Chapter 23

Elizebeth was left alone once again. This time on her own. Racing against time, she briskly turned around and sprinted on the tough road with her barefoot while picking up her nightgown to ease her movement. She knew the road too well, this was her advantage.

It was dark. So dark without any lamp to accompany her, yet she didn't care to complain. It's even better to move in the dark rather than in the spotlight. The enemy could easily spot her. In a limited vision, she ran swiftly, sneaking around in the same manner as Indulf just now. Looking around a few times.

Olivia above her just watched her without any expression. Truthfully, she was proud to say the weak Elizebeth had a strong heart. She stopped herself from crying and hindered everyone's movement. She judged her wrong in the last three dreams before. She knew her mission well and tried to follow the order accurately. It was much preferable than crying without lifting a finger. She was good in that sense.

Though she did make a few wrong turns because of her forgotten memory, she considered this Elizebeth worked extra today. She did her best to meet the other family members.

"Is watching her that good?" Asked another foreign voice she never heard before.

Olivia turned around to find the source only to meet the eyes of a dragon that still ran amok. She blinked weirdly before turning the other way. To peep on the weak Elizebeth once again. Maybe it was her own hallucination, she thought.

"So it's good."

She turned again and saw nothing still. Only her and the dragon started to fly closer than her in the sky. She pointedly ignored it as she was aware she wasn't in this timeline and just the fragment of the weak Elizebeth's memory.

"Oh~ I'm sad. I'm the one summoning you here."

Olivia started to freak out. The dragon was looking at her straight into her eyes. It was impossible to think otherwise as the dragon came even closer before it stayed afloat just next to her, stopping its attack at once.

"Now you look at me." The dragon giggled. The massive black dragon was talking to her. "Yes. I'm talking to you, Olivia Spencer."

It was her real name on earth!

"How- how do you know?" Her black lazy eyes trembled by the shock. "No- no. You can see me?" She pointed at herself.

The dragon didn't immediately answer her. It just stared at him oddly long while scanning her whole body. Olivia couldn't help but feel embarrassed. To be fair, she wasn't exceptionally beautiful nor ugly. She was on a normal average looking that people didn't hesitate to overlook.

She tugged her hair behind her ears as she looked around except for the massive dragon. She was a normal citizen on earth with black hair, black eyes, light skin. Nothing prominent enough to make people go 'wow' and she accepted the reality bitterly.

"What part of the 'I summon you' you didn't understand?" The dragon asked without batting its eyes and Olivia cowered back. "I'm a male. I need to appreciate beauty."

That made her face hot like a chili pepper. This dragon was so straightforward she loved it. "You have a sweet mouth."

"Well thank you. You are not bad yourself." The dragon spoke without opening his mouth. It feels like they were secretly communicating.

Olivia just pressed her lips into a thin line.

"Do you enjoy the show?"

"The show?" She arched her brow skeptically.

"The fight." The dragon briskly changed his words.

"The fight? No. To see her suffer? Yes." She pointed at Elizebeth that suddenly had fallen on the floor. That explained her dirty appearance. It was not because of a fight than she initially thought.

"You love to see her suffer?" The dragon rubbed her chin in a circle.

Olivia burst a laugh. "No. I just want her to do something rather than crying like a loser." Told her truthfully.

The dragon looked amused by her choice of words. "Loser? You have a very peculiar character yourself."

Olivia shrugged her shoulder. "I was living in poverty. Had nothing to eat. Almost had no education. Weeping in self-pity would never be the answer nor would change your fate. I learned from my experience. I had a difficult time and I fought it."

"It irks you to see she was so soft-hearted?"

"Soft-hearted?" She scoffed. Hugged herself. "Maybe she was a softy but she was way too soft. Should've fought for her freedom." She spat annoyingly.

The dragon gazed at her with interesting eyes. He looked like he'd found someone that could cure his boredom. "You are a fighter." He said dreamily.

For a moment, she was wondering why this dragon could talk to her without any difficulty. Or was the dragon entering her own time-space just to talk with her? This dragon was a mysterious one.

"So you summoned me? To this world?"

This time, the dragon looked at her like she was something precious. "My Lady, you look so calm."

"There's no point in panicking." She huffed.

"Because you were living in poverty before?"

She nodded. "Possibly still is after I go back to my real world." She said with ease.

That alarmed the dragon. "Do you wish to return even if you are living in poverty?" He panicked.

"It's a circle of life. I need to live fiercely to change my future."

The dragon clamped his mouth. He blinked at Olivia who just smiled at Elizebeth misfortune; stumbled over the small rock and fell. Turns out, it's not even an extravagant injury. Just her being so clumsy. Silly her.

If he could be selfish for a little while if he could catch her attention for a little while. He would do anything to make sure she stayed here. He didn't know what it would be like. He didn't know what it would be like to have her black eyes staring into his soul, rampaging his heart. He wanted to have those eyes study him like one of her problems. He wanted her to have those gazes. He caressed his own wing.

"If I can have you for a moment… what would it be?" Whispered the dragon alone.

"I beg your pardon?" Olivia took a second take to give her attention to the dragon.

The dragon smiled at her bitterly. "You can call me Fariz."

"Fariz? You have a name." She was genuinely shocked and confused with why the sudden introduction. "It's beautiful." Her lips stretched subconsciously as she stared at the dragon.

Fariz did appreciate the rare sight. She rarely smiled on the earth and the smile was so pretty on her face.

"You are one handsome dragon." Olivia giggled as Fariz blushed. "Oh! She almost found them." The attention back to Elizebeth.

Fariz felt frustrated to see the attention was not into him anymore. He looked at Elizebeth and Olivia back and forth. "I'm more handsome in the human body." Blurted him unplanned.

It brought the attention back to him. "Yes?"

Fariz coughed. "I said I look more handsome in the human body." Repeated him. Anticipate seeing the reaction.

"Oh!" Olivia blinked. She didn't know how to handle the sudden bragging. She stared at the dragon perplexed. "Oh. Congrats?"

The embarrassed dragon couldn't help himself from the embarrassment hence he made a fireball inside his mouth before spat on one of the houses. It was by accident and both of them know.

"Really?" Olivia looked at him in disbelief. "You make it harder for her to find her brother and father, Fariz. And now she's crying again." She leaned back in exasperation.

Fariz looked around in sheer embarrassment. He acted like a maiden fallen in love with the handsome knight only the role was reversed. She had her own charm that she exuded. It was a reek of certainty and power. He wanted to protect this girl so much. It's like his beast instinct to do for their spouse.

No. She would be his partner. He swore to not let her return to her original place. He would charm her, bind her, make her surrender to him. She just has to wait. Only time will tell. It was love at first sight when he visited the earth. And the love he'd spoken of was here in front of him. He would devour her slowly like a beast.

"She has no time left. The carriage will meet the tragic ending." He sneakily watched Olivia.

"Accident?"

He nodded briskly. "The carriage was thrown off the road down the hill because of the imperial knights." Told him without any regret.

Olivia became weird. In the book, Elizebeth got caught by the crazy king and became his legal wife. Later, they would have three children together and Elizebeth pretty much fell in love head over heel with the king. The crazy king treated her like a national treasure, softened her heart then forgave the king and lived happily ever after like a typical romance novel.

"She died here. Her story ends here."

"Really?" She gasped. Weird. This is weird. "Really?!"

Fariz put a firm nod in his dragon smile. He stared at her longingly. Even means she is inside the weak Elizebeth body. He would make it happen. She would be his. Killing off the real Elizebeth was nothing. After all, he was the original author of this novel. He wouldn't let the crazy king have her.