The Twin Dragons Mate

I was only eighteen when the two men came to our small farm. My father was very ill, and my mother couldn’t keep up with the farm or the bills. So you could imagine our surprise when the men came to us; my mother opened the door and let them into our tiny house. The brothers walked in; mother asked me to stay in my room until she called for me, and I obeyed, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t listen in. I placed my ear to the door, listening to the conversation. “Thank you for meeting with us, Mrs. Smith.” One of the brothers said to my mother; his voice was deep and husky, it caused me to bite my lip slightly. Mother chuckled lightly, “It’s no trouble, dears.” She said excitedly,  “And do give our best to your husband. I hate to have this conversation without him present, but understand the condition.” The other brother said to her; his voice was softer but had a dominating tone that was well hidden. “What is the nature of your visit?” Mother asked them, clearly intrigued. The brother with the deeper voice began to speak,  “We understand you have a daughter of marrying age, is that correct?”  “It is, yes; my Maryanne is so sweet and very in tune with housework. She even helps me with the farm.” I smiled at the praises my mother gave me, “We would like to meet her.” I heard the other brother say, “Our kind is rather traditional when it comes to mortals.” I raised a brow but continued to listen in, “Of course, I’ll fetch her.” I heard my mother stand and come towards my door. I straightened up my dress and fluffed my red hair, so my curls fell across my back. Mother opened the door and motioned for me. I nodded and followed her to the table where the men had been sitting; I slowly glanced up, being met with four piercing blue eyes, bluer than my own. The men stood as I entered the room,  “Gentlemen,” I said softly, “it is lovely to meet you.” They stared at me for a moment, then smiled. One of the brothers had shiny, dark hair, like chestnuts; the other had a lighter shade but just as polished. The more golden-haired brother came over to me and reached his hand out for mine,  “May I?” He asked; I realized that this was the softer-toned brother. I nodded and placed my hand in his. He watched me for a moment, then said, “Don’t be afraid.” Before I could understand what he meant, a light purple flame engulfed my hand, causing me to jump slightly, but the man kept his grip on my hand. The odd thing was, the flame didn’t burn me. It actually tingled, if anything; I found myself mesmerized by the fire dancing across my skin. Both of the brothers smiled at each other as they watched my expression.  “How is this possible?” I asked, forcing myself to tear my gaze away from the flames as they began to die, “We finally found you.” The dark-haired brother muttered softly, so softly that I almost didn’t hear it. He too made his way to me and took my other hand in his,  “Found me?” I asked; they both smiled and nodded,  “You are our mate, little one.” The dark-haired man said, “My name is Elliot. This is my brother, Drake,” he motioned to the lighter-haired brother, who then nodded to me. But I only stared at them, confused,  “Mate?” They nodded, “What is a mate?” I asked them; I had never heard of a mate before. Elliot offered me a seat at the table before he, Drake, and my mother all sat with me, “A mate,” Drake began, “is like a soulmate. Someone you are bound to until you die.” He explained; I nodded, “So, it’s like, true love?” I asked them, they both nodded. I looked at my mother; she seemed confused but excited for me.  “This is so exciting!” My mother said, “But, there is a problem.” They turned their attention to her,  “What is the problem?” Elliot asked her, and she cupped her hands; I knew what it was. It was about my dowry. The money my husband would gain from our union, but… “We had to use her dowry to pay the rent for the land.” My fathers’ voice entered the room. We all turned our heads, and I jumped up,  “Papa, you should be in bed,” I said as I went over to him, but he slapped my hands away.  “No, my wife is here negotiating my only daughter, my only child’s wedding.” He shouted, “I cannot let her do that. It is my duty as your father.” I rolled my eyes, “Papa, don’t be obscured. Mama has this handled.” I told him, but he put his hand up,  “Quiet, Maryanne.” I shut my mouth immediately, “I need to speak to these men for a moment.” I wanted to protest, but instead, I helped my father to the table and allowed the men and my mother to sit while I stood in the background while they had a conversation.  After what seemed to be forever, the brothers looked at each other then turned back to my parents, then to me, “Miss Smith, are you comfortable with being married to two men?” Drake asked me; they all turned to me,  “I-It’s just not done, but I know you are…different.” They continued to stare at me; I took a breath and said, “Yes.” The brothers smiled at my answer, “But we don’t have the dowry.” My father told them, but both of the brothers stood.  “Our family has a tradition; we actually give the family of our betrothed a dowry instead.” I raised a brow as they both pulled out big bags that they set on the table with a clank. “Both bags contain two hundred gold pieces.” My parents looked at each other than at the money bags; my mouth dropped. What were these guys? What did they do to have two hundred gold pieces just lying around? I saw the brothers smile as they stared at me, and once again, they shared a silent conversation.  “Why so much? Our family is nothing special.” My father asked them; Elliot spoke, “Our kind takes our unions very seriously. To your people, you may be nothing, but to ours, your daughter is everything.” It was at this moment I found the courage to ask, “What do you mean, your kind?” Elliot looked to his brother and nodded,  “Well, we’re,” “Dragons.” My mother stated. I looked at her, “High ranking dragons if I’m not mistaken.”  “Yes, we are the dragon kings,” Drake told me, causing my jaw to drop. Dragon kings? Which means I’m… “Yes, Maryanne, you’ll be the queen of dragons if you choose to be with us,” Elliot answered in my thoughts. Could they read my mind? “The decision is completely up to you, Maryanne. Even if you do not wish to be with us. Please, keep the gold as our thanks for taking the time to meet with us.” I nodded and excused myself and went outside to breathe; this was all so much to comprehend. So many questions ran through my head. What would happen to me? Would I be educated? Would I be safe? I sighed. The ladylike thing to do would be to accept the offer; my heart was telling me to accept, but I couldn’t shake a feeling off. It was a warning… After some time, I walked back into the house, and everyone stood. I looked at my parents and gave them a soft smile before turning to the brothers. Elliot and Drake stared at me for a moment; I took a breath and gave them my answer, “I accept.” They both beamed with joy and excitement, and so did my parents.  Mother helped me gather the few dresses I had and put them in my trunk; I put my two books in as well and closed it shut. The brothers told me that they’d send someone to pick up my belongings, and soon we all went outside. I hugged my parents, “I’m going to miss you.” I told them, mother hugged me tightly,  “Please, don’t forget to write.” I smiled and nodded as a tear ran down her face. I then turned to my father and gave him a hug as well,  “I’ll miss you, my brave girl.” He told me. I couldn’t stop the tears that rolled down my face, “I’ll miss you too, Papa.” I pulled away and walked towards my mates. They both shook my father’s hand, “Take care of my daughter; dragons or not, if you hurt her, I will hunt you down and kill you.” Even in his frail state, my father terrified anyone who dared to mess with his little girl, “We’ll die before we let anything happen to her,” Elliot assured him. The brothers turned to each other and nodded. Drake went over to the clearing, and Elliot pulled me away, “What’s happening?” I asked; Elliot only smiled and whispered,  “Watch.” I did as he said and watched as Drake’s body was engulfed in a dark purple mist. It was as dark as the night sky. I heard a roar come from where Drake had stood. The fog cleared, and before we stood a beautiful, majestic creature; his scales were dark as midnight that seemed to sparkle in the sun like stars, his tail had black spikes at the end. Elliot walked me closer to the beast; its head lowered to the ground in front of me. The familiarity of the beasts’ eyes made me realize, this was Drake! Elliot raised my hand, and Drake brought himself closer, allowing me to pet him. I smiled; he wasn’t so scary. “He’s so pretty,” I muttered; Elliot chuckled, “Thank you, little one.” I heard Drake’s voice; how could I listen to him while he’s in this form? “As our mate, you can link us with your mind, and we can do the same to you,” Elliot explained; I blushed madly, “So, you two can….” “Read your thoughts?” Drake finished, “Yes.” I felt my cheeks flush even more as Elliot guided me onto Drake’s back, “You might want to hold on, dear,” Elliot told me. I wrapped my arms around him as tightly as possible, making him chuckle. I waved goodbye to my parents, and we started to take off, “Brother, go easy. Maryanne isn’t used to this yet.” Drake huffed in response. Without a moment to waste, we were off to our home. When we got to their castle, they escorted me to a room, “This will be your room.” Elliot told me, but I raised a brow,  “What is it, dear?” Drake asked me,  “I just thought that we’d be married right away.” They both chuckled as they both stroked my cheek,  “Not at all, darling.” Drake told me, “We want to give you time to adjust here.” “And, we barely know each other; we’d like to get to know you more before we make that leap.” Elliot chimed in. I nodded and entered the vast room and sat on the bed. It was so comfortable. I smiled as they stared at me, “Thank you,” I muttered; they nodded, “We’ll leave you to get settled,” Elliot told me. I nodded as they turned away and left me alone.  I’ve lived with the Dragons for nearly a year. I sat at the table, laughing; my mates sat across me, smiling and laughing alongside me. Soon, they made their way over to me, “My darling,” Elliot said to me, his brother, Drake began kissing my neck slightly, “we are in love with you.” He told me,  “So, we wanted to ask you a question,” Drake muttered against my skin. I giggled a little as they both came in front of me and knelt down before me,  “What is it, my loves?” I asked them; they took my hands in theirs as Elliot began to speak, “Maryanne, our beautiful, incredible mate,” Drake took his turn to speak, “You are the most amazing woman we have ever met, and we were wondering,” Drake looked to his brother, and they nodded to each other before turning their attention to me, “Will you marry us?” They asked in unison; tears began flowing down my face as a smile spread across my face, “Yes!” I practically screamed, throwing myself onto them. We stayed like that for a little while before we were interrupted by some of the servants. They all cheered for us. I never thought I’d be here, mated to two men, to dragons. But then…roars of people heading towards the castle erupted,  “What’s happening?” Elliot roared out; Drake wrapped his arms around me tightly, keeping me behind them both,  “Your majesties, it’s the village.” One of the guards told them, “They….” The guard went silent, “What? They what?” Drake yelled; the guard looked to me,  “T-They, they’ve killed,” I realized what he was trying to say, “I’m so sorry, Lady Maryanne….” I felt my knees give way,  “No…” I muttered; Drake caught me in his arms, “Maryanne!” The boys shouted,  “My…my parents….” Elliot turned to the guard,  “Take Maryanne somewhere safe; we’re going to handle this.” But the guard froze, “There’s something else.” He said both boys growled, “What else could there possibly be?” Elliot growled, causing the guard to jump back, “It’s Lady Aladora; she’s leading the villagers.” I felt Drake’s hands tighten around me, “Aladora! That little…” Elliot growled, but he turned to me,  “We need to protect her; Maryanne is in danger!” Elliot told Drake, and soon, I was escorted away to my room by the two of them. When we got to my room, they set me in there and looked me in the eye, “Stay here; we’ll come back when it’s safe.” Elliot said to me before kissing my head,  “I’m scared,” I admitted to them. Drake kissed my head, “I know, but you’ll be okay. We’ll be back as soon as we can.” I nodded, and they left me alone, the door locking behind them.  It felt like hours as I waited for my mates to return, but then, I heard the door unlock. I ran over to it, wanting to throw my arms around them both, but as the door opened, a woman walked into the room; her hair was a blonde color and her eyes a deep purple, “Who are you?” I asked her. The woman didn’t say anything as she looked around my room before turning her eyes to me. She looked me up and down before scoffing, “Really, they chose you.” She said before grasping my face, “A mere mortal. There’s nothing even special about you. You’re too weak to be the Dragon queen.” She spat. I pulled away from her, “Who are you?” I asked again; she smirked, “I am Lady Aladora; I was supposed to be the twin dragon kings’ mate. I was supposed to be their queen!” She shouted at me, I backed away. Terrified. “What have you done to my mates?” I asked her, my tone stern. She didn’t say a word to me, and I was thrown to the wall behind me, hitting hard before falling to the ground. Aladora didn’t throw anything at me; what did she hit me with? I forced myself up with a bit of a struggle but was pushed back to the floor with her foot.  “They are my mates! Not yours!” She yelled, then she picked me up and began dragging me out of the castle to the courtyard.  I saw many of the villagers from my town. Then I saw my mates out of the corner of my eyes. “Elliot, Drake! What did you do to them?” I screamed, but I was thrown towards the edge of the cliff. Aladora came close to me, then snapped her fingers, and two men came over and grabbed my arms. She walked over to my mates and grabbed their faces; they looked weak. I could feel tears begin to run down my face, “What have you done to them?” I yelled; she smirked, “Dragonsbane, it’s poisonous to dragons, but it only poisons them in small doses, so it won’t completely kill them.” She said, then she turned to them, “Dragon Kings, I beseech you. Make me your queen, and I’ll allow the girl to live.” I saw them glance at me, then Elliot looked up at Aladora, “Never, witch! Maryanne will be our queen; you will never have our power!” He yelled in a shaky breath. I smiled slightly but seeing how much pain they were in hurt me. Aladora raised up from them, then came to me, a knife in her hand that she then held to my throat.  “How about now?” She cooed at them, but they both tried to reach for me “Don’t you touch her!” They yelled at her “Drake, Elliot, please….” I muttered, the knife starting to cut into my neck, “Fine,” Drake muttered under his breath, Elliot soon muttering, “You can be our queen. Just let her go, please.” I wanted to reach out to them, but the men held my arms in place firmly. “No…” I whispered under my breath; I could feel the smile spread across Aladoras’ face.  “Excellent!” She beamed, moving the knife away from my neck, and walked over to the brothers, “If only it were true, my loves.” Both of the boys tensed, “I curse you; you will be cursed to roam this earth forever. Only one of my descendants will be able to break this curse. I assure you, my bloodline will be upon the dragon throne. She will bear your mark, and only she will be able to end your curse.” She muttered something in a language I didn’t recognize; then walked over to me,  “Say goodbye to your mates, child.” And before I could protest, my throat was slit, and I was thrown over the cliff. Before long, everything went dark…