One year later
"Where is he?" I run through the gardens of the Star Palace.
I spin my body around the hedges, my eyes fixed on anything that moves.
"Mother, I can't find him." Alastair emerges from a bush, a small branch caught in his hair.
"He couldn't have gone far." I place my hands on my hips, still scouting the green around us.
"Selen! Where are you?!" Alastair yells for our mischievous dragon.
Who knew that taming a dragon and raising one could be completely two different things.
The beast is always up to no good.
Whether that be stealing food from the kitchens. Or attacking the maids just to get a laugh.
And yes, dragons do laugh in their own ways.
"Selen!" I call out, walking around the gazebo.
Selen, meaning moon. Alastair named him saying that the dragon's scales resemble the night sky.
My only complaint now is that we should have named him something along the lines of trickster.
"Maybe he's sleeping." Alastair suggests, looking inside a hollow log.
"No, I saw him running out into the gardens. I believe he's having his fun trying to make us look for him." I push aside a tree branch and go deeper into the more forestry side of the gardens.
I pause as I see a tail, sticking out from a bush. Long, black just like a lizard's.
I motion to Alastair and he nods.
We tip toe to the best of our abilities, trying not to arouse the dragon.
As I'm closest to him, I grab the tail, tackling the body.
"There you are!" I hold his tail.
Selen releases a growl seeing me. His tail swats me aside and I hit the grass with a groan.
"Hey! Don't hurt mother, Selen. That's bad." Alastair scolds the dragon which only huffs. Hot steam hits my face.
"You brutish dragon." I mumble, patting the dust off my gown.
He had grown exponentially in the past year, now about the size of a cow.
"Where is Mother's ring, Selen?" Alastair holds his hand out. "Give it back."
Selen snorts in refusal.
"I'll give you all the jewelry you can ever wish for just give me back my wedding ring." I step next to Alastair.
Another thing about dragons is their love for shiny objects, similar to crows.
I've had more than half my jewelry stolen because of Selen.
My wedding ring is the last straw.
"Give it back and I'll give you this." I hold out a garnet necklace. "What do you say?"
Selen lets out another snort but this time turns around. I watch closely as he claws as a stone, sitting against a tree. He pushes the stone aside and a hold inside the tree is revealed.
However, the hole is plugged up with countless gemstones, bracelets, necklaces.
It is his stash.
With his snout, he removes my wedding ring from the pile.
It was a fresh addition to the stash so luckily it sat right on top.
"Thank you." I grab my ring and place the necklace down at the same time.
YOU ARE READING
The Inured Villainess
FantasíaInure: (v.) To accustom to accept something undesirable, evil, or painful. An other worldly girl is reincarnated as Queen Estella de Royalis, the villainess of a novel that is killed by her own husband. Having no other choice, she strives to save he...