Bound To The Ice Dragon King
Chapter 223: The best thing to do

Chapter 223: The best thing to do

When Rhea woke up in the morning, she found herself on their bed alone. However, she didn’t wonder about Draven’s whereabout as he had told her he wouldn’t be spending much time in their house as he had to practice how to use the serpent core in the forest. She didn’t have to wonder to know that he had chosen the forest for his practice spot because he didn’t want her to see how much pain the core was giving him and messing up his senses.

Rhea didn’t let herself dwell on anything and rolled out of bed. She took her bath alone and without eating breakfast, she left the house.

In the hushed morning light, Rhea entered King Henry’s throne chamber, finding him already seated on the majestic throne, a thoughtful expression on his face. As she approached, the king looked up, his eyes reflecting an anticipation that seemed to pierce through his royal façade.

Rhea lowered her head respectfully and uttered, "I am ready to give Draven back his core, your majesty."

A shadow of dejection crossed king Henry’s eyes, recognizing the weight of her sacrifice, the internal struggle she must have endured. Though, if he could avoid this, he would have, but there was no other way out unless Draven battles Erebus. In that moment, he felt a deeper respect for the young woman before him. Not anybody would give their life to save others, not to mention the child growing within her.

Before the king could speak, Rhea lifted her head and asked, "Your majesty, how can I return Draven’s core without him knowing? He will never allow me to give it back if he knows. Is there a way to do it without his knowledge?"

Draven had warned her many times to never consider the thought of removing the core in her body for anybody, not even him. And now that she had decided to do it secretly, she didn’t know how to go about it without his knowledge.

"There is a way," King Henry reached into his pocket and brought out a small bottle. Its contents, a colorless liquid, shimmered faintly in the ambient light.

He held out the bottle to Rhea, explaining, "You have to feed him the elixir, once he consumes it, he will be unconscious for two days, he will be unaware of everything and anything. Once the elixir takes effect, I will put back the core in him."

Once Rhea accepted the bottle, the king added, "If the core leaves your body, you will no longer have the powers you possessed, and your body will slowly fail until you..." He trailed off as if unable to tell her what she already knew.

Rhea managed a smile, "I know what will happen."

King Henry sighed dejectedly, he then said, "Nothing can happen to you before Draven faces Erebus. We are not certain when Erebus will show up but you must be unharmed until then. So, I will give you this," he raised his hand and a small shining object appeared in his palm, "This will hold up your life for awhile, however it’s nothing like the core, it will only give you strength to live without the core."

King Henry explained to her all what would happen to her once the core was taken out of her body and Rhea listened to him dejectedly. She nodded in understanding after he was done and left the chamber saying she would call the king once she had given Draven the elixir.

As Rhea walked back home, she wondered how she would make Draven believe she hadn’t given him back his core until the day he would face Erebus.

***

Two days passed by and yet Rhea couldn’t think of a way. Last night, she had noticed how Draven was sweating in his sleep and groaning, she had never seen him sweat before, however, the serpent core was messing with him in a way she couldn’t handle anymore. It pained her to watch him suffer when he could just take the easy way. Although, she had agreed to give him back the core, it wouldn’t be easy.

It wouldn’t be easy because once the core left her body, her life would slowly wear out, she would be in so much pain. And one thing she didn’t want to happen, was to cause Draven to worry about her. She wouldn’t want to distract him from his focus before he faced Erebus. The king had told her the core removal would caused her so much pain and her body would turn back to that of a human where the cold in the dragon realm would be unbearable.

Furthermore, she had to look for ways to make Draven believe the core hadn’t been returned to his body. How was she going to return it to him without him feeling the powers of the core until he fights the battle? Surely once he’s gotten back his last body part, he would feel it in his body and he would find out what she had done...

Rhea’s shoulders slumped dejectedly as she gazed unblinkingly outside the window of their house library. She had come here in hopes of finding some legend books that would help her to know about the dragon core and body, but all the information she could find was; a dragon is nothing without his core. And that only made her more determined to see her husband become his complete self.

As Rhea kept staring out the window, she heard the unmistakable laughter of Lilac, echoing from the backyard. Curiosity mingled with Rhea’s dejection as she looked down towards the direction.

There, she witnessed an unexpected sight: Prince Ethan, who usually carried his pride around his sleeves, was now carrying Lilac on his back while enduring her playful hits on the head. Rhea frowned. Before they could pass by unnoticed, Rhea called out to them to wait.

Rhea went downstairs to meet the pair. Her gaze narrowed as she observed Prince Ethan’s unfocused eyes. Intrigued and concerned, she looked at Lilac. "How did you get the all mighty prince Ethan to carry you like that, Lilac?"she asked.

Lilac, with a mischievous smile, admitted, "Myself put him under my spell. He does whatever I want, sees whatever I want him to see. You know myself has grown my full powers, I can do anything to people’s mind."

"You put the prince under your spell?" Rhea exclaimed in wonderment.

Lilac jumped down from Ethan’s back and nodded, "Aye, let me show you something." She said, turning to the prince, she snapped her fingers, "Slap yourself three times."

Prince Ethan raised his hand and landed three resounding slaps on his cheeks.

Lilac laughed out in amusement, while Rhea looked at the prince in wonderment. "If someone tells him later about how you have made him do all these thing, don’t come crying to me when he makes your life a living hell."

Lilac scoffed, "He can never make my life a living in hell, myself will put him under another spell. I told you myself has grown powerful."

Rhea remembered that two days ago Lilac was telling her about her magic before Ethan had interrupted her with the news of Draven. And she hadn’t gotten to acknowledge her, but now that she saw what she did to the prideful Ethan, a plan quickly formulated in her mind.

With a faint smile, Rhea beckoned Lilac to join her. "Come with me. I have a task for you," she declared, and without waiting for anything, she tugged Lilac’s hand.

As they walked away, Lilac quickly broke the spell, and Prince Ethan’s eyes came back to normal. He blinked, looking around in confusion, wondering how he had ended up in Draven’s house. With a shrug, he dismissed it, and continued on his way, oblivious to how he had been mistreated by Lilac a moment ago.

As Rhea pulled Lilac to her room, she closed the door behind them.

"What’s wrong my savior?" She asked as she sat at the edge of the bed, "You have never invited my humble self to your room before, but now that you do, do you want us to gossip about the peoples?"

Rhea shook her head, then took Lilac’s slender hands into hers. "I need your help, but first you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone what I am about to tell you, can you promise me?" She asked with a faint smile.

Lilac frowned deeply, "Nay, myself don’t promise before hearing the words. What do you want to tell me?"

"Lilac," Rhea called her name softly, and when she raised her large purple eyes to meet Rhea’s dark ones, she felt something to be off with her savior. Lilac touched Rhea’s stomach for awhile then sighed in relief, "Your baby is still alive in your body, but why am I feeling a sad emotions from your aura, what is wrong?"

Rhea took a deep breath and explained everything she planned to do to Lilac. However, before Rhea knew it, the fairy burst into tears and jumped out of the bed. "You...you will die with your baby, you won’t survive. You can not do that, I will not allow you."

Rhea quickly pulled back the fairy. "You have to help me Lilac, I can only rely on you to mess a little with Draven’s thoughts and beliefs. That’s all I ask of you, please. You_"

"I don’t want to, if I do it, you will give away the core and you will lose your life. Myself can not cause your death, never." Lilac repeatedly shook her head, tears continued to stream down her eyes.

Rhea pulled her into her embrace and stroked her back gently, "If I don’t do it, the world will crumble. Draven needs his core to be himself again, he will never take it back from me, but I will give it back if you are willing to help me. Please Lilac, you once said you will do anything I ask of you, this is what I want."

Lilac sobbed in Rhea’s arms, and when she stopped, she nodded her head. Rhea had never asked her to do anything until today, and she couldn’t turn her savior’s request down. "I...I will do it."