Bloodcrest

Episode 9

I looked at Rufus with my jaw dropped and eyes wide in shock. He sighed while running a hand through his hair before taking my chin and gently closing my mouth. He said, "I'll explain later, but we need to get away from these windows." I sighed, but let him lead me to the basement where the man and woman were already seeking shelter. We closed the doors and waited for the battle to end. I know what you're thinking. Why are we still taking shelter when the battle is over in the forest? In case you don't know, dragons are humongous creatures capable of collapsing multiple buildings just by falling out of the sky. Not to mention, the aftershock from something so massive hitting the ground could decimate multiple blocks. We are taking shelter in something that was built after the war between dragons and humans. Anyways, back to the task at hand. Once we made it to the shelter, the man, whom I've come to know is named Axel, slammed the door shut with the help of Rufus before lighting a torch the woman, whom I've come to know is named Glenda, handed him. We stood there listening to crashes and booms before there was silence. We still waited a few minutes to make sure the coast was clear before making our way outside. Once we were outside, I couldn't help the gasp that escaped my mouth as I saw how many buildings were destroyed. Luckily, from what I could see, only a few villagers were injured in the attack. All of a sudden, the wind picked up and dust flew everywhere, but upon observation, it wasn't wind, but the dragons from earlier landing. As they were landing, I started hearing voices in my head. "I had that!" one said. "You did not since those two Banes got close enough to attack the town, you i***t! When will you ever take what you do seriously?!" the other said. "Lay off already, Eros!" the first one retorted. "Maybe I would if you'd stop slacking off, Dante! Why did I have to be stuck guarding this town with you while Rufus gets to be the guardian to a beautiful lady!" Eros replied while stomping his foot. I couldn't take it anymore and shouted, "Would you both knock it off! I can't take much more of your pointless argument! You're starting to give me a f*****g headache!" Suddenly, the voices in my head stopped and I looked up, only to realize that the two dragons were staring right at me. It wasn't a look of hostility, but a look of pure shock and curiosity. One of them inched closer and brought his head down to my height before speaking in my head, "You can hear and understand us?" I gasped but nodded my head in response to his question. His eyes grew wide with recognition before he bowed his head to me while lowering his wings. He purposely smacked his brother with one who in turn bowed and lowered his wings as well. Before I could ask them why they were doing that, Rufus shouted, "Will you two assholes change into your human form already! You're scaring the children!" The two dragons kicked up a lot of dust before starting their transformation. There were flashes of light before two men, slightly less muscular and shorter than Rufus, walked out with shorts on. One had bright blonde hair like the sun and violet eyes. The other was slightly taller than the blonde but shorter than Rufus. He had dark brown hair with amber eyes. The blonde stood like he couldn't care less about what was taking place while the one with dark brown hair approached me with a friendly smile and his hand out for me to shake. He said, "Nice to meet you. My name is Eros and that dimwitted slacker behind me is our youngest brother, Dante." I politely shook his hand before he turned his gaze to his brother and opened his arms wide. "Rufus! It's been too long my dear brother!" said Eros. Rufus smiled before engulfing his brother in a hug and saying, "Indeed, it's been far too long since I was home." I smiled and watched their reunion, which soon turned into a three-way wrestling match. Seeing the three brothers wrestling and picking on each other brought back memories of home. I looked up at the sky and said to myself, "I wish you were here, mom. You would love this. I wonder where dad is." Glenda came up to me with a gentle smile before saying, "Aren't they just a riot? There's never a dull moment when those three are together." I followed her gaze and smiled before asking, "Hey Glenda, you and Axel are both human, right?" She responded with a nod. So I asked, "Then, how did those three end up being dragons? She chuckled and said, "I have no clue. What I do know is that those boys came to Axel and me at the right time." I looked at her as she watched the boys play and asked, "What do you mean?" She sighed and said, "It's a memory I don't like visiting much, but I'll tell you since I'd love to have you as my daughter-in-law." I blushed and was about to say something when Glenda began telling the story, "One year, Axel and I were trying so hard to conceive a child, but it never happened. We tried and tried until finally, we succeeded, but that joy didn't last long. I was working as a dressmaker at the time and when I went to put my dress on display downstairs, I lost my footing. I fell a few stairs, which wasn't too much, but my stomach started to hurt and blood started running down my leg. My assistant got me to Axel's office. Axel and I both fell into despair when we learned I had lost the baby. I wept for months when one night, while I was home alone, I heard a knock on our door followed by the sound of crying. I opened the door to find those three boys you see before you, lying in a basket on a rainy night. We raised them and they still give us nothing, but happiness." I smiled at her story as she looked upon the boys with fondness shining brightly in her eyes. I heard Rufus calling for me and stood up, but not before I looked up at the sky and said, "Thanks, mom."