The Dragon Bond

Chapter 10

When it was finally time for dinner, Ariana set down the interesting book and walked over to the mirror. She took her braids out and slid her fingers through each strand until the braids were gone. Her hair was now perfectly wavy and shiny.

She made sure she looked presentable and then she walked out of her room and down the stairs. Soon she was walking down the hallways towards the dining room. Ariana was greeted by a man in a black suit and white gloves. He introduced himself as her server and showed her to a seat at the table.

Some people were already seated while others were just now arriving. She did not spot the king yet but she assumed he would probably be the last to arrive. So far she was the only one seated at her end of the table. She was two seats down from the end seat and three down from an older man, probably in his early sixties.

After a while there were only three seats left to be filled. Everybody else was talking to one another and Ariana felt awkward. She did not want to converse with a stranger, but she also did not want to feel left out.

Suddenly everyone stopped talking as the king entered. Behind him was his wife, the queen, and--unfortunately--Prince Alan. The queen took a seat right next to Ariana and King Nicholas took his seat next to her at the end. Of course, the only seat left was the one across from Ariana and Alan was forced to sit there.

The queen smiled at her. "It's nice to meet you, dear." She said with a friendly voice. The queen really was beautiful, with perfect white teeth and a slender figure. She contrasted the king's harsh eyes and rough features. 

Ariana returned the smile and said, "Thank you, it's nice to meet you as well."

The queen nodded her head respectfully and then turned her attention to the king, who had stood up.

"Good evening, my good Lyrans!" he said. "I am glad you all could join me for this lovely feast tonight." He paused and glanced at Ariana. "Most of you already know, although some may not. Ariana has joined us at the castle, along with her dragon, Fuego. We are honored to have them and we welcome them dearly."

Though his speech was lovely and sounded sincere, Ariana could not help but fear his menacing red eyes. She tried not to look at them as he spoke.

Now the king looked right at her and she immediately forced a smile and looked back at him. "We only hope that she will enjoy her stay here." Then he raised his glass and said, "To Ariana!"

Ariana blushed as the rest of the men and women followed his suit by raising their glasses and repeating his toast. Unsure of what to do, she simply smiled and tried to meet everyone else's kind gazes.

King Nicholas sat back down and then everyone went back to their previous conversations.

Once again, the queen turned to make conversation with her. "So have you enjoyed your stay so far, Ariana?" she asked her.

She was not quite sure how she should answer the question. She certainly did not want to tell her that her own son was horribly rude to her and that she had gone to her room crying. So she tried, "The castle is lovely, but, to be honesty your Majesty, I have not been able to walk around that much."

"I see," said the Queen.

"But from what I have seen, the place is stunning and I know Fuego really loves his quarters."

The queen smiled, genuinely happy that Ariana and Fuego seemed to enjoy the castle. "That is very good," she said. "Maybe some time I could give you a tour of the area," she stopped and added, "Or maybe even Alan could."

Ariana smiled nervously and looked down at her lap. She glanced up across the table to see Alan staring at her. Not wanting to look down in embarrassment, she met his gaze with cold eyes.