Dragon Story

The limo took us out into the countryside. When he had said New York I mistakenly thought he meant New York City. My bad. I was beginning to fall asleep when we pulled up into the courtyard of a very old, and very large, mansion.

Deven opened the door and stepped out, offering his arm. Not wanting to offend, I took it. A few people, or dragons, I couldn\'t tell which, came down to the car and began to unload our bags. Deven had sent someone over to Mourn and Liam\'s places to collect clothing for them. Deven patted my arm as I watched them take the luggage and led me up to the mansion, Mourn and Liam on our heels.

\"The Dragon is asleep right now, so I\'m just going to show you to your room. You will meet him before dinner, that I can promise.\"

I yawned. A nap did indeed sound good.

\"Wait You said room.\"

Deven stopped walking and looked at me. \"Yes?\"

I looked over my shoulder at Mourn and Liam. Mourn I assumed would be sharing a room with. But I didn\'t figure in Liam, as well. Deven laughed at my expression. \"Sleep with one, or both, or none. We do not care. It would be unseemly, however, to split a woman from her bodyguards.\" he laughed again. \"The bed will be big enough, believe me.\"

I nodded, and began walking with Deven again. He took us up the stairs to a room in the very back of the mansion. Our luggage had already arrived. \"I will be back for you three later.\" He gave me a knowing smile, which made me blush. I don\'t know why. With a nod to both Mourn and Liam, he walked off down the hall.

Mourn practically pushed me into the room while Liam followed, shutting the door.

\"What the hell?\"

Mourn gave me a blank look. \"What the hell what?\"

I threw my hands up. \"All of it.\"

He nodded. \"You are lady, indeed, a princess. A princess normally sleeps with her bodyguard.\"

\"As in fucking, sleeping, or what?\"

He shrugged. \"Both. Either. Neither. But to insist that we have three different rooms insinuates that you are not a lady. Though, normally, a lady only has one bodyguard.\"
Mourn smiled at me. I blushed. \"But do not worry about that. I am sure that Liam and I both can...keep you intact.\"

I yawned again, as I blushed. I was too tired to deal with this. \"Fine, fine. Whatever. I\'m tired.\"

Mourn walked with me to the massive bed, where Liam was already lying down. I snuggled up under the covers next to him, letting Mourn spoon me. He was right; the bed was big enough. I yawned one more time, and fell asleep.

A knock on the door woke me up. Liam sat up as I did, disentangling his legs from mine to answer the door. Deven stepped in, smirking at us.

\"The dragon king is awake. Don\'t worry; you have a few minutes to prepare.\"

Mourn slid out of bed as Deven stepped outside again. He rummaged in his bag for something as I pulled out an outfit. A pair of pinstriped pants with lace at the top and a simple black button down shirt to top if off. Liam came over with a brush as I came out of the bathroom.

\"Let me braid your hair.\"

I nodded, turning around. Liam pulled the brush through my hair a few times, then began to french braid it. I sighed, closing my eyes. It had been years since anyone had braided my hair. Once it got past my waist, none of my close female friends wanted to try anymore.
\"Thank you,\" I said as he tied off the ends.

Liam smiled at me, pushing his hair behind his ears. \"Not a problem.\"

I took the brush from him. \"The least I can do is return the favor.\" I tapped him on the shoulder with the brush. He turned around, and I took up a section of hair, running the brush through it until it was smooth. I had practiced on Mourn\'s hair enough that it came easily to me. I only had knee length hair, after all. They both had ankle length.

Liam pulled away as I smoothed the last knot out. I guess he didn\'t want me to braid it. He took the brush from my hands and stepped away, towards the chest that contained his clothing. It was then that I noticed he was still nude. I wanted to me bothered by it, but I wasn\'t. I knew he meant nothing by it; he was just really comfortable around me. More comfortable than a few days should have allowed for. I frowned. Mourn had been talking to him about me, I was sure.

I turned to look at Mourn, who had dressed while Liam and I had been messing with each other\'s hair. He was dressed simply in charcoal colored slacks and a black button down shirt, the masculine version of my own outfit. I shook my head at him and smiled. Mourn smiled as well. Glad he got the joke.

\"Are you ready?\" Deven had opened the door, no knock, nothing. Liam, half dressed, walked over to Deven. Deven gave him a knowing smile. Liam struck him across the face, wiping the smile from him.

\"Show the princess her due treatment and knock next time.\"

Deven paled, in anger more than anything else, I was sure. \"Don\'t tell me what to do and not to do, male.\"

Liam gave him a push, sending him out into the hallway. \"Do not disrespect the princess again. You are not her guard; you have no right to come in unannounced.\" Before Deven could protest, he shut the door in his face.

\"I\'m dressed, Liam.\"

Liam turned to me again began to button up his shirt. \"I know. But he was overstepping his bounds. Only your guards are allowed to enter unannounced.\" His face showed distain. \"In all technicality, we are your guards, until you say no.\"

\"Protecting my honor?\" My tone was amused, but in reality, I was surprised. To know the dragon court that well meant that he had spent time with them. Liam wasn\'t a dragon; he was sidhe.

\"That, too. Mostly to teach him his place.\" Liam finished buttoning his shirt up. He was dressed in pale gray slacks and a matching shirt. \"Now that our hosts have offered us offence, I think it is time to meet your kinsman.\"

I swallowed, suddenly not wanting to. \"Okay.\"

Mourn hugged me from behind as Liam patted my shoulder. Those two touches helped to calm me down.

\"It won\'t be so bad.\" Mourn released me and opened the door. I followed him, Liam behind me.

Deven leaned against the opposite wall, frowning. He took my hand as I came out, kneeling as he kissed my knuckles. He frowned again, and offered me his neck. I didn\'t know what to say, let alone do. Liam seemed to know, though, as he came over and placed my hand on his throat, fingers on the pulse on either side of his neck.
\"He is apologizing for offering insult to the royal heir,\" Liam whispered in my ear. \"You place your fingers like this to accept. It is a way of saying, I hold your life in my hands, but I will let you slide this time.\"

I dug my fingers in, just enough to feel the meat of his throat in my hand. Liam didn\'t stop me. I dug in a little more, hoping for a reaction, but when I didn\'t get one, I let him go. Deven stood up, straightening his clothing.

\"You have just let him know you no longer trust him.\"

I turned my face so I caught Liam\'s profile. \"I don\'t.\"

\"It is within the king\'s right to punish him now; he has done something the royal heir has taken offense to.\"

Looking at Deven, I really didn\'t care. Either Liam knew that, or he had nothing else to say, as he let me go.

\"Are you ready, My Lady?\" I nodded. He nodded as well, brushing imaginary dirt from his clothing one last time. He shot me one last look, a look filled with malice, and walked off, leaving us to follow.

Deven led us downstairs, down deeper until I knew we were several floors below in the earth. The walls were stone, torches evenly spaced with electric lights, doors leading off into other rooms every few feet. The hall we were in opened suddenly into a huge hall, with giant double doors set into the other end. Deven walked up to the doors like he owned them. They swung back by themselves, silently, as if invisible hands had pushed them open and commanded them to be silent. Deven continued walking. I looked at Mourn and Liam, once, and followed.

A dais complete with a throne sat at the other end of the room, steps leading up to it. Deven dropped to his knees a few feet in front of the steps, head bowed.
The man sitting on throne didn\'t look that old, forty maybe. He was tall, even sitting, with short cut red hair streaked liberally with white. His eyes flicked to me, and back to Deven. He motioned Deven to his feet.
\"Come here, my dragon.\"

Deven rolled to his feet and walked up the dais, passing a tall blonde woman on the way. She frowned at him, but stayed where she was.

\"Approach my throne.\"

Deven hesitated, but did so. The king stood up, forcing Deven to kneel again. Deven did, leaning in close to the king. The king caressed the side of his face, then pulled his arm back and slapped him. Deven fell to the floor with the blow, one arm raised to protect his face. The king snarled, knocking the arm away, and grabbed Deven by the throat.

\"You think to offer my heir offense, and to protect yourself from me? Fool!\" The king threw him down, sending him sprawling down the steps. \"Leave my sight this instant, and maybe I won\'t kill you. I will find a new person to instruct the princess.\" The king sat back down, breathing hard. He might have looked fine, but something was wrong inside. I watched as Deven scrambled away, then faced the dragon king again.

\"Step up here, please, Angela.\"

I did as he asked me to, stopping on the top step. Liam and Mourn had stayed behind. The blonde woman had stepped behind the dais, one hand clutching the other. Typical bodyguard stance.

\"Leave, all of you.\"

The woman stepped forward, to protest, and the king held up his hand. \"No. You will leave. Take our Liam and her lover outside. I will summon you back when I am ready for you.\"

The woman nodded and walked down the dais. I didn\'t watch her, my eyes for the king, my uncle, I suppose he was.

\"And so we meet, Angela. I never thought I would meet my brother\'s offspring.\" He sighed, running one hand over his face. \"I thought to have you all killed.\"


\"Deven mentioned something to that effect.\"
The king snorted, a very unkinglike sound. \"I apologize for his insult. I know you took offense to it.\" He looked at me then, eyes a brilliant gold color. My own blue eyes seemed to dim in comparison. \"You are the image of my brother, you know that?\" He laughed. \"Not in a bad way, you just resemble him more than I thought a mortal\'s offspring would.\"
I didn\'t know what to say, so I said nothing. He sighed. \"There is a lot you don\'t know about us. Liam has already taught you some of our culture, as I am sure. Ask what you want; I will answer as well as I can.\"

\"What\'s your name?\"

The king laughed. \"You are a jewel, Angela. Very well. I am Stephen. Not a very kinglike name, I know. Call me uncle, I can see the second question in your eyes.\"

I shook my head. \"I don\'t understand anything about what\'s going on.\"

\"I know.\" Stephen stood up, and I noticed that he was dressed in brown dress pants and a brown button down shirt. \"Look at me, Angela.\"

I looked up at him, and he smiled, tracing my jaw with his cheek. His fingers dug into my jaw, and I tried to throw myself to one side. He followed me down. I looked up into his eyes, and they were glowing, the pupils elongated into slits. Power flooded down his arm into his hand, and I was suddenly not worried about the state of his eyes. I panicked, and my own power flared in response, hot and scalding. It flooded through me, shoving Stephen away from me. He fell back onto the throne with a thud, eyes wide. I turned on my side and coughed. The power no longer rode me. My power never went silent that fast, not without a release. I looked up at him, my eyes wide. He seemed to like what he saw, for he began to laugh.

\"Whether you like it or not, you are one of us, my dear. Your power alone speaks volumes.\" He stopped laughing, though the sparkle never left his face. \"Your sidhe men will be outfitted as bodyguards should be, and I will teach you our ways personally.\" He laughed again. \"Not in that way, my dear. Your suitors are already lining up. No, I will teach you dragon magic, and court ways. I am still alive enough to do that.\"

I nodded, not standing. I didn\'t want him to touch me ever again. I hoped that I never had to, but I wasn\'t ready to bet on it. He was sick inside, I could feel the rot spreading through him. But he was powerful. And scary. I hoped that the rot, whatever it was, didn\'t cause madness. I didn\'t think anyone would survive if it did.