Children of the dragon 1: The crimson knight

Leon Draco

Somebody has punched him. He is laying in the mud.

"That's all, Leon?!" an enraged voice lets out.

Where am I? Leon thinks.

One second ago he was somewhere else, somewhere dark, and now…

A foot kicks him on his ribs and he feels them cracking. Pain. He is fragile, and now he is angry... and anger means adrenaline. He stands up.

The voice laughs, and more voices join it, laughing at Leon. When he is up the fist approaches his face. Leon dodges it and attacks.

"What?" Brad lets out, he doesn't understand why he is on his knees, with his nose broken. Leon answers the question kicking his face. It is a cruel joke.

Two guys more join the fight. They grab Leon. Leon laughs. He can't do anything.

Before the darkness falls upon him he sees a girl, she is looking at him from above, with superiority.

A princess, he thinks.

"Titania…" he whispers and faints.

He awakens and his body hurts. It is raining heavily. There is nobody around to help him. His parents are working and…

"Parents? I don't have parents!" he recalls.

Ah… what should I do now? he thinks. Despair wants to take him over, rage wants to take him over, fear, hate, sadness.

"Titania…" he remembers her name and that is enough to make him try to stand up. He arrives at "his" home covered in blood and mud.

"Four ribs are broken, just bruises on the head. He needs to rest but with this, he will be fine in six weeks," the doctor informs his parents, lending them a bottle of pills.

"Thank you so much, doctor," his mother says. She is a beautiful brunette named Sara.

"Thank you, Dominic," a strong voice adds. His father.

"It's my job, Lucan," Dominic answers.

They leave the room, thinking Leon is asleep. He is not.

They have given him a long speech about getting into trouble. Leon just listened. He doesn't care about them. His wounds are annoying but he knows of worse things. He is into one of those things. He has been transported to the human world, without his powers.

"I will never forget this," he lets out, his eyes burning with a cold fire. His fist closed with all his strength. He wants to break something.

The following days are monotonous. His parents go to work all days, except Wednesdays and Sundays. Lucan is a merchant, and Sara takes care of the accountability.

On Wednesdays, his father stays and receives different women in the mornings. They leave in the night. His mother stays on Sundays and she receives the same man, doctor Dominic. They know of each other's affairs, but they pretend they don't because they are supposed to be a perfect and happy family. Only that their child has figured out about it and that discovery has shattered his weak being. However, the kid is no more. Only Leon.

"I… I don't even care about these people," he whispers. He has better things to think about, but the memories of the kid insist on coming after him.

"Ironically, your coward being had saved me from eternal damnation," Leon thanks the kid. "Rest in peace."

He casts magic. Nothing answers.

He notices that the human world scarcely has magic. It takes him one month to reunite enough of it to heal his body. He learns later that there aren't many magic users in Io, the continent, because the goddess of magic left long ago.

Healed. He stands up and walks to the backyard. They live on the border of the town. The house is big, a gift from his grandparents. The moans of the visitor of his father reach him. Leon ignores them, but he feels something, something that is not just curiosity. He walks until he stops listening to them.

The gentle breeze caresses his face and he begins.

The first thing he does is stretching his muscles, then push-ups, then sit-ups, squats, and finally fencing. It is hard. Too hard. He is weak.

The second day everything hurts him, he can barely move his body, but he can't stop. He does it again. He is learning to control his new body while making it stronger.

The third day is as hard, and the fourth, the fifth too…

The next week it is easier, and the next he adds more series and the next more.

When the six weeks have passed he has recovered and he is stronger.

Lucian has discovered his training and for the first time, he appears to be proud. Leon doesn't care.

Why would he?

Sara changes her routine and spends the afternoon of the Sundays watching him training. Dominic has complained, but he couldn't do anything about it.

In the seventh week, Leon is ready to return to school and he does aiming at the army and becoming a knight. He is just 17.

He has read that the order of knights worked with the most powerful magicians in the world. He needs magicians to recover what he has lost.

The carriage stops.

"We have arrived, Leon," his father says. Leon leaves the carriage. His physical condition is a lot better in all senses.

"Have a good day," his father adds. "And Leon," he says, their eyes meeting. "Smash them this time."

Leon smirks and nods.

He is back at school and everyone is astonished because of his change.