Chương 112: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 112 - Bath — What Was Lost

Su Nian loved baths. That was just a fact about him. Even for a Black Dragon, there was nothing quite like sinking into cool river water on a sweltering summer day. And being the meticulous dragon that he was, he'd made sure Anna had a spot of her own. He'd picked a shallow stretch of river, a roughly rectangular section about ten meters across. On its own, it would have been dangerously deep for someone Anna's size.

So on his orders, the Kobolds had gone to work, stacking rocks with practiced precision until the result was something remarkably close to a swimming pool. The edges were wrapped in vines the monsters had woven together. Every angle accounted for, every hazard addressed, including the unlikely but very Su Nian scenario where Anna might doze off in the water and drift, half-conscious, toward the deep end. This wasn't raising a girlfriend anymore. This was practically fatherhood.

Anna arrived at the little river ditch not long after. The weather had been mild until recently, and Half-Elf constitutions ran a little different from everyone else's, so even knowing the spot existed, she'd never had reason to use it. But today was brutal. The Dragon's Nest was still under construction, and even the shade couldn't stop the sweat from starting. She'd had enough.

She stood at the edge, looking at the little pool her brother had so carefully built for her, and felt a quiet warmth move through her chest. He never said much. He rarely said anything at all, really. But so many of his actions said it for him. Anna settled onto a flat rock at the river's edge and slipped off her hide shoes. Beneath them were small, pale feet, fine-boned and delicate, catching the sunlight in a way that made them seem to glow, ivory-white, the faintest rose tinge at each toe.

Those toes curled slightly inward, almost shy, like a girl instinctively folding into herself.

"It's just brother and some monsters out here," she told herself quietly.

"And the monsters are strictly forbidden from coming anywhere near this spot." She pressed her hands together, took a slow breath, and let her brows unknit. Then she reached up and untied the sash of her princess dress. Her skin was like cream, smooth, unblemished, with a warmth that the sunlight caught and softened. Her waist curved the way a willow does in a gentle wind, her small navel a sweet little dimple pressed into the smooth plane of her stomach. Her shoulders were soft and round as lotus petals.

Her arms pale as new porcelain, white as frost. A gust of hot air moved through the clearing, and Anna startled slightly, instinctively raising one hand to cover herself. She knew perfectly well there was no one around. Exposing herself so completely still took some getting used to, for a girl as guileless as she was. What she didn't know, couldn't know, with no eyes in the back of her head, was that the surroundings were, technically speaking, empty of people. There was, however, a dragon....

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Su Nian had been searching for a while. It was Bolikri who finally pointed him in the right direction, and he'd followed the tip to the riverbank, where he found his little treasure, in the middle of her bath. He'd had the Kobolds build this spot on the very first day they moved to the Dragon's Nest. Anna had never used it, and he'd honestly assumed she didn't need it. She always smelled nice. It was just a thing about her.

But the heat had gotten to everyone, apparently. Su Nian flattened himself into the undergrowth, body pressed low, gaze locked on Anna with the focused intensity usually reserved for prey. That waist. Those legs. Perfect proportions. Literally the golden ratio. And, and she wasn't nearly as flat as he'd assumed. There was clearly more going on under that loose princess dress than she'd ever let on. He simply hadn't known because she'd been hiding it from him this whole time. Unacceptable.

You mischievous little princess. You dare conceal this from the evil dragon?! Well then. As punishment, surely it was only reasonable for said evil dragon to observe for a few minutes. Very reasonable. Completely justified. Su Nian settled in, newly at peace with himself. A moment later, a curl of scorching breath puffed out of his nostrils. His expression went flat. He shoved his head into the dirt and held perfectly still, heart hammering, waiting. Ten seconds. Twenty. He slowly lifted back up.

Enhanced explosive output was not always an advantage. That snort, for instance. Anna had definitely felt it. She'd covered her chest with one hand, that shy little motion. But she hadn't looked over. She hadn't spotted him. He sent genuine, heartfelt gratitude to whatever force had decided that the trees in this world should grow so absurdly tall. Excellent camouflage. Really. He couldn't have asked for better. The sound of water.

Anna had waded in and was washing up with calm focus, mainly the tail and the ears, really. Her fur was fluffy and caught dust easily. The rest of her was always clean. When she finished, she climbed onto a submerged rock and started playing, kicking both feet against the water in slow, easy slaps. A few small fish scattered. She looked around at the landscape beyond the Dragon's Nest, taking it in at leisure. It wasn't the Emerald Forest. Nothing was.

But this place had its own kind of beauty, rawer, wilder, entirely its own. Then Anna went still. Her face flooded with color, a deep rosy flush climbing from her neck to her cheeks. The feet that had been happily patting the water stopped mid-motion, toes curling. One hand drifted up, hovering protectively at her chest. Then she seemed to think something over. She lowered her hand. [Hmph. Brother is a big bad guy.] [His tail is sticking up so high it clears the top of the bushes. And he thinks I can't see it...] [If you want to look, you could just say so... why be so sneaky about it?] [Is he actually shy?] [Hehe...] The thought settled something in her. The embarrassment softened into something closer to amusement. Her mood lifted, and she went back to playing, with a little more energy than before.

"Ah — wait. Was I... spotted?" Su Nian heard every word of it inside his head. He buried his face directly into the earth and let his tail drop. This treacherous, traitorous tail. He should cut it off. Right now. Chop it clean at the base. An uncontrollable appendage had no place on a dignified dragon's body. His image was in ruins. He could feel it. Whatever towering, respectable presence he'd managed to project in Anna's eyes, gone. Finished.

From this point forward, she would see him as exactly what he was: a bad dragon. A peeping dragon. A shameless, no-good dragon. The grief was real. But since the damage was already done, Then he should just go bathe with her. A massive Black Dragon burst from the undergrowth and launched skyward, all momentum and zero hesitation, before crashing down into the deep end of the river with a tremendous impact.

"Ah! Brother!" The wave hit Anna like a wall. She nearly went under. She grabbed at the nearest thing — a lotus leaf — and when she finally peeled it off her face and opened her eyes, she was looking directly at Su Nian's enormous, scaly, completely unrepentant face. The rest of him was submerged. Just the neck and head above water, watching her. Dragon and Elf looked at each other. Anna moved first. She waded the two steps between them, rose onto her tiptoes, and pressed a small kiss to the side of his face.

Then she smiled, bright and warm and impossible to be mad at.

"No mischief, okay, brother? Let's take a bath together." ➤ Next: Teleportation