THE DRAGON'S ENCHANTED

A stranger at the banquet

Princess Avyanna froze, shocked at the gasp of everyone and the words she heard. Everyone was still staring at her and the whispers were loud enough for her to hear. They were not scared to talk about her the way they did. They seemed rather bold and she understood that it was because she was a girl. If a prince had walked in with all his power and might, they would be afraid to let the whispering get loud enough for him to hear.

But their words hurt, they called her cursed and unnatural, mostly because of the color of her hair.

Ignoring them as she ought to, she started walking again, but their eyes lingered on her. Princess Avyanna tried telling herself that it was because they had not seen her before, or she was just too beautiful to behold. Or maybe that was why they gasped and even started whispering from all corners. But she heard them loud enough to know she was lying to herself.

"Her hair is unnatural, she might be cursed"

"Get away from her, she might be cursed"

Her stomach was tied into a knot and her eyes burned with tears as her body ran cold. Her fingers tingled and felt cold just like they always did when she was angry or in pain. Of all she was expecting, of all the panicking and the nervousness, she wasn't expecting her people to talk about their princess the way they did. Being locked up in the castle for so many years only to be welcomed like this was like giving her poison that would kill from burning her heart slowly. But she was a princess, a strong one at that, who could easily adjust. She lifted her chin and straightened her shoulders even more, then she looked ahead, only staring at the king and queen. While blocking off the whispering and murmurings from the crowd like they weren't there in the first place.

As she got closer to her parents, she saw someone rather peculiar, standing behind her father. A woman, beautiful and elegant, like a queen would look. From her distance, she saw this woman staring at her like she wanted to look into her soul. And from that distance, she could feel the power that radiated out of her. Princess Avyanna could tell that this woman was no queen, queens couldn't be that powerful, and queens were simply human, mere humans.

The age where elves and fairies were, had long disappeared from the face of the realm, but from her look, she knew exactly what she was.

She had a black cloak on, that flowed to the ground. Her hair was raven black and her skin flawless and beautiful. A black staff that shone brightly from a distance like it was made up of perfect gems. Her face looked like it was sculpted by one of the gods because she was perfect and beautiful in her not too big stature.

A witch she was, only witches had staffs according to what she was taught. She had never seen one, basically because she was locked up and would not be seen by anyone except maids and guards that walked in the castle alone.

But she knew a witch when she saw one. They were all women of virtually the same size. They all had black Raven hair and all look like their faces had been sculptured by the gods themselves. They were the seers of their time, the only species left with any form of magic after the great darkness that wiped away the rest of the species. Being the only ones with magic, they were higher in rank, they were caretakers of humans. Thereby, called seers, they were also kingmakers and had powers no one else had.

She was happy to see an immortal being, who had lived for centuries and would continue living till she break the laws that govern them then get stripped of her powers by the gods, or maybe when she get tired of living, they could choose another younger female whom they would transfer their magic too.

All she was taught, all she read, she never thought one could look so beautiful and perfect as the woman with the black cloak. The stories didn't do justice to them.

When she got in front of the king, she forced her gaze away from the seer and bowed to the king and queen. Before she got up king Caldor also did the same. He turned to the crowd who had all come to see what his princess looked like, while she also turned around to face them. Some of them looked disgusted by her, some of them stared at her lustfully but would probably be beheaded if they were caught. The women in their midst, stared at her with jealousy while some looked at her fearfully.

"People of Hae" the king, her father started.

"Years ago, I had been without a child. Not an heiress, not an heir. It took so long but the gods finally answered us and you and blessed us with a daughter. That same daughter was kept away from you but now she's mature enough to be seen by all. I present, my daughter, my prized possession, princess Avyanna of Haenada" he said raising his voice in pride and appraisal.

" All hail Princess Avyanna of Haenada" they chorused and bowed.

She smiled faintly at everyone, suddenly realizing what power was. Most of them hated her already, some were jealous, some felt she was cursed and yet, they all bowed to her in fear. She liked it.

The celebration continued with music and dancing, some ate and some just talked while she took her seat beside her mother and watched in blurry gaze. Her excitement, her happiness, and the joy she was supposed to derive on that day had completely vanished.

She was sitting on her mini throne watching everyone when someone walked into the banquet. All eyes turned to the person and the music stopped playing immediately. It was a woman, she also wore a cloak above her milk-colored gown. She had a staff, but unlike the other seer princess Avyanna had seen, this one looked longer and priceless. It was of emerald color and it glowed a glassy glow.

Everyone slowly started moving out of her way as she approached the king. The fear was present in the air and the princess could see as husbands held their wives and wives held their daughters.

She was a seer too but there was something different about this seer that got everyone scared. And the raw power the princess felt from her was different, it was more overwhelming than the first.

Not knowing why the two seers could be different, she turned to her mother. The crowds were not the only scared ones in the hall. Her mother, queen Aleera seemed to have lost all the color on her face as she openly gaped at the seer. Princess Avyanna immediately turned to the king, he wasn't pale but she understood the way he shifted uncomfortably and silently on where he sat. She immediately understood that there was something more she wasn't aware of and decided to watch.

When the seer arrived in front of the king, she stamped her staff into the ground and the princess immediately opened her mouth in awe when she realized that the staff didn't leave a hole on the floor. Instead, it could be seen that the place the staff stood tall lost its hardness and gave the illusion of muddy water.

"King Caldor, you look well" the seer who just walked in said to the king and took off the hood of her cloak. Revealing raven black hair and someone more beautiful that the seer beforehand.

"Nyssa, you came," the king replied dryly and the seer smiled. Then princess Avyanna recognized who she was.

Nyssa, the most powerful witch from the beginning of time, was the head seer that controlled the other kingdoms and the other seers alike. The princess understood the fear and the silence including the reason for her powerful aura. She had heard stories.

"I had to see the princess for myself Caldor. Of course, I wasn't going to miss it," she said and turned in the direction of the queen. When her eyes caught the face of a princess who was sitting beside her mother.

Nyssa's eyes widened in utter disbelief and gaped at the princess-like she had seen a ghost.

"Elysia" she called out in a hushed tone while the princess gaped at her.

"Avyanna is her name Nyssa," Queen Aleera chipped in, pulling the seer out of her spell. She turned to the queen, then the king, and back at the princess who was staring at her with confusion.

"Avyanna" the witch repeated unsure and almost to herself, then smiled faintly before she walked and stood in front of the princess.

The seer stared at the princess with brown eyes and the Princess stared back at her with her amber-colored eyes, unwavering. When the seer was done, she shook her head and smiled.

"Welcome back," she said to the princess half-smiling and turning back to the king.

Avyanna stared at her back as she walked towards her father. She saw the way she smiled, it wasn't genuine, it felt forced and her eyes seemed angry. It made her wonder why the seer would act the way she did towards her.

For some time, Avyanna thought about what happened with Nyssa, the great and powerful witch but those thoughts didn't get a milestone when mother called out to her.

"Why don't you go on and dance?" Queen Aleera pointed out to her daughter.

"Ohh! I'm fine, don't worry about it" the princess protested. No one had asked her for dance yet and she preferred it that way.

"Avyanna, all this is for you. Now get off your high horse and go dance with your people" the queen was relentless.

"Mother, allow them to have the dance floor, I am fine here," Princess Avyanna said stubbornly to the queen. She wasn't sure of what might happen if she stepped into that dance floor. And something told her she didn't want to know what it might be.

"Avyanna" her father called out to her.

"Listen to your mother and go have a dance," he said.

"But father..."

"Go on Avyanna, they are your people...at least for now and they won't bite," he said and smiled at his daughter.

When princess Avyanna realized she wasn't going to win against her both parent. She stood up and slowly walked over to the dance floor. When people noticed her, they slowly started walking away with their dance partners leaving the floor empty.

The music changed, stating that it was for the princess alone and she looked around. Knights, dukes, men, women, lord, and a lot more people stared at her. She swallowed hard and kept her perfect face, before looking around to pick a dance partner. She noticed that anyone whom she stared at for long while considering him as a dance partner would suddenly move back a little. She saw women hold their husbands, mothers hold their sons and women cling to their betrothed.

Her heart broke again and all she wanted to do was turn away because they were treating her like a demon but she wasn't. She turned to a man who had been staring at her for a while and smiled faintly at him.

"Would you mind dancing with me?" She asked him the moment she walked over to him and his eyes widened in excitement.

"Of course your highness" he bowed while stretching his hand.

She placed her hands in his and the image of green glowing eyes appeared in her head, making her stiffen.

"Are you all right?" The man she had picked asked.

"Yes, sure..." She simply said while she could feel the beat of her heart increase.

Without hesitation, he led her to the dance floor, raised her hands to his lips, and kissed it. That green eye appeared in her head again and she pulled her hands away from the lips of the man, panicking and having an urgent need to leave.

The music became louder. The man placed his left hand on her waist while she placed her right hand on his shoulder. Then they both held their hands and started dancing.

"I must say, your beauty is beyond this world your highness" the man started. His breath smelling of alcohol and fish almost choked her. But she forced herself not to wrinkle her nose in front of him.

"Thank you..my...."

"Lord, lord Belton" he introduced.

"I am from the Belton family, the owners of the boats and many farmlands in Hae..." He immediately started talking about his self-proclaimed riches as they danced along.

Avyanna tried to keep track of what he was saying but soon got lost as her mind traveled back to the man in her dreams.

"Who was he? What was he? What did he want? Why was she seeing him? And why did she feel this way?" Where questions she asked herself but still found no answers to them.

Exhausted, she pushed the thought of him away and turned to lord Belton who was still talking about all he had.

"I'm sorry, why are you telling me all this?' she suddenly interrupted him and his face went pale.

"I'm sorry your highness, I just...." She pulled her arms away and completely stopped the dance.

"Thank you Lord Belton" she smiled faintly at him and was about to turn to her parents. So, she could finally leave when a hand drew her by her arm, making her hit her body against him.

"How dare you?" She yelled and raised her hands against the stranger's left cheek, slapping him. He didn't have the right to touch her that way, no one did and she was in no mood to be a proper lady anymore.

The crowd gasped and the music stopped. Then she realized she was facing a man with a black cloak and a hood that covered most of his face.

"Guard," Avyanna could hear her father call out. She wanted to do more to the stranger but thought against it because it was a banquet and she would rather leave. So she turned around, backing the stranger while guards ran towards her. But a sudden hold on her neck stopped her. Her back was forced against the same man and his hand clung to her throat.

Cold ran down her spine and her fingers tingled but this wasn't just cold from being angry or pained or panicked, this had something else to it. The guards were running to her while she was about to use her elbow against his ribs when a dagger immediately touched her neck and everybody froze.