Spirits of the Earth

@Eckhart_Von_Musel
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Black-Hearth was a name one would think would live on forever. Emilia Black-Hearth would probably live on even longer. The fall of that incredible dragon was one that Idryth sometimes had trouble believing. She heard stories of the dragon and looked up to her to an extent. She never imagined the great family would've drifted from each other. Nor would she have imagined the great Emilia Black-Hearth would've been destroyed by her own magic.

Idryth had avoided the castle in the Kilanthro because she felt it would be guarded by strong magic. After so long, all magic wears thin. It probably had would've been long enough at that point. Plus, she had always wanted to see the place where that woman resided, especially what kinds of riches were kept on the grounds.

She rode up to the castle, which didn't look as abandoned as she thought. Someone was there recently; a month or two ago, maybe? It was probably fine. Dismounting from the horse, Idryth slapped its hindquarters and sent it running back to the place from which she stole it. She rested her hand on the pommel of her sword, wary that there could very well be traps hidden inside. Entering, she found that it was a stunning example of craftsmanship and quite well-built, clearly meant to last a long time.

A devilish smirk crossing her lips, Idryth started through the castle halls at a quick pace. Whether the former owners were there or not, she knew that theft was still a race. Her boots clacking on the floor, the young dragoness looked through several rooms in search of something that would really catch her eye. In a room she assumed had been Emilia's, she opened a walk-in closet and grimaced. Lingerie? Idryth thought with a frown. That's more than I wanted to know, Emilia. She shuddered and continued her search.

You would think an all-powerful dragon family would have riches I haven't come across before, she thought. This is pathetic. She decided that it would probably work better to just take some of the valuable items in plain sight. That is...until she saw the amulet... A beautiful, golden amulet on a thin chain with a stone that matched Idryth's eyes in color. The rectangular stone was chipped slightly in the lower left corner, which is how the young dragoness knew it was the original. Jackpot, she thought, taking the amulet and holding it up for the midday sun to catch it through a nearby window.

It took eighteen straight hours of climbing, but Emilia Black-Hearth finally made it. The human woman pulled herself up onto the Citadel's doorstep, her black robe drenched in sweat. For a moment she allowed herself to rest, resting her hands on her knees. "I... I knew... I could do it..." she said aloud, chest heaving. "I... Just wasn't trying... hard enough... the first three times..."

Staggering forward slowly, Emilia opened the large door. It wasn't locked- never a good sign. Cautiously, the woman poked her head inside to see...

Nothing. The entrance hallway was empty. No servants scrambled to greet her. Frowning, she walked inside. None of the candles were lit, and Emilia could only see by the sunlight coming through the stained glass windows. Finally Emilia reached the end of the hallway, and entered her throne room for what seemed like the first time in an eternity.

Once again, there was nothing. She had hoped that Kaida may have stuck around- hell, at this point she'd even settle for Eira- but none of her siblings were waiting for her. Emilia's footsteps echoed across the room as she slowly walked up to her throne, the once magnificent chair now coated in a thick layer of dust. The woman swallowed nervously. "Did... Everybody really leave?"

Wiping the dust of the seat, Emilia sat down. She closed her eyes, waiting for the feeling security the throne once brought. It never came. She adjusted her position slightly, to no avail. Emilia opened her eyes slowly. "It's because I'm taller now, that's all." she told herself. "The throne was made for my old body."

Emilia would close her eyes again, shutting them tightly as if to hold back tears. "Damnit! Why doesn't it feel the same?"

Idryth stuck the amulet in a small pouch on her belt, then heard what she thought was the sound of footsteps. She crouched against the wall, listening. It seemed pretty close, so it was either the throne room or one of the nearby halls. Considering the echoes stopped and no one came into view, the dragoness assumed it had come from the throne room.

She stood up and decided to investigate. With her footsteps now silent, she quickly made her way towards the throne room, stopping occasionally at the ends of the halls to peer around the bends.

Pressed against the wall outside of the throne room, Idryth glanced around the corner. She saw the golden throne with someone sitting on it. It was a blonde woman dressed in rags. She appeared to be homeless, especially by the looks of the dirt and muck in her hair.

"Step down, worm!" Idryth spat, walking into the throne room with a slight twitch of her upper lip. "You sit upon the throne of a great dragon. Do not dare think you are worthy of even being sheltered by this roof."

Emilia's slowly opened her eyes at the sound of a voice. It wasn't a cry of adulation as she would have liked- quite the opposite, in fact. "Worm?" the tyrant said as she rose from her seat. "I do hope you're spelling that with a "y". You'd be a fool to spell it the other way."

She allowed herself to rest her eyes on the newcomer- a woman with a sword. Emilia couldn't bring herself to care about the trespasser's appearance, not when her actions insulted the former dragoness to her core. "If you truly care about keeping the unworthy from entering my home, then I ask that you remove yourself." Emilia said with quiet fury. "You're an eyesore."

"Your home?" Idryth said, a huff escaping her lips. She gaped slightly at the ragged woman and lowered her sword in astonishment. Did this thing really just try to insult her? "You humans never learn."

When the woman stood, the dragoness felt suddenly challenged. "This is no home for a street rat," she hissed, sneering at her. "You're in the home of Emilia Black-Hearth, a queen gone from this world." Idryth sheathed her sword and crossed her arms over her chest. "I ask that you remove yourself. Peasant scum is not welcome on these royal grounds."

Emilia glowered at the woman, eye twitching. It was one thing to be mocked and belittled by humans on the street, but in her own home? The warlord clenched her palms, ready to scream in anger...

"No. I'm better than this."

Emilia released her fist, sighing. "Tell me, girl." she said softly as she began to walk towards the intruder. "Do you have eyes? Can you not see?" When she was about three feet away, Emilia stopped. She rested her hand on the hilt of her wooden blade, looking down her nose at the woman. "I am Emilia Black-Hearth."

Her first instinct was to scoff at the peasant woman. Did she really expect anyone to believe she was the great leader of the Black-Hearth family? But Idryth stayed quiet.

This can't be happening, the dragoness thought to herself.

Idryth unsheathed her sword once again, then placed the tip of the blade on the ground and bent her knee. Even then, she didn't remove her eyes from Emilia's blues. She didn't know why she believed the clearly human woman was in fact the dragon warlord of legend, but the power and authority behind every word and movement wasn't something that could have been faked.

"You have my apologies, your grace," Idryth said, not trying to hide the suspicion in her tone. "Everyone thought you were dead."

Emilia let out a satisfied hum, the ghost of a smile on her lips. It had been a long time since she'd been shown proper respect, and the former dragoness couldn't help but bask in it. "That's better." she said dismissively, turning around and walking back to her throne. "For future reference, I prefer 'Miss Black-Hearth'."

Emilia sat back in her throne letting out a sigh. "She's not optimal, but she seems loyal enough. I can use that." she thought pensively. She gave the woman a curious look. "What's your family name, girl?"

Idryth rose to her feet again, sheathing her sword. Miss Black-Hearth, she thought. Almost as though she knows she isn't revered anymore.

"Qiosara," she said, taking a few steps towards the throne. "Idryth Qiosara." She looked away briefly, scrunching her nose and frowning. "I know the nature of my questions may be intrusive. Still, I feel I deserve some kind of explanation, as I'm one of the few dragons who remain loyal in admiration of your name and one of the few alive who even know who you are. Why should I believe you are who you say, when you bear the foul stench of humanity?"

"Qiosara?" Emilia thought, raising a single eyebrow. "We never had an alliance with that family." She closed her eyes pensively. "So she's not one of our old soldiers, but she just so happened to be here at the same time I get back?"

Emilia crossed her arms, visibly annoyed. "Temporary setback. Reincarnation isn't cheap." she said pointedly. Emilia hated admitting it, but she had learned the hard way that pretending otherwise got her ridiculed. The human shifted in her seat, trying to find a position that was comfortable. "Now, tell me why you're in my house. You are trespassing, you know."

"Oh, you needn't worry about that," Idryth said, letting her lips form a slightly sideways smile. "I'm really a...collector. When I thought you dead, I came here to rob the castle." She opened the small pouch on her hip and pulled out the red and gold amulet. "Saw this in a little room down the hall and fancied it. There was no lock or anything, so I helped myself. Corner of the stone has a chip in it. Now that you've returned," she extended her hand with the amulet it in, "I imagine you want this back."

The young dragoness released a short sigh. "And, Miss Black-Hearth, if I had more of a malicious side to me, you would be fucked. With all due respect, of course."

Emilia's eye twitched. "Insolent bitch! That is entirely unjust! How dare you?" Struggling to keep her composure, the woman tittered. "Hahaha, really? How pragmatic of you." She quickly snatched the amulet back and put it on. The former dragoness thought the piece was a but tacky, but that didn't matter to her at that moment- it was hers, and she wasn't about to let some upstart steal it from her.

Emilia stood up, crossing her arms. Her limbs felt like they were made of jelly after her climb, and she was having difficulty keeping her eyes open. "Well Qiosara, I'm afraid that you've overstayed your welcome. It was nice meeting you, but you can leave now."

Idryth crossed her arms, mimicking the other woman's posture. It was a subtle diss, as though showing Emilia that the young dragoness possessed the strength the human woman no longer held. "You know," she said, placing one finger against her lips, "I disagree."

She put her hands behind her back and started approaching the throne, running her finger along the golden seat. Releasing an exaggerated sigh, she turned to look at Emilia. "See, I figured out how this will go. I am a dragon, true I am young, but a dragon will never cower before a human. You are a human, one of those...insects that believe they may walk upon the same ground as a dragon. And by the look of that sorry excuse for a sword, I am capable of besting you with weapons. You have no place telling me where I may or may not be."

With a slight smirk, Idryth looked the raggedy woman up and down and shook her head. "The Emilia Black-Hearth I knew of would never have stood for my insulting her. You're no longer that great power, and I do believe you know better than anyone that, without your power, you're simply pathetic."

Emilia stared blankly at Qiosara as she spoke. It was all things she'd been told before- she had no powers, she wasn't a dragon, her time was over, etcetera. "Yep." she thought numbly. "Blah blah blah. Keep talking, slut."

As soon as the dragon stopped talking, Emilia drew her sword and swung upwards, striking Qionara upside the head. The woman fell backwards, and Emilia soon had the tip of her blade at her her throat. 

Emilia stared at the invader, her icy blue eyes murderous. "Tell me, child." she said , her voice unsettlingly calm. "Do you believe in gravity?"

Fucking bitch! Idryth thought, rolling onto her side. That stick was harder than it looked. The sudden assault caught her off guard. She definitely didn't expect the woman to actually retaliate. She brought her hand up to the left side of her head, then back down to see her own blood on her fingers, something she'd only seen once before.

Despite the pounding in her head, the dragoness laughed, licking a spot of blood from her hand and wiping the rest on her pants. "There's the Emilia I respected," she breathed. Idryth didn't care about the wooden blade at her throat: it was a demonstration of power, more than anything else.

Emilia's voice would've given chills to a human, but the dragoness simply smiled at the gravity question. Though she could've moved, Idryth remained on the floor under Emilia's blade. "I believe in it more than most," she said, a hidden meaning obviously present in her tone. "Why do you ask?"

Emilia's expression remained the same. On a better day the sight of blood running down Qiosara's face would have brought her immense joy, but today was different. "Do you think there's a joke here? That you're in on something? Ha." Emilia said humorlessly. "You don't believe- in fact, I don't think you understand at all."

Emilia lowered herself slightly, never removing her sword from the girl's neck. "Gravity..." she began, her voice soft. "... Is invisible. It keeps all of us in place- in our rightful place. A human will never be able to fly, because gravity deems them unworthy. And if one tries? Gravity will force it to fall eventually. Gravity is absolute that way." Emilia straightened back up, sword still hanging dangerously above Qiosara's neck. "A bug will always be a speck. A human will always be worthless. A dragon will always be mighty. And Emilia Black-Hearth..." A determined smile flickered across her face. "... Will always be the one on top."

Emilia's face became expressionless once more. "I will ask you one more time. Do you believe in gravity?"

Despite no longer having a dragon's body, Idryth felt dragon's fire burning within the human woman. The dragoness looked up at Emilia, this time moving to stand. She knew the woman had made her point, so it would likely not be too disrespectful to rise.

Idryth couldn't help but smile, as she took a breath. "I agree," she said simply. "A dragon shall forever remain above humanity, but you preach what you no longer live. You're a human, Miss Black-Hearth, as much as you may hate to acknowledge it. I believe that can change. Though gravity deems them unworthy of flying, humans have taken to the sky upon the backs of dragons, and you can do the same."

The dragoness drew her sword and took a step back, briefly swinging it around in her hand. "I want to help you rise to your former glory, if you'll accept. Mastery of the blade; regaining your power; whatever it may be... My sword is yours to command."

Emilia lowered her blade, allowing the woman to stand. A look of relief spread across her face. "Thank Nevira, I finally have subordinates again." She smiled. "That's what I thought. I accept of course, but there's just one thing..." Emilia shifted her weight, leaning backwards slightly. "If you ever ask me to ride you, you're fired. I will not work with somebody so willing to degrade themselves like that."

Emilia turned and began to walk away. "Now, prepare me a bath while I find some clean clothes. This robe is dirty and it smells genuinely awful."

Idryth huffed, rolling her eyes to Emilia's back. "We can agree on one thing," she said. "That does smell awful. I won't be preparing you a bath, though. I'll not be your fucking maid."

The dragoness shook her head. She sheathed her sword again and folded her arms over her chest. "Your rise to power part two does not hang on my fixing you a bath. If you wish to train or discuss some kind of plan, I'll be in the library."

Emilia continued walking, waving Qiosara off. "I can discipline her later. For now, clothes."

Walking through the halls of the citadel was an oddly uncomfortable experience. Emilia had called the castle home for thousands of years, and yet she couldn't shake the feeling that she was no longer welcome. Each step she took caused the feeling to increase, and by the time she had reached her old bedroom the woman almost didn't want to enter. Her hand rested on the doorknob uneasily. "This my house. This is my room. Everything here is mine." she thought, breathing growing sharp. "Where is this feeling coming from?"

Finally, Emilia threw the door open and strode inside. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the dim purple light being given by the fixture on the ceiling, but she was eventually able to see that everything in her room was how she had left it. The large canopy bed was still made. The portrait of her mother was still hanging from the wall. The walk-in closet had her entire collection intact, albeit a bit dusty. Sighing in relief, Emilia collapsed onto her bed.

It was then that she saw it. Her diary lay face open on top of her bedside table, padlock snapped apart like a broken toy. She only had to glance at the entry on the page for her to have a panic attack.

Quote from: Emilia Black-HearthI almost lost control again today. Eira interrupted a family gathering, and her human-loving antics pushed me over the edge. If it weren't for Kaida and Electi, the void likely would have overtaken me for good this time. I managed to trick my siblings into thinking it was a ruse, but I cannot go on like this for much longer before somebody discovers the truth.

"Who read this?" Emilia said out loud, shaking in fear. "W-who read my diary?" Her breathing became harsh, and the former dragoness found herself curling up into a ball. "It can't have been Qiosara, or she wouldn't respect my authority. But only a dragon could have broken that lock. It- it had to have been one of my siblings." Tears began to roll down Emilia's face. "Oh Nevira, please tell me it wasn't her. I'll never be able to look her in the eyes again!"

Images of her youngest sister flashed through her head, thousands of years worth of memories rushing back to her at once. Kaida had been the only one of her siblings who Emilia had truly loved, but if she had discovered Emilia's secret...

"I can't let her see me yet." Emilia decided, standing up abruptly. "I can't let any of them see me, not until my glory has been returned." Emilia looked at the painting of her mother, wiping tears from her eyes. "I can still fix this, mom. Our family will reign supreme." The woman's eyes glinted with steel. "I promise."

With that, Emilia began to rummage through her dressers, hoping to find clothes that fit...

Wandering through the halls, the dragoness looked around for the library. She'd heard about the Black-Hearth library and desperately wanted to see if it really was as large as they said. It was bigger.

A smile stretched across her lips, and a small gleam appeared in her crimson eyes. Never in her life had Idryth seen so many books and scrolls and times and enything else in one place. She knew she could probably spend her entire life in that one room and probably still not finish everything.

"Oh, this is wonderful," she mumbled to herself. She walked briskly to the nearest shelf, which contained all kinds of historical books and documents. "Let's see just who this woman is." She picked up a worn book with the Black-Hearth family name printed neatly on the front.

Nothing fit anymore. "How the hell was I so small?" Emilia thought angrily as she tried and failed to put on her favorite top. The former dragoness had always worn very tight, form fitting outfits in order to show off her curves- after all, there was no point in having something if you weren't going to flaunt it- but it was now apparent that not investing in other apparel had been a mistake. "At least most of my collection still fits..." she thought, throwing her top on the ground in a huff. "But it's not like I can just wear those around..."

Fed up, Emilia stormed out of her room. "Alecti was tall, maybe there's something in his room..." she thought as she walked through the halls, still topless. "Who knows, maybe I'll look good in a suit."

Idryth sat on the floor with the hand-written book. Clearly it was written by someone who worshipped Emilia more than Idryth did because all that the book contained was words of praise to Emilia. She snapped the book shut with pursed lips. She didn't want to know how amazing the Black-Hearth family was; she wanted the dirt. She wanted to know the dark secrets and the inner turmoil of the siblings.

Clearly, she wasn't going to get that there.

She picked up another book and started off with it. Reading as she walked, it was an obviously fictional story about a princess. She hated the stories about the helpless princess and the knight who came to her rescue. Still, it was entertaining for the time being.

She strolled through the hallways with her nose in the book, hearing muffled footsteps. Looking down another hall, Idryth raised her right eyebrow. She caught a glimpse of a clearly topless Emilia walking or of her room. Once again, she thought at glancing at the now human woman's shockingly marvelous breasts, more than I needed to know. With her nose back in the book, she continued down the hall.

Walking into Alecti's room felt like opening a crypt. The air smelled stale, and there was a thick layer of dust on every surface. "Eugh." Emilia thought, glancing at the strange art pieces her brother had scattered around the room. "I know he liked 'high culture', but this is just... Weird."

Opening her brother's dresser, Emilia took out Alecti's finest looking suit. The pants were a loose fit, but it was nothing a belt couldn't fix. The shirt, however, was a problem- it wasn't meant for somebody with a chest as large as hers. Emilia struggled for a few moments, trying to get the shirt to button, but it was to no avail. "Gah!" she yelled out loud, ripping the shirt off and throwing it on the floor. "Why does my body have to be so perfect? Will nothing fit?"

Angry, Emilia began to tear through her brother's wardrobe once more. "Stupid Alecti and your stupid sense of fashion!" she thought as she picked up another suit and tossed it to the side. "Don't you have any loose fitting clothes?"

Finally, she found something- an old set of wizard's robes, complete with a pointy hat. Emilia frowned. "Where the fuck did he get these?" she asked nobody in particular. Still, they fit, so Emilia put them on. She looked at herself in the mirror, adjusting her new hat so the brim didn't fall over her eyes. She sighed. "I look fucking stupid." she thought, pouting. "But at least it doesn't smell awful."

"Now," she thought as she walked out of her brothers room. "Let's see if Qiosara came to her senses and prepared a bath. I refuse to sleep in my bed until my hair is clean."

The dragoness huffed, walking back into the throne room. She dropped the book on the ground, which echoed quietly, quickly drawing her sword. It had been a bit too long since she had done her drills, even longer since she actually had an opponent to fight.

She gripped the handle, adjusting once so that her hands were placed properly on the leather. With her left leg placed in front of her, Idryth made a smooth upper swing, bringing her right leg forward at the same rate her sword moved. She turned on the balls of her feet to face the other direction, bringing her sword downward in a diagonal motion.

Continuing the fluid movements, Idryth felt herself instantly relaxing. Violence was the only thing that truly eased her nerves, so humans creating swords was the only thing she found even a little redeemable about them. Despite not having anyone to fight, she enjoyed the feeling of the blade in her hand. Each swing made was followed by a subtle click of her boots that she intentionally made to sound like she was striking armor.

She spun around once, ducking as she swung her sword to make it seem like she had dodged an attacker's blow. It was all in her mind, but she didn't mind pretending until she had an actual fight to participate in.

Emilia found her robe was much more comfortable then the itchy cloak she'd been wearing. It was an odd sensation- having worn rags for the better part of four months made wearing something even as tacky as what she had now outright enjoyable. The former dragoness strode into her throne room, a satisfied smile on her face...

...And then it disappeared as she saw what Qiosara was doing. "There's nobody here to fight." she thought, frowning. "Has she gone mad?"

"Qiosara." Emilia said sharply. "Your behavior is entirely erratic, please settle down. Also, where's my bath?"

Idryth paused, looking over at Emilia. She grinned and shook her head. "This is absolutely not erratic," the dragoness said. "It's called doing practice drills. If I have no one to fight, I create my own opponent. It's simply a way to keep my skills sharp. That way..." She touched the spot Emilia had hit with the wooden sword. "I can fight instead of slap."

She sheathed her sword and folded her arms, returning Emilia's frown. "You look like a witch," she said, not able to hold the frown. "And I told you; I'll not be your fucking maid."

Emilia crossed her arms. "Well, you look like an mental invalid." She huffed impatiently. "You know, I'm a master of the blade and I never danced around like you did. I just read all the manuals."

"Granted, I've never actually dueled anybody- a one-on-one fight is pointlessly impractical when you have an army backing you."

The woman began to tap her foot. "And how, exactly, do you expect me to get clean when nobody will start me a bath? Do you think I know how to do a subordinate's job?"

A smirk crossed Idryth's face when Emilia - despite being said in an insulting way - admitted that she really doesn't know how to do simple tasks. A lot of people didn't know how to fight, so Idryth didn't really hold that over Emilia's head too much - even though she knew Emilia couldn't possibly be a master by only reading. The fact that she really didn't know how to fix a bath for herself... Unbelievable.

"I'm not going to draw a bath for you because, as of right now, I'm not your subordinate." The dragoness huffed. "If you became a 'master of the blade' by reading all the manuals..." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "...then I'm sure you can find a book on how to draw a fucking bath."

Emilia clenched her fists. "Insolent bitch!" she thought, grinding her teeth together. "How dare you defy me? I am a Black-Hearth!" The former tyrant took a step forward. "Do you think you can talk back to me in my home?" she asked angrily. "You're mistaken- you can't."

Emilia drew her wooden sword. "Draw your weapon, child. I'll show you what reading manuals for fifteen thousand years can teach you." The human smiled. "And after I beat you, you will draw me a bath."

"I just climbed up a mountain! Why do you have to be so completely insufferable?"

Idryth chuckled breathily, shaking her head. She drew her sword, swinging it twice in her right hand, passing it to her left, then to her right again behind her back. She's exhausted, Idryth thought, looking at Emilia. Reading may give her knowledge, but she said herself that she's never practiced her swordsmanship. She has to be rusty.

"I'm not trying to talk back to you," Idryth said simply, "but you don't know what you're getting yourself into. Reading about duels is one thing, Miss Black-Hearth. My fourteen years of practicing outmatch your thousands of reading about it."

She put her left hand behind her back, turning her body so that her right leg was extended forward. The dragoness raised her sword. "Do your worst."

Emilia relaxed her stance, and scratched the back of her neck with her free hand. "Huh." she said, taking a slight step forward. "That's a rather traditional stance, is it not?" She lowered her hand, tilting her head to the side. "It first became popular about seven hundred years ago. No clue why it-"

In a single, fluid motion, Emilia flung the necklace she'd removed from her neck at Qiosara's face. Taking full advantage her distraction, she would attempt to slam her sword into the dragons side.

Idryth was definitely caught by surprise at the flying necklace. She lost her balance slightly, but recovered just in time to sloppily parry the woman's wooden sword. The force of Emilia's swing was enough to force Idryth's blade against her side, but not quite enough to do any real damage.

The dragoness took a step back, looking at Emilia through narrowed eyes. "You fight dirty," she spat. "You have no honor and would not last a moment in an honest duel." Shaking her head, Idryth took a breath. "I'll not stoop to your level." With that, she would swing towards Emilia's left side - she had no intention of truly striking her, but rather seeing if Emilia would be quick enough.

Emilia ginned wildly- her gambit had worked, and Qiosara was too distracted to effectively block her attack. The human woman laughed. "A fair fight? Life isn't fair. You're only holding yourself back with talk like that."

"Oh my god, I just want to take a bath! Is that really too much to ask?"

Seeing the dragon aim a blow at her side, Emilia immediately lunged forward in an attempt to smash the hilt of her sword into her jaw. 

That blow was one Idryth was easily able to avoid. Emilia definitely had retained a significant amount of knowledge about swordsmanship, but it was different than being taught hands on.

The dragoness leaned downward, dodging the woman's strike and whirling around Emilia's unguarded side. She snatched the dagger from her boot with her free hand and would attempt to deal a minor injury to Emilia's sword arm with an upward slice.

Emilia's second hit didn't connect, Qiosara ducking out of the way and making a counterattack. The woman was barely able to move out of the way in time, the knife clipping her sleeve. Emilia spun to face the dragon, fuming. "I just put that on!" she yelled. "Literally the only thing in my house that fits me, and you rip it?"

Emilia lowered her sword, crossing her arms. "I don't want to fight anymore. Go start a bath."

Idryth stood up straight, practically seeing smoke coming from Emilia's ears. Still the woman insisted on Idryth drawing her a bath. "No," she said simply.

The dragoness sheathed her sword and mimicked Emilia's stance. "And don't be such a child! Your sleeve is barely torn. Besides, you started it." She knew that last comment was being more childish than Emilia was, but it was meant as a slight diss to the woman.

Emilia glared at the dragon, eye twitching. "Insolent brat!" she thought angrily. "Who the fuck are you?"

The woman sighed. "I've been wandering Le'Raana for four months. I have had to sleep on street corners, I've had to beg humans for scraps of food, and I've had to fend off stray dogs. It took me nearly a day to make the climb back up here, and what do I find?" Emilia's eyes narrowed. "I find a thief trying to make away with my possessions. Now, after I so graciously forgive you for your transgressions and welcome you into my home, this is how you treat me?" She tapped her foot impatiently. "Where is your high ground, exactly? What gives you the right to say no to me?"

"Our species," Idryth said flatly. "You may have a dragon's soul, but you are as human as humans come." She rested her hand on the pommel of her sword, frowning. "Of treated you with more respect than any human deserves because I'm goi to watch you reclaim who you were, but that's yet to happen! I'll not stoop to the level of a human's maid."

Idryth took a breath, clenching her jaw. "I'll draw you a bath on one condition... Admit to me that you are now a pathetic worm, spelled with an 'o,' who's equal to the creatures she once despised. Admit that you are incapable of the simplest tasks because you're accustomed to being treated as royalty. And admit that you are absolutely useless without someone to do everything for you. Then, and only then, will I draw you a bath."

Emilia's eyes flashed red. Taking a deep breath, she smiled sweetly at Qiosara- as if the dragon had merely complimented her appearance. "You won't be watching me do anything, actually." she said cheerily. "I'm not so desperate for support that I'll allow one to speak insolence to me." 

Emilia nodded towards the door. "It was a pleasure meeting you Qiosara, but you ought to get home." The human put a finger to her chin. "Your parents might get worried if you stay out too late."

Idryth rested her hand on the pommel of her sword, releasing a long breath. She blinked, making her already red eyes assume the vertical pupil of a dragon. "This castle deserves a dragon beneath its roof," Idryth said, turning on her heel and walking to Emilia's left. "As you no longer hold claim to that title, I see no reason why I shouldn't keep your spot warm; metaphorically of course."

She walked to the wall to Emilia's left and leaned against it with her arms folded over her chest, lips curved in a grin and eyes glowing. "I quite like it here, so I'm staying."

Emilia lifted an eyebrow, smile unchanging. "Don't flatter yourself- your family has no real clout." The woman walked to the throne, placing her hand on the armrest. "Tell me, when a king goes missing, does the royal court place a peasant on the throne?"

"That's not what's happened here," the dragoness said, stepping away from the wall. "Time for you to listen because I think you need to be hit with the truth, as cold as it might be." She walked around the room at a slow pace, something that always helped her to keep her cool.

She glared at Emilia, a feeling of annoyance growing towards the woman. "When a king goes missing, the royal court would look to his heir or a family loyal to the throne. Unfortunately for you, you have no heir, nor a loyal follower. Your kingdom has fallen, Miss Black-Hearth, and when a kingdom falls, it's free reign."

Idryth stopped, ridding herself of the glare and blinking away the reptilian eyes. "I would be more than happy to stand by you still, but I won't lower myself to be your servant. Would a queen throw away the only one left who is loyal to her because of something as petty as a bath?"

Emilia froze, the smile slowly fading from her face. She looked at Qiosara, then at her own feet. The woman blinked twice, a few stray tears falling from her eyes. Her hands clenched into fists, then released.

She looked at the dragon, her lips twisted into an odd grimace. "You're right..." she muttered. "Forget it, I was being stupid."

Idryth actually felt a twisting feeling in her gut that she assumed could only have been guilt. What the hell? She thought. I told the truth! Why...do I feel...bad?

She rubbed the back of her neck, her brows and slight frown indicating that she was upset. "If you want my advice," she said quietly, "start with a bath. I'll help you, but you're drawing it. Just take a bucket and we'll collect water. It'll be quick with both of us, then I'll heat it for you when you have enough."

"I'll do it myself." Emilia said flatly, cutting the dragon off mid-sentence. She turned slowly, beginning to walk away. "You've done more than enough..."

You bitch and moan about me fixing a bath, the dragoness thought, then reject my offer to help? What the fuck?

Instead of causing an issue about it, Idryth just let Emilia walk away. What did she care? If the woman wanted to do it herself, so be it! That's how it should be anyway!

"Miss Black-Hearth," Idryth started before Emilia was out of the room. "It won't always be this way."

Emilia stopped, turning her head. "No." she said darkly. "It won't be." 

"Fuck you." the woman thought bitterly. "How dare you be... right?"

With that she would disappear into the hall, heading towards the citadel's bathing area. Upon reaching it and walking inside, she felt her heart sink even lower into her chest then it had already been.

The bathroom was... In a state of disrepair, to say the least. The fountains that had fed the bath weren't working anymore, with only one even producing a trickle of water. The walls and floor were covered in mildew, and the bath itself was filled with green, stagnant water. 

"Well then" Emilia thought. "This is a problem, isn't it?"

Walking out of the room, Emilia poked her head back into the throne room. "Qiosara, dear?" she said in an obnoxiously sweet voice. "I've changed my mind, I would like your help."

The woman disappeared for a moment, and Idryth sat on the ground against a wall. She placed her sword next to her, as sitting with a blade wasn't exactly the most comfortable. Her fingers gripped at the roots of her golden hair, her red eyes blinking back to the reptilian appearance.

The dragoness tilted her chin upward and started blowing dark smoke rings into the air. She held her finger in front of her mouth, breaking each ring as it came out.

Her attention was drawn when Emilia's voice reappeared. I didn't think she had that disgusting tone in her... Idryth thought, grimacing. With a slight sneer, she got to her feet again, sheathing her sword and ridding herself of the vertical pupils. Now she wants help.

"Come on," she said, sweeping her arm forward. "Lead the way. We need four buckets, or at least three. Where were the servants' quarters?"

Emilia blinked twice. "Shit." She had, of course, been raised to believe that a good servant should go entirely unseen by their employer- she had no idea where the servant's quarters were, or if the citadel even had any.

"Mmm, yes." Emilia said. "Right this way." She'd lead the dragoness deeper into the citadel's maze-like hallways, a confident spring in her step. "We'll find them eventually, no need to tell her anything."

We passed this hall twice now, Idryth though to herself, as she followed behind Emilia's confident step. She really has no idea where she's going.

The dragoness sighed, clenching and unclenching her jaw briefly because she knew Emilia was too proud to say that she didn't know. "Miss Black-Hearth, perhaps you know where the primary staircase is?" She asked in a huff. "The servants' quarters are located on the lowest floor of the castle like they usually are, correct?"

"Fuck."

Emilia turned her head to look at her guest. "Of course." she said, her voice oily. "Have patience, we'll get there."

"Shit, this is embarrassing."


Three more left turns later, the reached the main staircase. Peering over the railing, Emilia found herself unable to see where it ends. "Damn. How many floors does my house even have?" she whispered under her breath. Blinking, she began to descend, motioning for Qiosara to follow.

"Change the subject. Don't let her know you're getting lost in your own house."

"So tell me... Do you have any hobbies?"

"That sound natural, right?"

Small talk? Idryth thought. Really?

The dragoness rolled her eyes. "You've seen most of my hobbies. I swordfight and read, mostly. Besides the occasional mockery of humans, I focus my energy on things that are useful to me."

We don't have to fill the silence, Emilia. Just figure out where the fuck you live.

"Aside from reading for thousands of years, what are yours?"

Please, don't mention your closet.

"Ahh, yes, practical is good." Emilia said absentmindedly. Internally she was kicking herself- hobbies were something she had none of.

"Wait... she thought. "I do have my collection..." Emilia ran her hand along the stone railing, slowing her pace slightly. "Qiosara's a girl, I should be able to talk to her about... Girl stuff... Right?"

"Well..." the woman began, trying her best to sound confident. "I enjoy following fashion- lingerie, in particular." Her lips quivered slightly. "I have a rather large collection of it back upstairs, some of it is antique- quite valuable."

She mentioned her closet, Idryth said, pursing her lips.

"Really?" The dragoness said, trying to sound intrigued by the unique collection. "I didn't picture you as one who would enjoy human garments of sexuality." She shivered slightly at the thought. Human sexuality... Did they seriously need to reproduce?

"I'd love to see the valuable ones. Just how antique are they?"

"Well, as long as our species is doing this "human form" thing, I see no reason to avoid it." Emilia said, happy that the girl seemed interested in her hobby. "Frankly, I'd like to look good in any form I may take." The human shot Qiosara a smile. "Besides, once you've seen enough young drakes take on svelte human forms, the lines between the two species begin to blur." 

"Did I just say that out loud?"

"I'm very old." Emilia added quickly. She put her finger to her chin. "Lets see... I have a whalebone corset that dates back about, erm, five hundred years? That's what got me started."

Did she actually just say that? Idryth thought to herself, disgusted by the idea of dragons mixing with humans. Dragons and elves were bad enough, as that seemed to happen more and more often, but why humans? Grotesque, pointless creatures...

"A whalebone corset?" The dragoness said. "That's fascinating."

That was actually truthful. Lingerie wasn't a pleasant topic of conversation for her, but corsets were fascinating. She didn't like them, but they held an element of mystery. For example, it was mystery why women would disfigure themselves and put their bodies through pain and discomfort to appear attractive to a male.

She chewed at her bottom lip curiously. "So, did you actually wear the corset?"

"Me? Ohohoho~!" Emilia tittered. "No. It was too small, my... assets wouldn't all fit." The human smiled wistfully. "I much prefer two piece sets. Much more freeing, and there's more variety in style."

"How long have we been here?" Emilia suddenly thought. The staircase seemed to never end. The lower they went, the darker it got- right now there was nothing but sparsely lit cancels lighting their path. "She had better be right about this, I don't want to have to walk back up these stairs for nothing."

"So." Emilia said abruptly. "Are you seeing anybody?"

At the mention of Emilia's 'assets,' Idryth found her eyes wandering to them. Being at a higher level than Emilia, the dragoness was able to gaze with ease. She quickly looked away, cursing herself for even thinking that way.

Idryth stepped carefully, not even realizing that the human woman probably wasn't able to see very well in the dark. Wasn't her problem, though.

"Seeing anyone?" Idryth repeated with a short laugh. "I'm not a romantic, Miss Black-Hearth. My time is better spent training and traveling, than fretting over whether or not my lady looks heavy in a dress. What about you? Since you've been back, has anyone caught your eye?"

She looked ahead, grinning in relief at the sight of the approaching bottom floor. It's about fucking time, the dragoness thought, pained at the thought of continuing idle chat.

"Me?" Emilia asked, silently thankful that it was too dark for Qiosara to see her go red in the face. "None that have interested me, no." She lied, putting her hand to her chin. "People have tried, of course- I'm irresistible. They were all beneath me though, so I sent them away."

"Why won't anyone court me? Am I not good enough?" Emilia thought, suddenly feeling dejected. "I've tried everything, but nobody's ever interested..."

Stepping onto the final floor, Emilia looked around. Iron doorways lined the walls, and the dimly room held an air of oppression. "Ahaha!" The human woman laughed. "Did we really make our servants come to the dungeon to get their supplies? That's funny!"

Emilia's exclamation when they reached the bottom of the stairs made Idryth's eyes practically roll back in her head. Of course she's never been down here, the dragoness thought with a sigh.

"Let's get a move on," she said tiredly.

Picking up an unlit lantern, Idryth's eyes blinked her vertical pupils. She took a breath and blew a stream of fire onto the wick inside, then extended it to Emilia. "Wouldn't want you hitting your head," she started, "as hardheaded as you may be."

Emilia's eyes lit up as Qiosara lit the lantern. It was a very small display of power, but it was power nonetheless. She accepted it happily, choosing to ignoring the thinly veiled insult. "Thank you, Qiosara." she said curtly, beginning to walk down a seemingly random hallway. "I do appreciate it."

Without the light from the lantern, the two women would have been walking in complete darkness. Their footsteps echoed throughout the hall, and the dripping of water could be heard in the distance. "You know this castle was built for me?" Emilia said, breaking the silence. "My mother and father arranged it. It's actually one if the oldest structures in Le'Raana."

"Really?" Idryth said, pretending to be surprised. She already knew that. Before they all fell apart, the dragoness was something of a fanatic when it came to the Black-Hearth family.

As they walked, she admired the scenery. Despite them literally being in the dungeons - or servants' quarters - Idryth was legitimately impressed with the design. These lower levels were like a labyrinth, so she made sure to note every step they took. With her luck, Emilia would end up getting them lost down there.

"I'm shocked you haven't explored more of it," she confessed. "Despite these areas being lower than your status, I would think you'd want to know every inch of this place."

"Don't be silly, Qiosara. Of course I've explored down here." Emilia lied. "It's just that, when I came back in this new body, my memories didn't all fit." The former dragoness sighed. "Humans really do have small brains."

Emilia traced her thumb on the hilt of her blade. "Tell me... Why do the naked apes put so much effort into things that won't last?"

How the fuck would I know? Idryth thought. You're closer to them than I am!

The dragoness took a look breath, giving an almost lazy shrug. "I suppose it would be for selfish reasons," she said finally. "If I had to venture a guess, it would be that they don't feel the need to make something that lasts beyond themselves. A dragon could potentially live for a hundred thousand years, while a human lasts a mere eighty. Why would they want to put the effort in to make something as incredible."

She narrowed her slightly. "There isn't much information on your family. There's plenty about you, but what of your parents and siblings? What's come of them?"

Emilia sighed, tracing the letters that had been carved into the sword's handle. "It still doesn't make sense." she thought. "There's no purpose to this at all..." 

"What's come of them?"

Emilia froze. For a moment she was entirely still, then she continued walking as if nothing happened. "Mom and Dad are on vacation. Have been for the last few thousand years." she said matter-of-factly. "Eira is off doing Nevira knows what with her human friends. Aeizith is playing house in the woods with his disgusting elf girlfriend." 

The lantern cast strange shadows across Emilia's face. "Kaida is... Somewhere. Last I heard, she'd lost a fight to some some healer." The woman's head tilted downwards slightly. "Poor child must feel lost without me." The light from the lantern began to flicker, as if threatening to go out. "Electi... disappeared." Emilia finished darkly.

"Oh!" Emilia exclaimed, almost as an afterthought. "I did see cousin Oswald fairly recently- say two, three years ago? He was never the most ambitious, but he's doing quite well for himself. Has a gemstone hoard and everything." The human looked at Qiosara brightly, desperate to change the subject. "What about your family? How do they fair?"

Idryth nodded briefly. Hearing Emilia's explanation of what remained of her family was surprisingly disturbing for the young dragoness.

Eira, a human lover... Revolting... she thought to herself. Kaida lost a fight to a healer? I have to look into that more. And I probably shouldn't tell her that her mother is back, without her father.

"I have no family," Idryth said. "Grew up alone." She glanced around, noticing the flicker of the lantern. "Do you actually know where we're going? Because I don't feel like leading you around these halls in search of the buckets when that light goes out."

"Of course I know where I'm going." Emilia said, running her hand along the wall. "You just need to trust-"


Emilia felt her hand sink into the wall, and the sound of stone scraping against stone filled the corridor. Up ahead, a bright light emerged through the darkness as a hidden door opened itself. Squinting so as not to be blinded, Emilia stepped forward to see...

"Wait a minute!" she yelled angrily. "This- this is the bottom of the mountain! You mean to tell me I could have just taken the stairs! That's entirely outrageous!"

This isn't happening.

A slight puff of smoke came out of Idryth's nostrils, as she squeezed her eyes closed. "Are you fucking kidding me?" She hissed quietly, eyes flickering to their reptilian state.

The dragoness stepped into the sunlight, spreading her arms wide as though she were soaking in the warmth. Idryth turned to face Emilia, shaking her head in frustration. She walked over to Emilia, standing slightly too close and locking eyes with the human woman. Yanking off the dragon necklace she was wearing, the dragoness held it in front of Emilia.

"I designed this - had it made - in your honor. At the time, it cost me everything had because it reminded me of what I could become. It has a little surprise in it so I always had a little surprise." She pulled the tail off of the little dragon necklace to reveal a knife. "You were my hero, my idol, in the darkest times of my fucking life. As they say, never meet your heroes, and I guess they're right because damn..."

Idryth dropped the necklace on the ground and shook her head. "Draw your own damn bath. I can't help you." Idryth backed away, shifting into her dragon form and lifting into the air with two flaps of her colorful wings.

Emilia wanted to say something. The human stared at Qiosara with wide eyes, lips trembling. Emilia needed to say something. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Why wasn't her voice working? Emilia struggled, desperately trying to gain control...

And then Qiosara left, and it was over.

Emilia stared at the sky where the dragon had been, mouth ajar. "But..." she said, finally finding her voice. "I-I needed you..." Her heart raced as she sat down in sun, head clutched in her hands. Tears began to stream down her face, and she was soon sobbing uncontrollably. "No no no! You're supposed to keep admiring me! Damnit! Fuck!"

"It's empty. I don't want it anymore."

Emilia wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting before she decided she needed to leave. She stood up clumsily and started walk, each step seeming to require more effort than the last. She needed to escape, needed something new, needed... something. The citadel didn't have it. What was it?

Emilia would find it. They'd see. She'd show them all...