Dragon?

Adrian was given a warm welcome in the tower. Zhakhil kept him busy with stories to prevent him from thinking about slaying the dragon.

For his dragon, he kept Adran occupied until the male was too tired to go on. The night came sooner since they had been occupied for a long time.

Xaddrin was busy cooking in the kitchen, Adran and Zhakhil were playing a game of chess with each other. For a boy who had been away from the rest of the world.

Adran found that Zhakhil was quite good at the game of chess. He had won seven times. The aroma from the kitchen was nothing like he had ever smelled before.

As a soldier his life was lived in a rush, he never got to eat good food. Even the food from the palace never smelled as good as the one he was smelling here.

"Why is it that the prince is in the kitchen?" he asked confused by the change in work. The servant was playing chess with him while the prince was doing the work in the kitchen.

Prince Lucius has never even stepped foot in the kitchen let alone cook.

"It is his passion and I am a mare servant. What right do I have to stop his if he wants to do something?" Zhakhil stated before moving his pieces to victory. Another check and mate on the knight.

"I see, you are very good. Congratulations on your win," the knight let out accepting defeat.

They opted for another round of the game as they wait for the food. Not long after the dragon entered the room with a bowl of freshly cooked meat and some onion rice.

The smell of his dish attracted the attention of the prince and the knight. Both of which licked their lips at the sight of his food.

The dragon ignored their stares and dig into his food, they were both mad if they thought that he would cook and serve them. He was many things but a servant wasn't one of them.

He enjoyed the great taste of the food. With the many flavours that he had gathered from around the world, he was able to increase the taste of the dish.

His taste buds were in heaven as he enjoyed his meal. "Did he only prepare food for himself?" Adran asked feeling his stomach rumbling from his hunger.

His question made the prince return to his senses. Watching his dragon eat was quite a sight, he had such refined table manners and ate with elegance that he could never get enough of.

"No, more food is in the kitchen," Zhakhil informed him. "The dragon serves no one," he added.

Xaddrin looked up from his plate of food hearing the prince's slip up. The knight had his brows furrowed from the statement.

"Dragon?!" Adran inquired.

Zhakhil swallowed hard. He had let it slip that Xaddrin was the dragon that he had come to kill and that was bad for the dragon.

"I like to be called a dragon. I posses the qualities of one hence I prefer to be referred to as a dragon," Xaddrin explained to Adran.

He for one had no problem telling the knight that he was a dragon but the prince did. The boy had turned pale on hearing the question so he pitched in.

"Yes, that is what I was about to say," Zhakhil let out.

He ushered the knight to the kitchen wiping the sweat that had formed in his forehead. He washed his hand and dished out his own food. He handed the serving spoon to the knight.

Walking back to the dining table, he scolded himself at how stupid he was. He could have gotten his dragon into so much trouble and it would have been his fault.

He didn't think he could live with the idea of something wrong happening to Xaddrin because of him.

His mood fell, he ate his food silently. The guilt of the mistake that he had done was eating up to him.

He lost his appetite halfway through his food. Taking his plate to the kitchen he rushed to his room. He dropped to his bed and covered his head on the pillow in shame.

He scolded himself at how weak his love was. He claimed that he cared for the dragon but it wasn't strong enough for him to keep the secret to protect his life.

His stomach made sounds to remind him of his hunger. Despite being very hungry, he didn't move from his position. It was his punishment for failing the first test of his love for the dragon.

"Sulking is not good for one's health," he heard Xaddrin's voice say. He looked up very quickly to find the male seated on the bed next to him.

"You," he told shocked that he was there.

"I don't like to be insulted, I prepared food for you to eat and you left without eating," Xaddrin told to him. "Stop staring and have your food," he added.

Zhakhil only then noticed the plate of food on the bed. Seeing as to the fact that his dragon had taken the trouble to bring him food, it brought him so much joy.

"Thank you," he let out and looked up. His dragon was no longer on the bed. He had disappeared as quietly as he had come, that trick of his never gets old.

"I won't fail you again," he vowed.