Her long red ponytail was the last thing I saw, her pointed ears fluttering away as she leapt into the hole.  Now she was sitting in the medic wing, her chest rising up and down.  Erant came in with a bouquet of wildflowers, her eyes fluttering open.  Cold sweat drenched her skin, hot vomit flying into the bucket next to her.  Saying nothing, she didn’t even smile when she saw me.  Closing the curtain, she blocked both of us out.  The curtain opened again, her school uniform on.  Fury raged underneath her numb eyes, her new books sitting next to her.  The headmaster gave me hell, but she was moved to my classes.  

“Let’s just get to class.” She growled angrily, her delicate fingers taking her hair out of the ponytail. My breath hitched at the sight of her cascading over shoulder.  Saying nothing we followed after her, the guys all cheered her on as she sat down in the front.  A knife flew in her direction, her fingers catching it.  Standing up, she chucked it back in the direction that it came from.  The student caught it, my hand touching her shoulder.  Her hand smacked away, anger seething in her eyes.  Her jaw was clenched tightly, her hands trembling.  Tears welled up in her eyes, something eating her up from the inside.  She wanted to hide in the darkest corner and curl up into a fetal position.  General Wells stood in the front of the class holding the next storming the castle assignment, a steady stream of curse words flooding from my lips.  I forgot, and this was the only thing we were doing all day.  His metals glittered against his perfect white uniform, the golden lapels fluttering in the gentle breeze. 

“Today is the first storm of the castle exercise, and we have two new students.” He announced cheerfully, pointing to her brother in the same white uniform as me, and Alice. “Treat them nicely.  Now form your two teams.”  No shock came to me as everyone but her knights went to the other side of the room.  Resting her head on the desk, she didn’t even bother to fight back.  What took out her spark, the knight’s mark on his neck flashing in my direction.  She raised her hands, General Wells pointing at her. 

“May we use magic to make up for the lack of people on my team?” She asked numbly, the damn redhead flipping her off. “I just want some form of an actual advantage here.”  A thoughtful look flashed on the general’s face, a childish glint flashing in his eyes.  

“I will allow it, and do you want to capture the flag then?” He queried playfully, running his hand through his slicked back hair. “I am assuming that you will be the queen, and Jeffrey over there will be the king.  If you win, the assassination attempts stop and if you lose then they continue.  Is that fine?”  A dry smile curled on her lips, her hand falling to her stomach.  A fever burned her cheeks, more vomit ready to come flying up.  Shooting him a thumbs up, she ran out of the classroom.  Coming back a second later, her body was trembling.  Black bags sat under her eyes, a stick of sugared ginger sticking out of her mouth.  We sat on the other side of the room, a map in the crook of her arm.  White flames flickered in her palms, Erant sitting in the row in front of her.  A snarl curled on his lips, white flames cauterizing his horn.  

“If we insist on winning then we need strategy.” She said icily, pulling out a long scraping tool. “Erant, do you still know puppet magic?” She was scraping away at his horn base, a dark look flashing in his eyes.  His hand reached up to stop her, but she slapped it away.  Admitting defeat, his arms fell to his side.  

“I sure can.” He replied sweetly with a gentle smile. “Why do you need it?” A devious smile flashed on her defiant face, Jeffrey shooting her a death glare.  For the next two hours we came up with a plan, the gray granite castle looming in front of us.  His team shuffled in, our team running into the nearby woods.  Everyone was in white imperial armor except for Alice.  The black armor hugged her hourglass figure, a red cape fluttering behind it. Her red hair was spun into a fishtail braid, her eyes dimmed with something pissing her off.  Her smile had been gone since yesterday, her fingers twitching on our standard blades that everyone received.  Magic was allowed, but no magical weapons.  Erant snapped his fingers, carbon copies of us charging at them appeared.  Running around to the back, the top five knights tossed up several black grappling hooks.  The granite screeched as the metal hooks locked in place, Alice stood next to me. Pebbles spun in her hands, twenty black armored guards peaked over the pack.  One by one the pebbles flew from her hands and into the center of their foreheads.  Metal clanked as they dropped to the ground, all of us climbing up the rope.  We switched out our armor for the black version, shouting erupted in the halls.  

“They tricked us.” Jeffrey barked viciously, clenching his fists. “We need to find them now.”  Peeking around the corner, an invisible wire shot from her wrists.  The soldiers collapsed on top of each other, the white mark of our team covering all of their armor.  The next batch rushed at us, the clanking of swords echoing in the air.  Sparks rained down around us, her swordsmanship the best out of all of us.  Bored, she looked bored. We were barely fucking keeping up. Half of the men were all taken down, our footfalls crashing down the maze of hall. A group of fifty stood in front of us, her hand touching the ground.  

“Destroy.” She commanded boldly, the floor crumbling from underneath them. “Let’s go!”  My brow cocked, her attitude pissing me off.  She was treating us like dragon shit, and I was not pleased.  The exercise went like this, her face turning green.  Swallowing it back down, we came to Jeffrey, and Jeffrey alone.  

“Hey, it’s the little girl, pretending to be a soldier.” He teased coldly,  his sword raised.  The white flag fluttered behind him, his eyes passing between her and the flag. “You simply can’t resist me.”  Cracking her neck, she raised her blade.  Her next words sent chills down my spine, my frustration only growing with her.  Did she not understand how she was behaving right now?  Erant stirred uncomfortably next to me, his head bowing in shame.  

“If you insist on dethroning me, then at least learn something called strategy.” She mused playfully, a hateful glint twinkling in her eyes. “I have had so many knives and weapons thrown at my back, it is time you face me like a real man.  Let’s just do this, so I can go home and sleep.”  Scoffing, he charged at her.  His blade nicked her cheek, a small line of blood dripping down.  Wiping her cheek with the back of her hand, his next words sent him over the edge. 

“You are just a filthy little whore who got pregnant to get a title.” He boasted vengefully, her brow twitching. “I don’t see why we all have to acce-”  Her lips parted in protest, a silent arrow shooting from his hand into her neck.  Ripping it out, she flicked it in his direction.  Both of her eyes were black, fear paralyzing my body.  Charging at her, she leapt off of his sword onto the flagpole.  Ripping the flag, it fluttered to the ground.  Shooting me one last look, she hopped out the window.   No one cheered, just looked confused.  I attempted to run after her, Erant holding me back. 

“Our father is still alive, and he basically told her that he wanted her dead.” He blurted out, everyone hearing him. “On top of that he told her that he was just pretending to love her.  So she is going berserk.  You can imagine how that feels.”   Shaking my head, my shoulder brushed past his.  Leaping out of the window, a white explosion wiped an entire section of the nearby forest.  A scream of anguish echoed in the sticky afternoon, my golden dragon rushing to my side.  Hopping onto the back, the air rushed around me.  My black hair flew around me, my eyes scanning for her.  Her small form was curled into a ball in the bottom of a crater, white energy surging again.  Instead of another explosion, a white cage formed around her.  The trees swayed as I landed next to her, her cage thickening.  Cries of agony erupted from the center, blood squirting out of the cracks.  Touching the cage only burned my hand, nothing working.  

“Vixen, can you let me in?” I pleaded desperately, my frustration with her earlier today fading away. “I know what happened.”  The cage cracked open, horror widening my eyes.  Her body lay still, blood covering her entire body.  Shivers shook her body, her eyes were back to normal.  Curling into a tighter ball, her magic was all used up.  

“I am sorry, Dragon.” She wept into her palms, sobs wracking her body. “Can you guys forgive me?  Do you still love me?”  She was so broken, her trembling finger releasing her armor.  Blood ribbons wrapped around her body, spikes were tearing her apart.  Erant tossed me a needle with a milky liquid, the needle sinking into her skin.  Yawning once, sweet slumber took her off to dreamland.  The blood sucked back into her veins, guilt burning in Erant’s eyes. 

“What the hell just happened!” I demanded ferociously, my emotional limit met. “How does one interaction break someone so badly?”  He stepped back, the empty needle in his shaking palm.  Clearing his throat, he sat down.  Resting his hands on his knees, a troubled sigh tumbled from his black lips. 

“Blood magic users have the risk of attacking themselves if they feel like they want to die.” He groaned tiredly, rubbing his knees. “She was rejected by her father, and now has to kill him.  Wouldn’t you say that was a little rough to deal with?  She used to go hunting when she was pissed and would destroy entire animal species.  Growing up, she would be abused to the point of going berserk.  She was always so sweet.  The signs of her going berserk are deathly quietness.  She becomes one cranky bitch.  She will be back to normal tomorrow.  She just needs to talk to people and it will never happen again.  She really likes you though.  Most of the time it would take days for people to get her out of that cage, the blood nearly killing her every time.  I have to go, she will wake up soon.   Good luck.” He sauntered off, winking at me.  She sat up, her shreds of clothes falling off.  Rubbing her eyes, more vomit flew up her throat.  Holding her hair back, she collapsed on her back.  My cock grew hard, a giggle tumbling from her lips.  Her ample breasts caught my eyes, her hand pulling me on top of her.

“Can you take my pain away?” She pleaded sweetly, her old self back. “Take a bath with me.”  Shaking my head, I wrapped her cape around her.  Scooping me up, she nuzzled her head into my neck.  

“Let’s get you cleaned up.” I laughed heartily, kissing her on the forehead. “You can always talk to me, you know.  Remember that it was you who told me that you loved me.  Now it is my turn. I hated you in the beginning, but you snaked your way into my heart.  Vixen, I will stand by you no matter what.”  She smiled weakly up at me, her lips pressing against mine sweetly.  My heart fluttered, her thighs rubbing together.  

“I told you to take me, so you better keep your promise.” She whispered lustfully, my arms getting wet. “I love you, Dragon, don’t you forget that.  The question is do you still love me even if I am a monster.”  Biting my lip, blood trailed down to my chin.  Her question pissed me off, my eyebrow twitching.   

“I am just as much of a monster as you.” I exclaimed, her eyes widening with shock. “I love you and my child with all of my heart.  The moment you get in the tub, you are going to tell me how you feel. God damn it!  You put everyone first while you are breaking on the inside.  You don’t have to tell anyone else, but you can come to me.  For the first time in my life, I feel wanted and loved.”  Lifting her chin with my finger, my lips kissed her gently, but sensually.  Melting into my arms, tears flooded from her eyes.  That was the reaction that I needed, it was about time someone took care of her.