King Beast - Vicious Flames

Chapter 19

Warm spread across her chest. This was some romantic declaration...she knew he meant it literally. He really didn't have a heart.

"But our children-"

"They will not be children. But wyrmling."

Again, with that word. "What?!"

He didn't say anything, just smirked down at her.

"Won't they have hearts?"

"I don't want to ruin the surprise for you, little heart of mine."

Odette forgot all about the wyrmling thing. Little heart? Had she heard him correctly? "You're sweet when you want to be...it seems that you almost have a heart."

Zerberus had a habit of not blinking. Dragons didn't need to blink. "I have already explained that you are my heart. Don't make me repeat myself, stupid rat."

Odette frowned, "I preferred little heart."

"Sounds to me like rat is appropriate." He looked down at her, "Especially with that smell."

Odette gasped, stepping back. "Hey! It's not my fault you made us er um-"

"Mate you in the forest?" he helped his shy rat. "Don't worry, little heart, the smell of your essence is spicy and..." His lips quivered in a muffled growl, "and it lights me up. No matter how filthy you may be outside."

"Oh, thanks, I guess?" Odette didn't know whether to be pleased with the nickname and compliment or focus on the insults. It was always one extreme and then another with this dragon man. He was complex, feral, and infallible. But she was his heart... Odette produced a smile that almost opened a hole in the pearly sky above them. Yes, she had decided, taking him by the hand; she will give him a chance-

"I have duties to attend to." He snapped.

"You must think me shameless to try to pull you away from your important responsibilities."

"You are," he agreed. He just turned and left, his big, scaly body disappearing behind a corner.

Where was he going? She didn't want to bother him more. She got enough answers.

*******

No one spared a glance at her; silence enveloped her like an unspoken rule. Everyone seemed engrossed in their tasks, lost in the rhythm of duties.

With cautious steps, Odette continued her exploration, torn between fascination and an unsettling awareness that the stone guardians lining the corridors might not be as inert as they appeared. The basilisk's frozen hiss seemed to echo in the corridor, a silent warning that whispered through the ancient stones, leaving her to wonder if the castle held secrets beyond the reach of mere mortal comprehension. She kept thinking of that basilisk.

"Excuse me-"

A petite woman bowed to her and continued maneuvering a hefty pot of water. Two more figures, clad in light-brown fabric clinging to slippery bodies, executed polite bows without meeting her eyes. Her attempts at communication went unheard.

Odette couldn't stand it anymore! Wasn't she their princess? Shouldn't they have at least said hello? Courtesy, wasn't that a thing?

When a diminutive man with a peculiar pet a cross between a pig and a big lizard on a rope approached, Odette sprang in front of him. "Please, tell me at least where I can find the kitchen!" She was quick to add, lowering down to meet his gaze, "I'd like a snack!"

As soon as the servant's eyes met hers, he cried out in despair. Odette covered her mouth.

His eyes began to bleed, the crimson liquid staining his pale face as he crumpled to the ground. His pet sniffed him then took a bite off his arm. The sickening smell of flesh made her dizzy. Two other servants rushed to his aid, and this time Odette refrained from forcing them to acknowledge her. What sorcery was this?

"Let me help-" when she tried to touch the man, another servant screamed and hastily dragged him away from her. Odette stood frozen, bewildered by the unexpected turn of events. The hideous pet was licking its talons.

She could only watch in silence as the poor man, with tears of blood, was led away. Another servant promptly appeared, diligently scrubbing and cleansing the floor from the unsettling traces left behind, a fourth one kicked the pet away and out.

Again, she was left alone.

An unfamiliar voice spoke up behind her. "I see you're already making our people cry blood."

Odette quickly wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her cardigan before she turned around to find a caped man.

His eyes didn't meet hers. She figured why.

"Fergus is the name," he introduced himself. "I'm to escort you to your day room and provide anything you need."

Day room? Odette's confusion lingered, momentarily forgotten as her eyes caught sight of a few sets of wings.

"What's all that about?" Her thumb pointed at the sight.

"We kept the wings as trophies," Fergus said with a proud smile.

As they walked, horns, scales, more wings adorned the gray stoned walls, some still marked dry blood when they were severed.

It took every ounce of concentration for Odette not to throw up, not to demand the reason behind suchbutchering.

When she inched closer to ask another question, Fergus took a few steps away.

She squared her shoulders and raised her chin. "I don't have leprosy!"

He snorted out a laugh. "That would be a safer option, My Lady."

Frustration surged through her chest. "He did this...didn't he? But... why?"

"You are our Lord's heart. Would you let anyone touch your heart, look at it or be too close to it?"

She gasped. "I'm not an object!"

"No," Fergus shook his head, gaze forward, away from hers, "you are a vital component of the Lord. As I said...you are his heart." He seemed disconcerted that she couldn't grasp such a simple concept. She wanted to scream.

They ascended one stony, poorly lit corridor and then turned left to navigate through another. A labyrinth inside the stomach of the monster house.

The man in the red cape finally stopped in front of a door that read "Lady Quarter" and turned the doorknob. Rather than entering, the any-aged man motioned for Odette to go inside. She complied, and as soon as she entered the room, the door slammed shut behind her.

Tears pricked her eyes, and she closed them to prevent herself from breaking down. Pull yourself together, Odette. Crying was the last thing she wanted to do right now.

Through teary eyes, she spotted a spread of food on a table near the window. This would do. Ready to seize what appeared to be a succulent pork leg, her gaze caught something unexpected.

The basilisk, initially mistaken for another lifeless adornment in this malevolent house, was alive. It hissed at her, silvery scales coiling around her window, its predatory gaze fixed on the meal—or rather, her.

AN/ He doesn't even want people to look at her eheh