Kei, the King Dowager of Dracolong, had watched his daughter's rise to power with pride. He was a retired knight who spent his free time reading books and drinking tea. As her daughter walked into his room, followed by a group of geishas, he stood up and flicked his golden hair to his side. He opened his arms and hugged Melody. His dark skin, golden hair and dazzling eyes captured the attention of many artists. To this day, there are still many paintings of him scattered around the kingdom.
Melody had learned of Teresa and Kei's meeting from William. He told her everything that Queen Melody felt that she needed to know. William was Melody' guardian and mentor, she felt as if she could really look up to William, whom she had given the title of The Elder Prince. It was William's wisdom that gave Melody to the positions she had. Her parents did little towards her upbringing compared to William.
"Thank you, ladies," Melody told them. "You may leave me alone with my father."
When Melody' servants left Kei's chamber, it was the first time in years that Melody had spent alone with her father. Kei went down on his knees and kissed his daughter's hand. "My little princess... or should I say, Queen Melody. You must be happy."
"I've never been so delighted," Melody told her father. "And even better, I'm pregnant. I'm going to fulfil my duty as queen by bearing children."
"You and Lee are a great match," Kei admitted sternly. Vanity oozed from his deep voice as his clothes dripped in yellow gems. "You've got power, glory and beauty. Nobody can take that away from you. But I've got something to tell you as well. It's excellent news."
"What is it?"
"I'm getting married," Kei told his daughter. For someone who was about to be married, he spoke of it as if it wasn't a serious matter. Melody knew very well that marriage was a lifetime commitment. She had been preparing for the moment since she was ten, and to see her father talk be so laid-back about it was unusual to her.
"To who?"
"She comes from a magical kingdom."
"Does she have any children?"
"Two sons."
"What's her name?"
"Nancy." Kei took out a small mirror from his pocket and opened the case, above the mirror was a portrait of a lady with blonde hair. "Her sons are sorcerers."
"What do these sorcerers do?" Melody asked.
"They own wands and fight with them," Kei explained to his daughter. "The wands and their minds come as one to defeat their enemies."
"So this Nancy women must be a sorceress too? Their wands are like their dragons."
"There are some huge differences," Kei replied with a giggle. "For example, you can have as many dragons as you wish. Sorcerers can only have one wand."
"It sounds weird. What if it breaks?"
"What you must understand is not everyone lives with dragons," Kei said. "There's all sort of folk out there, sorcerers, fairies, werewolves, trolls, witches, knights, ninjas, pirates, elves… I could go on forever. All these variants are what makes our world so interesting. There are not many dragons left in this world, but you have the power to save them all from extinction. I think your proposals for the pearl towers are brilliant."
"Thank you. So when will I see my new step-family? And when are you getting married?"
"In seven days," Kei said.
"How long have you been engaged?"
"Since your mother died."
At that point, any excitement Melody had for Kei had stopped. "Did you cheat on mother?"
"No."
"Why did you rush into the marriage then?"
"Nancy hasn't been married for ten years," Kei responded in a cold voice. "I didn't want her to be known as a leftover. And in this day of age, it's not good to be unmarried at my age, so I took the logical reason and got engaged as soon as possible." Melody didn't believe her father, but she kept it to herself. Kei tapped Melody' shoulder and said, "But enough me, focus on yourself and your regions. You are a fortunate girl for getting William's help. Because of William, you've married into the most powerful kingdom in the world."
"I do like to think that I married for love as well," Melody admitted. "Didn't you marry my mother for love? And do you love Nancy?"
"It would be hard not to love Lee," Kei responded, carefully dodging any personal questions his daughter would give him. "He's handsome, powerful, stands for justice, he king, he loves dragons like you, and you're carrying his child; your great successor and heir. What else could you possibly want?"
"There's not much I can ask for."