Rise of the Scaled Ones

Chapter 8

The king surveyed the lot of villagers before him and the line of women on the side as he stood on the make-shift wooden stage. He ran a bony hand through his neatly trimmed, white beard. His calculating blue eyes stared into the soul of everyone. Then, the king smiled broadly, even though it looked forced and painful, at the crowd before him, "Greetings, people of the Mountain clan," he exclaimed, "as you must know, I am here for one reason and one reason only, and that is for my son to choose a bride. He will choose only the most beautiful, skilled, and independent woman that manages to impress him, so, my subjects," the king grinned again, but this time it was nearly smug, "I hope your daughters are ready."

Then, he raised a hand high, "But first, welcome Prince Derek of Etheria!"

The crowd cheered and whistled as none other that Prince Derek stepped onto the stage. He wore a deep ocean-blue suit with jewels along the shoulders and sleeves and the hems as well as used as buttons. They shined and glittered a brilliant emerald green and topaz yellow. Sapphires surrounded Etheria's gold emblem over Derek's heart. Even the prince's shoes were jewel encrusted and gold tipped. They made a tap, tap sound as he walked to center-stage. A forest green cape that matched his bottoms billowed in the wind behind him, the small gems not weighing it down at all.

Derek ran a hand through his gelled, charcoal black hair and winked charmingly at a female in the crowd. Gold and silver necklaces and bracelets clinked against each other when he moved, and Anjaleen wondered how bloody expensive his whole outfit was.

The prince smiled at the crown once more before speaking, "I hope everyone is doing well," he started, his velvety smooth voice echoing across the clearing as applause sounded, "and I hope we all know why I'm here." A series of "yes, my prince" and "of course"'s rang out.

"Good," Derek purred, "Now I am very eager to begin, what do you say?" Another great applause. Anjaleen flinched as Derek laughed and all but jumped off the stage. He approached the line of women and studied each one.

As he started to walk down the line, the crowd grew silent and Anjaleen began to sweat. He stopped at Jezabelle, his eyes roaming hungrily down her body. Jezabelle gulped but stood tall, but Derek only scoffed in annoyance and continued on. Some of the women batted their eyelashes at him or tried to look seductive but failed.

With each step Derek took closer to her, she got more and more anxious. Oh, how she hoped he'd just walk by her, not take a second glance. Yes, she was glad her older sister wasn't chosen, but that left her opened. She did not want to be his wife!

Then, he was before her. He stared at her with his emotionless black eyes. They took in every angle of her face, every curve of her body. "Are you afraid, beautiful?" He asked. She did not answer, just kept staring over his shoulder, at the mountains. His hand drifted up towards her face and he held her chin in between his pointer finger and thumb, "Are you nervous?"

She still refused to respond. His hand dropped from her face, ran down her neck, shoulder before it rested over her heart. She wondered if he could hear it beating as well as he could feel it. His hand lowered and cupped her breast squeezed lightly, just enough for the crowd not to see it but for her to feel it. She flinched. Then it slipped down her waist and rested in her hip. Derek leaned in and sniffed her neck before grinning. His breath tickled her skin and she shivered, fighting the urge to shut her eyes, or worse, turn and run.

Derek leaned in with his lips puckered. She snapped. "Get off me!" She shrieked, placing both hand on his chest and pushing. He stumbled backwards but stayed on his feet. The crowd gasped in shock and surprise and she caught her sister's horrified gaze.

Derek advanced on her so quickly she thought he was going to hit her. She turned her head to the side and shut her eyes, tensing, but th hit never came. Instead, Derek cupped her cheeks with his palms. He stared deep into her eyes with a smile so wide she believed his face would fall off.

"This one," the prince announced, "This one is mine."