Chapter 102: Chapter 84

The Dragon

 

He reached the marshland.

Everywhere, he could smell his sister's scent. He could also smell a cub. A boy. His nephew. But there was also a second smell in the air. The smell of death.  Illness. His sister. Dragons rarely got sick, but his sister had succumbed to the disease. He followed his nose deep into the swampy, damp forest, over whose treetops he flew in the form of a falcon until he discovered the dead body of his sister. She was no longer alive. Judging by the smell, she had died of the same disease as her father. A hereditary disease that rarely occurred. He himself had not inherited it, but his sister had always smelled of it. He had always known she wasn't going to grow old. He landed next to her dead, bright body and mourned until another smell rose into his nose. The young dragon. He came closer.

The dragon looked around until he spotted a black rabbit. His nephew... Or his niece? The child smelled strange. The young one slowly came closer. He, or she?, could smell that he was a relative. The dragon looked at the teenager delightedly, despite his grief. The child would not be alone. His... Nephew? Niece? But there was another smell. The disease. This dragon wouldn't grow old either.

 

Marlon

 

His sister was unbearably cheerful. Too cheerful for his taste.

During breakfast, which took place in the afternoon since vampires were mostly nocturnal, they discussed the exact date of the wedding. Saturday? Or Sunday? Annemarie wanted the night from Saturday to Sunday, Torsten didn't care and the queen wanted Sunday night. Eventually, the date was set for Sunday night so that they had a little more time. Even before they had finished their breakfast, the king instructed servants to send invitations.

His sister and her so-called fiancé looked tired. Of course, they were. After all, they had to adapt to the other times.

Marlon stirred his tea, annoyed. This would be the fastest wedding in history. His sister, was sold off to a human so that her kingdom could get the help of witches and wizards. He didn't care about his sister's well-being, but it should have been him who got married! He! Not her. But the little witch princess had escaped him. For now.

Her blood had smelled delicious.

Just thinking about it made his mouth water. After breakfast, his parents and two fiancées retired to discuss the details of the wedding and what else was to come. He himself put on a warm jacket.

He had a dragon to catch!

But apart from the dead dragon, he found nothing. Judging by the remaining smell, a second dragon had come and he and the cub were on their way to leave the marshland. Marlon snorted angrily. Did it end like this? Was His only achievement finding a dead dragon? I could follow the dragons. But when they return to the desert... I would be dragon food.

The animals were gone. They flew in the direction of the elven territory. That's how much he could smell. And from there? Back to the desert?

He had lost his prey.

 

 

Julia

 

They were all sitting together in the living room when there was a knock on the door.

"Visitors? Are you expecting someone?" Hanno looked at his wife. Flora shook her head. She was not expecting anyone. Still, she got up to see who was at the door.

"Should we hide?", asked Finn nervously. None of them had been locked up in their 'prison', although the eldest expected it.

 "No", Hanno smiled reassuringly at the frightened wolf. “You stay with us."

Julia was surprised when Flora came in with Ilse and little Claudia. The young elf immediately ran to Leopold to tell him her latest joke, which she had heard from her grandfather. Leopold laughed politely at the joke, but his eyes were on Ilse.

"Hello." The elf looked nervously at Julia. "I'm here because of what you said." She smiled uncertainly. "About what's going to happen. Claudia? Please play in the garden. But don't break anything!"

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Claudia nodded and walked past them to play in the garden.

Julia smiled when she heard how the front door was nearly torn open and slammed shut.

"You believe me?", she asked the elf.

"I have no reason not to believe you. Leo wouldn't change his mind if it wasn't the truth." She sighed. "Many here hate the royal family. We have to pay the high taxes that soldiers collect. Money, food... In summer we get by well. Most of us have a vegetable garden, but when the soldiers claim parts of our harvest in autumn and winter when someone cannot pay the tax, we have a hard time getting through the winters. And then there are many other limitations. Slavery. We don't want that anymore. We can't do anymore!"

"I can understand that." Julia looked at Finn, who was now sitting on Marko's lap. Marko had wrapped his arms protectively around him and listened with interest.

"I never wanted a servant. But I was afraid of what might happen to them if I refused. Now they are bound to me. I never wanted that", Julia continued. "I would give them their freedom back if I could."

"How exactly do the binding spells work?", Flora wanted to know. "All witches and wizards can use them, right?"

Julia nodded. "They're the only spells that everyone can use. The marks on the wrists not only tell you what binding spell you are bound with but also what kind of witch or wizard used the spell. The binding spells are adapted to all witches and wizards. That's all I know. So far, I've only learned intuitive magic. No spells."

Ilse sighed. "And soldiers will really come?"

"They will come", said Leopold. "And if we don't flee... That could mean our death. Right?" He looked at Julia.

"Right. They will burn everything down. They do not come to punish, but to kill. I don't know exactly when they'll be here, but they could be on their way already." From the window, she could see Claudia playing in the garden. The girl flew over the beds and dropped leaves on the pumpkins as if it were raining.

"I try to convince my father to evacuate the village. Maybe he'll listen to me", Ilse announced and smiled at Julia. "With all the witches Leo could have ended up with, he was lucky that it was you. I never thought you were such a good person. But we have only experienced cruelty from you witches so far, so I hope you can forgive us. I'll get my daughter now before she causes mischief in the garden."

After Ilse left, Marko fetched one of the board games and put it on the table. "We need to relax! Otherwise, we'll go crazy!", he announced, then he looked at Leopold. "I have not forgiven you!"

"That's okay. I was very stupid. I'm sorry." He looked at Julia. "More than sorry. Can we talk?"

Julia nodded and, contrary to Flora's protests, followed him into the garden. Leopold sat down on a huge pumpkin as if it were a normal chair and Julia carefully sat down on another. The pumpkin held her weight. The garden looked a bit overgrown and pumpkins had conquered a large part for themselves. There was also a small herb bed, which threatened to be displaced by weeds.

"I was stupid." Leopold looked at her contritely. "I thought it was the right thing to do. It wasn't. Instead of helping my homeland, I plunged it into misfortune. And I hurt you."

"Leo?" A question burned in her soul. She had to know. "Was it all just played? Or not? I need to know."

He shook his head. "No. It wasn't. I love you. It was not a scheme. Everything was real. The dance in the castle garden, the kiss behind the column. I knew you wanted to keep our relationship a secret, but when I saw you... I just had to kiss you. I convinced myself that it was all to make the plan work. So that you would trust me... I lied to myself. I just wanted us all to be free. I wanted..."

"You wanted to save your people." Julia grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "I can understand that. But you chose the wrong path, Leo."

"I know. Would you really free me if you could?"

"I would forbid slavery." Julia nodded.

"YOU should be queen. Not your mother. You would be a good queen."

"I don't think so. No. I don't know how to govern a country."

Leopold laughed. "You'll learn that! Let's go inside. Before mom drags us in... After all, none of you are supposed to go outside." He laughed softly. "What do you mean? Who will win the game Marko chose?"

"Marko would be offended if he lost. He rarely had a chance against you and he's not a good loser."