The Dragon's Kiss

Kel woefully watched Ira trot away from the gate, feeling Barclay's eyes stab into the back of her head.

Instead of the main gate, Ira had brought her to one of the smaller side entrances to the palace grounds. How had Barclay known she'd be here?

"Ah, um, greetings, Sir!" Kel nodded cautiously to the angry giant.

"I tried looking for you earlier," Barclay gruffed, folding his arms, "but it turns out you were off for a little ride with the emperor and his underlings."

At the urging of two guards patrolling past, Kel stepped inside the fence as she tried to explain the situation.

"It's just that something big happened while we were discussing matters and…" she began quietly, making sure the guards were out of earshot.

"There you go with that 'we'," Barclay growled. "How many times do I have to remind you that those people aren't on your side."

It may have been due to the unexpected series of events earlier, or it could have been the setback of her fire suddenly not working. Either way, the frustration that had been building inside Kel for the past couple weeks suddenly spilled over.

"Then who is on my side?" She demanded, clenching her fists at her side. "You? Dash?"

"The Serin Emperor certainly isn't!" Barclay retorted.

"It seems you may have forgotten, Sir," Kel spit, "but I'm not a war hostage like you. My country threw me away!"

At that comment, Barclay stalked toward her furiously. Anyone with any sense would have run scared at the sight, but Kel held her ground.

"Why do you always think you're the only one who's been thrown away?" he hissed, his figure looming over Kel.

"Because I am!" Kel exclaimed. "I appreciate you coming back to save me. I really do! But-"

"But what?" Barclay interjected. "Do you even realize how much the people around you have sacrificed for you?"

"I know. I know," Kel sighed. "You're stuck here too now."

"I'm not just stuck here," Barclay corrected, narrowing his eyes. "I put my life on the line. I've been dishonorably discharged for abandoning my post. I'll probably never see my nephew again."

"Nobody asked you to do that," Kel muttered.

"All of it," Barclay snapped, "for an ungrateful little girl who thinks she already knows everything."

Kel didn't know what to say. Deep down, she knew he was right. Barclay had given up everything for her, a mere soldier under his command. In the face of danger, he'd turned around to protect a person he owed absolutely nothing to.

But that didn't give him the right to hold it over her head.

Besides, wasn't it better for both of them to gain the emperor's favor?

"Tell me, Keliyah," Barclay lowered his tone. "What's that man going to do when he finds out the truth?"

Kel swallowed. Even if she had been somewhat useful to the Dragon Emperor until now, it was clear what would happen if he discovered her lie.

"I-I don't know," she murmured, looking away.

Barclay snorted, taking a step back. "Dashien and I. We're the only two people on this whole blasted continent who care about you. Remember that, Princess."

He trudged away after that without even giving Kel a chance to respond.

"Haaaaaaa." she crumpled to the ground, suddenly feeling that her shoulders were too heavy for her spine to bear any longer.

Too many things had happened today, and she wasn't even sure what she should be most concerned about.

Should she try to dig up information on what happened to Soren? Not to mention, what he did to Spencer Regan in the first place.

Or was it better to focus on making amends with Barclay? Not that she even knew where to start when it came to quelling her comrade's anger.

Perhaps the thing she should be most worried about was fixing whatever was wrong with her fire. In an emergency situation, she was a sitting duck without it. It was even worse to depend on a power that only worked sporadically.

Finally, she gave up thinking and laid back in the grass, stretching her arms and legs out.

"Itzae.." she whispered, gazing at the sky. "Right now, I don't care if you're the emperor's mentor or not. I don't even care if you're Dash's real uncle… I just need you."

After allowing herself to rest and watch the clouds for a few more minutes, she jumped back to her feet. She had too many problems that needed resolving to be lying around any longer.

First, she thought, brushing loose blades of grass off her dress, I will find out what happened with Mr. Magician.

It should be fairly easy to glean the latest news on the situation, thanks to all her networking over the past week. If anyone knew, it would probably be some of the new soldier recruits. Or possibly the kitchen staff who always seemed to know more than any of the other servants.

"Alright!" Kel declared, pumping one fist in the air. "Let's go rumor hunting!"

She figured that after she'd satisfied herself with the basics of today's bizarre events, she would work on her fire. All she needed for that was a large secluded place. Since she couldn't think of anywhere off the top of her head that would be suitable, she decided to ask around about that as well.

Unsurprisingly, the kitchen turned out to have the most knowledge on the subject of Spencer Regan's takedown. Though the knights did have a few useful tidbits, it wasn't enough to curb Kel's curiosity.

"It's said that members of a terrorist organization are the ones who organized all of it," One of the maids explained as Kel sat on her usual barrel, munching fluffy bread.

"That's right!" another chimed in. "I heard that they started three hours before the sun came up!"

"Not only that," one of the passing errand boy's added, "but nobody even noticed what was going on until much later! Almost noon!"

"That's all good to know," Kel replied with a mouthful of bread, "but what exactly did they do?"