The Unknown Black Heiress

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"Let's talk," the strange man said to Electra. She stared at him curiously. She had never seen a man like this before. He was tall, roughly six foot one, and was muscular and tanned, with medium length reddish hair. When Electra spoke with Ares asking who she should speak too, he was the only one Ares tolerated, so she decided to refuse to talk to the other two men who were there. She trusted Ares' judgement.

"What do you want to talk about?" Electra asked curiously, staring directly into his light blue eyes.

"Do you speak English, or just Romanian?"

"I speak English," she replied, but held a strong Russian accent.

Charlie's interest piqued. This strange girl, spoke flawless English, but held a strong Russian accent. He assumed she had come from Russia, and for the life of him, he couldn't understand how she got to Romania, looking like she hadn't bathed in days, and was as skinny as she was.

"What's your name? Mine is Charlie Weasley."

She stared at him cautiously, before replying, "Electra."

"Nice to meet you Electra," he smiled, but her eyes just narrowed. She didn't understand why this man wanted to ask her questions. Does he work for HYDRA? He wasn't wearing a uniform, and he didn't look like any of the soldiers that worked in The Red Room, but she had to be careful.

"How did you find this place, normally people can't find us, we are quite remote and not easily discoverable."

"Well that's stupid," she drawled. "How could they not notice these beautiful creatures," at this Ares let out a huff and she cooed not looking at Charlie anymore, "oh, I'm sorry, Ares, the man said dragon's didn't he? That's what you are." Ares let out a little purr and she giggled before tickling under the dragon's chin and letting out a huff of smoke.

Charlie watched on with a small smile on his face. No matter how she came here, she and Ares had formed a bond. He was wrapped around her like he was her protective shield, but acted like a cat, wanting pats and purring. He just couldn't fathom what was happening. He waited patiently for her to continue.

"As I was saying, how could anyone not notice these beautiful dragons flying in the air. I am surprised there aren't more people coming to watch them."

"Well most people can't find them, we are deep in the forest. How did you get to be here?"

Straight away, Electra pulled out a dagger and held it defensively, even Ares let out a growl and Charlie couldn't figure out what he had said that was so wrong that had caused this reaction.

"Who sent you? I will not go back," she asked with a murderous tone that sent shivers down Charlie's spine.

Charlie just held his hands up and repeated, "nobody sent me, I work here."

"Where is here?"

"A dragon sanctuary," he replied calmly. "We look after dragons."

"If you look after dragon's, why are they in cages like monsters that need to be controlled," she snarled and Charlie saw Ares rub his head against her belly calming her down.

"We often take in dragons that are endangered so we can protect them, or we take in dragons that are sick and we heal them and we keep them to protect them. Many people want to hunt and kill dragons because they think they are dangerous whereas others want to use their body parts illegally, so by having them here, it means we can keep them safe."

Electra hummed at this and nodded thinking.

"Can I see more dragons?" She asked quietly, and at this Ares let out a huff. "Oh Ares, no need to get jealous, you will always be my favourite, I am just curious, I have never seen dragon's before," she placed her hands on either side of his head and lifted it to stare into her eyes.

She spoke so quietly, that Charlie could just hear her, even though she probably didn't mean him to.

"Who spent the night with you telling her entire life story, me, you beautiful boy, I don't just tell that to anyone. I just want to see some other dragons, and then I will come right back."

At this, Ares did the strangest thing and licked the side of her face before huffing out some smoke.

Electra squealed and let out a giggle, "Ares!" He just rubbed his head against her neck affectionately, and Charlie couldn't help but smile.

"So Mister Charlie Weasley, can I see more dragon's? Ares said it is okay."

Charlie didn't know what to say, he had only gotten her name, and that she could see the sanctuary, and he needed more information but she was clearly guarded and needed to tread carefully. It was like talking to a skittish animal, that was ready to strike if threatened.

"How about we make a deal? You answer five questions as honestly as you can with Ares, and then I will take you to see two other dragons?"

Electra looked at Ares as if wanting to confirm the deal, and he gave a little nod, before settling back into her lap. "You have a deal, Mister Charlie Weasley."

"How did you get to the sanctuary, we are not on any main roads."

"I had just walked from, Oradea, and was going through the forest, and decided to climb the mountain behind us, and when I got to the top, I saw these dragon's flying in the air, and men feeding others. I also saw sparks flying out of sticks and hitting the dragon's," she spat out the last part.

Charlie could see the distaste on her face when talking about the spells from the wands.

"So I walked down the mountain, and sat at the edge of the forest and watched them yesterday."

"You walked from Oradea? That must have taken a while?"

"It took me three days to walk to the bottom of the mountain from Oradea, then two days to reach the top of the mountain, then a day and a half to get to the bottom," after saying this, her face lit up. "I just had to see them up close, you know? I felt something pulling inside me, almost begging me to come closer."

"And how did you find, Ares?"

"Well, I went to the first fence I saw, and climbed it, before walking around. I wanted to see the dragon up close. I walked into a cave and he was lying there. When he saw me he stood up, and we became friends. We chatted all night, before we both went to sleep," she replied as if it was an everyday occurrence.

"And you talk to Ares? And Ares can understand you?"

"Well of course he can understand me," she scoffed. "I asked him last night if he could and he nodded. They are a being, are they not?"

"To be completely honest with you, Electra, most dragon's don't respond to us as Ares does with you."

"That is because you throw colours at them that hurt them," she glared. "Pull out your stick and point it at Ares, and see the reaction."

Charlie nodded and slowly started to move his wand from the holster, and immediately Ares started to grumble.

"See, Ares doesn't like it. It has probably hurt him in the past. I assume because Ares' trusts you, you mustn't do it often, but maybe he doesn't like those other two men, because they point it at him. Maybe it hurts him. I do not have a stick, and as soon as Ares saw my belt, when he reacted, I removed it and put it away, and he calmed down straight away."

Charlie nodded, thinking about this. They were always told that dragon's are beautiful beasts and cannot be tamed, but here is this girl, with one of the most dangerous dragon's so happy and peaceful.

"You have two more questions, mister Charlie Weasley and then I want to see dragons."

He nodded and hummed thoughtfully. "Where did you come from?"

At this, he saw her stiffen and look cautiously at him, almost as if she was trying to tell if he had a hidden agenda. She looked down at Ares who gave a small nod as if to calm her down.

"Russia, I walked from Russia, through Belarus, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary before reaching Romania."

He just stared at her shocked. She had walked that distance, he could only imagine what that was like.

"And you said your body pulled you towards the dragon's when you reached the top of the mountain? Do you have one of those sticks you call it?"

"No, no stick, but my body hummed, like a spark went through my whole body. As I said, I felt compelled to come closer. I see I was right to listen, because now I have my new friend, Ares." He huffed and she let out a chuckle, "sorry, Ares. Mister Charlie Weasley, I meant to say, my best friend Ares," and with that Ares pulled her tight against his body.

Then Charlie witnessed her open her backpack and pull out two plums and two apples. She passed the apple's to Ares and then ate the plums herself.

"Mister Charlie Weasley, do you have apples here? I am almost out. Ares is being a hog and has eaten all of mine."

"When we come back you can bring some apples to him," he offered, and for once, her smile was sent his way.

"Good, Ares quite likes apple," she mused. "Now, I believe you owe me some more dragon's," she continued. "However, are there more men like you? Ares trusts you, I don't want to be around anyone else, as I assume Ares cannot come with me."

"You're right, but we will come back to him and I can make sure there is no one else there when we see the dragon's."

"You promise, Mister Charlie Weasley."

"I promise, Electra."

Slowly she rubbed Ares head, before placing a soft kiss between his eyes, and stood up. "I will be back soon, Ares, with lots of apples," he huffed out some smoke, before closing his eyes.

Electra picked up her backpack and walked slowly towards Charlie, watching his every move, before passing him and collecting her daggers from the tree and putting them on her belt. "Let's go," she said firmly and he stood up and slowly began to walk towards the gate of the enclosure.

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Once out, she saw him take out his stick, and suddenly the form of a smaller dragon burst from the end in a silvery form, and he spoke to it, advising it to go to Andrei, to advise that they were going to see two more dragon's together, and to make sure no other workers were there. Then he started to lead her through the sanctuary.

"So what kind of dragon is, Ares?" She questioned, breaking the stilted silence between them. It wasn't awkward per say, but Electra was so on edge and suspicious, that she kept looking around, her hands against her belt, like she was ready to attack at any moment.

"He is a Peruvian Vipertooth," Charlie responded, smiling at the thought of his dragon. Well, who was his dragon. He had no idea anymore.

"And he had no name? Why?"

"Honestly, we name most of our dragon's but he didn't take to any, and nobody else could get close enough to him to form any kind of bond."

"Amateur's," he heard her mutter and he covered his laugh with a cough.

Here was a girl who didn't even know about dragon's, calling the handlers amateurs because they couldn't get close to the second most dangerous dragon alive.

"He isn't even scary. He is like a big cuddly creature with shiny skin and breaths fire. He is the most beautiful being I have ever seen," she said whimsically.

Charlie couldn't help the grin form, as he heard her describe Ares.

"So I am going to take us to the Chinese Fireball, we have three of these dragon's and they all live in the same enclosure. They are known as the Lion Dragon, and they are named Fireball, because they breath out a ball like flame. They are scarlet in colour and have gold spikes around it's face."

"They sound beautiful Mister Charlie Weasley," and she was right.

They arrived to the enclosure, and the gasp that left her mouth amused Charlie. She was standing there in awe, her grey eyes staring at the three dragons.

"I want to get closer," Electra said immediately and Charlie went to tell her not too, but before he could blink, she was climbing the fence and had landed on the other side.

The commotion made the dragon's all turn to look at her, and they got into a defensive stance. She remembered what she was wearing, and quickly removed all her weapons like she did with Ares and put them in her bag, before kicking it to the side. She then took a few steps forward and with her arms outstretched. The three dragons got ready to shoot fire, but instead of looking scared, Electra just sat down, and crossed her legs, with her arms outstretched towards them. She didn't do anything but sit, about fifty metres from the enclosure line, speaking softly to the dragon's telling them she means no harm, and she is safe.

Charlie couldn't believe what he was witnessing. One of the dragons, slowly started walking towards her, and Charlie quickly took out his wand, ready to protect her if needed.

The dragon in result let out a roar and Electra turned to look at him and quickly yelled, "put it away, Charlie."

He didn't know why he listened, but he did as she told and watched the dragon instantly calm down. It stood up tall as it prowled towards her, but he didn't see the girl even flinch or lean back. She sat still, just waiting. After about five minutes, the dragon was standing straight ahead of her, looking down at Electra curiously. Slowly, he lowered his head and let her rest her hand against his snout. A peel of giggles were sounded, as Electra started stroking the end of his head, before scratching the underside causing the dragon to let out a large huff of smoke in her face. Feeling more comfortable, Electra stood up, keeping her hand on his head at all times, and started stroking down his neck, patting him firmly as the Fireball leaned his head over her shoulder.

"Did you want to give him a pat, Mister Charlie Weasley," she asked quietly.

Charlie couldn't believe it. Here he was, having worked with dragon's for the last two years, and she was the one teaching him things. He slowly nodded before opening the enclosure. At the sound the dragon bristled slightly, and she turned to look.

"Oh don't worry about him, he won't hurt us. Charlie, put your stick on my bag, he won't want to see it."

This caused Charlie to feel nervous, he was rarely without his wand, but this girl had no weapons on her and was quite safe, so he followed her orders, before slowly walking up to the Fireball dragon.

"Hey Luca," Charlie said softly, walking closer to the dragon.

His arms were outstretched like Electra's were, and he heard Electra repeating that he was safe and kind and to let him prove it. The dragon nodded again, before turning his head to Charlie who was standing a metre or two behind Electra. Electra moved to the side, and Luca eyed him, before nudging Electra behind him, as if to protect her before taking two large steps and standing directly in front of Charlie, eyeing him down. He held that look for about a minute, before lowering his head and placing his snout against Charlie's hand. Charlie had touched dragon's of course, especially the one's he was close with, or had raised from being a baby, but not like this. Not with a dragon he barely spent any time with. He knew Stefan, one of the other dragon's in the enclosure, but not Luca. He began stroking him softly, and then he heard it, the purring sound. Charlie let out a quiet laugh of disbelief, and stroked his head firmer, before moving to his neck.

"Isn't this wonderful," Electra breathed contently.

"Yeah, it really is."

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