The Dragon King's Bride

Chapter 10 : By the Talons

Zofia dove on to the bed and buried her face in the pillow. Was this destined to be her life? To just be assured that things were going well, only for them to crash down upon her in a moment. As she walked sniffling back to the bedroom, Garison's swift swishing followed after her. She turned to look at him momentarily, seeing that he was dressed like Mephis' men had been, in black. As she lay on the bed, he guarded her door.   

Zofia breathed deeply, gaining control over herself. "If this life fails, there is always the next." She assured herself one last time before she attempted to doze off. She was tired, she had been tired after the swim, everything else after that had just managed to wear her out further. She felt a weight on the bed, it startling her somewhat. It couldn't have been Draegon, she heard his booming voice down the hallway. She would have heard his footfalls too. Whoever this was, was quiet. 

"Livina." Zofia breathed her name in relief. "Please, step out, I want some time alone. I will call for you if I need you." Zofia instructed her. 

"He doesn't want you, already?" She asked, giving Zofia a pitiful look. "Poor thing." She cooed. "Maybe I should go see if there is anything I can do for him." Zofia felt her jaw trembling at her words, but instead of ice filling her, a fire took over. 

"How dare you speak to your queen like that?"Zofia got up on her knees and glowered down at Livina. She huffed a laugh at Zofia's display. It was then that Zofia noticed she was wearing a short sleeve dress with a skirt that came up to her knees. There was nothing on her skin. All she saw was beautiful and near perfect porcelain. Zofia had been covered with bruises, even on her wrists when he had pried her hands away from her breasts. Even on her calves when he had touched her in a way that made every muscle deliciously sore. Dragon had her, he had her and no one else. Zofia was livid that someone she was meant to trust was a sly demoness in the disquize of blue eyes.

"I am trying to be here for you, my queen. If anyone knows what it feels like to be wronged by a man, I believe it is me. You can confide in me." She reached over and tried to take her hand. Zofia snapped it away and instead of being her usual passive self, she raised it in the air and slapped Lavina as hard as she could. 

"You are a liar. I will not tolerate your pathetic attempts. Leave!" She shouted at her. Her accusations felt weak, but she felt empowered at finally making a move to defend herself against Lavina the liar. Garison stepped into the room and eyed Lavina. She clutched her cheek and ran off, avoiding further eye contact. 

"Your grace." Garison hesitated. 

"That was anything but graceful, Garison." Zofia told him as she sunk back down on the bed. 

"No, your highness. The king and Lord Mephis, they are fighting." He pointed out urgently. Zofia didn't know how much worse her birthday could get, but it was already past the point of being ruined. 

Zofia hurried off the bed, losing her footing for a second. Garison grabbed her before she could land on her face, then together they ran outside. The guards were gathered around the king and his father as they violently threw their fists at one another. A guard clad in black sat on the grass, screaming as he looked at his scorched hands. Zofia was horrified. A fire started around Draegon as Mephis pushed him to the grass. 

"Get away! Stand back!" She shouted as she got in between the spectacle and the spectators. The majority of them obeyed their queen, stepping back. "Go!" She shouted at them again. Garison joined her in her efforts to get them to stand back, waving his hands at them and pushing them back when they failed to get the courage to move. 

Once they were gone, Zofia neared the dragons. "Stop, please stop." She pleaded as she grabbed at the tatters that were Draegon's shirt. She held on for dear life, but when she opened her hands there was only ash in them. They were practically two balls of flames by then. Zofia watched as Mephis got the upper hand, then Draegon suddenly overthrew him. He beat him down and pinned him to the burning grass. Dreagon beat him over and over, till finally Zofia tried to step in again. She grabbed his arm and tried her best to hold him back from dealing another blow. Mephis groaned helplessly under his son's weight. That was when Zofia realized that Draegon's had stopped, he had stopped only to wrap his hand around her neck. She whimpered as he squeezed. His eyes were not his own. Garison was caught outside of the fire, helpless and unable to save his queen as she hung from the king's talons. 

"Draegon, please." She pleaded, her fingernails digging into his arm. He snapped out of it and released her immediately. Zofia fell to the burning grass and gasped for air. The black sky above her was beautiful as if blurred in and out of focus. 

"Draegon." She pleaded his name. He did not answer her, instead she heard the flapping of incredible wings. Two large figures raised into the air. Zofia saw their wings, the fire they spat at one another. They looked beautiful against the black night sky. As she lay in the flames she felt her energy slip from her. The skies filled with clouds before rain started to pour down on the kingdom. It washed the blood off the dragons and rained red over Zofia.

"Dragons!" Zofia heard Garison from beyond the fire. He waited eagerly for the rain to extinguish the flames around the queen before he pulled Zofia's warm body off the ground. He patted her flaming cheek for her to snap out of her daze. 

"I'm fine." She gasped. Her dress was burned, hanging on her in tatters. Garison patted himself down, finding nothing on himself to cover her up with. Zofia pushed at him and he set her back down on her feet. She looked at the sky, the dragons still clawing at one another with their talons. It was easy to tell the difference between them. Draegon was a bulkier dragon with Mephis being more slender. They were nearly equally long. Father and son in more than just the human way. The skies thundered, causing her to momentarily only see black silhouettes of the dragons. 

"Where is Serena?" Zofia called to Garison, desperate to try anything she had to in order to stop the fight. She wanted this to end, this horrible day to end. It felt as if though all the bad things were revolving around her, making her nauseous and her head spin. She wanted to drown herself or jump from the highest tower in the castle. Anything but to be there, alive and in pain. 

"Gone, your grace." Was all he responded with. Gone, Zofia hoped, meant gone for good. 

"All we can do is wait." Garison said to Zofia. Juniper had come running out at the sound of the screeching dragons. She returned with a blanket, wrapping it around Zofia's shoulders. 

"This is the worst day ever, Juniper." Zofia said as she turned to her, burying herself in her arms. "I wish he had killed me instead of my sister. It should have been me." 

It took hours, perhaps, the two fighting in the sky till they were no longer visible. Zofia was stiff and sore, clinging to juniper through the better part of the storm. Garrison had been right. There was nothing they could do but to wait. 

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