Indeed, behind her, the poor man was on the floor with half of his face looking very, very painful and purple. No one dared to come to his aid though and all kept a careful distance from him until some servants came to help him up.
“Shareen, I already told you not to make your fights too obvious, didn’t I?” chided her mother. “You could have hit him somewhere less obvious, but you just had to go for the face.”
“He should walk around like that, Mother, I don’t care. That idiot was disparaging brother’s army, calling them lazy for maintaining the border and not crossing over!”
“Oh. You should have completely knocked him out then. He looks too fine for me.”
Shareen ignored her mother and turned to Kairen, waiting for his answer.
He didn’t say anything though, not out loud anyway. Just as Cassandra was wondering what was wrong, she heard the flap of wings.
“Krai!” she shouted, happy to spot the familiar black silhouette.
However, the dragon didn’t stop, only briefly turning its head towards her with a light familiar growl. It was obvious Krai wouldn’t be able to land in this area, not without crushing a few people. The dragon extended its giant claws, causing people to run away in fear, and flew just low enough to snatch that same minister up from the ground. The man’s screech was so high-pitched, people were covering their ears from the pain. Whether they had heard the fight with Shareen earlier or were too scared to ask, no one dared to comment on the incident, as the dragon flew away with its prey.
Shareen smiled, looking satisfied, and helped herself to some wine.
“Kairen! Son, what was that?” asked the Emperor.
“Taking out the trash, Father.”
Several people couldn’t help but laugh at the sentiment, though they were smart enough to hide it. Others were more terrified; they avoided Kairen’s vicinity at all costs, and their faces were white as a sheet. Meanwhile from his throne, the Emperor sighed in exasperation.
“Make sure your dragons behave, will you? How can the party go on if there are no more guests!”
“Dragons tend to be wilful, Father,” said Shareen with a sneer. “Who knows, if they get too hungry they might come looking for snacks again.”
“Don’t make us laugh, Shareen,” the Second Prince suddenly growled. “As if he doesn’t control that Black Dragon perfectly…”
Shareen didn’t appreciate the Prince speaking out against her and she immediately glared back at him.
“How about you teach us about controlling dragons then, Brother? Call yours out now, let us all see how much of a dragon-tamer you are!”
Right as she finished saying that, a threatening growl echoed from somewhere in the Palace. No matter where it was, the Red Dragon was clearly echoing its master’s anger. Cassandra couldn’t help but be concerned. What if he really called it all the way here? Wouldn’t it get in a fight with Krai or injure people? Every time she had previously seen the Red Dragon, it was securely caged, but what if it was actually freed? The animosity between the brothers would definitely have it target Kairen. She trusted Krai to respond immediately, but…
Just as she was lost in her thoughts and worrying, Kairen gently put his hand on hers. He wasn’t looking at her though, he was still glaring Vrehan’s way, but his thumb was gently caressing her skin, helping her calm down.
Vrehan paused for a few seconds and then, to her surprise, a disturbing, reptilian-like smirk spread across his face as he glared at Shareen.
“Why would you need me to teach you anything about dragons, Shareen? Women don’t need to know about dragon-taming.”
The insult was evident, and even Cassandra felt outraged. He clearly looked down on the Princesses, because unlike their brothers, they had no dragons of their own. Shareen became red with anger, but just as she was about to say something, the loudest growls yet were heard.
Though she wasn’t surprised to see Krai return, Cassandra had not expected to see the Golden Dragon make an appearance too. Glahad was growling even more furiously and clearly glaring at Vrehan with its ruby eyes. The arrival of the two biggest Imperial Dragons was enough to scare a lot of guests away, many of whom, for some reason, thought the wisest place to hide would be inside the buildings. Cassandra considered differently as the walls looked like they were about to collapse under the weight of the two beasts.
Even Missandra and Dahlia had run back towards her, both of them hiding behind her seat afraid. She couldn’t blame them. She probably would have been just as terrified if the War God hadn’t been holding her hand all this time. The dragons’ angry growls were deafening, in line with their anger.
Shareen was unphased by the chaos going on around them and stood up, furious, while pulling her sword from its hilt.
“I dare you to say that again, Vrehan.”
“Enough!”
The Emperor was standing up now and glaring at both of them.
“Enough of your squabbling! This is the New Year Celebrations. I want no fighting in front of our guests! Not tonight, not tomorrow, not for the next few days either! Vrehan, Shareen, enough, you two! Both of you go back to your apartments for the night!”
Shareen was about to protest, but her mother clicked her tongue. The two of them exchanged glances for a second, almost as if they were having a silent conversation until Shareen cried out in frustration. She violently swung her sword through the air in protest then put it back before turning to leave without another word.
