The Dragon's Only Choice

CHAPTER ONE

Horses clad in royal adornments rode through the huge golden gates which glistened with gold and the intricate designs engraved in a glowing crimson red. Several chariots were standing before yet, another entrance, and high-class regalias could be seen emerging from them. The people of the dragon world could see the peak of the Grand Boards Hall from the market square, and once they see the Golden Rose blooming open at the crest of the structure, they knew a meeting is going to be held there.

The members of the Grand Boards stepped into the chambers, their guards helping out with the helms of their dresses to prevent them from sweeping the floor. Whilst taking their seats, their servants stood behind them, and some began to fan their masters. The eight members of the Grand Boards were seated, awaiting the mist important member who sat at the head of the oval-shaped crystal table-the Dragon King. They began to murmur and snicker in groups of two's and three's just like the local women in the marketplace would do on a daily basis; except for one amongst them who sat in silence, observing nothing in particular. Everyone turned quiet immediately when the Dragon King is seen stepping into the chambers; a dozen of the Kraten Guards by his side.

The last thing anyone of them sitted there, talk less of a Purple-Star Knighted Guard will wish for is to touch the armour of a Kraten, for in the flash of a eye, their heads would have fallen off their necks.

In his majestic strides towards a golden seat which was a miniature version of what his actual throne looked like, he took a seat and rested his arms on the glowing crimson red armrest. He stares at the Grand Boards like he was making a headcount of the people who were standing. His eyes met with that of the quiet man who simply stared at the Dragon King with a face so expressionless.

"You may all sit." The Dragon King ordered, his gaze still on the young man. As soon as they took their seats, the Dragon King took his gaze off the young man's face and addressed the members generally.

"I gratify the great men representing the Nine Rings of the dragon world who have all chosen to acknowledge this meeting. This is an impromptu meeting, and for the first time in many years, we are having a meeting which is not slated for the season the golden eggplant blossoms." he gestured at the plates set on the table filled with grapes and apples for every member of the Grand Boards. They chuckled in response, but the quiet man gave a curt smile.

"That alone explains why today's meeting isn't just taking a different course, but the reason why this is being held is for an entirely different reason." he paused, reaching for a bunch of grape and gulping the whole thing in the twirl of an eye. The members of the Board next to the Dragon King felt disgusted by the gesture, but he cared not express it before the Dragon King, because all it took was the snap of a finger, and the Kraten Guards will send him to the abodes where his ancestors resides.

"The 'Rût' festival comes up in a matter of three weeks, and we know how the ceremony process goes." he said, and the members of the Board nodded in agreement. "Something shall be different about the festival this year, and that is the fact that rather than leaving the dragonmen to decide whose 'Rût' has the strongest scent, we'd pull the strings." he said the last words almost in a mockingly raspy voice, and for the quiet member who kept staring at the Dragon King, he knew that didn't bode something good.

The Grand Boards already knew what the Dragon King was implying, and they were too scared to question his authority.

"My King, which family are we to declare the supposed chosen girl the winner of the festival?" a member summoned the courage to ask.

The Dragon King brushed his beard with his hands, smiling as one of the Kraten Guards fetched another bowl of red grapes for him.

"The O'Brien's." he announced, throwing a handful of red grapes into his mouth. "We are going to select the daughter from that traitor's family."

"You can just spill the truth to them all." for the first time since the meeting commenced, the quiet man finay spoke up.

The Dragon King smiled mischievously. "Oh, Arnold ..." he chuckled. "I was expecting you to speak up ever since. Now, what truth do you speak of?" he asked in a firm tone.

"The truth about your plan to get back on the O'Brien's." Arnold retorted, stating daggers at the Dragon King. One of the Kraten Guards lunged at Arnold on a subconscious instinct that the Dragon King would have ordered him to do so either way. Arnold swiftly evaded the Kraten Guard's attack and made the guard disintegrate into black soot.

The Dragon King was already having a friend crawl over his face. He took his seat and looked at the Grand Boards to see what questions they'd be daring to put further. "My King," another member stuttered, "this is a very good idea. It will be a perfect way to end the generation of the O'Brien's in our world. Rumours says that he has a child, and that the child is a female."

"... and they're from a renowned and rich family. This is a well-crafted idea to deal with that traitor." another member added.

The comments from the members of the Grand Boards made the Dragon King's head swell. Of course, Arnold kept staring at them all, saying nothing. After a few more minutes of agreeing on the King's decision on making the daughter of the blacksmith fixed as the winner of the 'Rût' festival, in an attempt to get back at the blacksmith for the crimes he had committed many years ago, they began to discuss something new.

"How silly!" Arnold huffed as the Grand Boards decided to end the meeting.

"Aiden O'Brien stays at the Oratile's district," the Dragon King said, turning to face Oratile The Second. "Send your guards to relay the message to him. It would have been better to wait till the 'Rût' festival ends and his daughter is announced the winner, but what would be more humiliating for him is knowing the gender of the chick that shall erupt from an egg just before the time it hatches."

Everyone chuckled in agreement.

"This marks the end of this meeting. I believe we shall all meet at the 'Rût' festival." the Dragon King stood to his fee, giving Arnold a sly smile before exiting the chambers in his giant strides.

CHAPTER TWO

AURORA'S P.O.V

I carefully placed my feet on another shard of ice, careful not to let my hardened scale boots crush them. The crunchy sound might just alert the Gigantosaur before me, so I stuck to sneaking deeper into the cluster of trees carefully. Being a dragon man hunter sounded pretty easy last two sun cycles, not until when I began the job. Killing the big beasts weren't the major issue; feeding the infant dragon men was. Their inability to fully morph into her humanoid form, and keep their streaks of fire breath under control are the things I pray not to encounter whilst going to feed them in the Grand Nursery.

The dragon world had a simple circle of life: young female dragonmen develop into 18-year-olds, they shamelessly come out in the open to release their 'Rût' for the male dragonmen to analyse, a winner is picked and betrothed to a human, and the rest just find male dragonmen to mate with. I mean, who wants their 'Rût' to go to waste?

The Gigantosaur seemed busy struggling with something in his grasp, and when I ran stealthily to a tree to observe, its 'meal' was trying to wriggle free. Gigantosaurs kill their meal before eating, so why was this one different?

A shrill cry would confirm what I found off about the shaking 'prey'-it was a young dragon man.

The fury that erupted in me was unexplainable. I bursted out into the open field whose crust was completely covered with spiked red falcon grass. I immediately retrieved an arrow from my backpack and readied my bow. Taking down beasts was pretty easy as a hunter, but where things get rather tricky is ensuring the arrow touches the target.

I recited the spell that brings upon death to whatsoever creature it comes in contact with. The arrow glowed a bright crimson red, which confirmed the spell was already activated. Despite its huge size and deafening thumping, the Gigantosaur made out my presence and turned towards my direction. On other days, I'd have simply what every other hunters of the dragon would have done: run for their lives.

Not today.

I raced towards the Gigantosaur, my arrow fixed on the bow strings, my left arm drawn back, and my eyes emitting and immense amount of fury. I released the arrow from my grasp just as the Gigantosaur was a few feet away from me. Due to its huge size, I had the advantage of swiftness and speed. Still running, I went on my knees and skidded right through the underbelly of the beast. I withdrew my ivory sword and sliced through its belly.

A strong kick bounced me to the other end of the field, and I realised that I got hit by the Gigantosaur's massive tail. It leaped forward and charged towards me. I tried getting up, but the stinging pain I felt from the hard blow kept making me fall. I made out the figure of the young dragon man still breathing its 'dangerous' fire breath at the Gigantosaur, following it as it charged towards me.

Suddenly, the Gigantosaur came to a halt, and its belly burst open. A combination of green and yellow slime covered a huge portion of the field. My body wasn't spared from the splash, my mouth forming a big 'O' at the moment of impact. I heaved a sigh of relief, and I managed to stand erect. I caught of the young dragon man, dipping its fangs into the splattered guts of the dead beast.

"Uncultured babies," I cursed, "Stop it!"

When the young dragon man noticed me approaching him, it began to shoot fire balls at me. Like the fire balls did a thing to me...

I grabbed the young dragon man by the wings and hoisted it up.

"What led you out into the woods again, Cylet?" I stared at it interrogatively, and I noticed this particular dragon man had always been escaping the Grand Nursery.

I casted a binding spell on the young dragon man, summoning heavy duty hardened scale chains to secure it in place. I took out my magic mirror to summon the headquarters back at the nursery. An angry face of the head midwife, Sister Lily pops on the mirror, her expression not welcoming. I grabbed the young dragon man who struggled to wriggle free off the chains and began walking towards the left end of the field.

"Why can't you just bring a game back home without getting drenched in the disgusting guts of only-God-knows-what kind of beasts???" she queried, her trumpet-tongued pitch almost disrupting my sense of hearing.

I tried explaining I didn't kill this particular beast viciously, but she cuts me in when she sights me carrying Cylet.

"My goodness!" she gasped, "Cylet! How many times do you want to get sanctioned for leaving the Grand Nursery? And at such a young age!" she said, glaring at Cylet who was busy struggling with the chains.

She returned her gaze to my face, her expression stoic.

"You need to get home immediately. The other hunters will be there to fetch the beast you've hunted down. This should last the Nursery for another 4 days, I believe."

"You mentioned the urgency for me to get home immediately. What's wrong, Sister?"

"Oh yeah. That... the thing is, your father calls for you. He mentions that tomorrow is your 18th birthday. Is that true?" Sister Lily inquired.

I growled silently upon hearing Sister Lily mention my father. If there was any other reason why I took up this job of being a hunter, it was because I wanted to avoid my family as much as I possibly could and also the mating festival that occurs every moon cycle. Coincidentally, the moon cycle coincides with the 18th sun cycle that I'm about to experience tomorrow by just a space of three weeks, so my father requesting for me to return home wasn't good news.

"Why the sudden silence, traitor's daughter?" Sister Lily's voice jolted me from my thoughts.

I frowned, "You know I hate being called that, Sister.",

"No matter how humble you wish to sound, you're still the daughter of that man, Aurora.",

"Arrrgh!" I grunted in frustration, and it seemed to make Sister Lily chuckle.

"Get home immediately. The hunters should be there any minute now.",

"What about-",

"I can see you already binded that stubborn boy. Just leave him there. The hunters will retrieve him.",

"Okay. Bye, Sister Lily.",

"I guess we shall see at the palace in three weeks.", she said with a wink. "Don't you have a mate yet?", she inquired.

I rolled my eyes in disgust, "Oh, please."

Sister Lily bursts out laughing again, ending the transmission. Cylet's fangs brushes my skin and I kicked him slightly, wandering how a dragon man so young could be this agile and fierce. My mind wanders back to the announcement I received from Sister Lily.

What does father intend to do?

CHAPTER THREE

AURORA'S P.O.V

I was 'collected' from the side of the road to the local tavern by the carriage which had the emblem of the O'Brien's; a large pin driven through the head of a wolf. I believed my father sensed that I might probably plan on avoid coming home for the upcoming 'Rût' ceremony, hence the carriage which I believed was sent to pin down my location probably after searching the entire horizon.

On a second thought, I wished that I had transformed into my 'dragon man' form and incinerate the guards till there were no ounce of entity attached to them anymore, but just like me, they were innocent. And helpless.

I was welcomed into the chariot by the only slave and human I have ever known and gotten close to my entire days existing as a dragon man. Mabel was two sun cycles older than I was, yet, she remained submissive to me. Despite the takes and myths about the dragons and humans, I wandered how our family were able to capture humans as slaves; given that only the royal family were given the authority to do such.

The long-buried history dates back to the beginning of days, when all was peaceful and harmonious. The dragons and humans once co-existed, with the humans behind the brains of evolution, and the dragons behind the brains of manpower, spells and inventions. What was meant to be a simple fight between a human and a dragon became the course of a universal conflict between humans and dragons. The rulers over the humans and dragons at that time were reasonable and amicable enough to come to a terms of truce.

An agreement was made: the humans and dragons were to live separately in two halves of the universe. This was immediately agreed to by both parties, as they believed this would curb the possibilities of future wars brewing between the two creature race. Many years passed, unknown to the dragons that some of our kind were venturing into the human world to trade our millions-of-centuries old knowledge of magic to the humans.

The humans results to brewing wicked and devious plans, deceiving dragons to come into the human world to teach them more about magic in exchange for a sumptuous amount. Engulfed and overwhelmed by greed, dragons began to venture into the human world, and in turn, the humans trapped the dragons, making them their slaves. They sometimes, killed some of our own.

After gaining a suitable amount of knowledge on magic, the humans started to create a globe-like shield with the use of dragon scales and blood. This development will only be made known to the dragon world later on when we noticed the dragons couldn't cross certain lands and fields at the extreme end of the dragon side of the universe.

Uncovering the truth and betrayal of the humans, the ruler of the dragon world made a decision in anger, casting a spell on the invisible field that reached the heavens. This spell was meant to discourage any dragon from entering the human world, and any human from entering the dragon's. What made the spell dreaded by the dragons was what it does to any dragon who ventures into the human world. It immediately nullifies such dragon's traits and leaves them like a normal human with no dragon-like abilities.

Several years will pass, and the ruler of the human world crossed the shield into our universe to call off the long-term enemity between two walls. The ruler of our universe then explained to them the spells our predecessors casted on the shield couldn't be broken, irrespective of if the shield remains there or not.

To convince the humans, the dragon ruler started referring to our kind as the 'dragon man'. He also brought about the start of the 'Rût' festival which we perform till this present day. This seems to convince the humans that they were forgiven and both worlds kept leaving in peace and silence ever since.

"We are now home, my Lord." Mabel informs me, jolting me out of my thoughts.

I looked around to confirm what she had just told me. The guards standing at the forking on each street their dragon scale clubs standing erect on one of their hands. The babel coming from the marketplace, recruitment field that trained young dragon men to control their abilities to shapeshift and battle ...

If I were to be honest with myself, I'd admit that I did miss all of this. But my father and his imposing orders of me getting a mate is one of the many things keeping me away from home.

"We are approaching the palace gates, my Lady." Mabel announced.

I stared at her, feigning a frown.

"No one is watching us, Mabel. You can stop calling me that now." I rolled my eyes.

Mabel stared back at me, her eyes devoid of any emotion. We both burst out laughing at the same time, careful our laughter's weren't heard by the guards riding the carriage.

"I knew how much calling you that infuriates you, so I decided to welcome you back home with that." she giggled.

I smiled, suddenly realising how much I missed my one and only dearest friend. As if she was reading my thoughts, she asked, "Didn't you miss here? You were away for two sun cycles, and you didn't even bother to pen a letter to your home?" Mabel queried, her lips morphing a pout.

I suddenly felt my emotions heighten downwards.

"I-I'm sorry, Mabel. I really ... I really wanted to, but something has been keeping me away from home. Something that I have been trying to avoid ever since I witnessed my first 'Rût'." I confessed.

Mabel's eyes widened. She seemed to have understood what I was trying to explain. She drew closer to me, whispering, "You mean, you don't wanna have a mate? That's close to impossible, Aurora-"

"I do wish to. Maybe not now, but later on. I just ... I don't think I have met any dragonman that I am personally attracted to. Nothing seems to excite me about them, not even our world. All we care about is bringing forth the future generations." I blurted out in frustration.

Marie gestures to the carriage windows, and I peeped out to take a glance. I gasped at the sightings, and I noticed we were now in our home. I caught a glimpse of my father in his regalia and dragon scaled ruby sword sitting on the side of his hips.

This was it. It's time for me to face my father after two sun cycles.