To avoid detection, Drakos landed a few miles away from the Dwarf Kingdom, hiding on the opposite mountain range. They were still close enough to see everything and react in case of an emergency.
"Why are we hiding so far? Aren't we supposed to sneak inside to steal the Fate Stones?" Bella questioned confused, looking eager for the action. She peeked from behind the boulder and saw a tall stone wall surrounding the Dwarf Kingdom with a massive gate in the middle.
Bella noticed something else with the first glance that was strange.
"Why are there no guards on top of the walls? It seems like the whole city is empty."
Usually, there would be guards protecting every city, but this one was like a ghost town.
"Silly, of course, they are in the city, but all of them are working in the factory while the rest are out collecting the raw ore," Drakos replied, pointing at the road in front of the Dwarf Kingdom. "Looking at the time of the day, they should be coming back any time soon."
"Aren't they just a bunch of midgets? Why are you worried about them? We can just freely go inside, and they won't be able to stop us," Bella commented, making Drakos laugh. "Haha, midgets? It seems like you have never seen a real Dwarf."
Stomp! Stomp!
Two loud steps resounded from the valley's road, followed by hundreds of more stomps as small heads peeked from the horizon. Bella quickly gazed in their direction, and her eyes widened when she saw their actual size.
They were huge!
All of them were giants of almost twenty meters in height with muscular bodies. They carried enormous backpacks, which were half of their size, filled with raw ore sticking out from the top and an equally big pickaxe in his hands.
"So big…" Bella muttered in amazement. Her Phoenix body was also large, especially if she spread her wings, but she still couldn't compare herself with the Dwarfs in front of her.
"That's what she said…" Drakos replied playfully, immediately regretting it afterward.
"Who is 'she'? Are you talking to someone?" Bella asked back as she squinted her eyes.
If Drakos could sweat with his current body, he would.
"Cough, no one, that was just a joke," He coughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject, sharing some facts.
"Metal Land is one of the lands that is filled with various ores, Fate Stones being one of them. They appear almost everywhere, both above and under the ground. We could roam the Metal Land and collect them, but it is both times consuming and boring. Thankfully, there is another race who loves to collect ores and process them."
"Dwarfs," Bella finished, gazing at the hundreds of Dwarfs walking back to their home.
"Exactly. Dwarfs have been collecting ores for thousands of years, and it's their everyday life. They work from sunrise to sunset before resting at night. Usually, you can only visit them in a small window during the day and offer to trade in exchange for ore. If they like your treasure, they will exchange their ores for it. Naturally, you are not even allowed entry inside their Kingdom. All transactions are made outside." Drakos added.
"So, are we going to wait for the night before we strike?" Bella asked excitedly. "I don't expect us to trade."
"No, we will wait till the next day first, and then we will attack. Their vault, where they keep all their ores, is closed for the night, and even I don't know a method to break inside. It's only open during the day when they process the ores from the day before, and that's the moment we can use to steal some Fate Stones," Drakos explained further.
"Alright, then I will sleep until then," Bella replied as she yawned.
"Don't you want to listen to my perfect plan first?" Drakos asked surprised. "After all, you are heavily involved in that plan."
"There is no need. Didn't you say it is perfect? You will tell me tomorrow," Bella said with a shrug. "Come, make a cave for us to spend the night."
Oof…
Drakos gasped, and he didn't hesitate, beginning to dig in the ground. Rocks burst out as he created a spacious cavern in the mountain's floor, big enough to fit his own body inside.
Swoosh!
Flames gushed out from his maw, filling the whole cave to make it warm and dry.
"Good boy," Bella praised as she entered inside the cavern and pointed in front of her. "Now lay down on your back, so I can sleep."
"Huh? Why?" Drakos didn't understand.
"Do you expect me to sleep on the hard rocks?" Bella questioned as if the answer was obvious. "I also promised to scratch your belly, didn't I?"
Ba-dum, ba-dum.
Drakos' heartbeat quickened as he didn't let Bella wait and laid down on the ground. Bella didn't seem to make empty promises as she quickly hopped on his belly, laying down on her chest before scratching him gently with both hands.
"Did you think I was lying…?" Bella asked in a whisper and pressed her ear against his scales. "Your chest is beating fast. Do you like it so much?"
"I do…" Drakos replied quietly, trying not to focus on her soft beasts that kept on rubbing him as she moved.
Yawn…
"Alright, that should be enough. I'm going to sleep. Wake me up in the morning," Bella muttered after a full minute of scratches, yawning as she stretched her body before closing her eyes to sleep.
She curled her legs closer to her chest and departed into her dreamland without caring about him anymore. The trust she had in him made Drakos' feel weird. Dragons and Phoenixes were always against each other, fighting for the title of the strongest beasts, yet here they were, cuddling together.
What's more, didn't they try to kill each other just not too long ago? How could she trust him so much? She spent so much time with him that she should know that he should never be trusted.
Then why?
Hundreds of thoughts clouded Drakos' mind, but when Bella moved, fixing a strand of her hair that fell on her face, his first instinct wasn't to kill her but rather to cover her with his wings.
"Goodnight…" Drakos muttered softly as he hugged her to his belly, not knowing what to think anymore.