Neko Princess Submits to the Dragon of Dragons

Chapter 7: The Kidnapping

Celestia and Lilly have been in Avalon for a month now and they occasionally get invited to tea parties by the other noble ladies and they both feel right at home and safe. Whenever they left the castle grounds, they always had at least one knight bodyguard each consisting of a dragon shifter and a few wolf shifters in plain clothes that kept an eye on the two ladies from the crowd. These guards were welcomed by the two as Celestia had told the King that she had received a strange note after she had left one of the shops in town after purchasing some new perfume. Issei had explained to them that there are those who do not agree with his way of ruling even though it has brought peace and stability to the kingdom and those around them. The kingdom of Avalon was not always ruled by a Pendragon. Previously, it had been a family of vampires that ruled the land as tyrants. One day, Issei showed up challenging the authority of the ruling family and the way they were treating their people as mere food and toys. They challenged him to a duel and lost, getting executed in front of all the citizens who cheered for their deaths. The Riversteel Royal Family was no more. Or so everyone thought. But the young lord, barely 10 at the time, had escaped before anyone realised and he witnessed his parents' execution.

The two ladies had planned a trip to the local dressmaker to have some new dresses made for upcoming gatherings and with the weather now getting colder, they felt they needed some warmer garments. After their appointment, they wandered around the city looking at all the different shops and occasionally stopping to chat with some of the other nobles that were out on a stroll. Eventually, the sun started to set so they decided they had best begin to head back. Little did either know, the one guest from the ball was stalking them from the crowd. Once they had returned to the castle, they washed up and got ready for dinner with Issei and the other lovelies as they always did whenever he wasn't drowning in work. Chatting away with the lovelies was always a fun time as they all learned a little bit more about each other every time. One night, Celestia had finally asked if the collars they all had were a symbol of their status like she had thought.

"Oh these?" Amber asked point to her own collar. "You could say that, yes. Sir- I mean Issei gave us all a custom collar when we became his consorts." Celestia grew curious why she had called the king sir but did not ask. "By the way hun, Issei asked me to give you this ring and told me to tell you to make sure you always have it on when you leave the castle." Curiously, she took the ring and studied it for a moment before putting it on and thanking her and Issei for the lovely ring. Eventually, the girls grew tired and decided it would be best to retire for the night.

A few days later, Celestia went into town without her cousin or any of the other ladies as she wanted to buy a gift for all of them and King Issei as a thank you for all the hospitality they have shown thus far and for how well the discussion of a trade and friendship agreement was going. Shortly after purchasing the last gift for the lovelies, she was about to enter a store to look for a gift for the King when suddenly there was a loud explosion and smoke filled the air as a fire broke out a few streets over at a bakery. She told her guards to go check it out and that she will be safe in the store. Reluctantly, they agreed so long as she promised to stay put in the store until they got back. A short time later, one of the plain clothed guards came up saying the area was not safe and that he was instructed by Sir Leo, her shifter guard, to take her somewhere safe. Being the naive woman she was, she did not think twice about what the supposed guard said.

Following the guard, they went into the forest near the village and after noticing how far they had gone from the city outside the castle, she realised this was not one of her guards. She began searching for a way to escape but this land was unfamiliar to her but the man seemed very familiar with the area. She realised a moment too late that he was no longer in front of her but rather had managed to sneak up behind her and a moment later she had lost consciousness as he had hit her over the head.