Digan
The next morning, I’m woken up bright and early by noise in our garden. I step outside and find a dozen workers hammering and sawing away, occasionally casting terrified glances at a green Forest Dragon lazily yawning off to the side. Is Kristian pretending to be their supervisor? What the heck is going on here? Another one of the boys’ pranks has me completely baffled.
And here comes Erdan. He’s gotta know what’s happening! I’m sure he and the others cooked this up together.
“My boy, what are these workers doing here?” I ask the prince in a deceptively calm tone.
“They’re building shelters,” Erdan replies with an unshakable, confident air that doesn’t fool me for a second. I’m certain my charges are up to something.
“Shelters? For what?”
“Well, I asked how we’re supposed to sleep if it rains…” A mischievous glint sparkles in the prince’s eyes, and I can tell he’s barely holding back laughter.
“How? The same way we always do! In beds! Inside the house!”
“Yeah, sure, but the locals don’t know that. So I threw them for a loop. With shelters…” Now Erdan doesn’t even try to hide it—he bursts out laughing.
Mountain Goddess! Why did I agree to chaperone this crew? They’re never gonna let me have a moment’s peace.
Ksi
Honestly, the Wild ones are gorgeous, like gods. Tall, muscular, built like tanks. They tower over all our guys. I wonder if it’s from eating raw meat?
And it turns out they can read and write, too. Plus, the crown prince—Erdan, I think his name is—got into a heated debate with our World Creation History professor! I guess being from the edge of the world gives them a unique perspective. Yeah, he managed to surprise me. But that’s it. I’m hoping the prince doesn’t notice me and pick me as his bride. I have no intention of getting married, let alone moving to the edge of the world to live in caves.
I need to stay as far away from him and his whole savage crew as possible.
It was a good idea, but it came too late. I’ve noticed the crown prince glancing at me sometimes. With my height, it’s hard to blend into the crowd. So it’s no surprise he’s spotted me.
Digan
The third day of our stay at the Academy starts with yet another surprise. I’m jolted awake by wild laughter and pitiful bleating. What have these rascals done now? They’re grown men, old enough to get married, yet they act like a bunch of kids. Will I even survive until we get back home?
I step out into the garden and find… two sheep.
“What is this?” Every ounce of my life experience tells me I should’ve never agreed to this trip! Though, to be fair, I didn’t have much of a choice. The king ordered me to accompany the prince, and all I could do was obey.
“Our dinner,” Erdan replies nonchalantly. “I dropped a hint to the rector about how dragons need to be fed.”
“And?”
“And… from now on, they’ll deliver livestock to us once a week.”
“And what are we supposed to do with it?” I’m trying my hardest not to strangle these idiots. “What are we gonna do with live sheep? I’m asking you, oh Crown Prince of the Wild Lands.” I don’t miss the chance to remind Erdan of his status.
“We’ll… eat them?”
“Alive? Are you planning to cook them? Or eat them raw? Are you gonna cut them up with a knife or what?”
“We’ll shift…”
“Erdan, look into their eyes!” Kristian is hugging one of the sheep. Both of them are now adorned with wreaths of wildflowers.
Mountain Goddess! What did I do to deserve this punishment?
“I’m going to the rector right now to express our gratitude and inform him that the crown prince and his companions have decided to embrace local customs and will only eat prepared food,” I finally say, finding a way out of this mess. “As for these… Either eat them before I get back, or you’re taking care of them until the end of our studies! And one more thing. Tonight, we’re resuming training. I hope that’ll leave you no time for pranks.”
Ksi
The whole Academy is in shock. The Wild ones have once again proven just how… wild they are! They demanded their food be delivered alive! Said they need to hunt. Today, the first animals—two sheep—were sent to their residence. The poor things were bleating so pitifully! For a long time, eerie sounds could be heard over the high fence, and then they went quiet…
The Wild ones didn’t show up for dinner. No one was surprised. The entire Academy was buzzing like a disturbed beehive, though, of course, only the girls were upset. The guys were busy one-upping each other with stories of their… exploits, bragging about what they’ve caught and eaten raw.
This is unbearable! The Academy is slowly turning into a den of bloodthirsty thugs.
I’m liking it here less and less, but the alternative is even worse. I don’t want to go back to my guardian, who’s obsessed with marrying me off, preferably to someone advantageous. That’s the whole reason he sent me to the Academy in the first place. He’s given up on finding a dragon in our area willing to take me as a wife, and now he’s hoping some young guy here will sweep me off my feet and take me away without demanding a dowry. Which, by the way, I don’t have.
So far, though, my guardian’s hopes haven’t panned out. No one’s been eager to take on a thorn in their side like me. As far as I know, my reputation as a total pain has spread across the Academy. And, according to my friends, it’s even reached beyond the high fence where the Wild ones are staying.
And they’re definitely living up to their name.
Today, we had a joint training session with our faculty and the Combat Faculty. The topic was “Combat Maneuvers.”
What can I say… The Wild ones in dragon form are absolutely breathtaking! Their coloring, so unusual for the Empire, their size, agility, and raw power! Even I was impressed. Or rather, my inner dragoness was. She couldn’t take her eyes off the golden dragon with the red crest! And, I’ll admit, I didn’t stop her. There was definitely something to look at.
My friend Akira, meanwhile, has a crush on one of the Wild ones—Izir. But she doesn’t stand a chance. She’s a small, nimble dragoness, and there’s no way she’d catch the eye of that massive dark gray, almost black dragon who blends into the night and becomes practically invisible. Even his eyes are covered by a protective film so their glow doesn’t give away his position.
Akira practically forgets to breathe whenever she sees Izir of the Ashen Clan—the bodyguard of the Wild Lands’ prince.