Dragons' Melancholic Song (Part 6)

Mom and I followed the silver dragon back to the cave when it was nearly night time. While lots of dragons fervently invited us, we couldn't help but feel that their eyes were on us. Consequently, we turned down everybody who appeared to be harbouring ulterior motives and returned to the cave. Though it was also dangerous around Irina, I thought she wouldn't force herself on me judging by the way she welcomed us back with her head lowered.

Camille and Irina welcomed us with a smile and provided us with a pa.s.sionate reception.  I subconsciously handed my cloak to Irina. Normally, I'd pa.s.s it to Luna. Irina took it, and then her gaze s.h.i.+fted around but soon returned to normal. Camille, smiling, said, "It has been a rough day for you. We have prepared dinner and invited our nearby neighbours. Your arrival yesterday was a surprise, so we did not have time to give you a proper welcoming ceremony; therefore, we should make up for it today."

Dragon Mom shook her head: "Never mind it. I don't intend to stay here forever. I plan to return with my son."

"Do you not plan to return home?"

"This is not my home."

"Home is where my family is."

Camille looked at Dragon Mom with a serious looked. Camille smiled before she touched my head… I had no idea why she touched my head… She then switched the topic: "Let us put these things aside for now. I know you see us as traitors to the race. After all, we left the race back then. However, we are members of the dragon race when it comes down to it. We are the same as you; I believe you will be able to understand us once you spend some time living here with us, and you will eventually be able to live with us. That is the future, though. For tonight, let us enjoy a meal together."

Honestly, I had no faith in dragons' cooking. If I was to make an inference from Mom's cooking, I surmised that all of the dragons' culinary skills ended at grilling meat. Moreover, their original forms weren't that of humans. It would be very weird for them to eat with human etiquette.

Dragon Mom stated, "My son cannot transform into a dragon."

Irina was surprised I couldn't transform. Camille was somewhat doubtful. She remarked, "But Troy has the smell of a dragon on him."

"He does have my blood flowing through him, indeed. Having said that, he doesn't count as a pure-blooded dragon. His dragon blood wasn't bestowed upon him in the way ours was. Nevertheless, he possesses the blood of a dragon, and he is still a descendant of our dragon race even without a dragon form."

Dragon Mom seemed to be worried that the dragons would discriminate against me once they found out I couldn't transform into a dragon. But nevertheless, Camille didn't seem to particularly mind. She nodded: "You are right. While he cannot transform into a dragon, I am sure he is still an outstanding descendant of our dragon race. I can smell his scent. It is the same as yours - a pure bloodline."

"Not entirely."

Dragon Mom wasn't wrong there. She seemed to still be occupied with the pure bloodline. Hence, she wouldn't make compromises when it came to it, which was why she seriously rejected the claim that I was a pure-blooded dragon in spite of her love for me.

"If we are talking about the pure bloodline you speak of, then the pure-blooded dragons were no more long ago. Only we remain. From our perspective, pure or not is no longer crucial. What we now care most about is whether or not we can survive," responded Camille.

Despite Mom's stance, Camille didn't back down on her stance, either. Dragon Mom's expression showed she was somewhat agonised. She wanted to give a counterargument, but didn't have one. The bloodline she was proud of from back then had become meaningless. It was a sad realisation for her.

The topic ended there. We didn't continue discussing it. Irina bowed: "I shall have our guests dine in their human forms to compromise for King Troy, then. It does not matter what form we use. However, I do not wish for King Troy to feel lonely."

Truthfully, I didn't feel lonely. What I was concerned about was Dragon Mom feeling lonely or not. I was grateful for the kind gesture, nonetheless. I gave Irina a smile: "Thank you very much, Irina."

"Oh… I-It is nothing…"

Irina shyly lowered her head and quivered as she muttered something under her breath, rendering me feeling slightly awkward. Dragon Mom's gaze sharply focused onto Irina. Meanwhile, Camille looked at me with an amorous smile. She then looked at Dragon Mom. Mom's expression was slightly strange. There seemed to be a hint of sorrow and reluctance in her gaze, yet she nodded. I had no idea what they were signalling to each other with the string of odd expressions. I quietly asked Mom what it was about, but she didn't provide me with a direct answer.

We continued further into the cave. To my surprise, we soon left the cave. Behind the cave was a small vacant block of land. On the ground were several animals that were being grilled and smelt considerably good. As for what they were, I didn't have the foggiest idea.

I believe the scene bore a semblance to King Arthur's round dinner table, round conference table, sorry, except that they were a group of dragons eating together. Well, should I say group of elves, since they were in their elven forms? The group looked at me all smiles and raised the things in their hands.

Irina walked up to me in a somewhat shy fas.h.i.+on. She behaved. The first day I met her, she was very open with her mannerisms. I wasn't quite used to her shy att.i.tude. She placed the cup in her hand down in front of me. Voice soft, she said, "This… for you… This is… our… alcohol here… Please… have a drink…"

The dragon race's alcohol… I didn't know what they used to brew it, but I had a drink. I think it was brewed with fruit, but there was too much alcohol. One drink and I was spinning. I think it was a tad stronger than the strong wine in the desert.

I went and sat down. Technically speaking, it wasn't a seat. We were just sitting together. Dragon Mom sat next to me and maintained her vigilance. She scanned all of the cups of alcohol in front of her. She whispered, "Be careful, Son. The dragons might do something after drinking."

I recalled what Dragon Mom did after getting drunk and felt that her warning was perfect. I just couldn't wrap my head around why Irina asked me to have a drink.

"What, is there a problem if I don't drink it? It's a little too strong, but it tastes quite good," I thought.

Dragon Mom picked up her cup. I glanced at it and for some reason… it appeared to be different to mine…

"Everyone, thank you for coming to our humble dwelling. You should all be aware as to why we called you here today. It is because we have a new friend, or rather, we have new company joining us. She is a highly-esteemed friend and that is our Queen Sylvanas. She is a highly-esteemed, pure-blooded dragon, in addition to be the most mature among us. I believe we can get along. Our race's power has dwindled; but nevertheless, we are the last hope of our race. We cannot let ourselves be the last dragons. Dragons should forever live on, not just for our former glory but to ensure our bloodline continues to be pa.s.sed down. This continent still needs us. Come, everyone, let us have a toast. Our first toast goes to our Queen Sylvanas!"

"A toast to Queen Sylvanas!"

The dragons raised their cups. I joined them. I looked at Mom and whispered, "It seems you are very welcome, Mom. They're all your friends."

"Just normal friends, not the friends I want. The friends I want are different to them. They just want to live. The dragons I want are the honourable and confident dragons."

It was just as Mom said. The dragons there were merely biologically the same, being that they were all dragons. Nonetheless, the dragon race that had gone with the flow of life for so long lost their determination. They were no longer eager to progress and fight for their pride. That was what agonised Dragon Mom the most. It was most painful for her to see her kinsmen so complacent, more than compared to not having a companion. After all, Mom wasn't after a few dragons. She wanted dragons who could work alongside her to revive the race.

Mom wanted to return to the past. She wanted to see the dragon race in its former glory. She wanted to see the dragon race soaring in the skies to their hearts content; not to see them complacent. However, she didn't want to let the dragon race go extinct. She strongly disliked the dragon race's current att.i.tude. At the same time, she wanted to see them to avoid loneliness again. The emotions she felt were complex. I didn't know if Mom wanted to have the dragons obey her and revive the dragon race's pride or if she wanted to let them continue as they were living.

"Additionally, we have another esteemed guest. Honestly, I never imagined we would have such a proud descendant among us. This is Queen Sylvanas' son and the reigning King of our current residence. He is also the Prince of elves as well as our only male dragon at present, King Troy. Please welcome our King Troy, who is also our descendant we are proud of!!"

"A toast to King Troy!"

The toast was a slightly bigger deal than the toast to Dragon Mom. Perhaps I should say they practically set off small bombs. They shoved each other's faces away with their own to get a look at me. The dragons tried to approach me, but Dragon Mom pulled me straight into her embrace, looking as if she was saying, "n.o.body is to come close to him," causing all of the dragons to back off and not dare to approach, albeit remaining antsy.

Camille glanced at us and smiled. She then exclaimed, "You need not do this everyone. Third toast. I have something somewhat selfish to say. On behalf of my daughter, Irina, I would like to propose a marriage to you, King Troy!!"

Glossary

*I know King Arthur's table is called the Round Table, but in Chinese, there's an extra character to indicate that it's a table for meetings; consequently, in trying to keep Troy's mistake in there, I deliberately added the term used for distinction.

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