Child of Magic | jerza

The Last Dragon Lord [2]

"You either have a terrible memory, or you're lying," Jellal said, getting off his horse.

"Let me think."

"Better not think too hard," he said, grinning. "You might hurt yourself."

I aimed my sword at him and he swatted it away.

"Porlyusica said north of Fiore," the prince said. "So it's that way."

He pointed towards the field.

"Aisa," I muttered.

The path going south began to glow slightly. Only I could see it.

"That way," I said pointing towards the woods.

Jellal kicked a loose rock with frustration. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Why? Are you scared to go into the woods?" I asked.

He climbed on to his horse and nodded at me. "Lead the way, Scarlet."

~ ~ ~

It was getting dark, so we decided to camp out. 

Jellal went to gather some firewood as I tended to the horses.

I couldn't help but feel bad for Igneel. He was a dragon chained in an underground cave for centuries. Of course, he wanted to kill Faust! But all of Fiore? Everyone? That was wrong.

"What's wrong?" Jellal asked, sitting beside me. I could feel the warmth of the fire from beside me.

"Nothing."

"Liar."

My lips quirked up into a small smile.

"Do you think..finding a Dragon Lord is the right thing?" Jellal asked.

"Of course."

"Father will be furious if he finds out what we're doing."

I didn't say anything. 

"I guess Dragon Lords' are pretty useful, huh? Considering they have magic? They can't all be bad, right?"

I tilted my head towards him. Maybe Jellal was different from his father.

He kept talking. "But I understand why magic is banned. Because of Mother. She died from magic, you know."

"What was her name?" I asked curiously. I had never seen Jellal act this way before.

He raised an eyebrow. "She was the queen. You don't know her?"

"I came from Bosco."

"Oh, right! Of course," he said. "Anyway, her name was Misaki."

"Do you remember her?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No. She died giving birth to me and Sieg."

"Sieg..Siegrain?" I repeated.

He smirked. "Yeah. His nickname."

"What's your nickname?"

Jellal lay back on to the ground closing his eyes. "I don't have one."

"Dollop head suits you."

He chuckled. "Maybe."

~ ~ ~

Natsu Dragneel stared out of the window of his room. The dragon was beautiful. Why was it attacking?

"Hey, baka!" Gray yelled, throwing the door open. "The king wants to see us."

Natsu tore his gaze from the window and stared at the shirtless, stupid trainee knight.

"Sure."

~ ~ ~

My eyes flew open.

I was lying beside Jellal. The moon was shining, providing us a little light. The fire was burned out.

I grabbed my sword and sat up.

I saw a shadow. Somebody was here.

I heard the rush of an arrow. I nudged Jellal and whispered, "Wake up!"

He was already awake, his sword at the ready.

Three men came running towards us. 

I lunged at them, not letting them come towards either us. That's when I realized they weren't after us. They were after Jellal.

Another arrow zipped past my ear. Jellal just barely managed to deflect it.

"Get out of here!" I yelled. "They're bandits!"

Another arrow.

"Rytha!"

Two of the men slipped backward. The third shot another arrow.

It hit the prince straight in the head.

The Crown Prince fell backward.

~ ~ ~

"I don't know," Gray said.

"Neither do I."

"Nor I."

"So you're saying," King Faust said. "There's a dragon attacking Fiore and my eldest son and a trainee knight have gone missing."

"Lost in action," Natsu said, laughing awkwardly.

The king glared at him.

~ ~ ~

I took one look at Jellal, unconscious on the ground and screamed.

"Akwele seo magdp!"

The man fell to the ground. Dead.

For a second I stared at my hands in horror. I had killed a full grown man. My sympathy for the dead man faded when I knelt beside Jellal. I couldn't say the prince was a close friend, but he'd been by my side for everything. 

"Þurhhæle dolgbenn," I whispered, touching his temple.

I repeated the spell over and over. The sun was setting, staining the pale sky a deep red. Blood. Blood everywhere.

"It's not fair!" I yelled to the sky, furiously. "When I need my magic most, it doesn't work!" 

A woman touched my shoulder. I immediately recoiled. My right hand wrapped around the hilt of my steel sword, while my left, my dominant, reached out in defense. The spell was right on the tip of my tongue-

"Do not fear, young one."

She knelt beside the blue-haired prince and said something incomprehensible.

Immediately color returned to his cheeks.

"He will be better in a minute, Zarina."

"Druid?" I asked, my arms dropping back down.

She smiled mysteriously. "Come."

I got up and glanced down at Jellal.

"It'll be only a moment."

I nodded and followed the woman.