The Dragon who became my Wife(Volume 1)

Part 6: A Trip Gone Wrong

A few days have passed, and to Henry's surprise, Fresia seem to fit pretty well among people. When he asked her how she was able to blend in so well, Fresia told him that this is actually not her first time being around humans. 

When she was little, she used to sneak out of the Veil and disguised herself as a small child, playing around with other children in a small town nearby. Plus, her mother had taught her some basic knowledge on how to act 'human'.

They're pretty much a couple now. At first, Henry was hesitant and tried to stop Fresia from calling him with nicknames and cuddling him, but after a while, he gave up and just let her do whatever she wants.Even his family seem to support the idea.

"Darling, aren't you going to enter the tournament?" Fresia suddenly asked him, one sunny afternoon. they were hanging out at the front porch after lunch. "No, why do you ask?" Henry replied. He never planned on entering. He did enter last year, but was quickly outmatched by the expert hunters and Dragonslayers who also took part in the tournament.

"I think you should join." Fresia suggests, staring at him with her usual cheery grin. Henry was so used to seeing this face now, he almost forgot the fact that Fresia is a 50-foot tall dragon. "Hmm." Henry thinks. Should him? he asks himself

The prize for winning the tournament is pretty substantial. even the losers got to take their hunting spoils home. "I'll guess i will join it after all." Henry said,after much pondering. "Yay!" Fresia jumped in joy. Hunting means one thing to her. Meat.

Henry's family rarely consumed meat, and much of his hunting spoils is sold to pay for the family's expenses. So a rare chance like this is golden to her. "Don't worry about a thing. She will help you win. I'm sure of it." Fresia told Henry.

"She?" Henry was puzzled. Fresia just smiled. Unbeknownst to him, the forest guardian has taken quite a liking to him. She was the one Henry saw talking to Fresia in the forest. She has told Fresia a lot about Henry. Even things Henry himself didn't know.

"Oh no!" Henry remembered something. He promised Arianne to help her collect some herbal flowers from a deeper part of the forest today. "I got to go. I promised to help Arianne today." He said, hurriedly getting ready to leave.

"Can I come?" Fresia asks. Henry paused. Here it comes. "Sorry, Fresia. Arianne told me to come alone. Wait for me here, okay?" He said, hesitantly. Arianne told her to say that to Fresia in case she wanted to come along. He didn't know why she told him to do it.

"Oh, okay." Fresia replied, and her shoulders dropped slightly. She was disappointed. She thought it was the perfect chance to deepen her bonds with him. and perhaps make friends with Arianne too.

As Henry leave, Fresia waved him off, standing on the porch. Then all of a sudden Elis appeared beside him. "DId Big Bro just went to the forest with  Sister Arianne alone,just the two of them?" He asked callously. All of a sudden Fresia felt a drop of water travelling down her cheeks. She was crying? Why?

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"That's just about enough, I guess." Arianne said, as she set down the large basket she's been carrying on her back on the ground. "Here." Henry hands her a flask, after she has sat down on the log laying down on the ground beside her.

"Thanks." She replied, downing the flask's content afterward. "Ahh!" she sighed in relief, as the cool water flows down her throat. "You're sure you don't want me to carry those flowers for you? My bag of holding still have plenty of space, you know?" Henry offered, returning the empty flask Arianne hands to him back into his backpack

"No thanks." Arianne replied, "I told you before, these Mentari flowers need to be constantly exposed to air, or they'll wilt faster. This basket has a lot better airflow than your bag." She taps the basket. It was huge. She could fit in it if she tried to.

"Henry..." Arianne beckons him to sit next to her. Henry followed,and rests his behind on the log, not too far away from her. "Come closer..." she called to him. Henry was getting nervous. Arianne was not acting as she usually does.

This past few days, she had kept her menacing stare towards him. Every time she would see him together with Fresia, her expression will change into a scowl, and she would stare menacingly at him.

"Uh, okay..." Henry inches closer. "More..." She said once more. Henry moves in closer. a second later, Henry realized he had got dangerously close to Arianne, his legs almost touching her. then, all of a sudden...

"Don't be so shy!" Arianne suddenly hugged his left arm. "What?" Henry was taken aback by her sudden move, and tried to struggle free, to no success. Her arms was wrapped around his too tightly.

"Did you forget our promise?" Arianne suddenly questioned him, in an alluring voice that made Henry even more nervous. He knew vaguely what is happening right now. "Arianne?" He called out to her. no response. he lifts her face which was buried in his arm and gasped.

"AH!" That was all Henry could blurt out. Arianne's face was beet red, and her eyes were watery. "Oh god. Not this again..." Henry said to himself. "It was the Cintana oil, was it? Why would you do that?!" Henry said, half-shouting to Arianne.

"But, this is the only way I can confess to you!" She protested. Cintana oil. For some reason, the substance made Arianne enter a drunken state whenever she took a whiff of its vapors.It made her more,bold. And not in a good way.

"You know how dangerous that thing is to you!" Henry scolded her. "*Sniff*" Arianne sniffled, then suddenly broke into tears. "BUT! BUT! *sobs* I! She was taking you away from me! *sobs* I don't want that! *sobs* " Arianne said, sobbing all the way to the end of her sentence.

"I,what are you talking about?" Henry was suprised. He had no idea what she is talking about. wobbling around in his arms, Arianne mumbled, "That woman. Who is she?! Why would you pick her over me? I've known you for longer than she does. I LOVE YOU MORE THAN HER!" She suddenly shouts.

"AH!" Henry froze, suddenly realizing what is happening. Arianne is jealous of Fresia! She thinks Henry really is going to marry Fresia. "I,I.." Henry couldn't say a word, because he didn't know what to say.

*rustle* Suddenly a noise from the bushes shook Henry. He turned in its direction. The bushes was shaking. He slowly lowered the still sobbing Arianne onto the log and made a move towards his bow, slowly.

Before he could reach it, however, a black shadow jumped out from the bushes, pouncing on to him, knocking him down. When Henry looks up, he saw a huge wolf pinning him down. He immediately used his hands and blocked it's head, to prevent it from snapping its jaw at him.

after some struggling he managed to push the wolf off of him. However, the creature doesn't stop there. It growled menacingly at him, and when it saw Arianne laying on the log, it tried pouncing on her. However, Henry managed to jump in it wat, blocking it from reaching her.

Suddenly Henry found himself in a standoff with a raging wolf, with Arianne right behind him. Then he thought of an Idea. He had a small knife tied to his belt, and slowly moved his hand to reach it.

Before he could reach it however, a loud roar echoed across the forest, and all of a sudden, something really fast rushed in towards the wolf. In an instant, the wolf was punted off, flying right through the trees and crashing somewhere far away.

"Hey, darling." A familiar voice suddenly spoke. As the dust from the impact clears off, Fresia appears, standing near where the wolf was, with one leg extended in front of her. "*sigh*" Henry sighed, not knowing whether to scold or thank her. Then he noticed something peculiar with Fresia.

"Are those, horns?" Arianne's voice suddenly came from behind Henry. It seems that Fresia's little secret is out.