The Dragon King's Bride

Chapter 21 : The Full Moon

The full moon brought guests that Zofia had not expected. She was summoned by the guards that someone was at the gate for her, so she hurried out only to find Lilly. They threw their arms around one another and hugged till a guard stepped in to pry Lilly off.

"I believe the king has spoken to you all. You are to respect the nomads." She warned the guards.

"Oh, Zofia. We saw terrible things!" Lilly told her, in a hurry to express what she had seen. Zofia led her inside, wanting her to get shelter from the cold.

"The war?" Zofia asked. Lilly nodded solemnly.

"Yes, we didn't know where else to go so we thought that it might be safer here." She explained, nervously fiddling with her dress and all the extra layers she had on to protect her from the cold.

"Juniper, fix us some tea and scones, would you? We will be in the study with Draegon." Zofia asked kindly before she carted her friend upstairs. She marched her into the study without announcing herself to her husband. He looked highly irritated. He stared at the Gypsy before he frowned.

"You are Lilly?" He asked her. Lilly perked up, and in her excitement she forgot how to talk. "Zofia is fond of you." He added. Zofia found a blanket and wrapped it around Lilly before steering her into a chair.

"I hope she told you that you're dead wrong about her being a witch." Lilly said. "And she had better be fond of me." She grabbed at the food and drinks that came her way, eager to feed herself.

"She did indeed." Draegon said dismissively as he tried to turn back to his numbers.

"Tell the king what you saw?" Zofia requested as she stood behind Draegon. She hugged his shoulders and gave Lilly an encouraging nod. Lilly grinned at the two before she nodded briefly.

"We were preparing the tents for the frost. It happened so fast. There was panic immediately and these soldiers just mindlessly came through and started to kill and tear down." Lilly balled her fists and slammed them on the table. "We killed them all. Bloody witches' curse." She muttered through ground teeth. Draegon raised his brows at her.

"Where were you camped?" Draegon asked her.

"In the western grasslands." Lilly sniffled next.

"Behind the forest?" He prodded further. Lilly shook her head.

"No, your gra- my lor- your highness." She pulled her face, eyeing Zofia. Zofia waved her off, urging her to keep going. "On this side of the forest." Zofia paled. She could feel the heat rising inside of Draegon too. He was angry. She was scared.

"We need to tell Mephis. We need another strategy." Draegon said. Zofia clutched on to him tighter.

"The ball is tonight." She told him with fear in her eyes. "He will be back soon." Zofia added. Lilly looked solemn.

"At least we killed the group that attacked us." She shrugged. Draegon was impressed, nodding at her.

"You wolves have always been resourceful." He agreed.

"Wolves." Zofia said softly, turning her head. Lilly gave her a secretive wink. They had always spoken so much about the wolves, and there were many wolves who crossed through the nomad's camp. Zofia loved the wolves, and she hoped that they wouldn't be hunted in the winter months. 

There was absolutely no question about it. They were not going to cancel the ball. It was part of their strategy and it was going to go ahead as planned. Zofia had made sure that everything looked perfect, that the grand ballroom was fit for a royal ball. Guards were posted at ever possible door and window and trap door. Garison was on her heels as she oversaw Lilly trying to overdo the decorations, wanting to fluff and flutter everything that she saw.