The Silver Dragonlord

Chu surveyed the lush property surrounding the Masu family estate. From the rainbow of plantings to the stables or pure bred horses, the property emanated beauty and luxury. The young man stood in front the ornate wrought iron gates at the end of the drive, its doors currently closed to him, dividing him from all that lay within. To either side of the elegant portal, were sand stone walls that bordered the estate and stood twelve feet high. Beyond the walls, stood the exquisite piece of architecture the Masu Family had called home for more than one hundred years. The Greek revival style home was two stories high and shown like ivory in the late summer sun. Its stark black shudders, simple moldings and vertical lines gave the impression of order and quiet control. The massive columns rising from the front porch to the roof line assured any onlooker of its strength and longevity. Nothing could represent the Masu Family better than the home itself.

Even though this was his home, a place of security and solace, entering through the cold gates was a dangerous task for the Master of the Estate. Chu felt safer as the man looking in, than the man looking out. This was because Chu Masu knew he could be attacked at any given moment. Being the head of the Masu Organization placed him in a critical position. Yet, it was not saboteurs, competitors, thieves or even the paparazzi he feared. Certainly he would not find these things within the bounds of his own home.

His brow beaded in sweat as he reached for the gate’s latch. He was nervous as hell to the point where one could honestly say he was afraid. Biting his lower lip, he lifted the clasp that held the gate shut. The door slowly swung in on well oiled hinges, granting him entrance to his property.

”Well,” Chu said under his breath, “Might as well get this over with.”

Sweeping his hand through dark his hair, Chu took a deep breath and stepped inside the gates of his family home. A gentle breeze ruffled the soft cotton fabric of his blue button down shirt and toyed with his long black bangs. The leather soles of his shoes padded quietly on the concrete drive and the leaves of the old maples that flanked the drive’s length rustled like softly spoken whispers. Chu glanced nervously from side to side, expecting to be ambushed from behind. Ironically, the fact that he saw nothing scared him more than the idea of being attacked at any moment. It felt like the quiet before the storm to him, and he imagined eye’s staring at him from all directions.

“Just a little further.” He encouraged himself.

The tone of his own voice let him down. He could hear the uncertainty in his spoken words. The second he reached the large fountain at the center of the courtyard, a cold chill ran up his spine. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and gooseflesh prickled his arms in spite of the summer heat. His pale blue eyes darted frantically to the hedges and then the trees. He squinted through the sun’s glare, trying to see beyond. The hissing of the wind through the leaves seemed to reach a climax, and Chu’s heart leapt to his throat.

“NOW! NOW! NOW!” He heard someone shout like a battle cry.

At once, the event he dreaded most unfolded like a swarm locust swooping down from the trees. Dozens of women donned in uniforms of red, yellow, blue and green with white aprons sprang from their hiding places in the hedges and from the branches of the maples. Each was squealing with delight, and their eyes were filled with a strange emotion. One could easily mistake this look of longing for the same hungry glint a lion has in eyes right before it crushes the neck of its prey.

“CHU-SAMA! YOU’RE BACK!” They screamed with delight, each girl chanting his name and grinning with glee.

A horrified scream barely gurgled from the man’s throat before he was drowned out in the sea hysteric maids. The unlikely entourage rushed him, pulling at his clothes and tugging at his arms until he lost his balance. Chu found himself buried under the dog pile of uncontrollable women, each behaving like a sex-starved groupie with him as the object of their idolization. Again and again he was yanked this way and that, each girl wanting a piece of him. Chu’s face was forcefully plunged into so many sets of ample cleavage that he lost track of whose was whose. Chu could barely catch a breath of fresh air between the groping and fondling and doing of other unmentionable things to him that would make even the most perverse of men blush in embarrassment.

“Noooooo!” He cried out not sure how to get himself out of this mess.

Chu squirmed wildly trying to escape the grasp of his maids and failed miserably. He clawed at the ground trying to pull away, but to no avail. All he was able to accomplish was getting the maids more riled up, and leaving claw marks from the now bloody tips of his fingers, in the cement drive.

“Can’t you guys stop doing things like this?” Chu pleaded with his entourage. “PLEASE!” HE cried desperately.

“Of course not!” Came one reply.

“Silly Chu-sama! Why would we want to stop?” Came another.

“We love you Chu-sama!”

Suddenly a gun shot rang through the air like a crack of thunder and its echo carried over the hills. Birds fled their tree top roosts and the squealing gaggle of women froze. All eyes turned to the front porch where a woman with shoulder length, deep blue tresses stood brandishing a smoking, double barrel shot gun still pointed straight up in the air. The stern look in her dark blue eyes was cold and threatening. This was Yumi, the head Maid.

“All right you guys, that’s enough!” She a shapely woman bellowed at the crowd. “Let Chu-sama go right now! I know you’re all happy to see him but that is no way to act.”

With a disappointed groan the maids slowly backed off of Chu, leaving their master in a crumpled heap on the ground. His clothes were torn to shreds and his face smeared with lipstick. Chu lay on the ground twitching in fear, his eyes wide and staring. He and had gone to a happy place in his mind where he could escape the horror he was forced to succumb to only moments earlier.

With a stately strut and the butt of the shotgun propped against her hip, Yumi descended the steps of the porch and walked over to her employer. Her heels rapped sharply on the concrete drive with each forceful step. The maids each averted their eyes to avoid her menacing glare. Yumi stared down at the trembling husk of a man and nudged him gently with the toe of her spiked heels.

“Chu-sama, it’s ok.” She told the form at her feet. Her voice was less harsh now but still emanated control and authority. “They’ve stopped, you can get up now.”

Chu remained in a fetal position and did not respond. The young man was not willing to leave his happy place for anything just yet. He was too afraid of the Maids ganging up on him once more. The man’s stubborn streak only grated on Yumi’s nerves.

“All right. Grow up you big baby!” Yumi snapped, and gave the man a swift kick in the ribs.

When Chu didn’t so much as wince at her abuse, Yumi thrust the gun into the arms of one of the nearby maids. She could hear their sniveling protests and whimpers of seeing their beloved Master suffering. This only fueled the Head Maid’s determination. She knelt down close to Chu, in her tight fitting black uniform. Her cleavage nearly spilled out of the low-cut neck line of the skimpy maid’s dress. With one delicate hand she wrapped her long fingers around his collar and tugged him closer so that his ear was inches from her lips.

“Last chance Chu-sama…” She warned.

With no signs of life, Yumi tightened her grip on Chu’s shirt and swiftly hoisted him into the air. The surprisingly strong woman let her master’s feet dangle an inch or so from the ground before bitch slapping him hard across the face. A bright red welt rose on his cheek but she did not relent. The back of her hand struck his other cheek and she continued to the slap the dazed man around until it was obvious he wasn’t coming out of his zombie like stupor. His eyes rolled back and his head lolled to the side. With a frustrated growl, Yumi dropped the man on the ground like a rag doll, before kneeling again and grabbing him by his ankles. This time she hoisted him high into the air by his legs and brought the man’s head smashing down on the hard concrete surface of the driveway in a pile driver style move. She heard an encouraging groan escape the man’s lips and repeated the move. It was then she realized it wasn’t necessary. The first pile driver had roused the man from his pathetic state, the second had knocked him clear into wonderland.

Yumi threw her hands up, deeming the matter hopeless. Why did he always have to be such a pain? She wagged her head form side to side and tucked her blue tinged bangs behind her ear.

“Maria.” She addressed the closest maid, “Grab his ankles, we’ll have to carry him inside.”

The pretty blonde jumped at the opportunity to help and quickly snatched at her master’s feet. The sly young woman took the opportunity to feel up the man’s leg while she was at it. Only when Yumi gave her a deathly cold glare did she quit and start to behave herself.

~~~~~~~~~

“Ow! My head…” Chu Masu groaned as he sat up in bed. “Strike that… Ow, my entire body!”

He grimaced and looked around the master bedroom. The curtains were drawn but the pale light filtering through the seams told him it was still day. His hand found the swelling lump on the back of his head. The welt was tender to the touch and he gasped slightly at the pain. Next his eyes were drawn to the bed and then his clothes. He was wearing his black silk pajamas with the gold family crest embroidered on the shirt pocket. Not being able to remember how he got there, he started panicking as his last memories washed over him anew. He remembered the crazed maids ambushing him and groping and him not being able to call the whores off…again. He vaguely recalled a loud crack that left his ears ringing. Beyond that…he remembered nothing. If he had been knocked out, had one of the maids carried him up here? His heart sank with grief and worry as he imagined all the horrible things they must have done to him. He buried his face in his hands and moaned in despair.

“GAH! Why me!” He cried into his hands.

“Don’t worry Chu-sama, I didn’t let them anywhere near you.”

Chu jumped at the voice, not realizing there had been someone else in the room. He looked toward the master bath and saw Yumi exiting with an armload of towels. He breathed a sigh of relief. It was the first good thing to happen to him since arriving back home.

“Thank you Yumi. That puts my heart at ease.”

“I’m glad, but you know you’ll never get them to stop if you don’t start being more firm with them.”

Chu could only laugh at that statement, and rub the back of his head innocently. How could you be firm with so many diluted women worshiping you like a god? It was insane and impossible to know how to deal with. If he didn’t know any better, he could have sworn he lived in a nut house, and it simply wasn’t his style to let them go because of their ‘unprofessional’ behavior.

“I know Yumi, but you know I’m not very good at that kind of thing. Now if it was a killer pyromancer, or some random monster terrorizing a helpless vilalge, I could certainly handle myself, but you don’t see a bunch of demons and sorcerers pawing at me either, do you?”

Yumi sighed, and placed her hand on her face, covering her eyes and shaking her head at the lost cause still lying in the bed.

“I know Chu-sama but you’ll have to get over that someday.”

Chu looked at Yumi, and smiled briefly before breaking the soft expression with that of a frown.

“I’m sure you know why I will not be staying long, don’t you?” Chu asked seriously.

Yumi knew he hadn’t intended on returning. Being a hero of lore was time consuming, but Chu had expressed a deep desire to travel with the dragon he obtained when he first became a dragon lord. Seeing him back so soon was evidence he was adamant in trying to drag the independent creature along for the ride. Kurenai, was what he’d dubbed the beast.

“I presume you’ll want that stubborn dragon of yours, and your armor?”

Chu nodded, as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and felt his feet touch the soft crimson rugs. He stood, and very nearly toppled back into the sheets as a wave of nausea swept over him. Yumi refrained from telling him, she had dropped him on his head several times. Chu steadied himself and shook off the painful sensation, then weaved his way unsteadily to the closet.

“Bring Kurenai out of the stable for me. I wish to leave as soon as possible.” Chu called from the closet that was a room unto itself.

“Of course I will try Chu-sama, but you know you are the only one who that dragon will listen too.”

Grinning to himself, Chu knew very well she was right, although, that honor had come with a price. He considered the burn scars covering his arms. He rubbed the uneven texture of the skin with his finger tips. These were his most obvious trophies of the years he’d spent earning Kurenai’s trust. Ultimately, the strange little dragon had been a gift from fate. Chu could remember the first time he seen the Dragon. It was in a small cave where him and twilly the moglin had hid its egg which Chu had gone through hell to recover, and protect. Chu couldn’t help but find it absolutely adorable upon its hatching even if it did try to eat Twilly every chance it got. Of course because of its young age and inability to produce a flame until recently Chu had brought it to the estate, and left it in the stables to grow hoping to one day travel with it.

“Do your best.” Chu called after Yumi, knowing she would be lucky to get the dragon to leave her stall without him to help her. He recalled his friend twilly saying much the same thing to him upon the hatching of the black dragon. A chuckle coming from his lips as he proceeded to put on the armor he had made for himself.