The Dragon King

Chapter 10

Lady Grace Willa of Emberhelm, Vrinian

EMBERHELM, VRINIAN

Zircon has fallen asleep, but Grace is still awake. His arms hold her close to him as if he thinks she too will disappear from his life. Grace wishes that she could just live in the moment for once, but her thoughts drift to questions of the future and the vision of them being together even though it will never happen. She has never been one to live in a dream world. Reality had been dealt to her early, and she had made it a mission when she left to never be caught off guard. That failed, however, when she saw him. She hears stories of the legendary Zircon Argos, knight of Emberhelm. She had seen him in the king's tournament when she saved up enough money to pay her way inside. She had wanted to be like him, fearless and strong. But that was before she met him before she joined the Vrinian military and shipped off to Emberhelm. She had wanted to be transferred to Emberhelm, for whom better to learn from than the best.

At first, being in Emberhelm, so close to such a legend, it felt like a golden sun shone down and made everything perfect. It was as if she could only see the world in that way, but then the other soldiers started treating her differently for being a girl. They tried to force her to quit, making her realize that the military was no place for a girl. She was too stubborn to give up. She had given up once in her life and paid the price for it. She would not do it again. However, the more she was around Zircon, the more she saw the person within. She saw how he acted when others weren't watching or when crowds of adoring fans and admirers weren't calling his name. A man, yes, but with the heart and eyes of a scared child, a look she knew well. Once she saw him, really saw him, everything crumbled down around her, and she couldn't stop falling. Even as she looks up at him now, wondering what they had just done and knowing nothing will ever come of it, she can't stop falling for him.

Zircon is the most beautiful and the most damaged creature she has ever seen. His dark brown shaggy hair is in disarray, and his eyes, the exact color of which she had never before seen in any other, are closed. He is fast and deeply asleep, and the elegant curves and edges of his face have softened. The pain, so clearly visible on his face hours before, is hidden from his mind. All of this that Grace sees in Zircon is because of her...Aquamarine. She had heard stories of his sister, her beauty, and her past. There is not one person in the whole realm that did not know one of them for some reason or another. Zircon wouldn't have become even half the soldier he is if she hadn't fueled his motivation. Everything he did was for her. Now she is gone, and for it, his strength has been ripped from him. For most of their lives, they have been pulled apart and reunited, but would fate be so kind as to reunite them again, or is this the end of the Argos twins?

If Grace has anything to do with it, then yes, Zircon will get his sister back. She owes him nothing, and yet she owes him everything. If it weren't for him, Grace would never have run away from home. She never would have joined the military and have been shipped to Emberhelm. She never would have become the first woman to be a knight. She never would have fallen in love with him. Maybe that last one would have been a good thing. She has fallen for a man who will never love her back. Zircon wants her, yes, but he doesn't love her. Still, despite all of that, she will come to him again and again if it will help him, even just a little. She will find Marnie and restore her to Zircon. When the time comes, and Zircon falls for someone else, Grace will turn around, walk away and never look back. That is how much she loves him. She loves him enough to let him go.

Zircon stirs for just a moment as a distant rooster crows. Sunlight barely shines through a small high-up window. It is morning, and Grace is late for training. She imagines that Zircon has a free pass to skip the day, but that doesn't give her the excuse to do so as well. She has to go, or she will get punished in a position still very new to her. She doesn't want to leave him, but she doesn't have a choice. She untangles herself from him, dresses, and opens the door, all while not making the slightest sound. Grace turns back to look at him. "I will always love you, and I will always save you." She mumbles and then turns and exits the room.