Chapter 10

~Kamari~

It's breaking me. And it never did before. But Browen and that hideous will from my father just ripped it open. It reminded me of that little girl who saw a blade as her only way out. Such rage shouldn't exist with a little body. It happened after my mother passed; that last piece of humanity went with my mother that day. And when my father tried to pass me off in an arranged marriage to a man twice my age. I lost it.

I remember the dimly lit halls with candles and paintings. They watched the shadow of a little girl murder her father and her to-be husband. I grip my hair, "I'm not sorry…"

I hoped my mother wasn't looking when that happened. I prayed she would turn her back, but even if she didn't, the sick smile on her little girl's face would have made her cringe. And yet, I would do it again. Syris was never a father, and he's the reason my mother got so sick. He never came to her side when she was dying. I had to see her last breath, and her eyes latch to an inevitable death. 

Hate. It dug so deep like a nasty tick that it made my hands bloody. And now, I was in charge of a whole kingdom. They didn't know what I did, and I had lied to them so quickly. The girl came screaming out of her father's room, crying that her father was dead.

Help! My father's dead! 

It's all a lie.

And hearing Nye say such things to me made my soul ache. Part of me felt I didn't deserve that type of devotion. My knees feel weak, and all I want to do is crumble. I knew Nye wasn't far behind me, but I hoped he didn't press the matter. As I walk down the hall towards the under-dwelling, I hear a pounding on a random closet door in the hall and a muffled voice.

"Hello?" I place my hands on the door. I could make out a female voice. I pull on the door handle, but it doesn't give. Fuck it. I back up, run towards it, and kick the door down. And when I see Calea tied up and gagged, my heart skips a beat.

"Calea," I gasp and hurry to untie her, "What in Goddes's name happened to you?"

She spits out the gap, "Your beast of a husband!" She growls out.

I look her up and down, then double-blink. Calea gets up and dusts herself off, "He told me to get out of his way, and I said no of course, and he threw me over his shoulder and tied me up and put me in here!"

I bite my lip, fighting a smile. But Calea notices. She scoffs, "Do you find my distress funny?" 

I shake my head back and forth. "No. No, of course not." I lie. Maybe Nye and I aren't so different…

"Calea." I hear Nye's voice behind me. We both turn to him, he half-smiles, "I'm glad you found her. I would have forgotten," Calea's jaw drops, and as Nye walks by us, he stops near Calea, "Next time, you'll think twice before getting in my way, witch."

***

After calming Calea down with her favorite wine and pastry dessert, I tell her what happened in the so-called meeting.

"Good Goddess, Kamari." She says heavily. "This couldn't have gotten more complicated. And the fact that you hit a councilman!? What were you thinking?"

"I wanted to kill him." The words slip out of my mouth. I press my lips together. Calea looks at me like she is sorry for me. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's quite bold for you to say such things. Especially as a Queen." Calea swirls her wine.

"You mean as a woman?" I scoff. I'm supposed to speak with elegance and softness at all times. I never get my hands dirty. I must look pretty and take orders from old men whose balls swing like pungalums."

Calea's eyes widened at my statement. But hell, it was true. "You need to reel in that mouth of yours, or you'll get us all hanged." She whispers harshly.

I sigh and walk around Calea's room, "You're right. I'd rather not see my father."

After today's events, I wondered how to make the Kingdom favor my rule. They had never had a woman rule the throne before. And as much as I hate to admit it, Browen may have had a point. "The people aren't going to take me seriously." 

Calea stands, "You will be the first female on the throne chair. Usually, a DragonBorne sits there. And all of them have been Male."

My father was a poor Excuse; our lineage stretched its Dragonborn heritage, and when no Dragons came to claim a mate from our bloodline, we had to continue with humans instead, and that's why our bloodline got thinned out. 

"But I am not pregnant, so they have me." I slap my hands at my side. "And even if I were, they would have years with me before my child could take the throne."

Was the promise of the first Dragonborn in years not good enough to keep my seat on the throne? I groan in frustration. "I don't know what they think of me. So, I'll have to find out firsthand and fix it."

Calea crosses her arms with a smile, "It's a good place to start. But I think you've had enough for today. Get some rest. We will disguise ourselves tomorrow and see what the people see in you."

As if that wasn't unsettling. I'm not a fan of critique. But in this case, I guess I could try to make adjustments if they were reasonable.

Before leaving, I packed a plate full of fruits and meats. Walking back into the underdwelling, with all the ambient lighting, relaxed my whole body for some reason. As I pop a grape into my mouth, I see Nye's clothes on the ground.

"Really?" It's such a shame. They suited him well. But as I look around. I don't see any of them. Then I hear water splashing, and head into the bathing pool, where I see Koa shaking out his hair from the water. But no one else.

"Koa," I put down the plate, his eyes glowing in serpent form. "Where are Aneth and Nye?"

Koa picks up his robe, "Gone."

"Gone?" My stomach clenches. "What do you mean gone?"

As he tightens his robe, he walks towards me and gently grabs my hand, "Come." 

I follow him as he takes me outside to the area, he points to the sky, "Aneth, and Nye's element."

"You mean Wind?" 

Koa looks back at me as if trying to match what he wants to say to the words he knows now. Then he points to the under-dwelling, " Trapped." Then he points to the sky, "Free."

"They went to fly," I said to him. Koa nods and repeats what I said. I smile at him," You catch on fast. Like Nye."

Koa furrows his brows and shakes his head, "No. Not like Nye." 

My brows pinch together, and I chuckle, "What? You're learning quickly; that's a good thing."

Koa clenches his jaw and shakes his head, "No." He says sternly, then turns around and slips the robe off his back, revealing deep scarred gashes. My gut clenches. 

"What happened?" 

"Nye."

Did Nye do this? I had seen them fight before, and it wasn't pleasant. "Is this normal? For you guys to fight like this?"

"Yes." Koa pulls his robe up, and turns around, he starts to draw in the sand. "Nye," He draws first; "Koa," he draws himself in symbol form; "Aneth."

I kneel, "Nye. Is he the leader of you two?"

"Yes." Koa sighed as if relieved I understood him. Then, he smiled, showing cute dimples I hadn't seen before. 

"And you're in the middle?"

"Moved up." he corrects. 

Oh. So that was what that blood ritual was about. Nye made Aneth drop from the totem pole and put Koa there instead. "I see; you males have a hierarchy you go by."

"Next," Koa says, then slashes Nye's symbol with his claws. The intention behind it felt malicious. I stared into Koa's eyes, which held a darkness I had never seen before.

"You want to hurt Nye."

"Yes." 

I furrow my brow, "To be a leader?"

Koa smirks, then stands up and says," You learn quickly."

My lips pressed together. Now I wondered if Nye had always been the leader, or maybe this was an ongoing thing that never ended. 

"Aneth, " Koa places his hand on his chest, "Will come for me."

"To take your place." Now I understood what the constant fighting was about. I look to the skies, "When will they come back?"

Koa says nothing.

"Well, I guess it's just me and you." I grab his hand, "Come on, I'll read you something."

I rummage through different books, not knowing what he might enjoy. I sigh, leaning back on my heels. Then I saw the picture of my mother. I smiled and decided on the story I wanted to tell him.

I grab the painting of my mother and sit next to Koa, who has his knees to his chest. I noticed after swimming his dark green hair got wavy and glossy, it almost hid his eyes. "Well, it's not a book, but there's a story." I showed him the picture, "This is my mother, the woman who gave birth to me."

Koa takes the picture, then looks at me and her, "Mother." He repeats. 

"Yes. My mother married my father and had me. The only child they ever had together." Koa places a gentle hand on the painting, his eyes holding curiosity as he strokes it. I continued, "Her and I were like sisters. We would cause trouble together and run through the castle like childish fools. She would take me out to the forest; we would stay there for hours just enjoying being out of concrete walls."

Koa looks at me, he places a hand on my chest, and oddly he feels warm. "Trapped, like Aneth and Nye," he replies, more of a statement than a question.

"Yes. I guess you could say that. I never really felt like I belonged." It was true. I never told my mother that, but deep down, the things she did for me were the only things that mattered. I didn't care about studying, singing lessons, how to dress appropriately, going to tea parties—none of it. 

"After she passed, it all went away. My father never wanted me outside. He kept me in the castle. I remember him saying something about keeping my purity. As if I was some Harlot."

"Harlot?" Koa's face was puzzled. "What is a Harlot?"

I chuckle to myself, "A woman who has sex for money."

Koa's brow arches, "Sex?"

Ugh, you're killing me, Koa.

I sigh, feeling a warmth radiate to my cheeks. What could I compare sex to? Mating. He probably knew what that meant.

"Yes. Like mating. You guys do that right? Out there," I gesture to the outside. Koa follows my hand.

"Mate." He pauses for a second, his eyes light up as he understood, "Yes."

"Well mating is called sex in the human world." I couldn't even be discreet with him. 

"Your father calls you a harlot. Is this Bad?" He asks.

"Yeah. Very bad." I sigh.

 "Am I a Harlot?" Koa asks. My eyes widen, and I can't help but chuckle," No. Men aren't called Harlots, only women. In the human world it's taboo for women to like sex. Men on the other hand get to do it freely without ridicule. In this case you would just be a man who likes sex."

Koa stares at me for a moment, probably digesting the long description I gave him. "Do you like sex?" His brow arches. I stare at him wide-eyed. Good goddess. "Um-Lets try a book," I grab the painting trying to change the subject but Koa snatches it back. 

"No. I asked a question. Answer." Koa's voice just did something to me, it was hypnotic and silvery. It could put you to sleep if you let it, or it could turn you on. In this case, it was verging on arousal. 

I bite my lip, "I guess I'm a Harlot…" I say playfully. Koa's eyes made my body tingle everywhere he looked. He smiles at me with that boyish charm. Koa places the picture to the side, then stands up.

"Come, I want to show you something," Koa holds out his hand. And my mind starts to venture to naughty places. Stop it, stop it, stop it!

Koa takes me back to the bathing pool, "Look down," He says as he points to the bottom of the pool. I lean over and squint my eyes, and see glistening round things at the bottom.

"What are those?" I ask. Koa takes off his robe and dives in, I watch as he shoots back up from the bottom, he surfaces with a familiar item. Pearls.

"Those were under there the whole time!?" I get on my knees and he hands me some of them. 

"No. I create them." He says as he jumps out. And my mind fizzles under confusion.

"Y-You what? How?"

"From me." Koa says as if it's simple.

I remain confused. "So how does it happen? Is it your scales? Do they fall off and over time create this?" That would be amazing. If that were true, everyone who had them would be the owner of a dragon's scale. 

Koa furrows his brows. "No. Females," he grabs one and pretends to swallow it. "Another Dragon," He makes a gesture into the pool.

My eyes widen as I realize what the pearls are, "Oh good goddess." I pinch my eyes closed. "Koa, are you telling me this is your fertilizing method?"

Koa thinks for a moment, then says, "Yes."

I let the "Pearls" fall back into the water. 

"Quite Disturbing isn't it?" The sound of Nye's voice makes my heart spike. I turn to see him walking towards us. 

"I've never been a fan of your kind's reproductive system." Nye says to Koa, "It's disgusting knowing your seed is scattered on the seafloor."

Koa gives Nye a sharp hiss, as if insulted. "Water's way." He says to Nye, and Nye hovers over him.

"A coward's way out of a fight," Nye says, then kicks Koa into the water. 

I sigh,"That was rather harsh. Koa was only explaining it to me."

Nye scoffs, "He would have gotten you to swallow it. It's Koa's breed to be sneaky." Nye then leans upon the cave wall. He wore his robe as well. Good.

"I don't think so." I stand up, dusting myself off.

"Then you underestimate him." Nye says with vigor. He looked me up and down, "So how was your play date?" His voice held a passive agressivness behind it.

I narrow my eyes on him, "Play date? Is that what you think when I'm with Koa or Aneth and not you."

Nye locks eyes with me. "Dragons have a hierarchy. The leader of the males is who the female spends the most time with. Koa and Aneth know this."

I cross my arms, "That makes no sense. I want to get to know all of you."

"Too bad." Nye says his eyes are unwavering. "If they can't best me in a fight you won't."

I chuckle, unbelieving the nature of these creatures. "So if you were to be "dethroned" by Aneth or Koa. I'd be spending more time with them?"

"It's our nature. To be a leader you must be powerful, if not you don't deserve to be there. Someone else will take it." Nye says this as if it's a binding oath. 

Well, that's great. Now it will take me forever to get to know Koa and Aneth more than on surface level. "You irk me." I cross my arms over my chest. Nye did get under my skin but at the same time, I liked it. Am I sick in the head? Maybe. 

"Darling, you take me for someone who needs your approval for the things I do. You should know by now, that I do not." Nye smirks at me. 

I roll my eyes. "Then buckle up 'cause you're going to have a butt load of shit to deal with on this ride honey." I walk past him purposefully exaggerating the sway of my hips. 

Bite it, big guy.