Dare To Love A Dragon

The dragon king had left home early to go for a walk. He was too tired and had a lot in his mind to think about. Having the boy he loves rejects him right before his face didn't help the matter.

Avan didn't bother to explain what happened to him; he just ignored him like giving him an explanation for his actions wasn't necessary. He left, not interested in forcing Avan to talk to him.

He had enough problems as it was, and adding more stress to his plate wasn't an option. Money, that was the main thing that worried him. They were too many to be leeching off someone else when they had their own family to think about. 

He had no idea why people valued paper with other people's faces and used it for purchase. Giving paper a cool name doesn't change the fact that it is still paper at the end of the day. Gold and silver, he understood, but the paper was new and worrisome.

He trailed down the road to town, enjoying the cool breeze of the morning on his body. It was pretty and confusion-free; love was becoming a topic that he didn't understand. He tended to love those who didn't love him and the one's that loved him, he either didn't love them, or they didn't want to be with him.

He asked the universe a lot of questions, but each remained unanswered. Why was I born? Why can't I be loved? What fault is there in my stars that my life is so complicated? Why can I not find someone to love me for all that I am?

This and many more questions run through his mind. It was sad that he couldn't find the answers to his questions. He had no friends to whom he could talk about all his sorrows, no lover to help him forget his sorrows. No father to guide him through life and all the troubles of the world. 

He was all alone.

Surrounded by so many people he called his family, he couldn't find anyone to help him out. "Ouch," he heard and came out of his thoughts. Before he could process what was happening, the person he bumped into bumped heads with him once more.

"Bumping heads once is bad luck," the person said, justifying hitting him on the head again; he massaged his head with a frown on his face. He shot his gaze up to glare at the person who felt it right to hit on the head.

His gaze halted at the being before him. "A new crush will even you out," he recalled Ella's words as the man dazed him before him.

"Are you okay? You seemed lost in your thoughts back there," the boy asked while nervously scratching the back of his head. "You seem lost even now," he added, noting that Ander wasn't replying.

"I…I..wa..was..just..uhm..wel..I," Ander tried to construct a sentence but failed. Everything that came out of his mouth was a complete mess. He cursed himself and scolded himself on the inside. 

"A cute stutter, I like that," the boy gave him an award-winning smile after what sounded like a compliment. Ander never stutters but seeing that smile and hearing the boy's sweet voice say that to him; he couldn't help but want to stutter again.

'Wait, did he call me cute?' Ander asked himself in his mind while a blush crept up in his face. He felt the need to turn away to avoid being seen blushing.

"A cutie with a pretty blush. What luck," Royan let out, increasing the blush on Ander's face. "I'm Royan," he reached out his hand for a handshake which Ander gladly accepted. He couldn't control his own body. 

"This is where you tell me your name," Royan said to Ander.

"Ri…right," he said, stuttering again. "I am prince Ander of Arimelari," he announced as he had gotten used to doing it back home.

"That is quite a name you have there; I should be honored to be in the presence of a prince. Not sure I have heard of Arimelari though," Royan said, wracking his brain for where the place could be, but nothing came to mind with regards to Arimelari.

"It's not anywhere around here," Ander clarified. They had travelled through time to get there, so Arimelari was probably a thing of the past. Long forgotten by the minds of the young generation.

"I see," Royan let out. He had his lips curled up into a sweet smile that complimented his beautiful blue eyes perfectly. His long shoulder-length hair was neatly combed and arranged; the bang on his left side of the face hid one of his eyes, giving him a mysterious look.

"Were you going somewhere? Since you are new in town maybe I could show you around," he offered kindly. 

"Do you know how to make money?" Ander asked him. That being his biggest concern at the moment, he had to find a permanent solution to their living arrangements and then worry about adapting to the new society later.

"Money? Like how much are we talking?" 

"I need enough to buy a house. A big house that can host close to twenty people," he said, recalling how many they were, he didn't count, but he thought twenty covered the whole thing.

"That is a lot of money, you would need to find a job and earn money but I doubt you would make enough to buy that house in a year. How urgent is the need for this money?"

"Ve…very urgent," Ander said as he felt down listening to the boy. He could imagine how hard it would be for him and his family to survive with his family here. He had not even put that into consideration back then when he made his plan, and now he regretted it.

He had come there to have a peaceful life with Avan, and the boy wanted nothing to do with him. He brought his whole family along who were used to the life of royalty to noting but poverty. He could only imagine how disappointed everyone would be when he tells them that they can't have the life that they had back.

Royan noticed him frown and felt terrible; it was like his heart was being squeezed by an invisible force watching Ander frown. 'Who are you Ander? Why did your arrival affect me so much?' he asked in his mind recalling the night before when he suddenly couldn't sleep and felt the need to fly.

He had to go; he didn't know where but his heart did, and that was when he caught sight of Ander and Amaru. He had no idea why he felt such an attraction to a boy he had never met before, not to mention the urge to kill him.

He was confused about his feelings; he didn't know whether he should listen to the part of him that wanted Ander dead or the parts of him that wanted to give him all the happiness in the world. That is why he planned for the two of them to meet, and he needed them to meet to find out more about the boy that troubled his mind the whole night.

One thing was crazy about the name Ander gave him, and he was literate in ancient as his grandfather took the time to teach him. He was confident that was the same name as the one on his birthmark, but he was still to figure out why that was so.

But he knew that he wouldn't be able to rest unless he either killed the boy or took him as a lover. Whichever one depended on what the boy was worthy of.

"If it is that important then maybe I can help you out," he suggested. Ander's face lit up as he shot a glance at Royan.

"How?" Ander asked innocently. He bit his tongue when the words came out, he hated relying on others, but for some reason, he didn't mind the boy's help. It was weird how he behaved before the male, and he was making a fool of himself.

He wanted to ask himself where he had gone because the boy right now wasn't him in any way at all. "Our outhouse hasn't been used in a long time, you and your family can move in if you like," Royan suggested.

His voice was so sweet that Ander only heard you and like from his sentence. This caused his heart to skip a beat; he held his breath and listened as his heart thundered in his chest. It was a feeling he had never felt before, and if he said that he wasn't scared of it, then he would be lying.

"Well, do you like the offer or not?" Royan asked. You, and like being the only words that Ander's mind could process, it gave him butterflies in his stomach and goosebumps on his skin. "Ander," Royan asked, shaking him to come out of his thoughts.

Ander came back but was soon lost again, feeling Royan's hands holding him. The warmth from the male made him lose his mind. He could only sigh.