Chapter 21: The new first princess, the Master of the Blood sword and the tamer of dragons!

Selena found herself in a daze, still not believing that the Blood sword had chosen her as its new master. She wanted to know why…….why her when countless other worthy candidates have fell to their deaths for the exact same thing?

The dragon watched her with awe and respect, then asked,
“Do you know who the last owner of the Blood sword was?”
Selena nodded and replied, “Count Dracula himself”

She still couldn’t believe it and found herself gripping the sword more tightly.

“Let’s go, little one”
Selena raised an eyebrow in surprise at the ancient dragon.

“You have gotten what you have come for. Let’s not waste any more time and dilly dally, shall we? I am rather sick of this maze you see, after being imprisoned here for centuries.”

Selena stared at the dragon in shock, sensing the intentions behind his words. Was he really coming with her? She felt honored and touched at the same time that he had really taken her words seriously.

“Dragons always keep their words, little one. You have my loyalty and respect for the rest of your life and as requested I shall watch over you, protect you and guide you”

Selena smiled gratefully at the dragon, genuinely touched by his actions.
“Wait a second….We can’t go out yet. I still need to find my friend”, Selena declared as she eyed the maze resignedly and tied up her shoes, readying herself to venture further into the maze.

The dragon eyed the vampire before him curiously, finally realizing why she had voluntarily stepped into a place like this. It was to save her friend.

“Little one, you are the only being in this maze, supernatural or not, other than me.”
Selena frowned at his declaration. Was he maybe mistaken? Her mother had definitely told her that Demetri was stuck inside. That’s why she was here in the first place.

She shook her head at the dragon, wanting to make sure all the same.
“Do you not trust my magic or senses, Little one?”

Selena shook her head vividly at the dragon and murmured in a small voice, afraid to hurt his sentiments, “It is not that. It’s just that I can’t afford to take a chance with my friend’s life hanging in the balance.”

The dragon eyed the female vampire with more and more respect as minutes passed.
“Do you have something of this friend, Little one? A shared memory, maybe?”

Selena stared at the dragon thoughtfully for a second before taking out the chain she was wearing over her neck. It had a royal crest on it. It was the chain that Demetri had gifted to her as a way of promising that he was indebted to her for life when she had saved his life that day.

She had always held on to that chain and always wore it over her neck since she knew how important it was to Demetri. It was the only thing he possessed which tied him to his family.

The dragon pondered curiously over the symbol. Neither this vampire nor her friend was normal beings.
“This is the royal crest of the Syldavian family. Your friend is nobility.”

Selena looked at the emblem in surprise. Never once had she even batted an eye towards that necklace. Neither she nor Demetri had sensed anything out of the ordinary from this necklace. This could probably lead to Demetri’s origins. Knowing that it was a royal crest didn’t surprise her, since Demetri had an innate ability to track, she had already figured out that he was a blue blood like her.

“Where are they now?”, she asked hopefully, rejoiced that her friend probably stood a chance at reuniting with his lost family.

“Extinct. The whole race had gone into extinction because of the Vanhuesans.”

Selena winced at the news. For a moment she was hopeful that he could be reunited with his long-lost family but she found the hope diminishing quickly when she heard that their whole clan had gone into extinction.

The Falak dragon bent his head slowly and sniffed the chain she was holding in her hand and puffed the same translucent smoke into her face and she shuddered and took several steps back as she inhaled some of the smoke accidently.

The smoke went on in circles until it took form and a dungeon appeared right in front of her eyes.
To her surprise, she could see Demetri in the smoke. He was handcuffed and tied up in the dungeons and beside him standing guard were the Queen’s royal guards. He looked tired and worn out but other than that he seemed to be alright.

The puff of smoke vanished and she let out a curse, realizing that her mother had lied to her and tricked her into believing that Demetri was in danger so that she would enter the Labyrinth of Death voluntarily but in fact, he was safe and secure in the dungeons. Well, as safe as he could be with the Queen’s guard encircling him constantly.

She let out a resigned sigh. Her mother was indeed a master strategist all right and like a fool, she had walked right into her little trap. The Queen had played her perfectly and she felt belittled at having been used like that.

“Let’s fly, my dear. Your people are starting to get anxious for you”
Selena raised an eyebrow at the dragon wondering what the hell did he mean by fly?

The dragon bent his hind leg and Selena stared at shock as she finally got the meaning behind his words. He wanted her to ride him.

She eyed the shiny, pointed scaled on his back and shuddered. She hesitated for a second before curiosity eventually ran her over and she gently got on his back. She held on tightly to his scales not daring to look anywhere else.

“Into the air, Little one”
Selena closed her eyes and held on tight as it got back on to its legs slowly and took into the air. Deep inside, Selena was relived that I didn’t need to go through the deathly mist and hallucinations of the maze again to get out.