The Dragon King

Chapter 27

"I hear whispers that people are rebelling against the peace treaty, and he is pulling strings," Rena admits in a hushed voice.

"As a true puppet master does." Marnie grumbles. "He is the only one with enough hatred to cause damage on such a scale and the only one with enough of a mastermind to cause it all, and none of us see it coming."

"And his son, Roland?" The headmistress edges in.

"Is twisted and arrogant, and if Rowley rises up for war, Roland will be right with him." Thinking of Roland still makes Marnie shutter. "I wish Elyas could come with me, but he is needed here, and his presence there would be a little touchy."

"I am surprised that he isn't going anyway." Rena remarks. "He follows you everywhere."

Marnie laughs and sits down on the bed with her back against the headboard. "There is no following about it. He is in front of me with his arms out wide, walking backward to make sure nothing bumps into me. He holds my arm when we go downstairs, and if I trip, he clings to me like a bubble." She does her best impression of her husband "keeping her safe," and Rena laughs. "I know he is thinking of my well-being, but I can walk by myself."

"He is just excited." Rena smiles.

"I have never seen him this excited." Marnie shakes her head, wondering when Elyas will make his daily presence. "It is like it is all he can think about."

"Oh, I have seen him like this a few times," Rena admits, and Marnie glances at her in curiosity. "Did you not pay attention to the way he acted before your wedding or the night of that ball where he proposed to you? Even back when you were first here in the castle and refusing to come out of your room, he still was centered on you."

"Obsessive much?" Marnie laughs with sarcasm, and Rena joins in.

"Still, your sister would be so proud of you if she were here." The mood shifts in the room, and Marnie does her best to remember Topaz, though, over the years, the memories have started to fade.

"I don't think so." Marnie shakes her head. "Topaz was devoted to doing everything right. I have made too many mistakes to ever earn her pride."

Rena reaches over and takes Marnie's hand in hers. "Not the Topaz I knew. She idolized you because of your mistakes. She loved that you had the freedom of choices and the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them. She never felt like she could make a mistake without the whole world coming to an end. You don't see all the good that you have accomplished, but it is there, and everyone else sees it."

"Topaz would hate me for leaving Zircon by choice." The dark thoughts start to creep in again, but Rena is quick to shoo them away.

"You should have never had to choose." Rena sighs, and Marnie looks up at her to see the weight of her words. "Everyone's lives shift and adapt. It is wrong for you to live your life based on what others want. You are not a porcelain doll on a shelf, Marnie. He knew someone would come along, and he knew he couldn't keep you forever."

"It was never a question of someone coming to take me away. He wanted someone to." Marnie admits, remembering a heart-to-heart with her brother long ago. "He wanted someone to come to save me, and show me the realm and take me places he couldn't. He knew I wouldn't be there forever. My leaving isn't what made him angry. It was Elyas, specifically." Over the past several months, she has gotten an occasional letter with vague details of his life. She always answers the letters, but the damage has already been done. Things are just different now. "He is a soldier and sees everything in black and white. To him, Elyas is the enemy, and I chose the enemy. In his eyes, I chose evil over good. I don't regret my choice to marry Elyas, and I never will. I just wish Zircon could understand why I did. I wish he could have that kind of love in his life; to get married and have children."