Playing With Fire

by Adrienne Woods et al.

  The way he looked at me with lust and that sadistic snide in his smile.

  Rumours were that his mistresses did not have it easy either, the way he bound them and tortured them, it was pure sadism.

  But none of them ever said anything.

  Pappa told me that there were at one stage rumours too that he wanted me to become his mistress, but his father had said no. Thank heavens that pappa was on his council otherwise, I probably wouldn’t be the lady that I was today.

  “Gwen,” my father spoke softly and I knew what he was going to say. “Remember, keep quiet, only speak to the queen when she addresses you and always but always keep the scales away, no matter what atrocities come out of their mouths about us.”

  “Yes father.”

  Father has drilled it into me so many times.

  I couldn’t even think what King Alexander would do if he ever discovered that father was a dragon.

  It would be seen as a betrayal of the worst kind.

  The carriage pulled into huge gates of the castle.

  I hated the castle and its dungeons. The cries that came out of them left me numerous times with sleepless nights and nightmares.

  The carriage came to a halt. I always looked first for Charles but there was no sign of him and I climbed out after mother.

  Father retreated immediately with huge strides toward the castle’s entrance while mother and I went to the garden where all of Paegeia’s elite women would join the queen for her high tea.

  Gossip was one of the highlights of her life. Her high teas were all about gossiping.

  Mother hated gossip, as did I. But we had to participate to keep our secret.

  “Your highness,” we both curtseyed in front of the queen and went to take a seat around one of the tables that was situated in the garden.

  It was really beautiful here, but I could feel evil emanating from the dungeon.

  The queen greeted us both and then we were taken to our seats which were a few chairs away from the queen. She was fond of my mother, especially the remedies she made. Mother wasn’t really great at remedies. She was like me. A silver dragon that had the ability to heal someone, calm someone down, or just put them to sleep with a touch.

  Mother always waited for her to drink the tonic before she gave her a comforting, loving squeeze to the arm or a touch, so that her healing could start.

  My grandmother Delilah, used to tell me just how powerful our touches were. We were able to heal the plague, heal wounds and scars, even heal someone that was on the brink of death.

  But it would reveal our secret too, that all dragons have human bodies.

  The queen’s guests chattered away, and I drowned it out until it was a slight buzz, like bees pollinating a garden.

  I looked over my shoulder and stared at the grey walls of the castle and the foundation it was built on. I tuned in and tried really hard to listen, knowing well that it was a waste of time. Deep below was where they kept the dragons. Where they tortured them to get whatever pleasure they wanted.

  Mother pumped me hard in the side and I looked back, and down at the napkin on my lap.

  She hated it when I stared.

  I wished I could help it, just ignore what was going on down there, but I couldn’t.

  My entire being felt the presence of whatever dragons were trapped between its walls.

  I was glad that the queen misinterpreted my stares as fear. As many humans feared those dungeons. Feared that the walls couldn’t hold the creatures, that they would break out and ruin the queen’s affairs.

  But it wasn’t that. It was the evil that was being done to those creatures inside their cages, to my kind.

  Evil that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

  When was it going to stop?

  High tea was different today. The queen introduced us to Magdel Gonzales. Her family lived on the other side and she was betrothed to Charles Malone, the crown prince. She was of royalty and was from the kingdom of Spain. I knew that King Alexander had wanted a truce with Spain for a long time. As it stood now if Paegeia was under attack, only France would help. Even though they would never be able to leave the magic wall once they went through i.

  Dragons were the only ones that could leave, but father refused to give up Paegeia. Even if it meant that he had to hide as a human.

  I missed my dragon form.

  Magdel was beautiful. She had kind eyes and I could see some fear inside them too.

  Fear of our world.

  Fear of the dragons.

  Half of us were harmless. Our kind was called Metallics. Many Metallic dragons had served humans for thousands of years, to better their lives, to heal the sick, it was even said that a long time ago dragons taught humans to speak and read and write.

  And look where it got us.

  Being slaughtered.

  It was the Chromatics that King Alexander had to worry about.

  Chromatics were darker than us Metallics. Their fire, acid, and lightning caused havoc, they hated the humans as much as the humans hated dragons.

  They were just protecting themselves and their colonies.

  If only the hunting could stop, they would see that a truce between humans and dragons could exist.

  My eyes found Magdel’s numerous times as the queen talked about her family as if they were commoners.

  I felt bad for her and wondered if she could understand a word of what the queen said.

  She was beautiful, had fair hair, which mother said was not common for people from where she was from. People from Spain usually had beautiful dark hair with darker complexions.

  She was sure beautiful.

  She seemed kind too. Maybe she would be good for Charles, but then again Charles was dominating.

  He would change her before she would change him.

  Queens needed to be fierce, adamant and be able to assist their husbands in decision making.

  But to the humans, that was not how it worked.

  The women had no say, not even the queen.

  The men finally emerged out of the castle and I could see in father’s eyes, the darkness that clouded onto him. King Alexander’s meetings were always dark and evil.

  Charles came toward the high tea and his mother was smiling from ear to ear.

  She couldn’t stop boasting about how many dragons he had killed lately, or captured for his father and men to toy with.

  I could feel his eyes on me and I looked away.

  “Guinevere,” Charles said.

  I bowed my head softly to him. “My Lord.” The smile wasn’t real, but I had to pretend to love my crown prince.

  “I haven’t seen you here in such a long time.”

  I felt bad for Magdel since he spoke like he was sweet on me.

  I wouldn’t dare to be in his company.

  “I was occupied, my sincere apologies.”

  He smiled again and slowly turn his gaze to Magdel. His smile slowly disappeared.

  She held her head up high and I hoped she wouldn’t take her wrath out on me.

  He had no class. I didn’t care if he was the crown prince or not.

  “Oh Louie,” the queen said and I looked at her.

  Her gaze was turned in the direction of her younger son who was walking toward the high tea.

  He was the opposite of Charles. He was leaner and had fair hair where Charles had dark hair and dark eyes, Louie’s eyes almost seemed kind. They were blue.

  “Ladies,” he greeted us all and mother smiled softly.

  He sure was handsome.

  “Oh what happened?”

  He smiled. “Why on earth would you ask me that, Mother?” He spoke kindly to her.

  “Your eyes betray you, darling.”

  He huffed, still a soft smile lingering in the corner of his lips.

  “What is said in father’s meeting room, stays in father’s meeting room. Maybe you should sit in from time to time.” He bowed to his mother, kissed the hand, that she was extending toward
him, softly and let it go even softer.

  He was kind to his mother, nothing like Charles.

  “You are a wuss.” Charles teased him.

  “If you want to call it that, brother, so be it. I just don’t see the fun in torturing something that can’t even defend itself.” He mumbled and walked away after he had greeted us all.

  I looked at mother. A royal that doesn’t have the love or lust for killing dragons.

  There might be hope after all.

  “You will be spinning another story if they burn you to a crisp.” Charles yelled after him.

  “Come now darling, let him be.”

  “What is that school teaching him? Next he will discover a love for the beasts.” Charles hissed. “Mark my words, it’s only a matter of time before they rise up and burn this whole world to ashes.”

  He walked away.

  No one dared to ask the queen about her youngest son. Any sign of curiosity when it came to dragons would be seen as treason. But I had to admit, admiration for the younger prince was one of the things that I now felt.

  Maybe there was hope after all.

  * * *

  LOUIE

  I hated being back. I hated the palace, hated what father was becoming. He was starting to lose it with the dragons.

  Sure they could not be reasoned with but to torture them like that, for what purpose? It didn’t make any sense and by the looks of it, he had instilled that same hatred in Charles.

  What had happened to Charles?

  When we were young, he wasn’t like that. He was adventurous, kind, even humorous. Now he was an idiot. Couldn’t wait to please father, to show him what a great king he would be one day.

  He wanted it so badly.

  One of my tutors had asked me if I had any jealousy toward my brother and I had laughed out loud. It was the funniest thing, but I was the only one laughing.

  Being king was one of the things I had never ever wanted.

  Yes, he got more attention from father as he needed to learn how to run a kingdom, that was not easy, but as I grew older, I started to see things around me that none of them wanted to see.

  I had my freedom.

  I could marry anyone I wanted, as long as she was nobility.

  Charles was forced to marry a royal princess that came from the other side.

  She was nice and kind and Charles had no idea what an idiot he was being by treating her the way he had since she got here.

  She was great queen material, but all Charles saw was that her beauty didn’t match his.

  He was so vain.

  No, he had his heart set on someone else and he begged father for a long time to change his mind.

  She was at the high tea today. I had seen a glimpse of his Guinevere, but she obviously wasn’t as interested in him as he made it out to be. To be honest, it seemed that she loathed him a little.

  She was beautiful, with long blonde curls. She was tall with a slender figure and big soft blue eyes.

  My mother wasn’t off the mark when she asked me what was wrong today. My eyes had been a dead giveaway.

  They changed with my mood and the weather.

  On rainy days they would become grey, when it snowed, bright blue and when it was summer and spring, green as the grass. When I was happy they would be green too and upset, really upset, bright blue.

  They had every reason to be bright blue. The meeting was appalling. The things that came out of father’s mouth were pure cruelty.

  Paegeia wasn’t just the humans’ world. It belonged to all creatures.

  That was why the wall had been erected, enhanced with magic to keep the inhabitants safe. What happened to those days.

  Father had already gotten rid of magic, now he wanted to get rid of the dragons too.

  I was in the confinement of my room staring down at mother’s high tea.

  I watched how the ladies were chasing a pot belly pig. Mother had wrapped a ruby around its neck.

  Her entertainment for the afternoon.

  My eyes darted to one of the girls, Guinevere, who wasn’t participating in mother’s little game. She was talking to Magdel.

  She really was beautiful to look at, and kind too or at least that is what she looked like from the window.

  I couldn’t stop staring at her.

  It was as if she was magic herself. Maybe there was a reason for me to come home more often. If I could talk to her, discover who she truly was, she could become a reason the palace might not be as dark as it felt now.

  Chapter 2

  GUINEVERE

  * * *

  High tea was finally over and the drive home was silent. I knew father would talk to mother about the meeting later on.

  “How was Charles?” father asked me and I closed my eyes.

  “He was a boar, sorry, father.”

  “I heard about what happened,” he sighed.

  “What happened?” mother was all inquisitive now.

  “It was nothing. His brother came to my aid.”

  “What happened?” She hissed softly.

  “What always happens. I can’t be alone anywhere at the castle, mother. He has no respect for any woman he wants.” I felt like crying.

  “I will speak to the king.” Father tried.

  “Don’t. Like I said, his brother came to my aid.”

  “I’ll remember to thank him next time.” Father simply said.

  I didn’t even want to think about it. If his brother hadn’t been close by...

  “So what upset you today at the meeting.”

  “Later,” father said.

  “I don’t know why we don’t just leave, Philip. The king is getting madder and madder. His hatred is pure evil.”

  “It’s the curse consuming him. He won’t last long.”

  “You say that as if it is a good thing. Charles will take over and it’s like they are getting worse and worse as the throne gets passed down.”

  Father didn’t reply, he simply looked out the window of the carriage.

  I wondered if he missed his other form as much as I did.

  I struggled to get Charles’ stench off me and I kept seeing the images flashing behind closed eyes.

  He had tried again this afternoon when I went to find the garderobe to relieve myself.

  He had cornered me and spoke sweet nothings in my ear.

  The way his hands roamed all over my body. It made me want to throw up. I was so afraid to deny him but thanks to his brother, Louie, it was short lived.

  Charles didn’t appreciate it much.

  A part of me liked prince Louie more and wondered if there was more to him. If it was just an act, or if he truly despised whatever his father said in that meeting.

  I didn’t even want to hear what father was going to tell mother later on in the privacy of their room.

  I just needed to concentrate on my studies and maybe, just maybe he would let me go to the other side.

  It couldn’t be as bad as it was here.

  I missed the night sky. I missed the wind beneath my wings. But it wasn’t safe. Not with Charles loving the kill so much.

  We reached the manor and I went to my room.

  I wanted to read my favorite book and just get lost in its pages, to forget about today, forget about Charles, but I couldn’t.

  It wasn’t Charles this time that was on my mind. It was Louie.

  My curiosity about him was growing fast. Really fast.

  I wished I could read minds to find out who he truly was.

  I knew I shouldn’t and it would only worry father and mother more if my curiosity grew into something more.

  I should just forget about him and focus on my studies.

  Two days later a royal messenger came.

  One of the ladies delivered the message to father. He was going to leave in the next fortnight to go on a mission for the king.

  I still didn’t know what he had to do but father had never been this quiet before, so I could only assume it was
something he didn’t even want to talk about.

  Father tore the parchment open and his face looked numb. His eyes grew wider as he looked up and I could see the fear in his eyes as he handed the letter to mother.

  Mother’s gaze shifted down the words of the letter.

  I was dying to know what it said.

  She looked up at me. The same fear in her eyes mimicked father’s.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked.

  My gaze shifted to my father. He didn’t even want to look at me.

  “The palace has summoned you.”

  “No, you know how I feel about Charles. Mother, please.” I looked at father. “You can’t make me go.”

  “It’s a royal summons Gwen, and it’s not Charles.”

  I stared at mother. “What do you mean it’s not Charles?”

  “He is getting married.” Father said. “The king would never allow it, Gwen. It’s his brother, Louie.”

  What? I now understood father’s fears. Louie was just as curious about me as I was about him.

  “It’s the king’s seal. Not the prince. He has spoken to Alexander, meaning he had already approved of this courtship.”

  “Courtship, father!”

  “You have no choice Gwen. Neither do I nor your mother. You need to make the prince dislike you, and fast too, sweetheart.”

  I started to struggle to breathe. This damn face of mine. So many young humans had tried to court me, but father had always said no. If they discovered what we were, they wouldn’t just send me to the dungeons, but father and mother too. Not to mention Delilah.

  We had gotten kicked out of our colony a long time ago. I had just gotten my human form.

  My grandmother, Delilah, had been, and still was, working at the palace as a nanny for Louie and Charles. She tried to hide the essence flowing in her veins now, but she was still fairly young for her age.

  I could ask her about Louie, maybe put mother and father’s minds at ease, she knew him the best.

  “Speak to Delilah and find out what Louie’ intentions truly are. What sort of a man he is. She should be able to assist in this matter.”

  Mother nodded.

  “It will be fine,” father tried to ease my mind but it wasn’t working as a part of me dreaded meeting with him, but another part wanted to find out who he truly was.