(Twenty Minutes Ago)
Rudra lay in the dirt, cupping his hands between his legs. His face hidden in the straw and dirt of the road. His whole manhood in shambles.
"Why did you have to taunt Konstantin!" Nayan said, exasperated. Rudra let out a muffled protest.
He hadn't really taunted the goat. It was quite the opposite. After the conversation with Tish, which had left him… funny, he had decided he wanted food, because food was the solution to most problems, if not all. And behind the town hall's kitchen he had spotted the goat, neatly sharpening its horns by rubbing them against the side of a tree. Rudra had always liked men who could groom and keep themselves looking better than others. Seeing Konstantin doing a little self-care had made him feel uncharacteristically affectionate.
So he had sneaked into the Kroskoslav kitchen, where half of the Benevian soldiers were eating their meal, served by a few townsfolk, while the rest either flanked Mamon or continued searching for Yakov. He had slipped past the cook to get a cabbage.
He had come back with the cabbage and held it up to the goat cheerfully. "Look, Konstantin! Cabbage!"
And the goat had attacked him ruthlessly.
It had taken him off guard. Twenty years of combat training going down the drain in the face of a hurtling goat. Definitely not a bright moment in the life of a dragon.
Fortunately, his General Nayan Dev had been the only one to witness the disgraceful event. Unfortunately, she had been the one to witness it.
"What. Is wrong with you!" She kicked at his back. "How could you let yourself be taken down by a goat!"
Rudra looked up, eyes blurry with tears. "Oh, forgive me, I didn't expect a goat attacking people's di—"
"Just get up! Will you!" Nayan hauled him up. "You are acting weird! This is not like you!" A pause, and then she started, "Is it because of the Saintess—"
"Don't. Just don't…"
Rudra pushed Nayan's hands away and stood up, dusting his trousers, suddenly annoyed. Konstantin bleated happily. "You just got careless!" Nayan protested. "While we are in a foreign land, possibly surrounded by too many enemies!"
"I didn't!" Rudra retorted. "For your information, I was on my feet this whole time, it's just—" he swallowed, his throat a little dry, "took me off guard."
He didn't know if he was talking about the goat or about her.
Nayan didn't pester. At least not for two seconds. Then she blurted out, "Do you regret how you treated her?"
"A dragon doesn't do regrets," Rudra said, saying the words like a chapter from a lesson he was believing less and less himself.
He had been horrible, both in Partha and in Benevia, to Tish. Yet she had said she was sorry. Not for him, of course, or whatever he had become. But for a younger version of him, one who was vulnerable and didn't exactly have anyone to protect him.
Her being sorry wouldn't change anything. Rudra would still be a dragon who had been forced to make his first transformation. But it still made him feel lighter. A part of him that was still a child scared of spoons (even when Tish was the one holding it) and healers and Saroth… felt a little better.
"A dragon doesn't do regrets," Rudra repeated.
"I heard you the first time," Nayan sighed. "Let us just eat something and continue searching. If we are doing this, we must do it thoroughly."
"Didn't we JUST confirm—"
"We stick to vegetables!" Nayan cut in. "Things which look green and didn't look like they had problems becoming someone's dish!"
Rudra stared.
"Oh, come on!" Nayan groaned. "We can't fight on an empty stomach. Come!"
Rudra wanted to protest. That they should head for Amber Grove. But he knew he couldn't just leave everything here as it was. Besides, he had as good as promised Tish to tell her everything later. Why had he acted that way with her back in Partha?
"Alright," Rudra conceded. "Let us eat something."
Konstantin bleated.
"Bad goat!" Rudra tried his best to scold him, but the goat looked unashamed. Rudra wondered if goats didn't do regrets, like dragons. He left the cabbage safely down on the dirt. "I guess you like eating grass like peasants more than dining on fine cabbages!"
The word "cabbage" made Konstantin perk up again. He rebounded. But this time, Rudra was ready. He sidestepped. "You are fighting with someone too high up the food chain!"
Konstantin backed up a little and kicked his hooves on the ground, getting ready.
"So this is what you're doing." Rudra turned to see Prince Mamon approaching him with a scowl. "Picking a fight with a goat." He was flanked by a few of his guards, all stone-faced, all observing him with a mixture of weariness and the familiar mild disdain. It didn't matter. Because Rudra wasn't looking at them. He was looking for Tish and Percival.
Weren't they supposed to meet with the Benevian Prince?
It seemed Nayan was thinking the same thing. "Wasn't Percival Leonhart supposed to escort the Saintess to you?" she mused, looking behind him. "Where are they?"
"Tell me about it," Mamon sighed. "I'm looking for them everywhere." He looked more annoyed, less worried. "That boy tries to snag any alone time he can get with Teresa." He sounded so carefree, but Rudra felt anxious. A little.
"Shouldn't you send someone to search for the Saintess and Percival?" Rudra tried to sound casual. "You have no idea what kind of place this is, do you?"
The Prince still didn't look concerned. He looked pissed. "This is Benevian soil. These are my subjects! You will not insult them in front of me!"
Rudra stared at him for two long seconds before uttering, "So you're aware what they do to Saintesses?"
Mamon, for once, looked taken aback. "What?"
"They ATE Saintess Anastasia, literally," Rudra said flatly. "And now you're neglecting to search for Tish and Percival while Yakov is missing."
Mamon looked more confused. "What are you even on?"
"It is a slight… misunde'lstanding, You'l Highness."
They turned to see the head of the Kroskoslavs, Berkin. He stood with his weight heavily on a cane, shivering a little. "I… will explain eve'lything. Please have some food with me."
Mamon looked at Rudra and then at Berkin, his eyes guarded. "Your people indeed harmed the Saintess."
"It was only a little… boy—"
"It doesn't matter. She was hurt," Mamon said sternly, and then his voice softened a little. "Fine. Let us talk. But we must escort the Saintess back here."
"Of cou'lse!" said Berkin, pleased. He turned around and waved a hand. "Olen!"
A townsman around the age of thirty turned. He was smiling, a burst of laughter escaping his throat, which he tried his best to suppress. "Take ca'le of the Saintess! Go find he'l with Ivan!"
The man nodded and started jogging away. "Come," Berkin urged. "My people know the way a'lound the town bette'l than you'l people do. We can find he'l and he'l f'liend soone'l."
Mamon started walking with Berkin. Rudra intended to follow them but froze. Nayan hadn't moved. Her eyes were fixed on the back of the young man's head as he rounded a corner several feet away.
"Nayan?" Rudra called, and then came closer. "What is it. What do you see?"
"That man he called Olen. I have seen him before, when that kid's family took him to the Saintess. He was standing right behind his mother. I thought he was his family!" She looked at Rudra, eyes wide. "Wasn't their whole family supposed to be detained?"