The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon

TRISTAN

Finally, the day has come. The whole night my generals and I were discussing formations and tactics. One can’t be too prepared for a battle with gerdians…

Gerdians! The word itself leaves a bitter taste on my tongue! All my problems are because of them. If they never existed I would have already had everything I ever wanted!

They crowned me just one week ago. After king Bendar’s unfortunate passing.

Somehow he started to become resistant to Sideria and it was harder and harder for me to control him. And I couldn’t allow it. What did he bring us? He called that peace, but I call that s*****y. Giving away our own women just so that we are not attacked anymore! Who can consider himself a man after something like this? Humiliation! Every year I had to bring the girls to that castle I felt humiliated. I never stayed before this time. But every year it was me bringing the new sheep to their sacrificial place!

King Bendar believed that the gerdians would be noble but he has never seen their true faces! He believed that the girls would be happy in the Empire. Little did he know that during the Selection they were treated as mere things! No one was asking their opinion, no one cared who they fell in love with… The strongest gerdians were taking the girls that they liked and that was it. Nothing more… And after they were living for the Empire, we never heard of them ever again… I am afraid to think what destiny awaited those poor souls in the Empire!

I was working on my plan for a while. But it wasn’t supposed to happen so fast. I needed more time to do everything properly. But once they chose Mira…my Mira! Even the thought of this still makes me grit my teeth in anger. My b***d boils when I remember how he brought her there and just threw her to the ground! If I could kill him at that moment – I would have!

But I had to stay quiet, I had to pretend, I had to watch them claiming my Mira for themselves. But the worst thing… the worst thing was definitely to see Mira start to get used to it… To see her looking with affection at him! To see her fall in love with my enemy!

The pain it made me go through! All my plans have changed because of that!

First I thought just to extract Mira out of there and give them another girl. A dozen even if that would suit them! But after I noticed that I am losing her, I had to act fast. The explosion wasn’t thought through… But even in this way, I was too late! She didn’t want to go! She didn’t want to stay with me… They charmed her, poisoned her with their dark magic, and influenced her mind. I couldn’t let this happen! I had to save her! I had to have her…for myself. However selfish that is…

Sideria was my only option. After all, I knew far too well by then how good it could work. The king, the girls…it worked perfectly so many times before…

And yet even on Sideria Mira didn’t accept me fully. I needed more time to persuade her, more time to steal her heart… But that bastard came again! He infiltrated in my palace and then even worse…

A dragon! Who could have thought! I have heard rumours but never thought that it could actually be true. And yet here he was – breaking a perfectly strong barrier as if it was a toy… And then k********g Mira from her home again!

Every time I close my eyes I see her… What is he doing to her now, how he touches her, how he takes her… my bride! Mine!

Everyone insisted for me to choose a queen right after my coronation. But no. No other woman would take her place. I don’t need any marriage alliances with any families. My power in the Akyrian Kingdom is supreme and beyond doubt. No one can argue with me, no one can go against me. I used to be the Sapphire Knight, the hero of my country. And now I am the Sapphire King! People love me, people are ready to sacrifice themselves for me! They believe in me and will never go against me. Not when I gave them hope. And especially not after I would bring them victory against our worst enemies!

And they love Mira as well! They love our story! They believe that she would be a great queen for me and for them. And I will bring her to them whatever it takes!

And they love Mira as well! They love our story! They believe that she would be a great queen for me and for them. And I will bring her to them whatever it takes!

I will destroy the Empire, I will kill everyone I have to just find her! She is somewhere there, I just need to look… And then I will take her back! I will make her forget and everything will be the way it was supposed to be. She will be by my side and I will become the new Emperor of the new country! Akyrian Empire!

B***d boils in my veins when I think of all this… The things I had to do… The things I still have to do…

Just to remember with how many girls I had to sleep to get the power of dark magic… It makes me shrug. One after another, just to make sure it is working on time… They screamed my name and I was imagining that it was her. It was supposed to be her! But he stole her from me! And ruined everything! And today – I will find him first! And personally execute him.

I am stronger than a regular gerdian now. Old Aspen was working hard to create my personal sapphire amplifier. He didn’t want to help at first. But I have my ways of persuading people. And now, right in the very center of my armour, looking just like other sapphires that I wear, is my main source of power. They would never get it. But that’s what would help me to destroy any enemy that I meet today. Even a dragon!

I look at the field that we chose for the battle. It is surrounded by small hills and since I am on top of one of them I can see everything that is going on. Gerdians have already arrived too. They are preparing and so are we. Minutes are separating us from slashing each other’s throats.

But I am looking for one face. Only one person I need to find within their forces. So that I know where to look for him in battle! I see the Crown Prince of Gerdian Empire Ryden Dargen ordering his soldiers around. I would kill him too of course. All their royal family would perish today. But I need to find the one who has stolen Mira from me! The one who is the most dangerous out of them all!

And yet he is not here! Something is wrong and a bad feeling creeps into my heart. He is their best general, he should be leading their army instead of the puppet prince. But he is not here… Why? Did he got scared and ran away with Mira? Or is he planning a surprise attack? I am ready even if he appears in the shape of a dragon. But I would very much prefer to find him in battle and to cross our swords. I want Mira to know that I won fair and square! Yet the coward is not here!

“My king,” one of the generals approaches me, “What are your orders?”

“Move the formations! We are launching our attack before they are ready!” I say, “Be prepared for the parts of their army that Brandon Sevill is commanding today. They took their positions at two different hills and would probably attack when we are down there and fighting their first division!”

“Yes, my king,” the man bows and puts on his helmet. And I put on mine and get onto my horse.

Soon it will all be over with!

Our regiment moved out first, gerdians not wasting their time, preparing for the battle as well. The light of the fireballs illuminated the field, yet soon it will be covered by b***d. I lead my army and Ryden Dargen is leading his, the fool has no idea who he’s dealing with. He is the one to send the first fireball to attack us but when it is met with a dark barrier he looks startled. Surprise, you scum! The look on his face was worth everything I had to do for this moment. He really did not expect that all our mages possess dark magic as well. And when my army starts attacking him with dark fireballs of our own I see true horror on his face. This is going to be the first battle that gerdians would have to fight with someone equal to them in power. And since they are the ones who did not expect this, luck is on our side. this victory is going to be easier than I initially thought. But what helps me the most is that their tactics are lacking. The army which is led by Brandon Sevill still hasn’t moved. If they expect to attack us by surprise then it wouldn’t bring them any advantage. On the contrary, the best chance to win is now. But apparently, they are too stupid to understand that. I’m starting to think that I was overestimating them.

Meanwhile, Dargen is in trouble. Judging by his face I think he starts to realize that he’s going to lose soon. All my sacrifices we’re worth it.

A dark shadow appears right above my head. I’ve been waiting for you, Dark Dragon. I send a signal to one of my generals to prepare the weapons. Harpoon cannons with ropes suppressing dark magic. I made Aspen work hard on that. And now finally the time has come to test them. I have 10 cannons and hopefully, it would be enough for one unprepared dragon. He moves fast so when cannons start shooting the harpoons he tries to avoid them at all costs. He’s good, I have to give him that. But mages return the harpoons back quickly and reloading time is next to nothing. Sooner or later I will get him and pull him back to the ground, powerless. It’s just a question of time.

However the harpoons have their limits and he soon figures it out .it doesn’t matter soon he will have to come closer to me if he wants to win this damn war. But it doesn’t look like he wants that, he’s flying high in the air and not doing anything to help his own army. The division led by Sevill does the same thing. It seems like they’re just watching… what is wrong with them?

Doesn’t matter! I’m not losing time! The victory is so close – now or never!

Another huge shadow appears above my head. At first, I think that it’s the Dark Dragon but this is something bigger and when I look up I see that the colour is different. I can’t believe my eyes! Another dragon!

No, it can’t be! He couldn’t have possibly found another dragon! He is the only one! How the chaos did he find another?

I look high in the sky and feel that something is immensely wrong… the clouds somehow get darker, with many black dots in them. The dots are getting bigger and bigger, and they look like a flock of birds. But they keep enlarging before my eyes and soon I realise that I’m looking at a herd of full sized real dragons!

“Chaos!” someone says next to me, “This is absolutely impossible! What is going on? ”

“The chaos opened up and returned the beasts into our world!” an older soldier says. I look around me and realize that no one is fighting anymore. Not us, not gerdians, no one.

The dragons get closer and closer. I can now see how different they are. Different colours, different shapes, so many different kinds of them! Unbelievable!

And then I see her … Mira! My Mira! I would recognize her anywhere! Her fiery red hair blowing in the wind in braids, something resembling a Golden helmet is on her head. She is sitting on top of a golden dragon, holding by the spikes on its back.

It’s definitely her. I even see this familiar fire in her eyes. She came here to fight too. And unfortunately, I know that she’s not going to fight on my side. But it also doesn’t look like the dragons are going to help the gerdians.

Hectic, everything is so hectic! One of my soldiers, probably by mistake, fired one of the cannons. It got straight into one of the Dragons wings. The roar almost blocking my ears. Yet in just one second another dragon breaks the rope. And next, several of them fly over the cannons and burn them all to the ground. People hardly have time to escape!

The Dark Dragon and there was only one of those in the herd, prepared to land in the middle of the battlefield. The Warriors from both sides step away to clear the space for him. He shifts while he is still in the air and lands on the ground as man, looking around us with a usual smirk on his face. Derrien Derwood! The man I hate the most!