The Dragon Heir

The Heir to the Village

Vevida was the heir to her village. At least, she was expected to be. But each Heir had to choose a partner, so they could produce another heir. Today was the day where she would meet her first suitor.

'Vevida, come downstairs and get ready. Kayne is coming in an hour!' That was her mother, Annabelle. She was obsessed with finding Vevida an heir. 

'Coming, mother!' The Heir replied. She was a dragon hybrid, after close contact with dragons, and learning from them had affected her village's evolution. There weren't dragons anymore, as they had all flown out into the forest a long time ago. Vevida longed to see one, but she knew it was impossible.

When Vevida got downstairs, she found that her mother had laid out an outfit for her. It was a long flowing dress, with a mix of blues and purples, along with some pink high heels and a headband which included flowers and the village insignia. Great.

'Mom, why can't I wear something that I can move in? Or at least something not as hot?' Vevida complained. She wasn't really content with the life she had as of now, as she felt like she couldn't pursue what she wanted, which was to be a warrior.

'The boys will want a lady who is beautiful. You have to make a good first impression.' Her mother replied. Vevida thought that this wasn't logical, because why should she pretend to be someone she's not just to make a 'good first impression'? If she was to marry, she wanted it to be because of their true selves, not a persona.

 She kept these thoughts to herself, of course, not wanting to have an ulitmately useless 30 minute lecture.

Vevida didn't know all the people in the village, as her mother kept her sheltered and didn't want her mixing with 'common folk', which were the same common folk she might marry if none of the more posh people caught her interest.

 She knew the first suitor, whose name was Samuel (or Sam for short), but didn't love him, nor did she love anyone else that she knew. The closest she'd ever came was her friend Hailey, who knew more about her than anyone else. Her love for Hailey was platonic, though.

She begrudgingly put on the clothes her mother had picked out, and waited. She would have liked to practice with some of her swords, but in this insufferable dress, there was no way that she could move well enough. She reviewed her options on what she could do. In the end, she settled on reading a book about sword fighting stances, which were something that she needed to work on.

As she was about a third of the way through, there was a knock. 'Finally', she thought. The door opened to reveal Sam's father, along with Samuel himself. Her mother was at the door, welcoming them in.

'It is an honour to have you here. Welcome in. This, as you probably already know, is Vevida.' Annabelle said. 'Would Samuel like to talk with her alone, or with us?' These parts were just some traditional formalities.

'I would quite like to converse with her alone, thank you.' Samuel replied. They went up to her room together, and sat on some of the chairs.

'I want you to know that I'm not really interested in being here.' Samuel said. Of all the things he could have said, that was at the bottom of her list of things that she would have thought of. 'But dad got the invite from Annabelle, and it would have been bad to turn it down. Besides, dad would be angry if I did.'

'I understand. I honestly don't want a suitor, or even to be heir. There's too much trouble. I would much rather be a warrior, but mother won't take no for an answer. I've told her that I don't want to get married, yet she still insists that I haven't found the right person. It's a lot, but hey, I don't really have a choice.' Vevida replied. She was glad that she didn't really have to turn him down, and that there was someone who was in a somewhat similar situation; being forced into something that they didn't want to do by their parents.

Vevida and Samuel talked for a while, about varying subjects like whether a hot dog is a sandwich (they settled on it being a taco), and the patriarchy. They mainly talked to pass time so that their parents would think that they were being romantic, or whatever they expected them to be doing.

After about an hour of talking, they went downstairs so that they could formally reject each other.

'Hello darling, was the talk nice? What did you decide?' Vevida's mother said. Samuel's mother had gone into a separate room, so that they could discuss what Sam would do.

'He's nice, but I just don't think that Samuel is right for me. Anyway, i'll see what he says. As far as people go, he wouldn't really be someone that I would mind spending the rest of my life with, even as a friend.' Vevida replied. If she flat out rejected him, her mother might try to convince her otherwise, or ask for a specific reason.

Meanwhile, in the other room, Samuel was conversing with his father.

'So, what did you think of her, son?' His father asked. Samuel and Vevida had come up with a strategy to make it seem like they were gently rejecting each other, so that no hard feelings would be left with the parents.

'Well, she's nice, but we don't agree a lot and she's just not really my type. I'm not fully against her, and with some communication it would work, but I'd rather not be in a relationship with her.' Samuel said. He was looking forward to when this whole affair was over. He did feel slighly bad for Vevida, as she had expressed how she didn't want to marry. Her mother would probably arrange for more suitors.

After they had decided what to say, the formal statement commenced.

'I, Vevida Hallan, reject Samuel Brown. He is a valued friend, however it would not work.' Vevida said. Her and her mother had gone over the formal statements earlier.

'I, Samuel Brown, also reject Vevida Hallan. She is a good person, and an even better friend, yet not someone I would be willing to have a relationship with.' Samuel said. Both their parents had disappointed, yet slightly relieved looks as they would not have wanted one to have their heart broken. 

After the statement, Samuel and Vevida went their separate ways, nobody bearing any ill will against each other.

Vevida's mother still wanted Vevida to find a partner. She had scheduled the next suitor, Evanese Ilki, to come tomorrow.