiling. He gripped the bars against the small window, and with a jolt, it flew down. His figure swiftly slipped out of the hole in the wall and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

“Hey, don't leave me! You bastard!" cursed Astrid with a pale face. She sighed, feeling betrayed by the dragon boy she had just met that night.

Astrid leaned her head and stared at the ceiling with a face of resignation. Her bony fingers tapped the floor nervously. She let her matted, sticky brunette hair stick to the cold iron grate. Her face was covered in brown dirt. Her skinny body gave off an unpleasant odor. Her appearance was so pathetic. Astrid’s amber eyes were dreamy with an empty gaze.

Shit! Again, her fate was such bad luck that no one was willing to help her. Everyone abandoned her for the whole life. She felt so desperate and exhausted. No more hope. Life was suck. Even the person that she just helped not repay her kindness.

That bastard dragon boy left Astrid alone!

If her life was so unlucky, why did fate trick her by letting her escape death? Why did bad luck always accompany her from time to time?

How jealous Astrid was of the life that another girl was living. They could enjoy a peaceful life and tend to be boring with ease. However, Astrid had never experienced that kind of life. She just watched other people go through with it complaining how bored they were. Ha! Try it! If the girls switched places with Astrid, find out how they felt the bitterness of life.

Astrid did not understand why she was still alive. She wanted someone to give her death relief. She was too tired of living a painful life.

No one loved Astrid.

As far as Astrid could remember, bad luck followed. She lived for years, moving from one foster family to another. Instead of being made an adopted child, Astrid was mistreated and forced to work. Almost every day, she received a lot of beating that left her body covered with scars.

Astrid was tired. Why was her life so cursed? Why was there no happiness for her? Why didn't anyone love her unconditionally?

Astrid hated her life. Astrid hated herself. There was no love in Astrid's life. There was no hope for her anymore.

Would love ever come for her? Astrid didn't know and didn't want to know. Whatever!

Astrid curled up in the cage with a sad gaze and laid her head carefully on the floor. She closed her eyes, tried to sleep, and hoped never to wake up again.

No one cared about Astrid's happiness. For Astrid, life was a curse.