Before Lord Eliron chased after the dragon, he teleported next to Artie and whispered something into her ear, before blasting off, leaving the spirit with her.

Even with his magically enhanced hearing, Warren could not pick out a single word from their conversation, all he knew was that after it, Artie seemed enraged.

’This might be bad...’

Warren had no idea how Lord Eliron would react to his people getting injured due to their incompetence.

They were guests of their castle, and yet, without their help, the damage would have been far worse.

Speaking of which... where was the girl who had protected them?

Warren glanced around the battered castle grounds, but he could not find her. His brother then walked up to them, clearly struggling.

"You look great, Reginald." Warren joked.

Reginald waved his hands dismissively. "Warren, what I just saw, was any of it real?"

He knew why his brother would ask such a question. Even he was having a hard time believing it.

He glanced at the prince, only to see that even he was in awe. But seeing that all eyes were on him, he quickly cleared his throat.

"Uhum... believe me now? I told you his skills were incredible."

"This is beyond incredible." King Darius had a wide smirk on his face. "I can’t wait to fight him!"

Warren gave him a deadpan stare. Only someone like Darius would witness something of this scale and still wish to march to his death.

He sighed then glanced at his brother. "Where is the healer girl? The one that protected us during the battle?"

Reginald’s face suddenly darkened as he turned to look at Artie, who was still kneeling under the rain.

"She’s dead."

As the words slipped out of his lips, an eerie silence filled the space.

The sound of the pouring rain, the rush of the water sweeping past their feet, and the howl of the frigid winds... even they were not enough to mask the pounding of their hearts.

An emergency council meeting was held immediately.

<•••>

Miraculously, there was no death recorded in the castle. Most of the lords were injured, but nothing life threatening.

After they had seen the healers, they all convened in a makeshift hall that had been sealed with sound magic.

If not, then the whole palace would have heard the raucous sounds that filled the room.

"Are you mad, Lord Ubert?!" A lord slammed his hands on the table. "One of the Elven lord’s people was killed! From how beautiful she was, she might have as well been his lover!"

"And you say we should do nothing? Did you not see that dragon turn tail and run?! God forbid the day a beast would be wiser than a council member!"

"Mind your words Lord Thorn! I will not be insulted!"

"Calling a fool a fool is no insult, Lord Ubert." Another lord added a snide remark, only causing his blood to boil even further.

"We must recall the seven oracles at once! Or we may lose the entire royal capital as we know it!" Another sounded his opinion.

Kind Darius watched the madness with a weary look in his eyes. He understood their concern, they were currently in a very bad position.

Normally, they would not have been so concerned that a member of Eliron’s group had died...

It would definitely cause some discontent, but it was nothing a proper, sincere apology couldn’t fix.

But lord Thorn may not have been far from the truth. From the many accounts they had received, lord Eliron treated Yennefer very much like a princess.

They had no idea how royalty worked in their kingdom. Was she someone of a very high rank? Or was there a chance she was his lover...?

Darius felt a cold pit in the bottom of his stomach.

’Should I ask Alya for help?’ Maybe with the three of them, and a few artifacts, they would be able to hold him off. At least until he calmed down...

He glanced at Alexander who was sitting next to him. "What do you make of our predicament? You just have made your calculations..."

The prince nodded, then let out a sigh. "Fourty percent..."

"Forty percent?"

Alexander’s eyes grew serious. "Eliron is not the type to punish innocent civilians. But considering the person involved."

He paused briefly, as though the words were too heavy to utter.

"There is a forty percent chance he will level the castle..."

<•••>

A mighty creature suddenly descended into one of the forests in Donia in a veil of flames, or rather, it crashed.

Multiple trees shattered on impact, the trees caught fire, casting flickering shadows onto the floor.

The dragon was breathing heavily, lying stiff just as another figure appeared, this time smaller, but just as deadly.

Eliron hovered over the forest floor, slowly landing in front of the massive creature.

The world seemed to slow down.

Step!

The ground trembled under his feet, the remnants of his calamitous spell still darting around his body.

His sword was not drawn, he did not need it, not in this situation.

Step!

The dragon’s eyes widened and it got up to its feet in one last show of defiance.

Eliron raised his hand, and then—

He patted it on his leg.

"Good job, Jade!"

The dragon suddenly began to shake its tail like a puppy, the sinister atmosphere lifting.

"I think I got a little carried away though." A female voice came. It sounded deep and had a low ruble in it, echoing like they were in an empty room.

"Nah!" Eliron waved his hands dismissively. "It’s nothing they can’t fix in a week."

"Ouu, Ouu...!" The dragon excitedly jumped on the balls of her feet. "What was that spell you used at the end, it was so prettyyy!"

"Eh." Eliron nervously scratched his head. "It wasn’t anything serious, just mana manipulation."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." He snapped his fingers and then the dragon shrank, the illusionary magic he casted on her dissipating.

Before, she looked like a monstrous beast, but now, she looked far younger. She was still large, but not nearly as big as a fully grown dragon.

To think he could use illusionary magic to make her look far more ferocious, and even support her during the battle...

Jade was still young... she could likely beat Warren and Reginald without help, but going against the entire castle was a bit too much for her to handle alone.

"Hmm, why does it feel like I am forgetting something?" Eliron stroked his chin.

Jade shrugged with her wings. "If you forgot, then it’s probably not important right?"

Eliron’s eyes narrowed as he stared at her. "Jade, why do you sound so suspicious all of a— ahh..."

He finally remembered. "Spit her out right this instant."

Jade frowned then suddenly regurgitated Yen. She was covered in slime and curled up in the fetal position, but apart from that, she was completely unharmed.

Then the massive dragon transformed to the form of a young girl that looked no older than ten. She had jade white skin with two small, black horns sticking out, white hair and orange eyes.

She was in a light garment that was fluttering in the wind as she walked up to Eliron, hands clasped behind her back, a small smile on her face as she stared down at Yennefer.

Yennefer raised her gaze, and when she saw him, she frowned and jumped to her feet, grabbing his neck with her slimy hands.

"Ha! I knew this was your doing!"

From the moment she was preserved in the dragon’s belly, Yen knew there was something fishy going on!

"Do you know how disgusting that place smelled? You got that dragon to eat me, didn’t you? Why me? Why not Artie you big meanie!" She complained, teary eyed.

"Yen... can’t breathe..." Eliron squeeked. How was he to answer her question when she was strangling him to death.

Only then did she let go.

"Alright, explain. What is the meaning of this?! How are you related to that wild beas—" she paused as she stared at the girl.

"Huh? Who are you? Where is the dragon?"

Jade immediately jumped into Eliron’s arms, hugging him tightly. "Hehehe... I’m his daughter!" she said with a toothy grin.

"Heh?"

Yennfer blinked.

Then her cheeks suddenly blushed a deep shade of pink. "Heh??!!"

.. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

A/N

Jade’s character image is already up! ;)