HEIR OF THE DRAGON

CHAPTER 1

"Go away!"

In spite of Lalisa's demand, Roseanne dared a second knock on the door to her friend's chambers. "It's me," she called back.

"Very well," the princess yelled, though she didn't sound thrilled at the prospect.

Opening the door, Roseanne made her way through Lalisa's sitting room and into her bedchamber. Much to her surprise, the princess was not only laying in bed, she was still wearing her sleeping shift in spite of the fact that it was past midday.

"I feel overdressed," Roseanne said playfully, casting a glance down at her own mauve velvet dress.

The joke didn't elicit so much as a giggle from Lalisa. The most effort she mustered was to sit up and ask, "What do you want from me, Roseanne?"

"We were supposed to meet for lunch," she gently reminded Lalisa. "I got worried when you didn't come."

Lalisa rolled her eyes at her own mistake. "Gods, I'm sorry. It slipped my mind completely."

"It's fine, but..." Roseanne hesitated before adding, "Even if you weren't coming to lunch, why are you still in bed? Did you get into the strong wine last night?"

"Nothing like that. I simply didn't feel like getting up."

There was a petulant tone to Lalisa's reply, but Roseanne knew her well enough to tell that she wasn't just being a brat. There was something bothering her, something that she was trying to cover for. Roseanne took a seat on the bed next to the princess and placed a friendly hand on her shin. "What's wrong, Lalisa? You don't seem like yourself."

Lalisa shook her head. "Just leave me be. I don't wish to talk about it."

"As you wish, princess." Roseanne rose and but she only got two steps toward the door before stopping suddenly, her nose twitching as she caught wind of a wholly unexpected scent. She had become much more sensitive to such things since her recent presentation as an omega and this sharp, heavy musk wasn't at all what she was used to from Lalisa. Had the princess just lain with an alpha or...

Lalisa sighed as she realized what Roseanne was reacting to. "It's me," she said quietly. "I presented yesterday... as an alpha."

"Oh." Roseanne didn't say more and she didn't need to. Both of them knew the problems this could cause. The Faith taught that women weren't meant to be alphas, any more than men should be omegas. It did happen of course, but it was a shameful thing, a fate that every proper young lady prayed didn't befall her when she presented.

"Yes, oh," Lalisa snapped. "So you can see why I wasn't in the mood for having lunch in the gardens."

Roseanne did her best to put on a smile, trying to find a silver lining in this turn of fate. She knew that Lalisa had feared the birthing bed ever since her mother's death. That, at least, she could avoid. "It's not so bad," she offered. "Now you can sire heirs of your own, instead of bearing them."

Lalisa shook her head. "Heirs to what? Do you still think I'll sit the Iron Throne someday?"

"I do. Would your father really disinherit you over this? I didn't think Manobans cared so much about such things."

"The lords of Westeros do. It was going to be hard enough getting them to accept me as their queen. Doing it as an alpha will be even worse."

Whether or not that was fair, it was probably true, so Roseanne didn't dwell on the point. "So what's going to happen now?" she asked instead.

"I don't know," Lalisa admitted, sounding as unsure of herself as Roseanne could remember. "When he finds out, I imagine my father is going to want to find some highborn omega boy and marry me off to him sooner rather than later."