All Chapters of THE TRIBUTE QUEEN OF THE DRAGON KING : Chapter 11 - Chapter 19

~ DAHLIA ~By the time the dusk of the day turns into nightfall, the entire fortress has been transformed into a paradise of a feast celebration.Holding up my enormous blood red gown as I gracefully descend a staircase, leading to a wide corridor, I look outside through the windows by my right and see lanterns suspended in the air with their bright golden lights shining across the walls of the fortress and everywhere else.Also, before I reach the grand hall where I am being summoned to attend the celebration, my nose keeps picking up the sweet, mouthwatering scent of roasted meat and exotic spices as the smells snake through the windows and into the corridors, probably coming from the kitchens.Arriving at the hall, I meet a feast that has already been laid out across a massive long obsidian table right at the center of the hall. This isn’t a simple meal celebration. It is a grand farewell to Azraelyrs happening here in the fortress before he rides to Aepolis with me.Azraelyrs is

~ DAHLIA ~ I wake up the next morning to the light of a new dawn. A new day, and I quickly remember that I am going to Aepolis today. I slept late last night and had no nightmares. Grateful to the Creator for another new chance at life today, I blink against the warm morning sunlight pouring in through the high-arched windows of my room. I love my bed sheets, but I can only wonder how much more I will love the ones in Aepolis. Despite not knowing what to expect there, I feel a small peace within me, and I recall the memories of last night as they drift across my mind: the wine-soaked toasts, the fire-dancers, General Kyrian’s mocking tongue….. I shove it all aside. Today is a new day. New battleground. And Aepolis awaits. I hear a couple soft knocks on the door, and I sit up straight on the bed. “Come in,” I respond and rest my back on the headboard. Keshani and two very familiar maidens enter. “Good morning your highness,” they greet in unison. “Good morning,” I respond an

~DAHLIA~The wind sounds like a roar in my ears.We all are moving. Azraelyrs and I are up in the sky, while Vaeroth and his men are marching below us.The sky is wide open. Too wide. Too blue. Too endless. And I should be terrified of how high we are flying, but I feel something else that is burning inside me as it rushes through my veins. Something that is not fear.It’s adrenaline.I feel weightless and heavy all at once. My breath snags every now and then as I keep fighting down the nausea filling up my stomach. Thank goodness I listened to Keshani.The ground is so far down below Azraelyrs and I as the sky keeps swallowing us whole. The marching men look like marching black ants, and all of them are in solid formations, not breaking out of line one bit. The battalion ahead has the wind blowing their banners that are flapping in the air, bearing the emblem of Drakarith.And above, the clouds part like curtains for Avizandria’s large wingspan. Azraelyrs’s arm is still steadily wrap

~DAHLIA~ After Azraelyrs's announcement and other minor court proceedings, the meeting is ended. The many nobles situated much closer to the hall’s main entrance are the first to start leaving in neat clusters, then followed by more high ranking court officials exiting in small cliques, whispering noisily to one another while some steal backward glances at me. These lords and ladies of Drakarith, I have this feeling that even though they don't fully accept me now, I still pique their interests and attention. It’s like I can even hear the questions in their heads: Will this weakling survive? Or worse, will she be crushed? I will survive. I swear by the Creator that I will. It doesn't take quite long before the court hall is deserted, with just a few officials hanging around near the pillars guarded by soldiers. One of the soldiers approaches Azraelyrs. I haven't moved an inch off my standing spot, and Azraelyrs haven’t moved too. He also hasn’t let go of my hand, and I feel reass

~ DAHILA ~ My brain spikes with possible reasons why the Lord Chamberlain is here to see me. The implications appear in my mind quickly. He manages the palace, he orchestrates court events, and he is the authority that oversees the power that guards the king’s doors in this palace. He is power personified in protocol. If he is here to see, I am sure it is not a casual visit. However, I also know this: I need friends. I need allies. And having the man who controls who gets to whisper in the King’s ear as my friend or ally is very important and useful. Keshani glances at me, waiting. I am sure the female guard and the Lord Chamberlain outside are also waiting. “Let him in.” The doors swing open after my permission is given. The Lord Chamberlain enters, stepping in fully as the doors remain open behind him. Keshani bows deeply first to me again before she bows to him and exits silently. The doors then click shut after she is gone, leaving me and the Lord Chamberlain alone inside my