To Pet a Dragon
The Duke of Kempfer clearly had the biggest and most well appointed house in town. Not that that was unexpected in any way; I mean, he was the king's brother after all.
After the spectacle of the parade walk through the tight streets, we made our way up a twisting hillock.
There were several large and fancy looking homes here, all gated, and most having at least one armored guard present.
But the duke's mansion, on top of the hill, was the only one that had a guard wearing the royal uniforms.
The man wasted no time opening the thick wooden gate so that our carriage and men could enter.
He had clearly been warned of my presence, given I could see that he was doing his absolute best not to gawk.
Though I still caught him steeling glances.
I really couldn't blame him, I was pretty marvelous after all.
Beyond the gate were yet more uniformed guards along a curved, cobbled drive. The royal carriage was led straight along it till it was front and center of the Duke's home.
It was a four story mega mansion! I bet the thing was, like, three rooms away from being considered a palace! And, though the large front doors were wide enough that I could probably enter, I suddenly was very nervous about it. For one thing, what if my claws tore up his expensive floors and rugs?!
But more then that... I suddenly found myself not wanting to be in the wood and stone cage that human's called houses.
Even one this large was making me feel claustrophobic.
Heck, in my old life I loved small spaces!
But now the thought of the walls squeezing against my sides, and their not being enough room to spread my wings was making me a little nauseous.
I was fairly certain that being a dragon did not mean that barfing on a prince's rugs would not come off as rude.
"Nephew! Niece!" Bellowed a surprisingly deep voice, startling me out of my distracted state. I brought my eyes down off the upper floors of the mansion and saw that there were actually many people outside that I simply had over looked due to the ridiculous size of the place.
The short walkway, as well as the wide stairs leading up to the double doors of the Duke's home, were lined with men and women in maid and butler uniforms, each of them either curtsying or bowing as a stately man with broad shoulders and thick blonde hair strode between them, an equally broad smile plastered on his bearded face.
Behind him, walking in a much more elegant and sedated pace, were three other people.
I assumed that the elegant, platinum blonde woman wearing a simple yet expensive dress and pearl earrings was the Duke's wife.
That meant that the young boy holding her hand, looking equal parts petulant and excited, would have been their son.
As for the other child, a little girl of about five years of age, she was held up in her mother's arms, gazing wide eyed my way.
Both children had their mother's platinum hair, but their father's crystal like eyes.
"Greetings, Uncle." Came the clear tone of Leon.
I craned my head around the back of the carriage to see that Loric was holding the door open, while the prince was helping the still drowsy Serenity down the two steps to the ground.
Once the royal duo had step toward their family, Loric- quite gentlemanly- aided Hannah down, then they both stood stiffly behind their masters.
"I hear that the trip was more eventful than anticipated.
" Said Duke James Orelious, his cheerful demeanor changing for the briefest of seconds as he looked over his young niece and nephew for any obvious signs of damage.
"I just sent out a squad of some of my best knights to bolster the security on the road.
If any of the scoundrels remain, you can be assured that they will be taken care of promptly!
' He stated as his own immediate family caught up with him.
The Duke extended an arm on reflex and pulled his wife closer to his side.
"That is good news, Uncle." Leon stated reaching out a hand and shaking the duke's free one, a bright but tired smile on his face. "Loric and the knights are stout and true knights, but even they may have suffered losses in the execution of their work had it not been for Allura."
Oops, I guess that was me. Not sure what I was thinking anyways, even a carriage as large and fancy as this one couldn't hide a dragon.
Feeling nervous, I stepped out from my inadequate cover to the wide eyed gaze of many a servant and one very star struck little princess.
The duke's daughter was fairly buzzing with excited energy.
The duke took a step away from the duchess and swooped into a low bow. "Allura, you have my deepest thanks for saving my dear family."
"Er!" I said, awkwardly. What the heck was a girl supposed to say to that?
! 'No problem' didn't exactly seem adequate when addressing royalty.
Why was speaking to Leon and Serenity so much easier than this?
"I was happy to help..." I managed to say, glaring at Leon who actually looked like he may have been trying not to laugh. Cheeky prince!
"Allura," Said Leon, perhaps taking pity on me, and waving to his side.
I obliged, though it was a bit of a tight fit due to my bulk.
I thought about sitting on the cobbles to make myself at least a little more compact, but dragon vanity struck again, and I thought that I would look silly doing so.
Besides, I was no dog to just come when called and sit at a human's feet, damn it!
"This is my uncle, Duke James Orelious. With him are my Aunt, Duchess Gillian Orelious, and my two little cousins. "
"Introduce yourselves." Said The very pretty duchess, her voice so light and feathery that it was like a fairy song on the wind. She set her cute little daughter down between us, and pulled her son so that the two were standing next to one another.
"Um welcome!" The prince fairly bellowed in his nervousness. His ears went pink, but everyone did their best not to chuckle and make it any more awkward for the kid. "Er, I am James Orelious the Fifth. It is a great pleasure to have you at our home Mi- er, I mean, Allura."
So cute! He was a little younger then Serenity, if I had to guess, but just as tall as the princess. If it weren't for the platinum color of his hair I may have confused the pair as twins.
"I'm Millenia." Piped up the little girl, he blue eyes as wide as saucers, even as she curtsied to me, which given her royal status was a surprise. Not that I was overly familiar with the practices of royalty, even on Earth, much less here. "You are so Pretty! Can I pet you!"
Duchess Gillian let out a horrified gasp, her own eyes going a little wide and fearful. "Millenia! Allura is not-"
I chuckled, taking pity on the woman. She- and her husband now that I looked at his face, which had gone death pale at his daughter's words- looked like they thought I might just burn their whole house down with everyone in it.
Exactly how wild and aggressive were my unbonded dragon brethren?
It definitely seemed that everyone expected me to destroy anything and everything at the slightest perceived insult.
"Sure, I don't mind. But only because you are so cute.
" I said, and dipped my head down low, snaking it passed Serenity's skirts so that my blunted nose was a mere foot from the little girl's midsection.
Now that I thought of it, I would have been horrified to have this many teeth near my itty bitty daughter too.
The Princess made an excited squealing noise and, without a single fear, set her pale little hand right on my nose. I didn't even feel it.
Feeling the longing gazes of several other people on me, I sighed. Oh well, why not. "The free petting session is only open for another thirty seconds if anyone else wants to get in on it." I drawled, feeling amused.
There was a brief hesitation, but it broke when little James took a brave step forward and set a shaking hand next to his sisters. "So warm..." He breathed, looking absolutely awestruck.
"Me too!" Called Serenity, suddenly fully awake and cheerful. She boldly stretched out her arms and wrapped my neck in a hug.
"Serenity! She said a pat!" Groaned a horrified Leon, his eyes wide and beseeching.
"Twenty seconds..." I warned in a playful tone, eyes darting between the other royals present.
Leon blushed slightly, but even he was unable to resist and set his slender hand gently against my shoulder.
Next was the duchess, who looked unsure, but clearly the temptation was too great, and the opportunity too rare, for the beautiful woman to resist. Shaking slightly, her own pale and slender hand joined that of her children.
Duke James let out a throat clearing cough, mumbled something that sounded like 'if you insist...' and slipped a tanned and calloused hand covered in jeweled rings just above an eye brow.
"There, now that everyone has that out of their system." I laughed. I was genuinely happy, for some strange reason I couldn't fathom. Maybe it was because they seemed to be a sweet family, or because they seemed genuinely honored just to be able to touch my scales. I had no Idea.
As quickly as the petting had started, it ended, with everyone awkwardly- but looking pleased- backing away. Serenity untangled herself with a put upon sigh, almost pouting. Millenia looked just as reluctant. Still, everyone respected my boundaries and backed off.
This was already becoming a strange, yet oddly hart warming visit...