And that’s when Monica spoke in Draconic.
The ring obviously didn’t just give the ability to understand Draconic, it also gave the ability to speak it.
Don’t give me hope. I’ll just be disappointed again. Believing hurts. No, I’m so alone. Make me believe. Can you do that? Don’t come near. Don’t go.
It was a torrent of meaning included in those words of rejection, a dam bursting and slamming into Lushera.
Monica gasped, her face turning red as she clamped her hands over her mouth. Her thoughts finally moved to the ring she was wearing, which she tore off her finger.
“Huff… Hah…” She brought her hands to her flat chest. Lushera felt like she could hear Monica’s racing heart from there. Then, still trembling, Monica locked her eyes on Lushera and said, “What…did I just say?”
“Well…if you translated it into our language, you just said ‘stop,’ but you sort of…admitted everything that made you think that. All the implications were included in what you said…” Lushera explained.
“Ah! Aaaaaah!” she shrieked, holding her head in her hands. It seemed she only realized what she’d said after she said it.
“Uh, I’m sorry… I just wanted to express my own feelings to you, and it’s hard to lie in Draconic. There’s too much information included in just a few words…”
“You, how could you, you made me, this is so embarrassing! Agh!” Her face was so red it looked like she was almost boiling, with tears now in her eyes.
Draconic wasn’t good at hiding things, and…someone like Monica, who wasn’t used to speaking it, couldn’t even choose what to include and what to leave out. She accidentally included the things she wanted to leave out, baring her emotions.
Awkward.
“Go away! Leave! Leave right now!”
“Ah!” Lushera caught Giselle’s Ring when Monica flung it at her, which was followed by pillows, stuffed animals, and everything else in the room.
“I’m sorry for disturbing you! Goodbye! Sleep well!”
Lushera hopped out the window and ran into the dark of night.
✦ ✦ ✦
🐉 🐉 🐉
IT was a whirlwind.
Lushera left, and the moon climbed steadily higher. Monica changed into her pajamas by herself and lay completely still on her side in bed, even the magic lamps turned off.
She was wide awake. She didn’t feel like sleeping. Her heart pounded, but not unpleasantly.
“A…friend?”
She sprawled out on the bed, lifting the stuffed animal that was beside her into the air. It was a teddy bear, sent by someone for her birthday five years ago, when she was nine. She didn’t know who sent it or how it got to her, or even how it was allowed to get to her. It hadn’t come with a note.
In all honesty, it didn’t really matter who sent it. She didn’t care enough to wonder about it. And she couldn’t even bring herself to really like or dislike the present itself, but…for some reason, she couldn’t throw it out. She just left it in her room like another piece of furniture.
“Hey. Do you think I could have a friend, if it was a dragon…?”
The teddy bear didn’t answer, of course.
This mysterious girl, the adopted daughter of the dragon of Mount Kugus. She fought a monster even though no one asked her to and saved Monica, but Monica still didn’t expect anything from her. Monica was such an unimportant thing to a girl like that, and they would never meet again. She probably didn’t even think about Monica at all.
But that wasn’t true anymore.
Monica saw her feelings. She wouldn’t let Monica give in.
Lushera didn’t think Monica was anything special, just someone she happened to meet. And even then, she worried about Monica.
“I’m not going to just believe something like that. But…I wonder if she’ll be okay?”
The teddy bear didn’t answer, of course.
“…Stupid.”
She suddenly realized how childish her behavior was and threw the teddy bear against the wall, as if trying to hide her own embarrassment. The bear, in its fancy outfit, hit the wall with a dull thud and slid down the wall headfirst until it rested upside down on the floor.
Monica tried to sleep, but it bothered her. She got out of bed and sat the bear upright.
✦ ✦ ✦
🐉 🐉 🐉
THE morning sun shone on Alhyura’s north gate. Timm and Weyne were there, seeing Lushera and Kaphal off in their high-speed carriage.
“You’re real busy, heading right back to Mount Kugus after handling everything here,” said Timm.
“I’m just glad we finished everything we had to when we had time,” said Lushera, her head poking out the carriage window.
The other three in the party were staying to attend the banquet, while Lushera and Kaphal went back to Mount Kugus. If they left now, they could stay one night in an inn on the road, then reach Kugut’hulm tomorrow. The day after tomorrow was the day of Shurei’s test.
“There’s really nothing we can do about this dragon test thing of yours?” Timm asked.
“I appreciate the thought, but it wouldn’t be much of a test if you could.”
“True… Well, I can at least pray for your success.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
They were worried because they had seen the dragons in person. Lushera thumped her chest in a show of bravery to reassure them.
“Well… Not like thinking this or that on our part’s going to make any difference,” said Timm.
“S’pose not. Give it your all, Lushera. And while you’re doing that, we’re going to be eating nice food here in the capital,” said Weyne jokingly.
That might seem easy enough, but they were going to be interacting with some very important people, which meant they’d be doing more than just eating. That too was a job.
They wished each other good luck in their different battles, and the carriage set off towards the north.