“So how was the journey?” My new aunty asked.

I was a bit curious about the sudden silence of the camp, which was only disturbed by the grunts of the men carrying our luggage out of the train and my father’s voice which tried to whisper encouraging words to his general. Looking around I could see Fon was still sulking because of the silent treatment he had received from his daughter, my father was trying to cheer him up and it seems like none of the guards had the courage to speak up. I looked at Old Zong since I was sure that at least he had the authority and courage to speak to my beautiful aunty that seemed to be a very scary or at least a very powerful existence even if her height only reached to my father’s shoulder and was shorter than my mother by at least a few centimeters. But he seemed to find it beneath himself, having an annoyed expression on his face and not even looking at our direction sitting on a trunk that was carried out by two brawny men I had never seen before. So it was my mother's duty to reply.

“Well, considering that your brother had almost eaten Hishmak again …” My mother couldn’t even finish her sentence before my kind and beautiful aunty rushed to my father and punched him in the gut.

He grunted but did not even leak out one word of protest as he went down on one knee holding his stomach.

Mesana gave a little “Humpf!” turned around and walked back to my mother.

Aaaah~ what a loving family.

“So … how was the old dragon and her bastard offsprings?”

WOW seems like aunty doesn’t take long to come to the point.

“As always … I was surprised that she lost a bit of her touch … no, really, she just tried to feed Mesanth Hishmak and had her maids harass us. Considering last time we went were there, assassins tried to kill us almost every day, I think she calmed down a bit. Maybe having an elf as a wife and with that making it almost impossible for Mesanth to inherit the throne made us less of a threat to her.”

“Well, as long as you are back in one piece and the little munchkin is ok, I am happy. Now, I think I should say hi to pops or he is going beat the next person that talks to him into a pulp.” Aunty said as she skipped over to Fon.

“So, you do know what will happen...“ My mother said with a sigh as she looked after Mesana and shook her head.

For a while we just stood in the marketplace and observed the people loading a carriage with my families trunks.

When everything was stored, my father came to us and lead us into the carriage which was

just a room with two planks opposite to each other on wheels that was made a bit comfortable with a few cushions.

The carriage drove us out of town in a steady pace, the rocking lulling me to sleep.

When I woke up, my mother was carrying me out of the carriage which had stopped for a while.

Outside I was greeted by a mass of women in black dresses with white aprons which my mind told me had the appearance of maids in front of a massive building that was called a castle.

For now I trusted these sudden information dumbs my mind seems to toss me from time to time, even if I couldn’t make sense of them.

So, these maids stood in attendance and bowed down to my family as soon as we all came out of the carriage.

“Welcome home, your Highnesses.”

“Jeanne and Loraine, please follow me to the study,” my father said in a sudden cold tone that surprised me and sent a shiver down my spine.

“Yes, master,“ a man and a woman which looked quite mature responded and fell into step with our small group which consisted of my father, mother, Mesana, Warthon and Fon.

They seemed to contrast each other. The man had black hair and black eyes, but very white skin. His uniform was fitted to his body showcasing a very tall body that was packed with dense muscles, giving him a slender but powerful body frame.

Meanwhile the woman had light brown hair, green eyes and a caramel skin tone.

I could even see slightly pointy ears peeking out from her hair when she moved.

We entered the castle through two grand doors that swung open to the inside and had some kind of animals and plants engraved in them. Again my mind said we were now in the entrance and the doors were called double doors. I couldn’t fully see the so called entrance but since the sound of our footsteps seemed to resonate a bit it gave me the impression of a very big room.

I could see a staircase in the middle of the room but our group passed them by and went to a room behind them whose door was situated under the staircase.

The room was very well lit with sunlight and when my mother shifted me in her arms to look why I was so quiet since a while ago I could see grand windows opposite of the door taking up the whole wall.

Big bookshelves where situated on the two walls left and right of the door.

My mother broke the silence which our group held since we exited the carriage with a worried voice.

“Mesanth, I think something is wrong with Spera … she didn’t give a sound since we excited the dragon Express. Not even a little whine. Do you think Lisana did something? I shouldn’t have let her be alone with her.” Her sentences getting faster and faster and her shoulders started trembling. “I heard that babies were making noises the whole time but she is so quiet.”

Oh shit! Ok, babymode … babymode!!!

“Abuh! … ba .. hu” I started babbling as I reached my hand out to my mother and touched her face to calm her down.

My father was already next to her, same as Mesana, Fon and Warthon but they hovered more next to them while my father had hugged my mother's shoulders and caressed my face. When I gave a sign of activity they visibly relaxed, having a collective sigh of relief.

“Theli, see? She was just stunned by all the new things. You don’t have to worry. Look, she is more worried about you than anything else. Come, give her to me and get a cup of tea to calm down. You were so anxious since the time we left the palace you should relax a bit.” He gave her a kiss and took me out of her arms. Mesana then steered my mother out of the room giving my father a reassuring smile while closing the door. I still babbled a bit and touched my father but soon quieted down and listened to the conversation.

“Well, then, Jeanne, Loraine, I want you to meet my daughter Speraenya. You can call her Spera, we do all the time but only in private, ok? I trust you to take care of her and start isolating Lidiana, the maid the queen send with her. I want to make sure that that woman never even once is near my daughter alone are we clear?” He said in his unusual cold voice with a glint in his eyes that promised violence at any sign of disobedience.

“Yes, sire!”

“Well, ok. Now, relax a bit,” my father smiled at them, his voice warming up a bit again.

“Loraine, I know you have your duties as head maid but I would like you to take over as a handmaid to my daughter. I know you have experience in the upbringing of several children. And, to my last information, all of them turned out to be great.” But under his breath I could hear him murmur “Crazy … but great.”

As he started to issue a few more commands to his closest aides I could feel that all of these new impressions started to put pressure on me and my body became heavier and heavier as I fought my eyes to stay open. Involuntarily my mouth opened to a little yawn and I settled comfortably against my father as he sat down in his big comfy armchair in front of the windows behind a massive oak table full of stacks of paper.

I could hear his chuckle as my eyes drifted shut and let his gently deep voice soothe me to sleep.

Today was really exhausting. Let’s see how tomorrow goes.

I was awoken by a feeling of something tickling my nose. Against my better judgement I could not control my impulse to sneeze and accidentally banged my head against something hard as my head was thrown backwards.

I let out a little whine, turned my body around as good as I could, considering the control of my body that I had to be almost nonexistent, and opened my teary eyes, but I was astonished by what I saw.

I was laying sideways on a bed and I could see symbols shimmering around its edge. Since I was curious I moved towards to strange glowing signs but as soon as I moved toward them, two things happened at once. A headache slammed into me and a big hand wrapped around my belly pulling me back into the hard objekt I had banged my head on before. But now I could feel that this hard object wasn’t so hard after all and it was warm. I had headbutted myself on my father's chest. The revelation struck me as I was turned around and looked squarely into two bright but a little drowsy red reptilian eyes that I could see became instantly alert.

He scanned the surroundings with eyes that looked like the ones a predator had just before he found his prey, but seemingly not finding what he was searching for he gave a sigh of relief and relaxed. Next he waved his hand and I could see the symbols around the bed dissolving in little light particles, staying in place for a few seconds before dispersing in the surroundings.

I could feel something stirring behind my father, and just moments later my mother peeked out from behind his back smiling at us. She reached for me and I could feel my father protesting a bit, but that was handled with a well calculated punch into his ribs by my mother.

He winced but handed me over while getting out of bed and disappearing behind a door at the other end of the room. I could hear water running and my mind told me that he was in the bathroom.

Suddenly, just as I pondered the new informations that I got about this so called bathroom, I was shoved against my mothers exposed chest, and without my intention my body moved on his own, latching onto her nipple and holding onto her tightly as if my life depended on it. A part of my mind was appalled by this act and i did not know why, since another part of me, an overpowering one, was very amandate about my behaviour and wouldn’t let me stop.

As I was weaned of her I felt shame creeping up but the next thing I knew I was settled over her shoulder. Two heavy thumps to my back later I could feel a burp building in my body but I could do nothing against it as I belched and a little bit of the milk that I had drunk landed on my mothers nightdress.

Oh my God, do I have to do that everyday? God have mercy. This did not happen! Nobody talks about that are we clear!

Having sated my hunger I could finally appreciate my surroundings. From the looks of it I was in my parents bedroom.

A wide canopy bed stood to one side and took up most of the room. Given that my father had quite a height with his1,9 meter could totally understand it.

But the room did have what you would call a woman’s touch.

Dark blue and light green see through cloth was lovingly draped over the frame which posts were crafted to resemble trees whose branches seemed to grow into each other.

It was like you were laying in a forest, looking at the stars.

Speaking of forest, now that I paid attention to that theme I could see that the whole room was decorated in these colores.

Every furniture was made out of dark wood and the carpet was a light green that was then once again used in the bottom part of the wall and darkened upwards. The ceiling being made out of dark wood once again.

The light that streamed through the windows illuminated the room and gave it a warm glow.

My mother walked to the nearest chair which stood by the window.

The nearer we came to the wall the more details I could see.

At first I had just thought that it was just a colour gradient from light to dark, but upon closer inspection I could see that it was thousand upon thousand different colours of one gradient that slowly got darker.

The wall was fashioned so that it gave the illusion that every green colour on the wall was a different leaf.

And what I hadn’t seen before were the wooden panels that were in different intervals on the wall. Each of them fashioned after a tree that seemed to vanish under the foliage.

After looking around the room I finally looked at my mother and I was surprised to see her relaxed face. Since I was born there was always an underlying tension in her. Even yesterday when we arrived at the castle it was there. But now, in this moment, with me in her arms, sitting on the chair in her bedroom, the sun shining in her face while she closed her eyes. Here she was at peace.

A while later my father re-entered the room, fully dressed in a neat black suit with a red shirt underneath, his hair still a bit wet and sparkling in the sun. He walked to my mother and kissed her on the cheek. She nesled herself against him for a moment her eyes still closed.

“Thelil, I need to go,” he said but his voice betrayed his desire to remain with us.

“I know.” My mother sighed.” Mesanth be careful. See you tonight,” she said, still not opening her eyes, a sad smile adoring her face.

My father slowly straightened his posture and lightly squeezed her shoulders before distancing himself,

“Maybe you could show Spera her room...” he proposed wanting to delay his departure.

My mother opened her eyes and I could see a sharp glint in it.

“Well, if I hadn’t given birth on that godforsaken island, her room would have already been finished and she would have woken up in it.”

“Thelil, you know that it is tradition that a member of the royal house even if it is an illegitimate branch has to be born in Coalesco.” I could see my fathers features hardening and I did not like the direction this discussion was heading to.

Without further thinking about it I opened my mouth and started to cry softly but slowly increasing in intensity the longer they ignored me.

As I predicted, my mother immediately dismissed my father and started swaying me back and forth in an attempt to sooth me.

And as if someone else knew that now was the time for a timely intervention, a knock sounded on the bedroom door.

My father went to the door, not forgetting to once again kiss my mother on the cheek and this time also kissing my forehead. For a moment, over my mother's shoulder, I could see Warthon standing in front of the door, his features tight with anxiety and I could hear both men immediately starting a heated discussion as my father left the room, the door gently closing behind him.

As my father left the room, my cries softened until it was just a small whimper.

My mother had by now stood up and walked in slow circles around the room, the gentle sway of her body calming me down.

I had once again lost control of my emotions. Even if I rationally knew that I had no reason to cry, after I started it was almost impossible to stop on my own accord.

Mesana and Loraine found us like that when they walked into the room.

Both of them giving my Mother a warm smile and immediately starting to take care of me, my mother and our room.

Watching them I was quite sure that Mesana was just here for me. A good clue would be her taking me out of my mother's arm almost immediately after arriving.

Loraine on the other hand firstly gave my mother new clothes and other items and escorted her to the bathroom only to immediately exit it without my mother and starting to tidy up the bed and a few clothing articles that were on the ground.

After she finished and having wiped down the already dust free furniture Lorain knocked on the bathroom door before entering the room.

For a moment I was distracted by Mesana that started tickling my abdomen. I couldn’t help but laugh out. Before I realised it I was already in my mother’s arms again the shock of the sudden change of scenery muting me again.

“Hey, why doesn’t she laugh anymore?” My mother asked Mesana confused.

“Thelil, you scared her … if you hadn’t snatched her from my arms at such a speed she would have continued to laugh.”

My mother showed a sad expression at that, so, to cheer her up, I reached out to her face and smiled at her.

“Oh Spera, you are too cute~” She said while cuddling me against her face. Over my mother’s shoulder I could see Lorain giving us a warm glance before starting to sort a big cupboard full of clothes.

“Thelil, how about showing Spera her new room?” Mesana asked after a few moments of just letting us have mother-daughter time.

I was once again transferred to the crook of my mother's arm.

She smiled at my aunt and nodded her head, once again looking at me with love oozing out of her facial expression.

She turned around to Lorain and asked her in a considerable warm tone “Lorain, dear, do you want to come with us? You are the one that put the most work into the room.”

“Madam I would be honoured, but you know I have to supervise the other staff, and with our ‘special’ guest having arrived with you, I have to issue a few more rules to the staff,” she answered with regret in her tone. I could see that she was really loyal to my parents and given the trust my father put in her by letting her serve as my handmaid, I felt more comfortable in her vicinity.

“I know.” My mother gave a sad smile. “I hope we can rectify the situation as soon as possible,” she said with a smile, while turning around and walking to the door.

Mommy your smile is scary!

I thought, as I could feel my eyes moisture a bit.

I could feel her entire aura change as we walked out of the door. It was as if she put on a emotionless mask. Her eyes seemed empty and her facial expression stiffened.

We turned right just as we exited the room and she only walked a few steps before stopping in front of another door.

I am going to live right next to my parents? And I didn’t know why but the other question that popped up was: How thick are the walls? No Idea why that seemed to be important, so I immediately discarded it.

When we entered the room and Mesana closed to door behind us, my mothers warm aura once again emerged and I could finally relax and inspect my own room.

What I saw astonished me for a bit.

In contrast with my parents green room, my room was painted in different red and yellow hues giving a warm impression but also reminded be of my fathers scales.

Most of the furniture was already in the room. I could see a bed which was surrounded by wooden posts, a dresser with a blanket on top of it and a chair in front of a big window which stood on top of a curved wooden board and swayed slightly back and forth. But there was also a pile of dark wood in one corner that was neatly stacked.

It seemed like somebody had started to decorate my room but had no time to finish it.

“Honey, look at that. Loraine and your father did most of the work, before we had to leave for Coalesco. Lorain tried to finish everything but you came too early. See that pile of wood,” she said and pointed at the wood that I had already seen before. “That will be your wardrobe,” she continued with a smile.

I found it a bit strange that she talked to her baby, that was only a few days old, as if it could understand her. Now, I know, I do understand her, but I had at least that much common sense that I knew that this was not normal. I could still remember the first time I came to after I was born. At that time I couldn’t understand anything they said, and then the next day I could suddenly understand them. That was definitely not normal.

While pondering about my obvious pecularity I did not notice that we exited my future room and were on the way back to my parents’ room. Only to turn left instead of right, and walking into the room opposite of their bedroom.

What I could see on first glance was a massive window that took up the whole opposite wall of the room.

The other two walls were filled with shelves upon shelves of books giving quite an imposant feeling to the room.

My mother didn’t stop but walked to a large white couch in the middle of the room. it was placed so that you could see out of the window, overlooking a beautiful garden full of flowers and bushes. Next to both ends of the couch were two tables out of the same dark wood that was used in my parents’ and my bedroom.

My mother sat down on the couch and started talking with Mesana never forgetting to pay attention to me every minute or two.

After a while she wanted to read so I was given to my aunt who with great delight started cuddling me. From time to time her tail which she had carefully placed next to her, as to not sit on it was in my reach and I started to pet it, causing her to have a delighted expression on her face. The soft feel of the tail making it almost addictive.

In between I took naps from time to time, I was a newborn baby, so that is not very surprising. Still, the amount of control I had over my body was very disappointing and I swore to myself to build up my strength as soon as possible.

The sitting room, as my mother called it, was quiet except for the rustling of the pages when my mother read her book.

As such the day went on, the room slowly shifting into yellow hues from the setting sun.

A knock on the door interrupted the tranquility of the room and Loraine walked in.

“Madam, I would like to remind you that the feeding time of the princess has arrived. And I would deem it appropriate in that context to also change her undergarments.”

“Oh my, look at the time. Thank you, Loraine. This is all so new to me, if I didn’t have you what would I have done,” my mother replied with a smile, while I felt close to tears. Why did I have to endure such torture.

While my mother took care of me, Mesana asked Loraine where she had been. I was also interested in that. Given that Lorain was my hand maid shouldn’t she always be by my side? But I did not see her since this morning.

“Mistress, I had to instruct the new maids, and also look after our visitor, which took longer than expected. Afterwards I found you, the Madam and the young mistress in the sitting room in such peace and quiet, so, I followed my judgement and waited outside the door to not let any pests enter the room,” she said with a sweet smile but even in the situation that I was in, I felt a shiver run down my spine. Why are all the females in this family so scary? I asked myself while being close to tears once again. My mother asking me if I have to ‘do poopy’ did not help my emotional balance and afterwards I only felt exhausted.

Later that day my mother and I moved to my parents’ bedroom, and shortly after my father came back. When he entered through the door, I was quite scared of him, his facial features frozen over and his aura giving me a sharp and cold feel. But after the door closed behind him and he shut his eyes for a few seconds while deeply breathing in and out, his whole demeanor changed to the father that I woke up to this morning. His smile ready, his eyes oozing love and his warm hug that he gave my mother and me almost immediately afterwards.

Given my parents demeanor, I knew that my family loved each other. Just not in the eyes of others.

As my mother and father talked about each other’s days, my mother holding me in her arms while sitting on my father's lap, in the chair by the window I felt the whole day catch up to me.

Just as my eyes drifted close I could hear my mother whisper into my ear.

“I hope you grow up safe and strong with all of our love.”

And as sleep claimed me I could feel her soft lips pressing against my forehead, filling my body with love and warmth.