Time to Slay the Dragon?
"You have to be kidding me, not another one," Druk muttered, huffing a puff of smoke out of his nose. The blue-scaled dragon was in the middle of conjuring some magic for some rainy days in the near future over the massive drought caused by the extremely hot weather as of late. However, he can sense a knight wearing heavy armor covering most of his figure with only his arms exposed, and wielding a golden lance approaching him in 10 minutes, and that kind of distraction can mess up his spell.
Soon enough, another dragon landed next to Druk, adorning bright red scales. Chuckling, he nudged the grumbling Druk lightly on his chest, "Just can't have enough of them, huh, love? Well, do you want me to continue with the spell as you take care of this one?"
"I'm getting too old dealing with this crap, Arthur. Why can't they leave us alone? For fuck's sake, they should have realized that the two dragons are traveling across the world, making it rain, no casualties to be found," Druk sighed.
Arthur guffawed, "And yet here we are." He embraced the blue dragon, "Sorry, Druk. The king is just a greedy asshole that just won't stop, let's just hope someone better will be taking over soon enough, hmmm? Listen, it's just going to be about an hour as always with this one, and an hour to us is just a short moment anyway."
"I'm glad you're here, babe. Look, after we're done with this guy and the spell, let's fly over to the mountains and have a picnic, hmmm?" Druk smiled.
"Go get them, big guy. Do make sure to check if I'm casting this properly, don't want to cause a thunderstorm around here," Arthur chuckled.
Laughing, Druk gave the red dragon a noogie on the head. "Come on, now, stop that! You've gone such a long way, and as I said before, I'm proud of your progress with spells..." He blushed, "And... uh... I'm glad to have you as your company."
Arthur smiled brightly, "All right, all right, Druk. Oh, uh, you better duck in about... 30 seconds?" He immediately put his focus on the spell after giving his lover the warning, knowing that this is going to work the same way it did like in the past.
..........................
"Well, at least we won't have to deal with his weapon," Druk rumbled as he lowered his head, the golden lance landing a few feet behind him. The knight swore over this and he unsheathed his sword, something he prepared just in case he's disarmed.
"My name is Maximus, and I am here to vanquish you evil dragons! Prepare your doom," the dragonslayer announced.
Rolling his eyes, Druk shook his head over the sight, "Yeah, heard that for way too many times now, very original. Do your parents never teach you to be polite? Who says hi by throwing a goddamn sharp object on your guest's face?"
"Pah! As if you showed the same courtesy over your victims, heathens!" Maximus blurted.
Druk growled, "Listen, bucko. Either you are not doing a good enough job on hearing the villagers' testimonies, or you are being lied to. Have you ever heard us territorizing any cities, if ever?"
The dragonslayer stuttered, "S-stop with your p-petty lies, scoundrel... No, the villagers have no complaints but I was not the first one sent here. Those soldiers disappeared after accepting the same mission, and where else would they be with you in mind? You must have... torched them with your flames!"
The dragon put one of his hands on his face, "That's because they don't want to be killed that paranoid buffoon of a king, you oaf! That greedy son of a bitch wants to get whatever he wants without spending much of his resources, so he would assign a random person like you to kill us. What will happen if you return without my head, hmmmm? You will be executed at the spot! That's why we provided shelter for most of them, away from your kingdom."
"That's one big fat lie! Just admit that you tortured and devoured them, beast!" Maximus remarked.
"I'm not finished, you lout. I said, "most". Where do you think the rest of them are? Let's just say the previous warriors with stealth capabilities might juuuuust be in the palace right now," Druk smirked.
"W-what are you... No! Did you brainwash them? Manipulate them?" Maximus' eyes bulge over this realization, he's already brainstorming on ways to escape here unscathed and inform the king about this.
The dragon guffawed, "Hardly! They volunteered. After seeing the truth, they decided to control the damages. King Balthasar is an idiot that can be easily nudged by stroking his ego. Tell him about his past "accomplishments" and he would agree to the given suggestions."
Druk sighed over this, "Sadly, the king is just too stubborn. None of us actually expected him to keep going after sending 20 soldiers, so my friends decided to be the ones responsible on deciding the "best" candidate for this mission."
Maximus paled even more as the blue dragon scoffed, mocking him. "So, sorry to be the one breaking the news, as I did with each of you, but congratulations! You are the "lucky" guy "chosen" for this mission, you must be so happy." Druk clapped his hands as he did so.
The dragonslayer gripped his sword tightly. He spat on the ground and shouted, "ENOUGH! King Balthasar does not lie to us. I will make sure to honor the fallen ones before me, and rescue the captives. Begone, dragon!"
Maximus had started charging at Druk, but he smiled at this, shrugging. "Ah, one day, maybe one of them would stop after those revelations. Well, regardless, Maximus, the spell is complete. Time for the next phase."
......................................
The dragonslayer fell all of a sudden. "W-what...?! What did you do to me, you m-monster!?" It felt as if something is pushing him down, forcing him to remain flat against the ground.
Druk chuckled, "Oh, relax, would you? Just a wake-up call of sorts. Well, enjoy the ride!" The blue dragon sat down, witnessing the sight. Druk never expected this approach to be this effective, but he'd gladly choose this over the more harmful solutions. He's here to help the humans out, not becoming the monster like in that stupid king's imagination.
"Y-you... R-release me now or... NGHHH!?" Maximus grunted, his body feels really warm now. He felt his skin started to itch, and the dragonslayer started squirming over the sensations.
Not noticing he can move now, he instinctively scratched that awful itch on his left arm. Maximus froze as he felt the skin tore away and saw dark green scales underneath it.
The dragonslayer started to groan even more as he fell to all fours from the sudden pain. He felt his muscles bulging and his bones cracking and reshaping, destroying his armor in the process. Scales slowly covered his entire body, his nails becoming claws, and a snout slowly forming on his face. Maximus screamed as he felt his tail forming and wings bursting from his back, and he unleashed a powerful roar at the sky as he felt the transformation coming to an end.
...................
"W-w-what did you do to me!?" The new dragon stuttered.
Maximus yelped as he felt two sets of claws grabbing him on the shoulders, carrying him through the sky. Looking upwards, he saw Druk and the red dragon.
"Ah, only 15 minutes and he's already awake. We got a new record, Druk! Seems like you will be doing the hunting tonight," Arthur chuckled.
"Shut up, Arthur. Urghhhh, why do you always win at these bets!? I'm the one who discovered this magic, but you seem to know more about it than I do!" Druk pouted.
"I keep telling you, it's just a hunch! No idea how they tend to be accurate most of the time," Arthur stuck out his tongue at his lover, causing Druk to roll his eyes once more.
'What the hell kind of a lover's quarrel is this!? Wait, never mind that, where are they taking me? Oh no, no, no, am I going to be killed in their lair!? And holy shit, why did they turn me into a dragon?! Are they into cannibalism!?'
"H-hand me off, you fiends! I warned you!" Maximus tried to break free, but the two dragons got a strong grip on him.
"Stop... moving... about, or... we'll fall!" Druk grunted.
"Oops, too late, babe," Arthur stated, as the green dragon flopped face first on the snow. Maximus groaned over the landing, softer than expected. However, he forgot everything he wanted to do to defend himself at the sight.
..................
What lies before the dragonslayer is a town deep in the Gozu Mountains, a landmark widely known by the kingdom to be deadly due to the monsters living in it. However, what Maximus sees contradicted everything he learned from the king.
Dragons walking about like civilians, with the other magical creatures such as werewolves, behemoths, chimeras, manticores, minotaurs and many more hanging around the area talking and laughing with each other. Some are busy tending to the fields with some interesting-looking crops in the mix, others are building and fixing the houses, and the rest focusing on their restaurants and taverns.
The two orc guards at the town entrance saw the three dragons in the distance, and shouted for the entire village to hear. "Druk and Arthur have returned, three cheers for the saviors! We got a new addition as well!" A loud hurrah can be heard in return, with the folks cheering at the sight, smiles in their faces.
"W-what...? What is... all this?" Maximus managed to ask, mind blown over the magical creatures labeled as dangerous to be this heartwarming.
He heard a loud snapping sound over his side, and saw Arthur snickering as he casted a spell. "And that's step two complete. Sorry, bud, but I have to commemorate everyone's face when they first see this. Make sure to check the town hall later!" The red dragon waved a picture of Maximus with his maw wide open, gawking.
Druk fist-bumped Arthur, smiling widely. "Nice one. I had thought that this idea of yours is a silly one, but I have to admit that it has its charm."
After laughing at the picture for a bit, the two lifted the green dragon and placed him on the ground. "Well, Maximus, welcome to Snowhaven."
.....................................................
Before the dragonslayer can speak, Druk held one of his hands in front of him. "I know what you are asking, just wait." He whistled right after, and 16 dragons landed right in front of them.
"Well, there's your answer, Max. My "captives" are all here, happy? The others are currently infiltrating the palace, but they would visit from time to time," Druk explained.
Before the three can say anything more though, the dragons roared and unleashed their breaths upwards, creating a beautiful combination of colors on the sky. Some of the townsfolks have gatheree at the entrance to see the performance. At the end od it, one of the dragons announced, "We, the Dragon Brigade, welcome our kings, Druk and Arthur! Welcome home, Your Majesties!"
Druk and Arthur groaned at this. "Ughhhh, I told you, you don't have to treat us any different here. We don't want to be kings, we just want to help each other out," Arthur sighed.
"Wait, Arthur?" Maximus mumbled. "Arthur... Arthur... Y-you're... It can't be! The missing prince known for his knightly duties, who was supposed to be taking the throne!?"
Arthur grumbled at this, "Yes, that's me... Although, I have to say, I have no intentions of becoming a king. I have enough of all the assassination attempts done by Balthasar, and I prefer to live in peace."
"B-but... impossible! The King had... made an announcement the moment you disappeared, saying that the only thing they could find was your sword," Maximus stated.
Druk growled, "That fucker manipulated the order to send Arthur to his death with the same mission you are assigned to. Well, little did he know, I'm not a killer, and well..." He put his arm on the red dragon's shoulder. "I'm actually glad he did that, right, love?"
Arthur placed his head close to Druk's shoulder. "It took a lot of effort for this dragon to open up, just so you know. After some days convincing him that I want to accompany him after the change... Well, we agreed on this plan."
Arthur continued, "Keep helping the humans with the water problem, and figure out a place for us to live far away from the king's influence. Well, it was supposed to be a shack of sorts big enough for the two of us, but..."
Druk sighed, "Well, you know what happened. Another soldier was sent to slay us, and I changed them to calm them down. Oh, he's that dragon that just made the announcement, by the way. We showed him our activities, and he decided to step down from the mission."
"Hey, the name's Magnus," the dragon with the lighter green scales compared to Maximus' stepped forward. "After knowing that I almost did something awful, I asked them to help out on making this place to live. I don't want to die by the king over this stupid plan of his, so we started creating this city. In the process, though..."
One of the werewolves laughed and pat Magnus' head. "Imagine our surprise when we saw three dragons building up a settlement here. Out of curiosity, the rest of us living in these mountains approached, and... well... we didn't expect a grand welcome. It's the first time that we are treated as fellow living beings, not just... monsters. So, more and more of us decided to live here and help out, and suddenly, BOOM, Snowhaven."
The werewolf guffawed as he walked back into his tavern with some of the other civilians. "Make sure to visit my place after you talk it out, you hear? I promise you, Godrick's stew is to die for."
Arthur chuckled, "So, there you have it. We're just a bunch of "monsters" helping each other here."
"Look, Maximus, we're not forcing you to live with us. Just... stay here for a week. If you don't agree with this, you won't be a prisoner. I'll reverse the magic on you, but I have to remove your memories of this place," Druk offered.
Maximus can only nod, nothing comes out from his new maw.
.........................................
A week later...
"Well, love? What does it say?" Arthur asked. His beloved has been staring at the letter given by one of the informants for a while now.
Suddenly, Druk smiles widely, showing off his fangs. Arthur always likes it when he sees the dragon being so relieved, away from all the stress. "Love, seems like more and more people are spreading the word about the rains we gave them! In return, the king had a massive backlash from his civilians regarding his orders."
"And that's not all!" Druk hugged Arthur tightly, lifting him to the air with joy. "Apparently, there has been plans to replace King Balthasar, and the one that will be on the throne is way more of a king than he is! In fact, he has a very positive impression on us magical creatures. We're going to have a happy life, love!" The blue dragon teared up.
Arthur sobbed as well, "Finally, we can live in peace, Druk... Oh, actually, I have an announcement on my own too. Would you come with?"
Druk cocked his head as he held Arthur's hand, being dragged to the town hall. "Uhhh, love, why are we here?"
"This, my saviors, is my gift to the two of you!" The dragon with the dark green scales announced over their arrival.
"Maximus!? You didn't tell me you decided to stay. Also, don't call us saviors, it's weird." Druk remarked.
Maximus rolled his eyes, "Right, because that would ruin the surprise now, wouldn't it? Also, I will be addressing you two with that term because you introduced me to my calling, which is so much better than my previous life, I'll say."
Arthur kept smiling at this, and Druk groaned a bit as he drew a blank. "...and that is?"
The green dragon suddenly has a serious expression on his face. "Listen, Druk, Arthur, I want to thank you for introducing me to this place. Before, I had no passion in life, just living each day going through the motions happy enough with food on the table."
"Here, I figured out more about myself. Trying out new things as I help out the others here, and suddenly, everything clicks when I help Godrick out with his tavern. Arthur's request just further solidifies the idea, so..."
Arthur snapped his fingers at that, and the two dragons are now wearing fancy suits fitting their towering figures. Before Druk can say anything, Maximus opened the town hall's doors.
With a bit of magic touch, the place has been rearranged to look like a grand ballroom, with the townspeople awaiting the two dragons in their suits as well. Lying in the middle is a giant ten-tier cake with miniature figures of Druk and Arthur, and the sides are decorated with intricate drawings of the two.
The former dragonslayer chuckled, "There you go. I had discovered that I am into baking as I cooked along with the werewolf, and Arthur's request made me realize that I have a lot of ideas that will be useful for organizing events. Now then..."
Maximus bowed, "I shall leave you two lovers to it. Do enjoy the dance, would you?" The dragon walked away towards the performers and announced to everyone, "Let the party begin, enjoy the festivities!"
Druk blushed, "B-babe... You remembered?"
Arthur chuckled, "Of course, Druk. You always wanted to have one of those ballroom dances like the human royalties do, yes? Well, there you have it. So..." The red dragon offered his hand. "Shall I have this dance?"
Druk chuckled, and held the offered hand. "You shall, my love." The two dragons danced to the music, and the rest of the civilians joined along. The blue dragon had not expected something like this happening to him. He would have thought that he will live alone for the rest of his life because of the fear, until...
Until he met Arthur. The poor, abandoned prince with his injuries as he discovered him. The red dragon who felt relieved as Druk rescued him, and never once blamed him for the change. The one who convinced him that not everyone is against the blue dragon, and ended up becoming his companion.
As the dance session reaches its end, Druk embraced Arthur. "Thank you so much, Arthur. I love you."
Arthur smiled back, "I love you too, my dragon."
Maximus chuckled at the sight, "Aahhh, sweet love. Now, come on, you two, it's time to eat the cake! Feel free to ask for seconds. I know everyone here has a massive appetite."
Howls and cheers can be heard during the festivities throughout Snowhaven. Little did they know, this is the start of their peaceful transition, towards a world where humans and other magical creatures work together for a peaceful life.