The Princess and The Dragon

Chapter 13 - Complication

   I had to admit that I somewhat regretted not wearing the first dress my father gave me that was not complete rubbish, but I enjoyed watching Randa and Araol dancing among the rest of the city’s couples. They had a chemistry that even I, in my jealous state, could not deny. Many of the city’s people congratulated me on passing the test, and even the three dragons were allowed to join in on the festivities. Everyone kept well away from Flarescream, who was perfectly at ease tearing the pigs and geese he was offered to shreds. Stormshine and Riverdusk bided their time playing with the children, allowing them rides on their back or using their unique abilities to the entertainment of the youth.

   As I stood on the side-lines, for once unashamed of stuffing my face with meat, I found myself actually wondering how it would have been if I was a dragon. Seeing as I was attracted to males with tragic stories, Stormshine and I would most likely have ended up together. I rolled my eyes at myself for thinking such selfish things: he would then never have gotten the opportunity to compete in the race, and any dragon Riverdusk ended up with would be a shame compared to the wonder that was Stormshine.

   “Alain?”

   I was snapped out of my thoughts. Aymar was suddenly standing beside me, staring at me with concern. I realised that my mouth was covered in sauce and pieces of meat, and hastily wiped it with a napkin that was lying on a nearby table.

   “Why aren’t you celebrating?” he asked, piling a plate full of food for himself, “You accomplished something really great today.”

   “Pardon me,” I replied, “I was lost in thought. What about you? I heard rumours that you are quite the dancer.”

   He chuckled, “I doubt any of the ladies here would care to dance with the likes of me. Alok is the one they’re after.”

   I did not know what to say. I skimmed the crowd and noticed that Randa was standing by herself, but a smile was plastered on her face. “Why don’t you ask the princess to dance? I’m sure she would not mind.”

   All humour disappeared from his face, and his eyes darkened dangerously. “That’ll never happen.”

   “Do you still blame her for the things the king has done?”

   “She’s just like him. They’re all the same. They don’t care about anyone but themselves. I swear that if her father did not forbid her, she would be in the dragon race, trying to leech every bit of glory from anyone else,” he said, and a great pang of hurt thundering in my chest. “All they care about is wealth and power, with no regard of who is sacrificed along the way. You should have seen the builders this past week. None of them are here because they are getting sleep therapy and muscle treatment. They couldn’t have a moment’s rest because the king would not hear of it. They got whipped constantly by the palace guards.”

   I felt like breaking a plate on my father’s head when I heard this, but I kept my emotions in check. “Well, that does not mean that the princess is the same. For all you, she might be concocting some plan in secret in order to make this kingdom a better place once she takes the crown.”

   He chuckled again, this time without any humour. “I doubt it. If she’s concocting any plan, it’s to raise the taxes in order to have enough money weave herself a dress made of gold. Excuse me, I have to find my brother.”

   Before I could try to stop him, Aymar threw down the plate with his food and stormed off, disappearing into the crowd.

   I looked down, hurt. Was it only Aymar who felt that way about me, or did the rest of the city too? I did not really blame them: no one ever really saw me, the real me, so for all they knew, I was just like my parents. My mother meant well, but she also sometimes hurt people, and she never tried to stop my father from executing unproductive servants, or people they believed to be traitors, whether any of them were guilty or not.