Chapter 20: Return to the Dragon Kingdom

A few days passed and luckily my condition hadn't gotten any worse than it already was. That's not to say it got any better, but not worse is certainly better than nothing at all. I spent my days bedridden as Prylla and Ireyne rushed to get everything ready to set off as soon as possible. Rather than wait for Roswaal's response to the letter here, we were going straight to Costuul to send it from there as it would be much faster than staying in Vollachia. Doing anything more than eating and drinking was incredibly taxing on my body.

"My Lady, everything's ready. We can depart as soon as you give the command."

A woman's voice entered my exhausted ears. Purple hair coming into view as a pair of emeralds peered into my own eyes.

"Let's go then."

A short command later and Prylla had already got me out of bed and took care of dressing me. She carried me princess style out of the church where Ireyne had a carriage prepared.

"We're setting off now?"

"You have the enchanted mask, right?"

"Yes yes." Ireyne removed the mask from the folds of her coat.

Since we were travelling by winged dragon we had to keep our packing incredibly light. The only thing that we're really bringing with us is money to purchase some supplies once we arrive in Costuul. The mask that I used when fighting against the Demons was chosen to try to gain Roswaal's aid. The small carriage was going to be more or less discarded once we arrived at the take off sight at the edge of the forest. The dragons themselves were only going to drop us off near Costuul as a winged dragon in Lugunica could be seen as an act of war. The two nations had been at odds with each other since their founding after all. It's only reasonable that we'd be unable to travel very far with them. Knowing this we still we're determined to travel anyway as there was no telling how long I had until this curse would finish me for good.

"I hope Margrave Mathers will be able to help us..."

"Don't speak like that Ireyne."

Prylla has been quite quick to anger as of late probably due to my current condition.

"Hey. Hey. I won't tolerate fighting you two."

"Yes, my Lady."

Giving them a weak scolding I was currently situated in the rear of the small carriage being pulled by our Falo. Ireyne had created a makeshift bed for me to lay in during the initial journey. The bed itself was comfortable, however, the bump forest roads were not in the slightest.

"Ow..."

"Ireyne, take more care with your driving!"

"I'm doing the best I can! This isn't an earth dragon. Prylla."

This continued on and on as we approached the destination. There'd be a bump then one would yell at the other while the other attempted to claim innocence. It was getting annoying.

"Both of you! Cut it out! No more speaking until we reach our destination!"

Both of them tensed up when I yelled at them before lowering their heads and falling silent. The rest of the way to the edge of the forest was a serene silence that I'd never forget.

"We're here."

A gentle voice cut through the calm atmosphere. Prylla helped me out of the carriage and carried me over to where the winged dragons were being cared for by a few men.

"Finally, I thought we'd be waiting here forever." One of the men spoke up.

I turned my head to get a better look at the dragons. There were two dragons which were about twice the size of a normal land dragon with large imposing wings. One of the dragons was blue while the other was green.

"Let's get moving quickly."

"Yeah. Yeah. Hop on. Just to let you know they're prideful creatures so don't be surprised if they refuse to fly with you. They do have a divine protection that makes it easier to ride them though."

Ireyne got on the blue dragon with one of the men who was dressed in a grey and black uniform with a red scarf tied around his neck, black books, and black gloves. In fact, all the men wore the same uniform. A simple broadsword strapped to their hips. They must be part of the Imperial Army. Prylla got on the green dragon with me and an ashen-haired man as the driver in the front.

"Hold on tight."

Position behind the man Prylla had sat me upright and used a rope to tie me to her. She must be really worried about me falling off. Both dragons stood up as the men in front flicked the reins before letting out a roar. Their wings flapped loudly as I felt us begin to rise in the air. Once the proper altitude was gained the dragons hovered over the clearing before reorienting themselves towards our destination. Letting out another roar I heard the man in front's boot kick the side of the dragon which promptly launched itself forward.

Boom.

The dragon taking off created a loud explosion like sound as the scenery around us rapidly disappeared. The trip should only take about an hour or two at the current rate of travel. The time passed by quickly as I felt the rate the dragon was flying slow down rapidly. Landing next to a road with a town not far off in the distance, Costuul. The two dragon riders that brought us here promptly left as soon as we disembarked. From here we'd have to walk and by we I mean Prylla and Ireyne will take turns carrying me while I reduce my weight for them until I run out of mana.

The road to Costuul was safe and didn't pose much issue beyond getting tired of walking for two hours. Luckily we didn't run into any mabeasts or bandits on the road. Prylla checked us in at an inn in the town which I was now waiting for Ireyne to return from sending the letter to Roswaal. The unbearable pain from the dragon blood had mostly subsided, but that wasn't to say that I still didn't feel like I'd been trampled by a herd of ground dragons then drowned in a river several times before being repeatedly set on fire.

I laid on the bed in the room Prylla got for us and stared up at the ceiling. Will I fix this in time? That was the question on my mind for the most part. What if Roswaal can't help? What would even be the point of this then? After multiple crushing defeats my pride was not only ripped out from under me it was trampled on and mercilessly set on fire while I was forced to watch helplessly. I've never felt this powerless before. I'd been so sure that I could win just because I could look into the future and plan accordingly, but…

I…

...was wrong.

That thought left a bitter taste in my mouth. The notion simply felt disgusting.

"Roswaal agreed to a meeting. We'll be heading to his manor tomorrow around the end of Wind Time."

Snapping me out of my thoughts I noticed Ireyne had already returned from her task. Looking around the room I noticed Prylla was gone; probably out getting supplies. Did she try to speak to me or was I so absorbed into my own head that I didn't listen? It doesn't matter now I guess.

"Alright."

There was truly nothing more for me to say. I wonder what they thought of me like this. Are they disappointed that their master failed so horrifically to not only lose a limb, but to be cursed and soon die? I wonder what my brother would think of this? His sister was a failure who couldn't even prevent herself from dying to something as ridiculous as a curse. Prylla returned sometime later in the day with what I assumed was what we would need to head to Gusteko. Did she expect Roswaal to know nothing? She was the one that suggested it after all.

She set the things down somewhere out of sight and she and Ireyne pulled chairs next to my bed. They sat on either side of me each holding one of my hands. I never noticed how soft their hands were before. Their skin felt smooth to the touch as I gently squeezed both of their hands. Prylla was holding my left hand which was covered in those hideous black veins that ran up my arm just past my elbow. I'm just glad it didn't spread any further than that. I don't know how much time had passed, but I fell asleep at some point lying in that bed. The mattress was quite soft for a bed at an inn; surprisingly enough. The bed back at the church was better though.

That night I had another dream. I was walking through that same old forest where I met Pandora. A strange shadow in the shape of a boy pulling me along by the hand. Part of the shadow faded away showing the boy's thick black hair; it was messy and unkempt. The shadow gave way once again revealing his brown eyes. Small beady irises causing the whites of his eyes to stand out. I'm sure that most people would find that intimidating to some extent, however, something like that wouldn't really bother me. The boy continued leading me further and further into the forest; turning his shadowy face towards me as if he was about to speak yet no words came from his mouth. Instead a dark shadow poured out of his mouth flowing down and dissipating on the ground. He let go of my hand and was swallowed by the darkness of the forest. Once again I was left all alone.

It was nearing the end of wind time and like Ireyne mentioned the previous night we were heading to Roswaal's manor. Prylla had secured us a carriage while she was out the previous day. I don't know how she managed that since we were more or less broke, but I'm not in a position to complain about her methods at the moment. It wasn't a very luxurious carriage compared to the one's I've used in the past, but it'll get the job done. Arriving at the manor at the specified time I was taken aback by quite a spectacular sight. The mansion itself was massive, much larger than anything I've seen before. The garden surrounding it was filled with flowers and sculptures made from the bushes that evenly lined up on either side of the small staircase that led to the landing.

"Welcome guests, I am Frederica Baumann." Standing atop the landing in front of the large double doors was a blonde haired girl bowing politely. Raising her head up and flashing a toothy grin her sharp fangs glistened in the light before she continued. "Lord Roswaal has been awaiting your arrival. If you would follow me I'll take you to him."

Prylla and Ireyne seemed to eye the maid for a moment before nodding to each other. The maid held the front door open and ushered us inside. The inside was just as impressive as I'd thought it would be. Well, considering I'm being carried as I can't walk on my own currently it'd be better to say the ceiling was immaculate.

I had already gotten tired of trying to keep my head upright as I simply just let it hang. My head bobbed up and down as Prylla followed the demi-human girl. I heard the opening of a door and a melodic voice rang out.

"Welcome, I've been eeeeeexpecting you. I do hope that the trip wasn't too troooooooublesome. I am the Lord of these lands, Margrave Roswaal L. Mathers. It's a pleasure to make your aquaaaaaintance."

I flopped my head to the side to see the owner of the voice. A man or rather a clown, maybe jester was a more appropriate term? Sat at the end of the long table in what was obviously a dining hall. Frederica led us to our seats which Prylla had set me in a chair between her and Ireyne and let me lean on her for support as I'd probably fall over if I didn't.

"I am Deneb Arided, as you should already know I've come to ask a few questions and request your aid in a rather important matter." I looked over to the man lazily who simply closed his blue eye looking back at me with his yellow eye.

"Oh? How intriguing." He reopened his blue eye before a wide grin plastered his face which was covered in clownish makeup. "Well, the item you offered in exchaaaange for my aid certainly caught my eye. It's not often you see magical implements such as thaaaaat in fact they're increeeedibly rare, so as compensations I'll answer any queeeestions you have." Roswaal waved his hands around as he spoke before setting them back down on the table looking at me intently.

"Then, tell me everything you know about curses."