Dragon Blood [Alonia's Queenslayer #2]

8

Responsible guard, life-saver, queenslayer, dragon rider Eli turned towards princess Lillia. "I'll stay with her."

"If you're worried about her safety, you really shouldn't be, I can promise you our guards are entirely trustworthy. We have never had an intruder in the palace, not since it was made hundreds of years ago," the queen said. Eli didn't reply. She was just clenching her teeth and her fists in annoyance. "Fine, alright. Princess Lillia, Queenslayer, your room is on the right. Prince Rileigh, your room is right here on the left."

The servants on both entrances seemed fairly young, at most fifteen years old, as far as Eli could tell. Her and princess Lillia's servant had really short hair and a calm look on his face. He looked up at them once they approached, and bowed.

"It is an honour to serve you, your Highness, and Queenslayer Eli," he said, and opened the door for them.

The room was very spacious, and even had a balcony hidden behind a few layers of curtains, ranging from see-through white to thick crimson. The night-tables were equipped with tall white candles, and there were several white-and-gold pots with weird red-and-green plants growing out of the dirt. The room was incredible in every way except one: the bed meant for Eli wasn't even a bed, but just a woolen mattress with a lot of covers over it.

"Is there anything I can do for you, your Highness, Queenslayer?" The servant asked, making Eli nearly jump out of her skin. She had forgotten all about him.

"No, that's fine. Come get us in time for food," Eli said. The servant bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him.

The princess looked thrilled. "This room is incredible! Look, we can see the whole town from the balcony! And those weird buildings in the sea, too!"

Eli sighed, feeling too annoyed with everything to talk. Her shoulder was getting crushed under the armor, so she sat down onto the ground and worked on getting her shoulderplate off while the princess kept rambling about the view, before finally going out onto the balcony and out of earshot.

Wait, what if she got assassinated while on the balcony?

Eli leaped onto her feet and ran out onto the balcony after the princess. However, instead of lecturing her, she found herself frozen in place by the sheer beauty of the view. They were pretty high up, and the whole city stretched before them in all its glory. The people on the streets were just like blue-and-green specks on the ground, surrounded by colourful buildings. Eli could see several markets strewn around, and some pretty strange buildings around which quite a bit of people were gathering. The sea beyond the city stretched on into the horizon, and the many pale buildings rose from it on either side. The harbour was full of ships, and some were already sailing away through the path created by the sea-buildings.

After finally getting her bearings, Eli looked back at the princess, who was leaning dangerously over the railing. Eli took the princess by the arm without any regard for rank, and pulled her back, to the younger girl's shock.

"You could get murdered on that balcony. A good archer could have taken you out easily. Don't leave my sight, understood?"

The princess scoffed and pulled her arm from Eli's grip. "Why are you being such a jerk?"

"You begged me to. If you want to stay alive, you'll listen to me," Eli said coldly.

"This is so unfair, Eli, we've just arrived!" The princess whined, and Eli felt a nerve inside her brain snap.

"I could be fucking a hot elf right now, but I'm stuck babysitting you instead," she retorted. The princess's eyes bulged out in shock at Eli's vulgarity, but she recovered herself quickly.