5. The Destruction

Leila was agitated and grumpy, which were entirely unfamiliar feelings for her. She planted her hands on her hips and paced across the room, with only one thought circling in her head.

Could Thorn still have his dragon spirit? What exciting news!

Hardly anyone in the dragon kingdom had seen a real dragon for years. It was only a few days after the previous dragon queen, Tora’s, funeral. When the sun came up above the stretching horizon, the dragon spirits didn’t wake up as usual. Instead, they had all left their hosts’ bodies and disappeared into thin air. The whole realm was heartbroken with grief; some with weak minds even died because of the pain of the separation was beyond a toleration.

The Dragon King, Eros, had handled the event terribly. He canceled a series of traditional holidays that had been handed down from generation to generation since the beginning of the dragon era in an attempt to avoid any interaction with his citizens. All he did was hide in his palace, heavily guarded by the Royal Garrison. Rumor had it that the other royal dragons avoided appearing in public in their dragon forms. People had spotted dragons above the clouds only a handful of times, but they had always disappeared within the blink of an eye, so no one could confirm a sighting.

Naturally, as time went on, everyone had adjusted to a new way of life. It was a life without their dragon spirits. It was certainly inconvenient, as they couldn’t fly anymore . But as the citizens of the dragon kingdom got used to it, they discovered that it was fun to ride horses as well. Newborn babies grew older, and the people gradually accepted the fact that the dragon spirits would not come back ever again.

Leila was born without a dragon spirit, but she had been obsessed with all kinds of dragon stories since she was a little girl. She was still desperate to see a real one. With great determination to discover Thorn’s secret, she had decided to stay up the entire night.

All of the sudden, the noise downstairs had stopped. Did all of those men finally

leave? After both of her ears were adjusted to the stifling silence, she walked out of her room and down to the ground floor again.

Leila sighed with relief. The house was finally empty again, but the whole layout had been changed. Those workers were quick! The whole floor had taken on a completely new appearance. The living room was opened up through to the kitchen, and now the space seemed twice as large. The old furniture had all been thrown away, and was replaced with elegant and expensive pieces. From simply looking at the materials and craftsmanship, Leila could tell it wasn’t cheap.

A pleasant warmth spread over Leila’s body. She had to admit: The house was more comfortable to live in now, and she had Thorn to thank for that. She lifted the lace curtain of a window facing the front yard. The squadron of golden knights were still guarding the front gate, as motionless as statues. As for her neighbors’ windows along the silent street, not a single one of them had been left open. Each one was shut tightly. She saw the old ladies from earlier who had insulted her hiding behind the window with scowls on their wrinkled faces.

Leila couldn’t help but giggle. The golden knights must have given them a good scare. After locking the door from the inside, she spun around like a dancer where she stood; she could finally have some time to herself.

There was still hours before nightfall, so Leila decided to enjoy herself first. After all, she’d rarely had the house to herself before. She rushed down to the end of the hall and turned left, elated to discover a completely new bathroom. A mild woodsy sweetness wafted out from the room. The source of the scent came from a brand new wooden bathtub. There was even a row of scented candles placed along the rim. Might as well take a bath, Leila thought.

As Leila turned the knob placed on top of the faucet, hot water marvelously appeared. Astounded by the magic, she took out a box of matches and lit the candles. After taking off all of her clothes, an idea hit her; a tankard of milk would be perfect for such a happy moment.

She walked into the kitchen naked, trying to locate where had Ben put the milk. Then, she spotted a large wooden box placed inside a pool of water. With ardent curiosity, she opened the lid. The contents took her breath away.

All kinds of freshly-cut fruits and vegetables were organized in dozens of neat little boxes. The boxes themselves were circled by chunks of ice, a rarity in the dragon kingdom. Even ignoring its exorbitant price, it was hard to buy at all. It was always hot in the dragon realm. As soon as the merchants put up their signs reading, “Fresh Ice, Just Arrived”, it would be sold out in only half a dragon hour.

Leila touched a cute chunk of ice and was thrilled by the freezing sensation. She pulled out of a few small boxes containing strawberries and purple grapes, along with the tankard of chilled milk. She closed the lid, then quickly sped back to the bathroom.

The water was perfect; the temperature was warm enough to send a shiver throughout her body. She stepped into the water and sank down. 

The medicine that Healer June gave her had worked wonders. All of her wounds and bruises were recovered. She stared at her own body through the surface of the hot water. It seemed even more delicate and porcelain-like than before. Her legs were lean and long, her waist slender, and her breasts were slightly plump.

Until recently, Leila had never paid any attention to her figure. But she somehow found herself becoming more aware of it. The image of Thorn’s gorgeous face emerged in her mind. She bit her lower lip while thinking about every sentence he had spoken to her. And his dark eyes! An uncontrollable flutter in her stomach made her face burn again. She made a mental note to control her feelings the next time, otherwise, it would be far too embarrassing.

With the help of the soothing scented candles and the heat of the water, an inexplicable dizziness finally hit her tired body. Thinking of Thorn, Leila dozed off.

She woke herself up with a sneeze. The water had cooled off, and the room was dimly-lit with low candlelight. The night had fallen. Leila quickly sat up and listened to her surroundings. It was still quiet. Maybe Thorn wouldn’t appear tonight.

Leila rose up from the water, feeling her body heavy with exhaustion. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her body loosely. At that very moment, she heard a sudden, loud whooshing sound outside the house.

She walked out of the bathroom, stood, and listened. It was quiet. Maybe it was just a large owl passing by, she thought.

As she was about to gather her clothes, another whooshing sound resounded over the roof. Through the small window, Leila spotted a pair of strong, enormous wings confidently soaring through the sky.

There was no time to grab her clothes. Leila rushed upstairs to her room. She realized why she hadn’t heard the sound before; the sound was very short and light, as if the owner of the wings was deliberately restraining their strength.

She tiptoed up the stairs. With extreme caution, she pushed the door open.

The room was lit with misty silver moonlight. The sky was crystal clear in a sea of stars. It was the dead of night. Holding back an immense amount of excitement, Leila quickly lifted the sheet on her bed and was just was about to get in before he arrived.

A handsome and fierce black dragon was flying right towards her window.

Apparently, the dragon wasn’t expecting Leila to be awake. He saw her, standing before her bed, wet locks of hair stuck to her bare shoulders. He was instantly flustered, and for the briefest moment, failed to shift in time. His wings slammed against the air. A strong gust of wind struck Leila through the open window. The towel wrapped around Leila’s naked body was blown off.

The dragon became even more flustered at the sight. His enormous wings smashed into the house’s outer walls. Bricks tumbled off, the roof caved in, and the dragon tumbled down to the ground.

The whole house was destroyed. Following his first instinct, the dragon shielded Leila with his large wings. After such a close call, Leila was unharmed.

Seconds later, among the smoke and flying dust, the dragon successfully shifted into Thorn. The prince found himself on top of a nude Leila, and he was naked to match.