The castle has a pet
1971 Words
When I made it to Fantastopia the next morning since it was Saturday and I don’t have classes on the weekend, I couldn’t stop thinking about the list of colors and their meanings, especially the black color. I had to know what it means, I couldn’t take it anymore. If I have to avoid that color, it’s only fair if I know why. Maybe Aria knows, I’ll ask her after training.
When I made it to the arena, I found out that today I begin using real weapons. Real blades, real killing object, and a really clumsy person to handle them. That sounds safe.
“Okay,” Aria spoke when she handed me a simple sword “You ready for this?”
“If I cut myself and bleed all over, I’m sorry for getting blood all over your arena floor.”
“Don’t worry about it” she smirked, “And if you do bleed everywhere, it’s not the first time it’s happened in here.”
“What?”
“Here you go” she handed me the sword.
I probably shouldn’t even ask about that. But as I wrapped my hand around the sword handle and lift it up, I noticed that it was a bit heavier than the training swords. Not that I’m surprised, I expected this, I just hope I’m able to use it without its weight dragging me everywhere.
“So” she grinned “How does it feel to hold a real sword?”
“On one hand, it feels awesome” I commented, “But on the other hand, I am holding onto something that can actually murder someone.”
“So? You’ve used kitchen knives before right? Those can murder someone.”
“Oh, right” I agreed, how could I forget those?
“Okay. Like how we used the training swords, get into position, and block every strike.”
Alright, let’s hope I don’t die today. I got into position and held the sword up as she did the same. And once we were ready, Aria swung her sword as I blocked everyone strike. Like before, she started out slow, but then she got faster so I had to step back while trying to block her strikes.
“Good” she noted “We started off slow and then we got quicker. But be careful, not only do you have to watch out for your opponent’s blade, but they might have some tricks up their sleeves. For example-”
All of a sudden, she raised her leg up and kicked the sword right out of my hand just like that as I jumped. And right after that, she grabbed onto my shirt collar and pulled me in while holding her sword near my neck.
Talk about a surprising example. My body’s already stiff.
“Okay!” I gasped with my heart beating faster “I see the example!”
“Sorry” she snickered while stepped back as I breathed in relief “I didn’t mean to scare you that much. I was trying to prove my point.”
“Well, you succeeded” I stated while picking up the sword “So uh, what do I do if that happens?”
“This is where your pocket knife comes in handy. Always have it with you, and if you can, try to hide it within your clothes so that it’s hidden from view but you can still retrieve it. And if you do manage to grab it, that’s when you strike. You still got that knife I gave you, right?”
“Yeah, it’s in my backpack.”
She raised an eyebrow “You don’t carry that with you to your classes, right?”
“I don’t” I assured “Not only is it illegal, but my backpack’s already heavy. I keep it hidden under my mattress until it’s time to come here.”
“Good. Make sure your roommate doesn’t find it, though.”
“Don’t worry, he knows to stay away from my stuff. He learned his lesson when I ate his last cookie after the first time he went through my stuff, he was not happy, but it was worth it, that cookie was good.”
She gave a giggle when Dale suddenly rushed in, I didn’t even notice he was absent, and so was Hazel.
“Aria” he panted when he spotted me “Oh, hey Jesse.”
“Dale” I greeted with a smile.
“First day using a sword?” he pointed to the one in my hand.
“Yep” I nodded.
“How’s that going?”
“Well uh, I actually just started a few minutes ago so I don’t think I’m ready to judge yet.”
“Oh, well, I’m sorry for cutting in but-” he turned to the princess “Aria, we’re out of Copper’s food.”
“Again?” she whined, “Boy that wyvern eats a lot.”
“Wyvern?” I commented puzzled “What’s that?”
At that point, Dale’s lips curled into a grin, one that made me uneasy.
“Can we show him?” he asked Aria, still grinning.
“Sure” she shrugged with a smile, “I think it’s time for him to meet Copper.”
“Uh, I don’t like the sound of that” my eyes widen as I took a step back.
“Come on” Aria urged “It’ll be okay. Copper is a friend of ours, and it’s time you got to meet him.”
“But what’s a wyvern?”
“Why don’t you come and look? You’ll be amazed.”
“Question-” I held up a finger “Is he dangerous?”
“Just come on” she grabbed my wrist and began to pull me out of the arena.
Oh boy.
I had to follow the elves across the palace and down a corner where there was a door at the end of the hall. After unlocking the door with a key he had, Dale opened the door as we stepped into the room that had light coming from the opened window. The room was quite small being the size of a kitchen at least. The floor was made of stone where I immediately noticed dried blood spots and small bones that sent chills down my back.
“Jesse” Aria was the first to speak “Meet Copper.”
I turned my head to the cell I hadn’t noticed when we walked in. And what I saw inside the cell made me shriek while jumping back. Inside was the wyvern, and boy did it look terrifying. It looked like a small version of a dragon, like it could fit on my family’s couch. It had two legs but no arms, it still had its wings, and I saw that its tail had an end that was shaped like an arrowhead. And it had scales that were a copper color that shined in the light, hence his name.
I was staring at a dragon creature who was prancing around its cells while making small grunts. I was still freaked out by this, I had my back pressed against the wall, my heart was beating rapidly and my ring had turned orange. Yeah, I was totally freaked out.
“Oh my God!” I gasped in a hushed tone “Oh my God!”
“Jesse, calm down” Aria held her hands up “It’s alright, he won’t hurt you.”
“That’s a wyvern?!” I pointed, my voice sounding more scared and quieter.
“You don’t have to whisper. Yes, that’s a wyvern, a species of dragons. The wyvern only has two legs and wings. But unlike the dragon, they can’t breathe fire.”
“They don’t?”
“Nope. But their bites are venomous.”
“Oh yay...” I replied with a fake smile.
“But aren’t his scales beautiful?” she pointed out with astonishment “You can see where he got his name.”
She suddenly stepped towards the cell and reached her hand out.
“Hi there, Copper” she smiled as the wyvern stuck its muzzle out and allowed her to pet it “That’s it.”
“You wanna pet him?” Dale asked him.
“No” I quickly shook my head.
“Alright,” he chuckled “Maybe next time. Which reminds me, Aria, we still need to get his food.”
“Oh, right” she stood up “Let’s get on it. But before we go, Jesse- are you sure you don’t wanna pet him?”
“I just met a wyvern today with a venous bite and you think my first thought would be is to pet him?” I responded, hint the sarcasm.
“He won’t bite you” she affirmed, “He’s been trained, he’s never bitten anyone before.”
“Oh, like that makes me feel better” I doubted “That’s exactly what my aunt said when we first met her dog, and you wanna know what happened? He bit my a*s that same day. And this is why I can’t trust chihuahuas.”
Cringe.
Damn chihuahuas.
“Very well” Aria sighed “Next time when you’re more comfortable.”
As soon as we left the room, I felt more relaxed as my ring turned back to blue, thank goodness. I had to join the two as we got the wyvern’s food from the castle’s butcher who handed the crate of food to Dale. And boy did that crate stank.
Seriously, I don’t even know how to describe it. I guess I could say it wouldn’t make me vomit, but damn, it smelled awful.
“What’s in that?” I asked while cringing in disgust.
And wouldn’t you know it, my ring turned brown, brown for disgust. Such a perfect color.
“Fish, beef, pork, and chicken” Dale listed “All a few days old and still bloody.”
“How can you even stand the smell?” I gasped, seeing how he was totally fine while holding the crate.
“I’ve had this job for most of my life, my sense of smell is practically ruined so I can barely smell the foul stench of this, thank goodness.”
“Just go take that to Copper before we puke” Aria ordered who was also feeling disgusted by the smell.
As he walked off, Aria and I began to make our way back to the arena as the smell faded away.
“So, where did you guys get Copper?” I asked.
“We’ve actually had him for a very long time ever since he was an egg. And even before I was born.”
“Whoa” I replied astonished “Really?”
“Dragon eggs take many years to hatch. I don’t know Copper’s exact age, all I know is that he was so close to adulthood when I was just a child.”
“Damn” I breathed “That’s incredible. So he’s like the castle’s pet or what?”
“Pretty much, you can say he’s the academy’s mascot.”
“Cool,” I grinned.
“Although I should warn you, he may have never killed anyone before, but he can do some harm if you’re not careful. The main thing is, always carry a weapon with you in case anything happens, always treat him fairly, do not let him out of his cage on his own, and whatever you do, do not, I repeat, do not feed him sugar.”
“Sugar?”
“Ever heard of a sugar rush? Well, if he eats sugar, it’s kinda like that, but more on the dangerous side. He will go nuts and destroy everything that gets in his path. It’s happened before, and boy was it crazy, he destroyed a whole classroom that took a month to repair.”
“Whoa,” my eyes widen.
“Yeah” she nodded “So no sugar for him.”
“That won’t be too hard since I’ll spend most of my time avoiding him.”
“Jesse” she smirked, “You’re practically a part of this world now, and that means you’re gonna have to get used to all the creatures here, and that includes the dragons.”
“Oy,” I whined nervously.
__________
“Alright,” Dale placed the last of the meat into Copper’s food bowl “There you are, enjoy. Don’t eat too much.”
As he left the room, not even a minute later, the door swung opened as Flint stepped in while putting away a lock pick. And after quietly closing the door, he made his way to the cell where Copper gave a low growl.
“Hey” Flint held his hand up towards the beast “It’s alright. I’m a friend.”
The growling got quieter as Flint bent down while still holding his hand out as the wyvern kept his eyes on his palm.
“That’s it” he grinned while pulling out a piece of honey cake “I’m just here to give you a little treat.”
As he began to gently pet the wyvern’s snout, Flint reached out with his other hand and placed the honey cake into the food bowl.
“There you go” he continued to grin as he stood up “Now, let’s have some fun.”
And with that, he unlocked the cell door and stepped back as Copper began to eat his food. And after giving one last sneaky grin, the elf stepped out of the room and left the door ajar as he walked away to let the chaos begin.
- Writer
