Prologue: A father's concern
Marcus had returned to the capital as a victor. The story of the epidemic and how the king himself had courageously stepped forward, risking his own safety to go and help people in danger, had gone around the entire kingdom. This had naturally exponentially increased the esteem that not only the beastmen, but also the human citizens of his nation felt towards him. People loved heroes, after all; if a king participated in such acts, his fame was always destined to rise and therefore to make him gain consensus among the population. This was exactly what Marcus wanted: a people who admired their ruler were a united people, and a united people was exactly what he wished to have, especially in precarious times like this.
The plan that Haku had devised and that he, Marcus, had chosen to follow diligently had worked perfectly: thanks to the story of the false epidemic, no one was surprised by the disappearance of the lizardmen, tigermen and lionmen peoples, as well as many soldiers and officers affiliated with Carrion. Officially, they had all died with the epidemic; the former due to an unfortunate event, the latter in a heroic attempt to lend a hand. No one suspected that in reality the peoples of lizardmen, tigermen and lionmen had been liberated by a dragon and were currently traveling far away, while the soldiers and officers affiliated with Carrion had been brutally exterminated. In short, the scandal and all the problems that would have followed had been avoided. On the contrary, the situation could not have been more rosy: now all the beastmen living in the Province of Baudonia admired Marcus and were consequently more inclined to accept him as king. Obviously, this didn't mean that the pacification and consequently the annexation of those territories was concluded: years of work would still have been needed, but in any case that strange chain of events had greatly facilitated the whole process. Marcus felt that there was a strange irony to all this.
Now that enough time had passed and he had been able to declare the epidemic over, he was finally able to return to the capital. Even though he had stayed in the best castles of the Province of Baudonia, he had still spent much of his time traveling without stopping in one spot for too long, and besides, his days had always been hectic and full of work; therefore, seeing the royal palace again and hoping for the semore hectic, but quieter life that awaited him in the coming days filled him with joy. And of course, there was another reason for this happiness as well.
The first thing he did as soon as he entered the palace door wasn't to get rid of his traveling clothes, to meet his ministers or ask for information on the events that had taken place in the capital in his absence, but to go directly to the chambers of the royal family, where he knew he would find who he was looking for. When he was in front of the door he ordered the guards to leave him alone, which they promptly did, even if they didn't go too far to always be ready to intervene in case of need. Marcus then opened the door and found himself in his room, a luxurious room with gold intersected walls, fine carpets on the floor, elegantly decorated furniture and a large four-poster bed with blankets as red as the sunset sky. And on that bed sat the unmistakable shape of queen Mirta.
Marcus heaved a sigh of happiness at seeing her. His wife was as beautiful as ever, and her magnetic smile and beautiful eyes made him unable to speak for a moment. "Honey, you're finally back" Mirta said in a voice that had always sounded so musical to Marcus' ears that it was comparable to the songs of nightingales.
His wife got up from the bed and hugged him. Marcus basked in the warmth of her body, then he finally managed to say: "Yes, my love. I'm back"
Mirta looked up and they both looked into each other's eyes for an instant, then they exchanged a long kiss. They remained in that position for what seemed like an infinite time, then parted almost reluctantly. "I missed you" the queen said placing her hand on her husband's face. "You are tired. You should rest"
Marcus nodded. After the long journey he'd taken, he knew he didn't look very good, no matter how much he tried to keep his body well-groomed. Also, his eyes probably betrayed his tiredness. "Yes, I really think I'll get a long sleep tonight" he replied placing his hand on top of his wife's and squeezing it. "But first I had to meet you... and our children"
"Yes, I was sure of it" Mirta said. "However, for our son you will have to wait a little longer. As you well know at the moment he is with my father. I sent him a messenger as soon as I heard you were returning, but he won't be here until tomorrow. But you can meet your daughter, who will surely explode with joy as soon as she sees you"
The young prince was now six years old, consequently Marcus and Mirta had sent him some time before to temporarily stay in his grandparents' house; this is because this was an important step in the life of a royal. It was crucial that the prince learn as much as possible about his family and through them he could also begin to make connections with the high nobility of the kingdom; he would also begin to learn how to rule, since a limited territory such as a duchy was less demanding than a kingdom, and therefore it was easier for his young mind to observe his grandfather than his father. Finally, this would have ensured a stricter education, because Marcus could have been too compliant towards his own son, risking ignoring some of his behaviors which, if left unpunished, could have led him to become a bad king; his grandfather, on the other hand, would have been more adamant, since there was affection between them but still not as much as there was with his father. Marcus knew how important this moment was in the prince's life, so he wasn't disappointed that his son wasn't there to welcome him, but he was still annoyed at the thought of having to wait any longer. However, as his wife had pointed out, he could still meet his daughter.
The king and queen made their way to the princess's bedroom, which was directly next to theirs. It was smaller than that of the two royals, but it was still very large and refined. Inside, a couple of maids were taking care of the princess, who as soon as she saw her parents enter ran immediately to them, moving on her short legs as if she were springing. "Dada!" she exclaimed as she hugged her father's leg; in response, Marcus picked her up and pressed her to his chest.
Tanya was now two years old, and from a small and frail baby with very little hair on her head and who couldn't even crawl she had turned into a playful, pretty, smiling girl with a thick mane of golden hair clearly inherited from her father. Her vocabulary was still limited and she struggled to construct a sentence, but she was learning very quickly. The maids always made sure she was well fed and stayed healthy, and since she was a two-year-old, she was constantly hyperactive and running around in all directions touching everything, eager to explore and understand the world around her, like all the kids of her age did. "Yes, little pest. Dad is back" Marcus said looking the little girl in the eyes, who answered with a happy laugh.
Mirta looked at the two maids. "Go out. Let my husband spend some time with his daughter" she said. The maids complied immediately and walked with dignity but hastily out of the room, closing the door behind them.
The two parents sat on the bed, holding the little princess on their knees. Tanya spent her time constantly going from her father to her mother and vice versa, although since they had been separated for quite some time, she obviously favored her father. Marcus let the little princess do what she wanted and played with her whatever she decided to do. Mirta smiled sweetly as she watched the uncompromising ruler of the Jurao Kingdom transform into a loving and kind father in the presence of his youngest child. However, it didn't take long before Tyana started to take on another attitude, and her expression changed quickly. "Dada worried" she finally said.
Marcus sighed. It was amazing how intuitive children could be… or maybe it was Tanya who had a knack for understanding people's moods. "Yes, little pest, dad is a little worried... but you know it's my duty as king to be. Don't worry, I'll sort it out in a few days"
"Dada good king" Tanya mumbled smiling again. An adult wouldn't have changed his mind so quickly, but to the little girl's simple mind the father's words were enough to keep her from worrying too. After all, if her dad said everything was fine, then it must be like that.
The king and queen stayed with the princess for nearly an hour before she began to tire; seeing that her small eyes were closing, Mirta and Marcus summoned the maids to put the child to bed. After that they went back to their rooms, and there finally the queen returned serious: "What worries you so much? I thought the problem was solved by now"
"It is. Although we still have to know what happened to Carrion... even if by now I'm pretty sure that he made the stupid choice to chase that dragon and die too" Marcus answered starting to take off his clothes to be able to go to bed.
Mirta tilted her head slightly. "It's that dragon, isn't it? It's him that worries you"
Marcus paused for a moment, then he sighed. "Yes" he admitted. "Haku worries me, in fact I fear him. I don't know what he could do and how he could act, and he has already shown that he can do things that everyone deems impossible. If he were alone, that wouldn't worry me... but now I know that not only he's not alone, but that there could be many dragons out there with him. And that scares me. One dragon alone is a walking catastrophe, but that many dragons working together would be an apocalypse"
"Then how are you going to act?" Mirta asked him.
Marcus shook his head. "I don't know. I'm not even sure if in the current state I could win a battle against Haku. And then...". His tone hardened. "I can't antagonize him. Not after what the priestess of the God of Knowledge told me. As long as we just play this… game with each other, then fine, but if I gather my soldiers and directly try to kill him then surely his hatred for me could no longer be dispelled. And if indeed he is destined to become…" the words died in his throat.
Mirta approached him and placed her hands on his now bare chest. "I know the priestess of the God of Knowledge has told you that he will become someone important, but you shouldn't let that affect your judgment..."
"That's not what affects my judgement! I'm not afraid of Haku!" Marcus snapped annoyed. "It's the prophecy that priestess made about our daughter that worries me! I'm not going to let a monster take her away! And Haku is the key to avoiding it! Tell me, what's more powerful than a dragon? If I can understand how he thinks, I can make sure that when the time comes he will come to our aid. And even if I can't, he can give me many things... magic, strategies, intelligence... that dragon is a gold mine. Through him, I can gain enough power to stop any monster from ever trying to take my daughter". He wrinkled his nose in breathlessness. "The priestess of the God of Knowledge said that Haku would help me and my offspring a lot, and she already is! She prevented Carrion from carrying out a plot that would have been disastrous for the whole kingdom and instead allowed me to leave from this situation stronger than ever! If there is anyone who can prevent the prophecy about our daughter from coming true, it is him! For this I must be able to uncover all his secrets and find a way to control him, even if just for the time necessary to avoid that terrible fate!"
Mirta remained impassive during that long speech, and when Marcus had finished, silence fell, broken only by the king's gasps. Then the queen brought her face close to that of the sovereign and kissed him. "We still have time, you don't have to fear that terrible prophecy yet. We will find a way to stop the monster" she said, then she smiled slightly: "It is funny, isn't it? You are afraid that a monster will take your daughter and the best solution you have found is to entrust yourself to a dragon, the most destructive creature that exists in this world"
"That's exactly why I want to trust him. The best way to fight a monster is to use a more terrible monster" Marcus replied, then he kissed his wife again. "But you're right. We still have time. Let's not think about it, at least for tonight" he said continuing to leave a trail of kisses on the woman's neck. Mirta let him do it and in the meantime she took off the upper part of her dress. Marcus dragged her into bed and there he took off her last clothes, to then abandon himself to the passion with her.
That was a night of love and intense carnal desire, and they both made up for those long weeks they had spent apart; only when the moon was high in the sky did they finally give in to exhaustion and fall asleep, their naked bodies still embraced. They stayed that way until the next morning, when a knock at the door woke them up. "What's now?" Marcus asked aloud.
"It's Thornag, Your Majesty" was the answer that came to him from the other end. "Just received a message from Black Vulture. She's found Carrion and brought him back from the desert. They're currently in a city on the border, waiting for someone to pick them up"
Marcus' body stiffened again. Apparently, he wasn't allowed any peace even after returning from that long affair. "Send a wyvern rider to get them, and have them brought here as soon as possible"