Cardinal Celhyun of Atyr wouldn't stop talking. He alternated between heartfelt apologies and harsh accusations, all without failing to mention the error of having not one but two women in the direct line of succession. Frey looked at King Alistor, seeking some sign of approval to interrupt him. But the king wasn't paying attention, instead he was patiently explaining to Eri why she had to be there.

"But today is my flying practice, Mrs. Mera doesn't like it when I miss class," Eri said with her typical pout.

"Don't worry, my child, Lady Meracina will be here later, and both of you will have to answer some questions. Your teacher will be the one to speak, but you need to be here. This is necessary so that our friends who come from afar feel reassured knowing that you two are dragons."

"Dragons scare me." She looked back at the cardinal. "The one who looked like him was very mean, he hurt Mrs. Mera and broke Mr. Baker's house."

Frey chuckled. Eri's way of thinking was truly unique. She wasn't lying when she said that dragons frightened her, even being aware of both her own identity and that of Lady Meracina, whom she had come to love sincerely. He looked towards the Pellegrin commission, they weren't listening to the cardinal either, instead they seemed engrossed in their own conversation. The only one who was listening was Runa, who was looking at him with obvious reproach.

"Enough, Cardinal," Frey finally said. "You are not personally in a position to make any demands. I was there when the dragon you brought tried to murder my daughter. We will ask Atyr to replace you as their representative. We have already heard what you came to say, but I'm afraid you are not welcome at this meeting. The information we will share here is for our allies, among whom we cannot count you."

Runa looked at him, her smile was wide, her eyes slightly closed. She knew he had done well.

"I believe," replied the cardinal, suddenly humble, "that I could not expect less. However, if His Majesty the King allows me, I would like to remain in the room. I fear that much of what you will share is already known to me."

King Alistor looked at Frey, expecting him to be the one to respond.

"On behalf of His Majesty, I offer to admit you into the room if you are willing to be questioned and swear by your gods that you will tell us the whole truth." The cardinal, until that moment, had refused to tell the whole story of how he had fallen into the hands of the white prince.

The cardinal finally agreed with a simple nod, his exultant presence from the beginning was long gone.

One of the members of the Pellegrin commission, the one who seemed older, took the floor as soon as he could.

"My lords, we have been patient, but we must address our problem promptly." The Pellegrin accent and way of speaking were not difficult to understand, but they were a distraction to Frey.

"That's true," said King Alistor. "We are already aware that Pellegrin needs Artemia's help, however, the details worry me. Your kingdom is far away, if we are to help you, especially with a large number of troops, the travel time must be a problem."

"To tell you the truth, Your Majesty, we only need..."

The door opened, interrupting the delegate. A stiff woman dressed in a modest blue dress entered, followed by two elven guards and Jimmer, Frey's general and friend. Since her return, they had kept her under constant surveillance.

"We're here now," she said to her shadows. "You don't need to follow me everywhere. I already told you I can't hurt you."

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

"That's what you're here to explain, dragon," Jimmer told her, with very little tact. "I'm glad to see the high general in his seat, there are many questions, the people of Artemia themselves need to know."

"Hey!" Eri unexpectedly raised her voice. "Don't treat Mrs. Mera like that! She's good!"

King Alistor touched his granddaughter's shoulder.

"Calm down, my child, General Jimmer is right to be careful, he doesn't know your teacher. And I'm afraid it's our fault. Countess of Cormin." The king addressed her by her title, reinforcing the idea of recognizing her humanity and an identity beyond being a dragon. "Please, tell us about yourself."

Lady Meracina cleared her throat, adjusted her glasses, and stiffened. In Frey's opinion, a little more and she would fall over backwards.

"Thank you, Elf King," she began, perhaps showing a little more respect would have helped her case. "I'm afraid I can't say my real name in this body, that's how we all knew the man in that chair couldn't be a dragon, but humans have called me Meraxes for millennia. In a lost Elvish dialect, it means 'fury of the night'. A few centuries later, it was a word that meant 'nightmare'. Yes, I am a dragon, the same black dragon you saw defending my mistress, the dragon princess, you have appropriately named her Erifreya Verrim Draconis."

The gazes focused on Eri for a moment. Frey's daughter was sitting with her grandfather with an obvious pout.

"And can you tell us..." Cardinal Celhyun ventured, "something about the nature of the girl?"

Lady Meracina looked at him with eyes sharper than her claws or fangs. The cardinal recoiled.

"She is your princess as much as she is mine. Address her with the submission required, you cowardly monk imitation." The elven guards moved closer to her. The king waved them away.

"Cardinal," said the king, "you are a listener in this room, and although we understand your religious objections to the fact, my granddaughter is royalty of Artemia. Lady Meraxes may be passionate in her defense of her lady, but she is not wrong." He addressed Jimmer and his soldiers. "I expect the citizens of Artemia to show her the respect she deserves. And from a representative of Atyr, even more so. That said, madam, please share what you know about the nature of the princess".

The king was truly imposing when he wanted to be. It was hard to remember, given his build and youthful face, that he had survived a battle against the dragon king, no less.

"Alright. Honestly, I myself don't understand how it's possible for Princess Erifreya to have the form she has. I am usurping the body of a human woman I devoured three hundred years ago, but my mistress is a hybrid of dragon and human. She is growing at the pace of humans, but she has within her the fire of a princess of my kind; an especially powerful one. She can devour our fire, or as I discovered thanks to her boundless affection, she can ignite it. When the white prince fell, the princess left me devoid of my flames, but a single spark was enough to restore my powers. There is no power like it among us, not even the king has it."

"I understand," said the younger of the Pellegrin men, Oregdor, "that this power is what keeps you loyal, Lady... Meraxes."

"Indeed," she said, somewhat pleased. "Among dragons, we recognize power. We are not creatures of loyalty or sentiment among ourselves."

"Do you mean," said the other delegate, Frey thought he remembered his name was Jamdar, "that if she lost her powers, we couldn't count on your loyalty?"

"None of you can count on my loyalty or that of any dragon. I obey you because my mistress requires it." She looked at Runa, her expression and tone changed. "Although it is true that I have sworn to serve her for twenty years in this form. During that time, I am trapped in my human body. Only the mistress can give me a few hours of freedom."

Jimmer nodded, standing behind the dragon woman, looking reluctantly satisfied.

From his seat behind the king, Prince Bestenar stood up to reach the table.

"And in the end, is Artemia still fighting the dragons or not?" The brat had a talent for drama, it had to be acknowledged.

"Sit down, Bestenar." Frey had to put him in his place. "A heroic act doesn't give you the right to be insolent." Bestenar sat down, but not in his scribe's seat, but at the table. He looked at Frey but didn't answer. "Now, your question is exactly what we need to address. Countess, please."

Meraxes, the dragon, explained to four nations that their war didn't exist, that their brothers, parents, and friends had died fighting young beasts that were looking for other dragons or a place to lay their eggs. That their lives or deaths had been worthless in the true war. The table was filled with blank faces and clenched fists, all this trying to explain to her mistress, her lady, that she wasn't to blame. It was becoming increasingly clear to Frey that their relationship had abandoned submission weeks ago.

"All of this," Frey said to everyone, rising above the silence, "means that for the first time we know our place in the war, and I promise you that we will end it in our lifetime."

"So," said Oregdor, "is Artemia going to lend us its dragon slayers, or its dragons?"