A wielder of powers

Melina had never been anything normal before. First starting from a child who was almost made part of the royal family, then reduced to a lowly servant in the twinkle of an eye. Furthermore, she has been labelled a troublemaker since she was a child. She was falsely accused of murdering the king, then another king tagged her as a witch, and so many other endless dramas related to her as a redhead.

As she remained where she stood, patiently waiting for the dragon to speak, her breath quickened. She finally felt like she was truly going to find out what or who she was. Her parents, her problems and solutions.

Somehow, she believed this creature could tell her whatever she needed to know and her eyes lit at the thought.

The dragon gauged her expression, seeing her curiosity peak, her gaze on the redhead never wavering, "You, little one are a dragon's kin..." her low voice rumbling like thunder crack, yet she could feel the gentle warmth laced in her words, making her feel home. "...A descendant of our line."

Melina almost rolled her eyes in frustration. It seemed it was a dragon's thing to speak in riddles. "What do you mean?" She asked. What this dragon was saying was no less different from what she thought.

Kilgharrah continued, her voice like a warm breeze on a summer's day, "The fire that once burned within us now smoulders within you," her words painted vivid pictures in Melina's mind before she finished,

"You are a dragon lady, Melina."

Melina's eyes widened, feeling disorientated. "What do you mean I'm a dragon lady?" This dragon was only dipping her mind in a muddle.

Kilgharrah's gaze never wavered. "You, Melina, are a direct descendant of the ancient dragon bloodline," he explained, his voice patient and gentle. "The power of the dragons courses through your veins, waiting to be awakened."

Melina shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs. "But I'm human," she protested. "I don't have scales or wings or...or breathe fire."

The dragon chuckled, a low rumble that always made Melina's heart skip a beat. "Being a dragon lady is not just about physical form, Melina," he said. "It's about the essence of the dragon that resides within you. The courage, the strength, the wisdom, and the power."

The redhead had her mind reeling, trying to comprehend everything. "But what does that mean?" she asked, feeling like a child seeking guidance.

Kilgharrah's eyes burned with intensity. "It means you have the heart of a dragon, Melina," he said. "You can wield the elements, command the winds and summon flames. You have the power to shape the world around you. And most of all, you are the only one powerful enough to save Vlamunda from its impending doom."

Melina's thoughts swirled, trying to grasp the magnitude of the dragon's words. She felt like she was standing at the edge of a precipice, staring into an abyss of unknown possibilities. However, there was something about the last sentence that captured Melina.

"Save Vlamunda from doom?"

"Oh yes. King Regaleon and his ally have no idea who they stand up against. Princess Dasha of Vagary is not one to be messed with."

That statement halted the redhead and she gasped in shock, "How do you know about the upcoming war?" The news about warfare was only known to those in the higher circle. Even most of the soldiers going to war knew nothing about whom they were going to fight. How could a creature hidden in a deep cave know something so confidential?

"I told you...I have a few tricks up my sleeve," The dragon raised her chin in pride. "They must be delusional to think binding me with spells forged by my ancestors can alter my magic completely. They have no idea the power that stirs in me."

As she spoke, Melina stared at the shackles that circled Kilgharrah's legs. No wonder he couldn't pull it out. It wasn't ordinary like she had thought.

"But how?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "How did they get to bind you? Why did they do it and why didn't you fight?"

Kilgharrah's gaze never wavered. "There is a lot you need to know, young witch," she said. "I have all the time to give you whatever information you need. I will guide you on your journey to discover the power that lies within you. But I also want a favour from you,"

Melina pinched her brows as the dragon had never asked her for a favour since she spoke.

"What favour?"

"You will find out. But for now, you need to save your kingdom and the young king who has caught your fancy. Danger lurks around him," Kilgharrah was talking about Leon and she noticed how Melina turned red at her words.

"I don't hold anything for him. He's a king!" She yelled out with her face down. Even she had not realized she was falling for him.

The revelation had hit her with embarrassment. How did she loosen up on something like that? She could never even step foot near an elite's world talkless of a king.

"Hmmm." The dragon didn't argue with her. She knew it would take time for this ship to sail and she would wait for the young witch to settle in with it.

The two stood in each other's presence in silence for a while, basking in their thoughts and embracing the tranquillity that came with finding a lost part of oneself when Melina finally broke the silence, "So...what am I supposed to do to save this kingdom?" She asked the long-awaited question.

___________________________

By the time it was morning just like Matthew had predicted, King Albert's army had arrived. The soldiers were taken care of as they were tired from the journey and Leon assembled all the chieftains to the courtroom for a meeting.

Lord Nicholas, however, wasn't present when the meeting was held as he still nursed his anger from the coronation day.

"I called this meeting in the hope that every one of you here is aware of your duties as chieftains when warfare takes place," Leon said to see all the chieftains nod.

Albert, who sat on Lord Nicholas' seat with his legs crossed and one hand placed on his right cheek, looked around, subtly observing everyone's expression. It was as if he had a feeling that something would go wrong.

"Good," Leon commented, "Because tonight, we are going to attack Vagary." He broke the news and the chieftains had their eyes widened.

Tonight? Hadn't Vagary just announced war? Why would they attack tonight? All of them stared at each other in surprise, grumbles could be heard from the room until one of them decided to say something.

"My King...,"

"No. My decision is final." Leon raised his hand to stop the chieftain from speaking, knowing exactly what he was about to say. He looked at Albert who gave him a slight nod of approval before turning his gaze to Matthew beside him.

"King Regaleon, there is no way we would win a war that is not properly planned out. Vagary is very defensive and powerful because they are prepared." Lord Zuko rushed to speak before he could be interrupted.

"That is the point. They are prepared for war but not for a sudden attack. If we give them any more time, we will fall..." He explained knowing the deadly weapon that King Macron held which was his only daughter, Dasha.

"Courtroom meetings have been adjourned till further notice. Take your families, protect them and provide support to whichever villagers you have the opportunity to help." Leon said and somehow, he didn't care that Lord Nicholas wasn't here because that way, he would not be aware of the war. It was the best thing to do to his family for disobeying his instructions.

Not mentioning one word more, he stood up, and Matthew, along with Albert, followed suit.

Normally, wars like this took months as both kingdoms needed to know each other's weaknesses before attacking. But with Albert's warnings, Leon decided to take his advice to attack them suddenly.

While heading to his quarters, he noticed Albert was still following him. "And what now?" He turned around to ask the Savannah king.

Albert placed his hand behind him with a wide smug smile as if what he was about to say Leon wouldn't like.

"I was thinking..." He walked slowly to meet Leon,

"...Kilgharrah-"

"No." Leon deadpanned. He already knew what this king wanted to say.

"Perhaps the little dragon could be of some use since she has refused to die all these decades." Albert shrugged as he said.

"No."

"At least..." Albert tried to convince him.

"No." Leon raised his voice this time to show Albert he was serious. "I would not mess with a dragon that was bound by my ancestors for years now. No one even dared to release her, it wouldn't be me." He stated.

"Have you never wondered why it hasn't died even after the last dragon Lady was killed? Not to talk about how starved it should've been. Kilgharrah should be dead, Leon...but she isn't. Something is keeping her alive either knowingly or unknowingly." Albert explained, his gaze locked intently on Leon's.

"That is a more reason why we have to chain her there. If she gets out, she would only mean more destruction for Vlamunda. Do you think with all her pent-up rage that she would defeat our enemies for us?" Leon asked, his eyes holding secrets that couldn't be deciphered. "We already have the mysterious Dasha as a problem. I don't think we should add to it." He placed his hands on Albert's shoulders and the young king nodded in agreement even though something else still clouded his judgement on that.

"I believe we've had enough for the morning. We should clean ourselves up with haste. There's a lot to do." He encouraged Leon back with a tap on his shoulder as well. Even though he had already made a valid point about the dragon, he knew Leon was too stressed out to take note so it was best to let the discussion concerning the redhead be for now.

Leon didn't say anything to him but acknowledged his encouragement with a smile that didn't reach his eyes before he walked away.

Though it wasn't talked about often, this new young king had a lot of pressure on his head. He felt sick and weary of the future of his kingdom and unlike before, this time he had to carry all that burden alone.

People thought it was a pleasurable thing to be king. They thought it was a lifetime of enjoying the most amazing luxury but they forgot about the pros and cons of this life time responsibility.

Entering his quarters, one of his guards after bowing to greet him, asked, "Your Highness, Shall we pass information to the maidservant to come attend to you?" He was talking about Carlos as she was the one in charge of the maids that attended to elites in the palace.

Remembering he had told Carlos to only bring the redhead to his room, Leon's face brightened on the guards question and he immediately nodded, eager to see a certain someone.

"Sure, you can tell her to come." He answered and the guard quickly left to pass the information.