The Dragon Bride | ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Well?"

"My men will be back soon with the news, sir,"

"It's my lord, to you,"

The man rolls his eyes, looking at his client like they're dirt on his shoe. "I'd be very careful how you speak to me. I am the leader of the Crimsons,"

"And I am a pig on a farm, eh? Shut up and do as you're told, or I'll terminate the contract. I can easily get some other assassins to do it,"

The Crimson leader grits his teeth, anger and hatred in his green eyes.

Lionel Dalcazar, the leader of the Crimson mercenary, does not enjoy being degraded like this. But he also very much enjoys earning money, and the amount his current client is offering is far too much to pass up. He must behave himself.

His client has a strange mask, the face of it red, eyes black, it appears. What an odd choice of apparel they're wearing too – a long, dark royal blue cloak hiding any indication of who they must be. If anything, Dalcazar hardly knows whether his client is indeed a male or not. But he presumes so.

What kind of lady hires assassins? He thinks to himself. No, it can't be a lady, and if it were, she must be lowborn. No noblelady would set foot in the Crimsons stronghold. But what kind of peasant has the money to kill the King, his Regina, and the dragon bride? It must be a nobleman; and very high ranking too.

But Dalcazar can't piece it together no matter how hard he tries.

The room is darkly-lit, candle light flickering, causing the client's mask to appear even more eerie. It's oddly quiet for a few moments, the only sound being the slight creak of the old underground floorboards of the stronghold, the air suffocatingly thick and humid.

Dalcazar's face is tanned, his hair dark, green eyes glimmering. He's a Smarágdi dragon, which are identified by their green eyes, and being descendants of the Earth element.

The royal family, however, are the Smarágdi's enemy and greatest threat. You see, the royal family are Ametista, mountain dragons, descended from the Air element. They've been the "favourite", so to speak, for centuries. There have been wars, conflicts and even genocides between the Smarágdi and the Ametista.

There are four types of dragon, and the other two are the Elfr – descended from the Water element – and the Dìyù dragons, which are more serpentine in their dragon form, from the Fire element and originated from what Lynwan used to be.

Suddenly, two of Dalcazar's men rush in, the Head Chief, Viran Sharr, and Iryl Lance. Viran's eye is black and he's clutching his stomach in pain, whilst Iryl is bruised too, and looking terribly dirty.

"What is this?" Dalcazar demands, banging his fist against the table in front of him.

They flinch away, terrified. "Sir, I'm so sorry sir, but she got away... They all did, we couldn't kill them, sir..."

He stares at them, perplexed.

"It's true, sir," Viran confirms, "The dragon bride, she- she's not... Normal. She's been trained to fight, sir, I just know it! She outsmarted us, we underestimated-"

"You absolute idiots!" Dalcazar yells at them, blinded by fury. He hears his client hissing their teeth from behind him. "You let a human get away? A bloody mortal! I can understand if the Prince or one of the Royal Guards defeated you... But a human! And where is Cronic?"

"He is badly injured, sir, he's in the infirmary. The dragon bride knocked him out almost instantly,"

"These two men bring disgrace to your mercenary, Lionel." the client says dismissively.

"Indeed they do," Dalcazar hisses at the pair, who are now both looking down to the ground despairingly. "Get lost, you two. I'll find you and deal with you later. Be prepared to face the consequences, understood?"

They both nod and walk off solemnly.

Lionel takes a deep breath. Dammit. Those two ruined everything – Lionel's client initially asked for a full-scale attack on the palace. While Lionel knew this was the safest bet, he also couldn't risk it. That palace holds a secret of his that nobody needs to know of. But now that this attack failed, the client will undoubtedly demand an attack on the castle. That could jeopardise everything.

He bites my lip as he turns to face his client.

"You know what I want, Dalcazar," they say, in a low, murderous tone, "I don't care what price I have to pay. You will kill them, if not all then at least one. And now that this little forest plan has failed, you know what you need to do,"

And then immediately leaves.

Dalcazar sighs, groaning in frustration. Right. He does know what he has to do – he has to protect Princess Delphine. He will go to the palace himself, slaughter who he needs to, and make sure she doesn't get hurt.

Suddenly, there is a knock at the door. Dalcazar scrambles to his feet, clears his throat, before sending in the servant. Ah, yes, Marcelis. He delivers extra confidential letters and messages.

"What is it?" Dalcazar snaps.

"There is a letter from the palace, sir. I believe it is Her Highness,"

"Give it to me and leave. Collect your extra coins at the end of the day for your loyal service,"

Marcelis gives a small smile before turning around and leaving.

He rips open the letter.

Dear Lionel,
There is far too much going on in the palace. For one, there is Kora, who is back from the inspection tour. But you know what happened? A Crimsons attack.

I couldn't believe it when I heard. But, of course, you would know about it already. When I didn't know who you were, you might have gotten away with this. But not now. Kora is my friend. Synn is my brother. Perhaps you were too invested in the prospect of earning coins to even think of me? Of how this would impact me?

After this, I've been forced to face the reality of our situation; you are the leader of an organisation of cold-blooded killers. I am the eldest child of the King and Queen, the princess of the nation from which you derive the blood of your victims. You terrorise this country and because of my debts to you, I've let it happen, albeit unknowingly at first.

But now I know for certain it was a mistake. I know you, I know what lengths you will go to – so I must take desperate measures myself. I hate to do this, Lionel, but I must: if you come anywhere near me, whether in or out of the palace grounds, I will have you arrested. You know I can; I am the only one who knows your true identity.

So spare us both the trouble, please. We must end this. I've let it continue for far too long already,

Delphine

Dalcazar reads the letter over about a hundred times before tearing it apart, throwing it across the room in a fury. But what can he do? Delphine has made her mind up, and he no longer can meet with her to change it.

Their allyship was doomed from the beginning, and the more he took advantage of her kindness and the debt she owed him, the more he felt he had to hold onto her. It was never romantic between them – but the relation was just as strong. It was strange, and mismatched, and didn't make any sense.

And Dalcazar wishes it hadn't ended this way.