Chapter 8:

King Alaric took a long sip of his wine. He had thought about the right thing to say for weeks leading up to this moment. Even if the Slasian kingdom had the upper hand, he did not want to leave Salvador and Bastian dissatisfied. Disregarding the past and focusing on a brighter future was what mattered most. And so far; along with their reputation, Alaric truly believed he could achieve that goal with the Kaarellas.

“The unification under marriage will grant Kaarella equal footing with the other three nations. We Slasians take great pride in our priority for keeping the peace. It has been decades now since the last war, and now it is time to mend the broken bonds.”

“Aside from no longer being declared enemies, I have heard that the widespread famine has also reached your side of the country. We are having our struggles as well, here in Slasia, but not nearly the same extent. Our farmlands would be open to you as well.”

Bastian and Salvador listened carefully. They showed no emotion, not the rise of an eyebrow or the shift of weight. They remained still. It seemed as if they were waiting for him to admit something, possibly the real reason for his proposal.

Isana leaned back slightly in her seat, side-eyeing her father in confusion. She had a terrible feeling that he was going to mention the dragons and that the Kaarellas would not appreciate it.

But what else did they have to offer?

“Our army is also quite strong, only second to Circea. Besides the peace that will follow our unification that would benefit your kingdom more than my own, I would like to find some way to work with your dragon force.”

Bastian’s eyes immediately narrowed. “Work how?” He blurted, on edge, as if the idea had been offered to him many times before. He was clearly affronted by the mere mention of dragons, the dragons he seemed to love dearly, and would do anything to protect. “They are more than our artillery,” He added, setting his hands on the table and pushing himself out of the seat. The idea alone of forcing his beloved pets into battle for another caused his blood to boil.

“Bastian.” King Salvador warned, raising his arm in front of his son and beckoning him to sit back down. prepared to hold him back. The Prince shot his father daggers but he relented and exhaled, slowly sitting back down.

“We don’t need to hear this.”

“Yes, we do.” Salvador turned his head slightly towards him in disapproval, watching Bastian simmer back down into his presentable composure.

The King of Kaarella leaned back against his chair, taking another sip of his wine. “Please continue.”

King Alaric nodded towards both father and son, his eyes conveying that he understood their grievances. “Thank you. As I was going to say, my plans for the dragons are far less sinister than what I assume has been presented to you before. Of course, as you have strengthened your own military, we would like to talk about strengthening our own. But where we need help most is in our fields. Slasia is in desperate need of farmers as we expand our land. I have heard that there are many types and breeds of dragons that are suitable for different areas of work.”

Salvador nodded. “That is true.”

“You are also the experts. I believe that you know what is best for the dragons and with however many dragons you offer I would hire someone from your kingdom to take care of them. Before I or any Slasian requires the strength of the beast, I will run the decision by you and you will have the final say.”

Salvador turned his head toward his son before speaking. “I assume that is another reason why it would be beneficial for Isana to marry my son. As when he is king, he will know what is best for the dragons.”

King Alaric nodded, not flinching or trying to mask his motives. The King knew that trying to be anything but honest would not work with the Kaarella’s, as they were very superstitious, religious, and sacred people when it came to the beasts that they worshipped.

“Dragon’s are our way of life,” Bastian said evenly, no longer exhibiting anger or resentment. “But I will admit that your proposition by far has been the best we have heard in many years. All the others ever want from them is weaponry”

“My son is right. We would rather stand alone than give up the life we lead now.” Salvador locked eyes with Alaric. “But our years of solidarity must come to an end if we wish to see the peace you are striving for. We must unite within our own country before we can face others. And for that goal, us Kaarella’s have atoned for our sins and are ready.”

“We are ready, but we are not ready to pay a price. We have already been suffering from the choices of our late relatives. One wrong move and we have the option to back out at any time.” Bastian added, his words balancing thinly between a statement and a threat.

“Before the marriage, I presume,” Alaric said, even if his words should have been a question.

The tension between the three men rose once again.

Isana felt an overwhelming amount of sympathy for the people of Kaarella. It was something she had never expected herself to feel after everything they had done to make her people suffer. Despite the bitterness she felt for the past, she wanted to stop the chain of oppression, prejudice, and racism that was still present within herself, her people, and the other kingdoms that surrounded them.

A man could be the offspring of evil, but that did not guarantee that the cycle would continue. Just because their ancestors were evil, did not guarantee that they would be too.

“We don’t want to step on your toes, Bastian.” The Princess finally spoke after remaining quiet throughout the entire conversation. “We just want to help.”

“And you want us to help you.” The Prince snapped his head toward her. “With our dragons, we will be helping your kingdom far greater than anything you can offer us. Just admit that you think of us as lowly as the rest do and stop acting mighty.”

Isana glanced across the table to her father for help. He nodded at her to continue with what she wanted to say. Even the Kings had acknowledged that some formalities had been tossed out the window. All she wanted was an ounce of approval before unleashing her own opinion onto the stubborn young Prince.

“And has anyone else offered you anything better?” Isana faced him with raised brows, challenging him with an equally stubborn tone. “Please do not be so cruel before the only kingdom willing to even look your way. You are smart enough to know that we are negotiating, and we will not offer you our entire world without anything in return.”

At her surprisingly calm outburst, Bastian’s eyes widened ever-so-slightly. “So you admit that you are not meeting us out of the kindness of your own heart?”

“Do not act as if you came here with opposite purposes.” She shot him a glare, one that was charged with a warning that he had overstepped his boundaries. With one sentence she could bring up the past and his entire argument would be over. Isana and her kingdom were not doing this out of the kindness of their hearts, for the wounds the Great War inflicted still ran deep, yet they were the only ones trying to fix it.

The Princess inhaled to gather her thoughts back into order. “My father and I are not liars. Before you judge our reasonable proposal remember that we are the only ones who have ever told you the truth.”

Though it was considered unladylike, Isana rested her neatly folded hands on the table, turning her body back directly to face the Kings. “We are the only ones who have ever given you a reasonable second chance, and I wish it did not have to be this way. But it is. Your dragons and your people need this unification to follow through.”

“We do not need anything.” Bastian kept his body facing hers, his eyes boring holes into her skin. “We are only here because you cannot pick a suitor.”

And you are here because you will never have the option to find another! She thought about snapping, as Bastian's words caused her heart to hammer inside her chest. She was on the verge of releasing her grip to smack him across the face. She wanted to yell at him, she wanted to insult him just as deeply. His words were meant to burn across her skin even though he did not know the entire situation.

Instead, she was able to respond to him evenly. To truly be unaffected by comments, she had to first pretend and let the anger pass. “Please do not speak on matters you know nothing about.”

Bastian’s jaw clenched at her calmness. “You know nothing of the dragons, yet you speak as if you do.”

The Princess caught King Salvador’s attention and kept it as she spoke. Though it pained her to refrain from bursting at Bastian’s disrespect, she refused to waver and appear as anything but resilient. Her own people needed her to, her father needed her to. This was her future, and she was running out of options and time.

“You are right, Bastian, I know nothing of the dragons. But what you are wrong about is acting like I don’t want to know. I want to know the dragons. I want to understand them and protect them as you do.”

The Prince’s next rebuttal died in his throat.

There was a brief moment of overarching silence. It was short yet it seemed to stretch on forever. Isana stared straight ahead while Bastian stared at her in disbelief.

And then, suddenly, unprepared, King Salvador started to laugh from so deep in his belly that it seemed as if he was in pain. His laugh filled the silence in its entirety, and with how joyous and genuine it sounded, King Alaric started to laugh along.

“I bet you didn’t expect that, huh Bastian?” Salvador pounded his fist against the table, trying to catch his breath. “All you ever wanted was a lady who also loved the dragons!”

All Bastian could do was stare at his father, shaking his head, attempting to conceal his smile, and turning away from Isana when he failed.

The Princess shared a look of approval with her father, and she raised her hand to cover her mouth, stifling her own laughter. It wasn’t polite to laugh at a king, yet she could not help herself with how obnoxious Salvador’s laughter was. It was incredibly genuine and hilarious, a far contrast from his brooding and intimidating demeanor.

“Did I say something funny?” Isana asked timidly once the laughter had died down.

“No my dear, you said everything right.” King Salvador glanced between the Princess and his son. “I think we both agree that we plan to follow through with the marriage.”

“That’s wonderful to hear.” King Alaric smiled.

“We also are quite fond of your proposal on how to work with the dragons. We had discussed such options before we arrived. I apologize for my son’s rude comments, that is how he gets the answers that please him.”

Bastian turned towards Isana and smirked, all the previous resentment vacant from his sparkling dark brown eyes.

“And please me you did, Princess Isana.”