_ADS_
Maddy was too scared to sleep during the night, his arms around her and resting his palms on her waist. Not because she was afraid he'd hurt her, ut becaseu she finally understood what she had gotten into. She made a deal with the devil.
Would he ever use her to warm his bed? Would he suddenly want her for his pleasures? She hoped not.
Her palm slipped over his smooth chest and a purr vibrated both of them. Mark shifted and pressed his nose into her hair and sighed. "You always smell so good."
"Th-thank you, Sire." She whispered back and trembled a little as he shifted his hands to rest lower on her hips.
She wouldn't admit it, but it felt cozy to rest in his warm embrace, since he had made it clear that she was safe in his home. For the night anyways.
But what of her family? Maddy honestly doubted that the Dragon King knew about the war that was ravaging the lands of the human kingdom and forced her into an engagement.
A new fear ran up her spine.
Would she still have to marry that horrid man she was forcefully betrothed to?
She felt a tear leave her eye. She rather live here for the rest of her life than return to Gellion, that brute.
_ADS_(Mark's POV)
A wetness on his human chest brought him to consciousness to the small girl crying on his chest.
"My little one, I have told you, you are safe here." He rubbed her back on instinct. Pushing up, she looked down at him.
"Sire, the human kingdom has been fighting a tyrant called Tremort, he is leading the Phoenix group fighters. The war is ravaging the land and we are too poor to keep fighting for much longer." She gulped down a breath of air to quiet her bawling. "My father loves me, but a man named Gellion asked for my hand. He was going to pay my father for me, and I convinced my father to agree to the deal so my family wouldn't starve, and then…you came to claim me." She smiled and laid down to rest on his entire body.
"Are you happy I took you?"
She was silent for several minutes"…Yes. But I miss my family." She stated, settling down into him. "I would rather live here for several life times than marry him. Would I still have to marry him?"
"Not if I make you a queen in your vast treasures."
"Treasures? Me no."
"I will make you rich."
"I want to stay here, you aren't so bad Sire."
"You should see my temper tantrums." He chortled, the rumble comforting to her ear.
_ADS_ (Mark's POV)
This was stupid, stupid, stupid. But he was still going to do it. "Maddy."
"Yes, my lord?"
"Get into something nice and set the table. We are having guests tonight. All human." He stated, yes this was stupid. "I'll be gone for only a small amount of time."
The girl he had been speaking to stepped out of her room."Safe return Sire, farewell for now." She smiled and watched him leave.
The potion having worn off after a day, but he enjoyed the fact that he could distract her so easily in that form. Though the way her cheeks flushed disrupted him from his work and he loved gazing at her when she did this.
As he flew through the cool air, he felt a little better, but the thought of Maddy took over his mind he almost over shot his destination he was so distracted.
Landing in the center of the village he quickly found Maddy's family by working off memory from some five days prior.
"Shannon family?" He growled out, he was not comfortably being around humans. "Your daughter wishes to see you." He stated calmly and watched the people he spoke to stare in fear. "I don't eat human's you taste like dung." He sneered and reached out, taking the older male and female in a single claw. A prick in his side made him swing his head to look at the boy with a bow and arrow.
"Give me my sister, Monster." He bellowed and Mark sighed, he couldn't kill Maddy's brother.
Forsooth, when had he gone out of his way to keep a human happy?
He wrapped his tail around the boy and found the girl near, crying for her mother. Taking her, gently with his free claw, Mark was soon over head to his palace.
What the devil's hell had made him change so much.
Oh that's right, a human slept with him last night and he felt sorry for her. HA. He should just drop them form high up. Kill them on impact. Show her who she should never tell her secrets to.
But he wouldn't be able to deal with her sadness after that.
He landed at his home, releasing his cargo and opening the door, pushing them in. he looked up to see Maddy dressed in a beautiful gown of silver. The billows of her sleeves accentuating her form and the color giving her the glow he couldn't stop staring at.
Her hair in place and a little make up made her looked like a princess. The click of heals reached him as she ran forward to her family.
He watched the exchange of the humans, all happy to be together once more. He would have continued had a loud knock n his door not startled him. He nodded his head and Maddy led her family away.
Opening his home, he shouldn't have been surprised to find HIM at his gates.
The great yellowed creature that was close to Mark's size stepped in when he was allowed entry along with his slave princess, her blue eyed and brown haired dull.
"Markatheus, long time no see, brother." The dragon snarled as the girl he claimed trembled. Mark felt Maddy touch his foreleg and look to the black dragon, or rather the dragon king.
"It's King or Sire, Lucuras." He growled back and the golden scaled, green eyed dragon seemed to be on edge. "Why are you here?"
"I just came because I heard you have a slave too? And for that potion you make so well." He started walking the halls before Mark snapped at him.
"And you know just as well as I that you need both my blood and my consent to allow you to have a bottle of it." The growl emitted by the golden creature echoed off the walls, but Mark seemed unfazed. "Brother, why doesn't Maddy take your slave to get cleaned up for the evening?"
The gold dragon thought for a moment before he relaxed and pushed his slave to the young peasant. Both women hurried form the creatures and into Maddy's chambers.
_ADS_ (Maddy's POV)
She walked form Mark as the girl next to her trembled, her blue eyes looked all over the place, looking for danger. "Come on sweet heart, how bought a nice bath?" Maddy stated before running water and finding a dress for her. "What color do you like?"
"Blue." She responded, sounding almost dead.
"Mistress," Maddy cupped her face, "Are you alright dear?"
"You have callouses on your hands, Are you not a princess?" She looked at her with watery blue eyes.
"No, I am a peasant chosen to work for the king of the dragons. He seems mean, but he is quiet nice, quiet intelligent." She helped the girl from her clothes and lowered her into the bath. "He saved me ya know, me and my sister." She nodded to the dirty girl peaking into the washroom.
The woman stared at her as Maddy helped her wash up, revealing a absolutely beautiful woman. "My name is Lady Skye of Terra. You?"
"Maddy Shannon," Introducing herself as she gently washed Skye's face. The olive skinned girl helped the noble out of the water and into a blue dress, brushing her hair out and placing makeup on her. The dress brought out the color of her eyes, and her hair curled in the most beautiful way.
She did the same with her sister, Skye washing her as Maddy and her mother sowed a small dress for her.
It was particularly quick, but fit well. "Where's Father?" Zoe, Maddy's little sister asked.
"In another chamber with Josh, cleaning, I left out clothes for them." She stated as she passed her mother a dark green dress and let her wash alone.
"Maddy?" Mark called form not too far away, and both slave and servant rushed out.
"Oh, my little Bucket, you look perfect." Lucuras rumbled and Skye shrunk back. "We were just discussing how mark would give me the potion in exchange for you teaching Maddy the graces of nobility." Skye was stiff and shrunk slightly behind Maddy.
"If it please you my lord, and the Sire Markatheus." She curtsied, not a single wobble in the movement as Maddy's was.
"Good, we shall stay for the exchange," the gold dragon stated and made his way towards the kitchen.
"Maddy," Mark passed her a small horn that she tied to her belt. "Watch him, if he runs off blow this, I'll hear it."
"Yes," She stopped and called for him again. "Sire, what time shall you request your dinner feast?"
He looked at the sun dial and back at her. "Focus on the human food, I will get the dragon's feast."
_ADS_ (Mark's POV)
"Lucuras!" He roared out and waited for the gold dragon to join him. "Come on a hunt." Dragon's don't hunt together, unless they were hatchlings. He just didn't want a huge dragon around his potions and his servant.
The gold dragon sneered at him and leapt into the sky before the King, a notable disrespect to him.
As they flew towards a herd of cows, trying to pick out the juiciest. Just as Markatheus was dropping for the kill, Lucuras crashed into him.
"Guess your rules over, brother."
Maddy ran into a huge cave, her magic guiding her to the great black dragon. Her magic, the magic she kept hidden for years, the one she practiced in secret was now leading her to the creature that captured her.
"Sire," She called out, finding Markatheus badly injured in the back of the darkness. "Oh, Sire." She reached out and touched his flank. A hiss met her ears and a great blue eye opened.
"Maddy." It was said slowly, and with so much exertion. "You have magic, my little witch." A great heaving told her he was coughing up blood.
"Sire, I-I was so worried, I locked the castle off from Lucuras, but he said he killed you Sire." She cried out and petted his side.
"I was hurt bad by his surprise, he's good at magic is he not? I'm lost when it comes to it, doesn't matter now." His blue eye started to close. "Maddy, you're magic, kill me." He begged, and she was taking aback. Why.
"Your eyes, Sire, they are the most glorious blue I have ever seen." He looked at her, quiet, so she continued. "And your scales are darker than the blackest night, almost like velvet." She reached out and touched his side, "When you are angry, your eyes looked almost gray, and when you are amused. Sire your eyes have a bit of green in them." The blue eyes looking at her weren't striking in color, but in intensity, "You want people to see you as evil, and deadly, dangerous. But underneath is the kind dragon that taught me about his world, saved me form an evil man I was to wed, and painted a portrait of me."
"I grew soft, no kill me, free yourself and claim my treasures as you own. Put me out of agony." He begged once more.
She leaned against him, "Sire-" She eased him up to present a bottle, "It will be easier." It was a lie. He drank down the potion and soon he was his human form, as naked as always, but she threw her cloak over him. "Are you sure, Sire-"
"Do it!"
She breathed out and lifted a hand, light filling her hand and she felt it all slip away.
_ADS_ (Mark's POV)
New air filled his lungs.
He rolled over to look around, he was human. He caught Maddy's gaze and pounced, knocking her to the concrete floor.
"WHY?" He screamed into her face, he could see the terror in her face. He wrapped his hand around her throat, both keeping her looking at him and as a threat.
"Because, we need not be enemies," crying, she grasped his wrist that held her and gently rubbed the skin there.
"Why?" This time it was gentle and he loosened his hold on her, using his other hand to brush hair out of her face. "Why would you, who fear me, who I stole, want to save me?"
"Because, I couldn't, it was not meant to be like that." He cupped her cheek and looked at her like never before.
"I was so intrigued by you, the moment I met you." His hands cradled her, "I was so thrilled to have another mind to save me form insanity. And your beauty, I had to have a reminder because you human lives are so short. But a witch, you are witch?"
"I hid it, even from my family." She was getting breathless as his hands traveled over her throat. "Sire, we need to return." She let her head roll to the side, to allow him rub circles into more of her neck.
"Yes. Soon." He was fascinated by how she was affected by his touches.
"Now, Sire, the potion is wearing off." And she was right as he felt the tearing at his skin.
Soon he was the beast of the skies and every creature's nightmare.
_ADS_ (Maddy's POV)
Maddy had regretted leaving her cloak as she hung to his horns, air flying through her hair, and soon they saw the gold dragon at the gates she bewitched.
The look the dragon gave them when he heard the two was murderous, and she felt the magic filling the air.
"Sire, I can put a protection spell on you. But you need to stay still." She yelled, hoping he heard. He just grabbed her with his tail and dropped her on the ledge, crashing into Lucurcas at the same time.
She began her spell, whispering it to the high winds that dragged at her skirts and hair. She watched the two creatures fight. Let fear wretch at her heart when flames, huge and hungry, jetted out to meet.
She finished the spell and took the one off the gates, a dizziness bringing her to her knees. It wasn't long before she was in darkness as her master called for her.
_ADS_(Mark's POV)
Maddy collapsed. He watched her collapse as he descended to his home in seconds.
He collected her and felt her cool body grow in heat, she was fevered. She had used so much magic, he should have stopped her form using so much.
But no he needed to fix her.