Chương 47: Reborn as the Dragon: — Chapter 47 - The Origin of the Malady

Su Nian had rushed back to the Dragon's Nest for one reason and one reason only: to feed Anna her medicine. He'd been busy outside for ages, long enough that Anna had surely woken up by now. All the medicinal herbs had been gathered, sorted, and stored in batches throughout the lair. Technically, she could help herself. But if he got back too late to feed her personally, that would be a genuine tragedy.

Sure enough, the moment he stepped inside, he found Anna crouched over a pile of herbs with her little bottom in the air, rummaging through them one by one. She was just about to find everything she needed. Su Nian shot across the cave like a gust of wind and stopped her.

"Anna, finding herbs is my job. All you need to do is wait for me to feed you your medicine, okay~" He coaxed her gently while lifting the herbs right out of her hands.

"But — but, Dragon Brother, Anna..."

"Ah. No buts." Su Nian's dragon face was perfectly solemn as he reasoned with her, patient and measured:"You can't tell these herbs apart. What if you grabbed the wrong one and took the wrong medicine and your condition got worse? Be good~ You're still young. You don't know these things." Anna was sitting on his dragon claw, tucked against his chest. She pouted at that, clearly wounded. Her big eyes blinked up at him with an expression of pure innocence.

"Actually," she said helplessly, "Anna can identify these medicines. This is Bloodgrass Mushroom. This is Star-Connecting Leaf. This is Pine Root Fruit... and this one." She held it up.

"Dream-Sound Flower. Dragon Brother, Dream-Sound Flower has hallucinogenic effects. The... the naughty kind." A pause.

"So what did you gather this one for? Luring magical beasts?"

"Yes, yes, exactly — luring magical beasts. Ha, ha, ha..." Su Nian nodded his dragon head very seriously, wearing his most upright and dignified expression. His claw, meanwhile, had begun quietly scraping at the ground. No particular reason. Just an itch.

"And also, Dragon Brother — hehe~" Anna suddenly let out a small laugh. She could feel the dragon's flustered energy rolling off him in waves, but she didn't press it. She pressed her lips together instead, her face going pink, and murmured in a soft, bashful voice:"Also... actually, Anna wasn't planning to take the medicine by herself. Anna wanted to sort all the herbs first, and then wait for Dragon Brother to come back and feed them to her..." As she spoke, she bit her lip and turned her face to the side.

Su Nian watched the flush spread down her slender neck in real time. Even the fuzzy tips of her ears caught the color, trembling faintly with what could only be nerves. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Her words made something bloom in his chest. He couldn't help himself.

He cupped her in both claws and gave her a good dozen licks straight across the face, only stopping, a little sheepishly, when Anna's cheeks puffed out and her mouth set into a very definite pout.

"Dragon Brother!" She held his massive head in both hands and directed his dark golden eyes to meet hers, her expression grave.

"Anna needs to tell you something very seriously. Within any given time period, you may lick Anna five times. No more!" Unfortunately, the black dragon's head was roughly the size of a water barrel, and holding it steady was giving her a bit of trouble.

"Alright, slurp~ Anna, slurp~ I'll be more careful, slurp~""Aiya! So annoying, keep it up and Anna won't talk to you anymore!" Anna wiped the dragon saliva from her face with a look of weary exasperation. Her bright peach-blossom eyes gleamed, and the glance she gave him was thoroughly reproachful. But what could she do? She had feelings for him. When it was a dragon you liked, it turned out you couldn't really stay mad no matter what he did.

"Dragon Brother," she murmured, voice going soft.

"Weren't you going to feed Anna her medicine? Anna's ready." She settled herself against his claws with easy obedience, head and shoulders resting on one, hips and thighs on the other. Her bare feet swayed in the open air, pale and light as a pair of white butterflies drifting on a current.

She tilted her face upward, closed her eyes, and parted her lips in a sweet, quiet "Ah,, " From Su Nian's vantage, he could see the shy flutter of her tongue, the faint tremor of her lashes, the delicate wings of her nose stirring with what might have been nerves or might have been something else entirely. Her princess dress, a size too large, had slipped to show a glimpse of collarbone. On the pale curve of her neck, a small pulse beat in steady time. A shame, really, that Su Nian was not a vampire.

He had absolutely no interest in Anna's neck. He was simply a benevolent black dragon, compassionate, merciful, devoted to the healing arts. He chewed the herbs efficiently, gathered them with his tongue, and delivered everything neatly into Anna's mouth. Under the influence of dragon saliva, the medicinal properties of the herbs combined fully, and the overall potency was heightened. At least, that was Su Nian's understanding of the situation.

The phrase every part of a dragon is a treasure wasn't something he'd made up himself, it was common knowledge, widely accepted. Dragon saliva having special properties was perfectly natural. Entirely reasonable. After the medicine, he brought out the food he'd prepared beforehand. Normally eating first would be better, but one of the herbs he'd gathered was specifically for fortifying the stomach, and it actually worked best on an empty one.

"Dragon Brother, what is this? It's so good, it's sweet..." Anna ate the food he'd traded for, smiling as she touched her tongue to her lips afterward. The look on her face, delighted, a little innocent, genuinely pleased, made him want to gather her up and nuzzle her all over again.

"Eight-treasure porridge. Never had it before, right~" Su Nian looked quite pleased with himself, chest lifted, broad claws cradling her as he coiled up on the high stone ledge. Anna ate the way she did everything, carefully, unhurried, small precise bites. It was lovely to watch. Then she started to cry. Quiet at first. Just the slight hitch in her breathing, and then a tear rolling down into the bowl. Su Nian panicked immediately.

"Anna, what's wrong? Why are you crying, did a magical beast do something to you? Tell me. I'll take care of it."

"No... no." Anna kept her head down, staring at the porridge. She lifted one small hand and pressed it to the corner of her eye.

"No magical beast bullied Anna. The kobolds and gnolls have all been very kind. Anna just... Anna misses home."

"Misses home?" Su Nian turned the words over slowly. From what he remembered, the Emerald Forest was impossibly far from here, across a vast ocean. He had no way to bring her back, even if he'd wanted to. And if he was being honest with himself, he didn't entirely want to.

"Mhm." Anna nodded. She set the bowl down, then turned and looped her arms quietly around the black dragon's neck, pressing her face against him. Her voice came out soft and blurred, like she was speaking into the dark.

"Anna's home was overrun by demons. Daddy and Mommy died. Sister died too. Only Anna was left. For some reason, the demons didn't eat Anna. They just... locked her up." A breath.

"Anna started getting sick after that. It hurt very much. Every night she would wake up from the pain. And then one day, a group of humans broke through. They killed the demons." She paused.

"But they sold Anna to slave traders." ➤ Next: Assault on Silvermoon Swamp