Yassim let his jaw down without thinking and turned to Lady Cassandra.
“...The d-dragons really eat humans?”
“Don’t worry,” chuckled the Princess. “This one’s been on a low-human diet for a few years now.”
Yassim needed a few seconds to process those words, wondering if she was simply toying with him. They wouldn’t really have let a creature that could eat human beings near the Imperial Children, right?
Seeing the two young ladies ready to go and waiting for him, Yassim had no choice but to move, and he did so very, very carefully. The old man took a long detour around the mighty Black Dragon, even though Krai visibly had no interest in him. Instead, it raised its head high for Cessilia to scratch behind its horns, making high-pitched sounds of satisfaction. Yassim had to gather all the courage he had left in his body to accept Lady Tessa’s help and set foot on the onyx scales. The height once on the dragon’s back was impressive, but he didn’t have time to look down. He was seated right behind Tessa, who quickly explained to him where to hang on.
“K-Krai, let’s go,” gently said Cessilia, patting its neck.
The dragon turned its head to Cassandra, who gave it a gentle pat on the hip before standing back.
Yassim was terrified, but he thought he was a blessed mortal to ever be given a chance to climb on a dragon’s back and ride it! The large black wings spread far on the sides, showing off the dragon’s unexpected width, and Krai flapped them twice before suddenly taking off. The climb was so sudden, it felt like the dragon had jumped up and forgot to fall back down. Yassim gasped loudly and held on, frozen by fear. He was riding a dragon!
“Close your mouth, old man,” chuckled Tessa. “You won’t like it if something flies in!”
“Sir Yassim,” said Cessilia. “We can make s-stops if you need. D-dragon flying can be d-difficult for elders...”
“Our grandmother hates flying now,” nodded her cousin. “She always says she’d rather walk all the way from the Diamond Palace to the Imperial Palace than mount a dragon again!”
“I am alright, my ladies,” lied Yassim with a grimace. “I am honored to be allowed to... fly this wonderful creature. D-do you mind if I ask a few questions, though? The old man I am still holds much curiosity for the wonders of the Dragon Empire, and now that I have seen this, I can’t help but wonder...”
“Ask away,” nodded Tessa. “Most people in this Empire don’t get to see the dragons often either, to be honest.”
“Only my little s-sister goes out with hers.”
Yassim nodded. He had understood the young Lady Kiera was one to run away, but it looked like the younger siblings were usually watched by this adult dragon.
“M-may I ask about this... magnificent dragon? I wonder about the size difference with... the younger ones from earlier...”
“K-Krai is Father’s d-dragon,” said Cessilia.
“The dragons you saw earlier were babies,” explained Tessa. “Dragons don’t grow like humans; they undergo major growth spurts when their master matures, around teenage years. We don’t know much about the reasons behind the size differences from one dragon to another, but the stronger their master, the bigger the dragon. You saw Auntie Shareen’s Golden Dragon earlier, right? That’s Glahad, our grandfather’s dragon. He’s getting smaller with the years because his owner passed...”
“When I was a b-baby, Glahad was much b-bigger than Krai... K-Krai is still growing t-too.”
Perhaps from hearing its name, the Black Dragon let out a long growl, and Cessilia gently patted its neck.
Yassim was stunned. So this red-eyed dragon was the War God’s Dragon itself? Moreover, if the Golden Dragon from earlier used to be bigger, he couldn’t even imagine that mountain of scales moving! It was worth ten armies! The old man took a few minutes to rethink everything he had ever learned about the Dragon Empire’s dragons, but he had just learned more in a few minutes than in years of study. Somewhere in his heart, the old Yassim felt incredibly grateful to have lived to this day.
However, he couldn’t just be stunned by the moment and forget his mission... As beautiful and impressive as the wonders of the Dragon Empire were, his heart was solidly chained to the Eastern Kingdom’s fate. Those dragons were a magnificent gift, but a much more important creature was riding one at the moment. He ought to be sure of who he was tying his fate to and perhaps his King’s too.
“Lady Tessa... M-may I ask how come you’re also... speaking as one of the former Emperor’s granddaughters...?”
“My father was one of his sons and Auntie Shareen’s half-brother,” Tessa explained, “but like our other uncles and aunties, my dad abandoned his title as an Imperial Prince after Auntie Shareen took the throne to simplify the succession for Cessi’s big brother. I have no title; I’m merely a relative of the Imperial Family and a merchant’s daughter, although Cessi and I are cousins from both our mothers’ and fathers’ sides.”
The two girls smiled at each other, looking as close as sisters indeed. Yassim was impressed. All of his teaching about the Dragon Empire had shown centuries of bloody fighting between all the previous emperors’ many concubines and children for the succession. For each new ruler, a long trail of blood had to be spilled for him to access the golden throne, his hands dirtied by many of his siblings’ blood. It was no secret that most concubines weren’t afraid to kill to protect their progeny if said progeny didn’t kill their own siblings themselves once they were old enough. Even Empress Shareen’s generation had been the theater of an impressive war between her father’s six sons. Yassim thought he had come prepared, knowing that Empress Shareen had been crowned despite three out of her six brothers still being alive, but now, it turned out this was all a peaceful agreement between the remaining siblings? His scenario of the War God scaring his two younger siblings into obedience was completely wrong! As it turned out, both had willingly forfeited their lineage for their nephew to become the heir apparent? This was truly an amazing Empire!
“Isn’t... His Highness, your father, retaining any desire to return to the Imperial Palace?”
“My dad?” scoffed Tessa. “He’s better off away from it! He only goes once in a while to deliver our aunt her favorite alcohol from our family brewery my mother established, and that’s it!”
Yassim was speechless. A former Imperial Prince was now a family man and an alcohol merchant? How unbelievable!
“Our turn to ask questions!” exclaimed Tessa with a big smile, brushing her flying hair and little braids out of her face. “Tell us about your King that wants to marry Cessi. How is he? You said he’s young, isn’t he!”
Yassim’s expression fell before he could remember to control it, so he bowed as much as he could while riding a flying mount to hide his face.
“Yes, my lady. King Ashen the White is young, but an admirable, young king. Our Kingdom has suffered many difficult years...”
“Your Kingdom used to be a Republic, didn’t it?” scoffed Tessa. “We were taught about your civil wars too. You guys fell for one tyrant after another, and you called us barbaric because we are an empire.”
“T-Tessa...” muttered Cessilia, pulling her cousin’s sleeve.
“It’s true, my ladies,” sighed Yassim. “Our system was failing long before we sought war with the Dragon Empire; that is the truth. The gap between our poor citizens and the rich elites brought the Goddess of War upon our nation... Our once-wise leaders were no better than an assembly of greedy people back then, seeking to put the blame for failure on each other, with only a handful daring to take responsibility and find better solutions. And those who did were quickly blamed for any new failure to bring back the equilibrium and killed as an example until no one dared to speak anymore.”
“...Was there n-no leader to m-make a d-... decision?” asked Cessilia.
“There were leaders, my lady, but most were too worried about protecting themselves from our angry people to dare speak up and act! The issue with our former Republic was that once a leader stood out, he didn’t have enough power to carry his actions efficiently. Thus, all the good men who could have brought change found themselves powerless and were considered failures instead of given the support they needed!”
“But you still managed to decide to go to war with our Empire twenty years ago,” said Tessa.
“Yes, my lady. A lot of those leaders were... blinded by the promise of treasures and better days. Many of our famished citizens enrolled in that war hoping to get money to send to their families.”
Yassim sighed, and shook his head.
“Once we lost the war and the army returned, utterly defeated, anger rose once again, and our Republic fell into the hands of the Goddess of Chaos. Our infuriated citizens attacked the noble houses to steal what they could, good citizens became bandits overnight, and no power was strong enough to stop the chaos. The... Goddess of Chaos kept her power over our lands for ten years like this, whilst many tried to stop the madness.”
