With the thoughts of feeling inadequate going through her, Perdita wanted to at least attempt to change her ways. She wanted to be good enough for the Dragon King, she wanted him to be proud of her.

Frowning to her thoughts, Perdita kept these thoughts locked away in her heart. If she were lucky and does have the chance to be with this man at some point, perhaps working hard to become someone that he could be proud of was going to be the hardest to work at. Wouldn’t that mean that she would have to put the past behind her and no longer be so scared and skittish?

That would take a while to overcome…She thought.

 

Sighing to her own self-confidence, Perdita looked up, to see that man across from her was staring at her again.

“Did you ever meet her? My Phoenix?” He suddenly asked.

Perdita didn’t want to lie to him, nor did she want to state who she was either. Perdita instead stated something that probably didn’t mean anything, it was just something other than lying or admitting the truth, “You know of her last death, and that it seems being reborn doesn’t happen straight away either.”

Duke interrupted her then, “Yes! Yes, I know that…Have you ever met her though? Dammit…What am I saying, how would you have known that you’ve met her!?”

 

Seeing the man get deflated, to his ‘obvious’ thinking of her not having ‘met’ his Phoenix, Perdita was silently relieved to not having to answer him anymore.

It didn’t take long though, for Duke to speak again, “What else…Is there anything else?”

Perdita nodded, “Mmm, do you know much else?”

“I know of the times when she was enslaved! I have dealt with those still alive and even families of those of some that weren’t!”

Perdita widened her eyes…He…He got revenge for her?

Really?

The Mosquito King was still a vivid picture in her mind, along with that of Zonic, and she felt emotional at thinking of their deaths or them going through what she had. Even families? Is that how far the Dragon King had gone?

Biting her lip, Perdita looked away and fought against crying.

She couldn’t believe that he’d gone to such lengths because of what had happened to her.

“I don’t know of who she was when she was not enslaved…There wasn’t anything found prior to the enslavement and we couldn’t pick up on anything either, all the leads were well covered up!” Duke stated.

 

Swallowing, Perdita turned back and pointed on the map, where she had been reborn the second time. “A baby was found here, no one claimed her.”

“…Here? When?” Duke asked, looking intently back at Perdita, after quickly looking at the map.

Frowning, Perdita tried to remember the year and put her hand up to her head.

“It’s fine, just tell me what you know.” Duke stated, not wanting her to get more of a headache again…And not wanting her to lose track…

Perdita nodded slightly, and then said, “It is said that a husband and wife, who couldn’t have children, looked after a little girl that was named as Sally.”

“Sally? What’s the last name?” Duke asked, going to his books.

“Woodlock.”

Again, Duke searched his books and widened his eyes to information about this ‘Sally’.

It didn’t state anything about a creature, but that she had died at the age of eighteen…Just like ‘Kendra’ had!

…The mother and father were written down and where they had worked, even their deaths and creatures were there but...Again, just like Kendra, it was a similar type of information!

That they had no creature and that they had died at age of eighteen!

 

Duke sat down, looking at the new information and inwardly sighed to his poor Phoenix.

Even though she had been able to obtain parents, she was not in a family that could look after her very well and made her work from a young age…Again, his Phoenix had to work!

Banging a hand on the table, Duke then put his other hand through his hair and squeezed his eyes shut.

Dammit!

When was there ever any type of happiness in her life?

Looking at the information on Sally once again, he noticed that she had gotten married. He may have seen it before but now he took that news in and wondered…He wondered if she maybe had this small type of happiness.

Feeling pain in his heart, Duke frowned and knew that the Phoenix might not had a choice, or that even if she did want to marry, perhaps she deserved a short time of happiness, so…He really shouldn’t get upset that his Phoenix got married…

…It didn’t stop him from feeling jealous though as a pain went through him at the thought of his phoenix being happy with another that wasn’t him.

 

“She was…Married?” He asked, clearing his throat halfway through his question.

Perdita eyed the Dragon King and wondered what his thoughts were.

Back then, she still had not known about the Dragon King, had she done something very wrong to him?

“Yes, she was a maid for the miss that married someone and went with her to the husband’s residence. I didn’t find much information on how she ended up marrying the husband…”

Perdita looked away from the Dragon King, unsure. There probably wouldn’t be much upon Sally’s married life, so it probably wasn’t lying, but…She felt like this was a sore subject for the Dragon King and didn’t know how to continue it…Besides, it was still a sore subject for her as well, as the husband had been one of those that had abandoned her.

She had let him in, opened a small part of her heart for him, only to be abandoned…

If they didn’t talk about him, Perdita would be glad…

 

The Dragon King then looked up the husband, knowing already of his name and creature, from looking up Sally.

Seeing that the husband had married another woman, besides that of Sally and the ‘miss’, Duke frowned.

“He married again afterwards, I wonder why…”

Perdita raised her eyebrows at the man who seemed deep in thought and was glad that he didn’t give up on the Phoenix completely, even after knowing that she had married.

Could there really be a chance between them, even though now he knew nearly everything that happened to her?

A faint hope, that had already started to ignite inside her, made her feel warm.

This man was really good, so good that perhaps she didn’t deserve him.

Biting her lips, Perdita stopped herself from crying.

“It states that she had gotten pregnant, lost the child and then became a barren woman…”

 

Biting her lip, Perdita closed her eyes to the memory. Back then, she had still felt like things were good between her and her new husband, not even realizing what was to come.

It was weird…That becoming barren had happened once again, and now that she thinks back, she wondered why she hadn’t been able to heal that broken part of her in either times that she had gone ‘barren’. Was it because the second time was done when she had not yet pulled out her creature yet? But, if it were that, then why couldn’t she had healed herself in the first life?

Now that she thought about it, Perdita frowned and really wondered why she could even not die of starvation or dehydration but not be able to heal her own womb…

And if she couldn’t heal her own womb…What if…

With quivering lips, Perdita just thought that this was yet another reason that she shouldn’t be with the Dragon King…

A noise jumped her out of her thoughts!

Duke had hit the table again, “I think I get it! The husband left her alone after that and moved on, thinking that she was useless! Bloody bastard!”

 

Perdita opened her eyes at the hit on the table and blinked a few times.

He was getting mad at her husband? Because he had abandoned her?

With soft, gentle eyes, Perdita stared at the Dragon King and felt a strange feeling go through her.

Before she could stop herself, she asked, “Are you not mad at her for marrying another man? For…Getting pregnant and…”
Widening her eyes and looking away, she finally stopped speaking and pinched herself, making herself flinch to the small pain.

Duke looked at the girl, seeing her flinch and wished that she would calm down. It didn’t matter if it was a personal question or not, she didn’t have to act like she’ll die over every little thing she does!

“Maybe this was her only happiness in this life…How could I hate her for hoping for something good? I just…” Duke stopped and knew what he wished for.

 

He wanted the Phoenix all to himself, just like the girl in front of him.

And…It wasn’t like the Phoenix and he had met, they hadn’t even had one conversation between them!

If there was a time over the many years gone that he had grown fond of a woman and not had the Phoenix in his life, would she get mad?

Mmm, Duke thought, in all these years, there’d only been one woman anyway…

Staring at Perdita, with eyes that felt like they swallowed everything in, Perdita was only able to look for a second, before turning away again.

“Do you think she would get mad at me, if I were to be…With someone else?” Duke asked with little confidence.

If the girl would state yes, he felt like he had no right, even though he still had not personally met up with the Phoenix as of yet. Even if he slightly wished to help this girl mature and help her cultivate and then…Perhaps go beyond friendship when she was ready to…Would his Phoenix hate him for it?

 

Perdita was caught off guard with the Dragon King’s question and really didn’t know how to respond to it. “I…I don’t know. Perhaps…Perhaps since she had gone through so much, she probably doesn’t think like she deserves you.”

Frowning, Duke breathed out and lowered his gaze, “She’s my Phoenix, if deserving one another comes into considering, it is probably I that doesn’t deserve her…”

Perdita again gained a soft and gentle look, as she looked up at him, “I don’t think so, she might not know much about you at all, but I doubt she feels that you are in any way wrong for her.”

“But I had not been able to protect her!” Duke stated, yet that soft and gentle gaze didn’t make his statement as harsh as he wanted it to sound…

He was losing himself to her eyes, those beautiful eyes that only showed him that his Phoenix could forgive him, after not being there and protecting her, she gave him hope that his Phoenix will be able to forgive him!

 

“Is that what the Dragon King is supposed to do? Is he only to be with the Phoenix to protect her?” Perdita moved her eyes from his and mumbled under her breath, “I thought it was supposed to be more then that…”

Duke let out a small laugh, then said, “Of course it’s more then that! I am yearning for her, my dragon is yearning for her! It hurts me that she has had to endure so much, and I have not been able to comfort her. I just worry…That the more she goes through, the harder it may be to gain a part of her heart. I feel…” Duke stopped, then looked away.

He couldn’t tell the girl the intimate thought of how he felt like he belonged in the Phoenix’s heart…

Perdita let out a small laugh, smiling for the first time, “She isn’t a cold-hearted person!”

Duke, lost within that smile, blinked a few times and felt his heart thumping…

He stared at the face longer, wishing that smile would return, for it had been…So beautiful…So wonderful! It had made him feel great!

 

Perdita saw the Dragon King once again go into a type of daze and shook her head, “No matter what she goes through, I don’t think she could blame you for anything! Just…Just tell her how much you’ve worked on finding her and how you gotten some type of revenge for her and she’ll…She’ll probably…”

Duke finally snapped out of it and interrupted the girl, “She’ll probably what? Is the reason why you are able to gain so much information because of how you are able to put yourself in her shoes? How do you know who she is!? Do you know what it’s like to live two life’s and become enslaved? Do you know what she’s been through!?”

Perdita closed her mouth and lowered her head, yes…Yes, she knows!

Should she tell him? Tell this man that she was the Phoenix!?

A certain part of her was gaining the courage, liking this man and his pure need and want to protect her. The courage really was becoming stronger and stronger!

 

Silence continued in the room, as Duke was trying to overcome the fact that his Phoenix had to go through so much and Perdita watched him.

Having stated out loud upon the Phoenix’s problems, Duke felt them all realistically and again felt at such a loss upon how to find her again and what to do when he found her!

Perdita saw the Duke frown, then started to loss that courage that she had just started to gain…

Was he really so unhappy with how I had lived?

Does he really care this much?

 

A strange type of want to hang onto this feeling clung to her and Perdita desperately tried to tell herself that it could not mean what she thinks…

It really was too early to trust this man, but it seems…She already was…She was already wanting to believe that even though they had not met probably, as Phoenix and Dragon, that he wanted her and needed her. She really wanted to believe it!

Yet…She was still quite reluctant, just because of all that she had gone through…What if he was lying…After all, how could he be so loyal after so many years!?

After what she had seen, in more than one life, it was that men weren’t loyal…Their had been only two loyal males, out of all the ones she could remember, and that was her first and second father…Every other male had more then one wife and saw them all, they didn’t have any particular care for any of the children and didn’t treat women particularly well…

Perdita then stopped for a moment and remembered the wolf can once again, knowing that…She was wrong…There were more loyal men out there, perhaps she had just been shown the worst of them a lot more…

Was he…Was he one of them?

 

It wouldn’t be the first time that she was lied to…It wouldn’t be the first time that she was played with either. If this man really cared about her, not wanting to use her for her tears or feathers, not wanting to use her for her aura or blood, wouldn’t that be a miracle?

“I wish she had known about me earlier…Maybe then…” Duke sighed, wishing to know if his Phoenix had really tried to find him, even though they hadn’t met at that time. He’d first seen her when she had died in her second life, upon a tree…If only he had been able to fly to her sooner, or see her sooner, so that she knew how to get in contact with him or something…

But of course, it was not something that he could help, whether he liked it or not…

‘Sally’ becoming a mistress was also something he couldn’t have helped!

Now that the shock had gone, even some nice words spoken to him by a lovely girl about him, it was hard to contain his anger!

 

He wasn’t particularly mad with his Phoenix, he was mad about what he had heard about!

Some news from Questro nearly didn’t get to him because of facts behind it! They didn’t want him to know how many times that the Phoenix could have possibly been intimate with another. And yes, upon finding out that the master did let her be with another, after she had become barren in that life too, he remembered raging quite heavily and burning down half of the palace!

God knows how many men had been with his Phoenix!

He wanted to kill every single one of them!

Did anyone ever thought, while taking anything from his Phoenix, that he, the Dragon King, was going to get revenge!

How much guts do people have!?

 

It was really something that Duke shook his head about because he will forever do what he can for his Phoenix!

“So, is this basically it then? This was what I have missed? How certain are you that she was this Sally?” Duke asked, after clearing his throat.

Getting the parchment from him, Perdita looked over the burnt writing and saw that it stated quick easy facts about her previous life.

She started work at a young age, after moving into the capital, from outside. Then it stated that she ended up as a maid for Carly and that she had gone into the house of Carly’s husband, ending up as another wife for him…

Perdita frowned and hated that she had let that man coax her over! That the man in front of her was so much more!

 

Comparing one from the other, now she just saw flaw after flaw with Malic and seeing how great the Dragon King was!

The amount of real and sincere worry completely showed with the Dragon King but…That man Malic had gotten over her so quickly!

The Dragon King looks like he feels inadequate for her, whereas Malic demanded more and more and then got upset if she held back…Like it was her that was not good enough for him!

So different!

Perdita almost felt like she was the biggest loser and that she should have known better!

Slamming down the parchment, Perdita got up and picked up her bag.

“Wait, where are you going!?” Duke stated, getting up, clearly not ready for her to leave the room in the slightest!

 

Perdita stopped and turned to him, “I just need to…Do some personal business…”

Since seeing such a personal matter had been brought up, that she wasn’t quite ready to state as truth, Perdita needed some time to calm down. Especially now that she feels even more worse for this person right in front of her.

She really doesn’t deserve his constant looking for her, she didn’t deserve his sweet words of want for her love…

It was hard because…She was so close to crying. Crying for herself because of how much she felt like a loser and crying for this man who still seemed like he was not giving up on his Phoenix.

Perhaps she will feel better after a cry and come back like nothing was wrong. She could then easily say that the information was about the same as her own…

A voice stopped her though…