I wiped myself down in my room after that day’s long-distance training. While I had been borrowing buckets from other rooms up to this point, my association with the dragon girl meant people were no longer willing to lend. The daily punishments were strengthening their feelings of fellowship, it seemed. It reminded me of how medieval aristocrats took part in hunting as a leisure activity. It would probably do me some good to learn how to form such bonds for myself, just like the others. They likely weren’t far off from using force against me, as someone who wasn’t part of their group. I still couldn’t charge my essence. They only needed to send a small group to overpower me—or simply just one child at Tiger’s level.
Even if they attacked me and I went to the adults, I doubted they would be subject to the same punishment as the dragon girl. Her beating was more of a ritual, a meeting of minds between the grown-ups who wanted to break her spirit and the children who disliked her. It would probably come to an end if she decided to obey the adults.
Hm...
I heard the rustling of cloth behind me and turned to see that the dragon girl was awake. She had been recuperating from that day’s wounds.
She was unusually quiet today. That didn’t bode well. I went to put my towel back in the bucket, and I had barely moved when her fingers closed around my windpipe. I groaned as my head hit the floorboards. She had pinned me to the floor before I could react.
“What are you—” I began but stopped when her face came into view. My eyes widened. Her expression was a mix of anger on the brink of explosion and a very keen sense of weakness. I felt the boy’s heart freeze instantly.
“She’s already cracking,” he said.
That moment was all it took for his opinion of her to fall to the same level as Tiger and the others. She was no longer interesting. He was disappointed.
“Could you let go of me?” I asked coldly, despite knowing the request would only stoke the flames of her anger.
“Why...” She could sense that I was no longer afraid of her. Her eyebrows furrowed. She felt hurt, betrayed. Then, her face flashed red. Her teeth clenched, and she tightened her grip around my neck.
She was strangling me. Though I knew she lacked the courage to kill me, my body started struggling without my input. Her fingers only loosened when their tightness around my arteries had my vision narrowing. I was left with tears in my eyes and gasping for air. Her head slumped forward, her hair falling over her face and hiding her expression.
“I don’t want to lose to you...” she said, as if it were already a forgone conclusion.
Had she already accepted that she would never seize victory over the adults? She was forced to struggle between her ego and reality. Her pride towered above her, and this was probably the first time she was letting it crumble.
“I don’t want to feel this way. I’d rather die.”
What?
What did she just say?
She would rather die? Die?
She didn’t know what death was. How dare she speak about it so thoughtlessly?
“Shut. Up!” I roared.
My essence spiraled out of my body in waves. I tossed her into the air with nothing but my tail. Total shock shot over her face—she had never seen such raw power and fury from me.
If she would rather die, I was happy to make it happen. I would bury her along with that worthless pride of hers. I kicked her out of the air and right into the wall. The whole room shook.
It wasn’t enough.
She howled back at me. I had ignited her anger. An arm flashed out in front of me, and then my world began to spin. Rather, she had sent me whirling through the air.
“Your ego’s the only impressive thing about you, lizard girl!” I spat out all my built-up resentment as I landed against the wall. I looked up. The dragon was roaring.
“Silence, snake boy!” Her claws sank into the wall, but I was no longer there. She clicked her tongue in frustration. “Where’d you go?!”
“Over here, stupid.” I had gotten behind her using a split step. I grabbed her face and slammed her to the floor. Then I kicked her in the stomach and sent her flying. “Surprised that I can actually keep up with you?”
The dragon girl pulled herself up. Though she was more enraged than ever, she paused to listen to me. I may have had a better grasp of my essence now, but in terms of that and physical ability, she was superior in every way. The reason she wasn’t winning was purely because of the sheer amount of work I had put in. That, and I had been observing her this entire time. I knew what made her mad, how she fought, and why she hadn’t run away.
“It’s ’cause of how stupid you are! I know every move you’ll make before you make it! Idiot!”
Not that I was going to tell her any of that. Instead, I just riled her up with ridiculously simple taunts. It worked beautifully against her in her current state.
“How dare you?!”
The floor split into two, and she vanished. I didn’t bother trying to keep her in my sights and instead went totally limp.
“There she is...” I murmured. I had misjudged her, and her claws ended up in my hand. My face contorted in agony. It hurt, but it was nothing like dying. “Don’t underestimate me.”
I’d rather feel this way than die.
I ignored the excruciating pain and grabbed her hand, filling my body with the last of my essence. I gathered my strength and pulled her clear off the floor with nothing but my back to support her. Then, I threw her over my shoulder and drove her into the ground.
“Get screwed!”
I slumped down right in front of her. She was too dizzy to respond.
✦ ✦ ✦
The dragonborn girl would pull the snakeborn boy around that cramped room and play make-believe with him. That memory was from the chamber before his baptism. She would always take the lead and force him to be a supporting character, but he didn’t seem to mind all that much. One of the adults who saw us remarked that she acted like a queen, presumably making light of her tyrannical behavior. She didn’t know what a queen was, and when she asked, the adult hesitated before replying:
“The most important person of all and who is loved by everyone.”
She nodded, satisfied with that explanation. I admired her for the pride she had in herself. I found I couldn’t rid myself of that admiration, even if the alternative was death.