The Dragon's Flame Queen

Chapter 29 - Cold as A Monster

It was a magnificent day for Zenith as she sat before the mirror dressed up in one of her most prettiest gowns, the satin flowed down her waist like a waterfall and the soft fabric of the abdomen was adorned with the sapphires which enchanced the bright blue color of her gown. Her golden hair were braided and tied up in a bun adorned with the golden hairpins. One of her maids brought up a necklace made of gold and sapphires, she smiled as the necklace was placed on her and she faced herself in the mirror. Now, she was prepared to see her beloved husband and also receive the news which she had been waiting for since a long time.

Zenith hurried out of her chambers for the breakfast with her husband with the trail of her maids following her. To anyone's eye she would resemble a nymph from some beautiful dream as she passed through the corridors and entered the dining hall.

The one she was expecting wasn't in the Hall just the servants preparing the large table. She walked over to the large window and looked out at the vast landscape, the walls of their majestic castle and the hills and the far horizon. Zenith felt as if she had the world in her hands now, the pieces of whatever she had in mind were now falling in place and now she could really achieve what she had been trying to for so long. The fears that had housed in her heart would no longer exist and she would also protect the one whom she loved.

After waiting for a few more minutes she grew slightly impatient, she had prepared herself so immaculately just for her husband to see and be mesmerised by her but where was he?

She looked at one of the guards stationed at the Hall and asked him, "Where is His Highness?"

"His Higness will be here soon, princess." He said and she frowned.

"Is he alright?" She asked out of concern, hoping that it wouldn't be something worrisome.

"Yes, Your Highness, but His Highness seemed tired which is why he woke up a little later than usual."

Zenith's teeth clenched, she knew why Billard was so tired, there was only one reason, Demian. She felt the anger boiling within her veins as she thought of how troubled her husband was. She wanted to take away all of his worries and replace them with the peace and love.

The hard footsteps echoed off the stone walls and the large dining hall doors opened revealing Crown Prince Billard. Princess Zenith's face visibly brightened at his sight and he smiled at her as he walked over. He gently took her hand in his and bend to rest a kiss on her knuckles. Her cheeks colored as he straightened back up and held her eyes with his.

"I apologise for being late, my dear." He said, his eyes showed the worry and dark bags.

"It is all right, Your Highness. You seem tired, have you not rested enough?" She asked and Billard sighed as he led her towards the dining table.

The servants started serving the meals once they were seated and Zenith waited for Billard to answer her question.

"Your Highness?" Zenith asked again, pressing for an answer.

"There was another attack on Demian and Seraphina." Billard said.

"But, isn't Hidden Valley's location completely confidential?"

"It is. They were attacked once they left the Hidden Valley, we don't know what has happened of them after that. We didn't receive any message from their side, I am worried about where they might be, if they are safe or not."

The creases on his forehead made Zenith frown, she slowly reached out and held Billard's hand in hers.

"They must be safe, Your Highness. Master Valentine sent the most skilled knights with them, I believe they will be returning back any time." Zenith said and Billard looked at her with a smile which clearly displayed a great relief.

"I pray whatever you say comes true and they come back safely." He held her hand in hers now and she smiled back hiding the flurry of emotions behind her eyes.

"I pray so–"

The horns blared making Zenith's and Billard's eyes go wide for a moment, Billard smiled widely as he stood up immediately from his chair.

"Your words came true, Zenith!" He cried out, "Oh! I love you, my darling. They are here! They've returned." He leaned down to press a quick kiss on her lips before hurrying out of the dining hall to welcome his brother and his sister-in-law.

Without a second thought, Zenith stood up and followed Billard as he all but ran towards the entrance. The guards lined up and made way for the carriage to enter. Four guards followed it as their faces were dried up with exhaustion, their armors were dented narrating the story of the battle they had engaged in not too long ago.

Once the carriage was placed on the ground, Prince Demian stepped out and then turned to give a hand to Princess Seraphina. Zenith eyed them both with profound surprise but managed to hide her emotions. Her eyes roamed over the princess who seemed like she would be suited in the stables rather than in her presence and then at the young prince who seemed unscathed.

The dark velvet cloak hung from his slender shoulders covering his body from Zenith's watchful eyes. His eyes were just as cold as ever as if some hidden anger was brewing within him. He was nothing like his older brother.

She found Seraphina and Demian as the most unlikely couple as Seraphina at most seemed like the lively little puppy who would jump around to entertain people while Demian was a wolf who would kill just for his amusement. Zenith was against the engagement with the human nation on the ground of marriage, she knew the human bride would play some role for Demian but somehow didn't know if it was safe for that poor creature to be involved with the mighty race of dragons. But somehow, Seraphina seemed different than the other princess Zenith had met, she lacked the elegance and the grace that any princess held more important than her life. Princess or not though, it would be only matter of days and Seraphina would end up getting killed because of something, if not by the attacks on Demian then by Demian himself. That was also the reason why she wanted Seraphina to escape so that Demian wouldn't be able to kill her. The poor thing had nothing to do with what was going to happen and Zenith didn't want any sacrifices.

As the couple neared, Billard's smile grew tenfold and he grasped his younger brother's shoulders stopping himself from embracing him.

"I am glad you have reached safely, Demian. You must be exhausted after that journey, head to your chambers first and rest, I'll send you your meals and we'll talk after you're well rested."

Demian nodded, "That would be great since, brother, I have to discuss a very important matter with you and Master Valentine."

Master Valentine's face was straight as always however the glint in his eyes was hard to ignore. He was more than happy to have him back. Zenith scowled at them. She never liked to have Master Valentine's assistance. He was old, had no power except the powers that were given to him by the old King. If it wasn't for both of the brothers, she would discard him instantly. What was so great about having him when Zenith's father or brother would have been a good influence for the Salamanders?

She never understood why the Salamander brothers were so clinging on to him.

No matter how things were around her, she had always managed to hide her distaste well. However, this time it was hard to contain her anger.

Demian had always been harsh, cold and hard to approach but it was what he deserved. A black sheep in the family. He was the reason for the Queen's death and now the King was suffering. He was like the bad omen and no matter how much Billard loved his dear brother, she despised him.

He was cursed. His curse had brought upon very unfortunate circumstances and it was a matter of time when he would bring upon disasters.

He managed to survive all the attacks that were meant to take his life and never once was the casualty too severe that he would be dying in his bed. Any amount of well planned attacks weren't making any progress and that made the veins in Zenith's brain burst. She had hired the best assassins from across tha continent yet, she couldn't succeed.

She had a large number of men at arms under her, but no one could manage to take him down despite how weak he was. Or maybe, he pretended to be one.

After the couple had rested Billard invited them to join for the lunch and both the prince and the princess joined them.

"I was so worried after I heard you were ambushed. I supposed these men were great at defending?" Billard asked as all of them sat and the servants served.

"Yes, but this time, we were lucky as Seraphina took down their leader. They had many men, this time." Demian answered as both Billard and Master Valentine exchanged a look, worry crawling on their faces.

"Princess Seraphina was the hero again, I guess." Billard said with an awkward smile and Seraphina coughed lightly.

"That's not it... It was Prince who protected me." Seraphina said and Zenith narrowed her eyes as she noticed as how Seraphina and her maidservant exchanged silent messages through their eyes. There was something strange with Seraphina which needed to be investigated. There were many possibilities like, she could be an imposter sent by the human nation to protect their real princess or she might be a spy from some other country herself who killed the real princess and is here in her stead. Whatever the possibility was, Zenith needed to confirm Seraphina's identity.

"Then we shall discuss this further in my study." Billard's face darkened as he got the report the other day on how powerful the enemy was. He had to take measures at this point as it wouldn't be safe for them to travel anymore.

Demian had sent a report but he didn't disclose much. Now Billard was worried wondering if it was a major issue. Billard took a piece of his food and absentmindedly ate it while his mind ran into the possible dangers that were yet to come since the day wasn't far.

He didn't quite remember if their father had to bear the same amount of headache he had been bearing. Everyday his workload was increasing and now he had barely enough time to rest his back. But it was a kingdom, he had responsibility and both Demian and Master Valentine were working harder for him, even Zenith. They were the reason he got that much energy to lead the kingdom and somehow he was very grateful to have a family like them.

His eyes moved to the young couple and found both of them were whispering something and it wasn't hidden that Demian was irritated. His brows were twisted and he was eating in a hurry and for a moment, Billard saw Seraphina jabbed a finger beside his belly which made his younger brother grit his teeth. However, it was amusing how he hadn't said anything to her.

Billard could feel the bond between them had developed to such an extent that his heart swelled up with happiness. All he wanted was for the curse to be lifted and Demian to have a normal life.

His eyes moved to Seraphina who ate silently but sometimes her fingers went to Demian to annoy him.

Billard smiled inwardly and hoped his decision wasn't bad.

As he chewed on his food, he tilted his head and saw Zenith hadn't touched her food.

"Do you have no appetite, my dear?" He asked, snapping her out of what she had been thinking.

"No! I was just thinking..." she mumbled and twirled her fork playing with her food.

"What?"

"How did Princess Seraphina manage to take down the strong leader all by herself? In my case, I would never dare to approach him, let alone defeat him." She said which made both Seraphina and Demian to halt their eating.

"Well, she had said it already that she had learned to fight to protect her nation." Billard said.

"Even so... If the men were there to kill the young prince, wouldn't they be powerful enough to handle a little girl?" She asked as her eyes met with Seraphina. Seraphina's brows furrowed however, the exoression vanished as she resumed eating.

Demian didn't look at anyone, instead he stayed silent, then releasing a breath, he said, "Well, at least it was because of her, I survived the attack. So, I don't think there should be any doubts behind that."

Demian's harsh glare met with Zenith's doubtful one. It was undoubtedly clear that he had developed an understanding toward her and from the look it seemed Seraphina had already forgotten the conversation they had before going to the Hidden Valley.

It would be best if she contained her doubts to herself as Billard seemed to have unnoticed everything. To clear the tension she gave them a tight-lipped smile and said, "I have never doubted Princess Seraphina. I could tell with one look that the princess is warming up to our young prince."

At her statement, Seraphina's cheeks reddened but Demian stayed deadpanned. No emotions just like a monster. Just how could that princess develop anything for him, let alone love and trust?

"I am glad that princess Seraphina had taken no wounds with him. She must be very strong." Zenith finished as Billard looked at Seraphina as if he was considering Zenith's words. His eyes stayed on her for a moment as Demian finished his supper.

"Brother, we have to take rest and then shall we start about the matter I was talking about," Demian said, clearly he didn't like the way Zenith had put it.

Billard nodded and said, "Of course. Take your time. I'm in my study. Come when you feel refreshed."

As Seraphina finished her meal, Demian took her hand and walked off towards their wing without a glance behind.