In a decorated and cozy room of a rather splendor mansion, two young children sat silently across from one another, listening to the yelling that originated from further down the hall. Of the two children, one was a girl, with a face that all but guaranteed that she would be a beautiful woman in her future. She seemed especially delicate, her skin unblemished by sun nor labor. Her face was practically glowing as she blushed, listening to the heated argument that would decide whether or not she and the boy across from her would be joined in bonds of marriage.

She gazed at the boy over her flushed cheeks, her eyelashes tickling her as they fluttered repeatedly. She found him to be rather cute. He had a fairly girly appearance, but after seeing his father and mother, she knew it was virtually impossible for him to not be an attractive man when he grew up.

She couldn’t help but have rose-tinted thoughts. They were alone now, separate from the adults. They were to be engaged, that much was almost certain by now. They still had not spoken much. After he woke up, one of the Court Mages had cast a spell on him so that he could understand and speak Common, but so far he had been distracted by anything and everything in the room. She didn’t really mind at first, because she could get a good look at him without him really paying any mind to her curious gaze.

Now, however, she simply felt awkward. They were alone now. She was still young, and had no knowledge of the mature activities of husband and wife, only knowing of sharing a kiss, hugging, and holding hands. Thus, when they were sent off to be separate from the adults, she had many expectations in her little head. She thought that they might hold each other’s hands, or even exchange a kiss. However, thus far she had felt only awkward, as she sat silently across from him.

“Umm…” she said, breaking the silence that had been stifling her. She took a deep breath and rose to her feet, giving a curtsey. “It’s nice to meet you, my name is Elizabeth Redmont.” She paused mid-curtsey, glancing up at him embarrassedly. She saw that he was looking at her with curious eyes, causing her face to heat up even more.

She sat down on the seat once again timidly, barely putting any of her weight on the cushion, as though it was covered in pins and needles. Elizabeth coughed lightly before speaking in a quiet voice, “Um, now it’s your turn…” She silently berated herself for still being embarrassed about the sudden engagement before she finally forced the thoughts out of her mind.

The little boy looked at her for a moment longer before copying her actions. He stood and attempted to curtsey, just as Elizabeth had done. “My name is… Esyr? Or was it Yrit…” He let go of his clothes and rubbed his chin and lips lightly as he thought. “I think Dad won, so it should be Esyr… But they might have changed it when I was sleeping,” he mumbled. He looked at Elizabeth, who was covering her mouth as she held back her laughter. “Which do you like more, Esyr or Yrit?”

“Huh? Oh, uh…” Chaos erupted within the young girl’s mind once more. It truly wasn’t her fault this time. After all, the implications of the young boy’s question were just too great. For him to ask her which name he should have was both unexpected and suggestive of a bond greater than that of parent and child. In her panic, she hardly spent any time thinking about which she liked greater. “Uh, I… The first one!” Her voice came out in a stammer once more, causing the pink blush to flare up across her cheeks once more.

“Oh, okay. Then I guess it’s Esyr.” He sat back down on the seat. Because he was shorter than Elizabeth, his feet lifted from the ground, allowing him to easily swing them gently as he looked around the room some more. To him, there was nothing really going on. In his few days of life so far, he’d only ever seen the loud and noisy side of people. From the very beginning, he was accustomed to the yelling and shouting of villagers as they prepared for their festival. To him, the yelling down the hall was not especially unordinary.

“Do you like flowers?” he asked suddenly. He looked at her, his expression strangely serious for a boy his height. His legs had even stopped swinging as he focused on her, as though the answer was very much important to him.

“Flowers? Mm, Mother and I have a little flower garden outside that I take care of. Why?” The distraction from her racing thoughts and pounding heart was very much welcome to Elizabeth, as it gave her blushing face a chance to cool off some more. “Are flowers important to you?”

He nodded very seriously. “Yes.” For some reason, Elizabeth felt that he looked much more relaxed with her now that she had told him that she likes flowers. It felt as though a wall between them had melted. “Flowers are special,” he said.

…

Down the hall from a room where the atmosphere had blossomed like a field of pink roses was a room full of tension and aggression. In it, five adults had been gathered around, two of which were particularly tense and aggressive.

Yrlette clenched her fists, growling through her teeth at Francis. “You think your daughter is too good for my son, do you?! I’ll have you know that the only reason I’m even a little bit willing to give this engagement a chance is due to the fact that the girl seems to be nothing like you, little Boyking! If she resembled you even remotely, in either appearance or personality, I would not consider it for even a moment! In fact, I just pity the poor girl for having such an inept and stupid father!”

“You think your son is so special and great, do you?! He’s just a lazy wyrm! Look at how long it took for him to come out of his shell, and yet he was still sleeping in the middle of the day! He’s lethargic, he’s girly, and he’s some System-forsaken half-breed of lizard and pixie!”

“I’ll kill you!” Yrlette lunged towards Francis, who cowered back in feared instantly. Thankfully, Eseit had a firm handle on the situation, managing to keep Yrlette from pouncing upon Francis and tearing him apart.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Embarrassed, Francis turned his attention elsewhere and began to target his father instead of Yrlette. “How can you even suggest something like this?! Where is your familial love?! I may have erred in my life, but my daughter is innocent! To use her as a means to punish me… There are some lines that should not be crossed!

“You would sell your own granddaughter, and to the Demihumans of all things?! What kind of man are you?!” Francis shouted, his bearded face red as it boiled with rage. “This must be some kind of sick joke. After you just had me attack the Demihumans on the plains, you’re having my own daughter marry a Demihuman who lives near the plains? Why don’t you just give them my wife while you’re at it?! Do you truly think they won’t try to use her as a weapon against us?! They will try to kill her, just to get back at me! Those beastmen on the plains are savages!”

Yrlette snorted at him. “Comparing us to those lesser beasts that roam the plains in tribes, now? Your offenses have no limit, it seems. Do you not value your life at all, Boyking?”

Francis trembled slightly, not daring to look her way. He continued to stare at his father, although his anger had mostly given way under the taunts and threats of Yrlette.

“Sell my granddaughter? Would you rather I let you give her some foppish noble boy as a husband? Do you want to see her marry some miscreant who has no power, no capability? Do you want to wed her to a man who leaves her side, to pursue nightly ventures with some whore?! I am giving her a future, you useless mule of a man!” After hours of bickering between Francis and Yrlette, William’s anger had finally reared its head, pouring into his voice like water bursting through a broken dam. The room went quiet after the old man began to shout. It was unknown whether this silence was born out of respect for the older generation, or fear of William’s strength. For some, like Meredith, it was both.

After a moment, William regained his calm and began to speak once more, “We will see Esyr’s Status, and if the boy seems to have inherited the prowess of his parents, then the two will be engaged. You will not get in the way of this, Francis. If I see even a hint of your intervention in anything, you can forget about having to worry about being watched over like a Boyking. I’ll take back that seat, and you can return to being a mere Prince.”

Yrlette crossed her arms. “Of course he has inherited our prowess. He’s a true miracle, after all.” She looked very stern, but at the same time, a proud light twinkled in her eye. “He is special.”

…

A few days had gone by since. They had passed rather peacefully, particularly peaceful in comparison to the fighting that occurred that evening. Most of the time, Esyr had spent with his parents, although he had spent some time with Elizabeth and her mother as well. He would join them when they worked in the flower garden, and he ate with them on a few occasions. Francis kept his distance from Yrlette and her family, mostly because he was afraid that she might truly snap this time.

The time had come for the two families to see Esyr’s Status, and see whether or not the two children would be engaged. William had contacted the Pope, as the first viewing of one’s Status was a rather important event in Human society. Yrlette and Eseit didn’t feel it was particularly important to have it be a religious occasion, but they were willing to do so if it meant that their violation of the treaty behind them.

Thus, the two families had gathered at the church. The viewing was private, with the only outsiders being those who belonged to the church. The two families sat in the front row, while the Pope began the ceremony.

“Oh glorious System, we cleanse this boy in Your name, with blessed waters,” the Pope chanted as he poured warm water onto Esyr’s head from a ladle. The water trickled down his head and shoulders, wetting his spotless white robes. “We ask that Your blessings upon this boy be bountiful and true and that his Status is befitting of the paths that lie before him.”

The Pope continued to gently pour the water on Esyr as he spoke. Eventually, he placed the ladle down and held a strange stone over Esyr's head. “With Your grace, we shall witness this boy’s Status for the first time. Thank you, oh heavenly System.”

“Thank you, oh heavenly System,” called out Elizabeth’s family. Yrlette and Eseit said it after them, still unfamiliar with Human rituals.

The Pope then crushed the stone he held over Esyr, turning it into a strange, multi-colored dust that slowly drifted downwards, as though it were just barely affected by gravity. As it fell, it swirled around in a spiral, enclosing Esyr in it. The Pope continued to recite a prayer quietly, as though he were encouraging the dust to fulfill its role.

After a while, the dust picked up speed, falling rapidly as it began to completely obscure everyone’s vision of Esyr. A moment later, the dust fell to the ground all at once, revealing Esyr and a blue panel that floated before him. The Pope made a few gestures, and that same blue panel appeared in front of all of the family members.

Name:

Esyr

Race:

Fae Dragon

Attributes

Stats

Titles

Class:

N/A

Strength

11

Phys. Offense

5

The Blessed

Agility

10

Phys. Defense

3

First of His Kind

Intellect

13

Mag. Offense

9

Wisdom

14

Mag. Defense

3

Charisma

16

Constitution

13