8. The Most Dangerous People.

~DAHLIA~

Silence fills the room.

I exhale slowly again before turning my attention towards the large window at the far left end of the wall facing my bed.

Curious, I walk away from the mirror towards the window.

When I reach it, the view I meet steals my breath away.

The lands I am seeing may be barren, but they stretch out so vast and endlessly as though they have no ends. The horizon swallows itself, a mirage of heat distorting the edges where the earth meets the sky.

From where I am, staring downwards, I can tell that I am very high up in the fortress.

Surviving a fall from here is completely impossible.

I take a step back, but not too far away. The morning sky is bright and painted with thick white blue clouds.

But it is not the clouds, neither is it the deadly highness of where I am in the fortress, that unsettles me.

The thing that unsettles me the most is the absence of dragons.

There are no dragons blocking out the sun and white blue clouds from my view.

Aren't dragons supposed to be here?

This fortress belongs to Drakarith, and I am on their lands now, so I had expected by now to be watching dragons soaring through the sky with their bodies casting shadows over the ground below and their great wings spanning over the heavens.

But there are no dragons here.

Not a single dragon beast in sight.

Strange.

Why?

I completely step away from the window and settle onto the bed that is so soft to the touch. Running my fingers across the silk sheets, my mind races through so many painful memories and thoughts of vengeance.

Also, I think of Azraelyrs. Of my unknown future that now has an entanglement in these strange lands of Drakarith.

I don’t trust the Dragon King.

But I trust in his power.

And I will use it to achieve my goals.

A creak pulls my focus straight to the door as it opens, causing me to elegantly sit up straight with a strict look plastered on my face.

One of the young maidens from earlier steps inside, carrying a tray of food and sliced fruits.

She moves gracefully towards me, but I instantly sense the hesitation in her steps like she doesn't want to get close to me.

Nevertheless, she arrives before me, and funny enough, her hands do not shake as she sets the tray down, lowering her soft brown eyes.

Her quiet confidence catches my attention.

She is not completely afraid of me. There is also some kind of peace in her muteness, and it catches my attention.

I keep studying her carefully. “What’s your name?” I ask in a gentle, soft voice.

She hesitates only a moment before answering. “Keshani.”

Keshani….

I quickly register the name inside my head. There is something in Keshani’s eyes, and I feel like she knows so much more than the fragility her young face is showing me.

Interesting….

I do not press her further for anything else. Knowing her name is a such wonderful start for now.

“Thanks for the food,” I say, catching her eyes widening in surprise at my appreciation before I draw the tray closer to myself and begin eating in silence.

With my side eye, I watch her calm reaction as she stands to my side and observes me take bite after bite of the delicious meal. My mind is already calculating.

Every person in this fortress can be a potential piece on the board, and I intend to use them well.

The most dangerous people to look out for aren't necessarily vile court officials or evil, tyrant kings and queens.

The most dangerous people to be wary of are the ones who are often disregarded and insulted because of their lowly status.

Servants.

Guards.

Slaves.

These calibers of people can either rise, maintain, or decay mighty kingdoms from the deep roots without anyone even knowing what they're doing until it's too late.

But the good news is that these calibers of people can be very loyal to death if you earn their heart and trust completely.

I plan to start with Keshani.

Before I can finish my meal, the doors open again, and I recognize one of the young maidens that had attended to me as she steps inside.

“The Dragon King wishes to see you.” she announces, bowing her head.

Her announcement makes my stomach churn a bit.

I am not a woman who simply just answers to anyone who summons me. I was raised to command. To rule.

But I was also raised in a court filled with vipers, where silence and compliance were sometimes the deadliest weapons of all.

Also, Azraelyrs is not just anyone, and not just because he is the dragon king of Drakarith. Even little boys disguised as men wear crowns.

However, their reigns never last because they are stupid and make senseless decisions. From the brief encounters I have had with Azraelyrs, I can tell he is cunningly smart and even though he rarely speaks many words, his strength and maturity aren't hidden.

Men like him are the real Pandora boxes. One can never really figure out what to find in them.

Azraelyrs is no fool.

And neither am I.

“Shani, come help me,” I deliberately shorten Keshani’s name as I softly beckon to her, and she quickly moves to take away the tray of food.

After lightly dabbing my lips clean with a napkin, I rise up from the bed with ease and grace and follow the maiden that had announced Azraelyrs's wish to see me, my head held high.

I will play this game.

And I am not going to lose.

Still following the maidservant out of my room, I appear at the corridor hall and instantly become flanked by the same entourage of servants that had led me out of the cell and taken care of me. Keshani appears right beside me, carrying the tray of food.

“Your highness, do you wish to finish up your meal when you return?” She asks.

I shake my head. “No, you can take it away.”

She does as she is told. I join the rest of the entourage and follow them down the corridor halls.

The halls of this fortress are so wide, with the high ceilings and pillars towering many cubits higher than the palace pillars back in Velmira.

I pass by massive dragon statues sculpted with gold and bronze, and they quickly remind me more than enough that humans are small in comparison to dragons.

Yet, I hold my head high.

With each turn we take, I keep passing by more statues and tall different flower vases until at last, we arrive before a set of doors bearing the same insignia like mine.

There are guards posted at either side of the doors. They don't acknowledge me, but one steps forward and raps his knuckles against one of the doors.

"Dahlia Rhadaya Balerion is here, your Majesty," he announces.

A pause follows.

"Let her in.” Azraelyrs’s voice thunders from behind the doors.

The guard lifts the circular steel handles of the doors and pushes them open.

When he steps aside, with the doors widely open before me, I draw in a needed silent breath into my lungs and step inside.

Alone….