7

Thelia's gaze darkened. "Liga, Otreg did not save you, only for you to put yourself back in danger."

"Well, he certainly doesn't seem to care if I am fine in his kingdom!"

Thelia set the two giggling babies down and sighed. "Liga, I don't know what Otreg is thinking right now. I don't know why he's acting the way he is, but doing this will lot help."

Liga shrugged. "Just keep Rumbarth safe, please?"

"He won't stay with me," the Queen said.

"I didn't want him with me. I didn't know he was in the carriage."

"That doesn't mean that he will stay in Korgenyegia while you are out getting hurt," Thelia hissed. "Zargis told you that a cub will do everything in its power to help the one they've imprinted on. It's a survival instinct. To make sure they reach full maturity."

Liga groaned "I didn't want the dragon in the first place! My master made me take care of the egg! I didn't know it was a dragon egg until Tumbarth hatched! I felt obligated to keep him safe! Then Otreg showed me who he was and told me that Rumbarth has parents worrying about him, and I knew I couldn't take him away from them! So, take Rumbarth and take him to whoever his parents are. Don't make me responsible for something I don't even know how to take care of!"

Both cubs now stared at Liga now, a bit shocked by her outburst. But Rumbarth was unperturbed. He crawled over to his mother and nuzzled her leg, trying to comfort her. Thelia gestured to him. "He won't let you go, Liga. No matter how hard you try. Rumbarth will always continue to see you as his mother."

Liga began to cry, falling to her knees and hugging her cub. Thelia cuddled the little girl cub, letting the woman cry herself out.

Zargis went to his chambers to find some peace and quiet, exhausted by the day's events. When he entered, he expected Thelia to be waiting for him like she always was, but she wasn't. Not too worried, he showered, dressed, then fell onto their bed in exhaustion.

When he woke the next morning, Thelia still wasn't there, and there was no sign she had been there during the night. Zargis went to Kesar's chambers and knocked. Jose opened the door and raised a brow. "Have you seen Thelia?"

She shook her head. "No see Thelia." She thought for a moment. "Library?"

Zargis smiled. "I'll go check. Thanks, Jose."

He sprinted to the library, but didn't find her there either. He then went to the attic where she liked to hide, but there was no sign of her. Frustrated, he stormed down and out the castle's front doors. "Zargis, why are you letting your dragon show?"

He turned his head to see Cam. "Tell me you've seen Thelia!"

Cam frowned. "No. But I've been looking for her all morning." She paused, biting her lip. "Liga is gone too."

Liga woke up to Rumbarth wiggling about in her arms. She smiled at the cub, finding joy in his adorable appearance and actions. He growled and gurgled, batting her nose affectionately with a paw.

"You really are the most adorable thing I've seen," she whispered.

He straightened at the praise, then gave a wobbly roar to the sky. She laughed, hugging him close.

Liga didn't want to return to her master. She really didn't want to be a slave. She just wanted to live peacefully and without hurt.

Glancing at Thelia, who still slept, she got up and urged Rumbarth along quietly. She didn't stop for three hours, finding an abandoned cottage and hiding inside. She found canned food that was expired, but she ate one's contents, and gave another to her cub. After, they played. She forgot about Otreg. She forgot about Korgenyegia. She forgot about the rest of the world. It was just her and Rumbarth, a small family, but a happy one. Liga would be content to live in solitude.

It's been a week, and Otreg finally returned home. He and Kesar hadn't found any eggs, but that wasn't surprising. Their leads usually never amounted to anything good. They just had to keep searching.

He walked into the castle, expecting to see Thelia and Jose talking near the throne room, but all was quiet, tension thick. He paused, Kesar seeming to sense the same and looking around cautiously. Something was wrong.

After a long moment, Cam appeared disheveled and exhausted from the staircase leading to the dungeons. When she spotted them, she put her hands on her hips and glared. "Now you decide to return!"

The two males blinked in confusion. "What's wrong?" Kesar asked.

"Well," Cam held up her hand and began ticking off fingers. "First, Liga does not eat, drink, or move no matter what the rest of us do."

Otreg felt his stomach knot with dread.

"Then, I find a carriage missing so I go find Thelia. I find her missing. So, I go check on Liga, and she's missing." She pauses, glaring straight at Otreg. "Finally, Zargis can't find his mate and bursts into a fury. That means I can't control him. That means he's a dragon. That means that he's in the dungeons raging at the world."

"Jose?" Kesar asked desperately.

"Oh, she's fine!" Cam said. "Lucky for her that Zargis doesn't truly want to hurt anyone in Korgenyegia or else she would be petrified right now."

Kesar rushed past Otreg and up the staircase.

Otreg sighed. "How long?"

"She left the same day you did."

He closed his eyes. "And Thelia went after her."

"Otreg, either you get yourself together and help me find her and Thelia, or go somewhere else and sulk feeling sorry for yourself! You're my friend, but you have never been so low to anyone as you have with Liga."

"Cam-"

"No!" He snapped his eyes open and stared at the female. "Don't say you can't or won't! Don't make excuses because you can't handle what that girl has to offer! Either help me fix this or get out of my way!"

With that, Cam stormed away.