The Dragon Bride

My Choice

I woke up the next morning with a headache and when I got out of bed to look in the mirror, the restlessness of the night before was evident. My hair was a complete mess, tangles everywhere. I had had several weird dreams and almost nightmares. I turned towards the door as I heard it open. It was Martha.

“Highness, are you alright?”

“I told you not to call me that...I didn’t sleep well.”

“I see... how did the ball go..?”

I sighed. “I know who I want to choose, but my father and brother would never approve.”

“And why is that?”

I held my breath for a moment before replying. “Because he is a Fae prince..”

Martha gasped audibly. “F-fae? And not only that, but a prince?! Do you know if he is the next one in line for the throne?”

“I’m not sure.. it’s possible, but I don’t know for certain.”

“I see. You will still have to tell your father. Shall you get ready?”

I nodded and let her grab a gown out of the closet since I didn’t have the heart to choose one. It ended up being a green one with golden embroidery. Perfect colors for a Fae, but the striking contrast between the colors of the gown and the colors of my features clashed in an almost elegant way.

After I was done getting ready I went out into the hall in search of my father. I decided to check his office first. However, on my way I ran into my brother.

“Ah Ryoko, make your choice?”

“Maybe I have.”

“Aren’t you going to tell your dear older brother?”

“It’s a minute and three seconds! Shut up about it!” I took a deep breath and tried not to get angry at the cocky smirk on his face. “Besides,” my voice was a lot calmer now, “why do you care?”

“Why do I care about who my twin is going to potentially spend the rest of her life with? Gee, I have no clue.”

“Alright, alright. I get it. If you want to know so bad you can follow me to Father’s office.” I continued on my way. It took a minute, but soon enough I heard his footsteps following mine.

When I reached my father’s office I gave a couple small knocks on the door.

“Yes, Ryoko, what is it?”

I opened the door and stepped inside. “I have come to tell you my decision.”

“And your brother came to hear the information as well?”

“Yes, Majesty.” Ryujin gave a bow and then looked straight at our father. He was to inherit the throne one day. Therefore he had to show that he was capable and not afraid of anything.

“Trevan Aspendale.” I blurted out. I couldn’t hold it anymore and I didn’t know how else to approach it. How else would I tell him who I had chosen? He set his papers down and stared at me, straight in the eye. Then he reached over, without looking, and grabbed a couple papers next to him. Finally breaking eye contact, he scanned the document and after several seconds I could hear a growl rising up in his throat. I felt Zisra bristling at the challenge.

“You are choosing a Fae! The Fae prince!” His voice boomed through the large room and I could hear his desk creaking from the strain of my father’s hands clenching the dark wood. “What kind of insult is this! I found plenty of lords to attend, dragon lords! And what do you do?! You choose a Fae!”

Ryujin stepped between us and growled back at Father. “Calm yourself. Are you or are you not King?”

After that he composed himself. “I will send out the letter. However, I am strongly against it and I hope you feel the consequences of this choice.”

I simply curtsied and left the room. Once I was out in the hall I could feel the tears stinging my cheeks. How could I have done that to him? I felt so guilty. It was my duty to uphold the traditions of our family and to keep everything in order as much as I possibly could. And in one fell swoop I disrupted everything. I neglected my duty as princess.

I went back to my room in order to compose myself. I didn’t need anyone to see me crying like a small child. Especially with all the extra guests here as a result of the ball last night. After about half an hour I finally got my tear ducts under control again. I went over to clear my face in the washbasin in my room. Once I was done I used a small towel to dry off and then I headed out to the courtyard. There was no one really out and about, until a glacial blue male dragon with dark almost black sea blue eyes landed in front of me and shifted. He didn’t care that he was in plain sight and I had to cover my eyes for a moment while he got dressed. Then again, most males weren’t as worried about it, especially the soldiers. They didn’t have the time in battle to worry about whether or not they were modest and so it tended to carry over into their everyday lives.

When I opened my eyes again I saw a very fair skinned, toned man maybe a couple years older than me with the same dark blue eyes as his dragon and shaggy, black hair, strikingly different from the light blue of his dragon’s scales. It then struck me that I remembered him from last night. He was the prince of the Northern Kingdom that my brother had mentioned the day before. I then tried to duck to the side behind a wall to avoid his gaze, but I was too late. He saw me.

“May I ask why you are hiding, Princess?” I looked up at him and my face flushed.

“Ah I see. Someone who hasn’t seen much before. How sad. If you ever find the need, I could show you a good time.” His smirk irritated me.

“I’m fine, thank you.” I hoped that my glare didn’t go unnoticed.

“You know.. it would be a shame for you to give up this life, you know. I could take care of you. Give you the life you’re used to. Maybe even better. And I could satisfy...other needs.” His eyes trailed up and down my body and I snorted with disgust.

“I’m sure I’ll manage just fine. Besides, I already made my decision.”

“And who might that be?”

“Trevan.” It took him a second before he realized who I was talking about. The second after the recognition finally swept over his eyes they turned dark and filled with anger.

“How dare you! You are a dragon. How could you do this?! How could you do this to your family?! Our race?!”

I didn’t give him a response. Instead I just turned and walked away. Again, trying to hide the tears the attempted to stain my cheeks. I knew this decision would be opposed, but I didn’t imagine it would hurt this much to hear the words of everyone around me. I raced down the hall in search of my room once again before losing control of the water trying to pour from my eyes. However, before I could reach the door to my chambers, I ran into someone. I felt arms grab my shoulders to help steady me.

“My, my, are you alright Princess? What’s the rush?” I recognized that voice instantly. It was the same velvety smooth tone from last night. I looked up into his dark brown eyes, a few inches above my own. I was actually slightly short for my kind, at 5’6” instead of 5’8” or 5’9”.

“P-Prince Trevan. I didn’t expect to see you here.” I tried desperately to control the shake in my voice. I didn’t want him to know how upset I was.

“Are you alright? Is there something wrong?” Shoot. What do I do now? I can’t really lie to him.

“I’m alright. It’s nothing to concern yourself with.” Thankfully my voice was more steady this time. And I didn’t lie. Technically I was alright. I wasn’t hurt or anything.

“I um..” He held up an envelope with the royal seal stamped onto it. I could see that it was opened, however, he had done it so carefully that the seal was not broken. “I got the letter.”

I felt myself blush so deeply and all of a sudden my throat closed so that I was unable to speak even if I wanted to. I had no idea what to do or say.

“Is this maybe what was wrong? Because I am not a dragon?”

I felt my face fall at his words. I now felt like crying again, but this time not for my sake, but for his. I didn’t want him to be subject to this. I could only imagine how some of the dragons would treat him after they found out. They would target him because they would think that he was stealing their princess away and that he must have used some magic on me or something.

“I’m sorry..”

“Hey now,” he placed his hand on my cheek and made me look at him. “I’m not upset that you chose me. I just feel bad for the things people probably have or will say to you. Don’t worry about me. Trust me, I can take care of myself.” He gave me a small, reassuring smile and I couldn’t help but smile back.

“Alright.”

“Now then, why don’t we go for a walk?”

“I would enjoy that.” And with that, he took my hand and led me down the long hall and out through a door that led to the castle’s garden. It seemed that he had been making good use of his time to learn the grounds. Grinning, I led him over to the rose bushes and pointed out the different kinds and watched as he seemed to already know all of them, but he let me tell him about them anyway. It was nice and refreshing. A good retreat from everything that had happened in the last couple days. Maybe this Prince Trevan Aspendale wasn’t the wrong choice after all.