"...and now, they left me here all alone."
Risa sighed after uttering that as she looked at the clear blue sky from the window of her room.
Then again, it wasn't as if she needed a companion all the time. It was just that Jehan, her appointed caretaker, had to go to town to buy ingredients and condiments needed for that week's meal plan. So there was no other choice but to leave her behind for a while.
She wasn't scared that someone would barge in there and dare attack her again. At least, the Master Mage assured her that it won't happen a second time. The magical barrier he cast on the day she was forcibly taken and also the two dragons tasked to guard the area would be there to give her the protection she needed.
It was strange for her to trust the Master Mage like that. But of course, it wasn't as if he had an ulterior motive for helping her. Sure, there were mysteries surrounding her arrival in that world. And yet, the Master Mage seemed to be the type of person who would ruthlessly eliminate any potential threat to the kingdom where she was at the moment.
"The Kingdom of Revia... Have I heard that name somewhere before?" It was the question that kept ringing in her head at night most of the time.
But no matter how much Risa tried to rake her mind for answers, nothing would come up. Of course, it was a given that she'd be annoyed at that. Nevertheless, she realized later on that only time could tell whether or not she was meant to find the answers she was looking for.
"Maybe I should get out for a bit and get some fresh air."
She hurried to change her nightgown to one of the dresses that Lady Enlari gave to her. It took a while for her to accomplish that since the wound on her head would shoot out a surge of pain whenever she'd try to move as fast as she'd usually do so. She then tied her long brown hair to a half ponytail with a ribbon that the lady mage also lent to her.
'This should do it.'
Though amazed at the sight of the Hareskoven Forest when Risa first saw it, this was the first time she gave a careful look at the surrounding area of the Master Mage's house.
The tall evergreen trees, the shrubs which served as a fence of the house, the birds flying free a little higher in the sky... Even the dragons looked incredible as they soared higher than the birds...
Risa thought that she'd only know about the dragons in books and fantasy stories she'd read. But now that she ended up in this world all of a sudden where a creature like this truly existed, she wasn't sure how to take it all in.
She kept looking up to the sky with a smile to watch the two dragons as they continued flying. She truly found them fascinating to look at from afar.
But the smile on her face faded when she saw one of the dragons -- the blue-green one -- slowly descend to the large open space inside the Master Mage's property. She even had to cover her eyes so the dust and bits of grass won't hit her eyes as the dragon descended while its wings flapped.
"Why did it decide to stop flying all of a sudden?"
But the answer to that question soon appeared when she saw the dragon bowed down until its head reached where she was standing at. All the while, Risa's heart pounded fast as she clenched her fist. The sight of the dragon was making her nervous at that point.
Though she knew it won't hurt her -- since it was the Master Mage's order, she couldn't stop her heart from beating too fast. She was sure that this dragon that leaned and had its head near where she was standing could hear it, too.
'I wonder what this dragon wants to happen.'
To Risa's confusion, the dragon's crimson eyes kept looking at her. She could feel that it was looking at her intently. But since it won't hurt her, she wanted to do something.
As soon as she took a deep breath, she approached the dragon that didn't move a bit even when she did so. Though slowly at first, she reached out her right hand towards the dragon. A few more moments of hesitation passed and then she placed her hand on top of its nose. She let out a relieved smile when the dragon didn't budge when she did.
'You have nothing to fear, my lady. This world may be filled with magic and dangers such as that you've experienced. But neither of us would dare hurt you.'
Before Risa could stop herself, she removed her hand from the dragon and looked at it with eyes wide open.
"What was that?"
The dragon kept looking at her, however. The tempo of her heartbeat increased again because of that. But if the dragon's eyes didn't budge even after she took her hand away from touching the creature, could this mean that she wasn't hearing things?
Once again, she took a deep breath and placed her hand on the dragon's face.
"Y-you're the one... who said those words I heard, right?" She had to know. Or else, it would only drive her crazy by thinking too much, especially at night.
'You are not mistaken, my lady. Nor this is an illusion. I am directly speaking to you as you touch me like this.'
This time, instead of running away in fear, she smiled in fascination. Could this be one of the skills that her sealed magic had given her?
"This is strange. But truly wonderful. I never thought I can do something like this."
But before the dragon could reply, the second dragon – the ocean blue colored one – descended, as well, and placed itself on the first dragon's right side. Just like the first one, the other dragon leaned toward her, as if saying that she should touch it, as well.
Risa did just that with a smile, this time. She placed her hand on the dragon's face. She could be hallucinating or something, but it looked like the ocean blue dragon smiled at her.
'I was right. You are one fascinating lady, despite coming from another world.'
"As much as I want to continue thinking that this is still a dream, I don't think my wish will come true any time soon. I still have no idea how I ended up here. But I'd like to find the answer to that soon."
'Not every answer you seek will appear to you when you want it. But as the Master Mage had said, time will come and you will know them. All we can tell you is don't lose faith and don't lose hope.'
Risa touched the other dragon that leaned once more towards her.
'The mystery in you will be solved in time. And we're both here to guide you once you need our help. Don't forget that, my lady.'
This time, Risa smiled and nodded. "Thank you. Both of you." At that point, she realized something. "By the way, do the two of you have names? I figured that it would be weird if I'd just refer to you as dragons."
The blue-green dragon answered first. 'The Master Mage had given me the name Qilrun. So you can call me the same way, as well.'
'I received the name Frindall from the Master Mage.' The ocean blue dragon said right after.
"I'm Risa. Risa Hatsuyama. Nice to meet you both."
Though still doing her best to heal, it was indeed fascinating for Risa to know that she could listen to the dragons' thoughts this way. She only had to be patient in learning more about the sealed magic in her. Perhaps the dragons would be able to help her do so in the next coming days that she continued staying with the Master Mage and the others.
xxxxxx
The blue-haired second prince of the Kingdom of Revia, Prince Alathil, was supposed to depart to Hareskoven Forest on the day that Shuren, his bodyguard, came back from surveying the said forest. He was planning to visit the Master Mage and asked his opinion concerning the assassination attempt on his older brother, the Crown Prince Aladron.
But for some reason, he decided to remain at the castle for a day longer to think about the direction of the conversation that he intended to say to the Master Mage once he visited him.
Though a member of the royal family, he never found it easy to have a conversation with a prominent figure such as the Master Mage himself. But even so, he always found utmost respect for the old man ever since he first met him.
It was night time and the breeze felt incredibly good for his chaotic mind. Even so, he couldn't calm himself knowing that there was more to the threat that nearly took his brother's life if it wasn't for their sister, the princess, casting a barrier to protect the Crown Prince. It was indeed a close call, but he didn't want to be lenient in dealing with such a serious issue.
But before Alathil could enter his room to be able to sleep, flapping sounds caught his ears that made him smile. He turned to the source of it and found himself face to face with a crimson young dragon flying right in front of the veranda of his room.
"Rannir."
He approached the said young dragon and touched its face.
"How have you been, my dragon friend?"
'Feeling better now that I got to see you, Your Highness. It's been a while since I visited you.'
Alathil smiled even more and remained looking at the creature with gentle eyes. It was rare that he would have such a friend. But because of his ability that only he among the royal family of his generation possessed, he managed to gain Rannir's trust.
"Forgive me for not visiting you in your kin's lair. The affairs in the castle took the worst turn."
'I did hear about the assassination attempt on your older brother. But I do hope you won't put too much pressure on yourself in trying to know the answers.'
He nodded and caressed the dragon's face. "You have nothing to worry about. I will do my best to be careful."
At that point, the dragon's eyes widened, catching the second prince's attention. 'By the way, it seems that you're not the only dragon listener in this kingdom anymore.'
"What do you mean?" Alathil asked with a frown.
'Master Qilrun said that he started conversing with another dragon listener just this afternoon. That person is residing in the Northern Forest.'
"Have you spoken to this other dragon listener?"
Rannir shook its head. 'I haven't seen that person myself. But Qilrun was mum about mentioning anything more about this person. He seemed immensely protective of him. Or her. He never mentioned if this other dragon listener was a male or a female, anyway.'
The second prince thought of this new development as strange. But if there was another dragon listener besides him living in the kingdom, then he must know this person soon. Perhaps that person would be able to help him in some way.
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