Chapter 42: The Falak dragon’s ominous prediction!

“This is so boring”, Selena declared adamantly as she laid down her head resignedly at the bulky history text books laid down in front of her. She shot a look of protest at her mother, while internally cursing her wretched luck.

Caro eyed his future bride -to- be warily while the Queen let out a sigh at her daughter’s impudence and reluctance to even sit still for a whole minute, much less study.
Caro addressed the Queen regretfully and said, “No offence, Your Highness, but I knew this was going to happen. That’s why I insisted on taking her beyond the borders of the palace to give her a hands-on approach to the rich culture and history of Valyria. Keeping a highly skilled vampire like Selena trapped inside the library is futile.”

The Queen scoffed at him and replied icily, “Forget it, seeing the current state of things, if she were to even set a foot outside the royal palace grounds, Natasha would see to it that her men hunt her down and you can’t get lucky every single time. The safest place for her right now is the palace, like it or not. However, shrewd or cunning she is, she won’t dare to make a move right under the council’s nose.”
The Queen paused for a hot second, something bothering her and she asked tactically, “ By the way, how did you get rid of the first batch of assassins that the Natasha had sent your way when you had just made your way out of the palace?”

Caro flashed a knowing look at Selena and the Queen found herself narrowing her eyes at her daughter and she said incredulously, “She had sent a dozen of well-trained assassins and there is no way Selena herself could have handled all of them, no matter how strong she is. You and Demetri must have stepped in, right?”

Caro bowed deeply to the Queen as he responded in an awed tone, “I am sorry to say that your inference is totally wrong, Your Highness. We didn’t even have to step in. She was more than enough for the assassins.”
The Queen eyed her daughter warily, but directed her question at Caro, “What did she do?”
Caro hid a sly smile and replied nonchalantly, “Oh! She buried them deep inside the core of the earth where they will be very much alive but would never be able to get out of for all of eternity.”

The Queen shot a surprised look at her daughter, realizing for the first time that maybe she had underestimated her daughter’s magnificent powers.
“How’s Andrew’s preparations going on?”, Selena asked her mother, changing the subject as the sudden awe and respect she was getting from both her fiancé and her mother was putting her in an uncomfortable spot. She already dreading the answer to the question she had just asked. Though she had run into her half brother multiple number of times, neither one of them had even uttered a word to each other even after Selena having spent several months in the palace. Selena found herself becoming curious as to what kind of a man her brother was because just judging by his composure, she couldn’t make anything out at all and it bothered her that she knew nothing about her supposed rival.

The Queen stared down her daughter intimidatingly and replied stoically, “Natasha had groomed him to be the heir apparent from a young age itself and he is well equipped to deal with the challenges that the council places before him. Plus, he is a crowd favorite too.”
“Oh goodie!”, Selena exclaimed out loud frustrated as she hit her head on the old textbook once again.

Without another word, she quietly got out of her seat while the Queen and Caro Silva was busy discussing possible strategies and sneaked out of the study room and made her way slyly towards the training grounds.
Selena felt that there was only one being who was well equipped enough to teach her history…..the Falak dragon himself.

She made her way across the training grounds and towards the forest near the palace where the Falak dragon was currently residing in.
As she delved deeper into the forest, she blew out a shrill whistle , letting the ancient dragon know of her presence in his home as she didn’t want to offend him by showing up unannounced.

Within seconds, she could hear loud flapping of wings and within a blink of an eye, the ancient Falak dragon had placed himself right in front of her eyes. She blinked surprised, then found herself smiling as she took in the beautiful and serene scales of the dragon and she still couldn’t figure out why super naturals and humans alike were so terrified of this eternally beautiful creature?

*“Finally, you have come for me, my child.”

Selena bowed her head respectfully, showing her respect at the dragon and asked, “Where you bored in here?”
The dragon let out a grey puff of smoke and Selena had the distinct impression that he was chuckling at her idiocy.

*“No my child, you have rescued me from my own loneliness and the solitude of the Labyrinth. In this forest, I have the company of many animals too, some mystical and some ordinary”*

Selena nodded satisfied, a huge burden unravelling itself from her heart. She had been feeling guilty that she hadn’t had an opportunity to visit the dragon after she got back from the Kingdom of the West.

*“I hear that the king has joined the spirit realm and that he is no more.”*

Selena nodded at the dragon and the dragon let out another puff of smoke in reply as he said.
*“The boy, Andrew is a good man at heart but he would not be a good king”*
Selena frowned at the dragon and asked, “why not?”

His character certification from the dragon held more importance in Selena’s heart as she knew that the dragon would never make a mistake. So, her brother was a good man at heart, after all.
“*Because he is not willing to do whatever it takes to secure the prosperity of his citizens nor is he cold and ruthless enough to slay down his enemies. A ruler must always have a steady and conniving mind and a good heart. Though he does possess a good heart, he is too innocent to scheme his way to the throne. His mother, however is an entirely different story.”


Selena frowned as the implications behind the dragon’s wise words sunk in. She finally understood why the citizens of Valyria treated Andrew gently and affectionately while treating his own mother and sister viciously.

“You can see the future, right? Who will succeed this conquest? Who would the council of elders and the allies of Valyria vote in favor off?”

*“Are you sure you want to know my answer, my dear for you might find yourself to be wither overconfident or disheartened by my words?”*

Selena frowned, hesitating for a second, then nodded firmly as she realized that the suspense and the fear of unknown was killing her inside.

*“I am afraid, Your time has not yet come, my dear. Andrew would be declared the Heir Apparent by the council of elders for the simple reason that he could be used like a puppet by them.”*

Selena frowned at the dragon, jittered and rattled by his sudden declaration, completely shattering her pride and confidence. He basically told her that she will not succeed no matter what she does and eventually Andrew would be declared as the Heir Apparent and she would be just wasting her time and efforts.

“So, I don’t stand a chance because they can’t control or tame me?”, Selena asked incredulously.

*“What the council is looking for is a puny puppet they themselves can rule over, not a ruler that they must bend their heads to.”*