Hey guys, my fencing championship is coming up (I'm a sabreuse)! Hahaha... I'm a bit nervous... anyway, I'll try to do my best with the updating!

Thanks for staying this far with me! ^^

TMCP: Thanks! and get well soon for your toe nail

Ei Ei: okay okay I get it, enjoy!

Silence.

Reine gathered up her composure and lifted up her chin slightly. "Rise, and tell me who are you."

He stood up, but said nothing of his identity.

Reine wouldn't risk releasing her aura near a weakened Gwen, so all she could do was to stand her ground, never breaking her eye contact with this apparently male dragon.

Suddenly, Gwen's face was painted with the look of realization. At last, she recognized the feel of this man's aura on her skin; she had always been a keen sensor herself.

"William…" she muttered under her breath.

The man smiled gently at her. "You seem to be weakened considerably in this season, being in your human form and everything, Your Royal Highness."

It took Reine another moment to realize, through his voice, who this male dragon could be.

"William Concordius,"

In the hierarchy of the Court, William Concordius had no official position, but his father did, and this male dragon—eight years older than the twins (which, in human's standard, made him a year older than Neil Leicestria)—was to inherit that position one day. His father, Grand General Concordius, was the Chief Advisor to the Court. In an absolute monarchy system adopted by the current Sectarian Dynasty, this position put the Grand General to be the most influential presence in the court—maybe only rivalled by the consort.

But other than that, the late Queen Consort of Dragons had come from this noble house as well—being the younger sister of the Grand General himself, making William a maternal first cousin to the current Queen of Dragons and the Younger Princess. Yet, due to the hierarchy in the Court and the protocols that guided them, William had never referred to his cousins by their first name—at least not publicly in Gwen's case (he had always been considerably closer to Gwen than Reine)—and instead referred them respectfully through their titles.

"I can't go back to the Court yet." Reine declared immediately, cutting the chase.

"Why, Your Majesty?"

"I have things to attend here."

William, perceptive as he was, asked: "Finding the late His Majesty's murderer?"

He then went on, "Your Majesty, once you formally assume the throne, a word from you is our command. Moreover, if it had been true that the late His Majesty had been murdered by a human… this is a kingdom's affair."

"I shall avenge the late king as his daughter," Reine stated as she stared right into William's eyes. "I can't go back to the Court yet. At least not until I can be certain of what had happened during that night."

Reine took a deep breath, "Only then we can decide whether the late king's death can be treated as a kingdom's affairs or not."

William knew that once Reine had made up her mind, she wouldn't be likely to be swayed. One of the very few who could influence Reine would be her younger twin—and he thought maybe he could influence her.

William gazed at Gwen's deep blue eyes. "Your Royal Highness…"

"I shall follow my sister," she immediately declared, knowing what William was up to.

He then knew he had lost.

But, he wasn't the one who would give up soon. After all, this was his task: to find the young queen and the princess, and brought them back to the imprisoning safety of the Court.

After finished with work that day, Reine walked alone to the cliff that overlooked Elviaros. When she reached an empty ground, she stopped walking and stared at both of her hands.

She took a deep breath and stretched her left arm outwards then spun her whole body, creating a trail of fire in the ground that soon formed into a ring of flame. Reine had noticed that when she was in her human form, she could more much more freely—and now she tried to emulate the freedom that she would usually feel when flying in the skies by moving her body and let the flame inside of her came out.

She closed her eyes, tasting that liberation on her skin.

Her arms, her legs, even her torso moved as if guided by the Nature itself. She did movements that would have otherwise been impossible if she had been in her dragon form. If there had been any audience around, it would look very much like a ballet recital—the trail of fire she created looked like the ribbon that swayed so elegantly with each hand movement she made.

When she was finally out of breath, she opened her eyes and look at the vermilion flames around her soaring to the sky as if, just like her, they longed for liberation. Reine looked around; there was no one there. She tried to sense any kind of aura besides her own, and she sensed none.

So, Reine daringly let her wings sprout on her back and she leaped to the sky. She then looked down, having an eagle-eye view of what her flames had created. She held her breath.

Somehow, her dance had created a flaming Royal Seal—minus the inscription "Pro regnum vivo", of course—as if reminding her of who she was now.

It could have been the shock that came from the revelation, it could have been the smoke she had inhaled as she floated to the sky, in any way, Reine fell. Her wings disappeared the moment her body slammed the ground.

She felt her chest tightened. She reached for a nearby grass and grabbed a handful of it. She tightened her grip, as if emulating the feeling inside of her chest.

The Court.

It might not be the place that offered freedom, but it had always been her home.

In there, she was born and in there, her life had been mapped out for her.

She was no longer the rebellious Elder Princess. She could no longer be one. She should've known that much.

Like it or not, she was now the Queen.

Suddenly, dark cloud formed over her head and soon rain poured down, killing the flames that was rising around her.

It was then her eyes caught a glimpse of lightning striking the earth, and she was reminded of the human Lightning Elementer.

Neil…

"Reine!"

Much to her surprise, as if he had heard her call, he walked up to the cliff and went over to her. "Hey, what happened?!" he asked, obvious worry in his tone.

He offered his hand, and she took it, letting him to help her to stand on her feet again.

"How…"

"The smoke." He replied, knowing what was inside of her mind. "I saw it."

For a moment, Reine was wondering whether he saw it—her partial transformation.

She looked at his eyes, but there was nothing else than worry in them.

The raindrops that fell on her face looked like tears as it travelled down her cheeks.

"Are you crying?" he asked.

That moment, she asked herself whether it would be all right if she really cried.

Whether the saying was true; that a dragon that shed a tear would die.

And whether Neil would kill her, if he learned the truth.

She raised her head and stared into Neil's wine-coloured eyes.

"I am a dragon,"

Her voice was overshadowed by the thunder that came just as she said the words.

"What?!" he asked, half-shouting since the thunder, too, ate his voice away.

Reine shook her head.

It seemed like the Nature wouldn't let her to have it so easy.

Will Neil kill Reine if he really learns the truth?

Seems like Reine won't know for the time being... yet.

Will she return to the Court?

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

Thanks for reading!

Please rate and review ^^

A/N: if you are wondering what the inscription on the Royal Seal means, fret not! It will be explained in later chapters!