Hers to tame

2: Tomorrow

Gwax was not prepared for the Princess to attempt attack. Keyword attempt. She dodged his claws and held his hand in place, turning him around, his hand behind his back. She was a tall woman so that was barely any difficulty.

Her hand was glowing a bright Amber and she was targeting his neck. The bright Amber was witch's magic. There was no way a royalty could be a witch so that could only mean one thing. She was responsible for the poisoning of the king, getting help from a witch. Gwax thought.

That brought a smirk to his face. Without thinking twice, he let himself free from her hold. "Don't h..hurt me." He cowered down on one knee.

Gae furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Don't hurt me." He said in the same shaky voice. He let the hood of his cloak down.

Gae's eyes widened and she withdrew use of the amber magic, restoring her hand to its casual state. She had just met a god in real life. This man was gorgeous and did things to her body that was supposed to exist only in her fantasies.

"I thought I'd seen an evil creature, I'd been attacked multiple times on my way here. I'm just a hungry man from a kingdom far away." He explained, still on his knee.

Gae had never met a man so shy before. The men in her life, ranging from her brothers to the guards and even the servants who had all been trained with confidence, this man amused her.

"Why are you walking all by yourself in the garden?" She maintained her frown. She wasn't letting her guard down.

"I have nowhere to go, and nothing to eat." He confessed.

It was that moment that Gae got a brilliant idea. This was a quicker step to getting what she wanted. If she married a man who was desperate for shelter and food, she would have a right over the throne, to rule as queen, a step ahead because of her marital status. She would of course break up with him when the time came.

"How about I offer you a deal in exchange for your problems?" She asked with a smirk, extending one hand to him.

Gwax looked at her hand warily, looking up at her once more before receiving her gesture, standing to his feet. "What offer if I may ask?"

"What's your name?" She requested, folding her arms across her chest.

He couldn't tell her his real name, she would know it was from the dragon empire and would smite him immediately. Falkor had taken his ashy dragon scent from him a few days before so there was no way to tell unless he shifted into his dragon form.

"Alex." He lied.

"Alex." Gae smiled and went on one knee while he watched in confusion. "Will you marry me?"

Gwax had never met a princess so gullible. Why would she ask for marriage especially when they only met two minutes ago. How could she put her trust in a complete stranger? What were her motives?

"I know it sounds strange but I need your help." Gae continued as if her actions were not strange at all. "My father has been poisoned, it's only a matter of days before he passes away. I want to be queen, I want to fulfil my lifetime dream and I need a groom by my side before attention can be given to me."

So she did poison the king after all. He thought to himself.

A smirk played on his lips and with an affirming nod, he responded, "what do I need to do?"

*

The security guards were still absent at the Palace gates when Gae returned with a stranger she had only met a few minutes ago. She knew it was wrong but a part of her convinced her otherwise.

Gwax took careful steps behind this woman. For all he knew it could be a trap.

The road from the palace gates to the main entrance of the castle was dressed with a maze of tall grass on both sides. Even in the moonlight, he could tell there were numerous trees in here. The palace was over a hundred acres, enough space for an attack to happen.

Inside the castle hallway, one could not tell it was night outside. A million light bulbs illuminated the room from wall to ceiling to floor. The floors were white marbles and the walls and ceilings, a glistening gold. Paintings hung from left to right, faces of a hundred different people.

"Don't be afraid." Gae took her hood off and shook her head hard so her hair would fall in place. It was best to calm her shy guest.

Gwax stopped walking in that moment. For the first time, he could make out what she looked like. The blonde had the ends of her hip length hair curled uniformly. She had green eyes that spoke to his soul and her thick eyebrows were arched to perfection. Her lips were red, he found it strange because she had no make up on and all of a sudden, the sweet lemon fragrance that filled the air seem to be connected to her.

He only nodded in response, hoping his shock was not evident.

Gwax paid no attention to the route they took, the rooms they walked by even when he should be doing so. His dragon was scoffing internally but he ignored it. All he could think about was how could one woman be so beautiful?

His thoughts faded upon arrival at a wooden door, ceiling to floor in length.

Gae turned the metallic knob and revealed the bright room. Silence followed their entrance.

Over twenty people were sitting beside the unconscious King laid on a red mat.

"Gae!" One woman stood to her feet sharply, walking towards them. "Where on earth have you been? Your father just passed out and... who is this man?" She gasped, now noticing Gwax's presence.

"No time for that mother. Mother, everyone." Gae began, "this is Alex, and we are getting married first thing in the morning."

"What?!" The third queen blurted out the same time Gwax asked, "tomorrow?"