I shakily extended forth my right hand and reached my finger nails below my scale . It felt akin to prying underneath your fingernails . It was strangely scary and also painful . Below my scales was my flesh . I pinched a scale with my fingers, clenched my teeth and then aggressively yanked it .

*Rip!!*

I was mentally ready . The pain still caused me to hiss, nonetheless . Small droplets of blood trickled onto my wrist . The scale I pulled out brought a piece of flesh underneath along . I quivered due to the shock . The feeling was the same as pulling your finger nail out . It was a sharp pain, and the air blowing onto my naked finger stung . I trembled as I threw the scale away . I took in a deep breath . I then pinched another scale and once again aggressively yanked it…

I remember there was once a form of torture where people’s fingernails were ripped out . Just thinking about it sends chills down spine . That sort of torture was once used on revolutionaries . I developed great admiration for them after trying it on myself, because the pain wasn’t something people can handle . It was the same as having your teeth yanked out from your mouth .

Underneath every scale were veins and flesh . The rain falling on my exposed flesh stung . I could see my veins jolting a little . My blood poured out of the open wounds then ran down to my wrist, where the rain then washed it down onto Luna’s face .

It would’ve been nice if that was enough . However, it wasn’t enough blood . I had to continue… I yanked out scale after scale after scale and then more . The small holes weren’t enough . The small wounds didn’t provide enough blood…

I told myself, “I have to continue . I must continue . I must continue . If I can’t continue, I won’t be able to save Luna . I must do this . I must do this…”

I threw aside another scale covered in blood . I then weakly sat down to one side and panted . The pain in my left arm felt comparable to a snapped arm . The pain hammered my brain over and over, causing me to feel lightheaded . I felt as though I was going to pa.s.s out from the pain . I could barely see Luna’s face through my hazy gaze . I gently caressed her with my right hand . Voice soft, I said, “It’s all right . It’s all right, Luna . You’ll soon be okay . You’ll soon be okay… I’ll save you in a second… It’s all right… It’s all right…”

I took in a deep breath to calm myself down .  The rain that poured down onto my head sobered me up a little . I wiped my tears off my face, and then looked inside my left wrist . I had pulled off over a dozen scales . My flesh underneath was quivering a little . I took quick breaths to calm myself down . Everybody will feel some degree of fear when looking at their own wounds . All living organisms fear pain and death; that was just normal . What made humans, humans, though, was that they could give up their own life and hurt themselves just as I did .

I lowered my head and shut my eyes . I bit my left arm, revealing my flesh . All of my cells in my left arm screamed at me to pull my teeth away . Because of the pain, my vision was blurry . My tears coursed down my face, and I cried out as I bit my wrist to tear my flesh . I could feel myself tearing my flesh off as if I was a madman . Blood splashed into my face, and I dropped onto my bottom . The darkness before me and the pain left me so weak that I literally couldn’t stand up . My left arm spat up blood correspondingly to my heart beats . I mustered up all my strength to drag my body over to Luna’s chest .

Blood finally flowed onto the dragon’s heart sitting in Luna’s chest . The dragon’s heart absorbed every drop of blood . The purplish-black heart finally turned red gradually . It extended out its tentacles and attached itself to the snapped veins . It then coiled around them . I noticed blood begin to flow through Luna’s veins again, turning the purplish-black colour that was similar to burnt flesh back into the blood-red of life .

Obvious changes to Luna’s body began to take place . Her broken ribs grew once again . Her destroyed intestines began to reconnect . Her liver gradually regrew . Her lungs were active again . The dragon’s heart circulated my blood throughout Luna’s body . I revealed a subtle smile . I brought my left arm closer to the dragon’s heart and mumbled to myself, “Here… take some more… Take some more… Bring my Luna back . Bring my Luna back . I beg you… Bring my Luna back… Bring my Luna back…”

The part of Luna’s body that I cut open slowly reattached itself . My blood spilt onto the chest region of her clothes . I couldn’t last any longer . While I was the descendant of a dragon and had the blood of a dragon, I could still die from blood loss . I weakly dropped down from above Luna’s body .

I wasn’t afraid I’d die, because if I was about to die, my mana inside me would automatically produce more blood to replace the blood I lost and heal my wounds at maximum speed . In saying that, I really wanted to see Luna wake up…

I rolled onto the ground and lied there, panting . I looked in Luna’s direction, but my vision was blurry . I held her hand tightly, but I couldn’t feel anything with my left hand at the moment . As a matter of fact, the painful sensation was barely detectable . Therefore, I didn’t know if warmth was returning to her hand or not . All I knew was that her body had recovered, but she, herself, hadn’t recovered…

I couldn’t see anything anymore . I had done my best, but I couldn’t hang in there . I shut my eyes and seemingly lost all conscious in the blink of an eye . I pa.s.sed out, for I had mustered up all of my mana to repair my damaged parts . I had to collect all the mana for maintaining life and bodily functioning just as Mommy Vyvyan would have to .

I silently rambled, “Who will shelter Luna from the rain now that I’ve pa.s.sed out, though…? Wouldn’t I miss her smile when she comes to, then? I have so much to say to her . I want to personally apologise to her, and I want to personally tell her that I love her… But I’ve pa.s.sed out… So does that mean I can’t say any of that…? Has the rain stopped…?”

I stopped feeling the rain drip onto my face . Instead, I heard a clear breeze and the sound of flowers swaying . Birds were chirping in the distance . The bright sunlight shone onto my face and stung my eyes . I felt I’d still see the blinding light even with my eyes shut .

“It must be daytime now . Is daytime this warm here? Something warm has enveloped my head . This soft and warm embrace is so comfortable that I don’t want to lift my head off,” I thought in a daze .

II suddenly realised why I’d be there . I told myself, “I can’t just lie here . I can’t just lie here…”

I vigorously opened my eyes and raised my head . I shouted, “Luna!!”

Around me was a field of flowers that the rain from last night soaked . Some of the flowers were drooping downwards . The soil around exuded a fragrance a pleasing fragrance . I looked to my left in a fl.u.s.tered fas.h.i.+on . Luna, who was supposed to be lying next to me, was gone . All that was there on my left was a flower that had been pressed down on . Just as I went to stand up and search for her, I heard a familiar voice next to my face that almost brought tears to my eyes, “Your Majesty, I am here . Do you need something?”

The voice froze me in place . I turned with a dumbstruck expression on my face . What came up wasn’t the warmth of the bright sunlight s.h.i.+ning on my face, but Luna’s gentle smile that was next to me . The sunlight that shone on her face emitted a gentle blush . She looked at me with a smile . The smile that was so bright stung my eyes, causing me to feel dizzy and my vision appeared fuzzy .

Luna carefully reached out to grab hold of my hand . With a soft giggle, she said, “Your Majesty… I do not know what exactly happened… But this feels the same as a dream I could not wake up from… I have finally awoken… I have finally seen you again… You are all right… I am so glad you are all right… I protected you, correct…? Your Majesty… I successfully protected you…”

I pulled Luna into my tight embrace before she could react, and then kissed her lips . I had forgotten how long it had been since I kissed her lips . It had been so long since I last hugged her . It had been ages since I felt her warmth and tenderness . Luna was shocked at first, but then she shut her eyes . I saw two trails of tears slowly course down her face . She hugged me back and pressed her body firmly against mine . She hugged me with all her might as though she was afraid I’d leave her again .

The gentle breeze brought the fragrance of the flowers next to us over . The two of us sat in the warm sunlight, locked in each other’s warm embrace . Luna’s long hair wasn’t tied up, and thus, teased my nerves by my ear . Our lips were plastered together; our tears mixed in with each other’s . In the moment, our relations.h.i.+p wasn’t that of maid and Prince . In that moment, we were a man and woman expressing our affection for each other . We were lovers who overcame many obstacles to be in love .

I finally got to see my Luna again . Finally…

“Luna… I missed you so much… I really… missed you…”

“Me, too… Me, too . . Your Majesty… I love you… I really… love you…”

I shakily extended forth my right hand and reached my finger nails below my scale . It felt akin to prying underneath your fingernails . It was strangely scary and also painful . Below my scales was my flesh . I pinched a scale with my fingers, clenched my teeth and then aggressively yanked it

*Rip!!*.

I was mentally ready . The pain still caused me to hiss, nonetheless . Small droplets of blood trickled onto my wrist . The scale I pulled out brought a piece of flesh underneath along . I quivered due to the shock . The feeling was the same as pulling your finger nail out . It was a sharp pain, and the air blowing onto my naked finger stung . I trembled as I threw the scale away . I took in a deep breath . I then pinched another scale and once again aggressively yanked it….

I remember there was once a form of torture where people’s fingernails were ripped out . Just thinking about it sends chills down spine . That sort of torture was once used on revolutionaries . I developed great admiration for them after trying it on myself, because the pain wasn’t something people can handle . It was the same as having your teeth yanked out from your mouth

Underneath every scale were veins and flesh . The rain falling on my exposed flesh stung . I could see my veins jolting a little . My blood poured out of the open wounds then ran down to my wrist, where the rain then washed it down onto Luna’s face

It would’ve been nice if that was enough . However, it wasn’t enough blood . I had to continue… I yanked out scale after scale after scale and then more . The small holes weren’t enough . The small wounds didn’t provide enough blood….

I told myself, “I have to continue . I must continue . I must continue . If I can’t continue, I won’t be able to save Luna . I must do this . I must do this…”.

I threw aside another scale covered in blood . I then weakly sat down to one side and panted . The pain in my left arm felt comparable to a snapped arm . The pain hammered my brain over and over, causing me to feel lightheaded . I felt as though I was going to pa.s.s out from the pain . I could barely see Luna’s face through my hazy gaze . I gently caressed her with my right hand . Voice soft, I said, “It’s all right . It’s all right, Luna . You’ll soon be okay . You’ll soon be okay… I’ll save you in a second… It’s all right… It’s all right…”.

I took in a deep breath to calm myself down .  The rain that poured down onto my head sobered me up a little . I wiped my tears off my face, and then looked inside my left wrist . I had pulled off over a dozen scales . My flesh underneath was quivering a little . I took quick breaths to calm myself down . Everybody will feel some degree of fear when looking at their own wounds . All living organisms fear pain and death; that was just normal . What made humans, humans, though, was that they could give up their own life and hurt themselves just as I did

I lowered my head and shut my eyes . I bit my left arm, revealing my flesh . All of my cells in my left arm screamed at me to pull my teeth away . Because of the pain, my vision was blurry . My tears coursed down my face, and I cried out as I bit my wrist to tear my flesh . I could feel myself tearing my flesh off as if I was a madman . Blood splashed into my face, and I dropped onto my bottom . The darkness before me and the pain left me so weak that I literally couldn’t stand up . My left arm spat up blood correspondingly to my heart beats . I mustered up all my strength to drag my body over to Luna’s chest

Blood finally flowed onto the dragon’s heart sitting in Luna’s chest . The dragon’s heart absorbed every drop of blood . The purplish-black heart finally turned red gradually . It extended out its tentacles and attached itself to the snapped veins . It then coiled around them . I noticed blood begin to flow through Luna’s veins again, turning the purplish-black colour that was similar to burnt flesh back into the blood-red of life

Obvious changes to Luna’s body began to take place . Her broken ribs grew once again . Her destroyed intestines began to reconnect . Her liver gradually regrew . Her lungs were active again . The dragon’s heart circulated my blood throughout Luna’s body . I revealed a subtle smile . I brought my left arm closer to the dragon’s heart and mumbled to myself, “Here… take some more… Take some more… Bring my Luna back . Bring my Luna back . I beg you… Bring my Luna back… Bring my Luna back…”.

The part of Luna’s body that I cut open slowly reattached itself . My blood spilt onto the chest region of her clothes . I couldn’t last any longer . While I was the descendant of a dragon and had the blood of a dragon, I could still die from blood loss . I weakly dropped down from above Luna’s body

I wasn’t afraid I’d die, because if I was about to die, my mana inside me would automatically produce more blood to replace the blood I lost and heal my wounds at maximum speed . In saying that, I really wanted to see Luna wake up….

I rolled onto the ground and lied there, panting . I looked in Luna’s direction, but my vision was blurry . I held her hand tightly, but I couldn’t feel anything with my left hand at the moment . As a matter of fact, the painful sensation was barely detectable . Therefore, I didn’t know if warmth was returning to her hand or not . All I knew was that her body had recovered, but she, herself, hadn’t recovered….

I couldn’t see anything anymore . I had done my best, but I couldn’t hang in there . I shut my eyes and seemingly lost all conscious in the blink of an eye . I pa.s.sed out, for I had mustered up all of my mana to repair my damaged parts . I had to collect all the mana for maintaining life and bodily functioning just as Mommy Vyvyan would have to

I silently rambled, “Who will shelter Luna from the rain now that I’ve pa.s.sed out, though…? Wouldn’t I miss her smile when she comes to, then? I have so much to say to her . I want to personally apologise to her, and I want to personally tell her that I love her… But I’ve pa.s.sed out… So does that mean I can’t say any of that…? Has the rain stopped…?”.

I stopped feeling the rain drip onto my face . Instead, I heard a clear breeze and the sound of flowers swaying . Birds were chirping in the distance . The bright sunlight shone onto my face and stung my eyes . I felt I’d still see the blinding light even with my eyes shut

“It must be daytime now . Is daytime this warm here? Something warm has enveloped my head . This soft and warm embrace is so comfortable that I don’t want to lift my head off,” I thought in a daze

II suddenly realised why I’d be there . I told myself, “I can’t just lie here . I can’t just lie here…”.

I vigorously opened my eyes and raised my head . I shouted, “Luna!!”.

Around me was a field of flowers that the rain from last night soaked . Some of the flowers were drooping downwards . The soil around exuded a fragrance a pleasing fragrance . I looked to my left in a fl.u.s.tered fas.h.i.+on . Luna, who was supposed to be lying next to me, was gone . All that was there on my left was a flower that had been pressed down on . Just as I went to stand up and search for her, I heard a familiar voice next to my face that almost brought tears to my eyes, “Your Majesty, I am here . Do you need something?”.

The voice froze me in place . I turned with a dumbstruck expression on my face . What came up wasn’t the warmth of the bright sunlight s.h.i.+ning on my face, but Luna’s gentle smile that was next to me . The sunlight that shone on her face emitted a gentle blush . She looked at me with a smile . The smile that was so bright stung my eyes, causing me to feel dizzy and my vision appeared fuzzy

Luna carefully reached out to grab hold of my hand . With a soft giggle, she said, “Your Majesty… I do not know what exactly happened… But this feels the same as a dream I could not wake up from… I have finally awoken… I have finally seen you again… You are all right… I am so glad you are all right… I protected you, correct…? Your Majesty… I successfully protected you…”.

I pulled Luna into my tight embrace before she could react, and then kissed her lips . I had forgotten how long it had been since I kissed her lips . It had been so long since I last hugged her . It had been ages since I felt her warmth and tenderness . Luna was shocked at first, but then she shut her eyes . I saw two trails of tears slowly course down her face . She hugged me back and pressed her body firmly against mine . She hugged me with all her might as though she was afraid I’d leave her again

The gentle breeze brought the fragrance of the flowers next to us over . The two of us sat in the warm sunlight, locked in each other’s warm embrace . Luna’s long hair wasn’t tied up, and thus, teased my nerves by my ear . Our lips were plastered together; our tears mixed in with each other’s . In the moment, our relations.h.i.+p wasn’t that of maid and Prince . In that moment, we were a man and woman expressing our affection for each other . We were lovers who overcame many obstacles to be in love

I finally got to see my Luna again . Finally….

“Luna… I missed you so much… I really… missed you…”.

“Me, too… Me, too Your Majesty… I love you… I really… love you…”.