Chapter 2: Crimson Dragon

“With the introduction out of the way, let us begin the first trial!” He called their attention toward a red curtain behind him. Rows of flaming torches dimly lit from the other side. A crimson dragon rested on the far end. Its soft huffs created waves on the crimson carpet.

There were five who dashed out of the castle in the blink of a second. Larson hardly felt their presence leaving. His eyes glistened on the scaly creature as if billions of stars collected in them. He envisioned himself riding on its back and soaring above the clouds.

“Hmph!” Alcanor forced air out of his nostrils and shook his head. “We haven’t even started yet.”

He tapped his sword on the ground once again and the dragon lifted its eyelids, letting out a mighty roar. Yellow liquid soaked the red carpet from where the boys stood.

“What’s this? Wetting yourselves already?” He furrowed his eyebrows at the boys, trying to suppress his laughter. “Your task is to stave off a piece of dragon scale and bring it back to me unscathed. It’s that easy.”

The dragon stared at the challengers with malice coloring its eyes. A womanly scream came out from one meaty boy.

“Now, onto your feet!” Alcanor hounded at the screeching boy, dragging him through the curtain. His tiny face contorted where his eyes wanted to escape from their sockets. With an audible gulp, he charged at the beast, tears lining his trail.

One after another, the boys fell, bleeding on the ground. I wouldn’t go into more gruesome details, but let’s just say that they failed to preserve themselves, okay?

Less than half of the participants waiting for their turn watched behind the curtain as Larson approached the scaly beast. The dragon roared, shaking the ground.

Braving the storm without armor or weapon to protect himself, he was a few meters away from the dragon when he reached the corner of the room.

The dragon torched the area half circle with its burning breath, but Larson dodged, barely grazing his ear. He searched for a blind spot, but there was none.

A strawberry-haired girl with ebony skin hid behind the pillar where Larson recovered his stance. She grabbed his arm and whispered, “Hey, do you need some help?”

“Who are you?” His entire being jumped, shaking his focus for a moment.

“It doesn’t matter. Do you want my help or not?” She whispered impatiently.

He turned his head a little toward the source of the voice and something cold touched his palm. A warm hand secured the hold. Larson nodded at his target with determined eyes.

He fixed his gaze on the dragon with the curved dagger behind his back. The dragon blasted a ball of fire toward him. With a tap of his newly acquired weapon, he deflected the blazing flame with ease back to the retaliating beast.

Before it could roar, the flames lodged in its throat, reducing the dragon to ashes.

A horrified gasp came from the Head Knight who watched with wide eyes through the curtain. “When did you learn to do that?”

“My years of practice paid off, I guess.” Larson smugly replied, brushing dust off his shoulders.

“Hmm, I see. Well, too bad. We only have one dragon.” He walked back and forth, hands placed on his waist. “I have no choice but to cook up something new tomorrow. Today is a failed trial.”

“What?” A collective screech emanated from the remaining participants.

“Come on, the show is over.” The Head Knight clapped his hands with urgency as he said that. “March to your designated rooms, boys. Head up the marble stairs, turn left and you will find your names etched on the door.”

Wheeling groans filled the area as they crawled up the steps. The platinum knight had tears jumping off his chin. He might lose his head as the castle’s most decorated pet had expired in the hands of a single boy under his supervision.

“What am I going to say to Their Highnesses?” He curled himself into a ball, rocking back and forth while uttering the question repeatedly.

A black circle from the dragon’s pedestal passed under him, burning his buns. He squealed and escaped the room in manic horror.

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Larson slumped in his bed that night, recounting the events of the first trial. The touch of burning flames from the dragon remained in his fingertips. Or was it the humidity of his room?

Under the gap from his door, a dark figure slid into Larson’s room. It merged with the boy’s shadow, enriching its dark hue. He felt as if he gained some weight, but he thought it was the burden of his guilt after killing a beast so treasured by the castle.

A vision of the blood ruby dragon’s diluted gaze replayed before his eyes. His body turned still but he knew he was still awake. "I, I can’t move my arms. What is happening?"

His beating heart flooded his ears and his body’s temperature rose above boiling point. He was burning from the inside.

A growling voice echoed in his head. “Your body, mind and soul shall be mine!”

“No… No!” Beads of sweat soaked the sheets. “I… I didn’t kill it… I didn’t kill it… It wasn’t me… I swear…”

Larson’s body twitched and twisted as it floated on the bed. He hacked and gagged as if something was constricting the passage of air from inside his lungs. A maniacal laugh reverberated in the background, rotating the room in his eyes like he was receiving vertigo.

Finally, his body bounced on the bed until he laid flat on his face. Shuddering under the covers, he tried pulling himself together. Steam escaped from his skin and out of the window.

Larson heard knocking on his wooden door. He tossed and turned in his twin-sized bed, hoping it would go away, but the noise persisted.

“Hey, open up! It’s me.” A gently voice called from the other side of the door.

He rose from his bed and opened the door. The girl from the first trial stood at the entrance, twisting and untwisting her foot.

“Gee, you’re soaked like a dog! Were you working out or something?” She pinched her nose, effectively eliminating the musky smell from her nostrils.