The Dragon's mate

In The Mortal Dimension

Vern

"Welcome back Your Highness.''

The men and the women alike bowed their heads as I walked in. For now, I have left the Dragon Realm and entered the Mortal Dimension. The barrier between the Mortal Dimension and the Supernatural Dimension could only be crossed by a few magical people. The others could come only when the king, queen or the prince of their respective realms permitted them to do so. A magical being who tried to cross over, unauthorized would burn to ashes where the two barriers intersected. Those who served at my residence here were a mix of fairies, humans, werewolves and dragons.

In the Supernatural Dimension, the Dragon Realm was very powerful but not the strongest. The Vampire Realm was very strong and so were two other realms. However, I was sure that the vampires considered themselves more powerful than us. The debate between the two sides was never-ending. The truth could never be ascertained.

Some other realms, which were equally powerful, never demonstrated their abilities for the sake of proving their strength. The members of different realms mixed when people from two realms married each other. Another point of interaction was at the work place or at the ‘Joint Magical Committee’ meeting. However, we always stood by each other for the sake of supporting peace. Peace- sometimes I really wondered if the world that we inhabited was genuinely calm or it was just a façade.

I looked outside and saw that rain was lashing heavily. The sky was darker than usual today. It seemed as if it would be raining for a long time. For some reason, my heart was feeling heavy.

"As your mate turns sixteen, you can feel her emotions. If both of you are in the same dimension, you'd feel a greater impact."

My teacher, His Holiness's words echoed in my ears. The pain that I felt implied that my mate was present in the Mortal Dimension. It also indicated that my mate had encountered some event which made her sad. My heart sank a little. If my mate was a mortal, then she'd be in grave danger. And, if she was not a mortal, I wondered why she was in this dimension.

"Your Highness, the Queen Mother wants to meet you immediately,” said my most trusted guard, Ri, who had raised me since birth, and belonged to my mother's clan.

"Tell her that I'll be there, Ri."

He bowed and left. I knew how curious she would be, to know about my whereabouts. She was a powerful dragon. Nothing could deceive her. I entered the secret cell, to engage in a private conversation with her. No one, apart from a few, knew about the existence of this place. The servants were unaware and so were most of the guards. In this place, we could talk freely. None of the supernatural beings could intercept our conversation here.

"Why are you in the Mortal Dimension, Vern?"

As expected, of my mum. She never beat around the bush.

"Greetings to Mother." I bowed my head before her.

"Don't try to divert my attention, Vern. You save your attempts at flattering me for Liang, my best friend's daughter. She is your cousin and the only daughter of the Lao clan. She is the right match for you. I would be glad if the two of you were, at least, engaged."

There my mother had started again. She never missed a chance to speak about how great Liang and I would be together.

"Mother, you already know how I feel about this marriage. I'd rather be single forever, than marry someone I do not love."

"Vern...."

My mother shouted at me. I simply bowed my head. Being my mum and my elder, I knew that I had to give her the respect she deserved.

Both of us remained quiet for some time, before she continued.

"Absolute power and not love will help you consolidate your position. A mate or an ideal love that you seem to be looking for looks good only on paper. Such foolishness on your part really disappoints me, sometimes, Vern. You should strive towards strengthening your hold on our realm and increasing the strength of the Dragons in the Supernatural Dimension first. Marrying Liang and not marrying for love will help you in the same. In fact, if you want to find true love, get to know Liang. She is a great girl. I'm sure that you will fall in love with her.”

“Mother, Liang is also a dragon. She might meet her own mate some day. By marrying her I do not want to take this opportunity from her.”

“Liang is very clear about what is expected of her. Therefore, you should not be concerned about Liang.”

It seemed as if my mother would never accept my reason.

“Anyway, what are you doing in the Mortal Dimension?"

"I am here for work-related reasons. I had received a tip-off. An evil power wants to destroy all beings. It is currently hiding in this dimension. I am here to investigate its true strengths and weaknesses.”

"An evil power...... That is why I insist that you marry Liang. You know, if, you marry her, the Lao clan's support will extend to you, by default. Under such favorable conditions, you will surely be invincible.

I had revealed a partial purpose of my visit to Mortal Dimension. I purposefully withheld the fact that I was also here to search for my mate. She would definitely kick a fuss if she knew. From my mother's temperament, I understood that she'd never accept anyone apart from Liang. Furthermore, if my mate was not powerful, I could forget about getting engaged to her.

"A weak mate will make you weaker."

When I was still a child, she said these words to me, many times. Sometimes, I felt sorry that my mother could never experience true love. If she did, I was sure that she would have changed her opinion. Finding my mate was a priority for me. When my heart had felt heavy, I wondered what troubles my mate faced. She was mine to cherish, value and love. If someone harmed her, I would harm that person tenfold.

"Your Highness 'smoke followers' from the Aneglur Realm were seen hovering near an orphanage a short distance away."

I turned to look at Ri.

My father's brother, who had traded his soul for darkness, had become a huge supporter of the Aneglur Realm. Some said that he was the right hand of the Aneglur King. He was no match for my father, but he could cause trouble. When I was younger, I was almost kidnapped by him. Luckily, my mum and dad kept their differences aside to save me. However, now, as an aid of the Aneglur King, matters seemed to have become even more complicated.

"Your mate will be mine when I find her, young lad. If she is luckier, my king might fancy her. With her help, darkness would spread across the realms of the Supernatural Dimension. And, when she has completely surrendered her soul, the Aneglur King will help me to conquer the Dragon Realm. You'll die if your mate does not love you back."

I was a kid then and kept quiet. However, now that I was strong enough, I was determined to protect her.

The only problem was finding out where she was. From Ri's words, it seemed that she could be somewhere near this orphanage.

My uncle, who now led these evil powers, as an able lieutenant of the Aneglur King, would surely not waste his time in trivial places. I hoped that we could avoid crossing paths, for the moment, at least. If it came to a battle between the two of us, we would be evenly matched. I really hoped that the Aneglur King and I would not need to exchange blows soon. Right now, I do not want to waste my energy. I had to become stronger. And, the only reasons I was in the Mortal Dimension, were to assess his strengths, and find my mate. I hoped that I could succeed in my missions for now.