"Now that we're alone, we can speak freely." King Adelric sat down at a large and elaborately crafted desk, and steepled his hands on his lap. Behind him was a stained glass arched window. One half depicted a king in warm yellow and orange hues. The other showed the figure of the female guard with purple and frosty blue shades. Melusine kept her focus on the art piece, her eyes tracing the black sealant holding the whole thing together. "So, what held you up, Baugulf?"

"I apologize, Your Majesty," Baugulf responded. "A monster lay waste to the country we traveled through. I thought it would be prudent to help people where we could. So, we made a small detour." Hands held behind his back, Baugulf stood proud and at attention, staring at a spot above Adelric's head. Melusine glanced at Baugulf, confused and worried about him taking the credit for the distraction she insisted upon.

"Yes, I received the reports you sent ahead. Awful business, it will be looked into." Adelric waved a hand in dismissal, his polite concern empty of feeling. "I'm glad that the two of you were able to avoid the worst of the destruction."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

With a smile and a slow nod of his head, Adelric moved his attention from Baugulf to Melusine.

"You may leave, Baugulf. I have things to discuss with the Dragon's Proxy in private."

"But Your Highness–" Baugulf began to object, however with one glance at the king's expression his mouth sealed shut. Adelric's eyes were narrowed to thin slits, their sparkle and allure iced over and dull. An arched eyebrow was quirked ever so slightly higher than the other. His smile was tightened and pursed, one corner tugged a little too far sideways. "Yes... King Adelric." Baugulf gave a bow, then glanced at Melusine with fretful concern, but ultimately left the room.

"Good, now that we're properly alone, I'd like to have a casual chat with you," the king purred as he sat back in his chair. "I know your name and where you're from, but nothing else." Adelric held up a ringed pointer finger, his smile widening. "Ah, no that's not quite right. I believe you have a mother, and a deceased father."

"That's correct," Melusine cautiously answered. She kept her eyes on the floor as soon as she was directly addressed. "There's not much to say about me. I'm a simple peasant girl from Hathorn, Your Majesty."

"Your family has kept the surname Tepes in use despite being commoners."

"Only in private, Your Grace. We know that it's illegal for a fallen noble house to keep use of a family name, but no one seems to have a problem with it in practice. Case in point, I don't know why my mother divulged it, but she's yet to be executed."

"Don't mistake me, I could care less if the name is used or not. It's simply curiosity. My scholars tell me that Tepes is a noble family that predates the founding of this kingdom. Which makes it even more surprising that it's remained in use after all these centuries."

"I didn't know that," Melusine confessed, genuinely surprised and baffled by the revelation. "I think it was just a point of pride for my father, and his before him."

"I see. Fascinating." Mel didn't believe that the king found any real interest in the topic. His tone, while polite, remained constantly flippant about whatever topic was brought up. "If you're interested in learning more, you simply must speak to Archmage Vadim."

"Baugulf spoke a little about him, so I was looking forward to talking to the Archmage, if I'm able to."

"You're on a first name basis with Baugulf Bélanger? Rather forward, don't you think?" 

Melusine's cheeks burned, and she reached up to push her bangs back, only to force her hand to halt.

"He didn't tell me he was a duke until we entered the palace."

The king's hand slapped against the surface of his desk as he burst out into a hyena laugh. Melusine flinched, her fingers curling in an attempt to stop herself from covering her ears.

"He would play a prank like that, the sly ba—ah, my apologies. I shouldn't use such coarse language in front of a lady."

"You can swear all you like, Your Majesty. I've heard Baugulf swear like a sailor so many times I can't count them on one hand. So go ahead, cuss."

"No, no, I couldn't." The king sat back in his chair, his pointer finger tapping the surface of his desk. Something about the way his friendly smile didn't match the glint in his eyes set Melusine's teeth on edge. "Come closer, so I can get a good look at you."

Melusine's shoulders tensed and her hands clenched. It took every ounce of restraint in her to put one foot in front of the other instead of running away. The soles of her boots clacked against the wooden floor as she stepped around the desk to stand before the king. She hid her fists behind her straightened back, and kept her gaze to the floor.

"Closer," the king ordered again. Perturbed by the king's insistence but unable to think up a reason to refuse, Melusine took a few steps closer to Adelric. She could feel his eyes creep upon her skin from her toes up to her ears. His royal gaze left goosebumps in its wake, and churned a mixture of disgust and fear in her stomach. Mel was desperate to ignore the visceral reaction of loathing the king's presence stirred in her, but whenever she tried to push the feeling down or dismiss it as illogical it would rear back up. Something unspoken, melded and separate from her ego at the same time, stubbornly refused to be ignored.

This man—only a few years older than Melusine—who already held the weight of a nation on his shoulders since the tender age of eight, was the worst monster she'd ever faced, and should be reviled without exception.

"Do you want to know a secret about the last Dragon's Proxy?"

"Sorry?" Snapped out of her inner battle with her alien instincts, Melusine lifted her eyes' focus from the woven carpet under the king's desk to Adelric's face. She startled when she quickly realized her mistake, but was encouraged by a warm smile from the ruler.

"The founding king and the Dragon's Proxy were not only knight and lord, but also lovers." Adelric snickered like a gossiping schoolgirl. "It was a state secret, so only a few court officials were aware of it."

"They went that far to keep it hidden, huh?" Melusine felt sweat drip down the back of her neck as her hand was grasped onto.

"It used to be a childhood dream of mine to have a Dragon's Proxy fight alongside the Adellias crown once more. To think the day would come, and during my reign, no less. Words cannot express how happy this moment makes me."

Unable to stand the nausea flipping her stomach inside-out a moment longer, Melusine yanked her hand free and took five steps back. She clutched her palm to her chest and avoided looking directly at the king once more.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I followed Baugulf because it was what my mother wished, and I came to the palace because of the royal order. But if you'll allow me the freedom of choice, I have no desire of my own to serve you as closely as you seem to wish."

"No desire?" The thin veneer of a mere man dropped, and Melusine heard the frown of a displeased monarch in his voice. "What part of a royal order to come before me gave you the illusion that you were free to choose to serve me?"

"I don't believe that I'm prepared to carry out the tasks that you seem to expect me to manage," Melusine insisted, squeezing her hands together so tight her skin turned white.

"Do you even know what I want you to do?"

"Not exactly, but the way you and Baugulf talk, it's like you think I'm a natural born warrior. In reality, I've barely scraped by in our conflicts getting to the capital, and I've been the cause of five human deaths on the journey alone. I'm not fit to fight for my king and country as I am now!"  Melusine dropped to her hands and knees, kowtowing to her ruler.  "I swear I will do as you order, but please Your Majesty, don't throw me into crucial situations unprepared."

A suffocating silence hung in the room. Melusine counted the number of times her pounding heart beat against her chest, reaching twenty-five before Adelric heaved a heavy sigh. She watched one of Adelric's feet lift off the ground as one royal leg crossed over the other.

"I wouldn't send you into the throes of battle unprepared. You're tired, Melusine. How about this? Rest a few days here, meet the archmage, and then we can continue this line of conversation." He tapped the sole of his embroidered shoe on the ground at an impatient pace. Melusine risked a glance up at his face, hoping to gauge his mood—not that she was ever any good at reading people's faces. He was still scowling, his eyes narrowed, and eyebrows knitted together. "For the love of the gods, get off of the ground."

Mel bit back a snarky comment about how freely the king used her first name, and got back up to her feet. Brushing off her knees, Melusine lowered her gaze to the ground once more.

"As you wish, Your Majesty." Melusine went into such a deep bow, her dark brown hair parted on the back of her neck and fell off her shoulders. "May I leave now?"

"No, you may not." The young king's tone was petulant. He crossed his arms over the chest of his embroidered jerkin. "I still have so many questions to ask you."

Melusine trembled with the effort it took to keep her expression neutral, and made a conscious choice to unclench her jaw. She straightened her back once more, and held her hands in front of herself.

"What would you like to know?"

"For starters, who are you as a person? What was your life like?"

"You want a self-assessment?" Melusine had to pause and think on her response to this line of questioning. "I'm the daughter of a pig farmer from Hathorn, an unremarkable village in the outskirts to the northeast. My mother was the daughter of the village tailor, but my grandfather passed before I was born."

"That's not really what I was asking and I already know most of that information, but... what about your father's parents?"

"By the time my parents married, my maternal grandfather was the only one still alive. There's not much to say about myself outside of my family. Not anything that might interest Your Majesty, anyway."

"I want to know you personally. Try to humor me," Adelric insisted. Mel's habit of pushing her bangs out of her face helped to calm her nerves and soothe her nagging fight or flight instinct, so it was a struggle not to do so. She couldn't show her nerves in front of this man.

"I'm not sure what you want me to tell you, Your Highness. I don't even understand why you would take such an interest in me." Melusine scratched at the back of her wrist and let out a puff of air. "I used to think I was mature and intelligent for my age, but ever since I became the Dragon's Proxy, or even just by having the opportunity to travel outside of my village... I've come to realize that I still have so much I need to learn. I wasn't prepared for the adventure I wanted so desperately."

It was true. From her first ever combat experience with the Wolf-Spider, to the times she lost control of her own mind, the reality of being so woefully unprepared left her wanting. Wanting of more experiences outside of the village, more knowledge before she'd flung herself headlong into the dragon's jaws. She simply hadn't allowed herself to admit it until she'd been forced to speak the words aloud.

"I'm just an ignorant girl from the sticks, Your Majesty. I never was this great figure you seem to want me to be," Melusine stated, daring to look King Adelric in the eyes, and hold his gaze for the first time.