Chapter 3: Draco

Draco jumped from roof to roof. He tried to move as fast as possible to the city's edge and into the forest located in the mountains. Once deep in the forest, Draco stopped by the river to get some water. His breath was breathless. It was midnight, and the moonlight shone on the river surface. He looked at his reflection above the water's surface. There was nothing wrong with his human form. A handsome man with black hair and red eyes staring back at Draco. His chest was broad, and his stomach was muscular. His legs were long, and his posture was high. A mysterious and powerful aura gave him its own charisma.

Draco paused and closed his eyes, feeling the natural energy around him. He absorbed some of the plant energy around him to replenish his energy. The air in urban areas had so lacked energy and dirty. What's more, the magic that humans use became poison for him to maintain his human form. Draco needed more energy to survive everyday life.

He almost turned into a dragon in the cage earlier. Draco paused for a moment as he recovered himself in the silence of the forest. That girl, what was her name? Astrid? What a strange girl. Draco could tell from the girl's appearance that her luck was bad. Being around, Astrid gave Draco a strange feeling. There was an energy that makes him wanted to stay away as well as wanted to get closer. Ah, Draco couldn't explain his current feelings very well.

Draco had lived alone for too long. For the first time, he accepted human kindness. For the first time, a woman cared about him. For the first time, Draco received attention from other people, precisely from a human he hated.

Draco wondered what he should do? The dragon race knew how to return the favor. Draco shouldn't just leave the girl there. On the one hand, Draco was on an important mission that he could not be reckless and put himself in danger.

Draco sighed as he stretched himself out on the grass. He crossed his arms and made them a pedestal above his head. While thinking, Draco's gaze looked far above the night sky.

Draco hated humans. Should he now yield to a woman's kindness? Should he believe in a human? Should Draco repay her kindness for him?

That woman… Why did that woman help Draco?

Draco couldn't forget the look in her eyes, filled with pain and despair. The look in her eyes was similar to his own. Draco realized that his fate with that woman was not that different.

That woman… stared with pain and hurt that Draco left her there alone.

Ah, why couldn't Draco forget that woman one bit? The woman's figure continued to remain in Draco's mind. Her voice, screaming for help, resounded in Draco's ears.

That woman… made Draco feel guilty for leaving her.

How could a human Draco so hate to make him nervous like this?

Why did his heart care so much for that woman?

His thoughts drifted away to Albus, the white dragon, who was his mentor. Draco remembered his last encounter with Albus before leaving the hidden dragon's lair that he had lived in for about a hundred years.

“Draco, you are the last dragon prince. Find your golden dragon heart and regain our lost kingdom. This is the last chance,” said the old dragon before closing his eyes forever and turned into a stone for a very long hibernation.

During this time, Draco lived alone with Albus. The other dragon had already done a long hibernation and turned to stone. From a human's view, the dragon assemblage was seen as an isolated, sheer mountain of rock. However, in reality, those rock mountains were a bunch of dragons waiting to be resurrected.

Draco touched his chest. There was no heartbeat there because when he was born, his heart was ripped from him. Each dragon chosen to be king has a heart in the shape of a gemstone. The magic power contained in the gemstone was what makes a powerful dragon unmatched. Only the leaders of each type of dragon, an alpha, were born with hearts made of gemstone. One of the strongest dragon leaders would be chosen to be the Dragon King. Other dragons had gemstones on one of their scales or their toenails or in their eyes or on their neck or their forehead. The gemstone has strong magical power but was not as strong as the gemstone in the dragon's heart.

The gemstone that was located in the heart of the dragon came in various colors. However, the heart of the strongest dragon had a golden gemstone color. A dragon born with a gold gemstone was destined to become the strongest dragon among the dragon kings.

Draco was born with a golden dragon heart. When the egg hatched, Draco was kidnapped, and his gold gemstone was taken so that he almost died because his heart was taken from him. At the same time, there was a great war between the Dragon and the Human. A human sorcerer successfully used Draco's gold gemstone to kill the Dragon King. The more dragons that were killed in the war, the more dragon gemstones humans took.

They retreated to an isolated area to save the remaining dragons, then gave their gemstones to keep Draco alive in a hidden lair. The dragons hoped that one day, Draco could reclaim his golden heart again and revive the Dragons' glory once again.

When Draco woke up hundreds of years later, nearly all of the dragons were already stone and undergoing long hibernation. Only Albus, the White Dragon, remained to look after him and guide Draco as a mentor. That's why, for a hundred years, Albus trained Draco to be ready to carry out his life's mission before he finally turned to stone.

That was the story Draco heard over and over from Albus. Hearing sad stories was painful, especially living alone in a strange place.

Draco felt that his life was a responsibility he had to fulfill for the future of the dragons. He didn't have time to think about himself. He didn't even know whether he deserved love or not. His life was a duty and responsibility, nothing else.

Draco felt his energy drain rapidly when he was around humans. He longed for the hidden dragon lair where he grew up, but Draco couldn't return. He had to face his destiny. Draco had to find a way to keep his true identity as a dragon hidden until he managed to find his golden dragon’s heart.

Human sorcerers called the golden dragon’s heart as the Heart of Magic. No one knew where the location of the heart was hidden. No clue. Draco sighed. The human-made magic was so powerful that he was easily captured and nearly sold into slavery. He didn't have much time. Each day his strength was getting weaker. Draco had to get to the golden dragon’s heart before the power within him was completely drained out, and his body turned to stone forever.

Draco let the muscles in his body loosen on the grass. He allowed himself to sleep for a moment and absorb the moonlight as a new energy for him.

***

"Hey, wake up!" Astrid heard someone shouting rudely at her.

A tall, muscular woman pulled her out of the cage and dragged her into a bathroom stall. The woman quickly stripped Astrid naked and flushed Astrid's dirty body with cold water.

When Astrid felt cold water run down her body, she was shivering with cold. Her teeth chattered, and her throat was hoarse. Her lips turned blue and felt dry. Hunger and cold, Astrid had absolutely no strength to fight back. Her whole body felt sore because the woman rubbed her body roughly.

As soon as she finished washing Astrid, the woman dressed Astrid in clean clothes and dried her hair. Astrid's face now looked prettier, and her dirty skin now looked clean. Her white cheeks blushed. Astrid's round amber eyes looked lovely. Apart from her being too thin, Astrid looked stunning. If she was given a luxurious dress like the ones that aristocrats wore, she was seen as a lady nobleman.

The burly woman who bathed Astrid smiled with satisfaction at seeing Astrid's new appearance.

"Very nice! Now you are more neat and beautiful. I suppose your selling point as a noble slave will be higher. If you're lucky, maybe some old nobleman is interested in making you a mistress,” said the woman with a chuckle and then grabbed Astrid's hand roughly.

"Cuih!" Astrid spat at the woman angrily.

Mistress? Slave? How could Astrid live like that?

Slap!

"What a clumsy bastard!" cursed the woman, slapping Astrid until she nearly fell to the ground. However, the woman swiftly pulled Astrid away from falling. She didn't want Astrid's appearance to spoil.

Astrid was given handcuffs to her feet and hands and herded into a slave auction house. She was lined up beside the stage, waiting for her turn to step onto the center stage to be traded and get the best deals from buyers.

"Go ahead!" the woman shouted, pushing Astrid violently to center stage when it was her turn.

Several male aristocrats chuckled in amazement at Astrid's appearance. Immediately, the prospective buyers quickly raised their price boards and took turns to bid.

Astrid was disgusted by the lecherous expressions of most of the men who were trying to buy her. Among them was a nobleman who was so fat with saliva that kept dripping from the corner of his lips. His face was very similar to a pig. Her belly was protruding until the button on his shirt almost broke. His wandering eyes stared at Astrid's body lecherously. He was Count Barney, and he was the one who made the highest bid to buy Astrid.

"Going once. Going twice. Sold! Congratulations, Count Barney. This slave belongs to you,” said the slave auction leader that day.

Astrid looked at Count Barney in disgust. She had to think of a way to escape. Immediately, Astrid was transferred to a cage, which was heavily guarded by a group of guards. There was no room for Astrid to escape. The bodyguards couldn't be persuaded with sweet words, and whatever Astrid did in vain.

When she arrived at Count Barney's mansion, the sky was dark again. Astrid was immediately bathed and perfumed all over her body. She was given a thin, silk sleep gown and locked in a large room on the fifth floor. Astrid looked around her and tried to force the big bedroom door open. However, it's useless. The door was tightly guarded by the guards so that if Astrid could open the bedroom door, she would have been forced to return to her room.

There was a large window with a small balcony in the room. Astrid checked left and right. There was no wall on which to escape. Meanwhile, the distance from the balcony to the ground was very far.

There was a sound of the door opening, and a potbellied man came into the room. Count Barney arrived shirtless. He already stripped his clothes when he entered the room. His belly and hairy chest made him look even more like a pig demon.

"Are you hiding there, pretty?" asked Count Barney's voice in a contrived, sweet tone. His face looked very lecherous, and he licked his lips full of lust.

"Do not come close!" cried Astrid with a squeak. Fear ran through her body, but she tried to stay strong and hide her fear.

Astrid's fear made Count Barney even more excited to do something perverted to Astrid.

“Ha, you like playing with me. Your expression is so cute. Tonight you will be mine, my dear,” said Count Barney, moving closer.

Count Barney took Astrid's hand and threw Astrid's body onto the bed. Astrid's thin body flung across the bed, and her skirt was exposed. Her smooth thighs looked tempting to caress.

Count Barney licked his lips with his tongue. The lecherous expression on his face was disgusting. He climbed onto the bed and placed his palm on Astrid's thigh, and stroked her gently. Astrid shuddered at the touch of the pervert. The emotions of disgust, fear, and anger were mixed in Astrid’s heart.

"Get your hands off my body, perverted scumbag!" screamed Astrid angrily, kicking him hard. She tried to get Count Barney's hand off her. Astrid was humiliated and disgusted by the touch on her body.

"Calm down, sweetheart. If you obey, you will feel great pleasure from my touch," said Count Barney even more passionately. He tried to get on top of Astrid's body.

Astrid rolled to the side, trying to avoid it until she fell heavily on the floor. She ignored the pain and struggled to her feet. Astrid grabbed the vase on the small table by the bed and threw it hard at Count Barney. Her attack was missed. The flower vase just rolled over the bed.

"Do not come any closer! You bastard! How dare you touch my body?” screamed Astrid angrily with teary eyes.

"You are playing hard to get, my Dear. Tonight I'll make sure your body is mine,” Count Barney said as he got out of bed and walked briskly toward Astrid.

Count Barney walked with his arms outstretched forward, making Astrid shudder with hate and disgust.

Panic ran through Astrid's body. Unconsciously she crawled onto the balcony trellis and stared at the ground.

"Don't come near, or I'll jump down," Astrid threatened, trying to stand up to maintain her balance. Her thin body had difficulty standing upright against the wind.

Count Barney chuckled at Astrid's behavior. He saw Astrid teasing him to make the evening even more interesting.

"Come down, honey. I can buy you a lot of dresses in a beautiful outfit. You won't starve anymore. I will gift you enough money and gems. Be mine. I don't want your beautiful body to float down and hit the ground until death picks you up," Count Barney giggled seductively.

Count Barney's lecherous expression made Astrid shiver even more with disgust and hatred.

"I'd rather die hitting the ground than be your mistress, Count," argued Astrid menacingly.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You got great guts too. Remember that I paid dearly to enjoy your body. You are my slave. All my wishes are orders that you must obey, sweetheart. You can't die until I've tasted your body,” Count Barney said as he trotted toward Astrid.

"Back off!" cried Astrid in terror.

But instead of retreating, Count Barney sped up his pace.

Astrid looked down in horror. She turned to look at Count Barney, who had reached out his hand to pull herself down. There was no time to hesitate. Astrid has to choose!

Astrid took a deep breath, and then, closing her eyes, she spread her arms and threw her body into the air with her head down.

"Noooooo!!!!!" screamed Count Barney hysterically.

Astrid felt the wind blow against the surface of her skin. She felt her end was near. With such a high distance, it was impossible if she would survive. Death was a better option than life to suffer. At least, that's what Astrid thought.

Astrid did not know that someone grabbed her and carried her away in an agile motion just before her body hit the ground. The man was moving very fast through the darkness of the night. He only stopped moving after arriving in the middle of the forest.

Draco lowered Astrid from his arms. The girl was still unconscious from fear. He covered the girl in his robe and was busy making a fire to keep himself warm. Then he roasted pheasants and sat beside Astrid, waiting for the girl to regain consciousness.

Draco smiled secretly with relief. He missed this woman. He's worried about this woman. He was restless thinking about this woman. The woman's figure had been filling Draco's mind ever since yesterday's separation. At that moment, the woman was in front of Draco, safe and sound. His heart was flooded with a great deal of relief. Without Draco realizing it, his cold heart was felt a little bit warmer.

For the first time, Draco smiled at his rescue of a human.