Ophelia and The Dragons

Chapter 9

"The scary thing about distance is you don't know whether they'll miss you or forget you."

-Nicolas Sparks-

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Ophelia's P.O.V

I was finally on my way back home to the mountain. While my stay at the palace was great, I still missed my home and Helios.

The emperor gave me two boxes filled with gold, jewelries, clothes and other treasures but I wouldn't have much need for them in the mountain so I would just storage them later in case I ever needed them.

The trip took almost a day but I reached home right before midnight and as soon as I got out of the carriage. Helios was already waiting for me.

The moment he saw me, he rushed and pulled me in for a hug. Since he was bigger than me, he easily lifted me up from the ground and a bright smile was present on his face.

"Ophelia, you're back!" He squealed. I hugged him back with a smile and asked him to put me down because it was getting a bit embarrassing.

"No, I don't want to let you go again. I'm going to stick to you all the time from now on." He replied, blatantly refusing to let me go.

"Come on, I am hungry and tired, I want to have dinner and sleep." I flicked his forehead and scolded him playfully.

The carriage driver placed the boxes out on the land and excused himself. Helios' attention went to the boxes and he tilted his head slightly in curiosity.

"What are those, Ophelia?" He asked innocently.

"Those are the gifts from the emperor because I healed the princess." I replied. He helped me to bring them inside and once I was in the familiar environment of my house, I stretched my body and groaned loudly.

When I was in the palace, I had to pay attention to my gestures and mannerism, but in my home, I can do anything and no one would be judging.

"Are you tired, Ophelia? If you are tired, I can give you a massage." He offered.

Yes, Helios had given me massages before but I always found that his strength was a little too much even though he was purposely trying to be gentle. So I never asked him for it anymore.

"No, it's fine. I will just eat, take a bath and sleep." I told him before heading to the kitchen. Helios followed right behind me like a puppy. He definitely didn't want to let me out of his sight.

"Can you stop following me?" I asked him.

"No, I can't. I miss you so much I just want to keep you close to me and hold you forever." He replied as he hugged me from behind the moment I slowed down a bit.

"I didn't think you would miss me this much, I was only gone for four days." I chuckled.

"Yes, but those four days felt like forever. I don't like it. I don't want you to ever disappear from my sight again, Ophelia. You are my master. You have to take responsibility of me." He pouted before burying his face on my neck.

"I can't promise that but at least I can say I missed you too." I smiled. I finally arrived at the kitchen and I saw a freshly made pot of vegetable and meat soup on the stove.

"Helios, did you make these?" He nodded proudly as he went over there to pour two bowls for us. He didn't like vegetables so he gave most of it to me and only too the meat,

"Yes, I knew you would be hungry when you're back so I made this in advance for you. Have a seat, Ophelia. I will serve it for you." I listened to what he said and took a seat.

"Have a taste, Ophelia." I took the spoon and tasted the soup. It was surprisingly decent although it could use a bit more salt. I didn't think Helios could cook at all. I've never seen him cooked before so I didn't know what had gotten into him.

"It's good, would be better if it was a bit saltier but this is fine." I complimented.

"Since when did you know how to cook?" I questioned.

"I always watched you when you cook. I learnt it that way. I put it to the test today and it worked. I'm glad." He smiled brightly, satisfied by his own ability.

I never realized it before because he had always acted like an obedient puppy but Helios was a lot more than a familiar.

He was highly intelligent and capable of doing many things I didn't think he could do.

Perhaps I should pay a bit more attention to his abilities from now on. One day they might be useful for me.

After dinner, I took a bath and once again, he asked if he could have a bath with me, which I blatantly rejected.

He still didn't understand the reason why we couldn't have a bath together and I didn't plan on explaining everything to him.

My body was feeling so much better after the bath. I looked at my bed and wondered if I should start upgrading it just like the one in the palace. I had magical abilities, I could do it if I wanted to.

I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes.

Then, I felt a large body moving around beside me. I opened my eyes and saw Helios laid beside me, a smile was present on his face.

"What are you doing, Helios?"

"I want to sleep with you, Ophelia. I missed you so much. I don't want to be apart from you anymore."

"I'm not going anywhere anymore. You can just sleep on the floor like usual." I reminded him but he shook his head.

"No, I don't want to. I want to stay here beside you. Please don't kick me off the bed." He pouted and gave me his best puppy eyes.

Even though he was acting like a child, he was still a grown man. I couldn't sleep in the same bed as a man like him.

"Sleeping together is only for lovers, Helios." I argued.

"Well, we can just be lovers, Ophelia. I love you and you love me too. Problem solved." I sighed.

Helios didn't have the same kind of understanding of love as most people did otherwise he wouldn't say such a thing so casually.

"You know what, you win. Okay, you can sleep in the bed, but you are not allowed to touch me. Do you promise?" I asked and he nodded. I didn't think he would fulfill his promise but at least he would behave.

Otherwise, I would chain him up on that side of the bed so he couldn't sneak up on me while I was asleep.

"I love you, master!" He said as he stared at me. I could tell even with my eyes closed that he was staring at me. I didn't reply and just let my consciousness faded.

The memory of the palace became distant but I didn't know that my fate was not going to let me live within the mountain in peace for long.