22 I'll never travel with you again !

Qing Chan was absolutely and utterly upset. The night had truly been nerve-wracking and she was exhausted. Had she known that her situation would deteriorate this much, she would have obediently stayed in her room, accepting her confinement. As her reputation was ruined in any case, it would have been safer to await her punishment even if she had to live the rest of her life starving in the Cold Palace.

Obviously, if someone had been able to predict her current predicament and warn her about it, she would have refused to leave the temple in the North Duchy. Going back to the capital of the Selnan empire had probably been a huge mistake. Then again, she probably would have laughed in the face of the person giving her the prediction, calling him or her a lunatic.

The truth was very hard to believe but, as they say, "truth is stranger than fiction" and even in the depth of despair, Qing Chan couldn't help but smile wryly. She knew Fate was unfathomable and struggling could send people from the frying pan into the fire. Nevertheless, she had never been the kind of woman to give up on her intents. However high the hurdle, however often she fell, she would stubbornly try again. That was her true nature, the result of months of meditation in the temple and an entire lifetime of pitfalls schemed by powerful foes.

She believed she was stronger than ever before, strong enough to truly rival Wei Lin. Yet, she couldn't help but feel helpless in front of such a surge of hardships. She was aware that she was tired and because of that, her mind was muddled, she wasn't able to think clearly. She just kept on wondering if Xian could be the source of all her problems, maybe it wasn't Wei Lin in the end.

If Xian hadn't decided to intervene, she would have been compelled to go back to the safety of her room. If Xian hadn't asked for Cheng Hu's help, Soon-Yi wouldn't have been angered resulting in the battle between mages. Finally, if not for him, Qing Chan wouldn't be the target of a huge and powerful dragon, fleeing and struggling for dear life. It seemed to be too much of a coincidence.

Xian, Soon-Yi or Wei Lin might be used to this Fate, always living on the edge, but she was not.

It was both exciting and frightening, and an exhausting roller-coaster of emotions. Qing Chan had never felt so alive and, at the same time, she felt that her lifespan was drastically shortened with each crisis. Luckily, wasting her years living a boring life had never been her cup of tea. Under her perfect facade, she often felt frustrated when her only aim in life had been to bear a child she wouldn't even be able to raise herself.

Thinking about crisis and impending doom, Princess Qing Chan, official wife of the First Prince of the Selnan Empire, was currently feeling very uncomfortable and slightly ashamed. Without a doubt, it was once again Xian's fault. The boy was on top of her. Even though she was a grown-up, Qing Chan was a petite woman, therefore the short fourteen-year-old Xian was a little taller than her.

His lean body was taut to avoid crushing her. Most of the time, he managed to keep his arms stretched and only his legs were touching hers through their clothes. But from time to time, he couldn't keep his position. Then, Qing Chan would feel the warmth of his body, his hard chest pressed against her breasts and his breathing in her neck as he struggled to catch his breath. She couldn't help but turn her head in embarrassment, trying desperately to hide her flushed face. She had always thought that she preferred a mature, handsome man and Xian was definitely closer to a pretty boy and slender like a girl. However, the bitter truth was that she was really flustered, her heart thumping loudly.

Her own husband would never touch her in this way and he seldom visited her at night, in the first place. The pounding in her chest was definitely due to fear. Their desperate escape and all the dangers they encountered must have worn her defenses out. Moreover, the boy didn't seem to have any ulterior motive, as the total absence of reaction in his crotch clearly showed. Qing Chan was unsettled and didn't know whether to laugh or cry, whether she wished for a reaction or not. Even though her reputation was ruined as she seemed to be a runaway unfaithful – albeit jealous of Wei Lin – wife, she never ever considered being close to a man other than her husband, even more so with a mere boy !

She was ashamed of her internal turmoil. Being conflicted over such petty matters when their lives were constantly on the line was unreasonable and unsightly. Therefore, she was trying to find a way to regain her composure, focusing on her situation as impartially as she could and analyzing how the events of the day took a turn for the worse.

Her whole world was crumbling so quickly that she was hard-pressed to refrain from shouting madly in dismay and panic, and that did not even include the fact that they were trapped inside the dragon's maw.

The jaws of the huge beast were slightly ajar and Xian was also trying his best to maintain enough space for the both of them. However, even with his unrivaled strength, he was no match for the dragon's mouth and, from time to time, had to give in to the pressure on his back, thus pressing down on Qing Chan's soft body.

On the other hand, the dragon seemed careful not to completely close its maw, even if it was probably inconvenient. Moreover, it totally abstained from spitting fire, only breathing in through its mouth and breathing out through its nose. With each intake of air, Xian's shining skin and hair seemed to become a little duller. To Qing Chan, even if she wasn't a magic user, nor very well-versed on these subjects, it was now clear that the enormous dragon consumed the magic elements drained from Xian's body.

They were now flying high in the sky, much higher than when Xian and Qing Chan tried to flee. In retrospect, they had been truly naive to think that they could outrun a dragon. Even when flying low, zigzaging between trees or houses as a mean to hide from their pursuer and hinder the chasing dragon from catching them or coming too close, it was impossible to keep on avoiding a direct confrontation.

However, the dragon didn't even give them the opportunity to fight nor flee any longer. Xian was flying out of a village and towards the nearby forest, still carrying and joggling Qing Chan. The villagers were cheering in awe seeing his ability and his graceful movements but soon after, they were dumbfounded and scared when they spotted the dragon above them. Hearing the numerous and loud screams increasing abruptly, Qing Chan looked back at their pursuer. She almost let out a scream of her own. The dragon was taking advantage of the small open-air area between the village and the forest to swoop down on them.

Its opened maw was terrifying and its flight even faster than before. In what looked like an easy stunt, the dragon suddenly folded its wings and snatched both Xian and Qing Chan with its mouth before rising up again, spreading its gigantic wings majestically. It was a breath-taking sight and up close the wind created with magic elements seemed even stronger, causing whirlwinds of dust in its wake. The dragon was using powerful magic to sustain its flight and increase its speed and maneuverability. Of course it would catch them easily !

Qing Chan couldn't help but think that it was unfair and that the dragon had been cheating – disregarding the fact that Xian needed magic to fly as well. However, she wouldn't throw a tantrum like a child and she certainly wouldn't cower in fear. She just suppressed the urge to pout, she was a dignified princess, even if her fate was to be eaten by a dragon, her dearest wish was to face death standing proudly. In the end, she had close to nothing to lose. She never knew she would be so reckless during the very last moments of her life but it just felt right and natural. Moreover, Xian, a fourteen-year-old boy, remained unfazed and as determined as ever. Qing Chan couldn't possibly act disgracefully and shamefully. She would truly loathe herself if she lost to the likes of him in such dire circumstances.

Actually, as she was lying inside the dragon's maw under Xian's body, she couldn't really be standing, only her pride was unbending, her strong spirit was hard and shining like a diamond. She could almost feel the energy of life coursing through her veins. She was still alive and far from collapsing, she even felt surprised about it. It was a small victory in itself. She swore she definitely wouldn't cry in dismay and with this battle she was about to win, she felt slightly less helpless and powerless. She could still fight in her own way.

In the past, she had known despair, her pride in tatters and her spirit crushed or shattered. Maybe all her past experiences had a deeper meaning than she thought. She couldn't deny that they had tempered her soul and somehow everything led to this very moment when her fate would be decided.

Perhaps Xian's presence helped, all her doubts, worries and fears vanished in an instant. She wasn't even flustered by their compromising position anymore. For once, she felt safe and warm, was death such a pleasant experience ?

Between the opened jaws, barely protected by the dragon's teeth, Qing Chan watched as whole trees splintered before the huge beast's body or its magic wind. Dust, leaves and wood rushed to enter the dragon's maw as they soared at an incredible speed. She was at peace. The dragon wasn't eating them yet and inside its maw, they were safe from the outside pandemonium. Everything was as it should be. Except…

Just as Qing Chan was relaxing and wondering what could be the dragon's purpose as it interrupted its frenzied battle and rampage to chase after them – was it only for Xian's magic elements ? True, dragons were said to be overbearing creatures, but wasn't that a bit too forceful and tyrannical ? – a new batch of splinters crashed against the dragon's head. They were already flying high in the sky and the trajectory of the trees didn't seem quite right and natural. Qing Chan could only guess that these projectiles had been sent by powerful magic users.

Indeed, such a huge dragon flying in the sky of the Selnan Empire was easy to spot. Xian's course had been quite erratic and regarding the actual distance from the capital, they weren't all that far. On the other hand, Soon-Yi's party was taking a more direct route and was almost catching up.

Magic attacks were mostly middle to long range attacks. Qing Chan felt Xian shiver and even without any magic powers of her own, the sudden surge of magic elements engulfing them made her skin crawl. However, the dragon – as huge a target as could be – dodged all the magic attacks with ease and efficiency. Qing Chan realized that when it had been hovering over the capital, it didn't bother to evade but at full speed, no attacking spell was a match for it, as it seemed to detect any fluctuation in magic elements.

The only threats happened to be the numerous projectiles. Flying over a forest was truly dangerous and all of a sudden, a tree trunk hit its mark and shattered when colliding with the dragon's snout. Wood and leaves entered the mouth and nose of the dragon and it couldn't help but sneeze.

The sneeze was so violent that both Xian and Qing Chan were flung out of the maw at an incredible speed. Qing Chan felt she was nothing more than a wisp of straw. She desperately tried to grasp at something, anything. In the end, she didn't want to die.

Her fingers were clenching at nothing but air. Her eyes met Xian's and she realized the dragon had unwillingly breathed fire when it sneezed. The young boy was about to turn into a human torch, his clothes already on fire. Qing Chan was screaming Xian's name when she felt, at last, something between her fingers. It was Xian's long golden braid. The dragon had immediately caught him again, snuffing out the fire like a small candle, and was very close to the falling Qing Chan. She swung a couple of times, suspended in the air and clasping the braid, her only lifeline, for dear life.

However, the dragon was too fast and soaring even higher in the sky. The braid was constantly scraping against the dragon's fang. It wouldn't be long before it snapped, cleanly cut by the sharp tooth. Qing Chan prayed for Xian to endure and his braid to hold on. She tried to grasp a part of the dragon with her free hand but the head was too huge and its scales too smooth for her to grab anything.

What she expected, and feared at the same time, happened. Xian's hair was cut and Qing Chan fell, still clutching his braid. She plummeted so fast she didn't have time for anything, whether it be praying, seeing her whole life flash before her eyes or lamenting the unfortunate and unfair events that happened ever since she fled the Orchid Palace with Xian. She closed her eyes, silent tears trickling from her eyes as she reached the tree top.