Sabine

With breakfast, I received another note from the prince that he'd be gone for several days and I was free to spend my time as I pleased.

I took my time with my breakfast and soaked in a warm bath after. I ran a silky, smooth bar of soap up and down my legs and across my stomach. Without meaning to, my mind wandered to the night when the prince appeared before me with a robe practically falling off his body. I closed my eyes and relaxed deeper into the tub, my skin tingling with warmth.

The soap slipped from my hand and I sat bolt upright, panting. What was I doing? That was a night I wanted to forget, not drudge up.

Flushed, and horrified with myself, I dressed without even drying off. My sopping wet hair slapped against my back and soaked through to my skin. My dress stuck to my skin. Discomfort, that's what I wanted to remember when I thought of that night in the prince's bathroom.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

I snapped my head to the door. The last time I had a visitor, it was Dulcey and she hadn't been the most pleasant guest. Who else would come to visit?

"Hellooo."

Sighing, my shoulders eased. It was Rosalie's voice.

I pulled the door open and she came right in, a big, friendly smile on her face and a basket hanging over her arm.

"I heard my brother was gone again, which means you've got some free time. I packed us a picnic lunch and there's this gorgeous place behind the palace I want to take you."

"Yes, Your Highness. I will make the arrangements for your outing."

Rosalie tossed her head back, her strawberry hair bouncing. "No, silly, you're coming with me for the company. I already had the servants arrange it. Morganna will be joining us too, is that alright?"

"I'm sorry... the company?"

"Sure. There aren't a lot of women in the palace I can spend time with. I have no sisters and most of the women of the court think I'm inferior because I'm the War Dragon's younger sister."

I glanced from side to side. It was very unorthodox, a princess wanting to spend time with a slave. Rosalie had shown me kindness and she seemed genuine but, in the palace, I doubted that meant much.

"Please." Rosalie pouted. "I don't want to picnic alone. Besides, my brother says you're not afraid of dragons. No one else will spend time with Morganna."

"A-alright." I nodded.

Rosalie squealed and bounced on the balls of her feet. She looped her arm through mine and pulled me out the door.

"It would be highly inappropriate to be friends with a maid or the other servants. As my father has pointed out. He thinks they would take advantage of my kindness. But you're my brother's personal attendant. He can't have a problem with that." She chattered as we walked.

And also, a slave. She didn't need to say that but there was no way a woman in my position could take advantage of a princess's kindness. I had no standing and no leverage.

Rosalie brought me through the central courtyards of the palace and to the well-manicured grounds beyond. Other than the gardens of Prince Cole's wing, I barely got outside and I hadn't seen much of the palace grounds.

We walked along a gravel path through clipped lawns. The path led to the edge of a glassy surfaced pond. Dragonflies dipped and buzzed over the water's surface and lily flowers kissed the top of the water, blooming in the bright sun. On the other side of the pond, large trees stretched to the sky, shadows lurking between the trunks.

There was a checkered blanket laid out on the sand. Beside the blanket, a blue-scaled dragon, whose colors rippled like ocean waves, lay in the sand. Sunlight glinted off her shimmering scales, making her look more fluid and water-like.

Rosalie picked up her pace toward the dragon. "Morganna, my lovely life companion."

The dragon lifted her head. Whirring, gemlike, sapphire eyes followed us as we came down the path.

"She's absolutely stunning."

We sat on the blanket, the dragon hovering nearby. Rosalie opened the basket and took out several wrapped dishes. She chattered the whole time as she laid out the spread.

"So, why aren't you afraid of the dragons?" Rosalie's question pulled me from my thoughts.

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I glanced at Morganna. Her scales and eyes were like gemstones. When I first encountered Talon at the slave auction, I expected him to be terrifying and violent. I knew nothing about dragons then.

Since then, I'd seen Talon and the prince together. The crimson dragon always seemed gentle, almost like a pet. I saw the way the prince was with him, too. It was the only time I saw him looking truly relaxed and genuine.

"They seem so gentle and kind," I explained.

"You're one of the few who think that. Most of the staff around the palace are terrified of them. But everyone in the kingdom loves the protection the dragons provide."

"They are feared and loved."

Rosalie nodded. "And for good reason. I love Morganna and know she'd never hurt anyone but when dragons first hatch, they are wild, even dangerous. It takes a very strong-willed person to tame a dragon and win their loyalty." She smiled fondly, glancing at the blue dragon.

Morganna hummed and lowered her head, nudging Rosalie with her big nose. Rosalie giggled and patted the nose with a deep look of adoration in her eyes.

"All of the royals go through taming a dragon?"

Rosalie nodded. "Sadly... not all of them make it. Sometimes, the dragons are stronger."

I felt the blood drain from my face. "And then what happens?"

"My older brothers, from my father's first wife, all died trying to tame dragons. And my mother... when a hatchling became available to her, she was unable to tame it. I was only a baby, so I never knew her."

"That's barbaric." I glanced at the dragon again. She seemed so peaceful and calm. I couldn't imagine her attacking anyone, let alone kill them.

"It's how things have been done in the royal family for generations." Rosalie shrugged. "Part of the reason our nation is feared and respected."

I bowed my head. Rosalie wanted to be friends, so she said, but I still had to tread carefully.

"Sabine, is there something on your mind? You look... concerned."

I sighed. "There are some things I should not say to a princess." I touched the collar at my neck.

Rosalie shook her head. "You can say anything to me. I don't care about politics and there's nothing I haven't heard before. Trust me, the way Cole and my father go at it."

"People fear Telasia because the royal family is willing to sacrifice their own children to ensure that only the strongest survive."

"It's a lot better than what goes on in Stivalia," Rosalie argued.

I bowed my head and nodded. "Honestly, I don't know much about Stivalia except in the rumors I heard on the street," I admitted. Before relocating to the palace, I never needed to know about politics or what went on in other countries.

If I was going to keep up with Rosalie, it seemed like I needed to know more.

"Well, King Verill is a tyrant, for one. Here, at least the citizens appreciate the dragons and know they are there for protection. In Stivalia, magic is reserved only for those of noble birth and the king uses it to oppress everyone else."

Instinctively, I touched the collar at my neck. I knew that mages weren't considered more or less than anyone else in Telasia but there was some allure of living in a nation where magic-doers were respected and considered higher class.

"How do they reserve magic for the nobles?"

Rosalie's eyes darkened and she looked out at the lake. Morganna rustled her wings and uttered a low sound deep in her throat.

"Careful breeding. For generations, they've kept the bloodlines pure so that only certain families produce mages. Although, now and then, it happens that a lower-class family finds themselves with a mage."

I sighed. "I'm guessing they don't get elevated to royal status?"

"No!" A shudder ran through Rosalie. "From what Cole says, King Verill is merciless and he slaughters the entire family."

I gasped and hugged my knees to my chest. So, if I had been born free in Stivalia, there was a chance I never would have made it to adulthood. I never thought I'd be grateful for the cool, binding ring around my neck. At least, it meant life.

"Careful breeding, weeding out the weak... royal families are a mess," I muttered.

"That's funny, my brother said something similar to my father, the last time I heard them argue about Cole finding a wife and starting a family." Rosalie laughed and tossed her hair, her mood lifting quickly.

"Yes, I heard them argue about that in the Great Hall."

"My father is not happy that Cole dismissed his latest concubine. Don't get me wrong, I hated the woman, but a prince needs to provide heirs for the family to continue. He's never taken this long to replace a concubine before."

My throat dried slightly as questions rose to the surface. Did I have the right to ask? Rosalie spoke so freely and she never gave me a look or made me feel like I overstepped.

"H-has he had many?" I forced out.

"Concubines? Well, Dulcey was the third. She was the shortest, too. I guess he got bored of her quickly. I liked Heather, his second concubine, better. She was sweet and actually cared to get to know me."

"What happened to her?" I turned to the side and plucked at nearby blades of grass, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh, my brother got tired of her, too. Actually, she was the one I thought he'd marry. They were really good together and my father wholeheartedly approved. Sometimes, I think that's why he got rid of her because he knew she'd be a great wife and queen."

A lump rose in my throat making it hard to swallow. I didn't know why it bothered me to hear about the prince's past lovers, especially one that would have made the best wife for him. A knot formed in my stomach and I wanted to talk about something else.

"If providing heirs is so important, why does he resist? Why won't he marry?"

Rosalie sighed and I watched her tip her eyes to the sky. "I don't know. He doesn't talk to me about those things. Maybe he has something very specific in mind. I mean, Analee and Heather made him work for it. The longer he chased them, the longer they were together." She glanced at me and grinned.

"Is that important?"

"Dulcey on the other hand, she practically threw herself at him and he got rid of her the fastest," Rosalie explained. "So, you better not sleep with him anytime soon. I'm starting to think of you as a friend."

My eyes bulged and the knot in my stomach twisted. I gaped at Rosalie, my thoughts jamming in my brain.

"Wh-what... I... no, it's not..." I groaned and dropped my head into my hands. "It's not like that. I am the prince's personal attendant. He has no interest in me..."

My mind wandered back to the challenging look he gave me when he learned just how little I knew about the ways of men in the bathroom. I bit my lower lip, my breaths coming shallow and fast. Heat spread across my cheeks and down my neck.

Something deep in my core clenched tight. I bit back a gasp that rose to my lips.