“I’ll admit, I was raised to put the needs of my family first and foremost. Never did I envision the day would come so soon when I would consider partnering up with other tribes. Our knowledge in medicine was always sufficient to maintain our way of life.”
Cessilia looked a lot calmer now, but she accepted the cup of tea with a faint nod, bringing it to her lips gracefully. She took a sip and put the cup down before talking again.
“The b-best doctors learn not from other d-doctors, but from other c-cultures. The Sehsan T-Tribe can sew th-things in better ways than I have seen b-before, and I want to t-try their techniques on fresh wounds. The D-Dorosef know the p-properties and nutritious values of fish and have s-studied algae so much they c-can use it for health b-benefits as well. No one is only g-good at one thing, b-but if you c-combine many p-people’s talents, you learn and improve even faster.”
“If you keep yourselves to yourselves,” added Tessandra, “you are bound to hit a slump sooner or later. No offense, but I’ll bet your medicine hasn’t improved much from what your mother taught you already.”
Hephael and Ishira’s expressions betrayed them before they could even come up with a response to that. Eventually, the young leader sighed, defeated. He didn’t look like he had lost to Cessilia in any way, though. In fact, he smiled confidently, slowly nodding.
“Lady Cessilia, you exceeded my expectations, by far. I did not expect to be lectured today, but I’ll bow down without shame to your words. You’ve proven not to be a princess in name only, but a woman of character and great insight, and I respect that. In fact, I am more confident than ever in supporting our future Queen. I will set my doubts about King Ashen aside for your sake, and trust the King the lady has chosen. …If you prove yourself as our future ruler, I will also step up, as you requested. The Hashat Family will no longer hide. How can we prove our loyalty to you?”
“Hephael,” muttered his cousin, a bit worried about what she could ask.
Cessilia’s answer came right away.
“Reach out t-to the other t-tribes,” she said in an imperious tone. “The Sehsan, the D-Dorosef, and even those who have yet t-to take a side. D-do not wait for me; c-create an alliance with them.”
“…Aren’t you worried we’ll create an alliance in favor of another candidate?” Hephael raised an eyebrow.
“I d-don’t believe you will b-be able to b-betray me if you c-can’t agree on another c-candidate. We know most of the smaller t-tribes have chosen a c-candidate without real b-belief they will be p-picked by the King, b-but now, you have an opportunity t-to take a real stance, b-by supporting me.”
Tessandra loudly put down her own cup, giving them a cunning smile.
“On a side note, I’ll add what Cessi here is too nice to tell you, that you guys really better not dare betray us. Our family has a history of cutting off toxic relatives. …Quite literally.”
“We will remember that,” nodded Hephael, the corner of his lips lifted. “However, we are not liars or traitors and as my lady mentioned, we won’t keep acting like cowards either. …I’m sure you’ll see the result of this very soon.”
He was most likely referring to the upcoming banquet, but Cessilia didn’t need to inquire any further. She smiled back at him and they resumed eating as if this conversation had been very natural. For the rest of the meal, they didn’t mention anything else about tribes, conspiracies, or rival clans. In fact, they quite happily chatted about their medicinal knowledge and the differences between the Empire and the Kingdom. Each side of the surviving Rain Tribe had perfected their knowledge according to the new ingredients and herbs they had found, and Cessilia was quite happy to chat about their respective discoveries with Hephael and Ishira. They had asserted they were probably something like distant cousins, and now that the hardest and most serious part of the conversation was over, they were acting quite familiarly. Tessandra and Hephael happily drank together, each boasting about their talent for handling alcohol, while Ishira and Cessilia much rather enjoyed staying sober to discuss more complex medicine. Each duo had begun more naturally leaning toward each other, and Cessilia noticed how Ishira smiled while staring at her cousin.
“You t-two seem close,” she whispered.
“Oh, in my heart, Hephael is as close as an older brother. We were raised together by my mother, and since we don’t have other siblings, it was always just the two of us. He’s always been very protective of me since I lacked a father figure. ...You have many siblings, right, Lady Cessilia? Are you close to them as well?”
“I am.” Cessilia smiled. “I have two older b-brothers, and they d-do tend t-to be very p-protective, b-but they are nice... I have f-five younger siblings t-too.”
“It must be nice growing up in a large family! It was always just me and my mother. My father died when I was young, and my uncle never cared much for us. He was always too concerned about his wife, and almost jealous about how close my mom had gotten to her... unlike Hephael. My cousin always made time for me and my mom who helped raise him, despite taking on a lot of responsibilities since he was young. I knew he was growing up to become the Family Leader, so I did my best to become one of our best healers as well. Just so I would be useful to him. He never pressured me to get married, either; I’m the one who offered to volunteer as a candidate.”
“Really? B-but his father…”
“My uncle is… a sad man,” Ishira muttered. “Although we don’t approve of his ways, neither of us really blame him. After tonight, I guess Hephael will take his position as the official leader, to make your request doable… My uncle won’t agree to it, but he’ll step down. He already knows who our family will follow.”
Cessilia didn’t answer that, only glancing Hephael’s way. The young man seemed to be having fun with Tessandra, far from the serious Family Leader he had acted as just before. It was one fun night for the four young people, now that they had become closer, and it did feel like they belonged to the same family.
“…Do you believe you can do it?” she asked. “Become our Queen?”
“I b-believe it.”
Cessilia’s answer wasn’t arrogant or hesitant. Despite her stutter, she had said it the most calm and honest way possible, not even blinking.
“Good,” smiled Ishira. “I’ll hold you to that. And then, I hope our nations will be able to create ties again. It’s my dream to visit the Dragon Empire.”
“Really?” Cessilia asked, a bit surprised.
Ishira blushed and nodded. She suddenly looked a bit younger, finally acting like a young woman her age rather than a family representative. It was obvious she had finally let her guard down with Cessilia. She leaned a bit closer, like a friend about to share a secret.
“I am rather admirative of your mother…” she whispered. “Since I was a child and heard of her achievements, I always wondered what kind of woman she was, to free herself from slavery and become such an important healer for an empire. We don’t have many examples of women becoming such important figures, except for the Empress, of course, but... the Empress is almost akin to a scary deity, while your mother’s love story with your father has… crossed the border as a tale that would make more than one girl dream.”
Cessilia felt a bit strange, hearing about her parents in such a way. She knew their story was quite unique, but she had grown up observing them, and she was somewhat used to it. A close, loving family was the norm for her. She knew by heart the way her father’s dark eyes always looked for her mother, like a dragon fiercely guarding its treasure. Meanwhile, her mother was the pillar of their family, the one they all gravitated toward. In a way, perhaps she had always been influenced by those two and their love story. Cessilia had never been interested in boys before she met Ashen, and once she had met him, there had never been anyone else for her…
“…My g-grandmother has a theory that d-dragons only have one real p-partner in their life,” said Cessilia. “My father’s d-dragon knew my mother was th-the one f-for him since the moment he saw her.”
“That’s even better than what I had heard,” smiled Ishira. “…Do you see the King like that too?”
“M-me?”
“I saw how your eyes changed each time we mentioned His Majesty… and I have seen you two in the same room. He might not be a dragon, but the candidates are all jealous because it’s clear the King is different with you, Lady Cessilia. Honestly, you make it easy for us to give up on this competition… No one wants to pursue a man who only has eyes for one woman.”
Cessilia wished this was true. Sadly, there was more than one woman still aiming for Ashen, and they wouldn’t give up easily.
Thinking about the rivalry for the King’s heart, or at the very least the position of his Queen, made her long for him more. She glanced out the window, noticing how the sun had gone down already. On the other side of the table, Tessandra looked a bit too drunk, but it made her smile. At least her cousin had fun and forgot about her love troubles for a short while. It did feel like they had made new friends, if not, new relatives.
She decided it was time they left the Hashat cousins and politely bid them farewell, after thanking them for the meal. Hephael promised he’d keep to their agreement, and Ishira added they’d always be welcome in their properties. The young woman wasn’t going back to the castle that night, instead, staying there to discuss some of their family affairs with her cousin, so Cessilia was left to take a staggering Tessandra back by herself.
“T-Tessa, you’ve really overdone it t-tonight,” she sighed, helping her down the street.
“Sorry, their wine was damn good... Oh, I should have asked Mr. Handsome what it’s called or something...”
“M-Mr. Handsome?” Cessilia repeated, raising an eyebrow.
