2. The Diagnose

Leila was sitting in a grand room. It was a much larger space than she was used to. The room was quiet, as it was facing the opposite direction from the noisy courtyard. She wiggled her toes deep into the thick carpet and played with her fingers absentmindedly. There wasn’t anyone else in the room, but she could’t help feeling like a horrid stranger might barge in at any second. Even so, she decided to tiptoe to the other side of the room and peek outside.

The large, floor-to-ceiling window was absolutely mesmerizing. Leila had never seen a window so enormous. Peering outside, she realized how wonderful the weather was, regretting wasting such a perfect day on escaping. The view was simply extravagant. A sprawling field of crops stretched on without an end in sight under the crystal blue sky. In addition to a few farm houses and wandering cows, several watchtowers also dotted the lively green. Leila wondered if she might be at the edge of King’s Harbor; the view was quite different than where she’d escaped from.

Then, she heard footsteps. Leila stopped admiring the view and quickly returned to where she sat before. A boy came in, around eight or nine years old. His eyes were pale grey, and his skin didn’t glisten, just like a dark knight’s. She recognized the boy as a grey dragon. How could a grey dragon work for the prince? Leila wondered curiously. Her aunt had told her they were never allowed to go near to the palace or do any work related to royal affairs, not to mention work directly under an actual royal.

“These were sent for you.” The boy looked at Leila as he put a large tray down on the round table beside her. A mixture of freshly-cooked bacon and creamy cheese was tantalizingly floating through the air. On the table, a feast was neatly laid out. It was the most wonderful food she had ever seen. She couldn’t believe that food could be cooked like this.

Moist cakes, juicy chicken and beef, salami and cheese; orange apricots and dewberries, green grapes and red mulberries, and exotic fruits that she had never tasted before; everything was fresh and appealing. Back at her aunt’s house, she was never allowed to eat anything other than dry bread and vegetable broth. A chunk of sausage would be a hard-earned reward at the end of the year. She looked at all of the food in front of her and didn’t know where to start. Could food like this really be eaten by a mongrel like her?

The boy spoke up again. “My name is Ben. I’m the prince’s pageboy. You must be terribly hungry. If this isn’t enough, please just let me know.” He then quickly glanced over Leila’s bruised skin. “A female healer is on her way… I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a bit longer. We don’t have any women working in the battalion. She was specially summoned by the prince just now.”

“Thank you,” Leila said to him. She liked the boy and had a sneaking suspicion that they would become good friends.

The boy nodded and left the room. As he opened the door, Leila saw the dark knight who had escorted her standing outside. He seemed to be in a middle of a quarrel with a couple of golden knights.

Leila quietly moved toward the door after it closed and listened.

“But she’s clearly a crossbreed, right? It’s against the law to even let her continue breathing!” One of the golden knights said, “I think you’d better remind the prince, Hugo. We just saw Ben send a full tray of food in, and I heard the commander was even sacked because of her.”

“It was the prince’s decision. He fired the previous commander because he intended to rape that girl. Are you resisting the prince’s orders?” Hugo firmly snapped.

“What Jack means is…” The other golden knight spoke, and Leila realized he was the young knight with golden hair from before. “It’s not good for the knights to see her treated so well, like a guest. The whole army is pureblood, and we guard pureblood citizens in the capital. A crossbreed is considered an animal in the dragon kingdom. It’s bad publicity for the army. Simple as that.”

In no time, Ben had come back with a silver dragon woman who was panting and sweating aggressively.

“Really? A female healer?” the other golden knight raised his voice a bit, “for that mongrel?”

Hugo quickly glanced at the lady behind them, then turned to the golden knights. “Jack and Kevin, right? I repeat: It was the prince’s decision. If you want to stay in the battalion and keep your head, then fuck off, grab your sword, and practice. Leave the girl alone.”

He bumped the young knight with his shoulder as he walked towards the room. He knocked on the door, and Leila opened it.

The silver dragon woman was around fifty years old, but she was still beautiful, with just a few fine lines at the corners of her eyes. “You must be Leila,” she said politely, and reached out her hand.

Leila stepped away from her at once, looking at Hugo.

“This is June, a healer. She’ll take care of your wounds,” Hugo said, “Please don’t worry. She can be trusted.”

Leila led her guard down a little and sat back down in her seat. Unknowingly, she had already started to trust Hugo and Ben, but she began to wonder where the prince was. Since he had organized the food and the healer for her, why wasn’t he around?

“I’ll check her carefully and report back with the results later,” June said. Hugo and Ben left, and the door was closed.

Just as they turned around, the prince returned. He was putting on a navy blue, double-breasted jacket to cover his naked upper body. He was perfectly toned and muscular; deep, defined lines tightened throughout his lean and firm muscles. “Did the girl eat? Has the healer arrived yet?” The prince asked Hugo and Ben.

“Yes,” Ben answered, “She’s being checked by the healer now.”

“Good.” The prince patted Ben’s shoulder then leaned against the wall while knotting the buckles with no intention of leaving with them.

Hugo and Ben exchanged a look. This was a first; the prince was clearly worried about the girl. It was rare to see him worry about any woman.

But his usual icy expression didn’t falter in the least. He still looked unwilling to waste another word on anyone, which, oddly enough, was the same feature that made all women pine after him. Hugo and Ben chose to leave the prince alone, but they heard him speak again.

“The Grey Below. In the last column and farthest row. The house was empty. I made my mark on the gate. Keep an eye on it.”

“Aye,” Hugo replied, clearly aware that it was Leila’s aunt’s house, “And one more thing. Thought you might want to know. The golden knights have some opinions on the previous commander’s sudden expulsion.”

“Let it be. But make it clear: Any knight dissatisfied with my orders will be expelled from the battalion, no matter their rank,” the prince said before he turned to fix his eyes on the council room door, as if he knew June was almost finished with Leila.

Seconds later, June came out and closed the door behind her. “My prince.” She nodded to Thorn as she put her right hand over her left shoulder.

“June, thank you for coming under such short notice. You were the best healer nearby.”

“I’m glad to be useful.” June glanced at Hugo and Ben, then back to the prince, “May I speak with you privately?”

Hugo and Ben acknowledged the prince and left.

“Anything irregular?” the prince asked June, “Is it as I predicted?”

June nodded, furrowing her slender brows. “Yes, I’m afraid. The girl isn’t a mongrel. I couldn’t detect any human traits, but she also doesn’t possess regular dragon blood. With my limited experience, I’m unable to say what she is.”

“And her wounds?” he asked, without showing any emotion.

“I’ve taken care of them. She’ll recover soon with the help of my herbs, but her body is still too fragile. Please make sure she’s eating enough, and no more excitement.”

The prince made a mental note and said, “Thank you. I’ll walk you out.”

“No need. My carriage is still parked out front. I’ll hurry off to my next patient. Just send a raven if the girl needs me again.” June curtsied, then briskly walked off.

The dragon prince put his hands on his hips, then exhaled slightly. He gently knocked on the door three times and walked into the chamber.