prompt thirty eight: pressure
rate: T for Teens and Up
Thirty eight out of one hundred.
this was born from my wild imagination while i cannot sleep and i cannot fathom the reason why i torture myself like this. This will be continued in another part so keep your panties on and there is more to come on some of my other prompts so hold your horses and buckle down for a ride of your life. You can kind of see where this is going… right?
"Enjoy the pressure. Enjoy the stress. Enjoy being uncomfortable. And don't shy away from it, embrace it." —Gary Woodland
X
.
Lucy froze in her spot as she stared wide-eyed at her advisor, her jaw threatening to hang off its hinges but that was not very ladylike of her at all. Considering she was the Queen of the Celestial Kingdom, that would be very frowned upon. But anyone would surely react the same way she did if they got the news she just did.
"I.. I don't quite understand," Lucy spoke, keeping her voice leveled even though she could feel her hands trembling slightly on her lap.
Her advisor merely sighed, giving her a sympathetic look because what he said wasn't something easily digestible.
"You grace," he cleared his throat, adjusting himself in his seat. "Like I have mentioned before, it is essential to find a strong mate in order to produce a healthy child. There will be less risk with you during pregnancy and childbirth as the magical power this child possesses will aid you during and after. It is the main reason how…" he trailed off and it made her cringe.
Her mother.
In the land that was bubbling with magic, those who were lucky enough to carry and possess magical items and abilities were not only stronger in a sense but also seen as the 'greater beings'. And so those who do have the ability to magic are higher in society and the majority of them are from royal blood. All over the world in different kingdoms do they have people who hold special powers and in the Celestial kingdom magic was the strongest.
With the guidance from the stars and protection from the celestial plains, the Celestial kingdom was known for their strong army but kind nature.
The late king and queen were both very much loved, ruling with compassion and love. The entire kingdom adored them.
Her mother, just like herself, was a celestial wizard. Her father on the other hand… was just a mere mortal that didn't hold any special types of powers. In the royal kingdom, those who were of power were those who held such magical energy and for a mere mortal to be with the princess herself was a scandal in itself.
It created a huge uproar back in the day and the main reason why it was to attest to this was because those who don't mate with an equal or stronger counterpart pay for it in the end… with their life.
The princess of the Celestial Kingdom was born as a healthy baby girl thanks to her mother's strong magical force. Her mother on the other hand weakened by day as the enormous strain of childbirth and pushing the majority of her magic into her baby girl made her fatigued.
With two beings who hold powerful magic recovered easily, one being the sole generator became too straining. Slowly overtime would the mother be able to regain her strength but with the king being someone who did not hold such magic was unable to help strengthen the queen.
Lucy watched as her mother slowly deteriorated in front of her and when time came, her father had left as well, swearing he was destined to be with her mother till the end. So not only did she end up losing one parent but both as they sacrificed everything to have her.
And while her coronation was only three years ago, the talk about finding a king has been non-stop chatter. Constantly asking when she would be able to appoint a king or even obtain an heir at this point. It's not like she was holding back because she simply wanted to, it was mainly because she didn't really like any of the suitors. Why should she just appoint anyone to be king for her kingdom just because they have the experience and willingness to do so?
In the Celestial kingdom, they weren't too harsh on the idea of a woman ruling without a king to support her but they were very strict on one thing.
And that was an heir.
"I don't know how that is possible when the majority of citizens in Celestial are humans who do not hold such magical power."
"May I suggest finding someone from another kingdom, perhaps? We could host a ball and inform the other kingdoms about our conquest."
"A unity in childbirth is not something to take lightly," she snapped, making the advisor shrink down slightly. "If this is about finding a king then we may be able to do so accordingly but something as straining as birthing another magical child will take more planning than a ball."
"Yes, your grace." He dipped his head down apologetically. "It has been numerous years since the late king and queen have tragically passed and with your coronation being three years ago, the kingdom is to wonder if we would ever be able to find a king or heir for the future generation."
Standing up from her seat, Lucy clenched her jaw and gave her advisor a seething expression which made him instantly tense up.
"And what do you suggest I do? Find the first mage or magical creature to breed with so I may be able to be with child? And who is to say the first time would be successful?"
"Your grace," he sputtered, standing up from his seat. "The citizens are worried about the future and what is to come. You have yet to find a king and harbor a heir and it is nearing—"
"To hell what everyone thinks!"
The advisor visibly flinched and stared wide-eyed at the angry queen. The queen who rarely raised her voice or showed any emotion but happiness and compassion.
"Leave me at once!" She bellowed and the advisor was quick to bow at her before scurrying off, leaving the blonde to pace and let out frustrated signs.
She honestly has too much on her plate and they want her to worry about something as silly as finding a man? Nonetheless about the heir, she shall get to that but finding a king is not a requirement or an urgent matter in this case. There were all sorts of wars going around in the world and she had many duties as their queen to withhold.
But why was everyone so worried about her finding a king? The Celestial kingdom has ruled without a king for many decades with her great, great, great grandma being the first to be queen without a king when the king had tragically passed not even a year after their marriage.
The knock on her door made her turn her head and glare, debating if she should just make whoever is on the other side think she wasn't in there. She was half-attempted to just allow them to leave when another urgent knock echoed with her favorite knight speaking from behind the wooden door.
"Your grace, it is I, Knight Scarlet, here to escort you down."
Lucy let out a groan before she allowed entry, a pout on her lips as one of her oldest and most loyal knights entered.
"What has gotten you so down and flustered, my queen?"
"The same talk about a king and an heir!" The queen grumbled, tossing her hands up in the air in a show of exasperation. "Honestly, it is baffling to think these people are that worried about my love life!"
With an amused smile, Erza watched the queen pace back and forth in her studies. "I do not think it is about your love life they are concerned about but more so the future of this kingdom."
"Don't start with me," Lucy turned to glare at her and Erza merely chuckled.
"Are you ready, your grace?"
"Ready? Ready for what?"
With everything that had been going on, Lucy had completely forgotten about the prisoner that was captured in her land just last night. She had caught word of it from her knights and they tossed him into the dungeon till the next morning where Lucy had time to collect her thoughts and rest up. She didn't know much about what happened or how he got there but all she knew was that he crashed into the border of her walls and with minimal aggression, he had been taken back to the castle.
If only she wasn't so caught up in the same god awful conversion, she may have been able to see him sooner and she suddenly felt so bad that this person had been sitting in her dungeon for longer than she hoped.
Holding the skirt of her dress up, Lucy climbed down the cobblestone stairs that led to their dungeon and with Erza in front, the two of them traveling down and deep into the debts of the castle.
The heat seemed smothering hot the further down they went and Lucy found herself fanning herself the further they traveled.
"What is with the heat?"
"My apologies, my queen," Erza spoke as her armor clanked with each step. "But it is to say that our prison is a fire wizard."
"A fire wizard you say?" She quirked a brow as they reached the bottom floor. The temperature wasn't unbearable but it made the place incredibly humid and she felt her sweat sticking to her skin.
"Be cautious, my queen," Erza murmured as she unlocked the cell. "He has quite the temper."
Lucy chuckled at the mention of that before Erza unlocked the cell doors and opened it for her. Her heels clicked with each step she made, seeing how this so-called fire wizard watched her from the darkness. His arms were held up by magic-restricting chains, his butt planted firmly on the ground with his legs extended out in front of him. Wearing nothing but joggers and sandals, Lucy raised a brow at his odd attire all the way up to his pink colored locks.
His dark orbs were staring right at hers, almost like a predator calculating his prey's every action. She could see the glint of gold lingered in the back of his irises and her eyebrows raised further up, the hot waves of his heat submerging her.
"I am Queen Lucy Heartfillia of the Celestial Kingdom. You had stumbled across one of our borders late last night and picked a fight with my knights who captured you and brought you back to my castle. What is the reason for your presence?"
The silence that came forth made her purse her lips and stare down at him heavily. He didn't seem to be in the mood to chit-chat but that was understandable since he was beaten and dragged here against his own will.
"The queen is speaking to you, you insolent swine!" Erza barked and even with her anger rising, the prisoner merely yawned as if he was bored.
This angered the knight as she took a step forward before Lucy thrusted her arm out and stopped her.
"Enough," Lucy spoke with calm authority before turning back to him. She stared him down once more, chocolate clashing with onyx. She held his gaze for a moment longer before she was approaching him.
"My queen, watch—!"
"Stand down, knight." Lucy said as she came over to grab at her skirt before going down to a squat, staring curiously at the man.
He was silent and tense, as if he was on guard and the heat felt like it was rising ever so slowly. Her skin was starting to feel sticky and slick with sweat but she tried her best to ignore the beads of sweat that were rolling down her skin. She tilted her head to the side making her golden hair spill to the side, his eyes watching her closely. When she moved her golden hair to the side to bring some needed air to her nape, a low growl bubbled out from him.
With a small smile, she took in his appearance. "You're not just a fire mage, are you?"
The look of surprise flashed by his face for a second before it turned into a sneer, the stranger baring his teeth at her to warn her again but the sight itself was fascinating for her.
She thought he looked a bit familiar but his kind hasn't been seen in centuries. Many folk tales spoke about his kind in all sorts of ways. Destruction. Chaos. She didn't even know if her hypothesis was even correct since all she was doing was connecting the dots. Fire mages weren't rare beings but those who weld the powder of fire usually weren't slamming into her border walls and then baring their unusually sharp teeth at her.
"Were you running from something? Or someone?"
The silence that continued didn't bother her at all. Her patience has always been high and if she was captured and chained in a kingdom's dungeon, she would be wary too.
"I won't hurt you. I just want to know if we have to prepare ourselves for any kind of attack. Especially if they know you are over Celestial borders."
His eyebrow raised up at her but he still didn't respond. His stare never wavered, eyes locked in on the queen's as if he looked away, he would suddenly fall to his doom. He merely sat there, blinking owlishly, and keeping his mouth shut.
It only made Lucy sigh before she stood back up, keeping her long locks held up by one hand. She let out a small huff before she mustered up her most serious and commanding gaze, staring right into his eyes that seemed to widen.
"If you refuse to do anything but sit there, at least answer me this." She looked down on him as if he was nothing but an ant. "What was so jarring that a seemingly extinct species as yourself would be running away from it that you clearly had no idea you were running right into unwarranted territory? You are a dragon… are you not?"
She didn't even bother addressing the gasp that came from behind her nor did the way the said dragon snapped his teeth at her and growled. The heat grew and it felt as if the walls were to melt off and that was all she needed to see before she turned and began to walk away.
"Erza, please notify the staff to fix up a hearty meal for our… guest. Ensure he is properly bathed and tended to but do not take those chains off him. It seemed like his powers have subsided with it on but we do not know what tricks he has up his sleeves and it doesn't seem to cease the overpowering heat he can use." She glanced behind her shoulder one last time to see he was still staring at them before looking back at her knight. "And whatever you do, please ensure word of this does not travel outside of here. If anyone were to find out we have a dragon in our hands…"
"Yes, my queen, I will get to that right away."
Right away, Lucy had returned back to her chambers to fill a bath and get herself cleaned up. She didn't remember the last time she had been in such smothering heat. She felt sticky and tired from it all but she still had too much to do.
After taking a nice bath, Lucy was quick to go back to her studies to take care of paperwork that had been calling for her since she got up this morning. Going through and stamping approvals on those that needed and shifting through her mail to see if there were any important events she would have to attend.
Her mind continued to wander to the dragon that she currently held hostage down in her dungeon and she was momentarily debating if she should instead look through her massive library to see what she could find out about his species.
She didn't even think dragons were real. They haven't been sighted in nearly four hundred years and with how humans have been attacking these creatures for longer than the Celestial Kingdom was up, she didn't know dragons could keep up with the mass extinction of their race. But it worried her how one had just seemingly come right to her borders and got captured. If any other kingdoms knew she had maybe one of the last dragons left on earth land, she may have some enemies knocking on her door for some unpleasant encounters.
The first step is to find out if this man can speak. Did dragons know the English tongue? Did he even know what she could have been saying? For all she knew, she could have been speaking to him in a foreign language and that's why he was just silent and staring.
Hearing a knock on her door, Lucy came back from her little daydream and snapped out of it. She let out a sigh and dropped her papers back on her desk, allowing entry for her advisor to step back in her office.
Lucy let out a low groan and pressed a hand to her temple.
"Your grace," he curtsied at her, an amused smile on his lips. "I apologize for the unwanted appearance from my queen but there had been urgent consideration that was brought to my knowledge."
"Take a seat." She motioned to the chair he occupied earlier this morning and she waited as he sat down and cleared his throat.
"There are rumors going around that we may have a dragon in the dungeon?"
Lucy let out a sigh. "Yes and we need to get those rumors squashed immediately. We cannot let the public nor other kingdoms know we are harboring an extinct creature on our lands."
"Yes, my queen, but this may be considered good news for the kingdom. Especially you, my grace."
"Me?" She echoed, raising a brow at the man who beamed. "What does that dragon have anything to do with me?"
"Remember our talk from this morning, my grace?" Lucy cocked her head to the side at him, urging him to continue as he cleared his throat. "Dragons are fire breathing fierce beasts who can weld the magic of fire and flight. They are incredible warriors and extremely powerful. Not only are they also intelligent beings, they are considered to be loyal and protective."
Lucy stayed silent as she absorbed all the new information about dragons. It's not like she knew where this conversation was heading with how he was babbling about the mythical creatures.
"That being said… with the Celestial kingdom holding possibly the last dragon on earth land, may I suggest you consider him to be a potential mate and have him give you a—"
"Excuse me?!" Lucy nearly shouted, making her advisor jump and stare at her with wide eyes.
Her cheeks darkened at the thought of her approaching the dragon and asking him to partake in something as intimate and lewd as making an heir. What would he think of her? Think of the kingdom? She was a queen! She can't just be going up to prisoners and having her way with them for the sake of the people!
And with a dragon nonetheless? How the hell is she supposed to just conjure up the courage and demand this dragon mate with her for the purpose of her getting pregnant with his seed and birthing his child for her own selfish sake.
"Absolutely not! That is bizarre and very disturbing to ask of me to force a dragon to do such an act!"
"My queen, he is the perfect—"
"And he is an extinct creature that is currently being held prisoner in our dungeon. Not to mention he may or may not be being hunted!" She was bright red from frustration and embarrassment. "That is the end of this discussion!"
Understanding where the queen was coming from, he simply nodded and stood from his seat. Lucy merely kept her eyes elsewhere, huffing while fanning herself to get the color to drain from her face.
"My queen," he spoke softly and it only urged her to fan herself faster. "The council… They are talking." This made her turn and eye him warily. "They are saying if you are unable to produce a heir by your fifth year, they may have to consider a transfer for titles."
And that only meant one thing…
She would have to marry and bear a child in the next two years or be forced out of the throne.
She didn't know what sounded worse.
X
.
Tbc