The Dragon's Kiss

"Y-you're mad that I ran away?" Kel began timidly, "Not about.. all of that?"

She glanced toward the stack of papers containing her full revenge plot abandoned on the seat next to the emperor.

"Move the princess to a room next to mine," the emperor commanded loudly over Kel's head.

She whirled around to see a startled attendant holding the carriage door open.

"Right away, Sire," the man bowed. With his eyes focused on the ground, he added shyly, "Would you like me to close the door now?"

"No need," the emperor responded, dropping Kel's hand. "Please escort her to the Denon Wing."

The attendant barely managed to hold in a gasp. "Surely, you meant the Caelum Wing, Sire? If she is to be next-."

"No," the emperor interrupted. "Take her to the Denon Wing and leave her in the study there until a room can be prepared."

Kel had learned enough about the palace to know the Caelum Wing, also known as the Heavenly Wing, was where all the former magistrates of Serin had resided. Though Serin's palace was modest in many areas compared to other kingdoms, the Caelum Wing was a sight to behold.

The Denon Wing, however, she'd never heard of.

Fortunately, the mystery of the unknown wing was solved quickly as Kel followed the attendant to an overly familiar dingy hall. It was the place she used to frequent when she came to meet with the emperor, Ira and Thane.

As they passed by several neglected doors, she remembered her small exploration venture the first time she came here.

Only one of the rooms had been in decent order, and it was the one with that mysterious leather-bound book. The emperor had claimed the book belonged to his teacher, but had he ever answered who the owner of the room was?

"It can't be.." she gaped.

Did that tiny shabby room actually belong to the Dragon Emperor?!

"Hmm.. does that mean the room the emperor intends to move me to is one of those dusty storage rooms?" Kel wondered aloud. "..Wait!"

She stopped walking as another horrifying realization came over her.

"Does the emperor mean for us to be the only two people living in this entire wing?!"

The attendant, who had been mostly quiet, turned around with a grave look on his face.

"This is truly no place for a princess," he shook his head, "or an emperor for that matter."

After leading her to the emperor's cluttered study, the sheepish man dismissed himself politely, but not before he made sure to secure all possible exits.

"Well…" Kel mused, looking around. "I guess it's time to skip to the end of my plan and disappear without a trace."

I'm sorry, Barclay, she pleaded silently. In the end, I wasn't strong enough to avenge you.

"There has to be a way out," she murmured, tugging up on the window she'd watched the attendant lock before he left.

Surprisingly, for a fake princess with secret strange abilities who just got caught plotting treason against not one, but two crowns, she felt rather calm.

Since Barclay's death until now, she'd felt jittery and scattered. Now that she was literally under arrest, in the most danger yet, her mind was clear. Her secret revenge plot had made the weight of Barclay's death unbearably heavy. Now that everything was exposed, she could finally breathe.

"I should just run," she whispered, pressing a hand against the thick glass pane. "I should run away from everyone and everything and never look back."

It's amazing how a person can abandon her resolve so quickly, she thought. This morning I was hungry for revenge, but now I'm thirsting for freedom.

Dash's mocking words rang through her mind as she pondered her own patheticness.

'What is it you want? Because I don't think you even know.'

You were right, Dash, she smirked. You still know me better than I know myself.

Instead of dwelling in her self-loathing any longer, Kel began searching for a way to escape. All of the obvious access points were locked tightly by the frazzled attendant, so she would have to get creative.

"What about the secret passage?!" she suddenly exclaimed.

The emperor had definitely led her through the large covert passageway to get to Barclay unnoticed. It was obvious he used it often. Therefore, it would only make sense for the passage to have a connection to his study.

All Kel had to do was investigate the walls and find some hollow point or suspicious part. Thanks to common sense, she could rule out the walls adjacent to the building's exterior and the hallway. That meant she'd only have to check the two shorter side walls.

As she was picking her way through stacks of boxes and documents, she was interrupted by a commotion outside the door.

"Let me see her!" a muffled female voice yelled.

"The princess is under arrest," a male voice boomed back. "I'm afraid she can't see any visitors at the moment."

"Please, just for a minute!" the female argued back. "I'm her maid! What if she needs something?"

"I didn't realize our emperor was generous enough to provide personal servants for criminals," the male spat. "Come back tomorrow."

"You're being so unreasonable! Did you receive orders directly from His Majesty not to let me in specifically?" the female fired, her voice growing louder.

"My orders are to prevent anyone from entering," the guard responded, clearly growing agitated. "That includes you, Miss."

"How can you be sure the princess's maid would be inclu-"

"Miss Lucille," a third voice joined the conversation. "Go back for today."

The woman behind the clamor was Lucy?

Kel flushed with shame at the memory of sending poor, innocent Lucy away and then disappearing. The maid must have been so worried. There was also a chance she received punishment again because of it.

"I'm so sorry, Lucy!" Kel hissed, rapidly maneuvering the rest of the way to the wall. With all the commotion outside, she didn't have long before someone came in.

She had only just placed her hands against the cold bricks when she heard the click of the door.

"The passage you're looking for is actually on the other wall," the emperor's voice taunted.

Not that you gave me the time to locate it before you barged in here anyway! Kel retorted in her mind.

She could almost picture the emperor's smirk as she slowly retracted her arms.

"But did you really think I wouldn't have guards stationed at the end?" he continued.

Reluctantly, Kel turned away from the wall. "What do you want?"

The emperor was smirking at her, exactly how she imagined. He dropped lightly into a chair as their gazes met.

"I just want to talk."