Chapter Twenty

I sat on my dad's lap, beside my mom, for the remainder of the ceremony. After all of the youth participating in the ceremony went through the transformation process and received their blessings from the circle, great papa and grandma Melyndah said a few words and the ceremony was concluded. My family, the royal dignitaries, and guests from neighboring kingdoms headed to their carriages. Apparently, the commoners held a separate celebration in the square while royalty celebrated at the palace because I saw several food carts and stalls opening as we left.

Once we arrived at the palace, I was immediately rushed to my mom's quarters and forced to change. I had been wearing commoner clothes as not to alert any of the citizens or would be assassins to my identity before I was able to go through the ceremony. Now that I had transformed, I was required to dress appropriately for a royal. Also, the clothes I was wearing had been torn in my transformation due to my wings, so they needed to be changed anyway.

Although I didn't feel any different than before, when I looked in the mirror, I could see several changes in my appearance. My eyes had become more gold than brown and I could see the scale print on my golden brown skin. My majority black tail now had red and gold blotches with purple etching trimming them. Maybe it was due to the fact that I had finally seen my father's face, but I could easily see that, although I had my mother's eyes, I looked like a baby version of him.

The most drastic physical change had occurred to my back. I had grown a pair of wings! Jet black feathers with red and purple trim covered each wing. "So cool," I sighed as I fluttered my wings in the mirror.

"Your highness, will you please stop admiring yourself and shift into your human form?" Samir asked in an exhausted tone.

I frowned. "Why must I shift? My wings are so pretty!"

"Because if your parents return and you are still not dressed, you will be the one who faces their wrath."

I stiffened and my stomach fluttered. I quickly shifted into my human form and started to put on the suit my mom had left me to wear. Just like suits in the human realm, their were three standard pieces to the suit; pants, shirt, and jacket. However, the style of the suit was more similar to the style worn in the middle East or African countries than the common American style. The shirt beneath the jacket was made of the softest and lightest fabric I had ever felt and, once I had it on, it automatically conformed to my size. The jacket was sleek and had a tail that fell to my calves. When buttoned completely, it looked more like robes or a dress. So much so, that I wanted to keep it open as proof of my masculinity.

Samir quickly thwarted my attempts and rushed over, buttoning the jacket completely. I frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Your highness, you can't go out half dressed."

"Why can't I leave a few buttons open?"

"Because, that would be salacious," Dad said as he walked in the room.

I smiled brightly at him. "Hi, daddy! You look handsome!"

He did look handsome. He had on the same style suit as I had but it was black with dark purple trim. There was a red and purple scarf tied around his neck and his silky, jet black hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail. He looked at me with a stern expression and folded his arms. "Don't try to flatter me. Why are you giving your creation hell?"

My face fell. "I'm not."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then why are you still not ready for the celebration?"

"I," I said before I paused, unable to explain my behavior, "I was just,"

"You were probably staring at your Naga form for too long in the mirror and only started to get dressed after he intervened."

I was so shocked by his accuracy, my mouth dropped open. "What? How do you know that?"

He rolled his eyes. "I'm your father. It's my job to know. Besides, your guilt is written on your face."

"Huh?"

Samir chuckled and bowed his head. "My lord, I will be done in just a moment."

Dad put a hand up as he walked over. "I'll take over here. Father wishes to speak with you and is waiting in the sitting room."

"Ah! The master?" He took a few quick steps before he stopped and bowed. "Thank you, my lord, for informing me. I will take my leave."

Dad nodded and he quickly rushed out of the room. I couldn't help but be amused. "He really is excited!"

"Of course. He is meeting his God. Now, back to you," he said and I looked up at him, "What is this you were saying about leaving buttons open?"

"Oh. I was asking why all of the buttons had to be closed on my jacket."

"Because, it's inappropriate."

I blinked. "Oh."

He placed his hand on my shoulder. "I know that all of these layers are a little uncomfortable, but, as a prince, you must always be mindful of your appearance as well as your actions."

I looked at him and smiled. "Mn! Okay, daddy!"

He bent down and kissed my forehead. "That's my sweet little dragonfly! Now, let's hurry and get down to the celebration."

After helping me get fully dressed, dad led me out of the bedroom and down a short hall into a sitting room where mom and Samir were talking with the two men who looked identical to my dad, three women, two young boys and a girl who looked to be around my age, and papa Ry. Samir had just finished pouring tea for my mom when they all noticed us. Mom smiled. "Aw! Well, don't you look adorable!"

I smiled. "Thanks mommy! You look very beautiful yourself! In fact, everyone does." I looked at the three kids and my dragon immediately stirred. Memories from my childhood before I fell into the human realm flashed through my mind. My eyes lit up. "Bubba's! Sis," I yelled excitedly as I started to rush towards them.

Before I could make it halfway across the room, dad appeared in front of me and put his hand out, grabbing me by my face. He locked his eyes on mine and said, "No!"

I felt my drakkon consciousness stir, however, it didn't take over like before. Instead, it just stopped me in place as a soft whimper escaped from my throat. My cousins let out a small whimper as well, and we all calmed down. I shook my head as dad let go of my face, trying to get rid of the slightly dizziness I was feeling. I looked at my dad, feeling a little embarrassed. "My apologies, dad. My memory is coming back and I got a little excited."

He patted my head. "You can play with your cousins after everything is done. For now, you four must behave like proper royals. Understand?"

"Yes sir," my cousins and I said in unison.

"Hm? Well! I see that your connection is still strong," papa Ry said.

"Mn. The coronation should run smoothly then,"the woman beside him, who I now recognized as my grandma, said as she stood up. "We should probably get down to the celebration."

"Ah! Yes!" Mom said as she stood up. "Please, mother, father, family, follow me."

Papa nodded and stood up. As he straightened his clothes, he said, "Now, grandchildren, remember what I told you. No pouncing or shifting."

One of the boys smiled. "We know, papa. Don't worry. "

"Yeah. We wouldn't want to break anyone," the girl said sweetly.

Papa Ry looked at me. "That goes for you too."

I was a little taken aback. "Me?"

"Yes, you."

Dad placed his hand on my shoulder. "Remember, you are not the same as you were before leaving the human realm. Your manna is stable and you have just gone through your transition as a Naga. That means that you are stronger."

"Yes, and you still have yet to learn how to control your power, so be careful, dear," grandma added.

"Oh," I said as I started to understand. I nodded. "Okay. I'll be careful."

Mom walked over to me and picked me up. I frowned as she placed me on her hip and said, "Alright, everyone. Follow me."

"Mommy, you don't have to pack me. I have my legs now," I said.

Mom smiled. "This isn't about you having your legs or not. It's tradition for all newly transitioned youth to be carried into the celebration by their mothers."

I blinked. "Oh. I did read something about that, but," I looked at her in raised an eyebrow. "You're human form is so tiny!"

Mom raised an eyebrow. "Are you doubting my strength?"

"Eh? No!" I said before I frowned. "Mom, I'm just worried about you."

She smiled sweetly and kissed my forehead. "That's sweet, dear, but you don't need to worry about me. I'm your mom, not the other way around."

Dad patted her shoulder. "Let's get going. We don't need your mom sending Gertrude to retrieve us."

"Mn."

Mom carried me to the door, the rest of the family following behind us. We were just about to head out of the room when the air in the room grew heavy. I turned my head and looked over as the area behind the couch began to distort and ripple. "Hm?" Papa Ry hummed as the space opened and great papa Nylamu stepped out and into the room.

"Grandad?" Mom asked in shock as the space behind him returned to normal.

My eyes lit up. "Great papa!"

He looked at me and quickly rushed over, a smile on his face. "Well! Hello, my adorable little great grandbaby!"

Mom frowned as he pulled me off of her and lifted me up above his head. "Hey! Grandad!"

"Aw! You look so cute in your suit!" He said, ignoring her.

I giggled. "Thank you, great papa!"

"Eh? Do you already know each other?"

"Mn! We met when I was in the library one day," I said as he handed me back to her.

Mom was clearly shocked. "What? You came down and didn't say hi to me?"

Great papa Nylamu patted the top of her head. "Calm down. I didn't come down. I just pulled his consciousness into the heavenly realm to speak with him about a few things."

"What?" She said before she frowned. "You are the one who told him to choose your scepter. Grandad, that's cheating!"

"Eh?" I said before I looked at great papa.

He frowned. "It's not. It's my inheritance. I will give it to the one who I deem appropriate. Or would you rather have one of your degenerate nieces take the throne?"

Mom closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm going to pretend that I have heard nothing about this."

Papa Ry raised an eyebrow. "I thought you weren't coming."

Great papa looked at him. "I received news that I must deal with personally."

Mom raised an eyebrow. "What kind of news?"

"That is confidential." He turned around and opened the door. "Anyway, let's go!"

Mom groaned. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

"Hmmm," I said as I tapped my chin, "could be that papa is up to no good."

"Oh! He's definitely up to no good," papa Ry said.

"Most definitely," dad agreed.

"It's literally all he knows," grandma added before she asked, "Where do you think your mother got it from?"

Mom gasped. "Me? Mother!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Mommy's up to no good too?"

"Of course. How do you think you got here," great papa asked as he patted my head.

"Grandad!"

Everyone else laughed and I closed my eyes and sighed as I realized where my sense of humor came from.