The Dracomancer

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: CORONATION

The ceremony went well. Serena brought in the crown, which everyone knew was merely symbolic. However, she caught Felicia by surprise when she nominated her to do the honors.
"Why me? I hardly think I qualify for the honor of crowning Alex," Felicia said.
"Of course you qualify. You're the only Monarch Dragon here. Unless you have someone else in mind," Serena replied.
"Oh! I accept the honor. It's just that I was a Lesser Dragon for so long that I keep forgetting that that's changed," Felicia said nervously.
"Why are you so nervous? You're not the one who will be receiving the crown, though Alexander may decide to name you his queen. Go up there and make Nick and me proud," Serena said to try to help Felicia overcome her anxiety. "After all, we did raise you from the age of thirteen," she added.
"Thank you for everything, Serena. Do me one last favor and tell Nick I said thanks."
"Why don't you thank him yourself, after you place the crown upon Alexander's head? He's at Alexander's side along with Artemis and Jaden."
"I will, thank you."
"Enough with the thanks. Get out there and make us proud. The queen would certainly be proud if she could see you here. You were as much of a daughter to her as she was a mother to you, even though you weren't really her daughter."
Those words meant the world to Felicia. She hugged Serena before going out to crown Alex. As she walked, she somehow found the confidence to stand tall and proud as she bore the crown. Alex saw her and smiled at her. She smiled back at him as she continued towards him.
Felicia had never been so radiant to Alex. She had always been beautiful, but she was even more so now than ever. Alex had already decided that he would make her his queen, and seeing how far she had come since he first met her solidified that decision in his mind.
Everyone was there, from the dragons Alex knew, to the ones he wasn't as acquainted with, to all of the mortals and demons. He saw Rell Heartwood in the crowd, but Rell seemed to be barely able to recognize him with all of the changes he had gone through. Alex would make sure to have a place of honor for him and his family at dinner.
Felicia approached Alex and he rose from his seat to receive the crown, but went down on one knee to make it easier for her to place it upon his head. Felicia appreciated the fact that he did that, but a new king was generally expected to remain standing to receive the crown. However, the audience didn't complain, most likely because they noticed the significant height difference. That was alright. As long as nobody complained about it, everything would go well.
"Alexander Irvine, I now pronounce you High King and King of the dragons," Felicia stated as she placed the crown upon his head.
They had recently had the crown resized to fit Alex's head, which was noticeably larger than that of the last King of the dragons, due to his recent growth. With the crown now upon his head, Alex stood to make his first commands as King. He started off with a serious matter, and ended it with a happier note.
"Greetings, good people. Some of you already know this, but I will say it for the ones who don't. I am also the Dragon Wizard and the Dragon God, and anyone who tries to overthrow the new system shall face my wrath. We name the Greater Dragons Serena and Nick our Chief Advisors, and the Dragons Artemis and Jaden our Chief Lieutenants. We name the human Erin the Queen of her people, the tree elf Rell Heartwood the King of his people, and the high elf Kiara the Queen of her people. All of the Kings and Queens, as well as their families and close friends, shall have places of honor at dinner. Last, but definitely not least, we name the Monarch Dragon Felicia our Queen."
The audience roared with applause. Rell Heartwood wept tears of joy when he heard that not only would he and his family have places of honor at dinner, but they would also be the ruling family of their people. It was more than they could have asked for, and more than they deserved, but Alex had obviously remembered them, and was rewarding them with this for sharing their food and hospitality so long ago.
When Alex named Felicia his Queen, she wanted to kiss him, but they would save that for later. Kissing in front of everyone was considered rude, and she didn't want to step outside that line. She knew that he had named her Queen partially because she was the only Monarch Dragon, but mostly because he really loved her.
Artemis was impressed by Alex's whole speech, but the part that impressed her most was when he named Rell Heartwood the King of the tree elves. She remembered that Rell and his family had shared their food and hospitality with them when Alex first arrived, and knew that Alex remembered it, too. He was already turning out to be the type of king she would gladly follow without question. He cared about his people, and that would mean a lot in the years to come. She wanted to hug him for that, but that would wait.
At dinner, Artemis approached Alex and hugged him. Alex asked her why she had done that and she replied by saying that she was impressed by his speech. He had a feeling it had something to do with his naming Rell Heartwood the King of the tree elves. She had been there when Rell and his family had shared their food and hospitality.
Alex was then approached by Rell Heartwood and his family. The children gazed at him in wonder as they had before, awed by the changes he had gone through. Rell’s wife embraced him and kissed his cheek, then said how good it was to see him again. He replied by saying that it was good to see them, too. Rell shook his hand and said that he was proud of Alex. Alex could tell that they were grateful for being named the royal family of the tree elves.
Felicia saw the royal family of the tree elves exchange pleasantries with Alex and wondered how they knew him. She went and asked him and was surprised when he answered by saying that they had shared their food and hospitality with Artemis and himself when they had first arrived on this world. She told them that they were kind to have done so, and they smiled and thanked her for her kind words.
Alex sat at the head of the long table and Felicia sat on the other side, facing him. The other Kings and Queens, along with their families and close friends, sat on the sides with Artemis, Jaden, Serena and Nick. Rell Heartwood told Artemis that it was good to see her again. She said that it was good to see him and his family again, as well.
While they were waiting for the food to arrive, Alex sensed that they were being watched. He used the spell to detect enemies and found that the waking of the Dragon God had greatly amplified it. He could now tell where the enemies were facing and what weapons they were holding, if any. He detected a demon aiming a bow and arrow at Felicia from a niche high in the wall behind him. He pointed his hand at the demon and hit him with a lightning bolt without looking before the demon fired the arrow, then cast a shield around the table when the arrow flew. The demon dropped from his perch like a struck bird. There were gasps all around and Felicia checked the wall behind her, but Alex knew that there were no more assassins.
Felicia saw Alex down the would-be assassin and knew that the arrow had been meant for her. She would have to thank him later. However, she felt endangered.
"Are you alright, Felicia?" Alex asked in a low tone upon approaching her.
"Yes, but I would feel much safer sitting next to you, my love," she replied in an equally low tone.
"That can be arranged," he said in the same low tone, nodding his head towards an empty chair that was the first one on the right hand side of his.
"Thank you."
"Anything for you. I love you."
"I love you, too."
Felicia got up and moved next to Alex. Then the food arrived and they all served themselves. There was deer, wild boar, potatoes, and vegetables, of course.
After everyone was finished eating, they remained at the table for a few minutes conversing while they let the food digest. Then Felicia touched Alex's hand and looked at him like she wanted to give him the hero favor. He looked at her like he was ready for it.
They excused themselves from the table and went straight to the royal bedroom, which housed a King-sized bed. Fitting, Alex thought. He knew Felicia was thinking the same thing.
"Thank you for reviving me. And saving my life. You remind me every day of why I fell in love with you in the first place. Today was no different," Felicia said, hugging Alex.
"You're welcome, love," Alex replied. "It's not difficult for me to remind you when I love you as much as I do."
"I love you, too," she said, kissing him more passionately than ever.
He returned the kiss with all the passion he could muster and it became mutual. They kept it up for five minutes, during which time butterflies flew in Felicia's head again. The feeling lasted for twice as long after they broke apart, then they went to third base again. Felicia noticed that Alex was much better at this than before, too.

As Alex was getting prepared to fly to his home world the next day, Felicia approached him and kissed him. He could tell that she wanted something, but he wasn't sure what it was this time. He let her ask him, but she caught him off guard. He rolled with it, as usual.
"Hey, Alex. About your journey to your home world, could I come with you? I want to see what it's like. I understand that Artemis has been there, but I never asked her. I meant to, but I never got around to it and now that you're going back, I've realized that I would much rather see it for myself."
"I would love to take you, Felicia, but I need you to stay here and handle my kingdom in my absence. However, if you have another suggestion, I would be willing to listen," Alex replied truthfully.
"I never learned how to rule from the queen or Serena, but I'm pretty sure Serena would be able to take care of things. She was the acting leader for five years, after all," Felicia suggested.
"You have a point. I realize that you were referring to your surrogate mother when you said the queen, but you have to remember that you now hold her former title. I gave it to you because I love you. It's merely convenient that you're a Monarch Dragon now," Alex replied. "I would have named you the queen even if you were still a Lesser Dragon," he added.
"I appreciate the thought, but if you had, there would have been outrage and very possibly a revolt. You would have been better off naming Serena your regent or ruling alone if I was still a Lesser Dragon. Ruling alone would have been your best bet, but people would be less likely to revolt over a Greater Dragon for a regent than a Lesser Dragon for a queen," she replied.
"Thank you for telling me. I would have made a terrible mistake if you weren't a Monarch Dragon," he said, kissing her.
"You're welcome, my love," she said, returning the kiss. "You should know that you're better in bed, as well," she added in a whisper.
Alex couldn't help himself. He responded to that by kissing her passionately. It became mutual again and they kept it up for a minute before breaking apart.
"So when do you plan to go back to your home world?" Felicia asked.
"I'll just finish getting ready, then I'll ask Serena to take care of things. After that, we'll go," Alex answered.
"We? Does that mean I'll be coming with you?"
"If it's what you want, then absolutely, but promise me you'll take lessons in ruling from Serena when we get back."
"Thank you!! I promise I'll take those lessons!" Felicia exclaimed, jumping into Alex's arms and kissing his cheek and neck several times.
"You're welcome, sweetheart," Alex replied, kissing her.
He finished getting ready then went to find Serena. When he found her, she was speaking with Nick, so he waited for them to finish their discussion. When they finished, Serena walked towards him and asked what he wanted.
"I would like you to take care of my kingdom in my absence, if that's alright. Felicia will be coming with me to my home world, but I made her promise to take lessons in ruling from you when we get back," Alex replied.
"Alright. Just make sure she doesn't come to harm under your care. After raising her from the age of thirteen, she's almost like a daughter to me. I hope you understand," Serena said.
"Don't worry. Not very many people on my home world -male or female- are as tall or muscular as I am. My size alone should make criminals think twice."
"Good. I hope you're right."
"Well, I should be going now. I made a promise to my father and I plan to fulfill it. Goodbye. I'll see you when I get back," Alex said, bringing the conversation to a close.
"Goodbye, Alexander. Take care of yourself and Felicia," Serena replied.
"I will. I promise."
"Good."
Alex left Serena and went back to Felicia. He asked her if she was ready, and when she said yes, he went into Dragon God form. Then he told her what he would need her to do.
"I'll need you to get on my back, hold on and don't let go until we get there. I don't know exactly how long it will take in this form, but I know that I can fly a lot faster in this form than any other."
Felicia responded by climbing onto his back and holding onto him. Alex took off and picked up speed until there was a sonic boom and time slowed. Then the light from the stars ahead of them crowded together, making the objects appear blue, while the light from the ones behind them spread out and made the objects appear red. Then the light from the stars in front of them seemed to fade to black, while light from the stars behind them shifted outside of the normal visible spectrum.
After the extreme Doppler Effect, some of Alex’s memories were displayed beside them. However, there was one memory that Alex had put behind him so long ago that he had completely forgot about it. In this memory, Alex was a young boy of five years. He was asleep in bed, but his consciousness had gone to his maternal grandmother’s house. It was the night that she died of cancer. She was psychic, and knew that he was there. She pointed this out to all of his other family members who were there, and Alex manifested enough to communicate with them. He said that he wanted to make a promise to his grandmother before she died, and she made him promise to never start smoking. He still hadn’t to this day. He was utterly disgusted by it. However, he then saw the specter of death come for his grandmother. His grandmother said that death had come for her, and Alex said that he knew because he could see it. Felicia watched all of this and realized that Alex had seen something that very few others had. She was so amazed by that that she let go of Alex and fell off. Thankfully, Alex caught her before she died in space. He had saved her life again, but she would try to be more careful. She held on more tightly than before.
Alex knew he was flying much faster than the speed of light. How powerful was this form? He guessed he would need to be able to fly this fast to return to his home world in a short amount of time, but this was much faster than he was expecting. He risked decelerating to ninety percent of light speed and before long, he recognized his home world, Earth. Felicia seemed shocked at how fast they were going. Alex could tell that she was doing her best to hold on. He might have to comfort her when they landed.
Felicia didn't know how fast they were going, but she knew that it was insanely fast. Alex didn't seem to want to slow down much, either. She had to hold on for dear life. She saw another world up ahead and got the feeling that it was Alex's home world, because he seemed to bee-line towards it. She hoped he would slow down when they got closer.