Dragon Blossom

Motherly love

Erifreya Verrim Draconis, princess of Artemia and effectively queen of the dragons, was playing hide and seek with the coachman's son and her new friend Orval in a fig grove near the river. She wasn't very good at it; if she hid behind a tree, her little wings would stick out and give her away. Sometimes she would fly to hide in the branches, but it was hard not to notice with all the leaves flying around.

Orval was Valderant's son, about the same age as Koro, a blond boy like his mother but with the tanned skin of Pellegrin from his father.

Runa had taken the children to that place to play, swim, and just be kids while she chatted with the women who accompanied her, all dressed in the traditional white robes of Pellegrin. Valderant, Meracina, and even Queen Clessa, who had left the kingdom's affairs to her council under the pretext of her condition, were there. She had also included Oregdor in the council to keep him close and have him watch over the others, of course, the young man couldn't refuse. Runa remembered being present when the queen gave all the news at once.

"Ori, darling, I'm so glad you could come, hee hee hee, as if you ever didn't. I have a task for you. Now you're going to be my port and customs advisor. Of course, since you're so smart, you already know I expect you to keep the rest of the council loyal and working. We need to keep rebuilding, and the world doesn't stop. I need all of you while I take some time to have and care for our baby. Do you think it will be a girl? I've grown quite fond of my little sister and..."

Runa wondered if Oregdor had heard anything after that; she certainly hadn't, as the boy's face distracted her.

Everyone had assumed that a body usurped by a dragon wouldn't be fertile. Clessa explained that an ancient body like Mera's wouldn't be fertile no matter how much it rejuvenated; it had to do with how the female body worked, but the queen's body was new and young. Nearly two months after the night of the three dawns, Runa thought she could already notice the change in her belly. Instead of an anklet, Runa had placed the spells to keep her human in a beautiful bracelet set with rubies. She had commissioned it from Frey, who, despite calling himself a blacksmith, had the skill of a jeweler. Right now, he was spending his time training his apprentices.

They had also brought Peony, Eri's unicorn, who grazed near the river. Her constant presence had helped everyone heal; the teacher could walk again, Eri was as good as new, and Valderant had needed her the most, especially because she stubbornly refused to be healed with elven magic no matter how severe her condition was. Yet, she never stopped telling her story of how she defeated the green prince.

"...and when we touched that monstrous dragon, I jumped onto its neck and then to its head, pierced it from one side to the other with the silver lance, and jumped just in time to avoid the worst of the explosion. I fell hundreds of meters, survived by a miracle..."

She always forgot to mention that Meraxes had carried her up there, the lance belonged to Eri, and without Master Genwill's shield, they all would have been caught in the explosion. Nor did she mention that Meraxes had caught her in the air, unconscious and badly injured. But well, they let her have her glory; some people were like that.

"Dear," said the queen, not hiding her boredom, sitting in a luxurious wicker chair with a view of the river, "although I would love to hear you tell for the fourth time how you killed my brother, I'm more interested in knowing if you've thought about my offer. I can't keep Prince Freydelhart forever."

"I live off my ships, Your Majesty," the hypocrite called her "phony dragon queen". "I actually left the order years ago; I couldn't take Frey's place, training his new dragon slayers. Are they even necessary? It's only a matter of time before the dragon war is history."