Draco's quest

29. Going on the Expedition

Draco’s pov.

The next day, I woke up early and prepared to leave. Yesterday, Harold and I were given a thousand bars of gold each, which he accepted at once. Well, he had a family to take care of. And I was happy that he could benefit from it. But for me? What would I do? I had no desire to look for another place to live in this world because I am damn sure if I did, I would be vulnerable. Besides I was supposed to leave on an expedition and I didn’t have anyone that depends on me. So I asked the king to keep it. 

What I wanted was to go back to my world. Then I would indeed narrate the stories of this magical world to the humans. However, there was no way that the king would let me go. At least not before I had completed this expedition. Perhaps, if he gets what he wants, I would be allowed to go back. That would be such a huge relief if I could escape this place before Killian managed to overpower me.

I checked the time and saw that it was almost time for me to meet the king. I most certainly didn’t want to be late for this.

I hurriedly gathered what I wanted to take in a bag that was provided to me and I made sure that I had put the enchanted scroll in the bag. 

“You will help me this time too, won’t you?” I whispered at the rolled-up scroll before I hid it inside. If it could show me the place where the treasure was hidden in this palace, why can’t it help during this expedition? Was it wrong to keep this a secret? But if I was to survive I had to do this. I reassured and pushed away from the thought of informing the royals about the scroll or the secret I had found. That could wait. I will tell them when the time is appropriate.

After securing the sword in my belt, I made my way towards the kitchen. I knew I needed to eat well before I left because most probably, I would have to survive on the dry food I was provided with throughout the journey. I could try to find eatables from the forest, but there was no guarantee of that. I had a feeling that the entire forest would be enchanted. I sure hope it would be enchanted in a good way.

But its name told me otherwise. The forbidden forest. I wonder why it was called the forbidden forest. That certainly sounded intimidating. Maybe I can ask Harold. I sure hope I see him before I leave. He was more like a mentor to me now. Within two months, the connection between us had strengthened and I was immensely thankful for that. 

And I was right. Harold was the first person who greeted me as soon as I walked out of the palace and we walked towards the office where I was supposed to meet the king before I left. He hugged me tightly before we entered the office. I felt him sigh. Was he thinking about something?

“Be careful out there Draco.” He muttered and I frowned. I had a feeling that there were a lot of things unknown to me. 

“Harold. Why is it called the forbidden forest?” I voiced my inquiry, unable to hide my curiosity anymore. 

He stepped back and stared right into my face. His expression was unreadable. Was he worried? I sure hope that the forbidden forest was not that bad.

“We don’t know what hides in there. It has been years since the last person tried to explore that place. He never came back. Ever since that day, our people have avoided going in there.” He sighed but continued to explain. I made sure I listened attentively because if I was to enter that unknown place, I wanted to know what to expect. 

“You see, thousands of years ago this realm was attacked by our enemies. It was said that more than half of the kingdom had to be rebuilt. Lord Tristan sacrificed himself so that what was left of this realm would be saved. We were told that a lot of our treasures were lost and never found, including Lord Tristan’s treasure.” He glanced at me. 

“The one you found in the garden? That originally belonged to Lord Tristan. We are all grateful for your discovery. You are good at treasure hunting. So the king hopes that you may be able to find some of the lost treasure. That is the whole reason why he is sending you on this quest. But seriously Draco. Be very careful. There are rumours that a fire breathing dragon lives in one of the caves of the forest. We don’t know what else is hiding in there.” He informed me. 

Wow, dragons. Now that is something else. I smiled as I thought about how I pictured dragons. Ferocious giants with a scaly bodies. They would have reptile eyes that glared at those who dared to disturb their peace. They would be puffing out a smoky breath through their enormous nostrils. And when they had to, they could burn down an entire town with just one breath of fire. I wonder if I could see a dragon for real. What if.....

I shook my head. What the hell am I thinking? Dragons cannot be in any way like the anacondas I found in the dense foliage of the human world. At least those giant pythons stay submerged in the water for most of the time. With dragons, I had no idea what in the world to expect. How could I know what to expect? These mystical creatures only existed in my imagination the whole time, until now. I better focus and yes. Harold is right. I should be careful. Extremely careful.

“Hey,” Harold snapped his fingers on my face. “Let's go inside? We have been standing here for some time already.” He suggested.

“Of course,” I replied and took a deep breath before I knocked on the door 

“Come in.” The king’s solemn voice permitted us to enter.

We entered and came face to face with the king and his queen. The princess too was in the room. I noticed a couple of bundles along with the sword I found in the garden placed on the table. 

“I am here at your service, your majesty,” I said as humbly as I could, lowering my gaze as usual.

“Yes. Draco. Now, this is for you to take on your journey. I think you can put it in your bag........”

The king was rudely interrupted by someone clearing his throat. 

“I am leaving your highness.” Killian’s voice followed. I didn’t even realize that he entered the office. But I guess they were used to him entering without knocking. 

“Uh...yes. You may.” The king allowed. I felt Killian glare at me, which I chose to ignore. It was apparent that we were not on the same page and to be honest, I couldn’t care less about him. He could go and never return if he pleased. At least then, it would be easier for me to breathe with him gone. 

“Sasha, aren’t you going to bid me goodbye? I am going to find some things I need and hopefully learn new spells. I most probably won’t be back for a couple of days. Won’t you wish me luck?” He asked and I thought I saw her roll her eyes. Or were my eyes playing tricks on me? 

“Goodbye Killian. I hope you succeed if there is any good in it.” She muttered under her breath, not bothered to stand up to even shake hands with him. 

“Okay,” Killian stated and sighed. “See you all later. Hopefully after a week at the longest.” 

“Are you taking food and your weapons with you?” asked the king and I guess he nodded to indicate a yes. 

I heard footsteps leave and the door close shut. The tension in the office lightened up the instant he left. At least for me, it did. Life would be blissful without him around to bully me every minute he felt it was suitable. Too bad I also had to leave. Let’s just hope things get better from now on. Like Harold had said, I need to be a little bit more optimistic. 

“So where were we? Oh yes. Draco put these in your bag and.....” he handed me some food from this place, which I had gotten used to now. They may look strange, but they didn’t taste bad. 

“And umm... Look for valuables. Okay? Like gems, treasure...anything.” He said and looked straight in my face. “And...be careful.” He added, much to my surprise. My mouth opened a jar and for a split second, I looked into his eyes involuntarily. His eyes which always showed no emotions were now wide with concern.

Yes, he was kind and thoughtful to those who were faithful to him. But at the same time, he was that ruler who could scare you shitless if you mess up. However, I didn’t expect him to show his caring side to me. Not that I had any complaints. 

“Yes. Your majesty.” I replied and walked out of the office, with Harold right behind me.

“Hey. Lad. Let me walk you there.” He called as soon as we were out of their earshot and he walked right up to me. I decided to use this opportunity to clear some of my curiosity.

“You told me about a war that took place years ago. Were you there back then?” I asked and glanced at him as we walked out of the palace. I had not forgotten that these beings were immortal. He chuckled in response. 

“No. The great war took place ten thousand years ago. I am only 500 years old. How could I possibly be there?’ he answered with a little shrug. 

“Wow.” I gasped. “500 years!” I exclaimed, widening my eyes. 

“But you look as if you cannot be older than 50 years old,” I told him, making him let out a little laugh. 

“We are different from humans. We don’t age much after our first 50 years. Most of us are more than a hundred years old at least. Except for youngsters among the knights. Most of them are in their 30s and 20s.” He explained. 

“Does this mean the king and the queen are older than you?” I expressed my curiosity and he nodded. 

“Yes. I honestly don’t know how they are. They’ve been around for a long time. It was said that they were the ones who rebuilt this kingdom after it was destroyed. Which means...” 

“They were here even during the war!” I finished for him, feeling shocked to the core. 

My thoughts went to Killian who looked he couldn’t be more than 25 years old and the princess. She too looked barely 20. Does this mean that they too looked younger than they were? I was dumbfounded, but these beings were full of surprises. 

“What is your age Draco?” Harold suddenly asked.

“Huh?” I shook myself out of my thoughts. “Oh. I am just 22. We don’t live that long, you know. The average age would be around 60 years. Some lucky folks live up to a hundred but then they would be frail.” I looked at Harold who was just as strong as any young human would be. 

No. He was stronger and more skilled in fights than any of us.

“Unlike you guys,” I added, making him chuckle. 

“You are about the age of our princess and lord Killian. The king and queen maybe thousands of years old. But they didn’t conceive until very recently.” He explained.

Ah! Now that explained my unasked question. Soon, we arrived at the base of the forest. It just looked like any other normal forest. My heart thumped in excitement as I took a deep breath and faced what was in front of me. 

“Here goes...” I muttered and walked in.