Inheritance

Part 2. Chapter 71: Drifting Gaze

"I'm a dragon." Casamir corrected her. "But yes, I was once an Arrozan, too."

"But how?" Kori whispered, almost more to herself than anyone else. "The Arrozans were all killed but for Eory."

"One went missing." Casamir said shortly and without elaboration.

Kori thought long and hard about which Arrozan had gone missing. She was only familiar with the direct royal family which included Eory, his parents, and his older brother, Gershom.

She knew that Eory had an aunt and uncle who ruled over a dukedom and who had two children, but none were named Casamir...

Kori's heart felt heavy and regretful. I'm almost certain Laurence executed them all...

Kori's thoughts turned to Eory, and, like it always did, her heart burst with sadness. I'd do anything to have him back.

Kori was drawn into suffocating thoughts that enclosed her on all sides about how much she had failed Eory.

Eventually, however, she remembered something very odd that Eory used to repeat when he was very young.

"I think I should share this meal with the missing Arrozan!"

"I think the missing Arrozan is lonely. Maybe I should play with him?"

"I never got to say goodbye to the missing Arrozan..."

Kori thought that this missing Arrozan wasn't real at all, and that Eory was making up a friend due to loneliness, but thinking back on it...

He was so specific about this Arrozan's personality and physical features.

"Do you know Eory?" Kori asked.

At the mention of Eory's name, the Arrozan's big ears perked up. "Yes, I knew Eory. He was my cousin."

Kori's eyes widened. "Why have I never heard of you? I thought the duke only had two children."

Casamir had a sincere frown on his face. He said to Kori, "I wandered far from home, and I disappeared. My parents must have swept my existence under the rug."

Kori nodded. "That must have been the case. There was rumor throughout the whole of Maribel about a missing Arrozan, and Eory talked about a missing Arrozan all the time."

Casamir looked up at the night sky with an odd smile on his face. "Of course, mother and father liked to sweep my existence under the rug entirely, even before I went missing. They were only going to reveal it at the same time that they were going to announce my betrothal to Eory, but I disappeared before then."

Kori's nose wrinkled at the prospect of cousins marrying, but couldn't let herself be too shocked about it due to the fact that Eory's own parents were siblings. She asked Casamir, "How did you disappear?"

Casamir grinned a toothy grin, and, in that moment, Kori couldn't help but think that he truly did resemble a dragon, fangs and all. "I found true family when I disappeared, and I also found out who I was truly meant to be. A dragon. Arrozans are sick, perverted creatures, and I would have liked to burn them all to ash if I could have. Luckily, I heard that King Laurence already handled that for me. I have heard that dear old Cousin Eory survived. The foolish Redeemer of Maribel supposedly kept him alive out of some kind of foolish compassion for him. If I ever see him again, I would love to be the one to finish off the Arrozan line."

Kori was once again made to feel ashamed and guilty for saving an innocent, young life. She was about to tell him he was wrong, because she couldn't help herself when it came to Eory; she wanted to defend him even when he was far away and she wasn't even sure he was alive.

Kori's words were halted when Casamir breathed deeply and then exhaled a plume of putrid, dark magic into the air that resembled fire in every way but in color. Kori was brought to fearful silence, wondering if he would breathe his evil magic on her.

Kori no longer felt like talking. She lowered herself to the ground and tried to go back to sleep.

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She found herself dreaming incoherent, but intoxicating dreams of Laurence, her rescuer, and the man she simply couldn't forget or move past. She twitched in her sleep, and smiled, too. Before he became king, he had devoted himself to her happiness so nicely, and for no other reason than that he was a good man. It was his selflessness that made her want to be Maribel's Redeemer when he became king; indeed, it was partly his selflessness that made her want to save Eory even when Laurence himself wanted to execute him.

And in her mind, she found it incredibly difficult to reconcile the differences between Laurence the Peasant and Laurence the King. Laurence the Peasant spent much of his time sharing what little food he had with the other peasants of Maribel to the point that his ribs were showing. He gave most of his food to Kori and his sister, and any other peasants who were starving more than he was. He lived on scraps, and he was fine with that.

Laurence the King was brash and aggressive. He was dismissive of his subjects and seemed like he hardly wanted to rule at all. He enjoyed the power of having gold and subjects who admired him for deposing the Arrozans but didn't want to deal with the responsibilities that came with being king.

Kori had a far more intimate relationship with Laurence than his subjects did, however, and she spoke a far more intimate language with him—one that only lovers could understand—that told her just how much he had changed.

Laurence the Peasant was kind with his hands and understanding of Kori's inexperience when it came to lovemaking. It was Kori who had to make her desires to him known the first time that made love, and the memories of it made her feel warm even many years later. Kori had been standing on a chair, trying to reach a book on a shelf in Laurence's house. Laurence came along and grabbed it for her, and she realized, at that moment, that she was at a height where she could easily kiss him.

She had never felt like she was his equal, either in height or in character since she had first met him, but suddenly, she was stricken with desire for him that overcame her fears. She wanted him, and she didn't care whether she was worthy of him or not. She kissed him relentlessly, trying desperately to get his clothes off, but found it very difficult because she was so preoccupied with his mouth.

Laurence the Peasant loved her so well.

He looked her in the eyes and showed compassion for her inexperience and rhythm. He made love to her only when their flirtations led them to it, or on the occasion when Kori was so stricken by him that she simply began kissing him, telling him wordlessly that she wanted him.

Laurence the King no longer flattered her or made her feel loved whenever he wanted her. Sometimes, he would call upon her under the guise that he wanted some advice about a political situation, only to rip her out of her clothes. He took no care to make sure she that she enjoyed herself. He was inconsiderate, and sometimes, far too rough. He would no longer allow her to look at him while they made love.

That was the biggest difference between Laurence the Peasant and Laurence the King. One of them looked at her, and the other didn't.

At the limits of her dreams, there was another man who she could barely see. He kept coming closer and closer even as she pushed Laurence the King away and was losing her already tenuous grip on Laurence the Peasant.

He kept coming closer and closer, even though Kori didn't want him to, until finally, she could see him in clarity. It was Francis, and she couldn't decide what it was that she was suddenly finding so attractive about him.

It could have been the fact that he was so young and outgoing where she was beginning to feel drained and old. It could have been the fact that he was flawlessly handsome like elves tended to be. It could have been his snarky personality or the fact that she found him funny even though she would never admit to herself that she did.

Or it could have been the fact that they were both hopelessly devoted to their respective king and queen despite knowing, deep down, that their king and queen would discard them both in an instant if it suited their needs.