"You're not going anywhere, Ace," I said as I grabbed onto his arm, stopping him from leaving.

At this point, I realized how completely cliche and embarrassing I was acting, but I didn't care. The only thing that mattered right now was Ace.

While I held onto Ace's hand, he didn't struggle. In fact, he just stood there while barely moving an inch.

"I'm being serious. What were you trying to say?! Just tell me!" I yelled at him.

He turned his body to face mine.

"...Cordelia...Everything we've been through together...And...You...Just..." Ace murmured with an air of disbelief.

"I don't understand why you're so mad at me!" I said with annoyance.

I couldn't comprehend what he was trying to say.

"First, you disappear. Then, I sense an explosion within the capital. And when you finally call for me...I see you hurt...and...!" Ace said almost with desperation.

"So what...? I don't see the problem. As long as I'm alive, everything is okay," I muttered with complete defiance.

For a moment, I think Ace's eyes changed.

His eyes only changed for a brief moment and it was barely noticeable.

...But I was 100% sure...that his bright emerald green eyes flashed a deep ruby red.

It sent shivers down my spine.

Rarely...have I ever witnessed Ace become so mad before.

I braced myself for the worst...but nothing happened.

Instead, I looked up to see Ace with a small tear rolling down his face.

...Was he...crying...?

How did he have such a fast mood swing...? Wasn't he just mad earlier?! He isn't going through puberty yet...right?! ...Wait...do dragons even go through puberty?!

...I've never seen Ace cry...So forgive me if I'm not reacting to his crying normally, okay?

...But...The only thing I can say about them...that...most people can agree with...is...that...A boy's tears...they're almost magical...They were too pure and beautiful for a dark soul like mine...

I have never seen anything as beautiful as the tears of a boy my age before.

"A-Ace...? Ace are you okay?!" I said as I ran over to him and placed my two hands on his face.

"I'm scared, Cordelia...What if....." Ace murmured quietly.

"What are you talking about, Ace?" I questioned him.

Why was he crying???

"I-I..." he struggled to get his words out.

"What! Just tell me already, idiot! I want to make you feel better, stupid. So, just tell me!!" I snapped at him.

I was genuinely worried about him.

".........What if one day...you get hurt...and there's nothing I can do to save you...? What if one day, you disappear forever? What if you become permanently injured and can't even manage to smile anymore...?"

"That isn't going to happen, Ace."

"But what if it does!?!? What will I do if it does?!?! I'm much weaker than you think I am, Cordelia. Without you...I don't even know where I would be now..."

"Even without me, I'm sure you woul-"

"Without you, I would be dead."

"You're over exaggerating. I know I saved you when we were little...but to be completely honest...I think you would still have survived even without me..."

"How can you just say that...?"

"What?"

"Am I just some stray animal you picked up out of curiosity? ...Am I just a burden to you...?"

For some reason, when he said that, my heart wrenched. It began to pound loudly in my chest and I felt like I was falling into a deep dark pit.

"No...No...I've never thought of you as a burden," I answered him with almost desperation.

"At this point...I'm not sure anymore..." Ace said with a sad look in his eye.

He turned himself back into his original dragon form and used his wind magic to slowly lift me off of the ground.

"Where are we going???" I asked in complete confusion and shock.

"We're going back to the others," Ace said without looking at me.

Using a bit more of his magic, he stopped the two psychopaths' bleeding on the floor and used some illusion magic to make them look like they were bags of flour.

He restored the ground too and made it seem as if nothing ever happened.

"We can't go back to the others yet though! You haven't said anything," I said as I struggled.

"No...we're going back...There's nothing left to talk about...and your leg hurts...right?" Ace said with a shaky sigh.

I was about to tell Ace that my leg didn't hurt too much before a huge shockwave of pain flowed throughout my leg and knocked the air out of me.

Ace took my silence as a 'yes' and began to move back to the group with me. He also moved the two psychopaths with us as we left.

Ace was completely silent throughout the whole way back and never looked into my eyes once.

And at this point, it was too late to say anything. I spent the entire way back looking at the dragon's mark on my ankle.

...When I look back on this day...I wonder...why didn't I say anything...?

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A Few Hours Ago During the Festival

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Ace POV

I watched Cordelia eat her endless amounts of food.

One after another, the freshly cooked plates of festival food seemed to disappear into thin air the moment she touched the plate. It was as if she was the devil of food.

Every time she ate a new bite of something, she would make a blissful face and buy a second portion. I had no idea where the food went in her stomach, but I was impressed with her nonetheless.

I inwardly smiled at her obvious display of affection for food.

After a while, Cordelia's servant grew tired of testing for poison and somewhat threatened her to stop. I wonder why he hasn't been fired yet...

Since Cordelia was forced to stop eating, we explored the festival instead.

To be honest, I didn't trust the Marquis' son who recently joined us on our trip...he was too suspicious and his behavior was...strange. He was way too jittery to be an aristocrat's son.

We walked around for a long time while looking at the various structures placed around the capital. Everything was beautifully placed and the entire capital smelled of freshly cooked food.

Musicians, dancers, singers, and artists lined every road, which of course, made the streets very crowded.

And, obviously, since I was one of the only handful of dragons in all of the human country, Silverbell, the stares of people were burned onto the back of my head.

It was annoying.

These foolish humans should just mind their own business.

As we continued walking, I began to have a weird feeling in my head. It was almost as if I was sick. It was as if someone was in my head and was messing with it.

Something was wrong.

The last time I became sick was before I made a human-dragon contract with........someone.

"Someone"...?

...I...don't remember who I made a contract with...

I can't remember who...my human partner is...

Did I even have a contract with anyone...?

Perhaps I was going insane. I knew that I was currently in a contract with a human.

But...Who was I in a contract with...?

I can't remember...? Why...?

I looked around me on instinct and couldn't notice anyone worth mentioning in our group.

But...something was missing.

Someone important was missing...

I spent a few minutes contemplating who that 'important person' was.

...Until it suddenly hit me.

It was at this moment, I finally realized that Cordelia was gone.

How could I have forgotten Cordelia?!

How could I have forgotten the one human that actually mattered to me?!

When did she disappear?!

Why did I not notice her disappear?!

She was gone.

...How could I have not noticed her leave us?

There's no way I wouldn't have noticed her leave us. My senses weren't dull enough to miss her absence. There's absolutely no way I would've not noticed her leave.

...There was also absolutely no way that I would've forgotten about Cordelia on my own.

So why...?!

How foolish could I have been to not notice her absence?!

How could I have forgotten her existence?

I was just watching her eat her food!

It doesn't make any sense.

An unfamiliar feeling crept up my chest and I slowly began to panic.

Cordelia?!

Where was she?!

My heart led me to imagine the worst. Did someone kidnap her? Did she injure herself? Was she on the verge of death?

When I finally came up with the genius idea to use my senses to find her again, I discovered that...my senses weren't working.

I could pinpoint the exact location of a bakery a few dozen miles away from us...but Cordelia...I couldn't find her. Using my senses, I could find every single person in the capital.

So, why.

Why can't I find the one person I am looking for?!

It was as if 'Cordelia' never existed. It was as if 'Cordelia' was just a person that I made up in my imagination.

Something was wrong...

Someone was stopping me from finding her.

Someone was trying to get me to forget her.

Someone was asking for a death wish.

Of course, when I say that someone is 'asking for a death wish,' I don't mean that I will kill them. I'm pretty sure that the prince and Cordelia's servant will do all the dirty work for me.

I bet Cordelia's father will join in with the torture too...

...And I wouldn't stop them.

...But...who...was stopping me from finding her?

Who would want anything to do with Cordelia?

Who dares to separate Cordelia and me?

I scanned my surroundings.

If someone was trying to separate Cordelia and I...they should be nearby.

But...who...?

My eyes glazed over every single inch of the area around me. I even used my senses to look through buildings...which I quickly regretted once I saw...something I shouldn't have through a wall.

I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find anything suspicious at all.

Everything was exactly the way it should have been...right?

While I was scanning over every inch of our surroundings quietly, I noticed that none of the others realized that Cordelia was gone.

I wasn't surprised that they all forgot about Cordelia.

Even I almost forgot about her existence. Someone was interfering with our memories and senses, so it would be almost impossible to remember Cordelia.

The only reason I remembered was because I was a dragon. Human actions are less effective against me. Also...I think...that our contract together saved me from forgetting her completely.

Since the others didn't notice Cordelia's absence, I didn't want to cause unnecessary panic and attempted to leave quietly by myself...but I was stopped.

"S-So, Ace! How are you enjoying the festival so far...?" the Marquis' son stuttered in front of me.

This foolish kid. Does he think that I actually have the time to talk in this situation...?!

"I hav-" I started to talk before I stopped myself.

Just as I was about to answer him, I froze and everything dawned on me.

...How...How did he know I could talk...?

I don't believe that Cordelia has ever told him I could talk. I, myself, have never talked in front of him either. So...how did he know that a dragon like me could talk...?

It's not common knowledge among humans to know that dragons can speak in the human tongue. There was no way the boy would know I could speak...unless...

I stared at the Marquis' son in the eyes and all I could see was pure desperation.

Him...

He was the one stopping me from finding Cordelia.

"I'm sorry, but I must go for a little bit. I will be back soon," I responded automatically with an unconscious growl crawling up my throat.

My first instinct was telling me to use a little of my strongest fire magic on the boy who was obviously attempting to do something to Cordelia, but I thought it through rationally.

Cordelia wouldn't want me to hurt anyone and I doubt she would be happy to find out that I burned her new friend alive with fire.

Either way, I wouldn't want to dirty my hands with a piece of trash.

"Wh-Where are you going?! The festival i-isn't o-over yet s-so w-why are you l-leaving?!" The boy said as he stumbled over his words.

"I must leave. Please don't try to stop me," I said with a snarl.

At this point, our entire group was listening to our conversation with confusion.

"What's wrong?" Cordelia's brother asked.

"Yeah, is there something wrong, Ace?" Cordelia's father questioned with concern.

I wasn't surprised by the others' reactions.

Something was interfering with their memories and their senses.

Cordelia's brother probably forgot that he had a sister.

Cordelia's father probably forgot that he had a daughter.

Someone was causing a powerful interference. It wasn't surprising that Cordelia's brother and father didn't realize that Cordelia was gone. Their reactions weren't shocking in the slightest.

However...Cordelia's personal servant was the only one who remained silent.

It seemed that Cordelia's servant was the only one who realized that something was wrong. He just didn't know what was wrong.

...I was a little surprised that Cordelia's servant was at least able to realize something was wrong.

The only reason I was able to notice is because I had dragon blood in my veins. I even had a contract with Cordelia.

And I knew for a fact that Cordelia didn't have a contract with another person.

........The thought of her having another contract made me feel weird for some reason.

But...I wonder how Cordelia's servant was able to realize something was wrong. He would've needed a lot of experience to bypass this type of interference.

But he was only around ten or so years old.

...It was as if his experience was beyond his years.

It was weird.

"It's nothing you all should concern yourself about," I responded to the group's worries.

"Ace...just tell us what's wrong," Cordelia's personal servant said with an interrogating look.

Cordelia's servant probably realized that I was the only one to notice what was happening...and he was extremely curious to know himself.

Originally, I didn't want to say anything...but...the others are leaving me no choice.

"Take a look around you. Someone's missing. We also have a little piece of trash in our group," I answered while leaving them a little time to realize what I meant.

Slowly, Cordelia's servant's face lit up with shock as he realized Cordelia was gone.

It took Cordelia's brother and father more time to realize, but when they did, they froze to the ground and began using their senses to search for Cordelia, which obviously didn't work in the end.

On the other hand, the marquis' son's expression was darkening into fear.

Personally, I have never wanted to hurt another human as much as I have today...but my morals told me that it was wrong to hurt people...in public areas.

"I'm leaving. I must find her soon," I said harshly toward the Marquis' son.

I attempted to leave, but the Marquis' son used his small hands to grab onto me.

"NO! You can't go!" he yelled as he tried to hold me back.

Unfortunately for him, he was incredibly weak. He was so weak that I threw him to the ground by merely turning my body to face him.

"Why do you care? I'm leaving. Don't try to stop me," I spat out at the boy.

The foolish boy trembled in fear at my surge of anger. But instead of letting me leave, he desperately clung onto me again.

"No! You can't! You can't go to Cordelia!" he yelled as he began to cry.

I felt disgusted by the boy, so I shook him off of me again and watched as he was thrown to the ground again in a thud.

"If you have a good reason for me to stay, then tell me. Otherwise, I WILL be leaving to find Cordelia," I said in a hurry.

Every second I wasted was every second Cordelia might be closer to danger.

"...I can't t-tell you a-anything..." the foolish boy said with he trembled with tears.

"You're a waste of my time," I said with a growl as I turned and left him.

When he tried to grab me again, I pushed him away and flew away as fast as I could. I completely ignored the desperate crying boy behind me.

Cordelia.

Where are you?

Why won't you call for me?

Are you okay?

Are you hurt?

Are you safe?

I flew everywhere I could. I have never experienced the feeling of losing something before. Since everything that I lost was easily found with my senses, I've never truly lost anything before.

...And now that I have been stripped of my ability to sense Cordelia, I coudn't breathe. I couldn't even think properly.

As I was in a flurry of thoughts, I felt it.

It was a small wave of energy on the other side of the capital.

Was it...an explosion...?

I could feel my heart drop to the pit of my stomach.

If Cordelia could be anywhere in the world...she would probably be the one person right next to an explosion.

I knew her personality by heart...and I knew she was dumb enough to blow something up in the middle of a grand festival.

I was scared.

I began to fly through the streets as quickly as I could over to where the explosion was.

As I was flying, I realized that there were too many humans walking around the streets for me to fly there properly.

Get out of my way you foolish humans.

In my desperation, I decided to go up higher into the sky to go over the crowd of humans around me.

...But since I wasn't thinking straight, I overestimated the amount of energy I needed to ascend.

In a sudden burst of strength, I shot up into the air at an uncontrollable speed and dived headfirst into a cloud within a millisecond.

...It seems that I had forgotten to control my strength...

I groaned.

...I need to get to Cordelia...I don't have the time to mess around like this.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I felt a tingling feeling in my chest. I could feel my body being drawn to a specific place in the capital.

Cordelia was calling for me.

At this exact moment, I could finally sense Cordelia's location.

I didn't spend a single moment to think before I charged straight into the direction of where she was.

This time, I didn't care about how much strength I was using. I didn't care if I was going faster than I should have.

I didn't care.

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A/N: I decided to write in Ace's point of view for most of this chapter! In the next chapter, I will be continuing with Ace's point of view again.

Also, before we move on, I would like to point out something about Ace's behavior!

In case you guys haven't noticed, Ace doesn't call anyone by their name except for Cordelia. He refers to the others as Cordelia's brother, servant, father, and etc.

You guys can try to guess why he does this~ I won't explain it until later on.

Also, Mattius' section of the story can't be done properly without more chapters...so expect a few more chapters of drama and stuff.

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It's question time again~

Why do you think Mattius is trying to separate Cordelia from the others?

Tell me if you think that:

A) He's trying to kill/hurt her.

B) He's trying to save/protect her.

C) He's forced to separate Cordelia (against his will) under the orders of his parents.

D) He's doing this for his own reasons.

E) None of the above. (If you pick this, what do you think his reason is then?)

F) Answers A, B, C, and D(?)

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Again, like last time, I can't guarantee this question will be answered in the next chapter. I'm just curious to see what you guys are expecting~ (I've already come up with the whole storyline either way)

Thanks again to everyone who read/voted/commented!

Okie byeee!

Word Count: 3364