𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 ⸻ 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝘅𝗶𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗻 [ completed ! ]

𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭

❝𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐬!❞

❝𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧!❞

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

      "SO, BEING THE granddaughter of the Queen had some benefits like...well, I can't think of any right now, but I'm pretty sure I had something. I only knew stories about her because of my father. He said that the dragon in the dungeon used to eat the prisoners that were really bad." Thirteen year-old Alucia hummed as she held Lina's hand through the castle ruins. The young Zhang daughter only followed, enchanted by the mention of the castle dragon and by her new friend. It had been years since she found another spellcaster that was kind and it was refreshing.

      Lina brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes, trying to keep up with her new friend as they began to descend a flight of stairs below the castle. The two girls paused on one of the landings once the darkness began to envelope around them. Lina allowed a small orb of scarlet light to manifest in her free hand, providing more light to continue their adventure.

      "My mother used to tell me stories about the Soaring Isles. She said that she went there once and she was able to care for the dragons there," Lina said as they finally reached the bottom of the stairs. There were fragments of stone falling from the walls and jagged pieces of metal bars sticking out like spears ready to pierce anyone unlucky enough to run into them. She kept closer to Alucia, almost hiding behind her as she allowed the orb of light to guide them. "I don't like this. You said that only royals were allowed to see the dragon."

      Alucia paused to turn back to the girl. "I promise that I won't let you get hurt. Why would I want to hurt you? Us spellcasters have to look out for each other after all."

      Lina allowed a small smile to form on her face. She trusted her new friend a little more after her new promise, but she still kept close. Alucia had the bravery she currently didn't have, which was something she knew that she had to work on. She swallowed her fear and the two girls finally stopped in their tracks. In front of them now laid a giant domed area where low growls could be heard. Amidst the darkness, the shape of a resting dragon could be faintly seen. Alucia started creeping towards it, careful not to anger it.

      "I don't recall ever allowing a visitor into my cavern," The dragon's deep voice began. Loud thuds slammed against the cracked stone ground until fire spewed from the dragon's mouth. Lina clung onto Alucia, burying her face into the older girl's back in fear as her own scarlet orb faded away. Was this how she was going to die? By the hands of an irritated dragon? No, she didn't want to die yet.

      "Ah, ah, ah! The Queen's dragon always allowed royals to visit." Alucia reminded the dragon, keeping her tone level and fearless.

      Lina heard the creature stalk closer to them and she held onto her friend tighter. The low growls became closer and closer, freezing her in her place, as if the creature was inspecting her and figuring out if she was worthy enough to be in its presence.