Three days passed, and Frederick was turning out to be right. Nothing out of the ordinary happened; still, Leo couldn't help but feel something was coming. Nevertheless, everyone in the castle tried to put him at ease. Frederick had written the whole thing off as a prank and remained intent on discovering the identity of the prankster. Wanting to help in any way she could, Ellina, who was the head-chef of the castle, did not leave Leo's side, and found out his favourite food so she could learn how to cook it for him.
When Leo admitted his fear of the masked man, Hikaru laughed.
"With me around, you won't have anything to worry about," she promised, twirling her sword in the air with menace.
Lucy was just so cheerful most of the time it was hard for Leo to worry about anything around her. Even Ephideus was less apathetic than usual, somehow.
Lucy walked with Leo to the training area for one of Leo's lessons with Hikaru, as she wanted to watch. Hikaru was, as usual, waiting for her pupil in the centre of the arena, with her brother watching quietly from the benches.
Leo climbed into the arena with his new sword in hand. It was a beautiful longsword, with a hilt made of silver encrusted with amethysts; the cross guards were shaped like wings and the pummel like a star. It was lighter than the average sword, according to Frederick, because it was made of a special kind of metal that didn't exist in the real world. Lucy stayed on the edge to watch, and after Leo and his master greeted each other, she shouted:
"Be nice to him, Hikki! He bruises a lot!"
"I know, Lucy, but it's hard to go any easier on him."
"Wow," Leo interrupted. "You both are so funny, how about I make you two jesters?"
The girls laughed it off and Hikaru continued.
"Either way, don't worry; it will be a different lesson this time."
"What do you mean?" asked Leo.
"We're not going to fight today. In fact, you can put your sword down."
A confused expression spread across Leo's face, while Lucy sighed, disappointed she wouldn't get to see the king have his ass kicked after all. Nevertheless, Leo did as he was told and the commander explained what she had in mind.
"Being strong and fast and skilled with a blade isn't enough. If you want to fight so well that no one can match you, you need concentration. And that's still a problem with you, you lack focus."
"No, I don't!"
"Shut up. Now, what I'm going to tell you is something not many people know about and even fewer have experienced it. My father called it 'a state of total awareness' although I'm sure someone, somewhere has come up with a better name for it."
"And what is it?"
"Basically it is a state of extreme concentration. If you achieve it you become fully aware of your surroundings, all your senses heighten. Time seems to slow down. You could be surrounded by ten enemies, and you'll be able to fight them all off, as you'll be able to keep up with each of their movements. You'll be able to perfectly control every muscle in your body. It's how I was able to stand on the blade of your sword on our first day of training. Perfect muscle control, perfect balance. Now, let's start with something simple. I'll extend my blade in front of your eyes, and I want you to focus purely on your own reflection."
Leo tried to focus on the reflection of his eyes, but he couldn't help but notice the ideograms on the blade.
"What do these symbols mean?" he asked.
"Quiet! Concentrate. Just so you don't keep thinking about it, it means 'to fight and protect'. My family motto. Now, focus."
He tried again, but he still noticed something else on the reflection that called his attention.
"Say, who—"
"Silence!"
"But who—"
"Shut it!"
"The man—"
"Shh!"
"He's with Sasuke!"
"What?"
Now, she was interested. Leo pointed to the benches behind him, where Sasuke was sitting next to a man in armour, who was fruitless attempts at starting a conversation. Lucy climbed onto the arena to join them; Hikaru sheathed Yawarakai-te and shouted at the man.
"Heiron! If you have matters to discuss, do it with me, not my baby brother."
The man looked at his commander, not very respectfully. He had a long, triangular chin and wavy hair of a strange, light grey colour, despite his young age. He wore the usual slim, silver armour of an Asaelian warrior, but the man was quite slender and not very imposing. Sasuke jumped off from the bench and ran to Hikaru, who picked him up. Heiron stood up from the bench and answered.
"My apologies, Commander, I didn't want to interrupt your lesson, but I have a message for you and for the king. More accurately, Frederick has a message; he wants to talk to you two."
"Very well. We'll go see him, you're dismissed."
The man left. Hikaru looked at her little brother.
"What was he talking to you about, honey?" she asked.
"Nothing much..."
"Who was that?" asked Leo.
"My second-in-command, Heiron."
"He doesn't seem to like you very much. And what's with his hair?"
"He doesn't, really. He was the second-in-command to the previous commander in charge, so he should have taken over when she left. She chose me as successor instead. I don't think he was too fond of that decision. As for the hair, he's probably from Arkania; people there have the strangest hair colours. If you think grey is strange you should see the ones with blue or green hair. Now, come on, let's see what Frederick wants. Lucy, take my brother to his room, please."
"Sure, Hikki," Lucy said.
Leo and Hikaru headed to the throne room, while Lucy took Sasuke to Hikaru's quarters. Frederick waited for them near the throne, with a worried frown on his face.
"Something wrong, Frederick?" Leo asked.
"Yes, we have a problem."
"What's going on?"
"A messenger from the town of Athalia has arrived today, with very troubling news. Apparently, Athalia was attacked by a dragon."
Leo's heart stopped for a second. A dragon, a real, actual dragon, was attacking an Asaelian town. And it would probably be Leo's job to stop it. He was overcome with excitement and fear, like the first time he took flight. He didn't know if he should fly at that very moment to see the dragon or hide in his room. But a much more troubling thought entered Leo's mind. Was this a realization of the masked man's threats or just a coincidence?
"Very well," Hikaru said. "I'll take a division out to Athalia and we'll take care of it, right, Leo?"
Leo had no idea what to say. How was he going to fight off a dragon? But it was his job, he was the king, he had to be involved with this kind of problem, even if it was just to observe and learn as Hikaru dealt with the actual situation.
"OK," he said. "Let's go. I guess it's urgent, we should get going."
*****
After throwing on some travel clothes, Leo met Hikaru and a group of about five soldiers, including Themba and Heiron, at the stables, on the eastern end of the castle grounds. Though he could fly, Leo had some experience on horseback from his youth, and he preferred to travel alongside the group.
The very familiar and distinct smell of horses attacked him as soon as he entered the stables. The other members of the party were already standing next to their horses and preparing them for the journey. Laurel was there, picking up a saddle from a rack. As he did, he flinched and glanced at his index finger, from which dripped a vibrant stream of blood.
Heiron, who by the naked appearance of his horse was the one expecting the saddle, walked over to Laurel's side, with a displeased expression. He grabbed Laurel's hand to examine it, then picked up the saddle from his arms.
"A splinter, sir," Laurel said.
"Got some blood on my saddle," Heiron said, looking at it rather than at Laurel.
"I'm sorry, sir. I'll get another for you."
"No, it's fine," Heiron brought the saddle over to his horse. "Accidents happen, it's not a catastrophe. Fetch me my bridles, please."
"Yes, sir,"
As Laurel turned around, he noticed Leo coming in.
"Your Majesty?" he asked, confused. "Do you wish for a horse?"
"Of course not, Laurel," Heiron said. "His Majesty can fly."
"Actually, I would like a horse, Laurel," Leo said. "Thank you."
Laurel went further in the stables towards the occupied stalls. As he brought a strong black stallion over to him, Leo felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Ready for our trip, birdie?" Hikaru said as she passed by him and climbed on a silver mare.
"I'm not sure how to be ready to deal with a dragon, but sure."
"Leave the dragon to us. You'll be there mostly to show up. You'll watch and learn, nothing more."
She rode out of the stables before Leo could say anything. The other members of the group, including Leo himself, also mounted and rode out. Soon, Leo left the city for the first time, headed to explore the rest of that new kingdom.
The way to their destination didn't feature much of interest, but it was a pleasant trek. It took some time, and the group had to spend the night in an inn by the road. When they resumed their journey, very early the following morning, Hikaru rode far ahead of the group. Leo, who lagged behind, struck a conversation with Themba, who had his dog running beside his horse.
"It appears she likes you, milord," Themba said.
"Is that right?" Leo said, looking at Crocotta. "You like me, girl?" Crocotta barked in response. "She's pretty friendly for a war hound."
"Oh, she's very sweet when not in battle. Should've seen her when she was a puppy."
"How far back do you two go?"
"I got her as a puppy when I was younger than yourself."
Wait, what? Leo took a closer look at Themba. He seemed like a man in his mid-thirties, but there was no way for his dog to have lived that long, so maybe he was younger than he looked.
"How old is she?" he asked, feeling that it would be impolite to ask that of him.
"She's twenty-one, milord, still in her prime."
Jesus, that's a long living dog, he thought. Maybe it's magic.
"You said you got her. You mean, she was a present?"
"It's a tradition in my land," he shook his head. "All soldiers are accompanied by a hound."
"Where are you from?" Leo asked.
"A distant kingdom, way to the south. All young warriors get a war hound to accompany them. When I came to Asaelia and joined the forces, Commander Miyamoto let me keep Crocotta. But, of course, she forbade me to take it near young Lucy."
"Yes," Leo laughed. "You definitely shouldn't. Still, I hadn't seen her that angry before."
"Commander Miyamoto likes young Lucy a lot, she doesn't allow anything to even come close to harming her. But that wasn't her being angry, she was just being firm. She doesn't get angry so easily."
"Well, if that wasn't angry I'll try my best not to get her angry with me."
"You really should try that, milord," Themba laughed.
The sun hadn't risen far above the horizon when they reached Athalia, which didn't look all that different from Adharie, aside from not having a giant, majestic castle in the middle. They were greeted by a middle-aged, skinny man with a goat-like beard, dressed mostly in green and beige and wearing a short, square hat.
"Welcome, Your Majesty," said the man. "And welcome to your company. I'm Marcel, mayor of Athalia. You might not remember it, but I was there at your coronation."
"Thank you, but no, I didn't see you there," said Leo, dismounting from his horse.
"Would you show us around town, Lord Marcel?" said Hikaru, doing the same. "And fill us in on the situation?"
The mayor did as instructed and accompanied the group around town. Athalia was deserted, as it had been evacuated shortly after the second attack. The population had moved to camps near Adharie as soon as the messenger arrived at the castle. Marcel explained that the first attack happened two days prior, in the early morning. The dragon attacked the town for no reason at all, burning several houses to the ground, but one hour later, the creature stopped, went to the river that passed near the town, drank some water and stood by it for about another hour, and then left. The event was so strange and sudden; the mayor had no idea what to do. But on the following day, it all happened again, in the same way: attack, lake, drinking, standing, and leaving. By this point an entire district had been burned to the ground, but, at least on the second day, no one died, and the mayor decided to evacuate the town and call for help.
"This is very strange," said Hikaru. "Dragons don't usually go looking for towns to attack. It happens, but it's very rare. Is it possible that the town is located too close the creature's territory?"
"No, ma'am," the mayor explained. "This dragon lives in the mountains, far away from here. It was always so peaceful, never gave any town any trouble, until now."
"Excuse me, sir," Heiron interrupted. "You said one of the districts was burned down, which one was it?"
"The southeast district."
Heiron's face started losing colour.
"A-and d-did any of the... people who lived there... did any of them die?"
The mayor's expression grew sombre.
"Yes."
"Who?" Heiron shouted.
"A few people, four, three men and a woman," the mayor took one step away from Heiron.
"A woman?"
"Yes."
Heiron had forgotten his manners and shook the mayor, yelling.
"Her name? What was her name?"
"Uh... Lillian, I think," said the mayor.
Heiron let the mayor go and stopped with the questions. He was completely pale.
"Did you know Lillian, Heiron?" asked Hikaru.
"We..." he answered, forcing the words out. "We were... close. It's all I'll say."
Leo felt like someone had grabbed his heart and squeezed it. Was he responsible for this? Did Heiron lose his friend because Leo didn't leave when the masked man told him to? Hikaru offered Heiron her condolences and turned to the mayor.
"Thank you, Lord Marcel. You should retreat to a safe place before the beast comes. As for us, we should find a hiding place in those woods by the river."
"What's the plan?" asked Leo, while the group started walking to the gates to leave the town.
"When is the best time to approach a dragon, Leo?"
"After it drinks water," he answered, remembering his lessons. "When their throats are wet, they can't breathe fire."
"Exactly. If the event is repeated the exact same way, then the dragon should end its attack to drink water. We'll wait in the woods until it's done drinking and we can make our move."
"Wait, Hikaru, don't you think something is a little... off?"
"You thought so too, I see. Yes, this isn't a normal occurrence by any means. But we should worry about the safety of the town first, and then look deeper at the situation."
"It's strange, isn't it? Why would it drink water? Does it want to be attacked?"
"If that's what it wants, then it can have it. We'll try a surprise attack. I brought gear to tackle dragons—"
Hikaru was interrupted by a loud, thunderous roar. A beastly sound filled the air and the group turned their heads to see a dot rapidly growing in the sky. Something was coming. The dragon was coming.
"We'll talk later," Hikaru concluded. "Hurry!"