Rumerra - The Journey Begins

Chapter 18 - The Phoenix and the Angel (Part I)

"How could you do this?!" a dracon with a short red goat beard and crimson red hair shouted.

"What's wrong with me exposing the truth?" the princess crossed her arms and leaned back into her chair. "You always said that speaking your mind is a virtue you cherish."

"Not like that!" the man yelled. "You caused a huge scene and the elves almost declared war on us because of your reckless behavior! When will you learn?!"

"I don't know what you want of me, father," she sighed. "You tell me to be truthful; now you are telling me not to speak the truth? Make your mind up! Do you want me to lie or not?"

"I want you to assess the situation properly before acting! You just act based on emotions!"

"And that is wrong, how?" the girl unfolded her hands and scratched her head.

The man pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled loudly. "Kirara, my dear. For the hundredth time, you are a royal. What you say and do represents the entire kingdom of Eldrasit. You can't just insult the elves like that, expose their king as a liar, and shame their princess—even if it is the truth!"

"Then what is the point of it all?!" she raised her voice. "What is the point of sitting on a throne if you can't even speak your mind?! So I have to lie to uphold the crown?!"

"Sometimes, you have to," her father said calmly. "That's just how it is. Your brother understood this. He was great at diplomacy and knew what to say and when. You, on the other hand, are a reckless fool who just does whatever she thinks is right!"

"Don't you dare bring my brother into this!" Kirara slammed her fist on the table.

"Your brother knew what it means to sit on the throne!" her father continued. "He knew when to be quiet and when to speak up! But he's gone! Now I am stuck with you as my only heir! So you better get your act together and start behaving like one!"

"I told you not to bring Kiros into this!!" the princess yelled and grabbed the table, lifting it and hurling it at the wall with seemingly no effort. "But you just have to do it, don't you?!"

"It pains me as much as it pains you that he's gone," he spoke solemnly. "I miss him dearly."

"You miss your perfect heir, you mean!" Kirara exclaimed. "You always favored him!"

"I loved you both equally..."

"That's a lie!" she shouted, her eyes wet with tears. "You just want me to be like him in every possible way! You don't care about me or what I want! Well, guess what, you old fool! I don't give a damn about what you want, either! I don't give a damn about the throne! I'm going to do things my way, you hear me?! Stop trying to turn me into my brother! I'm not my brother!"

"What would your mother say if she saw you acting like this?" the king spoke, his words carving deep into her heart. They only added salt to the already opened wound of the girl.

After staring at him in silence for a few seconds, Kirara exploded. "Miserable fool! You are very the reason mother got sick and died! She saw what you were doing and died of sadness!"

The larger dracon pounced forward at hearing this, grabbing the girl by her neck and slamming her into the wall. "You take that back!! I won't allow you to speak like that to me!"

"You are a terrible father," Kirara hissed at him, tears staining her cheeks. "At least the elven king loves his daughters enough to push them forward instead of holding them back—even if it is by cheating. His methods may be wrong, but his love is true. But what do you do? All you ever do is criticize me and tell me off! Get out of my face before I use my magic on you."

He gritted his teeth and delivered a punch to her stomach, then threw her across the room.
"Don't you dare threaten your father like that, you ungrateful child!"

 Kirara pushed herself back to her feet, her eyes piercing the man with utter resentment.

A knock on the door interrupted their argument. "Your Majesty, may I speak to you?"

"Come in!" the king replied, recognizing the voice of his advisor. The door opened, and a dracon with black hair, clad in a purple robe stepped in, glancing curiously at the crying princess and her father. "Ah. I apologize. Is this a bad time?"

"No, no, it's fine," the man waved his hand. He shot an angry glance at Kirara. "I think we're just about done here. I was just telling my daughter how inappropriate her conduct was."

"Ah, yes," his advisor said. "That was quite messy today, was it not? My apologies."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Korvak. Tell me, why do you wish to speak to me?"

The sorcerer gestured toward the princess. "I would like to speak in private, if possible."

"Certainly! Kirara, please leave us alone! We shall continue this discussion later!"

"There's nothing more to discuss here," the girl puffed air out of her nose and stormed out.