Inheritance

Part 2. Chapter 66

"I am so... Sick of people like you!" Kori couldn't stop herself from speaking her mind to Casamir. "There are things I need to do that are bigger than your petty problems! First Hew comes along and selfishly diverts me from my goal of saving a kingdom full of innocent people from a possible war for his own gains, and now you aim to do the same thing! Don't you people care about anything other than yourselves? Even my own king cares nothing for his kingdom—he would rather execute an innocent elf than have to pay off our monthly debt! You are all bullies and narcissists!"

Casamir threw his head back and laughed. "Your problems are of no interest to me! Call me whatever you will, resent me if you wish, that doesn't change the fact that you are powerless before me. I care nothing for a kingdom full of tiny creatures like humans and fairies. I am bigger than them. I am a dragon."

Kori closed her eyes, rubbing her temples.

"Kori..." Francis whispered. "There's nothing we can do..."

Kori opened her eyes. She folded her arms across her chest, trudging to the side of the dragon. "Power. That's all you fools care about. It's the only thing that gives you pleasure and satisfaction. What none of you realize is that power is short-lived—it only lasts as long as you have control over someone else—and you'll find that you'll run out of people who are willing to be controlled very quickly."

Francis listened to her with rapt attention despite his foggy mind. Her words held him captive.

She climbed up on the dragon behind Francis.

Casamir snorted. "You have a strange misconception about power, waif."

The fairy was the last to climb up on the dragon.

Anyananta bounded forward through the forest with mighty leaps.

"Hold on." Casamir said bluntly.

Everyone grabbed ahold of the dragon's mighty, red mane that trailed all the way down her back.

With three more mighty bounds, the dragon flapped her wings and took to the air.

__

When he was little, Francis often dreamed of what it might be like to ride a dragon. He told Terran that it was one of his finest wishes.

Terran scoffed at his dream like he did most of his brother's dreams. "Oh, Francis. Dragon's are vile, vicious creatures, I highly doubt one would let you ride on its back. You'd best stick to the ground."

Francis didn't like the ground. He thought it was too boring and too restricting. He wanted to cast off the shackles of being both male and female and take flight to a place where he might be accepted—a place where he could lead an exciting life.

He didn't mind spending all his time indoors at first; in fact, he liked being doted on by mother, brother, and father.

Mother played with him all day; she sewed him dolls, she played wooden cavalry with him, and she bade Francis to pretend the floor was lava with her as they jumped from piece of furniture to piece of furniture.

Terran was a different story.

He always looked haggard. He was always working hard and helping to take care of both their mother because she tended to be flighty and forgetful, and Francis because he was so young. Terran would come home from the academy to a home that was filthy and a mother that told him that she forgot to make Francis any meals. He would have to clean up and cook dinner, and after, he would read Francis a story to put him to sleep.

Francis admired that about him. He admired it so much that he decided, early on, that he wanted to be a man instead of a woman.

"You are special," mother told him. "You are both male and female, which means you have the chance to decide which you want to be. So... Are you male or female?"