Chapter 11 A Friend Aren't you a couple?
As dusk fell, the autumn night breeze in Longya Village was quite cool, and Ashlin couldn't help but shiver, taking a few more sips of hot chrysanthemum tea.
Charlotte was stewing meat in the kitchen, and the aroma of cinnamon and sweet apples soothed Ashlin's nerves.
Ashlyn wasn't too worried about whether Lucas could catch the mice and let them stay the night. She wasn't as particular about accommodations as His Highness the Prince; she could fall asleep standing up.
She tapped the cup anxiously.
For the first time in her life, she felt like she was standing alongside major historical events.
The Dragon Clan War happened when she was just born, almost twenty years ago.
If it weren't for the dragon warriors dispatched from various territories, Dias would have long since fallen into the hands of dragons. They are ferocious and savage, their flames sweeping across the continent, turning houses to ashes.
However, the dragon warriors mastered the language of dragons, learned dragon-taming magic, and used their power to force them into submission and drive them away from Dias.
But for some reason, one dragon remained on Dragon's Breath Mountain.
It is said that this dragon does not kill or set fires, but it will occasionally rob the villagers of their resources. The dragon warriors have all retired, and the people can't do anything about it, so they dare not approach it.
Ashlin and Lucas only need to use dragon training magic to make the dragon breathe fire precisely.
Dragonfire possesses a mysterious power that wizards have yet to decipher, making it exceptionally precious.
Longya Village was full of these crooked and twisted trees, so she quickly made a small, portable torch.
However, the feeling of unease still lingered in her mind; she just hadn't found the right moment to ask the question.
Ashley watched Charlotte bustling about in the kitchen, and Lucy playing with her dolls.
They were such a happy family of four, living in a warm and comfortable farmhouse, but the husband and son left one after the other.
“Charlotte, you just said that Dragonbreath Mountain isn’t only inhabited by dragons…” she began, “What do you mean by that?”
Charlotte didn't stop cutting the bread.
“Dragons are powerful magical creatures that can influence their surroundings. After years of war, the dragon's magical fire has long since infected every blade of grass and tree on that mountain. Legend has it that the crystals and flowers burned by the dragon's fire can now hunt humans.” Charlotte spoke calmly, as if these matters had nothing to do with her. “My husband did not die from the dragon's jaws. By then, the dragon had been driven away, but he never left Dragon Mountain… No one has ever seen his body.”
"No need. I am not qualified to advise you on whether or not you should go, but you need to know these things."
Ashlin said softly, "Thank you, Charlotte."
"Sister, can you play with me?" Lucy asked, tugging at Ashlin's skirt.
"Of course!" Ashlind crouched down and ruffled Lucy's hair. "What do you want to play?"
Lucy held up two rag dolls. They looked so rough that it was almost impossible to tell them apart.
“This is Princess Lina, and this is Prince Kyle. They were betrothed when they were young and love each other deeply,” Lucy introduced. “One day, an evil witch prophesied that the beautiful and kind Lina would be kidnapped by a dragon on her sixteenth birthday, and the handsome and brave Kyle would be the one to rescue her!”
“However,” Ashlin suddenly snatched Prince Kyle from Lucy’s hand, “when that day came, people found that Lina was still in the castle. It wasn’t Lina who had been kidnapped, but Prince Kyle.”
"It turned out that the evil witch, due to her poor academic performance, had misread the prophecy. The entire kingdom was in an uproar, but Lina remained calm. Ignoring her parents' advice, she took up her sword, mounted her horse, and went alone to rescue her lover."
"Although people say that princesses should stay in castles and know nothing but how to be beautiful and sing and dance, how could they possibly slay dragons? Corina knew that nothing could stop her from going to the one she loved."
Ashlin cast a small illusion spell, turning the cups on the table into ceramic ponies and the forks into miniature wooden swords.
Lucy looked at her with immense admiration and giggled.
"Along the way, Lina fought her way through countless monsters that ate people, and rescued many innocent animals." Lucy had Lina ride her horse from one end of the room to the other, with Ashlin following behind. "Finally, she reached the dragon and bravely cut off its tail!"
Just then, Lucas rushed into the house.
His cat had dry grass stuck in its fur and a large, muscular rat in its mouth.
The strangest thing was the pink bow tied to his tail. This made him look like a birthday present for a little girl, and he was incredibly cute.
Oh dear, why didn't Sanova give Ashlin a gift like this for her birthday last year, but instead gave her a copy of "A General History of the Continent of Dias"?
Ashlin was itching to rush over and pet the cat as much as she wanted. Luckily, she had learned her lesson and knew Lucas wouldn't allow it.
However, she is also optimistic, believing that one day she will be able to properly touch it.
Lucas vomited the rat on the ground.
"I have completed my mission."
As soon as he finished speaking, the last ray of sunlight disappeared behind the western mountains, and he transformed back into a human, the hay still tucked into his hair. The pink ribbon didn't fall to the ground; instead, it was tied around his waist like a belt.
"No way?" Lucas looked down and started digging.
Ashlin was unsure whether to congratulate him, ask him questions, or laugh at him.
"Your Highness has good taste in clothes." In the end, she chose the latter and gave him a thumbs up.
Lucas seemed to really want to throw the pink ribbon at Ashlin, but when Charlotte came over, he didn't dare.
“Well done,” Charlotte said. “This rat is very cunning; I could never catch it. You can stay here tonight.”
"Thank you," Lucas smiled. "Then I'll throw the mouse out?"
He winked at Ashlin, gesturing for her to come outside, and then told her that the rat was actually the cursed Zach.
The rat stopped pretending to be dead and looked at Ashlin with a straight face.
"Later, this mad rat said he wanted to travel around the continents beyond Dias. After hearing that we were going to Dragon's Breath Mountain, he insisted that he wanted to go too."
"No way."
Lucas shrugged. "I think we can take him with us for now?"
Going to steal dragon fire with two boys who have been cursed to become a cat and a mouse sounds like a complete fantasy.
Ashlin loves Arabian Nights.
"no problem."
However, to their real surprise, Charlotte did not let them stay in the barn, but instead prepared their son Zack's old room.
“I’ll get another mattress; this room should be enough for two people,” she said. “Just try not to… touch his things.”
“Of course,” Ashley said gratefully. “You’re so kind, Ms. Charlotte!”
“Let me state this first: I don’t want to sleep under the same roof as rats,” Lucas said. “Even if they’re human.”
Zach made a squeaking protest, but no one paid him any attention.
So they put Zach in Ashlin's bag in the living room before going inside to rest.
Zack's room was small, and the west-facing window was warped due to years of disrepair, with a faint night breeze seeping through the cracks in the wooden window.
The bed was a low wooden bed with rough dragon scale patterns carved into its legs, and a sheepskin backrest was nailed against the wall. The quilt was yellowed but neatly folded, as if Charlotte had been regularly cleaning and tidying it.
On the quilt lay a straw dragon doll sewn from wheat straw and rags. On the wall near the head of the bed hung several doodles drawn on parchment, mostly crookedly drawn dragons, knights, and greatswords.
“Zack has always admired dragon warriors and knights,” Lucas said, noticing Ashlin staring intently at the graffiti.
Ashlin glanced at Lucas, unsure whether she should confide in him.
If only Sanova were still here. Sanova could solve everything. She didn't even have a chance to ask him how to deal with a dragon.
Perhaps she should write to him now… but he needs rest and continues to track Knox, and she cannot disturb him.
“Your Highness,” Ashlin sat on the bed, covering her head, “what…what are we doing?”
“What?” Lucas sat down gently beside her.
“I don’t know… I just suddenly felt…” She took a deep breath, “That’s a dragon. How could we… how could I possibly obtain its flame? The dragon race has killed so many dragon warriors, and I’m just a stupid witch from the countryside, how insignificant I am in front of a dragon.”
She closed her eyes and suddenly wished she could disappear.
“Look at me, Ashley,” Lucas said softly.
Ashlin raised her head and wiped away some embarrassing tears.
“You’re not a stupid witch.” He looked at her very seriously. “You are a descendant of the forest goddess, the legendary child of the forest. Your magic is the strongest among all the natural magic types of wizards in the world, without exception.”
"Dragons are magical creatures, and also of the nature element. If there is anyone in Dias who could possibly train or face dragons, it is you. You just need to calm down and learn dragon language and dragon training magic."
"Perhaps. Perhaps I have potential, but in any case, I'm not strong enough right now. How could I possibly learn to tame dragons in a short time?"
“You don’t need to be powerful, Ashlin. You just need to be yourself. I think that’s also Sanova’s advice to you, right? I believe that after you learn, the dragon will listen to you.”
In the candlelight, his eyes were so sincere, as blue as the ocean.
They were very close, and Ashley could smell the faint scent of mint on Lucas's shirt, along with the aroma of parchment.
This aura inexplicably calmed her down, and the dragon didn't seem so scary anymore.
For the first time, she truly felt how different the human Lucas was from the black cat Lucas.
The cat seemed to unleash a more acerbic side of himself, but as a human, he was always so gentle that it almost made her uncomfortable, perhaps a manifestation of some aristocratic upbringing.
Honestly, are they really the same person?
Ashlyn found it hard to say whether she preferred the black cat or Prince Lucas. The cat annoyed her, as if they were always about to quarrel over the smallest things; while the prince made her uncomfortable because there was such a chasm between them.
How could she know if he was telling the truth? Sanova always emphasized that nobles were very good at sweet talk. But she preferred to believe that Sanova was wrong.
Moreover, doesn't Lucas herself know what she's saying?
Deep down, she knew. But at this moment, she just wanted to hear another living being speak out, whether it was a prince or a black cat, even if it wasn't real, she needed to hear it.
“There’s one more thing I need to tell you.” She relayed Charlotte’s words to Lucas, “Dragon’s Breath Mountain is much more difficult than we thought. We might not even make it to the Dragon’s Nest before we die.”
This time, Lucas also frowned.
"Crystals and plants contaminated by dragonfire... Aren't there any detailed records of these things she mentioned? I know that dragonfire has dark magic, but I have never heard of any specific cases of contamination."
“I’m afraid not. No one who truly knows has ever left Dragonbreast Mountain. Even if there are records, they’re probably in the Dragon Warriors’ camp,” Ashlin said. “We can’t plan ahead; we can only improvise.”
Lucas wasn't nearly as accepting of the inability to plan as she was; his expression immediately turned as if he'd seen moldy cheese. "Improvisation" wasn't in his vocabulary.
But he still nodded reluctantly.
"Then go to sleep early. I'll make a makeshift bed on the floor, and you can sleep on the bed."
"What? That won't do. You're the prince, you sleep in the bed."
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
It was Lucy, carrying a plate of strawberries.
“Mom asked me to bring you strawberries,” she said, placing the strawberries on the bedside table. “What were you two arguing about just now?”
"It's nothing, just a matter of who sleeps on the bed and who sleeps on the floor," Ashlin explained.
"Oh, why?" Lucy looked at them very strangely. "Aren't you a couple?"
“Of course not!” Ashlin and Lucas said in unison.
“It’s okay if it’s not. This bed is big enough; you two can definitely fit in,” Lucy explained very kindly.
Ashlin pouted.
"Of course I can't sleep in the same bed as His Highness the Prince. The noble prince would look down on me."
“My sister is beautiful, kind-hearted, and can even use magic. How could she be disliked?” Lucy said, glaring at Lucas almost angrily, making him shudder. “My cat-man brother only has a handsome face, but I never expected him to be so class-discriminatory.”
Lucas blushed.
"Hey, don't get me wrong, young lady. When did I say I was disgusted? It's just... it's not really appropriate for two people who don't know each other very well to sleep in the same bed."
Lucy shrugged. "I don't see anything wrong with it, just don't waste Zack's big bed."
She left as soon as she finished speaking.
"I'll sleep on the floor, that's settled," Lucas said firmly. "No more objections allowed."
Lucas, looking grim, threw a pillow at Ashlin.
"Heh, keep dreaming."
The tone has now returned to that of the cat.
However, Lucas still managed to pick up on a key word.
"Wait, what did you just say, friend?"
"Don't be silly, aren't we friends now?"
"Even though I am a prince and you are a witch?"
“Even though you are a prince and I am a witch,” Ashlin nodded. “I know some people think nobles and commoners shouldn’t mingle, especially when it comes to magic… but I don’t think so. What about you?”
Lucas remained silent for a moment.
“I’ve never had many friends,” he said softly. “In the palace… Elaine and I only played together, but she’s my sister, so she doesn’t count. From a young age, my father forbade me from playing games with other kids my age in the city.”
"There are also the children of other lords... but my father forced me to associate with them, not because I wanted to. To be honest, they are all incredibly boring. Some of the lords' daughters may even become my fiancées."
Ashlyn felt a pang of sadness in her stomach. She felt sorry for him. Forget friendships, even in love and marriage, Lucas had no say in the matter.
What kind of life would that be? She had never thought about it before.
In her mind, the life of an aristocrat should be one of wealth, respect, and love. But without freedom, everything becomes utterly meaningless.
“I’m sorry.” She patted his shoulder. “It’s not your fault. Perhaps one day your father will be more enlightened.”
Do you have many friends?
“Oh, actually there aren’t many. Most of them are Sanova’s friends and kids I met in River Bend,” Ashlin said. “They’re all just casual acquaintances. There’s a girl named Mia who’s my best friend; she’s probably one of my closest friends.”
Lucas raised an eyebrow: "One of them?"
"If you perform well, you might be able to too."
Ashlin started counting on her fingers.
"First, I saved your life but turned you into a cat;"
"Secondly, I pretended to be you and solved the lunch crisis; "
"Third, you discovered the cyclical spell in the tavern yesterday, I saved your life, and then you broke the spell;
"Fourth, we will go to the temple together. I will donate blood to obtain a riddle, and we will solve it together."
"Fifth, you caught a cursed rat for me, so we can sleep here."
"With so many experiences, it's certainly possible for us to become best friends, Your Highness."
"In that case, you don't need to address me as 'Your Highness' anymore. If you feel... we can be friends, then I think there's no need for that form of address, is there?"
Ashlin grinned.
"Then you don't have to call me an 'idiot,' right?"
“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault,” Lucas admitted. “I shouldn’t have called you that, great witch.”
"Hmm, I wish you were this quick to admit your mistakes when you were a cat," Ashlin said. "Are you sure you didn't have your soul swapped or something when you became a cat?"
Lucas shrugged. "Believe me, I'd like to know too."
At that moment, a tremendous, whooshing sound was followed by a scream.
"Lucy!" Charlotte's hysterical scream came from upstairs.
Ashlyn and Lucas exchanged glances, then rushed forward before even putting on their shoes properly.
"What happened? Is anyone hurt?"
"Lucy...Lucy...Are you alright?"
"A dragon! There was just a dragon!"
Ashlin's heart sank. Dragons always had a soft spot for innocent girls...
She gently pushed away the terrified Charlotte.
The icy wind stung her face, and a huge crack appeared in the ceiling of Lucy's room, with wooden planks crashing onto the bed.
However, aside from being startled, Lucy was perfectly fine, holding Kyle in one arm and...
It's empty.
The dragon didn't take Lucy away.
It's Lina.
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