Ophelia and The Dragons

Chapter 32

"Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour."

-John Boswell-

***

Ophelia's P.O.V

Another year has passed since I became involved with the royal family. I had not seen them in almost a year.

During this time, the crown prince would still send letters to me but I rarely ever replied to them. After Serena told him about my past, he felt even more guilty and tried visiting me in person one time.

But I turned him away, telling him that he should just focus on his engagement, the same way I turned Eder away several hundred years ago to focus on his family.

It was difficult for me, but having Helios by my side made everything easier.

Helios and I have developed a lover like relationship. He had never done anything I didn't want to and extremely gentle with me no matter what, but his personality remained the same.

Sometimes he had his childish side, some days he appeared more mature than his age.

We still had fun the way we used to but we have learnt to do new things together we wouldn't do otherwise.

Once again, winter arrived. To avoid getting invited to the winter ball. Both I and Helios decided to take a vacation to an icy mountain called A Thousand Snow.

It was six hours of flight from where we were. We took a break for one hour on an island to drink and eat something and then I rode on top of Helios like usual to reach it.

There was a small but warm and cozy cottage in there and we could see beautiful lights at night called aurora lights. It was a pleasant experience for us and a much needed retreat for me.

"Lia, come and have some hot chocolate." He handed me over a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallow and whipped cream.

I didn't usually like dairy but the winter festive ambience got me in the mood for some.

"Thank you, Helios. How have you been coping with the weather? I know you are a sun dragon who prefers to be in a warm climate. This cold climate must have taken a toll on you, no?"

I asked. Instead of answering right away, he gave me a small kiss on the lips.

"Thank you for your concern, Lia. I'm so happy you are thinking of me like this." He paused and sat beside me before answering.

"Yes, I prefer a warmer climate when the sun is out. That's why summer is my favorite season of the year. But it's okay. Dragons are versatile creatures, we won't die or get hurt easily. We can even survive in extreme conditions regardless what our types are."

"Although some types of dragons are better at some things compared to others, something like cold weather won't affect me as much." He explained.

"Is that so? I'm glad." I looked up at the sky and saw beautiful hues of blue, turquoise, green and purple. I rarely got to see something like it so it felt quite magical indeed.

"Lia, do you want to go snow-boarding with me tomorrow?" He asked.

"Hm, what is snow-boarding?" I asked back.

"I read it somewhere, it's basically sliding through the snow with a piece of slider. I have made two for us. It can be a fun activity to do together." He suggested.

"Okay, it doesn't sound bad or dangerous. I am in." I replied.

That night, both of us spent the night together cuddling before we fell asleep. The next morning, we woke up and started getting ready for the snow boarding experience.

I was wearing a rather thick clothing to save myself from injuries in case I fell down.

Although I can heal other people, healing myself would be more challenging. As they said, preventing is so much easier than fixing problems.

"Okay, you want to stand up on these board and then slide down the mountain." He explained in the briefest, easiest way to understand.

I nodded in understanding and jumped into the board. Before I was fully ready, I slid down the mountain and for the first time in a while felt a deep sense of excitement and freedom.

I couldn't contain my laughter. It was until I suddenly slipped on a piece of log and fell down from the board.

Fortunately, I didn't hit any rock or branches, but in the middle, I accidentally slipped on something and fell on the ground packed with snow.

I stood up and pushed away the snow from my clothes and was about to grab my board when I realized that I didn't slip on a piece of log.

Instead, it was a young boy who pretty much blended in with the snow. He had white hair and lashes.

His skin was pale and icy. He was also wearing white clothes which explained why I didn't see him earlier.

However, he was injured and looked like he was about to freeze to death. I approached him and noticed there were plenty of bruises on his body.

This boy must have been severely abused and beaten before he was dumped here.

"Who on earth would be so cruel to a child?" I asked. Helios quickly rushed to my side and saw the boy.

"This boy, who is he?" He asked.

"I don't know, but we need to save him. Can you carry him back to the cottage?" I asked and Helios nodded.

He carried the boy and we headed back to the cottage.

We laid him down on the bed and covered his body with blanket. He was cold and shivering. I needed to absorb the coldness from his body before healing his bruises.

Before I could do anything, Helios suddenly stood beside me.

"Lia, I know what you are thinking but it's too dangerous for you to absorb the coldness from his body. Instead, I could use my heat to warm up his body. I'm the sun dragon, my body can get quite warm. It should do the trick." He said before placing his hand on top of the boys' hand.

As he was about to do the heat transfer, he suddenly realized something.

"Lia, this boy. He's not human." He paused for a bit before continuing.

"This boy is a dragon. He's an ice dragon."

I was shocked when I heard it. Another dragon? At this time?

I've never met any dragon besides Helios. Nor have I ever expected to meet any.

"How do you know that?" I asked him back.

"The energy flow within his is the exact reverse of mine. But it's different from those of humans. He must be an ice dragon, who has an opposite nature of me, the sun dragon."

"Ice dragon naturally has a cold body and they thrive in cold climate, it seems like he is not shivering from the cold. Instead, he's suffering from internal injury. In this case, I think it's best if you heal the bruises first."

I nodded and quickly grabbed the boy's body to transfer my mana and healed his body.

The process of healing him was quite painful since his body was so cold. It was like ice.

The coldness was abnormal and I could feel the chill down my spine. However, I couldn't stop. I needed to finish the job.

After a while, I was done healing him but I was shivering in cold. Helios quickly wrapped his arms around me and transferred his body heat onto mine.

It suddenly felt warm again. His body was so much warmer than blanket.

"Lia, you should rest as well. I will watch the boy and let you know once he has woken up." Helios suggested.

I agreed with him and headed to the other room to rest. I was so tired that day even though it was barely afternoon and decided to take a nap.

I didn't know how many hours had passed but I suddenly heard Helios' voice beside me.

"Lia, the boy has woken up."