Tangled By Fate

Darius chewed the meat and said, "The blizzard started in the morning and she came back in the middle of the night. She wasn't outside for a long time because she would be dead if that was the case.

"She was so worried she couldn't wait till the blizzard ended. I think she noticed the blizzard at midnight."

Zinnia looked at him. "Are you trying to say she was in a place where she didn't even know that the snowstorm was happening?"

Darius raised an eyebrow. "If she knew, she would have come in the morning, don't you think? It's better than coming in complete darkness."

"Maybe she had work in the temple," Ironin shared his opinion.

If she had work in the morning, she couldn't neglect it and go to find them – that's what he meant.

Arthur calmly stated, "We can ask her when she wakes up. No need to be paranoid."

Darius wiped his mouth. "Aren't you curious about the first temple, Arthur? I thought if someone was curious then that would be you."

Arthur stared at the girl in his arms and said, "I am curious. But I can't force it out of her. Whether she wants to say or not, that's her freedom."

Darius's jaw dropped. "I can't believe it came from your mouth. Last time a woman didn't want to give us information, you gazed out her eyes from the sockets."

"That was an assassin. This is my wife." Arthur closed his eyes. He didn't feel like chatting anymore. 

"There he goes, showing off his marriage to us. So annoying!" Darius threw a fit.

Zinnia put down the bowl after she was done eating. "Do you know when the blizzard will end? I can't take this anymore."

"I'll watch tonight," Ironin declared.

"I'll leave it to you. If you feel like resting, wake me up." Zinnia went to bed.

  -----------

The next day, the storm died down and it was a calm morning. No one could say that the snowstorm happened yesterday.

Veronica woke up when the sun was right above the mountains.

She yawned and sat up. That's when she sensed a heavy head with a dull headache.

"Ow! Why am I feeling this way?" she mumbled as she frowned. 

"This is called a hangover. You were drunk last night." Zinnia sat beside her and gave her a bowl of hot soup.

Drink this soup and your pain will be gone," she said.

"Thank you." Veronica took the bowl from her hand. "Do you mean the booze you gave me last night? It gives people headaches! I'm not going to drink this again."

Zinnia chuckled. "Alcohol is bad for health but sometimes, it's good too. It'll keep you warm in the cold weather." 

"Don't mind me. This kind of cold doesn't bother me. I grew up here." Veronica took a sip of the soup and nodded. "This is delicious." 

Zinnia smiled at her. "Thank you. Since Arthur and Darius went hunting, I cooked today's meal."

Veronica fidgeted before requesting, "Zinnia, can you please teach me how to cook? I want to cook for Arthur. He always cooks for me but all I can do is chop vegetables."

"Sure, I can. I will teach you whenever you want. Why don't I help you today? Arthur and Darius are supposed to come back in a minute…"

Zinnia didn't finish her sentence, those two came back from hunting.

Arthur saw Veronica sitting on the bed. He strode toward her and sat beside her.

His fingers brushed over her face and he asked, "How are you feeling?"

Veronica's heart grew warm. Her eyes curved like a crescent moon as she smiled. "I'm good."

Arthur just couldn't have enough of her lively face. She almost died yesterday. It scared him out of his wits.

Looking at her slightly blushing face and sensing her warmth made him less concerned.

"Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"

Veronica shook her head. "Not at all."

"Someone please give me some attention here."

Darius was carrying some dead rabbits. He put them down and showed a displeased expression.

"Can't you show me a little affection? I did my best to walk in the snow and get some rabbits," he complained. 

Zinnia was stunned. "Where did you get rabbits in the snow?"

"We went out of the Utahill boundary, left our warm clothes in the middle of nowhere while letting Ironin guard our clothes, teleported to a jungle and caught some rabbits and fish." 

Darius gave her a full description of the journey.

"Where are the fish then?"

"We buried them in the snow. The fish is for tomorrow. Let's eat some rabbits today."

"Where is Ironin?"

Darius shrugged. "He went for a walk. He didn't tell us where he was going."

"Let's cook something delicious."

"I want a roasted rabbit. They taste so good." Darius was already rubbing his stomach.

-------

"This is really good. I never thought burning meat in the fire can make the meat so tasty."

Veronica was impressed.

Zinnia said, "It's not just fire. Oil, salt, thyme, and pepper." 

"Let me tell you, Veronica," Darius chewed and continued, "when it comes to roasting meat or vegetables, Zinnia is the best."

Veronica replied, "I'll keep that in mind. I'm in love with this dish."

"Eat slowly or you will choke," Arthur probed her.

"Hmm…"

"Why did you come back from the temple?" Ironin suddenly asked.

Since he rarely talked, everyone paid attention to him. His words were more valued than Darius'.

Veronica answered, "I came back because I didn't know what to do. I'm stuck."

"You were stuck and so you walked here in the middle of the night when the snowstorm was going on?"

Ironin had a poker face. His thoughts weren't showing. 

Because of his expression, Veronica became nervous.

"I opened the door and saw the blizzard. I was worried about you all and thus I walked here."

Darius and Zinnia exchanged glances.

'So, she was in a place where she didn't know that the snowstorm was happening. It was a place blocked from the mountain.'

That was their conclusion.

Arthur gently urged her, "What made you stuck? What did you find?"

Veronica put down her roasted rabbit. She had too much in her mind.

"Haah… I didn't find anything about elves. I found the story about the fight between the dragon and the basilisk. All the information is driving me insane."

She told them everything she found out. She also shared her point of view.

Arthur, Zinnia, Ironin, and Darius were deep in thought.

"So the story that the old man told is true. Then… you think the dragon's nest is here somewhere?" 

Darius was curious. 

Zinnia stopped him, "Hey, wait a second. We are here for the elves. If the basilisk's blood points to the place where the elves live, we should find that place first."

However, Darius wasn't easily persuaded when there was an adventure right in front of his nose.

"But look, if the dragon sleeps here, in this place, shouldn't we try to find that out?"

Looking at the uncertainty in Zinnia's face, Darius probed more.

"Just think, the place we are sitting and eating, underneath us, there could be a giant dragon sleeping, breathing."

"If it's sleeping, we shouldn't disturb it. Who knows what havoc it will cause to us. We don't know how powerful the dragon is. Moreover, it's a dragon who is angry. He will be more powerful when he's angry."

Zinnia was resolute.

"Don't you have confidence in us, Zinnia? And your power too. We can fight a mighty dragon. History will remember us for eternity. We will be heroes."

"History will remember us as villains who woke up the dragon in search of a little fame and that killed dozens of people," Zinnia argued back.

Darius realized that he couldn't persuade Zinnia. He looked at others.

"Someone, please tell me you don't want to see the dragon and tame it?"

In the end, Arthur opened his mouth, "Darius, if you were fucking a girl and someone barged into the room, would you like it?"

When he spoke, he didn't forget to cover Veronica's ears. 

He didn't want her to hear the word 'fucking'.

Veronica blinked. She didn't know what her husband was saying. 

Darius stared at the husband and wife duo.

"Of course not. I would be pissed."

Arthur inquired, "Would you want someone disturbing you when you are fucking?"

"No way!"

"The dragon is the same. It wants to sleep and doesn't want to be disturbed. So, be a gentleman and leave it alone."

Arthur uncovered Veronica's ears.

Veronica saw that everyone was quiet. She thought she needed to say something.

"Look, I know that the dragon is sleeping. But I had a dream. In the dream, I saw the dragon in a deep slumber. Maybe it's dead. I saw it covered in white. This white could be snow.

"If it's not important, why would I have this dream?"

Arthur held her arm and said, "I understand what you want to say. But it can be because you were thinking too much about the dragon and hence saw the dream."