"Nghh...so boring."

It had been some months since the Crown Princess and the Second Princess departed, and...

Well...

Aurum was bored. Horribly bored.

She would've pestered Thomas like usual, but recently, he was extremely busy. He was going around to any villager that had miscellaneous skills, and doing his best to learn those skills from them.

From things as small as cooking, to more interesting things like alternate fighting styles and weapon proficiencies.

'It's so weird. Even I know that you can't get skills just by learning about it. But, ever since that first invasion... Tommy's been weird, anyway.'

Of course, he couldn't just go up to the townspeople who hated him, and ask them to share their secrets, time, and experience. To most of them, he was like a pest.

A pest that earnestly tried his best to learn from them, something which should be impossible. Most of them just saw it as a poor-taste practical joke from the boy.

But he was deathly serious.

"I need to do this, Aur. I need to get all I can out of this place. All of these villagers are useful to me, so I have to learn what I can from them while there's still a chance."

That was what he'd said when she tried convincing him to give up. So he spent most of his time alternating between training, and attempting any method he could to gain approval with the villagers.

It wasn't all bad, at least. Most everyone in the village now knew about Aurum and Thomas' trips into the forests that surrounded the village to kill monsters. It was a job that the guard couldn't afford to do, and one that eased the minds and hearts of those who had lost so much to those two monster invasions.

Many of them were starting to grow warmer to him, but it didn't mean that they easily let go of their past grudges.

Pearl was the true hero, in their eyes. Even to Aurum, she just knew that Thomas disappeared during the invasion then suddenly turned up, injured and barely clinging to life.

Nobody, not even Aurum or Pearl knew that Thomas had saved them from a demon.

These new endeavors meant that Aurum wasn't tagging along with him as much.

Ever since that second invasion, she had felt more conflicted about the townspeople than ever. Even if she wanted to spend time with Thomas, there was no way she could beg them to forgive him earnestly.

'I'd probably end up slicing one of those bastards in half instead...'

Aurum's anger flared up instinctively, but she managed to bring it under control after a few seconds. 

What followed immediately after that anger was a sense of hurt.

'Did he choose trying to get along with those guys over spending time with me?  'The villagers are pretty useful to me?' Does that mean I don't have any use?!'

The anger she had just managed to calm down were flaring up all over again. She took a deep breath, turning her attention to the scenery instead.

She was laying on the hill where Pearl and Thomas had first met. It was a beautiful place, one that gave a view of the entire village below. Aurum didn't care to look down there, though. She just stared up at the sky, slowly darkening as the sun approached the horizon.

This place wasn't new to her. Thomas tried keeping it a secret, but to Aurum, he was always an open book. Before the first invasion by the Imps, before Pearl, before his memory loss...this was the place Thomas came to when he wanted to be alone. From the villagers, from his mothers...from her.

'Does he even remember...? No. He can't remember. He wouldn't be trying to learn anything from them if he could. After all...what they did...what they're still doing...it's all completely...unforgivable!'

---

Many Years Ago...

"...whew. It's been a real pain in the ass lugging this one around, but it'll all be worth it soon enough. Who would've thought a village would buy her from us, huh?"

"Yeah, seriously. Although, hey - means we don't gotta deal with the extra pain that selling her to some other goons woulda' been. I mean, you know the kind of guys that buy rare species? Either hugely influential, rich perverts, or fellow scumbags lookin' to use her for something else. Both are a pain in the ass to deal with."

"What about these guys?"

"They're an exception. This girl ain't just any random species to them. She's like a damn symbol or somethin'. Ha! Wouldn't be surprised if that shit village thinks they're gonna get rich or have years of good luck just by getting their hands on her. But hey, it's their money, right?"

"Hell yeah!"

"So, what sorta' rare species are we goin' for next? Elves are pretty damn hard to bag, but maybe with our luck on findin' a dragonling, we might stumble on one just walking out in the forest or somethin', eh?" 

From behind two sets of enchanted metal bars, Aurum watched two men sitting around a campfire, talking among themselves. They shared bottles of magically-cooled ale, and had bowls of hot, enticing food.

She slowly turned back around, walking deeper into her cell, and sitting down. The floor was cold and wooden. Her only food was scraps of bread and some random pieces of meat that got burnt to a crisp.

All she had to drink was water, drawn from a dirty river that was in a bucket.

Seeing the disparity between herself, and the men that practically owned her...she felt nothing.

Like always, she grabbed the tough-as-rock bread and bit into it, throwing pieces of the burnt scrap meat in her mouth. She swallowed it all down with water, not even flinching through the process.

A faint, barely visible golden glow appeared on her fingertips, as she scratched something into the wall of her cage. Another line, representing another month she had spent in this place. 

That now made three years Aurum had been here. Trapped with this duo of slavers, who just took her around from place to place. Sometimes using her as a display piece, as if she were from a zoo or something. Other times she'd be made to show off her abilities, restrained as they were by the magic her captors wielded, and her lack of development.

All of this time, they'd just been using her to make large amounts of money on side jobs, until they finally found a place to sell her to.

Aurum didn't know much. All she knew was that she was being taken to a village named 'Aureal'. She didn't really have any hopes for or against the place. Years of living in the worst conditions had taught her that.

Still, being a child, she couldn't help but hope...that it would at least be better that her current situation.

---

"And with that, the deal is settled. Hope you guys enjoy your new priestess or whatever!" The slavers grinned, their smiles sickening her as they headed off into the distance.

Aurum watched the cart go, the place where she had blankly spent the last three years of her life, gone. She didn't know how to feel.

"Do not fret, divine one."

She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, and she couldn't help but look up. The man who had touched her was smiling down at her, with the most disgusting smile she had ever seen.

"Soon, your suffering will be all but forgotten...and your sacrifice will finally bring peace to this village that your ancestor created."

Aurum said nothing in response.

---

It had been a few weeks since she arrived in the village of Aureal. She still hadn't spoken a single word to anyone, only silently going where she was told, and otherwise remaining in the room she had been given.

She was in that room right now, laying in her bed and blankly staring up at the ceiling.

The room was objectively better than her last, if that last place could have even been called a room. There was a comfortable bed, she'd be left tasty fruits and be served breakfast...but...

The room felt cold. There was no real life or warmth in it. Even the decorations hadn't been things she chose, but things the priest thought were fitting.

'It...it's scary.'

Aurum would never say that out loud. But somehow, she knew this was wrong. The only adult that visited her was that weirdly-dressed man who seemed to always be preparing her for something. Even when she was taken out, it was through alleyways, and away from prying eyes, all of her draconic features hidden. She didn't even get to see other children her age.

Then there was the yelling she started to hear in the other room, what sounded like two mwn arguing.

The only words she could make out were 'budget' and 'theft'.

'I have to leave.'

That thought, like a primal survival instinct, roared through her head every day. Yet, she had neither the courage, nor the creativity to think of a way.

So she spent almost every day just like this - thinking, agonizing, frozen and unsure of what she should do.

With her mind taken over by those dark thoughts, there was no way she could've expected what would happen next. 

"Hey! Hide me!" 

A juvenile boy's voice suddenly blasted into her room, as a little boy entered, opening and shutting the door behind himself. He had scraggly looking black hair and similarly black eyes. His face wasn't even really visible under his bangs, but she could see a look of fear on his face.

Aurum didn't know why, but she did know that, for some reason, she wanted to help this boy - even without any reason to.

"Under the bed. Hurry."

Those were the first words that Aurum ever spoke to anyone besides her mother.

---

It wasn't long before the boy came back again, this time not being chased by anyone.

"Y'know, I've never seen you around before. What's your name?" 

He asked, now sitting on her bed in front of her. Aurum took pause. She had actually never been asked that before, not even by this man who had apparently bought her. 

She barely still remembered her name, even if she hadn't been called by it for half of her life.

"Aurum...yours?"

He grinned in reply, reaching a hand out to her. "Thomas. But I hate how uncool it sounds, so...call me Tommy, kay? And I'll call you Aur! Sound good?" 

"Uhh...okay, Tommy." 

He practically beamed at her words, and leaned back. "And so...where are you from? I've never seen anyone like you before!"

"Don't know. I...lived in a cave with my mom."

"A cave? Wow! I only ever lived in this boring place! Aurum, you sound way cooler than me!" 

For a reason she couldn't understand, such a simple conversation made Aurum smile like an idiot.

---

For months their relationship continued like this. It was just so simple. Thomas would sneak in, Aurum would make sure he never got found, and then they'd talk about whatever they thought was interesting.

Through these discussions, Aurum found out a lot about Thomas. The fact that his dad was the chief of the village, that his mother was a strong swordsman that had left to join the army, that he was a very large troublemaker thanks to being a little too curious...

And the fact that, despite being the child of such great people, and possessing such a drive for knowledge and experience, he didn't show any talent, himself. Even Aurum, who had her usage of her Treasure restricted for so long, knew her talents and potential.

'I don't care.'

Aurum would think that everytime Thomas brought up that point.

'To me, you're already the best, Tommy.'

The words weren't complicated at all, but she never managed to say them. Thomas was quite literally all she had - he was her first friend, the first person to talk to her, and the first person she truly felt comfortable being around. He was a regular boy, but to her, he was more special than anyone else could have ever been.

What if she said something and hurt him, or caused him to leave her, like her mother?

She didn't want that.

If she was going to be stuck in this village forever, she wanted to at least spend that time with her best and only friend by her side.

Then, it happened.

---

"It is the day, divine one. I hope you are prepared."

The man who had bought her from the slavers - a priest, she realized, entered her room suddenly. The look on his face was grave, yet he had an odd sort of excitement in his eyes.

Aurum felt a chill run down her spine the moment he entered. She knew that, if she went with him, there would be no coming back.

Maybe in the past, she would have meekly and silently followed him to wherever he was taking her. But now, it was different. Now, she had something - someone, to live for.

"No!" 

She immediately withdrew the moment the man reached his hand out for her, venom lacing her voice. 

"Don't...don't touch me! Go away!" 

Aurum yelled, throwing as large of a tantrum as she could. She wasn't sure exactly of where she was - courtesy of the priest weirdly keeping her blindfolded when they went out, but she did know that this place was apparently really small, thanks to Thomas. It was likely that other people were around that would help her.

That was when she saw multiple figures crowding through the door behind the priest, and for a moment, her heart lifted. She'd get this weird guy exposed, and get to spend all of her time hanging out with Thomas. She'd get to see the wide open world, explore with him, meet his parents, and it'd be a happily ever after...

Those thoughts vanished the moment she saw that the men who entered behind her all wore similar robes to the Priest.

"Restrain her."

The priest said in a grim voice, and the men did so without question. As strong as she was for a child, her strength meant nothing against three men who bore strength enhanced by magic. Not that Aurum even knew what magic was, yet.

Her childish mind could only think, as they were taking her away to wherever her life would end, that she was happening because she hadn't tried hard enough for her future with Thomas.

---

Eventually, she was brought to some sort of basement, carried arm-by-arm by two men, while the Priest led the way. It was dimly lit, but even then, she could see a mass of people, all praying and deeply closing their eyes in reverence. 

They all spoke words that she couldn't understand. What she could tell was that they looked desperate - they were hoping, praying for something. And the moment they saw her being carried in against her will, forced to some unknown final destination, their eyes lit up with hope and admiration.

That was enough for Aurum to know that she didn't like these people.

She was soon brought to an altar, where she was strapped into steel bindings that were tight enough against her skin to feel painful. She tried resisting still, but the steel was even stronger than the men who had strapped her in. There was no way she was breaking it without the assistance of her ancestor's Treasure, and there was no way that was happening.

She took a deep breath, preparing herself. She wouldn't cry, shout, or give these bastards the satisfaction of showing any kind of emotion. They'd get nothing from her, except her life.

The priest held up a sharp and fancy-looking blade. He raised it into the air, his eyes sparkling with a manic fervor.

"Cease this at once, Father. You and all who have participated in this barbaric ritual have been caught. You'll be brought in for questioning about dipping into the town's budget."

A commanding voice filled the room, stopping everyone in their tracks. Aurum could barely see from her position that a tall, imposing man was entering the room. And behind him was...Thomas? Thomas' face was covered with a rage she had never seen, and the moment he saw her, that rage just intensified.

"Aur!"

He rushed ahead of his father, heading towards her without thought. 

The priest, meanwhile, had long since moved from Aurum, his eyes filling with rage and indignance. "You... village head, with all due respect, there is no-"

"Save the explanations until after the girl has been freed."

The priest's eyes were desperate. He looked between Aurum, the approaching Thomas, and then the chief...and then lunged towards Thomas with reckless abandon. Thomas backed away almost immediately, noticing the frightening, barely-sane man running at him with a knife.

Thomas' father acted immediately. He moved forward with certain strides, pushing Thomas aside and standing in his son's place. There was a stabbing sound...and Aurum didn't remember much beyond that other than the shocked reactions, and Thomas' crying and shouts of rage, as he picked up another nearby knife and ran towards the Priest, who was stunned by the shock of what he had just done, himself.

---

Aurum was eventually freed. However, neither the Priest nor Thomas' father made it out alive. 

Nobody was charged. Though the townspeople, those involved in the ritual and those who weren't, had started to spread the rumor that Thomas had killed the priest in cold blood.

She would only later learn that it was all a part of some ritual that offered up the life of a descendant of Aurealian, her ancestor, to bring good fortune and protection to the town. Many townspeople had collaborated with the priest, raising money for this ceremony they believed would work to revitalize and protect the half-dead village.

Aurum didn't care about any of that. All she knew was that, at the end of the day, Thomas had been hurt. He lost that bright smile that he always had, and though she saw him more often, it was like looking at a husk of his former self.

It was that priest and these cultish townspeople who did that to him. And...it was partly her own weakness. If she could've just killed that priest, it would be fine.

Therefore, even if Thomas couldn't get stronger, she would. She'd become nobody's dragon...but his.

---

Aurum reflected on the thoughts she had at that time. At the time, she was sure she'd never forget. She was sure Thomas wouldn't, either. But now...

"Everything's changing." She murmured.

All her old thoughts were doing was pushing her away from her best friends. The villagers barely took notice of her scorn, whether it was by ignoring it or just continuing to praise her regardless.

Even now, instead of spending time with Thomas, she was brooding, alone.

"Wby am I even doing this anymore?"

There was no answer to her question. So, she made the response, herself.

"There's no reason." She sighed, getting to her feet. She looked down at the beautiful scenery in the valley. Even though it has been nearly scorched to the ground, the town looked as serene and rural as before.

The memories of her time spent with her few precious people there flashed though her mind. Thomas, Pearl, and her master, Arianwen.

And the fact that her actions were just pushing them further and further away from herself.

'I'm only stopping myself from making more of those fun memories.'

The image of those village people, smiling as she was about to be sacrificed, shouting at and blaming Thomas for its' failure, and having the gall to blame him for the death of the village head, rather than the insane priest.

All of it came back harsh, like it always did. She couldn't forget, no matter what happened. It'd be impossible to forgive these people, even if some of them weren't directly involved.

'But...even if I don't forgive them...' 

She remembered her teacher's words. Her rule that, no matter her feelings, or the situation, she'd always act in a way that aligned with her beliefs.

That meant that there was only one thing to do.

'I'm a dragon. That means I can become strong. Stronger than anyone else. And, no matter what, I want to always use that strength...at Thomas's side.'

She closed her eyes, summoning the familiar feeling of wings onto her back. They shined a brilliant, clear gold. A gold that reflected the state of her mind onto itself.

And without another stray thought, she lifted off with one powerful jump and flap of her wings, heading for the forest outskirts, where she last saw Thomas trying to pick up archery from an old hunter in the village..