Original Stories Fan Fiction / Other Fan Fiction / Romance Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness ❯ Growing Unrest ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter Nine

Growing Unrest

 

 

The rumors passed softly between them, fear clinging to the hope they could taste in them. Fear had been chief among them when their prince had been sealed. They had despaired at the thought of their king being allowed free rein over them. A thousand years, even for dragons, was a long time to be chained to the whims of a sadistic king.

 

Rumors of Farin's human queen had brought little hope…until they heard news of Sais, the rouge dragon that not even their ruler could bring to heel. She was one of their oldest, strongest dragons and when it was said that she was traveling with the Prince's queen it stirred something in them.

 

Was it chance that the Rouge had taken in the Prince's queen? Was it chance that the two had met? Sais was head strong and stubborn. The first human royal that the Prince had chosen hadn't pulled her back to her former post, but this one…this child had pulled her back to the very country she had forsaken.

 

Was it possible that the Prince's power to command them had been transferred to the child? Was it possible that even with the Prince sealed that they still had hope? Was it possible that there was another that might hold the hope of freedom for them?

 

Those questions eased their fear a little, making it possible for them to endure the twisted games they had to play for Askerin's amusement. They could only whisper amongst themselves and look to the west where she was said to be coming from. Despite the fact that she had been captured, they hoped. And that hope held a dangerous taste, one that stirred their blood and held their caution at the same time.

 

* * *

 

Red wine swirled in the crystal goblet clasped in his hand as he sat lazily on the throne he had taken from his father before him. His broad shoulders were slumped with boredom and his chin rested in the palm of his free hand, his slender fingers curling around his strong jaw. Despite the indifference his body spoke of, his dark eyes danced with lively hunger as he watched two of his dragons dance just out of the other's reach. Sensuously red lips curled into a mocking grin as the female dragon flinched back from striking her child.

 

To his left and right sat his court in the open, echoing stone chamber that served as his throne room. Some shifted uncomfortably and others watched the fight as hungrily as their king, though they were few in number among the thousand. Warriors and Healers alike flinched with the mother when she came close to striking him, trying not to imagine that it could have been them and the ones they loved in this battle.

 

Her gold hair swirled around her wire thin body as she twisted away from her son's clumsy attack. Tears filled eyes that were sunken into her skull from weeks of maltreatment. It wasn't fair. Askerin had ordered their imprisonment for no reason and now this. They had done nothing to attract his attention, and here they were, fighting to the death for his amusement.

 

The child looked at her with tears streaking his still chubby face. He was so young, too young for the horrors of their king's sadistic whims to have truly touched him yet. Innocence was a rare commodity among dragons and cherished in those that were born with it. The young were protected by the females and the males protected the females, as it was within all the classes, and the Dragon Ruler protected them all, but Askerin was a monster. He had twisted the possessive, protective nature of dragons into something darker, something evil. And all for his amusement.

 

Despair filled her. If only the prince could have challenged his father when he was first brought out. Maybe…maybe a half-breed wouldn't have been such a bad king, but it was too late for them. All she could do now was try to resist the king's direct order to kill and fight the blood oath that compelled her.

 

Directly to Askerin's right stood his personal Enchanter, the mate to the woman fighting their son. His face was pale and drawn, but he gave no voice to the pain that swirled within him. His lean body gave no indication of the despair that tightened his stomach. Light green eyes followed their every move.

 

She was fighting, resisting, but it was never enough. They had given their very wills to the dragons that ruled over them and they had no choice but to obey the orders issued to them, even if it was an order to fight your child to the death. “Tahrin,” Askerin said suddenly, tilting his wine glass and examining the liquid.

 

“Sire?” he answered, never taking his gaze from his family.

 

“How much longer do you think she will last? Or will it be the child that kills his mother, do you think?” he asked, carefully studying his Enchanter. “What do you think will happen if either survives this fight? Most likely, the boy will hate himself forever or the mother will grieve his loss at her claws until the day you kill h…”

 

He couldn't remember consciously choosing. He couldn't remember moving. The only thing he knew was the wind in his face, the despair in her eyes as her claw streaked towards their boy's chest. She was going to end it and she would die as a result, if not today then someday. Tahrin caught her wrist, spun her around, and had her pinned to the ground beneath him before the other dragons could do more than stir. Askerin didn't call him back, didn't order him to let the fight progress. The Dragon King watched with amusement as the mates struggled in the dirt of the ring, the boy forgotten for the moment.

 

Tears clung to her cheeks. “Rina,” he begged. “Enough. You're stronger than this. You don't have to submit.”

 

“I can't fight anymore,” she whispered, her struggles ceasing. “I have to obey. Please, Tahrin, kill me that our son may live. The blood oaths we took will have nothing less than death from one of us. Let it be me, please. Jorin is too young. Please, kill me. Kill me or I will hate you and hunt you with every breath left to me. Please, do this if you love me.”

 

The words caught in his throat, but he had to force them out. He had to make her see reason. “What of me, then? Would you leave me so easily? We can have more dragonlings. There's always next year,” he replied. “We can try again. Just don't leave me.”

 

“I hate you!!” she screamed and bashed her forehead against his.

 

He was startled into loosening his grip, which she took advantage of and tore free. What followed next was a furious flurry of snarls and flashing claws. Tahrin ducked back to avoid Rina's claws and brought his leg up in a round-house kick that caught a glancing blow to the side of her head; Rina countered and on they continued. Fury and fear bled together making it impossible for the watching dragons to tell which scent came from whom. It was over faster than it had begun.

 

A strangled gasp filled the air as Tahrin stood supporting his mate's heaving body, his claw having pierced her heart. Tears fell like rain as she clung to the warmth he offered her and pressed her head against his shoulder. “Love you,” she whispered. “Find prince…queen…swear fealty to…her…Protect Jorin.”

 

And then he was holding a lifeless corpse whose heat was rapidly bleeding out with its life blood. He held her close to him, closed her eyes, and dared not look at his son or the bastard king. If it was the last thing he did he would see his son's future unblighted by the monster that called himself Dragon King.

 

Only distantly did he hear the mockery of Askerin and his few supporters. At that moment, they mattered little compared to the woman in his arms and the small form pressing into his side.

 

* * *

 

The ten years that the Riagenkai himself had ruled in the absence of a ruler had been good years. There had been time to rebuild, time to recover from the last king's rampages. They had begun knitting together old connections that had been severed and had been allowed to grieve unashamed for those lost. The land had flourished under his careful eye and crops had been, if not bountiful, then healthy enough to feed their families. Even the ministers had withdrawn for a long winter nap and kept to themselves. Their Riagenkai had repealed the harsh, oppressive laws that the previous king had made in his last few months, but passed no new laws. It had been a time of peace.

 

Then, the Riagenkai had left the palace in such a hurry that night that it made them wonder. Whispers circled that the ministers had finally driven him away. Something perilously close to fear gripped them when it was spoken that the Heshen had been appointed as acting king in the absence of both a ruler and the Riagenkai. Heshen Kaji was a good man, but he was ill suited to rule. Even the threat of the Riagenkai circling over the country couldn't keep the ministers at bay and soon their winter was over and they were back in control as the Heshen lost control.

 

Though rumors of the Riagnekai's search for a missing queen filtered to them through neighboring towns and villages the people drew no hope from them. Until the Riagenkai returned with their royal there would be no joy in them. They felt it in their very souls that they would despair beneath the onslaught of the ministers ruthless greed, but none could rouse themselves from the land that they had cultivated and defended against even the mad tyrant. If they could survive nine years of an insane, rampaging ruler then they could survive a few months of the ministers greedy ambitions.

 

Days turned to weeks, weeks to months, and months became a year. Still, the Riagenkai did not return to the palace to take up the throne once more or find his royal. Laws were reinstated that required hard labor and steeper taxes beyond the usual tithes owed to the crown and provincial lords. Any progress that had been made under the Riagenkai was quickly swallowed up by those greedy enough to take it. The people were worked beyond their limits, from sunrise to sundown, and given nothing in return. When the people began complaining at the end of the first year they were told, “Be glad for your lives,” and set to do even more hard labor.

 

They resisted and those that did so were flogged until they could barely breathe. When that failed to deter them, orders were given that any caught were to be executed on the spot with their families. Thousands were slaughtered in a single night as the soldiers grew overzealous and grew out of even the Heshen's fragile control.

 

A disease swept through the crops that harvesting season and ravaged the land. What little they could gather was taken from them by the ministers and their cries of hunger went unheard. The storehouses that were meant to feed them in times of need were robbed of their contents by the nobles to feed their own small forces and keep out the angry townsfolk. Only those few villages near the bordering countries were able to obtain food and game and the meager supplies that they gathered were split cautiously among their families.

 

Many died that second year. Factions of people gathered together to mutter their distaste of the ministers and plans were laid. Dissension grew and by the time the second year of the Heshen's rule was almost ready to end, massive revolts were on the brink of explosion. It was only the Riagenkai's return at last, heavily wounded though he was, that stayed their hand and made them hope. The appearance of two more dragons heartened them and not even three days after his return was there a new queen. No one noticed the quiet way in which the Heshen disappeared, but celebration was abundant among them for several weeks.

 

Three months had passed since the new queen had taken the throne of Regenku and still nothing had gotten better. Any hopes that the people might have held were squashed when the ministers remained unpunished and no move was made to even replace them. The ministers and many high nobles hoarded what wealth they could squeeze from their people and neglected everything else. The only concern that the new queen attended to was that of her entertainment. She used her court and Riagenkai to her own ends and cared nothing for the land or it's people. The new regime did nothing to deal with the corruptness of their courts.

 

Even the lands protested. Where once there might have been a meager crop, there was only dust. Rumors circled that in some places ice had begun to form in even the hottest part of the day. Still, the people did not flee their homes, but no longer did they hold faith in the throne. If the Riagenkai would not take care of them and execute the queen, then they would do it for him. The factions gathered once more and plans were made, but this time they had support from the most surprising of places.

 

* * *

 

Red satin brushed the rough granite of the palace floors as she was shoved roughly to the floor before Harimetia, the queen that Askerin had sent them. The guard tightened the bonds at her wrists before forcing her head to the ground as well, her blood red hair falling to cover her face. Satisfied that she would not move until spoken to, he rose and took a few steps back before kneeling once more.

 

Harimetia stared at the girl. Her lank black tresses fell to the side as she leaned her head into her palm. This was the great Kiragashi heir, so young? The girl had been so easy to subdue once they had taken her aunt into custody and threatened to execute her on the spot. So easily manipulated, so easily overcome. Boring.

 

She glanced at the Riagenkai at her side. He had proven to be no more entertaining than a lame dog, more of a figurehead than anything else. When Askerin had told her that his son would be entertaining enough to hold her attention for a while she had believed him and now here she was, stuck on a throne with nothing to ease her monotony.

 

Morion had been the first minister to kneel to her and he had hardly left her side since the first day, attending to everything that she did not want to deal with and issuing the orders that were necessary. At night he was more useful, especially in bed. Even now he stood to her left, staring at the girl as though she were dirt beneath his heels, an unpleasant reminder of…something best forgotten.

 

Reaching up, she caught his sleeve and tugged, catching his attention. He looked down at her, his black eyes dancing with annoyance. She motioned to him and he dropped to one knee so that they were at eye level, his blue robes rippling around his lean body as he knelt. “Yes, majesty?” he asked.

 

“What were the charges again?” she asked quietly, eyeing the dragon as she did so. A bore though he might be she knew that to be the Dragon Prince and a half-breed he had to possess fantastic strength to still be alive and if even half the court gossip she had head in the three months she had been queen were true then she really didn't want to risk awakening him from his false slumber.

 

“She is imagi, but the story is that she has been plotting a rebellion against you,” Morion said, his eyes flicking towards Farin for the third time that day. “The spell will hold. He will not lift a finger to help her even if we hack her apart limb by limb.”

 

“And what if he really has chosen her as his royal?” she hissed.

 

“Then she would be sitting here and not you,” Morion said. “Askerin is looking into the matter. Rest assured that no one will stand in your way. For now, we will continue to eliminate the opposition.” With that he rose and addressed the Kiragashi heir. “You are hereby charged with the treasonous acts of plotting a rebellion against our new queen. Have you any words to defend yourself before Her Majesty passes judgment on your black soul.”

 

The girl rose to her knees, her silver eyes dancing wildly. “You only care for yourselves and you've driven this kingdom to the brink of destruction for your own greed, you stupid munkura,” she spat, using Farin's favorite curse. She smiled recklessly, almost as though she were welcoming death with open arms. "When my sister returns you will regret imprisoning the Riagenkai as you have. She'll make sure you are thoroughly punished, every one of you." Her unflinching gaze swept around the room, making those that met it wince.

 

The guard that had previously forced her to kneel lurched to his feet, drawing the sword at his waist in the same moment. He slammed the hilt of his sword into the back of her neck. As stars burst in front of her eyes she smirked and whispered something so softly even the guard missed it, but no one failed to spot the brown shape that streaked from her side straight for the queen.

 

Before any of her men could react it had passed them. Harimetia screeched and threw her arms over her face as it approached the throne stairs at an alarming speed. A roar filled the air and danced around them for a moment before it faded and a murmur passed through the nobles and ministers.

 

Lowering her arms enough that she could see over them she saw that Farin's white wolf servant had pinned beneath her body a monkey. She relaxed. If nothing else this proved that the Kiragashi heir was not the chosen royal and nothing more than an annoying brat to be swatted carelessly away.