She was falling fast, but the Ice Dragon remained static in the air. It flapped its wings and kept watching the falling girl.
Panic coursed her veins, and anxiety overcame every other emotion in her body. She was falling at an astonishing speed. Below her was the abysmal depth. And above her was the Ice Dragon that apathetically let her fall.
Unable to understand anything, she haphazardly started kicking in the air, trying to grab any straw. But nothing came to her rescue. Warmth started spilling from her back.
Fear wound around her senses like a snake, gripping her in tight clutches. Even at such a time, words like betrayal never crossed her mind.
Only sensations filled her to the brim, the wind slashing her body, the warmth covering her entirety, fear of falling, helplessness, anxiousness, and an ethereal being watching her.
But as soon as her eyes made contact with the Ice Dragon's eyes, she calmed down all of a sudden. Her eyes were filled with the Ice Dragon. Nothing else mattered because she saw something flickering in the Ice Dragon's eyes.
Fear, anxiety, and uncertainty tainted its eyes. Arella, who should be worried about her own state, threw her concerns into the wild wind. Only the Ice Dragon mattered. Only Adrian mattered to her.
A slight smile appeared on her face as if trying to comfort the anxious beast. At the back of her mind, she was certain that Adrian and the beast would not let her fall. She raised her hand as if trying to touch the anxious beast. She wanted to calm the beast down by touching it.
But the distance between them was too much. Her hand lost strength and fell limply by her side. Her eyelids became heavy, and slowly, she succumbed to the heaviness. She closed her eyes.
Warmth started receding like a tide. Her body started growing colder and colder. She was falling deeper and deeper. At this moment, the white Ice Dragon sped toward her.
In the night sky, it looked like a shooting star. It flew toward the unconscious girl, and moments before she could touch the ground, it swept her up on its back.
It flew straight to the crystal dome and hurriedly pulled her cold body on the floor. Its head nuzzled into her neck in an attempt to wake her up. But the girl was too cold.
Looking at her condition, sadness, and longing spilled out of the beast's eyes. It let out a chilly breath as a sigh. It circled around her body and then, sat next to her.
Tenderly adjusting her head on its soft belly, it covered Arella's feeble body under its wing. And then, just like that, both the beast and the lady slept next to each other.
The next morning, when Arella opened her eyes, she found herself on a familiar bed, in familiar arms.
As soon as she shifted, Adrian opened his eyes and started blankly at her. With pursed lips, he wanted to say something but did not know what. Arella understood his predicament. Last night, the beast's behavior was a little out of the line.
She tilted her head and kissed his pursed lips.
"I am fine." She uttered quietly.
Listening to her voice broke Adrian's static spell. He tightened his hold around her waist and brought her closer to him.
"God knows what went in that Beast's mind! How dare he pull such a dangerous stunt on you? Such a mindless beast!" Adrian badmouthed his own beast.
Fortunately, the proud Ice Dragon, who was deep in a slumber, did not hear anything. Otherwise, he would have shown how embarrassing this mindless beast could make Adrian's life! Of course, had it been awake, it would have whimpered to coax Arella! After all, it did have a plan!
Listening to his grumbling, a shallow smile appeared on Arella's face. She did not know why the beast did what it did, but she was certain of two things. First, the anxiousness and fear that she saw in the beast's eyes were real. Second, it did save her in the end.
"Why do you not ask it yourself?" Arella subconsciously defended the beast. It was a part of Adrian. It would not do anything reckless. She knew that he must have a reason.
"We don't talk anymore," Adrian whispered softly in her ears.
"Huh?" Confused, Arella pulled herself out of his embrace and looked at him curiously. As far as she knew, both the beast and the human counterpart could communicate and interact in their minds. Then why couldn't Adrian?
"I don't know. It's just that, when I am out, it sleeps. And when it is out, I sleep. We do not interfere in each other's lives." Adrian sighed lightly as he shared this. He did not remember when it started, but as far as his memory went, that is how it has been.
Arella twitched her lips a little. They do not communicate, yet he has such a good command over the beast. And look at her, she has been trying to talk to her beast since time immemorial, only to receive a cold shoulder in response! She really lacks a lot.
"Get up! Aren't you late for work?" She put everything at the back of her mind and urged him to start his day, instead of lazing around in the bed.
Grumbling, Adrian woke up and went to take a bath. When he came out, Arella went to freshen up. Once they were both ready, they went to have breakfast.
"Oh! I forgot. About the training, you will have three different people teaching you." While munching on the food, Adrian spoke calmly.
"Three? Why so many?" Arella knew that Adrian was efficient. Once he said that he would train her, he would not go back. But why three? More importantly, who were these three trainers?
"They will train you on different aspects at different times of the day. Andrew will take up stamina and speed during the day. He can also share some pointers on flying or the habits of bird clan."
"I will take up healing during the night, and then, Anna will take up tamer skills like strategy and control during the weekends." Adrian nonchalantly shared her schedule.
"Anna? Who is Anna?" Arella knew about Andrew. But who was Anna? She had not met anyone named so to date.
"Oh! Anna is an A ranked tamer." He revealed Anna's prowess.
"And she is popularly called Princess Anna." Adrian quietly added.