Prince of Dragons

Chapter Nine

A bath, for me, anyway, was always relaxing to me. A bit of pine essential oil to the water, with a little bit of bubbles—yes, I know, I am a grown adult man—and I passed out within fifteen minutes of soaking. I guess the anticipation and anxiety, and nerves had me more exhausted than I initially thought, and I jolted awake as soon as I started to slip under the water.

Dragging a hand down my face, I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and climbed out of the bath—which had long since grown cold—and dried myself off with a soft towel before I pulled on a pair of clean trousers.

Just as I was finishing tying up the laces, I heard a knock on my door. Thinking it was Davian, or Cayden, or even one of the castle staff, I draped the towel around my neck and moved to open the door—only to freeze when I came face to face with Father.

I mean, I knew this was going to happen eventually, once he got away from Davian, but that feeling in my stomach flared back up as soon as I locked eyes with him.

I hated feeling like this. I wasn't scared of him, or worried that he was going to do anything that would harm me or put me in an impossible position...but he had this authoritative air around him that always seemed to trigger that anxiety—even when we were on good terms. I had no idea why that was, but it did, and I hated when it did.

Maybe that was just who I was—an anxious overthinker of a person. If that was the case, I should probably see the castle doctor and ask what herbs could alleviate that feeling.

"Are you going to stand there and stare at me, or may I come in so that we can talk?" Father wondered, his crimson eyes—exactly the same shade as mine—seemingly trying to gage my reaction.

I snapped back to reality and awkwardly shuffled to the side, allowing some room for him to step inside. I watched him as he paced back and forth, brows pinched in concentration as I shut the door and leaned against it—crossing my arms together while I waited for him to say what he was no doubt going to say.

Finally, after a moment, he halted and glanced at me—a frown on his lips. "I try so hard to be a good father to you boys. To be better than my father before me. All I want is what's best for you boys and what's best for the kingdom, and I know you don't see it that way. You think I'm being unjust and unfair...but Drakell, I admit I'm harder than you than on Drake because you're the eldest and heir to the throne. What you did, Drakell, was reckless, irresponsible, and put your mother and I in turmoil. You could have gotten yourself killed."

"I'm trained in combat, father, I don't go down easily," I muttered, looking away from his intense gaze.

"Maybe so, but even a warrior needs sleep, Drakell. What if you were ambushed by an assassin? What if you were caught unaware? You're not immortal, Drakell. There are many individuals who want the throne for themselves. You put yourself and the future of this kingdom at risk, and for what? To prove a point to me? You left without so much as leaving a note, and after Dor-Davian...you could have been lost to me, Drakell."

My chest felt tight as I averted my gaze—guilt eating away at me as I stared intensely towards the floor. It was true, that I didn't think about what my disappearance would do to my parents. I had been angry at the time and had only been thinking about myself. All I had wanted to do was run away from my problems, and it had been incredibly selfish of me to have done that to them—especially since they had lost Davian all those years ago.

With a guilty conscious, I nibbled the inside of my cheek, and wrang my hands together in front of me. "I-I'm sorry, father. I-I was angry and didn't think about the consequences of my actions."

I looked up when I felt a hand on my shoulder and met father's gaze. I swore I could see the beginning of tears in those crimson eyes, but before I could look any closer, he pulled me into a tight hug.

I initially tensed, considering father wasn't normally the "touchy feely type" like mother was, but after a moment, I relaxed and hugged him back. He must have truly been worried when I left if he felt like he had to hug me like this, and it caused the internal guilt to intensify as he pulled away and cleared his throat.

"The next time you decide to run off, leave a note. Even if you are angry with me, at least let your mother know. That is all I ask of you. That, and that you take guards with you."

I nodded, shifting my weight. "I'll...try to remember that."

Father frowned. "I want you to promise me, Drakell."

I pursed my lips. "I promise."

Father nodded. "Good, good. And...I want to thank you as well...for bringing my baby boy home." He faintly smiled. "He's grown to be such a good man. But I-I can see the darkness within him, from his time away from us. It haunts him. I...I don't want to imagine what that bastard did to him all these years."

"You really don't," I spoke softly, remembering everything he had told me. Every detail, every tear Davian shed as he recalled how powerless he felt. But I couldn't tell father that, as that was Davian's trauma to tell. And I've no doubt he would tell him when he was ready.

"So you know what happened to him?"

I looked up towards father—locking gazes with the older dragon. "I do. I'm sure it's not all of it, but I can figure out the rest of what was not said, on my own. What Alton did to him..." I shook my head "...was inhumane. I know you have questions, but I don't want to speak for Davian when he isn't ready to tell you himself. I hope you can understand."

Father stared at me for a moment, reading my gaze, before he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I do. I want him to trust me enough to tell me himself, as I cannot fathom forcing it out of him. What I do know, is that the Northern Kingdom is going to pay for what they've done to my little boy. Especially that bastard king of theirs."

"Not all of the Northern Kingdom is bad, father. There are many good people there that have no idea how ill their king is."

"War is not without it's casualties," father said as he crossed his arms.

"Davian wouldn't want innocent people to die because of what one man did to him. The one at fault is Alton, not his people."

"And neither are my people. Right now, his boy is on our land. What if he wants his son back? What if he sends his army to collect his heir?"

I remained silent and kept my gaze averted from his. I didn't know what to say. War was always a taboo subject for me, and I could never understand why two nations would risk innocent lives all because their leader couldn't admit when they were in the wrong. And Alton was definitely in the wrong. I loathed the concept of war, and it was one of the biggest reasons why I didn't want to be king. How would I be able to sleep at night, knowing I was putting the lives of innocent men and women at risk because I couldn't admit I was in the wrong?"

It was the biggest reason I never wanted to be king, however, I kept that all to myself. I didn't want to start another argument with father, not when we finally got Davian back.

So I was wise, and stayed silent, because no one but the common people would understand my view, and there was no use in arguing.

Father nodded to himself before he approached me. "You're not king yet, nor a father, so I don't expect you to understand my position just yet. War is brutal and has ruled the earth for as long as it has been here. When you're king, you'll understand why the leaders do what we do in order to protect those we care about." He patted me on the shoulder and began walking to the door. "The chefs are preparing dinner. I know Davian would want you to be there, as would your mother and I."

Still not feeling the need to talk, I merely nodded my head and watched as father left my room—leaving me to sigh s a whole new tension washed over me.

A/N: Seeee, daddy dragon was just worried for his sonnnnnnnn. And poor Drakell doesn't know what to do, cuz he hates Alton and what he's done to Davian, but he knows his father will start a war over it, and lots of people will lose their lives T-T. I feel bad for my lil dragon boy

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Lemme know what you think! I love feedback!