Book 14: Chapter 58
Inard looked at the woman leaning on him. He softly sighed, and then gazed at the moonlight overhead. Before he was captured, he never imagined living with a dragon. He thought he was doomed to die; he never thought he’d be holding the sleeping dragon in his arms.
The dragon didn’t need much, but she seemed very satisfied. It was evident she had never experienced it before, so he managed to get her to sleep with just a couple of tricks. She didn’t want to let him leave from the start. The desert was her territory; she could detect all of his movements, so he knew it was impossible for him to leave the desert. He assumed he had to live there forever.
Inard thought living with the dragon wouldn’t be so bad. The dragon wasn’t as violent as he imagined. In fact, she could be considered gentle and considerate. She found a place to take shelter from the winds in the centre of the desert. She travelled great distances to bring water back, to make him a small pond and even planted trees for him. She did everything she could to keep him despite having every means to lock him up. She also did her best to convince him to develop a fondness for the place so that he’d be happier living there. She wasn’t just after a commodity to relieve herself with.
“I guess she really does want me to become her family. She believes the reason I’m so miserable is because I’m lonely. If I had a family and a lover, I wouldn’t feel lonely. I’ve lived with her for some time; she’s no longer a wild beast to me. To the contrary, she’s just a lonely young girl. I feel an odd sense of redemption and obligation with her. I don’t know when, but I stopped plotting an escape. Instead, I was worried she’d be despaired if I did. I’ve stopped caring whether or not I die or whatever else. What I’m now worried about is if she’ll feel lonely. After all, lying on a boulder must be very lonely. It’s the only boulder around in the desert, and she’s the only dragon nearby to the elves. The struggle in this desert isn’t hunger but loneliness,” Inard thought to himself.
“Thou not sleep?” The Dragon in Inard’s arms opened her eyes.
He gave her gentle pats on her back to calm her down. Though she could ensure Inard couldn’t escape, she was still afraid. She wasn’t afraid of him running away, but that she couldn’t keep a single man in spite of all of her efforts. She wanted to keep somebody to keep her company. She didn’t want a slave but a family member, which was why she tried to please Inard. She didn’t want to let him leave. She was truly afraid; she didn’t know how to be nice to him. If she couldn’t keep him despite her best efforts, she would be overcome with despair. She genuinely felt she was bound to never have family members. If all of her efforts couldn’t win his heart, she was out of ideas.
Inard patted her back. She probably thinks I’ll run away at night if I don’t sleep, he thought. He caressed her skin and calmed the panicking young girl. He softly said, “It’s all right; I was just thinking to myself.”
“Stop!! I do not allow thou to think!! I do not allow thou to!! Thou must be thinking about how to escape! I forbid thou from thinking! I shall fulfil thy wish. Thou are not to think!!”
“She misunderstood me just as I thought,” Inard said to himself.