Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

WARNING: There is a Lemon early in this chapter. If you do not wish to read it, you can skip over it. The beginning is fairly clear and the end is marked by a line break.

Fairy Tail—The Master and the Dragon

Chapter 14

AGE 348

Michelle sat at the kitchen table, staring at the ring on her finger and smiling. It had been three months since the ceremony and she was still in disbelief that she had actually married someone as handsome and kind as Nikolias.

They had set the date for May 29, six months after Nikolias proposed. A lot of planning went into the wedding, but Nikolias helped her every step of the way. In fact, she found it adorable how into it he was. He enthusiastically helped with the flower arrangements, food, location, everything. The only thing that he left completely up to her was the guest list, which made sense since he didn't know anyone other than her and his boss and fellow employees. He also put every cent he had into the wedding. She tried to talk him out of that, but he wasn't budging. He said it was all going towards making the day perfect.

The ceremony itself was beautiful. White flowers were all around the church. A violinist played lovely music that echoed through the halls. The pews were lined with white bouquets with pale green ribbons tying them together. Michelle nearly melted as she walked down the aisle in her elegant white dress and saw the look of pure excitement and happiness on Nikolias' face as he stood at the altar in his stunning tuxedo. The guests all smiled at Michelle as she walked towards the altar, their respect for her the only thing keeping them from showing their distaste for Nikolias. They gave their vows and Michelle nearly cried at Nikolias'. Never before had she heard more beautiful and thoughtful words. They were even more romantic than his proposal.

Then came the wedding night, where the two made love for hours. Nikolias had some sort of god-like stamina that blew her mind. He had started off being extremely gentle with her, especially as he took her virginity. He caressed her cheek while he waited for her pain to subside. When she felt like the pain was gone, she gave him a nod and the rest of the night was filled with unbelievable pleasure. His powerful thrusts hit spots that she never knew could elicit such sensations. Orgasm after earth-shattering orgasm rocked her body all through the night, leaving her fatigued but satisfied once they had finished.

"Hey, I'm home," Nikolias called out.

Michelle snapped out of her trance and turned to smile at her returning husband. "Hey, welcome home. How was your day?"

"Eh, not bad. Still getting unfair wages, but at least I'm getting paid, right?"

"I still think you should let me talk to them."

"No, this is just something that can't be changed, so I'll make the best of it."

"Whatever you say."

"Don't give me that. You know how these people are. They dislike me and they don't hide it well."

She stood from her seat and walked over to Nikolias. She wrapped her arms around his head and kissed him. "Well I like you and that's all that matters."

He smiled back. "That's everything that matters." He then gave her a searing kiss that had her moaning from the passion. Without even having to ask for it, Nikolias felt Michelle's lips part and he took advantage, shooting his tongue into her mouth and began dancing with her tongue. He felt her grip the hair on his head and push to deepen the kiss. Nikolias could feel his dragon instincts taking over as her scent was filling his nostrils and consuming him with lust. He lifted Michelle up without breaking the kiss by holding onto her upper thighs and carried her to the bedroom with her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist. With his dragon senses, he was able to navigate his way to the bedroom without bumping into anything. He gently placed Michelle on the bed, their lips still locked, and balanced himself on his forearms. He felt her fingers combing through his hair and tugging at it with each moan from her mouth.

They broke the kiss, both needing a break for air. They stared into each other's eyes while they panted. Nikolias could see that Michelle's eyes were clouded and filled with desire and he could only assume that his looked the same.

Michelle lifted a hand to Nikolias' cheek. "Nikolias, how do you feel about kids?"

He was a bit taken aback by her question, but answered it honestly nonetheless. "I've always wanted a family."

She smiled. "Then let's make a baby."

A huge grin appeared on his face before he once again captured her lips for a passionate kiss. He then made his way to kissing her jaw line and neck, gently nibbling at the flesh as he went. With each kiss and nibble, Michelle would moan, encouraging him to continue. He reached her collarbone and gave it a few kisses before Michelle broke away and stood up. He watched as she slowly undressed herself, pulling the zipper of her dress down and letting the garment gather at her feet. He followed the dress as it hit the floor before looking back up and taking in the sight before him; his beautiful Michelle naked before him.

He smirked at her. "No underwear?"

She got back on the bed and crawled over to him with a seductive smile as she began to unbutton his shirt. "Does it bother you?"

"Not at all," he chuckled as he felt his shirt torn away, exposing his bare and muscular torso.

Michelle began to rub her hands on his hard abs and pecs. "I'm glad." She then leaned forward and kissed him, pushing him back so that she was on top of him. Her hands slowly rubbed their way down until they reached his belt and, without breaking the kiss, she began to undo the buckle.

Nikolias chuckled into the kiss as he ran his hands up and down Michelle's smooth back. He could tell that Michelle was struggling with the belt, for frustrated grunts kept escaping her throat. He sat himself up, bringing her along with him, and broke the kiss. "You want me to do it?"

"I can do it. Don't rush me," she responded, her attention completely on the stubborn buckle. Eventually, she managed to unfasten it and whipped it off before turning her attention to his pants. Fortunately for her, his pants put up no fight and in a matter of seconds, Michelle had pulled down his pants and boxers, leaving Nikolias fully naked beside her.

He watched with a smile as her eyes took in every inch of him. He found it funny since they had slept together before—multiple times, in fact. Yet she looked at him like this was the first time she ever saw him naked. He leaned over, pushed her onto her back, and began kissing her lips. He began moving his way down her throat, kissing the flesh tenderly, until he reached the collarbone again. However, this time he wasn't stopped. He kissed her collarbone and continued moving south until he found himself in the valley of her breasts. He kissed the skin before lifting his head slightly and moving it over her left breast. He decided to tease her a bit by kissing the area around her stiff nipple. She whined in frustration, desperately wishing that he'd pay attention to the sensitive bud. He smirked as he continued his teasing before deciding that she'd had enough. He gently flicked her nipple with his tongue, causing her to moan in pleasure. He circled his tongue around the nipple, loving the sounds that Michelle was making, before he closed his mouth around her nipple, sucking on it and biting it gently. She let out a cry as she began to play with his hair. While he licked, sucked, and nibbled on her left breast, he moved his left hand up to her right breast, kneading the flesh and gently twisting the nipple. Michelle's entire body shivered from the sensation, both from his fingers and his tongue.

Suddenly, a scent hit Nikolias' nose. He sniffed the air and lifted his head, smiling down at Michelle. "Wet already? That was fast."

She blushed. "I can't help it."

He laughed as he moved back towards her legs. He gently stroked her creamy skin with his hand as he went, sending shivers throughout her body as he moved his hand down her breasts to her stomach and then up her thighs. He then proceeded to gently spread apart her legs, allowing him to see her wet pussy. He lowered his head down, lightly licking at her clit and causing her to cry out. He continued to lick at her clit, even sucking on it from time to time, and the sounds that Michelle was making was driving him crazy. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep up the foreplay. As he licked her clit, he took his right hand and began to finger her opening. She cried out from the feeling, loving the fact that just one finger could give her so much pleasure. He kept up a steady pace with his finger while he continued to lick her clit with rougher and rougher strokes of his tongue. He could feel her body begin to shake beneath him and realized that she was close to her climax. He gently inserted a second finger and began to pump them faster and faster in and out of her pussy. She cried out and pushed down on his head, forcing him to put more pressure on her sensitive bundle of nerves with his tongue. After a few seconds of intensifying moaning, Michelle screamed, reaching orgasm and coating Nikolias' chin and fingers with her juices.

He pulled his fingers out of her dripping opening, lifted his head, and began to lick his fingers clean. Even the taste of her was intoxicating.

Michelle looked at him while she panted. "Amazing. Simply amazing."

He crawled over her and leaned down to kiss her. "We're not done yet."

She smiled up at him. "Show me what you've got."

He kissed her while he aligned his penis with her wet opening. He rubbed her folds and clit with the shaft, causing Michelle to cry out into his mouth, before slowly beginning to insert his member into her pussy. She moaned from the feeling as he slowly pushed himself deeper and deeper inside of her. Once he went as deep as he could, he began to pull out before pushing it back in. He kept up a steady and slow pace, not wanting to end things too quickly. He continued to kiss her passionately while he slowly moved his hips. However, her scent and the taste of her was driving him towards uncontrollable lust and soon, his thrusts began to increase in speed and power. He continued to kiss Michelle as he drilled in and out of her, allowing her to scream into his mouth. He continued to quicken his pace and before long, he felt Michelle's walls clamp down on his penis. She screamed into his mouth as her second orgasm hit her.

Nikolias broke the kiss and looked down at his wife, her face still showing pleasure. He smiled down at her and began to knead her left breast with his right hand, looking to further stimulate her. She whimpered as the combined sensations from Nikolias' fingers teasing her nipple and his powerful thrusting was overwhelming her once again, pushing her close to yet another release. She began rocking her hips, increasing the pleasure she was receiving as she met his thrusts.

"Nikolias, I…I'm gonna…AHHH!" she cried out as yet another orgasm rocked her body. She looked up at him with tired eyes. "Aren't you close yet?"

He smiled down at her as he continued his thrusts. "Tell you what; give me more warning next time and I'll try to come with you."

She smiled and nodded. Suddenly, she felt her legs rise into the air. She watched as Nikolias balanced her legs on his shoulders and then proceeded to thrust at an even faster pace. The new angle was allowing Nikolias to hit spots that he hadn't hit before. She felt like she was drowning in ecstasy as Nikolias continued to stimulate her breasts with his hands while he drove into her with incredible speed and power. She tilted her head back and opened her mouth for a silent scream. "Nikolias, I'm coming!"

He grunted his affirmation and sped up even more. Michelle cried out as she could feel her fourth climax approaching. Nikolias could feel her walls beginning to clamp down on his member and that was enough to coax an orgasm out of Nikolias. "I'm coming, too, Michelle."

Michelle's pants turned into short screams as the pleasure was too much. Her orgasm rocked her body, causing her entire frame to shudder.

As soon as Michelle came, Nikolias reached his breaking point, releasing his cum inside of her and filling her up. He moaned as he emptied everything into her, thrusting twice more to squeeze the rest of it out. He slowly pulled out of Michelle, releasing a small pop as he exited and causing her to moan in disappointment from the feeling of his absence.

He crawled over to Michelle's side and lay next to her. Both were panting heavily from their activity. He stroked her cheek. "Now that was amazing."

She smiled and nodded, fatigue clearly taking over. "It was." She rolled onto her side and snuggled her face into Nikolias' chest.

He wrapped his arms around her body, holding her close as he began to drift into sleep.


Nikolias sighed as he made his way back home after a long day in the store. It was probably one of the worst days he had had since he was hired. A young couple walked into the store around noon and the fairly aggressive man accused Nikolias of eyeing his wife. No matter how many times Nikolias denied it (since, after all, he hadn't turned around from stocking shelves once until the man approached him), the man demanded to see the supervisor. At first, Nikolias thought that this was a good thing since the supervisor didn't show any signs of hating him. However, when threatened with poor business, even the supervisor turned on Nikolias and promised the angry, unreasonable man that Nikolias' pay would be docked as punishment.

"What a load of bullshit," Nikolias mumbled as he walked. "How the fuck can I look at someone when my back is to them? Now my low wages are even lower. Seriously, fuck these people." He shook his head violently, trying to get rid of all negative thoughts before he got home. He didn't want to upset Michelle by letting her know that these people, most of whom were her friends, were getting under his skin.

He could see the house from where he was and relief flowed through his body. If there was one thing that could get him through the day, it was being home with Michelle. He smiled at the thought of having her in his arms. As he got closer, a strange sight appeared before him. Michelle was in the yard, hanging laundry, with a small group of people beside her. However, unlike most of the small groups that flock to Michelle, these people didn't look happy. He felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. He didn't like the way they were looking at her.

When he got a bit closer, he put on a smile, waved, and called out, "Hey, Michelle, I'm home!"

Michelle and the small group turned to see Nikolias walking closer. Michelle smiled and waved back while the rest of the group frowned. They turned to face Michelle once more and this time, Nikolias was close enough to pick up what was being said with his dragon-like hearing. "We pray that you'll see things our way and do what's best for the town." With that, they walked off.

Nikolias frowned at their retreating figures as he approached Michelle. "More of my huge fans? What did they want today?"

She sighed. "Don't worry about it. Just ignore it like I'm going to."

Nikolias was off put by this response. Michelle was always so cheerful. Whatever those fuckers were talking to her about really upset her. He pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry, Michelle."

She hugged him tightly. "It's not your fault."

He kissed the top of her head. 'Only it is my fault. If not for me, they would all still love you and you wouldn't be so upset.'

She took his hand and began pulling him inside. "Come on, sweety. Let's get dressed and go out to eat."

He allowed her to drag him inside, but he still couldn't stop feeling guilty. "Sure thing, love. Sure thing."


A week had passed since those townspeople approached Michelle. However, things were far from back to normal. Michelle seemed sad all the time now. If he had to guess, the townspeople were still visiting her and bothering her, but they had timed their visits better so that he was still at work when they decided to be unwanted pests. The worst part was that Michelle wasn't talking to him about it. She was still pushing it off as if it were nothing. However, he knew that it was getting to her and he knew that she was keeping it to herself in an effort to protect him. He desperately tried to get her to open up about it, but she would just smile, tell him not to worry, and then would change the subject.

He had his suspicions about what they wanted. His guess was that the townspeople wanted Michelle to leave him. The main reason why he felt this way was because he had lied to Michelle on the night he proposed; no matter how hard he tried, his dragon-like hearing picked up the whole conversation between Michelle and the three young men. He heard them tell her to leave him because they sensed he was dangerous, but Michelle refused. He was sure that last week's incident was closely related, if not identical, to that night.

Today was going to be different, though. As Nikolias left work, he decided that he was going to be firm when he got home. He was going to make Michelle tell him exactly what was going on. He opened the door to their house.

"Hey, I'm home," Nikolias called out.

Silence was all he got in response.

"Are you not home?"

Again, no response.

"Odd, I don't remember her saying she was going out," Nikolias whispered to himself. He shrugged it off and walked towards the kitchen.

Suddenly, an awful odor hit his senses. He sniffed the air a few times and his nose crinkled; it was blood. He knew that scent well.

'Why do I smell blood?' he thought. He was starting to get a feeling of foreboding. Something was not right. "Is anyone here?" he called out. He then saw that the bedroom door, which was always closed, was slightly open. "Michelle, are you there?"

He slowly crept towards the door, the smell of blood intensifying. His entire body was stiff with fear of the unknown. What was behind the door?

And then a new scent hit him. This one was faint, almost completely masked by the smell of fresh blood, but it was there and it was unmistakable. It was a scent that always reminded Nikolias of a meadow filled with blooming flowers and a gentle breeze blowing pollen through the air. It was a scent that always relaxed Nikolias and brought him peace of mind. On this particular day, however, it filled him with dread and quickened his pace to the door. He threw the door fully open, allowing it to crash into the wall. His eyes widened as he took in the scene before him.

The room was torn apart. Furniture was knocked over, broken candles lay scattered about, and belongings were thrown haphazardly around the room.

The floor was stained a dark red from the massive amounts of blood.

And lying in a pool of blood was a beautiful young woman.

"MICHELLE!" Nikolias roared as he ran to the young woman's side. "Michelle, wake up! Michelle, answer me!" He shook her lightly over and over as he attempted to awaken her. It took a few minutes for reality to set in. And when it did, it hit hard.

Michelle's body was covered in deep puncture marks, most likely caused by multiple stabbings from a knife of some kind.

Tears streamed uncontrollably down his face. He held her tightly, not even caring that Michelle's blood was staining every fiber of his clothing. He wanted to be with her.

"Michelle, please don't leave me," he sobbed. He slowly began rocking back and forth on his knees. He didn't even notice the wood of the floor tear small cuts in his flesh as he rocked. "Please, I need you, Michelle. You can't be dead."

But Michelle had been dead for a few hours.

The sun began to set on the day as Nikolias sat in a corner, staring at the corpse of his beloved laid out peacefully on the bed. His clothes were heavy with blood and his hands and forearms were covered in it as well. He had been crying for hours and the tears had finally run out. The sorrow, however, remained.

"How could this happen?" he rasped. "Why is she dead? Who would do this? She was so innocent." He lifted his knees up to his chest and buried his face into his thighs before shouting as loud as he could, "She never did anything wrong!"

It was then that Nikolias noticed a faint scent that he had ignored due to the current situation. He knew that smell. It was like fertilizer and fear…

'The townspeople…they killed her…' he thought.

Sorrow was beginning to become replaced by anger.

"How could they? She was kind and understanding. Why would they kill her? Is it because of me? Because she fell in love with a dragon? Is this her punishment? How is that fair!?"

His whole body began to tremble with rage.

"They all need to pay…" he hissed.

He slowly began to get to his feet, his eyes closed as his head hung loose.

"They must realize their mistake…"

He stood straight up and curled his lips, revealing fangs. He then whipped up his head and shot open his eyes, revealing golden dragon eyes.

"I will make them all pay!"

And then everything went red.

Nikolias' golden irises suddenly changed to an angry red that glowed in the dimly lit room. Shadows began whipping around the room, breaking through the walls and the ceiling. The ground began to shake as Nikolias made his way to the exit of the house.

'They dare kill her? They will all bleed. They will all die. They will realize the error of their ways while they burn.'

With a wave of his hand, a ball of shadow burst through the door, shattering it completely and sending wood splinters in every direction. He walked through the entrance and looked out at the town, his anger building every second.

'Die…die…die…die…DIE!'

Nikolias released an angry roar that shook the ground. And then he was gone in a pillar of shadows.

'Humans are petty. Humans are weak. Humans think only of themselves. They have no place in this world. I will eradicate them. I will burn them all to ashes!'

The pillar of shadow exploded, leaving behind a black haze that was blown away by massive black wings. An enormous roar echoed through the town.

The Shadow Dragon had once again returned to enact his revenge on those that wronged him.

With one powerful flap of his wings, Nikolias shot into the air and flew above the town. People looked up and began screaming and running away in terror as the massive dragon flew overhead.

'You killed her so I shall show you no mercy!'

Nikolias roared once more before releasing a jet of black fire from his maw, igniting various buildings as he flew and spreading the flames with every gust of wind from his wings. Every now and then, he would swoop down and snap his jaws around a helpless citizen, devouring them in seconds. When he wasn't diving down on the populace, he was setting the town ablaze with angry black fires.

'No one will survive.'

He landed on top of a building and roared as he swung his tail, demolishing numerous houses and shops with one powerful motion. He glared down at the terrified public, a ferocious snarl on his face. As he watched them run, his anger continued to grow. With another roar, he flew into the air, high into the clouds until he couldn't be seen.

And then massive black fireballs fell from the sky at high speed. They rained down on Argon, erupting upon impact and burning alive anyone they touched. Buildings were torn down as the fireballs destroyed the foundations. Hundreds of fireballs appeared from the sky before stopping altogether.

Then, through the clouds, a black blur sped towards the earth. Upon colliding with it, a tidal wave of black fire crashed down over Argon, completely burning it down and killing all in the area.

With a roar of anger and victory, Nikolias returned to the sky, searching for any survivors. There were none.

With no one left to kill, Nikolias' anger began to subside. However, this time there was no fatigue. He gently landed on the ground and shadows began to dance around him, completely shrouding him. When the shadows died away, Nikolias, in his human form and with his human eyes, stood among the burning ruins, no emotion on his face. As if in a trance, he walked back towards his now destroyed home.

Upon arriving, He saw that the house had been completely destroyed as it was bathed in black fire. With a simple sweep of his hand, the black fires dissipated. Nikolias began to dig through the broken lumber of his home until he found what he was looking for; Michelle. He removed all of the rubble that lay on top of her before he gently picked her up and carried her towards the front lawn. He spent the next hour digging her grave.

Once she had been buried, he located a stone slab that would pass for a headstone and plunged it into the earth. He brushed off his hands and stared down at the stone, tears streaming down his face.

"Michelle. I'm so sorry. I couldn't protect you. I always wanted to protect you." He sniffed. "I was looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you. I wanted to raise a family with you. We had such nice dreams for ourselves." The tears were falling harder and his throat was tightening, making speech difficult. "You were the love of my life and now you're gone. I'm so sorry. I should have been there for you." He stared into the sky and began shouting his pain away. "HOW IS THIS FAIR? WHY PUNISH THEM? MY FRIENDS, MICHELLE, WHY TAKE THEM AWAY? IS THIS YOUR WAY OF PUNISHING ME? HUH? BECAUSE THEY WERE ALL CLOSE TO ME, THEY HAD TO DIE?" He took a deep breath before looking back at the stone. "It's clear to me now, Michelle, and I'm so sorry that I didn't realize it sooner. Had I realized it, your life would have been spared." A sad smile came to his face. "Happiness is for others, not cursed monsters like me. I'm not meant to live a happy life. I always thought I could be happy. I always thought I could be deserving of happiness. But that was a fool's dream. I couldn't see that from the moment I was born into this world, I was meant to bring sorrow and death to everyone I cared about. That's what my life is. That's my curse, which has only grown stronger with my survival of the Red Eye. I need to just be alone and avoid humans. I'm just sorry that my blindness led to this." He bent down and kissed the gravestone. "Goodbye, my love. I hope one day I can see your smiling face one more time." With that, he turned and walked out of the burning town and began to wander, this time knowing for sure that nothing but loneliness awaited him for the rest of his life.


AGE 798—10 YEARS AGO

"Welcome to Calione!" the greeter at the front gate exclaimed. Nikolias just walked through, paying the man no mind, but could hear him mumble under his breath, "Geez, what a jack ass."

Calione was a small town right on the border between the countries of Seven and Bosco. He had made it far in the past 450 years. Ever since he left Argon, he just kept walking west, stopping only to sleep and hunt for food. He still looked relatively the same—if one was to guess his age, they would probably say 22—and he was still physically fit. His hair was kept short, but it was slightly messy since he was cutting his own hair. He wasn't sure why he bothered cutting his hair. Perhaps it was because Michelle loved it short.

Around the age of 350, he had officially entered Earth Land via the Pergrande Kingdom border. Ever since, he began wandering every inch of Earth Land. From Pergrande Kingdom, he headed southwest into Bellum, further southwest into Desierto, crossing west into Minstrel, walking south into Midi, turning north in order to cross through Minstrel again and into Joya, walking northwest into Stella, heading northeast into Iceberg, turning southwest into Bosco, and then heading north where he was now entering Seven. It had been a long journey with no purpose, but he certainly saw a lot. However, he avoided any and all interactions, never once speaking to a human for the entire 450 year trek.

He walked through Calione, noticing how quiet the small town was. There weren't a lot of people in the streets and those that were out and about were alone or in pairs, talking quietly between each other. This kind of town suited Nikolias just fine. This kind of town meant less chance of people bothering him.

He took a turn down a particularly quiet and empty street. The houses on this street certainly had interesting architecture. They had a style from a couple hundred years ago, which struck him as odd since he saw so many flaws with that design over the years. Houses like this were weak to weather damage, so after about three rainstorms, a new house or costly repairs would be needed. He chuckled to himself as he walked. 'How typical of humans; so unwilling to accept change because it's inconvenient to think of something more efficient. No matter how much trouble something is, they desperately try to cling to what is familiar and safe.'

Suddenly, his ears twitched as he picked up a sound. "What the hell is that?" He began walking towards the sound, curious to see where it was coming from.


"Let me go!"

A thin, mousy man grinned wickedly at the young girl being held against the wall by his two muscular companions. "But Miss Gracie, I thought you wanted to see me?"

She spat at the man. "I want to kill you, you son of a bitch. Big difference."

"Kill me? Why?"

"You know damn well why. You killed my parents!" she screamed at him.

He grabbed her face roughly with his hand. "Ah, but they were behind on their payments consistently. What choice did I have? They served as an example for the rest of my customers, so don't worry your pretty little head. In the end, they were quite useful to me."

"An example?" she hissed.

"Yes. People can't think that they can just borrow my money and pay me back whenever. This is a business after all."

"You make me sick."

"My, such a vulgar thing to say. So sad, since you really do have a pretty face." He reached down and picked up the broad sword that lay on the ground by Gracie's feet. "Maybe I should cut out that tongue of yours with the very weapon you intended to kill me with."

She glared at him, but said nothing as she struggled against her captors.

The mousy man walked towards her while eyeing the blade. "A handsome sword. Too bad you have no skill with it."

"I have plenty of skill with it, you bastard, but your boyfriends jumped me. Fight me one on one and I'll show you just how skilled I am."

He laughed. "Sorry, not interested. I think I'll just punish you for your attitude."

She struggled with all of her might, but couldn't escape the grips of the muscular men. All she could do was watch as the mousy man lifted the sword over his head, prepared to strike her down.

"Hey."

Everyone turned to see a tall muscular man with golden brown eyes glaring at the mousy man from the entrance of the alley.


He didn't know what came over him. He hated humans and yet here he was, looking to save one. However, he could see that this girl was in trouble and, based on the conversation he heard, she was innocent. That changed things for him. In this girl, who was probably in her teens, he could see his friends and he could see Michelle, all innocent but killed because of someone's twisted goals and desires. He hated to admit it, but as much as he disliked all humans, those who were innocent didn't deserve to die.

"Who the fuck are you?" the mousy man called out to him.

"Let her go," Nikolias said coldly.

"Sorry, but no can do. She brought this upon herself. She needs to be taught a lesson."

"And I can't accept that. I heard the conversation. She has every right to kill you, but you have no right to do anything to her."

The mousy man turned and glared at him. "You dare interfere with Harry the Horrible?"

Nikolias tried as hard as he could to fight back what was rising to the surface, but it was no use. It was too strong. He burst out laughing.

Harry gritted his teeth. "You dare laugh at me?"

"You…you call yourself Harry the Horrible? You? HAH! I've never seen anyone less horrible. Have you considered changing it to Harry the Helpless? Oh, what about Harry the Hamster?" He couldn't stop laughing at this man. He had to say, though, he missed laughing.

Harry pointed Gracie's sword at him. "So, you think you're a tough guy, huh? Well, I think I can take you. Then I'll show you just how horrible I am!" He charged Nikolias, blade drawn back. "Prepare to die, mother fucker!"

"Look out!" Gracie shouted.

Nikolias stopped laughing as he watched Harry charge and his expression returned to the cold exterior from before. He sighed, held his hand out to the side, and whispered, "SHADOW BLADE!" In his hand, shadows quickly began collecting and formed the shape of a sword. With incredible speed, Nikolias charged Harry, prepared to strike.

Harry was shocked at what he'd just seen. Suddenly, this guy was armed. Out of nowhere, he had gotten a sword. And just like that, Harry didn't feel too confident in his chances of winning.

And his uncertainty is what got him killed.

Nikolias easily ducked Harry's weak swing and, when the sword passed overhead, he straightened up and plunged his Shadow Blade into Harry's abdomen.

Harry's face froze from the pain. Blood began dripping from his lips as he coughed, sending droplets of his blood flying onto Nikolias' face.

Nikolias seemed unfazed. He just glared at Harry with cold eyes. Then, with one swift motion, Nikolias pulled his blade upwards, slicing cleanly through Harry's chest and head as it rose. He watched as Harry's body collapsed to the ground and his blood began pooling on the ground underneath him. He allowed his Shadow Blade to disperse before turning his cold glare to the bodyguards, who were staring at Harry's dead body with fear in their eyes. "Leave or die. Your choice."

The men looked at Nikolias before dropping Gracie and running off, screaming as they went.

"Damn it," Gracie mumbled as she stood, brushing herself off. "Thanks for the help. So what's your name?" She looked up to find Nikolias walking away. "Hey! Hey hold on!" she called out as she ran after him.

He stopped and turned. "What do you want?"

She stood in front of him. "I just wanted to thank you for helping me out and for killing that weasel. He's a total bastard and this world is better off without him in it."

"Fine," Nikolias said as he started walking again.

"Hold on, I'm not done talking to you!" Gracie shouted. She ran up and walked beside him. "So what's your name?"

He looked down at the girl as he walked. "Nikolias." He then turned his head back to look forward.

"Nikolias? That's a weird name. I'm gonna call you Niky!"

"No, you're not."

"Why not?"

"It's not like you're ever gonna see me again, so you might as well call me by my proper name."

"You're a downer. Oh yeah! I never introduced myself."

"I don't care."

"Sure you do! My name is Gracie Amier. That's pronounced ah-me-air."

"I don't care."

"I'm 14 years old and quite the skilled swordswoman."

"I don't care."

"Man, you're a broken record, Niky."

"Don't call me that."

"So what did you mean when you said that I'm never gonna see you again?"

"What do you think it means? I'm leaving this town as soon as possible."

"To go where?"

"Who knows?"

"Then why leave?"

"Cuz I don't wanna stay."

"Why not?"

"What's the point in staying anywhere?"

Gracie raised her eyebrow. "You're strange, Niky, but I kinda like you. You mind if I travel with you?"

"Yes, I mind."

"Aw c'mon, why can't I go with you?"

"I travel alone."

"That's so lonely, though."

"Exactly."

Gracie could see some sadness on his otherwise stoic face. "Why do you want to be alone?"

"I'm done answering your questions."

"Alright then. Can I come with you? Really? Great!"

"You're not coming with me."

"Sure I am. Why wouldn't I? There's nothing for me here now that that Harry douche is dead."

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I heard your parents are dead, but I'm sure that there's someone here that you care about; other family members or friends. Go with them."

"No, I don't have any other family. And I especially don't have any friends. Well, except for you."

"We're not friends."

"Of course we are! After all, you saved my life."

"I just happened upon some filth and eradicated it. Nothing more."

"You're a terrible liar. You know we're friends."

"We're really not."

"There's the lying again! I think you have a problem."

"Yes, and it's you."

"That was cold."

"Please just leave me alone."

"I can't do that. How else are we gonna travel together?"

"We're not traveling together."

"But you said that we could!"

"I never said anything of the kind."

"Liar!"

"Would you cut that out?"

"Nope. Not until you tell the truth and say that we're traveling buddies."

"We're not traveling buddies."

"Liar!"

Nikolias groaned. He couldn't figure out how to ditch this kid. Then he got an idea. "Look kid, I'm sorry that you're alone, but believe me when I say that sticking by me is a recipe for death. So goodbye." With that, he summoned his wings and leapt into the air, flying as fast as he could to get away from Gracie.


Nikolias found an alley a few feet from the exit of the town and breathed a sigh of relief. 'Finally, I don't have to hear her talk anymore.' He retracted his wings, left the alley, and walked out of the gate, putting Calione behind him and entering the country of Seven.

He continued walking aimlessly as he always did when he heard a familiar voice.

"Where you goin'?"

He stopped and whipped his head around. There, just a few feet behind him, was Gracie. "How the hell did you find me?"

She smiled and winked. "I'm a good tracker."

He narrowed his eyes. "Bullshit." He knew that no one could track his movements. He was a Shadow Dragon, after all. Stealth was one of their greatest strengths.

She giggled. "Okay, you caught me. I lied. Of course, I guess it does take one to know one."

"I never lied. We aren't traveling together."

"It sure looks like it to me."

"You followed me without my permission. Now tell me how you found me."

She pointed to her brain. "I'm a master strategist, so it was really easy to figure out. You wanted to leave, so when you flew off—neat trick by the way—I knew that you would head for the exit gate. I just had to get there as fast as possible so that I could follow you."

"Fine. Congratulations on being a fucking genius. Now go away."

"Nope. My prize for finding you is getting to travel with you!"

"Absolutely not. I travel alone."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cuz being with you means death. I get it. Well I'd rather be with you and die then go back home and live."

He just stared at her. How could she feel that way? Why would she want to die?

"Hey Niky?"

"Stop calling me that."

"Do you want to be alone because someone close to you died?"

Nikolias froze. He had no response. It hurt too much to talk about and he definitely wasn't going to tell this strange and annoying girl about it.

"Your silence tells me yes. I'm so sorry. But don't you see? This is how we go together perfectly! We both lost people who are close to us and now, we feel lost. We can comfort each other."

"No. No we can't," Nikolias said through gritted teeth. "There is no comfort. There is only pain."

"Now that may be the most negative thing that I've ever heard in my life. Unless you deal with it, the pain will never go away. And unless you move on, you will always be haunted. You just have to try and keep your spirits up."

"You may have lost your parents, but you could never understand what I went through."

"My parents were killed for money. It's such a bullshit reason to kill."

"You want bullshit? All of my friends and my wife were murdered out of fear," he hissed. And then he realized something. 'Shit, this little trickster just coaxed information out of me!'

She walked over to him and hugged him. "I'm sorry. But you don't have to be alone anymore. We can be there for each other from now on. That's what friends do."

"We're not friends. Now get off."

"No."

Nikolias sighed. He hated to admit it, but this girl was actually making him feel better. "Get off."

"No."

"Now."

"No."

"Gracie…"

"You said my name!"

"Yeah…what?"

She smiled up at him. "By saying my name, we are official travel partners, Niky!"
"That's not my name and no we're not."

"You can keep lying, but you should know that I'm just going to keep following you."

"I'll just fly away."

"I'll find you again."

"Hah. Good luck catching a Shadow Dragon." And then he realized that he slipped up again. 'God dammit! How does she do that?'

"Whoa, you're a dragon? That would explain the wings."

He sighed. There was no point denying it. She saw the wings and he even admitted to being a dragon. "I'm a Half-Dragon. Nikolias the Shadow Dragon."

"Whoa. So what does that mean?"

"It means that I can partially and fully transform into a dragon."

"That's so cool!"

As they conversed, Nikolias couldn't help but think of Michelle, the only other human to react this way to this news.

"Say, Niky?"

"What?"

"I have an idea."

"And that would be?"

"Let's travel the world together and help people!"

"Oh? And how would we do that?"

"With your abilities and my abilities, we could take down criminals who escape the law!"

"So you wanna join the police?"

"No. I want to take them down as in kill them."

Nikolias once again was taken aback by this girl. Never before had he met such a human. "You want to kill your own kind?"

"You got a problem with that?"

"No, but that's because I'm not human and I'm not a fan of humans, so I have no problem killing them. You, on the other hand, are human."

"I don't want to kill everyone. Just the really bad ones. You know, the ones who hurt the innocent."

Nikolias chuckled. 'This girl is like the human version of me.' He walked closer to her before bending over to be face to face with her. "Very well, Gracie. I will agree to that. But don't blame me if you get yourself killed."

She looked at him with absolute joy. "Hooray! Thanks, Niky!"

He put a hand on her head. "Whatever."

The two began walking into Seven, Gracie skipping along and Nikolias sighing at her overenthusiastic behavior.

"Oh, and thanks," Gracie said.

"For what?"

She smiled at him. "For letting me call you Niky! The past two times I said it, you didn't correct me!"

He stared dumbfounded at Gracie. 'Shit.'


For the next ten years, Nikolias and Gracie traveled together, killing major criminals who made the lives of the innocent difficult. Nikolias had to admit that being with Gracie was fun. They were in a lot of ways alike, almost as if they were separated at birth (by a few hundred years). Over that time, they became very close, like a small family. She became a sister to him, someone that he was willing to protect with his life. Nikolias also found that Gracie had a very calming effect on him. She had a way of making him feel like he could live a normal life again. Also, when he would relive the deaths of his friends or Michelle at night, she would always wake him up before the memories of his rampages began and she would soothe him until he felt at ease. The frequency of the reliving of the memories decreased the more time he spent with Gracie, which he found to be yet another perk to having her with him.

Nikolias got to see first-hand just how talented a swordswoman Gracie was. She was quite gifted with her broad sword and could probably hold up well in an actual fight with him. He also learned that she could use something called "magic". She called it Requip magic, but honestly, Nikolias had trouble fully understanding this whole magic thing. That is, until he saw Gracie summon weapons out of thin air. Yet another way they were alike. Her fighting styles and strategies also greatly assisted him in fighting. She always had a plan that always seemed to work. She would give a command and he would obey unquestioningly, knowing that she knew what she was doing and trusting her to see them through it. When they fought together, their techniques fit together perfectly, like two perfectly aligned gears. Everything went smoothly when they fought. After some practice and real-life scenarios, they developed three possible tactics for battle; the Ground-Ground method, which had Gracie fighting with two katanas and Nikolias fighting with his shadow powers and/or dragon blades, the Air-Ground method, which had Gracie fighting with a halberd and Nikolias supporting her from the air in his partial-dragon form, and the Air-Air method, which had Gracie wielding her broad sword while riding Nikolias in his dragon form. This last method was probably the least used as the destruction it caused was incredible.

After their first year together, Gracie got to see something that Nikolias had never experienced around people he knew; something he would later explain as Dragon Feast. At random points in time, separated by an unknown amount of years, Nikolias would become incredibly hungry, needing to eat for at most 24 hours straight. If he didn't eat for the entire time, he would become possessed by the dragon inside until the hunger was satisfied. On this particular day, the two were passing through a town in Seven when the Dragon Feast began. Gracie didn't understand what was happening and couldn't understand Nikolias' requests. Unfortunately, this led to the deaths of eight innocent people who just so happened to be spotted by Nikolias and devoured. She was upset that she could do nothing to save those people, so when it was over, Nikolias explained everything to her so that if it happened again, she would be prepared.

As time passed, Nikolias grew slightly more accepting of humans. He still despised most of them, but because of Gracie, he was starting to find the goodness that they could possess. However, more often than not, he still made snide comments and ignored them whenever possible. With each passing year, though, he became more and more open to others, but still, in general, was rather reserved.

After about four years together, Nikolias told Gracie his story. He told her everything about everyone. When he finished, he gave her the option to leave and go her own way, but she refused, telling him that she would stay with him because they were family. He genuinely smiled at this. He was relieved to hear that she was going to stay. They had found family in each other and he didn't want to lose that. He did, however, ask that she not tell anyone about what he was and he demanded that his past remain between them. She was a bit confused, but she agreed, figuring that talking about it all was too painful. In terms of keeping the Half-Dragon business under wraps, she just figured that he wanted to seem as normal as possible, which she thought was great. If he wanted to seem normal, then maybe he was willing to be around humans more and was more willing to accept his human half. Even though he said he wasn't human, she knew that he still had that side of him, even if he didn't want to admit it.

Nikolias thought about how he got where he was. He still believed that happiness wasn't meant for him, but he was glad to at least have one person, one sister, one friend by his side. Even if that was all that he would have for the rest of his life, he was thankful. Of course, he was never good at predicting what the future would hold. He never would have guessed that by being with Gracie, he would find new friends, new family, a new home, and a new love.