Cassandra got up and walked up to him, putting her arms around his chest, hugging him gently. Kairen didn’t answer much, aside from putting his hand on her lower back, and playing with her hair.
“Oh... I like this new hairstyle, Son,” said Kareen, inspecting it from a bit closer. “Perfect for going to war...”
“It better be soon!” yelled someone behind her.
Shareen appeared, stealing some meat from the dragons. Cassandra frowned a bit, as it was raw meat, but obviously, the Princess couldn’t care less and was eating it directly off the bone. Lady Kareen clicked her tongue.
“Shareen, your manners!”
“I am starving, Mother. I trained all morning with those useless guards of yours, they better get back in shape before I come back, or I’ll have all those idiots replaced. Anyway, is the honeymoon over you two? I hope you do know you can’t put another baby in before this one is out, though, right?”
Cassandra decided to ignore her. She was used to Shareen’s crude ways by now, and she was almost expecting it at this point.
“Enough, enough. I’m hungry, too. Let’s have a late morning brunch, before you end up fighting with my babies,” said Kareen, walking back inside.
Cassandra chuckled. Anything was an excuse to have brunch for Lady Kareen, as she liked holding big feasts for breakfast no matter how late or early in the day it was. Hearing her call both dragons her babies was so endearingly cute.
They all walked back inside, but to Cassandra’s surprise, though Missandra and Dahlia were here, Anour didn’t show up. When she asked about it, Missandra frowned, and Shareen chuckled.
“The young ones had a bit of a fight last night, so he’s been sulking. Don’t worry, that big baby will show up eventually.”
“A fight? What did you fight with Anour about?” asked Cassandra, turning to Missandra.
Her younger sister pouted a bit.
“He kept saying how a woman will always be weaker than a man, and wouldn’t change his mind. So, I challenged him.”
“You fought with Anour? Missandra!”
“What? I lost anyway!” protested the younger sister.
Shareen laughed loudly.
“You barely lost, and that’s what upset Anour. He struggled so much not to hurt you he got a big black eye, so now that idiot is reflecting. Well done, by the way, Missie.”
“Stop calling me that,” whispered Missandra with a cute pout.
Cassandra couldn’t help but smile, thinking about how her younger sister had learned from her mistakes and was finally changing her attitude towards the Imperial Family. Of course, she shouldn’t fight, but from what she had heard, this was just normal bickering between teenagers.
They set up for another brunch in one of the gardens, and Cassandra finally felt a bit better than before. Maybe staying in bed for so long had gotten to her. She felt better now, sitting in the garden, breathing in some fresh air, and spending time with everyone.
Suddenly, loud noises were heard from the outside. The ruckus had lots of people cheering, and applauding. A servant came running inside the garden, but they all already knew what was going on.
“The Imperial Army has arrived, Your Highnesses! They are asking to see the Third Prince Kairen, the War God of the Dragon Empire!”
Cassandra’s heart sank at those words. The Army had arrived even faster than she thought.
Somehow, Kairen, Anour, and Shareen got ready to leave incredibly fast. A couple of representatives from the army showed up, but there wasn’t much time to lose. The news from the Eastern Front wasn’t good, they had to go as fast as possible. Hence, there wasn’t much ceremony involved, but everything was done in sad silence. Once everything was packed and ready, all dragons and humans gathered at the entrance of the Diamond Palace. Cassandra could even feel Krai’s unhappiness, as the dragon was lethargic, its head turned towards the direction of the egg.
The young concubine approached the dragon, scratching its maw gently.
“Don’t worry... I’ll take care of our babies,” she whispered to him.
The dragon growled sadly, rubbing its head against her belly. She stayed there until Kairen had said goodbye to his mother, and finally turned to her.
She sighed, but she couldn’t say a word. Her throat was already choked up, despite her best attempt not to cry. The Prince gently took her in his arms. Cassandra hid her face in his shoulder, trying to inhale deeply, to remember his smell and his warmth. She really wasn’t ready to let go.
“Stay safe,” he whispered to her. “Take care of yourself and the baby. Eat well, sleep well... I’ll be back soon.”
