Rose's eyes shot open and she lurched forward. Her entire world was spinning around as her head throbbed painfully. She couldn't make sense of her surroundings, her vision doubling—tripling—and her ears ringing.
Disoriented, Rose realized she had to still be in immediate danger from the monster. She remembered being thrown—thrown back—then there was a lot of pain—
Rose shook her head, trying to clear away the haze that was settling over her mind. With the whole world submerged in dark water, her limbs struggled to move under its cold weight. Her entire body was stiffer than a frozen tree, and when she tried to command it to follow her thoughts, she was dismayed to find how difficult it was.
Rose's vision was failing her, and now her body wasn't working.
She was helpless.
Pure, powerful, paralyzing terror slammed into her, knocking the wind out of her and stopping her heart. That one second of sheer panic and mind-numbing fear stretched on into eternity in Rose's mind before being rapidly devoured by raging lava.
The dragon's instincts flared to life, and Rose shoved her magic out of her in a dramatic, dangerous explosion of uncontrolled power. Glass shattered, things broke and flew away from her, and there was a shout of surprise. She breathed out fire—as hot as she could possibly make it—in a wild attempt to keep the monster at bay.
"Miss—Ro—ose!"
Again, she pushed out her magic, fire erupting from around the panicked dragon. Suddenly, there were arms wrapped tightly around her and Rose could smell…
Mr. Whiskers?
The painfully familiar scent of her beloved companion pierced through Rose's foggy mind, and the fire abruptly died around her from shock. Her small body trembled from overexertion, and her head swam in nonexistent dark water. She couldn't make out anything, only blurred figures and muted voices.
But she could smell Mr. Whiskers, and it brought tears to her eyes. She scrounged up every ounce of her willpower to force her arms to move, to grab onto her cat, but it wasn't enough. She dangled limply in the warm arms that held her and wondered what on earth was happening to her.
Cold hands touched both of her cheeks, and Rose reflexively flinched from them. She couldn't see past her dizziness, and it took several seconds of sniffing before she could recognize those hands belonged to Doctor Basileus.
Doctor Basileus's magic flowed out of him, cocooning Rose and gently pulling her closer to awareness. First, her hearing returned, everything coming into a sharp focus with an uncomfortable 'pop'. Next came her sense of feeling—oh, did she feel bruised—and last to return was her vision.
Rose blinked once, twice, and flushed upon realizing she was looking up at Professor Nigel and Doctor Basileus. Professor Nigel was restraining her in his arms, with Doctor Basileus holding her head and injecting her with his magic.
Why am I being restrained? Rose thought, confused as to why Professor Nigel was holding her arms so tightly. She tried to piece together what had happened—
I was fighting the monster, and—
Rose tried to look around, but Doctor Basileus's grip was firm, and wouldn't allow Rose to turn her head. He gave her his usual smile. "Why don't you let me finish fixing you up before you move about?"
Rose's mouth seemed to be filled with cotton balls, and her throat felt dryer than the desert. "Wha-at… happ-ppened?"
"You're safe now, Miss Rose," Professor Nigel said in a kind voice. "Please be at ease. You are not in any danger."
The longer Doctor Basileus's magic flowed through her, the easier it became to move and feel. Rose remained silent, allowing the good doctor to work.
She was… safe.
Right?
When the aches had fled from her, Rose tried asking again, "What happened?"
"You defeated a summoned construct," Doctor Basileus said, slowly removing his hands from either side of Rose's face. "You saved the Hero kingmates who foolishly tried to summon it. Mortem found you and brought you here. The enforcers arrived shortly afterwards and took all the students who participated in the ritual away. They'll be undergoing a heavy investigation."
Defeated? Rose's face started to grow hot. "I—I thought… did I… did I, um… attack y-you?"
When neither of them responded, Rose forced her gaze away from them. Her breath became caught in her throat and her stomach dropped.
It was the doctor's office.
Every bit of furniture in the room was destroyed, bits and pieces of smoldering ash scattered about. The windows were unharmed, but there were shards of glass sticking out from some of the debris. Rose could smell each distinct pile, and she thought it was awfully cruel that it reminded her of campfires. Such a horrible scene shouldn't have any relation to one of her happier memories.
I did this? Me? I did this?
Disgust welled up inside the young dragon, shame and humiliation following right at its heels. The contents of her stomach curdled like expired milk, and she tried hard to fight back her guilty tears.
I did this? I can't believe—
Am I really a monster?
Rose's bottom lip trembled, and she tried to scrounge up her courage to apologize. At the very least, she could apologize. "I—"
"Stop," Doctor Basileus cut in. "Stop right now. All this stuff here can be easily replaced or fixed. You haven't done anything new that the moronic blacksmithing club hasn't done half a dozen times this year already."
"Please be at ease, Miss Rose," Professor Nigel soothed, releasing her. "Anyone would have reacted the same way, and that is why we prepared accordingly. Neither of us were harmed, and everything of value had already been removed."
Rose swallowed the lump in her throat, biting so hard on her bottom lip it began to bleed.
Their words sounded sweet, but the fact of the matter was Rose did attack them. She destroyed Doctor Basileus's office. She acted like a wild animal, a monster. She didn't even realize it was happening.
Is that what it means to be a dragon? Rose worriedly thought, recalling her fear and rage. Mortem said dragons just loved too much, but I sure didn't feel any love.
"Miss Rose," Professor Nigel said, interrupting Rose's thoughts. "Please don't overthink this. Believe us when we say anyone would have reacted the same way as you, and that is why Doctor Basileus and I prepared for this. It is not because you are a dragon, but rather because you fell unconscious while fighting a dangerous opponent. How were you to know the construct was defeated when you first woke up?"
There was a strong sense of honesty in Professor Nigel's words. Rose could feel his sincerity behind them, and it made her self-disgust begin to ebb away. She wanted to believe their words and not think she was a monster, but a part of her was hesitant to do so. Twice, she had lashed out and attacked others. They might forgive her, but Rose wasn't certain she could forgive herself yet…
But she didn't want to tell Professor Nigel or Doctor Basileus that, since they both kept looking at her with those kind eyes.
She struggled to keep her voice even and said, "… Yes, sir."
"It's really okay," Doctor Basileus insisted. "How are you feeling? You must be very tired."
She was, but—
"I-I'll help you clean—"
Professor Nigel placed a hand on top of Rose's head. "Don't be absurd. This won't even take two minutes. We know you're exhausted, Miss Rose. Please trust us when we say that it really is okay. Why don't you get some rest?"
She didn't want to, but exhaustion weighed heavily on her. Now that she wasn't in pain, or scared, sleep sounded incredibly enticing. It was hard to keep her eyes open, and a tiny voice inside of her pleaded to just rest for a little bit. To close her eyes and dream about being safe.
"It's over, Miss Rose," Doctor Basileus said, his voice starting to sound far away. "You're completely safe now. Go on… close your eyes."
Rose's eyes drifted shut, and darkness greeted her like an old friend.
...🌹...
He was humming to her, her uncle.
They sat in an almost dead garden that was still awash in gray. The cold white metal bench dug into her skin, and Rose wrapped her fingers around it. She looked at the man who claimed to be her uncle.
He was sitting beside her, an arm draped over the bench and a leg propped up in his lap. He was tapping his fingers and humming a tune that sounded like an old lullaby Rose once knew.
"Are you really my uncle?" she asked him.
He leaned towards her, gray eyes unreadable. "As real as the sun, little maiden."
"Who are you, then?" Rose asked him. "What's your name?"
He held a finger to his lips.
"You can't say? Or won't?"
"Won't," he said with a smile. "Because you'll remember it when you're ready. Telling you any sooner would be like giving you the name of a stranger."
"How do you know I'll remember?" Rose questioned, turning towards him.
"Because the sun always comes up," he said, turning back away and humming once again. "As certain as the worlds continue to turn, as the sea crashes into the land, you will remember who you are."
"That doesn't make any sense," Rose retorted. "I was a baby when I was left at the Church. I've grown up in Sherry my whole life—"
"How does one so young have magic so old?" her uncle asked her. "Be at ease, my dearest little battle maiden, because just as the sun will rise: you will remember."
...🌹...
The next time Rose opened her eyes, she was surprised to find the doctor's office had been restored perfectly. She would have been hard pressed to believe it had been nothing but smoldering ash the previous day.
A glance out the tall, stained-glass windows told Rose it was early morning. The morning light filtered through the window, painting the mostly white office in hues of blue and green. Rose had always admired the artwork on the windows: a deep blue lake surrounded by dark trees and a bright blue sky.
Who made all these windows? Rose thought.
She knew Gardenia belonged to Elder Sylvania before she donated the castle to the school. She had also read that the wards—powerful runes fueled by Yellow Magic, according to Professor Rina—were crafted by Elder Sylvania herself, alongside Elder Maylanna and Queen Nia.
Did one of them make these windows? Rose thought, slowly sitting up in her bed.
Rose's eyes roamed away from the window and around the pristine office. Doctor Basileus wasn't to be found, and Rose couldn't smell him nearby. She slowly got out of bed, looking down at her pajamas and wondering who changed her.
She did a quick assessment of herself, clenching and relaxing her hands, inspecting her body to see if she could see any bruises or marks.
Not even a bruise, Rose thought, relieved she didn't feel any soreness.
Although she thought it would have been neat if she got a scar from her fight.
"How ever did you get that unique scar?"
"Oh, this? Fought off a monster when I was ten. I know I'm cool."
The thought made Rose giggled. She wandered around the office, stretching out her legs—and tail—while looking for any burn marks. She sniffed at the furniture, finding that none of them reminded her of ash or campfires.
How did they do that? Is it all new furniture, or what? Rose peered at Doctor Basileus's desk. His desk didn't have any unique features to it to differentiate it from another desk, so it was hard to tell.
Did they really use Blue Magic, or something similar, to transform these all back from ash? I know Professor Yūei said that Blue Magic could be used to turn fire into water, but this is crazy.
Rose stopped that line of thought immediately.
You're a dragon in a magical floating castle and a vessel to your uncle. The fact they can fix up a desk is what you're calling crazy?
Rose shook her head, her hair hitting her face as she did so.
"Good morning, Miss Rose."
The dragon turned to the front door of the office, her eyes widening in surprise to find Mortem there. He was holding up a picnic basket, the delightful scents of bacon, biscuits, pancakes, and eggs wafting from it and making Rose's mouth water.
A loud gurgle escaped Rose's stomach, and the Warrior kingmate smiled hopefully at Mortem. "That for me?"
"No, I decided to bring food and eat it in front of you," Mortem deadpanned, lowering the basket.
"That's cruel," Rose said, her smile stretching wider as she hurried over to Mortem. "Um… there aren't really any tables in here."
"That's fine. I thought we would eat in the gardens," Mortem responded. "You like spending time there, don't you?"
Rose was surprised Mortem noticed that about her. She nodded, tucking her hair behind her ears, then folding her hands neatly in front of her. "Yeah. Th-thanks."
Mortem shrugged in response, turning and heading out the door. Rose followed behind him, hesitating only for a moment because she didn't have any socks or shoes on.
But who cared about that when there was delicious food and a pretty garden up ahead?
The duo walked in comfortable silence, Gardenia filled with quiet peace. The light from outside steadily grew, placing a warm blanket of colors over its halls as it filtered through the magnificent windows. As they walked, Rose couldn't resist admiring the beauty of Gardenia again. She had grown accustomed to the feel of Gardenia's magic, but the sheer warmth and charm it held was second to none. It was exactly how a magical floating castle ought to look and feel like.
"You're wagging your tail like a puppy," Mortem observed.
Rose abruptly forced her tail to remain still, unaware she was doing such. "A-am not."
"It's okay to embrace your inner puppy," Mortem mockingly soothed her.
"Then have you embraced yours?" Rose returned, her cheeks hot.
"I'm not really the puppy type," Mortem answered, using his shadows to push open the side door that would lead to the gardens.
Crisp, clean, cool air greeted the pair, and Rose took a deep breath in, immediately forgetting her worries. Already she could smell the dew and flowers, it filled her heart with sweet warmth and put a smile on her face.
Mortem continued to lead the way, and Rose followed closely beside him, genuinely happy to be outside…
And about to eat what smelled like an amazing breakfast. Can't forget that part.
After a few more minutes of traveling, Mortem stopped at a small, white gazebo covered in flowering vines. The table inside was only big enough for three people, but it would suit the two friends just fine. Mortem placed the basket on the table, opening it up and pulling out all the food items Rose's nose had already picked out.
Rose mentally patted herself on the back for accurately guessing all the food, smiling brightly to herself.
Mortem picked up a piece of bacon, and it disappeared beneath the shadows of his hood. Rose cocked her head at the odd display.
"How come you don't eat with us?"
"I don't like people," Mortem answered. "And the standard menu doesn't have everything I need."
"Like what?"
"This and that." Mortem ate another piece of bacon. "You better hurry, or I'll eat all of this before you get the chance."
Rose gasped. "Oh, no! I'm getting my bacon."
Mortem took a third piece. "Oh, really?"
Rose immediately grabbed five pieces and triumphantly stuffed them in her mouth. "Hwah!"
"Well done. Bravo. Encore." Mortem clapped, his voice laced with heavy sarcasm.
But Rose took it in her stride, giving a small bow and beaming. She finished eating her bacon, smiling brightly at Mortem. "Hey… thanks for this."
Mortem shrugged, glancing away. "I thought it might make you happy."
"Well, it definitely has," Rose said, taking a buttered roll. "You're—you're a really good friend, Mortem. I'm sorry I called you a jerk-butt."
"It's fine," Mortem dismissed. "I'm… happy to be your friend, Miss Rose."
"Just Rose," Rose insisted. "We're friends, aren't we?"
Mortem was quiet for a few seconds before he said softly, "Yes. We are friends."
...🌹...
When Rose returned to her kingdom, she was met with an honest to goodness party. Complete with a banner that read: CONGRATULATIONS ON NOT DYING.
Rose could only stare in disbelief as her friends, along with her kingmates, and many other students she had only ever met in passing, greeted her enthusiastically upon her return. There was a buffet on the far right filled with finger foods and drinks, and someone had illusioned the ceiling to constantly rain confetti that disappeared before it touched the floor.
"Our bravest little dragon!" Galio greeted with a booming laugh as he lifted Rose up onto his shoulders. "Here, here!"
"Here, here!" dozens of students chanted back, raising glasses of fruity-filled drinks.
"Who not only kicked monster butt, but saved some incredibly stupid jerks along the way," Galio went on, and cheers broke out at that. "Let's all remember not to get on her bad side, eh?"
This was met with laughter, as Rose flushed.
"Alright, alright, let's let our little dragon back down," Havi said. "I'm sure she's still tired."
"As long as she's not too tired to party," Deo declared as Galio put Rose back down. "Turn on the music, Maysa!"
"Hmph, I'm not your servant, you cretin," Maysa sniffed even as she did exactly as told.
Loud and upbeat music blared throughout the Warrior Kingdom common room and the students let out more cheers.
Rose stumbled away from Galio, bewildered by the surprise party. The banner was also a little overwhelming because she was honestly doing her best to forget the fact that she almost died…
Again.
She headed over to her friends: Chester, Keinan, Mortem, and now Delilah.
Mortem handed her a sweet-smelling drink that she took gladly, and her friends gave her big grins.
"H-how are you? Um, we weren't a-able to see you," Delilah stammered out in a rush.
"I'm fine," Rose reassured her, "a bit tired, if anything."
"Is the party okay?" Keinan asked her, worriedly. "If you're too tired—"
"No," Rose said quickly, "no. This is good. This is—it's great to see everyone so happy."
"Yeah. We almost couldn't believe it when m—the headmaster told our kingdom," Chester said quietly. "The entire Hero Kingdom, except Aella, arrested? Moreover, that they actually tried to use Yellow Magic to kill you—"
"They're gone now," Mortem cut in, as Rose started to fidget anxiously. "I'm sure more precautions will be set over the summer to make sure such a thing doesn't happen again, too."
"Still," Delilah said softly. "R-Rose, are you—are you, um, sure you're okay?"
Rose gripped her drink tightly. "Yeah. I always am."
"You're much braver than me," Delilah told her. "I can't believe you saved them."
"Not like I had much of a choice," Rose responded, uncomfortable. "I couldn't just watch 'em die, right? That'd be—that'd be even worse."
"Not a lot of people would have done what you did," Chester insisted.
"And with that, we're ending this conversation," Mortem said sharply. "No reason to keep talking about it, especially now. Miss Rose, will you still be taking your exams?"
"Oh—um—yeah, I guess. Might as well, right?" Rose's shoulders dropped in relief at the change of subject.
Her friends picked up on that and all too easily, they were able to talk the night away.
...🌹...
Normalcy finally came to Gardenia again. The last month of school was treated quietly and filled with gentle warmth. Rose got to attend her classes without worry, as well as take her exams—except Blue, which she would take over the summer.
She continued to experiment with the rocks and crystals with her friends. Mortem even sat in on a couple of experiments. Unfortunately, no matter how many tests or variations they ran, they couldn't replicate the beautiful glow of dragon's dawn.
They promised they'd achieve it next year, however.
As the school year began to end, addresses were exchanged so they could write letters. It also put up the question of where exactly Rose would be staying over the summer.
She casually asked Professor Nigel and her advisor said, "I am the school's chosen guardian for you. You will be staying with me for the summer. I'll write down the mailing address for your friends…"
Rose repeatedly promised her friends she would write and, if possible, even visit.
It was such a novel experience to the young dragon, even recalling it all put a smile on her face. Friendless, family-less, and left entirely alone in the human world less than a year ago.
And now?
She had friends. She had a kingdom. She had a goal for the future.
She was a dragon.
One of those things would have blown her mind a year ago. But all of them?
Unbelievable.
Unimaginable.
Unparalleled.
On her very last day of school, there were no classes.
The students would be leaving after breakfast, and as it was the last day of school, everyone had to eat together at eight am sharp.
Rose was ushered away with the rest of her kingmates into the cafeteria where explosions of light and fireworks danced around everyone. Students were crying and hugging each other, and Galio body tackled Deo into a cake that had been made. It was chaotic, and wonderful.
Rose watched as everyone laughed and joked around, wishing it would be exactly like this the next year.
Then her friends started to leave, one by one, as their parents came to pick them up. The first to head home was Delilah, whose mother arrived exactly on time.
The pink skinned laslyst threw herself onto Rose and hugged her tightly. "Write to me, okay?"
"I already have a letter written," Rose reassured the shy girl.
Delilah beamed in response, promptly hugging Chester, Keinan, and Mortem before she hurried out of the cafeteria.
Next to leave were Keinan and Chester, as Keinan's father came to pick the two of them up. They hugged Rose and Mortem, and both promised to write as soon as they got home.
Galio left afterwards with Deo, doing a moonwalk out of the cafeteria—which warranted Deo doing a backflip to outdo his best friend.
Havi came next, and she gave Rose a kiss on the cheek before she left. More students left, and then Philip followed suit.
One by one they left until it was only Mortem and Rose.
That sat in comfortable silence until Mortem said, "After all that is said and done, Miss Rose… are you okay?"
Rose took a deep breath as she thought about her answer. After a solid minute of thinking, she finally turned to him and smiled. She said, "I always am."
"So it would seem," Mortem responded, getting up from his seat beside her. "I'll see you next year, Miss Rose, if not sooner."
"Yeah. Hey—um—thanks. You know."
The gazing purple glow beneath his hood vanished and he said quietly, "I will always help you, Miss Rose."
She watched him leave, folding her hands neatly in her lap as she did so. A part of her ached, watching her last friend leave. She could barely wrap her mind around everything that had happened, and to have such a… normal ending? It seemed almost too good to be true.
She sat in silence for another minute before she hopped up from her seat and headed to Professor Nigel's office. He had told her to head there when she was ready to go to her new home.
Home. What an odd word.
Another thing to get used to, I guess, Rose thought as she skipped down the hallway.
But that was okay.
Professor Nigel's office was a simple one, with a big desk that was filled with neatly stacked papers, and in front of it were two comfortable looking red chairs. There were some bookcases that were only partly filled with books, the rest of it was filled with odd little knick-knacks that looked like common toys. It struck Rose as odd to find such essentially worthless things collected by someone as regal as Professor Nigel.
Professor Nigel gestured to a plain looking door at the back end of the small office. "This door in all of our offices will lead to our private quarters. Most of us live here on campus, such as Professor Yūei. For those that do not, this door typically acts as a gateway to their homes."
"Okay," Rose said slowly, still uncertain what Professor Nigel's point was.
He shifted, seemingly uncomfortable. "I have not been entirely forthright with my knowledge, Miss Rose. I-I had hoped to give you more time to adjust to this world before, ah, 'dropping the bomb', as it were. I did not wish to cause you distress, and I was—still am—not sure how you would take this news."
Rose felt her stomach start to knot again. Professor Nigel was clearly uncomfortable, which told Rose that whatever he was going to say would be unpleasant.
"Wh-what's the bad news?"
Professor Nigel, instead of answering, opened the door. "Let's—let's go home first. I think a cuppa would be good."
Rose's lips tugged down in a frown, but she entered through the doorway anyway. Her feet landed on a stone pathway when she came through, and she soon found herself in front of a quaint cottage. It wasn't very big, but Rose knew by that point it didn't mean it wasn't huge on the inside.
It was made of white stone, with a thatched roof—a roof made up of dried hay, or things of that kind—and a small wooden door with two big windows on either side. Rose could see a winding chimney poking out with smoke lazily curling into the air.
The stone path led to the front door, and Rose felt Professor Nigel nudge her forward. Rose headed towards the cottage, and the door swung open when she neared. Inside was a humble abode that was filled with teapots, teacups, jarred tea leaves with neatly written labels, and grandfather clocks. There were shelves upon shelves of the tea leaves, and some of them even glowed oddly.
The front room certainly gave the impression that Professor Nigel loved his tea.
"Please take a seat," Professor Nigel said, guiding Rose into a small kitchen. "Would you care for some tea?"
"How much tea do you have?" Rose asked incredulously.
He let out a small chuckle at that, a little less nervous than before. "I do enjoy tea. I have my own garden in the back where I experiment in hybrids, and I collect teapots and teacups."
Rose gave a small smile. "How long have you been collecting them?"
"Oh, only—only for about five years now," he answered after a moment's hesitation. "Would you like some?"
"Sure, um, whatever you would suggest."
He seemed to smile at her behind his mask. "Some viola lavender will do, I think. Calm the nerves."
Professor Nigel left the kitchen, returning with some glowing blueish-purple leaves and placing them in a well-used, black teapot. He poured steaming water into it that he pulled from the little fireplace in the kitchen that had a big black pot hanging over it.
Then he sat down at the table across from Rose and slid her a cup of the flowery-smelling tea. "I-I must confess that I'm a bit at a loss for where to begin."
"What's the most important thing you need to say?" Rose asked.
"Well, I suppose that the most important thing I need to tell you," Professor Nigel began, "is that I'm your familiar."
Then he slipped off his mask and Rose found herself staring at the head of a cat—a very familiar cat, in fact.
"I'm, ah, Mr. Whiskers. I am the reason your magic is suppressed, and why you grew up as a human."