All the girls gave Sheraza suspicious looks.
"No, not at all," the queen smiled mysteriously. "When my adulthood began, I tried to minimize contacts with the outside world. Under the guise of needing to organize a general cleaning and inventory of all the library books, I locked myself in there for the whole day, not interacting with anyone and only occasionally meeting with the king if he needed assistance. By that time, there were very few palace servants and courtiers who spent time studying ancient folios, so no one bothered me. After all, I ran away from the Red House to avoid becoming a plaything for some arrogant nobleman, and I didn't want that to happen to me because of my own foolishness. But one day, a boy of about seven years old came into the library. He was dressed in nice but not fancy clothes, and his bright red hair gave away that he was a fire mage. I immediately understood that he was the son of someone from the court nobility, but since I hadn't left the library for a long time, I knew nothing about him. I didn't think that anyone would come into the library, so I didn't chase him away. The boy was very curious and always interested in my opinion about this or that book. Besides, he was not lacking in intelligence and understood even the most complex matters. So my voluntary seclusion was brightened up by meetings with this lad. Years passed, and he grew into a handsome young man, and I started to realize that he came not just for the books."
The queen looked embarrassed and gathered herself before continuing. The girls held their breath in anticipation.
"I began to avoid meeting with Severin, pretending that I wasn't there when he came, walking around the palace, looking around. But in the end, he managed to find me. He was very happy to see me after a long separation and without hesitation proposed marriage to me."
"And you agreed?!" Vivi, as a fan of beautiful love stories, couldn't contain her excitement.
"Hm... No, I said I needed to think about it," Sheraza sadly lowered her gaze. "It was the first time I felt drawn to a man, but I knew that it wouldn't lead to anything. At night, I secretly packed my things, said goodbye to the king, and returned to the Red House. I didn't want him to suffer because of me, but I underestimated Savvy."
"Haha, Dad wouldn't have given up that easily," Seleria folded her hands with satisfaction. "Of course, he went after her."
"Only a few people came to the lands of the Red Dragons, and very few were allowed into the main house. So I was surprised when I saw him among the guests," the queen blushed slightly. "Embarrassing to admit, but then I learned for the first time that he was Prince of Leran. Maybe I should have spent less time in voluntary seclusion. I was placed as a servant at the reception. In fact, slave women were appointed as servants at important receptions for one purpose – to please the guests and soften the course of negotiations. To emphasize this, we were specifically dressed in revealing outfits and collars, so the guests could immediately understand why we were there."
The queen sighed heavily.
"When Severin grabbed me by the hand, I no longer wanted to think about anything. I already knew what kind of future awaited me, but the prince dispelled my fears; he led me to the ruler, Serezar."
The queen immersed herself in memories.
"Hmm, young prince, it seems you've taken a liking to this slave girl. You don't need to be shy; at your age, it's quite natural," the ruler's voice was calm, treating it as a simple business deal. Only in Siferina's eyes, dissatisfaction with what was happening was evident.
"Ruler Serezar, I would like to take this girl," the young prince boldly looked into the eyes of the three rulers.
"Hmmm. How strange. She recently fled from the royal palace, despite holding a high position. I've been wondering what could have pushed her to do that," Valraz smirked. "Could it be the unmistakable hints from this young man?"
"I can't say," I was afraid that if they knew about the prince's intentions, he wouldn't leave this place alive.
"It doesn't matter," Valraz waved off my response. "You don't have to hold back, Prince. They are only fit for this purpose. If you want to buy her, we can also negotiate the price."
"NO! I don't want to buy Sheraza's freedom! I want to marry her," after these words, a suffocating silence enveloped the entire hall. In the past, some nobles tried to take young dragonesses as wives, but they were easily dealt with when they lost vigilance. Dealing with a prince was impossible, and the three rulers didn't know what to do.
"I'm afraid that's impossible," Serezar replied in the same calm tone. "We do not consider the possibility of marrying off our slave women."
I knew how rulers dealt with such bold nobles in the past, and I wanted to stop Severin, but he was unyielding.
"You trade your own children, give them as gifts, and even sell them to alchemists for slaughter! But you can't give a single girl a happy life! Your foolish traditions need to change long ago!" He spoke with such passion that I immediately remembered why I fell in love with him.
Only Siferina was pleased with the prince's speech, but Valraz became furious.
"How dare you, youngling, interfere in the affairs of our clan. We live by traditions established thousands of years before your birth, and you dare to tell us what to do!" The young ruler jumped from his throne, and the armrests splintered from his strength.
"So, these traditions are long outdated, and it's time to change them," Severin looked into the dragon's eyes, even though the ruler was almost a head taller than him. "I can't understand why you easily sell your subordinates into slavery but don't allow official marriages!"
"Hah, that only shows your naivety," Valraz smirked contentedly. "We do it for one reason only, to fight against your tainted blood. We respect only strength and maintain the purity of our bloodline. If you use her," the ruler glanced at me as if I were some object and then looked back at the prince with a smirk, "then you might have dirty half-breeds. The children of slaves will belong to the Red House, and we won't allow the further development of these creatures. But since you want to marry her and obviously don't intend to give us any children..."
"Of course not!"
"And that's why it's not up for discussion. Do what you want, but she will always remain just a slave."
Valraz chuckled and headed back to his throne, but the prince stopped him.
"Thank you for the clarification. Now I understand a little better how to deal with you," the young prince's eyes burned with challenge. "And why do you assume that my children will be weaker than yours!?"
"What did you say?" Valraz leaned menacingly over Severin.
"You said it yourself. To increase the strength of our lineage, you maintain the purity of dragon blood. But if I am stronger than any dragon, there should be no problem," the prince and the ancient dragon locked eyes.
"Hmmm," Serezar finally joined the conversation. "The boy might be right."
The ruler exchanged glances with Siferina, and she nodded in agreement.
"Valraz, I think you should accept his challenge. If he defeats you, he will earn the right to choose someone from our lineage as his wife."
"Hah, very well," the dragon placed a hand on Sheraza's head. "But if I win, I may just take her for myself. I'll have to study her more closely to find out what has captivated the young prince."
"So Severin proved that he was ready to fight for me even if it cost him his life. I was glad, but also saddened. I knew what the great dragon was capable of, and I feared he wouldn't survive the battle.
"But he did win, didn't he? Otherwise, you wouldn't be standing here!" Katrina also got caught up in the story.
"Well, not entirely," Sheraza smiled mysteriously. "Severin is perhaps the most powerful fire mage in the kingdom, but he's also a skilled warrior. They clashed with magic and blows for three hours on the island. In the end, he managed to knock Valraz to the ground and force him to take on his human form. Even with all his might, the ruler couldn't land a single precise blow on the prince. In the end, both fell exhausted, and Serezar declared it a draw. They agreed to marry me to the prince, but on the condition that I would stop being a dragon.
"WHAT? Is that even possible?" This fact interested me much more. "Even when in human form, a dragon remains a dragon. Their blood remains fiery, and their horns don't disappear."
And then I remembered a little detail. The horns on Sheraza's temples were much smaller than those of the little girl who once spoke to King of Leran on equal terms.
"I still am a dragon, but only partially. You must have noticed," Sheraza pointed to her horns again. "This is the result of being forbidden to be a dragon. We had the wedding right there in the Red House a week after the battle. The king was not against it; despite me being a dragon, he always appreciated my intelligence and resourcefulness. At the wedding, I was supposed to be in my dragon form, as an insult and a last chance to change my mind. Only the king and a few high-ranking nobles from the council were present, and they were the only ones who knew the truth about me. To weaken me further, Valraz personally made a special engagement ring for me."
Sheraza took a small piece of paper and drew on it familiar outlines - a large ring, more like a bracelet in size, open on one side with three round stones.
"This is the same ring you took from the Sphinx's tomb during the treasure hunt," Sheraza explained.
"I'm sorry," I looked away shyly. "I already melted it down and used it to make gloves for Katrina, and the stones for Asura's sword."
"Don't worry, it was just bringing back painful memories. The ring was not made that way by chance. The open circle symbolizes breaking ties with the past, and the three stones - diamond, topaz, and ruby - represent the three human kingdoms. This ring signified that I would no longer be part of the Red House, but it also had a small secret," the queen added some small spikes to the inside of the ring, "while I wore it, the poison contained in the ring seeped through my skin. It's a very painful poison for dragons, weakening their dragon blood and slowly turning us into humans. By the end of the ceremony, I could no longer transform into a dragon. Even now, I don't know if I could do it again."
"But you still remain a dragon, even in that form."
"No, I became mortal. Although, besides the great dragons, other dragons are also mortal, their lives are measured in centuries and millennia. I, however, will not live that long. I will probably outlive my beloved, but I will still die after a couple of hundred years. It's cruel. You will live long enough to bury your love, your children, and to grieve their loss to your heart's content, but you will still die when no one you love is around."
"You're right. Besides, the second condition was that no one should know about my origin, and for that, I locked myself back in the palace. Only the highest ranks in the government and a few trusted servants know about my true identity. I never appeared before the people, and I may have envied my husband a little, as he was loved by all his subjects. Although, I am still happy because my daughter is loved by the people more than any of the previous kings."
Sheraza embraced her daughter, and Seleria nestled her face against her mother's.
"Since then, the Red House has severed almost all ties with the royal family and even began secretly supporting the ruling family's opponents. Severin never blamed me for that, but our relationship became even worse after Seleria's birth. Reports frequently came in about someone secretly watching the princess during her training sessions, but nothing was ever done about it. And as you all saw, they came here today with just one goal - to witness Seleria's true power."
"A beautiful story, and something has become clear," I thought about everything the queens told us today. "Ignis, you said you forged these blades from Nihelim's scales?"
"Yes, it was very difficult, but I managed to make them and enchant them to restore their form if ever influenced by the force that created them."
"So you forged them in the black flame?" The blades regained their shine when I used black flame to its full power.
"Yes, you're right, but it's by no means the divine power that Ragni possesses."
"You don't have to continue. I also used that technique when I created Asura's sword," I drew the sword and extended the blade toward the black queen. "May I?"
Ignis tightened her grip on the sword's blade, and her dark crimson blood appeared on the edge. I gathered a small flame in my hand and ignited her blood. For a moment, the flame flared with a black flash and quickly dissipated into the air.
"You said it right. The power of divine flame is stored in the blood of their descendants. But dragons cannot control this flame because it is a manifestation of ancient magic. When we first met, you mentioned that to use ancient magic, one must know the language of the ancient gods and possess abilities in creation magic. Dragons lack such abilities, unlike humans."
I looked at Ragni and Seleria; they were the only ones among the dragons who could use the power of the gods.
"To utilize the divine flame, you need to have the abilities of ancient magic, which only humans possess, and dragon blood. Seleria, being a half-dragon, can wield this power, and Ragni acquired it through the contract that divided our innate abilities between us. When I granted Ragni equal rights in our contract, she gained the ability to use the black flame. However, this power is a double-edged sword that injures even the wielder - the mages themselves."
"Are you saying I won't be able to control it at will?" Ragni sat swaying in her chair.
"No, you won't. The flame draws its strength from your blood, not your mana. If the battle lasts longer than the one we just had in the arena, you will most likely die. Dragon-gods could use this power indefinitely because they were immortal, but you are not. I wouldn't risk my life if there's no other way."
"Well, I've noticed that I weaken significantly after using the crimson flame before, but I didn't try to control it as much as I did this time. That's probably why there wasn't such a life-threatening risk," Seleria leaned back in her chair. "Oh well, it's a pity. Unlike Ragni, I'm not even a dragon, which means I have even less life force. Maybe I really shouldn't use this magic anymore."
Sheraza affectionately stroked the princess's head and whispered softly in her ear.
"Don't be disheartened, my little princess. The strength of red dragons lies in the flames. It's their power, magic, and life. Even if you are not a dragon, it doesn't mean you cannot surpass the ancient gods," the queen kissed her daughter's forehead and headed towards the exit. "I apologize for not being able to stay longer, but I promised I would only witness my daughter's battles. It's time for me to return to the palace, but I hope you will tell me how the other fights went."
Sheraza smiled at Ignis and left.