by Sariah Skye
I said nothing, but let out a groan and brushed at the bodice of my dress with my hands and got frustrated when the heavy crown on my head slipped down slightly. With a sigh, I tried to straighten it.
“I'm going to need those, too,” Kiarra said, letting herself into the room without officially being invited.
“Come in,” Maxxus said with a smirk. “Good thing we weren't busy or anything,” he kidded.
She waved him off. “Pssh. There's no way you'd be able to do anything like that in that dress,” she said, pointing at me. “I bet you can barely walk, am I right?”
I laughed shortly. “Nope. Especially with this damn thing on my head.” I reached up and twisted the crown slightly and it released from another golden circlet with a click and I awkwardly lifted it up and handed it to her, carefully. “These things are seriously hideous.”
She snickered. “Yes, yes they are. Thankfully you won't have to wear them again unless you're hosting other royalty, and we all know how often that happens.”
“Never,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief.
“Hey, just be glad now that we have advanced enough to take a photo of you to paint from for the portrait. Years and years ago you actually had to stand there motionless, wearing it for hours,” she said, raising her brow at me.
Maxxus let out a low whistle, carefully removing his own crown and handing it to her. She set the smaller one inside of it and gingerly held them out before her. “That would...suck,” he said.
“Ha...that sounds funny when you say it!” I kidded, pointing at him tauntingly. I felt relieved, as the weight on my head lightened by about eight pounds. “Oh, that's nice.”
“Indeed. At least you know what to expect when you get officially crowned with them; before the impending monarchs were allowed to try them on first, we had a couple queens who actually like, fell over under the weight of them,” she said, with a humorless chuckle. She turned to leave behind the door. “I'll be back in about twenty minutes. So, no funny business.” She threw a wink over at us over her shoulder and disappeared out the door.
“She's going to be annoying, isn't she?” Maxxus said with a laugh and I nodded vigorously. I grinned to myself, and narrowed my eyes briefly, concentrating on the door and with a flick of my hand, shut the door with my magic.
“Still not old,” I said with self-satisfaction.
“Good. Keep her out,” he said with a smirk. He reached a hand out and tousled the strand of hair that had been released when the crown was removed, and pushed it back over my ear. “This shouldn't be loose like that,” he said.
“What? The circlet?” A circlet was easier to size to each royal than the crown itself. But, it was a rushed coronation, there wasn't time to properly craft new circlets; we were wearing ones belonging to the previous monarchs.
Maxxus nodded and carefully lifted the circlet from my head. He ran his fingers along the metal slowly, narrowing his eyes, appearing to concentrate.
“What are you—” I started to say, when I realized what he was doing. He grasped it in one hand and ran his free hand over what would be the back, squeezing slightly. I stared in awe when I realized that, with his earth magic, he had re-sized the circlet, making it slightly smaller. The two stones in back—a blue sapphire and green emerald—were about an inch closer to each other now. I cocked a brow as he smiled, pleased with his work, and placed it back on my head again. This time, it didn't tilt off to the side and felt tight against my forehead—but not too tight.
“Amazing,” I said, raising my hand to finger it. It didn't budge.
Maxxus grinned. “That should probably help the crown feel less uncomfortable, I hope.”
I forced a distressed smile. “If only it were that easy to make everything else suck less.”
Maxxus gave me a sympathetic look. He stepped back and sat on the chaise at the foot of the bed and patted the spot next to him. I obliged, and he wrapped an arm around my shoulder, puling me close, allowing me to rest my head on his shoulder. “If you need a moment to lose your shit, please, feel free.”
I looked up at him and smiled. “You really want to be the recipient of that?”
He shrugged. “I've dealt with worse.”
I laughed shortly. Yeah, I knew he had. He had been the one to eventually battle and kill Nicodemus. He almost died. “You have. Really, I just want to sleep for about a hundred years.”
“Well, I can give you about fifteen minutes,” he said, with a chuckle.
“I'll take it.” I closed my eyes momentarily, trying to summon up all my courage before Kiarra came barging back in.
We’d already appointed Kiarra my personal attendant while I was on the throne. And, since the choice of well and willing dragons was limited, we’d temporarily appointed Daniel to be Maxxus’. It was unusual since Daniel was full-blooded human. A human hasn't “served” a dragon in a couple thousand years. I had no idea where he was now, but certainly Kiarra or my father was keeping him busy.
Gabriel wouldn’t be in attendance today; his services were better served attending to the recovery of Castle Danger. He claimed. I suspected, though, that it was still just too awkward for him to be around us—Maxxus and I. We’d come together for magical purposes but besides that, we’d barely spoken since before the bonding ceremony.
“Are we ready for this?” I didn’t realize I spoke aloud as I sat on the queen's black covered chaise at the foot of the bed stiffly and resting my head in my hands, I sighed.
A pair of strong hands grasped my shoulders and kneaded gently. I realized I had in fact spoken out loud. “Well, we have each other, we have our friends. As long as we have that, we will make it through anything.”
My hands dropped to my lap and I looked up at him and beamed. Even growing up, Maxxus always knew the right thing to say and it appeared nothing had changed in all that time. I turned and brushed my lips gently against one of the hands on my shoulders, and Maxxus tensed slightly before me. I peered up at him and noticed the dazed look on his face when I remembered what I was doing; kissing his fingers had been one of Maxxus' favorite spots to be touched, an instant turn on.
“Oops,” I said with a giggle. Patting his hands and bringing him out of his daze. “Sorry. Probably not a good thing to be doing that, huh?”
Maxxus shook himself out of his haze, offering a sheepish smile. “Haha, no. Probably not. At least, not right now.”
My gaze lingered at his handsome face momentarily as I smiled wryly. “Not now, huh?”
Maxxus smirked. He reached out and cupped my face in his hands and was leaning towards me when another loud knock pounded at the door. Kiarra barged in and Maxxus turned to glare at her briefly before pulling away.
She snickered. “Oh you'll have plenty of time for that later. Let's get going. The earlier we get started, the sooner you can 'get started'.” She said, with a wink.
“Kiarra!” I scolded, raising my hand to flick her off.
She tittered and waved for us to follow her down the long hallways that felt endless to the throne room.
Honestly, it felt like walking to an execution. Bile started building up in the back of my throat as we strode. The closer we came, the more nervous and nauseated I felt. Maxxus had inquired if I was okay—somehow, the earth dragon remained outwardly calm and collected. A natural trait of green dragons. As a pink dragon, my magic was spirit based. Even before the drama of Cyril, pink dragons were known for being highly anxious; we could sense the moods of everyone around us. I wanted to compel myself to be calm because there were butterflies fluttering in my stomach. It wasn't like kissing Maxxus—it was like there were handfuls of disgusting, sticky-footed cockroaches slamming around in my stomach. I wanted to vomit.
Almost-former Queen Valessia joined us then, wearing a similar gown to mine, although in a dark blue; a white cloak like ours trailed down her shoulders and back. She wore the crown I would eventually be wearing, and carried her deceased husband and former king's crown since he couldn't be th
ere to give it away, and she continued to glance at it wistfully.
I sensed her sadness, and, despite my own nervousness, I reached out and clutched her forearm. “I know you miss him. I'm so sorry.”
Valessia offered a thankful smile. “I do. I'm sorry—this is your day, I don't want it to be about me.” She smiled wider then. “I mean—this is pretty amazing, don't you think? Getting to be king and queen? Something most dragons only dream about—humans too.”
I shrugged with nonchalance. “It doesn't feel real yet.”
“Well, it's about to,” Kiarra said, holding up her wrist and pointing to a watch she wore. “It's time, guys.” She stood there beaming at us, with her raven hair in a high bun, her simple makeup and her blue robes that trailed down to the ground. Before today, she was only a mere apprentice, learning the ropes of Court happenings. After today, she would be an official Royal Attendant. I had insisted on that part because the dragon she was serving under was killed in the Shadow attack of Anarach. Eventually, if nothing else, it would lead to her hopefully having a significant place in the Court later; maybe she and my brother would eventually become Queen and King themselves. If they ever officially bonded.
She grinned at us. “Are you ready?”
I glanced at Maxxus, who grabbed my hands and squeezed. He smiled widely, appearing somewhat giddy, yet uncomfortable. “Are we really doing this?”
I bit my lip and nodded. “I guess so.”
“Yes, you are.” Kiarra touched a plate on the door outside the throne room that was spelled to read her magic and, the door flew open slowly. She stepped aside, and the current queen paused to offer us a proud smile before stepping in slowly, carrying the other crown and she was met with a low murmur of approval.
“Shall we?” Maxxus asked, holding out his elbow for me to grab as he would lead me into the Throne room—where we'd just battled days earlier.
I quickly threaded my arm through his and held on for dear life. “I guess,” I simply said, and we took our first steps into our new future.
Maxxus and I stepped through the door slowly, and where Valessia was met with titters of approving speech, we were greeted with grumbles and growls.
“Don't let them see it get to you,” Maxxus whispered to me softly out of the side of his mouth. Apparently, I appeared fearful upon hearing the negative responses of the dragons seated in the balcony and on the floor. Even though there still weren’t many in attendance, it still rattled my nerves.
As strong as my magic was, the little girl inside me—the ridiculed drake, the alienated child—still panicked a bit whenever she heard someone laughing at her. Or poking fun of her.
“You're better than they are.” Maxxus' voice was barely audible when he whispered in my ear. He brushed a delicate kiss gently on my cheek, near my ear.
The queen motioned for us to sit in the two thrones that were perched atop the dais in the center of the room. We did so, in unison, taking time to carefully push aside the cloaks so we didn't sit on them.
I glanced at Maxxus—my new mate, my future royal co-conspirator—and he offered me a smile and a nod. He sat up, ramrod straight in the seat and I copied, and we both stared stone-faced forward.
Valessia began to speak at this point, and I sort of tuned out. Hearing her words just made me intensely more anxious and instead I took note of the small crowd that had gathered.
Normally, it would be an immense crowd. All the seats would be filled, and members of Anarach society—all dragons—would be piled in the palace walls, hoping to somehow be a fly on the wall to witness what was happening. This time the audience was at a premium. Though we don't have quite the same population as humans, the attraction and interest would rival human celebrities. Dragons as a whole don’t get terribly excited about much; but a coronation is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime event. The actual crowning would be attended by the entire court, held in the fancily-decorated throne room. Their families would be allowed to congregate along the walls of the castle; the only ‘civilians’ allowed in.
The rest of the kingdom would have to be content to grouping outside of the castle walls, and when the newly-crowned would make their first appearance, they hoped to be close enough to catch a glimpse.
Needless to say, this time there would be no admiring hordes outside the castle doors. The grounds were still tainted with Shadow, and only the most essential personnel were allowed within a half a mile around the perimeter. This would be a quick ceremony, and that would be it. No big party, no fancy fanfare. Truth be told, if it had to be done, I was relieved it was with as little pomp and circumstance as was allowed.
I scanned the crowd, still trying to remain stoic, even though the bobbing of my throat as I swallowed nervously would probably betray me. Since the group was small, everyone was asked to sit on the floor seats, as close to the front as you could get. I noticed my family was sort of sequestered off to the side a bit, not immediately clustered with the crowd. My grandfather wasn't present in the seats, because as Elder, he was to preside over the changing of the crowns. I didn't see him yet, but I knew he was around somewhere, waiting for his cue. To my knowledge, this would be the second coronation he'd administered, and it was unheard of that an Elder would crown one of his own close family members. Angry as I was at him, even I could appreciate what an emotional experience it would be for him. There was no doubt my grandfather cared for and loved me. No doubt at all. The sting of the deception was still raw, and it was going to take time for me to let it pass. But it would pass.
As Valessia spoke her piece—a bit about how it was important to remain loyal to the monarchy, right now more than ever with the threat of the Shadows—from next to me, I heard Maxxus suck in a breath; his eyes widening slightly in some sort of surprise.
“What?” I whispered, barely inaudible.
He glanced at me briefly, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed nervously. Pointedly, his eyes trailed off to a spot in the seats and I followed his gaze to a set of black dragons in their human forms, and the only reason I knew they were black dragons was because I knew who they were:
Maxxus' estranged parents.
My own eyes widened. Holy shit! To my knowledge, Maxxus hadn’t spoken to anyone in his family in around a decade, which wasn't very long in dragon years but, to not speak to one's family in any amount of time—even for dragons—was unusual.
Jalenn, his father, and Oreste, his mother had entered late, and were making a small scene as they took their seats in the front spots reserved for immediate family of the imminent crowned. This garnered a harsh glare from my mother, but she contained her disgruntled emotions as they sat down next to Saladin, my father.
Maxxus attempted to sit up even taller at this point and lifted his head a bit higher. His relationship with his parents was even more messed up than mine; so much so he'd barely uttered a word about them in the entire time we'd been in Castle Danger. Not that I blamed him one bit for shunning them. Growing up, they were embarrassed that he had no use of his magic because—surprise! —somehow his magic had been bound as well and very hard for him to access. Finnian had lifted that block off too, and he remembered his fantastic blacksmithing powers in addition to his reluctant earth-magic.
“Milord Baron Maxxus, will you please stand?” a voice said from behind us. I sat stone faced on the outside, recognizing it to be my grandfather's, but on the inside I felt like smirking. Apparently, in my spacing out, Valessia had finished her piece and it was time for the actual crowning.
Maxxus, with all the regality and pride he could muster, rose to his feet; his gaze only faltering from staring down the audience briefly to shoot me a little wink out of the corner of his eye that was so fleeting I wasn't sure he even had.
My grandfather, in his silver robes and long, white beard exchanged places with Valessia at the front of the dais and she took her place next to me.
My grandfather, Elder Aleron, spoke in clear, concise dragon:
“Do you, Baron Maxxus
, descendant of Jalenn and Oreste, earth magic user and weapon master, do swear to serve the dragons of Anarach with honor and dignity, selflessly and with fairness until abdication or death?”
Maxxus nodded ever so slightly. “I do.”
“Do you promise to keep the best interests of Anarach at heart at all times and try to the best of your ability to make decisions that benefit us all?”
“I do.” Maxxus cast a sideways glance at me. I felt my heart skip a beat as a sudden sense of pride welled up inside me. He would make a good ruler.
“Then I, as Elder, do declare you the official King of Anarach. Please bow.”
Maxxus slowly lowered himself to one knee, keeping his gaze pointed straight out at the crowd as my grandfather took the crown that was resting on its pillar and set it gently on his head. They both ignored the tittering from the audience.
Then he turned to me. I swallowed a large lump in my throat.
I felt Valessia grasp my forearm lightly and I offered her the briefest of thankful smiles.
With his back towards the crowd, he looked at me with prideful admiration. He sniffled slightly as he leaned forward and whispered quietly, “I am so proud.”
My icy feelings towards him melted some and I gave him a thankful smile.
He composed himself and coughed lightly. Several dragons from the crowd offered jeers before my mother with her wind power—being a yellow dragon and all—flicked her hand and sent a gust of wind across the stands, ruffling the hair and irritating all around. “Enough!” She scolded.
A couple of dragons offered their apologies. Countess Miradoste managed to be a very respected dragon in the Court. Besides me everyone in my family was.
My grandfather continued. “Do you, Milady Leorah en'a Miradoste, descendant of myself, Elder Aleron, and my son and daughter in law, Earl Saladin and Countess Miradoste, spirit and elemental magic user, do swear to serve the dragons of Anarach with honor and dignity, selflessly and with fairness until abdication or death?”