Flowers of the crown

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Waxing gibbous moon,
Sun in the Northern Serpent,
Year 404,
Kreon's Era

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The dragon bowed his head as per custom and stepped out of the Imperial entourage's way. He could hear the irritated growls of some of the Imperial guards and the sudden silence of the train.

"Long live the Imperatrix, the gardener of the Empire. May her glory outshine the sun and the moon forevermore."

A female voice heavy with decorum replied, "Long live the Empire and its blessed children. You may rise, young Aleunor."

Hess obeyed and lifted his head, keeping his eyes trained on the Imperatrix's muzzle. Eye contact with Imperial royalty could warrant an attack from the guards. Her belly was undoubtedly swollen, making her hind limbs bow at the knees. He could see that the seventeen Imperial guards had encircled them in his periphery, cutting off his escape routes. Their gazes nearly bore holes into his hide, their stances issuing silent warnings to watch his tongue in her presence.

"It is an honour to have you visiting Thalassus, your Imperial Highness," Hess began in his sweetest tone. He was careful to keep his tail relaxed and animated lest it curled up again to express his displeasure. "What brings you to our humble abode on this fine day?"

The Imperatrix pulled her lips back in a smile.

"Your island is a sight for sore eyes in spring, Aleunor, your southern and eastern flowerfields make our gardens blush with envy. That is without mentioning the plum orchards at the foothills Mons Sterne bearing fruit and flowering in this season. I'm certain that the produce is just as rich."

Ridiculous, Hesperion scoffed within the safety of his mind. Yes, she definitely wandered into her mate's mistress' turf to smell flowers. How convenient of her to go sightseeing with a belly that big.

"In that case, your highess, I must indulge you in the finest wines our island has to offer. I've been told by my peers at the Capitol that our plum wine is your majesty's favorite. Hosting your majesty will be my greatest pleasure."

The tightening of the skin around her white muzzle caught his attention, her smile turned into scorn as a few teeth slipped out from underneath her lips. Her lax tail that had swayed carefree behind her stiffened for a second.

Hess understood. The Imperatrix was expecting.

She can't have alcohol lest she endangers her precious brood. It must be torture to go without her favorite wine for the whole gestation period.

The Imperial couple is finally having a brood after four hundred years of ascending to the throne.

Gleyssier's not going to like this development.

Why did she come dancing into enemy territory if she is expecting a brood? A reckless and risky decision on her clan's part.

The silence had gone far too long for his comfort, the guards had begun shifting their weights on their legs and licking their drying muzzle tips.

"Forgive me if I had overstepped my boundaries, your majesty, I was-"

One of the guards hissed at him only to have his muzzle clamped shut by the Imperatrix's raised talon.

"No," the Imperatrix replied with a firmness entering her tone. There was a certain sparkle in her steel blue eyes he couldn't place a claw on. "Thank you for your kind offer Aleunor, but I must refuse. My physician tells me alcohol that would be detrimental to my brood's health. I am an aging Imperatrix after all, am I not?"

Her words had him speechless for sometime and her lips curved up at the ends, flashing her sharp molars in a smirk.

"Congratulations, your majesty, that is great news! The Empire has heirs to ascend to the throne," said Hess with a hint of joy. He could almost see his father's face beaming with pride. He tried not to think too much about how Gleyssier would react to the news.

"Legal heirs," clarified the Imperatrix. "We have had illegal bastards claiming the throne before haven't we, Hesperion?"

Heirs nevertheless, you vicious pit viper, cursed the dragon within his mind while biting back a flurry of scathing remarks.

You stand on my mother's lands. My mother was his mate before your clan decided to have her deposed. Gleyssier still has a right to the throne being Father's first-hatched, mind you. I wouldn't gloat about carrying a brood while still on Thalassus if I were you, I wouldn't be that insipid. As long as you are on Aleunor lands, you are prey-- a dull minded target with a bright plumage, too proud to hide, too heavy to run.

You forget. You had bathed in the yolks and whites of my mother's first brood, you had marched across the shells of my unhatched siblings. You always forget. The goddess you just prayed to is the same one who heard my mother's bellows.

Hess drew in a deep breath and let it go. There were matters much more pressing at hand than the Imperatrix's brood. His humans needed a new home immediately- they were waiting for him in the human residential areas, possibly terrified of the strange dragons circling them and anxious about their future. It would also be unwise to keep the Head Cleric waiting if he wanted her favour.

He bowed his head before the Imperatrix, gritting his teeth and ignoring the whispers of the attendants behind her.

"It's a shame, your Majesty, I was looking forward to hosting you and our lovely princes and princesses within your belly. May Quersis bless you with a safe gestation and brooding. I shall take your leave now, your Majesty, good day."

All signs of hostility had faded from her face when he lifted his. The Imperatrix had returned to the pleasant demeanor she reserved for public interactions.

"Thank you, Hesperion Aleunor. May you be truer to your mate than your father was to me."

Without a doubt, I will be. Unlike my father, I won't watch helplessly if my mate were to be overthrown by a common newt hungry for power.

With that, the Imperial guards parted to give way to him. As Hesperion waded through the ring of attendants, a whisper fell on his ear. His head whipped in the direction where the rumor came from, pupils contracting into slits and canines nearly bared. The attendants looked at him with their faces blank and identical, faking innocence.

No, he thought, she wouldn't. Not when they're under the temple's protection.

As soon as he was out of their sight, his legs pushed against the rough surface of the temple's rock floor and he strode down the rock corridors, ignoring the cleric behind him.

The trail of his humans' scent hanging onto his nose was vague and he hoped that it wouldn't fade away all together before he could reach them.

The human residential area was situated below an atrium with an opened roof. A waterfall drained into a large central pool of clear water around which the temple let the humans build their little nests, farm or domesticate other animals. The human women picking the windfalls in the orchards screamed when the dragon leapt into their midst unwarned and sniffed the air. They swerved out of the path his lashing tail and ran towards the Cleric, who had followed him in his reckless march into the residential areas.

"You're scaring them Lord Aleunor, please, your humans are safe! We don't hunt them here," she said as she let the women take cover behind her front limbs.

"They're not safe until I see them myself," he said, his heavy breathing interrupting his words.

He walked towards her, stopped a little away from her legs, lowered his head till he was face to face with the women and spoke in human tongue, "My apologies, I did not mean to frighten you. Have you seen my humans? They are new to this place and I cannot smell them."

A young human with long golden hair tied back in a braid spoke, "They're camping near the foot of the waterfall, my lord."

"Thank-" began Hess in dragon tongue before he corrected himself. "Thank you, you've done me a great favour. My greatest apologies for scaring you like that, you poor darlings..."

The dread resurfaced in his mind again. His eyes began wandering across the gardens hoping to spy even a single human belonging to his territory. The waterfall was a short sprint away from the orchard. Its flow was strong and lusty in the spring, dissipating a gentle mist that hid its base caverns from an onlooker's eye.

Hess' mane scales pricked up when he heard the one of his humans call his name from within the fog and let out a sigh of relief as his tribe quickly swarmed around him. The dragon's wings spread around the group, gathering his humans into an embrace and nuzzling as many of them as he could.

"You're eighty-one, your baby makes eighty-two," he mumbled as he nuzzled a mother and her toddler. The human threaded her fingers through his mane scales, teaching her baby how to stroke the dragon's hide and spikes.

"Are you two the last of your tribe, Aello?" He asked the woman with the baby.

The human confirmed his count and the dragon cleared his throat.

"Has anyone gone missing after I had transported you here?"

Aello replied, "No sire, my husband and I have checked twice."

"Are-are you sure, did the dragons wearing golden horn extensions bother you? Where is your husband?"

"He's gone to see the Head Cleric."

Relief descended upon him. While he was nuzzling the humans and accepting comforting pats and strokes from the tribe, the Cleric arrived.

"You speak fluent human tongue, Lord Aleunor," she stated, tail raised in curiosity.

Hess peeked at the Cleric with one eye, trying not to croon as an elder human scratched him between his mane scales.

"And you cannot?"

"No. What did they say?"

"Oh, nothing. Just that none of them were eaten by strange dragons."

"Well, of course not. We wouldn't let anyone hunt on sacred grounds, Aleunor, even if they were Imperator. You had me scared for a good while. You've been keeping them and the Head Cleric waiting for an hour now. If you're planning on meeting her today, you better make it fast. She hasn't got all day."