A Dragon's Mate

4

A/N: i appologise to any who actually likes this story for my sucky update schedule. There is no excuse for my behavior and I hope you hold out and continue reading.. once again my apologies for my extended absence. Enjoy the chapter. Feel free to comment if you see a grammatical or spelling error of if you're confused. Constuctional criticism is always appreciated.
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   I do not believe I'll ever get over how absolutely enormous the ball room is. The room is lit by multiple crystal chandeliers each supporting over one hundred thick white candles as they hand from the domed ceiling. The balcony Ana and I stand on rims the circular half of the ballroom. Applause rumbles through the crowd as we descent the marble staircase. At the bottom an endless train of introductions and complements directed at the princess and my self. So many names and faces I simply can't keep up and so I resign to a smile and a nod for each newcomer. Thankfully Ana handles our half of the introductions so my silent responses don't seem to far out of place. After a half hour the band strikes up a rather lively tune and much of the crowd disperses to either dance or mingle with others around the buffet tables that line the walls of the rectangular dining area taking up the other half of the ballroom.
  Ana is quickly swept away by a dark skinned prince leaving me to wander over to the dining area to claim a table partially hidden by a support beam. I sit and watch Ana dance and laugh at something the prince whispers in her ear. The song ends but Ana has barely stood still for a moment before another man sweeps her away for the next dance. I laugh at the irritated look that flashes across her face before she covers it expertly with a smile. I snag a watered down glass of wine from a passing servant as the band strikes up another quick paced tune.
"Now why would such a beautiful woman be sitting here alone drinking wine and not out there enjoying herself,"  the deep masculine voice makes me jump nearly spilling my wine as I turn toward the speaker.
  "Nathaniel," I start with a laugh recognizing Marianna's older brother, "don't sneak up on me like that you nearly made me spill my drink!" The man smiles brightly at me and takes the seat to my left.
  "Oh but you're so easy to scare, Calista," he teased waving to a servant who nearly trips over himself to bring the prince his wine. I barely hold in my laugh until the servant retreats from our table.
  "That was an interesting reaction," I state with a raised eyebrow.  Nathaniel rolls his eyes
  "They've all seen me in the ring. I supposed that makes me a terrifying individual," he answers with a frown crossing his arms over his chest, "I think they expect me to turn out just like my grandfather and beat them all senseless just because I'm a bit ferocious in battle."
  "I see," I return his frown and sip from my glass before continuing, "your grandfather was a monster Nate, you are not." He smiles at my feeble attempt to console him.
"Thanks Calista," his glance sifts upward, " I guess I should find some other rich lady to dance with. Mother is glaring at me again." I follow his gaze to the balcony where Queen Abellana watches the festivities with a brazen sneer. Her eyes lock in me and I can almost feel the hatred as her nostril flare slightly and her eyes narrow.
  "Yeah you should probably go," I agree, "she's glaring pretty hard tonight." He sighs and rises replacing the irritated stance with one of a carefree prince before returning to the throng of dancing nobles.
  He's usually such a relaxed character and it grates on my nerves when his mother pushes him to anger. This ball, although said to be for Marriana to celebrate her eighteenth birthday, it is mostly for the queen to force Nate to choose a wife. This is where Nate and his mother disagree. The queen wants Nate to marry for the sake of the kingdom while Nate wishes to marry for love. It creates intense tension between the two because if Nate doesn't marry to his mother's liking she could very well disown the prince who would in turn loose his claim to the throne. Marriana would then become the heir and she has no interest in leading the country.
  "Speak of the devil," I laugh returning a wave to the princess as she makes her way slowly though the crown to where I sit.
"I'm exhausted already," she gorans and flops into the chair her brother vacated.
  "Meet anyone interesting Ana?" I ask sipping my wine. She groans and slides down her chair.
  "They're all the same. Arragont. To rich for their own good," she groans again sliding further down to where her nose is level with the table making me laugh, "what about you Calista?" I crinkle my nose.
  "You know very well no one has asked me to dance. I don't have enough money for their tastes." I state with a grimace. She frowns but nods and gestures to the quickly forming crown of men waiting at the edge of the dance floor.
  "Time to go back into the fray," she stands and brushes absently at her gown with a sneer, " wish me luck." I lift my glass towards her as before she  walks back towards the dance floor.
   The ball continues on long past midnight. The princesse's breaks become more and more frequent as the night drags on and she eventually abandons her heels thanking me for talking her out of a shorter dress that would hide the fact as well as her current one. The crowd slowly dwindles away as guests retire to their appointed rooms within the castle many to drunk to stand and needing the help of the servants. Marriana slumps over to my table once again.
  "I'm done," she states in a dead tone swiping her shoes from the floor, "let's go to bed."
   I nod and follow her out of the ballroom amd to the royal chambers in the north wing of the castle. She collapses on her bed with a sigh as soon as we reach her room. She reaches lazily at the corseted ties on her back for a moment before giving up and wearily asking for help.
I proceed to help her change into a sleeping gown which is quite a challenge given the fact that she is half asleep and not helping at all. I pull the edge of her night gown down with a huff and proceed to change  myself borrowing on of her gowns. Although unlike the princess under normal circumstances it takes quite a while for me to fall asleep the wine in my system helps me relax and I quickly slip under.

A/N: Thank you for the read . I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Don't feel shy to leave comments or to vote. It's always appreciated. I'm out of school now so I will Hopefully be getting this story on a schedule soon.