pooopChristine landed on the stone floor softly, taking a quiet breath in. Brushing herself off, she allowed her scales to shimmer in the warm sun for a bit. Yes, it was just another day in the dragon kingdom. Well, no, except for one thing. Today, her father, Alard, had sent for her, which was very rare. After all, he was very busy, and for good reasons. If you had to direct all citizens, soldiers, and nobles in your city, wouldn't you have you head buried in work? Thank goodness he had princes ruling over his other, less-but-still important towns.
pooopMaking sure she looked presentable, she approached the Castle, making sure her posture was perfect and her walking well-paced: not too fast, not too slow. There was no wait to see his highness, so Christine let the servant lead her right to Alard. As usual, the ruler was on his throne, Queen Kritana sitting right beside him. His highness was a massive, strong yet swift looking dragon; with red scales and black stripes trailing behind his maroon eyes. The princess's hand subconsciously trailed to the dark blue stripes behind hers, this was proof that she was of royal blood. The Queen, Kritana, was majestic and beautiful, with ivory scales and navy blue stripes behind her black eyes. The kings expression was at it's default state, demanding respect and obedience. Kritana's, however, was more merciful and sympathetic.
pooop"My King and father," Christine greeted kindly with a bow. "What would you need of me?" she questioned, keeping her bowing position still. As you can tell, it is very important to the princess to keep her posture and manners. Christine was taught as a young dragonet that, no matter what, you must never forget etiquette.
pooop"Christine," Kritana started in a sweet tone, her husband staring at the girl before him evenly with a piercing, all-knowing glare. "It's time for you to finally see the world out of our kingdom, and fulfill your true destiny." the dragoness informed.
pooop"As you know," Alard chimed before the dragon girl could respond. "Our enemies, The Fallen Tribe, has had one of our most important artifacts for a long, long time." he arched his neck back, his chest muscles rippling in response. "But, before I tell you more about your mission...Christine, I must make sure you know what you will be dealing with; and what our people have been struggling with for a long, long time." he rose up slowly from his throne, his ginormous size now becoming completely obvious. He strolled up to the dragonet, who had risen from her bow.
"Once, a long, long time ago, The Fallen Tribe and ours used to be one. Until..." he growled at the memories, clenching one of his paws in anger. "A NobleDragon, named Elymas, did something unheard of. He crossed our pure blood with that of a Human. A humans." he flicked his forked black tongue in and out, composing himself and letting his fury die down. "Attempts were made to kill this human girl and her offspring. However, insolent commoner dragons had sided with Elymas. Even with a war, and desperate attempts to try and make sure this horrible act did not spread, we failed. Even if we did win the war, I would have preferred for Elymas and his children to be crushed beneath my talons." he shook his head briefly, sharply, realizing that he had gotten too immersed in the story.
pooop"Father..." Christine breathed, "Is-is this why me, you, and mother can transform from humans to dragons? Were we, in the beginning, purely dragons?" she inquired, "Yes, my daughter." Kritana replied, letting Alard take a break to relax. "It is both a blessing, and a curse. While now, as royal's, we can trick humans in that form, we can never unlock our true power as dragons. That is...not without our artifact. The Sphere of Revolution, made in the war by a human mage to help Elymas win, this is what you must retrieve." she looked down at the obsidian floor, her blue curved horns catching the light that came through the massive windows of the throne room. "But, if the common dragons are the ones who bred with the humans, then why do only Royal's have this power of transformation now?" the Princess's head was swimming with questions and intrigue, but she was having trouble processing all of the information at one time. Perhaps if she stopped asking about so many things, that would help. "Because King Ajax's men, the ruler back then, eliminated every dragon but Elymas and his blasted dragonets." Alard responded, "I am ashamed to be part of his offspring. Christine," he put on of his paws on one of his daughter's shoulder.
"You must look far and wide for this Sphere, keeping your wits and determination about you always. Ajax forbid it's in Elymas's kingdom, which I fear is what it is in. My Princess," he cooed, "If you ever do find yourself in his kingdom, interact with as little people as you can. In this kingdom, only Royal's can transform from human into dragon. It is the same there for obvious reasons. This means that, under no circumstances, should you change into your dragon form. Even if it means someone else has to die, do not do it. EVER." The King of dragons commanded sternly. But, after a pause, his eyes softened, and, for a split second, they teared up. Christine loved Alard very much, and Alard loved his daughter more than anything in the entire universe. Her safety and well being was his entire life.
pooopSo, to send her out into such a dangerous world, even if it meant the good for his kingdom, it was heartbreaking. "But, please, don't be afraid," he went on, worrying that perhaps he was piling on commands and information too much at a little period of time. "You are such a smart, beautiful, and deadly young Princess. As long as you trust your instincts and keep the goal in front of you, why," he grinned confidently, flashing his black, sharp fangs. "You could destroy worlds!" he exclaimed in a laugh. "My baby girl," Kritana rushed to Christine and gave her a hug, stroking her horns as well. "Please, prepare as much as you need to before you go. But, sadly, I can only allow you a week to do so. B-because.." she tugged at her eyelids, but the tears refused to be foiled, and came pouring down the Queen's well-kept face. "I want you to leave as soon as you can, so I won't change my mind!" Kritana sobbed, hugging her child once again. "Mommy!" Christine objected, aggressively shutting her eyelids. "Don't cry! If you c-cry, I cry!" she howled, holding on tightly to Kritana and letting those persistent tears play their role. Alard looked at the two, a longing to do what what Kritana was doing in his face. But, for whatever reason, he didn't join in, but watched instead. After a while, though, he decided to intervene. "Hey. Listen!" he said sharply, a sudden aching in his chest coming on as he said the harsh, cold words. "That's enough crying, you need to be strong, got it? You are a dragon, and dragons don't cry. I will pardon you this time, but really. Keep your dignity." he separated Kritana and Christine from each other, and gave his Princess a kiss on the head.
pooop"You are power, you are compassion, yet you are untouchable. You must be untouchable. Remember that. Now, go and get ready, Christine, I have other people to attend to." he gestured to the door with his head, but avoided eye contact. Christine wiped her eyes, looked at Kritana, and, with a pathetic sniffle, ran out the door. "Alard!" The Queen hissed in sudden engagement, her face stiff with fury. "What type of way was that to treat a dragonet about to do something literally life-changing for two kingdoms? And your own daughter, too?!?" she arched her ears dangerously back, fighting back the urge to claw the floor. "Kritana, please try to understand." he begged quietly, calmly. "I did that...to keep her on her toes. People in the world lash out just like I did now, and Christine needs to be prepared for that." "Oh, so doing that one time in probably the most fragile part of her life will definitely prepare her. Great! That TOTALLY makes SENSE!" she roared sarcastically, bitterly. She could not BELIEVE her husband right now!! "Oh, so you've forgotten about her life-long-training where random dragons and store owners seem nice but then yell at her for a stupid reason. And about staged fight where she either breaks it up, or wins it. That is...not like you." he responded coolly. Kritana's breathing slowed down, and her face seemed to be relaxing more. "Oh, yes, I remember that." she blushed, "forgive me, my King, I acted rashly, and was only worried about Christine. I just want her to stay out of trouble." "I know, my Queen," Alard replied,
pooop"I want her to stay out of trouble, too."
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