Human's Kingdom
I always like to watch her as she eats. She enjoys her food every time. It devours it in only a few minutes.
I look at her, and I do not believe that such a creature would radically change the facts of my life, my feelings, and in general of our whole existence, dragons and humans.
We, humans and dragons have always been on opposing sides. Supposedly, we hate each other. It is our destination, our rule. And yet I, without wishing, go against this rule by adoring this creature.
I remember I was fourteen years old when my nanny, with my parents' consent first, told me about her existence and took me to see Libelle for the first time. She explained to me that shortly after he had taken care of me, she found Libelle in the forest alone by not knowing where she was going and what she was doing. My nanny, Aida, seeing her so vulnerable and all alone, approached her gently, without frightening her, and finally realized that she could not fly. Libelle was very young then, and as Aida explained to me, she was much smaller than she is now, and she could easily assess her health. She found out that something was wrong with her wings and that her parents had probably abandoned her to her fate. They considered her as a useless dragon since she could not fly. This by itself and by the parents themselves is tragic. When I first heard this, my eyes filled with tears, and my heart broke for this blatant injustice.
Aida found a cave nearby and led her there, wishing that when she would return to her, she would find her in the cave she had left her. And honest, when she returned to the cave with food and water, she found her there. So, for the first time, this was happening. Aida was going every day to get her food and water. When Libelle trusted her enough, she began to follow her. But no one knew of her existence except Aida.
So, because she did not want to leave her as her parents did, she decided to talk to my father first, get his permission to bring her to the castle. She did not want to do anything in secret. And, of course, a dragon is not something easy to hide. My father agreed, with a bit of persuasion from my mother. The truth is from what I learned later. So, since then, Libelle has lived here in the castle with us, accepted by all.
Aida has been monitoring her wings' condition ever since, and she is applying them as an herbal treatment. It took some years for her disease to improve, and I sincerely admire Aida's patience and perseverance over the years in applying the treatment daily. If was someone else in her place, he might have given up by now. I am delighted that Aida did not give up because she told me that Libelle would fly and soon. It was the best news I had ever heard!
When she finishes her meal, she approaches me, putting her head in my hand. It is a sign that she wants me to caress her. And I do. I start stroking her from the face and move to her neck. Her skin is covered with scales. I feel them hard under my handful, but at the same time so soft. They may become harder and harder over the years. I do not know for sure.
I have understood that when I touch her wings, she gets a little upset about it, and I learned not to do it. It may feel a little uncomfortable due to the condition of the wings. I'm not sure. She rubs her head on my body, making a sound that reminds me a bit of a purring cat. I laugh because I feel tickled. When Libelle hears me laughing, she rubs her head harder on me, making me realize that Libelle knows why I laugh. I have learned that over time it becomes more and more intelligent.
It is exciting to know a dragon from a young age and watch its evolution so closely and the stable state, which is now her home. It has grown enough too to fit Libelle comfortably inside it.
The sun has started to set, and I have to leave. My heart always tears when I have to leave. I can understand that she feels depressed every time I have to go, and I always assure her that I will come back the next day. I kiss her on the head.
"This is from my mother," I tell her and kiss her again. "This is from me. I love you. So much. Sleep sweetly. I will see you tomorrow ".
I take the wheelbarrow, empty now, and leave the stable, closing the door behind me. I walk to the kitchen. When I reach out of the door, one of the stablemen comes and takes the barrow from my hands. He will take it for washing from the remnants of cooked meat. Especially now that the weather has started to warm up, it must be cleaned thoroughly. I do not risk Libelle eating a damaged piece of meat.
I go into the kitchen, and Aida is there. I approach her.
"Everything good?" she asks me first.
"Yes, everything is fine. Aida?»
"Yes, my child," she tells me and looks at me intently.
"Will you come to my room when I go to bed? I need something from you."
"Of course, Edith. I'll come"
"Very well. I'll wait. Is there any piece of the desert left? "I ask her, and she smiles.
"Of course," she tells me and puts a piece on a plate.
"A little more?" I ask her looking at her like a puppy. I hear her laughing.
"Absolutely," she says and cuts me another piece, bigger than the previous one, and she puts it on the plate too and offers it to me.
"I remind you that in an hour and a half, dinner will be served." She tells me.
"I will eat dinner too," I tell her, and I start walking towards the exit of the kitchen that leads to the inside of the castle.
Behind me, I hear her laughing, and I smile. I know she has the same question that everyone has. Where do I put so much food?
As I walk towards the small living room where my parents usually sit and read, I put a big bite in my mouth. Nobody sees me now, neither me nor my non-princely ways. So I can eat like a pig and not like a princess.
By the time I get to the living room, steps' slow pace, I have already emptied half of the plate.
I show up at the door, and my parents are there. My father remains absorbed in his book while my mother raises her head and looks at me. Her gaze falls once on the half-empty plate, one on my full mouth, and she sighs. But I can see that she is trying to hide a smile.
"If you continue like that until the ball, you will not fit in any gown," she tells me teasingly. She knows full well that this is impossible. All I do is smile at her.
"Do not worry, Estella. Tomorrow your daughter and I will practice together in fencing," I hear my father say, and my plate almost falls out of my hand of surprise.
This pleasant surprise!
With a big smile, I sit with them. I continue eating my dessert. This time, the cook has made it tastier than the previous times she has made it, and my parents continue reading. I sit across from the large window to look out over the beautiful view of our garden. The flowers had begun to sprout and blossom. Same the trees, some had started to produce lush fresh leaves, and some had begun to produce flowers. At such times the garden always smells lovely. Spring is here for good. I like this season because the day lasts longer than in the winter when the darkness falls early in the afternoon. I do not like the dark at all. I do not know if what I feel is fear, but I know for sure that the darkness repulses me. Further on, behind the mountains, I can only see the orange-red color of the sunset. The sun is now gone from the horizon. Soon the darkness will begin to fall. Candles will be lit everywhere in the castle, and they will invite us for our dinner, which i
The following day when I wake up, the sun has just begun to rise. It makes sense to wake up so early since I had fallen asleep very early the night before.I do not know if this is the reason. However, I feel completely refreshed and very cheerful. I feel a little different today. I sense that something exciting will happen today, hmm… and I think I know what that is. I will beat my father in fencing. Of course! This is it!I get out of bed in good spirits and go to the closet to find clean clothes to wear.Luckily for me, Una has them completely orderly by color and type. So I take a blue shirt and black leather pants and wear them. I put on my boots, but not the belt, I will need some help with it, and I put it aside. When Una comes, I will ask her for help.I approached the window, next to it, there is an armchair. I moved it so that it could see the window, and I sit down. It is so beautiful outside. I do not remember getting up so early to wat
EdithI follow my father with my heart beating loudly in my chest out of impatience. At some point, he turns and tells me."In order for the fight to be fair, we will go through the arsenal to get two new swords, so we will not have the same comfort with them as we would have if we were fighting with our own."I do not object, but I do not think it has anything to do with it. A sword is a sword."I hear him laugh softly. "But it does. You will see it for yourself ".We cross the backyard and enter one of the extreme towers. I know that the arsenal is on the top floor.The closer we get, the more deafening the noise from the construction of the weapons becomes. Especially the sound of the hammer on the iron pierces my ears.We enter the arsenal area, and all the heads turn towards us. Immediately their faces take on a surprising look. They give up what they are doing and bow down deeply."Your majesty."I he
DrakeFortunately, I have taken the necklace off me, and I have it somewhere very well kept, so I do not have to worry about that.All the way, I think about what to do. Where can I hide the papyrus so that they do not find it? I do not know what is written on it, but they will surely understand a lot from it if it falls into the wrong hands. There is a big chance everything will be revealed, and I'm sure it will cost me my life. But I have no other choice. I am forced to take the risk, and whatever is to be done will be done.For a start, I have to find a way out.I leave the village and slow down a bit, looking around seeking a solution. I do not know what I am looking for either myself.Suddenly I see a small clump of pine trees, and I come up with an idea.Before I go there, I look around and fortunately no one is coming. I make my way to the clump with quick steps. I go deeper into the trees and start looking for trunks th
DrakeI get up to my feet and see her running towards me in panic, shouting, "Are you okay? I am so sorry; I did not mean to. You scared me."I get even more furious and yelling at her back:"And does that mean whoever scares you his life is in danger? Are you crazy, lassie? What do you want for that devil thing you are holding?"I feel my blood boiling with anger, and I clench my hands in fists. I am so angry that I think I could grab that girl by the neck.I see her approaching me more and more. But now, her treatment has changed, and she gets close to me in an aggressive mood.When she arrives in front of me, and I see her clearly; her beauty overwhelms me, and especially her green eyes. Her cheeks have turned red, and she is also clenching her fists. But my fists have loosened up as soon as I saw her beautiful face.I am no longer in the mood to argue with her, but she has the opposite opinion because she
DrakeI make a move to pick the papyrus up from the floor without intending to read it, but my mother bends down and grabs it first."Nooo!" she cries fearfully."I just wanted to pick it up. I did not intend to read it. You are pale, mother. What is wrong? Why do not you tell me?""Please, son, do not make it more difficult. I cannot tell you. Forgive me," she tells me, wrapping the papyrus tightly and hiding it in her bosom, muttering that at the first opportunity, she will throw it into the fire."Okay, mother, it does not matter. Will you give me the meat now? David is waiting for it.""Who is David?" my mother asks me."He is the villager who owns the meat. I heard him saying that he will not have the time to come to the castle and exchange the wheat. I took the opportunity and offered myself to go instead of him. "I see her smiling. "My smart boy!" she tells me and caresses my hair on the top of my head.
EdithEnraged, I turn my back to the rude slob who dared to treat me this way, and with significant hasty steps, I move away from him.When I get far enough, I hide behind a thick trunk of one of the trees scattered in the garden. I take a deep breath and try to peek as discreetly as possible so that he does not see me.I watch him take his wheelbarrow and head towards the kitchen, which, as I suddenly remember in horror, is a little further than where I was standing.The path which leads to the kitchen passes next to the tree in which I am hiding. I swallow dry and cold sweat starts to bathe me. I behaved recklessly hiding here, and now if he catches me hiding here, it will be an absolute humiliation for me. This should definitely not be done.I keep overseeing his every move to be sure that he will not spot me. I must not lose sight of him. He is getting closer and closer. I can hear his puffs as he struggles with the weight o
EdithWhen his shape disappears entirely from my field of vision, I get up and hurry to the exit of the large living room, closing the door as I had found it.I do not want to see anyone, I do not want to talk to anyone, so I head to my room to be alone. Completely alone. This is what I need now. I enter my room and lock my door.Tears have already begun to flow down my eyes... How can this happen to me?I do not want this to happen to me. I deny it.But it is not enough for only the mind but also the heart to deny it. But the heart is stubborn, it does not want to give up on what it started to feel, but that makes me suffer.But how can something like this happens so soon? So sudden? How is that possible? Is it possible?I fall face down on the bed and tuck my face into the pillow. I allow myself to cry in the safety of my loneliness.Without realizing it, I fall asleep and know it only when I he