"You are a useless slave!" Leon said in a deep huff, throwing the vase directly at him.
The blue-haired slave boy knew that his Masters' throws were weak from nausea and pain. Besides, the vase was made from bamboo so it wouldn't hurt at all. He took the blunt force, biting his lip on contact.
Master Leon chuckled at his pain. He sat cross-legged on the floor. "Boy, get me more wine," he huffed. "And do it quickly, too."
"We ran out."
"Then get some."
He cocked his head in confusion. "W-Where do I get more?"
Master Leon rolled his eyes. "Get it from the storage room near the basement. Where else you thick-headed slave? For a boy of sixteen years, you're more idiotic than my stupid wife Lola." His piercing blue eyes strayed to the black-haired woman transfixed by the gentle swaying of the willow leaves. Draped in a kimono weaved from fine silk, she turned to their direction with a grin plastered to her accented features.
"Lon." Her words were thick and brash, contrasting such delicate looks.
"Leon," Master corrected her impatiently. Then his stern gaze returned to the slave boy and it intensified. "Well what are you still doing here, boy! Get me more wine!" He added with another indignant huff, "Make dinner too."
The slave boy got up, bowed, and ran out the room without even bothering to slide the door shut.
The wine had run out yesterday after Master Leon's over-consumption.
No wonder he was in such a bad mood.
The slave boy looked up towards the ceiling, picturing the sky's dark plumage. It was heading towards Winter and his Master still hadn't decided to harvest the crops. It wasn't like the slave was stupid enough not to know how to harvest; it was just that he had no order to pluck the meager grains. If Master had found out the slave had acted outside an order, he would be furious.
Bending down to reach the bowl full of millet and lentils in a low shelf, he grasped it in his left hand and trudged out the hut quietly.
Outside, the dark clouds lolled lazily.
There were a lot.
The slave boy could only count up to ten as he had ten fingers.
Master Leon had boasted, during a visit to the nearby market, that he could count up to six thousand. When the slave boy had asked Master to teach him, Leon had guffawed heartily in his face and splashed the bucket full of live fish onto him. Humiliation comforted the slave as he spent the rest of the day cooking them only to have them thrown out for their 'bad taste'.
But no matter, he was away from his terrible Master's displeased gaze and out in the open.
"How are you all today?"
The goat wagged its tail, the chickens clucked and the dog - large and golden - barked softly. The slave boy inclined his head to the canine and quietly murmured, "No meat for you today." Grabbing a handful of the mixed millet and lentils, he threw it to the floor where the animals raced and butted the other to dine first. He continued to do this until the bowl was only a quarter finished.
For tonight, this would be his meal.
The slave boy wore patched trousers, reaching only up to his knobby knees. A thin red string held the patches (taken from other worn trousers) together. Draped in a plain white threadbare jacket, he tried to keep himself warm as he passed the arguing beasts to a large bronze gate slapped to the corner of the stable. A key dangled from his neck and he tore at the string and unlocked the steel bars.
An audible click graced his ears.
Entering the pitch black darkness with the bowl on hand, he placed a foot hesitantly on the step, and then another, followed by another until he was finally at the bottom with an excited grin spread across his face.
"How are you today?" he repeated.
A soft rumbling came from the deepest end.
"I know it's dark," he bit his lip. "But don't lose hope. Master Leon said he might clean your pit by the end of this m-mo-month." The word was hard to say, and the meaning behind it was totally lost. The slave boy had no use for these words. His job was to just serve the Imperial Creature Keeper. "Master Leon," he started again, "Wants to bring you outside. What do you think?"
The rumbling stopped, replaced by a gentle chime.
Did that mean they were happy?
He so desperately wanted to peer into the darkness and see the magnificent beasts with his own eyes. He envisioned the dragon to be large, larger than him with fierce eyes and extraordinary wings. Scales a deep yellow as the sun itself. One day, he would be brave enough to steal a lamp from Master's private storeroom and explore the dragon's domain.
But for now…
"Here's my dinner," the slave boy said heartily. "I'm not sure what dragons eat, but I guess you can have my-"
A strange gonging sound was followed by a faint weigh—no heavier than a feather—on his shoulder.
"W-what-"
Quite a nice young boy, you are.
"H-huh?"
Yes, Yes.
He turned round, leaning on the wall for support.
At least you're not blonde like that idiot Leon. It's his fault we can't stand that color.
The voice emanated in his head.
Mikuo and I would love you as a companion.
"C-Companion?" he whispered quietly. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!"
What's your name?
"I-I have no name."
Really, well that's too bad, then. Mikuo, would you mind to name him?
There came a soft grumble from the depth of the cave.
Why not? How odd is it that his blue hair looks like the kite our old care-taker used to make? Boy, your new name is Kaito. Sounds like kite, no?
It was true. He did have a unique hair-color, but what exactly was a 'kyte'? In fact, he really had no interest in a name. His parents had sold him without one, as Master Leon had used him without one. A name sounded so useless.
Oh, don't think like that! After all, while we journey across the lands you're going to have to be an optimistic dear little human to appease the both of us.
Appease? This voice was starting to say things he did not understand.
The quick shadow of a tail whipped the bowl out his hand and he made out the dark silhouette of something reptilian shoot for the bowl and drag it back to the dark pits. His heart skipped a beat and he took a bold step forward, wanting to know more, wanting to see more. Don't be a fool, his mind coughed. You'll get eaten alive! The gonging sound continued until it was loud enough for the slave's hand to shoot for his ears.
"What's going on down there?" a familiar voice shouted.
It was Master Leon!
The slave boy turned heel and ran up the stairs in a deep fright.
Master Leon opened the gate for him to pass but before the slave could explain himself, he grabbed the key from his mattered hand and locked the gate shut. Master Leon's expression was a mixture of disbelief, fury and irritation but the slave was more worried as to how something that looked so thin could stop a powerful beast of Heaven.
"What were you doing down there?" he spat.
The slave boy bowed low until his face hit the ground, painfully. "I was looking at the dragons."
Master Leon's face contorted. "I thought I told you not to go down there!"
"I-I couldn't resist-" the slave boy started but his words were cut short when Master Leon planted a rough kick to his ribs. Behind him, Lola cocked her head and tugged at his kimono's large sleeves. The blond man's lips were set in a grim line. The save caught him say, "Useless boy. Tomorrow I shall sell him for more money than he's worth," as he departed from the scene.
The slave rarely cried but he couldn't hold the salty tears any longer.
"Lave," Lola muttered.
The slave boy looked up at her shining blue eyes and forced a grin to quell her distress.
"Sabe," Lola murmured again, wiping a stray tear with the edge of her kimono.
The slave boy understood she was trying to say "Slave." He wasn't surprised she was calling him such a name since that was what he was called. And if Master Leon would sell him tomorrow, which he would definitely do, then the boy needed a new life. So tomorrow morning, as soon as the sparks of dawn rose, he would run from his horrible life.
"Kaito," he corrected her. "My name is Kaito."
This fanfic was stemmed from my fixation with dragons when I was young. I used to buy DVDs detailing about both Eastern and Western dragons and their so called "way of life" and drastic difference in appearance (even though my brother's repeatedly called them hoaxes).
Originally, the title was supposed to be Sirayuki but it was changed to A Dragon's Eye (courtesy of Yasumi Mizuki) before finally being refined to A Dragon's Heart.
This fanfic is a collaboration between Yasumi Mizuki and yours truly. Yasumi Mizuki beta-reads the chapters I write and adds her own personal touches. To her, I am eternally grateful for bringing this fanfic to life.
Victim of Doubt: Well it's fun to finally have finally posted this fanfic. Truth be told, this was intended to be KaiMi but then I got swayed into writing LenKu... before finally posting this as KaiMi.
Yasumi Mizuki: Hello all my sweeties! This is my first time doing a collaboration and with one of my virtual friends! It'll be fun to try this out, so please be kind to my chapters! I know it's strange for me to say this since I've been doing my own fanfics for a long time now, but I hope you enjoy reading our collaboration!
- Happy Hari Raya,
coming to you from Brunei!