Alexander landed on the dragon’s back which sent the swaying so as to shake him off. But unlike the last time, he had come prepared. He held one of the dragon’s scale and used it to swing left with his sword in hand. Slash!

The first cut made the dragon growl in pain as it spit fire aimlessly missing its cunning target. In the end, the fire ended up hurting the owner.

Alexander took this as a perfect opportunity and slid to its belly. If he wanted to get rid of the beast, he had a take its heart out. And considering this was the source of the fire it produced, this was even riskier than he had thought.

His sword engulfed in flames and with a cynical run on the belly, he gave the beast a horizontal cut on the tough skin. This made the dragon crazy and it began spitting fire aimlessly. Alexander was knocked off but he was quick to regain his composure before he’d fall.

The dragon swayed aimlessly in the sky like a mad beast. Seems like Alexander’s cut had worked after all. He smiled, a smile that was quick to be replaced with fear. The berserk dragon was headed towards the river! His eyes searched and there were two tiny boats crossing over to Crescia. Should the dragon fall in the river, it’d be a catastrophe to the ones he loved. He needed to do something!

*****

"Do you love Alexander?"

Isadora was taken off by the question but she still retained her cool. After all, she was a queen. But wait, did she really love Alexander? She searched for her soul but the answer was right in her eyes. To Isadora, love would not be the right word to use; fate it would be. It was this irresistible force that wounded her to him; it was just beyond love.

"About that..."

"Holy shit!" Roselyn cursed. Isadora turned to see a fast approaching dragon that was descending on them. Calculating from how large the beast was, escape was impossible. The narrowness of the river was also a disadvantage. Was this...fate, too?

While everyone else was busy trying to escape death, Isadora just stared at the incoming beast as if it was her destiny. The warnings and commotion in the boat turned into background noise to her and before she knew it, she was standing at the end of the boat with eyes closed, as if accepting and sealing her own death.

Silence reigned the entire place for a moment as everyone stared at the whole seen bewildered but puzzled. Even Alexander, who was ready to kill the dragon, stared at the whole scene in surprise. Who would have thought the dangerous beast would obey and mellow in front of such a fragile looking woman?

Isadora didn’t know why but the moment she saw the dragon coming, she felt an irresistible bond form between her and the beast. She could feel its pain and the agony it was going through, all trying to bond with someone whom it could identity as a master. How she felt that, even she didn’t know!

And when the beast nearly opened its mouth to burn them to ashes, she extended her hand and said a simple word, "Don’t!"

At first, she was not certain if it had worked but after a couple of fleeting seconds with no sign of any damage, she finally opened her eyes to see the dragon stand in front of her like a knight waiting for orders. She could see the brim of tears that filled the dragon’s eyes and the deep cut that ran through its chest. She didn’t know why but a tinge of pain spread in her chest as if it were her own pet.

Taking slow but measured steps at the end of the boat, she softly placed her hand at the smoking nose of the dragon. The dragon didn’t react. It felt rough to the touch and moist. A smile curved on her lips before she whispered,

"I’ll call you Whirlock! What do you think?"

The beast snarled to show its appreciation of the name before Alexander landed behind her, still weary of the dragon. And the dragon on noticing him with a sword, it began snarling.

Isadora looked behind to see Alexander approaching her wearily. He must have fought hard with the dragon for it to react this way on seeing him.

"He’s a friend," she told the dragon,"he won’t hurt you, I promise." And to Alexander, "The sword is triggering him. Put it down please."

Alexander complied but a train of questions were lined up in his mind. He approached the dragon and extended his hand to touch him but the beast removed its face from his access.

"Did you know you can do that?"

"Not until now," she answered petting Whirlock’s nozzle.

"What should we do with him now?" Alexander asked. The damn beast had turned Valoria to nothing but ashes, scattered his people and nearly killed his loved ones. He wouldn’t hesitate ripping its heart out if he had the chance.

"What do you have in mind?" She asked him instead.

"Kill it!" He replied with clenched fists.

Isadora turned to face him and shook her head. "No!"

"Why not? It killed my knights, and yours too if I’m not wrong. Burnt down my kingdom..."

"I know but... Can’t you look at it from another angle. Whirlock here had no master and that’s why he went berserk. But now that he has, I’ll make sure he’ll never do something stupid. Mmm?"

"Damn it Isadora!" Alex cursed. This woman was putting him in a situation he couldn’t deal with. Was she doing it on purpose? But she was right anyway? If the dragon had a master, it would simply be sent back to the mountains where it’d sleep forever till its death!

"Fine! But you have to send him back to the mountains." Isadora frowned. "Don’t tell me you are planning to keep him here, with us?"

"I just feel sorry for him. He’ll be all alone. At least let me ride him fit for the first and last time."

Alexander nodded. "I’m coming with you."