Constance placed the box gently on the bed's edge and opened it. Inside, was a dazzling gold dress adorned with shimmering Sparkles.
"What is the dress for?" Aria questioned, her tone laced with confusion and Constance turned to face her with a warm smile.
The girl, seemingly in her early twenties, had an aura of cheerfulness around her, but Aria knew better. Her smilish personality was likely a mask to conceal years of pain and suffering. She was undoubtedly a human slave, taken from her home and brought to the kingdom of the dragons. Aria needed no soothsayer to tell that Constance had deeply rooted trauma.
"Oh, it's for the feast of the dragons of course." she beamed and Aria raised her brow in confusion.
"Pardon me..." Constance added, her smile fading slightly. "The feast of the dragons is a party hosted by the dragon king for his nobles. It is held to celebrate the recent... 'gifts' received from humans in Eldoria."
Constance lowered her tone as she mentioned Eldoria and Aria's eyes grew wide with shock.
"Gifts?!"
She nodded once. Her cheerful facade had melted into sorrow.
Aria felt nauseated as the realization dawned on her. While the people of Eldoria mourned the loss of fifty young lives every decade, the dragons reveled in their suffering by celebrating their "offerings" with lavish feasts in the dragon king's castle. Such sick people! How dare they?!
"So... this means... they're celebrating me being their slave?" Aria muttered under her breath, her voice trembling with indignation.
Constance nodded once and something in Aria's snapped. Did Rhysann lie to her? He had promised that he would protect her, and wouldn't let anyone treat her like a slave. Why is he throwing a party then?!
"My Princess, I'm Eldorian too, and I want you to understand that I am on your side. There's a lot of us here in Scalethorne, and the dragons are mistreating us. They don't think of us as humans. They treat us like livestock..." Constance explained bitterly, her voice trembling as she spoke. Aria could barely contain her anger.
"How many humans are here...alive?" Aria asked, her tone grave.
"I... I don't know for sure, my princess, but I think there are over five hundred of us. But believe me when I tell you... many more have died in the last decade due to the dragons' cruelty."
Aria was crushed by everything Constance had told her. Now, her determination to escape from this horrid place was more than ever. Rhysann's words were merely hollow lies meant to lull her into complacency. But when the time was right, he would use her as he saw fit. Her eyes welled with tears, but she blinked them away and squared her shoulders.
"Constance..." she muttered, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for telling me this. I promise you, I will deliver us from this hellish place. I just need some time to learn everything about Scalethorne, and how things work around here."
Hope flickered in Constance's tearful eyes, and a small, grateful smile graced her lips.
"My princess, I am at your service. I will tell you everything about the castle that I know. I will also inform my friend Noah about you." she beamed, forcing a smile through her tears.
"Noah?"
"He's also an Eldorian taken as a slave. We've been here together for years."
Aria nodded once. After their brief conversation, Constance set a small bath for her to clean up, and helped her into the gold gown. She also styled her hair nicely and applied a little bit of makeup to enhance her appearance.
The dress clung to her form, accentuating her curves and revealing her bosoms more than she preferred. Her entire back was exposed down to her lower waist, and a small, single golden chain held the fabric in place.
The style made her uncomfortable, but Constance explained that it was a common culture amongst the Dragonborn women to dress that way, and she had to because now, Aria was in fact, the king's slave.
After everything Constance had told her, Aria was now determined to attend the feast and see the hideous faces of the dragonborns who reveled in the humiliation and oppression of her people. And as for Rhysann, she would make him pay for lying and trying to deceive her.
As Constance adjusted her dress, she noticed that Aria had not taken off the cloth wrapped around her right arm.
"My princess, why didn't you take that piece of cloth off your arm...?"
"I... I hurt my arm, that's why. It's a burn actually." she tried to lie.
Constance was deeply worried.
"A burn? Let me treat it properly for you—"
"Oh no...don't worry, Constance. It's fine." Aria assured with a smile.
"Are you sure?"
Aria nodded twice, silencing further questions.
***
Rhysann entered the grand chamber, where the feast was already in full swing. Classical music filled the air as nearly-naked young women moved gracefully, entertaining the Dragonborn nobles seated around the extravagant dining table.
The dragonborn nobles ate, drank and cheered as they watched these beautiful young dancers with lustful eyes. Some of the women "performed" on the thighs of the men, and this was done on special request.
Some nobles brought their human slaves to flaunt as trophies. It was a cruel display of dominance. Only the slaves the dragons deemed 'worthy' in their eyes were brought to such lavish events, paraded and shown off before the others. Humans had been reduced to mere prizes to be displayed.
The enormous dining table was laden with an assortment of food and wine, mostly beef, fish, chicken, and pork. The Dragons were predominantly carnivorous. While they could consume foods like rice, oats, or vegetables, their diet was heavily centered on meat.
"Ah, here's the dragon we've been waiting for!" one of the noblemen spoke with a wide grin, raising his wine goblet in a toast.
"King Rhysann!"
"Rhyssar the Great!"
Rhysann's cousin, Raiken, approached him with a mischievous grin, holding his goblet aloft.
"Hey, Draco!"
Draco was a nickname he had given Rhysann when they were teenagers.
"I thought you would not make it on time." Raiken leaned closer. "So, aren't you going to introduce us to your human sex slave?"
Rhysann felt his blood boil, but he tried to mask his annoyance to prevent any suspicions.
"She will be here shortly." He managed to say with a straight face, clenching his jaw.
"Nice," Raiken uttered with a wide, mischievous grin and sauntered away.
Rhysann, with a heavy sigh, walked up to his seat and settled amid the other nobles. The dancers tried to please him, but a single glare sent them away.
"Why so dull, dear cousin?" a sultry, silken voice cut through the lively noise of the feast. Turning to his side, Rhysann saw that Raiken's younger sister, Nessie, had settled beside him.
She was what one would describe as a beauty laced with danger. While Raiken was famous for being notorious, Nessie was far more ruthless with a devious personality. Her long, sleek golden tresses cascaded down her back like liquid sunlight, and her flawless face carried a venomous, almost lethal allure.
Her skin was smooth and flawless; a porcelain fairness that seemed untouched by imperfection, with full, scarlet-red lips enhanced by makeup. Her sharp, cat-like eyes added a dangerously mesmerizing edge to her beauty, giving her a deadly kind of elegance.
Amongst the women in Rhysann's household, Nessie was famous for being unapproachable. She was a figure both admired and feared. Dressed in a glittering crimson gown that perfectly accentuated her hourglass figure, she radiated an aura of dominance.
"Nothing, Nessie. I'm just not in the mood for a party," he uttered curtly and her scarlet lips curved to a slight smirk.
"Don't worry, a drink should clear your head a little bit. I'm sure you're just overwhelmed with your royal duties."
She briefly poured Rhysann a drink and handed him the goblet.
"Why don't you relax and enjoy the feast, hmm?" Nessie purred, clinking her goblet gently against his.
But it was none of that. In truth, Rhysann's thoughts raced back to Aria and the precarious situation they were tangled in. His dragon had chosen a mate out of the blues; a human girl. Considering the circumstances surrounding their bond, being together would prove to be very challenging.
The trials ahead would be great, and Aria had barely scratched the surface of this new reality she had been thrust into. He didn't want her to suffer because of his dragon's choices, but what could he do? Choosing a mate was a lifelong commitment, one that couldn't be undone. Even more troubling, he couldn't keep this secret forever. Sooner or later, someone would find out.
'What am I to do?' he thought hard while holding the goblet, his thoughts drifting away from the present.
Then, all heads turned towards the chamber's entrance. Rhysann lifted his gaze and saw that everyone was distracted by something...or someone. Some had their Jaws dropped as though they witnessed a grand spectacle.
He turned to look in the direction they did, then he saw her; Aria, standing at the doorway with Constance beside her.
It was like staring at the figure of an angel.