A Dragon's Love (Young Justice)

Who Is Esmeralda?

It's been three days, and I'm still hurting inside, but I've been managing to ignore the pain. It's actually been pretty quiet today, with nothing going on. I've been wearing my dresses a little more lately, instead of my leotard and cloak. Some of them I haven't worn in a while, but they still fit pretty well, just a little tighter than others. I've actually gotten a few stares because of it from Kaldur, Wally, Robin, and Superboy. But then again, boys will be boys.

I'm currently hanging around in the kitchen, thoughts and memories going back and forth in my head. I've been thinking lately about what Kent told me before Wally took the helmet off. '...Quit being so serious all the time, and don't be afraid to fall in love again. I hear there's a certain someone on that team that's taken quite a liking to you...'

I don't really know who he had been talking about, but I was determined to figure it out, and to try and not hide behind my emotionless mask so much. My mind starts getting lost in my memories of Kent when I'm suddenly pulled out of them. "Hey, Emma?" I hear. I turn to see the team standing behind me. "Mind if I ask you something?" Wally asks. I nod. "Shoot."

"Who's Esmeralda?" He asks. I freeze, looking down. "Where did you hear that name?" I ask him. "I remember Fate saying it once or twice, like when he was talking to Klarion." He tells me, "Who is Esmeralda?" I look up at all of them, taking a deep breath.

"Esmeralda... is me." I state, looking away. "I told you to call me Emma. But that's not my real name. There are dragons here on Earth, and most know me by that name. If they were to find out that I'm here, they'd come after me, therefore, putting you and the League in danger." I tell them. It's silent for a minute.

"So, you're a princess?" Robin asks. I nod. "Maj. Princess Esmeralda Embers of the Fire and Air Kingdom. This is technically my full title, as there are only two kingdoms of our realm. This," I say, taking off my crown, "Is the crown I wear in my human form, but it changes whenever I turn to my dragon, or semi-human forms." I put it back on my head. "Then why are you here? Shouldn't you be in your kingdom?" Megan asks, confused. "Yeah, about that..." I draw out.

"There was a little incident back home," I say, rubbing the back of my neck, "And, well... In a fit of rage, my father may have, kinda... banished me." I say, whispering that last part. "Banished?" M'gann and Artemis ask. I nod, not looking up. "What did you do?" Wally asks. I look up at him for just a second. Should I tell them?

I sigh. Might as well. "I refused to marry." I state, leaning against the counter. I got a lot more surprised looks from that statement so far then from anything else. "My father put me into an arranged marriage. I probably would have been fine with it, if the prince I was supposed to marry wasn't a spoiled, arrogant, Mr. Know-it-all. I met him once, before the wedding was to take place, and he acted like he owned the world. When I told my father I didn't want to marry him, he wouldn't listen, claiming that I was just scared of being hurt again. He had this idea in his head that the marriage would bring the two kingdoms together once and for all."

I chuckle darkly, "If there was one thing that my father was right about, though, is that I was afraid of getting hurt like I had. However, everything had changed after I stood the prince up and left him at the altar. My mother and little sister cried. My brothers were disappointed in me. But my father, he was so angry..." I trail off, my mind going off to when my father found me after the wedding was supposed to happen, unknowingly rubbing my back with my hand.

"Dracona?" I hear. They're all looking at me worriedly. I look down, my claws are out, and I'm ripping the back of my dress. "Preatuvich!" I curse in Dracsun. "Woah! What was that?" Robin asks. I look up at him, my claws turning back. "Don't repeat that. In fact, don't repeat anything you hear me say. I was cursing in Dracsun, or Dragon Tongue," I tell him, looking back down at my dress. I sigh. "So much for this dress. And it blended in so well..." I trail off.

"A swearing princess. Never expected that." Artemis comments. I roll my eyes at her. "My mother would be so disappointed if she could see me now." I remark, but I'm smirking. "Seriously though, I only swear because I'm the only one here who even knows what I'm saying, so who's gonna tell on me."

We all stand in silence before I hear a grumble, two grumbles actually. I look down at my stomach, then up at the others. I turn and walk to the fridge. Gathering up ingredients, I set them all down on the counter, finding a pot and a pan afterwards in a cupboard. I set them down on the stove, and began cutting up chicken to cook.

"What are you doing, Emma?" M'gann asks. I turn to see them all looking at me. I turn back around, beginning to cook the chicken and filling the pot up with water. "I'm hungry, so I'm making something to eat. There should be plenty for everyone, that is, if Wally doesn't get his first." I state. "Wait, you know how to cook?!" He exclaims. I roll my eyes.

"I may be a princess, but my mother taught me to be kind, especially to the staff of our palace. I loved the food that our chefs made for dinner, so it wasn't ever really surprising to find me in the kitchen helping to prepare. The top chef, he took me under his wing when I first started helping, and taught me some of his best recipes. This is just one of the many dishes I learned to make while under his teaching, although, some of the ingredients are a little different." I explain, keeping a wary eye on the water. "Different how?" Robin asks, curious.

"For starters, we don't have chickens in our realm. We use a different animal that I'm pretty sure doesn't exist on Earth." I state, taking a seasoning from the counter, staring at it. "And for another, we have a few different spices; ones that enhance our senses, ones that make us stronger, but it's mostly just herbs and healing spices though." I tell him. He takes it all in. "So, what are you making?" Artemis asks. "You know it as chicken noodle soup." I state, setting the noodles into the boiling water, careful not to touch it, then continuing to stir the chicken.

(A.N.: I loved writing this chapter. Anyways, to the point. The word Emma cursed in Dragon Tongue? Just a random word that I made up from the top of my head. Many of the things Emma will say in Dragon Tongue will be off the top of my head. As far as I know, they don't mean anything in any language on Google Translate. I will be adding translations for most of what she says in the future. However, in this chapter, she cursed. Feel free to think of any swear you wish.

I really loved writing this chapter, and I hope you all like getting to know Emma- I mean Esmeralda better. However, I loved writing the next chapter even better. Warning: KaldurX Emma Fluff!!!!! It's so adorable!

Anyways, read on, my darling doves!!!)