The witches' kingdom - TOG series

Chapter 12 | Dorian

It was challenging to conceal, at least from my closest attendants, the intimate relationship I maintained with the Queen of Witches when it was evident that we shared a chamber, and her wyvern had been spotted landing on my personal balcony in the early hours of the morning.

I had summoned Yasser, the finest Rhukin rider in Rithfold, to personally attend to Abraxos. Although initially both Manon and Abraxos vehemently resisted parting, they eventually acquiesced to avoid unnecessary suspicion if, at sunrise, everyone witnessed the colossal wyvern scenting the flowers on my balcony, which, in and of itself, was suspiciously and unnecessarily grand.

The following morning, at an hour that might as well have been lunchtime, we discreetly departed, each of us from a different corridor, to convene on a landing and proceed together to the council chamber, where I introduced her to my court.

Initially, it was rather amusing, watching the castle staff avert their gaze from her, and we could smell their fear as we passed. She relished that sense of power, and I saw her smirking all the way to the grand hall.

It was a long and tedious morning, where we were practically locked in discussions with all the kingdom's advisers. But I relished seeing Manon in her regal role. I knew Manon would loathe me for inviting her and subjecting her to Rithfold's meetings and councils, but it needed to appear as an official visit, and I wanted to observe how she would comport herself in such settings.

Come lunchtime, Yrene joined us, clearly delighted to see Manon, and the other diners were not entirely sure of the nature of their relationship. To my surprise, Manon was quite receptive to Yrene, and they spent the entire meal conversing and catching up. It was rather peculiar to witness Manon being so sociable, especially after two hours of dull meetings with old, tedious lords eager to establish trade with the Witch Kingdom.

As always, Mikel and Sarah joined us for the meal, and when Sarah headed towards the chair on my right and saw Manon arrive, I believe her expression gave away her disquiet. Manon simply regarded her with a distracted gaze and offered one of her trademark half-smiles, but I knew there would be questions from her later.

In the afternoon, we managed to slip away from the capital and ventured to the outskirts so that Manon could see the progress of the wyverns we had rescued after the war. It was a vast, green plain, accessible only to the few Rhukins who had stayed with us. There, we could be at ease and ourselves; nobody there truly cared about who we were or what transpired between us.

While Manon supervised some of the new hatchlings and stroked them in wonder, I approached from behind and said:
"Shall we have a race, my dear?"
"Do you truly believe, princeling, that you could ever best me in your lifetime?"
"Believe it or not, these past few months I have been diligently practicing, and I must admit, I'm rather good at it." A smug smile crept across her face.
"Well, of course, but will you race as a rider or as a wyvern?"
"You'll be surprised, witchling, to know that I now have my own mount. Would you like to meet her?"
"Really... you have a wyvern?"
"Quite seriously. Come with me, and allow me to introduce you to... Vesta." Manon's face went pale as we turned the corner and saw the pale orange wyvern in the stables next to Abraxos. "When I returned, well... I spent a lot of time visiting the wyverns... they brought back memories, you know? I miss them too. One of the eggs hatched, and this beauty emerged. When I saw her color... well, it reminded me of her."

I wasn't sure if it had been a good idea to tell Manon, but it was something very personal to us that I hadn't shared with anyone, and I was eager to introduce her. Although I wasn't sure how she would take the fact that I had named my mount after her third. But her expression softened, and she gently stroked the young wyvern's snout.

"I think she would have loved it," she said with teary eyes. I turned and embraced her. I had missed holding her in my arms so much.

After an appropriate amount of time had passed to show her vulnerability, she slowly pulled away from me and said, "Well, if you're so confident in your abilities, show me how it's done, princeling."

Soon enough, the two of us were in the air. Beating Abraxos was impossible, but we began teaching the young wyvern new tricks. Their favorite was to soar as high as possible and then dive. They were reckless, but Manon's laughter and Abraxos's joyful growls when they did it were the most wonderful things I had ever heard. I had to try it, and God, that sensation was truly addictive.

I started riding because I thought it was the fastest way to visit you in Witchland," she turned to me playfully.
"What about coming in the form of a wyvern?" she asked.
I considered it, but I wouldn't want to arrive too exhausted, you know," I said, winking at her, and she burst into laughter.
"You're insufferable," she said while still laughing.
"But... I've found another way to be close to you," I said, turning with raised eyebrows, waiting for more. "Tonight, I want to show you something," and once again, her mischievous smile was there. "Well, several things."

Atop one of the castle towers, Yrene and Chaol leaned over a balcony, watching two wyverns circling in the distance.
"It's them, isn't it?" Yrene said, squinting her eyes.
"Undoubtedly, yes. I don't see anyone else foolish enough to keep plummeting like that," Chaol said with a sigh. "It's going to drive him mad."

"Perhaps that's what he needs, don't you think?"
Yrene remarked. "I've never seen him so happy as when she showed up this morning, and that's saying something, considering he's been holding back. But he's positively radiant."

"I don't know, Yrene. She... I'm not sure if she's good for him or if she can give him what he needs."

"Don't you think she's what he needs?"

"You know what I mean, Yrene, what Adarlan needs."

"It's only been a month since we returned from that hell, and you're already thinking of marrying off your best friend?"

"No, I don't want to marry anyone, Yrene, and I would never force him into anything he didn't want. But the kingdom will demand it at some point, and I don't think they'll accept a Witch as their Queen. I don't even think she wants to be the queen of anything beyond the Witch Kingdom, really."

"Chaol, that's not your decision. It's solely theirs, both of theirs. After everything they've been through, don't you think they need some time to heal? They've suffered too much."

"I just hope it doesn't turn out worse."