Chapter 10 Sterne

3 days passed and Fayra and her small group made it to the capital. "Princess Fayra What an honor it is to see you again, much time has passed since we last met" the prince of Strene Greeted her. "Prince Cedric, the honor is truly all mine" she replied. "I've heard many rumors as of late, many I wished were not true" he said as they began to walk" "one being of my death I'm sure" she said. "Yes," he said simply.

Fayra stopped walking. "Perhaps I was for a short time" she told him. He turned to look at her. "Why have you come Fayra?" he asked, his face becoming serious. Her face dropped slightly as a sort of warning for what she was about to say. "I wish to rebel against Bennett" she told him. "But I do not wish to harm its people so I must do something good in order to win them to my side" she told him. "But I know not where to start," she added. "You need people to follow you," he told her.

"I doubt there are many who would risk their lives to follow me" she told him as she started to walk again. "After all, people would not follow someone they do not trust, and being known as the cursed princess of Alden, very few trust me... So why would anyone follow me?" She asked.

"A while back I heard chatter that people in Bennett, mainly commoners were disappearing. Rumors began to spread that the royal family were taking commoners and selling them into slavery" he told her. "Their own people?" She questioned. "Yes" he said. "I later found out the rumors to be true when I traveled to Qwan" he added.

"What is the Dragons Name?" He asked. "You noticed?" She questioned. "He's been flying above us for some time now. It was hard not to notice," he told her. "His name is Armaros" she told him. "What an interesting name" he told her. "How old is he?" Cedric asked. "He's about a month old," she said. "He's offly big for a month old," he replied.

"When I found him he was the size of a small dog" she said. "Now he's the size of a much larger one. I'd say a great Dane" he said looking up at Armaros. "Fayra" he said as they stopped in front of the castle. "You don't need to tell me what happened to you but if you wanna talk about it..." "I chose to marry him so Alden and Bennett could share trade routes that would Benefit both countries" she told him. "I chose to trust him and he branded me and pushed me off a cliff" she said. "Wait they branded you?" He said shocked. She pulled the sleeve of her dress off her shoulder and revealed a dragon shaped burn. "This is what connected my life to Armaros" she told him. "My death was supposed to prevent him from hatching but I didn't die and now we are connected in a way even I don't understand' she explained.

"I can't help you Fayra" he told her "but I can allow you to stay here until you're ready to return home" he added. "I want to go home" she said "but I can't" she told him. "Fayra..." he said. "They killed who knows how many innocent people for what they call prosperity" she said. "They tried to kill me and I'll be damned if I let them get away with it anymore" she said. "They will pay for every single one of their sins," she added.

Suddenly Fayra felt a sharp pain in her stomach. "PRINCESS!" Ian yelled as Ella, Kyra and himself ran towards Fayra. Armaros Roared in anger as Fayra looked down to see an arrow in her abdomen. "Fayra..." Cedric said, his eyes wide. "ARMAROS" Fayra yelled.

Armaros flew in the direction the arrow came. And spotted a hooded man in a tree. Without hesitation he let out a breath of fire almost immediately turning the man to ash. Fayra fell into cedrics arms as her blood began to pour out of her faster.

"Fayra stay with me," Cedric said. "I-im fine," she said as she tried to stand up straight. "We need to get that arrow out of her body" Kyra said kneeling down looking at it. Armaros flew back and landed on the ground. "He was still so small a few days ago," Fayra said weakly.

"I think he grew again?" Ella said, confused. Everyone looked at Armaros. "Oh my God he did," Ian said. "WILL SOMEONE GET THIS DAMN ARROW OUT OF MY STOMACH?" Fayra yelled. "Right, let's get her inside!" Cedric said.

"It was just an arrow," Fayra said as she laid in bed. 2 days had passed since Fayra was shot and she was already annoyed by the drama it caused. "Fayra you were shot" "and now I'm fine" fayra said interrupting Ian. "We don't have the time to waste on me healing the longer we wait the more people could be hurt or killed and the more assassins they will send to kill me" she said "there is no time to waste" she added.

"We will leave in 3 days so prepare well" she told him. "Where will we be going?" Ian asked. "We're going to Qwan," she told him.

"Fayra Alden Remains Alive Your Majesty" Zander said to the king of Bennett. "The Cursed Princess? Isn't she the least of our worries" Duke Saron said. "She has a Dragon," the king said. The Duke chuckled "even if what you say is true won't it be some time until it is grown?" The Duke asked. Suddenly Elijah entered the room.

"She will stop at nothing to see us destroyed" Elijah told them. "She told me herself," he added. "I wouldn't worry too much , she is nothing but a weak woman," Duke Soran said. "If she was truly just a weak woman she would let have survived the Fall or the assassin" Elijah said. "And Even if she was weak she still has a dragon," he added.

TO BE CONTINUED