The Dragon Prince

An Alluring Dance

After spending what felt like days perusing the market, Ash and I were both loaded down with shopping baskets filled with various odds and ends. We’d nearly reached the end of the market when a gorgeous pendant caught my eye.

I stopped in front of the stall as an older woman approached from behind the counter. “You have a good eye, girl.” Her voice came out in a breathy but loud whisper. A hush seemed to fall around us, catching me off guard. She was visibly aged, which seemed unusual for someone from the Faerie realm.

One of her eyes was solid grey, and her fingers trailed down into sharp points with no fingernails in sight. “I’ll tell you what, you’re new to our village. I’ll trade you this pretty little thing for something simple, what do you think?”  I cautiously took a small step back. ”What exactly do you want for it?” I knew that making a deal with the Fae was something to be wary of, I’d learned that much from folklore and the books I’d read growing up.

“Oh nothing big, my dear. Just your true name.” She grabbed the pendant off the counter and held it up, studying it carefully.

Ash suddenly appeared beside me, and the womans eyes widened. “She absolutely will not. Take these.” He threw two gold coins across the counter at her, they clattered as they skittered across the wood.

She threw the pendant at me, and the noise of the market seeped back in. I looked around, realizing how quiet it had been. When I looked back at where the old womans stall had been, it was empty.

“Arya.” Ash’s voice came out in almost a growl, startling me. “You cannot wander off like that. Do you know what would’ve happened if you’d given her your name?” The anger in his voice caught me off guard.

“I didn’t realize I’d wandered off, I just stopped to look at a necklace on her stall.” I was genuinely confused. Looking around me, I noticed that I was in a completely different part of the market than I had been when I’d stopped.

People were slowly filtering out and leaving, and it had quieted down a good bit. I looked up at Ash with raised brows. He ran a hand through his long hair and let out an exasperated breath. “I’ve been looking for you for about an hour. I had no idea where you’d gone. You have to be careful, even in the village. The Fae will take advantage of anyone they can, do you understand?” He grabbed my arm and we turned, moving in the direction of the edge of the market.

“I don’t understand, I was only there for a moment...” He pulled me over to a side street and started leading me down it, seeming to have calmed down a bit.

“I have one last place I want to show you before we head back to the castle. I’ll explain when we get there.”

***********

When we finally stopped, we had reached a run-down pub near the center of the village. Ash paused by the door, looking at me strangely.

“I told you we’d have time to get to know each other. I’ve spent a lot of time with you in the mortal world, so I already know a good bit about you. I figured it’s only fair if I show you a bit about me, too.” I raised my brow as he opened the door, starting to ask what he’d meant, but was cut off by a shriek that echoed out into the streets.

“ASH!!!” A femenine voice met us as I followed him inside, the woman in question running up and giving him a huge bear hug. I stepped back awkwardly, not knowing what to think.

She finally let go of Ash and turned to me with a heart-warming grin on her beautiful face. She seemed older, but no lines or wrinkles showed anywhere on her skin. Her long, dark brown hair was pulled back in a braid down her back, and her brown eyes were filled with warmth.

“And who might you be? I hope my son hasn’t caused you any trouble.” I was taken aback at her words. Son? This is Ash’s mother?

I gave her a shy smile. “I’m Arya.” The words had barely left my mouth before she swept me up into a hug too.

“Well, any friend of Ash’s is welcome here. Come on, let's get you two sat down. I’ll have someone take care of those baskets of yours.” She led us over to a table near the back of the nearly empty pub, and we took a seat.

She grabbed the baskets from us and hurried into the back of the pub, raising her eyebrows at us as she left.

“That’s your mom?!” I asked.

“Yeah... she can be a lot to take in, but she means well.” He ran a hand down the side of his face, looking slightly embarrassed.

“So if she’s your mom, then that means she was Josh’s... well the real Josh’s wife, right?” I clamped a hand over my mouth as I realized what I’d asked, not meaning to bring up his father. He nodded gravely. “His loss took a lot out of her. I’m genuinely glad to see that she’s doing better. They were mates, and had been mated for a long time. When he was sent on his mission, she fell into a depression I thought she’d never recover from. When he passed, well...”

 I looked down at my hands guiltily, but before I had the chance to ask anything else, his mother had returned.

“Now that that’s straightened out, let me finally introduce myself. Arya, you can call me Berria.” She finished with a curtsy and a wide grin. Ash groaned from across the table and she let out a wail of laughter. “Son, am I embarrassing you in front of your lady friend?”  He slapped a hand across his face and looked at her from between his fingers.

“Mother, can we please have a minute, there are a few things Arya and I need to discuss. I’ll come back by later to catch up with you, I promise”

She rolled her eyes at him and shot me a smile. “Okay son, it’s just been so long since I’ve seen your gorgeous face. I’ll give you some time with your little lady.” She plopped a wet kiss on his cheek and walked into the back of the pub with a flourish.

Ash wiped the kiss of his cheek with a scowl that didn’t quite meet his eyes, a blush creeping over his face.

“I hate that you had to see that.” He grimaced. I laughed and gave him a grin. “No, she seems wonderful. I just feel so guilty that I’m the reason she had to suffer...”

He raised a hand to stop me, suddenly serious.

“No, Arya. He was following orders. His job, and now mine, as captain of the guard is an honor. He was doing his duty to our Court and knew what the consequences would be. His only flaw was not coming back in time for the medics to help him.” He paused for a moment, letting me collect my thoughts. I nodded at him and he continued.

“She loved him dearly, they were connected by the mate bond. But she knew he served the Court before anything else. You cannot think that any of this was your fault, okay?”

“Okay...“ I replied quietly, thinking back on all the fond memories I had of the man that had been her husband.

“Now, we need to talk about what happened at the market. If I hadn’t found you when I did, things could’ve gone very badly.” He was still looking at me seriously as I tilted my head at him.

“What do you mean? All she asked for was my name.”

He shook his head at me and let out a long sigh.

“Precisely, but she asked for your true name. As a Fae, giving someone your true name is dangerous. They can use it however they want, wielding your true name gives them the power to control you. Under no circumstances are you to give anyone your true name, okay?”

I took a sharp intake of breath, realizing what I’d almost done. “Okay, it definitely sounds like I need to be more cautious. I’m a dumbass.”

Ash cracked a wide smile and let out a booming laugh, the sound resonating through the pub like a bass drum.

“No, you just have a lot to learn. Now, let's eat.”

********

Ash and I had made small talk as we ate, talking about our childhoods and the differences of growing up in different realms. He explained that both his, and his fathers mission, had been a secret from the rest of the Court. Only both men involved and the Queen even knew of my existence.

Berria finally let us leave after she served us a third helping of delicious stew. She shooed us out the door, giving Ash another long hug and making him promise to visit her as soon as he got the chance.

We made our way back towards the castle slowly, taking our time as we walked arm in arm. A thought occurred to me suddenly and I stopped mid-step, causing us to stumble.

“Ash, why did the Queen keep calling you Joshua? She knew that wasn’t your name...” He paused for a moment before answering, as if he were choosing his words carefully.

“Our Queen does many things I don’t understand, but my best guess is that she didn’t want to alarm you. You’ve been through a lot in the last few days, and she seems to have taken a liking to you.” He shrugged and tugged me forward. “Come on, it’s late. We need to get you back to the castle before she sends out a search party for her guest of honor.”

We hurried on, but when we finally reached the gates to the courtyard, it sounded as though there was joyous music coming from within.

Ash raised an eyebrow and stopped me, looking concerned. “I wasn’t aware that the Queen was hosting a revel tonight. Arya, stay beside me, it is very important that you do not let go of my hand.” I looked at him quizzically, and the concerned look that had been there before had melted away, replaced with an encouraging smile.

“Trust me, okay?” I nodded and we walked through the gates, where we were greeted by a party the likes of which I’d never seen.

A huge bonfire had been erected in the middle of the courtyard, and all around it, there were hundreds of Fae. Dryads, with green skin and flower petals in place of locks of hair danced with river nymphs, whose skin was so fair it was almost translucent. Swirls of light iridescent blue flowed down the nymphs bodies, reminding me of flowing streams.

Satyrs danced among them, their long legs coated with downy fur, ending abruptly with strong looking hooves. The crowd seemed to move in a drunken haze, and the air around us felt as though it were charged with electricity.

Everyone was scantily clad, even the Fae males choosing to strip down to just their undergarments. Groups lay together in the grass, touching and grinding against one another in the glow from the tree far above.

Soft music played around us, seemingly from nowhere as we made our way across the grounds. It seemed to be lulling me into what felt like a trance.

“Ash, I want to go dance.” I whined as we walked up the steps to the castle doors.

“Arya, I can’t let you do that. Not tonight.” he looked down at me with a pained expression on his face. I smiled up at him dazedly, thinking about how wonderful it would feel to plant a kiss on his soft lips.

“Now, why won’t you let the Lady have at least one dance, Wolf?” A familiar voice purred from behind us.

Ash let out an inhuman growl as we turned to face the man who’d spoken.

“Arya, it’s such a pleasure to see you again.” A wide smirk was planted firmly on the face of the gorgeous man I’d met at the bar, what seemed like ages ago.

“Dragon prince, what exactly do you think you’re doing here? Does the Queen know of your arrival?” Ash’s face had twisted into a snarl.

“Why, what does it look like I’m doing? I’m asking a beautiful woman to dance.” He gave a small, sarcastic bow.  “To answer your second question, don’t you think our welcome would’ve been a little less warm if she didn’t? I’d think a captain of the guard would know what was going on within his own home if he were actually doing his duties.” I giggled drunkenly at his retort, the air around me felt heated against my skin.

“Come now, Arya. Have a dance with me.” He reached out his hand, and I let go of Ash’s despite his growl of warning.

I took the prince’s hand and he led me into the swirling mass of bodies, not once looking back. He pressed me against him tightly and whispered into my ear softly.

“Arya, you may call me Aideon.”