A long silence followed the Princess' entrance, but this time, the audience was in awe rather than awkward. Cessilia distinguished herself easily not only by her impressive dress and lack of jewelry, but by the intriguing dark scales visible on her wrists and hands. Those scales were so dark, for a minute, many thought they had been drawn with soot. However, with each movement of the Princess' hands, those dark scales would move along, as if to confirm they were genuine. It was as if she had humanoid reptilian hands... and it was both mesmerizing and scary.
The one more stunned than anyone was the King himself. He hadn't taken a step from where he stood, but all of his body was leaning forward, as if held back by some invisible restraint. He was breathing heavily, too, and a frown had ap
