Sunlight flowed through the leaves above, bright streams igniting every gap. And once the warmth touched Azar’s skin, the dragon awoke. However, this morning was very different from others. It was the first time Azar woke up as a powerful human and the first he had a companion by his side. The human girl, Elly, her past and present remained a mystery for him. In addition, God’s warning of not showing off his true power meant Elly's presence would become a heavy burden on his shoulder. Azar sighed,

“This is going to be annoying, I can tell ….”

Azar coldly gazed upon the sleeping human.

“So defenseless !” Azar already got annoyed by the human girl. She was still sleeping when the sun had risen, not to mention right next to a stranger.

“How could she hope to survive out here with that physical and attitude !?”

Azar shook his head.

“HEY, KID! WAKE UP !” Azar yelled. But there was no response. So he shouted again, and still nothing. Azar would have thought she must be dead. With a weak body like that, he was amazed that most human females lived for so long in the first place. But Azar could still hear her heartbeat and saw her breathing. Which just made Azar even more annoyed. He did not want to touch her. Firstly, because Azar did not spook the girl. But really, it was more because he was afraid her soft bone and flesh would get destroyed if he touched them.

Azar walked up to her, then picked a short stick and poked at her arm

“HEY !!! WAKE UP !!!” and finally, she responded.

“Just 5 more minutes …” She yawned.

“Fine,... but you’ll have to catch up to me right after alright …” Azar started to walk away.

Elly almost jumped on her feet. “WAIT YOU’RE LEAVING ALREADY !!?”

She hustled to get up and ran toward Azar.

“You’re going to leave a defenseless girl alone in the woods !!???”

“No, I told you to catch up after you wake up !”

“How can I ….”

“Listen, kid, I’m not here to babysit you. You have to realize the situation you’re in and adapt quickly. Out here, everyone will most likely be out to get you rather than asking if your feelings are hurt.”

“Wow,... You really know how to treat a lady ….”

“I don’t ..” Azar then turned to Elly and told her in a soft, husky voice, “But I can teach her how to survive….”

Elly quickly fell into silence. To be honest, Elly knew she should feel grateful toward Azar, but it was her instinct that made her do otherwise. Perhaps, deep down, in her consciousness, Elly expected someone else, a knight in shining armor, to come riding on horseback and save her, but instead, it was a rather shady-looking man with messy hair and treating her like grass. However, he might be exactly what she needed right now.

“Hey keep up the pace would you !” Azar shouted at her and snapped her out of her thoughts.

….

Hours traveling through the wood, the fatigue quickly caught up to Elly. Azar was not a bit surprised. There was no way she could keep up with him even before he regained his power with her current physical condition. Azar shook his head in disappointment.

“Alright, let's take a break….” Azar said gratingly.

“No… I can keep going … for a little more…” Elly tried to keep a strong face. But the sweat all over her body, the heavy breathing, and the lazy eyes let it slip away.

“Rest! I don’t want to carry you on my back for the rest of the journey….” Azar coldly responded.

And Elly almost collapsed to the ground. It was too much for her. In fact, it was too much for most people, not to mention a young woman like herself. Azar understood that as well, but he could not help but feel a bit resentful. The pace was agonizingly slow for him, and he would need to stop much more frequently.

“I’m sorry….” Elly muttered. Azar barely cared about what she had to say. He wished he could just pick her up and run out of there. But as God told him, he had to hide his power from every human. The fate of the whole world depended on him, so a little frustration meant nothing. Azar glanced at the human girl and spotted something.

He stoically walked to her and simply said

“Show me your feet …” Azar figured out one of the reasons why she sweated so much and walked so slowly.

“What !?” Elly was confused by his demand.

“Aw, the Hell with this !...” Azar got tired of her slow reaction and response and simply grabbed one of her legs while she was sitting and examined the bottom of her feet.

“Hey !! Why You !!!.” Elly protested as the way Azar was holding her leg would give a clear vision underneath her baggy clothes.

“I knew it,” But of course, Azar had no interest in what Elly was afraid of. Azar was looking at the bottom of her feet. They were both swollen with bleeding cuts and dirt. Azar blamed himself that he could not see this beforehand.

“Fuck! Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier !”

Elly softly answered, “I’m sorry, … I didn’t want to burden you even more. I thought I could get through this ….”

Azar gave a long sigh “Elly … Before you start thinking about someone else, take care of yourself first. …”

Elly nodded her head.

“As long as you travel with me, remember that I DON’T need your help. So the best way for you to help me is by helping yourself. If something were to happen to you, that means I’ll have to slow down and help you. And I really wouldn’t want that.” Azar spoke coldly. But his action gave Elly a different feeling. His warm, caring, and focused ember eyes, his careful and soft touch on her foot, they gave her this strange butterfly feeling in her stomach, of course, If she put away all the cold and harsh things he said.

Azar raised his hand forward and held Elly's foot still.

“Ehm… What are you doing now ...!?” she carefully asked.

Azar's eyes opened wide. It almost slipped his mind. He was about to perform healing magic on her feet.

“Uhhhh…..” Azar quickly looked around. “I am … measuring your feet ?! … That’s right, measuring your feet to see how much … herbs I will need to collect.”

“Herbs ?”

“Yes, healing herbs, you will learn a thing or two about that if you have been traveling throughout the world like I do” Azar successfully lied his way out of his mistake. Of course, Azar did not know one bit about herbs, so he just bent over some bushes and picked up some grass. Then he ground them against some rock and put them on a clean cloth. That was all for show. The moment before he carefully wrapped the “herbs” on Elly’s feet, he used healing magic to fix it all.

However, from Elly's point of view, she saw Azar showing her his soft and tender side, underneath all the tough and rough images from the outside. She saw him carefully and caringly examine her injuries, then hand-picked the herbs for her and finally applied the healing herb for her. Azar looked so kind and caring at that moment. It almost had her forget how cold and weird his words were. And somehow, it felt so comfortable when he applied the herbs to her wound. It was as if they were all healed instantly.

“Uhm… Azar, how long have you been doing this, traveling the world, don’t you have a home ?” Elly asked him while he was finishing it up.

“For 10 years, I have traveled through all the kingdoms of this world. As for a home …”. Azar flashed back to the time he was a dragon. To the time when his kingdom was burnt by the hands of her kind. “It was taken from me …” He coldly replied.

Elly looked into Azar’s sorrowed eyes, though she did not fully understand what he meant. She could feel his heartache when he told her those words. In her mind, she imagined Azar as a small child, having monsters burning down his home and killing his parents. Suddenly, the roughness and coldness were all so easily explained.

Azar then took his shoe off and gave it to her.

“Wear this. Else your feet would get worse”. Azar's shoes were old, worn out, and smelled bad. But it was much better “reapplying the herbs” every couple of hours.

“Wait then what would you … ?”

“Like I said, take care of yourself first, before you start thinking about me !” Azar put the shoes in front of her and walked away. “And don’t expect me to put them on for you too !”

Elly felt flustered. This young man truly did not understand how to treat a lady. His words were cold and harsh, and he gave her an old, stinky pair of shoes that were too big for her anyway. But through her eyes, Azar had given her all he had. Azar was going to be barefoot, walking through the woods. Elly more than understood how it would feel. Still, he gave her his, even though he only just met her, even though she was more of a burden to him, even though he would get hurt by doing so. Somehow, that shady, raggy, dirty-looking young man made her smile.

Of course, what she did not know was Azar had regained his power as a dragon. So even steel would not penetrate his skin, not to mention rock and dirt.

…..

Upon that clear night, into the black heavens came the grace of the white-gold moon.

Another day had passed, Azar set camp for the night. Needless to say, he was disappointed by the progress they made. The temptation of using his power. To just take the both of them where they needed to be started to creep upon him.

Beside the flickering campfire, Azar spaced out, thinking of a way to use his power without Elly knowing. On the opposite side, Elly sat quietly. Her eyes fixated on the young man. Her mind could not help but wonder about Azar, a man whose past was as mysterious as her own.

“Azar, if you don’t mind me asking. Can you tell me more about your travels …”

“Aren’t you supposed to be tired ?” Azar’s eyes narrowed.

“A little…” Elly scratched her head. “But you know … the night is still very young … it’s too soon to rest just yet.” she smiled.

Azar sighed deeply. “Alright, what do you want to know ?”

And just like that, with a smile, two strangers shared their tales. Well, to be more accurate, Azar told her his story of the incredible journey he had been through.

…

“Come on let’s rest, I can’t tell you my whole story in one night ...” Azar yawned.

“How can I sleep now that you told me all about your unbelievable adventure ?” Elly's eyes sparkled as she had so many questions for him. “What happened to them ?”

“Who ?”

“Well you know, the old man you met on the road, the girl who you saved from those evil men, the little boy from that desert city ….”

“I don’t know, that’s the last I saw of them.”

“What ?! Then why did you tell me that story? Now I can’t help but wonder what happened to them. Did they all have a better life, or did they end up on the same path…”

Azar just laughed. “Not every story has an end. But I really hope that somehow I made a different”

“And Azar …” Elly hesitated to ask, “All your stories, … they sound lonely….”

“Hum ?”

“Well you know, I sounded like you never had any companions for the last 10 years….”

“Well, that’s partly true. I didn’t have any companions, but I’m not lonely.” Azar coldly responded.

“Everyone feels lonely sometimes, that's just what makes us human ? Are you saying somehow you’re better than us all ?”

Azar took a deep breath as he wanted to defend himself, but then reality quickly caught up to him. There was no way this little human could understand what he had been through, nor could she ever know. So he just smirked and shook his head slightly.

“So why did you go on this journey, Azar ? what’s the point of all of this, where are you heading, or … what are you running away from ..?”

“I’m not running away from anything.” Azar replied sharply, “And I’ll never have to run away from anything! I am on a quest. To bring balance to this world.”

“That is … very vague …” Elly raised an eyebrow. “How do you even know where to look for it ?”

Azar pointed to the North Star and told Elly, “Follow the North Star.”

“I don’t get it.”

“But I do. That’s where I need to be, at the end of the North Star.”

“You’re a very strange man, Azar.”

“That I am …” Azar smirked. “Now, enough chit-chat for one night. We need some sleep.”

….

When the wood went silent, when the only sound for miles was the flickering sound of a campfire and the only witness was the everlasting moon, Azar made his move. He could not use his magic when Elly was awake, so he would use it when she was asleep. Azar flew high into the night sky, and from the cloud, he saw a city. It was some distance away from where they were, and it would take him another 4 days based on that day's pace. So instead of 4 more days of needlessly walking through the thick woods, Azar picked up the sleeping Elly and the baggage and flew there. He stopped at about half a day from the city and set everything up like there had not moved an inch. Lucky for Azar, Elly was a very heavy sleeper, last time he tried, it took poking her with a stick to wake her up.

And when morning finally arrived.

“WAKE UP! FIVE MINUTES BEFORE I TAKE OFF !” Azar shouted. This time, Elly replied accordingly right away.

“Wait…” Elly crawled up from her blanket. “Just one minute...”

And just as Azar had hope, the barely awake Elly could not tell the difference between where she slept last night and where she woke up.

“Hey … Azar,” Elly followed him with one eye still half-closed. “Do you think we are near a town or something yet ...:”

“Let’s say I got a good feeling about that,” Azar smiled.

Less than half a day later, they spotted the city from afar. It was Tolemac, the capital of Avalon, one of human's largest and mightiest kingdoms. Azar had caught a glimpse at the city last night, but having a closer look, Azar started to understand why this was chosen to be the capital for Avalon. One way in, one way out, through the city's entrance gate. Surrounding the city, fortresses and 60 foot tall stone walls protect it. And on those walls, magic carving and runes help them become thousands of times stronger, protecting them from all sorts of long-range destruction magic. On top of those walls, watchtowers, archers, mages were always guarding. The front gate, made entirely of metal, required a highly advanced and complicated maneuver to open from within. And surrounding all of that, a light barrier covered the entire city. It noticed the caster of any incoming dangers, scouts, or unknown beings that might lurk from above. This was an incredible city. The scale alone was impressive enough for Azar. The biggest city Azar had seen so far was the desert merchant city of Habarga. But Tolemac was at the very least 10 times its size. The gate alone was enough to let 5 lanes of chariots and wagons pass through simultaneously. And stood in front of the entrance, a squad of 30 to 40 heavily armed soldiers watching everyone’s every move, checking their names, reason of entering, goods, weapons, everything. They were all wearing silver-steel armor, with long swords on their side, and all had a large symbol of a blue lion on the front of their chest armor. To sum the city up as someone who was once an enemy of the human, like Azar. It was very intimidating. It was nothing less than his very own Demon King’s castle, back in the day, but much bigger in size.

“Hey? What’s wrong Azar ?” Elly curiously asked as she saw Azar immobilized as he looked at the city.

“Nothing …” Azar shook his head and snapped out of his thoughts, “Let’s go.”

“So Azar, what are we going to do when we get there ?”

“We’ll search for your family of course.”

“My family? But I don’t even remember my own name ? How can we ….”

“Like I said, you must have come from a wealthy family. And you couldn’t have been captured for that long. So with any luck, we can find some news about a rich girl who got kidnapped recently that matched your description.”

“But what if we don’t !?”

“Then we’ll keep looking, in different cities. But don’t worry I am usually really lucky with this kind of thing.”

“But … What if we do, … find out where I am… what then ?” Azar could hear a little crackling in her voice.

“Then I will return you to your family of course….”

“Then that’s it, we’ll say our goodbye.”

“No… maybe I’ll get rewarded for bringing you home safely.”

“So silvers, that’s all it is ?”

“Then what do you think is going to happen !?!” Azar stopped and turned back at Elly.

“I don’t know …” Elly couldn’t understand, but her eyes started to get a bit teary. “I just don’t want to be one of them. The people in your story, that you’d forget and never bother to look back….”

Azar sighed then kept on moving forward again. “I will never forget, Elly. Their names, their faces, their voices. And I will never forget you either.”

“Azar _”

“But I have a mission to complete. One that’s more important than you could ever imagine, one that I have to do alone.” Azar coldly told her. And with that, Elly quietly followed Azar, who she now fully understood, the time between them was ticking.

At the entrance to the city, Azar and Elly could clearly hear the guards carefully checking all passengers who went through the city’s gate. However, not everyone was granted entry. Some (mainly poor or hobo-looking) were not allowed to pass and were sent away. This meant big trouble for Elly and Azar as both of them weren’t looking particularly in high society.

“What now Azar ?” Elly quietly yanked on Azar’s sleeves.

“Don’t worry kid, they will let us in,” Azar spoke with all the confidence in the world. He fully trusted that the godlike luck would help him this time as well. This should be considered a much simpler task than all those incidents before. Azar calmly strode toward the gate.

“Greeting my good sir, my name is Azar and this is my sister Elly, and we would like to enter your beautiful city, for personal reasons….” Azar cheerfully said. During his time as a human, he learned that if he just acted casually and smiled, most of the time, he could get in and out of cities with little effort. However, this time, it was different. Before Azar could finish what he wanted to say, the guard had stopped him. And before that guard could speak a word, Azar knew he was in trouble. The guard just stared at Azar with wide-opened eyes, his mouth gasped, his whole face was the manifestation of the word “what ?”.

“Uh uh uham …” the guard stuttered for a couple of seconds then finally shouted, “Siege him !!!”

Instantly, 20 silver edge blades all drawn at him, inches away from his neck.

“Wow wow wow! Calm now !” Azar held his stand.

“Notice the King! We have found the princess !!!!” They shouted.

Azar tilted his head a little, his eyes narrowed, “What did you just say !?”

Less than 5 minutes later, Elly was taken away by the guard while Azar was chained up and put into the deepest, darkest dungeon the city had. In a way, his luck did trigger. They both got through the gate and into the city. And of course, as “luck” had it, Elly just happened to be the kidnapped princess of the kingdom, and Azar was accused as the perpetrator. He sighed longly and talked out loud,

“Not really what I have in mind, God ….”

Of course, as someone as powerful as him, those swords and chains meant nothing to him. Azar could easily escape anytime he wanted. But as God told him, he had to hide his power, at least for now, so he reluctantly let those puny humans take him to the dungeon.