"Palace you said?", Ethan asked in a confused tone.

"Yes, of course, that's my home", Iris replied a bit hesitantly.

"My lady, are you royalty?" Ethan asked again as his heart skipped a beat.

Before Iris could reply, Sasha made a disapproving sound as she stood up to answer Ethan.

"Oh my, my! Where are my manners? Your highness, please forgive this forgetful nymph", Sasha continued while shaking her head.

She was a petite fairy who had dark brown hair which she always worn in twin braids on her head, she had a chubby face with a set of round kind eyes.

"May I present to you, Her highness Iris Fletcher, the second descendant of the mighty Nymph king, His esteemed Highness, Edward Jones Fletcher." Sasha finished and then glared at a bewildered Ethan who had a thousand thoughts running through his mind at that moment.

Not getting what she wanted Sasha tsk-tsked as she added with a bit of annoyance, "And, this means Sir, that you immediately show respect to my mistress instead of being so ungrateful. Why she had been standing on her toes day and night to help your common self to recover."

Ethan was never in his life told off in this manner. His teacher and trainers have always been careful of his prestigious status whenever speaking to him. The dragons were famous for their rigidity and viciousness. They followed strict rules and decorum when dealing with servants and common folks.

Despite all that, Ethan quickly started to utter, "Ethan at your service m...." but as he tried to bend his body in a semi bow, he winced with pain. His shoulder muscles had become stiff for sitting so long and he flinched due to the sudden movement.

"Careful Mr. Ethan", Iris rushed to his side without realizing. Ethan felt a jolt passing through his arm at her slight touch.

Their eyes met and he realized that her Hazel eyes had golden speckles around them. An unusual feature but quite mesmerising.

His own eyes were Golden, it was a trait of the royals as the other dragons had the eyes of either blue or green or the shades in between of these two colours. It was a trait preserved by strict inter-royal marriages in the Dragon clan. Iris was noticing the molten gold colour of his eyes too, it was the first time that she was able to see his eyes up-close since he had been unconscious all the time and needless to say, she was mesmerised.

It was a short moment but it appeared like a spell has been cast on both of them.

Sasha nervously coughed to alert Iris. "My lady, you are getting late."

The spell was broken as both of them looked away. Iris moved a few paces back and said to Ethan, "I will be back to check up on you tomorrow. Only Sasha can come here beside me so you are safe."

"I am highly grateful for your care your highness", Ethan replied sincerely as she left the room with Sasha tagging behind.

If she was the princess of Lucusorbis then it would be best if he didn't reveal his identity to her. She might get other ideas if she discovered who she has been caring for.

He must alert Dennis about his situation but the only way to send him the message would be through his dragon breath which needed him to transform into his original form. And with the current situation, it was not a good idea to do so. Tired, he sat back as his mind kept on running far and wide.

The King of the forest nymphs, His Highness Mark Fletcher was sitting majestically on his regal throne. He was listening to his advisers as they were suggesting ways to strengthen their security.

The one who was speaking now was Jacob Hunt, he had small cunning eyes and a goatee on his chin. Mark didn't like this fellow but he belonged to the second most powerful family in the Lucusorbis. Even if Mark wished to throw him out, it would be an ill-advised move to be on his bad side with his political power. Perhaps this was the sole reason for Mark tolerating his over-enthusiastic monologue even now.

"Your Majesty, I am afraid we need to close the gates of Lucusorbis. If we let people from other realms enter without any inquiry this may result in a serious problem in the future", Jacob finished dramatically.

As soon as he finished speaking a couple of his cronies murmured in support but suddenly someone interrupted them.

"The people from other realms you are mentioning Sir, are mostly traders and we already do a thorough investigation before letting them inside the gates of the Lucusorbis", it was the voice of Samuel Peterson, who was Mark's trusted confidante and right-hand man.

"I understand your concerns gentleman but if we stopped the traders from entering into our country it will be a huge loss to the economy. It might also result in our people trying to visit other realms which might be dangerous for their safety. Therefore, I cannot stop the entry of traders", Mark finished his sentence gravely and gestured for the dismissal of the court.

There was a hustle-bustle as everyone bowed and murmured their greetings to the king as they started to file out of the court hall.

Mark heave a sigh as he knew why this matter was brought up again in the court.

The forest nymphs were harmonious fairies. They sang, danced or work in their gardens all day. They did not have a strong army as they were not fond of physical fighting. The only type of defence they prefer was by using magic and that too was never aimed to kill someone.

But, besides them, there was another group, who had descendants of mountain nymphs. When Mountain Nymphs first arrived in the Lucusorbis 300 years ago, they requested to be given a place to stay and sworn to peacefully coexist with the forest and water nymphs here. But after many decades they started looking down on the other nymphs as they were mostly peace-loving and not fond of waging wars and bloodshed.

The mountain nymphs were fierce and they didn't give up on any chance to show their strengths. This Jacob Hunt was also one of the descendants of the Mountain nymphs and now they were all hungry for more power.

Mark knew their dark motives but he didn't want to cause disharmony among his people. Peterson with a handful of trusted officials was investigating their schemes and Mark was waiting for solid evidence to exile the Hunts for once and all. But right now, he could not make a rash decision.

He was sitting lost in thoughts when the door opened.

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