Chapter 5.7

Chapter5.7

Immediately Rei relaxed a bit and took a deep breath in and out. "Take a fresh cloth, put it in the water, and wring it out. Then use the blue bottle. It will relieve the pain," he instructed, taking the cloth from her so he could treat his upper body and arms at the same time.

Quinn nodded again, and a little later, she was behind him also, this time treating him with the pain-relieving liquid.

Rei seemed more relaxed, though he dabbed at his chest and arms on the side. Quinn was gentle and careful, and he sensed that she would not hurt him unnecessarily.

On the contrary, she was trying to make him as comfortable as possible.

"I'm done," she finally said, stepping back.

"Thank you," Rei said, taking that cloth from her hand as well. Then he explained the last step she should do. Precisely the same procedure, but with the medicine from a silver bottle.

"What does it do?" asked Quinn curiously, already beginning to soak a fresh cloth in the water and wring it out.

"It stuns," he explained curtly. That would at least soothe the fire on his skin.

"I see," Quinn murmured and began working on his back now with the cloth as well. As she did so, she could already feel the numbing effect on her fingers. "Have you used this on me as well?"

Rei nodded. "A little. Not so much since Mako thought warm water would be enough. But I wanted to make you more comfortable, which is why I only had a little put in the water," he answered honestly. He also had not known how she would react to the substance. It was always better to start with just a little.

Quinn nodded. "I don't remember if it did anything," she confessed honestly, gently dabbing his back. Taking care of Rei made her not feel quite so bad anymore.

Briefly, he paused and considered before continuing to treat himself. "At least you've calmed down," he said thoughtfully. Whether it had been just the water or the medicine was unclear.

"Somewhat," she confirmed, nodding, and put the cloth back. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" she asked quietly. After all, he had helped her as well.

Rei shook his head and turned it slightly towards her. Something like a smile appeared on his lips. It had been a very long time since that had happened. Everyone knew him only with a mocking, arrogant and cold smile. This one, however, was soft and grateful. "Thank you, that's all," he said.

Quinn smiled as well and looked like she was delighted. He made her feel that she had done well and that her debt was somehow paid. In doing so, Rei had assured her that she didn't have to reciprocate.

Carefully, he took the last cloth from her and rubbed his face. For a few seconds, he even left it on top of her to enhance the effect.

"You can do whatever you want," he said from under the cloth. There wasn't much she could do here, unfortunately. But he wanted to give her a chance to distract herself.

Quinn nodded and stepped up to the window to look at the surroundings there. She knew it was freezing outside, and yet she felt the need to explore the island.

However, she also knew that she couldn't just leave. She would have a constant companion who would not leave her alone. I wonder if, despite everything, there was a way to escape it all. The Supreme's plan sounded cruel.

She had the feeling of being an experiment. A woman becoming a dragon sounded absurd, and if she hadn't already seen it, she was sure it was a bad joke.

"Would you like us to start tomorrow night when Elgatos is here? He'll stay with you that night if the side effects show up," Rei suddenly asked out of nowhere. It did say in the letter when he had to start, but no time.

Quinn glanced at him briefly, looking uneasy. "Can we start in the morning?" she asked quietly. "The waiting is horrible."

His hand-tossed the cloth on the table, and he reached for his top. "But then Elgatos is asleep. He is significant because of the relief of the symptoms," Rei explained as he dressed. That it was horrible to wait, he could understand. It was like waiting to die, just like many in the dungeons.

Quinn lowered his eyes a little. "Don't the first side effects come quite late?" she asked. At least, that was her experience at the time.

Thoughtfully, he looked over at her. Later he could ask Elgatos about it. It was perfect that he had experience with walking. Unlike Rei, that is. "We'll see. Let's hear what he thinks about it," he finally relented.

Quinn nodded slightly. "How do dragons actually live?" she asked quietly since she hadn't seen much of them yet.

"That's a question ... I'm afraid I can't answer that," he replied apologetically.

That didn't surprise Quinn as much as she would have expected. She had already understood that everything was somehow different here. "I see," she agreed, looking outside at the snowflakes tumbling outside the window, looking like they were at war with each other.

"I'll put Elgatos on it to become your mentor," the guardian said. Rei could have told her if he had known how the dragons really lived. Since he was here, he only got to know a few things. Over time, the dragons' way of life had changed, so he couldn't be sure he wasn't giving her false information.

Quinn tugged at her dress. "I prefer to be in your presence," she said softly. "I feel more protected there."

"Elgatos will never hurt you but will protect you. I can't watch over you all day because I have a lot to do," Rei replied with a sigh. That was precisely one reason why he didn't understand that he should go through with the transformation. There was too much to do for him to play nanny.

But when he thought about how Harri had handled her, maybe he wouldn't be expected to pay particular attention to her either.

"I'm not afraid he'll hurt me, but I have a feeling the other men would have a much easier time winning against him than against you," she whispered sheepishly.

Rei's lips twitched for a brief moment. "You are mistaken. He definitely has a perfect chance of winning against the others. That's why I want him to watch out for you," the guard explained, standing up to walk over to her.

He, too, let his eyes roam over the island before he started to talk. "I can tell you how the dragons lived before I came here," he offered but pointed out to her that he couldn't guarantee it was still that way.

"I guess it's different everywhere anyway," she agreed, "I'd love to hear it, though."

She just wanted to distract herself with something, so her thoughts went in a different direction. Ideally, she would like to start the transformation today.

Rei's hands intertwined behind his back. He stood up straight and suddenly seemed like a general as he began to narrate.

In the past, dragons had been gods to humans. Mystical, powerful, and protective. They had been a symbol of luck and wealth.

There had been many festivals for the dragons to honor them. Many temples, large and small, had been built to pray to their gods. Although the dragons lived on various islands that had been adapted to their peculiarities, there had been peace. Thus, they could feel at ease and did not have to worry about coping with a different climate. That is why there were so many other islands.

At that time, the dragons had also been more friendly. Until they had noticed that their dragonesses could not bring fertile dragon children into the world.

More and more real dragonesses died. To keep their race going, some had decided to try human women. However, these could not become pregnant by a dragon. Therefore, they had begun to transform women and sacrificed many of them.

At these words, Rei's voice had become ice-cold and hard. There was a pain in his eyes that could not really be interpreted. Trying to control himself, however, he continued.

Since they had begun, the world of the dragons was no longer the same. Since very few women survived this procedure, they were constantly fighting against time to bring new dragon children into the world. Those that were capable of procreation. The possibility of having one was not very high, so some women had brought a lot of children into the world.

The welfare of women was often no longer considered. Only very few dragons, who held on to the ancient traditions, looked after the women, who had become the gods for the dragons in the meantime. Unfortunately, more and more people opposed this and were not interested in how the women were doing.

Humans multiplied so fast, and there were enough women so that the dragons could keep getting new ones to experiment with.

They were being transformed and still seemed to be testing as they were being changed. Rei was convinced that there were already enough dragon children, as many women had been fetched, but these children did not live long. They were simply not as resilient as the real dragons.