Fire

Chapter Twenty Eight

"As you all know, a few weeks ago Emil went out to search for his bride. He found her in the woods under some, interesting circumstances, to say the least. You see, she had already been marked by another, someone other than Emil. She also had her child with her." This causes more muttering and my heart starts to speed up. This sounds like a twisted version of mine and Emil's first meeting.

"My son spoke with her briefly before leaving her with a token of his affections and coming home to try and find a way around the mark already gracing her skin. Thankfully, he found a way! So now, we would like to introduce you all to her. Please meet your future Queen and now Crown Princess, Phoenix. She is formerly known as Ember, the elders' daughter and priestess in training of the Ahlstrom tribe." The dragons started to clap but I could barely hear them. In front of me is Emil, a sad smile on his face. He gently takes my hand from Renee and leads me up to where his father is standing. I hear Emil whisper in my ear to curtsy, and I do so automatically. I don't hear anything that the King says following my announcement. I don't know how long I am standing next to Emil in front of everyone. Eventually, Emil gently leads me off the pedestal and down in front of it. There, the dragons form a line to congratulate their future King and Queen. I didn't hear anything the said to congratulate me or to praise me. I just stood there, unaware of my surroundings. I don't know how long I stood there, but eventually Emil lead me back to the chair I sat at before. Emil began to talk to me, but I couldn't hear what he was saying, I was still in shock.

"Ember. Ember!" Emil yelled, finally pulling me out of my shock. "You only need to be here for a little while longer. Then you can head back to your room if you want."

I nod and he walks off, probably to go find his father or someone else. Eventually, Renee and her friends come back. They go back to running their hands along me. Renee had gone back to standing in front of me with her hands on my face. Eventually, Jacob shuffles his way in front of me, looking at Renee shyly while silently asking her a question. She nods and moves away. Jacob then takes Renee's place in front of me and reaches his chubby little hands up to touch my cheeks. I can gently feel his nails on my face. Looking into his dragon-like eyes, he reminds me of Viktor. Tears brim in my eyes and he looks up at me confused. I shake my head and give him a teary smile. He smiles back, no longer afraid of me. A figure appears behind him. Looking up, my eyes meet Conny's as she stands in front of me.

"Mind if I talk to Ember, Jacobi?" She asks Jacob. I suppose that's his full name. He nods and walks off with the girls. "I'm sorry I didn't give you a heads up. I didn't really have time to. I found out after you made me leave and Sebastian was with you. I just couldn't tell you while Lord Emil was there with you."

"It's fine, Conny. I understand. I just, it's a bit of a surprise. I thought I was his slave."

"Well... yes and no. Essentially, you are his slave. He choose you to be his bride and you have no say in the matter."

"Is there any way I can get out of this? Any way at all?"

"The only way is to find your med-zeymah. Your counter-part. They are the person that balances you out. For you, I think if you find yours, it's gonna mellow you out. You really need it."

"Hey! I am mellow!" Conny snorts at this.

"Yeah... sure."

"Uh, mind if I cut it?" Sebastian asks. Conny shakes her head and quietly says goodbye before skirting off probably to get some food or go pester someone.

"Would you care to dance?" he asks sweetly. I only now realize that there is music with people dancing because of his question. I give a slight nod and a grin burst onto his face. He holds out his hand to me, I take it and he leads me out to the dance floor. Once there, he turns to me and put his other hand on my waist. It is the same type of formal dancing that I am used to back at home. We dance together and I don't have to really think about what I'm doing, I just get to relax and let my body do what it knows how to do.