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Dragon Queen. 14
The king's loud laughter shook the doors of the dining hall. Mare was tempted to run and hide. He was laughing now but what if he was laughing over her failed attempt to seduce the prince? What punishment did he have planned for her? Was it going to affect the rest of the Baryns? If Hegi and the king's guards were not behind her, she would have run as fast as her legs could take her and escaped the kingdom if she had to. But as it so happened, she struggled to keep her head up, her shoulders high as she made her way down the corridor. They arrived at the door and the soldiers pushed the door open. As soon as she stepped into the threshold she almost lost her breath and faltered.The king was not alone. Not that she expected him to be alone. She had expected to see the heads of the Noble Houses but the king's company was none other than Perci, the crown prince of Arlankis.Eyes light with laughter, golden goblet in hand, turned to face the door as soon as they were thrown open. His
Last Updated : 2023-11-13Dragon Queen. 15
Mare was calm as she shed her dress and stepped out of it but her mind was in turmoil by what she just witnessed. When she felt the king behind her she did not flinch, her senses were too preoccupied by the thought of the dead queen. To the Baryns, they never knew the queen, and the announcement of her death more than a decade ago had been more like a rumor.Baryns did not mourn.Why was the king so angered at the mention of the queen? And he was trying desperately to erase her existence. As Vallezarii hooked the locks of chains to her collar, drawing it forward to anchor her to the bedpost she obeyed while wondering about his reactions to Serywithe's words. Should she be any surprised by the king's cruel reaction to the question of respect for the dead? Vallezarii respected no one, not even the gods of old would make a man as proud as he bow. She could hear Hegi's voice in her head saying, "Do not concern yourself with matters beyond you!"As Mare held on to the edge of the bed feel
Last Updated : 2023-11-18Dragon Queen. 16
"What news do you bring from the northern borders?" Vallezarii demanded as soon as he stormed into the throne room. He was angered. His day had started off badly with Serywithe insinuating that he did not respect the dead. No, the dead had no use for respect.He would have preferred to not be disturbed for the rest of the day. The sight of the bloodied warrior of Arlankis was a welcome relief, something to distract him from the guilt that plagued him. But it wasn't just guilt that plagued him, even anger at Serywithe's stubbornness. If he did not have a use for her she would have been bound in chains and thrown into the dungeons long ago. He had no use for stubborn opposition and she was fast becoming a thorn in his flesh. He knew what to do to bring her under control.As he passed by Dymas the sickening stench of blood made his stomach roll. Most of the blood on Dymas Milelot probably belonged to his opponents. Even Vallezarii was wary of the mighty soldier but he had need for him. H
Last Updated : 2023-11-23Dragon Queen. 17
Mare's footsteps faltered as she approached the village. The sun was high in the sky and she was sweating under the weight of the cloak yet on the fields were Baryns working endlessly under the unyielding sun.Sweat dripped from their bodies soaking their tunica until they clung to their bodies. The people who were not cultivating the fields were guiding sheep, goats, pigs and birds into pens to feed. Those who did neither of those two works worked in shacks and shops with metal. They beat metals into weapons and tools. Or gold into pieces of jewelry for the Arlankis. All of this was nothing unusual but what was unusual was the increased number of Arlankis soldiers moving among the people with leather whips ready to mark the backs of the Baryns.Beneath the protection of the hood of her cloak Mare watched with despair as the soldiers raised their hands with the whips in them and brought them cracking down on the backs of Baryns who slacked off in their works. All around her were cries
Last Updated : 2023-11-23Dragon Queen. 18
His voice was hard and Mare noted with a hint of disappointment that he was very angry too. She dipped into a curtsey.Perci’s brows shot up against his will. He was immensely surprised at her servitude and was almost tempted to laugh but this wasn’t a time to laugh, especially not when he just risked his neck for a common Baryn. If he had been a second late the soldier might have beheaded him and he would have lost his life for nothing but foolishness.To think that a soldier of the king's army had drawn a sword at him for rescuing a slave burned him deeply. But if he had not come riding through the village in disguise like he always did those men would have raped her and probably killed her and that would have served her right because the girl was dense in the head. Yet he couldn’t have left her at the mercies of those lecherous men starved for the drunkenness only a woman’s body could offer. He was next in line for the throne therefore hated though the Baryns may be, he still had a
Last Updated : 2023-11-23Dragon Queen. 19
He had come in fear that she would reveal her secret to her servant. A slave like her would need a witness. But her regret surprised him. So she was capable of reason, that was good to know.He straightened from the door just in time to see a guard dressed in armor with a chainmail peeking under it approached him. He assumed his full regal height.“My lord,” the guard bowed. “My king requests your presence in the throne room.”“Are you to come with me?”“Yes, my lord.”Perci moved past him with the slightest nod, walking down the stone hall decorated with red and purple tapestries. The heavy doors of the throne room were pushed open by the guards stationed in front of it. They bowed their heads as he moved past them.“My lord.”The throne room, large and brightened by the lights streaming in from the open windows was empty save the king seated in his huge gilded chair dressed in his royal robes with his left hand adorned with the royal signet ring bearing the royal dragon insignia. Th
Last Updated : 2023-11-23Dragon Queen. 20
Mare stared at her reflection in the mirror. Dragon descendants.She was of dragon birth. All Baryns were of dragon birth yet the men of Kronos claimed the same. What kind of test would the king put them through to reveal the truth or lies of their words?Hegi’s hand came to rest on her slim shoulders, a proud smile on his face at his handiwork. He had rubbed scented oil into her skin to smoothen it and the result was a bright glow. Her hair had been oiled and allowed to fall loose down her back. But even her long tresses did nothing to hide her back exposed by the shimmering white gown. It was long and flowy with exposed sides held together by thin gold chains. The straps of the gown were twisted with gold threads.“You look beautiful, my lady.”She could not disagree with him. Her eyelids had been darkened and the edges pulled to enhance her feline eyes. Her lips had been painted a dark red making her full lips tempting to whoever gazed at them.Hegi gasped lightly and drew the stri
Last Updated : 2023-11-23Dragon Queen. 21
His feet were heavy in her lap, black nails with jagged and sharp edged. She struggled not to shove it off or retch in disgust. Mare shivered, not from the cold but from the eyes poring into her skin. The king’s whore among noble blood. What an honor.She dared to look up in the direction of one of the stares.The princess was in the company of her friends. She was beautifully dressed in her blue silk with her blonde hair braided down her back. Her neck was adorned with a heavy silver necklace encrusted with diamonds. Despite her young beauty, her face held a scowl. Her friends were staring and they whispered something to her to which she responded tight-lipped.Mare blinked and looked away. Let them talk. The pain of their gossip was nothing compared to the pain of her people’s rejection. Or the throbbing that would come later tonight if the king ordered her ass into his bed.Her gaze fell on Perci. She paused.He was staring but unlike Serywithe his gaze was unreadable. Those icy b
Last Updated : 2023-11-23
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Dragon Queen. 34
“Have you finally come to your senses?”Serywithe looked away from her window to see the king standing by her door, a less than pleased expression on his face with one dark brow furrowed over the eye. It was past noon and throughout the day she had had no company, only the sounds of splintering woods as the men prepared for the tournament tomorrow kept her mind alert. She had watched the servants carry large wooden bowls filled with plucked birds for the feast. Two young kitchen boys had passed beneath her window carrying a large dead boar to be prepared.She held her hands in front of her. “I have father,” her voice was soft, she was trying hard to keep it that way. His outburst that morning had frightened her as was the one at breakfast the other day. “I have had enough time by myself to think I realize that perhaps I have been unfair to you.”He looked relieved as he fully entered her room and closed the door.Serywithe took more steps closer until she was only a few feet away from
Dragon Queen. 33
Mare’s eyes drifted around the room still unable to understand just how much had changed in just a few months.Llod poured more than one cup and handed one to her. She took it gingerly between both of her hands and could only hold it against her belly.Llod gulped his wine and smacked his lips. “By the gods, Arlankis has the best wine.”“The gods? Since when did you become a believer Llod?” Mare asked, a brow raised in question.“Since you commanded a dragon!" His eyes widened with appreciation. "Mare what you have done has set the wheels in motion, nothing will ever remain the same again.”“I could say the same for you, Llod…”“And you would not mean the same thing. I am not the one who is going to be queen. You are…”“Not because I asked for it!” she raised her voice mildly. “You speak like this and I cannot recognize you anymore.”Llod smiled, opened his mouth as though to speak then shut it and gulped the last of his wine. “Many things have changed since we attempted to kill the k
Dragon Queen. 32
Arlankis was as she had never seen it before. The sunbathed streets were broad, some dirty others clean and you knew the residents of the streets by their appearances. The quality of clothes on casual passers also hint at the caliber of people who live in which streets.Mare, though hidden under the thick cloak with its large hood, could not stop her eyes from darting all over the streets. So engrossed in the many sides of Arlankis that she had never seen before that she nearly walked over a young girl carrying a woven tray of half-rotten apples. The girl stumbled as she hurriedly moved out of her path.“Pardon, my lady.”Mare’s heart turned cold and she paused in her steps. Hegi seeing this stopped too and turned to fix her with a questioning glance.“Why have you stopped?” he whispered, glad for the crowd of traders announcing their wares from front shops.“That little girl,” she whispered back. “She knew I was – I am not a commoner.” She paused. “So to speak.”Hegi’s eyes softened
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Serywithe threw back the covers of the bed and rose on her feet, fury on her face like a bear confronting an intruder.“And why must I speak to you? You have given Father your consent, what else do we have to say to each other?”“Do I really have to give Father my consent before he makes a decision?”“But you did not protest his hare–brained decision! Challenge him, damn you!”Perci quickly closed the distance between them and waved his index finger in her face. “Need I remind you the cost of such words against your king?”“He is our father!”Perci sighed. Of course, she thought so because she was young when they were captured. So was he but he never forgot the day he was brought to Arlankis and announced as Vallezarii’s rightful heir. Serywithe had been too young to remember clutching to their mother’s chest with her thumb in her mouth therefore for her, Vallezarii would always be the father she never remembered. She knew nothing of dragons or the blood running through her veins.We
Dragon Queen. 30
The loud scraping of wood against stone accompanied Serywithe's rise from her seat as she slammed her fist on the table nearly breaking her hand to protest.“You cannot possibly be serious father!” She screeched.Vallezarii ignored her. “There shall be a tournament tomorrow to mark our marriage, one is befitting for the descendant of a dragon who will now become my wife.”“Father!”He finally turned to her, cruel eyes reduced to slits. “What say you?”“You cannot give my mother’s crown to a slave!”“How dare you question my decision?”“I dare because I am your daughter and I respect my dead mother enough to stand against this foolishness!”Beside her Phynally’s bereaved daughter tugged on the sleeve of her gown to call her to order but Serywithe’s blue eyes flashed angrily and her anger would not be quelled.Everyone else at the table, more than two dozen guests held their breath as they waited for the king to rise and deal her a blow with the back of his hand. Mare remained as she wa
Dragon Queen. 29
She stayed awake most of the night unable to do anything but think but her thoughts would not be arranged to form coherency, so Mare found herself tossing most of the night thinking about everything.Perci had to be telling the truth. At least about the origin of his birth. She believed that now.Dragons, born of fire, did not burn. And the prince’s hand had been just fine when he reached into the fire to save a mere book.And his finger? There was no hurt done to his finger yet he wrapped it.So many questions…the secret passage? The marks on his back.And then…She pressed the sides of her face noting the increase in her cheeks’ warmth.It was nothing more than a mere act to keep her silent and she should be appalled by it. She was appalled but not by the kiss itself. She was appalled by her lack of disgust at the feel of his lips on her mouth. Surely, she was stupid if she considered the heir of her enemy as her friend. For all she knew, this was a trick to make her reveal herself.
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Angry red flames quickly covered the shelf, climbing up the wall with angry red fingers. Perci’s head whipped around as the smell of burning leather reached his nose. When he ran in the direction of the rising smoke, Mare was right behind him cursing herself for her forgetfulness and clumsiness.“You left a torch here?!” Perci’s voice was hard and accusing as he squeezed between shelves until he made his way to the aisle where the books were burning. The source of the flames, the torch lay fallen on its side.“Gods, what have I done?!” Mare cried, her eyes wide with panic as she shot forward to retrieve the burning torch.Perci grabbed her and at the same time, the wooden book in his hand slipped between his fingers, landing in the flames.“No!” he screamed. The book may be made from dragonwood but it was not infallible to the flames that began to lick the edges. Perci reached forward to save it, ignoring the rising fire as it consumed the dusty, dried pages of books, gaining more fue
Dragon Queen. 27
Perci watched her eyes widen and fought a smile. She thought she knew everything. She thought being a dragon was the end of everything. But he knew it was just the beginning, that was what his mother, the late queen, grained into him all his life. Commanding a second dragon and bringing it under control was the beginning of everything.He looked down at the map which held her attention.And everything started with Dragon Island.His blood continued to run on the center pages, bringing to life the islands, lands, forests, fields, and castles that once culminated to make the Dragon Island, once the strongest nation in the world. The world's capital. Five kingdoms surrounded the Dragon Seat which was protected by the dragon wall. All five kingdoms were conquered by dragon lords, descendants of kings from the Dragon Seat.Mare opened her mouth unable to believe the sight before her eyes.“This is impossible…”“Anymore impossible than commanding a dragon with merely the sound of your voic
Dragon Queen. 26
It was dark, just as she expected.Strange how it looked larger than the first time she was here. Maybe it was the darkness that made the aisle of shelves look longer or maybe it was the shadow cast by the torch that made the shelves longer.She trod carefully on the floor, her bare feet barely making a sound as she darted behind one shelf and waved her light in front of it.It had nothing she was looking for. She had no idea what she was looking for. A map? A book of records? Records of what? Dragon descendants? Baryns? Dragons?She didn’t know what she was looking for but she searched nonetheless believing she would know when she saw it nestled among the floor-to-bottom rows of dusty leather-bound books.Many of them had titles so old that reading them was next to impossible. Others were new, still smelling fresh.Perhaps, she would know what she was looking for by smell?But just as she leaned forward she heard it.It was the softest sound. A sigh maybe.But the night was so quiet
