The Dragon And His Witch

FOUR

Seraphina and Drystan stood between the marble pillars in the middle of the terrace, facing each other. Seraphina's palm was joined with his between them as the priestess tied a silk thread around their joined hands.

"Don't stare too much, brother. You'll scare her away." Emyr whispered in Drystan's ear, making the dragon glare heatedly at him as Rosette covered her chuckles with a cough.

Seraphina, however, seemed oblivious to their exchange as her eyes remained cast on the floor with sorrow.

Caspian stood beside Krogon a few feet away from the couple as they watched the priestess begin to chant the marital verses. He could not help but feel a profound loss at the fact that Seraphina was going to have to sacrifice herself for the sake of her kingdom and her sister.

The two of them had grown up together and when his heart began to beat for Alondra, Seraphina was the first person he told about it.

And now, he had already lost Alondra in a way and was about to lose Seraphina as well. He could not imagine what would happen to her once she reached the Frost Kingdom in the north but he knew that it wouldn't be anything less than the hell that she went through in her own bed chambers because of King Krogon.

He could only pray that the gods would provide her with a mercy of a quick death.

The priestess began to mutter unifying enchantments as she held their joined hands together.

That was when Seraphina looked back up at Drystan and his heart thundered in his chest seeing the melancholy on her face.

To him, she looked so broken and shattered that he could not express if he had ever seen anything like it before.

Seraphina briefly gazed into Drystan's eyes before looking away. Tears stung in her eyes again and she had to look back on the ground to hide her face. Not that anyone would really care if they caught her crying on her wedding day. She had cried on worst occasions and no one had ever arrived for her aid.

Drystan could not see the girl looking so miserable but he knew that their union was imperative. But as of now, all he could do was look at her and hope that she would see remorse in his eyes for what he was doing to her.

But as the ceremony went on, Seraphina never once looked back at him.

Soon, the enchantments were completed and it was time for the vows.

"Princess Seraphina, do you vow to stay loyal to your husband from this day until your last?"

Seraphina finally looked back up at him as she nodded her head. In her bloodshot eyes, he saw truthfulness when she said, "I do."

"Do you pledge to come to his aid in need and be his joy in the dark hours?"

"Yes."

"Do you promise to never do anything that might hurt or threaten your husband's life?"

"I would never do anything to hurt his life."

Every word that came out of Seraphina's mouth felt like acid on her tongue. Here she was, telling the Dragon King that she was ready to walk into this marriage with him. That she would stay loyal to him. She could not help but feel the betrayal from her own self. When had she become so weak? Where did the warrior inside her go away?

Drystan Flameborn was a man famous for his cruelty. His Kingdom was most feared because it was known for the massacres. And he was the man who had led the war against the gods and witches all those centuries ago.

The war which had ended up with all magic being either gone or captured.

And now, he had chosen to wed her.

All because she was the first witch in the last five hundred years to have powers again.

She was a weapon and a threat to the king that she was going to marry.

Every child in Elyandria knew that witch magic was lethal to dragons.

Drystan wanted to keep her to himself to make sure that she would never be able to use her magic against him or the other dragon kings.

Or perhaps he wanted to take her to his kingdom and execute her to make a spectacle for his people.

She didn't know. But all she cared about at the moment was the fact that her sacrifice would mean good things for her kingdom and for her sister.

"Now, I would like to request, you, Your Majesty, that you put this around her neck." The priestess requested Drystan in a gentle voice and when Seraphina looked at her, she was holding a thin gold chain with a ruby hanging from it. She knew that beneath the gold plating, the metal was, in fact, silver: one of the few things in the world that could harm her.

The priestess unbound their hands as Drystan took the chain in his own.

Drystan looked at the chain strangely for a moment before nodding his head and taking it in his hands. His hands looked so big in comparison to the thin piece of jewelry that Seraphina wondered if his strength would break the chain.

The priestess then softly placed her hands on Seraphina's shoulders and moved her around so that she was standing with her back facing Drystan.

Slowly, Seraphina felt the metal of the chain hitting her collarbone and she had to scrunch her eyes shut to keep herself from whimpering in pain. She slightly bowed her head forward to hide her face from everyone but then she felt Drystan's hands stop at the nape of her neck.

His hands were around the clasp of the chain he was meant to place around her neck but when he saw a dark liquid staining the auburn hair at the base of her neck, he was forced to stop.

He slowly placed his fingers in her tresses and when he retracted her hand, his fingertips were red.

"Are you injured, princess?" He asked in a low murmur so that only she could hear him. His face was close to her ear as he spoke from behind and he could have sworn that a shiver went through her when his hands rested on her shoulders.

She slowly shook her head, furrowing her brows, "no, I'm not." She answered.

"Then why are you bleeding from the back of your head?" He asked, sounding a little agitated. That caused his words to be caught by the king Krogon's ears.

"Oh, it is probably just her silver circlet, my King." Krogon said, stepping forward with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Silver?" Rosette questioned warily, looking between the princess standing in front of her brother and her brother who looked like he was going to murder someone.

Krogon's grin widened, "oh, of course, Your Highness. I had it made for her especially after it was confirmed that she would be your wife." He said proudly looking at Drystan. "You wouldn't want to have her prancing about your kingdom with her veins full of magic, would you? This will keep her magic intact for as long as you want and help you control her better."

Drystan's lip curled back in anger as a snarl ripped through his mouth making Krogon step back in shock and fear. However, before Drystan could speak, Emyr placed his hand on his elder brother's arm cautiously.

"Not here, brother." Emyr reminded him, "not right now."

That seemed to calm Drystan momentarily until he looked back down at the slight blood seeping to the nape of her neck.

"Does it hurt?" He asked her lowly again, bringing her out of her thoughts.

Seraphina only shook her head as Drystan clasped the necklace around her neck and turned her back around to face him.

She was forced to look into his eyes for a moment and he saw emptiness shining in her orbs.

"With the blessings of the gods, I now announce this union complete." The priestess stated and celebrations broke around them all as people cheered in joy and some out of necessity.

Emyr and Rosette stood quietly but Seraphina stole a glance at the platinum haired woman and she knew that she wanted to get out of Elyandria the moment she could.

Drystan gave her a short nod that she reciprocated before they were standing side by side while the people of her uncle's court congratulated them.

For a moment, Seraphina took in a deep breath and pretended that she had just married the man of her dreams and not a feared monster. She pretended that her parents were still alive to bless her special day. For a moment, all was right in the world.

But that was until Krogon approached them and her face fell again. Drystan noticed that but didn't speak. However, he did take a short step towards her, as if to stand between her and Krogon.

She kept her gaze stoic as her uncle stopped in front of them.

"No one could be happier than I for this day. I am truly honoured that you have blessed this kingdom with such—"

Drystan interrupted the man, "no need to trouble yourself, Krogon. Your settlement will arrive shortly. I'm a man of my word."

Seraphina would have laughed at her uncle's face on being interrupted by Drystan if his words hadn't caught her off-guard.

"What settlement?" She questioned her now husband.

Krogon shot her a glare, "Seraphina!" He scolded, "how many times do I need to remind you that this is not your place to ask such questions?"

Seraphina gave him a fierce look but did not speak when she saw his rage in his eyes. Instantly, she was reminded of who he was and she looked down to the ground. "Forgive me, my King." She said softly to Drystan.

Drystan rolled his eyes, "you have nothing to apologize for." He snapped at her, making her wince. Hiding his guilt, he turned back to Krogon, "apologize to her."

Krogon's eyes widened and Seraphina looked up surprised.

"My king—"

"I will not ask again." Drystan hissed and Krogon instantly regretted his existence.

He turned to his niece, "forgive me, Seraphina. I should not have said that." He stuttered out. She almost found it comical but she did not have it in her to speak.

"That isn't how you will address my queen, Krogon. Address her by her title and apologize again." Drystan stated and Emyr and Rosette watched amnused as all colour drained from Krogon's face.

"Forgive me....your...Majesties." He croaked out.

Drystan smirked and Seraphina had to raise her eyes to his face to see it. He was enjoying this too much.

"Good, now leave us." Krogon scurried off and when Caspian passed from in front of them, he gave Seraphina a forlorn look which was caught by Drystan's eyes.

"Your lover?" Drystan asked her abruptly in a low voice.

Her eyes widened as she looked at him like he had grown two heads. "No, of course not!" She gasped before controlling her shock at the sudden question, "he's my elder sister's betrothed." She clarified. "We all grew up together. He's the closest thing I have to a brother."

Drystan seemed somehow pleased with the idea and nodded his head before furrowing his brows again. "Where's your sister then?"

At that, he watched Seraphina's face go pale as she began to fidget with the rings on her hand, "she's...away."

Drystan knew that she wouldn't reveal more than that, so he nodded his head. "To answer your previous question," he began again and she looked at him curiously, "Krogon made a settlement that in exchange for this wedding, he would get five of my strongest dragon warriors."

Her expressions grew glum for a moment before she shook her head as a bitter smile appeared on her lips.

"What happened?" He asked softly.

She looked at him with burning daggers in her eyes, "I'm just glad to find that I'm worth five dragons."

And he knew from her tone that she was anything but pleased with the news.