KATIE
Days passed before guards came and took me roughly out of the cell.
Tanya tried to interfere but she got thrown against the wall, hard.
“Just stop, it’s fine.” I yelled as the cell door shut.
She shouted profanities as they took me away, warned them of her wrath if anything happened to me. “Where are you taking me?”
“You need to clean up.” The guard said.
He took me to the castle. It was day and the light was burning my eyes as we stepped out in the sunlight.
An old woman greeted us at the entrance. “I have her from here,” she said.
“The king ordered…”
“I have it from here. She is your crown prince’s wife. You want me to take it up with him.”
“No my lady.” He said and turned around.
“You know Albert. Have you seen him?”
She nodded. “Let’s get you in a bath, shall we?” She was kind to me.
“Why all of this?” I asked.
“The king and queen want a word with you.”
“What?”
“Don’t worry, they won’t do anything. He knows Albert would never forgive him if he did anything out of rage.”
Out of rage.
She led me to a beautiful bathroom and helped me to get disrobed. Her eyes landed on my scar.
“You got the essence too.”
“The essence?” I looked at my scar. “Oh that.”
She laughed. “Oh that? You were given a great gift Katherine. Just like Albert.”
“Wait Albert got it too.”
She nodded.
“He almost died.”
“He was so to say dead.”
Tears welled up in my eyes. “The stupid idiot. He should’ve never followed that dragon.”
“It was all part of the plan, sweetheart. He wanted King Louis to fall hard. They are not that different from each other. Albert knows what he is doing. If this isn’t going to sort things out, you have time Katherine. Time others don’t have.” She touched my face.
I didn’t like that. How long was I going to have to wait for Albert.
She helped me into the bath and then she bathed me as she talked about Albert as a boy. I knew who she was. She was his nanny.
She washed my hair and when the water was starting to turn cold, it was time to get out.
“He loves you very much. He couldn’t stop talking about you.” I told her.
“I could say the same about you.”
I chuckled.
“He was so lost after that ball, high on a cloud that I couldn’t reach.”
“I should’ve shown myself that day to him.” I told her about the incident when he paid Drizelda’s bill in my mother’s grocer and gave her a seal to spare her of taxation.
She laughed at the silly parts and just smiled softly at how head over heels I was for him.
She put me in a beautiful dress, one I could only dream of wearing and then when I was finally ready to be presented to the king and queen she took me to see them with the guard in tow.
I was brought to the throne room where they both were waiting.
The king stared at my dress for a while as the queen squinted. My heart was thumping.
“How could you?” The king asked.
“So.”
“It was mine to give to her, my lord.” The old woman answered.
He was speaking to Delilah.
He nodded and ground his teeth.
He was talking about the dress.
“You are Katherine Squires.” He asked and I nodded.
“You are married to my son.”
“Yes, your majesty,” I bowed my head.
“There is an easy way out of this all, Katherine.”
“My lord,” Delilah asked. “I beg you don’t do this.”
“He has to learn life is hard. Being a king is hard and even he has to respect what I say.”
Goran’s words flashed through my head.
“Your life for all of them.”
I looked at the king. My life.
“My king, please, don’t do this.” Delilah begged again.
“He is not making it easy. He has to learn.”
“Not like this.”
“My decision…”
“You are doing exactly the same as your father, Louis.” She was stern.
“Have you forgotten who he is?” The queen yelled.
“No, I know who he is. Your father did this to you. Have you forgiven him yet for it?” She was feisty.
The king’s nostrils flared. He was livid.
“Don’t do this, please. He will never forgive you.”
“I had to make a choice that day. You want to tell me I made the wrong choice.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head.
What choice?
“But you are walking the same path with your son the one you walked with your father. I love you both. Don’t do this please.”
“She will be executed at sun down.”
I felt as if my knees were going to give in.
A commotion was coming from the far end of the throne room and I turned around as the guard wanted to take me back.
A fist and a knee connected hard with his face and groin and then I was in Albert’s arms. “Have you lost your mind?” Albert roared.
“You will learn to respect me boy.”
“I’m no longer a boy. Open your eyes. She is my choice. How can you sit there and be okay with this mother?”
“Albert I’m not, but he is your king.”
“Then you need to kill me too. As I won’t live without her.”
“Albert. Someone has to pay for your actions.”
“Then let me pay.”
“You are the crown prince of Paegeia. You will not die for this.”
“I swear if you do this, I will find a way to kill you.”
“Albert!” his mother yelled.
“I will hunt you down till the day you are ash.” He yelled.
“Albert stop.” I said.
“No, you are not going to die for this. It’s ludicrous.” Tears welled up in his eyes.
“Your father will let everyone go. Please.”
“No, I won’t allow it. It’s time to fight Kate. Fight for us with me please.” He begged me.
“You knew this will happen.” I cried too. “I just want peace. Please.”
He hugged me tight and his lips brushed my head.
“Don’t do this please,” he begged his dad again.
“Okay, there is another way.
“No,” Albert grunted.
“It’s not for you to decide, Albert but for her.”
“Don’t do this please. She is my choice, just like the Swallow Annex was yours.”
“I didn’t end up with her now did I son.”
“No, you didn’t because your father did exactly the same as you are doing to me now.”
“Set her free, Albert. Marry Drizelda and your men will go free. All of them. No harm will come to her.”
I got what she told me. If this doesn’t work out, time will. I will be with Albert eventually way, way in the future. After Drizelda’s death.
“Don’t do this please. I told you what she did, Father.”
“She is still a commoner.”
“She is not a fucking commoner. I don’t love Drizelda.”
“Albert,” I touched his chest.
“No, this is what he wants Katherine. He wasn’t going to execute anyone. That was why I got brought in to hear what he was ordering. To beg, this, this is what he truly wanted.”
His father sighed.
“Don’t do this. Fight Katherine.”
“Dammit, Albert. It’s not going to happen, but time will heal.” I touched his chest.
I felt his scar. His nanny would tell him I have the same one. “Enough. Please. It’s going to be okay.” I hugged him tight as he shook.
“Don’t do this Kate.”
“You wanted me to be queen one day. It’s not always about what we want, but what we can accomplish by doing the things we don’t want to. The things that are needed.” I looked at the king and nodded.
“Then it’s a done deal. You will be taken back to Eikenborough free from all charges and so are your men.”
A guard took me as Al broke down and fell to his knees. “you will marry Drizelda in due time and that Night Villain is no dragon to my son.”
I closed my eyes as I was taken to a carriage and I broke down when the door closed.
His father was so cruel. He was stripping him of everything he owned.
I didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye, nothing.
The ride took a few hours and I gasped when I saw how bad Eikenborough looked.
It was basically destroyed with only a few buildings standing.
My mother’s grocer was one of them and the tavern another.
The carriage left as I got out and I walked to the grocer and opened the door.
Fallon was packing bottles of remedies on the shelf.
“Just make sure that it’s the blue ointment.” My mother’s voice came from the back.
“Yes, Mom.” She said.
“Katie,” my brother yelled. He had gotten so big and came crashing into me.
My sister turned around and gasped and my mother came out of the store room.
I kissed Sam on his head. “You got so big slugger.”
“You are a princess.”
I shook my head. “I was, but just for a short while.”
“Oh Katie, I’m so sorry.” My mother came to hug me and I broke down crying in her neck.
“It’s going to be okay.”
“How Mom, he is forcing him to marry Drizelda Longbottom.” Her name tasted like venom.
“Everything will work out as it’s meant to be. You will see.” She gave me her famous answer.
“Not this time.” I cried my eyes out against her embrace.
“Shhh, shhh” she kept on saying. “You need something to eat and rest. You went through a lot.”
My mother took me out of the grocer and into the tavern.
“Where is Maggy?”
“Still with the children.”
“They are still hiding.”
She nodded. “She said Albert would send word if it’s safe. You need to eat.”
“Katie,” Rowena rushed over and grabbed me tight into a hug. “I’m so happy to see you.”
More tears flowed. When was I going to stop feeling this sadness?
“Shh, you knew this was going to happen. You will be okay, Katherine.” My mother stroked my back.
Maggy’s mother gave me stew she made for the tavern’s menu today and I picked at my food as my mother sat with me.
“We are rebuilding everything and we are staying here for a short while until we have another place. Tony has been a tremendous help. Finally showed everyone that he is a dragon. He has protected us from so many attacks. We owe him everything.”
I just nodded as I picked at the stew.
“Katherine eat something please.”
“I can’t Mom.” I said and my eye caught the ring that Albert gave me.
I closed my eyes. “He still has dad’s ring.”
“Let him keep it.”
I looked at my mother and more tears fell down my cheeks as my shoulders shook. “I don’t want to be queen. If I constantly have to make decisions like that…”
“Shhh.” She got up and took me up to our room.
She put me in bed and kissed my face a couple of times.
I didn’t want to eat or sleep. I couldn’t. Because I knew I would dream about him.
About the imperfect world we lived in.
And the reality would break me.
“Try to get some rest, Katie.” She kissed my head and left the room.
I cried until I couldn’t cry anymore and then exhaustion took over.
I woke up and found Tanya sitting in the chair. She was talking to Sam.
“Katie,” he saw me awake. “You really have your own dragon?” He asked.
I looked at Tanya. She was here, meaning the king kept his deal of the bargain.
“How long have I been out?”
“About a day. You humans do sleep a lot, don’t you. I heard what you did, what he wanted you to do. Haven’t you listened to a thing I told you.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“I gave you my essence.”
“I didn’t ask for it.”
“Me either. Dammit Kate, what did you think would happen? That he would actually let you stay married. He is royal, you are not.”
“Yes, okay. Yes. I was that naive. I have lost everything Tanya, I have nothing to offer you.” I cried.
She got up and hugged me tight. “That’s not how it works kiddo. You are stuck with me for richer and poorer, till death do us part.”
“I’m not like that…”
“I didn’t mean it like that. Ewe.” She joked and my brother laughed.
“You can speak English.”
She shrugged. “So what, sue me. You will be okay. He has the essence, you have it too. A few decades is nothing when compared to what Robert and I gave you.”
“Everyone is free.”
“Yes, his father is now giving into all his demands. After he forced Bob and you out of his life. Albert doesn’t even care anymore or that is the word I got from Bob.”
“You’ve seen him.”
She nodded.
“Albert got what he wanted.”
“No Kate he didn’t. He lost you. He learned the hard way that not everything can be won with war and that sometimes sacrifices have to be made to get the things that will bring peace.”
I nodded.
“You have time. You will be with him one day again. When the old fart is gone.”
“He will still be married to Drizelda.”
“He will be king then. He will make new laws and break old ones.”
I nodded again. How long that would take I didn’t know.
The next few days everyone was talking about the royal wedding.
I tried to stay busy. I introduced Tanya to Tony. He could smell a mile away that she was a Chromatic dragon and listened with eagerness at the few words he pulled out of both Tanya and me about our connection. He said the same thing. How it was blasphemous at a stage and that he didn’t think he would be alive the day when something like it happened.
Tanya was helping out in the grocer too. It was open again as construction was taking place outside. Everyone was busy. I missed Maggy and wish that I could see her again.
The door chimed and I froze when I saw Drizelda waltzing in.
“I’ll take this one.” My mother said.
“I would like some of your lavender sweetwater. Albert absolutely love that stuff.”
“Sure, how many would you like.” My mother asked.
“My lady. I’m going to be your queen one day show some respect commoner. You can be glad that I still shop at this disgusting place. Everything you have so that I don’t have to come back again.”
“Of course, let me just do the accounting.”
“Accounting. Seriously. I’m going to be queen one day. What I want, I always get.” She looked at me.“Oh hi cindersoot.”
“Cinderwhat?” Tanya asked.
“Tanya,” my mother said.
“No, what is it that you wanted to say.” Drizelda pushed.
“I’m not afraid of you whoever you are.” she laughed. “I feel sorry for Albert.”
“He is your crown prince, whoever you are. Don’t be so informal with him.”
“Whoever I am. Sweetheart you have no idea who you are talking to.”
“Well you can’t be someone that important if you are working here.”
Tanya gasped.
“Tanya enough.” My mother said.
“I will eat you…”
“Enough,” I yelled and took her to the back.
“Sorry about that,” my mother’s voice said.
“Albert will hear about this, you have my word.” I heard her telling my mother as Tanya protested.
“He is marrying that.”
“Don’t remind me please.” I begged.
“His father has no idea what he is doing to him. I give that one day after he dies. Albert will be back for you.”
I shook my head and pushed back my tears.
I heard the doorbell chimed and I broke down in Tanya’s embrace.
“Shh, it’s going to be okay.”
The doorbell chimed again. I didn’t want to listen this time to who it was. I wished I could just sleep for a hundred years like sleeping Beauty. Tanya could be the dragon that would protect me until it was time for Albert to be free.
The storeroom door opened.
“Katie,” my mother came in. “There is someone here for you.”
I looked at her and saw the broad smile on her face.
Albert. I rushed past her and froze when I saw Goran.
“Hey Katie.” He smiled.
I sighed and closed my eyes but ran to him. I sort of broke down in his arms again.
He hugged me tight. “I warned you. I know his dad. They are all the same.”
“I should’ve listened to you.”
“Can we go somewhere private to talk?”
I nodded in his embrace and he let me go.
“Mom, is it okay…” I sniffed.
“Go, sweetheart.”
“Mrs Squires.” Goran bowed. “Tanya,” he said and I heard a small grunt coming from her.
We went outside and walked past men that were busy with construction.
“I heard Tanya finally made peace with you.”
“Yes, after I saved her life and she can speak English.”
He laughed. “I’m glad. For what it’s worth.”
I smiled. “What are you doing here.”
“You know what I’m doing here, Kate.”
“Goran?” I sighed.
“I know I’m not Al…”
The Andrew in the pond flushed through my mind.
“It’s not that. We can still be together.”
“The king won’t change his mind Kate.”
“When he is dead.”
“How long do you think it’s going to take.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Kate, you are going to give up the best years of your life.”
“We both have the essence, Goran. I can wait.”
“I don’t have the essence. You can make us both happy. I will die. She will die too.”
“I…” he put his finger on my lips.
“Think about it. You don’t have to be alone, Kate. I will take you in any form.”
I smiled.
He kissed me on the head, and his lips lingered there for a short while. “I’m sorry about the way his dad treated you. I warned him that he would do that.”
“I’ll think about it, okay.”
He let me go and walked back with me to the store.
We said goodbye in front of the store.
“Hey,” I called him back and he stopped. “How is Maggy.”
“She will be home soon, Kate. You’ll see, my brother’s tactic won’t work either.”
I didn’t nod. She was so sure that she would get her happily ever after too.
He waved and carried on walking. I walked into the store again back to my miserable life.
My eyes caught Tanya and for some reason I couldn’t breathe.
“Sweetheart,” my mom said. “What is…?”
It felt as if everything just dawned on me. What my life was going to be like. Years and years without Albert. I would have a boy and a girl. The boy now with Goran and the girls centuries from now with Al. I couldn’t breathe.
I rushed out the door and ran as fast as I could.
I didn’t look back.
I didn’t even pay any attention to the shrieks and screams of the villagers. I just ran. I didn’t want to think anymore, I didn’t want to feel this empty anymore. I didn’t want to love Albert the way I did. I just wanted to be far away from here.
I was lifted from the ground and flicked onto something hard. The wind was howling in my ears and when I opened my eyes I saw green scales.
“Where too.” Tanya asked me.
“Far away please.” I said and just held on for dear life.
ALBERT
Drizelda moved into the west wing with her wretched family. She was already talking my ears off.
“You are not even listening to a word I say. What is wrong with you?”
I looked at her with a blank stare. “Let’s get one thing straight, I’ll never love you. My heart belongs to someone else.”
“I don’t care. You will love me eventually.”
“No I won’t. This arrangement won’t last Drizelda.” I got up and left.
She didn’t follow, a miracle in itself.
I missed Katherine and I knew Goran was going to do everything in his power to woo her. To step in and do whatever it took to be in her life.
How long was I going to wait for her until we were finally going to be together.
“Son a word.” My father said but I just kept walking. I didn’t care about his words anymore either.
He took the two things that mattered the most in my life away from me.
I was a prisoner in my own castle and went to my room.
“What did you expect Louis?” My mother said when he complained that I was walking around like a ghost.
“I will not have it.”
“Have you ever thought that none of this is about you? You know how he felt about the Chromatic dragons. You ignored it. You always ignore him.”
“Don’t tell me…”
“What, how to raise your son? I raised him. Delilah raised him. You did nothing, you couldn’t even look at him.”
I tuned them out. I didn’t want to listen to their bickering anymore. I was so tired. That was going to be my life in a few years. Stuck in a marriage I didn’t want to be in.
He was no different from his father.
The days ticked by and Helmut sent word that his father had budged.
I rolled up the note. He had Maggy, but I couldn’t have Katherine.
There was a meeting with Caleb’s and Helmut’s dad. I listened in from my room.
“How could you let him marry a commoner?”
“He is my son.” Magnus said. “I’m not going to let him be unhappy, not like that. Do you think you showed Al? He is going to hate you, Louis, the way you hated your father. She was his Guinevere.”
“Don’t say her name.”
Guinevere, that was her name. I never even knew that.
“Helmut will rule from his heart because he will be happy. I don’t care what that girl is, she is his choice. We won’t always be here Louis. It’s not too late to change your mind.”
“I can’t.”
“You are just as stubborn as your father was. You are going to lose him and he will change everything we worked hard for because of his hatred for you.”
“He’ll get over it.”
“She is the fifth woman out of the Sacred Cavern. You know what that means. She will be queen one day. The only question is will you live to see that day.”
My father didn’t say anything and I tuned them out.
Drizelda was like a yapping dog, annoying the living hell out of my mother and was starting to annoy my father too.
How could he force my hand to marry that.
She was so cruel to the staff. Made them clean stupid things and do stupid errands that were wasting their time. She humiliated them for her own pleasure.
Soon she would try to order me around like that too.
But my father still didn’t cancel the wedding.
On the day of the wedding, I got dressed in my prince’s robes. I felt numb. He didn’t even let me say goodbye to Katherine. Goran probably got what he wanted as he wasn’t here either.
Helmut came.
He was happy since Maggy was still at his side.
“He’s not here, is he?”
Helmut shook his head.
“Is he with her.”
“Albert don’t.”
“I need to know.”
“It’s hard on her, okay. Maggy saw her yesterday. The fact that my father budged and yours didn’t, she is taking it hard.”
“Goran?”
“He’s there for her. You know Goran. Always wants what you have.”
Tears glistened in my eyes.
“You have the essence she has it too.”
“Oh and what am I going to do if your brother gets it, huh? I’ll never be with her, Helmut. You know that.”
He closed his eyes. “He won’t. I promise you, he won’t. I’ll make sure of it.”
“This is not how I foresaw things.” I sniffed.
“Seriously Albert, you didn’t? We all knew that your marriage to her wouldn’t last. At least you had her while it did.”
“Why does he hate me so much?”
“He doesn’t hate you, he just shows it in a fucked up way. I really wish there was another way. Maggy absolutely loathes Drizelda.”
“She’s here.”
“Of course she is. It’s not that you didn’t fight hard, Albert. She was just too damn perfect right up until the end. She would be the perfect queen, one day.”
“Let’s just do this and get it over with.” I walked to the door. My heart was breaking as she would be with Goran now. He knew how to reel vulnerable women in and she would marry him which would be the biggest mistake of her life.
I waited at the front. My father and mother were on their thrones.
The wedding march played and tears filled my eyes as I just stared at the carpet.
Drizelda stood right next to me. Not saying a word. The priest started with the ceremony. I drowned out his words.
“Stop.” My father said and my gaze shifted to his. “I need a word, Albert.”
“Seriously now.” Drizelda asked.
My father glared at her and she lowered her head.
“Please son.”
I got up and walked to my father. He led me out of the church to where the candles were lit.
He closed the door as the guests started to twitter.
He rested against the closed doors and sighed. “I can’t let you marry that wretched girl.”
Was I hearing right? “Excuse me.”
He turned around and for the first time in a long time, he looked at me with compassion. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“What are you saying?”
“I love you son, more than I should and I know that I haven’t been showing it to you the right way. Your mother begged me not to tell you, but I can’t keep this secret anymore.”
“Tell me what.”
“I didn’t do anything when they executed my first love. They gave me a choice.” Tears welled up in his eyes. “A choice no one should ever have to make.”
“You choose your crown.”
“No,” he yelled and a tear rolled down his cheek. All these years and he still loved her. He looked at me.
“I chose my son. She chose you without thinking about it. It was her or you.”
What was my father saying?
“I couldn’t look at you because you look just like her.”
“What are you saying.”
“My brother was the crown prince. He was married to the woman you called mother. I was married to Gwendolyn. We had you, but my stupid brother was badly injured in a hunting accident and I didn’t want my father to discover what your mother was, so I let him die.”
“You knew what she was.”
“Of course I knew. I always knew. The heart can’t choose who you are going to love. But then you got sick. You didn’t have a dragon form, and she healed you when no physician could. His right hand saw it, he loathed dragons. He told him what she could do.
They immediately arrested her, and he knew how to save the treaty he had with Magdel’s family. She was supposed to be queen, but with me already married and my brother dead, the crown would go to me. The treaty was lost.”
“He did this for a fucking alliance.” I was so angry all of a sudden.
My father nodded as his shoulders shook. I went to hug him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. What happened after he took her into custody?”
“He gave her a potion which made her change. The question was simple, her or you. The answer wasn’t.” He sniffed. “I was forced to marry my brother’s wife after they erased Gwen out of our history.” For the first time he spoke freely about her to me. He touched my face. “You are a lot like her. Always wanted dragons to be free. I’m sorry. It was just so hard to look at you. I do not want to be like my father, Albert. If this girl is who you love, then marry her.”
I grabbed my father again. “Thank you father. What about the wedding that is busy taking place.”
“It’s my doing. I’ll sort it out. Go get her.”
Bob appeared in the hallway.
I looked at my father.
“And your dragon is pretty cool too.”
I smiled at him and then ran to Robert.
“Please tell me you know where she is?”
“I have kept taps on her. Tried to speak to her a few times but what good would that have done. We need to hurry, Al. She is about to marry Goran.”
“What?”
“I’ll just carry you in my paw. Don’t want to ruin the royal attire.” He shifted and grabbed me with his claws.
Her father’s ring was around my neck on a chain and I plucked it off.
I put it back on my ring finger as Bob flew me toward wherever Goran and Katherine were.
Please let me be on time. That’s all I ask.
KATIE
I kept hearing Al’s voice calling for me to wait. How long was I going to have to wait for him.
I was standing for a second time in front of a priest. I told Goran not to do the vows part, I had nothing to vow to him, but he wouldn’t listen. I had given my vow to Albert, who was marrying Drizelda today.
“If there is anyone present that has any reason these two should not to be wed, speak up now.”
“Wait,” Albert’s voice was loud and clear.
I closed my eyes as guests all gasped.
“Kate,” he said and I turned around. Everyone was bowing to him.
“Albert?” Goran said, sounding upset as he walked up to Albert.
Al’s fist came out of nowhere and he punched Goran in the face. He went down and covered his nose.
“I love you like a brother, but she is not yours.” He said.
“Albert.” I sounded shocked.
He looked at me. “It’s over. I told you to fight woman.” He grabbed me tight against his chest.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Stopping you from making the worst mistake of your life.”
“Dammit, Al. Seriously.” Goran yelled again.
Robert kicked Goran and he was on his back.
“Could you stop punching your best friend?” I yelled at Albert.
“He’s not my best friend. You are.” He went on one knee and started to laugh.
“I don’t have a ring.” He looked at me. “But I have a heart, and a soul and my body and it’s all yours. Marry me Kate, this time, forever.”
My lower lip started to vibrate.
“For real.”
“Forever.”
I nodded and he grabbed me tight and twirled me around. He kissed me hard and long.
I broke the kiss. “Wait what about your father.”
He chuckled. “He finally came to his senses.”
“He did?” I smiled.
Albert smiled too, sighed and nodded. “He wants to meet you, and this time he promises not to use the word ‘commoner’.”
I laughed as I kissed him again.
He put me down and Tanya slapped him in the face.
“Can you all just stop, please?” I looked at all of them.
“If you ever break her heart again, I’ll kill you.” She said and walked toward the clearing. She changed into a dragon and flew away.
“Still the same Tanya.”
“Different. She has feelings now. Deep ones.” I said.
Albert laughed. “As long as she knows I don’t share.”
