3 The Crown Prince meets Elizabeth's loyal Dragon

The Empress grew a fondness of Elizabeth in the shortest time span. She hoped for a daughter after Olzan, but the Empress is only allowed to have sons.

"Tell me, my dear Elizabeth, how have you grown up to be beautiful and elegant as your late mother?" the Empress asked.

"My father had hired tutors to train me well, your majesty," Elizabeth said.

"I see. Is this the reason why she is matured despite her age?" the Empress asked the Duke.

"She has experienced terrible things in the past when I was away from some business, after that, many things have changed in her, including her bubbly personality," the Duke explained.

"Such horror. A child should always be protected no matter what. I do hope she gets back to her old self," the Empress said as she sipped from her tea.

When Elizabeth was 6 and the Duke was temporarily away for a few months, the Duke's aunt was in charge of taking care of Elizabeth. She had made the young girl wash dishes and wash clothes. She had abused the poor young girl physically by harassing her and Alik was powerless against the Marquis's wife.

Edward, who was listening from outside door heard what happened with his fiancee and he felt the need to protect Elizabeth. So, he approached Alik who was currently standing guard outside the room. He wanted to know more about Elizabeth.

But before he could even ask Alik, Alik already knew what he was up to.

"Liz has been a sweet girl ever since she was born. People have envied her life since she was going to wed the Crown Prince someday. You're still 10 years old, your highness. You wouldn't understand much of her life yet. But the only thing that you should know is, she wouldn't do anything to harm you. She may be called a spawn of the devil because of her calculative manner and sinister attitude but she is good and kind-hearted," Alik said.

But before he could ask any more questions, Elizabeth went outside.

"Your Highness, do you want to see my dragon?"

The prince's eyes lit up as soon as he heard the word dragon.

"Yes. please. Lead the way," the prince said, controlling his excitement.

Alik leads them to a huge castle behind the mansion, where the dragon was kept.

"Is your dragon he or she?" the prince asked.

"It's a she. Her name is Qeillith," Elizabeth said.

The dragon was given to her when it was still an egg. It was given to her by her grandmother, the Queen Mother of Taskia, the haven of dragons. Dragons were known to be the most loyal companion anyone could ever have. She will not look at another human, she will only obey the one who raised her.

"Your Highness, Qeillith is extremely violent towards strangers, so please don't approach her on your own," Alik said.

"No one ever goes near Qeillith except me. Even Alik is afraid to go near her. But don't worry, she won't hurt you if she knows your my fiancee," Elizabeth said as she opened the doors.

Qeillith awoke as soon as she heard her mistress' voice.

'Young miss, is there something wrong?'

Dragons only communicate with their owners through telepathy.

'Don't worry Qeillith. This is my friend and my fiancee.'

Edward was about to speak when Alik stopped him.

"Their communicating, your highness. That's how they communicate with each other," Alik whispered to the young prince.

The prince understood and decided to shut his mouth and admired the dragon in silence. It wasn't the first time he saw a dragon, in fact, he has one back in the capital, it was still an egg so he couldn't bring it with him.

The dragon looked at him which made the prince cower in fear.

"I will take my mistress away from you if you make her cry or suffer," the dragon said to the prince.

The prince who was shocked ran behind Cordelia which made her giggle.

"She won't hurt you," Edward urged the Crown Prince.

The young prince hesitated to go near the dragon so he offered his hand to the dragon, and in return the dragon let him touch her snout which made the young prince comfortable.