by Alex Alcasid
It was a month since her return when princess Loren found herself standing in her chambers, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She wore a beautiful floor length gown, dark blue and embroidered with the faint suggestion of scales in gold. Her shoulders bore pauldrons of hammered gold, likewise shaped into scales and the outline of wings. Her dark hair was meticulously brushed, slicked back and held in place by a crown of strands of gold, no thicker than her smallest finger, woven together into a jagged nest of spikes and fangs. She looked powerful, every bit the daughter of dragons people said she was.
Her reflection looked like a queen. She didn’t feel like one.
As Loren stared at her reflection, tracing the lines of her face that were buried under thick makeup, the blush on her cheeks and caking powder, another face came into view on the glass. Kae had fully expected to be turned away once they returned to Aldoran and Loren was returned to more royal company. Instead, the king and queen immediately offered her and Ma’trii a place in the castle. She stood behind the princess now, dressed in a formal jacket that was fit at the shoulders and arms, fine trousers, and boots so shiny she could see her reflection in them. It was strange to see the huntress without her leathers or her bow, but the green and browns of her new clothes fit her. Kae was earth and nature, the grounding to Loren’s sky.
“What’s wrong, princess?” Kae asked softly. She approached Loren, who watched her through the mirror. “You look beautiful.”
“Do you really think so, and you aren’t simply saying that? I feel like a jester with all this paint on my face.” Loren moved to gingerly touch her face, then thought better of it. If her makeup smudged, the flock of handmaidens would descend on her again and she would be wrangled to the chair for another hour. “I miss my surcoat. I miss the weight of my sword on my hip. I miss…” her hand trailed to the hollow of her throat. The dragon pendant was not there.
“I think you’re beautiful, princess. Powerful and strong as ever.” The huntress moved beside Loren, looking her up and down in the mirror. “You’re complete even without the pendant.”
“I know, but it feels strange not to have it.”
Loren chuckled. “Would you like to know what really makes me feel complete?”
“What?”
The princess turned towards Kae. Her hand was upon the huntress’s, and she smiled. “To have you by my side. I treasure that more than any pendant. More than any birthright or any magic.”
Kae’s cheeks burned with a blush, but she bowed graciously in the way the Masters had been teaching her when addressing the royal family. “I will always be at your side, if you wish me to be, princess.”
“What about later, at court?” Loren sighed and turned back to her reflection. “I am only dressed like this because mother plans to present me to our allies as the crown princess properly and officially. I would have a seat at the War Table, the Masters would listen to my opinions. That is more responsibility than I am prepared for.”
“But the king and queen think you’ll learn a lot from this. I think that’s why you’re doing it.” Kae said.
“I have to learn how to rule. It is the first step to actual ruling.” Loren pouted at Kae’s reflection. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I’ll be there, princess. At court, on the battlefield, in the market, wherever you would have me. I will be there, at your side. Forever at your side.” The huntress smiled. She chuckled softly, and wrapped an arm around Loren’s waist. “This reminds me of something… ‘I will be always at your side. My princess. My beautiful, shining dragon.’”
“Oh? You’ve never called me that before. You flatterer.” Loren laughed lightly, daintily covering her mouth with her hand. She sighed wistfully, and leaned her head against Kae’s shoulder. “What does it remind you of?”
“I had a dream once. It felt like such a long time ago now, but I remember it clearly. We had spent the night in one of the roadside inns.”
“Really? What did you dream about? Was I in it?”
“Oh yes, you were, Loren.” Kae turned to Loren. She caressed the princess’s cheek, angling her face slightly upwards. The huntress looked into deep, dark eyes, and felt emotion welling in her chest. She held her entire world in her hands. This princess, this woman capable of so much, had chosen her: an orphan with nothing. Kae beamed. “You were very much there.”
“What was your dream about?” The princess melted into Kae’s palm, a peaceful energy settling her earlier nerves. She twined her fingers with Kae’s and kissed her palm. Loren stepped closer to the huntress, gently leaning her head on the Kae’s chest. The huntress’s heart beat at the same rapid pace as her own. “I’m here, and we have some time before court.”
“It was a dream of dragons.”
***
