I opened my eyes and saw Ying in front of me. She let out a breath of relief upon seeing me. She apologised, “Sorry, Your Majesty. I ended up letting you get hurt. I am to blame as your bodyguard.”
“No, don’t mind me right now. I’m fine.”
I didn’t have any external injuries besides my neck feeling a little cold due to the fear. I touched my neck, and then fearfully checked my surroundings. I was truly scared after Vyvyan almost strangled me to death. I had no idea what took place afterwards. I was already very lucky to still be alive.
I sat up and looked next to me. Next to me was Mommy Vyvyan, who was lying on the ground in silence. A black nail was stabbed into her back. It was the same as having an iron hook stabbed into her body. My heart skipped a beat. I crawled over to her side as fast as I could, albeit in a panicked manner. I trembled. My entire mind went black. I fearfully grabbed my heart and head. I was so frightened that I nearly passed out.
“Mom… Mom… Mom… You’ll be fine… You’ll definitely be fine…”
My voice was distorted, since I was shedding tears at the same time. I placed my shaky hand on the broken finger nail. I had no idea what to do. I blankly looked at Mommy Vyvyan. I wasn’t sure if I should pull out the broken fingernail or not. However, my entire arm, starting from my shoulder, felt weak and limp. I wouldn’t even be able to support myself, let alone pulling out the fingernail.
“Sorry… Sorry… Sorry… Mom… Sorry… Sorry… It’s all my fault… It’s all my fault… I… I didn’t… You’re my mom… You’re my mom… I don’t want to lose you… Please… Please… Please, look at me… I’m begging you…”
I knelt next to Vyvyan. The pain and regret I felt left me barely able to speak. Ying approached me from behind. She glanced at Vyvyan then patted my shoulder. She solemnly explained, “It is all right, Your Majesty. Queen Vyvyan is safe. Though she looks to be in a bad condition, the truth is, she has not suffered any wounds. Queen Vyvyan’s body should have a stress response system. While it stabbed into her, this is all there is to it…”
She walked up to Mom’s side and pulled the nail out. I dropped to the ground on my bottom. While I had seen more blood than I could possibly count, I was truly afraid of seeing Mom’s blood. What I feared didn’t happen, though, because blood didn’t spray from her wound. As a matter of fact, she didn’t even have a wound. Her wound healed in virtually a second. In saying that, she had yet to regain conscious.
“You need not worry about Queen Vyvyan. Exterior injuries are very unlikely to have any effect on her, unless the wound was inflicted by Xia. After all, Queen Vyvyan is the Queen of elves.”
Ying helped me up from the ground. I hadn’t yet recovered from the shock; therefore, my legs were still weak. Vyvyan no longer had a wound; I was very worried, nonetheless, for she hadn’t yet woken up. I could only feel at complete ease if I saw her wake up in a normal state.
I picked Mommy Vyvyan up from the ground. There were still traces of tears of pain and despair on her face that kept grains of sand on it. I wiped the sand off her face. My tears that came from the bottom of my heart landed on Mom’s face. I sniffled and shakily caressed her face. In a croaky voice, I apologised, “Sorry… Sorry… Mom… I’m sincerely sorry… It was my fault… It was my fault… You’re my mom… You did so much for me. I shouldn’t have treated you that way… Sorry… I’m sincerely sorry… Please… I’m begging you… Please don’t leave me… I’ll stay by your side. I’ll stay by your side and be a good son… I promise… I promise… Sorry… Sorry…”
Mommy Vyvyan didn’t answer me. I placed a hand on her chest then gave up. I placed it on her neck… Mom’s breasts were very warm and ample… But I couldn’t feel her pulse, so the only way I could feel her pulse was to touch her neck. Her pulse was normal, which meant she’d be fine once she woke up.
The last words Mommy Vyvyan said really hurt me. She was right. Although Mommy Vyvyan also really loved me and I could understand her, she was closer to me than Mommy Elizabeth was, for she had always been by my side. After Mommy Elizabeth left the infant Troy behind, Mommy Vyvyan raised him alone. She then became the person I trusted and relied on most. Further, she never asked for anything, except my smile, in return. She was satisfied just hearing me call her “Mom.” She lived for my sake and she did so, so much for me. There was nothing she wasn’t willing to do so that I could live. She was even willing to become an evil demon so that I could live. Once she learnt I was at the desert, she came to kill the dragon, as well. Mommy Vyvyan truly could give up the entire world for me, yet I treated her that way. She just wanted to hear me call her “Mom,” yet I addressed somebody else as such. She couldn’t be blamed; the fault was all mine.
I wondered where the dragon was. I didn’t want for the dragon or anybody to get hurt. Mommy Vyvyan loved me and so did the dragon. I understood it was unfair on Mommy Vyvyan, but we had to let the dragon live even if I left her, right? We just needed to talk it out properly. The dragon and Mom would never be able to get along, but they should be able to let each other live, I assumed.
I told Ying to look after Mommy Vyvyan, while I stood up to wobble over to the lake. The scent of blood from the lake hadn’t vanished. I blankly looked at the enormous dragon lying on the shore. The majestic and proud dragon was powerlessly lying there. Ying’s long sabre was stabbed into her, pinning her to the ground. I walked up to her and gently reached my hand out. I touched her shattered scales and shakily pleaded, “No… No…”
The dragon slowly opened her huge golden eyes. She scanned me. She revealed a satisfied and consoled gaze when she saw that I was safe and sound. She slowly extended out her tongue and licked my face. In a consoled tone, she uttered, “My son, thou are all right. Good… Good… Good…”
I was at a complete loss. I stuttered, “Mom… You’ll be all right, right…? You’ll be okay, right…? I believe you’ll be okay, right…?”
She softly giggled: “So glad… So glad… I am glad… that thou are all right… I… I have lived alone for millenniums… To be able to die for thou today… I have no regrets… Thou need not feel sad… I… I… I love thou… I could die for thou… My son, soak in my blood after I die, and thou shall be saved… Heart… My heart… can give you a thousand year lifespan… Eyes… My eyes can give thou eyesight that can see tremendous distances… I… I can… only do this much for thou…”
I sniffled. The Dragon gently licked all the tears on my face. She looked at me with a gaze that was gentle. I could see from her gaze that she couldn’t bear to part with me. She teased me with her nose and softly said, “Don’t cry… Son… Soak in my blood… drink my blood… and thou shall be saved… thou shall be saved…”
I met the dragon for the first time ever, yet she was willing to sacrifice her life for me just because I called her “Mom.” She was the same as Vyvyan. She could sacrifice everything she had to hear me call her “Mom.” Previously, I wasn’t related to her in any regard, but she gave up everything for me just because I called her “Mom.” She gave up her life, her blood, her heart and her eyes. She didn’t have much in her possession, yet she gave it all up for me.
“Thank you… Thank you… Mom… Thank you…”
I was choking on my tears, so I couldn’t mutter a complete sentence. She smiled; it wasn’t a smile of success. She licked my cheek one last time and whispered, “For me to be thy mother… I am very happy… very happy… It may have only been for a short while… but I was very happy…”
The dragon was very happy. Very happy. It was only for a few short days, but she was satisfied. She enjoyed a short few days of bliss. Her gaze was tender. I wiped my tears. Though she and Mommy Vyvyan literally had nothing in common, her gaze was very similar to Vyvyan’s in that moment, especially the blissful gaze she looked at me with. I touched her scales one last time. She seemed to really enjoy it. She slowly closed her lifeless golden eyes. An intense flame began to emerge from her body.
“Is a dragon’s funeral the same as a phoenix’s?” I wondered. The blaze spread along her scales, burning up the entire lake. I didn’t care about the flames. It was my mom’s funeral. I wouldn’t be afraid of my mom’s flames.
I went into the flames and into the lake dyed with Dragon Mom’s blood. I took in a deep breath, and then immersed myself in the lake water… and the dragon’s blood…
There was once a legend that Siegfried bathed in the blood of a dragon, and acquired a body that was impregnable to blades as a result. Nonetheless, aforementioned story never mentioned how it felt to bathe in a dragon’s blood… I submerged myself in a dragon’s blood that day, and I can tell you… the feeling didn’t feel good at all. Not at all…
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