they call it drakon- the land of the dragons. bring in a street thief, a scholar, a few dragons and a crown prince who doesn't know what's good for him, you've got a recipe for disaster. oh, don't forget the web of lies simply waiting to be unrave...
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THERE WAS AWKWARD SILENCE FOR A MOMENT.
The only sound in the room was the sound of Celeste's fork scraping against her plate as she pushed her peas around, spots of green smearing sauce everywhere. After Alistair called Celeste out, it seemed like nobody was willing to eat anymore, least of all Celeste herself. I didn't dare do anything- hunger could wait. I've had years worth of experience skipping meals, so what could this change? I played around with my trusty knife under the table. It was always reliable- not only could I use it in attacks and for defending myself, I could also use it to destress and entertain myself in awkward situations such as the one I was currently in. I internally thanked Ash for going all the effort to get me it.
The king cleared his throat, apparently trying to restart a conversation. The awkwardness was probably too much for him to take. I glanced at him, unfazed. "Well, Miss Drake, where did you grow up?" Was he really trying to make small talk? Unfortunately for him, I was no expert at that. I didn't want to answer his question anyway.
"In the streets." I answered him simply. I didn't want to say too much about my past- it hurt to remember. Sure, life in the palace was nice and all, with dragons and scholars and a certain crown prince, but I still missed Ash so damn much. It hurt to remember the good old days we spent goofing around like dorks, chasing and racing each other over the roofs of the tallest buildings, or even just lying in each other's company, staring up at the starry night sky on a good day or completely mucking ourselves up when in rained. Ash was like a brother to me. As much as I liked spending time at the palace with Alistair, Terris and the dragons, I still missed my best friend. I wished he was there with me- I bet he would've loved dragons. He and Cecil could even be friends.
The king's wineglass clinked as he set it down on the table, shaking me out of my reverie. I stared at the red fluid sloshing around the cup. "I don't mean to pry, but why didn't you live in an orphanage or something? They would've been glad to accept you." I held back a scoff. Clearly, this man knew nothing about the poverty in his kingdom. Alistair might not be too bright intelligence-wise, but at least he tried to look around and properly see his kingdom for what it was.
"They did accept me, but my friend and I ran away." I answered him casually, picking at my nails with my smaller knife under the table. Although the urge to kill Celeste was long gone, Alistair kept his arm tightly wrapped around my waist, and I could feel his thumb pressing against my hip, a stark contrast to the knife that usually occupied that position. I resisted the urge to sneer at the king, subtly watching his movements. "The director of the orphanage couldn't train us into perfect little children to be adopted anyway." According to the man who'd attempted to take us in, Ash was too headstrong, and I was too much of a wild child. So we ran, building our empire of blood, sweat and tears, step by step.
Felix blinked. "Oh." he struggled to find another good topic, one that would probably encourage me to talk to him, to expose more of my past.
