۵ Chapter 2.5 ۵
1800 Words
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Chapter 2.5
rage
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⌇The Rose Palace⌇
The capitol of Anguis in Aaevahaven, a grand majesty of brick and stone, forming the biggest and most impenetrable fortress. A soft salmon rock is used for the cementing stone, giving the palace a pinkish glow, hence it's name. When it was thrown into a siege eighteen years prior, many thought it would stand...and as it fell, their hope turned into ashes in their mouths. The castle is still being fortified to this day. It became a dragon haven after the Princess Elia's first dragon hatched from it's egg - much to many citizens' disapproval and others' rejoice.
The great walls of the castle stood taller than any other building in the Capitol, a brilliant landmark for greatness and conquest. Anguis became a very proud city once the conquest had taken place, Raynerus himself had taken it upon himself to see the city through greatness. Laws were put in place, and a King's Guard was formed of three great and loyal men for the utmost protection.
Many kings had sat upon The Rose Throne, and even a few queens - though they still were quite scarce in history, and not all of them good. Until the sacking of the city eighteen years ago, there had never been a king that was not related to the Dreamfyre lineage in some form. The Fire Lord, Igni Blueblood, took it upon himself for times of change; but he could never do such a thing without a connection to the throne. A daughter of the previous king would do quite nicely.
As a son of a small house on a collection of islands to the East leal to the throne, named so for the blue of its water, the son was named a usurper to the throne and quick to commit acts of treason. It never stopped him from using his magic to take the throne, however.
Elia followed the King's Guard through the city gates; men, women and children's eyes widened in awe at the sight of the beautiful dragon Princess. Her perfect figure and gentle eyes drew many to her, some even grasped a hold of her dress or long hair as she walked, hoping to catch a glimmer of her good fortune.
The King's Guard saw to it that nobody touched her, however, as not all of the citizens meant goodwill. There was a nasty, soulless look in some of their eyes. Hatred, scorn and anger. Not everybody agreed in the rebirth of the dragons, and some believed that if the Princess died, then her beasts would die alongside her.
Elia admired the people in the city's streets. She believed all could be equal under her reign one day.
A woman gently tugged the side of her dress, and the Princess turned to face her. She carried a babe in one arm and wore tattered robes - she must've been from Dragon's End, a rather overpopulated area of the city, ridden with rats and dirt and poor. She held a hand to stop the King's Guard from interfering, and he stood back, hand on the dragonhead pommel of his sword.
"Please, Princess. Could you spare a few gold for my baby?" She said in rather broken version of the common tongue. She seemed to be a working lady, perhaps from one of the many brothels in Anguis, and had the smooth accent of a Eayena woman.
Elia smiled and tore a strip of her red silk dress, and proceeded to hand it to the woman. "There is enough gold in that silk alone than my King's Guard carries on him. Sell it, and buy yourself food for you and your baby." She said gently.
The older woman smiled a toothy smile with yellow broken teeth and harsh eyes, with tired red veins coursing through them. She took the silk from the Princess, and smiled gently. Suddenly, the smile turned to a grin and she dropped the silk, took a hold of her dainty wrist and yanked Elia closer.
"Ah!" She exclaimed and fell forward into the woman's forced embrace.
The woman dragged her closer to her ear. "Filthy dragon w***e! I'll murder those beasts whilst they sleep in their dirty caves. And then we'll come after you, you f*****g w***e!-"
The King's Guard took the pommel of his sword and knocked it into the side of the woman's head, knocking her to the ground. As she fell, her 'baby' revealed to be a sack of potatoes and cloth.
"You say one more word to the Princess and I'll slice your filthy neck open, not before I rip out your tongue with my bare hands." He sheathed his sword and held out a hand for the Princess to take. "You stay close to me now, your Grace. There are vermin in this city that would see you burn with it."
Elia hurried closer to the King's Guard and took a hold of his hand. "Why would she say such things?" She said with ragged breaths, taking quick and sharp glances at the world around her; she felt all the eyes of the city on her.
"Not everybody wishes to see another Dragon Queen, your Grace." He said softly. "There was a time they came with mass destruction."
Elia's head hung low, her brows kept in a permanent frown in thought. The keep wasn't much further, but the walk up the gigantic spiral staircase was hurried as it seemed as though people were closing in on her. She suddenly felt very alone.
Passing the courtyards, the sept, and into the main, two great double doors opened up into the throne room. Her father sat upon The Rose Throne straight ahead of her. Closer inspection revealed that he was holding something - something that was too hard for her to make out.
She walked closer. "Father. You sent for me?" Her eyes did not waver from the object. She moved closer. It was bloody. "What are you holding?"
The Fire Lord stood to his feet with great remorse in his red eyes, he gently held out the sack in front of him. "Please, my sweet. Promise me calmness before you set your eyes upon what I behold."
Elia became agitated, and the King's Guard stepped aside. "Tell me what it is, father. I demand to know." Her heart raced in her chest.
"My sweet-"
"-WHAT IS IT?!" She shouted, her voice echoed through the halls. The Fire Lord took no more time and reached out to hand it to her.
Before acknowledging it, she glanced at the dark colour of the liquid leaking from the fabric and felt the worst come over her, she could feel a huge lump form in her throat and utter dread hung in the pit of her stomach.
Elia, with furrowed brows and a pained expression, took the bag in her hands and slowly peered through the knotted top; she opened it as instructed and sunk to her knees in horror at the sight beyond.
Her dragon's severed head lay in the bag, dripping with his own blood. She involuntarily dropped it and began wailing; she called for the guards but no one came. She cried for her father, but his feet would not move.
She could not breathe, let alone speak words. He had been taken from her. The beautiful creature was no larger than a bloodhound, but he was her child. Born from a clutch of eggs lain by her beloved mount Elyssor, Embereye had much to live up to. But now his severed head lay in a bag, with no sign of his body.
"I grieve for you, my love. I cannot imagine losing such a beast." The Fire Lord touched a hand to her shoulder as she knelt against the hard floor. Tears streamed from her bright eyes, down her pale cheeks and onto the stone.
"He was never a beast to me, father." She looked up and met her eyes to him. "Find out who did this, father. Find out so I may burn their screaming corpse!" She threatened, and stood to her feet.
"How dare they?! How dare such a disgusting piece of filth touch my beauty! HOW DARE THEY?!" She howled.
With a swift motion, she placed the head onto the floor and scurried from the room, storming through the great double doors. Tears filled her opal eyes, and desperately she tried from streaming down her cheeks. Though it was no use, she stared into the sky, hoping to see a sign of her dragons, but with no such luck.
Paranoia seeped through her veins, if one was dead, what would stop others from trying to murder the others? Elia darted through the crowds of people until reaching the last courtyard where they had formed almost a barrier of confused expressions beside the steps to the ground.
Red. Red everywhere. The Princess almost flew down the steps and raced to the entrance of the city, beside the begin of Dragon's End, where she had been not a moment earlier. Though, she had no flicker of fear in her, nothing but anger and rage. She sought out her target, and found her laying still immobile against the dirty ground. Yet, she was conscious, and that's exactly what the Princess wanted.
The woman looked up just in time to see the Princess emerging through a crowd of people, but before she could react, Elia grabbed her throat and set her hand ablaze.
"AHH!" The woman screamed, her throat singeing from the outside, in. Blood escaped her lips, alongside black smoke and red flames. The Princess did not let go, not until the beggar had stopped screaming and lay a pile of scorching rubble against the floor.
The smell was unbearable. Smoking flesh drifting through the wind; filling up her nostrils with death.
She turned to face the crowds of people only after the deed was done. "If anybody threatens my dragons again, or they so much as whisper a bad word about them...THIS IS THE OUTCOME!" She bellowed, pointing the the lifeless corpse against the floor.
With a wave of her hair and wisp of her dress, she left the city gates into the outside and called her dragon, Elyssor. After a moment, the sound of a loud screech came through the sky, and sure enough he pierced through the white clouds.
"Come." She said gently and held out a hand as he landed, letting out a loud roar. His back legs touched the ground first, and then his wings, which he kindly bent in order to let his rider atop his scales.
She climbed aboard and with a deep breath and a short run-up, took off into the sky; heading towards the clouds.
- Writer
