6: Darken Flower

15: unexpected guest

the following morning i woke with the sun. As i sat up in my bed and saw white hair peeking from the blanket next to me. "what the hell?" i pulled the covers back and saw Odessa curled up on the bed, asleep. 

i carefully covered her back up and got out of bed. i walked to the door and looked out to see a maid waking by. "can you fetch me a large breakfast this morning? just knock once and leave it at the door please."

"as you wish." the maid ran off as i closed the door once more. 

i quietly got dressed as not to wake her, then sat at the small table in the corner of the room. 

there was a single knock at the door, i walked to the door and brought the plate that was left on the floor in and sat it at the table. 

i then grabbed a book and opened it to read, but could not focus on the words. all that was going through my head was, why the heck was she in my bed?

soon enough there was movement from the bed and she sat up with a stretch, wearing a simple white night gown.

"breakfast is on the table for you." i said, not looking up from the book, only pretending to read.

she walked over and sat on the chair across from me. "thank you." 

"would you care to tell me why you were in my bed?" i did not look from the book.

"i spent hundreds of years alone." she explained. "its still fuzzy, but the memories are coming back to me slowly. then i had a dream last night, and you were where i wanted to be."

"i see." i flipped a page, knowing i was blushing a bit.

"is it normal for people in your kingdom to read books upside-down?" she asked as she ate a piece of toast. 

i looked at the book, she was correct, it was upside down. "um, well, no." i set the book down and looked away from her. "you see, its not really proper for you to be in here, and your in your night gown at that."

"youve seen me naked already." she said plainly as she took a bite of a pancake. 

"yes." i agreed, "but that was different. now we are in the palace and there are rules to follow."

"your going to be a king soon right?" she smiled. "break a few rules every now and then, who's going to stop you?"

"my mother." i answered. 

"so?" she shrugged. "what could she do?"

"shes my mother." i said. "and you know, the Great Dragon. she is terrifying when mad, and me becoming king is contingent on me agreeing to follow her rule."

"so you wont really be a king?" she gave me a side eye.

"i will." i told her. "but things around here are different then they were in your time. all of our lands, El'gorin, Drakaria, and Ignisfatia are hers by birthright. then theres the fairy realm that my father is the king of, and then theres my brother in law who is the king of the dark fairies. she can not handle all of her kingdoms on her own so she placed kings to take the thrones because her children were too young at the time. but now we are of age and we are to still follow her lead."

"sounds like you have no real power." she took another bit of pancake. 

"i am to rule El'gorin as a king." i explained. "but if it comes down to a war, or if we need advice then she will step in. then there are the council meetings with all the kings and queens were they discuss laws and how to make the kingdoms better. but when it comes down to it, they are still her kingdoms to rule over and if any of us try to rebel or step out of line, then we can lose our thrones."

"so its more for peace and to make things easier for her?" she asked. 

"if she had her way she wouldnt even do that much." i was honest with her. "she never wanted any throne but ended up with so many."

"it sounds like a lot on her." she muttered. 

"it is." i nodded, sneaking a piece of bacon from the plate. "thats why i am happy to take one of the thrones, i am also free to step down whenever i feel it is time." 

"that's definitely different then when i was around." she sighed. 

"it is." i knew what it was like, even when mother was a child, it was all in the history books. "mother even has a way to allow us to quickly travel between kingdoms instead of months of traveling."

the door swung open and Astraea walked in. "i heard the new about you becoming....why is she in here?" she noticed Odessa.

"Robin was not joking about needing locks." i muttered then smiled at my sister. "i only found out about becoming king when i talked to Uncle Thorne before returning. and she is here because i allowed her to be, what does it matter?"

"it matters because image is important as a king, even more so in the kingdom you are to be king of." she snapped. "also, i am the queen of this kingdom, in case you forgot. i can go wherever i like."

"well maybe i dont care what you or a bunch of old men think." i stood from my seat. "nothing happened between us. she is simply finding it hard to adjust to being human again."

"you dont care what i think?" she took a step back, looking hurt. "i am sorry to bother you, good luck in your travels to your own kingdom. i will not be there since you do not care what i think." she rushed off down the hall. 

"damn it." i slammed my door and looked at Odessa who looked worried. "when you are done eating, please return to your own room. i have to have a talk with my sister."