Chapter 5:
Awakening
IT HURT TO BREATHE. My throat, my lungs, my organs—everything burned. I coughed up blood with each breath.
The burning, the aching, the pain—I just wanted it to stop.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, the pain suddenly started to fade. Breathing grew easier. My consciousness returned. I could feel the wind brush my cheek and the sun warming me. I could smell the forest around me.
Huh? What was I doing? I sat up…and came face-to-face with a black dragon, drenched in blood, staring right at me.
I screamed, naturally. “Eeeeek!” Staggering, I managed to stand up and draw my sword. “S-s-s-s-s-stay away or I’ll c-c-c-c-cut you!” I stuttered out.
The black dragon looked at me in puzzlement. “‘S-s-s-s-s-stay’? ‘C-c-c-c-cut’? I haven’t heard those words before.”
Was the creature mocking me or genuinely asking?
Oh, right, it had just torn me to shreds—the memory of being viciously attacked by this dragon came rushing back. “Ah, my, my arm! My side! I’m bleeding out!”
Panicked, I touched my body and…found it intact. I had been injured…hadn’t I?
At that, the black dragon looked down at its great feet and said, “I’m sorry. I mistook the pain from your healing potion for an attack and bit you…and despite that, you still saved me with your healing magic. Thank you.”
“Um…huh?” Healing magic? From me? I wasn’t a saint, was I? That had been a dream. It had to be a dream. “Mmm, I don’t get it. I’m going home. Home. Then…sleep. No point thinking about it right now.”
My legs gave out, and I flopped back down onto the ground. Suddenly I wondered if I had enough energy to go anywhere.
But then I looked back at the dragon and shot right back up. Was it going to attack? It…didn’t look like it wanted to attack. That was enough for me; completely wiped out, I decided to lie down. “I think I’ll just sleep here… Good night.”
The dragon spoke as I closed my eyes. “It appears that you’re experiencing magic fatigue. Unsurprising; you used the advanced spell ‘Full Heal.’ I’d give you some of my magic if I could, but—”
The voice grew distant. I started slipping into sleep when I felt someone shake my shoulder.
“Miss, please don’t fall asleep yet. We dragons devote our lives to those who save us. I am forever in your service.”
“Mmh…”
“Why don’t I form a pact of servitude with you? That way I can share my magic. What’s your name?”
“My…name? Fia Ruud.”
“My deepest thanks. I, Zavilia, Black Dragon King, offer my blood, my body, and my soul in eternal servitude to my master, Fia Ruud.”
Through closed eyelids, I saw light.
“Heh. With this, I am yours. Many monsters will appear tonight, drawn in by the alluring scent of saint blood. Knowing this, you still manage to sleep peacefully. How surprising.”
Something warm and calming flowed into my body. Lethargy overwhelmed me. I thought I heard the black dragon say something else, but I couldn’t make it out before drifting off…
✦ ✦ ✦
When I woke, it was morning. I must have slept for quite some time; my head felt clear and my body rested. I tried to roll over, and…I felt something smooth covering me. Had my bed always felt like this?
I reached out to feel it. In response, my bed reached out to touch my hand…? Curious, I slowly opened my eyes to see two blue pupils staring at me.
“Black dragon!” I stood up at once. I really had spent an entire night in the forest, and yet I didn’t feel cold. I felt perfectly rested, in fact.
“I wasn’t cold at all,” I wondered aloud. “Did you keep me warm throughout the night?”
“Of course. It’s my duty to protect my master.” The monster seemed truthful. Perhaps it was kind after all.
“Thank you, black dragon.” I stroked its body.
“Call me Zavilia. May I call you Fia?”
Bits of what had happened were coming back to me now. “Black dra—I mean, Zavilia. I think…I dreamed that we made a familiar pact last night.”
“Heh heh, dream? It was nothing of the sort. The pact was made, sworn on my name. I am yours now. Examine your left wrist—you’ll see the proof right there.”
And there it was on my wrist, just as he said: a black ring, one millimeter thick, encircling my wrist.
“Distance is nothing to us now; this pact will allow me to come to you whenever you call, wherever you call. You may borrow some of my magic too, if you ask. As a matter of fact, you’ve already asked. I had to share magic with you yesterday, after your case of magic fatigue. You should be all right now, but how do you feel?”
“I…I dreamt I was a saint in my past life…”
“Heh heh, more dreams of reality? I can’t speak for your past life, but you’re certainly a saint in this one. My own actions had left me close to death. I regressed to infancy, but I couldn’t heal fast enough. I’d made peace with my death when you saved me with your healing magic. Only an advanced spell could have saved me in that state…and only you could have cast it.”
I shook my head. “But…I can’t use magic.”
“Memory is power. Your magic likely returned with your memories. We dragons do the same thing—we pass our memories down to our children, and we pass on our power with them.”
Too much information, too fast. I needed time to think about everything, but…there was one thing I was absolutely certain of.
“Um, about me being a saint…could you keep that a secret? I…I was killed in my past life because I was a saint. I don’t want that to happen again.”
That’s what the demon had promised, and it was the first thing that came to me when my memories returned. I’ll be killed if people know I’m a saint.
Toyed with, tormented, humiliated, killed. And if I were ever reborn as a saint, he would find me and kill me the same way again.
Seeing me tremble, Zavilia reassured me: “By your will, I will keep your secret. I’ll always do what I can to protect you.”
Feeling abashed, I averted my gaze…and my eyes fell on the monster corpses encircling the two of us. “Uh… What’s all…this?” I said, gesturing at the mess.
“The monsters were drawn in by the sweet scent of saint blood. These are their remains. They attacked all night, you know. Aren’t you a popular girl?”
“But this many? There’s at least fifty, maybe sixty? And they’re all powerful too…” Mid-way through my sentence, I remembered what I’d come to this forest for. “The coming-of-age ceremony! Shoot, it’s already morning! Oria’s going to be worried sick about me!”
I took out a dagger and looked up at Zavilia. “Can I take the magic stones of these monsters?” He nodded, and I quickly cut open the closest monster for its magic stone. With that out of the way, I had to rush home. “Sorry, gotta go! My sister’s waiting for me!”
“Wait. Get on.” Zavilia slouched so I could climb on his back. Flying in on a black dragon would surely cause a ruckus, but I’d just have to deal with the fallout. I didn’t want my sister gathering up all the knights in the domain and organizing a search party or something on my account…
Clinging tight to Zavilia, we took off for my estate.