by Ryan Johnson
Vaeludar followed closely behind the Dragons and landed where there was room. To his astonishment, there were large flat platforms for any flyer to land on instead of landing at the front doors of the city.
“Welcome to the island’s capital city, Vaeludar,” said Marina. The Siren rushed up to Vaeludar. “This is the place where I had lived for the past five years. It is also the place the king’s little princess roams around, finding different clothing to match her personality. I find her really annoying when she’s out here all the time.”
“Well, the look on her face when I pointed the sword at her gave her something to think about,” replied Vaeludar. “She’ll end up changing her personality within some days.”
He was even more surprised to see some Dragons, Griffins, and Pegasi coming and going every few seconds. There was a new flyer entering or exiting every two-to-three seconds.
“This place has a pact with creatures of sky and lands,” said the Dragon King. “This level we’re on that’s for flying creatures, while the first level is for walking creatures.”
“This is someplace,” said Vaeludar.
“Well, this someplace is wilder and a bit dangerous than your home village,” said the Dragon, seeing Flavius, Wonomi, Monico, and Galvin dismounting from his bodyguards. “This place has merchants, bounty hunters, stalkers, and mercenaries. This place won’t be as peaceful or good-looking as the village you grew up. You better watch your step because there are only a few good people here. Even farmers here aren’t very nice.”
“I can take on anyone who comes my way,” said Vaeludar.
“And you're powerful,” said Wonomi. “My brother and I lived here for most of our lives. This place os not meant for any crossbreeds.”
“But I am more than a crossbreed; I am a human dragon crossbreed,” corrected Vaeludar. “If people are bad enough or stupid enough to take me on, they will be walking to an early grave with no tombstone. I managed to kill a Minotaur without getting a scratch on my skin. No weapons here can harm me.”
“Let’s get moving,” said the big Galvin, with a manly tone. “We’re losing daylight.” Galvin made a mad walk towards a large opening that lay beneath the tall wall.
The Dragon King shook his head in disapproval. “The same grumpy man as ever. Humans never change, do they?” he asked his dragon bodyguards. They nodded their heads in agreement.
“What’s wrong with him then?” asked Vaeludar.
“I can’t really tell you about him other than he’s very rude and impatient,” said the Dragon King. “If you want to know more about him, you’re going need to ask him yourself.”
Vaeludar took off to follow after Galvin, with Marina behind him. “Where do you think you are going?” she asked.
“Going to find out more about him, if he is coming with me,” said Vaeludar, as he kept walking passed Marina who was trying to stop him.
Once they walked through the open gateway, there were many people walking in different directions. Carriages rolled in the streets and soldiers stood guard on high tower posts.
Galvin had disappeared in the crowd before Vaeludar could track his scent; there were hundreds of people walking around and he couldn’t pick up anything from Galvin. Wonomi and Monico walked past Marina and Vaeludar and they too disappeared into the large crowd, pushing anyone out of their way.
“I never expected to see this large of a crowd, and vehicles moving on stone streets,” admitted Vaeludar.
“Welcome to my home, Vaeludar,” said Marina. “You better cover your wings around your chest and your tail tied around your wings. People around here are not going to be used to seeing a winged-human.”
“How about my legs?” asked Vaeludar.
“They don’t pay attention downwards, only upwards. Come on, we’ll go to a place I like, it is not far from here.”
Vaeludar raised his arms and wrapped his wings around his middle body and squeezed his tail into his folding wings.
“Wait,” said Flavius, walking with a white cloth. “You may need this to cover your wings and lower body.”
Vaeludar touched it and a white glow formed around Vaeludar’s body. The one piece of cloth he touched suddenly swirled around Vaeludar’s body, covering his dragon parts. Seconds later, Vaeludar looked like a noblemen instead of a hybrid. His head still showed the red dragon ears and horns.
“A little gift from father,” said Flavius, before returning to the Dragons.
“You look nice now,” said Marina.
“You look nice as well, for a huntress ready to do some hunting instead of a noblewoman ready to go shopping,” said Vaeludar. He looked at Marina’s hunting clothes and he wondered how Marina had changed so quickly.
“If we’re going on a dangerous mission, dressing like a princess isn’t the way to go,” said Marina. Suddenly, she grabbed Vaeludar’s hand tightly. She seemed to be excited. “Come on. I want to show you around.”
She pushed through the crowd while Vaeludar was following inches away, with his hand being pulled by Marina’s fish-feeling, scaly hand. They passed a number of people and guards stationed beneath very lantern post. Usually it would be the man leading the woman through a heavy crowd, but it was the other way around.
Vaeludar kept up with Marina as quickly as she was rushing through the crowd. He was finding it easy to keep up with Marina as he was a bit taller. And for some reason, he couldn’t feel any wings or tail trailing behind him; he just felt the two legs moving and not any wings wavering or a tail slivering.
So this is what it feels to be human, thought Vaeludar.
As the two came slowing around a small corner, they came to a pub with a large sign name BLUE SIREN, Marina pushed open a fine door and showed Vaeludar the inside.
Inside, the room the duo entered in was filled with sky lanterns, with papers in the shapes of bells. Booths were built with walls on the sides. A half-oval shape bar was built in the center of the room. A middle-aged, broad bartender was slowly serving drinks to some overworked people. The room was crowded with people sitting at each booth.
Marina let go of Vaeludar’s hand and went straight for the bar. She sat herself on the closest seat at the bar and waited for the bartender to be at her service.
Vaeludar, who was seeing how nice the place was, followed after Marina. He followed her towards the bar. He almost tripped and lost his balance when he stepped on steps he did not see after he started walking in.
“Ah, Marina, good to see one of me finest patrons here again,” greeted the bartender. “What will it be today? The usual, I assume? Or something new? Dragon’s Flare? The Gorgon’s Brewery? Maybe a paint of the Golden Reaper?”
“Just the usual,” answered Marina, from her seat. “I don’t like the other colored fancy drinks more than the blue stuff.”
“Right away then, Marina the Siren,” responded the bartender.
Vaeludar sat down next to her. He unstrapped the sword and placed it beneath the stool he was sitting on. As he was sitting down, he could feel his wings and tail about to burst wide open. His robe was stuck to a nail that wasn’t hammered all the way into the wooden ground.
Taking extreme procuration to make sure no one was looking, Vaeludar quickly used a figure claw to cut part of the robe and be seating back in regular position without anyone taking notice.
Just then, the bartender was walking back, holding a pint of a blue colored drink.
Vaeludar couldn’t tell what kind of drink it was because it looked so blue. He had never seen a drink colored in blue. Yet he couldn’t think of drinking that blue juice into his own throat or take a small taste of it.
“Here you go: the Siren’s Delight, served on the house,” said the bartender, placing the pint in front of Marina.
“Thank you,” said Marina, smiling. The Siren held the pint with two hands, took seven long sips before placing it back on the counter that was now a half full. “Just the way I like it: stirred and not s
haken.”
The bartender turned his gaze toward Vaeludar who had his attention on Marina’s drink. Then the bartender turned toward Marina who was just jugging two giant gulps. “Who’s your boyfriend?” he asked, jokingly.
Vaeludar quickly turned to the bartender with a stern look. “Boyfriend? How did you come up with that idea? Marina and I are—”
“He happens to be the creature that killed that Minotaur: Vaeludar,” answered Marina.
“Doesn’t look like a fighter,” said the bartender, turning back to Vaeludar. “He looks more like those spoiled rich boys who try to rip off princesses.”
“Excuse me,” said Vaeludar, raising his right arm up and showed his hand covered in the red dragon scales. “What do you say to this, hm?”
The bartender didn’t look convinced.
Vaeludar kept his arm raised and had his hand erupted in a great menacing red flame that covered his dragon-formed hand. “What do you think of this?”
The bartender still didn’t show any sign of any convincing. He was staring with no interest in Vaeludar.
“Not convinced, huh? I guess I am going have to take this to the next level.”
Vaeludar stood up and walked to an open area three steps away. He spread out his arms and readied for an awesome show. The claws of his wings ripped through the white robe, and his wings flew wide open.
The robe burst into sparks before magically returning into a towel-looking cloth. Vaeludar revealed his true colors: his human-dragon form. “What do you say my true form now?” asked Vaeludar.
Now the bartender raised his eyebrows at Vaeludar’s sudden appearance. He seemed he was convinced Vaeludar was the one who killed the Minotaur.
“You’re quite the talk around these parts,” said the bartender, smiling. “Your name is on everyone’s lips. You do look younger than I thought you’d be.”
“Killing a single creature shouldn’t make me popular around this island,” said Vaeludar, grabbing the folded cloth and placing it around his body and turning back into a nobleman. “It was a Minotaur, but a rare creature. I thought they were supposed to be only lurking around dangerous forests. In the distant past, I’ve heard only three were left.”
“Really? I heard there were seven,” said Marina, finishing the pint of that bluish drink.
“I heard they were hooking up with real cows,” joked the bartender.
Marina laughed while Vaeludar remained silent.
“What’s the matter? Can’t take a joke?”
“I could barely find it funny at all,” stated Vaeludar. “In fact, I lack some humor, so don’t try to make me laugh at something I don’t find entertaining. From now on, don’t tell any jokes to me because I won’t take a laugh because my hands can’t hold a laugh.”
Marina laughed at that.
“Even though I am not able to laugh, I can make other people laugh,” said Vaeludar, getting up, grabbing the sword and tying it around his chest, and walking to the door. “Now I need to be going. Marina, I’m sure you know how to get back, ‘cause I do, by flying in the sky. I think it’s time for me to go back to the Dragons.”
“Wait, Vaeludar,” said Marina. “You’re not going anywhere without me. Remember, I’m a princess here. So wherever I go, you must go.”
“Very well, your Highness,” said Vaeludar, sarcastically.
“Don’t insult the princess,” said the bartender.
“That’s alright,” said Marina, walking towards Vaeludar. “He wouldn’t be my boyfriend if he was so insulting.”
BOY-WHAT!? Vaeludar had fireworks exploding in his mind. Did this Siren just say “boyfriend” right next to him? She was agreeing with the bartender that Vaeludar was her boyfriend. They didn’t even kissed yet alone confessed their love. So how could they be called boyfriend and girlfriend if they didn’t show their love first?
“Come on, I want to show you more,” said Marina, grabbing Vaeludar’s hand again.
“Here we go again,” said Vaeludar.
They both exited the bar and went back outside. Into the crowd they went again. Marina led Vaeludar to the third level of the city. Here on the third level, there were lots of noblemen and ladies dressed in the finest, silkiest, shiniest, and most expensive clothes. There were mostly hunters on this level. The streets were paved in cement, restaurants in the form of houses, big-sized style mansions more stylish than Geraldus’s house. The noblemen and the noblewoman all walked in sidewalks while horse-riding carriages roamed in the streets.
Unlike the forth level, this level was not crowded but when it came to crossing the street, they had to look both ways before they crossed. The noble people had their faces filled with pride and zealous for themselves and not others.
Marina and Vaeludar made a stop at a large fountain in a wide open courtyard. Many buildings lay in view and people were passing by. Alleyways were crowded with merchants and traders. Corners were filled with carts of flowers and roses. Golden and emerald banners hung from ceiling tops of every building, representing what family sigil was living in the buildings.
The fountain had three statues of human-featured beings sprouting out liquid clean water. The statues were glittering in a bright white that made the fountain look like coming alive, and the sparkling water reflecting the sun’s yellow light. And there were a few musicians playing romantic music with lots of couples dancing to the soft music and other people watching.
Vaeludar listened to the music itself. He knew Marina, who was a Siren with a soft voice and able to attract many men, was going to sing something romantic about him saving her from wild men and savaging dogs.
“Stay here and listen closely to me,” said Marina. She kissed the hybrid on the cheek before taking off to the musicians.
Vaeludar’s wings almost popped wide open, but the white clothing he was wearing was preventing his wings from unfolding from within. He shook his head to get rid of the thoughts blurring in his mind. He reopened his eyes with an open mind and saw Marina talking to the few musicians there.
The musicians looked happy, they seemed to know Marina and they seemed to be nodding. Marina had stood in front of them all and the many couples stopped dancing and looked at Marina.
Vaeludar stayed where he stood, eager to hear what Marina was going to sing. Then he heard a music note switching to a happy note to a very soft, sad note. The music turned from happiness to a great sadness. Vaeludar heard the music notes switching the entire environment while Marina sang:
From a great rolling height in the dark
A raging Shadow made his mark
His massive cloud made him take flight
And went ablaze under a blankness night
Many screams echoed across the sea
Many howls were engulfed by fangs
And many criers tried to plea
But there were too many bangs
The people have the sea tried to escape
But many more beasts had been ashore
They had metals ready to scrape
Then the water people had been laid to gore
From the darkness, the ancient Shadow rose
A Dark Lord returned from the dead
And unleash of everything he knows
And make everything and everyone decompose
The tall trees have been torn down
From a whipping tail of a beast
Flying down to have a feast
And destroy an entire town
The Unicorns galloped to the caves
For they dug their own graves
Their cousins, the Pegasi, went flying
Under a cold, bloodless sky
The Dragons took flight
Beneath a cold, dark night
Their wings were had been caught
Which they should have not
The Centaurs had ran under the falling trees
Which have crushed their four knees?
Many more were w
iped away
In many locked chains of gray
From the darkness many had been enslaved
Humans and creatures of myth were chained
But from the black clouds lightness had been paved
Which the darkness had been sustained
The Crystal Dragon came down from the Realm of the Gods
To beat the darkness and all evil odds
Then he promised a demigod son to weigh
The great balance of the night and day
Marina stopped, which made the music stop. She turned and walked away and the musicians immediately resumed playing the romantic music they were playing before Marina came singing. She walked to Vaeludar who had a little emotional expression from this unexpected song.
Marina grabbed Vaeludar’s hand and led him to a corner street. They sat down on a spiral-metal table and chairs.
“So, what do you think of that?” asked Marina, smiling.
Vaeludar didn’t know how to answer that. He expected a love song that Marina was going to sing, but her song was more on depression and sadness. He could feel the sadness running through his mind, but his heart remained untouched by Marina’s voice. “It felt…” Vaeludar paused, not knowing what to say next.
“It felt what?” Marina asked.
“It felt very… very… enchanting.”
“Enchanting for you to love me as a human like how I am treated by everyone here,” said Marina.
“Remember, you’re a Siren, not a human,” stated Vaeludar.
“But I happen to the Siren you love, right?” Marina smiled big and happy; she seemed hopeful Vaeludar would say yes.
“Yes.”
This sparked pure happiness in Marina’s eyes but quickly disappeared. “But you’re calling me a Siren and not a girl.”
“I didn’t say you were a girl. I said you’re a Siren. Girls are human but not Sirens. All Sirens are female, so what’s the point of calling a Siren a girl? I mean, the entire race is female.”