Mega Dragon: Harbinger of Death

SURPRISE!!!

The night of the ball came. There were only a handful of people who were not excited. Oddly, or maybe not so oddly, Kiro was one of them. He wondered if there was any use of dressing so pretty. It was anything unlike him. He didn’t hate it alright. He smiled at the mirror as he admired what might be his best look yet. In his head, maybe ever.

The guests began to enter the hall, most of them with a date in hand. They all looked dashing as did the hall. The floors were laid with white stucco marbles and the columns were made of white oak. The theme tried to follow a natural setting with spaces separated by flowers. Certainly the work of Jerome. He would just wave one hand and have those things sprouting everywhere. When they had served their purpose, he would cause them to vanish. It was quite convenient. The walls were lined with mirrors that reflected the entire hall. Whether it was for aesthetic purposes alone or a form of security, the guests cared little as the setting was amazing. Prism chandeliers hung from the top of the ceiling, about thirty feet from the ground. Their golden luster added more color to the already bright occasion. The chairs were all made of mahogany, with gold bars lining the edges. They were polished green to match the theme. The tables were covered with a velvet cloth – a shade of green slightly lighter than the chairs. As usual, King Reagan spared no cost.

Ara came with his chariot to pick up the lovely miss Aroha. He offered Kiro the same prestige as well for Zhiyi’s sake. He donned a ball jacket with gold embroidery that represented a wyvern if the jacket was opened up to form one flat surface. Kiro instead wore a blue jacket with black embroidery that ran through every part of it. In a way, it resembled a tree. The girls came out of their rooms to be taken to the ball. Even Kiro who was usually nonchalant about everything was in awe of how beautiful they looked. It brought Zhiyi joy that he was impressed. The girls wore matching dresses as they had always wanted to. A golden satin gown, cut off the shoulder with a low decolletage. The sleeves were extremely short, exposing their arms to reveal their beautiful skins. Their purple hair was neatly packed and their necks were adorned with diamonds. Any other day, Aroha might have hated her look, but even she had to admit that she looked amazing.

“My lady,” Ara said with much chivalry as he reached for Aroha’s arm. Kiro, who knew nothing about these sort of things simply followed suit. Ara had told him ahead of time what he needed to do, but in that moment of seeing Zhiyi, he had forgotten it all.

“I have to say, you look dashing,” Zhiyi said. She could barely contain her smile.

“Well, I have Master to thank for that. You look… good,” Kiro said. And as usual, maybe not the best choice of words. Zhiyi frowned a little, but she understood Kiro enough to know that he admired her look.

“Thanks,” she muttered.

“Beautiful. I meant to say beautiful,” Kiro added. That surely caught Zhiyi off guard. Had he said it the first time, it would have been expected. He certainly was getting the best of her. Her blush was enough of an answer.

Ara and Zhiyi chuckled as they watched those two. They got into their chariots and were on their way to the ball. “You don’t look so bad yourself,” Aroha said as they entered into the chariot.

“You on the other look dashing, my lady,” Ara said as he kissed her hand slightly. Aroha was unaware of how much she was blushing at that moment.

“My, my. Or would you rather we reenacted what happened the last time?” Ara teased.

Aroha hated to admit it, but she had reminisced about the kiss more times than she would have liked to. Preferably, she would love to forget, but whenever she saw him, it was the first thing that popped into her mind. Whenever he left, it was the same as well. She found herself craving him. But she thought she liked Zenon and there was a chance he felt the same way. Was she getting herself into the love triangle that Zhiyi often fantasized about?

“There will be time for that,” Aroha said throwing Ara off. He wasn’t sure whether she was serious or not. He surely was expecting some sort of brash reply, but he didn’t mind this.

“I’ll take you to your word then,” he said. He held her hand all through the ride. He could feel her warmth even though the night was cold. It was a thing with druid humans – something that Vela had taught them. Beasts were only capable of outer body manipulations, like manifesting fangs, claws, and in some cases, fur. But druid humans could manipulate their internal systems. It was one of the ways that they could try to match the beasts in combat. Ordinarily, the beasts were superior in battle as they were better equipped. But as healers like Gero and Miya came to pass, many druid humans continued to show that they could rival their beast counterparts while also being good healers. In order words, show that they were more useful. It was one of the points that Alex always stood on in his claim that the Renoffs were the most special of all the clans.

The welcome was loud as the pair entered the ball. It was a welcome that was befitting them. Although Kiro was simply riding on Ara’s coattails. The same could be said about Aroha and Zhiyi whose reputation came mostly from being the daughters of Gero and Miya Renoff. In their defense, they were still Renoffs – a family name that would stand for whoever was lucky enough to bear it.

Among one of the guests was someone that looked quite familiar to Ara. Only his back view was visible, but Ara knew he had seen him somewhere. When they got a little closer, his scent confirmed his identity to Ara. He walked towards him with Aroha, taking her arm in his, and Kiro followed suit with Zhiyi.

“It’s been a long time, San Loku,” Ara said.