TYPHONE

  "Your Majesty, would you like me to bring you some water?" Leonis asked, taking my sword from me.

  As I breathed heavily, I wiped the beads of sweat forming on my brows with the back of my hand. I glanced at him. He was disheveled, clothes slightly torn, bags under his eyes, and grim on his face and hair.

  I sighed softly, "You can ask one of the knights to do it."

  He bowed and walked away. Meanwhile, I walked towards the makeshift hideout behind a big tree. I sat on the ground and leaned on the tree, catching my breath.

  We've caught the monster. A big black lizard, male and looking for a mate.

  We were lucky to make it in one piece. During a monster's mating season, males are more aggressive and triggered by little things. I glanced at the monster that was tied up and laying in front of me.

  I killed it. To prevent the illegal trade, I had to kill them. Monsters like these cannot be taken care of since they'll always have the mind of a predator.

  "Here you are, Your Majesty." Leonis rushed towards me, a bottle of water in hand.

  He handed me the bottle and I accepted it. He sat down beside me and took off the heavy parts of his armor. I gulped down the water in one go and sighed in relief.

  "Calagon got frightened and hid on the mountain." Leonis said, starting a fire.

  "He hates lizards, but he's not afraid to take on a big ass snake." I chuckled in amusement.

  "It's hard to believe that he's a famously rare red dragon known for their killing instinct," He sighed then looked back at me, "You spoiled him too much, Your Majesty."

  "Did I? I just felt bad for him and I was a child back then, alright?" I reasoned, glaring at him.

  "That's the same thing." Leonis looked at the lizard, "It'll take a few days to drag that lizard back to Lazarith. Don't you think we should ask for more knights, Your Majesty?"

  "No. If the rest of the knights rush to our aid, no one will protect the kingdom. We can manage. I'll force Calagon to drag it if I have to." I said firmly. Leonis nodded.

  I wonder how Avery is now.

  **********

  "By the way, Your Majesty, have you read the letter from Grimore?" Leonis asked. We were walking towards the river to catch some fish for Calagon.

  "I haven't. It came with a pink envelope which I'm assuming is from Avery." I said, watching the sun set and the river flow endlessly.

  "Why don't you go ahead and read it? I'll go and catch Calagon's dinner." Leonis said in an almost teasing tone.

  "Fine." I walked towards a tree and got out the letters from my coat pocket. I opened the white envelope first which was from Grimore.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Your Majesty,

  I am here to report that another sighting was seen. This time, crates were being unloaded from a merchant's carriage and loaded to a royal's carriage. Count Windermere reported to me three days after you left. That being said, he assumed that a royal is behind the illegal trade.

  On another note, Her Majesty is doing well with her lessons, but she's been looking really lonely. She often stares at the vase of roses in her room. I think she misses you a lot, Your Majesty.

  Sincerely,

  Grimore

  I sighed as I read Grimore's report. My head throbbed at his report for some reason. I made a mental note to send spies to the border. I took out Avery's letter and gently opened the envelop, trying hard not to ruin it. I opened the letter and the scent of roses filled my nose.

  Fuck. I miss her so bad.

  Typhone,

  I am writing to ask how you've been. I asked Grimore to include this so that I could communicate with you. I've been doing well in Grimore's class. One time, Senha had to kick down the door and drag Grimore out because we were studying for half a day. It was so funny.

  Anyway, I hope you're not in danger or anything. Come home soon because I have something to tell you. Take care and be safe.

  Sincerely,

  Avery

  I had to calm myself down and hold myself back from inhaling the piece of paper in my hands. I secured the letters back to the envelopes before walking back to where Leonis was.

  "What did it say, Your Majesty?" He asked, reeling in for what felt like his 50th fish. I watched one bucket almost spill out and and another bucket was half full already.

  "Another illegal trade. I'll take care of that when we get back." I said and whistled, calling for Calagon.

  In a few seconds, Calagon came screeching. His large wings fluttered as he landed on the other side of the river. He began walking towards Leonis and I, splashing the water around and scaring the fishes. Leonis clicked his tongue.

  I grinned mischievously at Leonis' reaction. I turned to Calagon and narrowed my eyes at something on his back. Once he was beside me, I scratched his chin.

  "What do you have behind you, hm?" I asked, still scratching his chin.

  Calago turned his head to grab what was on his back. Curious, I decided to take a peek. My eyes widened when I saw a crate of eggs. Dragon eggs.

  "Are those..." Leonis mused.

  "Yes. These are dragon eggs and they're... in a crate." I said in a hushed tone.

  "Do you think they were supposed to be shipped off?"

  "I think so." I said, taking the crate and examining the four eggs that sat coldly in the crate. I clicked my tongue, pissed.

  How dare they separate these eggs from the mother? Without heat no less.

  Leonis started feeding Calagon while I inspected the eggs for anything weird, crouching down on the ground. I assumed that these eggs were from a yellow dragon based off the small yellow spots around the egg. I sighed softly.

  "Good work bringing these babies to me, Calagon." I praised my dragon and he purred, shaking off as he finished his food. He walked up to me and nudged the eggs using his snout. I scoffed and chuckled, patting his head.

  "Yeah. These poor babies must be given heat immediately." I stood up, carrying the crate. I started walking back towards our base while Calagon and Leonis tagged along.

  I need to find out immediately who's behind all this. This must be why the monsters are getting anxious.

  "Are we heading back to the kingdom, Your Majesty?" Leonis groaned.

  "Yes. Tell everyone to pack up and get ready to pull the lizard." I commanded. Leonis nodded and rushed to tell the knights.

  "I'm sorry, Calagon, but you have to drag that monster back halfway." I said. Calagon grunted, nudging me on the back. I chuckled.

  "I'll give you a reward if you do. That is if you do it." I teased. This earned me another grunt from him. Calagon huffed.

  I smiled and bumped him with my shoulder. We arrived at the base and everyone was packed. As soon as my knights began dragging the lizard, I mounted Calagon with the crate on my hands. I took off my cape and covered the eggs with it.

  "Let's get a move on, everyone! Back to Lazarith!" I commaned loudly. As soon as my men began walking back to the kingdom, I nudged Calagon with my heel and we flew off behind the knights. I made sure to stay behind my men just in case another monster attacked. It was a vulnerable situation after all because we had a dead monster on our hands.

  This will still take a few days. I better send Avery a letter on our next rest stop and keep these little ones warm.