It was hard to keep his eyes off the scales and despite how melodious the music was, the raw talent he could sense in it and the effort he was certain laid behind the beautiful result, Eli could still hear his voice of agony in the background and a voice he didn't want to remember along with it.
The scales reminded him.
Right now.
Right here.
Was all that mattered.
He reminded himself again, pulling her closer to him, as his hand anchored her waist and they danced to the music.
She never kept her eyes off him, at least not for too long.
It was wonderful to feel love for someone and be loved in return by that same person. Belladonna made him feel that, he would hold on to this for as long as he could. He would hold on this forever.
"You should meet with some of the Village Heads, they will take the news back to their people of how wonderful you are."
He hummed in response, twirling her in his arms when the music required it, then drawing her close to him the second it was over.
"So were you able to talk to some of them at least?"
"A handful."
"How was it?" The excitement that shone in her eyes instantly at his response gave her intentions away and he chuckled.
"You really hope to bring me closer to my people, do you not?" His gaze shifted to her scales and back to her face, a way of telling her he knew what she was playing at with it.
"They need to know that you are not the monster they believe you to be." Belladonna said with understanding of his simple act. "We need to show them."
"I want to show them too, but talking to them will do nothing."
"It might---"
He brought his face closer to hers and she paused slightly. Her thoughts had been so occupied about the people and this ceremony making a good difference in their relationship with Eli as their King that she didn't notice how close she was to him.
Goosebumps laced her skin and she bit her lower lip, looking away from him.
"The only thing that will make it all better is us getting married on the Red moon and getting rid of the Bride Thief forever. That way, we can tell them about him, when he no longer exits as a threat. I do not want them to have something else to fear when I relieve them of the fear of me." He paused slightly and only then, did she looked up back at him. "I want it to be over when that time comes. My people do not deserve any more turtore."
Belladonna was close enough to see the determination in his eyes and she understood how he felt despite how scary the storm in those brown orbs had been to gaze upon.
He had lived like this for many years, it must be a pain to suffer so much for something beyond his control, to be continuously blamed for it too? It must be a complete misery.
This ceremony must make him feel uncomfortable, having him comfront a situation where he knew that he was yet again secretly blamed and wrongly accused, still not able to do anything about it.
It must hurt.
"Some people will still hate my ways when that time comes, most especially the family my curse has hurt, families of the brides I have taken in the past," his eyes turned glassy. He was blaming himself too. "I can live with that, I deserve it.
Belladonna wanted to say he didn't but she couldn't. She loved this man but that also meant she acknowledged his flaws and that was one of it. They would have to find a way to compensate the affected families, they deserved that much.
"We will face it together."
She wished he didn't have his mask on, she really wanted to touch his face, caress his scales, give him as much comfort as she could offer in here, right now.
"At least, they will have the knowledge of the reason why you did it and they will stop accusing you of all those horrible things."
"Like eating my past bride---" he paused, like he was shaken. "Why would I even do that?"
Belladonna shrugged. She had once thought that too.
"Fed them to my dragon? Ridiculous." He chuckled but it was obvious he hadn't done that because he had found it funny. "Pamela is not a very interested in eating people."
"How is she?"
"Still crazy."
"I hope to get to know her." Belladonna said, although she could still clearly remember how that had gone down a couple of times, and the memory made her shudder slightly.
"I hope so too but I do not think it is wise. She might not take a liking to eating humans but she certainly enjoys the chaos of setting them ablaze and crushing them between her canines."
Belladonna shuddered, the image easy for her to form in her mind because of how Pamela had been the few times they had crossed paths.
"Dragons are violent creatures."
"Was she always--"
A twirl again, a slight interruption till she was back in his arms.
"...violent?"
"There was a time she wasn't as violent as she is now. We even had a kind of connection back then but now, every way, she has grown worse."
"It could be the fact that she still doesn't have a mate. You once talked about that."
"You remember." She could hear a smile in his voice and she was immediately impressed with herself that she did.
"Largely possible. We will have to fly over the walls and get her one."
"And bring back another dragon?"
He chuckled.
"The thing is I am scared of losing her. If she finds a mate, she might not want to come back with me. Why if she decides to stay with him?"
She got it now.
"That is why you have been stalling."
"Yes." He answered, his voice down. "That is why I have been stalling. Putting my life at risk to fly over the walls is no problem to me but will she come back with me? I do not know. I am not sure."
"But she gets worse and worse."
He nodded. She was right. She was getting really dangerous, even to him.
"I just need a little more time and we will fly out soon. Say my goodbyes."
"Do you think she knows?"
"Yes. I think that is why she has been lashing out on me recently. She knows I am trying to keep her."
Belladonna gulped, feeling a little torn between the sides.
"With how she is now, are you afraid of her? What if she gets really mad one day and---" she stopped, unable to continue.
"I am her master. She cannot harm me." He said with so much confidence, she almost stopped worrying instantly.
"Let me see her before you say goodbye, Eli."
"Promise you will stay behind me and let me protect you when that time comes."
She felt terrible for him. He might have to part with a friend he has had for the longest time, and he had even prepared himself for a final goodbye. It must hurt.
She will do it with him. He deserved to have someone by his side when that time would come.
"I promise."
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((It's my birthday. Yayyyyyyy!
I apologize for my recent inconsistent update, school has resumed and I haven't come up with a schedule to quite balance it yet, but soon enough, I'll find one and stick with it. Thank you for all your support.))