Lady Serra and the Draconian

by Catherine Banks

  He laughed and lifted my right hand to kiss the palm. “Thank you for not freaking out.”

  “I think it’s awesome.”

  “So, we better get you inside where your Mother can thoroughly check you over.”

  “Joy,” I whispered and started walking with him.

  I did not realize it until we reached the mansion, but we had been walking with his arm around my shoulders and mine around his waist. I stepped away from him and said, “I’m getting complacent. We can’t do that at school.”

  “I can pretend to be the silent angry guy at school and not talk to you,” he offered.

  “Perfect,” I agreed and then laughed at his pout. “Just, remember the rules. I really don’t want to get yelled at by my mother.”

  He walked me to the door and then shifted on his feet from side to side.

  “Why are you nervous suddenly?” I asked.

  “I’m debating telling you something.”

  “Is it good or bad? If it’s bad I don’t think I want to hear it.”

  “I don’t know if you’ll think it’s good or bad. I hope you think it is good, but I could be wrong. My godmother thinks it’s good and that you’ll think it is good, but…”

  “You’re rambling,” I pointed out.

  He smiled and then pulled me forward and kissed me. When he pulled back he whispered in my ear, “I was the fourth man to request your hand in marriage.”

  Before I could respond, he left me stunned on the doorway and ran to his carriage. I watched him leave with an open mouth and his kiss still warm on my lips.

  “What are you doing standing out here like that?” Mother asked. I turned and she dragged me inside. “Let me examine you.”

  He was the fourth? Was he the one my Father knew about? Was that what he had meant when he talked to him about picking a husband for me? But then I would be…

  “Princess,” I whispered aloud.

  “What?” Mother asked.

  “Nothing,” I snapped quickly.

  She resumed her check and then pressed her fingers against my forehead. “You seem to be back to your usual self.”

  Could I ask her? She probably would not tell me.

  “I met the King and Queen,” I told her.

  “Your Father told me,” she said simply.

  “He’s the Prince,” I whispered.

  “Yes, he is.”

  “It’s still hard to believe,” I admitted.

  “You should go lie down. You look pale,” she said with worry.

  Two days of torture later and my parents called me into the dining room for dinner.

  “Have you made your decision?” I asked nervously. Hadyn had not visited and since school was out right now, I hadn’t seen him.

  “We have, but we have to wait to hear the response from him before we let you know,” Father told me.

  “What! You promised that you would tell me!” I yelled.

  “Patience,” Father said.

  “A hint?” I asked.

  “Eat your food, Serra.”

  Someone knocked on the front door and Father stood up with a frown. “Who could that be?” He walked out of the room to see who it was and left Mother and I staring at each other curiously.

  “Not even one hint?” I asked her.

  She smiled and shook her head.

  Rude.

  “You have a visitor,” Father said.

  I turned around, expecting to find a friend of Mother’s, but found Hadyn standing in the doorway looking handsome as ever.

  “Good evening,” he greeted us.

  I wiped my mouth with my napkin and walked over to him. “What are you…I mean, what do I owe the pleasure of your presence to, milord?” I curtsied and stood up to find him smirking.

  “I was asked to bring you with me to the castle, at the request of the King and Queen,” he told me with a smile.

  “Oh,” I said in shock and looked at my Mother, “I guess I have to go then.”

  She stood and walked with us to the door. “Have fun and stay safe.”

  “Mother,” I begged, “About that matter we were discussing…”

  “We can discuss it later.”

  “No, I need to know…”

  “Come on, we have to hurry before it gets too dark,” Hadyn said and walked out my front door.

  I looked at my parents pleadingly, but they did not say anything. I got into the carriage and sat across from Hadyn, which earned me a frown. He rapt his knuckles on the side of the carriage and it began moving.

  I stared at him a bit, but he did not speak.

  He moved to sit beside me and tried to pull me against his side, but sudden realization hit me and I felt like I was going to vomit. I gently pushed his hands away and moved across the carriage with my head in my hands. They had not picked him. If they had picked him, they would have told me when he picked me up because they were waiting for his response. No. No! He was perfect. He was handsome, nice, and a Prince! Not that I fancied the idea of being Queen, but I was sure that I could deal with it eventually. It did not matter though, they had not picked him.

  I was crying, but thankfully not making any sound.

  “Serra, what’s wrong?” Hadyn asked me with concern.

  “Just…just give me a moment,” I requested as I tried to pull myself back together.

  “Talk to me. You can tell me anything.”

  I could not tell him this, especially when I did not know who my new betrothed was or if they had told him yet.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Trying to shove my emotions down into a box so I can deal with them later,” I admitted.

  “It’s better to deal with them now,” he advised. “They taught me that when I was very little. If you bottle them up, eventually they’ll explode at an inconvenient time.”

  “I can’t…”

  “Can’t what?”

  “I can’t tell you,” I answered.

  “Did something happen?”

  Oh yeah, something terrible.

  He tried to hug me and I jerked away from him with a cry.

  “Serra!” he said in shock.

  “Don’t, please, don’t touch me. It hurts and…I should not have come. I did not know until I was in here though. I didn’t know and…”

  I stopped talking as more tears came, but Hadyn let me sit alone.

  “What didn’t you know?” he asked.

  “They didn’t tell me.”

  “You’re not making any sense. You need to start from the beginning and tell me what is going on.”

  How could he not know? Surely my parents had told him, right? Right?

  “Did, did my parents talk to you? Did my Father say anything to you before we left?” I asked and lifted my face from my hands to look at him.

  “We talked a minute,” he answered vaguely.

  He tried to sit beside me again and this time when I tried to pull away, he held me and kissed me. I melted into his kiss and then gasped as I jerked away.

  “Stop! You cannot do that anymore! You can’t touch me or kiss me or…”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s not you,” I whispered and then sobbed. “They told me that they had chosen my betrothed, but that they had to wait for a response from him and…that means it’s not you.”

  Slowly I saw what I said take hold and then he must have snapped because he started laughing.

  If I could have walked out of the carriage and away from him, I would have.

  “I’m glad that you’re so relieved!” I snapped at him.

  He stopped laughing immediately and smirked at me. “Serra…”

  I held up my hand. “No, I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”

  I closed my eyes and let my head fall against the back of the seat. My life was ruined. The one man that I could actually enjoy and most likely…probably…definitely was in love with was not going to be my husband. Was the Queen requesting an audience with me so that she could apologize or e
xplain how he deserved better? He did. He deserved much better than me. He deserved someone as amazing as he was.

  I was crying again, but I did not try to stop the tears and did not curl up again. I just let them slide down my face and to my neck and to my necklace…the necklace.

  I reached back and unsnapped it. My heart hurt even more doing this than having to tell him that he was not the one chosen. Hadyn watched me warily and I held out the necklace to him. “Here, I’m sure that you want this back.”

  “That’s yours,” he whispered.

  “I don’t think my future husband will want me keeping a gift from the Prince and wearing it in front of him or other people,” I said and tried to hand it to him again.

  “I’ll order him to allow you to wear it,” he said with a scowl.

  “Hadyn, please just take it. I can’t…I can’t keep this.”

  “It is yours. I bought it for you as your friend. Are we still friends?”

  I was not so sure.

  “We can’t be alone together anymore. We cannot go for carriage rides with just the two of us after today. There are certain protocols that I will have to follow. I will not be able to go the Festival with just you. I won’t be able or allowed to be your friend.”

  He glared at me. “Damn the protocols!” he bellowed and then grabbed me and kissed me again.

  I struggled against him a moment and then I kissed him back. These could be our last moments together. This could be the last time that I was able to touch him or kiss him. The kiss deepened and his tongue slid into my mouth to stroke mine. I gasped in shock and then moaned as he continued. I slid my hands around his muscular shoulders, to his muscular back and held onto him. He pulled back to kiss my jaw and my throat.

  “Hadyn,” I whispered.

  He nipped at my neck and nipped his way back up to my lips. He stared into my eyes and said, “I love you, Serra.”

  I felt like the world had stopped moving. I was not sure if I was breathing or not. I stared into his eyes and felt the tears falling as I whispered, “I love you too.”

  He kissed my tears away and asked, “Why are you crying?”

  “Because it doesn’t matter how we feel. My parents…”

  He looked out the window and said, “We’re almost to the castle. Let me wipe your face so you’re presentable.”

  What did it matter? It would be the last time that I saw them anyway.

  I let him wipe my face with his handkerchief and then he put my necklace back on. Before I could protest he said, “This is my gift to you. If anyone has a problem with you wearing it, you tell him or her to voice their concerns with me. Understood?”

  “Are you sure? Are you sure you don’t want it to give to whoever you’ll be married to?”

  He stroked my cheek and said, “This necklace will only ever remind me of you.”

  We separated and just in time as the driver stopped the carriage and we exited to a group of maids and servants. The maids took me away from Hadyn and to a room where they changed me into a gorgeous gown, put new makeup on, and fixed my hair. I had no idea what I was walking into, but I was terrified of having to tell the King and Queen that my parents had not chosen Hadyn. How do you tell the King and Queen that your parents think the Prince is not good enough for their daughter?

  They took me down hallways I didn’t know and then shoved me forward so that I was standing next to Hadyn who was dressed in beautiful clothes, no doubt for a ball. He put my hand on his arm and smiled reassuringly at me. “Can you do me one last favor?” he asked softly as we waited to enter the room where I could hear lots of people talking and music playing.

  I nodded.

  “Pretend for tonight, that I’m your betrothed. Walk in there like you would if your parents had chosen me, okay?”

  “But…”

  “Please,” he begged.

  I could do that. I would die afterwards when reality returned, but I could pretend for him. “Okay.”

  He squeezed my hand and smiled that beautiful real smile of his. The doors opened and someone announced, “Presenting the royal Prince Hadyn and his Princess, Serra.”

  Had I not practiced keeping a court face on no matter what, I would have stumbled. Had he just said what I think he did? Or was my mind so broken that it heard what it wanted to?

  People cheered in the room and Hadyn led us to the front where the King and Queen stood with bright smiles on their faces. Hadyn knelt on one knee in front of them and tugged on my hand so I dropped to both of my knees.

  “It gives me great pleasure to formally announce the return of our Prince and even greater pleasure to announce his engagement to Lady Serra,” the King said.

  I wanted to look at Hadyn, but I could not. Was this real? Had they not even spoken to my parents and assumed that they would choose Hadyn?

  The King put a crown on Hadyn’s head and then the Queen set a tiara of silver and diamonds atop my head.

  “Hadyn,” I whispered, “You have to tell them.”

  We stood and he turned us around so that we were facing the crowd of Lords and Ladies including our fellow classmates from Brevard. Oh no. Once the truth got out, I would never be able to live down the embarrassment!

  Everyone sat down at tables to enjoy a feast, but I could not move. The Queen whispered into my ear, “What’s wrong?”

  “This is a mistake,” I whispered.

  “No.”

  “My parents didn’t choose him,” I whispered back. “They told me they were waiting for his response and they still refused to tell me when Hadyn picked me up. This is a mistake. I’m not…”

  Her face grew angry and she turned to Hadyn who was looking at us curiously. “You didn’t tell her?”

  “Well, I…”

  “Hadyn!” she hissed. “Look at her. She’s about to break down. You tell her right this instant or I’ll skin you.”

  He looked genuinely terrified and I actually believed her threat. “Serra, I was going to tell you on the way here, but you…Well I’m a jerk. I was being selfish and I was enjoying knowing that you cared. And, you told me that you loved me.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked softly though I was starting to understand.

  “I told your parents not to tell you because I wanted you to hear it from me.” He took both of my hands in his and smiled as he faced me. “They did choose me. I didn’t really give them an option to be honest.”

  “They chose you?” I asked softly as I stared at him.

  He dropped to one knee and held up a ring more beautiful than my necklace. “Lady Serra, will you marry me?”

  The room had silenced. I stared at him in disbelief as everything slowly took hold in my brain. I nodded my head and the room erupted in cheers as he slipped the ring on my finger. I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, earning a few laughs and a few guffaws.

  When I pulled back, he was smiling and happier than I had ever seen him. “You stubborn jerk,” I whispered to him, “That was cruel and terrible.”

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered and kissed my cheek. “Forgive me?”

  “You owe me,” I whispered and he kissed my other cheek.

  “Very well,” he whispered. “What would you have of me?”

  “I haven’t figured it out yet,” I told him, “But it’s going to be big.”

  “I’ll take the moon from the sky if you want it,” he told me and kissed my lips.

  “Sit and eat,” the King ordered, “Before you give all of these old people a heart attack with your public display.”

  “One second,” Hadyn told him.

  “Say it,” I ordered him.

  “I love you,” he whispered.

  “Louder.”

  “I love you!” he yelled loud enough that the entire castle had to have heard him.

  I smiled back at him and kissed him lightly on the lips. “I love you too, draconian.”

  His eyes changed to his dragon’s eyes and the Queen gasped. “Control yo
urself,” she snapped at him.

  “It’s her fault,” he told her and we finally sat down.

  We ate our dinners, but did not once stop touching. When it was finally over, we had to make our rounds to hear everyone’s congratulations.

  Tanya threw her arms around me and squealed. “I am so happy for you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “So, you’re the Prince?” she asked Hadyn.

  He nodded. “I am.”

  “No matter what your title is, you better treat her right.”

  He put his arm around my waist and pulled me against his side. “I will.”

  Hours later, we walked to his room and sat together in front of the fire while I stared at my ring. “Princess,” I whispered and then laughed.

  He kissed my neck and it sent shivers down my spine. “Are you still mad at me?”

  “Yes.”

  He moved faster than I thought he could and was leaning over me while I was lying on my back. He kissed my lips and slid his hand up my side. “How about now?”

  “Definitely.” I sat up and he leaned back. A bit of his skin showed at the bottom of his shirt and I chewed on my bottom lip. Man he had to have a nice body.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I know what I want.”

  “Oh?” he asked. “Well, let me hear your order.”

  “Take your shirt off,” I ordered him.

  He gasped. “You heathen!” I blushed and he laughed, but then kissed me. “Your wish is my command.” He took his shirt off and I moaned aloud. He was more than hot. He was the sexiest man I had ever seen. He was covered in muscles everywhere and not a single ounce of fat. He stood in front of me and put my hands on his chest. “I’m all yours,” he whispered.

  “Not yet,” I reminded him and explored the velvety feel of his skin and the rock hard muscles of his stomach.

  “I’m yours from now until I die.”

  “Are you sure that this is happening? Did you just lie to your parents and ignore what mine had said?”

  He moved closer to me and I moved my hands around to grip his back muscles. “You, Lady Serra, are betrothed to me, Prince Hadyn. We will be wed and we will be together until the last day of my life. I will kill any man who tries to take you from me and I will spend every moment loving you more and more.”