The Dragon Prince's Obsession

SEVEN

First, I had to get out of here. Next, I had to sleep. No, those orders had to be reversed. Or occur together. I would be most gracious to whoever could remove me from this place while I slept. At this point, I would like for someone else to remove me from this place. I would not even put up a fight. This man was mental and I had to get away from his madness. But first I had to sleep. And before I slept, I had to clean.

My duties, it seemed, could not spare me a reprieve.

His castle was filthy. Absolutely disgusting. Creepy. Disturbing. I could go on but my mind could not hold on to so many ideas for long. The bastard had left me all alone to go kill witches. He would not make it back. I knew it. The witches were not holding back this time. Their time to shine had come and they would blind us with their dazzling magic. He could be dead even while I tried to make space for myself in his castle.

That's right. I was cleaning. But unlike the work I did for the Tor Drakis, this one, I did for myself. I needed a place to lay my head and save from his unmade bed, no other place here could be inhabited.

I checked.

Each room, some of which had no doors, no windows and suspicious holes in the wall, had something more terrifying than the first. One had cobwebs so thick, I still shook out some of it from my hair. Another had something suspiciously like human bones.

The front door would not unlock. Save from jumping out a window, I could not find a way out. My alternative was to clean. I cleaned to de-stress. Usually, I cleaned up after Olivia. Only she could make me stressed enough to need de-stressing.

Today, I cleaned up the least uninhabitable room in this dusty old place. The whole thing should not be habited but I chose the less likely to have a bird fly in and s**t on me or a ghost coming to stare at me.

He caught me mid-yawn.

"What are you doing?" I jumped a foot in the air, my yawn turning to a choke, broom clattering to the ground and hand flying to my chest.

"I am cleaning," I answered, picking up the broom again. He lived yet. Colour me surprised. He had no bruises and no bloodstain. I could not decide whether to feel relief or disappointment. "And you did not go to seek out the witches, after all."

"No, I did not. Evil is not as predictable as you think." He stepped into the room and it became too small. "Why are you cleaning?"

"Because you failed to." I gathered more piles of dirt. "Evil is predictable. You went to see Lucille to ruin my point but one cannot call concern for kin, evil."

After I had a good sleep, I would be more mindful of how I spoke to this man. For now, I would stand on my conviction that he would not kill me. At least, not yet. He did save my life. He did bring me here. I tended to run my mouth but it had not cost me my life as at now. He could be too tired to smother me but either way, I was grateful to all the gods that lived that I still lived.

"Adela." I stopped pretending to gather more dust as I faced him. I had gotten him angry. "Why are you cleaning?" I gulped, holding the broom with a tight fist. He took a small step forward. In response, I walked to the other side of the room. I would have run but I remembered. My best friend, after all, was a dragon. Running meant getting chased.

"I thought – You seemed rather offended when I stayed with you..." I trailed off, still clutching the broom like my life depended on it. How much damage could a broom do to a red dragon before it destroyed me?

"So you picked out a room for yourself." He finished, voice on a flat note. I would give anything to have the power to read minds at this point. "So certain I would not snap your neck before night falls." He mused, scoffing. "Very well. When you finish with this, there are thirteen other rooms that need cleaning." He turned to leave.

"Hey, I am not some sort of –" He faced me again. " -servant. " I shut up.

"You are, Adela. Take this as an extension of your service to my brother."

"But you have nothing for cleaning. Why – No, I am not cleaning after you." My words were followed by a yawn that took away from my seriousness.

"No?"

"Not unless you get cleaning supplies and start paying me, no."

"You drive a hard bargain but –" He pretended to think. When red eyes shifted back to me, I squared myself for an argument or mutilation. I hoped for the latter but considering my luck, I could be dead in a second. "I can let you live as payment."

"You drive a terrible bargain. My life is not yours to give as payment." I yawned.

"It does not –" He stiffened. Then let out a string of what I assumed to be curses, stalking away.

Well, the room could not get any cleaner. For that, I would need water, soap, floor rags and a bunch of other things that he did not have. I would also require a p*****t that he did not have. I put clean linen on the bare bed after beating a bit of the dust out of it. The clean linen would not be considered clean outside of this castle but I ignored that fact. The cobwebs I could reach were gone. I carried the broom and dustpan with me to dispose of when I stumbled upon Blaze.

In an instant, my tongue tied up, my legs locked and my breathing turned sharp. God, it had been two years but I had not gotten any closer to getting over this dragon. My infatuation with him seemed to get worse with every second.

The King's general, First and only friend, Blaze had the sweetest voice ever known to mankind and Drakii alike. If I put all my favourite things together, they would not make me feel as good as I did when Blaze spoke. And when he looked at a person, with his oddly intense gaze, it was hard for a girl like me not to go under.

I did not fancy dragons. They threw their weight around too much. They whored around and most of them loathed my kind but Blaze had to be a shiny exception. He did not throw his weight any more than he whored around. He did not seem to mind humans but then again, how would I know? He barely spoke, making a person work to hear the beauty of his voice. He was a quiet man but I did not care. I could stare at his artfully carved face all day long. And when he chose to speak, I would bless the heavens for such an ethereal voice.

"She is standing right there." He gestured to me. I sighed. Then shook my head to regain some sort of sense. He made me senseless. I would not deny it. I loved this man. I was crazy about him. Mad crazy. And he just pointed at me. I squealed a bit before shaking my head.

They were talking about me.

Mikhail turned to glare at me before backing me again. "Indeed she is. Would you look at what the cat dragged in?" Then he walked to stand beside me. Me with the pile of dust and old broom, trying to keep my thoughts clear.

"She is in the service of the Tor Drakis. You have no rights to her." He stated, his rich voice washing over me like cool water after a day of toil in the sun. I knew it made no sense. No part of my obsession with him made any sense but I pretended for a minute that he had come to rescue me from this beast.

"I never claimed rights to her, Mister First. But you have no rights to her either so tell me why are you intruding in my home?" Blaze looked around the place. I did too. It did not merit the title of home but we held our retorts.

"She is under service to the Tor Drakis and she must be returned."

"Well now, I am not a borrowed blade to be returned."

"You heard her. She is not a borrowed blade to be returned." Mikhail parroted.

"But I agree with Blaze. I must continue my service to –"

"Shut up." I shut up. "Mister First, you have overstayed your welcome." He leaned against a pillar. "Remind me if I ever granted you an invite – No need. I remember. I did not. Leave before my brain starts to spark."

And there it was. The threat that we had been waiting for all along. A sparking brain. Whatever that meant, it sounded dangerous. Blaze stood up straighter.

"What do you want to do, Big Boy? Fight for your master's servant? Leave now. Before I decide I want your blood decorating my floor." I shivered.

Blaze turned to me, his expression tight. He could not fight Mikhail. Well, he could. But no one in their right mind would choose to fight the Prince of Damnation. Only the King's strength could match his madness and even the King never wanted him around.

"Lucille is distraught, Adela." Holy Mary. My name never sounded better coming from any other's lips. I sighed with no shame whatsoever. After two years, I would not deceive myself to think he had not figured out my infatuation with him. "You must come with me." I took a step forward, letting the broom drop beside me, only to find a hand stretched to block my path.

"I think not." He rose from resting on the pillar. "You are starting to piss me off. One last chance, little birdie. Fly away." He advanced on Blaze who did not back down.

Could there be hope? Did he – He never gave any sign but he always wore a blank expression. But could I even imagine, after dreaming for so long, that he could maybe like me, a tiny bit? Why else had he come for me? I did not expect anyone to notice my absence bar Lucille but Blaze had come. I felt hope bloom in my chest.

We could name our son Blaze.

"Very well. But I do not have to remind you that the king – our king would not appreciate you stealing from him. Even you must remember the reward for theft." He turned his back. He did so too soon.

Mikhail was upon him before I could blink, hijacking him by his throat.

"You son of a –" He took a deep breath and let him drop. "You did not come here. Even if you did, she is not here. Understood?" I realized it was the first time I ever saw him breathe smoke. And he breathed a lot of it. He had a lot of anger bristling inside him. Yet, I never saw him lose control of it.

"No." Blaze rubbed his throat. "I do not understand." As the King's general, he could not back off so easily but still, I admired his courage. I would have jumped out of the window were our places reversed.

"Well, let me spell it out for you." He said, emotions controlled. "Think of how mad our dear king will be if he hears of how often you have his precious little sister beneath you." I choked. "Exactly, then think of how mad I will be if you run your mouth."

He – he could not be bluffing. Not with how Blaze stiffened. Not with how fast the colour drained from his face.

"Very well." He straightened. He spared me no glance as he matched out. The ground shifted beneath me.