Princess of Dragons

Chapter 52

"He really is a big drake. Just as your sister told us," Enya said to her youngest daughter as they both looked up at Kaisog, who flew around with the other dragons. "Especially since he still seems so young. He will be strong in just a few winters." She paused for a moment. "You know, he might just grow as big as one of the Elder dragons are said to be."

Ciara nodded slightly. At this rate, that certainly wouldn't be impossible. Even if it was unheard of for anyone but the Earth dragons to even barely reach that kind of size.

Elder dragons were the dragons from each element, who overlooked and protected their kin. They were always twice as big as an ordinary dragon and many times as strong. It was said they were the most beautiful creatures of all but were only extremely rarely seen. Mostly because they were said to reside at their respective nursing-grounds, where they could keep watch of the hatchlings - that was a place no one ever dared enter for fear of their own lives. And neither did anyone attempt to even search for them. It had probably been several generations since the last sighting of one of them.

She cast a sidelong glance at her mother. How she'd missed being home and the freedom of this place. She'd been here for a few days already and had told them everything that'd happened - good as well as bad.

They'd sympathized with her, but also asked if this was really what she wanted. That was a question she couldn't answer with full certainty, because she suddenly wasn't so sure.

She felt guilty for just leaving like that, saying nothing to anyone. And she hated simply giving up after having spent so much time over there; it felt childish. She also missed Alex, Elias, Chanti and everyone else already.

But it was just so tough. Half the castle despised her, Victoria hated her, and the king probably did as well at this point. She didn't know how to change that and neither did she whether she could even live with the time it'd take.

Yet, at the same time, the Dragon Kingdom didn't feel the same now either. Without Kaisog, her brother, it felt empty. Something was missing. But it probably wasn't just that, it was also because she'd stayed so long in the Fire Kingdom that it'd become normalcy for her. It'd changed her in some way or the other, and now she didn't feel so secure in her spot here as she had done a little over two seasons ago.

When she audibly sighed, it drew her mother's attention.

"What is it, honey?"

"It is only... I want to return, but I do not believe myself able to accomplish anything even if I do. I do not know how." She felt the all too familiar stinging behind her eyes.

Enya gave her a little smile and cupped her cheeks, brushing away a single, stray tear.

"You will not be able to change people's minds immediately. Some, you might never. But it is only because they are afraid of change and of being proven wrong. You have not done anything wrong, and I do not see how you can do anything more. All you have to do is be patient - in time more and more will understand you and Kaisog alike," she said. "You said you had convinced a few of them already, that should prove to you that it is possible."

"I know," Ciara muttered. Even if it in was put in such simple terms, it still seemed such an impossible thing to accomplish.

"And about Victoria," her mother continued. "First, you must understand why she does as she does," she said. "She is acting on nothing more than jealousy and fear, my daughter. It is not because she hates dragons. She might love the king. But it is certain that she is doing this simply because she is afraid of losing the power she gets from being his harlot." She looked sternly at her daughter. "It is only because she feels threatened by you; because she knows she could never be anything more than what she is."