The inside of the castle was big, impossibly big.

The walls towered above us, wide enough that I could almost imagine Lila's dragon body curling around and still having space to stretch.

Every step we took echoed softly against the stone floors, making the vast emptiness feel even grander.

The air smelled faintly of old stone and dust, but it wasn't unpleasant, it had a weight to it, a presence that reminded you of a place that had stood for centuries.

The whole group fell silent, staring in awe.

Nobody spoke at first; it felt like the castle itself demanded that we pause and take it all in.

I turned to Lila, who had landed a little way ahead, her scales glinting faintly in the dim light.

"Do you know where the vault is," I asked carefully, "to get our payment for saving you?"

Lila's mouth twitched in what might have been amusement, then said."Follow me," she said simply, turning around, and beginning to move down a long corridor.

Her steps were surprisingly light. And without another word, we fell in line behind her.

We walked for a long time, twisting through corridors, passing rooms that seemed to go on forever.

There were statues carved into the walls, and paintings that looked so old their colors had faded, yet somehow I could see their eyes moving.

Creepy! There's no way I'd want to live here.

I kept glancing at the group behind me.

Everyone was tired but mesmerized. Their eyes flickered from one detail to the next, from the high ceilings to the cracks in the walls.

Finally, after what felt like hours of wandering, we reached it, the biggest door we had seen since stepping into the castle.

It was immense, crafted entirely of gold, studded with jewels that caught the light in dazzling patterns.

The door radiated wealth and power, almost as if it was alive.

Lila moved toward it and rested her hand against its surface.

The metal was warm, and a low hum seemed to vibrate through her fingers. With a push, the door swung open.

A golden light poured out, blinding us for a moment. We shielded our eyes instinctively, and then, as our vision adjusted, we stepped in.

Hills of gold and piles of jewels stretched before us endlessly, just as the stories had said about dragons and their hoards.

I could see coins stacked in careful towers, gemstones of every color scattered in heaps, and artifacts of every imaginable shape glittering in the golden light.

I let the group move ahead, giving them space to explore. Each of them immediately found something that caught their attention.

Elaris, as always, gravitated toward jewelry. He was fascinated by rings and pendants, especially those that looked like wedding bands. He held them up, trying them on, turning them over in his hands.

The joy on his face was unmistakable; he didn't even notice me watching him

Kalia, on the other hand, seemed more practical in her obsession.

Gold in general caught her eye, and she wandered through the piles, picking up golden cooking utensils and pots.

I shook my head, laughing softly. "Golden cooking utensils, really?" I muttered under my breath, but she didn't hear me. She was too absorbed in her little treasure hunt.

Sarah, as usual, stayed apart from the glitter. She didn't care about gold or jewelry; her attention was elsewhere.

She walked slowly through the treasure, her gaze thoughtful, as if she were searching for something only she could see.

I didn't try to pull her along; some things you just let people discover in their own way.

Bella, meanwhile, had transformed into her bunny form. She bounced around happily, hopping from one pile of gold to the next, her little movements leaving tiny indentations in the piles.

She squeaked softly as she went, exploring every nook and cranny.

I laughed outright, feeling a lightness in the moment. Maybe it was okay to let them unwind a little in a place like this.

Lila came to my side, moving with the same quiet elegance she always had, her eyes scanning the group.

"Such an energetic group you have there," she said, her voice calm but amused.

I nodded, smiling. "True," I replied. "Each one of them is precious to me in their own way."

The words came easily, even if they carried weight. They were my team, my friends, my family in a sense, and seeing them happy, even here, was a relief.

After a pause, I turned back to Lila, finally asking the question that had been on my mind since we arrived.

It was the obvious one, the one I had been holding back for the right moment. "By the way," I said carefully, "how was Tiamat able to control you? And are you really her daughter?"

Lila exhaled a long, slow sigh. Her eyes darkened a little. "Long story," she said softly, "It all started fifty years ago."

"We dragons had a tribe where the chief elected by a prophecy, me and Tiamat were rival candidates, the prophecy chose me and left her.

In a fit of anger she used some forbidden book that helped her to brainwash all of the dragon tribe.

I was able to resist her momentarily with the fang help, but suddenly, one day it vanished, and in a sneak attack she made, I fell for her trap and became a puppet.

50 years had passed, most of our tribe died under her schemes, and that could be my fate too, if you didn't set me free, truly, thank you, Ragnar"

Lila said, bowing her head in my direction. But I soon reached her and hurriedly added, "Don't worry it was my job after all."

Then she turned to me and said smiling, "then stay for the dinner please, you are my saviour, as for Tiamat I will put a slave crest on her, that way she could become your slave.

And don't worry, she can't attack you, or think of harming you, also, you can take her with you, I really don't want to see her face again"

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