Chapter 3: Be Queen
"TAEYANG… TAEYANG!" Lady Moon's clamorous voice wakes me up from my deep sleep.
The feat we encountered days ago consumed all my energy and resting is what I require to get back to my feet. The dark prison cell has a dreary atmosphere as I lay on a cold mattress, warming my body by bending my legs and propping them close to my chest.
"ARE YOU STILL ASLEEP?" The woman shouts her question making her voice echo through the walls that separate our existence.
"I'm awake now..." I sneer, registering a voice low, and remain in my tight position on top of a dirty cloth that cushions the frosty bed made of hard stone.
"ARE YOU ALRIGHT? YOU HAVE BEEN ASLEEP FOR DAYS." Lady Moon inquires about my well-being yet her voice sounds irritated by my sloth behavior.
I shift my position to face the wall and shut my eyes to respond with the same low tone. "I'm old. I need to rest."
"YOU ARE NOT OLD??! AN ELF CAN LIVE FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS." The woman yells in protest.
"QUIET YOU TWO!!!" The guard shouts at us from the end of the hallway.
I plop myself down the damp floor with my back against the icy wall to start a conversation again. "Why do they think we conspired to kill the monarchy?"
"Did you lose your memory when you discover your ability as a dragon-rider?" Lady Moon inquires. I can sense her suspicion building up with every question I ask.
"Y-Yes… all I remember was waking up at the stable." I stutter answering with half-lie and half-truth. A part of me thinks I have to be careful mentioning to anyone where I came from.
I can hear Lady Moon exhale heavily into the air and begin to explain the events that happened. "...because I was engaged to the Prince."
"You'll be the next queen. You don't need to kill them to get the throne." I question the accusation in disbelief. My voice sounds irritated by the idea.
"I declined before the ceremony started." Lady Moon confesses. Her tone expresses pride lifting herself out of the bind.
"H-Huh?! Why?" I raise the question in surprise, turning my head like there's no border between us.
"I only said yes because my family arranged the marriage to unify our Elf clan. Besides, I love someone else." The woman confides in her dilemma. The arrogance wanes into a gentle expression.
"Where is the person you love? Shouldn't he be rescuing you right now?" I inquire, hiding my optimistic sentiment that we will be rescued by a prince before we get executed.
"The person I love is in prison too." Lady Moon replies with her voice expressing the same sweet melodic tone I heard the first time I saw her on the bus.
"He's here too!?!" I exclaim. My pitch goes high as the panic sinks in. Our chance to be saved is now as bleak as the prison that holds us in.
The sound of footsteps halts our conversation. A group of soldiers comes in to get us out of prison. We walk from the grimy hallway and out into the streets where we see citizens of the kingdom look at us with mercy.
I can hear them whisper their sentiments.
They saved us from the dragon, why do the General want to execute them now?
I can't believe Lady Moon will hurt anyone? She's the most beautiful Elf in the kingdom.
A loud thud on the ground catches my attention and I see Miri on the corner of the pathway opposite the castle door. Chains are wrapped around its body to hold it down the floor and stop it from fleeing. I want to run towards Miri and stop them from hurting the dragon but once I look into its eyes, Miri talks to me through his mind.
"I'm alright. Tell me if they intend to execute you, and I will take you away from this place as soon as possible"
Miri? You can talk to me from miles away?
"I can hear your thoughts and you can hear mine. It's the ability of a dragon rider, which is what Elves calls you now. But for my kind, we call you linkers."
Linkers?
"A human soul who can link between worlds. Your passion for reptiles is what I believe makes you an innate dragon linker. As soon as I had your blood, we started a pact to bind us together."
I should be careful about what I think. I have no more privacy...
"A little price to pay to command a dragon."
What about our bodies?
"No. Only our mind and soul are connected. I won't feel your pain but if you die, I die too."
I understand the connections clearly.
"Your age does well to you. You have the maturity and good perception to be a good Dragon Rider."
Stop reminding me that I'm old!
The castle door opens and I notice the empty throne once again. Soldiers line up on both sides towards the chair of the king. Behind the guards is the delegation of the monarchy waiting to judge us of our sin. When the guards that fetched us stop to march, we stop walking. A man from the council steps up in front of us to introduce our name for everyone to hear.
"Lady Moon Light Aelia, daughter of the Baron of the Sun, is here to stand against her crime against the monarchy. For conspiring to kill the Prince and endangering the life of the Queen by summoning a dragon to the realm. Killing its citizens and destroying the kingdom. Speak the truth now of your guilt."
"I am not guilty."
"Former servant of the Queen, Red Taeyang, the Dragon Rider, is here to stand against her crime for aiding Lady Moon Light Aelia, by using her ability to control a dragon. Taeyang, speak the truth now of your guilt."
"I-I'm not guilty…"
"The council will bear witness to the testimony against you both. You can dispute the words of the prosecutor after."
"General Ha Min Joon will be the prosecutor."
The man standing beside the throne steps down and marches towards us. General Min Joon looks straight into Lady Moon who fights his gaze with fierce confidence. The general is wearing silver and red armor indicating his high position in the army of the Elf Kingdom. His long dark hair is like raven's feathers, flapping its wings with every pace his body performs. However, his clear precise gestures convey his strict attitude. The elegance of his high cheekbones and square jaw creates a sharp impression and he keeps his lips pressed together to show dominance to everyone.
"Lady Moon, before the ceremony of your betrothal you told me to tighten the security around the Prince, that a threat will come to endanger him." General Min Joon begins his inquiry. His baritone voice is prominent that everyone in the hall looks up to him with great admiration.
"Yes, I did." Lady Moon answers with the same confidence that the general expressed to the delegation.
"That even if I see you trying to harm his majesty, I will have to strike you down with my own hands." The general continues to use his intimidating tone. Staring straight into the woman's eyes with suspicion.
"Yes, I did say that." The woman admits the testimony presented to her.
"The Prince is killed by the Dragon before the ceremony starts and the queen is greatly injured after another attack. Who should I blame for that?" General Min Joon yells his accusation towards the woman yet Lady Moon's confidence did not waver from the intimidation.
"The Witch! Who set a black gem to control the dragon and make it attack the Kingdom. It killed the Prince and endangered the Queen on the assault. Taeyang reveals every detail to me once she has freed the Dragon from the Witch's curse." Lady Moon confesses to the crowd with assurance.
"Queen Ha Eun's servant, Taeyang?" The man repeats the name to be certain they have the right individual.
"Yes." Lady Moon answers, swaying her stare in my direction.
General Min Joon turns and stands in front of me. I fear not only for my life and Lady Moon but also for Miri. I don't have any memory of the woman who occupied my body before nor did I know about the attack that Lady Moon anticipated the day the dragon came to the kingdom.
"Taeyang, or as they call you now, the Dragon Rider, answer my question truthfully and I shall give you and your dragon a less painful punishment." General Min Joon proposes, glaring at me with disdain.
Miri, what am I going to tell them?
"Tell them the truth."
If I tell them the truth, they might not believe me.
"They will."
What if they ask me about the previous owner of the body?
The real Taeyang died at the assault with the Prince, I saved her body for your soul to transport in.
What about Lady Moon? How did she know of the attack before it happens?
"I don't know. Maybe you should discuss that with her."
I have to think of something to say… I-I... ah-h...
A firm voice put my attention back to the General, who gazes closer at my face when I did not answer his question.
"I will ask you again, did you have any knowledge before the attack on the Prince?" The general yells at my face.
"Y-Yes," I answer him with a lie that makes Lady Moon and all the council of the monarchy stare at me with surprise.
"How did you know? And why did you not warn us?" General Min Joon glares with his forehead ruffling with surprise.
"I heard the voice of the Dragon in my head and I could not believe it. I told Lady Moon about my suspicion because she is the only person I could trust to believe me. When the Dragon came to strike the Kingdom, my fear came true." I say with a steady voice yet my hands are sweating cold for fabricating a story to save Lady Moon.
The General rubs his chin while pacing back and forth. Then, turns to the woman to ask, "Is that how you know about the attack, Lady Moon?"
"Yes." Lady Moon agrees but her eyes look away to hide the obvious lie.
General Min Joon walks back to his spot and talks to the speaker to announce his decision.
"General Min Joon has decided to withdraw his accusations. Now the council will determine all your fate and the dragon."
Hearing that the general believes my deceitful story is a relief but knowing the council will have to vote for our fate is another concern I have to face. The whispers inside the hall are deafening. It makes me uneasy as time passes by waiting for their judgment.
"The council has endorsed two issues. One, as Lady Moon has declined her marriage to the Prince and failed to protect the monarchy and the kingdom, she will no longer be viable to claim the throne."
"The second issue now comes forth, the Queen is too weak to govern and there is no acceptable candidate to claim the throne."
"The council has voted for a special envoy. The rule of this kingdom is to choose among the wisest of them all. The age required to claim the throne is a vital notion and among the oldest servants to the monarchy is the Dragon Rider."
"W-W-WHAT?!?" I exclaim in shock with my raised and curved brows as I hear the word "Dragon Rider" is mentioned by the speaker.
"The council has appointed a current ruler. The Dragon Rider will be announced as the new Queen after the assembly finishes with the preparations."
Miri, they want me to be the Queen of the Elf Kingdom.
"Long live Queen Taeyang!"
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