The Dragon's Vow or the Stubborn Bride

– Proven for centuries! – I smiled crookedly. “Even a dragon won’t be able to escape.” The girls are probably all from noble families, so keep your pants tied, guys.

– N-yes… I'm so glad I was born a human! There is no need to stress when choosing a life partner. Even if they marry by force, it’s not scary, like you dragons,” Jed blurted out without thinking.

– Don't tell me! A marriage with a true couple will always be successful. This is a perfect match of characters, loyalty, healthy offspring,” Eizeroth began to describe the advantages of truth. – And you, the magicians, have pure roulette. If you marry unsuccessfully, you will suffer for the rest of your life. And so that the magic does not burn out, you will have to choose your soul mate not by their figure or cute face, but by the strength of their gift. So there is a high probability of getting a scary or quarrelsome wife, and, moreover, gifted in such a way that it will not seem a little. But who won’t you marry in order to preserve the magic of the family?

– Oh, don't be dramatic! All you have to do is be patient until the children are born, and then you can get a divorce,” retorted the resilient Freckled One. – Again, walk left and right as much as you like. Not like you dragons. Got married, and no, no! I can't do that. “I don’t look at the same neckline twice,” he said with conviction. – I stand for diversity and freedom, here!

“On the contrary, I envy dragons in this regard,” he expressed an unexpected opinion to Kai, who was much more loving than Jed, he just didn’t talk about it. – This is a true couple! With her you will really be happy, and you won’t have to spend your whole life tossing and searching for a fresh neckline. I wish I could do the same… – He sighed sadly.

Aiz nodded contentedly, rejoicing at the unexpected support, and I again put my hand in my pocket and clenched the Focus in my fist, which I stole from under Mika’s nose so that he would not do the same first. I had no doubt that my cousin was going to do this. He planned to accuse me of theft. I accidentally overheard his conversation with Uncle Olaf, so I decided to take the lead. I immediately went to Uncle Eric's office and took the Focus with me. I will return it to him personally, obey him and explain everything when the right time comes. In the meantime, let it stay with me – safe and sound.

By that time, I had time to thoroughly think about what had happened and understood a lot. Uncle Eric started all this for a reason, and Mika’s adventures have nothing to do with it. He had long doubted his eldest nephew’s ability to rule the state, so he put on a whole performance to give me a chance to compete for the throne with my cousin on equal terms. Surely, my uncle will forgive me the same day I present him with the true truth. But there is very little chance of finding her in an academy where only men study. Except that…

I stared at the Travel Bureau stagecoach hovering outside the main building. The deans and teachers, led by the rector, gathered on the porch itself. Come on! I don't think I'll be so lucky.

– The girls have arrived! We’re on time,” Flammer noted. “But you can’t see them from here.”

– But what an intrigue! – He grinned at Kai, and then, turning more serious, added: – Just imagine, the dragon doesn’t even need to see them if he decides to make a choice.

What wise thought did your friend express?

“This is a true couple! With her you will really be happy.”

On impulse, I took the Focus from my pocket.

– Now we’ll check it…

– Fuck! – Freckled cursed, gawking at the artifact in my hand.

“Ethan, is this what I think it is?” – Kayu stared at the Focus, and his eyes flashed greedily.

Aiz somehow got all sorted out. His nostrils flared and his pupils turned emerald.

– How did you get it? – he asked dully.

“I stole it from my uncle,” I answered defiantly.

The friends looked at each other, but said nothing. And I stood, holding Focus at arm’s length, like in the pictures in the children’s books that my mother read to me, and felt like an idiot. What should we do with him next?

My uncle showed me the cache where the Focus was kept only once, and even admitted that he had found it with my aunt’s help. At that time it was not fashionable among young people, and he did everything in secret, without telling anyone anything. It seemed terribly unfair to me that it was Uncle Eric who was touched by the Misfortune, depriving not only his beloved wife, but also a true couple.

There were no instructions for activating the Focus in the cache, but I suspect there was some kind of ritual or spell that I didn’t bother to find out about. But it’s understandable, I didn’t intend to get married. It was a hard pull, I decided to show off! So what's now? Maybe I should ask Aiz?

Oh no! My reputation cannot withstand such a blow. We are both contenders, albeit for different thrones, and competition between authorities in this situation is inevitable, which did not interfere with our friendship. But now is a completely different moment. Moments passed, but still nothing happened. I began to regret starting all this. Maybe pretend he was joking? At least I won’t embarrass myself, otherwise Kai will giggle at my failed attempt for the rest of his days, and Aze will look on with superiority.

– Ethan, can I touch it? – Kaya suddenly asked in a trembling voice. “I’ll just touch it once and that’s it.” Maybe I can figure out how to come up with something similar for magicians?

“I don’t advise you to paw at dragon artifacts unnecessarily,” Aiz warned him menacingly, as if it were his own Focus.

– And why is that? “Kai, who often got into trouble with malachite, squinted his eyes in a bad way.

– Who knows how it works? You never know what the consequences will be! – Jed answered instead of Aiz and laughed obscenely at his own stupid inventions.

– Jerk! – Kayu pushed him in the shoulder.

Grinning, I lightly tossed the Focus in my palm, intending to put it in my pocket and declare that they, like children, fell for my prank. But then everything happened. Taking off much higher than I expected, the artifact hovered in the air. It slowly turned around its own axis and blazed brightly with orange runes!

– Oh, you! – one of the guys exclaimed, but I couldn’t make out who exactly.

And the Focus set off and, picking up speed, flew towards the main building. It flew right over the roof of the stagecoach, barely missing it, and disappeared.

– And… What now? – Kayu asked cautiously, on whose face I had never seen such a childishly admiring expression before.

“I don’t know…” I admitted.

– So did he choose the true one for you, or not? When will it become clear? – Jed Flammer shifted his feet impatiently.

Jed raised his hands in conciliation. I myself would like to know what to do next and how to return Focus. Losing the artifact where the ancestor spirit of the onyx dragons slept was tantamount to a death sentence. These thoughts were reflected on my face as I glanced irritably at the fireman.

– OK OK. I'm not climbing. You're in charge, it's up to you to figure it out.

– Ahem! Ethan… I believe that your true one was indeed among these girls,” Aze hinted.

– Why do you think so? – I asked, becoming more and more irritated.

– Since the Focus was activated, it means she was nearby. You did it, friend! Congratulations! – Malachite slapped me on the back.

It seemed that Ezeroth was indeed aware of how Focus worked.

“Thank you…” I answered without enthusiasm.

Frankly, I did not imagine that everything would turn out this way, and I was in a slight shock. It was necessary to think and digest what happened.

– What's next? – Kayu inquired cautiously. – How will we look for her?

Shrugging my shoulders, I answered vaguely:

– Let's figure it out…

We hurried towards the stagecoach, but as we got closer we slowed down.

“Jed, for the sake of the Mother of All That Is, don’t stare at them like you’ve never seen a girl in your life!” – asked the fireman to Kaya.

– Come on! Me with one eye! – he waved it off.

It was not possible to take a good look at the new arrivals as we walked along the driveway. To do this, they would have to go around the hefty steppe stagecoach that covered them from behind and stop right on the road, but the rector was standing on the porch. Walking past, Jed couldn’t resist looking back first, followed by the others turning their heads. I also took one short glance, convinced that I was right.

– And which of them has Focus? Do you understand? – Ezeroth asked.