Arthur's Point of View

Reed Farmstead

While I did put Defiance on my back, I was still on edge after our talk about Ghouls. Approaching the front door carefully, Augustus and I tried to see who it was. However, before we could, it flung open while I was reaching for the door handle. The door slammed open and collided with my face, where it shattered upon impact.

Splinters and chunks of the door fell to the ground. "Oops." Looking up, I saw Kine standing there on one leg with Ayda and Typhon in tow.

"You kick in doors often?" I asked the Zugal as I brushed off some of the wood that landed on me.

Ayda teleported in front of me as she began bouncing up and down. "No sign of discomfort or pain!" Rubbing my nose, I gave her an annoyed look that she ignored. "Nose isn't broken, and it would appear that the door has lost this bout."

Slapping her hand got her to step back. "Kine," Grandpa Reed stepped forward and gave a disheartening glare towards the Zugal. "What've Ah told ya about kicking ma door?! Darn thing survived getting pawed at by a manticore, but ya just broke it for no reason!"

"I had a reason!" He looked somewhat ashamed but also ready with an excuse.

"What might that be?" Augustus asked back as he crossed his hands over his cane.

"I thought you might've finally kicked the bucket!"

As if knowing it was coming, the old man used his cane to smack the Zugal on the head. "Ah ain't dead yet, ya little whippersnapper!"

"Sorry!" Rubbing his head, Kine hissed in pain before looking at me. "So…"

"So?" I repeated.

"How's your face?" He asked with an unfriendly glare.

I shrugged. "Just fine. How're your wings?"

Kine stomped forward but was hit in the head with a cane again. "None of that now!" Grandpa Reed warned with a swing of his cane. "Yer here ta help Arthur. Not get in another tussle."

"It didn't go too well for him last time either." My offhanded comment got another glare from the Zugal. "Calm down, Kine." I said in a mocking manner. "He's doing you a favor. I'm going to be your commanding officer!"

"I'm not apart of the Town's Guard!" Kine said through gritted teeth.

"You're not?"

My raised brow got Ayda to answer my unasked question. "Kine likes to wear the armor and pretend he is military since he is a student like Cassidy, Floyd, and I. It makes him feel tough."

A small blush made its way to the young Zugal's face. "It does not! I wear this because we should represent-"

Cutting them off, Grandpa Reed waddle off into the kitchen. "Stop standin there and come on in already! Ah'll fix up some grub while y'all are talkin!" The three newcomers came inside, but Kine groaned at Augustus's next comment. "And yer gonna fix that door Kine, or Ah'm a sick Cassidy on ya!"

Grunting he covered his face in annoyance, Ayda took the opportunity to speak. "Good to see you are well, Arthur." Then she looked at the broken door. "Seems like nothing fazes you."

"It takes a lot." Typhon moved forward and avoided my glare as I responded. "It's Typhon, right?"

Looking up at me with wide eyes, he nodded. "Yes, Sir."

Ayda smirked at that. "You don't need to call me sir." Telling him that didn't seem to help as he looked away again. "Look, sorry about being so rough with you. I tried not to hurt you, but I was kind of dealing with Elincia at the time, so I might not have been as gentle as I could've been."

Kine was picking up chunks of the door to clean up the area and spoke in a bitter voice. "Were you trying to be gentle with me?"

"No, not at all." I told him seriously, and I got another glare in return. "Why would I be gentle with you when you fucking attacked me? With a knife I might add! So, you know, grow up.���

The only Elf ignited her magic and looked at me. "I'd appreciate it if you were to watch your language around Typhon. He is still young." She threatened.

Patting her head condescendingly, her magic stopped as I spoke. "We already know how this went last time. You don't want a round two."

"How did you get to be so strong?" Typhon asked from behind Ayda, who was looking more annoyed, which made me feel better.

Removing my hand from the Elf's head, I answered. "Trade secret, kiddo." I told him. "What about you, though? Why're you the only dragon I've seen here in Lestrania? I mean, you are a dragon, right?" Something I learned from one of Ayda's books.

"He is…" Chuckling nervously, Ayda continued. "Funny story about that." She began fidgeting. "I might've brought him here on the brink of death."

My studious eye turned back to the child. From what I learned about the dragon race in this world, they are adept magic users themselves. Much like everything in this world in some manner, but dragons specifically use magic to alter their forms. Whether it be into a more human form with human features, a human form with dragon features, or a full-on dragon transformation.

"From the brink of death…" I said in interest and crossed my arms.

"When I first became a student to Arceana and Elincia, I excelled at most magic!" The Elf said proudly.

Kine cut in, in a bored tone from still cleaning up the door. "Ayda here is a genius. That's why she can't hold a normal conversation very long to save her life."

Using her magic to spread out the debris from the door, Kine groaned as Ayda continued. "As I was saying, one day, I was asked to practice teleportation magic. Normally, it's something simple such as teleporting from one spot in the room to another."

"Didn't go as planned?" I asked.

"Not at all, but that was my fault." Gesturing to herself, she continued. "Being me, and having been praised so highly, I wanted to do something more. So, I didn't focus on the room while teleporting." Her smirk turned into a smile. "Naturally, I succeeded and blew away all expectations of me."

"Summarize, Ayda Farro. Summarize." I gestured for her to get to the point.

Typhon smirked at the Elf's annoyed look but stayed quiet. "Anyway, I ended up accidentally teleporting to the borders of the Dragon Lands. Typhon was there as just a baby. He had small cuts all across him, and there were some dead Slavers nearby, but he was alive. Focusing all my magic to take him back with me was quite the risk."

"But it worked out well in the end." Typhon said. "Ayda ended up teleporting back and almost exhausted all her magic. She was in trouble for quite a long time from what I've heard, and I was given a new home."

"Good thing I already talked to Arceana." I said, and almost everyone frowned at my lack of respect in not using her title. "Probably would've gone in there with a lot more to say. Too late now."

"What changed?" Ayda inquired.

Glancing at Typhon, I smirked. "Nothing that I didn't already assume. Did they offer to send you home by any chance?" I inquired.

Shaking his head, the dragon child answered. "No. They said it was too dangerous and that they failed to protect me the first time." He then shrugged. "It's okay though, because I have a new family!"

If the dragons here are as powerful as I've been led to believe, I'm sure the two Priestesses were most pleased when one of their students returned with an injured one in tow. Keep him fed, sheltered, and well taken care of, and you have yourself a powerful weapon in the future. This is exactly the kind of corruption you would expect, and I don't doubt they have plans for him. A different kind of slave and something I would try to prevent if possible.

However, another thought also crossed my mind. "How long do dragons tend to live?"

Kine joined our small group and spoke. "We don't really know. They usually keep to themselves, so information is scarce, but from my understanding, they're like the Priestesses. None of them really die of old age."

An immortal weapon at that. "Interesting. Well, I'm assuming you three are here to help me get ready for my Knighting ceremony."

"We are, but I was also wondering if I could perhaps run some tests on you while we talk." Ayda told me with eyes full of hope.

"Because you don't think that will be distracting in the slightest?" I asked back as we moved to the kitchen.

"I'm sure you can handle it." Kine with crossed arms and a mischievous smirk.

I nodded. "I'm sure I can, but I won't get anything out of it, so no."

Ayda pouted, and Kine wasn't impressed. Not that it mattered to me. The meal came and went. Typhon mostly sat and listened as the other two informed me of what would be happening. They were making a custom outfit to present me to the Lestranian people and told me how the ceremony would be performed. They had gone through something similar when they were taken in to be students of the Priestesses.

Cassidy was apparently helping with other things to get prepared for me, but I wasn't too interested. I was informed that my duties would vary from military affairs to going on missions. Ayda was in the Temple on standby when I was talking with the Priestesses. Apparently, she said that I would be most likely handling the more dangerous tasks that might arrive.

Now, I was alone in my room sitting with my back against the wall on my bed. "What did I get myself into?"

A knock at the door made me quickly wrap my right eye. "Arthur? It's Cass. Can Ah come in?"

Once my eye was wrapped, I let the back of my head rest against the wooden wall. "Door's open, Cass."

The redhead came in and looked at me with a small smirk. "Heard ya accepted the offer and yer askin ta be stationed down here at the base." She said with a large grin, however, something felt off about it.

"Your Grandpa actually pointed out that I forgot to ask to be stationed down here." Then I smirked. "Remind me to thank him. After seeing the upper rungs, not sure I would've been able to live there without going on a killing spree."

"That's a lil disturbin." Cassidy said and moved across from me. Leaning on a dresser, she continued. "However, Ah understand the urge ta knock some sense into some of those high and mighty jerks." Her mirth quickly faded as she got more comfortable in the room.

"Maybe one day we'll get the chance. One day soon." Was my knowing reply as I thought of Duke Jhaane Syltar. "What brings you to my room?"

Biting her lip, a few tears seemed to well up in her eyes. "Ah wanted ta thank ya." She said sincerely and I just looked at her confused. "Rennal told me what ya did for her. Ah may not agree with yer extreme methods, but it made sure she was safe, and ya healed her."

"Ah." Was my lacking response.

"She don't know how ya healed her, but Ah saw her clothes and the tarp. Thank ya for doing everything that ya did." Wiping her cheeks, she continued. "It means a lot."

Not sure how to respond, I sighed. "The Town's Guard was gathering for a raid on the warehouse right before I went in and dealt with the Slavers. She would've been fine either way."

Cassidy seemed unsure of how to reply as I looked away from her. "Maybe so, but Ah talked ta Greigh about the raid and he told me they only were able ta find her because ya trailed them." She then gestured to me as she shook slightly. "Without ya, it's possible she never would've been found. Ya did enough where it mattered, Arthur, and for that ya have my thanks."

Looking at the quivering farmer who'd been so strong the entire time I'd been here, I nodded as I looked her in the eye. "You're welcome." Was my soft reply and it left me with an odd feeling that this meant more to her than she let on.