As I walk through the halls toward Gregory's study the feeling of being watched washes over me and my skin begins to crawl. I stop in my tracks and listen for a moment. But with so many maids bustling about it is hard to find who could be the one watching me. If they are still following me then it is likely they do not know everything we are planning. With that in mind I continue to the study. I knock on the door, hearing a muffled come in, I shove the door open and stride into the room.
Looking around the study I see Gregory positioned at his desk his white hair hanging around his head like a veil. He is looking at an old torn leather-bound book, he glances up at me in acknowledgment. He seems to be dressed quite casually wearing a black drawstring shirt and light blue vest. This is a contrast to his usual elegant and vibrantly colored robes. "Where did you run off to this morning Nora? We missed you at breakfast,” he asks. Walking across the room I grab one of the chairs sitting near the fireplace, and drag it to sit in front of his desk. The sound of the chair scraping against the wood flooring echoes through the room. "I went out to fly, and ran into a very interesting human,” I tell him. He raises his brows, "Really now tell me about this human?" I slump into the chair stretching my legs out. "His name is Flavius, he is from the city,” I say. I watch as Gregory's eyes become wide, and he looks up at me. "Flavius?" He questions. "Yes, you know him?" I ask. He smiles tenderly, "I do, he is the blacksmith who runs the shop Phoenix Fire that makes the weapons for the royal guard. He is quite skilled,” He informs me. "Well, I knew he was a blacksmith, but I had no idea he made weapons for the king,” I say with surprise. I pause for a second, my mind becoming distracted before I suddenly remember the initial reason I am here. "Before I forget I wanted to tell you that I think someone may be spying on me,” I fret. His brows furrow together, "What do mean?" He questions, alarm sounding in his voice. "Someone was following me last night when I left here, and again today on my way to see you,” I tell him. He runs a hand through his silky white hair. His brows furrow as he thinks. I can feel as my heart starts to pick up. What if he believes me to be lying? "I figured someone would try to stop us from finding the truth about what happened eight summers ago, but I did not think it would be so soon,” he comments. He takes the leather book that he was reading when I came in and pushes it toward me, "look here, this is a record of all my soldiers both living and dead. Eight summers ago, thirty-two of my men went missing and it was later reported that they were found dead fifteen miles into your hordes territory,” he points out. "That matches up with the time of my brother's death. Who was leading the men?" I ask. "The report does not say, it simply mentions thirty-two men, no commander found dead at the scene just regular soldiers,” he explains. "Why was this not investigated when the soldiers first went missing?" I accuse. He sighs, "I was informed they had gone rogue, so I did not pursue the matter anything farther since they were all ready dead." "That complicates things,” I mutter absentmindedly. “Is there anything else that happened during this time that could raise a red flag?" I ask. Looking at me with hopeful eyes he replies, "It was shortly after these soldiers died that their commander resigned, saying if he could not keep his own men in line, he did not want to continue being a commander,” he tells me. My entire being shakes with hopeful excitement. Standing up I slam my hands against his desk. Gregory’s eyes widen at my sudden move, but a small smile soon appears in his face. "This means we need to find the commander! He most likely knew what was going on,” I shout in excitement. Gregory waves a hand at home willing me to settle down. Calming myself, I slump back into the chair, "What is the commander's name?" "His name is Ian Williams," Gregory says flipping through the book. "Ian is still living in the city, we just need to contact him." "Leave that up to me, I already have a reason as to why I would need to visit the city without raising alarm,” I say. Gregory looks at me his eyes shining, "Do tell, what is your idea?" I smirk and cross my legs over each other leaning closer to him. "I will tell everyone that I have gone to the city in order to get myself a weapon. I have heard just how skilled your blacksmith is,” I explain my idea. He nods in agreement with my idea, "You only have one problem, what are you going to tell lady Gwen? She is after all your lady in waiting, so it is her job to follow you and heed your beck and call,” Gregory voices the one flaw in my plan. "I shall tell her that I wish to be left to my lonesome, since she has to listen to me there should be no problem. I already often dismiss her so no one should be the wiser,” I come up with. "Brilliant!" He exclaims. "You seem rather excited about this?" I chuckle. "I feel that the sooner we resolve this the better you and everyone else will feel. Our races are close to dissipating our problems once we clear the air with this matter, I feel things will move more smoothly. But it seems to me that you are apprehensive about finding out the truth?" He speaks. My heart is wildly thumping in my chest, "I guess you could say I am... I am nervous. We are so close I can feel it, but there is a part of me that is scared to know the truth,” I explain. Gregory reaches over and pats the top of my head affectionately, "It is alright to be scared, but it is not okay to run from the truth. We have come this far, there is no reason we should stop now,” he says. I smile rubbing the back of my head nodding in stiff agreement. "Yes, you are right,” I mumble. Gregory closes the book in front of him pushing it to the side. "So that we do not raise any more suspicion, you will wait approximately three days before you go to the city. I will have a maid fetch you a cloak; it is best not to stir up any more excitement than we already have. People may already know there is a dragon in their midst, but they need not know where,” Gregory decides. "I agree." I do not need frightened mice alerting my prey. Standing up I shoot a bright full smile at him before strutting to the door. "I have not eaten at all today; I am completely famished. So, if you will excuse my leaving early, I am off to find something to eat I am sure there is a scrap of breakfast lying around somewhere,” I recall, smiling back Gregory waves me out the door. "I will see you later Nora." Nodding I leave the room quietly. I have barely stepped through the door when I see Geoffrey marching my way. He is dressed in a long black jacket with gold and black striped sleeves, rimmed with white cuffs. Peeking through the top of his jacket is a white drawstring shirt. He is wearing leather boots and gloves, the boots just barely missing his knees. I step closer to him looking into his dazzling green eyes, "Fancy meeting you here,” I chirp. "I have noticed you are often spending your hours around my father. Forgive me if I may seem...bold in asking this, but do you perhaps take a liking to older men?" Geoffrey implies. I scoff rolling my eyes, irritation rolling off my body in waves. I was being polite, and this is what I get in return? "Even IF it were any of your business, I shall have you know that I have no such interest in your father of that sort,” I rage. Suddenly he grips my shoulders tightly vehemently shoving me into the wall. The paintings hanging up clatter with the force of my body. He brings his face dangerously close to mine, I can feel his warm moist breath feathering across my cheek. "Anything and everything you do will always be my business, dear fiancée. As soon as we marry, you, and all your affairs, shall be mine. If I, were you, I should very well try to get used to it now, princess,” he proclaims. His words are mocking and arrogant he pauses as he reaches the word princess, hesitant to even address me by such a term. It is increasingly obvious; he thinks I am beneath him. At this point my patience has shattered into a million pieces. I am blinded by a fiery rage, so bitter but contained for so long it becomes satisfyingly sweet. With my rage consuming me I lift my arm ramming it into his gut, being careful to hold back so I do not hurt him too much. "Gaw!" he wails, his body falling back. But before he hits the ground, I grab onto his hair, intertwining my fingers in his silky locks. Pulling his face to mine I stare him dead in the eyes, my face contorted in uncontrollable anger. "I think it is in your best interest that you never speak to me like that again, because I will personally cut off your cock and balls. So do not do something you will regret. Just remember; an insect like you is nothing compared to a beast like me. Know your place human,” I hiss enraged. I toss him to the ground like a rag doll, his body clunks against the floor. He curls up gasping for breath all the while holding onto his stomach. He peeks up at me horror flaring in his eyes. Guess he never thought I would actually hurt him. I turn my sharp gaze away from him, striding down the hall with my head held high. Maid's stare and whisper as I walk past. Their eyes are full of fear, disgust, and hate, no doubt judging me for what I have done to their prince. These humans need to remember that I am nothing like them forget that and you will surely regret it.Over the last two days, I have been spending more time with Gregory, often finding myself playing chess or just simply talking with him. For knowing him less than a week I find that he has become one of the closest people to me. He is easygoing and is not rooted in the beliefs of other humans, welcoming me rather than shunning me. Since I have spent most of my time with Gregory, I have thankfully not seen Geoffrey since our meeting in the hallway. He has been avoiding me like the plague, even going as far as to skip meals. But I must say I cannot blame him. I am not certain how I would react if I did see him again. When I first came here, I thought I would spend my days in complete and utter agony, but as of late I have found myself slowly falling into a routine. I am beginning to enjoy myself; I spend my mornings with the human Flavius, talking, and occasionally taking him flying. Around him I seem to forget all my problems I am free; he helps me to en
I am roused from my slumber by the sound of someone knocking vigorously on my door. I peel my eyes open rubbing my temples. Pulling the crisp sheets from my body I feel a rush of cool air against my heated skin. I place my feet on the ground, recoiling at the nip of the frigid floor. I stand and stumble to the door, exhaustion laying me limp as wet laundry on a cold day. As I get closer to the door, I feel like every muscle in my body is trying to give in to gravity. When I open the door, I am greeted by a young short boy, who looks no older than sixteen. His face would have been white if not for all the freckles. There are so many that his face is brown with small pale spaces here and there, like the tips of grass trying to show through the golden-brown leaves of fall. His hair is the perfect mop of brown, it would have been almost lion-like if he was not so skinny. His eyes are green but not the kind that is easy to describe. It was almost like they ar
Flavius With a huff I throw the newly gathered firewood to the floor of my shop. Stretching my arms, I dip my hands into the water barrel in the corner of the room I splash the icy liquid over my arms and face. The dirt and grime of the outdoors wash away along with the water. Every day for the past few days I've been meeting with a dragon in the woods, but today she was not there. Somethin important must have come up. Sometimes I can't believe that I had the chance to meet such a creature, so beautiful and intelligent. Before I met her, I thought I’d be afraid of such a beast just as others are. Most men, whether they admit it or not are. And yet I found that I’m not afraid of her. Not at all. Instead, I find myself wanting to know more about her. Though we've spent quite some time together much to my disappointment her name is still unknown to me. That has been weighing on my mind for quite some time now. What co
Nora Reaching the outer edges of the city Flavius points to a little brown, and white cottage sitting all by its lonesome near the outskirts of the city. "That there is the commander's home,” he tells me. As we get closer the faint smell of blood fills my nose. I stop and sniff the air, taking in the scent. Panic squirms in my stomach when I confirm what I am smelling. Something is wrong! Without a moment to lose I take off sprinting to the commander's cottage. I force the door open forcefully causing it to bang against the wall. Looking in I note that the front room has been completely wrecked, there is blood splattered all over the floor and walls, and a man's severed hand is lying limp on the floor through the threshold of the cottage. I turn away from the sight, the metallic smell of blood bothering my sharp senses. I place my hand over my nose to try an
Before leaving the commander's home we take the time to clean up the house. I wrap his body in his bedsheets and place him in the front room where he can easily be found. "Daniel, when we get back to the castle, inform a trusted guard of the commander's death,” I say. "Yes, your highness," He replies quietly with a nod. Grabbing the commander's journal, we take our leave and head back into the city. We walk in silence, the knowledge of Gwen's guilt weighing heavy on my mind. I am dumbfounded; what could Gwen have against me and my horde? why is she trying to hide the past? What is she after? Her actions leave me feeling perplexed, because there are no known connections between her and my horde. I cannot stand to think of this any longer. I will stop her; I must stop her. I do not know if I can handle a repeat of the past, I refuse to lose those closest to me again. What she ha
I walk shakily down the hall my legs trembling with every step. I stop for a moment to compose myself by taking a deep breath. I feel a hand clasp my shoulder and I jump turning to face person. I turn around and I am faced with Geoffrey's bright green eyes boring into my own. He looks down at me and laughs, “What has got you so shaken? Oh, let me guess you finally punched the wrong person and now father is mad at you,” Geoffrey guesses in a teasing manor. I roll my eyes, “Did you interrupt my day simply to say that.” “No what I really wanted to ask you is where you went this morning. You were gone for so long it was quite strange,” he says. “I have already been here for days but I still had yet to visit the city. Not to mention I wanted a sword made it can be hard to fight in a confined space such as the castle and I hate being disarmed,” I tell hi
Getting out of the tub, I dress in a white drawstring shirt and brown leather pants. Tucking the papers back into my bra, I leave the room and head to Gregory's office. I walk quietly through the halls once again checking my surroundings to make sure I am not being followed. Standing at the office door, I feel a thrill of graffitied excitement as I knock on the door. "Come in." Gregory's voice calls out. Walking in I see Evalene standing in front of his desk, talking in a hushed voice. "My king please reconsider, this is our son's future,” Evalene pleads. For the first time ever, I see actual rage on Gregory's face. "EVALENE! I have had enough of this conversation! I have other business to attend to, leave now,” he says in a brassy voice, slamming his hands down on his desk. The queen jumps in fright. She bows t
Flavius For two days now Neron and I have been asking around the tavern we frequent, to see if anyone knows anything concerning the commander's death. So far, I have come up empty-handed. The city doesn’t usually start comin to life until first light. So, it could be that no one was awake during the time the commander was killed. What's Ellie going to do if we have no useful information? What if I don't see her again? Ever since I've seen her in human form, I can’t seem to get her out of my mind. Everything about her draws me in. The confident way she walks, without a care in the world, that smug smile that grazes her face, when she knows she's right. The way her eyes blaze with a burning inferno when she's excited or worked up. I can't stop thinkin about any of it. I am a man bewitched by the beauty of a woman. But not in a bad way, no; I've been willingly bewitched. She has caught every part of my bein