“You know Victor, things don’t always go the way you expect them to,” the lavender dragoness said, stroking Victor over the shoulder. “I know that it is hard, but you cannot let this bring you down. It is what war was all about.”

A hollow silence was the red’s response. He stared at the ground, lightly tapping his stained talons into the dirt, wondering how everything could’ve gone so wrong. What were his promises, other than a void? He couldn’t even keep his word to himself, let alone to others.

The iron stench of fresh blood drenched the air. Spatters encompassed the surrounding area, Victor’s body included. His scales camouflaged it well, as if killing was what he had been made for. It made sense. Why else would a dragon have its teeth and claws, if not to hurt others? Victor had two corpses to his name already, and many more were sure to follow, much as the damned marching to the bloc.

Celesta kept stroking his shoulder. She always tried her damndest, but did it truly mean anything? She bore the curse too, after all. Then again, Victor never saw her care this much any other cursebearer, either. He still felt something stir up within whenever he laid eyes upon her, a sensation he couldn’t handwave away.

“I wish it didn’t have to come to this, Celesta...” Victor muttered under his breath.

The lavender tilted her head, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “I know, but is there really anything we could’ve done? Neither of us have the power to stop this. All we can do is hope for a swift end.”

Victor shook his head, eyes pressed shut. “I know, but...” a small trickle ran down his face, “I promised to myself, I wouldn’t hurt others. I don’t want to see them shrivel up, I don’t want to see anyone mauled or maimed or anything of the sort. I do not want to do these horrible things, and yet I have to do them. All I want is that everyone could go back to their lives, away from this horrible cold, and live our lives.”

Celesta moved her claw up to his neck. “If it makes you feel any better, the innocent will always find peace in the end. That’s how the hereafter works, right?”

Victor groaned, then nodded slowly. If it makes you feel better…

Sighing, the lavender dragoness craned her head towards the rest of the group, who were busy celebrating their victory in the center of the village. By now, some of the locals had come out of hiding; they didn’t appear too pleased by what had happened, but they weren’t protesting either.

“Hey, you must be feeling rather peckish by now, aren’t you? Come, we should get something to eat.”

Victor shook his head. “I’m not hungry.”

Celesta grabbed him by the foreleg. “Still, you should come. It might just cheer you up a little.”

Biting at his gums, Victor shied his head as far away from Celesta as he could. She wants me to go and say hello, even though I’m drenched in blood? Has she lost her mind? “I’d rather stay here, if you don’t mind. I don’t think it is a good idea to talk to the locals when you’re covered in someone’s blood. Besides, we still have to bury people. Like the one… whom I killed...”

The lavender dragoness’ neck and head bobbed up and down. “Sure, sure Victor. That’s a pretty solid plan, if you ask me, heh.” Her facial muscles were tensed up all of a sudden. Had she still been human, her cheeks must’ve been tinted like a rose by now.

For the next few minutes, Victor resigned himself to scrubbing his hide clean. It was a miserable time, even though it wasn’t difficult to wash it all off, what with all the snow lying around. But the frozen powder was anything but pleasing. These weren’t the innocent childhood days of playing on the snowy fields in Riverside, unfortunately.

Even after heavy scrubbing, Victor still felt filthy. Then again, he had been filthy for months now.A force beyond his control told him what to do, and he would have to obey. If that meant to kill, he killed. If that meant to pay respects to those who had fallen, he’d pay his respects. It was as if his soul had become a prisoner of his own body: Even the actions and decisions he wholly agreed with didn’t feel like his own. And to think, this was the situation when things were okay… but what if they weren’t? What if the instincts tumbled to abyssal depths, far beyond the reach of the naked eye? The thought alone made Victor want to curl up.

Minutes of scratching and scrubbing later, Victor let the clumps of snow drop from his claws. A few troops had already taken care of the dead man at the dragon’s feet, taking it away to a burial mound a field or so into the woods. A red tint was all that remained; eventually, it too will dry up and feed the soil underneath.

A sigh spilling from his throat, Victor followed Celesta’s advice. It couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes ago, yet the men had already lost the plot. Weapons were set against trees reeking with blood still, firewood had been taken from nearby storage sheds to fuel campfires, some were chatting the day’s events through with the locals, who kept their eyes trained on the red dragon Victor shivered.

“Alright, may I have everyone’s attention please?”

From the doorstep of a lodge on the edge of the village, William called to the crowd. More of the locals flowed out of their homes, now that it had become clear that the risk was gone, and the clashes had concluded. Alas, it wasn’t William who received the local’s time and effort. Victor cleared his nose, and stepped behind a tree. He pictured himself in this village an hour earlier, with all the consequences that scenario would entail.

They’re afraid… the scent is so strong, I can smell it from here. If I were here alone, they’d probably try to get rid of me. And then I would… would I…

“Please, pay the dragons no mind. They’re not your enemy, and certainly mean no harm. We have not come here as conquerors, but as liberators… as friends,” William said.

“Why have you come here?” an old woman asked. “We have lived in peace for decades, until you dragonists and imperials showed up. Why? Why would you come here? What could we possibly offer you?”

William cleared his throat. “Why miss, that’s a great question. We are in a struggle to free Lokahn from foreign rule. From the Origin Mountains to the Twin Lakes, from the forests to the passes on the Easgandian border, even on the barrier islands to the south, the Lokahnian way of life is under threat.”

A man dressed in a lumberman’s clothes walked as close to the steps of the lodge as the troops standing guards would allow, and folded his arms. “What makes you say such things?”

The captain clicked his tongue. “Well sir, consider that only those who submerge themselves into Justitia’s culture are allowed anywhere near the government. You might be as Lokahnian as strawberry filled Delight, yet you have no say in how our homeland is run. No matter how barbaric and wrong, they will never yield. Have you ever wondered why they’ve gone after those who believe in Draconism?”

“Wait, is that why they tore down our little temple? The one which had stood for around two hundred years?” the man asked. “Nonsense. Even they must see the value of-”

“I’m afraid an assumption like that is a very dangerous one.”

Celesta emerged from the side, pacing along an empty strip of land between the gathered troops and the lodge. “The Justitians are here because they believe our way of life to be sinful. They’ve seen it as their mission to wipe us out… by any means necessary. Slowly, piece by piece, Lokahn will be dismantled, until its lands are nothing but fodder to fuel the Justitian Empire in whatever lands they seek to conquer next. It is why Draconism has been made illegal. It is why they would not hesitate to kill me, or the people with me should our paths cross.”

“Oh...” the man laid a hand on his forehead. After years of isolated existence, it must’ve been quite the awakening. The rest of the village followed suit; with all eyes drawn away, Victor came out of hiding.

“I knew it!!” a lady on the other end of the village yelled, “Those devils are out to kill us all, our temple was just the beginning!”

William bit his lip, as he forced a smile to the forefront. “Have no fear, we’re here now. If you join us in the Lokahnian Homefront in the struggle for freedom, we’ll have what it takes to restore our country to what it once was. You no longer have to live in fear of reprisal, you never have to explain your presence on our own soil to those of a foreign creed ever again-”

Crunching sounds took to the skies from the deep snowy floors. “Sir, if you do not mind…?” A boy on the border of adolescence spoke.

“Err, sure? Go ahead?”

“Well, I was wondering, what are these beasts you have brought to our village? And why has no one spoken of them yet?”

“Well, erhm, no worries...” The crossbowman scratched his head. Victor felt his facial muscles tense up, and gasped as a result. Oh, by the gods, not now of all times, Will.

“Allow me to explain myself, if no one minds,” Celesta said. “Neither me nor the other are mere beasts. We are dragons, the children of Divinity itself. We have not come here to demand anything of you.”

“But what are you? Never seen a talkin’ beast in my life before, what is this sorcery?”

Celesta smiled. “It’s not sorcery, my friend. It is merely the blessing of the Hallowed One. I, and the rest of my kin, were once human much like you. But we have chosen to take on this form to protect others. We do not wish to harm or frighten anyone - quite the opposite, as a matter of a fact. Our claws are only to be used as a last resort, when there’s no other path left to travel on.”

Victor pressed his tongue into his cheek. Celesta meant well, but alas, the townsfolk were turning redder and redder by the word. They weren’t impressed, and neither did they impress the troops, who eyed them like thugs from alleys. His eyes were drawn to the snow at his feet. Reality checks were never pleasant.

They’re probably surprised that they have to explain all of this to begin with. After all they’ve been told… what is going to happen now?

It had been quiet for a time far beyond anyone’s comfort. An older man coughed, before breaking the silence. “You… you are not going to hurt us, are you?”

Celesta gave a hearty laugh in reply. “Why, no need to worry! We would never harm the innocent. That is a sin worthy of the abyss! If we truly worry you so, then we have no qualms about leaving you in peace. All we wish for is your wellbeing.”

“Oh no no no,” the elder said, waving both his hands before his chest, “Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not some scared old fart or anything, I’ve been a Draconist for my entire life. It’s just, I’ve never seen any dragon before, and I was not quite sure what you would do.”

“That is great to hear!” Celesta said. “I’m certain you will find our side quite appealing, now that you can safely practice your beliefs again.”

William then cleared his throat loudly, his brow stained with traces of his nerves. “Alright, well, are there any other questions someone would like the answer to?”

“Well, I sure as the abyss hope your troops won’t be as bad as the imperial ones were. Do you see what they did to my shed? One of the bastards thought it would be a bright idea to steal some of my food this morning! I worked hard to grow that stuff, and the bastard just nicks off with it!” a man yelled.

William grinned. “Well, I can guarantee you that we wouldn’t just pillage the village like that, eheheh... ”

“I dunno about you, but what’s the red feller doin’ over there? Don’t know about any of you, but he looks suspicious.”

Cold seared it’s way through Victor’s bloodstream. All of a sudden, his tongue seared as if it had been coated in a scorpion’s poison, and his organs cramped and contracted in his body. It was the moment he had feared; that moment when those around him would start pulling the skeleton out of the snowy closet. Why else would they call upon him? They must have watched from their windows, how the red monster from the west had torn a scared young soldier apart... Even the idea of moving his limbs made all six sting.

“Oh, that’s just my friend, Victor!” Celesta then said. “Don’t worry about him, he’s only a little shy. I’m sure that once he’ll have warmed up, he’ll be able to say a little more. Or wait, maybe he wants to say something now, and he’s afraid to do that. Yes, that must be it. Hey, Vic, come here! It’s okay!”

Nrghh...

With the greatest difficulty, Victor craned his head back up. All eyes were on him. The monster, soaked red. One sudden movement, and everyone would scream in terror all over again. It was how the gods had mandated their subjects to act when in mortal peril. Any second now, it would begin. Victor felt prickling coming from behind his eyes.

“Why is he so afraid all of a sudden? Didn’t he just take down that bastard, Alder?”

“Wait, he did that? HA! I knew that waste of air would get what he damn well deserved one day, thank Divinity! Hope the fun of beating my daughter up’s worth gettin’ torn to shreds over forever, daft bastard!”

Victor pulled himself together as best he could. Still everyone stared, still everything ached. Still his throat burned with the aching desire to free all the air trapped in his lungs. Yet, he was welcome all of a sudden. Relief had replaced the fear, on face and air alike. The soldiers watched on with their warm yet smug smiles, gesturing at the dragon to hurry up. He gulped.

I’m not dreaming, am I? Didn’t I just…? It has to be a trap. But no- no, that can’t be it either, not when… urk…

Out of the blue, Victor’s feet picked up the pace. A quick glance at the wings nudging against him explained why. He didn’t protest at all, even as Celesta pushed him in front of the crowd, like a gladiator in a massive arena.

“That’s the spirit. Come, why don’t you tell us all a little about yourself?” Celesta asked.

Victor breathed out a shaky breath. “Well, erhm, yes, I was human myself, once. I grew up in a town like this one.” I can’t believe I’m saying this about myself… “I was happy for the longest time, but I remember disliking the Justitians ever since they first arrived. We had an entire guard company stationed in our town. They were bullies, always annoying you whenever they felt like having a little entertainment. It was never malicious, or anything, but it was enough to make you clamour back to the days before they ever were there.”

One of the troops scoffed. “That was enough to turn you into a dragon? Ha, must’ve been pretty bad to go through all that pain.”

Victor shook his head. “No, that is something else entirely.” If only I could be so ignorant. That would make my life a lot simpler... sigh.

One of Steenberg’s residents folded his arms. “Well, don’t keep us all waiting here, explain.”

The red dragon sighed. “Long story short, the village was ransacked by bandits. Lost everyone I ever knew. My sister, my mother… gone, just like that. They then tried to gut me as well. I ran away as fast as I could, but it wasn’t enough. Eventually they caught up with me… when a gigantic dragon dropped down from the skies to come to my aid. And well, the rest doesn’t need explanation, really.”

In the aftermath, all those in attendance stared wide-eyed at him. “Divinity almighty, Victor…” Jim said belatedly. “That explains a lot.”

The man from earlier shook his head. “That must have been nightmarish to go through, red one. I cannot fathom how it could have been worse. My condolences.” Don’t worry, you won’t have to learn any further than this. My father won’t be too happy if I told you.

William, who had been quiet so far, now spoke up. “Now, now, I think that’s enough about that for now. It’s all a bit much, isn’t it?” he said. In the same instant, he and Victor made straight eye contact. “Come now, let’s celebrate a gentle winter evening then, shall we?”

To much gratitude, the locals and the soldiers came together in the lodge to cook up a grand evening meal, and wrap up the advance for the day. After half an hour spent recounting stories from people’s experiences over the past few years, the calls sounded: dinner was ready. Everyone received a solid portion of beef and some vegetables to compliment.Those imperials who had been captured were allowed to attend as well; alas, they received scraps.

As dinner commenced, Victor looked back on the day, and sighed out in relief. He may be a monster, but no one was willing to see that. For now, they were merely indifferent, a perception Celesta intended to maintain: Tonight, she once again slept alongside Victor, one wing draped over the red’s body. It made the coming of nightfall far easier; he wasn’t alone.