thedragonwitchesau

[thedragonwitchesau]

Chapter Seven

The Arbeit

Wattpad Link

Table of Contents

Thank you Adriana Caselotti, for almost making me lose my chapter.

TW: Drowning, threats (in re-caps), quick death mention, unconsciousness

He was about to say something, but then, suddenly, he heard something. A scream.

The two shot up, and Roman's eyes went wide as he saw Patton's head go under.

Roman rushed over to the lake, almost knocking over Virgil (who stood, frozen, a few inches from the water's edge).

"Stop!" he heard from Logan, but he paid him no mind—until he found himself frozen to the ground. He felt something on his head. He tried to touch his face, but there almost seemed to be a force field around it.

"An air bubble," Logan said, and Roman gave him a look that he hoped the scarfed man took as "Thank you for this air bubble, as I kind of forgot that I cannot breath air and without it would also be drowning."

But he quickly found whatever spell placed on him lifted, and he ran back into the water. When it started to get deeper, he dived down.

He saw something a few feet below him—Patton. Fear on his face, he was rapidly descending. He was swimming up furiously, using all his appendages, but he wasn't making a bit of headway, which Roman thought odd.

He swam down to the Dragon-Witch, and tried to pull him up, but it was no use. And then he noticed a dark clump on Patton's leg. Roman thought this might not be good, so he tried to take it off. But as soon as he touched it, he felt something. It was slimy and shimmery at the same time. It was both heavy and light. And it was definitely dark. So, so dark.

Suddenly, he found himself surrounded by shadows, so thick that he couldn't even see Patton anymore. The first one came up to him.

"You left him," it said in a raspy voice. "You left him and he's waiting for you, thinking what you said was the truth."

"I did mean it—" he tried to say, but he was cut off by another figure.

"You lied to him. You are just as bad as your authorities, and you'll never rise above the filth of your species."

"I just needed to find—"

"Your family?" asked a third one. He just laughed.

The fourth one came up to his face. "He's still in the Cage. You could have tried to get him out, but you didn't. What does that say about you?"

"They're dead. Your quest is for naught, and you have endangered everyone by embarking on it," spoke this fifth.

The sixth just shrugged and said in a bit more of a modern tone, "It's all true. They just said it before me."

There was something about the shadows that just made him want to stay there. Just to stay there, stuck in the lake forever, just drifting. It would be so easy. He wouldn't have to hurt anyone else.

But then a small voice in the back of his head reminded him of something. Patton. Yes, he knew he should stay with the shadows, but he knew he had to save Patton first.

He realized that he was now completely surrounded by the shadows. He decided to try and punch the shadows, which didn't work (They were shadows after all).

But then he was blessed with a stroke of luck. One of the shadows hissed and flinched back. (He wasn't sure of how a shadow could do these things, but honestly, at this point, he wasn't going to question it.) He quickly dove out of the make-shift shadow cave, and looked for Patton, who was floating just a few feet away. He grabbed him and started to head up to the shore.

He saw the shadows following them, and in a bit of desperation, he tried to sing a little melody to calm himself.

"You may be right, but I'll prove you wrong

We'll both find out in time if they're lies, lies, lies, lies, lieeeeeeeees

They could be lies, lies, lies, lies, lieeeeeees

I won't let them be lies, lies, lies, lies, lieeeeeeeees

I'm doing fine"

As he sang, he found his confidence rising, and the water getting much brighter. And then, suddenly, he was above water.

He saw Logan on the edge of the lake talking to Virgil, and when they noticed Roman and Patton, they rushed over.

Logan quickly grabbed Patton's unconscious form, and Virgil did some magic, almost seeming to pull water out of him. The cyan Dragon-Witch's eyes flew open, and he started coughing a little bit, then took a deep breath.

"What... what were those?" Patton asked. Virgil looked at him confused as Logan set him down.

"What were what?"

"Some sort of shadow. They... they made you think things—" Roman said from the lake, and Virgil looked over at him with an expression that reminded him of a sort of painful nostalgia.

"Oh. Then... then those were the Albeit. Creatures of despair and guilt, they amplify all regrets you have and have ever had."

Roman thought for a moment, wondering if this was the right time to ask the question.

"Is what they say true?"

Suddenly, for the first time, when Virgil looked right at him, it wasn't with hate. For a second, it was empathy.

"I don't know." The man said, and he almost wondered if he was speaking from experience. "I really don't know."

⇼

The group decided to leave quickly after that, as no one wanted to be around a lake where Patton had almost died.

When they reached Patton's cottage, the two tried to stay and watch over Patton, but he waved them away, insisting he was fine.

He turned to leave, and Roman went to follow him, but Virgil called out to him. "Wait," he said. Roman turned around.

"We... we wanted to thank you." Roman nodded his head, and the three went to go their separate ways, until Roman remembered something.

“Patton signaled for Roman to stay on the porch, then walked over to the two. Virgil glared at him. ‘Patton Fostiae Adefectus. What are you doing with that human?’”

“Patton glared back. ‘Well, Virgil Storme Aeneid, I thought that it might be okay to bring a friend on our trip. It is a good way to get to know each other, after all.’”

“‘My name is Remington Macchiato Aeneid. And unless you turn into a dragon right now, I’m going to run you through with this spear.’”

He gasped and ran up to Logan. "Is—is your last name Conia-Tionas?" Logan looked at him strangely.

"Yes," he asked tentatively, "Why do you ask?"

Roman tried to play it off subtly. "Oh, nothing. Patton just mentioned it."

"Alright. Goodbye then."

"Bye."

As he walked back in, he finally realized something. These Dragon-Witches weren't just his key to Draconsion—they were the key to his family.

Hey! Guess who's back with Part two? Me! Fun fact, it's Monday (November 23, 2020 for those of you from the future) while I'm writing this! As I published "A trip to the lake" only yesterday, I'm kind of proud that I got to write this 1000-word chapter in one day! (although the fact that I was able to work on about half of it in school was a big help). Anyways, if you liked this, please re-blog, like and comment your feedback! And let me know if I've made any spelling or grammar mistakes. Have a great day/night! -Pencil

[thedragonwitchesau]

Chapter Six

A Trip To The Lake

Wattpad Link

Table of Contents

TW: Drowning, food

“Y-yeah,” he said, not really knowing, and not really caring all that much. He quickly grabbed them, and went over to his room, thinking of those four words, and trying to figure out how in the world they were possible. 

Roman just sighed. These things always had to happen, didn’t they? He was tired of all of the conspiracies and connections. For once, he just wanted to be able to enjoy his life without being caught up in his parent's mess. 

He decided to go back to his novel, seeing not much of a choice. He worked for a while, then paused when he heard a knock on his door. 

“We’ll be leaving soon,” Patton called, and then Roman heard the gentle receding of the Dragon-Witches’ footsteps. 

He quickly got up and went over to his bed where he had placed the swimming trunks earlier, putting them on. They were a nice berry red, and actually fit pretty well, which was nice. 

He walked downstairs where Patton was waiting for him. He was wearing swimming trunks of a similar design, but instead with a pastel blue color. He also had a large pink hat with a flower on it, which Roman thought to be a nice touch. 

“Ready to go?” Patton asked. 

Roman wasn’t exactly sure if he actually was, but he thought he should be, so he replied with a “Yep!”, and they walked out.

Logan and Virgil were standing on the edge of Patton's property, about twenty feet away. Logan was wearing a dark blue shirt, some black shorts (or swimming trunks, he wasn't exactly sure), with his scarf, and was holding a large wicker basket. Virgil, on the other hand, was wearing a one-piece with purple and black stripes and had a furious expression.

Patton signaled for Roman to stay on the porch, then walked over to the two. Virgil glared at him. "Patton Fostiae Adefectus. What are you doing with that human?

Patton glared back. "Well, Virgil Storme Aeneid, I thought that it might be okay to bring a friend on our trip. It is a good way to get to know each other, after all.

Roman cringed, the tension thick. He felt like they could start screaming at each other any second now.

And they did, just not aloud.

He could see it in their body language—Patton's tight face, Virgil's scrunched fists, the glares they were giving each other. This fight was non-verbal, but it was just as intense as if it weren't.

Finally, after a few moments, Virgil let out a loud sigh. "Fine. The human can come." He turned towards the forest, and Logan followed him. Patton gave the knight a smile, then started walking with them, and Roman quickly ran up.

They walked in a heavy silence, Roman feeling a bit guilty, and then Patton spoke up. "So, uh, Logan. What's in that basket?"

They turned to Logan and he held it up. "Food. Emile—the child that my parents took in a few years back," he added, upon seeing Roman's confused look, "thought that we would need sustenance, so he made us this. Or at least, that is what the note that came with it said. It is about a dozen miniature sandwiches, of different flavors and varieties, a platter of cookies, and a couple jars of Crofters."

Virgil let out a chuckle. "You added in the Crofters last minute, didn't you?"

Logan looked down. "Possibly."

They kept walking, the Dragon-Witches talking as they went, Patton occasionally prompting Roman to join in, although none of the others seemed to like that.

About twenty minutes later, Patton gasped. "We're here!" He ran up ahead of them, and snapped his fingers, a large blanket with a floral pattern appearing on the grass. He then tossed his hat onto it, and ran into the glittering lake, giggling. "Come on in, the water's amazing!"

When Roman reached it, he smiled. The lake wasn't too large, but it wasn't that small either. It was surrounded by lush grass, and it seemed like the perfect place to spend an afternoon.

He was just about to join Patton when he noticed Virgil wading in. He thought it might be awkward to join them now, especially since Virgil hated him, so he decided to sit on the edge of the blanket.

Logan sat on the other end of it and brought out a book and a jar of something. He looked at the label. "Crofter's Organic." Roman looked over at the man. "Is that the thing you mentioned earlier?"

He looked up from his book. "Yes," he said. "It's quite good actually, honestly the only jelly that I will put in my belly."

Roman nodded. "Nice."

There was a bit of an awkward silence, then Logan cleared his throat. "Do you want some?"

Roman looked from the jar to Logan, and back again. "Why not."

Logan brought out a wooden spoon from the basket and opened the jar. He put it in the jar, and slid it over to Roman, who quickly grabbed it. He took it out of the jar and dealt himself a large spoonful.

And that's when he knew he had been missing out his whole life. He kept giving himself more—the jelly might as well have been gold—but quickly stopped, realizing Logan might find it rude if he kept eating more. He turned to give it back to him, then paused.

Logan was staring at the lake, smiling, watching the other Dragon-Witches splash around in the water. Roman smirked.

"Which one?" he asked.

Logan gave him a confused look. Roman clarified. "Which one do you like, I mean."

Logan's face turned red. "I- I don't--"

The knight laughed. "I can tell you like one of them. Which one is it?"

"Virgil," he mumbled, and Roman couldn't help but feel glad, although he wasn't sure why.

He was about to say something, but then, suddenly, he heard something. A scream.

The two shot up, and Roman's eyes went wide as he saw Patton's head go under.

[thedragonwitchesau]

Chapter Five

The Painting

Wattpad

Table of Contents

I'd like to give a quick shoutout to my new writing/editing buddy Carl for listening to me read this aloud, and giving me the motivation to finish this chapter!

Patton sighed, and started again. “They don’t hate you in particular, it’s just that a lot of Dragon-Witches have bad feelings towards humans. Some gather in groups to hunt us, and, well, you can’t really say you approve of a species that does that, can you?”

Roman nodded, feeling a twinge of guilt. 

“Hey, why don’t we play Patton-cake?” 

Roman looked at him. “What’s that?” 

Patton laughed, and smirked. “You’ll see. Now, go dip all of your fingers in candle wax.”

Roman smiled, leaning up against Patton’s cottage. The weather was just so perfect. The air was crisp, the breeze was soft, and the sun was casting a golden glow over the whole area. He just wanted to stay out here forever and write his novel, but something in the back of his mind reminded him that he had other things to do.

Mainly, win over Virgil and Logan. If he could just get them on his side, he could finally make it into Draconison. He could finally achieve his goal.

So novel writing would have to be sidelined for now, and he would have to put all of his focus on formatting a plan. He couldn’t allow anything to interrupt him.

“Hey kiddo! You busy?”

…

Well, Patton was an exception, right?

 He thought for a moment, then looked up. “No, not really. Did you need anything?” 

“Actually, me, Logan and Virgil had plans to go to a lake not too far from here. I was wondering if you wanted to join us?”

Roman’s smile widened. This was perfect! He could try and earn the other’s trust while having a fun time at a lake!

“That’d be wonderful!” 

 “And by the way,” The shorter one added, “do you have any swimming clothes?” 

The knight thought for a bit, realizing he hadn’t gone swimming in… almost ten years? 

“No,” he admitted.

 “That’s alright!” Patton said. “I think I have some spares in my room.” He quickly motioned for Roman to follow him, then went inside.

He gathered up his novel pages, and then jogged in after him, placing them down on the table. He saw Patton disappearing up the stairs, so he went the same way. 

Unlike his room, which was on the left side of the hall, the Dragon-Witch’s was on the right, with a door the same shade as his house. Patton held it open for him, and he looked around.

The room was just like Patton, bright and cheery. There was a large bed in the corner with a soft-looking pale-yellow blanket, a small bookshelf filled with spell books right beside it. The wall in front of him had a window with a few succulent plants in cute vases on the windowsill. Instead of candles or torches like most buildings Roman was used to, there were small glowing orbs of light clustered all around the room. To the right was a wall filled with paintings of Patton and what Roman assumed to be his family, or his friends. 

He looked over to the painting in the center of the wall and let out a small gasp. 

There were two women in the back of the painting. The woman on the left had light brown hair, green eyes, and a bright smile. She had pale yellow wings and was wearing a white shirt (or dress, he couldn’t tell) with a white witch’s hat. She was holding hands with the other, who was quite different. 

This Dragon-Witch had dark skin, and black hair pulled up in a bun. Her wings were a very dark navy, almost black, and she was wearing a gray turtleneck and glasses. Her expression seemed cold, but then he took a step forward. The human noticed that the corner of her mouth was turned upwards, slightly, and that she seemed to have a twinkle in her eye.

Sitting in front of them were two people. The first one was a mirror-image of Patton, the only difference being his slightly darker hair, white wings, and brown robes. He had the same friendly smile on his face, and Roman thought he was the type of person who wouldn’t hesitate to give you a hug.

Next to him was the second Dragon-Witch. He had tan skin, brown eyes, and black hair. He had a smug smirk on his face and looked like he knew something that someone else didn’t. He had a tail that was a kind of sienna color and was wearing a black robe with a brown leather bag.

And then there was the final Dragon-Witch. She was laying on her side in front of them all, one hand supporting her head and the other on her hip. She had a joyful expression, green eyes and reddish-brown hair. Her wings were a bit of a darker magenta, and she had a slightly poofy cream-colored dress with rainbow elements.

He knew this painting. He knew what it was, and he knew that it shouldn’t be here. Right?

By this time, Patton had noticed him looking at it, and came over. “Do you like it?” 

The second man turned to him. “Yeah… where did you get it?” 

“Oh, my dad gave it to me a few years ago. It’s a picture of him and his friends from when he was a bit younger.”

Roman froze. What?

“Anyways,” Patton continued, holding out a pair of swimming trunks, “Will this work?”

“Y-yeah,” he said, not really knowing, and not really caring all that much. He quickly grabbed them, and went over to his room, thinking of those four words, and trying to figure out how in the world they were possible. 

So. New chapter! Oh my gosh, I am so sorry that I haven't updated in a while. But I think I've finally solved my plot/ship problems, so chapters should be a bit more frequent. (although, now I do have real life school, so let's hope I can find time in between that...) Anyways, if you liked this, please re-blog, and let me know your general feedback as well as any spelling or grammar mistakes that I may have made! Have a great day/night everyone! -Pencil (also, if it wasn't clear, Carl is a stuffed turtle.)

[thedragonwitchesau]

Chapter Four

Eavesdropping

Wattpad Link

Table Of Contents

TW: Eavesdropping(?),A little bit of caps, Self-depreciation/self-doubt

He smiled at the memory, then put it back into the pack. He placed it next to him on the floor, and finally fell asleep.

Roman’s first thought when he woke up was “Are my clothes wrinkled?” (A knight has got to slay!) He sat up and looked at them. By some miracle, they were not.

The next thought was “Where am I?” but that was quickly erased as he remembered the events from the previous night.

The Dragon-Witch flame

Leaving

Being chased

And finally, ending up here in Patton’s cottage.

He sat up, and realized that he had no idea what to do now. The start of his plan depended on Patton’s friends… and Roman had no idea when he could meet them.

Suddenly, his stomach grumbled. He let out a soft chuckle, and decided to head downstairs to see if there was anything to eat.

As he walked downstairs, he started to shield his eyes. It was much more cheerful in the day, but also much brighter. When he got downstairs, he looked around, finding Patton nowhere in the area.

He assumed (and hoped) that he had just gone out, so he went over to a cabinet, and opened it up. There wasn’t much, just an apple, but it was food, so he took a bite out of it.

Just then, he heard the front door open. Something in his gut told him to get out of sight, so he ducked behind a taller cabinet that stuck out front the rest of the kitchen. He took a peek, and smirked at what he saw.

There were two men he assumed to be Dragon-Witches standing with Patton around the dining table.

The first one was a bit taller than Patton. He was about 5’9”, and had light skin. Roman could see that he had darker brown hair, his dark blue eyes that were surrounded by square frames, and his stoic expression. He was wearing dark blue pants, a black shirt, and a scarf with multiple colors of blue in it.

The second man was more interesting. Something about him drew the knight to him, and he took notice of him. He was maybe 5’11, and he had very pale skin. His dark hair was tinged with purple, and his black eyes had bags under them, like he didn’t get enough sleep. His shoulders were slumped, and he looked like the sort of person who honestly couldn’t care less. He was wearing a black robe with purple patches sewn onto it.

Roman tried to listen in on their conversation, hoping to hear something about the village, or something that would help him win them over.

The man with the purple hair spoke up. “So, today I was talking to Remy.”

Roman’s heart jumped. This man knew the guard? (He assumed it was the guard, Remy seemed like a nickname for Remington.) Would he have said something that would destroy his chances of getting in the village?

Apparently not.

“Percy asked Andy on a date.” Patton squealed. “FINALLY! Oh my gosh Virge, I’ve been waiting for this forever!” He smiled, then paused.

“Wait. You said asked— did Andy say yes?”

The man with purple hair—Virge— smirked. “Yep.”

Patton squealed again. “Oh my gosh! Ok, ok, where is it…” he said, walking towards the kitchen. Roman’s eyes grew wide, then pretended to look like he was just casually eating an apple instead of eavesdropping on his host.

The man with the scarf looked at him quizzically. “Where is what?” Patton looked over at him.

“My cookie recipe! I have to bake them something!” The man with the scarf rolled his eyes.

“Patton, Virgil has stated that they were simply going on their first date. There is no indication that they will get together, or even go on another date.” Patton looked back at him, his shoulders sagging. The scarfed man’s eyes widened, and he realized what he had done.

“That’s not to say it won’t be! I’m simply stating that it might work, or it may, it’s honestly hard to know… In any case, there’s nothing stopping you from making those cookies!”

Patton smiled, and continued his walk to the kitchen, where he found Roman, who was trying to casually lean against the counter. “Hey Roman! How long have you been here?”

“Just a few minutes,” he said. “Did I hear someone else here?”

Patton’s face lit up. “Oh, yeah!” He pulled Roman out from behind the cabinet, placing him in front of the tow men. “Roman, meet Logan,” he said, pointed to the man with the scarf, “and Virgil”, he said, pointed to the purple-haired man. Logan waved, and Virgil gave a small salute.

“Lo, Virge, this is Roman, the human that showed up last night.”

And in an instant, everything changed.

Virgil’s “couldn’t-care-less” expression turned to rage. His shoulders un-slumped, and he put his hands in front of him as balls of purple light formed in the palms. Logan put his hands around him, trying to stop him, but the Cicieran could see that he didn’t really want to, that he wouldn’t care if Virgil fired.

Patton ran in front of Roman, trying to protect him from whatever Virgil looked like he was about to do. “Virgil, stop.”

Virgil laughed. “Yes, Pat. I won’t attack the human in your home. It’s not like he’s dangerous or anything!”

Patton looked at him. “He’s not! He’s good, I promise.” Virgil rolled his eyes.

“Patton, you said he came in last night? How can you know if he’s good?”

“Trust me Virge. Trust me.”

The purple-haired man didn’t respond, and looked to Roman instead. “What are your intentions, human?” he spat out. Roman gulped, this one was scary.

“I’m simply trying to get into the village.”

“WHAT?”

Here, Patton interjected, and explained what Roman told him last night. Virgil was not convinced. “A piece of paper? Really? And why would someone give you directions to Draconison?”

Roman looked him straight in the eyes. “I don’t know. The point is, I need to get in. I know you have no reason to trust me—”

“See! Even the human says I can’t trust him!” Virgil yelled. Roman tried to contain his anger, he was getting on his nerves.

“If you would let me finish, I would have told you that even though you have no reason, at least give me a chance. You can’t trust me if you never try to build the trust.”

Virgil didn’t say anything, but kept glaring at him. Finally, after a few moments of silence, he spoke.

“Come on Logan, we’re leaving.” Logan shot a look at Patton which seemed apologetic, and went along with Virgil. After they left, Roman sunk down to the floor, and put his head in his hands.

“They hate me,” he said. “I’ll never earn their trust.” Patton kneeled down so that he was at eye level with the man in white. He gave him a soft smile.

“Roman, it’s ok. They don’t hate you—” Roman interrupted him.

“Then what was that?”

Patton sighed, and started again. “They don’t hate you in particular, it’s just that a lot of Dragon-Witches have bad feelings towards humans. Some gather in groups to hunt us, and, well, you can’t really say you approve of a species that does that, can you?”

Roman nodded, feeling a twinge of guilt.

“Hey, why don’t we play Patton-cake?”

Roman looked at him. “What’s that?”

Patton laughed, and smirked. “You’ll see. Now, go dip all of your fingers in candle wax.”

⇼

Logan and Virgil walked back towards Draconison in silence. After about ten minutes, Virgil sighed. “You can’t really trust him, can you?” Logan looked towards the taller Dragon-Witch.

“Of course not.” he said. “And I don’t like him either. But Patton does, and that’s what matters.”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Lo, it’s Patton. He’ll believe anyone.”

“Well, yes,” Logan said, “But Patton said that Roman is good. And while he is quite naïve, he’s very good at determining someone’s moral character. If Patton says he’s good, then he is.”

Virgil thought about this. “I still don’t trust him”

Logan let out a soft—and rare— chuckle as they reached the gates. “Of course you don’t.”

uh.

there you go.

Let me know if you've found any errors, and let me know your general feedback!

Have a great day/night

-R

[thedragonwitchesau]

Hi, and welcome to The Dragon-Witches

Hello! This is a Sanders sides fanfiction by @pencil-is-my-sword

Description:

“Sir Roman Basilious is a knight for Ciciero, and the leader of the Dragon-Witch Hunting Party. One day, he sees purple flames-- there's a Dragon-Witch village nearby. But what will he find? 

 Thank you @authentic-jello for this AMAZING cover!! Please support them!

Any and all triggers will be posted at the beginning of chapters. 

 The sides, Remy, Emile, and the concept of dragon-witches all belong to Thomas Sanders, but I created the plot and all other characters. “

Links:

Wattpad link for whole book

Chapter One- The Hunting Party

Chapter Two- The Cottage

Chapter Three- FamILY

~~~

About me

Call me Pencil

She/her

Minor

Omnisexual

Writer

DNI if:

Anti-lgbtq+

terf

Anti-blm

Unwilling to respect other’s triggers

My links and such

Wattpad

Main Blog

Original Stories

TikTok

[thedragonwitchesau]

Chapter Three

FamILY

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Wattpad link

TW: Mention of k*lling someone (jokingly)

"Greetings, traveler! I'm Patton, come on in!"

Roman blinked. This Dragon-Witch was much different than the one guarding the village's gate, and he was starting to wonder if he could trust him. Patton noticed his hesitation.

"It's alright, this is a safe spot for anyone. At least pop in for the night? It's awfully late." Roman nodded, and stepped inside.

The cottage was relatively small on the inside. There was a kitchen corner with cabinets and counters, each filled with bowls, pots, pans, and other assorted items used for cooking and baking. Various herbs hung from the ceiling, and in the middle of it all was a large black cauldron— at least that explained the pink smoke.

The rest of the place was a bit bare, just a wooden table with six stools across from the kitchen area, and a corner with comfy chairs. Roman assumed this was some sort of family/parlor room.

Patton looked over at him with kind eyes. "Just head upstairs, and I think you'll like the room with the red door."

"Alright."

Patton looked a bit surprised, but then again, it was the first time that Roman had spoken. He headed up the stairs separating the kitchen and parlor.

It was still quite dark, but he thought he could see the red door Patton had been speaking of. He walked over to it, and sure enough, it was red. He opened it, and it made a small squeaking noise. He walked inside.

The room was small, but not unlike his quarters back at home. There was a bed on his left, a dresser on the left wall, and a desk on the wall in front of him. He closed the door, and realized he still had on his pack. He took it off, along with the cloak he had put on before he left, and placed them on the bed, and leaned against the wall.

Only six hours earlier he had been back in his home country of Ciciero— was this part of the woods still in Ciciero? He had never been all that great at geography— and now? Now he was in a strange cottage, with a strange man of a strange species.

But all that mattered was getting into the Dragon-Witch village. If he could do that, he could—

"Now is not the time to think about what 'could be'! Now's the time to plan." he told himself. He got up, and started pacing around the room, something he often did when he had to think of something.

He obviously couldn't get in the normal way, and the gates were much too high to climb or jump over. There might be other entrances, but they too would probably be guarded.

He paced for what felt like half an hour, but nothing came to him. Suddenly, a knock on the door startled him out of his half-trance.

"Kiddo? You ok?" Patton opened the door a bit and stuck his head in. "I heard your pacing, do you want to talk?"

Roman looked down at his feet for a moment. "Yeah," he whispered. He needed to get whatever he was feeling out. Obviously, he couldn't say what was really happening, he doubted Patton would like to know he was a knight for Cicero of all places, but maybe he could change the story a little bit...

Patton opened the door and walked over to the bed, where Roman was sitting. He looked up at him with kind eyes. "What's going on?"

Roman took a deep breath. Part of him hated to lie, but he brushed that aside. It was just acting after all, right?

"A few days ago I received a strange note. It held some directions. I went to go talk to my friend,"

Here, he stopped. He knew that Janus would literally kill him if he told a stranger his name. He once mentioned it to Thomas when he had first become a knight, and somehow Janus figured it out. He had ignored Roman for a week.

"Yes?" Patton inquired. Roman continued, having momentarily gotten lost in that train of thought.

"My friend, Dee. He said it was probably nothing, just our friend Leo pranking us, but I was pretty sure it wasn't him. I thought it over for a few days, and last night I decided to go and follow them.

"I was trying to get to... wherever the directions lead me, but I got lost, and wound up here.

"The thing is, I know I have to get wherever these are bringing me. And I don't know how long it will take to get there. I just..."

Patton gave him a soft smile. "You feel like you're leaving your friends behind?"

Roman nodded. "Yeah. But the thing is, Dee isn't like a friend. He's like, family, I guess?"

"FamILY." But Patton said it differently, with an emphasis on the "ILY."

"What?" Roman asked him.

"FamILY," he said (The same way as last time), "Is different from a normal family, or a friend group. It's the people your closest too, the people you can't live without. FamILY doesn't have to be blood-related. It can, of course, but not always. FamILY changes sometimes, but not often, because the people you let into it are the special ones, the ones that never leave."

Roman thought about that. "Yeah," he said. "J-Dee is my famILY." He sighed. "He's my only famILY."

Suddenly, the guilt really hit him hard. He had left Janus. Completely abandoned him, the only notice being the note. What would he say when he saw him again? A tear trickled down his cheek, and he brushed it aside, hoping Patton wouldn't see it.

He did.

The Dragon-Witch hugged the knight, his arms and wings (which, surprisingly seemed more leathery than scaly,) wrapping against him.

"Do you have the directions? I might be able to help you get there." Roman panicked for a moment, realizing that if he didn't have these directions, he would surely get busted. But then, he remembered something.

He reached into his pants pocket, and pulled out a worn and folded up piece of paper. He smiled at the nostalgia it brought, then frowned at the memories that came with it.

The green-eyed man passed it over, and Patton unfolded it. "Draconison," he whispered.

Roman looked at him. "Draconison?" he asked, pretending not to know the name.

"Draconison is the Dragon-Witchian village closest to here. But you're a human, correct?"

"Yes," Roman answered, glad that this didn't seem to be so bad to him.

"Then you won't be able to get in without another citizen vouching for you. I would, but as I live out here, I'm not allowed to. I do have some friends in the village though..."

Roman smiled. If he could win over these friends of Patton's, he could get in and out, easy. "Thank you for your help!"

"No problem kiddo!" he responded, and headed on out.

Roman waited until he heard Patton's own door close, then unpacked his pack. He put a few clothes and other important items on the dresser, then looked at the item on the bottom.

He took a deep breath, then pulled it out.

It was a small framed portrait of four people. His father and his stepmother, sitting side-by-side. Then, there was Roman on his father's lap. He looked about eight. And next to him, on his stepmother's lap was his half-brother, a deranged grin on his face.

He smiled at the memory, then put it back into the pack. He placed it next to him on the floor, and finally fell asleep.

Look! Another crappy chappy! This time it's not as late as the last one though... Please comment your general feedback, and any spelling or grammar mistakes I made. Have a great day/night! -Pencil

[thedragonwitchesau]

Chapter Two

The Cottage

Wattpad Link

Chapter One

"My name is Remington Macchiato Aeneid. And unless you turn into a dragon right now, I'm going to run you through with this spear."

Roman put his hands up, knowing full well that this was impossible. "Listen, all I want is to get into your village. You can even escort me. Just let. Me. In." The boy took no notice of his words, and started to inch forwards. Nausea gnawed at his stomach. The boy wouldn't hurt him— right? But the angry look on his face suggested otherwise.

"Leave."

"What?"

"Leave."

All of a sudden, the boy charged. Roman did the instinctive thing, and ran. His breath quickened, and he could feel the adrenaline rushing through him. Normally, this would have been nice. But as it was quite dark and extremely late, it wasn't so pleasant.

In all honesty, it felt silly, running from a child. "An armed child," he told himself, but he still felt weak. Like he should just turn back and force his way past the gate. But instead, he kept running. He looked back, and his eyes widened. The boy was just an arms length away.

It seemed odd that a teen could run this fast. He took a deep breath, and made a small jump, hoping to gain on him. It worked, but not that much, he was still close enough to see the determined look on his face.

After a few minutes, something changed. The sound of footsteps following him had ended, so he slowed down slightly, and finding himself to still be in one piece, he stopped. He smiled, finding no one behind him; he must have run far enough from the village.

He stopped a moment to catch his breath, and looked around to see where he was. He looked forwards, and gasped.

Right in front of him was a clearing. There wasn't much, just an old picnic blanket and a tree. But this wasn't an ordinary tree. Roman walked up to it.

It was enormous, and looked like it could house all the birds in the world. The leaves were vibrant, even in the dark, and the moonlight made them look like pieces of glittered paper. But that wasn't what the knight was drawn to. No, he was drawn to the bark. On it were thousands of tiny hearts, carved into the tree. Upon closer inspection, there were pairs or groups of initials inside of them. He looked over at the one in front of him, "R + R"

He tried to imagine what happened on the day it was carved, what their story was. It somehow felt important, like he needed to know...

Roman blinked. Where was this coming from? He sighed, and tried to look for anything else that could be helpful.

Suddenly, he noticed a sign. It was hard to read, but it distinctly said, "Patton's Cottage: ⇨ " The knight looked in the direction of the path it was pointing in. It had yellow, blue, and pink flowers lining it. He smiled. Something that would bring him harm wouldn't have a flower-lined path, would it?

As he walked along it, he looked more at the forest. He hadn't been in this part before, and it was quite different than the ones he's been walking through. This one felt welcoming, warm, and right. He started to whistle a tune as he walked.

Soon, the flowers drifted off. He looked up, and gasped. There was a cottage.

It was smaller, and baby blue. Its shutters were a pastel yellow to match the door, which also had a heart-shaped window in it. The roof was silver, and the chimney appeared to be puffing out pink smoke. In front of the house was a small garden. He bent down to look at it and found that each plant was in a neatly labeled row, like "cucumbers" or "rutabaga". He smiled, something about this place felt... right.

He knocked on the door, hoping someone was home. It creaked open, revealing a young man who looked about Roman's age. He was about 5'4, and had pale skin covered with freckles. He had sandy brown hair, and warm brown eyes behind circular glasses. He was wearing tan pants, and the taller man noticed a yellow shirt underneath a light blue witch's robe. Roman was also pretty sure he was a Dragon-Witch as he had dragon's wings of a similar shade of blue coming out of his back.

He scanned Roman up and down, then smiled.

"Greetings, traveler! I'm Patton, come on in!"

Woah, Pencil's Crappy Diner sure has been busy!

I'm so so so sorry this took so long, and that this is to short, and that it is crap and--

*deep breath*

The point is, I really need your feedback for this chapter! Please also comment any grammar or spelling errors.

Have a great day/night!

-Pencil

[thedragonwitchesau]

Chapter One

The Hunting Party

Wattpad link

TW: Dueling, swords, fire, mention of slaying things, and threats

The two men circled the arena, swords in hand, waiting to strike.

Clang.

Sir Roman Basilious struck first with his katana. He was a tall man, about six feet. He had tan skin, brown hair, and green eyes that made girls swoon. He was wearing his normal uniform, a white shirt with gold embellishments on the cuffs, shoulders, and chest. On the shoulder was his families' crest. He had his signature red sash that he wore wherever he went. He was also wearing white pants and black boots that almost went up to his knees, but not quite.

But his opponent— Sir Janus Falacia— was quick to block the blow with his rapier. He was shorter than Roman, maybe 5'8" or 5'9". He had pale skin and an odd birthmark on the left side of his face. He had dark brown hair, and heterochromia— his right eye was brown, and his left was gold. He had a similar outfit to Roman's, but instead of white and red, his theme was yellow and black, and he was also wearing a black capelet and a bowler hat.

The two kept fighting, swords slashing and clashing, neither of the two getting any closer to winning. Finally, a person entered the arena— their friend Joan. "Roman, you're going to want to get over with us, you can't be late to your own hunt. You too Janus." They then walked out.

The two put their swords down. "Good fight Jan!" said Roman.

Janus smiled, and took off his capelet and replaced it with his black sash. "I would have lost if Joan hadn't come in."

"Lies, lies, lies, lies, lieees~", Roman riffed.

"Ugh! You're so easy to put up with!" Janus had been cursed to lie at random moments years ago. It was hard for most people to figure out if he was telling the truth, but the two had been friends so long it was pretty easy for Roman.

He quickly replaced his families' crest with Ciciero's, and the two knights made their way to the field where the rest of their group was meeting up with them. When the others were in sight, Janus stopped. "Hey, Ro, I need to ask you something insignificant."

Roman turned to face him. "Yes?"

Janus took a deep breath. "Do you want to go out for dinner in two days?"

Roman paused. "Like, like as a—"

"I'm not asking you on a date."

Roman stood on the small hill for a moment, then smiled. "Yeah! Yeah, definitely."

Janus's face lit up. "Great! That's great!"

The two quickly made their way to the bottom of the hill. Roman made his way to the front of the party. In front of him were about fifteen people, all of varying ages. "Everyone here?" He called out.

A brown-haired boy named Thomas then came up to the group, sweaty and wheezing. "I'm...here." Roman laughed, then spoke again. "Alright, if you're all ready, then let's go!"

The group started walking into the woods, with Roman leading, and Janus close behind him. He looked around at the woods, and smiled. There was something about them that was comforting. It was a tangled mess of trees, but it wasn't scary, more mystical and exciting. He had lived in Ciciero his whole life, and for as long as he could remember he had been visiting these woods.

"Alright everyone, make sure to look out for fire, scales, and anything else dragon-y!"

Janus sighed.  "And what would dragon-y entail?"

Roman waved his hands in the air. "I don't know, something that a dragon-witch would have!"

"You're so good at describing things."

Roman smiled. "Eh, if you hated it, would you have asked me out?"

Janus chuckled. "Good point."

About three hours later, Thomas came up to him. "Sir Roman, have you actually ever seen a dragon-witch? And wouldn't we have found one by now?"

Roman turned to face him. "Actually I have. Many times. But you don't want to hear my old-man stories."

Thomas looked at him. "Sir, I thought you were in your mid-tw—" Roman quickly cut him off.

"Well, if you really want to, I guess I could tell you the story of my first encounter with a dragon-witch. I think I was about your age, and on my first hunt. I too, thought that we would never find one. So, I made the rash decision, and wandered off. There, I roamed around the forest for a while, until I found it. It appeared in front of me, like a bolt of lightning. It was huge and terrifying. I looked it in the eyes, walked up to it, and before it could react I sliced it's head off. "

Thomas looked at him in awe. Roman patted his head. "Maybe someday you'll get to do that, and turned back to Janus.

The other man looked at him. "Ro. I know for a fact that that happened."

"He doesn't know that!"

Roman stopped, and looked at the group of knights. "Alright, we haven't had much luck today, and if we don't head back soon, we'll be lost, and that's the last thing you want in these woods at night." A chorus of agreement responded, and they turned back.

Suddenly, he saw some movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to it, and was met with a purple flame. He stared at it for a moment, but when he blinked, it was gone. He shook his head and kept going. "Everything good?" Janus asked.

"Y-yeah."

Janus rolled his eyes. "I can't tell that you're lying. What's up?"

"Well," he started, "I think I saw a colored flame. And if there are colored flames, then there are dragon-witches nearby." J

anus stopped for a second, and looked around. "Ro, there's nothing here. It was probably just your mind playing tricks on you."

"Yeah, that's it..." he replied hesitantly, and continued on.

⇼

Roman looked up at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep, or stop thinking about the purple flames he saw in the woods. If there really was a village, or at least a dragon-witch, then everything might work out. He had to take the chance.

He got up, and was about to put on his knight outfit before deciding against it. He went with a simpler white shirt, but kept his red sash. He grabbed a bag and started putting some essentials in it. Then, he wrote a quick note so no one would come looking for him. When he was done, he put on a black cloak and walked out the door, but then paused, and headed back into his room. He lifted up his mattress and opened up the secret compartment inside of it. He grabbed the compartment's contents, then headed back out.

He tried to sneak through the building, not wanting to alert anyone of his absence. When he finally made it through, he breathed a sigh of relief, and looked into the forest.

It was different at night, more creepy, and less mystical as it looked six hours ago. Nevertheless, he went in. He found a piece of wood, and quickly lit it on fire, making a torch. As he wandered, he couldn't help but jump when he heard a branch crack or leaves rustling—who knew what could be lurking?

About an hour later, he finally found something— a clearing. There, inside of it, was a large wooden fence. He smiled, he had probably found the village. He walked towards it, and saw a fourteen-year-old boy standing in front of the gate.

He had dark brown hair, pale skin, and was wearing a black leather coat with sunglasses. He also had a coffee-colored tail— the kid was definitely a dragon-witch. He walked up towards Roman, a spear in his hand.

"My name is Remington Macchiato Aeneid. And unless you turn into a dragon right now, I'm going to run you through with this spear."

Here we are— the first chapter of The Dragon-Witches! And for once I'm happy with my ending :D

If I made any spelling or grammar mistakes, please don't hesitate to let me know!!

And please comment your general feedback (constructive criticism please, it helps me grow) 

And if you found any plot holes, please tell me!!!

-Pencil