"Your throat seems a little sore, Miss Dragon."
Ciel's mouth twitched, opened, then closed. Getting used to talking was tiring in its own way.
Having regained a humanlike vessel, she could die happy, but preferably not now, when she still had much more to explore.
So that she could die even happier? Ciel didn't quite know why. She only knew she couldn't die yet… even if she deserved to.
"Might we sit down somewhere for a drink first?" Ciel tilted her head, her legs dangling and kicking the air casually.
She continued. "I haven't tasted the beer you humans drink all the time. Maybe that thing called… tavern is a start?"
"..."
Uh oh. The Dragon's brows seemed determined to fall further.
"Forget it." The Dragonoid sighed. "Three seconds."
A brief shock chipped away Ciel's nonchalance as her arms were let go, her body falling.
The knees landed first with two bloody patches scathed. Pain registered a second later, but Ciel merely savoured the sensation.
"Three."
But the Dragon's merciless countdown soured her momentary enjoyment.
"Two."
Two fingers pointed to Ciel's forehead, the nails stabbing into the skin as a path of blood trickled down.
Mana gathered at the tip of the Dragonoid's claw. From the start, Ciel knew she wasn't given any chance.
A Queen was a Queen. Given how the System named her as powerless, there was little she could do.
Though Ciel's lips wind upward.
"One-"
"Principal of the Shadowhunter Academy. Don't you want the rest of the remains of your forefather?"
The power from the nails flickered away, replaced by a dreadful silence in the air.
The Dragonoid spoke again.
"No Shadebeast was alive long enough to tell our tales, little one."
Except her. Confidence exploded inside Ciel.
A battlefield was not ideal for gathering information, but Ciel, having been through it countless times, had easily known the extinction of the Dragon kind in the Shadebeast's hands.
The Principal, unfortunately, happened to be the only known survivor. After centuries, the Dragons' remains had all been buried beneath thickened layers of soil, leaving no trace of their histories behind.
Not for Ciel. She remembered every battle that took place against them, unlike the much younger Summer, who was only a few centuries old.
Ciel's 'ability' to remember was not withered by millennia of mental torture. If anything, it strengthened it.
She also knew the Dragon wouldn't believe her to be older. All Queens were at most a few decades old after all, at least from what her memories could gather.
Ciel muttered out a few names.
"Aurelith Monte. Draconis Zephyro. Umbrahala Rex."
At those mere titles, the world shook. The air thinned. The breeze growled sharper, slicing away at Ciel's skin.
Her inside soon twisted. Blood burst out from her lips, as if the vengeance of the dead ancestors answered to her calling with a wraith.
When a dragon died, humanity may forget, but the World always remembered: their dying wills responding to mere mutterances.
Her bloodshot eyes stared at the dragon, towering over her with a shaken gaze.
"Summer Loathborne."
Summer's lips pursed, then kneeled before Ciel with another glare.
This time, the glare was serious and treated Ciel as if she were an equal.
She looked like an annoyed puppy.
Ciel chuckled rudely, wiping away the blood. "I was tempted with many things and whispers. Those included the true names of your families, Miss Dragon."
Though Ciel stretched the truth thin. She, in fact, only knew those names from those dark whispers, temptations that wished to grant her strengths equal to the dragon ancestors.
Summer's face was a mix of suspicion and, to Ciel's delight, hope.
The Dragon began her chain of retorts.
"You're a risk."
"That you can afford." Ciel's smile widened. "You're strong enough. And as you can see, I'm way too weak to stand on my own."
"I do not know what you want."
"But I do." Ciel leaned forward, their hair mingling together. "You must have wanted to dig out your brethren's remains. Bones. Tomes. Anything that could give them a proper burial. I can help you locate them."
"...I hate your kind."
Summer seethed her teeth, growling every syllable. "Your kind killed my family. You stole all that I had as a child."
"But you're no longer a child."
Ciel narrowed her eyes, her cool breath sending shivers against the Dragon's cheek.
"You've established an institution, gathering those with the same will and resolve to hunt your enemy ."
The Queen's palms reached out and cupped Summer's face, her voice gentle yet strangely sincere.
"You persevere. And now, you're no longer alone."
Summer leapt back, her face a shock at being entranced just now, even for a simple second.
The features from Ciel were all perfectly plastered for a harmless facade, all to lull a prey off guard.
Despite that, her scowl briefly disappeared, replaced by a reluctant frustration.
Ciel was undoubtedly weak. The Dragon didn't trust the Queen, but her heart, beating through countless Queens' Ascensions, never lied with its calmness.
Of course, the Queen right now might look like a small fluffy animal, yet beneath the soft fur lies a cunning mind equipped with the most dastardly of charms:
Cuteness.
And the Dragon hated, hated cute things.
"...tch." The Dragon paused, then mumbled out. "You'll be taken away for a later examination. Soon, I will restrict you with a mana-bind spell, preventing you from ever being a threat to humanity. Understood?"
Understood? Ah.
Ciel killed another chuckle inside. "Understood."
She didn't know the Dragon always looked so easy. The Queen remarked on the faint flushed red on Summer's face.
[ Quest: Submit and Earn admission to the Shadowhunter Academy: Success. ]
[ Reward: Level +3; Starter Skill; Race Selection ]
With the System confirming the Dragon's sincerity, her bare foot pressed deep into the soil, trying to lift her body.
Only to almost fall, before being caught by a strong pair of arms.
Ciel and Summer's eyes met; hers confused, the latter much more confused, conflicted even.
"..." Awkwardness brewed, and with a glance at Ciel's bruised knees, Summer clicked her tongue.
Though the action spoke of anything but fury as the Dragon lifted Ciel into a princess carry, with Ciel's hands folding against the Dragon's chest, her arms too short to hang onto the broad shoulders.
"My fault." Summer growled, unfolding her wings.
Ciel nuzzled into the Dragon's large chest, firm and warm compared to her cold, soft body.
"I don't mind." Ciel breathed out.
She felt this was 'sweet', even if she knew the Dragon's heart was now full of bitterness.
Unbeknownst to them both, deep inside the black sea, a ripple flashed through, its rhythm like an amused chortle.
It had thought the Ciel was broken. It was thought she would emerge as one of the strongest queens the world would witness.
Instead, she slipped out of its grasp, possessing a much, much weaker vessel.
For the first time, a shade chose for itself.
'I want it. She is mine.'
Shadows, from all across the abandoned village, sent off the dragon flying with her prize.
It would bide its time. Humanity was known for its idiocy, and before long, Ciel would return.
Shadows, after all, always preferred to creep away before the Dawn, and Ciel's nature was always that of a shadow.
It had made sure of that.