The Hardened Heart

Elala watched the Human Prince walk by, nodding at his words. She heard the Elf's comment, but didn't acknowledge it. She couldn't explain anything without telling him something she probably shouldn't. So there was no point in saying anything that could lead to such things.

At his question, one thought immediatly came to mind, and one thought only: No. Elala looked up, "Yes, of course, Prince Ardal." She said politely, not acting now, but her gentle nature actually bringing her to respect the Elf as a being and ignoring the royalty in his blood. Even though every drop her her blood was telling her it was a bad idea, and she'd regret it. Now, I'll be damned if that one doesn't sound familiar...

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Feeling his grip tighten, Chantel put an effort into trying to make the landing as smooth as possible, but it was always going to have that rough edge to it no matter how the Dragon tried. She landed in a big, grassy area just outside the castle, grateful an open space was so nearby.

"Well, that was fun!" Cyric exclaimed as he tried to dispel his dizziness. He grinned a bit and slowly dismounted Chantel. He asked himself, "I wonder when Father's going to lecture me?"

NPC Chars

In a courtyard at the front of the castle, a group of elves and dragons were arguing. "This isn't your territory, don't try to make us leave," one of the dragons said. "We were out here first, trying to enjoy the peace of nature, and you dragons are all but destroying it with your foul natures," an elf replied. "You want to take that back," one of the dragons asked. "Not particularly, what will you do to force me," the elf goaded them.

"That's enough," Marcus said, coming out of the castle to find the dispute. "Whatever problems you have with each other, do not bring them into my home." He crossed his arms, looking at them, awaiting a response. "Yes, I apologize, Prince Masters," the elf said. "We also apologize," the dragons said. "Our problems are not yours, and will not be brought up in this castle again." "I'm glad to hear that," Marcus said, turning around and walking back into the castle.

"And if this situation works out, it won't ever be my problem," he muttered as he entered the halls.

Chantel waited as Cyric climbed off before taking a moment to transform back into her Human form with just little effort and concentration after so many years of doing so. She frowned at his comment. Can't be worse than what I'm going to get if Grajan finds out. the Dragon thought, biting the inside of her lip.

"Just tell him it was my fault." She said, not wanting the younger Prince to take a lecture on her account.

Cyric shook his head, "It wasn't your fault, though. I always sneak out. And it was awesome riding you! I hope to do it again!"

Chantel laughed lightly at his enthusiasm, but then returned to holding a serious expression. "But it wasn't safe, y'know. I'm not perfect, I could've dropped you." She pointed out, "Therefore; I endangered the life of his Majesty's son." Her tone was grave on the last sentence, but she couldn't help but grin. "And you screamed like a small child."

"I did not!" Cyric argued, indignantly, "I was just having fun."
He smiled at her, "And I put my life in danger all the time. Just not usually with a beautiful young woman."

Ardal simply nodded in reply and walked away from the Princess down the hall. The Prince felt rather drained after that conversation and now he wa wondering whether or not he should head for his room, the library, or the kitchens. Eventually he decided that the former option would be the smartest one and thus he turned right as he made his way towards his room in the Elves private Quarters.

"Oh, I'm sure." Chantel said, sarcastically, a grin painted on her face. She couldn't help her face from tinting at his comment. I should probably go now. The thought drifted through her mind, but instead she just looked to the Prince, "That's a pretty bold statement, Prince Cyric, especially considering I'm older than you."

Elala stood there for a moment, staring at the ground. She always felt exhausted after talking to people of his position. For a moment she wished she was back in her Kingdom so she could sneak out and be herself, for the most part, among one of the many small villages surrounding it. But she wasn't, and she would have to learn to deal with this new setting. She sighed, straightened her shoulders, and walked down the hall in the direction she'd been originally heading; taking the long way back to her room.

Cyric grinned at the Dragonian, noting that her face turned a little red at his comment. He spoke, "That's strange, I'd have thought you were my age. How are old are you, beautiful?" He grinned winningly at her.

"You'd have thought wrong," She said, smiling at the young Prince. "I'm twenty," She said, then thought for a moment, "And not just appearance-wise." the red-head added, knowing how young Dragons could appear when they were really hundreds of years old in reality. "Do you always so such flirtatious behaviour around the women you associate with?" She asked, holding back a humouring grin.

"Sometimes, but you're special," Cyric told her with a shrug. He smirked at her as he led her into the castle, deciding to tease her a little, "Never flirted with a woman that could actually hurt me before. I have to say it's interesting. Then there is your lustrous red hair and exotically shaped ears."

Chantel reached up to touch her ears curiously. Exotic? She noticed his ears for the first time. Of course, to an average Human they would be. She laughed, "Lustrous, hm? You don't even know my name." Then a somewhat sly grin spread across her face at his challenging words, and she raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying that I couldn't hurt you were I not a Dragon, Prince Cyric?"

"Oh. I never did ask for your name, did I?" Cyric asked with a grin before bowing, "What is your name, milady? And I wouldn't know if you could hurt me or not, milady. Are you trained for combat?"

Chantel smirked when the Prince bowed, seeing as she was just a simple maid. "Chantel." She said, "And no, I am not trained for combat." the red-head grinned yet again, "But I'm willing to bet every last one of my scales that I could still take you, even without using my true form." She joked, but her tone was confident showing that part of her really did believe it.

"Oh? Then you wouldn't mind proving it, would you?" Cyric challenged with a confident grin on his face. He was the best fighter his age and he didn't see how an untrained fighter could defeat him.

NPC Chars

A servant girl watched Prince Cyric and the dragonian maid talked, and soon ran off. She told another servant, and word spread quickly. Soon enough every human servant or maid in the castle was under the impression that Prince Cyric was going to marry a dragonian maid.

"Rebecca, have you heard? Prince Cyric is going to marry one of the Dragonian maids," another servant girl told her.

Chantel felt a grin pull at the corners of her lips at his confident expression, her green eyes flashing at the thought of a fight, "Noon tomorrow, in the courtyard." She stated, before bowing. "If you don't mind, I have a sword to get back to." She smiled as she turned and walked back in the direction of the Dragon's carriage, and waved a hand. "Until then, Prince Cyric."

Cyric waved back with a smile, "Until then, Lady Chantel." With that said, he entered the castle. If he was quick about it, he could get to his room before his father found out that he had been away all night.

Rebecca simply smiled as she looked up at the maid who had informed her of the rumor. "Is that so? Well I'm sure the Prince knows what he's doing. I'm guessing she's an attractive girl as well, she'd have to be to get his attention." She said rhetorically as she sat up.

The gardener had currently been lying down in her bunk as she tried to figure out how she could best help the Kingdom avoid war, but so far it had been hard to think of any way a gardener could be useful. She knew that she could keep track of all the maid's gossip and write it down for the Prince's, she also knew that being a servant she could easily get into the guests rooms if she had to. "I think I'm going to go take a walk now, why don't you go tell Bree the news, you know she hasn't heard about it yet." Rebecca pointed out as she got off of her bed.

Chantel approached the carriage with slight caution, looking under the seat to find her sword still wrapped up and untouched. "Good...So no one found it while I was away." She breathed, pulling it out from under the seat. She went back around to the wheel, gently placing it in the bag with her sewing materials. Glancing around once more, she slung the bag over her shoulder and headed into the castle with a yawn.

Elala stared out her window, her chin resting in her hand. The sun was rising; it looked magnificent. She watched as a girl walked into the castle, unable to tell if she were Human, Elven, or a Dragonian.

Marcus

"Out again, dear brother," Marcus asked as Cyric entered the castle, putting down a book. "It isn't becoming of one of the royal family to be out all night, probably up to no good." He crossed his arms and walked toward his brother. "Please tell me that you didn't get into mischief with one of our guests. Their opinions of humans are good for the moment, and I would prefer to keep it that way."

Cyric grinned at Marcus, "My dear, brother. A Prince has to go among his people in order to understand them. Besides, I was entertaining one of our guests. I even got to ride her all the way back to the castle."

Marcus

Marcus put a hand over his face and said, "I don't know where to begin. First, by 'ride' I hope you mean mount, and I hope she was a dragonian. Second, I'm sure that the act is considered disrespectful in their culture, so do not mention it to any of the others. Third, I honestly doubt a princess would allow you to fly with them, so are you not interested in the royalty, the guests that will effectively control us if we don't stick with our agreement?"

Inside, Marcus was furious. Since when had Cyric been reliable? If he was going to try to flirt with every girl here, they probably wouldn't appreciate it. Cyric was just too simple, Marcus had the brains and the attitude it took to efficiently carry out plans and manipulate people, and rule a kingdom, he might have to consider working alone again.

"Yes, she was a Dragonian and, okay, I won't mention it anymore," Cyric said defensively, "And, yes, she wasn't royalty. She did offer me a ride, though. I thikn she enjoyed it. And I more interested in the people behind the titles, so royalty doesn't really matter much to me. Now, if you excuse me, I have to goto my room before Father realizes I snuck out. Furthermore, I need to rest. I'm sparring with Chantel at noon tomorrow."