I was in my office, smaller than the king's. It was similar but without the living room but it emanated luxury and the height of decoration.

A room worthy of a princess.

There was a knock at my door and I heard the name of my vice commander.

Being a princess, I had the de facto title of commander. The supreme commander being the king and queen.

I didn't show it but I liked my vice commander very much.

He was the sharpest knife in the kingdom. He was assisted by the Vice-Commander, a beautiful red dragon often in human form, but in war, the Vice-Commander would ride his second in command and between the two of them, they made a formidable team.

Vincent(Vice Commander): "I've come to report on the ruins of the old world in the north."

They greeted me

"According to our reports, abnormal activity is occurring in this area which is huge. Our magicians have felt a disturbance in the magical flow and our astronomers have noticed abnormal phenomena in the sky.

Although there is no current threat, the second division of knights is asking you for reinforcements."

Me: "Do you have a plan? What do you want to do?"

Vice-commander: "There is the dog mountain and on the highlands, we could establish a base and prepare an ambush in case of a threat.."

Me: "But if I remember correctly, there are ruins nearby. The Darma Ruins? Dharma?"

"That's right, Madam..."

"But I know that our lord Aldebaran and especially his wife are very keen on protecting those ruins. Besides, if I remember in my history classes, that's where she was found, in a kind of cocoon, as opposed to an egg. This is her point of origin and anyone who damages these ruins would know her fury. It would be a disaster for the kingdom.."

"Do you have another idea?"

Vice-commander: "There is a forest further north but the mountain paths are unstable at this time of year and landslides or rock slides are possible. This could result in casualties."

"And what is the probability of such an accident occurring?"

Vice-commander: "Low but..."

"Then do it like this!"

Vice-commander: "But..."

We stared at each other, at war...

Vice-commander: "I understand, I will do as you say, Commander!"

The door was left open, and the servant girls, including Altrix, were shocked at my attitude.

While doing their chores in the endless corridors of the palace, they were carrying the laundry to the laundries in another part of the building.

"HAH! Commander! What did she do to become a commander? Who does she think she is, Natalia?"

Servant Dragoness 2: "She didn't even pass the exams or the qualification tests. The knights don't even recognize her as one of their own!"

Servant Dragoness 3: "That's tradition! It's because she's part of the high nobility that she was able to get this position."

Servant 2: "How is that possible?"

Altrix: "For generations and generations of kings, children have received the title of commander of the order of chivalry from the age of 14 until the ceremony of the chosen one that will confirm the order of succession. But usually the powers are in the hands of the Vice Commander of the Armies and the title of Commander is only a façade.

Our mistress knows nothing about it and she interferes in the affairs of state as if she were really in command."

I feel sad for our Vice Commander Vincent and his second in command who were brushed aside like nothing."

Dragoness 2: "She should be ashamed. Remember what happened yesterday on the lawn. She looks down on us, stares at us and orders us to do this, that, etc."

Altrix: "AN IMPOSTER, A BASTARD!"

Dragoness 3: "Shhhh! It hasn't been confirmed yet!

Still holding their laundry basket, they had stopped walking.

Altrix: "What???? but did you see her face? How would she look like her grandfather? And her dragon? nothing matches except the red scales. "

Dragoness 3: "Now that I think about it, maybe it's true!"

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Dragoness 2: "It's true that..."

Altrix stood up and resumed his walk to the royal laundries.

"Anyway, She'll be found out sooner or later. With her nasty temper, her arrogance, I'd crush her under my paws if she was one of my rags."

I had arrived at the back of the three gossips and, too busy killing me in their heads, they hadn't noticed my presence.

GRRRRRR

"YOU! Over there! You're going to regret what you just said!"

The three of them threw themselves flat on their faces in front of me.

But I remained human, a huge anger burning my stomach. I wanted to spit my fire on them and roast them on the spot.

Dragoness 3: "Lady! Madam! Lord Natalia!..."

Terrified, the dragoness 2 begged: "Altrix, hurry! Hurry and ask for forgiveness! Hurry!"

Altrix: "Did I say something wrong?"

Dragoness 2 & 3: "Altrix! Stop!"

My face was distorted with anger. If I had my sword on me at that moment, she would have been decapitated on the spot.

Staring at me, the dragoness Altrix, strong of herself, answered the other maids, ignoring me completely: "Well? It's not as if she was really the little girl of our God Aldebaran.

She didn't have time to finish her sentence, when she received a sharp blow in the mouth.

Her head almost shattered on impact and she was thrown across the hall.

Her eye swollen, she was on her back, like an overturned turtle, and one of the dragons jumped to her aid. But her eyes, showed pure hatred directed at me.

"I am still the "Chosen One" and princess of the kingdom. As such, I can punish you for such disrespect to me and what I represent."

GUARDS!

GET THOSE SERVANTS OUT OF MY SIGHT...NO... THESE BEASTS OUT OF MY SIGHT!

A few hours later, I was in the garden watching the punishment.

The birds had fallen silent again but because of the lashings!

SLASH!

SLASH!

But the dragoness resisted and did not scream. She didn't want to give me that pleasure but she finally gave in and started to howl like a dog, the pain being searing.

Probably alerted by the other maids, Sangria ran at full speed.

SLASH!

SLASH!

Sangria: "ALTRIX!"

She fell to her knees at the violence and the bloody lines of broken scales from the whip.

Her eyes were filled with terror and horror at such barbarity.

"Natalia! Na.. Natalia! How... How can you do such a thing? It's horrible, it's monstrous!"

I was impassive.

"Your servant that you took with us was disrespectful. She has dishonored my name and the kingdom and I am bringing her punishment upon her!"

Sangria: "But... Why the whip?"

SLASH!

"Someone like you who knows nothing about running a kingdom and doesn't even know how to sit at a table can't understand"

Altrix shouted: "Lord Sangria! Save me! Help me!"

SLASH!

"In the nobility, there is an established order and it is up to me to see that it is respected!"

All the human and dragon servants were present before this humiliating spectacle.

Sangria, powerless, was disgusted...

Altrix: "Aaaah Help! Please!"

Later in the day, when everything had calmed down, Sangria's mother, Niflheim, came through the gate, alone

A maid took care of her things "You have arrived, your Excellency"

Smiling and happy to welcome grandmother, I went down the stairs "Welcome, Grandmother".

But I was cut off by Sangria running up and down the stairs out of breath.

Sangria: "MOM! MOMAN!" Then she turned to my father, Uriah.

All pleading and crying "Don't send Altrix away! She is my servant! I've known her since I was a little girl...she's like a big sister to me!"

Niflheim turned to me in surprise.

"What does this mean? Natalia Uriah?" With an austere, threatening look.

With a snap of her claw, she could reduce the palace to a pool of lava like nothing. She was considered the 7th Wyvern Lord and was no match for the infernal dragons.

She was a wyvern and wyvern-like dragons were extremely rare and only Niflheim was known to date. And her temperament was unbelievably violent. No one to this day had survived one of her tantrums

Me : "This Altrix, this beast disrespected me and I punished him in proportion to her crime".

But I forgot that grandma hated racial segregation and that a dragon even a small and helpless one was a dragon and was always superior or equal to humans and high humans. That's why even the wild dragons respected her.

Sangria, as a dragoness, in her mother's wing arms "It's true that Altrix made a mistake but. IT'S NOT FAIR TO WHIP HER 100 TIMES AND SEND HER AWAY!"

Father looked at me accusingly and Niflheim turned to me, her eyes placid and red as embers.

"A punishment of 100 lashes can kill a person and a minor dragoness."

I could see her eyes fill with anger and revolt for what I put her through

"What an outrage. What was the reason for it? How was such a punishment justified?"

Her words pierced my chest like a stab.

"I heard a serious insult that was impossible for me to ignore and it would be impertinent of me to repeat it in the presence of his Excellency! through my mouth"

And I glared at the maids cornered in the entrance hall.

And pointing with my finger - I stayed in human almost all the time, to show that I was a noble and high human too. - The servant dragons lowered their spines in panic, fearing me, and also fearing especially the whip!

"Let those who accompanied Altrix repeat in my place the insults thrown in my face"

The wyvern turned her head and her unbearable gaze floored the serving staff.

But they also feared above all the king's companion, my beautiful mother. She never said anything and was like an invisible ghost, but she was also my godmother.

Only, those who upset her... usually ended up in her stomach. She was always in human form, but beware when she was in her purple dragon form.

Niflheim : "TELL ME WHAT YOU HEARD "

They crawled and begged...

"Mercy... your greatness... Lord and Goddess...."

But they were quietly looking at each other out of the corner of their eyes...

Dragoness 2: "Altrix...she said that, because it was freezing...that it was difficult to take care of Lady Natalia..."

What a lie!

Dragoness 3: "That was all..."

Me: "WHAT!"

I was furious and the rage rose in me "But that doesn't make sense!"

Then, frozen with terror, as I realized the situation, I saw Sangria smiling quietly, hidden and protected in the winged arms of her mother, the 7th Wyvern Lord.

Niflheim turned her long neck to her daughter who was crying again. But addressing me "Is that all that happened?"

Furious I overpowered the maids "TELL THE TRUTH! It makes no sense whatsoever what you say! How dare you lie in the presence of her excellency, our goddess Niflheim!"

Dragoness 2: "That's it...that's all we heard!"

A muirmurm exploded behind my back among the household staff.

"She got a hundred lashes just for that?"

"It's true that Lady Natalia is not easy!"

"She's really a nasty dragoness"

"Is that a princess?"

Of course, these were whispers in common and in draconic.

Father Uriah: "You should be ashamed to death. You are an embarrassment to House Uriah.

Niflheim: "Does the sight of a servant dragoness bother you so much? Is it because she is my daughter's servant?"

I threw myself at grandmother's feet.

"Grandmother! Grandmother! It's not fair. It's a misunderstanding! It's... it must be a plot. Stop Sangr...." I didn't have time to finish when Grandmère hit me with the back of her talons and sent me crashing into the wall.

She had broken my jaw.

Niflheim : "You disgrace us! You are the shame of Uriah!

Look at your father! You can't even reach his sole!"

Me: DAD! DAD...

But he turned his back to me

Then I reached out, the other holding my jaw, one eye bruised.

None of the staff had come to my rescue, not even my knights...

I was dripping with blood.

A normal human would have exploded like a fly on a windshield, but being a dragon, I could take the shock.

Grandma... Grandmother....

Niflheim : "Don't ever call me grandma again! Be glad you survived like poor Altrix. The next time I see you, it will be 100 strokes and I doubt there will be anything left after..."

Father: "You are confined to your room until further notice."

Niflheim: "No... In a month... the ceremony... It's up to you to show that if you are not a princess you are at least the chosen one... or Sangria...."