Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 200: An Incredible Job

Chapter 200: An Incredible Job

"I don’t like this idea at all."

Tillian stood next to the bed and looked down at Aideen who was already under the blanket, snuggling with Taru positioned against her stomach.

Once Leif explained what exactly his niece had to do in order to help the dragon grow, the princess decided to try this strategy right away because she wanted him to grow as fast as possible.

And although she presented a lot of valuable arguments to her husband, the duke only furrowed his brows and started whining again,

"I lost you that night... Now I can’t afford to let go of you even for a second. Not when I’m asleep, at least. You must understand my worries."

Aideen offered him a warm smile. She understood his concerns and found them adorable.

With a light gesture of her hand, she invited her husband to join her in bed, and once Tillian, too, was under the plush white blanket, Taru moved away from him, pressing his body closer to Aideen and burying his face into her soft nightgown.

Duke Valentine reacted to the dragon’s behavior with a smirk, "He is still afraid of me... Such a formidable creature is afraid of someone like me. That’s absurd!"

Aideen smiled again, "He can feel your power too. He knows how strong you are and it makes him uncomfortable... Because he still cannot defeat you in case you become dangerous. Dragons are very sensitive like that."

Tillian carefully touched the dragon’s spiky ear which made Taru flinch with his entire body and hug his master’s waist even tighter with his tiny arms. The man released a disappointed sigh.

"So, how exactly is this supposed to work?"

The princess touched her husband’s arms and moved them closer, prompting him to embrace her in a hug as well as she explained,

"I am still not entirely sure about the process... My uncle––His Highness, said I have to make a connection with him before he falls asleep and project onto him the dream I want him to see. For example, if I want to teach him how to fly, I need to imagine him flying and so on."

"This sounds kind of tricky..."

"His Highness said I have to focus really hard because if I transfer my power to him without it being linked to specific abilities, it will all go to waste because Taru won’t be able to develop his full potential and in the end, will waste away. He is the last living dragon, I cannot fail him."

Tillian stroked his wife’s soft cheek and smiled, "You can do it, Aideen. The founding dragon chose you to have his powers while Navia chose you to have hers; this must mean a lot. I believe you can do anything. You always could."

Hearing his comforting words made the princess let go of the pulsating anxiety that nestled in her heart. She planted a light kiss on Tillian’s palm and nodded. Then, she closed her eyes, placed her chin on top of Taru’s head, and whispered,

"Together... Together we can do anything."

***

Aideen’s eyelashes fluttered at the distant sound of a voice that called out her name.

At first, she thought it was merely an illusion; her tired mind must have been playing tricks on her while she was trying to fall asleep. But the voice refused to disappear. Instead, it started getting closer and closer, repeatedly calling out her name.

At last, she opened her eyes and for a moment, she was convinced that she had gone blind again –– her surroundings were completely white.

She squinted her eyes in an attempt to discern at least something, but the blinding whiteness surrounding her refused to disappear. The princess took a step backwards and asked in a trembling voice, "Is anyone there?"

"Master."

"Taru?"

Aideen turned around to the sound of a familiar low voice but instead of her baby snow dragon, she saw a large creature with a glowing snowflake on his forehead; his face was as big as her upper body.

He moved his head closer to her, his deep green eyes locking with hers, and smiled, "Master."

Aideen opened her eyes and saw a familiar ceiling above her. It was just a dream.

Instinctively and still nervous from what she had seen, the woman turned around and saw Tillian sleeping next to her, just as before, but one thing made her hair stand on its ends –– Taru was missing.

Alerted, she jumped off the bed and rushed out of the bedroom, her mind set on finding the baby dragon. She frantically searched for him everywhere but he was nowhere to be found.

After searching the entire second floor, Aideen finally saw Safie who was on her way to the kitchen. The princess stopped her and asked nervously, "Safie, have you seen Taru today?"

The maid shook her head, "No, My Lady, not today."

With her drumming heart flaring her concern, Aideen ran down the stairs and left the castle, ignoring the biting chill that attacked her poorly dressed body the moment she stepped into the morning cold.

"Taru!"

The princess called him several times but no reaction followed. She was beginning to grow scared.

’Why would he leave? Where would he go?’

As she continued to search for him around the castle, the air suddenly turned somewhat colder, sporadic gusts of cold wind dancing around her body as if someone used giant fans to blow the snow around.

Then, something covered her from above, looming over her like an ominous shadow.

Slowly, Aideen raised her head and widened her eyes –– above her, flapping its long, wide wings, was a blue dragon the size of at least two carriages, every movement of its wings almost knocked her off her feet as it sent the wind in her direction.

Shocked, the princess yelled out, "Taru?!"

"Your powers are quite impressive, Your Highness," Leif’s voice reached the woman from behind her back. The man stood right next to her and looked up as well, "Talk to him. Ask him to turn back."

"Turn back?" Aideen’s eyes grew bigger while Leif only nodded.

"Taru!" The dragon finally looked down at her, his deep voice ringing inside his master’s head, "Yes, Master?"

"Turn... Turn back!"

"As you wish, Master."

All of a sudden, the dragon’s body burst into bright blue flames, and a few moments later, instead of a large creature, Aideen and her uncle saw a small dragon once again, his tiny wings flapping awkwardly in their direction.

Still perplexed, the princess looked at Leif who replied with a laugh, "Just for one night... You both have done an incredible job!"