Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 191: Taru

Chapter 191: Taru

"To die?"

Aideen repeated these words under her breath, her hands trembling slightly which made the little dragon absorb her agitation as well. Perhaps still harboring the looming pain from losing her loved ones prematurely, the princess abhorred the mere thought of someone giving up their life so easily, no matter what kind of difficulty they were facing; no matter how weak or helpless they were feeling.

Ahspid was reluctant to continue. Confessing his true feelings was already difficult enough, and he never thought that he would end up revealing the whole truth to Aideen herself. He couldn’t help but feel absurd.

Nevertheless, having witnessed everything that had happened to her, the mage felt that he owed her at least something. When he was near her, he couldn’t help but feel like he could only speak the truth. Thus, releasing a quiet sigh, he finally spoke again,

"I was desperate, Your Highness. I could not endure yet another failure. All kinds of thoughts ran through my head as I wandered through the freezing lands of the North. I was lost and full of painful hatred for none other but myself."

"How could you say that?" Aideen raised her eyebrows in complete bewilderment, the man’s words refused to settle in her already hazy head, "How could you say you hated yourself when you have done nothing wrong?"

Ahspid, too, arched his eyebrows in reaction to the princess’ surprising words, "I failed you, Your Highness. I promised to help you and I failed miserably. What’s worth... I was cowardly enough to leave you without saying a single word."

Although his explanation was somewhat reasonable, Aideen still refused to accept it. Taking a careful step towards the mage, she locked her sharp eyes with his and answered in a confident, yet reassuring voice,

"You are right, leaving the castle the way you did... that was something only a selfish coward would do. However... Who would I be to call you a failure? All the things you have done for both me and Tillian, everything you have taught me, –– it was not just lessons on magic, Ahspid. While you were my teacher, you have managed to become my friend as well. And isn’t it what friends do when they face hardships? Don’t you think friends are supposed to accept each other’s mistakes and failures, encourage each other, and support each other while they are dealing with them?"

Ahspid could not form a reply; the young woman’s wisdom hurt him more than it was supposed to soothe.

She was right; he, too, thought of her as more than just a student or a weak princess he was supposed to turn into a magic vessel. The longer he stayed with her, the more he felt his frozen heart melting down. She wasn’t Lina whom he failed to protect for she had others to help him in that mission. With Aideen, he could feel what others did while he rejected all kinds of emotions. He could feel closeness; he could feel a new type of bond.

And that was precisely why he couldn’t bring himself to leave the North completely.

Allowing his selfishness to guide him once more, the man, too, took another step closer to the princess and offered her a light smile,

"Then... Is it possible for one friend to forgive the other for being a helpless fool?"

The woman could no longer hold back a genuinely happy smile. Nodding her head, she gave him a positive reply,

"Yes, as long as the other friend learns his lesson!"

Ahspid’s heart finally melted completely. All the torture of past mistakes dissipated under the bright light of Aideen’s warm smile and he embraced that warmth in its entirety.

Prepared to embrace her in a friendly hug, he opened his arms and walked closer when suddenly, their attention shifted to the princess’ arms as both of them heard a peculiar noise,

"Wa!"

"Oh!" Aideen exclaimed, finally remembering that they were not alone, "I guess I have to introduce you to yet another one of my friends."

Removing her right hand from the baby dragon’s head, she exposed his upper body to the mage who, in return, widened his eyes in astonishment,

"My eyes cannot be deceiving me, right? Your Highness, you have made yet another seemingly impossible thing possible!"

"What do you mean?" Aideen looked down at the tiny snow dragon still timidly pressing his head to her chest, his big glistening eyes shifting frantically up and down as he felt the presence of another person near him. Ahspid silently studied the baby dragon’s appearance and lightened up as he tried to explain,

"I knew that dragons were incredible although quite mysterious creatures, but to witness this..." Fixing his excited silver eyes on the woman’s he continued, "Seeing how you gained the ability to see leads me to believe that you have accepted Utar’s full powers."

The princess nodded slowly and the mage went on again,

"As the Founding Dragon, Utar possessed immeasurable powers, and even though you are his true descendant, being half-human, although that half still belongs to a powerful magus, made it impossible for you to absorb all that belonged to Utar."

"So this is..." Aideen rounded her eyes as she looked down at the baby dragon again, "This is Utar? Or... What was left of him?!"

Ahspid shook his head, "Not exactly. I think that the remnants of the dragon’s powers made Utar be born again so rather than being the same dragon, this is his new form. And I dare to assume that he, too, can grow up to be the magnificent and powerful creature his previous form was."

"He can grow up..." The woman quietly repeated the mage’s words and recalled the feeling she had when she entered the cave and met Utar. When she placed her hand on his nose, she instantly knew that the creature was as big as the mountain but to think that she could practically raise this baby dragon to be just as gigantic? The mere thought of that sent shivers all over her body.

It was a fascinating thought.

"Then, Ahspid," she started as she shifted her gaze back to the mage, "will you return with me to the castle and assist me in helping this baby assume his real form?"

Ahspid couldn’t help but chuckle as he nodded to Aideen’s words,

"Yes, My Lady, I will." He paused for a few moments while his piercing silver eyes ran over the snow dragon once more and then added, "You, of course, know that all dragons need to have a name. Will you still call him Utar?"

Aideen looked down at the dragon nestled in her embrace and flinched a little when his big eyes met hers. Then, she shook her head and finally replied,

"No. ’Utar’ means "king" in my native tongue, and the only king I want next to me is Tillian."

Brushing the fingers of her right hand gently over the baby dragon’s head, the princess smiled at him and declared, "His name will be Taru. Taru, the new form of Utar; the first Dragon Prince."