Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 17: Oath (2)

Dragon Raja 3

“We are glad to see you safe and sound, Your Imperial Highness!” The doctor read out the message.

They referred to Bondarev as “Your Imperial Highness” instead of “comrade,” indicating that the helicopter and the Lenin on the frozen sea were no longer loyal to the Soviet Union but to this descendant of the Romanov dynasty. After being buried in history for nearly a century, the Romanov name was ready to shine again, and with the power of the Dragon Clan, it was not impossible for them to reestablish supremacy on Earth.

Bondarev handed a letter to the doctor. “This is my letter to the family. Please take a look.”

The doctor glanced at it before handing the letter back to Bondarev.

“If all goes well, we should complete the relocation within a few weeks,” Bondarev said, handing the letter to a captain who had descended on a rope. “We’ll build a brand-new research base for you in the warm Baltic Sea, complete with a holiday villa.”

The captain placed a crate at the doctor’s feet. It contained a collection of aged Red Label vodka.

“A small gift to ensure you won’t run out of drinks before we leave Black Swan Bay,” Bondarev said.

“I believe I’ve chosen the right partner,” the doctor smiled.

On another moonlit night, Renata leaned against the small window, peering out. In the pitch-dark hallway, a lone hanging lamp swayed in the wind.

Since the last incident, the children’s rooms had all been locked, and Renata hadn’t had another chance to sneak out and explore. She had waited an entire month for this full moon night, but the black snake hadn’t come. A terrible suspicion arose in her heart—had the nurses set off the alarm to catch the snake? Perhaps they had already killed it, flayed its scales, stripped its spine, and dried its hide on the rooftop. As she thought about this, she shivered.

She walked to the window, where the Arctic poppies had withered. Even in such a frigid land, the Arctic poppies had only a two-month bloom. She had dug up the entire plant while it was blooming in the courtyard and replanted it in a white metal box, placing it near the heater, hoping the wilted flowers would miraculously revive in the warmth. But it had never worked. She hugged Zorro tightly, and tears threatened to fall again. The black snake hadn’t returned, the Arctic poppies had withered, and now it seemed that she and Zorro were the only ones left in the world.

Then a familiar Christmas tune echoed down the hallway, as if countless people were gathered there, beating steel cymbals, and the entire building began to sway slightly to the joyous, tranquil rhythm.

Renata turned her head in delight, and through the small window, she saw the golden eyes of the snake flickering.

Renata tried pushing the iron door, and it opened without resistance. The black snake’s massive body was coiled in the hallway, its tail sticking out of a hole it had punched in the wall since its bulk couldn’t fit inside. Zero was leaning against the snake, arms crossed, with a face full of pride, like a handsome boy in the big city driving his brand-new car to pick up a pretty girl for a movie.

He hugged Renata. “I wasn’t lying, was I? The black snake is my pet.” It was as if the person who had tried to assault Renata had never been him and that he had always been her good friend.

Renata looked down at her toes, staying silent for a long while. “Thank you.”

Zero grinned. “I told you I had a way, just don’t make me marry you now.”

Renata understood Zero’s intention. The “assault” incident had successfully diverted the nurses’ attention, leaving them too distracted to deal with her and focusing instead on Zero. Every night, the nurses gathered in Zero’s room—one night, Renata even saw them wheeling an entire cart of drugs inside.

“Are you alright?” Renata asked.

“Hallucinogens?” Zero said nonchalantly, “To me, they’re like sleeping pills. See, isn’t it beautiful?”

Zero pointed to the ceiling. Renata looked up and saw it adorned with golden foil, cut into shapes of petals and reindeer, like decorations on a Christmas tree. Zero lifted Renata up so she could reach a piece, and she picked a reindeer cutout. It was so beautiful, not like cheap electroplated foil, but more like genuine pure gold.

“It’s so beautiful!” Renata said sincerely.

The wind blew through the corridor, and the golden foil clinked melodiously, like wind chimes.

“Come on, let’s dance.” Zero patted the black snake.

The snake swayed awkwardly and slowly, as if it were truly dancing, like a game played by Indian snake charmers. But as this giant, hundred-meter-long snake danced, the building shook and cracked. Huge fissures spread out, metal fixtures securing the roof fell, and the cement floor looked as if it had been plowed. Renata shouted in delight.

“Are you cold?” Zero grabbed Renata’s hand and blew warm air into her palm.

“No.”

“Then let’s go outside!” Zero held Renata’s hand and started running.

He knew the spiderweb-like passageways even better than Renata. They passed door after door left ajar, walked through silent corridors where alarms were deactivated, and climbed rusty iron ladders to higher ground. Tonight, every corner of the port was open to them. They held hands as they ran, and soon Renata laughed out loud, feeling as if she were flying. They climbed into a small chapel, scaling the sacred cross to reach the stained glass window. Renata rode on Zero’s shoulders, pushing the window open. As the cold wind hit her face, she felt an urge to cry, the world before her so beautiful that it made her feel utterly lonely. Jagged icebergs stood in the distance, while giant ice floes drifted from the polar sea, with a vast blue gorge in the middle and a channel of deep blue water between them. The sun lingered below the horizon, and there was a blush of pink on the edge of the sky.

Zero crawled out through a rusted gap in the iron window, then reached out to pull Renata up onto the roof. This was the highest point of Black Swan Bay. A concrete cross stood in the snow, inscribed with the names of the Red Army soldiers who had given their lives to build Black Swan Bay.

“Over there, 453 kilometers away, is the North Pole.” Zero turned. “That way, 3,781 kilometers away, is Moscow.”

The strong wind blew past their feet. Renata hugged Zorro, gazing north and then south, while Black Swan Bay felt like a small mountain she had conquered. She stood tall, overlooking the world, and suddenly shivered slightly. She was so close to the earth’s pole yet so far from the human world.

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