Chapter 3

Confusion

Nina's footsteps echoed loudly down the empty, candle lit hallways as she ran. Clutched tight in her hand was the bracelet. Blood pounded against her temples, filling her ears with a deafening sound. Head low, she pumped her legs faster, her muscles screaming with effort. Millions of thoughts ran through her mind as she rushed past empty corridor after corridor; all of them eventually boiling down to a single one.

How?

How had it ended up in her room? How did this happen without her knowing?

How the hell was she supposed to find anyone in this damned maze of a castle?

After what seemed like hours, until her muscles were groaning in agony, she ran into a soldier. Alarmed at the sight of the princess in such a frenzy, he grasped the hilt of his sword. "Wh-what's going on, Princess Nina?"

The Princess skid to a stop, large wings billowing out and immediately bent over, clutching her stomach. "Princess...are you alright?" the he asked a little shakily.

Breath coming out in ragged gasps, she thrust the hand holding bracelet forward. "How...bracelet...? I...blue haired guy..."

Letting go of his sword, the soldier placed a hand on her shoulder. "Princess, what?"

He stopped short when she looked up at him, blue eyes blazing. Face flushed and angry, she clenched her teeth. "Where...where did you get this?" she whispered, still slightly out of breath. The soldier glanced at the small silver bracelet shaking in front of him. She was grasping it so hard, her little knuckles were white. "I asked you a question!" she cried angrily, shaking it harder at him.

He gave her an innocent look. "We captured a thief," He said softly. "A man claiming he knew you."

Her eyes widened. "Where is he?" She demanded, attempting to stand up straight.

"H-he's in the dungeon...your father was extremely angry...he...gave him to Shyong..."

"What? The dungeon? Sir Tsunaia?!" her voice was becoming high pitched. "How...without consulting me...?"

"With all due respect, Princess, it was...the King's decision."

He backed away nervously as she leaned toward him, body shaking in anger.

"Take me to my father."

"Ryu Dragoneye, I presume?"

Between two soldiers, Ryu's head was thrust forward and held in place by his hair. "Nod, thief." One hissed. Ryu scowled and they forced him to nod.

"From Drogen as well...I see..."

He watched as a man paced before him, one hand running through his short spiky, jet black hair. The man wore an elaborate suit of black armor, with a long, torn navy blue cloak that wrapped around his shoulders. An emblem of a large red bird was engraved on the breast plate which shined as though he polished it constantly. He casually waved a small piece of parchment around, glancing occasionally in Ryu's direction. "I wonder..." he said softly, crumpling it between his fingers and tossing it onto the floor. His lips curled into a smirk as he walked forward and took hold of Ryu's chin. "What would a little dragon like you want with the court of Windia?"

Ryu's eyes widened, but he remained silent. The man laughed loudly and let him go. "You think you're so well hidden, do you, boy?" He leaned down and narrowed his ice blue eyes. "You'll have to do much more than that to fool Sir Shyong Tsunaia. I can smell your filthy scent from miles away." He suddenly turned towards the wall, his cloak following shortly after. "Your kind are so predictable, so...stupid. You parade around, as if you were...human or something..." he spat and Ryu's face became flushed. What the hell was this guy playing at?

"Despicable." Shyong hissed, clenching one fist so hard, the armor on his glove screeched. "I've never trusted dragons. Filthy creatures..." he turned abruptly, facing Ryu again, his eyes now narrowed to slits. He reached up and grasped a handful of blue hair. "You seriously think the King would want to talk to someone like you?" he said, his voice eerily calm. Laughing softly, he backhanded him across the face hard. Ryu spat a little blood and clenched his teeth. "Like I said, idiots. I always knew dragons were dirty thieves, but to steal from the Princess..." Shyong smiled, absent mindedly wiping his hand on his cloak.

Shaking, Ryu threw himself forward, but the soldiers' grip was like a vice on each arm. "You bastard!" he growled through gritted teeth. "How dare you speak that way about my peop..." His body suddenly lurched backwards as Shyong rammed the hilt of his sword against his gut. Ryu's eyes unfocused and he fell limp against the soldiers' grip, blood dripping from his mouth. Shyong raised his hand and the soldiers let the dragon crumple to the ground.

"Get him out of my sight." he growled, giving Ryu's unconscious body a hard kick. The soldiers nodded and grasped both of his arms, picking him up and dragging him into the inner part of the dungeon, small droplets of blood making a trail on the cold stone floor.

Shyong watched until they were out of view, then glanced at the hand he had hit Ryu with. His eyes narrowed at the sight of blood. "Filthy, filthy creature." He muttered rubbing his cloak on it over and over again, trying to wipe it off. He clenched his teeth and rubbed harder when he realized it wasn't coming off easily; his hands beginning to sting under the pressure. Damn dragons...damn blood... He thought rubbing even harder. I'll make him pay...for even going near the Princess... His eyes glanced at the piece of crumpled paper on the floor near him. His rubbing became almost unbearable as the words "Permission to cross the borders of Windia." came into view. He reached down and scooped it up, then held it in front of his face. He spat bitterlyand threw it into a nearby torch. Watching it begin to smolder, he rubbed his hands together again. "You'll pay dearly..." he whispered into the flames.

"Father?"

The King of Windia looked up from his desk at the doorway where Nina and a soldier stood. He quickly closed a large book on his desk and stood, motioning for her to come in. "You are dismissed." he said to the soldier. Nodding, the soldier disappeared from sight, leaving Nina standing there alone, in the middle of her father's study. The King crossed his arms, a stern look appearing on his face. "Princess, what are you doing here? You know you're not allowed in this part of the castle."

Nervously, she clutched the bracelet, trying to remember that she was angry. "I-I wanted to talk to you...about this." she said softly holding it out so he could see. He reached forward and took it from her, running it over in his large hands.

He glanced up at her. "What is there to talk about? You have it back and the thief is in the dungeon. Everything's taken care of, now please go back to your quarters, you..."

"But you don't understand! That man is what I wanted to talk about!" Nina interrupted, now remembering her feelings.

The king's face became flushed and he set the bracelet on his desk. "Do not forget yourself, Princess." He said softly.

She stepped forward, tiny fists balled. "I don't care! You have to know! He didn't steal it from me, I gave it to him!" she cried, cheeks reddening. "I thought it would be a sure way for him to get an audience with you! I didn't think it would cause all of this..."

The King's eyes widened and he grasped his forehead. "You mean to tell me, you actually conversed with that man?" He asked through clenched teeth.

"Well, yes. He was in the valley where I was flying and..." Her head swung sideways as a sharp blow came to her cheek. She staggered backwards a bit and brought her hand to her mouth, dazed. It took her a second to realize he had struck her. She glanced up at him, starting to tremble. His face was blood red and he was breathing heavily.

"You stupid girl..." he said so softly, it made her hair stand on end. "You...do you know what he is...?"

She shook her head slowly, still grasping her now swollen cheek. Tears were starting to form in her eyes. "I...I don't..." she found it hard to speak as he advanced on her, eyes wide.

"I want you to go to your quarters, and forget you ever met him." he whispered softly, pointing a trembling finger towards the doorway. She backed away slowly until she was back in the hallway, flinching as the door slammed in her face.

What was going on? She backed to the wall and slid down, holding her legs and burying her face in her knees. What was that boy? Why did her father care? She tried to remember if there was anything strange at all about the boy. The only thing she could think of was his smile. When he had given her a big one, she could see his teeth. She distinctly remembered seeing what she thought looked like oversized canines. Shaking her head, she dismissed the thought. Normal people didn't have fangs and she was almost positive there wasn't anything odd about him. No, she thought, her face determined. He's normal. My father's just trying to keep me isolated. He's just scared I'm going to make friends with this boy and run off or something.

She stood up sharply, wiping her face hard on her night gown sleeve and glaring at the her father's door. "I'll show you..." She said more to herself than to him. "I'll show you I can make decisions for myself." Again, her footsteps echoed in the empty hallways.