Water hit the side of his face and he twitched. The water fell again and Keenin rolled over in irritation, off the tree and face planted onto the packed ground. He groaned. Luckily, he had predicted this and chosen a low branch. 

He picked himself up, ruffling leaves from his hair. He slipped a hand into his pocket for a handkerchief and pulled out a crumpled bit of paper instead. The texture looked familiar and he unravel it to reveal a scribed message:

I am sure that you will always consider me a man of betrayal and you wouldn’t be wrong, but I have betrayed myself this time. I would have liked to tell you the rest of my stories.

Keenin felt a pang of sadness even as a taste of bitterness settled in his dry mouth. There were no big apologies. No excuses. No advice. It must have been honest after all. 

Once the ink was read it sunk back into the paper. His treasured map had remained in his travel bag which had last been tied to Judial's horse. Keenin thought of his village and an arrow rose to the surface of the paper. 

“Thanks for the apology, I guess,” Keenin mumbled. It was sort of amusing. The merchant could have sold the map for a fortune. 

Then Keenin thought of a mentor and it pointed to the nearby cave before also showing a snippet of a town. 

“Better.”

Keenin began to follow the direction when he heard a sharp crack beneath his foot. He paused to look down to see frosted leaves.  

“Huh.” Did that dragon do this for fun? 

He shook his head and stepped. Next he landed on his ass in the bottom of a shallow pit. Shattered leaves and ice had scattered around him. 

 “The hell!” 

“Do you really want to leave so soon?” the dragon’s voice drawled.

That…that damn dragon boy sitting in the trees above! 

“You. Why?”   

“Why are you yelling?” Dia asked from a distance. 

“He was going to leave without telling us,” Clide said. 

“Ah. He was doing something rude again.” Dia came to the edge of the pit and peered down. 

You're rude, Keenin thought back. 

“Are you really? Are you betraying me too?” Keenin asked in disbelief. 

“Uh, no,” Dia said. “We're kidnapping you. We decided that you're a liar. You obviously need help and we want to get out of here. We're coming with you.”  

No. This was the opposite of what he wanted. 

“People are looking for me!”

“You can’t even get out of a pit trap,” Dia observed. “Admit it. You need bodyguards. We are experienced. So aren’t you going to invite us to come with you?” Dia asked. 

“You're serious?” Keenin processed. 

“Obviously,” Dia said. “We like you better than we like this place.”

Dia crouched down and offered a hand to pull him out. He reluctantly accepted. 

“Exactly where do you live?” Clide asked. "I might be able to fly you." Tiny wings sprouted from the back of his boyish form. 

“I…”

Where was he going? The place with the magic teacher he wanted was back the way he came. It was close to his hometown, but he had also promised to meet Lester in Meladona. These places were quite distant. 

“Is there anywhere nearby where I can find a magic teacher?” Keenin confessed. 

“Seriously,” Dia said. “You just turned me down yesterday.”

“Well… you changed my mind.”

If he couldn’t get rid of them, they might as well go together. 

“Have you heard of The City of Meladona?” he asked. 

*

As Keenin knew from experience, setting off on an adventure wasn’t as glorious as people thought, but this time became much less exciting as Dia took her time planning. First, they discussed shoes because Keenin had none and they were not going to patch him up every time a sharp rock came around. Keenin also got to keep one of the oversized shirts which he reluctantly accepted while knowing it belonged to a dead guy he never met.

Then they spent twenty minutes discussing how to split their supplies evenly into three backpacks. They would travel on foot with Clide looking like a human since they were not ready to introduce a dragon to an entire city. And Dia said it would be fun. 

Soon enough the forest opened up to a familiar yet distant scene of rocky ground and swaying tall grass. A low walled city splashed with more colors than Keenin had ever seen presented itself.  

“Finally,” Keenin mumbled. 

Clide approached and slung an arm over his shoulder. “Kid.” 

“Hmm. What?” Wasn't this dragon young too?

“Aren't you being too serious? Do you see that girl having fun? Lets stop to smell the flowers, have a picnic.” 

Dia was crouched beside a rock formation, actually smalling a clump of blue flowers. It made his shiver. Flowers, ugh. If only they knew what he endured. 

“And, who is following who?” Keenin scolded. “I’m already late to meet my friend. What if he tries something reckless to find me?” 

“Slow down. Learning magic won’t happen overnight.”

He notices the wrapped walking stick wrapped and attached to Dia’s back. Honestly, they should have left it behind. They didn’t need more targets on their back.  

“You said you would protect me.”

“True. We will, but why should we continue for free? If you want us to stick around, shouldn’t you be a little nice. That girl. She deserves a good time.” 

“Fine. We can look around the markets. But you better not steal anything. I don’t want to attract a crowd.”

“Oh please. Nothing is going to happen. I can just trade off a few shiny scales, probably.”

Keenin blinked. A trail of dust was rising in the distance, the pound of hoves beat wildly with his heart. He moved. He tackled Dia behind a rock formation. 

“Oww.” 

“Quiet. It could be bandits.” 

He eyed Clide who remained in his position, but raised a hand to shade his eyes. “A horse. Fancy white one.”

Keenin peered over the rock thinking this description was like the horse that white knight Regardo rode. A second later a spear embedded into the dirt beside Clide. 

His eyes widened. A group of beastly humans appeared over the horizon, dressed in animal skins and bone helmets. They chased the horse. Clide picked up the spear and tested the point. “Berhanu, a tribe known for having the horns and strength of bulls.” 

“Let's save that horse!” Dia announced. 

“Are you crazy?!”

The horse stumbled.

“Clide!” 

 “It’s just a horse. It’s too soon to be exposed!” Keenin begged. 

“There’s a person out there!” Dia shouted, pointing. 

It was true. A man in shining armor was feebly running towards the group who chased the horse. Keenin covered his face. “Ugh.” 

Wild screaming and neighing was accompanied by the growl of a dragon. Surprised shouts, swears, and scrambled steps sounded before he uncovered his eyes. The knight was on his butt in front of the small blue dragon, panting to catch his breath. Dia was slightly to the side, hand clamped over her mouth, looking ill. The horse was bloody, spear through the neck, and long dead. Keenin wanted to sink behind the rocks and be forgotten. 

Keenin noticed the startled knight did look familiar. His chestplate displayed a double unicorn crest. He looked about to lift his sword in defence when Keenin stepped closer.

“Hey, you know Regardo, right?” Keenin asked.

“Do… do you three know him?” the knight asked hopefully. 

“Yes. Do you think… you can keep this a secret. About the dragon.”

“This dragon. Even if you ask that. Isn’t it clear for everyone to see?” 

The dragon closed its eyes and shook itself. A dusting of snow fell and a human boy with long white hair and wool cloths stood in its place. He extended a hand. “Clide.” 

The guy rubbed his arm across his eyes. Then he looked towards his horse. “Not again.” 

“Again?” 

“Can I ask a favour?” the knight asked.

*

And that is how they all ended up spending the first day pulling ropes to drag a dead horse towards the city. 

“I do apologize for this,” the knight said.

“You said they can bring this horse back to life?” Dia questioned again. 

“Yes. It’s technically illegal, but this horse is a gift. I’m obligated to look after it, as frustrating as that is. My horse Murphy here hates injustice and evil so he first tried to attack the men who chased us.”

A funky smell wafted in the air that he tried to ignore. The sun was beating down ruthlessly and the combination was starting to give him a headache. 

“I'll pay you once we get there,” the stranger was saying. 

“Does this body have to be in one piece?” So heavy. 

And the scent of smoke would be nicer. He shook the thought from his head before he did something irreversible. 

“Well, not exactly.”