The sky looked sleepy at dawn. Distant sounds of crickets buzzed outside and a lush smell of soil and wood filled the air. It was raining softly. The sound of the raindrops gently tapping on the window was what woke Maya up.
Maya slowly opened her eyes, feeling Egar's breath on her face, warm and smoky. Maya could even see the dragon's eyelids flutter in his sleep, probably chasing the image in his wild dreams.
Maya looked at Egar's face in a pale light of dawn. She couldn't believe the beast was actually more than a thousand years old. His human form looked like he was the same or even younger than Maya - does that mean dragons usually live much longer? Maya was lost in her thought as the dragon murmured unintelligibly in his sleep, his lips slightly apart.
Egar groaned again softly in his sleep, his face suddenly distorted.
"No......" The beast muttered as if he was in pain. His body tensed up and the beast clenched his fist, hard.
He must be having a bad dream, Maya realized.
Maya hesitantly stretched out her hand and placed it on top of Egar's hair. She patted the beast gently, afraid of waking him up too suddenly. Her fingers stroked the smooth hair, lightly.
Egar sighed, his body relaxing little by little. Soon, his breathing became deep and rhythmic. Maya kept on patting Egar, thinking that for the first time, she actually felt like she was taming the beast in some way - which was another way around most of the time.
She could have kept on patting Egar for the whole day, just listening to the calming rainfall outside. However, the peace was broken when an urgent message began to appear from the top of her staff.
Maya yelped, leaping to her desk to catch the staff and running outside the room. The beast was still undisturbed, sleeping soundly.
"Hello??" Maya whispered outside the dormitory corridor, opening the message.
"Maya-! My goodness, are you alright?"
It was her parents. They must have heard everything from the council and the school by now - about her less than desirable familiar summoning event.
"I'm alright. Don't worry about me."
"How could we not worry about you? The beast, how could you have summoned something like that?"
"I really have no idea. I was just practicing for my school exam...and I just happened to name him before I knew he was literally a dragon."
A long sigh came from the other end of the message.
"The beast is alright? Is he violent? Did he try to hurt you in any way?"
Maya thought back to the beast sleeping in her room. Kissing doesn't count as hurting, Maya guessed.
"No...not really. He's fine. Just an old creature really."
"You can't trust a dragon though. They are known for their deceiving quality and love for violence and murder - it is bound to follow its instinct sooner or later."
"Yeah...I will keep an eye on him. I named him so he is under my command for now though," Maya scratched her head. Although she felt like she was the one following the beast's command most of the time.
"Speaking of the Code of Vocamen, we heard from the council that they are figuring out how to break that ancient spell. And right after the code is broken, the council is planning to kill the dragon for real this time."
"...What????" Maya's voice rang loudly in the empty corridor. Maya looked around and whispered into the staff again -
"What??"
"The beast couldn't be killed 500 years ago because he was too powerful from all the mavis he has consumed. That was why he was sealed instead in his nest. Since a lot of time has passed and he is weak by your familiar contract, the council thinks it will be feasible and better for the community to kill him right after the code is broken. Isn't that such a relief??"
"But-but...he's not causing any trouble now!"
"Maya, that beast has killed numerous magicians and burned more than hundreds of towns to fill its hunger. We can't have that kind of creature free again. What if he gets summoned by someone more powerful so that he can go back to its true form?"
Maya fell silent.
"You can never trust a dragon."
There was a long silence again.
"...Alright," Maya whispered finally.
.
.
After the call, Maya walked shakily back to her room.
When she came back to her room, Egar was already awake, sitting on a chair, reading a school spellbook.
"Good morning, Maya," Egar yawned.
"...Good morning," Maya replied, her voice weak.
"I was thinking we can practice another elementary spell today - how about this one... controlling the heat of the fire?" The beast failed to notice Maya's nervousness and went on flipping the book.
"...are you hungry?" Maya asked, trying to sound normal.
"Nah, not too much. I can skip it this morning no worries," Egar smiled at her.
Maya smiled back at her, feeling a little better. There should be a way to tame this dragon - she just needs to figure out how.
"Egar... you said you really killed all the people 500 years ago, right?" Maya asked, trying to figure out the beast's history.
"Yeah," Egar nodded nonchalantly, still reading the book.
"Because you were hungry?"
"Yeah," Egar nodded again, expressionless.
"But you said you don't eat everything now....... So, do you think you can control hunger? What happened?" Maya asked carefully.
Egar flashed a warning look at Maya, annoyed.
"Why are you so interested in my past? I was just hungry and I ate a lot of people. That was a bad choice - I was locked in my nest for a few hundred years so I learned my lesson. Are you afraid of me all of a sudden?"
"No, no. I just...it's hard to imagine you like that. How it happened, you know?"
"Nothing happened. I was just blind from hunger. Now we can try....."
"And who is ... Reia?" Maya blurted out, remembering Egar's sleep talk last night. Possibly, the person is related to the beast's story 500 years ago.
As soon as Maya said the name, Egar's eyes widened. He leaped up and clutched Maya's neck.
"How do you know her name?" Egar growled lowly.
Maya gulped, afraid of the beast's menacing face.
"You said it in your sleep."
Egar flinched from the answer, but he looked angry still.
"Young magician, these questions will not lead you anywhere. Just focus on your study and if you ever EVER say that name again, I will rip your head off. Understood?"
The beast threw Maya to the floor. Maya coughed, trying to regain her breath.
"I'm getting some fresh air," the beast snapped as it flew out of the balcony.
The rain was still pouring, but the beast didn't seem to care.
.
.
After the beast left the room, Maya tottered to the library, searching for every book mentioning the beast. She realized she only knew a vague idea of the beast but she never learned the specifics.
The history all told a terrible story about the beast. The book ranted on how he devoured all the magicians, even the children with such a small mavis. How he destroyed and burned the town to ashes, gathering all the magicians up and gulping it in one go. He literally was the beast, and Maya could understand why the council has decided to seal him, hopefully forever in his nest.
Then Maya found the name that caught her attention -
Reihanza Malonai. The greatest magician of all time who sealed the beast with her own magic.
Could she be Reia? Maya wondered as she read the paragraph about her. The paragraph described how she was the only one capable of sealing the beast to its nest and was praised for her accomplishment even to these days. Maya sighed and closed the book.
Why does she care so much about his familiar? Among all the magicians, familiars were just mere replaceable creatures, could be summoned up by the dozens.
The council's decision to kill the beast made perfect sense. But why couldn't she let the beast die?
"I must be going crazy," Maya muttered.
Yeah, she should really get ready to surrender her familiar and let him go. It's insane to jeopardize the whole wizarding society just because she likes her familiar. The dragon was a dangerous creature, after all, proven by history.
Maya walked back to her room, expecting it to be empty. However, when she walked into the room, Egar was sitting on the bed, soaked wet.
The beast looked sad.
"What-Egar, are you alright?"
Concerned, Maya hurriedly got some towels and knelt beside Egar to dry his hair and face.
The beast didn't say a word as Maya ruffled his hair in the towel in an attempt to dry him.
"What happened? Are you cold?" Maya asked again.
Egar finally opened his mouth.
"...I'm sorry."
"What?"
"I'm sorry about snapping at you earlier. I just have a really bad memory of that person, that's all. I admit that I did lots of mistakes in my past but I don't do that anymore. I hope you trust me on this."
Egar looked up, his gaze piercing Maya.
Dragons shouldn't be trusted.
However, Maya couldn't bring herself to think that the dragon was deceiving her now. No, Egar's eyes were honest and sincere. Maya's heart ached to realize that the beast, how horrendous he might have been 500 years ago, was a different creature when she looked at him.
I can't let him die. There must be a misunderstanding.
Maya realized she should think of a way to prove that the beast is not dangerous anymore. And she had to think it fast, before the council figures out how to break the code of Vocamen.
"I'm sorry," the beast drooped his head again as he apologized to Maya.
Maya kept her silence as she kept drying off Egar's hair. Finally, Maya opened her mouth.
"It's alright...do you want dinner?"
And it was Maya who leaned in first this time to kiss Egar on the lips.