Felix found himself back in Fea’s private study, sitting at the familiar small table and taking a sip of tea. On the opposite side was Fea herself, watching him with what he could only describe as a suspicious look.

“Uh… Thank you for the tea,” he said, unable to bear the silence.

“You’re welcome,” she said curtly, her eyes never leaving him.

Did I do something wrong? He wondered. Outside of their last interaction, he couldn’t think of anything else. Still, it was the awkwardness that he had been trying to avoid.

Setting his cup down, Felix fidgeted in his seat until he found a slightly more comfortable position. It was only then that he finally had the courage to ask. “Is there… I mean, why–”

“I wanted to speak with you.”

Uh-oh, that doesn’t sound good. He gulped. “I see. If I might ask, what about?”

Then, Fea did something he wasn’t expecting. She slumped into her chair and let out a groan. “I can’t do it. I can’t hate you. I’ve tried, I’ve really tried. But I find it easy to be around you.”

She began to rub at her temples. “I don’t get it, after everything you’ve done. I should want nothing more than to hang you. Perhaps it’s Hasalen’s spirit interfering, but I want to help you. Like when we had that private dinner. Or when–”

Blushing, Fea looked away. “I’m… I’m not very good at this. I don’t know what I’m feeling or why.” She let out a pitiful laugh. “I only know how to politic, everything else is brought to me with a simple command or the ring of my bell.”

Felix was truly flabbergasted and didn’t know what to say. This kind of admission… From a Queen no less– Shit, she’s expecting me to say something. In his panic he decided to go for something to lighten the mood.

“So… Does that mean we’re courting, then?”

She froze, a horrified expression on her face. Meanwhile, Felix was suddenly terrified that he might’ve overstepped with his attempt at a joke. He opened his mouth to try and correct his mistake but she was quicker.

“N-No!” She shouted, her face now entirely flushed. “Gods, no– I mean, I don’t think so? No! That’s not it at all! I meant I was looking for friends! Friends! I talked with Lorenzen and he… He suggested that I should look for more…”

The poor queen completely buried her head within her hands, leaving Felix to struggle for a response that wouldn’t make things worse.

Gods, what do I say?! “Fea– Y-Your Highness… I, uh, only meant it as…” He trailed off as he heard her start to sob.

He got up and approached her, kneeling beside her. “What’s… What’s wrong?”

“I’m lonely!” she shouted in an outburst of pure emotion. “With Hasalen gone, I only have Lorenzen and Nevrim as friends! And… And Lorenzen wanted to die! I begged him to hold on… I can’t bear to lose another person who’s so close to me.”

Felix raised his hand and hesitated for a moment before finally settling it on her shoulder. “If it's a friend you need, I don’t mind. But, I’m not sure how well others would–”

“Screw them! I am The Queen! I am the Dragon Queen!” She reached up and grabbed his hand, pulling it down and in front of her.

Fea stared down at it, intertwining her fingers around his. “You have to only promise me one thing.”

“Huh– I mean, what is it?”

“You cannot die.”

He opened his mouth to speak but a sudden pressure overtook him. He swayed as his head began to spin. Then, suddenly, his entire mind began to itch. The urge to scratch intensified with every breath.

“Gods! W-What is this?!” he shouted, attempting to pull his arm away from her.

Fea held on, in fact, she tightened her grip. She looked into his eyes, a smile now adorning her face.

“Our bond.”

***

Felix stumbled into Yarnel’s workshop, clutching at his head. The itching sensation had died down to almost nothing but now he was left with a headache and strange emotions that weren’t his.

“Hmm, not good,” Yarnel said, as he came to a stop before the dragon.

“What?”

“Your mana is unstable, it would be unwise to proceed.”

He froze at that. “It is? I feel–” his head throbbed. “Ow…”

“Sit.” The small dragon gestured to a chair near one of the tables. Felix obliged.

Yarnel floated over to him. “I take it that things went well with Her Highness?”

“That’s one way to put it,” Felix grumbled. “She, uh… She bonded with me.”

The small dragon narrowed his eyes and came within inches of him. “I thought as much, I felt the shift of mana. But Felix? You should probably keep that to yourself.”

“Huh? Why?”

“For your safety, and hers if I am being honest. It’s not everyday that the Dragon Queen bonds with someone. It’s never happened, actually.”

“Oh…” Felix blinked as he remembered something she said. “She did mention feeling lonely.”

With a sigh, the dragon landed on the table. “Unfortunately, that’s understandable. You see, Felix, it’s not just that she is the queen. She is ancient. Her Highness was born from the pact our kind signed.”

“What do you mean by that?” He asked.

“I mean, exactly that. Before we understood the Gods, we rebelled against our own. We won, but in the process we learned the truth. It was then that we signed the pact and created an analog of a God.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Felix leaned back in his chair. He heard everything the dragon was saying but it was too much for him to comprehend, especially with his head still pounding.

Yarnel saw his confusion. “In other words, Fea is our Goddess. An imperfect one, but still the embodiment of the idea.”

Wincing, he shook his head. What the dragon was saying, was slowly dawning on him. “Wait, you mean that I–”

“Yes, Felix. You’ve bonded with a Goddess. Our Goddess, to be exact.”

“Whoa…”

Yarnel gave him a toothy smile. “Whoa indeed.”

They fell silent, but for Felix, another question was bubbling up past the hundreds he now had. It was something he had faintly noticed before, only now becoming apparent after his meeting with the Queen and this discussion with Yarnel.

“Does Fea– Her Highness, not understand her feelings? What I mean is, she spoke to me about being lonely, that she had so few friends. But the way she said it, it made me wonder if she was looking for something more than friendship.”

The small dragon let out a laugh, surprising him. “Her Highness is a romantic, a tragic one at that. Because of her status, there is not a dragon alive who would even dare court her. Worse still, she doesn’t understand love.”

That caused Felix to raise an eyebrow. “That’s what I don’t get, she seems to prefer some rather…descriptive romantic books. At least going by the ones that are in my room.”

Yarnel nodded sagely. “It goes back to what I said, she is an imperfect Goddess. Many of her emotions, her feelings, are childish at best. She knows what they are, but does not understand their true nature.”

He winced. “That sounds a bit harsh. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it childish.”

“But that is the truth. Make no mistake, Felix. She is capable of learning, but there isn’t anyone to teach her properly. That is, until now.” The dragon pointed at him.

“Me?”

“Yes, you. The two of you are now bonded. You really are the only one who can teach her.”

For the second time today, Felix was flabbergasted. “How?! It’s not like I understand things like romance! Hells, I–” He stopped himself, remembering everything that led him to coming here.

The dragon merely shrugged. “Perhaps that is a better question to ask Nevrim. He managed to tame that wild beast of a woman, Ithea. Barely, admittedly.”

Felix dropped his head into his hands. Gods, what have I gotten myself into?

“Anyway,” Yarnel continued, “It seems your mana has calmed down enough that we can proceed. However, we’re going to do something I’d rather wish we didn’t.”

He looked up at the dragon in confusion. “And what is that?”

“Lorenzen won’t make it another week. We’ll need to use the finished crystal on him.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fea sat in total silence. She could feel her heart, her dragon heart, beating out like a drum. Yet, no one seemed to notice…

She was in her throne room, pretending to listen to her advisors as they spewed facts that matter to no one but them. It might have sounded harsh, but Fea was elsewhere. She was in her own mind, trying to make sense of what she had done.

Why? Why did I do that?! Gods, I can feel him. It was a strange sensation, she could sense his location, she could close her eyes and touch his presence…

She mentally pulled herself back, afraid to do just that. It was scary, and she fretted that her own emotions were passing through to him.

Stupid! Stupid, silly woman! You’ve done it now! What will others think? What will they say? You’re supposed to be the Queen. You are supposed to be above this. Why did you do this?

Because, you’re lonely.

She froze. The thought was hers but it felt like another side of her, it was as if a hidden part of her was coming forward.

Don’t you deserve to be happy?

Of course I do! But this isn’t what I had in mind.

Really? You certainly love to read about it, to dream about it.

She felt her cheeks flush. My reading habits have nothing to do with this!

Reach for him.

No!

Yes.

“NO!”

The throne room fell silent as every set of eyes peered up at her.

“Your Highness? Is all well?” It was Nevrim and he was looking rather concerned.

“I’m…fine,” she said after a moment, doing her best to act as if she didn’t just have an outburst. It didn’t work.

“Perhaps this is a good time to end things for today,” Nevrim said after a moment. There were several nods and soon the room was cleared out, leaving only her and him.

He approached her. “Fea, what’s wrong? You look rather flustered.”

Straight to the point… “Like I said, I’m fine.” She said with a dismissive turn of her head.

“You can’t fool me, I’ve been watching you the entire time. Is it about Lorenzen?” Nevrim pushed.

“No…” But Fea felt his piercing gaze. She let out a sigh. “Sort of, it’s more of what he said and what happened after.”

“Oh? Care to elaborate? You’re not usually this cagey.”

She slammed her fists down onto the armrests of her throne. “If you must know, he said he wants me to make new friends.”

Nevrim pulled back slightly, easing up on the pressure. “Ah, so it’s really about Felix then.”

Fea nearly fell out of her seat. “How?! How do you know that?”

He chuckled. “It’s pretty obvious, if I’m being honest. I figured it was either about Lorenzen or Felix. But what is the problem?”

“What’s the problem?” she hissed. “I’ll tell you the problem! I’ve bonded with him–” Oh no…

Now, Nevrim nearly doubled over from laughing.

What? “Why is this funny to you?! Shouldn’t you be pissed or something?! Shouldn’t you at least be upset? Don’t you understand what I’ve done and with whom?”

“O-oh! Fea… I completely understand. That’s why I find it so hilarious!”

She was completely baffled by his response. “W-what?”

“Fea, Your Highness, my Queen,” he started with, slowly settling down. “This is what I’ve been hoping for for such a long time. Both me and Lorenzen.”

“Huh?”

Nevrim took a deep breath. “Let me put it like this; we’ve hoped that you would bond with someone. We thought it would be Hasalen, but…” His expression turned dower.

Her expression turned dower.

After a moment, he continued. “I’m honestly glad I listened to Felix when I did. I seriously thought of ending his life right there, upon the snowy slopes.

“But, he surrendered and I took him back to one of our fortresses. I am convinced he is a good person, despite what he has done.”

“But… But he killed her– He killed Hasalen.”

Nevrim shook his head. “He might have been the one to strike her down, but we both know he didn’t kill her. The one responsible for her death is currently sitting comfortably deep within the Holy Triumphant.”

Fea thought back to the last letter she would ever receive from the elven queen. She remembered her words. ‘Do not hate them…’

Tears began to fall and she quickly wiped them away. “S-still…”

Her friend approached and put a hand upon her shoulder, much like how Felix had. A tense silence followed that seemed to stretch on forever. Finally, however, Nevrim spoke.

“Fea, it’s okay to love him.”