Acta Est Fabula ~4~ [Dragon!Rome x Reader]

“I was under the impression the Scion was going to be some all-powerful deity, not a human girl.”

“Shush! Looks can be deceiving! You’ve seen me, haven’t you?”

“Vladimir, you are a complete and utter fool.”

“And I adore you as well, Nikolai!”

I awoke to such voices speaking, my mind hazy and fuzzy as I tried to piece together what had happened. I remembered Romulus running off in a hurry to check something, and then...the boy. The strange boy who had seemed to instill a sickness in me. The one who had kidnapped me.

The one who had called me a Scion.

Instantly my eyes snapped open, expecting to see some sort of dungeon and chains wrapped around my limbs. However, instead of a dark and cold jail cell, I was completely shocked to find that I was actually resting in a very large and comfortable bed, the room around me quite lavish and cozy. There were two figures at the end of the bed, the ones I had heard speaking as I came to, and I struggled to focus my gaze on them.

One, of course, was the strawberry blonde boy with eyes of pale red wine. He was grinning brightly at the other, who was a stranger. Well, both were strangers, but I hadn’t seen this one yet. He had short silver hair that looked...very silky, his eyes were the strangest shade of bright purple, and he wore a heavy fur coat. He looked a bit older than the other boy; or perhaps it was just the cold air his presence exuded.

As if he sensed I was watching him, the silver-haired man snapped his annoyed gaze from the babbling boy to me. “...the Scion has awoken.” He had an accent too, a brusque and deep one that as with Romulus’s and the other boy’s, I could not place.

“Good morning, Scion!” the much jollier male chirped brightly, already at my side and staring down at me with a large grin. “Did you sleep well? I’m truly sorry about the sickness, I thought it would be the easiest way so that beastly dragon wouldn’t hear you.”

“W-Who are you?” I stammered, attempting to sit up—but to no avail. My body wasn’t cooperating with what I wanted it to do for some odd reason. “Where am I? Why did you take me?”

If I was being honest, I’d have to say I was on the verge of hysteria; a girl could only take so many surprise meetings in a week.

“H-Hey, calm down now!” the boy frowned. “My name is Vladimir. The butthead behind me is Nikolai.” He jabbed a thumb at the stony faced man, who merely blinked at the insult. “We rescued you from the dragon! You’re (name), right? You’re the Scion we’ve been waiting for!”

“...first,” I held up a finger to silence him, “I find it extremely stressing that you know my name. Second, that dragon was my friend, and there was no need to rescue me. And third...what the hell is a Scion?!”

The two of them—Vladimir and Nikolai—exchanged looks before Vladimir let out an amused laugh, shaking his head. “The dragon being your friend? Now that’s something I never thought I’d hear...and you not knowing what a Scion is? Again! (Name), you are quite the comedian!” He gave my head a pat, as if I were nothing but an innocent child asking of the whereabouts of babies.

Needless to say, the notion did not sit too well with me.

“I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but I do know that you’re an idiot,” I hissed in anger as I managed to finally sit up, teeth grit. “Romulus is my friend and I want to be returned back to him. I also want to know why in all the gods’ names you’re addressing me as a Scion when I’ve no clue as to what it could possible mean! I want answers, you bastards, or else!”

I didn’t really know what the “or else” would entail, but I could worry about that later.

“She’s not toying with us, Vladimir,” Nikolai said in his quiet yet dark voice. “She truly does not understand why we have brought her to this place, or what she is. Perhaps she has not discovered her gift yet.”

“If that’s the case,” Vladimir’s eyes brightened, “then we can be the ones to teach her! The dragon hasn’t yet polluted her!”

I growled at his offensive words. Out of habit my hand reached into my pocket for the dragoi prism as the two males gazed at me. My fingers found nothing but air, and I remembered how it had slipped from my grasp.

The one known as Vladimir had taken it.

And, for some reason, that instilled a flare of rage deep in my chest more than being kidnapped had.

“You son of a bitch...” I whispered, (e/c) eyes narrowing as heat blossomed within every particle of my being. “Give it back...give it back to me...it’s mine...Romulus protected it for me...it’s mine now...give it back!”

I don’t know what happened in the next few moments. I blacked out.

But when I came to, Vladimir was struggling beneath me on the floor, eyes wide as I apparently pinned him down, the carpet beneath my fingers singed and the scent of something burning wafting through the room. Red stained my vision, a brutal color that made everything...heinous.

“W-what the...?!” Vladimir gaped as the prism slipped out from wherever it had been resting beneath his clothes, the crystalline surface glinting with a red glow. Like an obedient dog, it slid over my neck easily and rested against my chest, the warmth pulsing through it a comfort.

“Don’t ever,” my voice sounded raspy and foreign to me, inhuman...like something else was speaking, “take this away from me again.”

Hands grabbed my shoulders and yanked me back, snapping me out of the rage-induced coma I had apparently slipped under.

I blinked rapidly and the crimson haze disappeared, but the scent of smoke did not. Neither did the burnt patches on the carpet. Nikolai and Vladimir both stared at me, gazes unreadable. I swallowed, stepping back somewhat and staring at the tips of my fingers.

They glowed bright hot like someone had inserted stars under my flesh.

“A-Ah...what...?” My throat felt dry, words caught between the vocal cords. “What did I just...h-how...?”

“You are the Scion,” Nikolai stated in a simple, emotionless tone. “The one who will save humanity from the plague of dragons at last.”

Which is almost the opposite of what Romulus told me...because I’m supposed to be the one who will restore Aegis because of what the humans did to cause the dragons to disappear.

Feeling overwhelmed, I sat back down on the bed, still staring down at my fingers. They weren’t glowing anymore with heat, and the dragoi prism had cooled down as well. But I was still shaken, not wanting to believe what I had just done.

Vladimir and Nikolai looked at one another and a silent understanding passed between the two. The silver haired man left the room and Vladimir cautiously sat next to me on the bed, looking nervous. He opened his mouth to say something but immediately closed it back up, apparently deciding not to.

“...what am I?” I finally asked, refusing to look at him. “Please. Just...tell me everything you know.”

Vladimir took a deep breath. “Er, I suppose I should start with...who I am, really. Nikolai and I, we’re part of this...group. It’s one that has been around since the time of dragons.” He shot me a look. “You know about that time, correct?” I merely nodded, so he went on. “We are called the Nameless. I know, I know, it’s a...dumb name. But we are called that because we wanted to remain anonymous. You see, (name), the Nameless rose up to fight against the tyranny that dragons were imposing on the human race...we began the war that backed them into a corner.”

I stiffened but remained silent. As much as my mind and heart were screaming at me to get out of there and find Romulus, I knew it would be in my best interest to hear this boy out.

And I really wanted to know what the hell I was.

“Our ancestors told us that one day, a girl who was called (name) would be conned by a dragon after being given the last of the dragoi. Dragons weren’t the only ones with prophecies. So, the Nameless swore to be on the watch for such a girl so that when she did appear, we could help her get away from the dragon and fulfill her role in destiny—to destroy the last of the dragons in hiding and allow humans to live in utter peace.”

Still, I stayed quiet. Vladimir was obviously beginning to feel uncomfortable.

“The, er, dragoi would give the girl some of a dragon’s power—that little heat display? I believe that’s what it meant. We thought you had already discovered this when we found you...”

“Where am I?” I finally asked, cutting him off and making no mention of whatever powers I had revealed earlier. “Where did you take me? And how do you know Romulus won’t be able to find me?”

He had spent centuries searching for me, after all. I highly doubted he would let a kidnapping stop him from finding me again.

Vladimir brightened. “In our headquarters! See?”

He motioned to a window to our right (which I had just noticed) and I peered out of it curiously.

The world outside was one of snow. From my angle it appeared we were at a high altitude, but considering the fact that no matter where I looked there was snow and ice everywhere, I wasn’t too sure. The terrain looked mountainous and the area around it was dotted with small buildings, their windows glowing dimly with candlelight.

“We’re located in the Northlands,” Vladimir added, apparently seeing the confusion on my face. “It’s so we’re not bothered very much!”

“B-But how did we get here so quickly?” I stammered. My home had been in the center of Aegis, if one could call it that. When Romulus had flown, we were heading south, but even then we hadn’t gone as far as clear up here.

“Aha,” he grinned cheekily and pointed to his cloak, the one with the strange gems sewn to it. “The Nameless have always dabbled in a bit of magic! This one,” he pointed to a sickly green one, “allowed me to make you feel sick. This one,” his fingers moved up to a dark blue jewel, “teleports! Each gem is embedded with a certain magic. Fascinating, yes?”

The guy was looking at me with a yearning puppy gaze. I merely shrugged nonchalantly. “Considering I rode on a dragon...I suppose so.”

His eyes immediately turned dark, his happy-go-lucky expression twisted into one of what I could only describe as anger. “...but that dragon was misleading you, (name). He was going to—”

“Wait,” I held up a hand to silence him. “You never did explain just how you found me or know my name!”

Vladimir’s stormy face turned bashful in the blink of an eye. “Oh, er...well...we have magic that can observe people. We found you when the beast gave you the dragoi because of the flare in power that we sensed! D-Don’t worry, it’s not like we spied on you!”

I glowered but then sighed wistfully, staring out the window again at the wintery scenery. I missed Romulus. Perhaps it was the dragoi speaking, but I truly missed him. These guys might have been human, but with Romulus I felt a profound sense of tranquility, like we were meant to be companions. Plus, at least the dragon was warm and had a charming personality; Vladimir came off to me as a bipolar nitwit and Nikolai was colder than the weather outside, I suspected.

But there was still another question I needed to be answered...

“Why did you have to practically assault me? You couldn’t have just stricken up a conversation?” I met his eyes coldly. “If you want me to ‘destroy all dragons,’ which is what I’m assuming you want, then you should have probably started off our relationship with less criminal acts.”

At least when Romulus kidnapped me, he did it with style and made me feel comfortable. You’re just pissing me off.

“Because, well, we figured the dragon had turned you against us! We needed to make sure you wouldn’t try to fight us so no one would hurt you!” Vladimir seemed flustered, which made me all the more suspicious. “Nikolai created a diversion to lead the dragon away from you, and I...incapacitated you. This is for the wellbeing of all of Aegis, (name)! Please...”

He trailed off, and I took the opportunity to jab him with, “Say I do agree to this. Where will I find the dragons? Romulus told me they had all disappeared or hidden themselves. Have you located any yet?”

Silence.

I snorted. “So that’s a no, isn’t it? Well...”

I stood up, stepping away from the bed and heading for the door. “If you don’t mind, I’ll be taking my leave now. I have a dragon to return to. Find some other Scion to do your dirty work.”

“W-wait, (name)!”

It was only the desperate sound that caught in his words that made me halt in front of the door and turn around. “...yes, Vladimir?”

“That dragon,” Vladimir’s eyes flashed, and his voice became utterly serious, “is not telling you the truth. It’s going to kill you, (name), and take the dragoi for itself. It will rule Aegis and bring back dragons with it to begin the tyrannical reign of terror. There’s a reason why ‘draconian’ is a synonym for ‘brutal’!”

He was lying. He had to be.

...but...how did I know?

I had honestly only met Romulus a few days ago. He had told me a hell of a tale, the complete opposite of Vladimir’s. And he was a dragon; there was no doubt that the old legends spoke of them with vehemence and hatred.

Could Vladimir be right?

No. He can’t be.

The dragoi prism flared up against my chest again, its warmth spreading to my heart.

Romulus...has to be right. ...but could Vladimir and Nikolai be as well? Either way, the world is doomed...and apparently I’m the only one who can stop it.

Before I could hesitate any longer, the door slammed open and Nikolai burst in, his stony face alight with a reversed panic. He stared at me with his unsettling violet eyes, then turned his gaze to Vladimir. “...we have company,” was all he uttered.

Vladimir paled. “...already?” he whispered. “But how...?”

The words “Who’s here?” were on the tip of my tongue but before I could say them, a familiar roar shook the building, echoing off of the walls and reverberating deep in my chest. The dragoi inside the prism hummed and heat spread out through my entire body; I could feel it from the tips of my (h/c) hair to my feet.

Romulus.

He was here.

“Romulus...” I whispered, relief swelling in my heart and sweeping away all the doubt that Vladimir had put there. “He came...!”

“Dammit,” Vladimir hissed, grabbing my arm and jerking me out of the room. Nikolai ran close behind us. “We have to get her to the cellar!”

“Let me you, you bastard!” I yelled, trying to yank away with no luck. The heat that I was feeling seemed to just be inside me—and no matter how hard I willed it, it was not going to be burning anyone else any time soon.

Nikolai and Vladimir just ran down the cool, ornate hallway, dragging me along as I continued to thrash, all the while Romulus’s roars became closer and closer. It felt like we were in a castle of some kind, the way it was decorated; rugs and portraits and vases and statues...either these Nameless dunces had quite the stash of money, or they were extremely good at thievery.

Considering the fact they had no problem with kidnapping eighteen year old girls, I suspected it was the second option.

There was a moment of perfect silence, like we were suspended between the seconds of time, and then all hell broke loose.

The only warning we got was a crashing noise before the wall exploded up ahead to our left, cobblestone and stone piercing through the air like shrapnel. Nikolai and Vladimir had reflexes like lightning and yanked me behind a column, where all three of us were shielded from the projectiles. An icy blast of wind howled through the hallway, making me shiver, and a growling voice echoed down towards our ears.

“Return the girl to me, humans, and I will not hurt you.”

Joy soared up within me, and I shouted out, “Romulus!”

“(Name)!”

I never thought I would be so happy to hear that regrettably sultry voice.

Managing to finally wrench free of Vladimir’s grasp, I raced out from behind the column and into the open area of the hallway. The heat within me died down, but I barely noticed as I ran. Rubble was everywhere as well as snow blowing in from the gaping hole in the side.

And poking his elongated neck through the hole was none other than a bronze scaled dragon with honey colored eyes staring right at me.

“Romulus!” Before I knew it, I was tackling his neck with a tight hug, pressing my cheek against the smoothness of his scales. “Took you long enough!”

“Mi dispiace,” he grunted. “They did not leave much of a trail for me to follow, even as a dragon.”

“And why would we?!” Vladimir demanded, stepping out from behind the column, along with Nikolai. Both of their eyes were bright with rage, and...

Bloodlust.

I had seen such a thing in eyes before.

I knew it all too well.

“Thank you for coming directly to us, dragon,” Nikolai said calmly, stepping forward. “You made it easier for us to get rid of you. Scion—stop pretending you’re friends and do what’s right.”

Romulus and I both blinked at the silver haired man.

Nikolai slowly turned to Vladimir. “...you told her, yes?”

Vladimir paled. “U-Uh, yeah, but...she doesn’t believe me and still thinks the dragon is right.”

“...pity.”

Nikolai sighed, shaking his head. “Then she is of no use to us. We’ll just have to take the dragoi...and find a new Scion.”

And suddenly both had swords in their hands, as if they had pulled them straight from the air, and on each hilt a row of jewels glittered dangerously.

Vladimir and Nikolai advanced towards us, and the atmosphere changed drastically.

“Merda,” Romulus hissed, eyes widening as he backed out of the hole with me still clinging to his neck and into the bitter cold of the Northlands. “Those blades are embedded with magic...how the hell did they...?!”

“Just shut up and fly!” I yelled, dropping into the snow and scrambling up onto his back, pressing as close as I could to the welcome heat that rose from his scales as the wind picked up and blew snow against my back. I was definitely not dressed for the low temperatures and already my teeth were chattering.

“Got it!” the dragon beneath me rumbled, spreading his wings and launching into the air just as the two Nameless members rushed at us with their swords—but too late, of course. Romulus rose upwards like a falcon diving for prey despite the strong winds battering against his wings. I managed to get a better glance at the building before us through the snow and my jaw dropped when I did.

It was most indeed a castle. A very large one with a very large hole now gaping in the side of it like a bleeding wound.

“Hurry,” I begged when I saw two shining glows from the ground, a sickly green one and a pinkish red one. “Th-they have magic, a-and they could stop us!”

But Romulus was already flying, wings pushing up and down as hard as he could as the glows diminished in the distance, the snow storm picking up the farther we got. All I could do was lay as flat as possible against his back, shivering and teeth chattering as I protected my bare hands from the ice that was quickly forming over my clothes. Of course, Romulus’s scales were unscathed, and the side of my body that was pressed against them maintained a reasonable warmth as well.

But it was still cold.

So, so cold.

“R-Romulus,” I stammered out painfully, hoping he could hear me over the wind’s enraged clamor. “P-Please try to...get somewhere warm as fast a-as you...c-can...”

“(Name),” his voice rumbled through his entire body, “do not close your eyes. Stay awake for me, bella. I’ll fly as fast as I can, but you need to hold on. Understand?”

“Y-Yes...”

But it was just so cold. It was making me tired.

I just had to close my eyes, if only for a little—

Do not close your eyes, (name).

A chorus of voices reverberated in my mind as my veins became filled with fire—literally every inch of my body felt as if I had bathed in flames, and the glorious heat it brought made me feel like a goddess. I sat up straight and looked down at my fingertips; they were glowing with an internal fire again, and the dragoi prism swelled with a lava-like temperature. But my fingers weren't the only thing glowing; no, my entire body was, at least from what I could tell. Glowing like I was on fire from the inside.

I felt like the sun.

A shocked grunt from behind me caught my attention, and I turned my head to see Romulus staring at me as he flew straight ahead through the snowstorm.

I gave a nervous smile. “Uh...we have a lot to talk about when we land,” I managed to get out, trying to hide the giddiness the heat gave me as it coursed through every particle of my being.

“Evidently so,” he blinked slowly, shaking his head and looking in front of himself again. I grasped the spikes of his neck tightly as his gait sped up and for one brief moment, I wondered if we appeared to be a comet scorching through the icy sky.

I wouldn't have been surprised if we did.