The cobblestone floor met a new pair of feet, Sybille's. For the first time in a long time, she left her imprisonment, excited to see the outside world through her own eyes, not by how others told her.
"I sincerely don't know how to repay you," Sybille said, bowing her body at a 90 angle degree, a proof of how grateful she was for the man who saved her life.
"Don't think about it too much. Remember, you have one hundred years to help me. I'm Arthur, nice to meet you, Sybille."
She smiled. A radiant smile capable of charming the toughest men or women. Arthur had yet to be sure if freeing her was the right choice, but only time would tell.
Sybille got more nervous after each step taken, still thinking the entire situation was a daydream. Arthur looked at her, and said, "relax, I am here with you. Also, do vampires walk in the sunlight? If not, then our journey might turn to be more difficult."
"Don't worry about it," Sybille said, punching her chest with her hand, "I am a special vampire capable of walking during daylight. I am awesome, right?"
"You are indeed. Do you have any plans after we get out of here?" Arthur asked.
He knew Sybille had to obey his orders, as it was on the contract they made, but Arthur still wanted to know what she wanted.
"Honestly, I don't know. I want to find out who was the person behind my lock down, but I also want to explore this beautiful world I had not seen in ages..." Sybille sighed.
"I see. Do you want to come with me? There are lots of things going on in this central continent, so we might have to talk about it."
"What do you mean, want to come with you? I have to do that because of the contract, right?"
"No, not at all. You can do whatever you want as long as it does not affect me or the people I care about."
They were almost reaching the end of the staircase. Arthur looked behind his shoulders, noticing Sybille was standing still.
"I- I will go with you. You- you are a good person, Arthur." Sybille muttered, hiding her hands behind her back and looking down.
'',
"Sure. It will be a pleasure, but it might take some time for us to get into a real adventure."
"How so?"
"Basically, there is a way going on, so I am acting as a spy inside another magic school while also building my school, which I aim to control this entire continent before I leave this planet."
"Huh? I might have something on my ears. Wait a second," Sybille used his pinky to clean up her ears, and then said, "can you say it again?"
~~~~
The two of them were chatting just outside of the tomb. Arthur explained to her the whole situation, as she seemed to be someone he could trust, but they had an agreement.
"This is just crazy. Look, can I stay in this Odemore while you are acting like a spy? I can help build it and make it the best academy on this continent. Hehe, with the help of Lady Sybille here, you have nothing to fear!"
"Sure. This is what I had in mind, too. I will mark the school on the map, and send a message to my wives telling you are going, and explaining the situation."
"Okay. Now you have to talk with your friends and explain why someone stronger than a rank 1 mage feared you. What will you say? Already thought of that?"
"Honestly, I will just tell them I am a dragon, and I am hiding inside the school for protection. Everyone knows almost all dragons died a long time ago, so it should not be strange for one to hide like this."
"Aren't you afraid they will stab you in the back?"
"Well, they are good people, so it will be quite sad if they do this. But I have no other choice, and telling them I am a dragon might sound better than telling I am a freaking spy."
"Yeah, when you put it like this, it makes sense. Anyway, bye-bye Arthur. I will head to this place called Odemore."
"How long will you think it will take?"
"A month probably. I want to explore as I go." Sybille said. She turned around to leave, but Arthur went and hugged her, catching her off guard.
'',
"Be careful out there with this war. Even someone as strong as you can be in danger." Arthur said.
"I-I will take care. You too, Arthur."
Sybille ran away after that, leaving with the marked map Arthur gave her. Then, it was time for him to return to the village, and explain the situation to the villagers, and also to some extent to his friends.
When he got there, a lot of villagers were waiting for him by the inn. Even though it was late, not a single one went to sleep before getting their hands on the truth.
"You are back! What happened to Sybille? Is she all right?"
All the villagers who had worked with Sybille, trying to free her in an exchange for her, turning some of them into vampires to avoid dying by a fatal disease were there, waiting for Arthur.
He explained he had freed her, and now she went on roaming around the world, catching up to everyone she lost throughout the ages. Arthur expected them to be not so happy with that, but none of the villagers said a thing.
They were happy she was finally free, and all of them had a smile on their faces, as well as some words of gratitude toward Arthur, and an apology.
"You were just protecting our own. I am glad those who would die of a disease now continue living."
Arthur exchanged a few words with the villagers before going up to the second floor of the inn where the rooms were. There, Lucas and Liz waited for him, wanting to get some answers.
The moment he went in, Lucas got up from the bed and said, "bro, tell me the secret. How can you be so strong?"
It was a situation Arthur had no way of avoiding. If he did not step up back at the tomb, then both of his new friends would be dead, and that was not something he wished.
"This will sound absurd, but I can promise you I can prove it to you, if you can promise me to not tell this to anybody. It does not matter where you are or what school you are in. This is really important, and I am trusting you two."
Arthur spoke those words with a serious face, and his friends, who were always playing around, knew it was not the time to do such a thing. Lucas and Liz went silent for a second, and then they said in unison, "I promise to keep your secret."
They were eagerly waiting for Arthur's next words, and lots of ideas crossed the mind of the two, but what Arthur said was not one of those things.
"I am a dragon."