Important guest

Ikalles was already waiting for the guest in front of his palace, as soon as his sons arrived Ikalles made a sign for them to position themselves by his side.

The stranger arrived soon after, a simple carriage stopped in front of the palace, the only driver who had got out and opened the door, both he and the one who got out of the carriage were hooded.

The guest and the coachman went up the palace stairs and stopped in front of the Guardian, who nodded and motioned for them to enter, dismissing all the servants who were present.

Lira looked carefully at both guests, feeling their auras she realized who it was, holding the hands of her younger siblings she followed behind their father as they entered.

One of the guests, apparently the most important, looked back subtly, carefully observing each of the children. They stopped when entering a large office. Ikalles turned around, pointing to one of the armchairs – Please, my king.

The man removed his hood, revealing a youthful appearance, his long gray hair stood out in a strange way, his blue eyes stared at the surroundings and he sat down.

Ikalles looked at the other guest and signed another seat – General Bavellis.

A red-haired man looked back at him, watching the children in the room for a moment before he sat down.

– We are in the palace of Frost, General, you don't need to be so attentive – The king said while receiving a small glass of wine from Ikalles.

Erion Bavellis, the red-haired man was the current leader of the Bavellis clan. Even in his youth, his great deeds made him the dragon best able to care for the safety of the royal family, his skills reached high levels, and as soon as the king learned of him he promptly placed him at his side.

The king drank the wine from his goblet and looked at the children, who until that moment seemed to be trying to hide their very presence.

– Lira? She has grown a lot, the last time I saw her was when she was a newborn - The king spoke while smiling.

Lira bowed – It is an honor to be in your presence, your majesty.

– How old are you this year Miss Lira? – The king asked.

Lira replied with her head down – I turned fourteen a few moons ago, your highness.

The king nodded, turning to Ikalles he spoke still smiling – Very good Ikalles, I see that her power is relatively high for someone her age, have you thought about sending her to Silverleak?

Ikalles bowed slightly – I believe your skills can improve even more with my own teachings.

The king nodded again, and with a thoughtful expression, he looked at the other two children – These must be Izrun and Álika, am I right?

Both were a little stunned by his presence, but soon calmed down, Álika was the first to speak – You are very handsome.

Ikalles looked at his daughter, scared, and for the first time until that moment, a smile appeared on the general's face, even if only for a few seconds. The king laughed lightly – Your eyes are like your mother's, young lady, and your tongue too.

– I'm sorry my king, I don't know where she learned that – Ikalles spoke quickly, remembering his wife that once when she was drunk, she spoke in front of everyone during a party in the king's palace that his majesty was very beautiful, that day everyone looked to the queen, who was also looking stunned at the guardian's wife, Ikalles was very apologetic that day, and the king had some problems with his wife that night.

The king laughed at Ikalles's despair.

While the children were there, they talked about different random things, and all the time, the king looked at Izrun, waiting for the boy to speak or to join the conversation, becoming more and more convinced of his hypothesis while getting the information he wanted.

When Ikalles finally sent his children back, they began to discuss official court subjects.

Putting back his hood, the king followed Ikalles out of the room, General followed them at a small distance, it was night, and as soon as they were outside the palace, the king turned to Ikalles, indicating that he wanted to say a few more words, Bavellis understood and left first towards the carriage.

Ikalles closed his eyes and lowered his head to listen to his words.

– Ikalles, your son...

Ikalles looked at him – My king…

Being stared at with a calm expression Ikalles realized that the conversation would no longer be between a king and his subordinate, but between friends, which was what they were at first, and then he straightened up, acting more lightly – Rairin, is there a problem with my son? No need to worry. I'm sure I'll make him a suitable guardian for the prince.

Few people were allowed to speak that way to the king, and they were just Ikalles and the queen herself, Ikalles because he was his guardian, and they would need to have a good relationship from the beginning. A king must show confidence in his guardian, while a guardian must show respect and submission to his king.

For this reason and for learning from the past, future kings had a stable relationship with their future guardians from an early age, and this relationship could be both romantic and brotherhood or friendship, as is the case of Ikalles and Rairin who were together since they were little.

The king stared at him in silence for a few more seconds. Ikalles didn't know why Rairin would suddenly bring his son out, but he waited calmly for whatever his words were, but what he didn't expect was that after that time, he would just nod and turn around – See you later Ikalles, have a good night.

Ikalles watched in confusion as the king quickly left for the carriage, only stepping back inside when it was completely out of sight. Thoughtful, he went to his office, finding his butler who was cleaning his office and organizing some of the documents scattered on the table – Kalari, where is Izrun?

The butler bowed as soon as he saw him enter the office, hearing his question he replied respectfully – Both ladies and the little master have already been taken to their own chambers, my lord.

Ikalles furrowed his brows – So soon?

– Yes sir, those were your orders, my lord, that the young masters go to bed at moonrise – Seeing Ikalles' thoughtful expression, he continued – Even at that time when questioned by the lady, the lord only stated that it was to create a routine, and that's how the old Guardian raised his son.

Ikalles nodded – That's right…

The butler walked to a small counter where there were small utensils. Quickly heating some water, he put some herbs and stirred it, putting it in a cup, he signaled the guardian to sit down and handed him the tea he had prepared.

Ikalles thanked him and dismissed him. He remained in that room all night, his mind wandering over his past, he was also worried about the present, they were in a delicate period, a war could happen at any moment, the king had suggested during the conversation that they could try more stable and lasting alliances with the other kingdoms, and as he said that, Bavellis seemed to hesitate with that idea just like Ikalles.

Ikalles sighed tiredly while the king in the carriage continued to think about his own decisions.

Arriving at the capital, General Bavellis guided the carriage along a hidden path toward the palace.

A large group of servants and soldiers were already waiting for him. Descending from the carriage, he was guided inside by the servants. Bavellis didn't take his eyes off the king until he was completely safe inside the castle. Seeing him enter, he turned to the soldiers, one of them, dressed in armor a little more elaborate than the others, walked towards him, greeting him – General, will you stay in the palace tonight?

Bavellis shook his head, signaling something to another soldier as he waited for his horse to be brought – I'll go for now, Captain Lia, have a good night – The man nodded.

Climbing onto his horse, he left the palace.

In the corridors, the servants accelerated their steps, trying to keep up with the king's speed. Realizing their discomfort, Rairin dismissed them, leaving only the housekeeper – Tell the queen to come to my chambers.

The housekeeper responded quickly as they walked – Her majesty is not feeling well today.

Rairin stopped and looked at the housekeeper, who hurriedly bowed. The queen had told the maidservants to answer to the king should he request her, which wasn't a lie. The queen actually felt a little dizzy as soon as the king left after lunch, being gone all afternoon.

– What happened? She was fine when I saw her earlier, forget it, I'll see her then – He said, changing his path, he walked quickly towards his wife's quarters.

A servant was combing the queen's hair when the door was suddenly opened, all the servants present knelt. Ignoring them all, Rairin went to her, the queen looked at him with a strange expression, waving to the housekeeper as the king approached her.

The housekeeper signaled for everyone to leave, leaving them alone.

- Are you okay? Did something happen while I was gone? – Rairin asked, looking her up and down.

From the first time he saw her, Rairin knew she would be his queen, it was during his early reign that, on a visit to the east of the dragon lands, he found a beautiful young woman sitting alone in a small pavilion, moving pieces on a chessboard.

After a conversation with the minister of those lands, he went for a walk. The dragons of the east were very different from those that were born in the western lands of the continent. All their characteristics were different from each other, even when he was a prince, his father didn't take him to see other places, he stayed every day, the whole day in the palace playing with his only friend, Ikalles, and that's why during his youth he made a complete mistake, which he decided to ignore and forget about for the rest of his life.

Now, as the king of dragons, he had control over everything and everyone, finally, visiting the eastern province was where Rairin met the woman who would become his mate. At that moment, he just needed the courage to talk to her, which would be the hardest part since his last experience with a woman hadn't been very pleasant.

Taking a deep breath, he went to her, the beautiful woman looked at him, Rairin caught his breath as he was stared at by such dark eyes. The dragons of that land usually had dark and deep eyes. Their human form was really different, while their draconic form was somewhat curious to him, of course he had already studied about it, he should have been aware of all the existing types and races of his people, dragons from the north, the south, the east, and west, there were so many that it would take Rairin some time to understand each one.

Some dragons from these lands didn't even have wings. How did they fly? That for the purebloods of that land, the mixed ones were born even differently. There are so many types that were not even considered dragons by humans.

Even so, what difference would it make? They are called monsters or beasts alike, whether they are big or small, with wings or without wings.