Soul of a Dragon [Ziam - Ztop, Lbottom]

CHAPTER 1: THE KING'S PROPOSAL

You're so Art Deco, out on the floor
Shining like gun metal, cold and unsure

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Never in his wildest dreams had Liam imagined he'd meet a dragon. The idea seemed like something out of a bard's tale: a towering beast, crowned in gold and flame, commanding armies with a voice that could shake mountains. To the people of Elmara, the dragons were something out of a past era, a force beyond their understanding, tucked away in the distant mountains and beyond the reach of human kingdoms.

And yet, today, those distant myths had crossed the threshold into reality.

"So..." The prince started, unsure of the idea, "I heard something of a dragon."

"The Dragon King himself, Your Majesty," the maid said, her voice trembling with both awe and fear as she helped Liam with the day's attire. "They say he travels with no less than a dozen wyverns, each one carrying banners of crimson and gold. His entourage is said to darken the skies like a storm."

Liam tried to focus as she spoke, but his hands tightened around the edge of his seat. A dragon. Or even better, a dragon king. The thought alone made his heart race.

"What's he like?" Liam asked, his voice betraying his nervous curiosity.

The maid hesitated, brushing invisible lint from his sleeve. "No one knows for certain. There are whispers, of course. That he's cunning, that his very presence commands obedience... that his human form is as striking as his dragon one is fearsome." She glanced at him, her voice lowering. "But they also say he's not one to be crossed. The last kingdom that dared challenge him no longer stands."

Liam swallowed hard, trying to quell the unease pooling in his chest. "Do you think I should see for myself?"

The maid hesitated, clearly torn, before sighing and resuming her work. "If you truly wish to see him, my lord, then do so with care. Dragons are not like us. Their ways, their thoughts—they're beyond what humans can comprehend. Even their kindness can come with a price."

Her words hung in the air like an unspoken warning, and Liam felt the weight of them settle heavily on his chest. But he couldn't let it deter him. He wasn't just a prince of Elmara—he was its future king. And a king didn't shy away from what he didn't understand; he sought to know it, to confront it.

As Liam made his way toward the throne room where the Dragon King met with his parents, his mind spun with possibilities. What would this king demand? What kind of power could he wield in a human court? The stories painted dragons as beings of immense pride and ferocity, their alliances forged only with those they deemed worthy. Elmara, for all its proud traditions and royal line, was a small kingdom in the shadow of greater powers.

Would this dragon see them as allies or prey?

The closer Liam drew to the hall, the louder the noise became: the rumble of voices, the distant shuffle of armored boots, and then a hush, as if the air itself held its breath.

"This is not an arrangement we can accept," He heard his father saying, his tone sharp, almost unyielding.

Liam startled at the tension. Unsure of whether to step in or retreat unnoticed, he hesitated in the doorway, his presence shadowed by the room's high arches and dim light.

And that was when a foreign figure caught his attention.

Standing in the middle of the room was Zayn Malik, the formidable Dragon King, who carried all the power and presence of the dragons of legend, Liam felt a strange mix of fear and fascination. The king seemed to carry the very essence of the ancient stories Liam had read about: the smoldering strength, the proud grace, the untamable spirit.