Youth

#68 - Love's a Liar

    When the battle was over, Olli slowly slipped back into his original form, the wings folding away and the scales disappearing. His body grew smaller and his shape reverted. His dagger-like nails shortened and blunted, and his tail seemed to disintegrate into white dust. A part of his vampiric strength was taken away temporarily by his shift, but it didn't bother him too much. He'd still beat most of the people in this colosseum, even if they came at him simultaneously. His long white hair was tossed up messily and his clothing barely clung to his form.

    He turned to see where Draka had gone. He'd made a deliberate effort to suppress his beastly anger in order to not kill the boy, but he didn't know whether that meant anything significant. There was a limit to how much he could rein in power in that state, so there's always a chance that there would be no Draka left at all. He could see Rayne waiting in the background to treat his opponent however, so he assumed Draka was somewhere around.

    He turned around to look behind him, finding the boy. His body was charred but no limbs were missing. A few deep gashes spilled blood onto the floor around him, causing him to sway from side to side in a lethargic, bilious manner, before collapsing to the floor. His naturally vampiric pale skin was even paler than usual. Olli beckoned Rayne forwards, watching him with narrowed eyes as he approached Draka and went to treat his wounds.

    The crowd, which had been roaring so energetically just before, was quiet now but still mumbling. The mumbles were soft, like fearful gossip. Olli knew he'd never been an overly favourable king. People took one glance at him and assumed he'd never seen a battlefield, or that his strength was a facade and he simply paid people to lose against him. His first challenge in over 300 years, against a young boy who'd just left his nest? Olli was sure the audience must've expected Draka to have been paid to ruin his reputation in such a way, in order to prove that Olli still had it in him to fight.

    Perhaps turning into a dragon in a fight against a two and a half month old boy was a little overkill, and likely played into some of the rumours that were going around, but Olli hoped it was a good political move on his behalf also. People had clearly forgotten that he had such an ability, so it might be a good thing to bring it back to light again. And, if people fear him a little, it might be even easier to keep [Y/n] safe.

    On second glance, Olli realised many of the spectators had left. Either they knew the outcome and had no interest in staying, or they feared Olli going feral and attacking them next. Olli sighed, rubbing the back of a neck.

    There was a clear pause for a little while as no one seemed to move or think. Then, the crowd went silent. Wondering what had caused the sound to instantly vanish, Olli spun around to see Draka exhaustedly trying to heave himself to his feet. Rayne simply watched him with an annoyed expression, not wanting to have to do any more work than he was being paid to.

    "Olli," Draka choked out, his voice filled with pain but also an odd sense of triumph. Olli didn't question the deluded boy's victorious smirk, instead gesticulating for Draka to continue whatever he wanted to say. Draka coughed, a small trail of blood trickling from his lip, the smell of iron thick in the air. "What did you do... what did you do to [Y/n]?" Olli had anticipated this question. He shook his head slightly at Draka's predictability.

    "Sheltered her from you," he returned simply.

    "Oh yeah? Do you expect me to believe that's it?" Draka hissed, staggering forwards a couple of paces, closer to the uninjured (but dishevelled) King. "What the fuck did you do? Tell me. Tell me everything. I'll know if you're lying." Olli sighed, deciding to turn around and ignore the already defeated boy. He then heard a throat clear from the raven haired male beside Draka.