Chapter 46 - Dragon Whisper


    "Have you heard" a sonorous male voice discussed among the group men sitting around the bench.


    His messy beard smeared with food crumbs and was moist because of his drink as he shoved a


    spoonful of his stew in his mouth.


    "What nonsense are you going to spout out now? Jackal" another man spat out, mming his wooden


    ale mug on the bench, spattering a few droplets of ale across the wooden oak bench. His wolf like eyes


    ncing at the brown-haired man with his messy beard that wasn''t trimmed in weeks, in annoyance.


    Jackal a man no older than 40, with slick brown hair which he would always make sure was neat


    instead of worrying about his overgrowing beard was described by his peers as a bber mouth that


    spoke about trivial matters that no one cared about or justplete nonsense that never made sense.


    Jackal sneered at the messy red-haired man with a face that was smudged and stained in soot from


    the ashes of the dragon me.


    "What I''m going to tell you idiots is not nonsense but rumours that I heard from my own ears" he said


    pointing to his huge ears as his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets which he nced at everyone.


    "What could that be? Your mother came crawling out from the grave and ran around the town *****"


    another voice from the table mocked Jackal resulting everyone inughter.


    Jackal''s face turned red from anger. "don''t talk about my mother like that. She''s in a better ce now,


    no reason for her toe back to this cruel world"


    His peers gave each other doubtful looks as they tried to keep their snickering to themselves but was


    heard clearly from Jackal.


    "Guys stop being so cruel to the old man. Let him finish what he has to say about the rumours" a


    mocking tone came from another man sitting beside Jackal, leaning forward with a wooden mug in his


    hand.


    Not knowing the intention of the man Jackal nodded his head. "Thank you, Zachary"


    "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted" he nced at the certain redhead. "The runaway


    noble-"


    Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.


    "You mean Lady Diana" another man sitting beside him cut him off.


    "Yes, who else would I be talking about" Jackal shoved another spoonful of stew while looking at his


    peer in idiocy.


    The man looked at him, "There are many nobles I was just making sure we were thinking of the same


    person" he grumbled taking a sip of his ale.


    "Didn''t she flee from her home yesterday while the grand duke was not present?" said Zachary, feeling


    a little curious of where Jackal''s words was heading.


    "Apparently the whole cies estate is searching for her and set a bounty of 50 gold if captured and


    returned to the mansion" Samuel a boy beside the red-haired man said joining in the conversation of


    the grownups. His small almond eyes, the colour of obsidian nced around his peers not missing their


    sudden greedy expressions.


    "Lies. The duke never cares about the arrogantdy from the very beginning she was brought to this


    world. Why would he suddenly want her to return? I would just let her run free and do whatever she


    wants. Saves me the trouble of dealing with an ipetent daughter like her" a man with long ck


    hair reaching his neck spoke in a gruff tone getting the attention of everyone.


    "You haven''t left the barracks in three days. How would you know about what''s happening in town


    these past days?" Jackal said twirling the spoon around towards the long haired man whose names


    was Edgar.


    "Unlike you, I have witnessed what kind of despicable nobledy, Diana really is" Edgar hissed, arching


    his thick sharp eyebrows.


    "That doesn''t exin anything on the situations that''s going on now" Jackal said, spitting out a bone


    that he felt in his mouth after the spoonful of the beef stew he ced in his mouth earlier.


    "Well, I heard from the townsfolk she brought down cies strongest knight. Thomas Lupin" the man


    sitting beside Jackal, a young man just reaching his adult years interrupted the two before they started


    a quarrel between each other. There was a click of annoyanceing from Edgar. "Impossible. That


    man is a beast when ites to handling a sword. Those are all bullshit rumours"


    "They are just rumours I heard from the townsfolk this morning when I was going to get a new pair of


    shoes from the market" he said with a mouthful of bread.


    "Rumours you say. Have you seen it with your own eyes?" Edgar who wouldn''t let go of the situation


    spoke. The men around the bench stared at him like he was an idiot. They knew how fond Edgar was


    of Thomas Lupin.


    "Nope" Matt said with an innocent tone. "But more rumours were going around that she attacked young


    prince of Edmond on top of a roof and his royal highness crown prince" he said.


    Edgar shot up from his seat, mming his giant hands-on top of the table making a racket "Look at


    what you did now, Jackal." Edgar growled pointing his finger at him. "You have gotten Matt into your


    delusional nonsense"


    "I have not!" Jackal stood up angrily, nostrils red from the insulting words Edgar blurted out.


    Zachary grabbed a hold of Jackal''s hairy arm "Sit down" he pulled him down with force.


    "And Edgar" he turned his attention towards the long haired man "Jackal is right. You haven''t been out


    of the barracks these past days, so you have no clue on what''s happening"


    "Stop bickering over stupid rumours" John the one who mocked Jackals mother interrupted, ring at


    the two with fiercevender eyes. Edgar and Jackal clicked their tongues in frustration, yet they knew


    not to mess with the man that could take a dragon with his bare hands if he wanted to.


    Edward the red-haired man took a huge gulp of his ale then to m his wooden mug on the bench


    "She''s probably spread those rumours herself to get the attention from her fiancé" wiping the drink with


    the back of his hands and starting the conversation that should have ended with John''s re.


    "You mean ex-fiancé" Matt corrected. "EHH!"


    Not far from where the men sat around the bench bickering about the rumoured runaway noble, stood


    a man. Leaning against a wooden pole, scraping his sharp dagger across a small wooden dragon


    figure. His orange hair shed lighting from the flickering of fire that burned on the wooden torch bolted


    above him. Deep blue eyes intimated by the carved wooden dragon in his hand yet he listened to the


    argument between the men he worked with for years.


    "The runaway noble" he mumbled under his breath while finishing off ast scrape of the wood before


    spinning the dagger around his hands and shoving it down back to it''s satchel with huffed outugh.


    "Took you long enough to escape that dreaded family"


    "What was that" Ciel turned his head to the side to see a dark-skinned man, no older than him standing


    with two wooden mugs in his hands.


    "I was going to assume you decided to drink my ale instead of giving it to me" Ciel said with a hint of


    smirk across his face. The man let out a chuckle. "Don''t mind if I do"


    Ciel shook his head as heughed quietly. "Thanks for the drink, Ralph" he reached his hands to grab


    the mug from his best mate''s hand when he suddenly jerked it back. "Noooo" he shook his head,


    mouth shaped in a little o. "Not this one"


    Ceil rose an eyebrow in question. "Drink this one instead." He stretched out the other hand passing the


    half full mug to his orange haired best friend. "We don''t want a drunk guy running around the barracks


    trying to **** a dragon"


    Ceil frowned.


    "Who knows we soon might have half human and half dragon hybrids flying around"


    "Can we not start with that, please" he took the mug from Ralph.


    "Sorry but it''s my job to remind you the ending results of being drunk" He took a big gulp of his ale.


    "Remember thest time you got drunk" he said gesturing his wooden mug. A sweat dropped down his


    cheek. "Ralph please no. I''m trying to forget wh-"


    "You were going to **** an olddy" he said. Ceil eye twitched as the memory came rushing back,


    feeling his stomach turn in disgust. "If it wasn''t for me, we would have had wrinkly babies running


    around these barracks"


    "Gee thanks for the reminder" Ceil grumbled. "No problem bro. That''s what best friends are here for" he


    ced a hand over Ciel''s neck, leading him to where the other men sat around. "But seriously bud, that


    Ralph with a serious expression, pointing his finger at him. Ciel gave him a poker face, ncing at him


    like he was an idiot.


    "After that incident I wasn''t able to touch ale for months terrified I''ll wake up next to an old hag, maybe


    a ck one like me" he said with a shiver. "What a nightmare that would be" he shook his face in


    disgust. "And you were going to wake up with one next to you"


    "Thanks, Ralph you''re a good friend" he said sarcastically.


    "Hey! if it isn''t the two dragon whisperers" Zachary hands spread out in joy when he heard the two boys


    approach them.


    "AHHH! Zachary my man" Ralph said enthusiastically taking his hand for a quick handshake.


    "You boys eat?" Jackal asked making sure they were filled.


    "Yeah, thanks for asking" Ciel said with a smile. "ahhh~ Such a young handsome man and still haven''t


    found himself a woman to bare his future kids" Edgar said twirling the mug, watching how the ale


    slightly spilling out.


    Ceil chuckled awkwardly, ruffling the back of his head. "I''m not really interested in stuff like that right


    now"


    "Huh!" everyone around the table were caught off guard for a second. "What are you talking about boy!


    Everyone your age are already married and have kids while others are looking for a woman. Your still


    young and handsome all themoner girls are waiting to have your children" Samuel never heard


    such bullshit in his life.


    Ralph ced a hand around Ciel''s neck again and smiled "Well my buddy here is still looking for the


    right woman." He patted Ciel''s chest. "Unless his only interested in olddies" Ralph caressed a non-


    existent beard resulting in everyone tough out loud. Ciel''s handnded on the back of Ralph buzz cut


    head and shoved it down. "What about you huh? Why don''t you get yourself a wife?"


    Ralph chuckled, stroking his little hair. "I haven''t find a nice ck woman yet. All the ones I met are


    crazy in the head and the white females don''t want to marry a ck man like me and only chase after


    Mr prince charming over here" he pointed his thumb at Ciel who let out an apologetic look.


    "So, I''m pretty much out for marriage right now" he shrugged.


    "But I have my dragons topany me" Ralph said proudly with his hand on his hips.


    The menughed except for Ciel who shook his head with a slight chuckle.


    Looking out where the rest of the dragon tamers worked, escorting the rest of the dragons back to their


    stables for the night, the dragons stomping the ground making it shake beneath them and how they all


    roared and breathed out their mes, he smiled.


    It felt like yesterday he and Ralph, little dirty orphans from the slums was escorted by a mysterious


    white-haired woman in a cloak that hid her face from the rest of the world.


    She held no disgust in holding the hands of dirty and stinky kids as she lead them to the dragon stables


    where they were raised by the workers here and provided food and shelter and in return worked and


    cleaned around.


    His thoughts were cut off by the yells of men not far from where he stood. Looking around his eyes


    widened when the dragons stood still and stared a cloaked figure in the middle with something in his


    hands which was hard to make it due to the darkness. The dragons growled among each other,


    "What''s this ruckus about now?" Edgar mmed his mug down and stood up, annoyed.


    "Odd? This never happened before" Matt scratched his chin also confused on the unusual situation that


    unwrapped itself in front of them. "Oi, dragon stop dozing away and start moving" a man struggling to


    move the frozen dragon yelled out.


    "I thought the barracks were closed for tonight. Why do we have another buyer?" Ralph scratched his


    chin.


    "I''ll go console Xavier about this. Probably sniffing those weeds again" John sighed, getting up as he


    shuffled his hair a little frustrated at the green haired worker at the front that allowed people toe in


    and choose their dragon.


    Matt too sighed in annoyance, he wanted to go straight to bed but now he has to deal with this problem


    that just urred "Then I will go and tell the-"


    "No let me" Ciel budged in. Matt tilted his head, ncing at the man who was 8 years older than him


    ncing back with a determined look. "Fine do whatever you want. I''m going to see what''s going on


    with the dragons" he agreed as he stood up. "Then I''m going to my cosy bed" he yawned, stretching


    his arms then to form a smile as the thought of flopping down and feeling the warmth of the mattress


    under him.


    The orange haired man chuckled at the response of the youngsters words before dashing off with a


    run.