“Are you okay?” I was genuinely terrified, but instead the room was filled with uproarious laughter. I turned my attention to the tiny drunk dragon underneath the table, only to be met with Aria rolling on the ground, barely containing her laughter.
“Shit, that was stupid! Let’s do that again!”
“No! No, bad Aria. You are too drunk not to have one arm on the table!” It was like talking to a child. A very smart, clever, and powerful child.
“Boo! You’re no fun! Good human gives good advice though.” She sprang up as quickly as she fell down, her silly grin infectious.
“Speaking of which, it’s so weird, sometimes I feel my other wings, and then I have to double check because I forget how many limbs I have! It’s the darndest!” Aria looked up at her hands, then up at me. There was a small bruise on her chin, but I had no idea if she even registered pain. She certainly didn’t act like it.
“Okay. Okay. I think I got this. Hands are here. Not hands are the more back ones. Easy!” Aria grinned as I gave the entire kitchen staff an apologetic smile. I feel that I owed them that much.
“You’re holding onto me when we leave, got it?” I pointed at her as she nodded with a wondrous enthusiasm that I had never seen from her before. Still mischievous though, but at least in good jest. I hoped.
Soon enough we were outside, watching the moon set with full bellies. Aria had loved the food so much that she requested it to be delivered to the church tomorrow, no doubt sparking joy in the old grandmother. Well, she tried. I had to ask after she started rambling about how magic was trash halfway through praising the food.
Now we were outside, her arms happily wrapped around mine and following my lead, a stupid grin on her face as her head was pressed against my shoulders. She seemed so much happier drunk that I couldn’t help but share her smile.
I took us the long path around town to the church. A poor path if we needed to get anywhere, but it was safe. It would also give us a good view of the two moons that dotted the night. Watching their light glitter off her eyes was its own special joy.
“Ehehe, you have to tell me more family stories! Your grandmother sounds like a riot.” She gave a little hiccup as she staggered by my side. At least she had my arm to lean onto for support.
“Ya. Both of you are firecrackers, in different ways.” I ruffled her hair a little as she gave a happy purr. Did she just purr? “Glad you had fun.”
“Well, the food was good, I got to send some fool packing, and I found out more about my girlfriend! What’s there not to love?”
It was so uncanny seeing Aria casually blurt out things without any of that embarrassed murmuring. Delightful, but also uncanny. If we have a date again in Mithil, I have a feeling that there’ll be no wine or lots of wine. Definitely one or the other.
“Hey.” Her voice poked out of the darkness as we crossed out of the town, seeing the tiny fires of the patrol glimmering in the distance. Her voice seemed to have calmed down somewhat, as if she had snapped out of her drunken daze. She definitely wasn’t, but it spooked me for a second.
“There was one last question in that bag. I think I wrote it or something before the wine started?”
I froze on the spot. Oh, that one.
“Uuh…well, we’re in the middle of the town. It’s maybe not a good idea…” Fuck. I was trying to get out of it, but Aria had a sly grin on her cheeks.
“Read it. Read it!” She poked my cheeks like the drunk brat she was.
“All right all right! Stop poking me!” I shouted back only to be met with giggles. She did stop as I fumbled with my pockets, pulling out the last slip of paper. I already knew what it read. I’d hoped it somehow escaped her notice.
“Do you love me? Why?”
“I love you, and…uuh…” Being forced to admit it brought no end of laughter to Aria’s blushing face. Being put on the spot was hard! “I admit I had a crush on you when we first met, but now, I see that you’re much more than that. You’re the first, uuh, dragon that…I just want to be that person that you can always confide in. Someone who won’t just disappear with the wind. Someone who…” It was now my turn to ramble as she let go of my arm.
Suddenly I felt Aria’s hands on my cloak, dragging me down. My eyes opened wide in surprise as our lips met, her arms wrapped around my neck.
She kissed me.
For five blissful seconds our lips locked. Her lips locked against mine, as I felt my heart racing a million miles a minute. Was I supposed to do something? Was there a technique to this? Her lips kissed me softly at first, then more passionately. I wasn’t really thinking, so I tried to follow her lead. Her eyes were closed, in a pure, passionate embrace as I felt my heart fluttering, like that first time I fell in love with her eyes. Now I was falling for her all over again.
Then it was all over. Our eyes were locked, though only mine was stunned with shock. Her mischievous smile spoke volumes, before softening up to a thoughtful smile.
“When you spoil me, I feel my heart racing. When we lock hands, I feel like I’m somewhere I belong.” Her voice was soft, almost a whisper. “As far as I’m concerned, that should be enough.”
“I’m glad.” I didn’t know how to put what I was thinking into words. I was more used to that much slower love, a comfortable love, but I could see from Aria’s eyes that she felt differently. I was her first. As I was coming to terms with everything, Aria’s smile turned into a grin before tackling me into the snowbank.
“Aria, what!?” I began, but I felt her body on top of me, her hands wrapped around me before leaning in for another passionate kiss. This time both of us were absorbed into the act, as she did her best to say what her words could not.
I gave in and leaned into her too, sharing in her passion for the first time. After an eternity, she let me go. Both of us were breathing heavily as she finally uncoiled herself from me, rolling off with a childish laugh.
That was two kisses I was not expecting. I pulled myself up from the snowbank, feeling a warm, toasty feeling on my cheeks. She was beautiful. Her hair was a waterfall of silver, her eyes diamonds in the moonlight. A goddess in the flesh.
“Look, it’s full moons tonight.” Her voice was soft and bubbly, as I took my seat by her side. Her crystalline eyes were glancing up at the sky, scattering moonlight into a dazzling rainbow as she talked.
“When I was younger, I would watch the stars. Maybe there’s somewhere out there where people wouldn’t know that I was a bastard child, or a dragon, or even a Pact Mage. A place where my past didn’t matter.” I felt her body brush against mine, directing my eyes towards the full moons.
“I had been chasing for that place that didn’t exist for so long, only to find out that you can never escape the past. Then I found you.”
She placed her hands on mine, her hands warm for the first time.
“I’m going to try to find a place for the both of us, because I want to belong with you.” She turned to face me again, eyes glittering with hope.
“You’re a hopeless romantic when you’re drunk, you know,” I snickered as I watched her playfully pout before tackling me to the ground again.
“You try being this drunk. Kiss me again, you dork.”
So we kissed, our lips meeting each other once more under the moonlit sky.
Chapter 11: Dragonheart
