The Dracomancer

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: REGAINED TRUST

The next day, Alex noticed that Felicia and the others seemed wary of him, and withdrawn. He had reached an agreement with Felicia the day before that they needed some space until they sorted things out, but that didn't explain why Artemis and Jaden were like that as well. Even Nick seemed to be on guard. Alex knew something was up, but he would wait until after lessons to ask Artemis.
In his swordplay lessons, Jaden first told Alex that he had mastered the basic two-handed strikes and would work on the more complex two-handed maneuvers in the second half. He then started off Alex with one-handed disarming again until the break. During the break, Jaden sat and ate with Alex, but he didn't speak. Something was definitely up, but Alex would stick to the plan of asking Artemis after the lessons. After the break, Jaden taught Alex how to parry and block with a two-handed sword. Alex caught him off guard with the disarming technique that he had taught himself, but Jaden merely went over to his sword and picked it up without a word.
After the lessons, Alex found Artemis where she used to train him in attack spells. He had a feeling that this meant that she missed speaking with him, but he wouldn't talk about it. He had come to ask her why everyone was so quiet around him.
"Hey Artemis. What's up?" He started.
"Talk to Serena," she replied.
"About what?" He asked. Something was definitely up. It wasn't like Artemis to just brush him aside so casually.
"Don't worry about it. Just go talk to her," Artemis responded.
"Okay," Alex finished in a confused tone.
Alex found Serena in the study where she had given him his lessons. He could tell that the news was bad, but he wasn't about to jump to conclusions. However, what she told him shook him to the core.
"I know why you're here, Alexander. Unfortunately, it has come to my attention that you are a dormant Dragon God. Do you know what that means?" She started.
"Yeah. Felicia told me about the Dragon God. She said that I wouldn't be able to take that form, though," Alex said.
"That was probably before I told her. I trust that she told you what it is capable of and the risks that come from activating it?" Serena continued.
"She told me that it was powerful enough to destroy every world in existence and that nothing would be able to stop it, but she also said that even if I did manage to go into that form, I would not be able to control it," Alex answered.
"She told you the truth, then. I am afraid of what will happen if it wakes, which is why I don't want the others getting personally involved with you. I hope you understand," she stated.
"I understand just fine. The very thing that will put a stop to your troubles is what scares you, so I'm now an outcast. Thanks for ruining a good thing." He threw in that last bit to let her know how he felt about it.
"I'm sorry, Alexander. I just don't want to take unnecessary risks. The demons are a lesser evil," Serena stated.
"You may say that now, but you'll be regretting this in the future." He left without another word.
Serena knew that he was hurt, but she didn't know what else to say. Then she realized that he might go rogue, but it was too late to make amends. The damage was done and it would never fully heal. She realized that he would have made a much wiser leader than her, but that probably wouldn't happen now. She had never regretted anything more than this.
As he stormed out of the study, Alex passed by Felicia. She could tell that he was hurt, and knew why. He knew. She hadn’t wanted this to happen, but she knew that whatever Serena had told him had left permanent damage. She wanted to talk to him to help ease his pain, but he looked like he just needed to be left alone for a while. She had never seen him like this before, and it broke her heart, but she knew he needed time to cool off, and didn't want to interfere with that. Maybe he would be willing to talk after an hour or two. She would try in two hours and hope for the best. However, she knew that she would probably be able to find him venting his anger on the practice dummy with a sword.

Two hours later, Felicia went to the combat practice area to find Alex, and sure enough, he was there, viciously swinging a two-handed sword at the practice dummy. She had known that he was angry, but the fact that he was still going strong two hours later told her that she should be careful about how she approached him.
"Hi, Alex. Do you need to talk?" She asked.
"I appreciate the thought, but there's not much to talk about," he replied.
"I saw you storm out of the study earlier. I take it your meeting with Serena didn't go well?" She asked. He was making an effort to be civilized. He still cared about her.
"She told me what she knew. It's hard to believe that I'm a dormant Dragon God on top of being the Dragon Wizard. The worst part is that I'm not supposed to get too close to you or the others," he said, still swinging.
"And you're upset about that because you feel like an outcast again?"
"Yeah. And it wasn't even anything I said this time. I feel like the last thing I need is a leash, but I'm on one. Now Serena's biggest concern is when I'll snap and react. I made that clear," he continued, still swinging.
"Are you going rogue?" Felicia asked, worried about what he had just said.
"Of course not! That's not what I meant. My plan is to fulfill my destiny alone. If Serena doesn't want me getting close to you, I may as well start my journey after I complete my swordplay training while everyone else is asleep. Besides, if I go alone, nobody I care about will get caught in the crossfire. It'll be a win-win," Alex said, taking a break from venting his anger on the dummy.
"What do you plan on doing about the Dragon God?" She asked.
"I'm going to save it as a last resort against the demons," he said, swinging the sword at the dummy again.
"How do you plan to do that when you don't know how to wake it?"
"I'll research it in my spare time. The library is huge. I'll look in the restricted section if I have to. Actually, that's where I'll start," he answered, still swinging.
"You don't have to do this, Alex. There has to be another way. I'll talk to Serena about this soon, I promise," Felicia said, trying to reassure him.
"I would appreciate the effort, but I doubt you'll get anywhere with that," Alex responded, putting the sword away.
"You didn't see her face after you stormed out. I did. Whatever you said to her before leaving left her with the feeling that she had made a huge mistake," Felicia stated.
"In that case, you might have better luck than I thought. Thanks!"
"You're welcome, Alex. Before I met you, I would not have had the confidence to do this. I'm still grateful for that."
"Aren't you afraid of what I could become?" He asked.
"I was when I first heard about it, but I have a feeling you might be able to control it if I'm with you. I guess your uncanny instincts are starting to rub off on me," Felicia answered.
"I've had a similar feeling myself, but there's no guarantee. Only time will tell," Alex replied.
"I know you well enough to know that if you have a feeling about something like that, it will probably happen, Alex," she said.
"So far, that has been the case, but I don't want to take the chance that my feelings are leading me astray this time, so I'm still going to try to save it as a last resort to use against the demons," he stated.
"I understand your hesitancy, Alex, but you may have been right when you said that it might be what we need to win this war," she replied.
"I'll think about it. However, I'm still going to research it to find out how to wake it. If we need it to win the war, I'll need to know how to do that," he finished.
44
Another two hours later, Felicia went to the study to talk to Serena about what Alex had told her, but found her mysteriously dead. She knew what she needed to do. She ran to find Alex. He would be able to revive Serena. As for Felicia herself, there was no telling how long Serena had been dead and Felicia didn't want to take the chance of being unable to revive her.

Alex was about to call it a night when Felicia ran up to him, breathing hard. He knew something was wrong. It wasn't like Felicia to come running up to him unless it was serious.
"What's the matter, Felicia?" He asked, concerned.
"Serena...dead...study," she panted.
"Stay here and catch your breath. I'll go there now. Join me when you're ready," he said.
"Thank you," she said, relieved. It was things like this that reminded her of why she still loved him.

Alex entered the study and sure enough, Serena's lifeless body was there. He used compassion this time. He was relieved when she gasped for air. He gave her time to regain her bearings.
"How did you know where to find me?" She asked him.
"Felicia came by earlier to talk to you about something and came to me when she found you dead. I'm glad she came to me rather than trying to revive you herself. It's been about four hours since we talked and there was no way of telling how long you were dead," he answered.
"I killed myself about an hour after our talk, so she was wise to go to you," Serena responded.
"Why did you kill yourself?" Alex asked.
"I realized that I had made a mistake in telling the others not to get personally involved with you. Without friends among us, you would have no reason to fight alongside us. I was worried that you might go rogue, and started resenting myself for what I said to the others. Please don't tell them what happened here," she answered.
"I won't. I promise. Felicia knows you died here somehow, but I won't tell her it was suicide," he replied.
"Thank you."
Serena felt that she owed Alex a debt she could never repay, but that was okay. For all she knew, the Dragon God might never wake and if it did, he might even be able to control it. Now that she thought about it, she was starting to believe he would. She had heard that the ones who couldn't control it had all been corrupt. Alex was the least corrupt person she knew. He would be able to control it with ease.
"Oh!! Thank goodness you're alright, Serena!" Felicia exclaimed as she arrived.
"Thank you, Felicia. May I speak with you privately?" Serena asked.
"Absolutely," Felicia answered.
"I'll be just outside," Alex said, letting them know that he would allow them their privacy, but if they needed him, he wouldn't be far.
"Thank you, Alex," Felicia said. She was reminded again of why she fell in love with him in the first place.
"I was wrong about Alexander. I can tell now that he will be able to control the Dragon God, even when it wakes," Serena said when Alex had left.
"What do you mean?" Felicia asked.
"I recalled hearing about the ones who couldn't control it. All of them were corrupt. That can't be a coincidence. On the other hand, Alexander is the least corrupt person I know. He will be able to control it with ease," Serena replied.
"So you trust him with it, now?"
"I trust him with more than just the Dragon God. I trust him to rule once this war is settled. He has demonstrated that he is wiser than even I. I would like you to tell the others what I just told you. Tell them to treat him as they did before I told them he was a dormant Dragon God," Serena said with justification.
"I will," Felicia replied.
"I would also like you to do the same," Serena said with a knowing smile.
Felicia was so overjoyed upon hearing that that she didn't know what to say. She smiled and nodded. Her heart soared, and she knew what she would do first. She left the room and found Alex with his nose in a book. She touched his shoulder and when he looked up at her, she kissed him passionately. He put the book away and returned the kiss with equal passion. Then they hugged and kissed each other. Later, she did more than that with him at the tree.