Gallimaufry

Writing Prompt - Don't call me Princess

After three weeks sailing directly into the blank horizon, when land finally showed itself midmorning, Calea had almost forgotten what it was like to stand on solid ground. She had never considered herself to be sheltered or unworldly but the portion of her world that she had been familiar with had been left behind them, to the south and east, nearly a month before. Calea had heard of these far off lands with its mighty empires and the mysterious Dominion that was looming before her and her people. There had just never been any need to cross that barrier between their world and hers, not until their ambassadors had arrived in her kingdom half a year ago seeking alliance and peace. They sought an alliance with the small country of Neland despite the rumours of complete domination over every other country they had fought against.

Her brother, King of Neland, had no choice but to entertain the small group though he certainly hadn't taken long to fall in love with the head ambassador, Princess Vashalia, who also happened to be the younger sister of the King here. Whatever peace meant between their countries, it was forged and would be solidified with the Royal wedding in a year. Whatever the final deal was that actually bartered for her twin's wife, Calea only knew that she had quickly been ordered to perform duties of an ambassador to the dark unknown that was the Dominion Valcantral.

Calea trusted her brother, she knew that whatever else happened, he wouldn't have agreed to anything more than a mutual presence in the court here without telling her. He wanted her to come to this land of fables, where violence was a way of life and dragons once soared through the clouds and come to her own conclusions as to the motivations of this dark power. He was smitten, but he was not an idiot.

At least, she hoped he wasn't an idiot.

"The capital city is on the peninsula we're angling towards." Breyta, one of her steadfast friends and official Battle Companions, pointed in front of them, to where buildings were appearing along the forbidding dark cliffs. Half the city appeared to be built out of the rock itself, though there was a huge structure on the highest point, with domes and spires that could only be the Royal palace. "You ready for this?"

"I'm not a politician." Calea muttered, glancing to Breyta then to the woman on her other side. Fexine was leaning silently on the ship's railing, expression unreadable, "but I'm also not a hostage. They want an ambassador, I'll be an ambassador. I'll embassy the hell out of this place for the next couple months and we can figure out why the mighty eye of Valcantral turned our way."

"You think they actually still have dragons?" Rassus asked as he stepped up beside Breyta, Tyfnin followed, stepping up beside Fexine, her group of Campions complete on all sides of her.

Calea snorted softly, looking over to the man who towered over all of them and easily weighed double or triple what one of them did. "That was just a story that Gracuian told us when we were too rambunctious to listen as kids. Dragons, if they ever existed, haven't been seen in centuries. Even if this megalomaniac we have to go entertain calls himself the Dragon King, there are no giant lizards."

Tyfnin chuckled softly at that. "I dare you to tell him that to his face."

"Please don't dare her to do anything of the sort." Fexine sighed softly, glancing between the group of them, "we're small fish, entering a big ocean. We must remember that. Neland is our home and we are powerful in our corner of the world but compared to this place? If they chose to raze us to the ground like the rest of the world, we wouldn't last two days."

"And only then, because they would wait to try and rescue the King's sister." Calea nodded, smirking ruefully. "Deryc may have saved the kingdom, or he may have doomed us all. But as long as he's in love, that's what counts."

The closer the got, the larger the city sprawled  as far as they could see in either direction, crowned by the equally sized palace stretching across the cliffs above, buildings looking like they were made for giants more than people.