The Dragon and His Prince{ManxMan}

*Chapter 22

Zavian

His hand weighed heavily on my soul from its place on my shoulder. There was something unsettling about it, haunting and almost threatening. He tightened his hold and we turned a corner.

The part of the palace was cold, distant and virtually empty, it was underground which made the entire thing even more threatening. I glanced over at my father who looked down briefly, his lip twitching before we stopped.

"Father," I maintained calm even while my heart pattered harmfully against my ribcage. "Where are we?"

"The heart of a Kings power." Was his answer before he pushed his meaty hand over a stone in the bottom right corner of the stone wall. There was a sound of groves and shafts groaning, sliding slabs of stone shifted and the wall moved back and slid.

We walked in and finally his hand moved from my shoulder, he rounded, walking through with ease. I gazed at the thousands of shelves which spread out in the reasonably medium sized room. The books looked old and new, weird objects were scattered randomly in between. A mask of gold, with spots of black, both frowning and smiling. A spear with animal skin tied to the sharp end, smooth and light.

"Do you know what this room is?" Looking around I recalled a journal of the previous king, my grandfather.

"The kings study." He hummed.

"Do you know why I've brought you here?"

"One day it will be mine." He chuckled and I turned to him, he sat in the large velvet chair and touched the table.

"Do you really want it to be?" I looked around silently for a while without answering. I was only eight years old, I didn't know what I wanted, especially when I was full and ready for bed. "Do you know why it's hidden?"

"Mmmm, all secrets exist for a purpose...as king, you must have secrets, things you cannot easily share with others, your study represents that part. The deeds which nobody can know, that the King deals with in order to make his kingdom great."

His bright smile had me tilting my head.

"Well done." He pulled his drawer then and pulled out a case. "One day, I shall share these secrets with you, my dear boy, before you take the crown and become as great a king as I." He opened the box and I walked over, peaking inside. "You will learn the horrors of life then, the lengths we must all face for a great kingdom, the masks we must wear for the sake of the innocent, the disturbing reality."

He pulled out a chain, at it's end a black key shaped strong dangled, the letter D was carved into it, I marvelled.

"What kind of horrors?" He glanced towards me.

"The evil of magic."

My eyes fluttered at the gentle shake of my body. It was dark out and the warmth beneath me brought me calm.

"We have arrived." He whispered into my hair and I blinked, brows furrowed at my dream which brought chills to my spine.

"How long?"

"Two hours, I thought I'd let you rest."

I smiled and moaned arching my back and stretching as much as I could before he opened the door and allowed us to be hit by the roaring wind. Marius threw his arm around me and I looked up at him.

"Aren't you cold?" I chuckles and shook my head. I greeted the palace groundsmen who took our bags as Marius lead me inside.

"I was wondering when you would arrive." Marius and I turned to a tight lipped Zyandra, she wore a peach dress, her hair curled and styled, a silk shawl over her shoulders, she glanced behind her.