Chapter 15: The Dragon Trainer bakes a sheep toy for the dragon. ...

Family dramas are not part of Ashlin's role-playing game.

Honestly, does she look a lot like Dragon Mom?

“Dragon training magic,” Lucas whispered, “Feel the dragon’s blood, control her, and don’t forget. All we need is a perfectly precise shot of fire.”

“Excellent!” Ashlin exclaimed. “Now you are my dearest daughter, my Aisusa. But what roles do you think these two little ones should play?”

Aisusa stared at the black cat and the gray mouse with her big golden eyes, racking her brains.

"Dinner?" she suggested, making a perfectly reasonable suggestion.

"What?!" Zack staggered backward.

Lucas jerked his head around to look at her, nearly snapping his head off: "This isn't in our plan!"

Zack squeaked, "Traitor!"

Aisuza stamped her feet, her voice beaming with enthusiasm: "That's wonderful! Thank you, Mom!"

She grabbed Lucas with one paw and Zach with the other, held them happily for a while, and then gently placed them in the doll room.

The cat and mouse were so frightened that they didn't dare to move, just like those stiff or limp toys.

"So, what else does dear Aisusa want to do?"

"I want to hear Mom sing!"

Oh, no.

Ashlin would rather fight a tough battle against a ferocious adult dragon.

"Cough cough cough... Actually, Mom has a cold today, cough cough, she's not suitable to sing."

Aisuza's expression immediately changed.

"But I just want to hear Mom sing." Her big, golden eyes welled up with tears. "I haven't heard a song in so many years..."

Ashley looked at Lucas and Zach. The two guys nodded shamelessly.

“You can do it, Ashley,” Zach encouraged.

She could only hum softly.

The environment is always quietest when I'm humming a song.

Good music has a captivating power; for example, the magic of elves comes from music. Ashlin's humming may not be captivating, but it still carries a certain power.

"Dragon blood," Ashlin murmured to herself, recalling the magic she had learned yesterday.

Dragon training is different from dog training; dragon warriors often don't have much time to truly "train" dragons. The true meaning of "dragon training" is to establish a spiritual connection with the dragon using magic and to convey commands to it.

Dragons are a very special kind of magical creature. They are neither humanoid like elves or dwarves, nor as foolish as monsters trapped in labyrinths.

They are intelligent, non-human magical beings, which allows people to connect with them without moral burden.

Of course, dragons can disobey orders.

But usually, once a connection is established, it means that the dragon has recognized you and will "submit" to you.

In the time of the dark witch Cynthia, dragons were controlled by black wizards and committed atrocities wherever they went. After Cynthia was cursed in the labyrinth, the black wizards' power waned, but the dragons still coveted Dias's territory. They were not completely driven out until twenty years ago.

Although the Dragon Warrior is called a warrior, he is much gentler than the Black Wizard. He only commands the dragon to stay away from Dias, and only fights it to the death if the command fails.

This dragon was much easier to deal with than they had planned; at least Lucas's complicated combat strategies (including the use of the dragonbone bow) could be skipped.

Ashlin is now full of confidence. A baby dragon, of course, can be tamed by her with ease. Her singing is also becoming more and more powerful, approaching its climax.

As Lucas said, she doesn't need any props. In fact, the medium would only become a burden for her.

She stared into Aisusa's eyes, humming a melody as she tried to feel a connection.

Aisusa was a young, innocent soul, and Ashlin quickly sensed her connection. This connection filled Ashlin with joy, as if her whole being were illuminated by a sunny day.

Ashlin felt as if she had become light as a cloud.

A confused voice echoed in her mind:

"Mother?"

"Hi."

"Is this also part of the game?" Aisuza asked excitedly. "Why are we talking in our heads?"

"That's right, because it'll be more fun this way," Ashlin replied. "Now, we can start cooking! What do you want to eat, sweetie?"

"A birthday cake?" Aisusa asked hopefully.

"That's a bit difficult. How about the barbecue?"

"Great! Are there any sheep?"

Ashlin looked at the pile of toys.

To be honest, it was a bit cruel. But she still pulled out a tattered sheep doll and a dragon tooth wood torch.

I'm sorry, little lamb. At least it's a toy.

"A whole roasted lamb. But... we don't have a fire."

Ashlin held up the torch, placed the sheep doll on it, and tried her best to pour all her magic into the magical connection between her and Aisusa.

"Could you breathe fire on our whole roasted lamb, darling?"

A vibration resonated in her connection with the dragon.

If she had simply spoken those words, it wouldn't have had the same effect. After all, her intentions were too obvious; even the baby dragon would have understood. A human wouldn't deliberately seek out fire to play with a dragon. Dragonfire possesses powerful magic, and no dragon would easily unleash it.

Aisusa hesitated greatly: "Does it really have to be real fire?"

"Of course! Otherwise, what would we eat for dinner?"

The vibrations intensified, and the flames seemed to have spread into Ashlin's mind. She could feel Aisusa trembling, truly wanting to breathe fire. The baby dragon's abdomen began to glow, and its temperature rose.

"But the other dragons all say not to breathe fire indiscriminately, because bad people will take advantage of dragon fire."

"That's in another world," Ashlin quickly said. "We're playing house, aren't we? I'm your family now."

That was the biggest mistake she made today.

Aisusa's dragonfire came to an abrupt halt, leaving only a puff of smoke coming out of its mouth.

She suddenly spread her wings, howled at Ashlin, and flew back to her pile of toys.

Lucas and Zach quickly buried their heads in other toys.

“I have no family!” Aisuza switched back to reality. “My mother and father are gone, never to return, because they breathed fire. They were killed by people who looked just like you!”

Ashlin's heart grew colder and colder.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry..."

Ashlin had indeed underestimated the baby dragon's intelligence.

"Of course not!" She wasn't lying; after all, she really didn't intend to cast a dark spell on the sheep doll.

"Hmph, then what are you here for? I know humans wouldn't send dragon companions! You're all big liars."

“We just…we need your fire,” Ashlin said, “but not for dark magic, but to break a curse.”

"curse?"

“Ashlin, that’s enough.” Lucas’s cat-like voice rang out from the pile of toys. “Don’t stray from the plan! The dragons will never know the Moon Goddess’s riddle. What if they also find the four items and break the dragon warriors’ dragon-taming spell? We don’t know the power of that spell; perhaps it can break more than just the curse. Think about the consequences and don’t act rashly.”

“Unwilling?” Lucas’s tone was sharp. “Do you have so much sympathy that you want to spare for the magical creatures that once ravaged the continent? Now is not the time to consider friendly diplomatic policies towards the dragons.”

"I just..."

"You were almost there! Tame her, Ashlin."

Aisusa narrowed her eyes dangerously: "What are you meowing about?"

“It’s nothing.” Ashlin took a deep breath and focused her mind.

Lucas is right. Humans and dragons cannot be compared, and she has no reason to waste her sympathy on a dragon.

Dragons have slaughtered so many humans and brought countless calamities upon them. She hasn't even had time to care for her own people, so why should she care what the dragons think?

"Breath fire at the torch, Aisuza." Magic danced on a red and green thread, like ripples on water. "Breath fire... breath fire..."

"No!"

"Flame, Aisusa! Burning flames."

The young dragon shook its head violently, its claws carving long, deep marks into the ground with a piercing sound.

Despite having mentally prepared herself, Ashlin still couldn't bear to continue, but Lucas said:

"Keep going, you're almost there!"

So she chose to close her eyes and not look at Aisusa's appearance.

"A sizzling flame. Just breathe fire onto this torch, and then let us leave safely."

She gathered the elements of earth and wind, strengthened the spiritual connection, and let the magic she learned yesterday oppress the dragon's soul.

"Spit fire."

Finally, scalding flames erupted from the dragon's mouth, striking the dragon tooth wood torches with perfect accuracy, making them incredibly bright.

Zach cheered with joy, while Ashlin looked at the dragon with a conflicted expression.

Think of the innocent people slaughtered by the dragons. She remembered the stories Sanova had told her: Dragonfang Village was reduced to flames, and the people turned to ashes amidst their screams…

Although, this was not done by Aisusa. It was done by her kind.

She told herself that she wasn't wrong to do this. After all, their reasons were valid. If Aisuza truly understood their intentions, she would surely agree to the fire-breathing.

She's too sentimental, which only slows them down and prevents Lucas from breaking the curse, ultimately turning him into a cat completely.

“I’m sorry, Aisuza. I know you didn’t want to do this, but I forced you to. However, I had no other choice.”

Exhausted, Aisusa collapsed to the ground, like a giant lizard with its head buried in its claws.

"Go away, I don't want to talk to you."

Ashlin vented her resentment on Lucas: "Are you satisfied now, Your Highness? How does it feel to force a baby dragon?"

But she regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth. Lucas hadn't done anything wrong; as a prince, he certainly wouldn't side with the dragon.

However, the black cat stared at the flames for a long time, as if it had seen a ghost.

“This isn’t right,” he said.

Ashlin breathed a sigh of relief.

“No,” Lucas continued, still observing the fire, “I mean, something’s wrong with the flame itself. It’s too… flimsy. Dragon’s magic fire isn’t like this; I’ve seen it in books.”

"Perhaps the artist's skills are not good enough," Zack guessed.

"You don't trust the most talented painter from ancient Dias?"

Just then, a gust of wind swept through the cave.

The dragon fire flickered and then went out.

Zack asked nervously, "Didn't you create some kind of spell to preserve things?"

“That’s right, and the dragonfire will ignite according to my will.” Ashlin regained her confidence. “Look.”

She stared at the torch, but all she did was make herself look like an idiot.

Nothing happened.

"Maybe I'm not familiar with it, wait a moment."

She tried several more times, but the torch remained empty.

“Impossible.” Ashlin began to panic. “I clearly succeeded in casting the spell! I can still feel the spell on the torch, so theoretically it should be absolutely effective.”

“How could this happen?” Zack asked.

“Because,” Lucas replied, “that’s not real dragonfire.”

A note from the author:

The title is a tribute to my favorite DreamWorks animated film~ [dog head with rose in hand]