[Writer's Pov]
After the dragon attack, the citizens of Blumund were grieving in sadness. There were a lot of casualties. A lot of people lost their lives, including women and children. The whole kingdom was in a state of panic.
The king and his men tried assuring people that everything would be fine, but they just couldn't listen. Some cried out loud, and some even blamed the king and his knights for being unable to protect them.
When Prince Cyrus and his men came back from the forest where they were chasing after Athena and Mimi, they found things not looking good in the great colosseum. Cyrus knew he had to do something to put everyone's minds at ease, so he climbed down from his shining horse and stood in front of everyone. He coughed a little to clear his throat and raised his arms in the air for dramatic purposes or to seek attention, perhaps.
"Citizens of Blumund!,"he yelled. Everyone looked at him, including the king and all the other respected guests and high-ranking men. "Worry not, everyone. Yours truly Prince Cyrus has chased away the red dragon,"he said confidently. People gasped, not sure whether to believe him or not. He raised his sword higher and yelled again. "My men and l fought bravely. We came face to face with that damned overgrown red beast, and we beat the crap out of it using my sword. After that, we chased after that god forsaken girl and that damned fox girl. We beat them, too, but the idiots were suicidal. They threw themselves on the great cliff of the bridge of Aldora, and l doubt they survived."
The knights that were chasing after Athena, together with Prince Cyrus, just kept quiet, knowing that the prince was just lying through his teeth.
"The criminals who dared bring a dragon to our kingdom will suffer beyond measure. I'll make sure that their pathetic little kingdom will beg for mercy as they pay us handsomely to repair the damages they caused us. Compensation will be made to those unfortunate families who lost their loved ones during the attack, but know this, my people. As long as I stand before you, there is nothing to fear."
After his dramatic speech, the crowd went crazy.
"All hail Prince Cyrus!"
"Long life to Prince Cyrus!"
The crowd roared.
"With Prince Cyrus, we're untouchable!"
"Of course, he's our kingdom's savior—the greatest prince amongst all the other princes,"
"None of them can come close to his power!"
He felt his confidence rise to the sky. The compliments made him feel high just the way he wanted everyone to respect him. After that, he made his way to his father, not minding the weight of his gold armor that was hard to carry around. With each step, people bowed before him. Upon reaching his father, he clasped his hand and pulled him into a hug, then murmured with a smirk, "The people adore me far more than they ever did you. Perhaps it's time you surrendered the throne, Father."
After that, he didn't even wait to get a response. He walked straight to his room to enjoy some quality time with his mistresses.
Meanwhile, in the forest of Dryads, Athena and Mimi slowly regained their consciousness, only to find themselves wrapped around by tree roots that were so tight on their bodies. They looked around and saw that they were surrounded by very big oak trees. Suddenly, a little cute fairy girl appeared before them, flapping its small wings that produced small magical pixie dusts while flying around. It was so small that it could easily sit on the palm of their hands.
"You two are awake, now,"it said excitedly. "You got me a little worried back then. Honestly, l thought you were going to be able to break my loop barrier, but well... l guess l judged you a little earlier. You're weak, after all."
Mimi tried struggling to break free from the roots, but they tightened every time they tried to do so.
"Let us go, you little fairy insect before l squash you to pieces with my fingers like a little fly you are,"Mimi snarled, her fox whiskers twitching violently.
Athena was just quiet, her mouth wide open in shock. It was her first time actually seeing a fairy, so she just couldn't take her eyes off it.
In that moment, a young but cute looking lady emerged just from the oak trees nearby. Her clothes were neatly made with green tree branches and leaves, then finely decorated with flowers in a beautiful way that a human couldn't fathom. Her presence alone was too heavy—and with each step she took, small flowers sprouted from the lavish green ground.
"What's the noise all about, Marvelous? Honestly, I'm trying to sleep here you know,"she said, yawning lazily as she walked towards where Athena and Mimi were tied to a tree. She looked at them and then looked back at Marvelous, knowing that she was a very troublesome fairy that's always up to no good.
"What did you do this time, little girl,"she asked."
The fairy growled, clearly angry about being called a little girl. "I'm not little, okay. How many times should l tell you that? I'm a queen of the fairies, so you should respect me, you stupid, dryad!. Hmph .,"she crossed her little arms across her chest.
Upon hearing that, Athena's eyes widened. "Ma'am. So you're the dryad?,"she asked. "I_..sorrh, l mean, we really need your help. My master is dying. We humbly ask for a mana restorative. He tamed a dragon an then..."
"Shhh.... shut up human!,"Mimi interjected. "Just ask for the potions, don't tell them that the master tamed a dragon and exhausted his mana,"she whispered in Athena's ears."
The dryad began laughing. "There's no reason so whisper to her, fox girl. I'm a dryad, and a great spirit of the forest. Everything here listens to our kind, so even if you whisper while you're 10 meters away, the tress can still tell me what you said. So, now tell me. How old is this master of yours?"
Athena kept quiet. She didn't know anything about her master after all.
"He's 18,"Mimi responded. "
The dryad's face widened in shock. She was hoping to hear that the master was some old man, but this.... this was beyond what she had expected to hear. An 18 year old who is capable of taming a dragon. It was new to her.
She let out a naughty smile, biting her lips, which made Athena and Mimi feel uncomfortable.
"Wow! I'm interested in this master of yours. I want to meet him. Maybe he might be the man I've been waiting for for the past 200 years,"her tone was changing, turning into a more flirty and dirty one. "
"Huh! You want to visit the human kingdom to see a man you've never met,"Marvelous, the fairy girl asked, not believing what Lana was thinking.
"Yeah... l mean, l just want to see if he's worthy of me. I've always wanted to know what a human and a dryad might produce if they mate. Will the child be a dryad, or a human, or maybe a mixture of both perhaps. I want to know, and this is the opportunity, Marvelous. I've finally found the one person worthy of filling my womb. I can't let this slide,"she said, her eyes beaming with joy. She was already imagining in her mind how she'll get intimate with this human, and have kids with him, then move to start a family in her land. Her imagination almost drove her crazy!
"You must be out of your mind!,"Marvelous taunted. "You know very well that your overprotective sister, Lina won't allow you to leave this land."
Lana walked close to the fairy and whispered to it. "That's why no one should know about this, except for you and me."
"I'm too little. My chest is too small to keep such a big secret. I will spill the beans anytime if it gets too heavy for me to carry around,"the fairy lady said and then scoffed, her hands below her chest.
"Hoo, so now you're little because I've asked you to keep a secret. Weren't you the one who said you're not little literary a few minutes ago?"
Marvelous scoffed again. "I was big then, but now I'm little. Take it or leave it."
Lana heaved a heavy sigh. "Okay, Marve. Let's go together. That way, you won't be able to tell anyone about our little secret."
"Hooray!" Now that's what I've been hoping to hear." She began flying around in circles.
"However, please don't torment any humans when we get there, okay. You're really addicted to tormenting people. You even tormented these two girls who came all the way here to save my future husband."
"I can't help it, Lana. Humans are fun to watch when they scream in despair. I just love watching them cry and try out all sorts of pathetic ways they can think of to survive when they can clearly see that they are outmatched and overpowered. But well... these days, I've learned how to restrain my power. I even gave these two girls some mana restorative potions after tormenting them in my loop magic. I've grown kind as well over the past years, but damn... you should have seen when l tormented these two. The other summoned a pathetic fox spirit that barely did any damage to my barrier. Lol, It was fun,hahaha,"she let out an evil laugh that was too malevolent for her cute little body."
"You call that being kind? Whatever, now enough chit chatting. Lets go and see my husband to be,"Lana responded, and just the moment they released Mimi and Athena, the two servants jumped on top of them with kicks and punches.
"Don't you dare think you can just make my master your husband. He's mine and mine alone,"Athena snapped, giving Lana a punch on the face"
"Don't be stupid. Master Flynn is mine. I was with him ever since he was young, so if he ever wants a wife, he would choose me," Mimi interjected, punching Athena away."
"Quiet! Your master is now mine, or l won't save him. Which is which? "Lana faked a serious face. The two girls calmed down with saddened looks and she let out a smirk.
"Okay, let's just go and save him. He'll be the one to choose the wife he wants when he's awake,"Mimi responded."
"There is no choosing necessary here. I'm his wife, and that's final! "Lana declared.
Mimi just looked down in sadness. At first, it was Athena, and now she has another rival again.