The Council

I followed him to the back of my closet, where I have not seen yet and there turned out to be multiple gowns.

Beautiful and rich gowns covered with intricate details.

I cant wear these! I'm not worthy of such clothes.

He searches through all the gowns when I decide to speak up.

"Kaine, surely a gown is a bit much is it not? It's just a council meeting." I say trying to convince him.

It is a waste to wear such gowns to a meeting.

He nods his head in agreement and heads towards the more comfortable clothing.

He pulls out a baby blue of the shoulder wool sweater with a pair of black wool leggings.

I do wear those a lot but hey, they are quite comfortable.

"Wear these with this pair of black boots. I'll meet you in the living room." And with that he left the room.

He's acting strange again.

I put on a black bra with black panties then slip on the clothes he gave me. Then, I slip on the black combat boots and tie them up.

I head to the bathroom and brush my teeth. Once they are squeaky clean I grab my comb and brush my hair.

Deciding to not braid it and leave it down, I head towards the living room.

He's sitting on the couch in deep thought.

Is it because of my scars? I feel like it cannot be easy to hear that a princess was treated such a way, but I'm not a princess to them. I don't even see myself as one.

I clear my throat to get his attention and surely enough, his head snaps up to mine and he motions for me to come sit down.

The nerves have officially kicked in.

I know nothing of this world, I just arrived here. What makes me worthy enough to attend a meeting?

"Okay, so the council includes 5 people. There Derek and Finn whom you already know. Then there's Azura, one of my closest friends. She has helped me though my parents death and has a good advice on anything regarding the females in Malvolion. She is also a dragon. Next is Connan. The current leader of the fae. He is there as their representative. Anything we discuss he must attend to because of our alliance. Now, none of them except for Derek and Finn know of your origins. It's best to keep it that way. For now, you are a peasant girl we found on our way back from a trip, who we deciding to be merciful towards and bring back to our base. Understood?" Kaine says.

I nod my head understanding. I have yet to meet Azura and Connan but I am extremely excited to meet a fae. I have yet to see any of them.

My people..

I am to rule the entire land of Therondia.

That would mean being in a higher authority than Kaine! Haha!

"Good. Now that you understand, we must head to the meeting room." He tells me as he stands up.

I stand up as well and follow him.

The meeting room is two floors down from my chambers. Once you reach that floor, you go down a hallway to your right and it's at the end.

Pretty easy to remember.

Everyone was already seated at the table. They were waiting for us.

Kaine takes a seat at the head of the table and find myself standing there awkwardly.

"Raven, please. Have a seat." Kaine says gesturing to the seat to his right.

I sat down and looked at everyone else.

To my left my obviously Kaine, to my right was Finn and across from me was Derek. Beside Finn was Azura.

They were all in their half dragon forms so I could see her wings.

They were a beautiful green colour. They go well with her green eyes and short platinum blonde hair. She was truly gorgeous.

Beside Derek was Connan.

His brown eyes stared at me. His hair was white. How abnormal. His ear, tall and pointed. He smiled at me and I saw his teeth were normal.

Did they only elongate when they were upset? Maybe they only grow when in battle.

"Who is she?" Connan asks Kaine.

He takes no time to reply.

"She is Raven. We found her in a village we past during our trip. She is to be treated the the upmost respect."

His words sounding true. He was a great liar, if I had not know, I would have believed him.

Connan looks at him, then back at me.

He looks me up and down before sniffing the air.

Do fae have a heightened sense of smell?

"She is human?" He asks Kaine.

He replies with a short "Yes." and the subject was dropped.

They begun talking about plans of attack. What do to if the villages were to get ambushed. Not once did they speak of the human king.

I guess he was not a priority right now. Had I been confident enough to speak up, I would have asked what to plan for him is but I feel out of place. So I keep my mouth shut and listen.

The entire meeting Connan kept his eyes on me.

He looks at me with doubt. He does not believe my story.

Kaine is talking with Finn about something when he interrupts him.

"Pardon me Kaine, but why does she not smell human?" He asks.

Crap.

"Whatever do you mean Connan?" Kaine asks.

He knows what he means but I assume he's hoping that Connan can provide us with information on, well, me.

"Unlike you dragons,-"

He says dragons with distaste. I guess he also holds a grudge.

"Us fae have a heightened sense of smell. Her blood does not smell human. What is she?" He continues.

So dragons do not have better smell. Interesting because they can smell emotions. I guess they cannot smell blood or what is in it.

"Connan, what is it you smell?" Kaine asks.

Answering a question with a question. Clever.

"I smell magic in her veins." Connan answers.

Magic? I was not aware I had magic! I knew fae could have healing abilities and perform spells. Very rarely, some fae can control elements such as fire, water, earth and wind.

Even if I have magic, we have not found a way to access my fae form meaning I have no way to use it.

"Magic? How can a human have magic in their veins" Azura says.

She doesn't call me by my name nor does she acknowledge me.

I get a feeling she does not like me.

I look at Kaine worried. I have no answer for these questions. He looks at me then closes his eyes. He pinched the bridge of his nose then spoke.

"Raven is from Devlan. She is the daughter of the king and queen of Therondia. She has no access to her fae form neither does she have access to her powers." Kaine declare.

Well, the secrets out.

Connan looks at me with wide eyes. He gets up from his chair and bows towards me.

This is awkward.

"Um, please. There's no need." I tell him.

He stares at me with shock. I guess I'm not what he was expecting.

He sits back down then speaks to me instead.

"Why is it that you can not access your fae form princess?" He asks.

"I am unsure. I have never been in my fae form. Kaine and I suspect that it's something my parents did before they hid me away." I reply.

He nods in understanding.

"How old are you milady?"

"I am seventeen years old, soon to be eighteen in a week." I answer.

What relevance does my age have?

"Kaine, I believe the king and queen put a spell on the princess. It's rare but I've heard of a spell that conceals your natural form until your eighteenth birthday. Until you are an adult." Connan says.

Kaine nods thinking about it.

"Connan is there anyway to speed it up?" Kaine asks him.

"I'm afraid none that I know of. Even if there was its look downed upon to undo the spell of a royal." He replies.

I understand. I look at Kaine.

"Kaine, it is only a week. I can wait until then." I tell him.

"I understand that Raven but it is not only for you, the fae need a ruler. The world needs a Queen." He says.

Before I can reply Connan speaks up.

"Kaine, you are to address her as Princess or milady."

My eyes widen.

"Oh no it's okay! I would prefer it if you all called me by my name." I tell him.

He looks at me in shock as he makes a realization.

"Princess, forgive me for being blunt but is your name truly Raven? It was the name of the Queen and it is unusual for royals in Therondia to reuse a name." He asks me.

I close my eyes.

Another one of my secrets is revealed.

"No, my name is not Raven. When Kaine first asked me I was unsure if I should trust him with my real name or not. My name is Cora." I tell everyone.

Kaine looks at me with sad eyes.

He's hurt that I did not trust him but what's done is done. What could he have expected.

I had been recently kidnapped by three dragons.

"Kaine, how did you know to take me? Out of all the village folk, how were you so sure?" I ask him.

"Your eyes. Your father's eyes were red and your mother's blue. Not to mention your hair. It's your mothers hair. The ressemblance was too similar to mistake you for someone else." He answers.

I see. It's my eyes.

The ones he called beautiful.

I sat quietly as they discussed more topics about the two villages such as food, armies, and more.

After sitting in silence for a while I hear Kaine end the meeting. One by one they all left the room.

"Milady." Azura said.

I'm sure she does not like me. She has not spoken a word to me nor has she bothered to look in my direction.

"Good evening princess." Connan tells me as he bows down.

I was going to tell him that he could stop bowing down to me but he left quickly.

"Bye Cora!" Finn says.

Such a sweetheart. A man who could not even harm a fly.

Derek left without saying a word.

I look at Kaine in confusion.

"I cant help but feel like Derek does not like me. He has not spoken a single word to me. Have I done something wrong?" I ask him.

"No, you have not. Derek will open up to you in due time." He says.

He does not reveal why.

I don't bother asking about Azura.

"Come, let me walk you back to your chambers." He says offering my a hand.

I take the hand and he helps me up from my chair.

We walked in silence. Not an awkward silence, more a comfortable one.

Once arrived, he bid me farewell and walked towards his chambers.

I say goodbye and walk into my new home.

The day is far from over but I feel like the hardest part of it is.

Just a week. One week before I take my rightful form. One week before I am supposed to take the throne.

Am I ready?