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The Weight of the Crown (JellyFish & Greeneyed23)

While Ellen struggled to teach her Princess about seducing a man and tried to dissuade her from chasing Hama, the Dragon himself was startled. They were done. The training was complete. Of course they had started earlier and there had been two instructors but it came as a shock. It had been only four hours in her world since Aretha had kissed him and now he was free.

He gave Nila and her Elites some time to rest before they came out to meet the nations and decided to sue that time for himself.

Two minutes after leaving the Embassy he was at her door. he knocked and was met by an old woman. "Who...Lord Hama..."

He smiled and bowed. "Greetings. I have come to ask her lovely ladyship Princess Aretha to walk with me in the gardens."

Ellen blinked but held up a finger closing the door. She turned toward her Princess. "uh...he...he wants you to go walk with him. I...i advise you not try anything...let him lead things."
 
Aretha blew out a puff that resembled a dog's wolfish bark. "Let him lead? Now what fun would that leave me?" While Ellen had been speaking to her during the time, she had made sure the princess was properly dressed. Aretha was new playing with her hair, wondering exactly what she should do with it. Nothing seemed right, so she let it down. It had lost it's wild ruffle and now combed out. Aretha left Ellen worried and all the more upset. Aretha had never been before interested in men and found them slightly boring, but now here she was in a struggle of power between a dragon and herself.

Shutting the door behind her, she turned an expectant gaze to the lord. "I think you've given my maid a fright, my Lord. I don't think she'll be able to rest easy until I'm returned safely. Now you will take good care of me, won't you?", she teased.
 
He sniffed. "i plan on burning you into human steaks and eating you whole."

both of them could hear Ellen squeak in fright and he grinned offering his arm. 'i actually thought we could have a walk. And discuss that rather lovely kiss earlier." His eyes were unreadable but there was a hint of delight there. "Maybe even repeat it."

he lead them toward the gardens silently, letting her decide on a topic of conversation.
 
Holding onto his arm, she realized how much bigger her was in comparison. She gripped both arms around his, rubbing her face against him. "By the gods, he smells like heaven...", she thought lightly. When they had come inside of the garden, she pulled the lord to sit in the shade of a nearby tree.

"You wish to talk about the kiss...", she murmured aloud. "It was a thank you for being so kind to me while in the study. I'm sorry if it was short lasted, I don't tend to make it a habit to kiss on the daily." Aretha griped blades of grass from under her hand, pulling them up and tossing them to the breeze.

She had a lackadaisical feel about her, that would have put off any speaker and decide she no longer cared. "Besides I recall when we first met, you said you aren't one of my suitors. But then I wonder what make you still want a kiss?"

But the way she kept drifting her attention to the dragon lord, gave a different impression. "That was a rather quick training session, Lord Hama actually. I thought you would be away for a couple days still before you ever came to see me. What happened?"
 
"With two instructors it went much quicker. And we did start around the same time i did with Nila."

He reached over and gently gripped her hair and pulled her over into a deep passionate kiss the hunger in his lips clear. He held it for a long moment then released her smirking. "i am not open of your suitors because I will not be put off by your little games. As to kissing I would hazard a guess that i am the first and only to have a willing kiss from you."

His eyes blazed at her. "As to mine just now. It is because you are beautiful, passionate, and fiery woman who makes my scales tingle and my wings want to spread."
 
She laughed smoothly, astonished by the apparent boldness. "I'm not willing to divulge any satisfaction to simply just anyone. But you are one of those rare few." Aretha undaunted by the sly smile he held, took hold of his collar and drew him closer to her with a more than forceful jerk. Her mouth brushed against his, her eyes half-lidded in a burning strain. "Only the heavens know what exactly I want to do to you..", she breathed heatedly.

"But I have to wonder if there are any other certain places I can make tingle?" Her words held a suggestive humor that could easily be forgotten, as she moved her mouth from his lips, to his jaw, and finally to his neck. There was a agonizingly slow pace she had put to her motions, as if she dared him to try something. Her tongue flicked out against his skin, a playful sigh leaving her being as a single hand toyed with the buttons of his rope. "Do you still not like my games?", she purred.
 
He dipped his head forward and snaked his extra long tongue over her neck. "But of course. But what do you think of mine?"

He nibbled her neck lightly drawing close. his teeth were much sharper and far more numerous than hers but he was so very gentle and his breath was warm but rather sweet though in a very old and very comforting way, like the smell of old books.

he then gently pushed her back looking into her eyes. "This really isn't much of a walk." he then leaned in kissing her again nipping her lips lightly tugging her upper lip.

"my tail is already tingling. Do you really need more?"
 
Her arms betrayed her and moved to wrapped themselves around his neck, and an actual giggle escaping her as he played with her lips. But she was bothered by the space between them, even though they were already so close. Moving in such a way, she had placed herself in his lap quite comfortably. Pressing herself against him, there no longer remained any open air keeping her at a distance. Aretha opened her mouth slightly, a whimpering moan vibrating in her chest. She unclasped her arms, her soft hands traveling to his neck and winding her fingers into his hair and she tugs it tightly. Finding it an opportune time, she slipped her tongue into his mouth, grazing his teeth.

She wanted to hurt him or hold him or do anything to calm the whir of panic inside, unsure of her own actions and why she did them. The swirling emotions inside her made her deep naked and unsafe. It wasn’t a gentle, tentative kiss either, like it had been earlier. No, this kiss tasted of desperation and regret, of missing something, and needing him, and as she pulled him tighter. And for a second, she did nothing. Didn’t move, didn’t breathe. Just tried to understand exactly who this man was…

She placed her hands on the sides of his face, holding him to where she wanted. Her breathe was fast and uneven, only growing more panicked when she realized control was out of her grasp. She felt dizzy to the point where she wanted to pass out. Aretha could have sworn for a moment that she even forgot her own name. She'd even forgotten to answer his question.
 
Her movement onto his lap only made things easier as he wrapped his arms around her letting her feel the immense heat of him, the depthless power and strength of him, and the passion in him. he was always carefully gentle with her though and her own emotions were clear but he did not give into them.

He broke the kiss. "i am not a man Aretha. i am a Dragon. But I can be your Dragon if you so choose." His lips had not moved.

His head was so warm and his hair both felt so normal and so alien. It was hair but there was a strength to it that no human hair had ever had, and while he felt normal underneath all of that Aretha could feel the truth of him. She could feel the raspy of moving scales under her hands but also normal human skin.

He smiled at her and spoke his own breathing altered. 'Are you alright Your Grace?"
 
"I'm ..fine...", she whispered. He was so foreign to her and it made her nervous. Here he came to her in the form of a man but in all reality he was different. A dragon. She laid her head in the crook of his neck, still gripping his clothing as she paced herself. To think she found interest in someone so unlike her, when she could anyone she her wanted within her kingdom .

"Let me think about it..." That was all she could do. She needed to think about what she was doing and how it would affect her life. Aretha placed her hand softly against his chest, moving away from him. She seemed all too shaken as she forced herself to move from his lap. In fact, she didn't even bother to sit next to him. She stood up, brushing the winkles from her clothing.

"Lord Hama, if you wish to still take a walk I will gladly go with you. If not, I'll understand."
 
He stood and held his hand out toward the gardens to let her guide them as she willed. "I would like to walk with you milady. i have my own questions."

As they walked he spoke the first. "While you consider where we stand... i have one other mind cruncher for you."

He stopped her under a huge rose tree and reached up taking the bloom of a rose as green as his eyes. "Can you love someone who is not of your own kind? Never has been? I shall accept your choice no matter what it may be and I shall never speak of this without your leave. But before you take the step that leads to something more than us kissing you have to answer that question. Because if you cannot then it would be best we end this now." he held out the rose.

He said no more just watching her. Once again he was a statue of living stone. He would stand there until the end of time if he had to. His eyes watched her calmly but also openly and she realized that he had opened his eyes fully, all three lids pulled back, giving her the true choice. She could not love him, be with him, accept him fully unless she could survive his eyes. The cold depths of infinite time and knowledge that dwelt with them beckoned to her, requiring she pass through their fires before reaching those of Hama himself. because that was what it was to love a Dragon. To pass through fires few have dared and return with your mind and life and knowledge beyond mortal life. The changes that would be wrought to Aretha and her mind were plain to see in his eyes. The deep magic of his kind stood at once deadly threat and soothing comfort.

Which would she choose? The rose and her Dragon? Or flight to never know what might have been.
 
Aretha was startled by this but her reaction could not be seen. If anything she seemed to be calculating the rose held to her. She just said to give her time and barely a few moments had passed and he basically offers himself to her. Under normal circumstances in which someone would do this, she should have outrightly said no. But the word wasn't anywhere near her mind nor mouth. 'Yes', tickled her tongue shamelessly, she could feel the sound of it build in her voice. But would her parents even approve? What of the people who looked up to the royal family and saw this? Most would think she had tainted her families name.



A rattled sigh passes her lips and she swallowed. This would be her choice and hers alone, nothing and no one would dictate her. She gingerly took the rose, brushing her hand against the smooth stem and thorns and raised her eyes to answer him.



She found she couldn't breathe for the second time that day. She felt herself fall, but somehow it wasn't falling. It honestly is a difficult concept to understand, and she herself didn't know why she was being dragged into an eternal darkness. Fear raged in her and she wanted to cry out, but no sound could be heard. Finally she stopped. Being as to where she stopped was all to confusing for her. She looked to herself, just as a precaution and ... nothing. Her body wasn't there but a mere shape of light of what used to be her arm. She brushed out a hand, gasping to her surprise. She just passed though herself!

If only she had something to grasp onto maybe her heart, or if she even had a heart, would stop pounding it's ridiculous beats. This was when she looked around and saw that she wasn't anywhere. It was a simple murky, black that clutched the space around her. Nothingness.

At first she thought herself to be in a nightmare of some sort, but a voice shook her. The words she couldn't comprehend nor was it a language she knew of. It seemed so ancient and fathomless, forcing her into a spike of wakefulness. She felt like a child who wanted to run beneath their bed and curl into a ball, pretending that the monster who lurked in their bedroom would go away after nor finding her.

She thought it was over after the voice ceased. But a brightness that could never be explained filled her vision and made her ache in pain. Stars, so many stars. The same light the assisted the moons as night would fall open her homeland. The same light she would gaze up at, in a wonder only she could feel. Then the sun made it's grand entrance. Radiance that glowed and heated the day, heightened the path of hidden planets she could never see in starlight. Seventeen of which she was taught in long classes with her siblings, teachers who looked bored and uninterested in the subjects they spoke of. But she squinted, spotting two she never thought would exist.

Glancing through the spinning orbs of different colors and sizes, she fell upon her own, covered in the depths of deep waters. She marveled at the blue gem, that shimmered distinguished among the others. She observed Fital, her home rise from the oceans and form itself into a beauty that only so few would ever see. A mountains peak, groaned as it awakened from it's earth, stretching for the heavens themselves. This was Ethlberg, in it's cleanest and purest form. She then came to realize the land was immense in it's size. Stretching so far, she lost sight of it's end. But the side of her world, where no land existed was pitch dark and only sea. She shivered, now knowing that it would be easy for vast oceans to wipe so many of the nations out.



A loud crash, that rotated in its anger made her turn to the two lonely planets now crushing into the second sun. A sun, she had not noted before until too late. When the explosion had faded away, as if it never existed, the three moons she had made stories about during her childhood floated above her planet. The second sun was no more but the sadness that filled her dispersed when she caught glance of twelve dragons that fell to Fital from the first and remaining sun. She was pulled against her own will, unsure of what was to come. Funny thing about humans, fear tends to hold them back. When the dragons made contact with land, a black egg, with green inscribed flames burst through the ground. She concluded that this was the first dragon egg, but somehow she felt a pinch of something familiar about it. The egg had been surrounded by humanoid forms, but no voice could they claim except the alarmed cries of seeing the larger dragons, and they fled to the mountains for protection.

Dragons, the twelve of various colors and sizes, circled the egg, making her think of them as a cat targeting a mouse. But instead of a taloned claw striking, they laid their noses upon the hard shell. The egg seemed to rumble and shake as if alive, and it cracked open. Aretha watched, seeing nothing happen but a tiny, black, six fingered claw shot out covered in slime. She would have grimaced, but her curiosity kept her from such. Another claw poked out and the peak of the egg made a final last shattering crack before a head appeared, still so very similar to her memory.

A fine handsome black male Dragon with green eyes looked around at his masters and continued to push himself from his confinements.. He wriggled free, huge scaly wings spreading open of their slime followed by his small but powerful scaly body, and his three separate tails. He cried at his family and they hissed to him, making him hiss back. Already he was at least nine feet long and had a wingspan seven feet across. He lay there struggling with his body when on one accord the twelve Dragons inhaled and together blew the First Fire onto him.



What emerged was Hama, naked though his groin was now hidden, his scales slowly became skin. His wings pulled into his back and his tails vanished becoming his hair. He looked at his family and smiled speaking in the Dragon tongue, hugging each of them. The Dragons turned to one another, speaking in their language. Something was decided and he changed back and they flew off.

So now she watched the other races, separated from the dragons be born and thrive, finding ways to complement their talents. The dark elves took upon the magic of the skies and mountains, putting effort and focus in pools of water that resided in the rolling hills, due to the sun that scorches their skin. Their opposite counterparts, the light elves had became one with the forests and nature around them. They learned above all the nations how to survive off of the magnitude and plenty the ground brought forth. The dwarfs tinkering and possessed skills in heart and rock, making their homes of such material as they enjoyed the scent and feel. Orcs found caves and dark spaces, making them their own, often butting head with the dwarfs who made claims on the same lands as they.The Amgi found they could control creation itself, a gift craved and envied by many. And the humans, simple in their ways, bred and spread. The found the mount soon to be called Ethlberg, beginning to climb it, to dig into it, fighting the land itself to submit it to their will. And the Twelve and Hama found a mountain range far beyond the reach of the other nations and began to have eggs, thousands of eggs in fact. Hama then served as their farmer breeding their herds soon providing them with endless herds of bovines of every sort, deer and all their relations, goats, sheep, and all sorts of other prey species. Then when that became too dull for them he bred predator species. He and the Twelve hunted and fed and found themselves pleased by the thrills of attacking prey, and the eggs began to hatch. For the most part the hatchlings behaved, hunting their own food and staying in their own portion of the world but many did fly forth to explore. And this was when Hama become the First Souled, dragons who could take on two forms, though he was the only to have been born a Dragon and attain his second form.



The wars between the Dragons and the other races were ghastly. Many Dragons had simply been out exploring and had grown hungry. It was shown clearly that no Dragon below a hundred years had ever been involved in the eating of any herd, and had rarely even been seen by the other nations, for a number of reasons. The chief of which was that these Dragons were simply massive. Hama himself had grown into a truly massive dragon though he could compact himself into his familiar form. To be fair to the other races some attacks and wars were against angry or bored Dragons, or those who had gone mad. The worst though were when a single hatchling or young Dragon was killed and the whole family would emerge for revenge. Dragons, thrown from their rightful homes and land, sometimes lives dwindling in a balance of power. They fought for themselves and their homes, but were pushed back into the dirt as the other nations tried to put them under control. Soon it seemed as if they lost the will to fight and separated themselves to live in solitude. The world seem to hold a mist of death over it, like the fog hanging over a lake.



This is when the Souled became the lores of legends and myths. They would seek out the wronged parties and bring peace, or at least try. This was how many became Souled in the first place but Hama did not take part in these. His actions were far different as he helped each nation write the books of Fital. He and the Twelve used the gifts they received to create the Ethlberg Embassy, the chest, and so many other pieces of magic solely for their purpose and use.



While she saw this she saw the birth of the Rezda again. Gratefully, she was pulled from the past and pulled to it's nearer future, only for her to want to hide under a rock. She saw the birth of the Rezda. Flowing in massive waves onto land, killing so many more. No one stood a chance. Bodies were torn limb, and she then saw the world become unglier with the hatred and greed stored for so many years as the Reda grew. War traveled deep and far into the most desolate of places of the desert and blood seem to be the only thing to quench the thirst of dusted sand. Families were torn from each other and angishing pain filled her being, unable to handle such grief. Bile rose in her throat, choking her at the sights before her. Some Rezda even displayed body parts and organs as prizes over successful victories. They slaughtered villages and killed the innocent with no thought and she could see why any creature could hold disdain for them.

However these killings triggered a reaction. A meeting of all the nations was taking place near the edge of the desert. Hama, of course was present. But during the meeting, the Rezda arrived without warning and slaughtered all but Hama. He fought like a demon ripping them apart in both forms but he was beginning to become overrun by the murderous creature. Then the thunder arrived, thousands upon thousands of dragons. They burned their way across the desert and drove the Rezda into the sea and into the arms of a thousand civilizations that could not defend themselves. The Dragons leapt to give aid, evacuating them, calling upon the water Dragons, their younger and rather strange cousins, to help as well. They formed a pair of wedges and drove them together thinking they had crushed the Rezda and their converted Rezdi.Yet the slaughter was immense but not whole. The Rezda and Rezdi escaped in small numbers and spread across the ocean floors and used the hidden waters and passages to spread their numbers.



While Aretha learned that the Dragons had created a hidden pocket universe and similarly protected Embassy, and saw how while neither side was wholly innocent, it was true that for the most part the Dragons had been hunted, murdered, and harassed far beyond their limit into fighting back making a number of supposed justified attacks on the Dragons naught but lies, including many by her own ancestors. And through it all there was Hama, never a key figure never to be remembered but always present. She also saw the first two High Prophets a dwarf woman named Veli, and an elf of both races name Bish. She saw how their bloodlines had been traced down all the way through to her own family and thus into Kurtis from both sides. Surprised by the fact, really.

White. A white light went around her and everything was gone. The past that had become so recall and terrifying in it's abundance. She was sure it was now over, but the white remained. She now looked for something, anything that could be a last step and her eyes fell upon a small child. A small girl, whose size could be guessed as three years of age. She wore a beautiful gown, adorned in fragments of rare jewels and fabric, just like a dress she had forgotten about. A dress her mother would force upon her when she stubbornly refused to put clothing on. Her hair was like Aretha's and Nila's, she moved with a grace so much like Aretha's that the princess for a moment believed she was seeing herself. Aretha approached the girl, seeing her play with a toy that the firm kept moving, and she couldn't grasp a clear look at it. The child suddenly looked up and Aretha was left, stilled. Her face and structure was of that of a miniture Aretha, doll-like and beautiful. Yet, that was not what left Aretha in a chilled state. The girl had vivid eyes of expression, human in almost everyday excusing the pupils that had a pointed edge about them, reminding her of a lizard. Green were her eyes, emeralds that shined in a wonderful happiness. Green as the haunting flame Hama expelled. Green as the eyes of her father.

Her nephews voice echoed through the world making it rumble.

"Behold shall the daughter of the Gold and Red assume the crown when both fall to the scythe of death. She shall be known as the Queen of Dragons and shall bear a child unknown to history. Her rule shall mark the coming of a Golden Age and the joining of the races of Fital into one Great Nation."

Breath found her lungs as the vision finally came to it's close, her tired soul slipping back into place, healing itself and in the process making her loose account of much of what she had experienced, though the images were still rooted in the unconscious part of her, hidden away. She though, had a giddy leap in her heart. She still recalled her child, non, their child. Her hand clutched and she winced, looking down at her hand. She saw that she had grasped the flower's thorns to hard and they had pierced her flesh. Blood began to trickle and she quickly hid the rose behind her.

"I can love someone that isn't like me. I can love someone who my people might reject me for. I can love you..." Her words were shaken, but held a fierce confidence.
 
Hama reached down and pulled her hand up. he kissed it making her fingers open and gently removed the rose. he then kissed each wound healing them without even the smallest scar. he ran his finger down the stem breaking off the thorns and handed it back to her. He then smiled. "Then i again offer myself to you. As your lover. As your equal partner. As the father of your child. As your Dragon. i will serve two masters. my race. And my heart."

He touched her cheek his eyes glowing. Another flash of the past struck her. He had known of her, their child, and the oncoming prophecy about the Queen of Dragons for millenia. Both of the first High Prophets had told him. he had waited for her. Loved her. Longed for her. Kept himself alone and out of sight for untold eons for her. This was what it truly meant to love a Dragon.

"But understand Aretha. i will never betray my people. not even for you or our child. Never. Just as I never would betray you or our child to them. I have always lived in two worlds. I never knew why until i was sure you were real."

he cupped her face and gently kissed her. 'What do you say?"
 
She leaned against his hands, place her own over his. "I say yes, but under two conditions. Expect the same of me in the things you have spoken. I love my people, my family, and those whom I also serve. And hurting them would kill me in spirit. The second condition is that you ask for my father's blessing before any rash decisions are made."

She blushed, avoiding his eyes in case he found this funny. "It's only proper." She pulled herself away, nodding her head towards the exit of the gardens. "You can either ask him now or later." She coughed clearing her throat, before giving him a sideways glance.

"So when you came here you already knew who I was and all those little flirtatious actions were for purpose?" She rose a brow, now feeling she had a chance to tease him, even if just for a moment. He would probably find a way out of her teasing habits and turn them against her, but it was till worth the while.
 
He smiled. "I have your father's blessing. I have had. You think i would begin this without them?"

He let her see into his eyes again revealing that he had stopped and spoken to Patis and Nila before coming to see her. Both had been surprised but pleased and readily gave their blessing as long as it was what Aretha wanted.

"We were all waiting on you. So i suppose I shall ask him for the blessing of marriage later. but since I will not wed you until Tzetchl Rha is dead we have time to discuss that.

"Of course. To entice and torment you. And to see if you were the woman for me yet. and you are."
He smirked at her. "I do have the advantage over you in one regard my dear. I can predict what you will do until we marry." he grinned now and gave a three lidded wink.
 
Her mouth hung upon in shock. The sneaky lil-!! She couldn't believe they had all known about this while leaving her in the dark! Her family was suppose to be telling her these kind of things! She figured they were all on his side and she gave a sniff, feeling quite indignant.

But her shock only grew, realizing that she could never have an advantage, whatsoever! All her attempts and moves would be already known and nothing of the sort a surprise. She suddenly felt foolish, going back over her past behavior. She glared at him, arms crossed as she steamed.

"So when you embarrassed me in front of the whole court that was already planned? And how am I suppose do to anything while knowing you've already seen what I'll do!? It's an unfair advantage!"
 
He pulled her into a kiss. "Well..knowing is a bit much. It's not like I've seen every moment. but i have the basic idea. And your family only knew twenty minutes before you did. and i got to you first."

He kissed her again. "Again my dear...Until the Rezda are defeated I shall be incredibly busy. As will you. In a few days i will be flying to gather the other nations monarchs here and collecting a small thunder of my people. By then your father will be back on the throne. But he will need you."

He pulled her into another kiss. "And remember this. i have only seen until we are wed. i am no prophet. i foresaw you and our child because they are key to my life. After that even the Prophets loses track of me. you can ask Kurtis. our child cancels out his gift. And I could not act further or show you anything until I knew how you felt about me. until then I would just be the forbidden toy. And I will not doom that child to that."

His eyes flashed. "So after we are wed you are free to try your little games. of course I will still be me. i tend to cheat at games. Except chess. i never cheat at chess."
 
Aretha places her hands againt his chest, moving slightly to gain some space between him ans herself. She turned her face away, blushing profusely as pink tint colored her completion. "Oh, you must stop. I fear you're making me more breathless than I can take."

She wasn't sure which subject to focus on, her mind clouded by his continual attack to her lips. Brushing back her hair, she gazed up to Hama. "Why must you go to gather the rulers? I could never seem them ride out to battle much less get their hands dirty."

The man idea of him leaving so soon made her feel a sharp pain and she rolled her pink tongue over here lips, concentrating on what to name it. Unfortunately, she couldn't. "What do you call it when you don't want someone to leave?" Her question was rather blunt, not given a second thought.
 
"Love."

He reached up and gently stroked her cheek his thumb running over her lips. "And i don't want to leave. But one the Rezda must be faced even by the other monarchs. Secondly they must be here to watch over the training of their elites and supply us with their best warriors, including the ones they have dismissed as worthless like your people did Nila. She will be an unstoppable force in the battle."

His eyes blazed down at her. He leaned in and stole another kiss then moved back giving her her space. "and Third. We are not have a repeat of that meeting so long ago. if the battle should come this far inland then Ethlberg is the only place we can possibly face them and survive. You cannot really grasp how many a billion is can you? For perspective there are barely two hundred million humans in Fital. To be fair a hundred years ago there was only a quarter of that many but..."
 
Aretha moved her attentions from him, staring into one of the trees whose swaying branches were filled with twittering birds. Growing tired, she turned her back on him heading to the exit of the garden. Holding the rose, she played with the leaves of the flower. “I suppose you will be taking a royal representative, correct? Monarchs tend to be...fussy with whom they speak to and in the long run it will do you well to have someone in the royal family to support your case.”

She glanced over her shoulder, a curious smirk drawn. “Or did you have that already planned too?” While she had entered the castle, walking away from Hama in her own daydreaming state, she heard Mary’s voice along with her brothers. She was slightly daring in a need to overhear the conversation but waited for her lord to follow.

Or then again … She rushed off to find the voices certain that Hama could catch up to her later. “He has to prepare anyway”, she thought to remove any remorse.
 
He shook his head. "I am not talking to them. I am gathering them. And its been made clear that if they delay they will be held accountable. Even they cant argue. The dwarves are already coming close so it will be easier to retrieve them."

He cocked his head bearing them as well and scowled. "Go on. I do not care for Mary." He bowed and watched her go with a smirk.

He then went through another path toward the Embassy to finish his preparations and to learn where the rest of the diplomatic thunder was. What Aretha had not considered was how impossible it is to argue with fifty impatient Dragons who refuse to speak to you.
 
Aretha walked to where the brother and sister stood, arguing amongst each other. Lucas had turned an interesting color of reddish purple, while waving his arms about in a silly manner. It made him look...like a jester. "But then again he most likely was born a fool", she muttered darkly. She looked to Mary who seemed ready to burst into tears, hands fisted as she pounded against her brother's chest. "It's unfair! It's unfair! Who do you think you are to boss me around as if you have a right?", she cried in a trembling voice. Lucas grabbed her wrists, holding them tightly until she squeaked in pain.

"Mary, I forbid it. I forbid you having anything to do with that man. I care not if you love him and he loves you. I don't care if you were full of his child. You will not ruin our plans with your ridiculous emotions." He had bent down, leaning against her head as to speak into her ear in a hushed tone. Aretha narrowed her eyes, still unnoticed. She coughed, making the siblings jump and hastily turn away from each other.

"My dear Aretha, you look ravishingly beautiful today", the young lord said with a bow. He lifted his head smiling in what suppose to be perverted, but she simply smiled and turned to look at Mary. She rubbed her eyes, tears falling from her puffy cheeks. "Girl, what happened to you? You look as if you've lost your best friend." The woman sniffled, rushing towards Aretha, nearly knocking the princess over. "Lucas won't let Matthew court me! He's being a bully..." Aretha sighed, rubbing her hand against the girl's hair. "Now Lucas, do you think you can tell her what to do?"

Lucas frowned, placed both hands behind his back. "I am her eldest, so she will and must respect me and my wisdom." Aretha rolled her eyes, looking back down to the sobbing Mary. "What are you two even doing here? It's not even that time of year to leave the country side." Mary froze while Lucas's smile only broadened. "We are here to find our bride and groom. Father sent us here in hopes we would find the newest additions to the Bitterling family."

"Harem." Both of them looked up, staring at Aretha flabbergasted. She said it again. "You mean harem. It's a known fact Lucas you don't know what it mean to be loyal much less devoted to a woman. You would bury yourself into a sow if not given your satisfaction." Mary gulped, looking between the two. "Careful Aretha. Bad things happen to girls who don't know their place", Lucas hissed, anger radiating off him. "Well, realized your in my home. My palace. My land. You don't have the upper hand here, so I suggest you take it upon yourself to heed your own warning."

Lucas seemed ready to raise his hand as to hit Aretha, when a guard in his daily post walked into the room. Lucas quickly lowered his hand and walked out, breathing curses. Mary watched her brother leave and murmured. "You shouldn't provoke him, Aretha. He has dangerous tendencies while trying to prove something." Aretha shook her head, grabbing Mary's shoulder to push her up onto her own feet. "Like I honestly care. Come now, you need to get yourself cleaned up. I'm sure you wouldn't want Matthew strolling in and seeing you a miserable mess." Mary turned serious and marched out the room with Aretha.

But still, something was off in Lucas's behavior that made Aretha shiver.
 
Unfortunately for Lucas the path that Hama had taken had let him see everything. And now he was truly angry.

He followed Lucas until they were in a corridor alone.

"My lord."

Lucas turned startled but quickly adopting his usual oily smile. "My Lord Hama how very-"

Hama had slit his robes as he followed the human. Now he shed them and moved with all the startling speed that made the Dragons so feared. He had gripped and pinned Lucas against the wall his arms trapped behind him because of the force of it.

"i will make this clear since you have so blatantly ignored Queens Agatha and Nila. You will leave this castle. Immediately."

"You can-"

Hama squeezed silencing him. "You are not being given a choice Lucas. you will leave. If you return i wioll know. And I will kill you."

Lucas sneered. "You can't! You are just a guest you-"

Hama opened his second lid and Lucas clamped his mouth and eyes shut.

"Lucas if you return I will give you the chance to survive the look of a Dragon's eye. But I have some news for you. A little secret. When we choose we Dragon's can kill instantly when someone looks into our eyes. It's part of our protective magic. I don't like you. i don't like how you treat the women of this land. i don't like how you treat your rightful Monarchs. I don't like how you treat your sister. And I do not like how you treat Princess Aretha."

Lucas was trying to be brave. "oh! So that's it. you want the sl-"

Hama squeezed so tightly Lucas blacked out for several seconds. When he came too he was not looking at Hama but a black Dragon still relatively small but with a power so immense it made even this slime show respect. The three black tails lashed about at random while a six finger paw with foot long razor sharp talons held Lucas up on the wall.

The fanged jaws moved so wrong. They had to to make human words. "Lucas leave. Leave Fital. Run as fast as you can. I have marked you. As oathbreaker and eggbreaker."

"I'VE NEVER BROKEN ANY DRAGON EGGS!!"

"no. lucky for you. But you have caused the death of many of your children because you are too mcuh the coward to take care of them. Run Lucas. hide while you can. because every being on this planet will be hunting for you now."

"Why because I threatened that slut Aretha?!!

Hama hissed and Lucas' eyes went wide as his bladder and sphincter let go soiling his pants.

"Yes. but because i have seen into you Lucas. I know what you have done. You are vile. I give you this mercy if you call it that out of respect for Aretha and her family. But speak against them again and you will know pain and fear beyond your imagination."

Before Lucas could answer Hama hissed again and the slime fainted.

Hama dropped him in a heap and resumed his form retrieving his robes. Not long after he threw Lucas out of the main gates into the dust of the High Street. he pointed at the slime then looked at the guards. "he is never to pass into this castle again. if he does you will answer to the King and Queen. Am I understood?"

The guards nodded shakily. "Yes My Lord."

Hama nodded and vanished into the castle. Humans were far too weak.

Below Lucas was waking. He spotted an old friend. Her name was Isabella. He started to crawl toward her but she recoiled. "Stay back!!" He blinked and looked around to find that everyone was standing well away from him and the gates were closed with several guards pointing spears at him. He slowly stood, unaware that his soiled pants were still full of his piss and shit, and staggered to a water trough. he looked into it and nearly vomited.

There were many marks left by magic. those who used it, those that were it, and those that were cursed by it. The worst had to be the Burnt Three. It was a group of lines one perfectly horizontal, the next perfectly vertical through the first and the third at a diagonal through the other two. it was simple but the effects were brilliant. bestowed only by the Dragons it meant they the creature bearing it was a childkiller. The Dragons were long known for slaughtering anyone who protected such beings. The mark would never leave him and it was in plain view on his forehead. He had thought Hama was bluffing. Now he wished the Dragon had just killed him. No one would dare protect him. The wrath of the Dragons was far too dangerous.

He could not believe it. That huge lizard had destroyed him.

Lucas ran. It was all he could do. Even as he did the stones came. And the trash. And shit. The insults. the screams of hate. he was out of the city in minutes his fear and torment too much to endure.
 
Aretha looked at Mary's wrist, clicking her tongue. "You're gonna have some nasty bruises." Mary hung her head, tears falling. "Oh, Aretha what shall I do? If anyone sees this they'll think the worst of me." Aretha's brown eyes held a flicker of pity but it was quickly erased. She dipped the cloth in her hand into a bowl of warm water and wiped at the girl's cheeks. Mary was a sorrowful sight, blonde hair falling from it's neatly placed pins, blotched skin from too much stress, and red eyes caused by salty tears.

"And that's why Mary women can wear long sleeves." Aretha knew of the judgmental stares Mary would get by the dark marks. Most would think she was caught up in some indecent act with a man and perhaphs she had gotten carried away. Some would think she was beaten and would question her. Aretha brushed away a stray strand of hair from Mary's cheek, smiling softly. "Don't worry dear, I'm sure the marks will go away in a matter of days. Just be careful of what you wear."

A knock on Mary's room made both woman get up, both for different reasons. Mary flung herself to the side of the room, hiding her face com however walked in while Aretha went to go answer the door. As she did so, she found herself staring down at a young boy. "And whom might you be?" She bent down, eye level with the child. "Alex. I'm the messenger boy." He said this proudly, puffing up his chest. "Oh? And what might you have for me today, messenger?"

Alex then held out two letters, a black seal and blue seal locking them tightly away. Aretha rose a brow and took the letters, asking Alex a question. "Now might you know who sent these to me?" Alex shook his head but whispered excitedly to her. "It's a secret! I was told to bring it to you immediately!" Aretha chuckled, brushing a finger against the seal. "Well, you have done well by your country, Sir Alex. I am very pleased that you've brought me such important paperwork without delay." As she teased the boy, he blushed looking down to his little black boots.

"Well, Aretha open it! Open it!" Mary had decide to slip from her corner and now excitedly pressed against her shoulder, encoraging the princess to show what lay inside. "Alright, alright, cease your nonsensical whining!" Ripping open the first, her eyes swept the page. "Heh. This is an interesting turn of events." Mary groaned, pulling at Aretha's sleeve. "By Zohar Aretha! Tell me!"

"It seems a good childhood friend of mine is visiting soon."

Mary blinked, "For what reason?"

"He says for political matters which he needs to speak to father about. Though I highly doubt that's all."

"A 'he' you say? Oh please tell me more!" Mary clapped her hands together, smirking slyly.

"Oh hush you, he is already betrothed as am I. When I was younger I was infatuated by him and his quirky personality, but then again that was when I was young." Aretha placed a hand to her cheek, laughing fondly in memory. "I was such a silly child back then."

Mary though didn't share Aretha's humor. Instead she glared angrily at the princess, huffing. "Since when were you betrothed?! And to whom!?" Aretha shrugged, simply giving a blunt reply. "None of your business." She then ripped open the last letter, reading it. Not even bothering to explain it, she threw both papers to a nearby table. It was then she noticed Alex still stood in the doorway.

"Go on little soldier, you've dome your duty." She pushed the boy out, smiling as he tried to salute to her and then ran away. "ARETHA!!" She flinched, Mary's voice ringing down the halls. "What else is in the letters?! Why did you never tell me about this man?! I want to know!" Aretha sighed, closing the door. "First, the other letter spoke of my relatives coming to celebrate my upcoming birthday. They tend to try to throw parties which I never attend. Second, it's still none of your concern with whom I busy myself with. Besides your just like a bird, twittering everything you hear till sun up to sun down. And third, that's all you need to know."

Mary knowing she would never get Aretha to speak of her lover, sighed. "Why do you never go to your own parties? They are allot of fun!"

"I don't like being smothered by too many people and I feel cramped in such spaces. So when anyone tries such things, they usually can't find me."

"But... that seems so sad. What if you bring your beloved? I'm sure then it would be more thrilling then!"

"No, I still wouldn't go."

"Then what do you want that will allow you to be free?!"

Aretha smirked crossing her arms, "Let me tell you then."
 
Mary sat waiting to hear this explanation.

---------

Hama was pleased. While Lucas had gone running his many, many ,many enemies had moved quickly. They had corned him just outside the city and cut him to ribbons for the broken hearts, killed children, and even suicides of those that he had seduced. he was actually still alive for now but he was slowly and painfully bleeding to death from more than a hundred light slashes all over his body.

What Lucas had not known but was quickly guessing, was that the Mark on his brow even drove off animals. Only flies dared come close and bit him hungrily, drawing much of his blood even from the ever spreading puddle of red under his mutilated body. The cuts and slashes themselves were held open by his place revealing the red maw of his severed muscles and blood vessels. He could not scream as they had slashed his face as well cutting the muscles of his mouth leaving him to gasp and whimper in his extreme pain. They had left his eyes open though.

Hama stood in the main room of the Embassy, just behind the door and watched through the Eyes as the bastard wriggle helplessly moaning and trying to beg for help. No one went near him though and the traffic was rather heavy today.

Finally Lucas managed to inhale enough air to make a moan hit a rather high shriek as he began to seize. He had not known it but the men who had killed him had poisoned their blades which was really while they were willing to made such like slashes and cuts which bleed heavily but not nearly enough to kill him outright just making him suffer.

The poison however was a wicked little flower call Nevadolli, named after the wizard who had discovered and used it. it attacked the central nervous system in a rather remarkable way. It paralyzed it but did nothing to stop the infinite amount of pain it caused. it also basically reversed the entire body itself, making each one rip themselves apart. Blood began to explode from his nose, ears, eyes, and even from his capillaries, while he also vomited up bits of his intestines, and lungs, his stomach acid having become far more acidic and burned through into his body cavity burning down through his more delicate organs and out his back trying to eat into his spine. His colon exploded filling him with his own fecal matter which excreted out through the hole made but also out his sphincter and distended his remains horribly. His penis and balls just exploded the pressure of his urine suddenly so intense his skin could not withstand it. And through all of this he was fully conscious and aware.

His heart was beating so hard and fast it was ripping itself apart both with the wild rate of the beats, and the quickly cracking his ribs as his body slammed it self against the ground at random his blood and other fluids flying everywhere. Finally when his entire body was all but dead his heart nothing but a few strands of vessels struggling to beat, his head and neck began to truly seize as he suffocated and drown in his own fluids, much of which was the remains of his own organs and bones. His head slammed itself down again and again and finally cracked his skull but his body could not stop until he had torn away much of his brain on the ground and finally destroyed the movement centers of his brain.

Now fully dead Hama nodded. "justice is served." he had not caused the man's death directly but he would have, and did not , feel even the slightest bit of shame for it.

He turned and went into the Embassy. His brothers and sisters would be staying her when they returned with the royals of the other races and he needed to be sure they had places to sleep. this was quickly done. Enough to eat. Also quickly completed. And that the Dragon gate itself would be open. There were only five Souled coming to join the group meaning two dozen full Dragons who could not compact themselves like Hama. So he went to the furthest wall of Ethlberg that the Embassy commanded and after removing his robes and becoming the dragon again, this time his full size, he began to speak in the language of his people.

---------

Sitting on his mother laps, Kurtis's eyes suddenly went still and wide.

"When the Tongue of Flame is again uttered in welcome, then shall the Redsword again find it's home. With the thunder of wings shall the doom of Fital be sounded. Tzechtl Rha rides forth."

The boy collapsed again deeply asleep. His mother looked at her parents very worried. "What does that one mean?"

Patis shook his head. "I guess it must have something to do with the Dragons... and my sword."

----------

Still growling and speaking the words Hama opened his maw and unleashed a blast of green flame at the wall before him. The wall absorbed each jet of fire and then letters in the Dragon Tongue began to glow with the same green fire. Hama straightened and snarled. "Open."

----------

The entire mountain shook. Patis moved more quickly than he had in years . He was at the window staring in shock. He gestured for his family to join him. None of them had ever seen anything like this. no one ever had. For the first time the mythical Dragon gate was open. A massive hole in the side of the mountain itself had broken open and fallen forming a natural ledge that would easily serve as a landing pad.

What was really startling was that there on the ledge stood an enormous black Dragon with emerald green eyes. "That's...Hama."

"It cannot be!!"

"But it is."

The Dragon raised his wings which extended over the whole ledge which Patis guessed to be several times the size of his own throne room, while Ham himself stretched just as far his three separate tails lashing about. he raised his mighty head and roared out words in his own language while also lighting magical fires on the ledge itself and up above, lighting it up.

Kurtis stirred but did not fully wake.. "The Tongue of Flame...."

Patis looked back at his grandson and only then did he notice that for the first time since it had forged his name, he held the Redsword in his right hand, unsheathed and still as sharp and deadly as ever.

Hama continued to roar out what seemed to be a welcome. And for good reason. As he did in the sky above appeared twenty four dragons, none as large as he but many very impressive in size. There were blues, reds, oranges, purples, whites, greys, browns, green, yellows, pinks, silvers, and golds. Each color was represented twice but oddly no black. Each had different colored eyes and even from this distance they could see the rides on the back of the largest, a rather grand purple.

Patis and Agatha looked at each other. "Why didn't he tell us?"

Nila laughed. "Because he is a Dragon. If he had told us we would be required to greet and feed them. This way we are not so committed. We could not feed even Hama in his current form. Let alone twenty four of his brothers and sisters and I can't tell how many Souled. He is rescuing us...besides would you want to be on that ledge?"

Both shook their heads as Nila watched the window. Kurtis stirred again and she cooed. "grandson would you not like to watch the Dragons land? No one has ever seen so many together in peace. And you should see Hama now."

The boy jumped up and ran across the bed to gaze out the window in awe. Nila turned to her maid. "tell the guards to sound the Dragon bell. And tell the callers to have everyone look out the nearest North windows. they will see a sight no one ever thought possible."

The maid curtsied and obeyed. less than a minute later the Dragon Bell again began to peal echoing throughout the entire mountain as the callers told everyone the news.

Everyone was jammed into their windows, and even onto protected balconies and in a few cases ledges that had long since been covered to prevent falling. Down below the whole city watched in wonder as the Dragons began to descend toward them no one able to even speak. This was beyond unheard of. Even the greatest histories and the minds who wrote and studied them had no record of Dragons coming in force to Ethlberg, in peace. And no one had ever believed that the Dragon gate had actually existed. it was impossible. But it was so huge, as was the hole it had made, and the light of Hama's flames so bright even during the day, that everyone in sight of it was staring up at it in wonder.

The true beauty of Ethlberg as a city was that as it stood in a perfect circle around the great mountain it afforded a view for one and all. Now a rush of people to get closer and to see their very history and world change moved to the north to watch the Dragons come and to stare at the Dragon gate. During all of this Hama continued to bellow out flame and roar his thunderous welcome, echoing off the mountain itself, down into the city, and even into the mountain range that had once, as Aretha now knew, claimed Ethl as it it's own. The black mountain castle seemed to fall like a stone waterfall from the peak of Ethl itself, one a few hundred yards above Hama's roaring head, and down to the city below where it spread for miles across at every side.

As the Dragons drew closer they roared their own greetings, greeting Hama, the humans, and the great mountain herself. None of them had ever seen it with their own eyes and the moment was not lost on them. Sinking much lower than seem right they began to swoop over the city greeting the people the five Souled moved from the purple's back onto the others like acrobats , and began tossing out gold, silver, and other gifts to the people showering the city with their own joy at being here. The people began to shout. "THE DRAGONS!!! THE DRAGONS!!! THE DRAGONS!!"

The shouts were so loud they reached all the way up to the Royal Quarters, to Aretha and Mary, and everywhere else. The sound threatened to shake the mountain itself. The Dragons had come.
 
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