The chariot driver they hired only dared to take them to the middle of the forest, leaving the two of them, who now took shelter in one of the large trees from the sun. He could not blame the chariot driver’s fear. After all, the journey they were on was too risky, and there was no way for the chariot driver to sacrifice his source of income just to take them to a forbidden place.

There has been a lot of news reporting about the deaths of humans and witches who were desperate to enter the deepest part of the forest, but they never returned. That said, their actions to hunt this dragon were very reckless. There was no turning back. 

He seemed to be the only one who was concerned. In contrast to his anxiety, his younger sister was now doing a stretching enthusiastically. As if his sister thought of it was not a trip risking their lives, but just a magic academy study tour to a neighboring country.

To make things even worse, he was carrying nothing but a small bag of potions that would help ease some of his unbalanced energy symptoms—his father’s new potion that his father made for him yesterday, along with three bottles of energy balancing potion in case the new potions his father made could not reduce the effect of his unbalanced energy.

He sat under a tree, enjoying the fresh air he had not breathed in a long time because he was too busy with his work. The last time he went to the forest was when his younger sister was nine years old, ending up with his sister getting lost deep in the forest until the night, leaving him and Isaac in panic.

His mother was angry when they came home with their bodies shabby and full of wounds all over them from being scratched by some vines and falling several times. He did not really remember exactly how they found Ursula since he had a fever back then.

All he remembered was that he was on Isaac’s back, vaguely hearing his mother’s persistent scolding.

When he was a child, they often played together, all three of them. Isaac was still not as busy as he was now because of position as a prince.

He had just started his first year of apprenticeship as a wizard in the royal court. He finished the curriculum at the magic academy in four years, instead of the usual seven, with his father.

Recalling those memories made him think of Isaac. Guilt enveloped him.

“Your body temperature is much colder than usual. Are you all right? You didn’t miss the schedule to drink the potion, did you?”

Isaac’s words struck him, waking him up to the fact that he was a half-blood witch who would soon die. He raised both hands up, staring at the skin on his hands that were losing their original color. His hands were pale, as if there was no blood flowing in his veins, so his veins were clearly visible on his skin.

“Brother?”

He woke up from his reverie when he saw his younger sister’s face, which prevented him from looking at the leaves on the tree where he took shelter.

“What?”

“Are you okay?”

He nodded. Ursula did not ask any further, moving away from him as she picked up his backpack.

“We’re leaving now. Tell me if you feel tired, so we can rest.”

“Yes, yes. You are so noisy, Ursula,” said Raphael, a little annoyed that his younger sister treated him like an old man.

Not that he did not understand the reason his younger sister was so worried about him. He got up from where he was sitting earlier, patted the remaining grass stuck to his clothes, then followed Ursula, who had walked before him with slow steps as she read the paper containing the forest plan.

He saw Ursula shaking her head sometimes, nodding occasionally with satisfaction when she found something that matched what was in her forest plan (he did not really understand how his younger sister read the plans and diagrams that looked like mathematical formulas in his eyes) while eating their supplies.

Ursula had offered to join him to eat, but he refused. The feeling of tension mixed with anxiety that he was feeling now had lost his appetite.

It took four hours on foot through the path in the forest, which was difficult to pass. The wet ground around them forced them to walk cautiously if they did not want to slip. Every half hour, Ursula would turn to face him, who was walking behind his younger sister, repeatedly offering to find a shady tree so he could rest if he was tired, which he immediately refused. Not because he forced himself, but because he did not feel tired.

Like now. Again, Ursula turned to face him. This time with her hands on her hips after tying her hair into a ponytail.

“What?” he asked, confused.

His sister’s red eyes narrowed. “What did I say earlier? Do not push yourself.”

“I’m not. I really mean it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Don’t worry. I know the limits of my body very well,” Raphael looked around, realizing that they had actually entered the deepest part of the forest. The atmosphere had become much gloomier than when they were still in the middle of the forest. “Is this the place?”

Ursula looked around at their surroundings, tried to match them up with the map she was carrying. After waiting for a moment, his sister nodded in satisfaction. “Yes. It should be here. We are in front of the gate.”

“Gate?”

Ursula folded the paper she was carrying and put it in the small pocket next to her backpack. His little sister’s hand let out a magic arrow in an instant, tightly gripping the arrow while looking around once again with a wary gaze. “Stay behind me, Brother. We’ll guard from two sides. According to my research, the most dangerous time is fifteen minutes before sunset.”

He also took out the same magic arrow as his sister and nodded in understanding. Walking backwards, following Ursula’s steps, surveying their surroundings. Only now did he feel goosebumps. Vaguely, he saw a thick black fog that enveloped this forest, followed by a very beautiful singing voice, arousing his curiosity.

“Did you hear that voice?”

“Yes. Is that part of the trap? “

“I have no idea about that melodious singing. Should we go there? Maybe it’s someone who got lost in the forest.”

“And singing to lure us closer to them? I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure about this one.”

“Shall we just ignore it?”

He shrugged his shoulders. The feeling started to fray, and they got goosebumps as their feet stepped into the forest. There was a sound of flapping bird wings flying away from the area. A strange hissing sound, as well as the howling wolf, echoed around the forest.

The hand that was holding his bow was trembling, but he did not pay attention. It would be too late if he felt scared and left this place. Moreover, Ursula was not the type to do things halfway.

The singing voice became clearer in their ears, making him even more terrified.

“Ursula?”

“Hm?”

“Is it just my feeling, or does this forest look even scarier than before?”

“I thought so too. But it becomes more exciting, doesn’t it? It will stimulate our adrenaline!” Ursula was even more thrilled, in contrast to him, who was now scared. Many times he caught his breath became unstable, releasing cold steam from his mouth.

He swallowed hard several times to calm himself. There was Ursula behind him, so he should be fine.

“You two ... can hear ... my singing voice earlier?”

He jumped in surprise to see the figure of a woman with an elongated face approaching them. His hands trembled, and he aimed his bow quickly at the woman.

But Ursula restrained her movements while shaking her head slowly. His sister was unconcerned about her looks, as he saw Ursula retracted her magical bow.

“Good evening,” Ursula said, moving forward towards the woman, who was surprised by his sister’s polite attitude. “Hello. Can I ask something, err ... Miss ...”

“Beat ... ri ... ce ...” the figure of the woman tilted her head after changing the length of her neck back to normal and it made the woman look like an ordinary human. He did not know how his younger sister seemed calm in the face of such a suspicious woman. The woman’s eyes moved irregularly, but her head was still pointing towards Ursula, smiling at what this figure might think was a friendly smile, but not for him.

Her black-sharp teeth adorn the smile of a light blue-skinned woman. The woman’s black hair hung irregularly, covering a little of her face. He was unfamiliar with the dress that the figure wore, which looked so simple. If the woman was a human turned into a ghost, maybe she was not from their town.

“Miss Beatrice. It’s nice to meet you,” Ursula stretched out her hand, inviting the figure of a woman, who was increasingly amazed at Ursula’s attitude. She hesitated to return Ursula’s hand.

“You two ... aren’t afraid of me?” The woman looked at him, who was hiding behind Ursula. He forced himself to smile as the woman looked closely at his face, not daring to show how afraid he was to face her.

With ease, Ursula shook Beatrice’s hand, then pushed him, who was still standing behind her, to her side. “I’m Ursula Lockwood, and this is my brother, Raphael. Of course not. Why are we afraid of creatures as beautiful as Miss Beatrice?”

***

There was a blush on the face of the woman who introduced herself as Beatrice, while he glared at Ursula, who did not notice his gaze. How could his sister flirt with a stranger? Besides, it was not a human being affected by her seduction but another creature that was difficult to describe, whether a figure was a ghost or a demon.

“So, what do you want to ask?”

“We’re looking for a dragon.”

The woman’s face suddenly turned pale, and she stared alternately in horror at him and Ursula. Her expression was not like before. The woman growled, showing her sharp teeth, preparing to attack them.

“Why are you looking for His Majesty!?”

Ursula turned towards him, not looking panicked at the woman’s reaction. In fact, his younger sister smiled broadly, looking so proud.

“See, Brother. What did I say? There is an actual dragon here!”

“Ursula, we better get out of here. Let’s just say that our plan to find and kill the dragon doesn’t exist.”

“How can we do that, Brother? This is a golden opportunity for both of us! Do you want to give up, depend on your destiny forever?”

“It’s not like that, Ursula. But ...”

“You want to kill His Majesty?!”

The woman ran towards Ursula and threw her fist at Ursula. To his surprise, he found out that his younger sister dodged her attack easily.

“No need to worry. I’ve faced something scarier than this at the academy.”

Ursula gripped Beatrice’s wrist, locking the figure’s movements in an instant. It made Raphael question the curriculum taught at the academy where his younger sister was currently studying.

“Well, I said that we were going to kill a dragon. But I think there are other ways we can use it besides following the legends. We don’t need to kill the dragon.”

“Why didn’t you talk from the start, you idiot?!” Raphael took advantage of the situation by flicking Ursula’s forehead. “Don’t make me misunderstand! I thought I had to get my hands dirty to slay the dragon. “

“Yes, that’s if the dragon attacked us. Didn’t I tell you while we were in the chariot?”

Ursula tried to remember their conversation while releasing her grip on the woman’s wrist. Ursula’s handprint was apparent there, as was some black blood seeping out of the woman’s wrist, who was now screaming in anguish.

“Absolutely not,” said Raphael. “You only said to find the dragon and then kill them.”

Ursula laughed, looked guilty. “Oops, my bad.”

“What’s going on?”

That woman’s movements stopped, terrified, when she heard the source of the voice behind Raphael. He spontaneously turned around to find a cold-faced man figure who was staring back at the two of them in astonishment.

“Who are you?”

“Your Majesty! They intend to kill you—”

“I didn’t ask you, Beatrice!” The mysterious man yelled. His long blonde hair fell down, moving toward the wind that was blowing hard around him.

The mysterious man’s eyebrows furrowed, staring at him in astonishment with his green eyes.

The way he looked at him seemed somehow familiar to him. His figure reminded Raphael of the way Isaac had looked at him the other day.

Strange.

Why did he feel familiar with the mysterious man’s figure he just met today?

“You two! Follow me. Right now,” the man said in a stern tone, walking ahead of them. The man’s hand touched something in front of him that looked like a water bubble, waving his hand in a graceful motion, causing the water bubble to open completely, revealing a completely different scene from the forest they were in now.

Behind the water bubble, they could see a town that was like where they live. A little farther from there, he saw a red-dominated castle on a hill near the city. The man turned around, facing the three of them, especially Beatrice, who tried to protest.

“I’m not asking your opinion, Beatrice. Go back to your post. Now.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The woman did not dare respond to the man’s words, quickly disappearing from their sights. The man motioned for the two of them to go inside first. Ursula shouted happily, about to run towards the place, when he held his sister’s hand, shaking his head quickly.

“What’s the matter, Brother?”

He pulled Ursula away from the man and took him behind him while he faced the cold-faced man, who did not seem bothered by his gaze.

“Why do we have to come with you?”

“I’ll explain to you later.”

“Just explain it now. Why should we need to wait later?”

“Should I tell you now?”

In fact, the way the man asked was exactly like Isaac always did. The familiar feeling came back to him. How could he be familiar with the figure he met for the first time? There must be something wrong with him.

“Of course. What kind of stupid question is that!?” he answered curtly.

He felt Ursula’s hand pulling on his arm collar.

“Brother? Why are you so irritated when we met the legend we were looking for?” whispered Ursula.

“The legend? You mean the man standing in front of us is a dragon?”

“You heard it yourself earlier, didn’t you? The way Miss Beatrice addresses that person?”

“But it doesn’t mean he’s a dragon, right? It could be another demon.”

“Not. I’m pretty sure he’s a dragon. You know, according to legend, only dragons can be addressed in that way since their status is higher among all supernatural beings in folktales and legends, as well as because of their wisdom. Maybe we can say their position is like that of a king in the human world.”

“Have you finished discussing?” The man looked annoyed to see them keep whispering at each other. “I don’t have time to explain everything to you. Especially you. Come along with me, or not?”

The man’s sharp gaze managed to make him shudder in horror.

“Just follow him, Brother. It’s fine.”

“But what if he killed us after that? Think in that way!”

“That won’t be happening, Brother. Even if he did, I would definitely attack him. Don’t worry about it.”

“Your words aren’t comforting me at all,” he snorted in annoyance, disliking the fact that his younger sister was trying to calm him down so he would not be afraid.

Ursula clicked her tongue, frustrated, removing her hand from him. “You’re really hopeless. Hmph! I better go in first.” 

“Raphael! Ursula! Wait!”

He turned to find Isaac, who jumped off his horse, looking relieved to see the two of them. Isaac’s scream managed to stop Ursula, who was about to enter the gate. His eyes blinked when he saw the man running over to him.

“Finally! Thank goodness I made it in time!” Isaac immediately hugged him so tightly that he could barely breathe. Then Isaac let go of his hug and grabbed Raphael’s hand, glowering at the cold-faced figure.

“You don’t mind if I come along with them too, right?”

“Suit yourself,” the man turned his back on them, said nothing, and walked into the gate.

“I’ll go in first, Brother. Don’t make me wait too long,” Ursula said, pointing her thumb at Isaac, who replied with a wink.

He looked alternately at the two people before Ursula’s figure disappeared because he had entered the gate.

“You knew the man earlier?”

“I’ll explain to you later.” Isaac took off the coat he was wearing and put it on him.

Then Isaac lifted him up before he could protest, running through the closing gates.

***