The journey had commenced as the morning sun rose, a few of the officials along with Roshan would escort her and Jafar to the black dragon's lair, but not to pass into the dragon's lair with them as they only wanted to watch from afar while they ventured into the lair and await the true ruler.
Rama was clothed in a manly outfit suitable and comfortable for the journey, her hair tied in a single braided ponytail. They all mounted on their horses and set for the ride, it would be hours of ride as the black dragon's lair was located at the cliff on the mountainside near the ocean.
Rama evaded eye contact and any sort of interaction with Roshan as much as possible after her failed seduction, luckily everyone was tight-lipped, no one said a word, not even Jafar as he was too busy having a silent heart onslaught.
After the embarrassing episode of an epic failure to bed Roshan the previous night, she couldn't bring herself to spare him a glance, she was hurt and mortified but she swept it at the back of her mind, she had a dragon's lair to venture into and she couldn't afford any distractions.
The horses galloped into the forest, it was a sunny day but the large canopy of leaves from the trees prevented the rays of the sun from touching the forest ground making it darker than it should have been.
The closer their horses galloped to the black dragon's lair, the darker and eerier the air became, it suddenly felt as though a cloak of darkness weighed heavily on the land.
After hours of journey, they finally arrived at the high cliff where the black dragon resided, it was now left to Rama and Jafar to continue their journey as the rest of them waited outside.
They had to climb off their horse as they couldn't climb the sloppy cliff with it. Rama could hear the sound of the ocean waves and smell fresh water, it was relieving but not for long until her jade blue eyes skimmed upwards to the cliff that seemed different from the serene ocean.
She could feel the veil of melancholy wearing itself heavily over the cliff as if warning people of the dangerous beast that lay within it.
Her eyes locked with Roshan's for a split second but she quickly averted it. She could feel him moving closer to her, obviously to wish her good luck.
"Be careful..if by any chance something unexpected happens, just yell, your life is more valuable than the throne." She heard him whisper with a concerned tone and she blinked, flustered by his concerned gesture.
"I'll be fine." She managed to say with a small voice as she gazed at his hazel eyes before halting at Jafar who was being wished fortune by the officials, she almost scoffed but she didn't, knowing both their lives were in jeopardy.
The officials and Roshan watched as they both started off to the cliff, it had a steep trail going up to the entrance of the dragon's lair.
She had to support herself to avoid falling by clasping on to the stone wall, scraping her palms and knees in the process but she didn't wince in pain.
After much adherence, they finally arrived at the entrance of the dragon's lair, she heard Jafar who was lagging behind wince in pain as he arrived behind her.
She gulped softly when the interior of the lair came into her sight, darkness filled every nook of the place, making it look like an infinite hole of darkness, but what made her hair stand erect on her hands was the pure melancholy the place emitted.
She looked up at the unblemished bluish grey skies and the realization that this might be the last time she swallowed in such a serene sight became a heavy shield for her to carry, but she would rather die than watch her throne be seized unfairly from her, she wouldn't give up without a fight.
She glanced at Jafar who was gazing at the darkness inside the lair with a shock stricken face and no intention of moving.
"You're not gonna stop for a picnic, are you?" Rama sneered at him even though she was equally agitated, but she had more balls to go in and complete the quest.
She saw Jafar throw her a glare but no words followed, it seemed as though he was contemplating whether to go in or not.
Rama took a deep breath before placing a foot into the darkness that quickly swallowed her with not a hint of light.
"Rama! Wait up!" She heard Jafar's panicked voice behind her as he followed after.
She crouched down on the floor, hands searching for something and Jafar crouched after her.
Her hands felt the roughness of wood and a smile grazed her lips when she got a hold of it, it shouldn't be too hard to find a stone, she thought inwardly and just at that point, she got hold of a stone.
The crackling of sparks of flames could be heard as she crashed the stones together atop the wood to create light and luckily, it had an effect as the wood immediately started to burn with a dim light that helped brightened the place a bit.
Jafar had an amazed look on his face as she was able to create light with her brain but it quickly disappeared as she noticed it.
"A king without brains, I would love to mock you more but I have a dragon to find." She jeered tauntingly at him, adrenaline flowed in her veins but she managed to appear calm.
"Mock all you want, but don't be surprised when the black dragon chooses me as King and feasts on your flesh." Jafar growled lowly before keeping quiet, he would have said more but he held his tongue in fear.
Jafar was unfathomable quiet which wasn't weird at all, he was scared to his bones, but he couldn't run away and act like a coward as his image would be brutally tarnished.
She stretched the light around the territory as she explored the dragon's lair. Small droplets of water dripped from the very high stone ceiling, the place was eerily cold and had a daunting structure.
The light was too dim so it didn't help very much as she still had to strain her eyes as they went deeper into the lair of the beast.
The place was too silent, murkily silent as they moved with slow steps as they couldn't see properly, careful not to disturb anything, particularly the beast. Rama's leg picked her way across the littered floors with bones and she gasped in shock but quickly composed herself.
Her heart was thumping hard against their chest as they proceeded, every second was anticipated with the worst feasible outcome.
Rama halted in her footsteps with Jafar behind her cowering behind her back like the coward he was. She heard the huffing of feet and the harsh inhaling and exhaling reverberating throughout the cave.
Her breathing became heavier, her heart jumped to her throat as she veered around gradually with the burning torch in her grasp.
Her eyes widened in pure horror when her eyes met the blackest eyes she had ever seen with a vertical golden slit in the middle.
The lethal beast locked its dark gaze with hers, stemming darkness from its presence. Jafar slowly turned around when he felt the dark presence hovering above him and his mouth hung open in horror when he started at the scaly beast that towered above him, almost stretching out to the high ceilings.
Rama gulped, her feet reflexively moved back as she saw the creature growl deeply, its black eyes darkened as it bared its large fangs that could squash them with one bite.
They watched in terror as it opened its sharp jaws to full sight and Rama saw Jafar's feet move ready to flee from the wrath of the beast, but as quickly as he took his step, it was his last because the dragon's jaws widened to take him, crushing him with one bite.
Rama watched in petrification as she saw the dragon's mouth munch on Jafar's flesh, she could hear his bones crack and his flesh tear as it did, blood garnished its teeth as it bared it to her sight.
She instinctively moved back as it dragged its large scaly feet near her, making a loud thud that made the earth rumble. Its nose flared with gusts of smoke at her, that threatened her balance.
The torch on her hold illuminated more light on the beast as it neared her, she could make out the spikes atop its head and the black opaque scales that covered its body, and she could see its large feet with sharp long claws that could take a person's head off with one strike, but its black eyes that looked like it was sucking her soul into an infinite abyss made her shudder in fear.
A scream almost erupted her lips at the sight of the terrifying beast, in all her years of living she had never encountered a beast as terrifying as the black dragon that could make her scream but she did and it petrified her.
The scream that had almost broke out instantly terminated as the creature bowed its head lightly in front of her, she couldn't quite make out if it was a bow or it was just an animalistic behavior but she was sure it wouldn't hurt her.
Rama's heart raced both in fear and excitement, she had finally succeeded, she would take her rightful place as queen of the Saba Empire.
In the intersection of the cave where thick darkness resolved, a pair of crimson red eyes watched intently the display in front of him and a wicked smirk played on his lips as his red eyes glinted malevolently.