The Princess, Her Dragon, and Their Prince by L. Rowyn

Author:L. Rowyn [Rowyn, L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy
Publisher: Delight in Books
Published: 2019-04-18T00:00:00+00:00

962 Sun 7-10

Dyaneli would rather have returned to Zkulode, to be the one to tell Cherish she had defeated Mjalon, to claim her prize from Cherish’s parents. Part of her still feared betrayal by the prince, that he would present himself as Mjalon’s slayer. The message his people told him they had sent was truthful, but how would humans receive it? Was that even the true message? The prince had been unconscious when the messenger left, but he could have briefed his retinue before the event, and warned them against saying anything to betray their true intent in her presence.

The prince had done nothing to warrant her suspicion – but Mjalon had not suspected his true purpose, either. Dyaneli knew that Prince Eclipse was far better at deceiving than she was at perceiving it.

She tried to calm her fears with the reassurance that the prince would not dare to attempt such a theft. The Jewels had needed a dragon to defeat Mjalon: what, would they find a third to defeat her?

Cherish would not betray her, no matter what Zkulode, Prince Eclipse, or Cherish’s parents said. Even if King Victor and Queen Trust refused to honor their agreement, Cherish would. No mere human could keep her from her princess now.

Given all this, Dyaneli knew Cherish would want her to remain with the prince, protect him and his entourage from unrest, and defend Mereni against any traitorous elements from within.

Her comprehension of the politics of the present situation was poor, she knew. She felt as if it should have been simple. The Jewels had ruled before Mjalon attacked. Mjalon was dead now. The Jewels would resume ruling. Everything should go return to how it had been, and the status quo ante had not posed any particular dangers to the Jewels or their allies.

But having listened to Cherish’s discussion of kingdom affairs, even Dyaneli knew that there were more problems in Mereni’s government than Mjalon. The prince’s people were nervous, not just around Dyaneli but around the Merenirs. Dyaneli had stated her intentions, but it was as if her motives were too simple for them to comprehend. Merenirs fretted that Zkulode planned to annex Mereni, or that Dyaneli intended to rule in Mjalon’s stead. She couldn’t tell who among them had betrayed the Jewels from the start, and who might be opportunistic, or afraid that Dyaneli and Zkulode did not mean to restore the former order.

Humans made everything more complicated than it had to be.

That was, to be fair, part of their charm.

The next few days were uncomfortable and tedious, but not difficult. Dyaneli placed traps of her own about Mjalon’s former lair, to discourage looters, although the human guards of Mereni had already been protecting it.

Under the care of his flesh-infuser, the prince recovered from his injuries quickly. By the third day, Violet even allowed him to engage in limited activity, though they had a peculiar argument over how much activity that should be. Violet meant “walking around the fort and sitting in a chair for meals.

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