The Princess and The Dragon

Chapter 7 - Aymar

   I awoke the following morning, still enveloped in Stormshine's wings. He also seemed to be asleep. Panicking, I listened for any indication that the other dragons were there, but I heard none, so I went to check, just to be sure. The dragons stables were completely empty, so I returned to Stormshine.

   Princess, he said. I jumped and saw that he was still lying in the same position, but his eye was open. Please tell me about him.

   "What?"

   Your mind is very strong, and very experienced at withholding information, but I did hear a name repeat itself as your tears slid down my scales, he said. My heart skipped a beat. Gelvath Gathalian.

   A pang of hurt erupted in my chest, and a fresh wave of tears started flowing down my cheeks.

   Please, Allania, I hate seeing you like this, Stormshine said as I cuddled under his wing again, It would ease my mind to know what's troubling you, and it will ease yours to talk about it.

   "Swear you won't tell anyone," I sobbed.

   I swear on my life and the future of the dragons that no one else shall know of him unless you wish for them to.

   I took a deep breath before speaking, "A year ago, a few days after my sixteenth birthday, my father tried to make me get married for the first time," I started. I took several deep breaths to steady my voice. "There was a prince in the country further east from Ree that he had heard about, who was ready to find a wife. My father sent him and his family an invitation to our palace, and they came here immediately. The prince was incredible: he was noble, accomplished, he didn't boast about himself all the time, and he was really sweet. I started to fall for him. One night, I went to their caravan to give him a flower and overheard his father whipping someone, a boy who sounded as though he was my age. I was frozen outside as I listened to the boy get whipped over and over-" I started sobbing again "-and over again.

   "I went back the night that followed, and the same happened. The king would shout at the boy 'you're a disgrace! A weakling! Why don't you just die?' while the boy would just beg for mercy. On the third night that I went there, the lights of the caravan was out. The king and his family were all dining with my father, but I heard movement from within the caravan. After a while, I convinced the boy to come out." I clutched my eyes while the tears flowed violently from my eyes, and started hyperventilating. After several moments, I could talk again. "He was not wearing a shirt because of all the wounds ... he was covered in them. But he had the sweetest face. Despite his circumstances, he smiled so beautifully when I told him he was handsome ... not even his brother could compete with that smile. The reason his father had thought him a disgrace was because of his eyes: they were not the same colour. Because of this tiny, beautiful flaw, he was treated like a dog.

   "We arranged to meet each other every night. Every day, I would tell my father to postpone the departure of the prince. I would spend the day with him and pretend to enjoy it while really looking forward to seeing Gelvath in the night. We fell in love shortly after we met. We shared our very first kiss in the moonlight, under the protective shade of the forest. 

   "After a few weeks, we decided to elope. We didn't care that we were young: we were in love. And so, one night, we ran away together. It was blissful. We didn't know where we were going. All we knew was that, as long as we had each other, we would be happy. One night, it was particularly cold, and he suggested we share our sleeping bags for extra warmth ... I lost my innocence that night, when I was sixteen, but it was worth it. He made me feel so special. I loved him so much. 

   "But, a few days later, my father's cavalry caught up to us. They dragged us back to the palace, where he was accused of kidnapping me. No matter how much I begged, no matter how much I pleaded, my father refused to listen, and not even Gelvath's own father tried to save him ... he was executed in the city square the morning that followed our return."