Princess Crystallis

"I will awaken the Dark Sovereign, our very own Dragon King of old."

Crystallis didn't belong in this dark palace, with its halls made of obsidian rocks and amethyst flames. She was like the sun trapped in between an endless void, the only thing glowing amidst the blackness of everything. Her skin was fair as ice, her hair the warmest golds of jewelries. But it was not merely her features that set her aside from her environment, it was her magic as well.

Draped in a pale blue gown that resembled the frigid skies of the north, and a tiara of pearls, she stood before the Shadow Court. Unlike her, everyone else wore monotone colors, sticking to grey and black. Even her father who was sitting on his throne behind her, wore a dark robe lined with fur.

"Your Highness, if I may be blunt," a general stepped forward, "I believe that the princess is getting too cocky just because she is a mage. One might perceive her to be out of her mind."

The king did not utter a word, not choosing to react to the man's insolence, or if he even treated it as such. Crytsallis' hands curled into tight fists as she struggled to keep herself together.

She maintained her calm. "I am trying to present a solution to the kingdom's problems."

Everyone believed that the kingdom of Orion was inevitably heading to its end, that it would merely take months for it to completely fall. Everyone, except these aristocrats and courtiers, believed it. That, or they were willingly being blind to what was happening around them. It was no secret that these people haggled all of Orion's treasury, leaving those without power to rot in poverty. And they did not try to cover up their greed, for who could stop them?

"Nothing is wrong with Orion, Princess. You are overthinking things too much," said an aristocrat. "This is just how things ought to be, the poor are poor because they are born that way. They were not able to win in life's lottery, such is luck. Or should I say, bad luck?"

Their cackles echoed against the cave-like structure of the throne room like ghosts that made an enjoyment on haunting.

It was as if fire had blazed in Crystallis' blue eyes the moment she stepped down the dais and marched to the sole window within the large chamber, the size of it enough to let them see the city below. Smoke was belching from certain areas, the horizon muddled with an almost sickly grey.

Everyone started to cough from the rancid smell that came in. The king, who was normally indifferent to what was happening before him, finally showed a reaction for the first time as he pinched his nose closed.

"Crystallis, dear, why did you open the window?" asked her father. "You're letting the foul stench in, where is that coming from anyway?"

As she closed the window, she resisted the urge to shout at the king. "A plague has been going on for a year!"

She still shouted.

"Oh right… that." The king returned to inclining on his throne.

Crystallis turned again to the huddle of aristocrats and court officials. "What you smell is the hundreds of bodies being burned every day, Orion is overflowing with the dead that there is nowhere else to put them. They is no choice but to burn them. Aside from the plague, the people are dying from countless other illnesses. Malnutrition, the flu, cholera, and many more. This is what poverty does to the people!"

There was a long period of silence until someone cleared their throat, and said, "I don't see how that has anything to do with us, Your Highness."

"Don't you see—!"

The general who had spoken to her earlier, cut her off. "We understand that the princess has lived in the north, specifically in the kingdom of Ophiuchus, for five years. You may feel as though Orion is lacking when compared to it, but this is merely how we have been for hundreds of years. And that is not going to change anytime soon. Indeed, we feel bad for such a grave disappointment."

Crystallis heard some of them snicker quietly, catching on the sarcasm of the man. Ha! They must think her too foolish.

Idiots, these people had become too lazy for their own good. No, they had forgotten the meanings of their position. For them, being above meant being apart from those below. And what was worst of all, they no longer believed in the power of the dragons. In fact, most of the people in Orion didn't know that they had once been ruled by a Dragon King, like the other kingdoms in The Crescent.

Despite her being a half blood, she was still born and raised in this kingdom. And as the princess, it was her duty to take care of Orion. She would not stand idly by and watch it crumble to dust.

Princess Crystallis held her ground against the seething stares of the aristocrats and court officials. "So you think you're safe in the gilded walls of this palace, in the numerous halls of your glorious estates. Allow me to remind you that these diseases will reach you in no time when there is no one else to reach, when all the people had died but you. The royal coffers will eventually run empty. And where will you go? You cannot go to the other kingdoms, for you will be nothing but mere beggars there. You will be treated like filthy mutts."

Their gasps rang loudly.

"Princess!"

"Watch your mouth!"

"Your Highness, we will not let such an insult slip past us!"

Crystallis tilted her head. "My, did I somehow strike a few nerves? It is the truth, you're angry because you cannot deny it."

"There is no Dragon King!" The general finally snapped. "It does not exist!"

"I agree," a court official added, "if we had one, then there should have been a dragon flying above our heads in the first place."

It was a common knowledge among the people that Orion was the sole kingdom without its own dragon ruler, but they were wrong.

"We have one," Crystallis proclaimed. "He is slumbering within the underground caverns of the royal palace."

The wave of doubtful whispers caused the princess to assume that they were not even aware of the fact.

"False," the general countered, "humans have been ruling over Orion for the past five hundred years."

"And what of the years before that? The dragon rulers have been here for many millennia." Crystallis raised a brow. "Will you say this is untrue? Or is it just that you want to stay as you are, monopolizing the kingdom's treasures for yourselves."

"Why must we believe in something that isn't there?"

"You stupid fools, we have dragonsouls, dragonbearers and dragonkin!" She failed to contain her anger. "Their existence is proof enough that we had our own dragon ruler!"

"Then where is he now?"

Crystallis was fuming. "Damn it, were you listening to me—"

"Enough." The king's cold voice made everyone in the throne room pause and lower their heads. "I'm tired of this. I've had enough. Just give her what she wants."

The general stepped forward. "But Your Highness—"

"Give. My. Daughter. What. She. Wants." The king rose from his seat, waving a nonchalant hand. "Your bickering is draining me. The child wants a toy. Let her have her Dragon King. She'll get tired of her delusion soon enough."

Crytsallis had to bite her tongue to keep herself from retaliating. She walked toward the scowling general and stretched out her palm, grinning wide. "The key, please."