Once Upon a Time - SuFin - Chapter 4

The walk back had been exhausting. But that didn’t matter after he arrived at the castle. With all the walking he had done, it must have really seemed like he was in some fierce battle instead of the miniature tooth-pick fight that really took place.

Tino had been holding onto the goblet as if his life depended on it the entire day. His hands were shaky when he finally released it, dropping it into Emil’s hands. Most would not give something that important to a servant, but Emil was like his nephew and he trusted him.

“You really came back… without a scratch…” Emil held the goblet to his chest. Tino was kind of surprised by this. It sounded as if Emil didn’t expect him to come back at all. His heart sank.

“Of course I did!” Tino grinned and patted the boy on the back. “Now let’s give this to the king so I can get some rest.” He started in the direction of the door, followed by his servant.

*le skip*

Tino collapsed in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He wasn’t tired, but he knew he should have been. Those last disturbing words echoed over and over in his head. “You will come back to me”. Tino bit his lip. He had no choice but to go back, did he? Berwald was known for being violent, and though he had claimed that he didn’t want to hurt him Tino was gripped by fear. Berwald was a killer, and nothing would change that. And if he did not return to Berwald, he may be putting other people in danger as well. Tino covered his face with his hands. He didn’t know if he could do it.

And what about ‘human clothes’? Tino had no idea what Berwald meant by that. What size would he need anyway? Tino forced himself back up and wandered over to his closet. Would his clothes work? He hoped it would, he didn’t want to go out and buy something different. He picked his biggest pair of clothes ( That he often used for pajamas because they were slightly baggy ) just in case and folded it up. He would take it to Berwald soon. When he built up the courage. But he needed to rest. Rest was supposed to make it easier to think clearly, right? Tino curled up beneath the covers, staring at the clothes folded neatly at the foot of his bed. After a few moments, his eyes fluttered closed and he drifted to sleep.

*le skip*

Tino stood outside the mouth of the cave, hugging the bundle of clothes to his chest. He had waited all day to come back, his nervousness preventing him from doing anything but worry until he finally built up the courage to go… at night. He should have been asleep. Tino let out a tired sigh. He took a few steps forward, finding that after he started walking his anxiety started to fade. Surely Berwald wouldn’t hurt him. Right? Well there was no turning back, he was already there.

The climb down felt so much easier without his armor, and Tino made it to the bottom without any real effort. The path was still dark, but he thought he could find his way without a torch. He felt along the wall with one hand as he slowly crept down the tunnel. It felt shorter than before, and when he saw the light at the end it almost felt to soon. As he turned the corner, Berwald’s massive blue hide came into view. The fire that only the day before had lit the entire cavern was now small. It threw odd shadows across the mountain of gold, and the entire space seemed darker.

Tino slowly approached Berwald’s sleeping form. With each breathe that escaped the dragon’s throat, the flame flickered. Tino came to stop only inches from his massive head. He reached out and gently touched his crest. The scales were surprisingly smooth, even though they seemed tattered and dull. He moved his hand to the area behind Berwald’s crest. It felt leathery, like the soft spot beneath his jaw. Could he have just discovered another weak area? Before he could come to a conclusion on that, Berwald’s crest lifted and he emitted a deep thrumming sound like a cat’s purr, only much much stronger. Tino smiled and scratched the leathery area as if he were petting a dog. The purr got a bit louder and Berwald shifted, opening one eye to watch the knight with an amused smile. The look made Tino nervous, and he let his hand fall to his side.

“I-I’m sorry…” Tino took a step back and clutched the bundle of clothes closer to his chest. Berwald thought that was adorable.

“Mm… it’s f’ne.” He closed his eyes and let out a soft yawn, revealing rows of sharp teeth. Tino could have picked a more convenient time to show up. Maybe when it was daytime?

“U-Uhm…” Tino held out the bundle. “I brought what you asked for.”

*le skip*

Berwald was human. Well, not really. He had to explain why he was able to take human form even though he was a dragon. And Tino understood. He could definitely see why Berwald would rather take human form to speak to him. It was much easier for him to form words and Tino felt less threatened when he was talking to a person. But that didn’t mean he didn’t still feel threatened. Berwald, even in human form, was extremely scary. His expression was cold, and it didn’t seem to change. But luckily the clothes fit alright. They were a bit tight… not that Tino minded. A wave of shame swept over him and he quickly dispelled that thought and instead concentrated on what the taller man was telling him.

Berwald had already explained how he had learned to speak. As a younger man, his parents lived among humans and forced him to do the same. He was happy, though. Even though he didn’t fit in because he was tall, intimidating, and other children found it hard to understand his broken speech. He had his parents, food, and a place to rest and that was all he needed. But when he was finally old enough to break away from his parents he decided to embrace his dragon side and went to live in the forest. That was all he shared about his childhood, and though Tino wanted to ask what happened next, he caught himself. Maybe Berwald didn’t want to share.

Next, Berwald explained the part that had frightened Tino in the beginning. The only unclaimed piece of territory Berwald was able to settle in without fighting an older, stronger dragon was the one closest to this kingdom. And it was unclaimed for a reason. The citizens would not tolerate being that close, and he was always being threatened. To show the kingdom he wasn’t something they wanted to mess with directly, he often displayed his strength by burning down very small towns and stealing valuables from travelers. This was also how he accumulated an entire hoard on accident. But that strategy worked. There was no way the king would send a large group of knights to slay him. In a worst case scenario they would all be killed and Berwald, feeling as if his existence would be in real danger, would be forced to destroy everything. They were a kingdom in poverty, and they could not defend against a dragon with wings and flame. All they could do was send one knight every few years, silently hoping that they had picked one skilled enough to slay him on their own.

And after listening to the whole story, Tino had no words. Suddenly he found himself siding with Berwald, rather than his own kingdom. He was silent for quite a while. The only sounds were the crackling of the fire and the bats returning from their midnight hunt.

“They will be coming to get your hoard, you know.” Of course Berwald knew that. He was intelligent… very intelligent. He had probably planned it that way.

He nodded.

“And they’ll find you here.”

He shook his head.

Tino tilted his head. “Will you hide?”

“’m c’m’ng w’th y’.” Tino pieced together the sounds.

“No, wait, I can’t do that!” He protested. “I-I mean, I don’t have any extra money to give you to help you find a place to live and if you go into town with these gold coins people will be suspicious!” Tino looked over at the mountain of gold.

“’m g’ng t’ l’ve w’th y’.”

Tino was quiet for a moment. What would his friends think? Two men didn’t just live together! It was weird and it would freak people out. “But…” He didn’t feel like arguing. Berwald could easily make him do whatever he wanted. In both dragon and human form, he was taller and stronger than the scrawny little knight. Tino felt like crying. He didn’t know what to do! Berwald was going to end up coming with him and he knew it. What if they caught him? I mean, the fact that they wouldn’t find a body in the cave would be alarming. What if they came to question Tino, found Berwald, and eventually figured out what he really was? What if Berwald was actually planning on getting closer to the king through Tino, killing both of them, and destroying the kingdom that way? So much could go wrong…