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Chapter 81 - Aurora
🕑 Added 2025-07-22 19:13:09 +0000 UTC"... Tell me, have you always been a dragon?"
"Hrrr?" The dragon blinked in confusion at the strange question.
"Well, it's hard to explain like this. I need to get something. Can you give me a ride?" Puss asked, scratching the back of his neck.
In truth, his hopes had dimmed a bit when the dragon didn't react to the question, but he still wanted to try.
The dragon, hearing his request, nodded quickly, still gazing at him with affection, which made him smile.
"Good girl," Puss praised and gave her nose a pat as she leaned it closer for him to climb.
Without hesitation, he gave a big leap upward and landed on top of her head.
"Let's head to the exit!" Puss pointed at the large dragon-shaped hole from where they had entered.
"Roar!" With a joyful roar, she flapped her wings and soared into the air, flying toward it.
Crack!
The dragon-shaped hole in the wall now gained a pair of open wings as she passed through, tearing into the concrete like foam.
They quickly flew through the hall filled with pillars and exited the castle's entrance, soaring high with incredible agility.
"Hahaha!" Puss was grinning widely, holding his hat to the side with one hand and gripping the dragon between his spread legs with the other.
Hearing his joyful laughter, the dragon got excited as well and began spinning through the air, which only made Puss laugh harder—he even forgot they were doing dangerous acrobatics over a river of lava.
After enjoying themselves in the sky a bit more, the dragon slowly reduced speed and descended toward the stunned black horse.
Tornado stared at his owner speechlessly... not that he could speak in the first place.
Puss jumped from the dragon's head, and she looked curiously at the horse.
"Tornado, this is Dragon, a lovely señorita," he introduced, adding that she was a girl so Tornado wouldn't be confused by her powerful dragon presence. Then he introduced the other side, "And Dragon, this is Tornado, my loyal horse and partner."
"Snort!"
"Hrrr!"
The two greeted each other with nods.
Puss then leapt onto the horse's back, rummaged through the saddlebag, and found a book almost as big as he was—the fairy tale book.
"Well, this is what I wanted. We can go back now."
Jumping off Tornado and climbing back onto the dragon, he signaled for her to return to the castle, and soon, they were back at the pile of gold.
Puss stood in front of her and opened the book to the tale of the princess.
"Look, does this seem familiar?" Puss showed her the page with the floating princess, eyes closed, and beside her, a chalice with a dragon behind it.
The dragon, confused, lowered her gaze and stared at the page, but when she saw the blonde princess, her eyes seemed to lose a bit of focus.
The image of a beautiful blonde woman with green eyes, gazing at herself in a mirror with a gentle smile and a small crown on her head, flashed in her mind.
The dragon's eyes became sad and confused, and she quickly shook her head, trying to rid herself of the image that disturbed her.
But the image refused to fade and continued.
In front of the mirror, another woman, very similar to the first—also with long golden hair, a graceful demeanor, and a crown, but older—appeared in the background and gently called out to the first woman.
'Aurora.'
"OOOAAAAAHHHHH!!"
With a painful, thunderous howl, the dragon clutched her head and collapsed to the ground, startling Puss.
'What happened to her?!' He was stunned and didn't know what to do as the dragon writhed on the floor, making it tremble with the force of her massive body.
"Girl, I'm here, calm down! Everything's going to be alright!" he shouted, trying to get closer without being crushed, attempting to comfort her.
He didn't know if he'd be of any help—he just didn't want to stand there watching her suffer, especially if he was the one who caused it.
And it seemed to help, at least a little.
Hearing Puss's voice, the dragon seemed to find an anchor and slowly stopped thrashing, while fragments of the past began surfacing in her mind.
In one scene, she saw a strong and serious man with red hair and a crown on his head, speaking bitterly to her.
'Aurora, your transformations are getting more and more out of control.'
Then, a new memory emerged, and in this one, she was staring at the moon with a distant gaze, when the older blonde woman entered the room and stood beside her, looking at the moon as well.
'Your father found the one who helped him transform into a human, but he said that, as our first daughter, the union of his bloodline and mine ended up cursing you. It's both a curse and a conflict between your true heritages. And in such a case, only a true love's kiss can reveal who you really are.'
The next memory was of the older golden-haired woman gently hugging her at night, while the younger one hugged her knees and cried bitterly. The woman tried to console her, but the helplessness in her eyes couldn't be hidden.
'My daughter, you can't blame yourself for what happened. The instincts of your transformation are too strong, and they cloud part of your rationality. When they attacked and hurt you while you tried to escape, your instincts took over! It's not your fault!'
At that point, the dragon stopped, her eyes wide open, as the last memory fragment lit up in her mind, reminding her that the young blonde girl... was actually herself.
In the memory, she saw herself standing before the red-haired man and the golden-haired woman, who looked at her in anguish and sorrow.
"Father, mother, I have to go. My transformations are becoming more frequent, and with each passing day, I feel like I'm losing who I am. If I stay, I'll only hurt you and everyone else."
She remembered saying, as tears rolled down her gentle smile, trying to soothe her country.
"But where will you go?" Her mother, heartbroken, cried bitterly but refused to take her eyes off her daughter, not knowing how long it would be before she saw her again. She leaned weakly against the father, unable to stand on her own as she watched her precious daughter prepare to leave.
"To the dragon's tower. The old castle on the volcano where Dad lived when he was a dragon," she spoke with determination, remembering the stories her father used to tell when she was young.
Her father clenched his teeth at his own helplessness upon hearing that.
"I'll spread word throughout the kingdom. Anyone who can save you from the tower and give you a true love's kiss shall become king of Far Far Away," the father said, with fierce determination in his eyes.
Aurora smiled gently at the two, then stepped forward and hugged them tightly, while her tears fell like rain.
The tight embrace between the three couldn't last long, because in that moment, Aurora felt her blood begin to boil like lava, and she knew she was about to return to that form she hated once more.
Taking a step back and pulling away from their arms, she smiled once again.
"I love you both."
She then walked several steps back, as glowing scales began to grow over her skin and jets of light burst from her body.
Slowly, the figure of a massive dragon emerged from the blinding beam of light.
Aurora felt once again that ferocity she always struggled to control, and taking one last look at her parents, she flapped her wings and began to fly away, tears trailing behind her in the wind.
Her mother buried her face in her husband's chest, sobbing bitterly, while her father held her tightly, never taking his eyes off their departing daughter, with a pain in his heart that transcended words.
That was the last time she saw her parents.
And then she flew, and flew, with a clear destination in mind.
A black castle atop a volcano. And there, she remained, alone.
More and more time spent as a dragon, and less as a human.
Her only company were the warriors who occasionally arrived, but they seemed to have misunderstood her father's orders. Instead of saving her, they tried to kill her whenever they saw her. They didn't seem to understand that the princess they were supposed to rescue... was the very dragon guarding the tower.
And so, days became months, months became years, years became decades… and decades turned into centuries.
There, in that dark tower, she slowly lost herself, forgetting who she once was, becoming just a lonely dragon in a tower, never leaving except to hunt in the wilderness, without truly remembering why she chose to stay there.
Until one day, a charming cat arrived, and not only defeated her, but spared her life—he saw beauty in her, where no one else ever had. And then he reminded her of memories she would rather have never recalled.
She knew that after so many years, her parents had long since left this world. Her father had once been a dragon, but gave up his strength, power, and long lifespan for love of her mother. Knowing that only made her feel lonelier and sadder than ever before.
Puss looked at the stunned dragon, who had begun to cry silently with a lost expression, and felt awful. He couldn't help but blame himself for being so selfish.
He had just wanted to know the truth, and didn't even believe it that much—but now, just from the pain she showed, it seemed true. Which only made him reckless and cruel for bringing up such a distant past and everything she had lost while cursed.
Trying to make amends, he approached her as she sat crying, and patted her leg.
"It's okay. I'm here, and I'll never leave you alone again," he said softly, gently stroking her scales.
The dragon, hearing that, looked down with a tear-stained face and reached out to pick up Puss.
He didn't resist, sensing that she meant no harm.
The sorrowful dragon gently held him against her large chest and cried a little more—now, seeking comfort in him.
