Dragon’s Breath

"Are you alright, your highness?" Gwen's meek voice calls out from behind me.

With my jaw clenched, I glance back at her callously. Is she seriously asking if I am alright? Do I look alright? Rather than getting to spend my morning with Flavius, I've been subjected to wedding planning. Why must I be the one that comes up with the menu for the banquet? I don't care what we will be eating. I can't believe I'm only a few days into it. I have no idea how I'm going to survive the next two months.

"I am perfectly fine. Thank you for asking." I bite out, glancing back at her through narrowed eyes.

Without responding, she looks down at the ground, clenching her navy blue dress in her fist. With a huff, I continue down the hall to my chambers.

When I reach my chambers, I dismiss Gwen with a wave of my hand. Shoving my door open, I throw myself into my bed sending blankets and pillows flying. Snuggling into my sheets, I sigh with comfort. I'm finally done with that wretched wedding planning for today.

There's a certain level of tiredness that equates to insanity. At this moment, I've reached that point I wish I could temporarily detach my soul from my body in order to find some peace of mind. Lately, I've felt like energy is being constantly drained out of me, as though I'm leaking electricity. I'm so relieved that tomorrow I'll finally have a day off.

If I hadn't been so busy today, I would have loved to witness Flavius's first training experience with Soren. Soren can be quite tough but is a wonderful teacher. Well, there's always tomorrow, I think, pulling my blankets over my head.

Laying comfortably in bed, my consciousness begins to ebb away. Just as the darkness starts to cloud my mind, the creaking of my door stirs me awake. Throwing my blankets off, hastily I sit up.

Whipping around to face the door, I whisper-yell, "Who's there?!"

My door closes again with a thump, then my room is filled with the warm glow of a candle.

"Calm down, Nora, it's just me," Soren says, giving me a crooked grin.

Irritation wells up inside me. Crossing my arms over my chest, I send Soren an annoyed glare.

"What the hell are you thinking, just walking into my room! You're always harping on me about manners, and now look what you did," my voice comes out gruff and coated in sleepiness.

Soren places the candle he's holding on my dresser laughing a little, then takes a seat on my bed next to me.

"I didn't mean to startle you, but I need to tell you something important," he says softly.

All laughter is gone from his face, as he now displays seriousness and urgency. The look on his face causes fear to pulse through my veins like an electric shock wave. Groaning, I bury my face in my hands.

I don't know if I can take this anymore, too much is happening all at once. I can't keep up with it, things are spiraling farther and farther out of my control. The fear of one more obstacle blocking my path to victory is like having a knife stabbed deep in my gut. The more I wish for someone to pull it out to relieve the pressure and the pain, the deeper it presses in.

When Soren pulls me into his arms, that's when I realize that I'm trembling. My body drips in a cold sweat and my breath is coming out ragged.

"Nora, it's alright, just calm down. Everything will be ok," Soren says, trying to console me while gently rubbing my back.

"No, Soren, it's not alright. I don't know if I can take it anymore. Things just keep getting worse, I feel like I'm trying to claw my way out of a sinkhole," I cry out.

"Well, then you'll be glad to know that the news I'm bearing is not bad. In fact, it's quite good," he says.

Relief floods in me as I slump into Soren's side, resting my head in his shoulder.

"Alright, tell me, what's this good news?" I question curiously.

"While I was training Flavius I picked up on something rather peculiar..." Soren drones out.

Turning I shove him forcefully into the bed.

"Just tell me, no need to draw it out," I shout playfully.

"Ok, ok, while we were training, I discovered that Flavius is a dragon slayer during a fit of rage. And before you go asking how I could possibly know, I witnessed him absorb my magic first hand," he tells me.

My body tenses, slowly I turn to look at Soren.

"Has he been keeping this from me? Did he know that he was a dragon slayer, but chose to say nothing?" I question.

What Soren has told me is like a slap to the face. I honestly don't know what to think or believe anymore. How long has Flavius known that he's a dragon slayer? How long have I been left crawling in the dark, scavenging for answers?

"Nora, it's not what you think. Flavius and I discovered this power of his only today. Rest assured you have nothing to worry about," Soren says with a reassuring smile.

My body relaxes as relief floods through me.

"So, you guys just found out about this? I don't get it. How could he be a dragon slayer?" I voice thoughtfully.

"I have a theory about that. After all, being a dragon slayer is a family trait," Soren says.

"Yeah, I remember Gregory saying something about that," I say.

"So I was thinking," He pauses for a moment, looking conflicted before he continues, "Flavius might just be the King's bastard."

How the hell did he come to that conclusion? This is a little too far fetched.

But thinking back, they are similar in many ways, the same brown eyes and warm smile. Not to mention, just like Gregory, Flavius is very kind. Flavius did say that he doesn't know who his father is. Could it really be Gregory?

Even though the dawn is still some time away, there is a light in my heart that wasn't there before. Right now it is a flaring spark of hope, a ray of sunshine yet to be born. Thinking that Flavius could be Gregory's son is the best thing I've heard in a long time.

"Before we tell anyone your theory, we need proof. Not even I'm brave enough to ask Gregory if he has a bastard. If anyone were to find out about this, both Flavius and Gregory would be ridiculed," I say.

"You're right, but how are we supposed to investigate something like this? Our only choice is to ask Gregory directly," Soren states.

I want to know the truth about this as well but I couldn't possibly ask Gregory something like this. It's too disrespectful even for me. But we might have no choice but to ask. Flavius would be better off learning how to use his ability from a fellow dragon slayer.

"I know we need to ask, but it's going to be hard. A bastard child could ruin Gregory's reputation, and if we're wrong about Gregory being his father, it would make us look bad," I explain.

Soren sighs, looking completely perplexed, "I'll think of something, but we'll have to ask sooner or later."

We will have to ask him eventually, but I'd like to put off talk like that for as long as possible.

"On a side note, I was wondering how Flavius's training went today?" I ask.

I wish I could have been there, it's fun to watch Soren pick on beginners. But I imagine that Flavius wasn't too bad.

"He did well for it only being his first time. I'm not sure if he'll be good enough by the end of two months. There are so many factors we need to weigh in, but if he puts in enough effort I'm sure he'll be ok," Soren tells me.

I'm sure Flavius will work very hard to become a good fighter. I can't wait to see him firsthand.

"I'm glad he's doing well, and I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. He's a very hard worker," I compliment.

Soren nods his head slowly in response. Turning, I look out the window at the deep night sky.

"You should get going now; it's late and I'm tired as hell," I say, laying back against the bed.

"Right, I'll be off then," Soren murmurs.

My bed creaks loudly as he gets up, I watch as he grabs the burning candle from my dresser and makes his way to the door.

Just as he's about to leave, I stop him, "Hold on, one more thing: tomorrow I have a free day and I'd like to spend some time with Flavius, could you maybe postpone your training for a bit tomorrow?"

He laughs giving a closed-eyed smile, "I can do that."

With those words, he leaves the room, the door thumping behind him.

Crawling into bed, I bundle up in my blankets.

I can't believe it Flavius is a dragon slayer, it feels strange saying that. I never thought I'd be mated to a human, let alone a dragon slayer. My life keeps getting stranger by the day.

My thoughts turn into a jumbled mess as my conscience begins to slip away and I fall into peaceful darkness.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter don’t forget to like and comment.- Ray