Elanore stepped into the tunnel with her wyvern following behind her. "You said this is a sandworm tunnel? Have you ever seen a sandworm?"
"No, mistress, sandworms are thought to be extinct. The last sighting of one happened before I came here the first time, and no one has seen them since."
I guess I should consider myself lucky to not see a bug this big? While she was certain she could kill it, the prospect of seeing a crawly boy this size made her skin crawl. Elanore heard the wyvern chuckle and run up to her. Naela gripped Elanore's arm with both of hers.
"Don't worry, mistress. I will protect you no matter what."
"Hey! I am not worried at all!" The moment Ella said that, she heard the sound of creepy crawlies climbing up the tunnel. She flinched and pointed her staff in their general direction.
Naela grabbed Ella's arm and reassured her. "Leave it to me, mistress."
The wyvern leapt into action against the treacherous scorpions walking upside down. Once again, they readied their stingers and pointed them towards the duo. Naela ran towards them like a true knight in shining armor. She flapped her wings and took to the air, a pink sword of hot flames forming in her hands.
Naela swung her fiery sword as if it was natural. She cut through the carapace of scorpions one after another.
Elanore watched in wonder. She wanted to yell about the stingers, but before they could pierce the wyvern, Naela was a step ahead of them. She switched her sword to a one-handed grip, and her other arm turned into hard dragonite armor, easily deflecting the sharp needles.
Naela dispersed all of the scorpions, turning them into blobs of ruptured flesh and char. It was visceral, but Elanore had a quick solution.
She stored all of their corpses inside of her inventory, so she didn't have to look at them. The vampire cast a cleansing spell over her wyvern and ran to hug the girl. "You are really amazing! How and when did you learn all of these things?"
"I told you, mistress," Naela said with a smile, "I have been practicing."
"Are you sure you're not a dragon? That was the most dragon knight thing I could have imagined. You will be the most anointed one in my energy drink kingdom."
The not-dragon's face went red. "You are exaggerating, mistress. Besides, I already told you I am definitely not a dragon."
"And how do you know that?"
"The wizard, mistress."
"I see," Elanore said. The vampire wondered why Naela trusted the judgment of a wizard so much. Though, she supposed it made sense if he taught the wyvern the history of the world and her ancestry.
Even still, I have my doubts. Hard scales that are excellent at repelling magic, giant wings, and flames that turn everything to cinders. Maybe this not-dragon was misled all along!?
Naela planted a kiss against Elanore's cheek, silencing the vampire's thoughts. "Mistress, you were getting lost in your thoughts again."
Elanore's cheeks flushed. "Well, I can't help it. You give me a lot to think about, after all."
Naela pointed forwards towards a split in the tunnel. "Mistress, what do you think about this?" The wyvern pressed close to Elanore's face, observing how she would react. "Do you pick the straight path or the left path?"
Elanore pressed her hand to her chin. "I definitely don't pick the straight path. Let's see what's down that way." She pointed with her staff towards the left path. "I smell water in that direction."
Naela raised an eyebrow. "Really? I don't smell water at all. And neither did..."
"Neither did who?"
Naela breathed a sigh. "I will tell you all about it, but let's see what's that way first, mistress."
Elanore felt the wyvern urging her along as if she was in a hurry. The vampire couldn't help but feel strange about the whole situation. She wasn't completely oblivious, and it was clear that Naela had been here before. However, she wondered why Naela was in a rush. The vampire stopped and pulled Naela close to her.
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
Elanore noticed that Naela kept bouncing between emotions. On the way over here, the vampire could tell that things were bothering the wyvern. Yet, she kept bouncing back and becoming bubbly again. There was an almost manic cause to her actions, and it reminded Ella of her previous self. The one that would chug energy drinks all day. The one that would act a certain way around strangers, even if she was falling apart inside.
She grabbed both of Naela's cheeks. "You don't need to pretend to be happy about everything, you know? I will not think less of you for being sad. Remember what I said? I want to be with you. I love you. Part of loving you means that I want to deal with whatever you are going through. Share some of it with me."
"Mistress, I..."
Elanore smiled and rubbed her hand along Naela's cheek, feeling the soft skin beneath her fingers. "My mom used to always try to cheer me up when I felt sad." The vampire pointed towards the wall of the tunnel. "Sit down."
"Mistress?"
"That is an order, and you have to obey as my servant."
The wyvern swallowed nervously before nodding and sitting against the wall.
"Good, not-dragon," Elanore said before taking her seat next to Naela. The vampire patted her thighs. "You like resting your head here, right?"
"Mistress, what are you..."
Ella pushed Naela's head down onto her lap. "If I am not allowed to pretend to be strong all of the time, neither are you."
The vampire smiled down at her silly not-dragon and started petting her. No matter how much intimacy they shared between each other, this part never got old. Naela was Elanore's own precious. It was like a certain gremlin and his ring. Maybe minus all of the other crazy stuff...
Elanore ran her fingers through Naela's hair. "When I was little, this was one of the ways my mother calmed me. You never had parents, right?"
Naela nodded slightly.
"In the absence of your parents, I can fulfill this role for you. Well, I am not sure I would make the best mother." Elanore leaned down and press her lips to Naela's cheek. The vampire noticed little droplets running down Naela's face. "I know how it feels to have memories from the past sneak up on you. There is no reason to hide these things from me."
"Mistress, I...am sorry," Naela's choked out, her tears flowing more freely. "Promise me...that you won't leave me."
Elanore planted another kiss on the wyvern's cheek. "I promise that no matter what happens, I will never leave you alone. You don't have to live by yourself anymore."