It was quiet for a moment, though it felt like hours. The dragons and humanoid dragons of the crowd stared at Leena; their breaths were taken away by her statement. To them, Leena was so frail, and her voice was filled with uncertainty, yet the boldness of her claim was felt in their hearts. They needed her, but their minds and feelings betrayed that necessity when they hoped that she would decline her destiny. With Leena’s claim and determination, they all knew that a human would indeed rule over them. The silence slowly turned into a large orchestra of whispering, chattering, and shuffling. So much gossip and insults were thrown around silently amongst the crowd, and Leena stood there, staring at them all.

“Silence!” Shosen Thornbite shouted. The crowd had slowly grown quiet again, and Leena stepped forward, looking at the three humanoid dragons before her. Shosen, amongst the three that had gathered, turned to her, expecting her to say more.

“I suppose we can continue now,” Leena said. Her eyes drifted, and she saw Lord Qui staring at her with a foul expression. She tried to look away, but his angered and furrowed face would snatch her attention as she looked around. It was hard to not notice his spiteful expression.

“Very well, Ms. Riella.” Shosen now turned to the crowd. “As of now, we will begin the pre-coronation reception. As you may all know, this reception takes place before the next queen is officially crowned ruler of Onyxbow and all dragons alike. You will all offer a gift and your hand to the queen, introducing yourself and your role in our great society.”

“You got this,” Belana whispered to Leena. Leena smiled at her. Of the three, Leena had just met Shosen, and she knew Belana, but the third one, a tall and ferocious-looking man, had not looked in her direction even after he bowed down. Leena found herself staring at him now, focusing on a singular person instead of darting her eyes around the large room.

“I will go first!” Shosen shouted and then turned to Leena. He bowed down and reached into his cloak, pulling out a large scroll. Extending his arms to her, Shosen presented his gift to her, and Leena reached for it, wrapping her frail hands around its large and gorgeous binding. Shosen now introduced himself, and Leena turned her attention to his old and wise eyes.

“My name is Shosen Thornbite, your Royal Advisor. I am one of your Royal Four.” Shosen began. “It is my job to help you with legal and militaristic matters. When in official meetings or anything else that is official, I will be by your side. I do not know if the maid has told you this yet, but the Royal Four are four individuals who serve you and aid you in your rule. Though we are your subordinates still, we should also be considered your direct allies in all of this. These will be our positions once you officially become the queen, but our custom is to introduce ourselves beforehand. That scroll contains in-depth knowledge of our culture and the previous queen. I believe it will be helpful to you.”

“Thank you, Mr. Thornbite. I look forward to working with you.” Leena nodded, and Shosen bowed, walking away from her and standing at the end of the stairs leading to the throne. Next, Belana stepped up and bowed to her.

“I am Belana Tric. I will be your Royal Hand if you should be crowned queen of Onyxbow and make my position official.” Belana explained. “It will be my duty to be your personal handmaid, one that will accompany you everywhere you go. This position is considered a more personal one, so I shall explain the rest of my duties to you in your chambers. My gift is this bracelet made of a magical stone said to help bring out someone's magical potential.”

“O-Oh, thanks.” Leena reached out and grabbed Belana’s gift. The bracelet shrunk and fit around Leena’s wrist perfectly. It was gold with beautiful and large jewels encrusted into it. Leena could feel a strange sensation, like a slight burning and tingling just under her skin. It didn’t hurt, but she assumed it was some kind of dormant magic. This intrigued her greatly, but she had little time to focus on that as the next person bowed to her.

It was the same man who refused to look at her. He was tall and handsome with chiseled features and shoulder-length black hair. He wore a black trench coat with minimal armor over his shoulders and forearms and a sword sheathed to his waist. The horns on his forehead were jet black and protruded outwards and up, giving him the appearance of a demon. Leena felt scorching and sharp energy around him; it made her afraid to speak. The man took some time before he spoke. It made Leena sweat and become nervous as she looked down at him. Finally, he looked up but still refused to look into her eyes.

“I am Ashton Corvus. Your Royal Knight. I am your personal bodyguard.” His voice was rasp and powerful, yet his appearance looked like that of a young man only a few years older than Leena. Ashton’s large amber eyes looked only at Leena’s shoulders, refusing to move up and see her face. He extended his hand out and handed her a small knife, but he didn’t introduce it or tell her about it at all. As soon as Leena picked it up and placed it down on the table beside her, one brought out by a few maids, he stood up and walked over to the side of the throne. Leena couldn’t help but sigh to herself as he did this.

After many people came to her, announced themselves, and gave her a gift, she was suddenly confronted by the first dragon in its bestial form. Leena stood there, frozen, staring into the large reptilian eyes now in front of her. The dragon itself was red in color with dark blue, almost black, spikes on the top of its spine. Its neck was long, and at the tip, it had large and sharp teeth, four horns protruding out from over its eyes, and wings that could span the diameter of the throne room.

Leena was terrified. Annette came to get Leena in her dragon form, but she only saw her for a few seconds, and those seconds were so full of fear that she fainted. This time Leena had to stand her ground; she had to face the menacing monster or suffer true embarrassment. This particular dragon could sense her fear. It could feel all of the emotional turmoil within Leena’s heart. Leena had to dig deep within her heart to find the courage to remain standing straight.

“I am Lord Atase, and I am in charge of the religious district,” the dragon said. He reached within a large bag that was wrapped around his neck with his long and sharp nails, grabbing hold of something inside and flinging it out and towards Leena. His gift, it would seem, was a large book that was now at Leena’s feet. “A copy of our religious decree. I recommend you start reading it as soon as you return to your chambers. Leena Riella.”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Thank you.” Leena nodded and knelt down, reaching for the book. Suddenly she felt a hand resting on her back and straightening her up. It was Belana. Belana gave Leena a stern look, and Leena nodded, standing up straight and allowing Belana to stand in front of her. Belana knelt down and grabbed the book herself, placing it on the table of gifts.

It was hours now. Hours that Leena spent standing straight in her nice clothes and fancy shoes, hours that she greeted more and more people, forgetting almost all of their names after the next dozen introduced themselves. It shocked Leena to learn how many nobles, entrepreneurs, war heroes, and military leaders there were in Onyxbow. She only remembered the most important ones who led an entire district or those who were at the top of the military chain of command.

It was becoming clear that one of Belana’s main roles as the Royal Hand was to remember all of this and to help Leena when necessary. She was grateful, and she could see just how hard Belana was focusing on her task, remembering every detail. Little did Leena know, but Belena could recite every word said within the throne room for the past twenty-four hours.

At last, the final person came into the throne room from the large doors at the entrance. It was a woman, and Leena’s jaw almost slammed into the ground when she saw her. The woman was tall, and her chest was just as bountiful with the robe she was wearing floppily over her mature and lifted body, doing very little to cover her up. Her hair was just as long as the robe, both dragging on the ground behind her, and the scarf that she wore wrapped around her neck, down to her waist, and billowed behind her. Beside her were two smaller women carrying long spears and books, both covered from head to toe in what Leena assumed to be some kind of spiritual armor. The woman, with two small horns on her forehead, now stood in front of Leena and bowed her bountiful body at her. Leena’s face was as red as ripe fruit. She had never seen anyone like this, anyone as robust and beautiful.

“Greetings. You must be Leena Riella. I apologize for being so late to this reception. I was speaking with The Observer, and he has difficulty keeping his prophecies and advice short and to the point.” The woman spoke softly and smoothly. It was like warm water was being poured gently over Leena’s head.

“O-Oh, no, it’s fine. I am honored to meet you.” Leena nodded.

“But you don’t even know who I am. Do you?” The woman laughed softly to herself. She bowed once more. “I am Dalinda Harlow, the Royal Priestess. I am one of your Royal Four.”

“So it’s you? I could sense a lot of spirituality within you.” Leena spoke honestly.

“I’ve heard that before. Ha, ha!” Dalinda laughed once more. She seemed so jolly, yet the air around her was as dense as it was aromatic. “It is my duty to help you with your spiritual and religious journey, to offer guidance and advice. I am also one of few people allowed to speak directly to The Observer. It is my job to relay his messages to you and to the people of Onyxbow. I am also the head of the church, the highest in Onyxbow’s religious group.”

“I look forward to working with you, Ms. Harlow.” Leena smiled.

“My gift to you is this.” Dalinda reached into her robe, her jeweled hand dancing down her exposed skin and into the crevices of her robe. Leena couldn't help but stare, following her hand going down her body as if it were a charmed snake. Dalinda pulled out a huge key and handed it to Leena. “This is the key to the Vault Under the Throne. It is also one of my duties to hold this in between the rule of two queens. But I heard you made a proud proclamation earlier, so I chose to give this to you earlier than is customary.”

“Oh. Thank you so much. I appreciate the gesture.” Leena nodded. Dalinda bowed and then took her place beside the rest of the Royal Four, her servants standing beside the guards now.

“Well, I am glad to announce that the pre-coronation reception is complete!” Shosen stepped up and announced. “The coronation itself, though, is being postponed.”

“Wait. Why?” Leena asked him.

“I will discuss it with you after you are crowned. Apologies, but the High General has requested to me personally that I keep things under wraps until the throne is yours.” Shosen bowed. “I hope you will forgive my decision once you become the queen.”

“I get it. Some things are being kept from me for the time being. Just in case I change my mind, right?” Leena asked. Shosen nodded.

It was another few minutes until the throne room was empty. Everyone had left, all with a sour taste in their mouths and hesitation in their eyes. Leena felt their daunting eyes and heard their rude whispers as they shuffled out of the large doors. The Royal Four remained, and Leena tried her hardest to keep her composure.

“I shall take you back to your chamber.” Belana directed Leena away from the throne and towards the stairs. The rest of the Royal Four went on their way, as well. Shosen and Dalinda exited the palace, and Ashton went into another room adjacent to the throne room. It made sense that he would stay within the palace, so he did.

Leena was once more greeted by her chambers, and the table full of gifts was brought to her. The maids left them just outside her chambers, and they scurried away before Leena could even thank them. Leena looked at the gifts and felt overwhelmed. There were so many scrolls, large jewelry pieces, ceremonial weapons, and even chests full of Onyxbow currency. Leena was expected to read all the scrolls, to--at one point--don all of the jewelry, and to even study the ceremonial weapons. She found her heart growing heavier by the second.

Belana took her attention away from the gifts and walked her towards her bed, letting Leena sit at last. Kneeling down, Belana removed Leena's shoes and noticed the blisters and bruises along her ankles and Achilles heels. The shoes had done a number on her, only worsened by how long she was asked to stand. Leena looked forward to finally being allowed to sit on the dragon throne.

“Shall I prepare a bath?” Belana asked. Leena nodded. “Then I shall. Food will be prepared for you shortly after you are finished bathing. I assure you, it will be absolutely delicious.”

“Thanks.” Leena sighed, and she could feel her emotions reaching a breaking point as Belena undressed her and handed Leena her things for the bath. “It's only been a day, but you’ve made it a little easier. I know you probably don’t like me, despite what you said before about me being kind, but thank you for showing me your own kindness in the face of all of this confusion.”

“I-I see.” Belana felt her face getting hotter, and she smiled as genuinely as was possible. “I live to serve, my future queen.”

“Right,” Leena told her. Belana left to prepare a bath, and once she did, Leena entered her large bathroom. She once more found herself dumbfounded by the architecture. The bathroom was large and white, the bath was as large as her bedroom was back home, and the window showed all of Onyxbow. There were so many natural products, things Leena never dreamed of seeing, let alone being able to use them.

Belana left her to her bathing, and Leena stepped into the water, letting her naked body sink down until she was now sitting in the water, her torso being just above the surface.

What am I doing here? Leena thought to herself, surrounded by steam and bubbles. Why am I here? Why is this happening to me?

The rest of the bath was not full of cleaning, fun, or relaxation. Instead, Leena found herself crying to herself for the remainder of the night.