Everyone fell on their kneels immediately, their heads bowed.
Although Belladonna had been a little clumsy about it, she had managed not to draw any attention to herself.
"Rise." The Dragon King commanded, his voice was deep and it commanded respect, a sought of authority that couldn't be ignored even if one dared. Indeed, even a flick of his finger resonated power.
They rose up to their feet.
"Sit."
They did.
Then the Dragon King started walking towards the Possible Potentials section, the woman who had arrived earlier following after him.
Belladonna quickly casted her gaze to the ground, her arms around herself protectively. Then she heard them stop right in front of them.
"Begin." The Dragon Lord said to the woman that was now standing behind.
She stepped forward, looking from one lady to another while she went through the space between the benches.
"Up." She commanded.
Now that she wasn't announcing the presence of the King, her voice sounded firm yet sultry.
The lady stood up slowly, her whole body almost wreaking with fear.
"Over there."
The woman signalled to where the guards were standing some distance away.
Thankfully, it was quite a stretch from where the dragon was.
Still that didn't help anything. The villagers were clearly petrified of the beast, just as they were of its Master.
The selection went on and on like that, the woman picking up the potential brides, the ladies standing up and joining those that had been chosen, while they accepted their doom without a fight even though they really wanted to.
Some looked back at their people saying a silent goodbye while some couldn't even raise their head because of how much tears had now clouded their sight.
Belladonna's rules had been working well so far, at least she was still on the bench, not chosen.
It was finally the time to chose the seventh potential bride. Belladonna couldn't wait for all these to be over so that she could just go back and lay down on her bed, while she thought about how quickly her fate had changed within these past few days and the next step to take.
Her emotions were still so jumbled up that she hadn't figured them out yet. She wished she could. At least if she had an outlet, she understood what she was feeling and be able to react correctly to it, she believed she would be able to move on.
Believed that she would cease feeling like she was floating.
The clicking of the woman's heels snapped her out of her thought.
Belladonna froze, she was getting closer.
Was she coming towards her?!
Oh, no!
She quickly sank deeper into herself, although at this rate, her back was already aching terribly.
Better this than to get chosen.
The woman seated by her right was starting to get a little shaky though. She reached out for Belladonna's hand and grasped it tightly. She instantly tried to pull away but the lady's grip was too tight.
She was holding her like her life depended on it.
What sought of madness was this?
From the corner of her eyes, she stared daggers at the woman,q questioning her insane action.
She didn't even know her!
But she noticed something then, the lady's tightly shut eyes and her trembling lips. She was mumbling something really fast.
Belladonna made it out to be something alone the line of "please" but she wasn't so sure.
The lady's mumbling suddenly ceased, her body still. Belladonna didn't understand why till she saw two slender fingers with long red polished nails slide under the lady's chin.
Belladonna jerked her hand away but the lady's grip was still too tight.
She had been very distracted with finding out about her that she had stopped paying attention to the clicking heels of the woman chosing them earlier, which was very stupid.
But it seemed this lady really wanted to put her in trouble because she still wouldn't let her go!
What in the name of insanity was this?!
"Up."
"No" she heard the lady gasp lightly but she stood up anyways, dropping Belladonna's hand and walking away.
She took a deep breath and sighed in relief.
Maybe she shouldn't really have judged Moria Nakunriver's book so quickly.
"The Potential Brides have been chosen." The woman announced and started a speech that was usually given at the end of the selection.
Belladonna surely wasn't interested in it, no matter how interesting or not it was.
Certain that she was now out of the woods, Belladonna looked up at the chosen women. Although she still kept her back bent, making herself look small and almost vanishing in the sea of white.
One could never be too careful.
Then she noticed something.
The eyes of the woman who had been holding her earlier were filled with gripping fear. But that wasn't new, all the women chosen looked just as terrified. The only difference was that the woman was looking up to where her family was and shaking her head, while her lips were now vibrating.
What was going on?
Then she observed that the woman was looking around sharply, like she was looking for something.
An exit!
Oh, no.
Belladonna's heart skipped a beat.
Bad idea.
There was no how she could run away from this without getting caught. Not like she could blame her for wanting to, Belladonna just felt that she had a chance to still come back if she just accepted her fate. She could be lucky to be part of the six potential brides that would return but if she ran away now, the Dragon King would do to her as he had down to many in the past.
Or maybe even worse, since no one had ever dared him that way before.
Running definitely wouldn't solve anything. If there was anything it could certainly do, that would be to make things worse.
Even she, must know this.
The woman's petrified eyes drifted to her and Belladonna shook her head slightly.
Her face had ashen, beads of sweat were rolling down her forehead, her chest clearly raising and falling and her whole body was now slightly shaking.
Then she suddenly became still for a moment, every noise fading into the distance including the woman's unending speech.
For that moment, it was like as if there were two people in the whole world, Belladonna and the woman.
Belladonna shook her head once again. "Don't." She mouthed.
Tears streamed down her cheeks and the woman ran for it.
"No!" Belladonna staggered up to her feet instinctively.
There was a commotion for only a moment before one of the warriors caught her and threw her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing. She beat against his back, kicking his stomach, trying to break free like her life depended on it.
"No!" She yelled, her voice filled with heart wreathing pain. "Another please! Not me! Another!"
She begged, her cries cutting through the night, her eyes still on her family.
Belladonna followed her gaze.
It was now very easy to spot her family. Although they were so far up there, the torches helped her to at least see them. It was an old man with two little boys sitting on each of his lap. The boys seem to be sobbing into his shoulders, while he stared firmly ahead, his arms tight around them.
The guard tossed her to the ground, so she fell on her kneels in front of the King. Before he could even question her, she doubled over and threw up on the floor.
The crowd gasped, murmuring amongst one other before one finally yelled.
"She is pregnant!"
Immediately, the old man sprung up with the two sons in his hand, and sprinted.
He didn't go far too. The warriors ceased him and the boys immediately, then dragged them to the King.
The whole family now kneeling in front of the king.
The Dragon King tapped against his mask leisurely, while he stared down at them.
"Next meal for my dragon?" He said in a cold voice.
The dragon eyes perked, like as if it had heard and understood everyword even though the King was standing far away from it and he had spoken in a normal tone.
It rumbled.
Once again, Belladonna could feel the vibration.
It took a step forward, threateningly towards the little family, it's eyes that of a predator, its tail wagging slowly.
The little family started inching back in fear, tears streaming from their eyes while they begged. The villagers all around were tensed, fixed to their seat from helplessness, while they watched terrified.
The King held his hand up, immediately the Dragon stilled on his tracks.
"Not here, not now." He said and tbe dragon took some steps back to where he had been standing before.
Then he signalled to the guards and they picked up the little family, dragging them away as they struggled and begged but no one came to help them.
The King started walking to his dragon then.
"Make the one standing the seventh one. Meet me at the Castle." He said then he hopped on his dragon.
The loud sound of the flapping began and they ascended, Belladonna only looking away once they became a dot in the sky.
Then she looked back and noticed that the Woman was looking at them once again.
Oh, the King had asked for the one standing.
Belladonna looked around in confusion, searching.
She couldn't help but think that it was highly stupid for someone to be standing at this moment, drawing unnecessary attention to themselves even though it had seemed as if the Choosing Ritual was over.
It was certainly a 'pick me' move.
It could never be her, she wasn't stupid.
"Are you waiting for a royal invitation?"
The woman asked with a grimace, that was directed at... her?
But why her?
She looked down at her feet quickly.
She wasn't...
Her thoughts trailed off at that moment and a dreadful chill ran down her spine.
She was the one standing.