“Not yet,” she said, unsure about the direction the conversation just took. “I was going to tell him when he got home tonight.”
“I see.” Done with the cleaning, he was waiting for the skin to dry. After a few seconds he grabbed the new gauze and began to wrap it around her arm, still as gentle as ever, although the tone of his voice had harshened. “Well, he won’t be happy about this. Not one bit.”
Amelia’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why should he care?”
The doctor laughed, softly. “That’s just who he is. Somebody that cares. Cares a little too much sometimes if you ask me.”
“Then I won’t tell him about the infection,” said Amelia. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. And I’ll be careful, I promise. I’ll still wash it every day and if you give me enough bandages to last me a while, everything should be fine.”
Ivan nodded. “I suppose that could be alright.” He sighed as he tied off the new bandage. “I just don’t understand why you’re leaving. He would find you a job here, something to do, if you asked. He loves helping people, obviously.”
“So what?” said Amelia. “I’d just leave my life in District Eight behind and start a new one here?”
“Why not?” He put his things back in his bag, leaving out a large stack of fresh gauze and a bottle of pills. He handed them to her. “Take one of these pills in the morning for seven days. Don’t skip any of them. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” He closed the clasp of his bag and stuck out a hand. “It was nice to meet you. Call me in a week and give me a progress update, or call me sooner if your pain increases or it seems the infection is not going away.”
“Okay,” said Amelia. “Thank you.” She shook his hand and he left without another word.
Amelia felt sleepy after the visit with the doctor. She went back to her room and crawled into bed. She was asleep within seconds of laying her head down on the pillow.
The sound of knuckles softly wrapping on her door woke Amelia from her much needed nap. It was a strange sensation, having her own room, and especially having someone respect her privacy enough to knock first before barging in.
“Come in,” she called out. She sat up and rubbed some of the sleep from her eyes.
The door opened, slowly, and Eldan walked in carefully and quietly, as if still trying not to wake her. “Sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to wake you up?”
Amelia yawned and stretched her arms above her head. “That’s fine.” She smiled. “I’m glad you did.” She stood up and looked at her wound. This time the bandage was still white, meaning she hadn’t started bleeding again. “Your doctor did a good job getting me all fixed up.”
“I’m glad,” said Eldan. “I was happy to hear you ended up calling him.”
Amelia raised her eyebrows. “Did he call you?”
Eldan looked down at his feet and swam his arms behind his back. “I may have called him.” He rocked his weight from one foot to the other. “I wanted to see if he’d seen you and if he thought you were going to be okay. I must’ve gotten him on the phone just a few minutes after he left here.”
“I see.” Amelia walked into the bathroom to splash some water on her face. “Did he say anything else?” she asked after turning the water off.
“He just said you should be healed up in about a week,” said Eldan. “And he told me to make sure you wash the wound twice a day and take ––”
“One of the pills every morning, I know, I know.” Her anxiety over telling the Prince she was going to leave started to melt into anger, as she felt now both him and the doctor were infantilizing her. “I’m an adult. I can take care of myself.”
Eldan stared at her with confused, hurt eyes. “I know that,” he said. “I didn’t mean to insinuate otherwise. I should be going.” He started to leave. “I didn’t mean to bother you.”
“No, wait,” said Amelia. He stopped and turned back towards her. “I didn’t mean to be short with you. You’ve done so much, been so nice to me. I should be thanking you, over and over again, for everything.”
The Prince waved the suggestion off. “No need to thank me. It was no trouble.”
“It might not have been any trouble for you,” said Amelia. “But it meant a lot to me. I so appreciate everything you’ve done, and I don’t know how on Earth I am ever going to find a way to repay you, but I’ll figure it out. I promise.”
Eldan laughed. “Seriously, it’s not a big deal.” It was hard to tell if the Prince was blushing, because of the color of his skin, but there definitely seemed to be a reddening in his cheeks. “I’m just glad I could help. Would you care for something to eat? I could have my cooks start on dinner early.”
Amelia shook her head. “No, that’s alright. I’ve been eating all day.” She sifted through the words in her vocabulary, trying to find the best way to explain that she needed to go back home to her sad, cruel life, probably never to see the Prince again.
“A walk then,” he suggested before she could speak. “We could go for a walk through the gardens. Or we could go to town, walking around Meldania. I have a proposition I’d like to talk to you about.”
The word proposition gave Amelia some pause. She thought of the “proposition” made by shifter males to many of her female friends. It was, on the surface, a proposition of marriage, but at its core, it really just meant the shifter wanted a human he could always keep around for sex and status, and in return, the human woman was given protection and means. But Eldan wasn’t like that, at least, he didn’t seem to be. And if the proposition ended up being something romantic or sexual in nature, Amelia could always say no.
Besides, if she went on a walk with him, that could buy her some time to figure out how to break the news to him. It wasn’t like she had to be home before dinner or anything –– chances are her parents haven’t even noticed she’d been gone.
“Sure,” she said. “A walk sounds nice.”
The gardens surrounding Eldan’s mansion were stunning. Amelia stopped at every new plant and flower, pestering the Prince with endless questions about each and every one. He didn’t most of the answers, seeing as he wasn’t in charge of the gardens, but he tried his best and promised he would inquire with the gardeners and get back to her with better answers eventually.
“It was my dad who designed these gardens,” he said as the two of them sat down on a bench near one of the fountains. “He always loved being outside.”
“Your note said you went to see him today?” said Amelia. “Where was he? Why doesn’t he live here?”
“He used to,” said Eldan. “But recently he’s fallen quite ill actually. He’s staying in a facility of sorts, for people who are dying.”
“Oh.” Amelia looked down at her lap and picked some lint off her pant leg. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s alright,” he said, in a voice that seemed anything but alright. “He lived a good life. Anyway.” He cleared his throat. “I wanted to talk to you about your plans.”
“My plans?”
“Yes, your plans for the future.”
Amelia frowned. “I’m sorry, I still don’t understand.”
“I hope this doesn’t offend you, but I had a few members of my security staff run a sort of… background check on you.” He looked at her, clearly waiting for some sort of visual cue as to how she felt about that revelation. She kept frowning, prompting him to continue. “I didn’t mean to pry, but seeing as I was letting you stay in my home, I thought it might be best to make sure you weren’t some wanted murderer or something.” He laughed, awkwardly, then powered through. “My team hacked into some government registry in District Eight, found out that you work in a nursery there and that you are unmarried and have no children. Is that correct?”
Amelia felt oddly ashamed, having her pathetic life laid out for her like that. She nodded and put her head down. “Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.”
“That’s great!”
Amelia scoff
ed. “Is it?”
“No, er, I’m sorry,” Eldan back tracked. “I didn’t mean like… Your life sounds interesting. I would love to hear more about it sometime.” He sighed. She could tell he was looking at her, but she didn’t return the gaze. “I mean it’s great because I’d like to offer you a job.”
“What kind of job?”
“A job working here, in Meldania. We have a nursery, with both shifter and human babies alike, and they are always looking for another pair of helping hands. You could live in the mansion, in the guest room… until you get your own place, that is.”
Ameila shook her head. “I don’t understand. Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why any of it?” She stood up and walked to the fountain. She put her fingertips into the water and caressed the water’s surface. “Why are you doing all this? It’s one thing to spring a girl from her captors. It’s another to give her food, shelter, and an all around better life.” She heard the Prince stand and approach her, slowly. “I just don’t get it.”
“I thought you might need some help, and since I am in a position to provide it, I thought I might as well offer it.”
“So it’s pity?” She laughed. “Of course you pity me. I pity me.” She was starting to yell. She splashed at the water angrily, then brought her hand up to her mouth, biting on her knuckle to keep from crying. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Eldan sit down on the edge of the fountain. “If you don’t want to accept my offer, fine. I don’t care. I just thought it was the best solution. You’re going to run into a lot of trouble trying to get your job back and get access to District Eight canteens and public spaces without your ID tag… right?” She didn’t answer. “So, I thought by offering you an alternative, I was helping. I can see now I have offended you. I’m sorry.”
Silence followed. She sat down after a while and finally looked the Prince in the eye.
“Can you help me get a new ID tag?” she asked.
His forehead creased as he contemplated. “Possibly. I can get my guys working on it. But it could take a while.”
“I’ll stay here and work in the nursery until then.” She spoke matter-of-factly, hoping not to encourage any sort of emotional response from the Prince. She wanted him to understand that she was not accepting his pity, she did not need him. Rather, she was only doing this because it made the most sense given her current situation. “It’s what makes the most sense,” she said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, believe it or not I’m starting to get hungry again. I am going to get some food and go to bed. I will start at the nursery first thing tomorrow.”
She stood up and smiled a stern smile in Eldan’s direction. He stared back at her with delight and bewilderment. “Goodnight, Prince Eldan.”
She turned to leave but he called out to her. “There’s one more thing you should know,” he said.
“What?”
“My mother and my brother have been on vacation, but they will be coming home tomorrow.”
“And?”
His eyes left hers and went to the fountain water. “Nothing. Nevermind. You will meet them at breakfast.”
“Fine.”
“Goodnight, Amelia!”
Not feeling like she needed to repeat her “goodnight” she left without another word.
5
The Royal Family
It had been three weeks since Amelia had arrived at Prince Eldan’s apartment, and she was one more snide comment from his mother away from packing up and moving out. The woman was insufferable, and it didn’t help that Eldan’s older brother, Lendir, was constantly saying disgusting things and making eyes at her.
If it hadn’t been for her work in the nursery, and her time spent with Eldan, Amelia would have already left. So far, she was loving her work. The people at the Meldania nursery were caring and attentive in a way no one was in the District Eight nursery. And the parents! The parents were a dream! They were always saying please and thank you, asking Amelia if there is anything else she needs to help better care for their children, and she’d already been given three bonuses from three different families. She’d never felt so proud and excited about her work, or her life.
Eldan was great too. He walked with her every to and from work every day. The building where he conducted most of his stately business was just a few blocks from the nursery. They talked a lot. She’d learned that his father, King Ernad, was always the moral compass of the family. He wanted to rule Meldania with a gentle touch, and was accepting of humans, if not downright in love with them. Eldan’s mother, Queen Clarin, on the other hand, had different plans for the future of the Meldanian dragons.
Eldan was cryptic when he talked politics with Amelia, but she started to understand some of what was going on based on what little he told her. Marrying those few tid-bits with Clarin’s general, and not subtle, hatred of Amelia and all other humans she comes in contact with, really brought the Queen’s social views to light.
“But can she actually do anything?” Amelia asked Eldan one day when they were walking back from work. The sun was just beginning to set and the sky over Meldania was an orangish-pinkish-yellow that really emphasized the stunningness of the Prince’s skin tone. The subject of his work day had come up, and he had, in a brief out of character moment, called his mother out for some of the ridiculous new policy changes she had suggested at their council meeting. “Can she make any decisions about the land without your father’s permission? Isn’t the King in charge?”
“Not in Meldania,” Eldan explained. “We have a monarchy in which King and Queen hold the same amount of power. That being said, it is important my parents show a united front. It wouldn’t look good if they were disagreeing or going behind each other's backs.” He kicked a rock along the path with his foot. “But now that dad is no longer in a position to rule adequately, who knows what she might do…” He trailed off.
“Have you asked her about––”
“I received an update from the security team who is working on getting you a new ID tag,” he said. “They think they could have it ready in another week or two.”
Amelia was hurt by his complete disregard for her next question, but she had known even in asking her first question that she was stepping over a familial boundary. “That’s good news,” she said. “Tell them I say thank you.”
“Will do.” He smiled. “So how was your day?”
“Mine was great!” Amelia beamed. “Jonathan did the cutest thing. He’s the human boy I was telling you about the other day. He and I have been working on learning fractions, he’s gotten much better now that there’s a human around to teach him. No offense, but you dragons have no idea how the human brain works.”
The Prince laughed. “No offense taken. I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”
“I really am. And I think I’m getting the hang of working with the dragon kids as well. They ask so many questions though. They want to know all about humans and about where I come from. Matron Ilda thinks I’m too nice to them, that I shouldn’t answer all of their questions or let them talk during quiet time, but I’ve always been bad at disciplining kids. Especially when they are just expressing their natural curiosity.”
“That’s good,” he said. “It’s really good to hear actually. If we are ever going to have a truly peaceful and equal society, in which humans and dragons can coexist, we need to make sure the kids of Meldania are taught to be tolerant.”
Amelia nodded. “You’ve got a lot of hopes and dreams for this place, don’t you?”
Eldan looked at her. It was the first time she noticed how astonishingly colorful his eyes worth. Usually, they just looked brown, but in this lighting she could see flecks of gold around the irises. “I do,” he said.
She smiled and grabbed his hand. “You’re going to make a great King some day.”
He looked down at their entwined fingers and smirked.
She squeezed his hand and let go. “C’mon,
let’s go. I’m starving.”
She hurried her pace and took off towards the mansion. He lingered behind her for a short while, but soon caught up. The back of their hands brushed against each other, slightly, but after that Amelia stepped a little to her left, putting some distance between the two of them.
You’re going home soon, remember that. You are not staying.
She repeated this over and over in her head for the rest of their walk. She repeated it to herself all throughout dinner, when Eldan would smile at her or try to touch her foot with his under the table. She told herself again when she crawled into bed that night, and fell asleep while mentally repeating her new mantra.
She woke up late the next morning. She’d forgotten to set the alarm, which was a task she was still trying to make a habit, seeing as before she moved to Meldania, she never had a use for an alarm clock. The street she lived on was always noisy, and usually one of her parents came home early in the morning, the sound of which never failed to wake her. Otherwise, one of the triplets would shake her before they headed off to school. She had been dreaming about them that morning, when she overslept. In the dream her younger siblings were all there, except they were younger. They looked like they did when they were kids. They were all crying and asking her why Amelia had left them, and begged her to come home.
Prince Lendir was in the kitchen when she came down to grab a quick bite to eat before being on her way.
“Good morning, sunshine,” he said to her as she walked in, his mouth overflowing with scrambled eggs.
Amelia grabbed herself a mug and poured some coffee. “You’re up earlier than usual. What’s the occasion?”
He shoveled more eggs into his mouth and spoke, spitting bits of yoke all over his plate and the kitchen counter at which he sat. “I’m going into work. Can’t you tell?” He motioned to his body, which was only clothed in underwear and socks. “What do you think? Too casual?”
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