I Raised A Black Dragon

Noah felt herself sliding around for a long time, followed by a sudden jerking motion as her body soared upwards. Motion sickness was kicking in as Noah tried to right herself and work out where she was.

With great difficulty, she heaved herself into a sitting position. There, she could finally see that she was on a conveyor belt that was rapidly travelling the vast expanse of the complex. She scanned the belt as best she could, and came to the horrifying conclusion that she was heading towards the furnace.

“Think, Noah, think!” She frantically looked around for something that she could use to save herself. As she searched, she failed to notice the conveyor belt take a sharp turn. With a sharp cry, she lost her balance once more and tumbled to the ground. Fortunately, the fall was not substantial enough to cause broken bones. Unfortunately, Noah had landed on a hard, concrete floor. She winced as she rolled onto her back and rubbed her shoulder.

“Who designs a place like this…!” She cursed, writhing on the floor in pain.

“Are you alright?! You took quite a fall there. I did try to warn you not to fall onto the conveyor belts, as you’ll be taken to the furnace.”

Noah lifted her head irritably. Pecker was hurrying over to her, his face contorted with worry. He bent down in front of her and offered her a hand. She reached out with her non-injured shoulder, and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.

“How did you get down here?” She wiped herself down and rubbed her aching shoulder. “And where are we, anyway?”

“There was another way down, one I was about to take you before the ground shifted and made you lose your balance.” Pecker fiddled with the hem of his jacket. “As for where we are, well…”

Noah, revealed to be on solid ground, took the time to properly inspect her surroundings. She had landed in front of a cage made of steel bars. Inside, she could see six people trapped with tubes and needles sticking into their bodies. Their eyes were closed, and there was no sign of them moving. From afar, they could be mistaken for life-size dolls.

“Oh God. Are these… Are these replicas? Or the originals?” She hurried over to the bars, where one person caught her eye. “Lenia? Lenia, is that you?” Noah rattled on the bars. “Lenia Valtalere, answer me!”

Lenia lifted her head up, her eyes glazed over. Her hair was in dire need of a wash, and she was covered in filth. Noah rattled on the lock to the cage, frustrated when it wouldn’t budge. She stepped back and blasted it with a fireball, metal fragments flying everywhere. With the door unlocked, Noah flung it open and rushed inside to Lenia.

When their eyes had met, Noah thought Lenia had come to her senses, but the woman was not in a normal state. Though she looked better than someone who has completely lost consciousness…

“Who are you?” Lenia’s voice was croaky, like she had been without water for some time.

“Me…? It can wait. First, let’s get you out of here.” Noah began the painstaking process of removing the needles and tubes from Lenia’s body, as well as unfastening her bindings. She then slung Lenia’s arm over her shoulder and carried her out the cage. As Lenia’s head slumped, Noah could see the R behind her ear.

“You’re real. Oh, thank God you are real.” Noah lightly traced a finger over the R. This was the Lenia who knew Adrian’s deepest secret, gave Noah the dragon’s eggs, and witnessed the reality of the strange hotel.

“Who are you?” Lenia groaned in pain as Noah leant her against the wall. She probably couldn't recognize Noah because she wasn’t Eleonora. Noah, instead of going over her identity to Lenia, focused on conducting a healing spell, one of the ancient miracles. Though she had seen Muell use it, she had yet to use it herself. Ancient miracles were amongst the hardest spells to perfect.

As she closed her eyes and tried to conjure the spell, she felt a strong sensation flowing through every fibre of her body. She gasped, much to Lenia’s and Pecker’s confusion.

Muell was in the vicinity, which meant help was soon on the way. Noah nearly cried with relief that she would soon be with Kyle, as he would know what to do.

She looked up to see, passing through a curved window, a yellow butterfly.

“Perri!” Noah cried out as the butterfly flew down and landed on her index finger. After spending so long along and in such an unfamiliar place, it was comforting to finally be around those she knew.

Perri fluttered her wings, and sent a telepathic message to Noah:

[Master, you asked where I am; I am in an unusual place.]