The Summer When I met You

CHAPTER SEVEN

            Traditions are part of one’s culture.  Ancestors have built empires throughout the centuries through these traditions to ensure order and support from their members and obedience from their people.  It gives comfort to a certain species that their culture will survive in the next generation once their traditions have been passed down to the youth and they apply it to their everyday lives.

            Queen Athanasta had started the tradition for female dragons to venture towards the outside world to learn about the culture and traditions of humans in order to teach young wyrms to be good and avoid barbaric methods which dragons were known by.  It is believed that the medieval practices that the dragons have learned from their ancestors should no longer be followed in order for them to survive and blend in with the humans.  Unlike the humans who have a certain lifespan, dragons can live for centuries.  In their island hideout, time works differently.  If in the outside world it is only a minute, inside the island it would be a day.  Some of the dragons were against the tradition of leaving their island home to blend in with a weak species like the humans but they can never go against the orders of their queen.  So far, this tradition has benefitted the young wyrms greatly which the elders grudgingly accepted albeit with a pinch of salt.  They were waiting for things to turn sideways before they could voice their displeasure as they know things will not be as smooth as they thought it would be.

            Lilandra sighed deeply.  Since she has been crowned as the next dragon queen, she was expected to follow tradition to be an example to her people.  For the past months, she has been studying as a college student in the University of Edinburgh with Ophelia who decided to join her.  Illuyankas has been adamant that Lilandra would be protected at all costs since she would be venturing outside the barrier of Leidlein.    Since then, both girls were learning the ways of the humans, their focus on this so-called jujitsu that has been all the rage in a so-called MMA show.  Lilandra was immediately captivated as she believed that learning this type of fighting method can be beneficial for female dragons especially when they are fighting off unwanted advances from males. 

            Today, Ophelia had found out that there was a MMA fight nearby.  She had pulled the princess from her dreary class and deciding to go gallivanting over to the MMA gym.  That was a few hours ago.  Lilandra looked at her friend, exasperatedly.  They had been roaming around the area and it seems they can’t even see the darn gym.

            “Don’t tell me we are lost now, Ophelia?”  Lilandra whined.  She trudged wearily alongside her friend, her foot almost sore with the length of walking they have been doing.  It would have been quicker to fly over but then the humans would be wondering at the change of weather that their dragons will bring.

            That was one of the things that Lilandra had discovered during her stay in the human world.  Once they were in their dragon form, the weather in the surrounding area would drastically change.  She tried changing into her dragon and the weather instantly changed.  She quickly hid onto the mist coming from the loch but a few tourists managed to get a shot of her shadowy form.  Talks about the mysterious large shadow ran rampant around the area that made Lilandra a little bit wary of changing into her true form.  Ophelia didn’t have such problems.  In her case, once she changes into her true form, large waves will form from any body of water nearby.  She could hide underwater and none of the humans would even see her since her green scales blend well with the water’s color. 

            “Um, no.  I don’t think we are lost, princess. I think we shouldn’t have done that turn a while back.”  Ophelia mused but broke off when there was a sudden commotion nearby.  People were somewhat cheering and throwing something at a couple. 

            “What is going on?”  Lilandra asked, pulling her cloak closer to her face.  She had noticed that the humans were uncomfortable on seeing the scars on her face.  As dragons, they have the ability to hide any imperfections from their physical appearance but Lilandra could not do so.  The scar that she had was irremovable as it was given as a curse.

The scar was given to her by her stepfather, Tiamat, when he attempted to kill her mother.  He had wanted to end Queen Athanasta so that his own daughter, Faranth, will rule in her stead.  Tradition has it that only a female can challenge a queen dragon so the boundaries of such a challenge were broken by Tiamat.  Lilandra, who was once very young and only a mere 80-year old dragon, used her knowledge as a warrior and protector of the queen to fight off Tiamat.  She had been successful although it was a very tough battle especially as Tiamat himself was a battle-hardened male.  As an example to the dragon folk, Tiamat and Faranth were sentenced to death.  Since Lilandra defeated Tiamat in battle, it was her right to deliver the final blow.  Before she could end Tiamat, he was able to scrape his talons onto her face.  His mouth frothing with blood he uttered his final words to Lilandra which Ophelia and Illuyankas witnessed.  That she would forever be the scarred princess of their dragon race.

Some viewed her scars as honorable.  She was regarded as the strongest of her kind and was feared by other dragons.  But she knew that some of the other dragons consider her as inferior, a dragon with no father who has no notable history and was not even recognized as a fitting consort for their queen.  Marcus, Illuyankas’ brother had told her that her scar was only temporary, that there is a way to remove Tiamat’s curse but Lilandra accepted that this was what she would become.  Disfigured and unloved.  Feared and at the same time, revered.  It was their way and so it shall be hers.

Now that she was in the human world, she was doubly conscious of her scar.  These humans thought it was a burn mark and would automatically pull away from her.  No one wanted to be associated with a disfigured woman.  Ophelia did help her to fit in.  In the months that they were in the human world, they became inseparable.  Most of their adventures were understanding life in Scotland.  They studied its geography and tried to adapt to the language which they immediately shifted back to English.  It seems that Scots can see a poser a mile away so they decided to stick to a tourist language to blend in.

Ophelia turned wondering eyes at the princess, her smile widening from ear to ear.

“There is a blackening!”  Ophelia excitedly shouted.  Lilandra groaned, her hand slapping gently onto her face.

In Scotland’s rural areas, a blackening was a tradition done to a couple about to be married.  The townsfolk would throw soot, tar, and trash at the couple to ensure that they were as black and as they could make them.  This was a tradition done to ward off evil spirits.  Although it was a tradition, some areas do not do it anymore as there are instances wherein the bride or the groom or any from the entourage would be hurt.  But it was all done in a cheerful atmosphere that none of the couples have any problems with it.

As Ophelia was a naturally curious dragon, she pulled the princess with her as they pushed into the crowd, trying to see the couple to be married.  Lilandra was reluctant at first but seeing the jovial atmosphere she was pulled into, she had the beginnings of a smile onto her face.  Until of course, someone pushed her rather roughly.  She would have toppled over had it not been for strong arms who managed to catch her around the waist.

Breathless, Lilandra pulled herself up but the crowd shuffled behind her, further pushing her into the man’s arms. 

“I’m so sorry.”  She managed to gasp out before successfully pulling herself up. 

“Are you alright?”  the deep voice asked her, giving shivers down her spine.

Slowly, she raised her eyes towards her captor.  It was a long way up as the human was very tall.  She placed her hands onto the man’s chest to steady herself but her eyes managed to reach his chin before she was unceremoniously shoved onto the man’s arms.  The man pulled her further in by wrapping his arms around her.

“Let’s get out of here.”  His smooth voice sounded wry and amused.

They managed to shuffle out of the crowd and stepped onto the vacant spot near a car.  Lilandra stubbed her toe onto a rock and almost lost her balance again had it not been for the man’s arms around her.

“Hey, easy now.”

Her eyes clashed onto deep amused sapphire eyes.