“King Freydelhart!” A soldier ran towards the war room of Artemia Castle, terror reflected in his eyes. “We are under attack! It's the dragon king, approaching from the south with a retinue of dragons.”

  “I am the consort king, soldier,” the strong and sturdy sovereign stroked his regal beard, still without any gray hairs. He looked out the tower window with his helmet under his arm and his red cape billowing behind him, stirred by the wind. “Do not forget, the queen is Runaesthera.”

  “Oh no!” The queen approached, cradling a baby in her arms, but looking fresher and more sensual than anyone had seen her in her first hundred years of life. “I already told you, goblin head, my father left the throne for you to reign. I will take it when you leave it, not before. I will not waste the gifts of the goddess. Your children need a mother more than a queen.”

  “Excuses,” said the king with a satisfied smile. “But anyway, we have a crisis.” He turned to look at the poor soldier, who did not understand the lack of urgency of their majesties. “Boy! Inform Princess Erifreya that today we are going to hunt fairies.”

  —

  Princess Erifreya Verrin Draconis was the eldest daughter of their majesties. Many thought she was the first natural child, as all her siblings resembled her, but the truth was that they had adopted her when she was little. She was a beautiful woman of twenty-five years, and as always, she wore a beautiful and elegant lace dress befitting her status as the first princess, pink with deep blue details that matched her own face. She wore her long pink hair loose down to her back where her wings began when she didn't wear her emerald earrings. She only left two thin braids around her ears. From them hung ruby-encrusted ribbons brought from Pellegrin, with a daring meaning her parents did not know. A gift from Queen Clessa and her cousin Fernera. Always so attentive, even if they weren't real family.

  That day, she was walking through the rooms of her younger brothers and sisters.

  “Lady Mera,” her voice was sweet and affectionate, just like her face, which seemed unchanged since she turned sixteen. “Here again? It's been almost a year and a half since you fulfilled your vow. That anklet is just an ornament now, though it is pretty. Have I told you? Why do you keep returning to Artemia?”

  The woman in her forties gave her a serious look. “Don't you miss your dear governess? I expected more from you. I taught you good manners, but it seems I can do better with your newest siblings.”

  “You did well with me, that's what Dad says, and with Hartrun, who is already a grown man. Ha, ha, ha, well, with all of us, I don't think there's a prince in Artemia or Meyrin who doesn't love you as I do.”

  “Oh, stop it, my girl. You will always be my favorite, not just because we are dragonesses. And take those things out of your braid. Your mother may be an ignorant child, but I will not allow Caramin to keep teaching you dirty things.”

  “I am a woman now, teacher, and my husband loves them,” she gave her mischievous smile, which had never failed her in two long decades. “I promise I won't show them to Alista.”

  “Alright, but you better keep your promise this time. Out of the eight of you, that girl is the most troublesome.”

  At that moment, a royal messenger hurried into the room.

  “Princess Erifreya, your father proclaims that it is a day to hunt fairies.”

  “So that wretch finally shows herself. Is the dragon king at our gates, soldier?”

  “Indeed, Your Highness, all forces are already on alert…”

  “Lady Mera, help me with the buttons on my back, please.”

  The woman promptly unbuttoned her pupil's dress and watched her run in less than the time it takes for a heart to beat five times. In that brief instant, Erifreya was already jumping out the window.

  As she fell, she removed the first of her earrings, revealing her horns and freeing her wings through the buttons on her back. Removing the second earring, her dress transformed into a practical combat outfit, still made to be beautiful. Her corset remained open at the back as it transformed into a fitted pink doublet covering a white blouse with puffed shoulders but no sleeves. Her skirt shortened to mid-thigh, revealing leggings and combat boots. On her belt, she carried her most valuable treasure.

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  She opened her wings just before reaching the ground and folded them to land gracefully in the courtyard. As she ran to the stables, she used the little magic she had learned at her young age to summon her armor: a breastplate covered in gold adorned with dragon flower motifs, as peonies had come to be called. Her greaves and gauntlets, also made of steel covered in gold leaf, had claw motifs at the ends. Finally, a half-helmet without a visor or gorget. Her parents hated that armor, as they believed it offered her very little protection.

  She whistled loudly as she put her right earring back on, and her wings disappeared again. In an instant, what appeared to be a beautiful white pegasus ran to her side for her to mount. The sapphire it carried concealed its true nature as the legendary unicorn. Once mounted, princess and steed soared into the sky, where her father was already waiting on his own pegasus, Jumper.

  “My daughter, today we fulfill our destinies.”

  “Don't be dramatic, Dad, and cover your ears, they're not coming alone.”

  The princess, enveloped in multicolored flames, opened her delicate lips to roar so loudly that it made the earth itself tremble. Seconds later, luminous flames could be seen in various parts of the city, from each of which a dragon emerged, the hosts of the princess of Artemia, who contested with the one said to be her father, the kingdom of the dragons. Soon they were surrounded by dragons of all colors and sizes, among which a gigantic black dragon stood out.

  “Aunt Clessa would be delighted to come, but I'll tell her when we have tea with my cousins.”

  King Freydelhart smiled at his daughter with immense pride before joining the dragons to fight those who attacked them.

  “Come on, Fae, liar, I know you're here.”

  Before her, the eldest of the fairies materialized, looking practically the same as in their encounter twenty years ago, except she now wielded a menacing silver spear.

  “I see I've been discovered. I suppose not all my sisters are loyal or discreet,” she said with the same sweet voice, but full of disdain.

  “Grandfather and my parents had already deduced most of it. Why didn't you tell me the truth? Even from our first meeting, we would have understood, I know it.”

  “I've heard that story a thousand times in my life, Erifreya,” the sweetness in her voice faded as her face wrinkled with anger and what seemed to be desolation. “Heroes have used me many times to reach him, and we are all that remains for each other. I saw the opportunity to end the princes and give peace to the only being I love. Restore balance, let him ravage everything while I gave strength and hope to the world. If I could destroy, I would have ended you years ago. Now my beloved has returned, using the spear and one of his teeth, I will finally be able to fight.”

  “You thought that without the spear, I couldn't steal the king's fire, but you're wrong. Besides, if any of us falls, the explosion of our fires could split the world in two.”

  “I can prevent it if it happens,” it was clear that Fae had been beyond help for centuries. She prepared her spear in a threatening stance.

  “Do you think your spear scares me?” The dragon princess removed her earring, dismounted the supposed pegasus, and removed the sapphire, making its false wings disappear and revealing, at least to the two of them, Peony's magnificent horn. “You have no idea how awesome my dad is.”

  The dragon princess drew a dagger with beautiful golden veins from her belt. At the same time, she removed the unicorn's horn and clasped her hands. After a flash that equaled the sun itself for an instant, the small blade transformed into a magnificent golden greatsword. Wielding her magnificent weapon, she adopted the unicorn's stance, ready to fight the deranged demigoddess.

  “It took me time to understand why you no longer hear the Goddess of Peace, Fae, but that no longer matters,” she exhaled a black flame. “My destiny is already fulfilled.”

  Fae understood immediately.

  “Damn girl,” her face turned to panic. “From this distance? You've been distracting me while consuming the dragon king's power again?”

  “He is now a mere beast, isn't he? Like you, he has gone mad and now only follows his instincts, but you still love him. I can understand that. Don't worry, Aunt Clessa taught me mercy. While Dad fulfills the destiny you showed me, I will fulfill the one you didn't want me to see.”

  The battle was brief, a massacre. Eri, who was still Eri, no matter how much she grew or changed, ended Fae in a single move. Freydelhart, imbued with all the magic of his wife who awaited him at the castle, decapitated the king with the same ease. The rest of the dragons submitted after a few minutes of fighting.

  Eri knew that someday, she would do the same for her beloved aunt, her teacher, and that she herself could not live in the world forever without eventually consuming it. But those thoughts left her to let her live the beautiful era she had created in the world.

  Her siblings, miracles granted by the goddess, were not subject to the curse of the half-elves, and for some reason, they learned magic quickly. One day, the world would no longer be divided by races, and magic would be in every one of its inhabitants. On that day, a second moon would appear in the sky to watch over a world where dragons would be a mere legend.

  But today, it was nice to be who she was.

  The End