"Quick! She went this way!" The guard shouted as he ran past the hollowed tree Andrea was hiding in. She waited until the rest of the group had passed before slipping away into the evening darkness.
Although she felt a pang of guilt about escaping from her longtime bodyguard Jordan, she was glad to be rid of the others.
Ostensibly for her protection, she had grown increasingly stifled by the detail from the University Guard. Finally, when she caught one of the guardsmen ogling her when he thought she wasn't looking, she decided she'd give them the slip.
Escaping her guards had proven easy enough, but losing them was a bit more difficult. After dinner, she had expressed the desire to go for a walk, and pushed past their objections to force the issue. While they were moving through a slightly wooded area near the division between the dormitories and central campus, she made her move.
Summoning a thick cloud of sand, Andrea ducked into the wood line while the guards were distracted. Unfortunately, they were surprisingly well trained, and once the cloud had subsided, the quickly started catching up.
She led them into a slightly wild patch of trees in the north east corner of the Magic Department's grounds, eventually succeeding in evading them entirely by hiding in a dead, hollowed out tree. Once clear of pursuit she made her way to one of the outbuildings that served as practice rooms for the department's Elemental Mages.
It had been deemed necessary to isolate the volatile group on the far eastern side of campus to avoid any unseemly.....explosions.
The building was locked, as expected. Sighing, she walked around it until she found an oddly shaped boulder. It was strangely regular, with a slit carved into it, but looked comfortable enough, so she sat on it. She was starting to regret her impulsive behavior.
The thrill of her escape had worn off, and she couldn't help but consider the ramifications of the act. Andrea was acting childishly, or worse, foolishly. Running away wouldn't accomplish anything besides aggravating her protectors. More than likely, they would use this as an excuse to limit her freedom even further in an effort to keep her 'safe.'
She sighed again, and looked up towards the starry sky while listening to the chirping of nocturnal insects. The crescent moon rested picturesquely on the horizon, providing a little light to the world below.
[At least it's a pleasant night.] She thought.
Suddenly, the insects went silent, as a massive creature moved through the trees nearby, crushing underbrush and snapping branches. She could see its vague outline in the darkness of the night, and its sheer size left her feeling cold. Holding as still as she could manage, she waited with heart hammering until the thing had passed.
[What was that?] She could still hear it moving towards the wall surrounding the University. Now that the danger seemed to have receded, she found her curiosity acting up.
[There's no way a monster that size got past the University's defenses without triggering some kind of an alarm…..unless…]
Unless there was a traitor inside the University that allowed it in.
Andrea's mouth felt dry. She felt she needed to investigate. Who knew what sort of nefarious deeds would be committed if she just pretended like she didn't see anything. Indeed, it was her duty as a member of the royal family to get to the bottom of this.
She crept along, following the creature's obvious path. Hopefully, she could remain unseen until she'd gotten a clear idea of what was going on.
After a while, the creature broke into a clearing and stopped. So sudden was the change that Andrea nearly followed it out into the open space.
Thinking quickly, she dodged behind a nearby tree. From her hiding spot, she could hear the quiet murmur of a male voice somewhere on the other side of the creature, the tone solemn and little sorrowful. Curious, she peaked out at the scene.
A massive reptilian creature was sitting hunched over in the center of the clearing. A pair of membranous wings were held loosely to its scaled flanks. With a start she realized she was looking at a dragon. One that seemed to be conversing with some humanoid figure she could only see the legs of.
"What….what is this?" She spoke unconsciously before slapping a hand over her mouth in panic.
The dragon whipped its head around and delivered an intense glare in her direction, its baleful red eyes glowing malevolently in the night. It rose to its full height, wings splayed and ready to pounce.
Fear overwhelmed her all at once, and she felt her legs give out from underneath her. Wracking her brains, she frantically tried to think of something, anything, she could do to stop the beast before it attacked.
"That's enough, Red." A male voice called. In response to the command, the dragon relaxed visibly and settled down on to its haunches, tail curling around its forelegs.
A human was standing by the creature, wearing a deep crimson cloak with hood raised. For a moment, Andrea thought the man's face was bathed in shadow, but she realized he was wearing a mask of the purest black, which covered everything, including his eyes. She'd never seen someone look so suspicious.
The cloaked man stepped forward, placing himself between her and the dragon. "So, what is a princess doing out here by herself, at this time of night?"
Her mind blanked for a moment, completely unready for the sudden change in circumstances. With an effort, she regained her feet, "What I am doing is my own business. Besides, I'm not the suspicious one here. What are you doing with this…..dragon?" She trailed off a little bit, still feeling awed by the majestic creature now staring down at her in an arrogantly dismissive manner. "Why shouldn't I summon the guard right now?"
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Mike heaved a mental sigh.
[What is the princess of Almir doing here? Why do these things have to be so complicated?]
When he'd heard the voice from the other side of the clearing, he had feared that he'd been discovered. Luckily, Red's bulk had hidden him long enough to apply a makeshift disguise. Donning the hood of his Salamander's Cloak, he quickly summoned a mask made from Dark Magic to cover his face. Thanks to the practice from earlier today, he was even able to create slightly tinted lens over his eyes, allowing him to see, albeit dimly.
Almost immediately, he'd had to calm Red down, since the dragon had looked ready to attack the intruder. Even after he'd settled down, Mike could sense a degree of tension in his posture, almost as if he was upset at the woman.
While talking to the princess, as an effort to buy some time, he briefly considered a number of options. He dismissed any violent actions, suspecting that this world likely had access to some magical forensic techniques that would definitely be employed in the event of the princess suddenly disappearing. Without knowing how to avoid detection, it would be too dangerous to attempt it.
He figured that if he could convince her that he wasn't an enemy or threat, at the very least, she would only report it to the authorities. So long as he hid his identity, he should be in the clear. Mike was also confident in his ability to get away, should negotiations.
[If only I had some kind of mental magic I could use to alter her memories or something. I'm going to have to look into that in the future.]
So he used the next best thing. Enhancing his voice with Communication Magic and mana, he made his case.
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The man answered her question in a deep, rich voice that seemed to vibrate through the clearing. "My business is also my own, princess, but rest assured I am not your enemy nor the enemy of this country. Indeed, in the past I have often fought to protect the people of Almir, risking life and limb to do so. As to summoning the guard, it would be inconvenient for me, so I would ask you to refrain from it."
Andrea found herself believing his words, even though she had no reason to do so. Something about the way he said it, was just so….convincing.
She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Well, even if that is the case, you picked a bad place to meet up. The University Guard has been conducting patrols through campus recently. You're going to be discovered soon."
The man considered this before answering. "You have a point, and I shall be remedying it momentarily." He turned towards the dragon, who promptly lowered itself, allowing the man to climb onto its neck.
Andrea was slightly overcome. She'd heard the stories, but had figured they were mere legends. Could he really be…..?
Her thoughts were interrupted as the dragon stood up and spread its wings once more. With a rush of wind, the massive creature threw itself into the air and began ascend, wings flapping steadily.
Before she knew it, her legs had started moving, pushing her out into the center of the clearing. "Wait! Please! Are you really one of them?"
The man regarded her from his perch atop his dragon mount, before yelling above the wind. "I'll be seeing you, princess."
The dragon turned, and with a few strong beats of its wings, flew out over the wall and disappeared into the night.
She stood in the clearing for a long time after that, musing about what she had seen. A small smile played about her lips as she spoke quietly to herself. "I can't believe it. I thought they were a myth. A real Dragonknight..."
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Mike immediately regretted his decision, once Red had gotten up to speed. He was forced to cling to the dragon's neck with all his strength to avoid being thrown off by the force of the wind. They were flying at speeds that shouldn't be possible considering the dragon's size, and general lack of aerodynamics. Magic had to be involved.
Even though he'd never experienced it, he assumed that this is what it would be like to try to cling to the side of a plane while in midair. If it wasn't for his superhuman abilities, Mike would have fallen off a long time ago.
As if sensing his discomfort, Red started slowing down to the point he could relax slightly. Reaching a good soaring altitude the dragon simply extended his wings and started gliding. Finally, Mike could take a moment to evaluate his situation. However, he was distracted by the scenery.
The moon was in the process of setting, making it seem like it was resting on the surface of the ocean to the west. The entirety of the capital was laid out behind him. He could faintly see the glittering lights of the city. The Span reflected the moonlight strangely, making it appear to glow in the dark. A vast forest now stretched beneath him, which seemed to extend towards distant foothills, jutting up against a dark mountain range to the north.
For a moment, he simply enjoyed the feeling. Here he was, flying on the back of a dragon through the sky of another world. This was everything he had hoped for when he reincarnated.
This brief moment of contentment was brought to a sudden end when Audra, awakened by sudden violence of their departure, attempted to launch herself into the air in an effort to mimic the larger dragon.
"Oh no, you don't." Mike said as he caught his familiar in mid leap, and placed her back in her dedicated pocket. "You can see just fine from there."
He directed Red to swing by the lighthouse near the dormitories. As soon as they reached the building, he jumped off of the dragon's back and used Air Magic to direct his fall inside of the University's walls. Once he'd landed, he set off towards the dorms. With any luck, he'd avoided any further detection.