Caspian

10 - Shapeshifters

3 days later…

Amethyst tried her best to wake up.

She could not recall why she needed to be conscious but she surely knows that it is important for her to be so. But she just felt so tired she could just keep sleeping.

What was the harm to keep sleeping though? Her mind reasoned.

But then she knew something inside her was screaming for her to wake though. Though it took a lot of effort, she succeeded to slowly open her eyes and managed to somehow pull herself awake. Amethyst groaned as she felt her head pounding from the effort. Groaning more as the pain in her head throb harder as she sat up slowly. She looked around and the room kind of spun as if she were drugged. The room was all white from the ceiling to the walls down to the floor. The bed she was in was the softest she had ever felt. It felt cloud-like, soft and squishy, and covered in more pillows than any one person could need in a lifetime. Then as she gently massaged her temples, pieces of her memories starting to come back to her.

Dragons.

Dragons are real and they do exist!

They can even turn themselves into humans!

She gasped and covered her mouth. She also remembered that was nearly eaten by a dragon. The brown and red dragon fighting. And the blood that was spilt everywhere. The red dragon saved her. Everything that happened all came back to her.

Am I still dreaming?

Might all be just in my imagination right?

She quickly checked herself and noticed that someone had already changed her clothes. She was now wearing a nearly see-through nightgown which was made of the finest silk. She also assessed herself and realized that she had no more cuts on any part of her body except for some light bruises, which were also now fading. Then she remembered she had somehow broken her ribs and bones when she was thrown in the tree. But she felt nothing. No pain.

Weird.

How?

Where could I be? This doesn’t look like my room at all. She thought.

Amethyst then decided to get up. She twisted till she reached the edge of the bed and braced herself to stand on what she thought would be an ice-cold floor. But to her delight, it was quite warm. Gently standing felt like she was trying to run up in a spin, good thing she managed to support herself using the frame of the bed. Amethyst dragged herself over to a door which she guessed would be the bathroom as she felt her bladder is about to burst. She succeeded in doing so and did her business. After that, she used the sink to wash her face slowly which made her feel a bit better. As she got back into the bedroom, she noticed that someone was opening the door open as quietly as possible. Then she saw Cronus enter. He didn’t notice Amethyst as he placed out a meal on a small table near a large window. Her tummy started to make noises as she saw the food. She’s famished. An elegant curtain covered the window blocking out the sunlight which made the room a bit dimmer. Cronus glanced towards the bed then back to his mission then he did a double-take when he comprehended she wasn’t there. Amethyst silently chuckled seeing this huge man acting cute. His head immediately whipped around until he saw her standing near the bathroom door, and he gave a quite noticeable sigh of relief.

Sweet.

“I…uhm…” Cronus started like he was caught doing some kind of a crime. “I thought after three days, you might be ravenous so I did bring you some porridge made by Rosie. The doctor anticipated you wake up by now so I came. I only brought porridge because I thought if you eat too much then it wouldn’t be good for you. And porridge may be soothing.”

Amethyst almost chuckled but controlled herself as to how Cronus blabbered explaining the meal he brought for her. She just smiled warmly. “Thank you, that was very considerate.”

She then slowly moved to the table and sat on the chair beside it. The tray of food he brought was not just porridge. There were also small bowls of different kinds of fruits, a salad, some nuts and honey. She happily took the spoon and blew out the steam from the porridge which was placed on an expensive-looking porcelain bowl. The porridge tasted so delicious she started to eat a bit faster. She felt so hungry and finished her porridge in an instant.

“I’ll take my leave.” Cronus said and immediately left even before Amethyst can say a word.

“I didn’t know he was quite sweet.” Amethyst smiled and continued ravishing her fruits and everything left on the table.

***

Amethyst felt better after filling her tummy. She thought maybe she was just so hungry thus explains her pounding head earlier.

“Thank goodness you’re finally awake, princess.” Rosie said as she went to carefully envelop her in her arms. “You have been for the past three days and we were so worried about you.”

“Three days?” Amethyst asked. She didn’t know she was unconscious for that long. “Who’s room is this?”

“Yes, my dear. And this is the room for healing.” Rosie answered. “After his majesty saved you from an outlaw, he immediately brought you back here and healed you. But you were severely hurt so the doctors took over as you had broken ribs and bones. They induced you so you remain asleep until your bones will heal completely. Fortunately, too, the damage was not very much because usually, it takes about a month to her human bones.”

Amethyst face creased as she started to digest Rosie’s words and process them. Rosie might have seemed to pick up her expression.

“Oh, I thought you already knew that His majesty is a dragon?” Rosie asked. “And that he was the one who saved you?”

A flashback came upon Amethyst and her mind was filled with pictures of the magnificent red dragon who saved her.

“The red dragon.” Amethyst answered and Rosie nodded. “That was Cronus?”

“Yes, my dear.” Rosie replied.

“So it is real. Everything was real.” Amethyst said as questions upon questions started swirling in her mind.

“Yes, it is. This kingdom is a kingdom of dragons. King Cronus is a dragon king.” Rosie confirmed as Amethyst eyes widen. “And the forest you went to is the Forest of Outlaws where the rebel dragons dwell.”

Amethyst almost can’t believe what she’s hearing but she remained calm and processed everything slowly. She gulped and Rosie poured her a glass of cold water and waited patiently until she finished drinking in one go.

“And he healed me?” She inquired again.

“Yes. Dragons have magical powers and healing is one of them.” Rosie replied.

UNBELIEVABLE.

“So you are a dragon too?” Amethyst asked Rosie after she put down the glass.

“No, princess. I’m a Kobold.” Rosie answered and smiled. “All the servant here in the palace are Kobolds.”

“Kobolds?” Amethyst inquired.

“Yes. We were created for the purpose of serving Dragons. We are born servants and them as our masters.” Rosie answered enthusiastically. “It’s like our destiny. And I am very lucky to have the King as my master. One Kobold is bound to serve one master for the rest of their lives.”

“Wow.” Amethyst voiced out and Rosie chuckled. “But you all looked human.”

She then stood in front of Amethyst and closed her eyes before she suddenly shifted. Amethyst gasped as in a blink, she saw a creature about 3 feet tall, with a scaly, hairless hide, reptilian head and tail. Her hide is reddish black colour, with ivory-coloured horns. Her eyes were also glowing red. The scales covering her body is like that of an iguana but the scales that covered her tail is very fine, resembling the n***d tails of rats. It looked cute with her wearing orange clothing and some ornaments on its ears and neck.

“Rosie?” Amethyst confirmed and the creature in front of her nodded.

“All me, my princess.” This is how I look like.

“Wow. You looked cute!” Amethyst exclaimed in delight.

“Not all humans would say that.” Rosie teased and chuckled.

“But really. The orange dress and the necklace looks good.” Amethyst added.

“Oh, this necklace is my teeth which been falling off throughout the years. And these clothes are made of silk from giant spiders. It was a gift from his majesty after his trip in the western continent.” Rosie proudly answered as she showed her garment and ornaments to Amethyst.

“Beautiful. So delicately made.” Amethyst commented.

“Thank you, princess.” Rosie replied before she closed her glowing red eyes again and with a pop, she turned back into a human.

“That was awesome!” Amethyst said excitedly as she automatically clapped her hands. “Wow. I didn’t think magical creatures exist.”

“Oh, we do. We just don’t show it most of the time.” Rosie uttered.

“All of you can turn into humans, right?” Amethyst inquired further.

“Yes. We’re shapeshifters.” Rosie answered which made Amethyst looked at her questioningly. “Shapeshifters, meaning all of us can change our forms depending on our powers. Generally, all dragons and kobolds can shift into human forms except for some with special abilities who can even turn into other forms.”

“That is amazing.” Amethyst commented, absolutely astonished with all of the things she had discovered. She became silent for a while then processing everything from the events on that night until this very moment.

“Oh, I do apologize. I am sure all of this has all been quite frightening for you.” Rosie then said quite bothered by her silence.

“It was frightening that night, honestly.” Amethyst said when she came back to her senses. “But all these discoveries and new things and magic made me feel enlivened in a sense. All these are just so interesting.”

Rosie chuckled as she felt the sincerity in the princess's voice and felt warm. She thought that she was truly a kind-hearted human, very opposing as to how she viewed humans before.

“Well, I almost forgot why I came here. I thought that it might be a good idea to take you to the hot springs, so you may bathe and relax. It is just here on the palace grounds and you may enjoy it whenever you wish. Let me just get you a robe, I have already layout something you will wear right after.”

Amethyst nodded in agreement. Hot springs sounded amazing and it had been years since the last time she was allowed to visit the hot springs back in their kingdom.

“Here it is, princess.” Rosie said when she returned and gave the robe to her. It was coloured white and was made with the finest cotton. “I will leave you to undress and put the robe on you. If you need anything I will be right outside.”

Excitedly, Amethyst slipped out of the nightgown she was wearing, laying it over the end of the bed. Then she wore the robe and tied it tightly closed around her.

“I’m ready.” Amethyst announced as she went as she started walking towards the door. Rosie emerged then and motioned for Amethyst to follow leading the way down the hallway.

As she followed Rosie, she noticed the change in decorations and design. Now they are walking on a deep lush carpet with cream-coloured walls and some wooden accents on it. Paintings and sculptures highlighted the walls and corners here and there. Then down several flights of stairs, they emerged in a large open room that looked like a cavern accented by a beautiful golden chandelier in its ceiling.

“The hot springs are just through these doors and I have already placed towels in there for your convenience, princess.” Rosie said as she pointed at the doors on the far end of the cavern. “Just pull on the bells in there if you needed anything.”

Amethyst nodded and smiled. “Thank you, Rosie. I will definitely relax and enjoy this. So if you want, you can go and do some personal things or whatever you want to do in the meantime. I am sure I will take my time here and I don’t want you to get bored waiting.”

“Are you sure, princess?” Rosie asked.

“Yes. I’ll take maybe an hour or two.” Amethyst answered and Rosie nodded in agreement before she bowed down and left.

The door squeaked slightly as she opened it. She was greeted by warm smoke as she entered and she smiled widely. The hot springs had very dim lighting which added to its relaxing ambience. She can also smell the fresh herb fragrance coming from the incense in a corner. She then reached for the water and unwrapped her robe. And slowly, she dipped herself until she’s fully submerged in her neck. She moved to the farthest end of the hot spring and rested her head on the corner.

“This is relaxing.” She thought to herself and stayed like that for a couple of minutes when she suddenly heard a sudden movement and splash nearby.

Then she saw a man emerging from the water nearby who was also shocked as she was when he saw her.

***