The Dragon's Kiss

Within the week, Kel was up and about, only one clue closer to the truth of Barclay's death.

It wasn't the emperor's fault.

That single sentence brought a great amount of relief to Kel, possibly too much considering it was the only thing she knew for certain.

As she pondered over the bizarre-yet-pleasant sensation, she found herself yearning to see the dark-haired man in question.

She missed his bewitching gaze.

His handsome face.

His voice.

His touch.

... Wait, his touch?

Kel flinched at her odd thoughts. Perhaps the sinfully carnal dream, its remnants still haunting her sleep, had something to do with it.

Slowly, she reached her fingers toward her face, delicately placing them on her lips. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel the emperor's kiss there--first breathlessly cool and then fiery hot.

"Lucy…" she ventured, turning toward the maid busy dusting the mantle on the other side of the room.

"Yes, Miss?" the maid smiled.

Kel was grateful that her harsh behavior previously toward the woman hadn't damaged their companionship. Lucy was as kind and sincere as ever before. In fact, since Kel had been cooped up in the tiny room near the emperor's study, the two had grown even closer.

"Has His Majesty still not recovered?" Kel asked nonchalantly, pretending to focus on an imaginary point of interest outside the window.

"It would be impossible, Miss, for a man's condition to change drastically in less than an hour," Lucy replied, clearly holding back laughter.

Seeing Kel's pouting face, she added, "but I'm sure he's doing a bit better than when you last asked me forty-five minutes ago."

"Don't get it wrong," Kel immediately declared. "It's not that I really care or anything!"

"Right. Of course, I didn't expect you'd care about His Majesty's health above the level of any other hostage princess," Lucy smirked, resuming her work.

If Kel and the emperor had truly been afflicted with the same mystery illness, why was it taking him so much longer to regain his health?

Unless, he was using sickness as an excuse and was actually avoiding her.

Ah, but he wouldn't have to use such a lame excuse just for that. If he was hiding behind the cover of a physical ailment, he was probably doing something much more important than dodging a hostage princess.

She should have felt relieved, but Kel felt a jolt of irritation at the thought that she was likely the furthest thing from the emperor's mind.

"I'm going out," she announced suddenly, swinging her legs to the ground.

Giving her a knowing smile, Lucy quickly brought over a pair of shoes and cozy shawl.

"It's chilly out in this grungy old hallway, so cover up well," the maid nagged, draping the woolen robe over Kel's shoulders.

"I'll keep that in mind," Kel replied, heading determinedly toward the door.

"Um, Princess?" Lucy's voice stopped her as she took her first step into the hall. "You weren't, by chance, thinking of going to His Majesty's room, were you?"

"..." Kel stood awkwardly, before bellowing, "Of course not! I'm going to.. the library. The library!!"

Trudging away from the room and Lucy's unrestrained giggles, she couldn't seem to peel her eyes away from the door she knew guarded the emperor's room.

He was merely the span of a hallway away from her, but still she hadn't seen him in a week.

As she gazed a little too intently, she found herself thinking of the dream once again, this time considering how the pain she felt had all seemingly been consumed by the man.

It was only a dream, but even now she could remember the agonizing burning so clearly along with the tranquilizing kiss.

'Give it to me.'

If the emperor in her dream had truly meant those words, then...

"I hope he's ok," Kel whispered, reluctantly turning toward the library.

She set off, mostly watching her feet as she walked and entirely lost in her thoughts.

As she made her way through the palace, the unkempt stone tiles under her shoes gradually turned into finely polished flooring and lush carpet coverings.

She was halfway to the library when she was suddenly startled by a loud throat clearing.

Allowing her eyes to come back into focus, she saw a pair of neat brown shoes only inches away from her own.

"Ah, sorry!" she flinched, whipping her gaze up to face the newcomer.

It was Roland who stood before her.

"H-hello, Princess," he fumbled, bowing as much as possible in the small amount of space between them.

"Hello," Kel returned with equal stiffness, giving a nod as she took a step back. "I'm sorry that I nearly ran into you."

"It's fine," Roland responded flatly, glancing over her appearance before continuing. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling much better," Kel answered courteously. "How is Sir Roland feeling these days?"

"Oh! Uh, I'm just fine," Roland answered. He opened his mouth to say more, but then closed it again immediately.

Kel hardly noticed his faint actions, however, as her mind was already far removed from the conversation.

She offered the knight a more proper bow before moving to step around him. "Then, I'll see you later."

"Wait! Princess!" Roland exclaimed, sliding over to block her escape.

"... Did you have something else you wanted to say?" Kel asked, beginning to feel a bit annoyed at the disturbance.

"Well…" Roland scratched the back of his head, angling his face toward the wall next to him. "I was just thinking that.. maybe.."

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe the princess is feeling… lonely?"

"Excuse me?"

He had Kel's full attention now.

"It's just that you recently lost your only comrade!" the knight explained flusteredly. "You're all alone now in a foreign place and I just thought.."

He trailed off again, traces of pink seeping into his cheeks.

"I just thought you could use a friend!" he finished, scrunching his eyes shut as he spoke.

"A friend?" Kel repeated quietly.

She supposed out of everyone in Serin, there were few she could even begin to consider as her friend. Even those she was on friendly terms with were really only acquainted with the princess façade she had so carefully put on.

The knight had brought up a good point. Now that Barclay was gone, did she even have a single real friend?

"If you don't mind," Roland continued, glancing sheepishly at her, "I'd like to be that for you. You know, someone you can talk to about your troubles and all that."