Chapter 2

-Draco?- A quiet whisper carried through the abandoned rooms of the old building once used as an orphanage.-Are you here?

The old staves of the parquet floor creaked lightly under her foot, filling the dead silence with their prolonged wail. The elven woman fidgeted slightly and looked around her. She never liked coming to this place because it scared her a little, but when it came to her friend she was ready to overcome her fear.

-Draco?- she repeated once more peeking through the open door into the next room.

Not getting an answer, she slowly approached the next one and looked inside. The room was large and its windows overlooked an old park once lying within the boundaries of an abandoned orphanage, but now maintained by the city government. The bright glow of a full moon streamed through the windows, and in one of the patches of light a lone figure sat on the floor with his face covered by small hands resting on his knees.

-Here you are.- She whispered and slowly approached him.-I've been looking everywhere for you.-She sat down next to him and looked at the sky full of stars.-That was Pirce and his gang again, wasn't it?

Jeviev noticed out of the corner of her eye how Draco slowly nodded. He didn't speak or look at her. The elfess focused her attention back on the twinkling stars.

-Look at me,- she asked in a whisper after a few minutes of silence.-Please Draco.

She stared at him expectantly. She knew full well that he would eventually succumb. As she always did. She realised, however, that it might take him even a few minutes, but she was not in a hurry.

After a moment, the dragon twitched and raised his head. He looked at her. Jeviev refrained from reacting seeing a black eye and a few scratches on his face. She ignored these injuries by looking into steel eyes. She saw the same pain in them as always. She sighed quietly and shook her head. She didn't need to say anything. The mere fact that she was in this very place was enough for everything else.

-They surprised me...- He began in a low, hoarse voice.-I was in a park in the northern part of the city. I didn't see them.-He paused for a moment turning his face away.-They caught me in a trap. I barely escaped.

-Did they chase you for long?

-I only escaped them over the harbour at Verda.

-They chased you for more than half a Dagos?

-They're getting better.-He sighed and put his arms around his knees.-One day they might get too good.

-They'll let go eventually.-She put all her confidence into that one sentence, but even so, they both knew it was rather just their wishful thinking.

-I hope you're right, but for now I have to manage somehow.- He smiled tartly at her and looked up at the stars.

-But how Draco? How do you want to avoid them?

-I don't know yet.

They both sat in silence and gazed at the stars in the night sky. They didn't speak, but they understood each other perfectly. Their mere presence was enough to soothe their nerves and drive away their problems.

They had known each other for a long time, basically since they both could remember. They grew up in the same neighbourhood in Dagos and were both outcasts. Jeviev, as the daughter of a poor seamstress with the same name as her daughter, was in no way recognised by the young dragons as one of their own, and spurned by the other children because of her background. Always rejected, left to her own devices. In theory, no one ever said a bad word to her or hurt her, but they didn't want to play with her, talk to her or stay with her for too long. They preferred their own company.

Draco, on the other hand, received much worse treatment. To the kids around him, he was a freak. Someone who is doomed by fate to do all the worst and bring misfortune to everyone next to him. He often became the object of ridicule and attacks from his peers. At first they just called him names or didn't talk to him at all, but then Pirce decided he was his favourite punching bag and started to bully him regularly. He was a few years older so he had an advantage both in strength and in dragon skills, but he never appreciated Draco, who, forced by circumstances, gained his skills earlier and faster than anyone else.

It was these two who became best friends. Jeviev had no one except her mother, who was constantly at work to earn their keep. Draco was all alone not counting the elderly dragoness who was his guardian. He didn't know who his parents were or what had happened to them. All he knew was that they had both passed away leaving him in the care of the older woman.

They met essentially by chance. She was once again roaming the nooks and crannies of Dagos, he was hiding from Pirce's gang. From then on, they began to hang out, talk to each other, play together, and for the first time they both behaved like normal children.

-Madame Nasua is worried about you,- whispered Jeviev.-You should go home.

-You're right.- He sighed and rubbed his black eye.-As always, but before I go back I'll see you off.

-So let's go.- She smiled at the dragon and stood up lightly from the floor.

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-Another beautiful day?- Bleist asked as he entered the study.

-Not for everyone,- muttered Othis in a bored can enjoy your holiday, but I have to work.-He picked up the cup standing in front of him on the carved table and took a few sips of the strong black coffee.

-When did you get up.- Bleist looked at his friend with a critical eye assessing his state to be sleep-deprived to say the least.

-I honestly didn't lie down at all.-The ambassador sighed and rested his head on his hands.-I still had to deal with this and that, and today is not shaping up to be a lighter day at all.

-What is it this time? -The Counsellor plopped down in the chair next to his friend and picked up a few sheets of paper crumbling on the tabletop. He looked through them only vaguely and threw them back in their place.-They really do this kind of business in the middle of the night?

-You mean cooperation proposals, some kind of commercial grievances and all those complaints?-The ambassador pointed to a bundle of evenly stacked sheets of paper.-They come with it at any time of the day or night. Fortunately for me, more often a day.-He added, smiling forcedly.-Today will be even worse, because there is to be a diplomatic ball at the home of one of the counts, I can't remember which one, and that means that not only will I not get to bed in the evening again, but I will probably return in the morning again without time to sleep.

-You weren't lying when you said it was really bad, though.- Darius nodded and smiled at his friend.-In spite of everything, I believe that you will succeed. You will find a way, anyway, as you always do. You'll just feel sorry for yourself and then you'll come up with an ingenious solution to make everything work like clockwork.

-I'm glad you said that.- Othis smiled, this time sincerely.-It is possible that a plan is already germinating in my head, but it will have to wait for now. There's too much going on, it's possible that things will calm down a bit over the winter and then I'll see what I can do.

- Then you'll have to wait a few more months.- Bleist laughed quietly.-I hope you'll have come up with something by then that won't have to wait.

-I wish.-The diplomat replied gloomily.-Enough about me. Tell me what your plans are for today?

-I thought I'd take a little walk again.-Darius leaned back in his chair and looked out of the window at the gardens.-Maybe somewhere by the Verde River and around.

-He still keeps bothering you?

-You know me.-The officer shrugged his shoulders.-If something interests me I pursue it to the end.

-Then I'll help a bit and ask a few people in the evening, but, as I said yesterday, don't expect too much. It's possible that no one I know will have any idea who it's about.

-I'll be grateful to you anyway.- Bleist smiled again.

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Draco walked slowly down one of the side streets towards home. The conversation with Jeviev had allowed him to calm down the previous evening and now he was just a little more mopey and distracted than usual. He didn't look ahead but stared stubbornly at his own feet. Although in the morning he had seen in the mirror that the black eye Pirce had given him was only slightly reddened he did not want others to know. He had noticed for some time now that minor cuts and bruises disappeared faster in his case than in others. At first he thought it was just a coincidence, then he tried to hide it so someone wouldn't find out and Pircea's gang had another reason to bother him.

He did not see his pursuers at the Academy that day, which filled him with a sort of unpleasant premonition that it would have been better if they had turned up for lessons as usual after all. He was aware that it would mean another round of humiliation and jokes, but he had got used to it, and was more afraid that they might have come up with some other way to harass him. It had happened before, and it usually took the form of ambushes, so he had quickly learned from his mistakes never to return by the same route.

Today he didn't pay attention to where he was going, he just let his legs carry him on their own. A nightmarish mistake.

At one point he heard several dragons land somewhere behind him in the alley he had just passed. He reacted momentarily, almost reflexively. He turned into the nearest of the winding alleys and set off ahead, choosing the shortest and safest way home, in his opinion. Every few steps he looked back vigilantly and searched with his eyes for the familiar silhouette of someone from Pircea's gang. He wasn't about to fall into a trap again or let them just forge ahead and force him to make another arduous escape through half of Dagos.

He passed a few more corners and stopped on impulse. He clung smoothly to the wall hidden on the side of the alley exit by an old, crumbling barrel. He waited.

After only a few seconds, he heard the footsteps of two people. They were careful, deliberate. He knew someone was creeping up, he already suspected who.

-Oh, come on already Collin!- growled one of the boys harshly.-I'm telling you he went the other way.

-I'll get him this time, Will.- replied a voice drenched with determination.-You'll see. All of you will see.

-Do you still think that if you bring the freak to Pirce you'll become one of his- he snorted- friends?

-Don't pick on me! You could try to get close to them too.

-Why would I want to? -Will asked in a weary voice betraying that this conversation had been had more than once.

-You know why! They're better. Everyone likes them, admires them...

-Yes, yes I know... You don't have to tell me that every time.

-Then why do you go to them with me!

-You know very well that if our mother hadn't told me to watch over you I'd be somewhere else.- growled an upset Will.-I'm going from here and you're coming with me. I promised our parents you wouldn't be late today.

-I have to...

-Let's go.

Draco heard some more exchanges of quick broken sentences, and then the brothers flew off leaving the young dragon with a rapidly beating heart. After a few minutes, he got up and moved on.

As soon as he was on one of the larger streets his luck left him. He immediately bumped into three of Pirce's drab men. Without thinking too much, he changed and momentarily took to flight. He made a graceful loop in the air and headed towards the harbour where he had last lost his pursuers.

This time, however, it was worse. Momentarily, Pirce's men began to approach him from several directions. Basically, he was surrounded. With little thought he soared higher and higher, fear clouding his clear view of reality. Only by chance did he manage to evade the manhunt. He put all his strength into flying, but he was smaller than them and even the fact that he was unbelievably fast for his age did not help, they kept coming towards him. He could already see their snouts and multicoloured eyes fixed only on him.

Suddenly he felt something strange. Fatigue subsided, new strength appeared, his mind brightened. He felt like he was in his first full transformation. He didn't wonder what had happened. He just started flapping his wings harder and faster. It did not surprise him that he was tiring less than before despite the heavier strain, because he did not think about it. All the while, he tried to observe both the dragons behind him and everything in front of him to avoid another ambush.

He worked harder and harder and flew faster and faster. He had never developed such speed before, and he liked it because every second the pursuers became smaller and smaller and flew lower and lower. When he was over the Verde he headed upstream and only above the harbour did he start to slow down. As he braked, he dropped nimbly into one of the narrower streets, changed and with his heart beating hard, ran to the nearest alley.

He ran for a few minutes wandering through the cramped alleys of the harbour. Finally he found two piles of crates lined up against the wall and huddled between them, embracing his knees with his hands and resting his forehead on them. He tried to get his thoughts under control and his body through which continuous shivers ran.

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Bleist walked quietly through the streets near Verde and its main harbour. He didn't want to be conspicuous so he wore the local dress - trousers and a tunic to mid-thigh. He blended in well with his surroundings.

He had been walking around the area since morning, hoping to catch a glimpse of a boy or a gang who obviously wanted something from him. He was troubled by some strange premonition. Usually when something caught his interest he brought it to a conclusion, this time was no different. He was driven forward by this unexplained feeling that it was something important, that he had to find that dragon.

So he walked around and listened to the conversations, sometimes asking some random questions and looking for even the shadow of a reaction to the mention of the black dragon. Most of the time, the interlocutors just started saying something about old tales or didn't know what it was about at all. He had no luck.

He was just walking along the quay where the fishing boats were moored when the sounds of a fierce argument began to reach him. As he had found nothing so far, he shrugged his shoulders and moved towards the source of the sound.

-...missed parents I'll be watching over you! Now enough of this nonsense and let's go home!

-I'm not going anywhere Will! I have to...

-You have to go home! Now!- growled the older of the two boys arguing fiercely on one of the piers. They resembled each other almost like two drops of water. The only difference Bleist noticed was their height.-I've really had enough of your attempts to curry favour with Pirce. That's it! If you want to go out somewhere else, talk to our parents!

-You can't. Mum said...

-Oh, come on now! You know very well that I have a life too, not just following you around! Parents won't make me do it anymore!

-But...

-But what?! -The older brother was getting really annoyed.-If they let you go, you can go chase the freak yourself, or his little friend! I don't care!

The younger one already wanted to reply something, but his brother grabbed him by the arm and pushed him towards the coastal tenements constantly mumbling under his breath.

Bleist was curious and already knew that at least he was looking in a place where he was able to find out something. He scratched his head and smiled to himself. He already had a point of interest.

He lingered around the pier where the brothers were arguing for a few more minutes, and then walked towards the place where he had last seen the young black dragon. After a few minutes, his attention was drawn to the spontaneous use of magic. He looked around and shrugged his shoulders, assuming that somewhere in the area there was an atelier of some mage who had just taken someone on an apprenticeship. He passed by a few more stalls looking at the items on display in a casual manner.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw some sort of silhouette land in the alley he had just passed. He turned his head and saw a black dragon that was just transforming into a human.

-Finally...- Bleist muttered under his breath as he watched the boy's back disappear into one of the alleys.

He moved in the same direction. Even though the boy was running the mage walked slowly, because he did not want to draw anyone's attention to himself. He headed in the same direction taking the increasingly narrow and empty streets. After a short time, he stopped at the intersection of four alleys and cursed loudly without seeing anyone in sight.

-As soon as I ran into him, I must have lost him right away,- he growled irritably.

He turned on his heel and looked in the direction from which he had come. He shook his head and decided at random to pick a passage and try his luck. He closed his eyes, turned around and moved ahead.

Suddenly he stopped in mid-step. He blinked confusedly and looked around. All the time, however, he felt the spontaneous effect of some spell nearby. He was already deep in the poor part of the harbour and he was sure that the last of the wizards' ateliers had long since been left behind, and yet he felt that the source of this sensation was not far away. Under normal circumstances, mages could not sense the effect of spells, they could only sense power used haphazardly by quite young, inexperienced mages who were not in control of themselves.

Intrigued, Bleist immediately turned in the direction where he hoped to find some untrained magician. He moved slowly ahead. He preferred to be cautious, as some part of his mind was giving him all sorts of explanations for what had just happened, rather few of which assumed that anything good would come of it. He quickly checked the spells around him and sped up slightly.

He felt he was getting closer and closer to where someone was using magic spontaneously. He stood at the beginning of a narrow alley, halfway down which was a pile of old crates. He moved forward cautiously. With each step he came closer to the source. He saw a soft golden light oozing from a gap between two piles of old crates and his heart beat harder and thoughts began to run through his head at a frantic pace. I had come across an Atlantean. An untrained Atlantean. How is that even possible? And still in Dagos. Slower and slower he approached.

Once he was at the gap between the heaps he bent down and saw a hunched figure sitting against the wall. Around him an irregular field emanating golden light wavered.

Bleist stood on some sort of plank that had cracked. The boy, who until then had essentially not moved, sprang to his feet. Darius managed to see a thin, frightened face with grey eyes. The next second all the mage saw was a blinding flash of golden light, and when he could see again he saw the boy, who had just been sitting against the wall, run towards the end of the alley, leap into the air and turn into a black dragon. Bleist froze and stood surrounded by the scattered remains of crates staring at the receding figure, and then looked up at the empty sky for a long time more.