Yukiya pulled the veil closed as she strode through the crowd. She felt a piercing gaze on her, even the small hairs on her hand stood up. She knew she was being followed.
And it's by that annoying guy Long Ki.
She gritted her teeth and walked away. That guy was being an annoyance, and it was getting on her nerve.
Glancing back, she saw the guy uselessly hiding behind a small stall.
'Ugh, why is he doing this? I thought we aged to go on our own way,' she thought, biting her lips.
One Hour ago:-
"Raijin, where are you? RAIJIN," Long Ki shouted.
His voice echoed in the dense forest, making the nearby animals scatter.
Yukiya watched all this with a frown. "Stop shouting, there are dangerous creatures nearby," She said, closing her eyes in exhaustion.
"RAIJIN... RAIJIN....." he kept shouting, ignoring her warnings.
"STOP IT!! YOU ARE PUTTING US AT RISK," she shouted, pulling his lapels.
"I am a mighty dragon, what beast can defeat me," he said with a condescending smirk. "RAIJIN... where are you? Come out, come out where ever you are....." he shouted.
'Bastard! Hmph, let him do what he wants,' she thought with a sigh. She silently strode away from the noisy guy.
But seconds later she heard silent footsteps following her.
"Why are you still following me? Go search for Raijin," she said.
There was no reply.
She turned back to find the guy with a wide eyed gaping look. He glanced down at his fingers and said, "You... you... What have you done to me?"
"What? I haven't done anything to you," she said with a confused look. She could not understand this man. His mood swings are erratic to the max. One second he is protecting her, the next he is cursing at her.
"You... did this," he pointed to his red ring finger. The engagement ring he wore was pulsing and glowing.
"I did'nt know what's wrong with yours. See, mine is all good," she said pointing to her delicate engagement ring.
"Its... it's the problem. Give it to me," he said, pulling her hands.
'This bastard, first he put this ring on her finger, now he wants to remove it. Be it his way, i never wanted to be engaged to him, anyway.' She thought.
She bit her lips and pulled her hands away. "Hump, I will remove it myself." She pulled the ring, but it was firmly set on her fingers.
'Eh that's weird, I was able to remove it just last night,' she thought in confusion. She had the habit of removing her jewelry as she sleeps so she could definitely remove it yesterday.
She put all her strength in her hands and pulled, but the ring refused to budge.
The stupid dragon chuckled. "Woman, are you that reluctant to part ways?" he said with a sneer.
A nerve ticked on her forehead as she heard the guy's annoying laughter. "Shut up. i can't remove it," she shouted.
His smile fell at this. "That's... that's not possible. Give it here let me try," he said pulling her hands.
He tried to remove the ring, but the ring did not even move an inch.
"No...NO...NOOO!!! This is not happening," he shouted, holding his head. "My LIFE IS RUINED COMPLETELY," he screamed.
Yukiya gazed at the crazy dragon. 'He has finally lost it. Is being engaged to me that bad?' she thought, glancing at the shimmering gold ring.
For five thousand years she has had countless suitors following her around just to get a peek of her. But this guy,... He didn't even want anything to do with her.
Taking a deep breath, she swirled the ring on her finger. 'Well, since it had come to this, I'll let it stay with me for a while,' she thought.
The stupid red dragon was still screaming and shouting.
Yukiya shook her head and strode away.
"He was the one who did not want anything to do with me just an hour ago, so why the hell is he following me," she said out loud, glaring at the human form hiding behind the stall.
Long Ki's sensitive ears heard all of it.
'Stupid woman who would want anything to do with you?' he thought, gritting his teeth. 'If not for this bothersome thing i would have been to my own devises now,' he glanced at the golden ring on his fingers.
His ring finger was already red and swollen because of it.
"I didn't expect my mother to use this despicable ring," he glared at the offending little thing.
It was their family heirloom ring. An ancient story related to this had been passed on from generations to generation.
An ancient ancestor of the family, Long fell in love with a woman, but the woman did not love him back. So he forged this ring with his back bone, to bind her to him. On their engagement, he put this ring on her, binding her.
This rings bound her movement to him. Whenever she was far from him, the ring pulses and tightens. This ensured that she stayed close to him during their courtship period. And finally the dragon was able to win her over.
"Pft, that's Stockholm syndrome. Not love," he whispered, biting the ring.
"I would never degrade to that level!"