Sweet Waters Throne

209 Chapter 20The day Aurora said yes to Artemis in front of masses and declared her love for him, she was also bounding herself to him. This was her man, her husband and the father of her children. She would never sit still as he suffers or bullied or turned against, the promise she made was to last through out their lives.

Hence that day Aurora made a promise to stand beside Artemis even if it means war and destruction. She promised to be the person Artemis will need during hard times, to burn his enemies to ashes if need be.

But, is that how the chosen one was supposed to act? To use the dragons against the weaker opponents? To burn their cities and armies?

Well rest be assured Aurora spent the next day thinking about the promise she made to Artemis, and she did have second thoughts about it and slightly regrets.

Enough about the King and Queen of Maldonia and their promises. Let’s go to the Mines after Lord Leoric learned of the mischievous that befell Prince Ambrose and losing the war.

He got the message two days after Amabel was crowned King of Prophis. The spies explained to him in details on the accounts of how Prince Ambrose lost the war, and they blamed him for going after the capital while he had enough men to fight his nephew first. That whole day Leoric spent screaming, breaking things and shouting at his slaves.

“What about my Killers, how many survived?” he asked the spy with rage while breathing heavily and trying to catch his breath.

“Twenty thousand of them survived, right now they are being sent to the West where unknown King has requested them. For a price of six million gold coins my lord”

This shocked Leoric, “Six million gold coins?” he asked.

.....

“Yes, my lord”

“Fuck!” Leoric pushed a glass over the table and broke it.

This was a huge loss to him, and too bad the person who was supposed to compensate on that loss was long gone. Prince Ambrose’s head was decorating the gates of Raven, spiked up alongside other heads of his generals and loyal servants. He couldn’t ask the dead to return his loss, and neither did he have access to the passage across the Freezing Sea.

The spy had more news, “In other rumors my lord...” He said and paused. He was seventy and two, his age prevented him from speaking with haste and he needed to catch his breath from time to time. “Old City is flooded with news about the legitimacy of King Artemis”

Hearing the king’s name, suddenly Leoric was interested.

“The legitimacy of the King? What do you mean by that?” asked Leoric eager to know more.

“They say he may not be the true King. His half brother, Aprophil is not a bastard as many may think he is my lord. He is a true born son of King Luca and his wife Jordy” said the spy and then again he needed to catch his breath.

This somehow made Leoric chuckle, “Do you hear yourself Lionel? Everyone in the Mines know Aprophil is a bastard. Now I hear Artemis himself called him a bastard in Prophis, he cannot be a true born son of Luca Arteides” and then he chuckled some more.

“But the rumors may be true my lord”

“Even if he is the true born of Luca Arteides, no one can stand against Artemis now. Aurora’s dragon laid three eggs few days ago, that’s eight dragons. If the other female dragons hatch more eggs, may the gods help us all...”

“House Morrow will rise up again, once more. The last dragon, Euric Morrow promised the Dragon Hunters that a new age of dragon will rise before he took his last breath. His words have come to life”

When Lionel mentioned the Dragon Hunters, somehow he had Leoric’s attention. “Tell me more about these Dragon Hunters Lionel and what you know of them. I know they live in the cold, across the Freezing Sea” said Leoric while sitting down. His rage seemed to calm down and he needed to hear what Lionel had to say, after all he was old and very well informed.

“They don’t live in the cold my Lord. They are warm and dry just like here, once you cross the Freezing Sea, the lands afterwards are in endless summers”

“You mean to say the lands after the Freezing Sea are warm?” asked Leoric caught off guard by this detail, he never truly knew what comes after one crosses the Freezing Sea.

“Yes my lord, these men brought down House Morrow and their dragons. In return Euric burned almost all of them, their whole city was brought to torch and those who survived escaped Dark Town and made a journey across the Freezing Sea, to preserve their knowledge on how they killed the dragons of House Morrow”

Leoric was listening carefully to what Lionel was saying and he was very much interested in hearing more about these Dragon Hunters and their origin.

“Do you by any chance know how to kill a dragon Lionel?” he asked him.

“I wish I knew my lord, but one never truly knows how to bring down a dragon. They are angry creatures, even those Dragon Hunters were killed in numbers when attempting to bring down the dragons. It’s a suicide mission my lord” Lionel finished with a warning. Then he went on to advise Leoric not to enrage a dragon, because they answer with fire.

However, there was no advising Leoric against what he already planned years ago. His plan was to cross the Freezing Sea and meet with these Dragon Hunters, tell them about the resurgence of new dragons so they may plan how to kill each of them. But how will he cross now while Prince Ambrose lost the war?

Suddenly Princess Aeryn intervened the conversation between her husband and Lionel, she was holding Jeremiah in her arms. Her face showed sadness, exhaustion and lack of sleep.

Lionel excused himself and walked away slowly, he lowered his head softly before Aeryn. Five slaves had to help him with the stairs since their conversation with Leoric was taking place in the balcony, five stories up. This was Leoric’s place of solitude and he normally used it for thinking and sometimes praying to whichever god he believed in.

“When did you get back?” asked Aryan while making few steps towards her husband who didn’t even care to look at her. “I’m asking you Leoric, three days and you were nowhere to be found” she complained.

Leoric sighed, “What do you want from me Aeryn?” he asked arrogantly while fixing his white tunic. Leoric as usual was glowing and happy, his black hairs were perfectly combed and washed, scented with heavy oils and he was also smelling so good because of the expensive perfume he applied on his body. His ebony skin shone underneath the sunlight of the day like a dark prince.

The Lord of the Mines never missed, he valued his fabrics, golds and his body than his wife and son.

“I want you to be a present husband and father to our son” replied Aeryn, but she was blurting instead of talking. It was clear, this marriage turned out to be something she didn’t wish for.

“I am a present husband and father, I’m here now aren’t I?”

“After missing for three days. Do you really even think about me when you are whoring yourself around the city. Brothel after brothel, fucking whores of different colors and sizes” Now Aeryn started to scream at Leoric, while at the same time tears rolling down between her cheeks.

Again, this marriage had turned out to be something completely different from what she expected it to be. At least Petrus Octavianous loved her and he was a good man who respected her, Leoric showed little respect to his wife.

When Leoric had enough of his wife’s complaints, he stood up. Then he walked towards Aeryn, “Don’t scream at me woman! I do what I want, I bed who I want and when I want. You do not get to tell me otherwise, do you understand?”

“Why are you doing this to me... you promised to love me” Aeryn wept hysterically.

“I do love you sweet creature” Leoric cupped Aeryn’s face in his hands. “But it’s your brother who makes me treat you this way, you didn’t say a thing when he dismissed our son as second in line to the throne. You should have fought for our son, for me and my place at court because you know how much I want that throne. Yet you are just sitting here... eating my food, staying in my house, getting served by my slaves and for what? What do you bring to the table Aeryn?”

Leoric was so close to Aeryn in such a way the princess could feel his hot breath against hers. Then he repeated again but this time with more rage, “What do you bring to the table?” and then he released Aeryn’s face and stormed off.

Aeryn kept on crying while holding her son, she loved this man yet he proved to be different from how she wanted him to be. She started thinking, maybe it was time she challenged her brother in favor of her son.