The Dragon King's Obsession

NINE

I watched for her shy smile to transition into villainous laughter after she spoke but she remained standing, gazing upon me with innocent eyes.

I lifted my chin in defiance. It would be no surprise that the beasts had found a new way to toy with me. What were they playing at and why? Why would the princess care to break me away from her crazy brother if it was not a game?

“Why?”

She looked to Adela but the servant girl only shrugged. “Someone has to apologize for my brothers.” She cleared her throat. “You must be having a dreadful time locked up here and Addy tells me you have refused all your meals.”

My stomach growled as she spoke. I recollected the sumptuous meals at the table that I had passed up on due to the king's drama. She grinned as though to say ‘ah ha!’

“You want to help me escape your brother?” I clarified. Her dark olive skin lost colour and she stepped back.

“Goodness, of course not!” She exclaimed. “By my father’s blood, I would not think to steal from my brother. Even I would not be spared from his wrath.” Her words sucked all the budding hope in me like a vacuum.

“I understand how Nico’s overprotective nature can be smothering. He never lets me out without an entourage so I learnt to sneak out. I hoped you would want to step out for a while before he gets back.” A blossom of hope spread in my chest again. I could break free of her and find my way home!

“Okay.”

The dilemma was our means of getting out. She offered to shift and my response was a sick shade of green. I felt lightheaded from the thought of being up in the air. I had developed a dreadful fear of heights.

“This is a riskier option, Mystique,” Lucy whispered, throat bobbing. “Do not forget to walk with your head held high and do not speak to any guards if stopped. I shall do the talking.” Apprehension put a bitter taste on my tongue.

We stepped out of the room with our chin in the air and our elbows intertwined. Adela giggled at a joke no one told and the man that had chaperoned me to breakfast this morning pushed off of the wall beside the door and followed us.

“A –are you coming with us?” Adela murmured. Her eyes were blown wide with pink coloured cheeks and a breathless voice. Lucy found something fascinating about her gold rings.

“I go wherever she goes.” The man’s voice washed over me, soft and silky. I never paid him any mind but as his voice caressed me, I knew why the others were behaving strangely. It was like silk and melted chocolate and a soft breeze.

“B – but Nico says we are allowed to go out for a short while,” Lucy muttered. The man looked like he would first believe I would hug him than that. He said nothing to protest our leaving though.

“I have my orders from the king. I am her shadow.” He answered. He did not try to halt us but his presence put the girls in a much docile mood.

“Halt!” I screeched to a stop. Two hefty men, built like tanks stood at the exit to the castle. We had made it this far with only a few double takes that dissolved once they saw the man walking behind us.

“Who are you to issue me an order?” Lucy’s voice turned to an impressionable replica of her brother’s. I could not reconcile the sweet girl from earlier with the dragon princess gnashing her teeth.

“My lady, you are not to leave the castle without your guards!” The first guard said.

“Do you see the king’s General behind me or are you being rude for no reason?”

The man spluttered, muttering some more nonsense while the king’s General remained silent and aloof. Then we were free to leave, Lucy flouncing off with her nose in the air.

Cold seeped into my bones in no time. Adela wore a simple jacket over her worn dress, used to the weather. I, on the other hand, had my teeth chattering with lips blue in no time.

“Oh, dear. Let’s buy you a coat.” Lucy pulled me along. My limbs continued to freeze, making it almost impossible to walk. Fortunately, we stumbled across a shop with a display of colourful fur coats on a short while.

The shop was run by a dragon with a human assistant. Unlike the big and hulking dragons I had encountered at the king’s castle, this one was a dishevelled and rumpled man. He wore shopworn clothes on his raggedy frame, standing at a height an inch shorter than Lucy’s.

His assistant bristled around to make me a hot beverage while we sat inside his small shop. “You must be new to the mountains, girl. I too made this mistake once. Here is your beverage. Careful now, I put in some whiskey to hasten its effect.”

Minutes later, slight warmth returned to my fingers and we were ready to leave.

“How much?” Lucy asked. Adela hung back towards the guard that stood like a dark cloud over the business.

“Free!” The shop owner beamed. “We received a gift from the gods so we too are giving.”

“Oh? What did you receive?” Lucy asked in her usual cheery voice.

Adela let out a strangulated cry as the man emerged from a rack of fur coats with a gleaming diamond chain.

“What did you do?” She exclaimed, staring at the trader’s hands.

“Nothing, my dear.” He answered the question that she meant for me. “On my way here today, this fell from the heavens into my hands! I want to give as I have received.”

“That came from the king’s horde!” Adela exclaimed, stepping into the shop. The poor man almost bucked off the necklace.

“I had no idea!” He cried, setting down the jewellery. “I must return it! Oh, Pendragon, I shall be beheaded!”

“He gifted it to you, Mystique. What did you do with it?” Adela questioned.

“He gave from his treasures?” Someone in the shop whispered.

“I chucked it out and blessed this man.” I sniffed. I had no desire to give gifts to creatures as vile as dragons but this one seemed okay. Maybe it was due to his gait but I found myself mistaking him for a human.

He would not accept it but I would not take it. I saw the greed in his eyes as the sparkle of the jewellery ensnared him. He spiralled into a blubbering mess when I proclaimed he could have it. Lucy and Adela stood mute beside me, my guard ruffled in shock.

“How have you ensnared him so?” Lucy whispered to herself, biting at her lips.

We walked out of the shop together, venturing south. The guard brought up the rear and the farther we walked, the more shops we encountered. We walked farther and ended up in the dragon’s version of Darkened alley.

A small wooden sign to my left, wind tussled and clawed had ‘Dracoberg’ scrawled on it.

“Welcome to Dracoberg,” Lucy grinned. I halted a step away from the bustle of the busy streets, marvelling at the wonder of the place. I had to say it was magnificent. “Those with smaller hordes have to make a living to increase their wealth. Here, you have our market.” Se added.

We walked further, passing both immaculately dressed people and obvious traders. Everything was beautiful, colourful merchandise was displayed at storefronts. There were jewellers next to the snack shops but all of them made sure to display only their brightest goods.

The shops were arranged in a circle and in the middle of it was a golden statue of a dragon. Its mouth was open as though to breath fire and in a second, flames spurted out. No one paid any mind as a little boy came out of it, giggling to himself.

There were four demarcations in the market, each opposite or adjacent to the next. On the demarcation to the south, there was nothing after the shops. Left were a cluster of shops and then more shops. For as far as I could see, there were only shops but taller buildings could be glimpsed in the distance. To my right were more castles but unlike the ones we had encountered while coming, these ones were not as magnificent.

The little boy from the statue ran around, greeting shop owners and getting strange-looking sweets from them. He seemed to be very popular among the traders and soon he was running at us.

“Princess Lucy!” He screeched, skidding to a stop before us. “You came out today!”

“Yes, Finnegan. I ventured out of the castle today. Any sweets for me?” She squatted down before him. He dipped his hands into his pocket and sweets spilt out. He offered one to all of us. Even my stoic shadow accepted, loosing his bland look and smiling down at the enigma.

The boy ran along after more discussions and unsolicited advice to Lucy.

We found a large tree that served as a tea shop to a man. There were three to four sets of chairs and stools around the tree trunk. Close by, the man had a cart where he made his tea.

“I’m sorry about my brothers,” Lucy began. She graciously accepted her cup of tea from the man while the rest of us waited for ours. “Especially Nico. He can be too much when he cares and it becomes hard to breathe around him but he means well.”

I had no words to spare her. Apologizing for her brother like I expected anything better from a bunch of beasts. I did not forget that her brother had bled his dragon and I was most curious about that and so I asked.

Adela looked surprised at my question. The guard stood behind me yet I knew his countenance must have changed. Lucy had the decency to look ashamed.

“Yes, Nico is different.” She muttered. Adela gave her a warning look. I accepted my cup of tea from the vendor while she waited for her turn. “He can both shapeshift and split his forms but –“

“Do not forget your companion is a human hunter, Lucille.” The man behind me injected, silencing the princess.

“Yes, but she has to know that –“ I took a sip of my tea, watching her closely. My eyes watered and I spat out the liquid as my tongue fried.

“Water!” I screeched. Passers-by and people sitting out turned to stare. A pitcher was shoved into my hand but the water seemed to ignite the flames. Chaos ensued from them on.

“Get some milk!” Hands gripped mine, stopping me from clawing away my throat. I wretched, throat on fire. My body felt like lava was about to erupt through my mouth. I threw the fur coat off my body.

“Oh dear goodness! I have no milk.” The tea man answered. There was no shred of care in his words. Adela continued to pour pitchers of water into my mouth.

“How can you run out of milk? You are a tea seller!” Lucy cried.

“You bastard!” My guard growled.

“Why would you give her dragon tea! You know she is not one of us!” Lucy exclaimed.

“Humans have no place amongst us, Princess!” He exclaimed in glee. “They are weaker, barbaric – It was only a small bit– Look how bad it got her! She –“

The air exploded around us. People scrambled upright at the sound of rage. Fear and the fire burning in my stomach made my heart explode along with the sound. The remaining glass of burning tea on the table burst open sending more of the liquid flying about. It touched my skin and the hair on my wrist sizzled.

The girls looked at each other and the otherwise calm dragon said.

“Bloody hell.”