The Last Black Dragon

Chapter 1

Thraia

"My lady, your corset is not tight enough," I groaned at my attendant's remark. The servants hurriedly complied with her statement and I just stood there. I cannot do anything with her around. She wants everything to be perfect when I face the crown prince of Roudan Kingdom.

The golden dress matches my gold hair. My hair was tied in a bun with a few strands flowing freely. I also wore earrings and hairclips to compliment my looks.

"Perfect!" My attendant clapped her hands. A few seconds later, all of them slowly went out of my room after taking care of everything else. I sighed and waited for the carriage to arrive to take us to the palace.

"Smile dear. It won't hurt to smile a little," my mother whispered beside me. My brother beside me laughed so I glared at him.

"Mother, she hates this kind of event. What do you expect?" he said and smirked at me. We're already here at the royal banquet to celebrate the crown prince's birthday celebration along with the kingdom's nobles. Most women give their best to look good and to impress the royal family, especially the crown prince, because, apparently, the prince hasn't chosen any potential bride yet.

The king and the queen are already sitting on the throne. Nobles greet them one by one to pay respect.

"Now entering crown prince Azrael Roudan!" the knight who was guarding the door shouted to get everyone's attention. All eyes turned to him as well as mine.

He's wearing a formal outfit suitable for a prince. His broad smile can make every lady drop on their knees, but not me. I felt my brother nudge me while his brows moved up and down.

"What if the crown prince chooses you?" he whispered.

"Shut up brother," I rolled my eyes. I am planning to become one of the best mages in the kingdom and not to become a prince's wife. My late father was a proud elementalist who won many battles back in his days. Me, who was granted the same power as him, will follow in his footsteps. My mother is an ordinary human and a noble in the Roudan Kingdom. My brother isn't a mage like me and he's the current head of our household, while I, on the other hand, am training to be the next mage captain.

"Thank you everyone for coming to this big celebration. Please enjoy your night and may our kingdom prosper." The king raised his wine and we also did the same.

"To the future of Roudan Kingdom!" We all said in unison while raising our glasses.

"The first dance will start soon. Mother, I'll go find a lady to dance with," my brother Arthur said after taking a sip of his wine.

"Go on dear." mother replied, gesturing him to go.

Arthur winked at me before he made his way to Lady Neeka of the Gilliane Household. I snorted. Lately he's spending his time with that good for nothing lady.

Lady Neeka noticed my glare and she quickly rolled her eyes at me, but when she saw Arthur approaching, her expression changed quickly. What did my brother see in this lady? The last time I saw her, she was hooking up with the son of the viscount last month. I heard she dumped him.

"How about you, Thraia?" mother asked.

"Nah, I'm good," I replied and took another sip of the wine. As expected with the royal family. They serve only the best wine.

"Alright then, I'll be with Countess Viste for awhile to catch up with things." Mother moved towards the crowd and I was left alone in this huge banquet room. The first dance had started, so the center of the room was now left open.

I slowly left the room and looked for a balcony so I could relax. Five days left before I'll graduate from the Roudan Academy. On the last day of school there will be an annual duel that will be held in the tournament area at the center of the kingdom. Students like me will showcase abilities and strengths to determine our level and we will be assigned to our respective group after that.

"Father, I'll make you proud," I whispered in the air. Father won the Mage War and became the hero of the Roudan Kingdom. He's good friends with the current king and now he has died four months ago because of an uncurable disease. As his daughter, I received the burden of being the next hero and my schoolmates in the academy looked up to me. I don't want to disappoint them and my family, so I will strive to get the highest level when the day of the tournament comes.

"Oh you're here tigress," A voice came behind me. I turned around with a huge grin on my face.

"Oh the loser is here," I said, which made him glare at me.

"I'll beat you at the tournament. You'll see," Frynch posed like he was confident that he would win. I laughed.

"Sure go ahead," I jokingly mocked him, but he just laughed and changed the subject.

"What are you doing here outside in the cold," he casually leaned on the balcony and looked at the night sky.

"Just relaxing," I replied. Frynch has been my battle partner since I started the Academy. Each student will be given a pair to train and I got this loser with me. I beat him many times, not only in training but in official duels as well.

"Don't you wanna go and greet the crown prince?" he asked.

"He has got a bunch of ladies on his plate already." I saw him surrounded by ladies when I went out of the banquet room.

"Certainly," he chuckled. We were quiet for a few minutes just looking at the dark sky in front of us.

"You know, I was thinking of something." Frynch broke the silence.

"What?"

"The crown prince sure does have an eye on you."

"What the hell are you saying?" I burst into laughter. There is no way, right? Besides, I'm not interested.

"For someone who is a potential warrior, you sure are dense. Almost everyone in the Academy knows that." He snorted.

"Oh please, I am not interested in him."

"If that's the case, will you marry me then?" he said in a serious voice. I looked at him in surprise.

"Stop it." I crossed my arms and he then burst into laughter.

"You are always serious. I was just joking." he said and pinched my cheeks.

"Ouch! Let go!" I slapped his hands and rubbed my cheeks.

I glared at him and he also glared back at me. We look like children who don't wanna lose the staring contest. Suddenly, a loud bang interrupted us.

"What was that?" Frynch asked with confusion on his face.

Seconds later, the nobles are running away from the banquet room. Frynch and I stared at each other with wide eyes and, just like we were trained to do, we moved as fast as we could towards the center of the commotion.

"What the hell is that?" I asked no one in particular. There is a creature smaller than us wearing a black hood and with a sword in his right hand in the middle of the banquet room facing the throne. The queen lost consciousness, so the king was currently holding her. The crown prince was forming a shield using magic.

Everything is a mess. Nobles are panicking and running anywhere away from the hooded creature. Magic started to tingle in my palms. My senses heightened while roaming my eyes in search for my mother and my brother.

"Who are you?!" the crown prince demanded.

The hooded creature didn't respond and instead started to attack the shield of the prince.

"Thraia!" Frynch called and I nodded.

"Get away from the royal family!" I shouted. I ran closer to them. My palms are tingling and power surged and formed within my palms. Wind arrows started to surround me and I motioned my hands to signal the attack. The wind arrows obeyed its master and attacked the hooded creature who happened to dodge it all, but it's good since he landed a few meters away from the royal family.

"Crown prince, please strengthen your shield. We do not know the strength of this enemy. We must protect his highness." I said with urgency and respect. I can feel the crown prince increasing his mana. I stared at the enemy who now wielded a bow and an arrow. There's a familiar crescent in it that belongs to a single race.

"An elf?" I muttered in a low voice but loud enough for my voice to be heard by Frynch and the royal family. Royal knights started to gather in the area with their weapons facing the enemy.

"What in the world is an elf doing here?" Frynch said. He started gathering magic in his hands, ready to attack anytime soon.

This is weird. Elves can be distinguished right away. To think that this one managed to get stealthily inside this room is something that cannot be ignored. This is my first time seeing an elf, but I am quite familiar with their characteristics because we learned about it at the academy.

"Eliminate." The voice was coming from the elf. "Must eliminate." In a swift second, he released the arrow towards the crown prince's shield. I was about to do a defensive spell when the arrow suddenly met with an ice spear coming from Frynch.

"You have to get past us first," Frynch said in a serious tone. Suddenly, the room temperature went low and snowflakes started to appear from the ceiling. My breath became visible, indicating that it was very cold, but no one in the room felt the coldness except the elf, who suddenly flinched and reacted to the descending temperature. This could only mean one thing. Frynch is pissed.

"Don't go too wild and destroy this place," I said to him in a calm voice. He may have a thin line of patience, but he is good at fighting. He's the only one who could face me in a battle head on.

However, before everyone can move to attack, another person appears out of thin air. A small teleportation circle appeared and Captain Frederick, the mage captain of the entire kingdom, went out of it.

"I sense an unusual mana here," he said in a serious and cold tone. This isn't my first time meeting the mage captain but his presence is enough to make us freeze in our place. Everyone here knows how scary he is when he's mad. His eyes turned towards the elf who was standing in a corner with a deadly glare. Things went very fast. The elf was suddenly covered with ice. A magic that the Captain possesses.

"What the hell?" I muttered, processing the whole situation. I am fully aware that the captain is the strongest mage in this kingdom right now but witnessing it right in front of my eyes is incredible. He didn't even make a big move. The moment he locked eyes with the elf, the latter suddenly became frozen. Literally.

"Father!" Frynch called. I looked at him and we had the same shock expression.

"Don't worry. I made sure that he is frozen and alive. My team will invetigate their sudden aggression." Captain Frederick said. He is the father of Frynch that's why they have the same ability.

"Frederick! How the hell did they managed to get inside?" The king spoke. We all looked at him and saw that he has an angry and worried expression.

"I apologize your highness," Captain Frederick bowed down to the royalties before straightening his back. "I will make sure to check the mages assigned in creating the kingdom's barrier. My whole team will make sure to maintain and secure the peacefulness of Roudan."