The Queen Of Drakkon: Book Two Of The Drakkon Series

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Kalo Morgase

King of House Morgase

I had just reached the point where the neutral boundary between House Aurelie and House Rindin split in two, allowing me to enter the area bordering House Drakkon and House Auerlie, or the boundary between House Drakkon and House Rindin. Unfortunetly I couldn't take either path, because my darling Alessandra had left specific instructions that I was not to go near House Drakkon's territory or risk being fired upon. Unfortunately, I wasn't willing to take the risk, not now, maybe at the start when news of my darling had been regular, but it had been over two weeks now and there had been no word regarding her, no updates, the system was quiet.

Titus gave out regular updates sure, but they had been becoming vaguer and vaguer, leading me to believe that he had not received word from them in at least a week. Now that could just mean that they had entered the boundary of noxious clouds that surrounded the Solveig system, but if they had, they should have been back by now, after all how hard would it be to find her father?

No, something had gone wrong, hence my haste and my need to bargain with Ursula Aurelie, who would no doubt see my urgency and use it to her advantage. I had to pass through House Auerlie's territory before going through the smaller occupied systems that surrounded our territory's, ones that were governed by the lower houses, usually only in possession of one or two systems, they were no threat to me. I would reach the Solveig system in five days if everything went as planned. "Send a cast to Queen Auerlie, requesting permission to pass through her territory." Now was the moment of truth, what would I lose in order to help my darling Alessandra.

It doesn't take long for the viper queen to respond, she appears on the screen within moments of my request being sent. Her long white hair artfully curled, her pale skin shimmering with youth, her silver eyes were telling though, they allowed you to look past the beauty that Ursula was and see the monster hiding underneath, they were ice cold, showing no emotions, dead of all life, just like the glimmering rough diamond crown she had perched atop her head.

Her pale pink lips are tilted into a smirk, before her lyrical voice rings out. "My my, requesting entrance to my territory Kalo, done something to offend the infant Queen have you?" Strictly speaking I ranked above her and as such should address my title properly, but because I was asking a favor of her, I deigned not to correct her.

"Yes, but you already know that don't you Ursula, after all you offended her as well with your challenge, sending you son to fight your battles for you, I thought you knew better, speaking of your son, how is he? Have you heard from him recently." For a second my words penetrate her ice queen persona, allowing rage to paint her features and her eyes to glimmer like molten metal at the mention of her son.

"I have no heir to speak of, merely a mistake that I intend to rectify upon his return." Her words are chilling and directly implying that perhaps Daxton had not made a mistake in accept defeat and staying in my darling's kingdom, under her protection. She really did look like an angel, stunningly beautiful, but her dark personality was not something someone underestimated, she may look innocent, but she was a worse sinner than every monster out there.

"Come now, let's not make threats you can't keep, at least not for another, oh what was the length of his imprisonment again, ten years? You are lucky she did not ask more of you and you know it. Now stop posturing and tell me what you would like in return for passage through your kingdom?" Her eyes glimmer with rage, but her smirk gives off another emotion, more similar to triumph, she knew I was in a rush, could tell because I didn't want to endure idle chatter.

"I want the White Bastet." My face freezes in place, making it so my grimace did not reveal my emotions. She had long desired the rare albino bastet that had been born recently, but every time she made an offer to purchase it, I refused her, I know how she treated her servants, I can't imagine how she would treat a wild animal that would not obey her, luckily, I knew of a possible way to get out of this situation.

"I will grant you a meeting with the White Bastet, if she obeys your commands, you can have her, if she does not, then you will return to your kingdom with nothing." I was hoping her confidence in her ability to dominate others would overrun reason for her, she was cruel and used pain as a means to teach people not to betray her, to fear her, the Bastet would not follow her, of that I was sure of, but she had to be over-confident in order for this plan to work.

"Yes, yes. If the beast listens to me, I get to keep it." She was smiling now, though it wasn't a friendly smile. "Very well, the terms of this agreement satisfy me, you may pass through my territory unimpeded." She ends the cast and disappears off of the screen, I imagine she wouldn't be nearly so pleasant to me when she realized that I tricked her.

I could only hope that I was on better terms with Alessandra by then, so that I wouldn't have to risk another interaction with Ursula for at least another hundred years. Giving her time to perhaps let go of some of her anger. "Resume course as fast as we can." I settle in my chair as the ship resumes movement, getting me all the closer to Alessandra.