Getting a room
After packing our things, we descend the mountain. Sher Aka and John are sitting next to me in the wagon like a protective barrier while Rayla and Scarlet sit on the coach seat.
As we near the foot of the mountain, Rayla asks, “We’re going to be under people soon, can you put the wings away please so people don’t freak out?”
“I can but I don’t want to.”
“Why not? It will save us a lot of hassle.”
“For starters most people don’t know that’s what dragons look like since we tend to go for more perfect polymorphs when under people for long. Also, I just hate the feeling of doing a more perfect polymorph.”
“What does it feel like?”
“Imagine putting all your tails between your legs, pointing them forward and hiding them under a dress so you look like a pregnant lady. That’s probably a similar amount of discomfort.”
Thinking for a bit, Rayla lets out a grin, “Hmm…That might actually work as a disguise… Together with a hat, sunglasses and fake dentures I might pass off as human.”
“Well, have fun with that. I’m proud of who I am, I don’t want to hide it.”
“We’re all proud of who we are and yet there sometimes are situations where it would be safer to be seen as Human.”
She gives Rayla an exasperated look, “I’m a Dragon, there are no times when I’m not safe.”
“Oh? Not even when your wings are all tethered from being attacked by ballistas?”
She crosses her arms and leans against the wagon wall, “That…Is different. It was practically a cowardly surprise attack.”
“Well, let me tell you one thing, Scarlet. Most dangerous people use cowardly surprise attacks. Especially the ones we’re worried about.”
“Hmph Most of them don’t even have weapons able to pierce my scales so why should I be worried?”
“You might have hard scales like that but Thoma seems pretty squishy. Can you say the same about him?”
Narrowing her eyes at Rayla, Scarlet seems visibly annoyed, “Tsk Fine. But only the wings, the rest stays.”
“That’s alright, you probably fit in better in this group if you don’t look fully Human anyways.”
Scarlet takes a deep breath and with a slightly pained expression her wings fully disappear into her back, “There. Better?”
“Yep.”
We then start to enter town and it looks like there is some sort of festival going on. The streets are decorated in red and green colors and they put trees in front of houses.
“John, Sher Aka? Is today an Elven holiday?”
John shrugs, “I don’t even know what date today is so I can’t help you.”
Sher Aka looks around for a bit and answers, “Hmm, it seems like two kinds of decorations are being hung up. One of them is from the elven New Year, the other I don’t know.”
Rayla then yells, “Wait, is it New Year already!?”
She moves over and asks a passerby, “Excuse me Sir?”
“Yes?”
“What date is it today?”
“It’s the 24th of December.”
“Phew…Can you tell me what’s with all the decorations then?”
He seems a bit confused, “Oh, you’re not from the NU are you? Today and tomorrow is Children's day. Children under whatever the age for puberty is for your race, get presents from their family on the 24th and if they have been very good children they get another from Holly the goddess of children on the 25th as long as they pray to her the night before.”
Rayla seems as surprised as me, “Wait, the goddess of children actually physically gives a gift?”
“Yep. But it’s rare, she only gives gifts to children that have basically done no wrong all year.”
“That sounds super cool, ane! I wish we had a festival like that in the west.”
“Oh, so you’re from over the mountain? I hear they don’t value children as much there so Holly is not worshiped much. But that’s just rumors, I’ve never been there, haha.”
Rayla then thinks for a bit and asks, “One last question, Sir. Which one of these hot spring hotels is the best?”
“Hmm…Depends how much you’re willing to spend I guess.”
“Let’s say we have infinite money. Which one is best for that?”
“Well, the one that caters to politicians and nobles is the ‘All Seasons’ on that hill but it’s not the most authentic. If you want the most authentic experience go to the ‘Flower’ hotel a bit further north. That’s where the locals and visitors from the Elven kingdoms usually stay. I heard even the emperor and his wife stayed there once a few decades ago.”
“We’ll go there then, thank you!”
“You’re welcome. I just hope it’s not booked out.”
Following his instructions, we move through the picturesque streets and come upon an impressive looking hotel built using elven architecture.
Stretching a bit as she gets out of the coach seat, ane says, “Alright, Sher Aka, you take the lead from now. This is all about elven tradition so I have no idea how to behave.”
“Hmm…This looks like a nice place, so for starters we should probably show some respect and put our formal clothes on.”
“That’s a great opportunity to finally see what the Guild Master bought you, Thoma!”
“Yeah…To be honest I’m a bit scared to open it.”
“Why?”
“Well…I always thought I’d open it when I missed her so much I couldn’t bear it anymore. This feels a little early…”
Rayla gives me a hug, “It’s okay. They’re clothes, what better time to use them than now?”
“I guess…”
Opening the package I find a letter on top of the clothes. It reads:
“Dear Thoma Ahad,
I have thought a long time about what the perfect clothes were for you. Both taking in my heritage, my feelings for you and the unknown of your true identity. As such I have decided on only the finest of clothing of Tera Flora where I expect you are from. It is called Sokutai. It is clothing worthy of being worn at any court in this world. After much consideration, I have also decided to not make it entirely a traditional garb from Tera Flora and have some of my ancestry and heritage woven into it.
As such I have decided upon a green color with a mural of the six Spirit Kings and my family crest stitched into it. I do not have the strength nor the right to say this in words as I am letting you go on a dangerous path all by yourself but I wish that in another life I will have you as my child.
P.S.
I have thought about it a bit more after the conversation we had and I came to the conclusion that it only made sense to have the clothes enchanted. No matter what or who you truly are, these clothes will forever fit you just how you will always fit into my heart no matter what shape you take.”
Tears flow down my cheeks as I read the letter and the fear I had of telling Uli that I became a dragon vanishes.
“Are you okay, Rose?”
“Are you okay oki?”
“Yeah…These are happy tears. But I think I’ll need some help from Sher Aka putting it on. It looks complicated.”
Sher Aka seems confused, “From me? Not from Rayla?”
“Yeah, it’s a traditional garb from the flower kingdom. Uli called it ‘Sokutai’.”
“What!? May I see this letter for a second?”
“Sure…”
Growing more and more flabbergasted the more she reads it, Sher aka sighs, “This woman…She’s absolutely crazy…Giving something like this to a commoner is just…Sigh Alright, I’ll help you put it on Thoma Ahad. But since you will take the longest, let Rayla and I dress first.”
“Sure!”
Rayla and Sher Aka then vanish inside the wagon and after a while come out again wearing beautiful clothing. Rayla is wearing a fur hat and scarf and a long blue dress with many layers. She has white fur lined boots on and is wearing a fur jacket over her dress. Sher Aka is wearing something completely different. She is wearing a red Kimono with a floral print of different flowers and has her hair put up with a decorative hair needle.
John gets dressed next, coming out of the wagon wearing a clean black suit and tie with a white shirt beneath it and his hair slicked back. Sher Aka then helps me get dressed. My clothing consists of multiple layers so it’s hard to put it on myself. Sher Aka seems pretty skilled though so it doesn’t take too long to put on.
I then leave the wagon and have the others stare at me.
“So, what do you think? It’s my first time wearing formal clothing, haha.”
Ralya answers, “Hmm it’s a bit much. You look like you’re some far off prince or something.”
John adds, “I’m with Rayla on this. You look too upper class. It’s a bit weird to be honest.”
“Kikikiki I love the symbolism of this. A dragon wearing clothes of the Elven imperial family, how fitting.”
This comment seems to visibly anger Sher Aka.
She gives Scarlet what I can only describe as a death glare before going back to her usual demeanor as she says with a smile, “I’m sure once Blaze falls you’ll be wearing more elven clothes, so you can look forward to that~”
“Oh? Big words from a barbarian.”
“Barbarians, huh? I guess that would be the only thing you genocidal lizards fear.”
John puts himself between the two, “Alright this is enough. Let’s go inside before you start killing each other.”
We then go inside where we find an area with shoes on the ground and an elevated step that leads further into the building. Without thinking much about it, I sit down on the step, take off my shoes, point them towards the door and put on the sandals, while Sher Aka looks at me with interest, “How did you know to do that, Thoma Ahad?”
“Do what?”
“Nothing…Uhum, everyone, the etiquette for entering a place like this is just like Thoma Ahad showed you. Sit down on the step, take off your shoes, point them at the door and then put on the sandals.”
Rayla asks, “So we’ll just leave our shoes here? What if someone steals them?”
“I’m sure the owner will recompense you if that happens.”
“Hmm…Alright.”
We all take our shoes off and go further inside where a group of Elfs bow to us, “Welcome back, esteemed guests.”
Confused, I whisper to Sher Aka, “Did they mistake us for someone else? Why did they say welcome back?”
“That’s because places like this are supposed to make you feel like home, so they greet you as if you just came home.”
“Ahh…I see.”
We then get to the reception desk where a Highelf woman in her late eight hundreds greets us with a smile. She’s wearing a kimono with a dragon imprint and has long black hair. She looks quite beautiful and dignified.
“Greetings esteemed customers, do you have a reservation?”
Sher Aka answers, “No we don’t, but we’d like to book a room for a week.”
The receptionist woman then changes her expression to an annoyed and slightly angry face, “Are you trying to mock me or something?”
“Excuse me?”
“You come here on one of the busiest weeks of the year, demand a room without a reservation while your companion is wearing clothing of the imperial court, wrongly I might add. What’s with the mural and Shara Seleen’s crest? You can’t just mix and match Elven cultures like that, to you it might all seem the same but it’s not. You might as well have shown up in a clown's suit because you look ridiculous.”
I then slam my fist down on the table, “Don’t you dare mock the clothes my mother gave to me.”
“Oh? Are you trying to intimidate me, boy? I’ll have you know that I used to be quite a high ranking adventurer. I have slain dragons far older than you.”
“What, how do you-”
“Please, it’s not like you’re even hiding it well. Though I do have to say, I don’t enjoy killing minors so why don’t you and your friend over there leave quietly?”
“W-Who are you?”
“You seem to at least have seen a depiction of Shara Seleen so perhaps this makes it more clear.”
She pulls out a helmet with a grotesque demonic face on it and Scarlet suddenly runs in front of me and yells, “Run! I’ll buy you time!”
“What? Why?”
“No time to explain, just run!”
Calm yet confident, the receptionist interjects, “Please, I thought I made myself clear that I don’t intend to kill children, calm down you’re scaring my staff.”
Sher Aka asks, “Are you Ser Adin the dragon slayer?”
“Yep, that’s the one. Though I have long retired.”
“Wait…So you’re the one that cut off my mothers leg?”
Wavinh her hand dismissively at me, she answers, “Don’t take it personally, I only fought dragons that were a danger to people.”
“No, I mean Shara Seleen, you were the one that cut her leg off, right?”
I then suddenly feel a sword at my neck, “How do you know that? Who are you?”
“Because she told me. I’m her adoptive child.”
“Lies, her hatred runs way too deep to let a dragon live.”
“Well, I wasn’t always a dragon…”
“Excuse me?”
“Do you know her handwriting? I have a box of letters from her in the wagon.”
“I’m not sure what you’re playing at but I don’t believe this.”
“Your last mission. You were at an illegal auction. You freed the slaves and went to retrieve the Dragon King’s egg. You cut off her leg when she tried to-”
“That’s enough,” she sheathes her blade again, “I’m going to confirm this. You better stay here if you value your lives.”
“Wait, can I come with you!? She doesn’t know yet! I-I want to tell her myself.”
“Doesn’t know what?”
“That I’m a dragon now…”
Ser Adin narrows her eyes, “If you try anything funny I’ll behead you.”
“That’s fine, just please let me talk to her.”
“Fine, come with me.”
Scarlet seems genuinely panicked when she golds me by my wrist, “Rose, no! That’s the Butcher Demon, you absolutely mustn't go with her!”
“Don’t worry Scarlet, it will be fine.”
I then leave my group behind and follow Ser Adin to an office in the back. It’s full with different paperwork but also has a crystal ball set up just like Uli has in her office.
Ser Adin moves to the Crystal Ball and says, “Shara Seleen 0915.” The ball then starts to glow and an image of Uli is displayed on it, she seems to be sitting on her desk doing paperwork.
“Ser Adin? Why are you calling me?”
“Trust me I don’t want to talk to you either. I just need to confirm something. Did you adopt this person?”
She steps out of the way and I quickly close my eyes and get closer to the crystal ball, “Thoma Ahad!? Why the hell are you with her!? Also are you feeling better? I was told you just disappeared after the matter with that scum of a Sheriff was resolved.”
Ser Adin gently pushes me aside and goes back to talking to Uli, “So you do know him. He called you his mother, is that true?”
“He did, huh…”
“Are you blushing!? Did you actually adopt him!?”
“Not officially. But I do see him as my child.”
“So this ridiculous outfit he’s wearing, is it actually from you?”
“Of course. And it’s not ridiculous! I thought very hard about what clothing would be worthy of him.”
Ser Adin looks at me and puts her hands over her face, “I can’t believe it…This doesn’t make any sense. Shara Seleen, you do know that your ‘son’ is a-”
“STOP! Please let me tell her.”
“You can speak Elvish?”
“No I can’t.”
“What?”
“Move your fat ass out of the way Ser Adin, let me talk to him.”
“Excuse me!?”
“You heard me, he obviously has something to tell me so move.”
Ser Adin looks at me entirely confused and moves out of the way.
I then move in front of the crystal ball with my eyes covered by my hand, “Uhm…Auntie, have you read the letter yet I sent you about Ifrit?”
“About Ifrit the Spirit King? No I have not. The last letter I got from you was about surviving Rayden, that was a few days ago.”
“Ah, well…So, after we arrived in the NU and recovered we met Ifrit.”
“You personally met, Ifrit?”
“Yeah…She danced the fire ritual with me and afterwards she told me she’d give me a reward for treating the spirits so well.”
Very worried, she says, “Please tell me you were very precise in your answer.”
“Well…I wasn’t. I answered that my deepest desire was to have a family that loves me and a home to come back to.”
She lowers her head, “I see…I’m guessing you hiding your eyes has something to do with that?”
“Yeah…I read the letter that you wrote with the clothes today. Do you still feel the same way?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well…So it turns out that the gift Ifrit gave me was turning me into a dragon.”
“What!?”
I remove my hand from my eyes, “Are…Are you still okay with me?”
Uli has a shocked expression on her face and asks, “Are you sure?”
“Yeah I’m sure…I can show you.” I then look at Ser Adin and ask, “Could you please press down between my shoulder blades and show me to her?”
A bit skeptical she does so and I’m suddenly blind and on the floor. I then feel myself being picked up.
I can hear Uli gasp and say, “Thoma Ahad…Is that you?”
I nod.
I can hear her sobbing.
“Gooo go giii~!” (Please don’t cry!).
Her crying sounds then stop and she says, “I’m sorry Thoma Ahad, I lost myself there for a moment. It’s true I was shocked and my feelings overwhelmed me but ultimately it doesn’t matter to me what you are. I still love you and I still see you as my child!”
“Giiii~?” (Really?)
Ser Adin, completely baffled, interrupts, “You can’t be serious Shara Seleen. I don’t believe you’re being sincere! Just a hundred years ago your hatred for dragons was so strong you would kill an unborn child and now you accept this dragon as your child? Are you just planning to lure this poor kid back to you so you can kill him!?”
“I would never harm my child! You are right that my hatred for dragonkind still burns but not for him! He is my child no matter what race he is!”
“...”
“I’ll be right back, I need to think.”
I then feel myself being moved and hear the sound of doors opening.
“Rose! Are you okay!? Did she hurt you!?” Scarlet yells.
“What did you do to Thoma!? Why is he in his other form!?” Ane yells angrily.
“Calm down. He is like this because he wanted to be to show Shara Seleen. Come over here, you can take him back, he is unharmed.”
I then feel myself being picked up by warm hands.
“Hold it.”
“Let go of me!”
“You wanted a room didn’t you? You can stay in the Chrysanthemum suite free of charge. It’s our best room.”
“You just say that so you can kill Rose and me later in our sleep, coward!”
“Please, do you really think I need to wait for you to be defenseless? I could have killed you the second you walked in here. I have never killed a minor or a civilian in my entire life and I intend to keep it that way. I simply want to help the son of an old friend of mine. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot to talk about with her. I shall visit you again during dinner. I expect to find Thoma Ahad there, I hope you understand.”
Scarlet’s hands start to shake as she answers, “Yes, I understand.”