Arthur just walked a couple of steps before he felt extremely weak. That fight wasn't an easy one at all, especially because he had many wounds all over his body.
"Boom!"
His huge dragon body fell on the ground, heavily tucking on the rocks scattered there, smashing them all. The next moment, he lost his dragon form, while returning again to his normal self, however his clothes were tattered, and his body was now hacked with deep wounds, severely injured.
"Hurry my good child, he is losing blood fast," an old looking man appeared out of nowhere, with long white hair and long white beard. His face seemed peaceful, giving Arthur a good impression of him.
Arthur wasn't able even to open his mouth. His mind was starting to get clouded by the weakness of the injuries and the toll of transforming into dragon form. He wanted to close his eyes and sleep, but he knew that would be risky, so he struggled with all his will to keep his eyes fully opened.
"Hurry my child, let's help him," the old man said, while Arthur started to see things blurry afterwards.
He felt his body being held for quite some time, with many things being put on his body, feeling some tingling sensation, but no pain. He continued to see the hazy world around him, without even closing his eyes and rest for even a second.
That old man was Noura's captured grandfather, a good man indeed. He was repaying the debt of kindness Arthur had shown him by trying to treat his wounds.
Arthur's wounds were severe, many, and deep, but strangely his body was still surviving all these mortal energies. Noura's grandfather tried to use plants and even mud from the lake nearby to close the wounds, while cutting down his own light coat and wrapping the wounds with it.
As for Noura, she followed her grandfather's words, and helped him in cleaning and dressing the wounds. After half an hour, the body of Arthur was now wrapped in all places with many pieces of her grandfather's coat.
"Who is this good sibling, my good child?" he finally asked his granddaughter this long awaited question, "is he one of your friends at the academy?" he added.
"No," she shook her head, before narrating everything related to Arthur. Arthur was in another world of his own, so he couldn't hear the words these two family members were speaking of about him.
"So, he is the golden lion clan leader?" the old man asked, with some sparkling in his eyes, "a good match indeed."
"Grandpa!!!" Noura's face flushed red, as she understood the meaning of her old man, "I told you, I swore my loyalty to him, and he has already a huge army, so he will take over our clan no matter how you plan to resist him," she hurriedly added, reminding the old man of the bitter reality.
"Who said I plan to resist him? On the contrary, I'm planning to surrender and be one of his subjects," the old man said, making Noura frown.
"How can you surrender our clan this easily?" she asked with some doubt and disbelief.
"Oh child," he sighed, as if he was already so tired of all the burden on his shoulders, "as our clan is about to end, I can tell you this old secret without feeling any guilt," he added.
"What secret? Do you keep a secret of me?" she asked, with a playful look on her eyes.
"That's no joke, and this secret I swear to guard it with my life, like the previous long line of our clan leaders," he said, while his calm face wore the expression of seriousness.
"Is that secret related to what happened here?" she asked, as she already had some guesses.
"Indeed," he nodded, "in fact all these lands, and huge part of this forest was once a part of a mighty force living here, but this force had already left these lands, and left us without anything but an oath, and a promise," he said, while glancing at Arthur, who looked like sleeping.
"It's related to this dragon or that giant?" she asked.
"To both," the old man said, "the oath is to never betray anyone who can transform himself to a dragon, especially to the bronzed skin giants," the old man said, "for many generations, we, leaders, thought this was a fairytale, an old myth with nothing to support it, but," he paused, as he glanced again towards Arthur and said nothing.
Noura understood what he was referring to, and then she asked:
"and the promise?"
"The promise is that if someone with a dragon body managed to appear here, he will be our loyal guardian, the genius that will lead our people to live the once called the golden glory of old forgotten days," he said, before smiling warmly, "and the day has come, and my own granddaughter, my successor, is this close to this prodigy. I'm very relieved, I'm very happy, I'm very content."
"And I'm very angry," she said, as she pointed to Arthur while saying, "this boy isn't the one I'm looking for to be my man," she added, denying even the thought of being with Arthur for her entire life, as that what her grandpa was trying to make her accept.
"Silly child," the old man sighed, helplessly glancing at his granddaughter, as he knew how stubborn she was, "this man will be hunted by endless stream of women that rival you, don't be this narrow minded and let him escape your easy grasp now," he said.
"No," she shook her head, "I admit he is strong, strange, and different, but he is a mere clan leader. I want someone I can rest assured my entire life being with him, not someone who would make me feel worried!"
"And what are the conditions for your man then?" Arthur suddenly spoke up, as he regained his consciousness at the last part of their discussion.
"Are you awake already?" the old man asked, trying to cover over this sensitive topic, "how are you feeling now?" he asked.
Arthur stood up from the ground, as he glanced first at his body, wrapped in this strange clothes, which was now dyed red from his blood. He sighed, as he took a heavy damage this time. he took out some meat, and started to eat them while looking at Noura and said:
"I know you think you know everything about me."
"I know everything about you," she proudly said, "I have watched you for one day, and saw everything you can do," she added, before continuing, like a judge commenting on juniors match, "your methods are strange and different, but this world has many other ways that would render you more speechless."
"I admit that," he just simply agreed before adding, "but as your grandfather said to you, I promise you that I will lead this place to heights it never reached even in the old glorious days from before."
"Just mere words, backed by nothing," she muttered, without the fear of enraging him. She already knew he was interested in her, even called her his woman before.
"No problem, no rush for me, though," he simply shrugged his shoulders, before eating more meat, ignoring her this time, while glancing towards her grandfather. "Will you surrender your clan, or do you want me to come and claim it by myself?"
"Of course I will surrender to you, and also help you rule over the current territory of yours," the old man said, before bowing his head, in expression for surrender and respect, "my name is Od, and I will be your subject from here on," he said.
"Good, let's go then, we have no time to waste," Arthur said, before looking at Noura as he added, "you are bound by your word and promise to me, renege on that and I promise you I won't stop at anything until I kill you."
Her eyes looked at him in a strange manner, as he was really speaking seriously this time.. she just nodded, expressing her understanding, before she and her grandpa started to follow him.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶