Jewel of the Hoard Ch. 02

Aries started to feel something was off once again. Although he knew Giscela was telling the truth, he was still unsure. However, this exchange was a good start. Cadmus was grinning, fangs showing and he nodded.

"You will be most welcome among us. We need someone who knows information about Randlen," Cadmus said, his tail flicking excitedly.

Aries did not know what to think. But she was right. They were all broken and each one of them had something they wanted fixed. Maybe, they could help one another. Aries may not trust Giscela but if Cadmus was putting his trust in her, then he could too. He owed the dragon that much. Strange that he felt he owed him something but there was something so compelling. The optimism and naivety of humans reminded him of a little kid but it was clear Cadmus knew so much.

Giscela had an intuition about her. If she was the royal Spymaster, then she might have ways of navigating around royal politics and could even get Aries and Cadmus into the court and warn them. After all, the dragons are the most prominent threat against humanity. No wars that Termund is facing would compare to an army of arcane inclined dragons. Not even the Gregors to the North were as much of a threat.

"I...appreciate you pondering over what I said," Aries said, turning around to face Giscela. The Princess blinked for a moment and then smiled. It was probably the most genuine one since the two of them were together.

"Of course. You are very wise, Aries. You remind me of Termund. You do have such a strong sense of honor," Giscela replied and gave a courteous bow. "But enough drama for one morning."

That's right, Aries had been up. His body immediately reminded him of such a fact with a wave of fatigue. The conclusion to the conflict between him and Giscela gave a sense of calm. He looked over at Cadmus to see the dragon looking at him like before, his eyes were full of fire and invigorated. Aries gave an apologetic smile and Cadmus' expression lightened up and his tail flicked. At least it seemed Aries' cue told the dragon how he felt.

"Well, perhaps it is for the best that Aries gets some rest. I can see bags starting to form under your eyes," Giscela mentioned with a smile. Aries knew what she meant by that; she had something to share with the dragon and wanted to do it alone.

The knight nodded. "That is perfectly fine by me."

Cadmus watched Aries get up out of the water with a melancholy look. "Part of me wishes that humans did not have to sleep. You make such good company."

"Yeah, I know exactly what you are trying to go for, dragon," Aries chuckled to himself. He did not know if Cadmus meant him or humanity in general but he had an idea of which one he was prioritizing.

"Yes, it is a shame but I have a feeling there will be more times we can share together," Aries said with a smirk.

Cadmus chuckled. "Yes, I'm sure."

Giscela smiled knowingly. "I have a feeling you two are going to get along jusssst fine."

Aries smiled, dripping water from his now clean and refreshed body. It was like the old Aries was washed away and he was reborn. So much had happened in the last two days but now he felt more sure of his role. He will become a knight but it is not going to be the same route as he thought. They will see reason.

He will stay past the blizzard and he will convince Edward and his party to stand down. It is his job to protect after all.