My fists connect with the knight's jaw, and it had been a while since I had been in a real fight. Ale splashed everywhere from overturned cups, a chair skidding across the floor and everyone turned around in their seats.
The knight's hands shot up, gripping his jaw and staggering back-- but he wasn't at all done, not by a long shot. "You insolent fu--!" the knight growled, swaying, his armor clanking as he advanced at me.
I stumble to my feet of course, my head spinning from adrenaline and drinking. Ducking his swing and throwing my own fist towards his arrogant face. He went down but not before smacking the stool out from under me with his leg and I hit the floor hard, tasting blood from my now split lip.
A voice cut through, sharp as a blade: "Enough!" The tension is so thick, you could slice it with a knife.
Soldiers - real, uniformed soldiers- stormed through the tavern doors. The room felt immensely smaller instantly as their swords shined in the lantern lights.
God swords. These soldiers weren't just normal soldiers though; they were part of an elite squad usually sent on the front lines or to protect the princess. These knights rode dragons into battle and had swords that could eviscerate someone in the matter of seconds, and they were all arrogant pricks who cared for only their precious royalty.
I push myself up off the floor, smirking at how ridiculous these men were. How they fight for royalty that couldn't care less about what happened to them if they die. The knight staggered to his feet, holding his jaw, eyes wide but clearly in pain. How weak.
"This one's drunk and needs to be taught a lesson. A foolish rat!" he spat.
I smirked "I'm surprised you can still talk from that broken mess you call a mouth."
He didn't smile; in fact, he had anger radiating from every pore of his face. He stepped forward, every move clear threat against my being. A hand gripped my shoulder and yanked me back. Soldiers surround me with swords drawn.
"You're under arrest for assault on a knight of the realm," one said, voice firm and low.
I struggled, barely keeping my sanity, "I was defending myself and technically, he hit me first." I spit blood on the ground of the tavern. "Technically" he sneered, "you will hang for this."
I felt like I was going to start laughing. Hang? In Daxia? For a drunken fight? I'd survived worse-- but a death sentence for a single reckless night was quite frankly off the menu for me.
A couple hours later, I found myself in a cold, damp cell. Colder than anything I've ever felt. As if the spirits of those that died in the cells still roamed here after centuries.
I slumped over into my straw mattress, the weight of inevitability on my shoulders. It's not hard to hear footsteps in a place like this. The door creaks open and She steps in.
Princess Niculina, A short, pale female a little older than I, long blonde hair partially tied up but still hanging loosely over her shoulders. She is in a cerulean blue and pearl white gown flowing in silks. Showing her higher status, I'm disgusted because this whole kingdom is struggling while she sits here in luxury with her father high on his horse.
She didn't look angry -- not really. Just... curious. Her eyes scanned me, taking in my bloodied knuckles and busted lips. She fondles a dagger with a pearl-iridescent hilt between her fingertips, clearly dull from the lack of use.
"You realize," she says softly, "you can be executed for what you've done?"
"Your threats are as dull as that dagger in your hand..." I stand up and walk over to the bars of my cell, maintaining eye contact because I'm not going to let some pretty doll decide my fate for me.
I smirk at her, grasping her dagger as the guards around her unsheathe their sword, I drag the blade across my hand, not even a scratch lining my hand. Her hand held up, stopping the guards from doing anything more.
"I realize that, but I also realize It's probably not going to happen." I started, clenching my jaw.
Her lips pressed into a thin line, unimpressed. "You speak as if courage will save you from the fate you seem to hunger for so bad." I smirk despite the chill. " Depends on courage, your Highness."
She raises an eyebrow, "And which do you claim?"
"The type that wants to live," I said simply. " My mother needs me to be alive. That is the only type of courage I am interested in at this moment."
She studies me, her eyes tracing me as if a predator is trying to navigate its prey. I feel her weighing every inch- the defiance, the slyness, the nerve I must even speak to her in this way as if she wasn't royalty at all. The guards shift uneasily.
She exhales a sharp sigh, her shoulders rolling as she comes to a decision, " very well." every inch a deliberate claim. " Live, but you will serve in the court. Every action, every word... I will be watching. Fail, and it will not be forgiven."
"You wish me to serve?" I say with a scoff, because why in the world would I serve the same family who didn't care when my father died? One of the most loyal knights to this court?
" Yes." she paused, letting that sink in. "You will learn respect, discipline and you will learn... your place."
"And if I refuse your little offer?"
"You will die, it's that simple." She says as if there is no concern on her end. my chest tightened. Life has never offered me a choice. It was either kill or be killed. Now... surviving meant bending to a princess's will, serving in a palace full of silk, spies and steel.
I looked up at her, forcing the bitterness into a crooked smile. "Then I suppose I'll live." She turns as the bitter cold creeps back into my cell. It was as if her presence brought an odd tinge of warmth and yet somehow, she was so cold and left. The cell felt colder than ever. not because of the stone or winter air though, but because of this sick and twisted game I've now been forced into.
I didn't sleep that night.
The straw was too thin, the cold even worse-- but it wasn't either of those that kept me awake. It was the weight of it all, my mother is probably losing her mind not knowing where I am. By the grace of the Gods, I hope someone is looking after her since I've been in here. A tavern fight, a death sentence and now I'm meant to be serving the same palace that I hate.
I'd survived worse. or at least that's what I've told myself. But morning came anyway.
The guards didn't bother to ask if I was ready. They hauled me to my feet before I could pretend, I even had a say.
"On your feet" one muttered.
"I am on my feet; you're just doing most of the work."
He didn't laugh... Figures.
................
The palace was worse than I imagined. Too clean. Too immaculate.
Every servant moved as if they had been trained to disappear. Every noble walked like the ground belonged to them. Even the air felt as if it had never known poverty.
I hated it instantly.
They handed me off to an older female with silver hair braided, introducing herself as Master Alina, which just meant she found creative ways to remind me I was beneath everyone here.
"You will be assigned as a servant to Chieftain Darius. You will do whatever he requests. It does not bring me pleasure to state the princess has also brought your mother to the castle grounds to be looked after by the healers here. You are very lucky for that." She states, tilting her head up at me.
They put me to work straight away. Clean this, carry that. Deliver messages to people who looked at me like I had just crawled out of a trench because technically I have.
One of them stopped me on the second pass. "Careful with that," he said, eyeing the tray in my hands and smirking. "We don't need a thieving rat handling royal property."
I stopped slowly and smiled while turning around. "If I were a thief, you wouldn't still have your precious little valuables." His face turned red with anger.
"You little—"
"Decebalus." Her voice cut clean through the hall, and I turned. Princess Niculina stood at the far end, watching.
The nobleman straightened immediately, then stumbling over himself to bow to her, "Your Highness, I was merely—"
"I didn't ask nobleman Casius. In fact, shouldn't you be on the way to meet with my father?" she stated. Embarrassment etched across his face, Casius bowed again and walked away hurriedly.
Her gaze shifted to me, as if measuring me. "You seem to be adjusting." Her hands clasped together but her shoulders even.
"Depends," I say, "Is surviving considered adjusting?" My jaw is clenching. Her coldness is unusual as if this isn't how she usually is. Something must have pissed her off, but something flickered in her expression. "Do well to remember where you are, Decebalus. Not everyone in this court is kind and I can't always protect you."
Who does she think she is? Oh wait, she's an entitled princess. "I don't need protecting and as for that matter, you would do well to remember why I am here." It slipped out before I could hold my tongue and that should have been the moment I died.
Instead, she just looked at me longer than necessary.
"You're bold." A slight turn in her lips as if she's suppressing a smirk.
Surely, I must be hallucinating. Behind her, out the huge glass window, I see a large creature taking flight in the sky. There's no way... It can't be.
But my eyes do not deceive me, it was a dragon. A black shadow turning and curving around the mountain behind the castle as if patrolling. I have never seen a dragon with my own eyes but there have always been stories of the elite soldiers and royalty bonding with dragons.
Only those of high rank and status get those pleasures. Usually those that hold greater magic.
It was my third day, maybe fourth. Time now moved strangely as if measured by tasks to be completed, not innate survival such as hunger. Mistress Alina had sent me to carry some stone across the inner courtyard to repair the walls that had been chipping away with time. Being in a place like this, surrounded by snow and royals and yet somehow nature still shining through the beauty, made me feel as if I truly didn't belong here. I can't wait for this winter to pass.
The courtyard stretches wide, lining with tower walls and banners snapping in the wind with the Daxian crest which was a dragon in what looked like a fetal position, with silver and blue lining the edges.
At the far end stood iron gates—massive and reinforces, weathered by the constant beat of the winter. That's when I heard it, not a roar. Not exactly.
More like a deep breath, heavy and alive far more than human lungs could ever produce.
Every bone in my body told me to stop walking and not be near the gates. So, I of course did the opposite. I moved closer. There was a low structure built into the stone, beyond the gates. As if it's a part stable and part fortress for something big. The air around it felt ancient yet charged, warmer.
I saw a shift in the shadows beyond the gate, a partial silhouette, slight light coming through as I noticed an opening in the far end of that sectioned off area. A single eye opened in the dark, the iris a silver ring that shined brightly in that dark room. It was only then that I realized it was the same dragon I saw previously. We stared at each other for too long, the creatures' eyes narrowing.
"Decebalus? What are you doing out here."
I didn't jump. Definitely did not jump.
As I turned around, stone still in my hands, Niculina stood a short distance from me, her expression narrowing as if there was a frown lining her forehead. "You shouldn't be out here." She spoke.
"I was told to work on the courtyard wall; seems the weather doesn't only wear the people down but also this luxurious castle."
"And who told you to be out here?" she seemed a little concerned.
"Master Alina." I said sharply.
Her expression became unreadable. She then steps down the steps, moving towards me. "I don't need you freezing out here, so I'm bringing you back inside. I will speak to Master Alina about this."
A brief pause consumed the air.
"She looked behind me at the gate. "That is Ascalon, He is my bonded dragon. I'm sure you've heard of stories, correct?"
"I have, just never seen one in person." I watch as she walks next to me. The wind pulls at her cloak as she looks at me.
"How is my mother? I haven't been allowed to see her since I started."
A soft smile graces her face. "She is warm, fed and being taken care of by the healers." That floods my heart with warmth.
For a moment, I forgot the cold warring at my skin, forgot the uncertainty pressing in from all sides. My shoulders loosened, just slightly. "Thank you," I say reluctantly but it truly is appreciated. She gave me a sharp nod.
"Come, we should get inside." We began walking back toward the doors. The torches along the stone walls flickered wildly in the wind, casting long shadows that seemed almost alive. I glanced back once more. Ascalon hadn't moved. But his eyes were fixed on me.
"You can feel him watching, can't you?"
"Yes, it feels heavy." I look at her, her shadow, flickering as the day is now turning to night. "Good," she says. "He can feel you too."
Before I can even think what she means by that, a small petite girl in servant clothing walks up to the Princess, bowing in front of her.
"Princess, your father has requested your presence in the Advisory room." She says as she is still bowing.
"Thank you Analise, I'll be with him shortly. In the meantime, can you see to it that Decebalus is fed and warmed up?"
"Of course, your highness!" She smiles brightly.
"I shall speak to you soon." Niculina walks off, leaving me with Analise.