Bound To The Ice Dragon King
Chapter 94: Do you have a mother?

Chapter 94: Do you have a mother?

Draven carried Rhea through the dimly lit hallway where he’d sensed the ghost was. The air was heavy with an eerie silence, broken only by the sound of their own hushed footsteps. Finally, he brought her to the door that held the ghost captive.

Rhea gently nudged his shoulders, "Put me down." She murmured.

Draven slowly bent down and put her down carefully, "Be careful, the ghost’s presence smells really bad and evil." He warned.

Rhea nodded and her hand trembled slightly as she reached out to turn the doorknob. The door creaked open, revealing a sight that sent shivers down her spine.

A black bell, ominously hanging from a rusty hook, caught her attention. Its presence seemed out of place, as there was no wind to make it sway. Yet, against all logic, the bell began to move in a slow and haunting rhythm, as if it was being controlled by an unseen force.

With a gulp, Rhea pushed the door open wider, revealing the spacious room - a chilling sight that made her blood run cold. The air grew thick with a suffocating dread.

For some reasons, Rhea’s heart began to race as she entered cautiously, the floor creaking beneath her every step. As she approached the center of the room, darkness engulfed her, and the atmosphere became more suffocating, and made her breath quicken, her senses heightened.

Suddenly, a low, guttural growl echoed from the shadows. The sound seemed to reverberate within the very depths of her being. She turned toward the source of the chilling noise and saw the ghostly figure of the woman appear before her.

The ghost’s face was now twisted into a grotesque mask of agony, her eyes hollow and devoid of any humanity. Long, tangled strands of hair dangled from her head, covering her ashen face. Her body was wrapped in a tattered, blackened gown that billowed around her like a sinister cloud.

Black vapor oozed from her ghostly form, circling her like a sinister aura. The stench of decay and malevolence filled the room, causing Rhea’s stomach to churn. At the same time, the ghost let out a sharp ear-piercing cry, that nearly split Rhea’s eardrum. She quickly covered her ears, "Johanna, it’s me, Rhea!" She could only yell at the ghost to calm down. However, the more she yelled, the more the pain in her chest intensify, the pain began to spread to her entire body.

"Ouch, my chest,"she murmured clutching her chest, then yelled out to the ghost again, "Johanna stop it, your son is safe with me now!!"

With those words, the ear-piercing cry in the room lessened and the evil presence began to go down. Draven, standing beside Rhea, felt the ghost’s aura changing. Though he couldn’t see the ghost, he could sense her dark presence.

Rhea continued to speak, "I have kept my promise, you son is safe. He is staying at my friend’s and has a room of his own, that’s more than what the other dragon children received. You can follow me to see for yourself that he’s fine now."

The ghost finally calm down, she wasn’t far from becoming an evil spirit. She didn’t move an inch, she only stood there and stared at Rhea, it was to the point that Rhea’s heart hurt even more from the ghost’s intense stare. It seemed the woman was doubting her words.

Rhea then said, "Believe me, and if you don’t, I’ll gladly take you to see him now. Follow us."

Hearing Rhea’s words, Draven automatically positioned himself in front of her again, he bent over, but this time, Rhea didn’t hesitate to hop on and wrapped her arms around his neck. Under the ghost’s careful gaze, they quietly left the building through the back door.

The moment they returned to The Den Of Pleasure, Draven took Rhea towards Aedan’s room, he then slowly put her down by the door. She gestured for the ghost, "Your son is in this room, he should still be awake by now."

Rhea raised her hand to knock on the door, she hadn’t even knocked yet, when Aedan opened the door as if knowing someone was outside, he stepped out, all dressed up in a fine nightwear, with his long hair neatly tied behind his head.

The moment Aedan saw Rhea outside his room, his expression brightened up, but when he noticed her burned clothes and the injuries on her arms, his eyes narrowed, "Miss Rhea, you’re hurt. What happened to you?" He asked worriedly and walked towards her to examine the injuries on her arms.

Rhea’s heart softened as she saw that Aedan was worriedly trying to examine her injuries. She then glanced at Johanna, who had been on the edge of becoming an evil spirit, but now was slowly turning back to a normal ghost as she watched her son. Her eyes were filled with an undescribable love, all the agony and bitterness had disappeared. There was only gratitude and distress that couldn’t be suppressed.

Of course, she’d be distressed. This was probably the last time she’d be seeing her son. Now that she had no reason to cling to the living world, it was time to cross over to the dead. Someday, her son would grow up to be a handsome gentleman and face the reality of the world alone without a mother.

The black vapor around the ghost was slowly turning grey again, just like she was when she’d first confronted Rhea to help her. Rhea couldn’t help but think; if Johanna was still alive, she’d have been a very pretty lady. How sad that Aedan wouldn’t get to see his mother for the last time.

Rhea glanced at Aedan, who was now gently blowing her wound as if to soothe the pain for her. She patted his head with her other hand and said, "Aedan, I’m fine. But I want to show you something."

Aedan glanced up at her questioningly, "What’s that, Miss Rhea?"

Rhea raised her hand up, "Look at the direction my hand points to."

Aedan nodded, then Rhea moved her hand until it stopped in front of the ghost’s face. Meanwhile, Aedan oblivious to his mother’s presence, simply stared at Rhea’s hand unknown to him that he was staring at his mother’s face.

A drop of tears rolled down Johanna’s face as she looked into her son’s face. Aside from Rhea, none of the rest could see the ghost, but still the ghost covered her mouth to muffle her sobs, out of fear of scaring her son. She then said to Rhea, "Thank you so much...thank you..." ..." Her voice choked with emotion as she added, "May you never experience the anguish of being apart from your own child in the future...thank you."

Hearing the ghost’s words, Rhea’s hand slightly trembled. Aedan, who had been staring at the hand she raised, frowned, "Miss Rhea, what am I supposed to be staring at on your hand?" He asked in confusion, as he’d been looking at her hand for more than minutes, but nothing happened.

Rhea heard Aedan’s words, and quickly used her ice magic to conjure a little dragon, "Look, I made you a little dragon!" She handed it to the boy, who quickly took the dragon. "Wow, it’s awesome, Miss Rhea!" He exclaimed as he happily stared at the ice dragon.

Rhea smiled faintly, she was aware that Aedan must have been traumatized when he first lost his mother, she didn’t want him to remember the pain of not having a mother by telling him that she was here. Thus, she tricked him into looking at her for the last time. Perhaps that would be the best way for him to move on.

Rhea watched as Johanna slowly began to perish away, her eyes never leaving her son until she disappeared completely, and forever.

Aedan, who had been examining the little ice dragon, glanced up at Rhea, "You’re the best! Thank you."

Rhea smiled, then gently stroked his long hair, "You’re welcome. You should go to bed, it’s getting late. I’ll go back to my room as well. Goodnight."

Aedan nodded, without taking his eyes off the dragon, he said, "Goodnight, Miss Rhea. Goodnight, Sir Draven." Saying this, he entered his room and closed the door.

Draven, who had been watching from the side, saw the happiness in the boy’s eyes before he closed the door. Though, he hadn’t seen the ghost, he could tell what Rhea did earlier. Rhea might appear as a thug, but she had the kindest heart in the world. She had risked her life countless times for the ghost to finally be at peace. Despite her injuries, she still insisted on releasing the woman, and even made the boy look at his mother for the last time.

Though, he’d lived for centuries, this was the first time he’d met someone as reckless and kind as Rheanna Villden. Draven found himself staring at her yet again. Without a word, he helped her get back into their room.

He closed the door behind them as they entered, but the moment he turned towards Rhea, he saw her clutching her chest tightly. "Should I call Aria to get a doctor to check on you?" He asked. But Rhea shook her head, "No... I’ll be fine." She murmured softly.

Draven looked at her with narrowed eyes before he moved to help her get into bed, he then took off her shoes. However, when he looked into her eyes, he noticed they were glittering under the light, as if she was holding back her tears. "Are you really sure I shouldn’t call a doctor?" He asked again.

But Rhea asked an unexpected question that made him stop in his movement, "Do you have a mother as well?"

The question caught him off guard, though his expression didn’t change that much, however he sat down at the edge of the bed and replied, "Yes, I do."

Rhea turned to him, "Then what happened to your mother?" She asked curiously.

Draven was silent for moment, before he said, "My parents died when I was still little, I never knew much about them."

Rhea was surprised for a moment. Even though she had known Draven for months, she had never thought to inquire about his life before meeting Alina. And now that he mentioned it, she couldn’t help but be curious. "How did they die?" she unconsciously asked, not really expecting Draven to answer, but he did.

"They died centuries ago during the war between the powerful Dragons and Erebus, in order to seal Erebus’dark powers away from the world," he mused softly.

Erebus, the malevolent entity known for bringing chaos and disaster, the same one Alina was rumored to have sought help from... Rhea hadn’t expected that Draven’s parents were part of the Dragons who sacrificed their lives to battle the entity.

"I was just a few months old when the war occurred..." he started. Draven hadn’t even had the opportunity to be with his parents before they departed.

Draven’s parents were the legendary Dragon King and Queen, powerful rulers loved and respected by all dragons. However, fate had a different plan for Draven as tragedy struck when he was still just a little dragon baby.

One fateful night, the war broke out between the dragons and Erebus’ dark magic. A lot of dragons lost their lives and lands were destroyed. His parents knew they had to protect their realm and their child. In a heartbreaking decision, they made the choice to leave little Draven in the care of a trusted ally and set off to battle with Erebus.

The war waged on for a long time, and during their absence, Draven was raised by a wise and nurturing old dragon, who taught him all he could about the ways of the royals. Though as a child, he missed his parents, but he grew up without them, and unaware of the true reasons behind their absence.

As he grew older, Draven discovered that his parents had been lost in the battle against Erebus. But strangely, he found that he had never harbored much curiosity about his parents. He had grown up not knowing them, but only seeing their portrait, surrounded by mentors, he had never felt the void of their absence.

His focus shifted to protecting his realm and ensuring the safety of his fellow dragons. The memories of his parents remained distant, and he found solace in the support and companionship of those who embraced him as their leader. He was driven by his duty to his realm and had little time or interest in exploring the past. Not until Alina showed up and ruined everything...

Rhea, who was listening intently, gazed blankly at the ceiling. "So it seems you also never knew what your mother was like..." she softly murmured, her eyes welling up with tears as the absence of her mother overwhelmed her once more.

Draven turned towards her, seeing her hurriedly wipe away her tears, as if not wanting him to witness her vulnerability. "It must be wonderful to have a mother, to know that she loves and cares for you, just like Aedan’s mother..." she whispered, "I wish I could have known what my mother was like before she passed away."

Draven’s heart tightened upon hearing her words. She longed for her mother, whom she had lost when his core possessed her body. A wave of guilt suddenly washed over him. If his core hadn’t chosen her as its vessel, Rhea’s mother would still be alive, and her life wouldn’t have been so difficult. And...he would never have come to know who Rheanna Villden was.

"I want to sleep, please switch off the lights." She murmured softly, and turned her back to him.

Draven stared at her back for awhile, his hand subconsciously moving on its own, as if to console her, but then he suddenly withdrew them and stood up from the edge of the bed. "All right..." he glanced at her back one last time, before he switched off the lights.