In front of the campfire, the two girls stared at the image of a golden-brown, fat-dripping boar roasting over the flames, their beautiful eyes full of longing.
The sound of gulps couldn't help but echo — after all, it had been a long time since they'd eaten anything like that.
The dragon usually went out to hunt and eat something fresh, but it was always raw.
Fiona, despite receiving food, only got things like jerky, eggs, some fruits, and other items that wouldn't spoil quickly — after all, deliveries could only be made once a month.
It had been ages since she'd eaten or smelled fresh meat… not counting the smell of burning knights. Though thankfully, even that she rarely experienced, since they usually died far from the tower.
Puss was entirely focused on the meat at that moment, occasionally tossing some spices he had prepared in Tornado's saddlebag.
Minutes passed, and under the intense flames, the outer part of the meat finished roasting.
He cut a few good pieces for himself and for Fiona, and let the dragon eat the rest.
With the first bite, Fiona's eyes widened in surprise at the incredibly delicious taste, as her mouth filled with the juices of the meat, and her nose with the fragrant scent of pork.
"This... this is delicious," Fiona said, stunned.
She couldn't even remember if she'd ever eaten anything this good in her life.
Puss smiled with satisfaction.
"I had the best teacher," he joked, remembering his charismatic and overweight culinary master. "My cooking master, Auguste, always defended the idea that anyone can cook. So he taught me, a cat, with the best of his ability."
He spoke as he took a bite of meat, watching the dragon grab the wooden spit with the boar in her front paw, then bring it to her mouth and pull.
The dragon girl then bit into the entire boar — bones and all — as if it were a juicy steak. She closed her eyes, placed her paws adorably in front of her chest in a gesture of prayer, and gently rocked her head from side to side, feeling joy and bliss while chewing the delicious meal prepared by her beloved.
They spent some time enjoying their meals, then lay down on the ground, soaking in the quiet.
After a few minutes of digestion, Puss, lying on his back with his head resting on his hands, decided to start a conversation.
"Dragon, I wanted to ask you something. Do you have a name?" He looked to the side, where the dragon was lying on all fours, her chin resting on her front paws, watching him.
Puss wasn't startled by her constant gaze — he understood that after so many years in solitude, meeting someone you could communicate with and rely on was truly overwhelming.
'From what I remember, Donkey once called out Elizabeth's name after drinking the Happily Ever After Potion, thinking he was going to die. I don't know if that's the dragon's name, or just a joke,' he pondered.
Aurora, caught off guard, hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Tapping her claw on the ground, she wrote in cursive script in the dirt. The only problem was that she had limited control over her dragon limbs for writing, and it had been a long time since she'd written anything, which made her handwriting a bit shaky.
Even so, Puss approached and could read it without much difficulty.
"Aurora… so that's your name. It's beautiful." He raised his eyes and stared at her, surprised by such an ethereal and graceful name for a dragon.
Upon seeing the name, he couldn't help but think of the blond-haired, blue-eyed princess from the book, and found the name fitting. He hesitated to bring it up, afraid of stirring bad memories for her.
He stayed silent for a moment, and in the end, decided not to ask further, just to satisfy his curiosity.
But although he didn't intend to ask more, his hesitation while looking at her was enough of a signal for Aurora, who had 100% of her attention on him, to likely understand what he was holding back.
She then wrote another name below hers with her claw.
"Huh? Pendragon? Aurora Pendragon? That's your full name?" Puss was surprised and looked at her, stunned.
"Hrrmmm..." Aurora nodded shyly, letting out a soft growl.
But the one who reacted most strongly wasn't either of them.
"Pendragon?!" Fiona, who had been listening nearby out of curiosity, was startled when she heard the name and stared at Aurora in shock.
Puss grew thoughtful upon seeing her reaction.
'Pendragon… that's Artie's last name, clearly referencing King Arthur from when I was on Earth. Maybe Fiona's name all along was Fiona Pendragon… that's interesting.' The more he thought about it, the more intriguing it became.
Looking at Aurora, and considering they might share the same surname, he remembered what old Googles had told him.
'... is a tale dated near the founding of the kingdom of Far Far Away, hundreds of years ago…'
'That being the case, there's a 90% chance Aurora is that princess, and probably one of the first—or even the very first—princess of Far Far Away.'
Seeing the way she was behaving, Puss figured there was no harm in talking about her past.
Ignoring the perplexed Fiona, he turned to the dragon girl.
"Aurora, why did it hurt you so much when I asked before?" he asked gently, afraid he might have misunderstood, and that it could still hurt her.
But to his relief, she seemed fine and went back to writing.
Puss stayed close and read her message.
"I forgot my past. You reminded me who I was," he repeated it aloud, and when he looked at her, he saw her slightly sad eyes and felt sorry for her.
Approaching her paw, he gently stroked it.
"I'm sorry for that. I didn't mean to hurt you," he said softly.
"Hrrrmm…" she growled gently, shaking her head, letting him know it was okay—and she seemed relieved to remember.
Even though there were sad memories, there were also happy ones, and remembering who she was made her feel less empty.
"What's going on?" Fiona asked softly, confused.
She was a curious girl, but didn't usually meddle in others' business—but when she saw the name Pendragon, she couldn't just let it go.
After all, it involved her family.
Puss looked at Aurora, who seemed to understand and nodded.
Seeing that she wasn't against it, he walked over to Tornado's saddlebag, which he had removed so the horse could rest more comfortably, and pulled out the fairy tale book. Then he opened it to the story of the blonde princess and showed it to Fiona.
"Have you seen this story before?" Puss asked her.
Fiona took the book and flipped through it, nodding.
"Yes, I read this story when I was little. The fate of this princess was very similar to mine. It was probably even one of the inspirations for sending me to the tower," she explained, but she didn't understand what he was trying to show her.
"Well, from the information I've gathered, this tale dates back to the founding of your kingdom, Far Far Away, hundreds of years ago. And the protagonist of the story—unless I'm mistaken—is our Aurora here," he explained, shrugging and gesturing with his thumb toward the dragon beside them.
But his words weren't so simple for Fiona. In fact, it was as if a bomb had exploded inside her pretty little head as she stared in disbelief at the dragon, who nodded at her in confirmation.
'H-Hundreds of years. She's like me, waiting for a gentleman to save her, but it's been hundreds of years, with no result. Until today, when Puss got us out of there. That means… if it weren't for Puss, I could've been there for hundreds of years too?! But since I'm not a dragon, I'd probably die before that. Trapped in the tower... until death.'
Even the brave Fiona began to hyperventilate at the tragic fate she now realized she had been heading toward, and suddenly her eyes rolled back and she collapsed backward, startling Puss.
"Fiona!" He rushed to her before she hit the ground and caught her in his arms, preventing her head from hitting the floor.
Laying her down gently, he moved to her head and held her face.
"Are you okay?! Fiona?!" Seeing her unconscious, he panicked.
But after checking her a bit, he saw she seemed fine—she had just fainted for some reason.
Just as he was about to pick her up and mount Aurora to look for a doctor, he saw her eyelashes twitch, and soon her beautiful blue eyes opened.
Puss sighed in relief to see her awake and quickly helped her sit up, handing her a canteen of water.
Drinking a bit, Fiona slowly calmed down, even though her heart was still shaken.