A couple of weeks passed and I really started to feel more confident in my powers. It was only recently that I learned how to talk while still being stuck as a dragon. This was how they knew my name and a couple of other things but it was still trying to talk a lot since I was not used to using mana and magic. It was kinda really exhausting using telepathy which was some form of magic.
On the other hand the tower master was coming over every now and then. He was the one teaching me a lot of stuff. Thanks to him, I could actually communicate with them and I started to get a feel for the mana around me as well as my talent. I never really knew that I could actually heal others but they kinda helped me realize that.
Of course I never told him that I found out my talent. It came to me when Ilya showed me a small little rabbit he caught the other day. It was petrified of me and was a bit hurt. Of course you wouldn't notice it a lot since the wound was not bleeding but I did see it try not to use one of the front paws. I think Ilya didn't really notice it before but he was way too proud to have caught a rabbit for that.
Anyways, the small rabbit was kinda forced to be with a huge predator such as me and as terrified as it was, it wasn't moving at all when Ilya put it down right next to me. The only thoughts I had were these:
Oh my god!
Soo cute and fluffy but what a poor thing though.
It must be soo scared of me to jump away....
And it's even hurt...
I wish it wouldn't be soo scared of me...
When I thought about that, somehow I started feeling the shift of mana and in the next instant, this small rabbit was actually jumping in front of me as if nothing happened, not even scared, not anything at all. It came rubbing itself against my cold scale out of its own free will. It was the most adorable thing I've seen soo far.
It was only after that, that all the small creatures around which got hurt came over to me when Ilya wouldn't be there. I don't get how or why but this small space was actually filled with soo many small animals, deers and at some point even wild horses, I mean unicorns. A unicorn was very very rare and considered to be nearly instinct but I had one right here leading a pack of horses. It seemed to me as if this forest was the place for them.
When the tower master saw me being surrounded by soo many animals, wolves, birds, name it and it probably was around me.
There was one instant and I remember that clearly, when I was sleeping and had a pack of wolves around me. They were soo soft to be around but the moment the Tower Master came a bit too close to me, they immediately started growling and protecting me. The growl on its own woke me up. The most ridiculous thing was the Tower Master getting attacked by wild wolves and they even managed to overpower him.
Well to be fair, they were not normal wolves at all. They were something called elemental wolves. Each wolf looked normal but they kinda could switch back and forth between their elemental form. That meant that the fire wolves had a fur coat out of fire and the water wolves had a fur made out of water, they on their own were complete water and could switch to a liquid state. The earth wolves had a bit of a bush like appearance and the air one looked a bit invisible but also like a mixture of clouds. They were flying and hovering above the ground at all times. Now all these wolves were normal size wolves but once they change their appearance, they suddenly are around 2 meter high.
It was truly a sight to see.
Anyways, I learned quickly that all these creatures which were afraid of me first, started to warm up to me and also started to try and protect me. Who knew why but it felt a bit weird and wholesome at the same time. Just imagining them being around me at all times was making me feel happy.
Well fluff was always something which could melt a girls and boys heart pretty easily.
Even Ilya seemed to enjoy being with these animals. Though I was sure I was enjoying this a lot more.
"Vivi!"
"Ilya, what's up?"
This little guy would come running calling my name over and over these last few weeks. It was ever after he learned my name that he would do that. He might be a bit older than me but he was definitely a trouble maker. Of course this boy told me stories about things he proudly did but in reality he just caused either havoc or chaos. However he was definitely skilled and no one could tell him anything about that. He might be young but he was definitely above the average level of a mage at that point. I might also be wrong for thinking like that but I knew from the book's content that he had a lot of potential in him. Besides the Tower Master was doting on him and it was pretty obvious when they were both here.
Then again what did you expect from the next tower master?
"I need your help!"
"My help?"
"Yeah! I know I shouldn't ask this but I have too!"
"Calm down. What happened?"
"It's terrible!"
"Ilya, calm down."
"No! There is no time for this."
First I thought he just ran here because he was excited like always but when he got closer to me, I realized that his face was not one of excitement but worry and panic. Something had happened and for Ilya to come running towards me meant that there was no other way out than to ask me for help.
"Breathe and tell me what happened."
"There is no time for this!"
"There is always time for this. What do expect me to do when I get there not knowing what happened?"
"Ahm.... I am sorry."
"It's okay. Just tell me quickly what happened."
"The king's knights came and the prince was with them!"
This can't be good!
I knew that the prince of this kingdom was the worst man there could be. From the outside he appeared to be gentle but he was rotten to the core from the inside. He was evil in person. What people knew about the prince with golden hair was only that he was gentle and liked to help out poor people. He had a lot of charity events and would go out of his way to improve his image. Well that was the rundown of the good side.
The bad side of this rotten apple was that the prince killed his own siblings with poison so he could take over the throne one day. Back then he was the third child of a concubine. Not only that but he killed his own mother too. No one knew that a six year old child could even do something like this. Well his mother kinda did since he started killing off his pet birds one by one and usually would harm his servants too. However no words were allowed to get out and so the servants who witnessed this cruelty were all killed. Of course they were switched out and when he finally became the corn prince, all the servants inside the castle knew not to talk about what they saw or their lives would be over. That was a matter of fact which the public never learned about.
Seeing as he was here, could only mean one thing. He wanted something from the tower which would give him the ultimate power to control the people.
"What happened next?"
"We are not obligated to let them in and our tower master refused to let them in."
"Alright but how do you need help then?"
"They have a mage with them which opens up a gate to get in.... They are killing off all the people inside right now!"
"WHAT?!"
How is that possible?
This shouldn't be happening!
This is not something the book said.
The crown needs the tower!
Why are they killing every mage?!
What did they find out?
What did I miss?
Ah whatever!
This is not the time to think about it!
I have to act quickly!
"Please Vivi! Please save them!"
"Lead the way!"
One thing was sure, for the last couple weeks, I grew pretty quickly and by now I was not the size of a dog but actually about 2 meters and a bit more in height. I for sure could take on some knights but what then? Could I really fight? Did I even know how to fight even? The fact still remains that I never killed a fly! How was I supposed to fight them all off?
It might have been a crazy idea but there was really nothing I could think about at all. I had to help them as they were so kind to help me out. How could I not help them out now? It would be something I would regret for the rest of my life for sure.
"Follow me!"
"Wait!"
"Huh?"
I alone wouldn't be enough, we needed as much help as possible. Even though I didn't liked to resort to this, I didn't see any other chance of us winning.
"ROOOOAAAR!"
My call was for all the animals to come and help us out. They would be involved in this fight sooner or later anyways. If the magic tower would fall, then this forest protection would be gone and with it was the peace that these animals were living in as well. Everything would change and I feel as if the forest would soon change for the worse.
"Vivi, what are you doing?"
"Calling for help."
"Who? Are there more dragons around here?"
"No but animals."
"Animals? What can they do?"
He should know more than that. In this forest, a unicorn did reside and not only that but a pack of elemental wolves as well. They were not easy to defeat at all and they were definitely a challenge for any non magician for sure. Then there were a lot of birds which would make fighting them hell for the knights.
A flock of ravens was after all not called murder for no reasons.
"Don't underestimate them! This is their home as well! They have a right to fight with us."
"You're right... I am sorry."
"Now lead the way, I will follow you from above."
Certainly, the nights were not expecting a dragon which would come down at them or ravens that were flying in front of me to cover me. The wolves were all running after Ilya and I could even see the unicorn as well as other animals like squirrels and foxes come out to fight too. This was their home after all. I was sure they all could feel the danger. Instead of fighting against something unknown they would abandon this home. Why should they do that though? It was not their fault after all.
This is ridiculous!
Why should the crown be here?
What changed the storyline soo much?
Or am I the reason for that?
If this is true then I can't think about the storyline anymore!
Nothing would go according to it!
How could I even think the future was set in stone?!
I was the one who wanted to change it so why am I this surprised....
No... this is worry!
I knew the feeling deep down in my chest was not just worry but uncertainty. Up until now, I could act this free because I thought I knew the future but right now, I realized that I didn't at all. Every action I would take had a cause and a reaction. This reaction would change the future I knew and create soo many different kinds of opportunities and threats as well!
I was the one exposing a spy at the duchy and got nearly killed.
I was the one who got Emilia as a maid and made her suffer.
I was the one who made Rosetta scared of me and be punished which for sure would affect her relationship with the crown prince.
And lastly...
I was the one here in the forest which had the Tower Master spend some time away from his own tower...who knows what that created for an effect.
No matter how I looked at it, I was the one who was the cause of everything. Now I had to actually make it all up!