Chapter 44: Draconian Politics

[Alkelios' point of view]

I wasn't able to sleep properly that night. I turned and twisted in my bed, while I kept thinking about that soldier's words and my upcoming visit to the Palace. What was to come? Who was I going to meet? What was I going to say? How should I act? What was I going to do if...?

It wasn't excitement or anticipation what I felt... but fear.

After all, I was a human and they were dragons. I was weak and they were strong. Without my friends, I was even weaker. Without my friends, I would die, yet together with them, my life would be under constant threat. I was a human, therefore different, so the other dragons sought to eliminate me. I was weak and different, so it was natural for them to try and attack those like me.

Such thoughts and worries laid heavy on my heart, crushing it under their weight. They swarmed through my mind like annoying mosquitoes on a hot summer day, tormenting me throughout the entire night, all twelve hours of it. I was beginning to hate the fact that one day on this planet meant 32 hours back on Earth. Overall, even the year was longer, but then again... this was a different planet.

Waking up in the morning was a cruel and agonizing process for me, who didn't manage to sleep too well last night. I squinted my eyes at the ceiling for several minutes, then I rolled to the side and dropped out of bed. The hard-wooden floor was welcoming enough to make me try to catch a few more minutes of Zs, but I was well aware that I wasn't going to close my eyes that easily.

With a curse escaping my lips, I got up and walked over to the bucket filled with water. I washed my face several times and dried off with a towel. Three yawns later, I decided I was too tired to function normally in a world filled with dragons, so I decided to gulp down a healing potion and a Rotiqus one in order to regain some of my strength. My mind though was still in a haze. It kept going back and forth between various events of what could happen that day once I reached the palace.

To put it in a few words: I was afraid.

This was the conclusion I reached after a night of turmoil. I was afraid... of dragons, but not of those who had become my friends. Actually, I felt like that was the only way to keep them from killing me.

I knew I was probably exaggerating because I had more than enough strength to defend myself from the majority of dragons who would try to attack me, but this didn't keep me from thinking about those against whom I couldn't defend myself.

It was messed up, I knew that... but what could I do about it?

Giving up on trying to find the cause of my fears and solve it, I headed down to the tavern and sat down at an empty table by the window. It was here where I waited for Kataryna and Kleo, and as I had expected... I wasn't afraid of them. On the contrary, I felt safe around them.

After we had a small breakfast, we left the inn.

Several minutes later, we were sitting in front of the gates of the outer wall of the Royal Palace, and we were all taking turns yawning.

"Are you three here because of a summon?" one of the guards there asked us with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. My name is Alkelios." I replied.

"Is that so? Give me one moment." he said and then went inside to check the ledger.

After around two minutes or so, he walked out and returned to his post.

"Well?" I asked.

"A guard was sent to let Sir Seryanna know of your arrival. You will have to wait for her here." he told us.

I blinked surprised.

I thought we were being summoned by that Draejan fellow not her. What's going on? I wondered.

"Let's wait then." Kataryna said after she let out another yawn.

I shrugged and moved a bit out of the way so I wouldn't block the traffic.

About twenty minutes later, we saw Seryanna approaching the gates.

She looked at us with a warm smile on her lips, but when she turned her gaze towards the guards stationed here, she showed them a cold and strict expression like a general in the army passing by his incompetent soldiers.

With a similar tone in her voice, she gave out the order "Open the gates and let them pass."

"Yes, Sir Seryanna!" they all saluted and did as ordered.

After we entered, the dragoness' expression changed to a soft one and then greeted all of us with a hug.

"I apologize for this unusual summon, my friends." she told us.

"No need to worry about it, but why was the one who called for us that Draejan fellow?" I asked curiously.

Seryanna looked away for a moment, but she didn't reply.

"Follow me, Princess Elleyzabelle has requested to meet you." she told us.

I blinked at her unusual reaction and then looked back at Kataryna and Kleo, who simply shrugged. They too didn't know what this was about. On the other hand, I wished in my mind that this meeting would go well, or that at the end of the day, I was still alive and not locked up in a cell awaiting my execution.

As we followed Seryanna, I looked around the Royal Palace. It reminded me a lot of the buildings I saw in games and High Fantasy movies. Every stone, column, and even the hedges in the garden seemed to point out that this was a place of great elegance and refinement. Just by walking behind the redhead dragoness, I felt the need to pull my stomach and push out my chest, to stand straight and appear more dignified than I did before.

The number of guards patrolling this place gave off a certain sense of security but also of danger. If anything happened, it wouldn't have been funny. Escaping this place alive was a feat no ordinary man could achieve, yet thanks to all those stealth games I played, I found a surprisingly high amount of holes in their security. A lack of security cameras was the main reason for this, but there was also the way the guards themselves patrolled. While it looked intimidating, a skilled assassin could even walk behind them without being detected.

"Is it just me or you could actually infiltrate this place quite easily?" I asked as I looked around.

"The Royal Palace of Drakaria has one of the tightest securities in the Albeyater Kingdom. I do not believe it's that easy to infiltrate this place." Seryanna replied.

"I could always bust through the front gates." Kataryna snorted.

"I would just use my shadows to hide myself. Give me any night of the year, and I can even go as far as the King and Queen's chambers! Kyahaha!" Kleo bragged.

"I would refrain from making such statements within the Royal Palace, they could be easily taken the wrong way." Seryanna warned us in a serious tone of voice.

After we passed through the big garden in front of the Palace, we finally arrived at the entrance. While this place was quite huge, I had a feeling the Parliament Palace back in Bucharest was far bigger than this.

The two dragon guards at the entrance saluted Seryanna and let us pass through the doors. Once inside, I found myself at a loss of words for the beauty and detail put into making this place. The exquisite paintings hung on the walls, the tapestry, the spiral columns with carved drawings of dragons at the bottom and top of them, the carpet that led to a curved staircase, the elegant chandeliers hanging from the ceiling by a golden chain, all of these made me gasp in awe.

"You'll catch a fly with your mouth opened like that." Kleo giggled.

"Yeah... I was just... This place is... wow." I said dumbfounded.

"It is one of the biggest and most beautiful Palaces our Albeyater Kingdom prides itself with. It is said that over 1000 dragons worked tirelessly to build it." Seryanna shared this small piece of trivia with us.

"Amazing..."

At the end of the carpet, right between the pair of staircases, I saw two big golden doors with two carvings of European fire-breathing dragons on it.

Curious about it, I asked "What's in there?"

"That would be the throne room where his Majesty would usually greet his guests or hold audiences." Seryanna replied.

"The throne room? Hm, but why 'would usually'? Something happened to it? Are they doing repairs?" I asked.

"Ah, no... His Majesty currently has some circumstances and lately hasn't appeared in public that often..." Seryanna replied and looked down at the floor with a sad gaze in her eyes.

We climbed the stairs to the right and just as we reached the top, we encountered a dragon who wore a long regal-blue robe embroidered with gold and rose-red thread. He had long brown hair, going past his shoulders, and wore a serious expression on his face. As a dragon, his tail was hidden underneath the robe, and his wings were of average size and covered with brown and gold scales.

"Good morning, Prime Minister Elovius." Seryanna said and made a quarter bow in front of him.

We followed suit and bowed our heads, except for Kataryna, who raised an eyebrow at him.

"Good morning, Sir Seryanna. I see you have brought some peculiar guests within the Palace. On whose summon may I ask?" he looked at us with his chin up.

"Sir Draejan Andrakaryus Doesya summoned them, but the Third Princess Elleyzabelle Sojourn Seyendraugher wishes to see them first." she replied obediently.

"I see. My sister has, hm?" he then narrowed his eyes at me.

What's up with this fellow? I wondered and gulped.

"I'm surprised that you would bring a... human inside the Royal Palace, Sir Seryanna." Elovius said, showing clearly how disgusted he was of my species.

I gulped and could only wonder what gave me away.

"He has received an official summon, and I can assure you that..." Seryanna tried to explain, but he raised his hand, stopping her.

"I don't care about such things, Royal Knight, but you should know very well what shame just being around his kind could bring to the Third Princess, not to mention your own reputation. I say this out of concern, but you should have this sheep tossed out of the capital before he shows his true colors and bites off the tip of your tail." he spoke in a very cold tone of voice.

"I understand, your excellence." Seryanna gulped.

"I wonder if you do... Need I remind you the pain and suffering his kind have brought upon the Royal Family? You of all people should know best what they are capable of, Sir Seryanna. I would even dare to be bold enough to state that your family suffered the most because of them and now faces the possibility of being no more. Or have you forgotten the tears you yourself shed on your parents' graves?" he asked coldly.

"No, your excellence... but I do believe that not all humans are like that." she barely spoke those last few words, but it was clear that she was shaken by both the presence of this dragon and his merciless statements.

Meanwhile, I had no idea what to say. All I knew was that Albeyater, like all the other Dragon Kingdoms, was at war with the humans, and that some time ago Brekkar was in a battle that nearly cost his life. However, the old dragon was now healthy and alive. As for her parents, all I knew was that they weren't alive anymore, but did their death have anything to do with the war?

"I pray that you thought this through, Sir Seryanna. Unlike me, his Majesty may not take this... intrusion lightly. Good day." he said and then passed by us.

We all remained in a bowing position for a few more seconds and then continued on our way. Still, the things this dragon spoke about made me feel a bit worried. It appeared as though Seryanna's past wasn't as simple as I had initially thought it would be.

I wonder what it means for her to have fallen in love with me? What sort of feelings did she struggle with? I thought as I looked at her back as she led us through the hallway.

Neither Kataryna nor Kleo said anything else anymore. We quietly followed her and hoped no other dragon was going to stand in our way. At the same time, I prayed I wasn't going to meet with the King today because I very much wanted to stay alive and not become a blood splatter on these exquisite walls.

Stopping in front of a black wooden door, Seryanna knocked three times and announced her arrival.

"Your Royal Knight, Seryanna Draketerus, has brought the ones you summoned, your highness."

"Enter." the voice of a woman came from the other side.

I gulped.

With a push on the handle, Seryanna opened the door, and we all entered the elegant bedroom of a high-class noble woman. To be brought inside the private chamber of the Third Princess was... unexpected, but I had to say that luxury and exquisite taste was one thing that defined someone of royal blood.

The dragoness herself was quite beautiful from many points of view, but the refined air that surrounded her surely increased her quality by several folds. Like the dragon who was the Prime Minister, she also had two scale colors: white and gold, but unlike in his case, I didn't feel the same oppressing aura from the Princess.

"Oh? So, you are the one this knight calls her 'master'?" Kataryna asked calmly.

"Indeed I am." Princess Elleyzabelle nodded and replied in a calm tone of voice.

Seryanna walked next to her and stood by her side with her hand resting on the hilt of her sword. In a moment, this meeting took on a very serious note.

"A pleasure to meet you, your highness! I am Thraherkleyoseya Draketerus." Kleo introduced herself and gave a polite bow as it was required.

Hm, and here I was thinking that she's incapable of showing her polite and elegant side? The apocalypse must be upon us... I jokingly thought as I looked at her.

"Kataryna Greorg." the silver-scaled dragoness introduced herself.

"My name is Alkelios Yatagai." I followed suit and made a small bow in front of the Princess.

"A pleasure to meet the ones my Royal Knight sees as friends." she nodded.

"I should say the pleasure is all ours, but this summon of yours is a bit strange. First off all, we were called to the Seyendraugher Palace by some rude fellows who follow Draejan what's his name, then we were surprised to find out that the welcoming committee was in fact formed solely out of Seryanna here. Now, it seems that the first one we are going to meet is not the so-called general who issued the summon but you, the Third Princess who is rumored to have severely weakened in power." Kataryna said with a smile as she looked straight into the dragoness' eyes.

Seryanna had nothing with which to refute her words. She could only look away and show a grimace on her face.

As for me, I was bit surprised by the sudden attack.

"That is true. My current party is only made up of those you see present in this room and a blacksmith who was unable to arrive because of work, and whose absence I hope you will forgive." she revealed with a calm demeanor.

"Are we to be included as well?" Kataryna asked narrowing her eyes at her.

"While your strength would provide an impressive aid, I by no means wish to force or coerce you into supporting me." she replied.

"So says the sheep in wolf clothing." Kataryna smirked.

Erm... Well, I've lived to hear this one as well... I looked at the dragoness with a blank expression.

"In the past, you may have considered me a sheep, but now... I'm more of a wolf." she showed her simple smile.

Please stop with the sheep and wolf analogy, you're making my brain bleed! I cried on the inside.

There was a moment of intense silence between us before Kataryna let out a sigh and spoke on our behalf.

"So, tell us then, Third Princess, for what reason have you summoned us... or to be specific, why was Alkelios summoned to the Palace?" she narrowed her eyes at her as if she was a fierce predator defending her territory from an intruder.

"A fair question." she nodded and closed her eyes for a moment before she replied looking straight at me "As you know, it was not I who extended this summon, although I wished so initially, it was Draejan Andrakaryus Doesya who did so. This dragon is part of the Sixth Princess' party and will soon become the General in charge of the Brekkar Army. The soldiers gathered outside the city's walls are those who were led into battle 38 years ago by Sir Seryanna's grandfather, Brekkar Draketerus." she explained calmly.

"And why would this dragon have need of Alkelios?" Kataryna asked, putting pressure on the word 'need'.

The Princess smiled and replied "Fu~ Why would YOU believe there is a need for this human?"

Kataryna let out a guttural growl. Her tail swished in the air, showing her impatience.

"I do not have time for such games, golden scale. Either you reveal what you know, or we will leave this place." she threatened.

"I don't think that would be a wise idea..." I pointed out.

"Political games are not something I enjoy or wish to participate in." she growled.

Ah yes, she absolutely loathes them because of what happened to her friend. I remembered.

"Very well then. The reason for your summon is to simply see this human who claims to be Sir Seryanna's lover. That was my only intention, but... Draejan might have something else in mind." she closed her eyes for a moment. "He is a dragon who despises humans, so I do not believe his intentions are friendly."

I gulped.

"But what did I do?" I asked surprised.

"You are a human, and this would be enough to stir the anger of most dragons in this Palace, but aside from that, you have also stolen the heart of his... fiancé." she replied calmly after she opened her eyes to look straight at me.

"Huh? Well, I am a human... I can't do anything about that, but not all of us are bad and... wait... Fiancé?" I furrowed my brow. "Who? When?" I titled my head to the left.

"Me." Seryanna replied to my questions.

"Sister?" Kleo said surprised.

"Hooo~?" Kataryna was also intrigued.

I was in a state of shock. Those words took me by surprise and gave me a right hook straight to the chin. My mind stopped working, the air was trapped in my lungs, and my heart felt like it had been strangled with barbed wire.

Everyone was silent now, waiting for my reaction, while Seryanna looked with apologetic eyes at me. I honestly didn't know what to do now.

Did she lie to me all this time?

Was this a joke?

Was this a scheme to bring me here and use me?

I didn't know and I feared the truth as well. My whole world was suddenly collapsing around me. The ground was shattering under my feet. My strength was leaving my body.

What's happening? I asked myself.

"I'm sorry..." she apologized and looked down.

"Why?" I asked.

"If I said it was because you are not strong enough to protect her, would you understand?" the Princess asked.

"What? Of course not! What does that have to do with her being that guy's fiancé?!" I shouted.

"Alkelios, please calm down." Seryanna told me in a soothing tone of voice.

"Calm down? How can I calm down?! You were just introduced as that dragon's fiancé! Isn't he part of another political group? Doesn't this mean you are betraying the Third Princess as well? And what about me? When was I supposed to find out? At your wedding? Just walk by and ask me: hey do you want to be the man of honor at my wedding with the man I never TOLD you about?" I asked outraged.

It was clear that my emotions and feelings were all going haywire. Nothing inside my mind made sense. All I knew was that I had been betrayed and made fun of. All I knew was that the dragoness I was almost willing to sacrifice everything for, including my own species, turned out to have a fiancé she never told me about.

Wasn't it clear that I had been abandoned? Wasn't it clear that I was used?

How could I explain my feelings? How could I even look at Seryanna after this?

Was this also why she suddenly asked about a marriage and mentioned that if she was ordered to, she would have to? Where was the fight for US? Where was the struggle to remain together? Did I mean nothing for her?

All these questions, all these thoughts turned my mind and heart upside down. I didn't know what to believe in, where to look, and what to think.

To find out that the woman I loved had a fiancé... was... shocking to say the least. And this was clearly seen on my face.

"Maybe you were wrong when you chose this man, Sir Seryanna." the Princess then said in a calm tone of voice, but I could see the disappointment in her eyes.

"What?" I said as I felt my rage reaching its peak.

"No, I don't believe so... Alkelios, please calm down and listen. This isn't what I really want... The King sent an official declaration. This was all a political move that stole the power from the Third Princess' grasp. As she said earlier, only I am left serving under her. This dragon, I never even met until yesterday, and this engagement was as shocking to me as it is to you now. Please believe me, my heart lies with you, not him." she told me in a heartbreaking tone of voice, while she struggled hard not to cry.

I listened to her. I looked at her, but the words 'trust' and 'belief' didn't ring a bell inside my mind.

I felt empty and lost... I felt abandoned.

"Then... what do you want to do?" I asked her.

"I..." she stopped and looked down.

Why do you hesitate? Why?! I called out to her in my mind.

If she loved me, she should have immediately declared that she wanted to be with me, not him.

"Seryanna..." I took a deep breath and asked her in a trembling tone of voice "The King ordered you... ordered you to marry this man." I gulped "Your master, the Third Princess, doesn't seem against it from the looks of it... so..." I clenched my fists and gulped again "You... what are you... what do you want and what are you going to do about it?" I asked her.

The redhead dragoness clenched a fist at her chest and looked down with a troubled expression on her face.

There was only one word I wanted to hear from her, only one sentence... that she would fight for me just like I would for her.

"I want to be with you, but I am going to marry Draejan to prevent him for harming you..." she replied as she looked at me.

Her words stopped at his name. The rest wasn't registered by my mind.

Feeling weak to my knees, I slumped down on the ground and felt like the whole world shattered around me. A strange darkness turned and twisted in my heart as spears of pain sprung forth and stabbed mercilessly. I wanted to cry, but I was empty inside. I wanted to scream, but I didn't have the strength to open my mouth. I wanted to do something, but I had no idea what... I was at a loss...

No, I lost... and felt lost.

My lover abandoned me, but maybe this all came as a retribution for what happened before, when I failed to return her love, when I went limp. I failed so many times that maybe she was the one who felt the most betrayed out of both of us.

I didn't know what to do, so I looked up and said "I see... then this is goodbye... for us..." I then got up and walked back to the door.

Kleo called out to me and so did Kataryna, but I couldn't hear them.

I was devastated...

[Kataryna's point of view]

After Alkelios said those words and turned around, Seryanna called out to him, but he didn't reply. Hurt by the outcome and the cruel end of their relationship, she too slumped down to the floor and cried.

This scene was heartbreaking, and I could only imagine what these two were going through. What sort of numbing pain did they feel to have them both crumble on the floor like that?

Kleo rushed up to her sister, to comfort her, while the Princess was clenching her own fragile fists. Maybe this wasn't the outcome she was hoping for, or maybe Draejan got to Alkelios before any of us did. What surprised me the most was Seryanna's decision? The will and strength she would require to sacrifice herself for the man she loved wasn't something any dragoness could do. For this alone, I grew a new sense of admiration for her.

But this left only one thing unanswered in my opinion, so I turned my gaze towards the Princess.

"Is this really the end for them?" I asked.

"I didn't want it to be..." she replied, leaving aside her mask of royalty.

She spoke like a dragoness who was looking at her hurt friend and shared her pain as well.

"Then?" I asked.

"It's the truth... Alkelios isn't strong enough to compete against Draejan. Not only in a battle of strength but of words as well. As for me, I do not have the needed backing to change the King's mind." she said.

"Are you hoping I would lend a hand?" I asked.

"I wanted to ask you for your cooperation... but only if Alkelios proved himself at least to be strong enough to retort to Seryanna's decision. However, you saw it yourself... He gave up." she looked into my eyes, and there was a small sign of anger in them.

"The boy is just confused... give him time." I let out a sigh.

"We don't have any time left!" she shouted.

"Then use my name and gain some." I smirked back at her.

"What?" she blinked confused.

"I'm going to deal with Alkelios... Ah, Seryanna... remember that talk we had?" I asked her.

She didn't react.

"Well, I guess we'll talk about it later... For now, I'm going to go and see what happened to him. Oh, and if in the end Alkelios doesn't come through... I might end up doing something... bad." I tilted my head to the left and smiled then turned around and left.

I didn't want to give any explanation to the princess. It was her job to figure it out before it was too late. As for me, I was a Breakthrough Awakened. Those like me didn't follow the normal rules, and as such dealing with us could be seen as quite... dangerous.

"Sigh... That's why I hate draconian politics." I said as I scratched the back of my head.