Drakkon

Chapter Twenty-Three

Nikator left almost immediately when Vita came to the palace. The week following his departure, and I soon learned the Vita was even more silent than Atreus and she rarely spoke at all, and when she did, it was methodological, as if it was preplanned and detached from her. It was unsettling and no matter how much I tried to get close to her, she was inexpressive with my attempts and she made it clear that our relationship was only guard and lady.

When a month had passed since Nikator had left, I grew more and more bored at the palace. Jia came to visit me but she could only visit a few times and only for a limited time period, since she was a mother and had to take care of Kang. Vita proved to be a gloomy companion and Bolin and Hai were too busy with the war to deal with me and my loneliness.

"Vita, is Meilin really strong?" I asked her cautiously as we both sat silently in my room. Jia had come to see me earlier and we had talked about our siblings and our lives growing up, which had filled me with longing to see my own family. My thoughts had circulated back to Meilin and I couldn't stop thinking of my betrothed. It had roughly been six weeks since I had last seen him and I couldn't remove the image of him sleeping on my lap from my mind.

"Master Drakkon is the strongest man I know," she said simply.

"He is strong indeed. Very formidable and he has this aura around him as if he can take down anything. He's also very confident."

She watched me for a moment before curtly nodding.

"He's also very scary," I whispered. "He's so tall and his eyes are so dark. Sometimes I feel as though his very presence is enough to crush me. I'm terrified of him and who he is. He truly isn't a good person, but there's also a part of me that . . . that wants to figure him out." I sighed. "I want our marriage to work out and it's hard, but I think I should follow Atreus's advice. He told me that I need to understand Meilin more so that I can come to accept him."

As usual, she didn't say anything.

"I have loved before, and it was nothing like this," I mused. "Before, my concept of marriage was to have children and support my husband in any way possible. Now, it's complexly different. I have to learn to love all over again, since Meilin and I share no previous bond. Also, being the empress ties in with this marriage."

I sighed loudly and leaned back against the couch, tilting my head up to stare at the plain ceiling.

"My problem is that I need to learn to accept Meilin and his behavior." I rubbed the side of my head. "He's nasty and mean at times—not at me, though—but other times I've seen kindness and uncharacteristic moves that make me wonder if he truly is bad," I continued. "I think he's a complex person and it's hard for me to accept all of him. I'm trying and hopefully I'll be able to accept every aspect of him."

I didn't speak for a moment, instead opting to let the silence swathe me. Although Vita didn't speak much, it was soothing to talk to her about anything since she listened. It was frustrating at times when she would just sit and stare, but it was still relaxing to know that she was listening. It was much better than being completely alone.

Right as I was thinking that, there was a knock on my door. Vita instantly shot upright and touched the hilt of her dagger. Making her way to the door, she flung it open. A soldier stood there with a folded piece of paper in his hands.

"What is it?" Vita asked him.

He blinked at her. "U-Um, there is a letter for Lady Daiyu. It is from His Majesty."

Vita took the letter from his hand and shooed him away, slamming the door shut before strutting over to me. She presented the letter to me and sat back down on her spot, her gaze sweeping throughout the room cautiously.