Krystle stood beside her brother as they stood before the dragon Lord. He had not regarded them since they entered a few moments ago. He was leaning his left temple against his left palm, the arm of his throne propped up his upper arm. He seemed either tired or nonchalant about their presence and telling from his posture, it was genuinely grueling to tell.
He did not open his eyes even after her brother was talking. 'How disrespectful!' was the only thing invading her mind.
"Your majesty, we have come – "
"I am no king nor do I plan to be. Lord Theon is more than adequately." The dragon Lord said no more in such a refined and graceful manner. Even if his eyes were closed, he sounded sophisticated. Theon, a name that was quite rare and unique, looked in his early thirties, in human form; however, as a dragon, who knows how old he is. It fit him, he looked composed and unbothered, as if everything was under control.
"As I was saying, Lord Theon, I am Prince Luca, heir to the throne of the Eira Kingdom at the North of the continent. You might have heard of the wars that have been hounding us in the last decades." Luca made a pause and took a deep breath before continuing as if he were hesitant.
Krystle took another glance at Theon and stared at his beautiful features. He seemed relaxed; his thick dark eyebrows and his well-matched beard gave him a vigorous demeanor, and power radiated from him even in this peaceful state.
"I come on behalf of my father and as future king myself, I wish to create a treaty with you my Lord. All we ask for is peace. We are aware that you do not obtrude in human warfare, but we just want to make sure that our countries are at peace with each other. In case another warfare is to occur, if you assured us to not get involved against us, we promise not to mingle in your business either." Luca's jaw tightened at the end, he was a proud person and it sure seemed to hurt his pride to bow down to a dragon.
Lord Theon did not open his eyes with his words. He did not move or gestured to agree or disagree. That just disturbed their minds further when they got no answer from him. What could he be thinking? Did he really not care about humans? Did he not want to be in an alliance with humans? Did he think his species was beyond theirs?
"Of course, we are not asking for this without giving anything back. We offer you our most grand gemstones, the rarest in the world. Our violet-blue zoisite, the alluring charm it possesses can bring any woman you desire to your feet. Its beauty is beyond any other stone discovered. Celestalia is the name of this heavenly gem."
Hunter pulled out the chest that was full of the Celestalia, he gave it to Luca and he stepped forward to place it on the small tea table in front of them.
"Excuse my impolite behavior, but I am rather drained from such an active day." Lord Theon apologized with a tiny bit of sympathy, he still did not look at them, he had not moved at all.
"Ah, yes we understand. Our offer does not end there, so if you could please consider this alliance. Besides the gems we brought, the King ordered that you accept Princess Krystle as an offering, another jewel if you may. She has the endowment of healing. If you could please just accept it." Luca sounded desperate in Krystle's eyes.
It was then that time stopped for everyone.
On one side, Krystle's mind clouded and turned to her brother with the feeling of betrayal in her heart. Her eyes widened in horror, her breathing became uneven, and her hands started shaking as her blood left her body. Her back faced the dragon Lord as she fully faced her brother and confronted him right there and then.
At the moment she turned to her brother, Theon opened his honey-colored eyes, they were fixed on the young woman with her back to him. Theon had stopped listening to the prince's words as soon as he heard the word healing. Had he heard wrong? No, he heard correctly, he kept assuring himself. The two siblings had similar hair color, white, except his were a bit blond. Her short, white hair was up in two buns on either side of her head, each one was tied and wrapped with a thin, silver, silk ribbon.
"What did you just say?" Krystle couldn't believe her ears, she was speechless.
"The king, your father, ordered it. He said it was an order, we cannot go against him." Luca spoke through gritted teeth, as if ashamed to repeat those words in front of the Dragon Lord. Her breath was still uneven, her palms were sweating, and everything felt wrong at that moment, it must be a lie.
"My father would not give me away, not for war and definitely not for peace." Krystle's voice deepened with disbelief. She would not surrender to this treason. Her heart ached from the deceit, her father would not do this, and her brother… She stared into his cold, icy eyes. There it was again, that penetrating gaze that she hadn't seen in a while.
"You got yourself an alliance with me. You can return to your king in peace; I would like some rest." The dragon Lord sat up straight on his throne as he stared at everyone in the room, but none of the people below seemed to hear him, except Luca.
"You will not leave me here. I refuse, we brought the gemstones our father offered. I will not be a sacrifice – "
Luca immediately took Krystle's elbow and pulled her closer to him. His eyes fueled up with such a fire that made Krystle shudder in fear. She had never seen such intensity from him toward her.
"You will, it is an order from me as future king. You will do this for the people and for us." Luca spit out so much venom into her heart in a second. She gritted her teeth and tightened her jaw in anger. Tears welled up in her eyes but she refused to not drop a single one.
"You are not my king, you are my brother and as such, you ought to protect me. Was that not the reason you also came here?" Krystle tried to shake off his hand but he tightened it more around her arm and pulled her closer still, their heavy breaths mingling. He gave her a wicked smirk and stared into her teary eyes for a moment, his nails almost breaking her skin.
"You are not my sister, and I have never considered you as one. My mother is right, you are just a spoiled girl who thought would get the crown without knowing how to rule. If I could have gotten rid of you earlier, I would have without thinking twice." He whispered into her ear, as the tears fell down uncontrollably, she found it hard to breathe. The image of a perfect brother shattered at that moment, as she tried to exhale without her heart aching, she felt his grip let her go.
"You are not speaking the truth, are you prince Luca?" Hunter's voice broke the silence. He was not able to hear their intimate conversation, but the expression Krystle broke his heart. He hoped it was just a dark joke the prince pulled on them all. His hope was eradicated when he saw no reaction from the prince. Both Hunter and Viatrix had no idea of what Luca had just said. The king never mentioned giving Krystle in exchange for peace as well. There must be something behind all of it. These were lies, unless…
"Have you gone mad, your highness? King Theron would never give her daughter to a stranger, let alone as a sacrifice for an alliance." It was Viatrix's turn to implore Luca for the princess's life. He could be serious.
"The decision was made before we stepped out of the kingdom," he turned to look at them, "if you are going to go against my orders, I will charge you with treason. Believe me, you will pay for it with your life and your family as well. I can always get a more capable man to lead my army in the future." Luca's words belonged in the mouth of a demon, not Krystle's brother. He was not like that. That shut the siblings up.
"The king and queen ordered this, it is a royal command, one I cannot go against or else I would be going against them as well. As you know, I always obey our king." His malicious smile sent chills through Krystle's body, the truth behind his words hurt her already open wounds more. She wasn't wanted by the queen, nor by him.
The princess freed from her brother's grip and slapped him across the face, making him bend down to the side in surprise. She turned to the dragon Lord for the first time and his breath got caught in his throat for a second.
She was gorgeous, her dazzling blue eyes were a rare sight. The crystal-like tears that ran down her pale cheekbones sparkled in the light of the room, making seem like stars shining bright. Her full lips were trembling, maybe in panic, in agony, or in wrath. She looked livid, her eyes screamed outrage and as the situation before him unfolded, it was understandable why.
"You must not accept this. I will not stay here involuntarily. Please, I cannot stay." She tried to persuade Theon with her heart at her sleeve. She could not stay there, her mind was a jumble of emotions, and she could not control them anymore. She was not going to allow Luca to abandon her like a stray animal.
She glanced at Luca once more, his dark gaze locked with hers, making her flinch. She did not know what to feel, fury, betrayal, grief; it was as if a turmoil inside clouded her mind, unable to think properly. So she did the first thing that crossed her mind.
She jumped on him like a maniac, a thoughtless move, but quite effective. He was not expecting it and before he could react, Krystle punched him hard on the face, breaking his nose. He screamed out in pain but he immediately pushed her aside and got on top of her, she couldn't breathe, she realized. That is when she saw Hunter trying to pull him off, but he was not having it. She realized Luca was choking her with both of his hands, his eyes were that of a crazy person. The veins in his hands popped out from the strength he was strangling her. She pushed his hands but he was not letting go. All sounds seemed so distant and faint, yet she saw Hunter and Viatrix trying to pry him off but not even them together could help her.
"If only I had done this earlier! I've always hated you; you have always gotten what you want, but not anymore." He grinned and leaned closer, his heavy breathing fanned her face.
"Father will be devasted when he knows that his daughter is dead. Even if I don't kill you, you'll die inside slowly. Everything you love is gone now. You have nothing." Luca whispered as if they were having a normal conversation. Her sight became cloudy until she felt her throat being released.
"That is enough! I already said I agreed, and since she belongs to me now, you have no right to injure any of my people. You will leave before I do more than just warn you." Lord Theon was standing before the princess, protecting her from Luca, who was now a few feet away from everyone. With a small push, he ended far away. No one had seen the dragon Lord move from his chair until they saw Luca fly away.
"You have a deal, now leave." Despite the commotion that just happened, he kept his composure. He seemed a little bothered but he spoke no word on the matter. Krystle was a coughing mess on the side as Luca stood up and signaled Hunter and Viatrix to follow him.
Krystle shook her head in dread and terror. She had been disowned by her own brother. Her father would not do that, he wouldn't.
"Hunter!" She screamed before he stepped out of the room, he was the last one, she sat up and was halfway crawling toward him, her limbs numb from the shock. She had no strength left to stand up and fight. Hunter stopped and looked behind him with tears in his gloomy eyes, if only she knew how much pain it caused him to see her that way, let alone to leave her.
"Please," she whispered, her words barely made it out of her mouth, her chest was a tight knot, and her throat burned, yet she wanted him to not leave her. He was her last hope, he had to do something for her, for her father's sake, she knew he wouldn't bear to lose her as well. Her pale face was flushed from so much crying, her eyes were swollen, and small helpless sobs were escaping her as he only looked away from her before his figure disappeared on the other side of the door.
She let out a deep sigh in despair, her eyes widening in disbelief. She turned her hands into fists, her mind was trying to cope with everything that had just happened.
No, they hadn't left her, she thought. She was in denial, and the Lord behind her was just staring at her broken soul. He needed her as much as she needed him, and he would make her see that.
When the realization hit her hard, that she was alone, she broke; but before crying any more out loud she turned to look at the dragon Lord behind her with hard eyes. His presence was so dominant, that it was difficult to not notice him. He extended his hand toward her, not in pity, but with triumph. She hesitated, not wanting to be near someone who accepted a person as a slave.
She was now his prisoner, no longer a princess of the Eira kingdom, but an insignificant human in the Valley of Iron; a place where mighty dragons ruled and humans were not welcome. If she only knew how wrong she was.