Amity and Enmity

Chapter 43

"As will I!" said Ivette raising her hand, receiving a round of gasps of shock.

"Ivette..." Rin hushed. "It's a dragon-"

"And without my wheelchair, I will just be another person you all to carry," huffed Ivette. "But with my mask, I can-"

"You can't control yourself in your monster form."

Ivette scolded Rin for interrupting with a disapproving frown, silencing the young woman. "I will be fine- you will be fine," she corrected herself, addressing Oscar and Princess Alfreda. "The dragon is large enough that you two can stay away from me and not be harmed."

Princess Alfreda scoffed. "I doubt you will be much trouble, old woman-"

Ivette grabbed her dinosaur-claw stick. "Talk to me in such a tone, madam, and you will see how much trouble you will be in!"

"You need to go, Sumit," said Oscar softly, taking his hand away from Sumit's cheek slowly but still holding onto his hand loosely. "Get everyone to safety."

Sumit glanced at the dragon in the distance, then to Rin, Kai, Jules, Rachel, Rita, and the other non-combatant mask owners beginning to haul the injured away; Kai, in his goblin form, was able to pick up multiple at a time.

"Sumit?"

Sumit let a long sigh, then squeezed Oscar's hand. "Okay," he breathed, finally letting go. He carefully scooped up Calixte into his arms, along with the amphibian mask and followed the rest of the group heading to the forest for safety. He glanced back, seeing Oscar, Ivette, and Princess Alfreda don their masks, all focused on the dragon in the distance.

"Just make sure you come back..." Sumit hushed under his breath, forcing himself to move and leave the trio to stall for time.

*

The dragon released a long breath in relief, moving its head from side to side, stretching all of its muscles as it gazed up at the sky, then grinned as it saw how far away it was from the ground.

All of them... all of them are insects.

What once was her home, her tent that she slept in, was now something she could pick up with two fingers, so small her castle used to be, and now look at what she had now.

All the treasure was hers now, her horde; everything was in her control, as it always had been.

But there are still a few more insects to squash...

The dragon looked to the forest, seeing small dots running away, carrying the injured. It laughed.

How foolish! They would stand a better chance if they left them all behind.

The Land of the Lost was hers, but to be safe... she had to ensure that every last threat was dealt with.

No one will take my treasure away from me. It's mine. All mine...

Any risk or threat to that had to be destroyed...

The dragon paused, finally noticing three figures standing down below, so far down, how small they all looked;

A little red and white spotted toadstool humanoid, its eyes like black pinpricks akin to a cartoon...

A naga, the bottom half of a snake, the top half of an elderly woman with hallowed out eyes...

And a fire demon, skin like molten rock, horns twisted back, and a spiked tail flickered from her red dress.

The dragon glanced over to the group that had run into the forest. It would catch up with them eventually, but first, it had to deal with these three insects...