Chapter Four
There is so much a man can tell you,
So much he can say.
You remain,
My power, my pleasure, my pain, baby.
To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny.
Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby?
One year pass:
With a spin, Rose plopped on her bed in the newly formed Dark Tower built in the center of the human capital, Vellweb. The eight towers were built so the Dragon Knights could keep watch for winglies and to fly upon dragons once the flying beasts were summoned from above. The Dragoons scored two major victories this day. One from the graying tower, Flanvel, by having their new weapon that launched building sized spears into the floating city, while the other, she was personally involved in, was the total annihilation of the evil Death City, Mayfil.
She draped an arm over her eyes, hoping sleep would take her but too much filled her head. She tried to think of nothing but she returned to the battlefield in her mind. She tried thinking of one of Syuveil's boring lectures about life or death but just seeing Syuveil brought her back to Mayfil. Rose gave up, thinking back to the Death City.
Her love, Zieg, planned the battle thoroughly with the lead force of humans sneaking into the city in Dragon Carts. Once the main human force encircled the perimeter, Red-Eyed Vigorot and Black Buster Michael began their devastating assault on the city with a mix of brilliant fire igniting building and wingly alike and before they could counter, a beam of darkness took hold. The winglies were lost in the darkness, running into the same fire they tried to avoid.
Then came the shower of stars, alighting the darkness and pelting everything from above. Winglies who fled were surrounded by ambushing humans and those who stayed in the center were swarmed by not three but all seven Dragoons. All pandemonium began when the Dragoons entered the fray. Winglies were powerful and the battle was fierce. Zieg even planned for the other dragons to prepare for virages, alien creatures that stood upright with bulbous heads and long arms. And when the creatures came when the Dragoons entered the city, they were immediately overwhelmed by the dragons.
Zieg was right, as always. As the battle progressed, the winglies knew that staying was suicide and in the City of Death, that wasn't a good thing. The winglies fled and those that survived the retreat didn't ever want to return. Shirley broke off to help heal the dragons while Kanzas thought to bloody his hands with virage blood. As obedient to the woman he admired, Belzac followed Shirley with Damia behind him, leaving Zieg, Syuveil and Rose to stop any fleeing winglies.
To their horror, the last of the winglies in Mayfil came out with an abomination. Virages were the terrors of the land next to the dragons and what the trio saw was no virage. It was bulky with three huge tentacles coming out of its stomach. They heard since the "Dragon Campaign" began, winglies began experimenting with virage DNA to make Super Virages. Something not part of Zieg's plan.
Each tentacle shot out with their deadly grasp for each of the three warriors. As one, they disbursed in opposite directions. The super virage pulled back its tentacles and shot a cloud of gray mist from its deformed mouth, sending each Dragoon in a coughing attack. Before they knew it, the toxin did its true job, suppressing their dragon powers. Each dropped from twelve feet, with Zieg and Syuveil crumpling in their platemail but Rose tucked into a roll and came up at the ready.
The virage moved slowly but its size made one step for every ten they would make. Out came the three tentacles, all for the female warrior. Slashing left to right, intercepting two while easily dodging the third, Rose felt confident that she could hold it back until her friends had their time to recover. However, her agility couldn't save her from a ray of light that shined on her, causing a large explosion all around.
A spear quickly found its eye as Syuveil yanked his weapon free. Sending his spear in a circle, the Wind Dragoon kept all three tentacles at bay, giving Zieg the time he needed to help Rose. The Fire Dragoon found her in a pile of rubble and breathed a sigh of relief that she wasn't badly harmed, just spitting mad.
"Where is that… thing?" Rose spat, kicking a rock from her pinned ankle.
Ah, how Zieg loved Rose getting into the battle. With a smirk, the Fire Dragoon gave a glance back at Syuveil, who managed to catch his footing from an explosion ray. Zieg was unable to turn back to Rose as she sprinted out and severed a tentacle from the beast
Zieg's eyes widened and fire lit his soul as he watched Rose slice, jump, pierced, slice jump and easily dodge the super virage attacks, as if it was a simple virage. One additional attack after another mesmerized him. But missing the fun dawned on him and Zieg wanted to kill this beast. Leaping off some debris, the Fire Dragoon stuck his sword into the beast's head, the only part that never regenerated on a virage.
"Rose!" Zieg hollered as the beast tried to shake him off its head.
"What?" Rose answered, trying to avoid parts of a building falling around her due to the sheer bulk of the creature.
"Will you…" Zieg paused as the creature jumped up and landed hard onto the ground, nearly throwing the Dragon Knight. "Marry me?"
Rose's eyes went wide and she dropped her sword. However, she recovered quickly and kicked the sword back into her hand. She hated when Zieg "really" talked to her in battle. Always he seemed to have so much to tell her and he always finds the most different ways to say what's on his mind.
"Of all times," she grumbled. As a unit, Rose slashed across the beast's head, Syuveil jumping up and skewering it on top of its head while Zieg dug his sword deeper into the beast's skull, all the way to the hilt.
The beast began to glow, indicating it was about to self-destruct and take everyone with it. With a whistle, both Vigorot and Michael swooped down, picking up there respected masters, with Vigorot taking Syuveil in his talons. Zieg looked over to Rose on her dragon, still awaiting her answer. Rose bit her lower lip and nodded. She nodded!
And now in her tower, she groaned. She loved Zieg, there was no doubt. He was her mentor, her lover, and her brother-in-arms. She couldn't believe he really wanted to marry her and Syuveil was not an individual you could tell a secret to. The Wind Dragoon believed knowledge was power and shouldn't be kept. So by now, all the Dragoons knew Zieg proposed and she accepted.
Though Zieg could be difficult, she just couldn't get enough of him. He makes her smile and drives her on to grow stronger. He was always on her mind and heart and she knew she couldn't stay too long away from him. Zieg, the Fire Dragoon, was an addiction that she would be kidding herself if she denied it. Still, she couldn't believe it. She was going to be a bride!