Faris and Mage Cian snuck around the tower easily. The dragon was in a deep slumber, rumbling snores escaped with every breath. It was lulled by the smell of roses and decay. Someone must shout and announce their presence for the dragon to open its eyes. 

Surprisingly, the back of the tower had a small wooden door, clear as day for anyone to see.

Mage Cian himself was surprised and divulged to him that he was ready to cast a spell that could cut stone for them to enter the tower from the back. He said the fairies must be using this door to enter the tower themselves and forgot to hide and lock it when they arrived.

Faris thought otherwise. He felt this might be another part of the trial of the fairies. A righteous knight would face the dragon head on instead of sneaking around to find another way to enter. 

It was clear to him, the fairies wanted someone just and noble for their princess.

For a tower that was supposedly abandoned, it was incredibly well maintained. The stone walls were devoid of mold or spider webs and there was not a single dust particle in the air. Roses climbed up on one wall and onto a chandelier lit with green fire. It was plain to see, the fairies took care of the tower, either with their magic or by cleaning it themselves.

Faris couldn’t say anything about the two fairies he’s never met before, but the one he lost his arm to was petite with a soft spoken voice. He can easily imagine her taking care of the roses hanging on the wall or sweeping the countless stairs with a broom.

Thinking about the stairs made him want to groan. He didn’t know how long he'd been walking up the stairs, but he was slowly losing his stamina. Not only was his armor dragging him down, Mage Cian also was a weight he had to carry on his back.

Mage Cian almost lost his balance and fell to his death and they were barely half way through the stairs. The winding staircase was dizzying for the older man and he almost threw up. Faris took pity on the mage and offered to carry him on his back. Mage Cian refused and said he should walk ahead, but after much insistence on Faris’ part, he finally gave in.

That was how Faris found himself in this situation, where a grown man twice his age was on his back. He was huffing and puffing as the sweat dripped down his armor.

“Are you alright, Sir Faris?” Mage Cian asked.

“I’m just splendid,” Faris replied sarcastically and almost bit his tongue. He didn’t mean to be rude to someone older than him.

“If it’s too much, I can continue to walk. We’re almost at the top after all,” Mage Cian said.

“No, it’s alright. I can handle this.”

The tower trembled as a mighty roar shook the ground.

Faris almost lost his balance at the sudden movement of the tower. If he hadn’t leaned his shoulder on the side of the wall on time, he could have fallen down the stairs.

“Was that the dragon?” He asked the older man.

“Definitely,” Mage Cian said. “Quickly, we must make haste! The prince must have woken up the dragon himself!”

Faris frowned, “That doesn’t sound like something the prince would do.”

The path Danico and Mikhail followed took them to an open field with a large white tower right in the middle. Skulls, bones, weapons and armors littered the ground as the massive black figure grumbled next to the building. It slept peacefully with not a single care in the world. The dark grass swayed with the snores of the dragon. 

The bard radiated with excitement and Mikhail wondered when he would get abandoned again.

How were they supposed to defeat a dragon? Danico might be powerful, but Mikhail doubted he’s powerful enough to kill the beast. This was definitely an impossible task. They needed more people to slay the dragon. 

The army he created was supposed to help subjugate the beast. He had trebuchets, ballistas, archers and several mages and great knights under his banner that were trained to fight against the dragon. He spent several evenings strategizing with them only for those plans to be useless in the end. He never would have thought half of them would get wiped out on the first trial alone. 

It was something he shouldn’t think about right now or the guilt will eat him alive.

He led all those men – good men, young, old, kind and noble, to their deaths. If he only knew about the second trial that required them to fight a fairy on their own, he would have gone with only Sir Faris by his side. 

Mikhail clutched at Danicos arm when he stood up from their hiding spot behind some shrubs. “Let’s wait for Sir Faris and Mage Cian,” he said.

Danico raised an eyebrow at him, “You sure are confident they passed the trial,” he said.

“They’re powerful in their own right, they must have passed,” Mikhail whispered urgently. He didn’t want to think about the possibility that his best friend was dead. The boy who would drag him from his studies to practice swinging swords and dared him to eat a worm when they were young was not someone who would die easily. 

Despite his dislike for his third cousin, he was still family. A family member his mother and little brother cared for and would mourn the loss of. Even if Mage Cian was not as talented as the previous royal mage, he was not so incompetent that he’d let himself die without putting up a fight. Mage Cian always had something to prove and Mikhail was confident his pride would not let him suffer defeat.

“More powerful than you?” Danico asked. “You were knocked away by the fairy easily. If you guys have about the same skills, then I doubt they’re still alive.”

Mikhail clenched his jaw. How did he fall in love with this man and his poisonous tongue again? 

He swallowed his pride and answered. “They are.”

Sir Faris had always been more skilled with a sword than he was. He was also stronger and more agile and Mikhail had nothing but pride in his friend’s skills. Mikhail liked to strategise more than fight. He was the brain to Sir Faris’ brawn.

Mage Cian, despite being a creep, was one of the youngest mages to graduate from the magic academy. It was just bad luck his predecessor was considered a once in a lifetime genius who brought prosperity to the kingdom with his inventions. 

“It’s nice to know you trust your friends and their skills,” Danico said. “But I don’t care, so you can stay here and wait while I play with the dragon.”

Danico pulled his arm away from the prince and ran towards the beast. He waved his arms and shouted, “Hey! You big lumpy lizard, wake up!”

The dragon stirred from his slumber and slowly opened its eyes. It searched for the disturbance and found Danico excitedly waving his arms with a radiant grin on his face. The blood red pupils turned into slits before expanding to cover most of the colors. It reminded Danico of a cat about to pounce.

In an instant, the dragon lunged forward. Danico could have died if it weren’t for Mikhail who tackled him to the ground. Wings wider than the sails of a battleship spread out, dirt and debris were flung around as the dragon took flight with a mighty roar.

Danico found himself under the prince, his head squished beneath the metal armor as Mikhail tried to protect him from the harsh wind. 

“I could have dodged that,” Danico said, slightly miffed. He tried to push the prince off of him, but the man was surprisingly heavy, especially with all the armor he was wearing. It didn’t help that Danico has always been physically weak. What did he need to build muscles for when he can kill anyone with a single movement of his finger?

“You could have died!” Mikhail yelled.

Danico rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t have.”

“Even if you’re so powerful you can take down a dragon by yourself, you’re still only human! You could still get hurt!”

Danico patted the prince’s back, “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful! Just watch.” He casted a spell on the prince and lifted him up with the gravity spell. He gently sent the prince flying away, back to the brushes they were hiding behind earlier.

Danico swung his arm around him and floated up in the air, the dragon eyed him warily before flinging black thorns at him. Danico dodged with a flip in mid-air, swinging a blast of fire with a kick to the dragon. The dragon flew up higher just as Danico heard a yelp.

Mikhail was almost impaled by the large thorns the dragon flung around. Compared to the tiny thorns of the rose bushes, these ones from the dragon were the size of a lance. He threw a ball of fire at the prince.

It stopped right in front of the royal before surrounding him to create a ring of fire. It wasn’t hot, but it should be bright enough that the prince won’t stumble around in the dark.

“Go hide!” Danico yelled and followed the dragon up to the starry sky.