Prince of Dragons

Prologue

Thirty-five years ago, in a land layered with ash and volcanic rock, a joyous occasion was arising. Long awaited, the people of the Draconic Kingdom prayed for an heir to one day be born, in order to rule over them once the current King and Queen stepped down.

It was nearing winter, but because there was heated lava beneath their lands, snow never touched upon the ash and soil. In the castle, a woman's pained cries sounded. Screams of agony and pain were evident, and she wished to be rid of the child that had grew within her. Sweaty hands shakily grabbed the blankets and pillows around her, her long blonde hair soaked in sweat as she breathed heavily, legs spread. The nurses were frantic, and some tried to soothe the queen by wiping her sweat with a clean cloth.

Another scream ripped from her, agony filling her lungs and the king was by her side in but a moment—taking her hand in his as he moved her sweaty hair from her pale face. "Keep breathing, my love," the king spoke to her, crimson eyes focused on blue, "you are so close. The child has already breached. You need to push, love."

The queen whined; exhaustion painted across her beautiful face. "I-I can't. I-It's too painful—agh!" Once more, she screamed, body almost bowing from the bed. She squeezed her lover's hand in her own, putting forth all the strength she could to even do that. How could any woman endure such a pain? She felt as if her own body was being ripped apart from the inside out. The pain was so intense that she truly felt as if she was dying.

"My lady, the baby is stuck! They can't breathe!" A nurse yelled in worry, causing the king to place a worried hand amongst the queen's cheek. "You must push, or the baby will suffocate!"

She wasn't quite sure where she had gathered the strength, but upon hearing that her baby was going to suffocate if she didn't do something...she couldn't have that. She couldn't kill her baby because she was too weak. She had to endure the pain...for the baby...for the future of the kingdom. So with everything she could muster, she gathered what little strength she had, and with a shout, she pushed as hard as she was able.

Her vision went black, and for a moment...she believed she had succumbed to the pain and was no longer amongst the living. But after a moment...there it was. A shrill cry, and a relieved inhale from the king.

The queen—exhausted and barely conscious—opened her eyes, taking note of the small bundle that was currently being handed to the king. Weary, she held up a weak arm, and looked at the man she loved. "Is..."

The king turned to her with a warm, bright smile—happiness swimming within those crimson eyes. "He's beautiful," he told her, then sat next to her and carefully turned the newborn son towards her.

The queen's eyes lowered, and she beheld her greatest gift—a tiny thing, no bigger than her forearm—with a head of dark black fuzz. His skin was pale, and still covered in afterbirth...but her king was right, he was beautiful—a sight to truly behold.

"Give him to me...please," the queen managed, and without hesitation, the king gently helped to place the newborn boy into her arms. From this distance, she could see features of both her and the king in this child, from the nose to the shape of his eyes...although, she could no doubt see that this little boy, once he grew into a fine young man, would no doubt resemble the king more than she. But she wasn't saddened by this. In fact, she was overjoyed that this little boy would one day look like the king. And as her heart filled with love upon staring at her baby, she felt the king gently grab ahold of her hand, and when she looked at him, they shared a warm smile with one another, before their gazes once more turned towards the little boy.

When news of the baby's birth spread, joy was evident across the lands. Their subjects threw celebrations for the new heir well into the week as this was a joyous occasion for all.

It took about a month for the queen to fully recover. However, at that point, the baby boy—with whom they named Drakell—was a very adventitious little thing. Curious, he was, and more often times than not, he would get into things not meant for tiny little ones like him. It was indeed a learning curve for the new parents, but over the years, they honed their skills—even more so once their second child was born. Another boy, one they named Drake.

Drake wasn't as adventurous as his older brother—instead being an aspirer for knowledge about their kingdom.

Drakell didn't really care much for knowledge. He was more of the adventurous type, wanting to explore the world and learn of what the other lands had to offer.

As he grew from a child to a young man, it was very evident he had no wishes to be the next king, once the current king stepped down. And that worried the queen and king, as Drakell would one day take over the throne. They wished that he but a stop on his adventurous side and often times punished him by locking him in his room when he would often sneak out.

Then, the youngest boy was born. The baby. Drakell was already sixteen, when this newest addition came upon their steps, but he was immediately attached to this tiny little thing. He didn't care that this tiny one was only his half brother on his father's side, he immediately fell attached to him. As the oldest, he couldn't think of nothing more than protecting this innocent boy...but one day, during one of his watches, he was distracted by his current fling at the time—a stable boy that he occasionally frolicked with—the toddler disappeared. Not a trace of him was left, and once Drakell realized what had befallen them...he was absolutely devastated and blamed himself for being distracted.

For years, they searched for their lost brother, but nothing turned up. Not even a hair. Nothing. It was as if he vanished from the very plain itself, and after a while...they grew weary to the point they finally gave up. Thinking he was dead, they called back the search parties and attempted to live a live without the young one...but deep down, Drakell didn't want to give up. He wanted to find his long-lost brother and return him home—as impossible as such a feat seemed.

But...he did it.

By pure chance, he was visiting the Northern Kingdom when he was approached by a dirty, shabby man who looked to be on the verge of barely standing...and this man asked him if he had a younger brother. With a chain of events that sound like something that came out of a fairytale...Drakell finally found his long-lost brother, who, apparently, had been kidnapped by the Northern army, oh so long ago. The details of his disappearance were...questionable, to be sure, but he was finally reunited with the brother he had long thought to be dead.

And this...this is where our journey now begins. After trials and obstacles placed in front of them, Drakell and his brother finally were able to take shelter at a friend's place, and the next day...they found themselves on a boat, finally beginning their journey back to their homeland: The Draconic Kingdom.

A/N: Annnnnd here we go! Finally, after so long, we get to finally delve into Drakell's relationships and who he is as a person! I apologize for taking so long to get this story going, I was kind of lacking ideas for where I wanted to take the story, and admittedly, I was a little burned out. But thankfully, with my time off from writing completely, ideas began to eventually come to me, and I was finally able to start writing again. So yay! Finally! lmao

I hope you enjoy this story as much as you all enjoyed Bound By Chains!