“Ah!” exclaimed Darsan, throwing his fists in the air. “Tessa, you’re the one in dragon sh–”
“Shut up!” she shouted back at him. “...It can’t be right? Right? Mom freaking hates flying!”
Cessilia was a bit surprised and confused too. Now that it was getting closer, that dragon was definitely Roun, her uncle’s Green Dragon. But she couldn’t see why her uncle or aunt would be coming all the way here... not even scolding their runaway daughter would be enough to come all the way to the Eastern Kingdom with Roun. Moreover, she was sure her mother would have mentioned to her sister that Tessandra was here, so it wasn’t like they would be actively searching for her either.
“...It’s a woman,” squealed Darsan, who was already laughing. “Oh, it’s got to be Aunt Missandra. Tessa, I’m sure you’re about to get your butt whoo–”
“No,” said Kassian. “That’s... No way?”
Cessilia had realized the woman’s identity at the same time. All three siblings and Tessandra exchanged surprised glances, completely dumbfounded.
“Wha-... What the fuck is Grandma doing here?!” exclaimed Tessandra.
“...Is that a bad thing?” asked Sabael, visibly confused by their reactions.
“Oh, love, if you think dragons are scary, just you wait until you meet our grandmother,” sighed Tessandra.
“Speak for yourself,” chuckled Darsan. “I’m Grandma’s favorite.”
“In your dreams, Darsan.”
“What is she doing here?” wondered Cessilia, turning to Kassian. “Do you think something happened back home?”
Her big brother seemed as unsure as her, slowly shaking his head. All of them waited for the Green Dragon to get closer with, indeed, the older woman standing on its back. Because Roun wasn’t as big as the other dragons, it meant the older dragon could land in the plaza, which happened to have much more space available now. The Green Dragon landed gracefully, its yellow eyes riveted on Tessandra, its snout immediately nudging her.
“Hi there,” muttered Tessandra, petting her father’s dragon.
However, like her cousins, she was a little more preoccupied by the imposing woman riding the dragon.
“Grandma!” exclaimed Darsan, the only one overjoyed.
He ran to the dragon’s side, helping their grandmother get off its back.
With one glance at that woman, Nana realized whom Cessilia got her height from. Not only that, but the woman was incredibly beautiful, with long hair dyed a burgundy color, a gorgeous long dress a shade darker, and countless pieces of golden jewelry. Her eyes were even more impressive, almond-shaped and as dark as obsidian gems. It looked as if a goddess had just elegantly landed in front of them. She got down from the dragon gracefully with her grandson’s help. As soon as she was on the ground, she turned around and with long fingers and nails, gently pinched Darsan’s cheek.
“Hello there, my darling.”
Darsan took the pinching without blinking, a large smile stuck on his face.
“Grandma, what are you doing here?” asked Cessilia, stepping forward.
“What do you mean, ‘What am I doing here?’” her grandmother retorted, turning back to them. “I prepared for days and then bothered to go all the way to that cold, gloomy Onyx Castle only to find your imbecile father all alone! Then, I have to take a long trip, all by myself, to that stupidly huge palace, and listen to that selfish daughter of mine happily announcing that half of my dearest grandchildren actually went all the way to the Eastern Kingdom! What did you expect, of course I had to come and check on my grandbabies! Those selfish brats never think of me!”
Sabael was starting to understand what Tessa meant; that woman was already scary enough with her imposing voice, but she was even referring to the Dragon Empress and the War God as... selfish brats?! He glanced around, and all four of her grandchildren had visibly shrunk, a bit cautious about their grandmother’s terrible temperament.
“Sorry, Grandmother,” said Kassian. “Everything happened a bit suddenly–”
“You,” she suddenly pointed a finger at Ashen. “You’re the reason my dear granddaughter came here, aren’t you?”
“Long time no see, Lady Kareen,” Ashen bowed.
“Oh, don’t act all cute with me,” she scrunched her nose. “I’ll take care of you later, you little brat.”
Ashen grimaced, but nodded, a bit helpless. Cessilia couldn’t help but bite her lower lip, selfishly enjoying this scene. Only her grandmother could make Ashen look this tame...
“What happened here?!” exclaimed the older lady, looking around. “I just came here and this is the landscape? What did you children do this time?”
“Just a war, Grandma,” Tessandra sighed. “It wasn’t even our fault, and we did win, by the way.”
“If you won, how come this place is so messy?! Didn’t my son teach you all how to fight without making this much of a mess?! And this!”
She grabbed Darsan’s arm, pointing at an injury on his biceps.
“Who dares to injure one of my precious grandsons?!” she shouted, furious. “I hope you kept those bastards alive so I can finish them off myself!”
“I’m fine, Grandma. Plus, their leader’s already dead,” said Darsan. “We were just rounding the survivors up at the moment–”
“Oh, were you?”
A vicious smile appeared on the woman’s lips, sending a chill down Nana and Sabael’s spines. The speed in which her mood completely shifted from anger to amusement was scary.
“Keep some of them for me then. Their leaders. I’m going to teach them what happens to whoever dares to touch my grandbabies!”
“...Grandma, you just came to have fun, didn’t you?” chuckled Tessa.
Before she could react, a loud and scary smack echoed. Sabael only had to turn his eye to see Lady Kareen with a closed fan in her hands, and Tessandra holding her head with a grimace.
“Grandma, what the heck was that for?!” she cried, rubbing her painful scalp.
