The hero Freydelhart, Prince Consort of Artemia, woke up a bit before his wife Runaesthera that morning. He felt strange sleeping in the room King Bestolf had prepared for them in the grand castle of Meyrin, which had recovered almost all of its former glory. Especially because of the portraits of Princess Erina, she really looked too much like Eri, it was like seeing what the future held for his little girl.
In recent months everything was changing very quickly, it wasn't just Eri, who had come into his life to change it upside down, but thanks to her the world seemed so different. Dragons were now an enemy you could reason with, negotiate with. Freydelhart's confusion about whether they were "people" had been completely cleared up, they were. They thought, reasoned, and felt, albeit very differently. He had given the lands the king gave him as a child to the dragon Meraxes to provide her with an income, and he had forged an intricate anklet for her on a whim, all because he had begun to feel guilty. He had killed about twenty dragons, each time that meant saving thousands of lives, or so they kept saying; but now that he knew peace was possible, he remembered his own actions, imagining a person in the place of a dragon. Even more so when Meraxes had told him what motivated them.
The only thing that helped him was to remember that day; to remember everything he had lost, the monster that the dragons themselves feared. But Lady Mera... Meraxes, what was the best way to call her? She said the King hadn't appeared in Nuerin since the day of the attack on Meyrin Castle, the day Eri was born. They had seen him flying towards the ocean and nothing had been heard among the dragons since then.
He stretched and got up slowly, trying not to wake Runa. He liked to watch her when she slept, she always ended up tangled in the blankets, disheveled, with her arms and legs all over the bed. The stories in which princesses slept gracefully, looking beautiful and regal, seemed the most fanciful to him since he had been with her. But that only made him love her more, being able to see something of her that no one else could was, in his view, more beautiful than her finest dresses. Anyway, he started to get dressed, Eri would surely be awake by now, he had promised to practice fencing with her before the meeting.
He slowly left the room and walked down the long corridor to the courtyard, it was the same one where he had killed the gatekeeper, the dragon that had guarded Eri before him. The mages had taken a long time to dispose of the body and study it, the only trace left of their combat was that notch in the quarry floor, which he had made with his sword when he cut off its head. As he had supposed, Eri was already waiting for him with her wooden sword ready. At least that day she had put on training clothes, she wouldn't ruin another dress.
What he didn't expect was that Meraxes would accompany her.
"Lady Meracina," he said, looking around, in case anyone could hear them, "I wasn't expecting you so early."
"All education the young lady receives is my business, Freydelhart," she called him by his full name but always omitted his titles, she spoke full of disdain, Frey never thought he would miss being called prince, "if you are going to teach her to fight I must supervise her, I would prefer my mistress to have her own claws, but I suppose those human substitutes can serve her."
"Dad, let's start now!" Eri looked at him with a pout and a frown, she always got impatient at these times, he couldn't blame her because they were few and rarely lasted more than an hour. He enjoyed them too, so they didn't waste any more time.
They stood in the center of the courtyard, Lady Meracina, better to call her that at all times, sat on a nearby bench to watch them. They began with the unicorn pose, with the sword straight, pointing forward, at shoulder height, the right leg in front, a quick lunge and change of foot; Eri was already following him without stumbling, at six years old she was close to reaching the second movement. They changed to the harpy pose, the sword over the head, pointing to the sky, step forward, sweep down and repeat...
Soon Lady Meracina wasn't the only one watching them, other inhabitants of the castle, from soldiers, maids, and stable boys to nobles, stopped their occupations to watch the hero who had returned their home and the legendary dragon princess train. Eri was wearing her emerald necklace, but of course everyone knew who she was, her face was all over the castle and King Bestolf had not been discreet at all on their return. A couple of elderly maids seemed to be sobbing, Frey remained stoic and looked at Eri to indicate that she should not be distracted.
Three-quarters of an hour later, Eri fell prey to fatigue, she was pushing herself like very few at her age, or any age, but she was still a child.
"We're done for today, Eri," he said, stroking her hair. "You did very well. Let's rest for a few minutes and then go wash up for breakfast."
"Yes, Daddy." Frey was "dad" when Eri was angry, and "daddy" when she was happy, although the smile she always ended their conversations with was more than enough to know her mood. The little girl took her governess by the hand and dragged her back to her room. That woman looked for any excuse to be near Eri, she had gradually become her maid and nanny, at least during the trip to Meyrin. Runa hadn't objected, and therefore neither had he. But he couldn't help but feel they were trusting that dragon woman too much.
The people returned to their occupations when they saw that Frey was also leaving the esplanade, he would change to have breakfast with his family and their majesties of Meyrin, after that Eri would take her lessons and the others had serious things to talk about. Fat orcs riding a pony! Frey hoped these matters would wait until Eri grew up a bit more. And Prince Bestenar had been watching the practice as well.
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
A couple of hours later the participants arrived at the meeting place, the great throne room of Meyrin, Eri's world, of which Frey owned half. They had had to explain many things to that girl the day they arrived, the king had been very amused, his son, Bestenar, who was now taking a seat, not at all, the boy of about seventeen had a permanently furrowed brow. He didn't look like his father, he was much taller and slender, his hair was pink like his mother's and sister's, he wore it short except for a braid that grew straight from the nape of his neck. And he wasn't a warrior, but one of those noble princes that made Frey despise his own title, he wore a blue silk doublet and matching pants; he hadn't been there the day of the Dragon King's attack because he had gone on a pleasure trip with his cousins to a distant duchy. He had remained there until just a few days ago. It was clear that the relationship with his parents was not the best.
The long conference table had been arranged in front of the throne so that it was at the head, King Bestolf was then seated above everyone else, very different from the Artemian custom of using a round table. The prince had occupied the place closest to the head, being right in front of his mother. Frey and Runa, as a courtesy for being royalty of an allied country, were offered the places next to them, also being one in front of the other. Frey had ended up, then, sitting next to the prince, who from time to time gave him an angry look. Well, in that he did resemble his father.
When all the councilors had taken their seats, King Bestolf hastened to take the floor, he looked at his son for a long moment before continuing.
"May the goddess of peace bless this meeting and allow us to reach the best of agreements, today, gathered with the royalty of Artemia, we must discuss, finally, the problem of the succession of Meyrin. Given that Crown Princess Erina fell valiantly fighting against nothing less than terror itself, the Dragon King, may her path be pleasant alongside the creator gods." All those present took a moment of silence and made the sign of the goddess of peace with their hands, a circle around the heart raising the index and middle fingers, symbolizing divine protection over their mortal souls. "The law of succession states that upon my death, the next king must be the eldest of my children who remain alive, however, Prince Bestenar has been stripped of that right..."
A loud bang on the table caught the attention of all the attendees. "That's not fair, father, you can't take me out of the line for not being here! Besides, I couldn't have done anything for the castle! Or for Erina," he said the latter in a much lower tone of voice.
"Don't interrupt, Prince Bestenar, you are a selfish and ignorant brat, so much so that you are unaware of the reason for your dishonor. We are not even here to debate that. It is not up for discussion, no matter how much your mother has decided to advocate for you." The king did not raise his voice, he did not seem himself that day, they had served him a glass of wine and it was still full. "But today you have the opportunity to show me that you are not the human scum I think you are."
The prince swallowed his rage and sat down, he did not seem to be particularly persistent, or brave, beyond being handsome, Frey found no virtue in him.
"Esteemed Prince and Princess of Artemia," the king finally continued, "when you honored us with your hospitality, we had the honor of meeting your adopted daughter. She is still very young, but the qualities she possesses elevate her above many of us, not only because of her nature, but because of the purity of her heart. Her ability to learn and her gift with people are unparalleled. You know, then, that both Queen Eyren and I have come to love her almost as much as we loved our beloved Erina" - the disgust on Prince Bestenar's face was so evident that more than half of those present looked at him - "my advisors and I have come to a conclusion, we want to ask you to allow us to name Erifreya of Artemia, heir to Meyrin."
The room fell silent. Runa seemed irritated but waited to let the king finish... if he had anything else to say, it made no sense... or did it? One of the advisors, an old man in a simple white tunic, spoke from the other end of the table.
"Your Majesties, we understand that this is not conventional, but... we have found a solution to the problem of succession that, if the prince here present accepts, will save us from a civil war. You see, the mages have discovered that it is very possible that Princess Erina died in the presence of the dragon egg the dragon king laid, and that somehow, it took her flesh and blood to form into who we know today as Princess Erifreya. If this is true, she is blood of the dynasty and therefore has the right to be named heir. Of course, the king does not intend to call himself her father or anything like that, no, it will be like naming a distant relative heir by decree, but as you will realize, it is a weak claim compared to that of the prince here present. So for it to work, we need the prince himself to recognize her right and step aside."
Runa finally spoke.
"Your Majesty, even if the prince were to accept, Eri is already second in line to Artemia, behind me. It is not unheard of for a monarch to receive more than one royal claim, but..."
"My lady," continued the old man, "we are very aware, and no, it is not that we are willing to put our kingdom in the hands of another just like that. The truth is that we do not intend for her to inherit. The deal is that the prince must settle down and have a child soon, that son or daughter will be the new heir when he reaches the age, meanwhile, Princess Erifreya will be the one to fill the void, and if His Majesty were to die, may the goddess not allow it, while she is still a child, we have some very solid candidates to exercise the regency until she reaches the age of majority. She will be obliged to resign in favor of the next heir as soon as he reaches the age."
"In any case," said the prince in a sour voice, "I must surrender my right to that girl or to my children. What if I never have them?"
"In that case," said the king, "the dynasty dies with you, and since she is a dragon, she will probably live forever. I have faith that she will be a great queen."
It all seemed like another of King Bestolf's ploys, whether it was or not... What should they do? Runa probably had it clearer.
"You win, father, I will step aside in favor of my children, I have a couple of prospects for a bride. But answer me this, Father."
"What are you up to, Bestenar?"
"What if my consort was Princess Erifreya herself?"