#The Eagle of Unasta

[yourcoolfriendwithallthecandy]

The Eagle of Unasta and The Dragon of Zarcade Part 1

So guess who had the most mindblowing dream and IMMEDIATELY had to write about it? Me. Tagging @waiting4inspiration​ because you’ll enjoy this, that and this has STRONG Witcher vibes and it features the same DRAGONS and dragoners as Keep Your Eyes On Me but like- midieval. it’s glorious. 

Anyway, enjoy. 

The Eagle of Unasta and The Dragon of Zarcade

Part 1 

“You called for me grandmother?” Zaq asked as he came into the room where his great grandmother was reclining in her bed as his grandmother and mother attended to her. 

“Yes, I have one last prophecy for you before you leave.” She informed him, her old hoarse voice cracking with her advanced age as Zaq came and kneeled next to the bed respectfully as he grasped her withered hands and eagerly awaited her words as her daughter and granddaughter eagerly and anxiously awaited this prophecy as well. 

“This weekend your betrothed will reveal herself to you, your Golden Eagle. Do you have her gifts ready?” Lena prodded her great grandson Zaq. 

“Yes, I just finished polishing the enchanted lapis in her dagger and her cloak just got finished this morning and the rest of her gifts are being put together as we speak.” Zaq nodded as she nodded in agreement.  

His great grandmother had announced at his birth that he was betrothed to someone who she simply referred to as “the Eagle” but would not tell anyone who exactly it was but even then, she made sure that the betrothal gifts would begin to be worked on so that they would be perfectly crafted by the time his betrothed would make herself known to them. 

“Good, your Eagle prefers blue, you will know her by the color shifting dress she will wear, royal blue in one light, majestic purple in an another- yet pink as the sunrise and blood red in another. She will be the most magnificent woman besides the bride to be- at the feast in everyone’s eyes, especially yours and to you- she will have no equal, but she will only have eyes for you once she really sees you for you. You will flatter her, and she will try to use your words as weapons against you because she will be naturally defensive as all eagles are. The other Zarcadians will surround her like a pack of wolves, you must be the dragon you are and rescue her and she will still think you are a wolf until you prove yourself to be a dragon. She has been taught to hold destiny in one hand and fate in the other and reject both so she can carve out her own of each with her own hands. But you are her fate and destiny and there will be no other than you for her so you will help her embrace both. You will be her friend first, love of her life second and marriage mate last for the rest of your days as she will be those things for you in turn and your love will burn brighter than dragonfire and will be the envy of all. You will break chains for her and she in turn will break your chains before you break hers so that both of you will fly free together and your nests and roosts will be each other. Beware though, she will come here and hold our downfall in one hand and our salvation in the other because her mind is sharper than her eyes, so you must help her choose the later. Leave her and our house will fall to rubble. Love her, be honest with her, remain loyal to her and prove true and she will build the foundations anew herself so that even if all the others were to fall, ours will stand to times indefinite and she will bring in a new era of dragons and dragoners and be the best dragoner the world has yet to see. Cast your pride and ego aside and humble yourself before her and she will build you up and make you stronger than all of us. You will be the first to achieve the impossible, but you will not be the last, pave the way for others to follow.” She prophcied, channelling her dragon’s magic to do so as it laid over her the way a beloved pet would as she used her free hand to stroke the old dragon’s face scales affectionately. 

“Let it be as you’ve said.” Zaq agreed before his mother and grandmother mirrored his words. 

Your name was Anya Unasta, you were the granddaughter of Eli Unasta, a great military commander and general in the kingdom of Suter. Your grandfather had married the love of his life- your grandmother- Sitka who came from a family of very humble birth but large and loving who accepted him with open arms. Because of your grandfather’s conquests for the Empire of Suter, your family was given nobility as Lords and Ladies and modest lands that were befitting of that title along with a yearly earning that would take care of them for the rest of their days and a small handful of slaves which your family immediately freed who stayed to be their loyal servants. 

Upon them moving into the lands, they proved to be as fertile as the days in the summer were long. Vivid green pastures made their flocks abundant and your family and their servants never went hungry because of the super rich soils which in turn gave you over abundant crops in addition to a surplus of meats, milks, butters and cheeses and wools from the flocks which you traded for fine silks and satins before mastering even those and created textiles that had no equal. Pure rivers, springs and lakes were abundant in your family’s property that watered all the lands well and even in times of drought, they were able to pull water from the deep wells and natural springs with surprising ease. 

Your grandfather encouraged his many, many children to pursue what they wanted to since the lands provided so well. So that your uncles and aunts were all artists and artisans in addition to being merchants, vintners, engineers and farmers and barrons of the flocks. Your large extended family unlocked the secrets to beef so marbled it practically melted in your mouth. Horses so fine- they could pull the war chariots of kings or carriages of any elite or run races with prestige. Pigs so huge they could feed a small tribe, sheep and goats with wool so fine and soft- it rivaled silk. They even made tea, wine and cheeses so delicious that they had no equal.

The designers, inventors and engineers in your family could design bridges and houses alike- that would stand for centuries without repair or much upkeep, houses that could have earthquakes right under their foundations or hurricanes or tornados right over them and yet the stones would never crack and the houses would never fall and to invent and embrace new technology in your homes and lives in addition to designing clothes that set the fashion standards of the times. 

They could even got into metals- both precious and common that rivaled the best foundries in the world so that the family’s weapons were on par with any other if not surpassing so that Suter's military carried Unasta steel swords that were second only to dragon tooth swords in Zarcade. And in the precious metal business you soon had gold, silver, pearls and jewels flowing  into the family like a mighty river so that every member of the family had an overabundance of jewelry of all kinds, even other kings and queens and empresses and emperors, czars and czarinas and sultans and sultanas were draped in Unasta jewelry because it was considered the best and finest and was without equal. 

Some of the Unastas got into pottery and glass and made it so magnificent that every wealthy family from all over the world felt they needed at least one piece among their treasures and collections which increased your family’s wealth so that you now could buy even more lands and build great mansions instead of houses and soon your lands were so vast, it became its own district with all of your extended family within it and your own family became famed so that whatever they touched became amazing and whatever they choose to do, they found success and notoriety. 

But yet there were a few that followed in your grandfather’s footsteps and became military strategists and were more victorious than your grandfather ever could be so that your family was even more elevated to Dauphins and Dauphines within the Empire of Suter so that you were among equals at the Emperor’s inner court. Some Unastas even went into politics and advisors to the Emperor himself after their military careers. 

You were all taught from infancy to be humble, to learn everything you could and to keep your curiosity, to pursue your passions yet treat those around you with respect and dignity and to free every slave you purchased, in addition to paying your workers and servants fair and thriving wages for their labor so that you practically had an army of servants and workers at your fingertips. 

Your grandfather forbade any of his children from orchestrating their children’s marriages and he wanted all of his descendants to marry for love like he did and how all of his children did as well- and to marry who they wanted except for Zarcadians, who were forbidden from entering the family by marriage and that any Unasta would be forbidden from leaving the family to join a Zarcadian one- which to you was puzzling and your parents and grandparents refused to tell you or any in your generation why but still, you were very grateful for this commandment since all of your peers had to bow to their parent’s will and arranged marriages were the norm, often a generation in advance upon a child’s birth and no nation was more famous for this custom than Zarcade, which clung to customs and traditions that seemed to be as old as time itself. 

This evening you found yourself at an engagement party for one of the “lesser” princesses, one of your best friends actually, Ester, a grand duchess of Suter, a younger sister to the crown princess- to Xander of the family Ceda, one of the noble families of Zarcade and everyone came from all over to celebrate with them, Your came the day before and watched from Ester’s balcony as all the Zarcadians flew in, landing their dragons in front of the palace since you came ahead of your family since you were involved in some of the wedding planning and finalizing the details and had spent the night with Ester in her room, laughing and giggling half the night. 

You spent all day getting pampered and prepared for the feast side by side with Ester for this evening and even was her escort to the feast tonight, both of you being introduced in grand style before you spent most of it at her side at her table since you were going to be her maid of honor.  A great honor indeed as you feasted with her and stole looks at the groom’s table that was full of his friends and family, not a single Unasta among them while Ester had dozens of Unastas at hers- both tables eagerly stealing looks at the other since this was as close as the unmarried Unastas were allowed to be to Zarcadians. 

Zarcade was one of the oldest kingdoms of the world. It was situated on top of a high mountain, surrounded by even more high mountains and had never fallen to another kingdom. Zarcade was unique in that in the “old kingdom” which was the original city walls when the city was founded, stood over a dozen gigantic houses, all of them having super high towers so that they looked like they scraped the skies themselves and bases so large that it was only these houses could fit inside the old kingdom’s walls. 

However your grandfather and patriarch of the family hated Zarcade with a passion, something he tried to share with his family but it seemed that this hatred missed you completely. If anything, it made you curious about it. So much so that you fired a barrage of questions at Ester about her stay in Zarcade and about the family she was marrying into while you were with her. Your own appetite for it unquenchable as Ester happily and excitedly shared her answers with you, herself intrigued as to why there was this commandment in your family and even the Zarcadians were curious as to why one of the richest and most notable and successful families outside of Zarcade would keep politely declining their offers of marriage, no matter how much business they did with them or how friendly they tried to be or how handsome the offer. 

Unastas always seemed to have a protective invisible wall around them that the Zarcadians could not penetrate. It was like magic but none that they could understand or break no matter how hard they tried, to the point that even they secretly began to covet the possibility of having an Unasta, no matter how distant or lowly- in their family tree one day if it was the last thing they did, it was something that soon consumed almost all of them.  

Zarcade as a whole did their best to never an enemy of anyone, always doing trade and business with everyone all over the world and since your family were mostly merchants, your family did quite a bit of business with them, although you yourself weren’t personally involved in it. Your grandfather however demanded that everyone in the family demand top dollar for products sold to Zarcade- and the Zarcadians, seemed to have limitless wealth and paid those prices happily. The more expensive the better to the point that Zarcadian gold and silver boulin was the standard currency world wide. But if you ever tried to cheat them or sell them lesser quality items since they demanded the best in everything, suddenly you went out of business and no one would do business with you. A lesson you all learned by watching other merchants do business with them. So you all found you had to walk a fine line with Zarcadians. 

At the feast, there were young men from the noble families of Vaci, Boder, Silini and Ceda of Zarcade there who took one look at you at the bride’s right hand as you entered the feast with her and instantly became smitten and soon the Empress herself had the mothers of these young men asking her who you were and what family you were from and tried to get all the information they could get about you before they reported this information to their families, especially their sons who were betrothed to lesser ladies as you in turn asked Ester about the families in question as she told you all she knew that she was able to find out by talking with her fiance. 

When Ester’s attention was pulled elsewhere by the Empress, you went to the punch bowl to get more punch and a macaron from the dessert table before you found yourself instantly surrounded by hopeful Zarcadian suitors and you couldn’t help but feel like a sheep surrounded by a pack of wolves. 

“My Lady, your jewels are magnificent.” One complimented with a flattering smile with a glint in his eyes that you recognized in the eyes of wolves from watching them try to hunt your flocks and herds. 

“My Lady you are a great beauty.” Another added who looked at you like you were a fine pearl he was appraising that he was looking to put in his crown.  

“My Lady, your dress is exquisite,” A third chimed in who stared at your cleavage like a hungry nursing babe. 

“Would you like to dance?” A fourth, seemed to come to your rescue as he offered his hand with kindness in his eyes before you quickly put your hand in his, giving the others a polite smile as he pulled you out of kill circle and led you to the dancefloor. 

You however were still on the defensive as you tried to politely study your new dance partner. 

“What?” He asked, his amusement practically glittering in his eyes and dancing on his features. 

“Is there something on my face?” He asked and for some reason, you blushed as you couldn’t help but smile because he was rather ridiculously handsome. You recognized him. He was the younger brother of Ester’s groom Xander. Surely he could be dancing with any other woman here at the feast. But yet he chose to ask you. Odd. 

“Nothing more than the usual features.” You answered dismissively.  

“That’s because you’re hogging all the extraordinary ones.” He grinned and your eyebrows rose in surprise as your smile grew as you quickly tried to think of a way to turn his words against him. You would know he was Zarcadian even if you didn’t recognize him by the way he dressed in dragon silk, something dragoners dressed exclusively in and was twenty times as expensive as the finest silk but yet it was died and spun in such a way that it mirrored your own dress, like he had somehow knew what you were going to be wearing and dressed himself to match. You mused you looked like a couple to the common observer. Coincidence surely. 

“Isn’t ‘extraordinary features’ a term polite company uses to flatter the ugly?” You returned and he laughed, showing off his bright white teeth and genuine if not charming smile. 

“Only the beautiful swans who still think they’re ugly ducklings would think such things.” He replied and you had to admit he was at least quick and as witty as he was handsome as you playfully narrowed your eyes but you couldn’t wipe the smile from your face no matter how hard you tried as your cheeks blushed harder. 

“Swans and hens eat the same to wolves and foxes alike.” You bantered and he looked like he could kiss you as he simply beamed proudly at you. 

“But do not the eagles feast on the wolves and hunt the foxes?” He pointed out. 

“They do, only because they can fly faster than the persistent wolves can run and outsmart the cunning foxes, otherwise even they could fall prey to such hunters if they’re outnumbered.” You agreed. 

“So what can a wolf do to prove that he’s not out to hunt the eagle?” He asked metephorically. 

“I’m not sure. Wolves have insatiable appetites and we are at a feast after all.” You noted as you nodded out to the former young men who were now trying to pray on your sisters and your cousins who quickly ducked behind their parents and aunts and uncles who readily told the potential dance partners to look for another dance partner before they left and tried to “hunt” among any and all other young women there. Others gladly becoming their pray for the evening. 

“Then let this wolf differentiate himself. My name is Zaq, from the family of Ceda of Zarcade.” He introduced himself as he continued to dance with you undeterred, his hold on you respectful but not possessive in the slightest which surprised you considering the others did the opposite as he confidently took the lead and moved you all around the dancefloor with masterful precision and you found yourself easily following his lead. 

“And this eagle is Anya of the family Unasta of Suter.” You returned. 

“A golden eagle at that.” He appraised and you were instantly flattered and could do nothing but agree to that sentiment. “Your mother is Jezya of the family Sudi, one of the greatest horse breeders of the last century and your father is Leo Unasta, a horse trainer but yet that is not what you want for yourself.” He deduced. 

“Oh? And what would that be?” You asked curiously before he leaned forward, looking like he wanted to share a great secret which urged you to lean in too, turning your head to the side and tilting your ear towards his mouth so that he could whisper what he wanted into your ear. 

“You want to be a dragoner.” He whispered as you felt every hair on your body stand on end and now that he was so close- you could smell the smoke from dragon’s fire on him in addition to his cologne and his personal scent which you found intoxicating and could appreciate the dragon scales sewn into this dragon silk and the way they shifted beautifully in the light in the fabric on his shoulder. 

What made Zarcade- well- Zarcade- was that they had dragons and were dragoners and possessed the same magic their dragon’s possessed who lived at the top of all the mountains surrounding Zarcade, where massive dragon’s nesting sites were. Dragons loved to nest in the caves and hang out on the tops of the great houses and eventually over time- all the noble and royal families tamed and now bred the dragons the way your family did to other livestock. But only Zarcadians however could own dragons. They bought all the livestock from all over to feed themselves and their dragons who in turn defended the nation for them and why Zarcade had never been defeated or sieged. 

“What makes you an eagle, is that you want to be free to fly. Which is a sentiment I wholly understand because I am no wolf, I’m a dragon myself.” He continued to whisper in your ear his face gently nuzzled with yours so that your eyes fluttered closed, his hand coming to rest on the small of your back as he gently held you closer, your arm reached up and laid over his shoulder, your hand resting over the base of his neck so that your chest practically pressed up against his so that your hearts practically beat next to each other and you felt your heart leap for joy in your chest and go out to his before the song ended and he pulled away and damn your body, you found yourself leaning towards him like there was a giant magnet inside yourself being attracted to him, wanting to reestablish the closeness as you looked up at him in awed wonder. And for the first time, you didn’t see a Zarcadian- you saw him. You saw Zaq and when you looked in his eyes it was like you could see his soul as he could see yours. And he was beautiful inside and out and suddenly you were the one instantly smitten. 

“Who told you such a thing?” You whispered curiously, afraid to even breathe such words too loud for fear anyone else would hear you. 

“No one had to, your whole life, you try to pet every dragon you see, which they all seem to let you do- especially the ones who are lucky enough to land at your estate to pick up whatever the other Zarcadiens buy from you, they let you pet their faces and put your forehead to theirs and you feel connected to them, like you are destined to have them yourself some day. Plus you keep staring at our dragon silk and scales and you watched as all of us arrive on our dragons and watched us like the eagle you are before you went to the dragon’s stables and pet even those, recognizing the dragons before you recognized the riders.” He smiled proudly before he took the dragon tooth dagger from his waist and presented it to you- in it’s dragon leather sheath. 

“A gift- from one soarer to another, may the winds be kind to you and lead you to where you need to go.” He smiled before you took it from him and looked at him, wondering what he was going to ask from you for you to keep it but all he did was kiss your hand as he bowed respectfully which prompted you to bow in turn before he righted himself, smiled adoringly at you again before he turned away, leaving you to walk a few steps after him before you stopped yourself from following him further before you just stood there- dumbfounded, your cheeks and your ears burning and your soul on fire and your heart yearning and the hand that he had kissed felt like it had just gotten blessed as you were holding this oh so precious possession before you clutched it to your chest possessively before you turned to walk back to your family since Ester was now talking with her fiance and the Empress about the wedding details, before you casted a curious look over your shoulder at Zaq who was now talking with other members of his own family, in particular his grandmother and mother and holding a young niece in his arms as she rested her head on his shoulder as he was swaying in place to try to get her to sleep despite all the noise of the feasters, who was already half asleep as he rubbed soothing circles into her back and had his back to you as you walked back to your mother who had watched the scene unfold curiously. 

“What just happened?” You whispered to her. 

“You just got given a gift,” she mused an amused smile on her face. 

“No, like, I know dragoners are...different, their culture is different than ours, what does this mean?” You asked as you held up the dagger for emphasis. 

“I don’t think it means anything,” she shook her head before you put the dagger away into your dress. 

You didn’t believe her, you felt in your bones that this was something special and you couldn’t not touch it the rest of the night as you just stared at him from across the hall, watching as he sat down and held his now sleeping niece in his arms and you could not stop yourself from thinking what a wonderful father he would be some day and not being able to take your eyes off of him, for fear if you did, you’d lose him in the crowd for the rest of the evening as he simply smiled at you as you smiled back at him and watched him like the eagle he referred to you as, fingering the handle of the dagger he gave you like it was your own worry stone, the lapis stone of the handle pressing into your palm and fitting your hand like it had been made for you rather than him. 

After the feast your family went to their rooms that were being shared with them at the palace, and you were surprised when you were given your own room, right next to Ester’s, expecting to share one with your sisters and cousins now that they were here, but all of your things were now in here and you weren’t going to argue about the arrangements. 

It was a grand room though and it came with a private balcony and once you changed out of your dress into your nightgown and robe, taking your hair down from it’s special arrangement so that it fell like a waterfall down your back and taking off your makeup and jewelry and put it away- you walked out onto the balcony, you saw the people of Zarcade flying their dragons in the moonlight, doing flips and turns and corkscrews and you had never been so jealous in your life! 

Suddenly a dragon swooped down in front of you from it’s perch on the roof of the palace directly above you which made you gasp and fall back onto the balcony as you stared at the magnificent dragon flying in place in front of you and on it’s back was none other Zaq wearing an outfit that was clearly more dragon scale armor over more dragon’s wool and if he had been looking handsome before, his looks could kill now as your body betrayed you and you suddenly felt even more heated than if you were standing in front of a furnace yet cold in that you wanted him to warm you up. 

“Sorry to scare you. I didn’t mean to, but I was starting to wonder if and when you’d come out here.” He smiled apologetically as his dragon landed delicately on your balcony and helped you up to your feet by nuzzling it’s head to you and letting you grab it’s horns so it could lift you up. “Wanna go for a ride?” He offered hopefully.

“I’m clearly not dressed for it.” You gestured to your robe over your nightgown before you self consciously crossed your arms over your bosom so he wouldn’t see your nipples try to poke their way through both garments since you could sense they were hard enough to cut through glass right now. 

“Then put this on.” He gently tossed a dragon’s wool cloak at you from it’s spot tied behind him as you caught it and inspected it in the bright moonlight and it was the most amazing beautiful cloak you had ever seen in your life. God damn it. 

“Damn it.” you cursed yourself under your breath before you put it on and noticed it fit you like it was made for you and you were instantly comfortable before you pet the dragon he was on, happily petting the delicate scales on its face as it closed its eyes in serenity before you pressed your forehead to it’s forehead happily before the dragon turned and laid down, so you could get in the dragon’s saddle as you got behind Zaq and held onto him as you put your slippered feet into the stirrups before there was a belt attached to the back of the saddle that he had you put on that clipped into the saddle and his own special harness he was wearing so it would keep you in the saddle no matter at what angle the dragon would fly at. 

“Ready?” Zaq asked once you got settled as you were amazed that this saddle was practically made for your bountiful behind and was ridiculously comfortable.  

“As I’ll ever be.” You nodded as you felt your excitement rise before the dragon leaped from the balcony and flew away and it was better than any horseback ride you had ever had in your life and watching the ground below you shrink but yet the sky grow larger so that you felt like the world around you was 90% sky. Not even in your dreams where you flew was it this amazing and magnificent. 

“Wow,” you breathed in awe as you looked around, feeling like at any moment you were going to run into the moon before Zaq did a dive, which made you squeal and laugh in delight as you held him tighter as the other dragoners laughed and giggled before you peeked out and saw Ester riding next to you behind her groom as she waived and smiled at you which made you smile and nod back, not trusting that you wouldn’t fall right off if you let Zaq go. 

You lost track of how long you flew with Zaq for - but soon your sleepiness won out and when that happened, you didn’t even need to say anything- Zaq flew you back to your room, the dragon delicately maneuvering to land gently on your balcony again before Zaq unclipped himself and you from the saddle and carried you back into your room, since your limbs were exhausted from holding onto him and the dragon all night before he tucked you into bed. 

“Here,” you tried to sit up and take the cloak off but couldn’t even get that far, your hands blindly reaching for the waist of the cloak. 

“No, keep it. Another gift.” He insisted as he stilled your hands but held them, his hands surprisingly warm, a perfect mix of calloused from work but yet soft as his thumbs gently if not reverently stroked the back of your hands. 

“Why?” You asked sleepily.

“Because I want you to have it.” He answered simply. 

“Oh,” you nodded, your eyelids growing heavier and heavier now that you were in bed but your soul felt weightless as your heart soared with happiness. “Thank you for everything, I had so much fun...flying free.” You managed to say with a broad dreamy if not sleepy smile. 

“My pleasure Eagle, get some sleep.” Zaq urged before you did as you were told, your eyes closing and not opening again as your breathing slowed down before Zaq leaned down and kissed your forehead before he tucked you in with even more care and practically skipped out of the room and got back on his dragon, flying victory loops before going to his own room. 

His own mind, heart and soul were still soaring cloud high as he laid in bed, staring up at the ceilings as his hands fidgeted with the blanket over him. His great grandmother had been right on all accounts! You were The Eagle, The Eagle of Unasta! The family that appeared to be impossible for any Zarcadian to join for a reason that escaped them all, but if that wasn’t enough you were His Golden Eagle, he knew it in every fiber in his being and there was no mistaking it, your hair and a golden eagle’s feathers were the same exact colors. Your bright eagle eyes that saw and caught everything, missing nothing and that impressed him. You had a natural affinity for dragons. You instinctively tried to bond with every single one you met and you didn’t even know it and the fact that you said the exact words- fly free- meant everything. And once you had entered the feast, he couldn’t take his eyes off of you if he tried and after his dance with you- you didn’t take your eyes off each other and he could feel through his own enchanted lapis handled dagger that you were trying to figure him out, trying to figure everything out because your mind was sharper than any eagle’s beak or talons and it had pleased him so well that you looked at him with his niece and saw the kind of father he hoped to be someday. To dance with you was a rare honor, and you fit against him like your bodies were made for each other and he couldn’t get over your hourglass like curves and you were already so strong from riding horses all your life, you were a natural and to feel your body pressed up against his was sweet torture. That and his dragon loved and adored you, that in itself should have been all the vetting and approval he needed and you had set up such a strong connection to her too, so that when you felt sleepy, she sensed it and gave that sense to him so that you didn’t have to say a word. It would be nearly impossible for him to keep his distance from you now. He was so beyond smitten, he was falling head over heels in love with you already, heaven help him. 

[yourcoolfriendwithallthecandy]

The Eagle of Unasta and The Dragon of Zarcade Part 3

Woo, the smutty smut time of the story. @waiting4inspiration​. Enjoy. 

Part 3

The day of the wedding seemed to come in no time at all. Your other best friend Olivia had noticed the instant connection between you and Zaq and offered to be an interceder for you. You would send your letters to Zaq, folded up inside letters to Olivia who would then mail them to Zaq under her name. Which worked out because you sent letters to her on a regular basis anyway, no one cared or seemed to notice the change and in those four months between the engagement in the late fall, through the winter and into the early spring, you wrote to each other nearly every day and Zaq made sure to pay Olivia handsomely for all the time, effort and expense it took to be the interceder and to not open any of the mail she was forwarding which Olivia had already assured both of you that she wouldn’t. 

In all that time, his letters were like a lifeline and in those months you got to really get to know him and know all about him and promptly fell head over heels in love with him as he fell just as hard and just as deeply in love with you. You had no idea how you were going to make this relationship work but Zaq assured you and reassured you that together you would find a way to make it work- come the fires of hell or the high waters of a flood and somehow you had absolute faith in him. 

When you saw him again at the Palace of Suter for the rehearsal dinner, you had to fight not to run into his arms and kiss him senseless and judging by the look in his eyes, he was fighting the same urge. But the moment you both managed to sneak away from the others, he had you pinned to a wall and kissed you like a man starved. You had managed to get one kiss out of him right before he had left after the engagement feast but now- it was like it was your first kiss all over again. 

“I. Missed. You. So. Much.” He managed to say between desperate kisses as you clung to him for dear life. 

“I missed you too.” You whimpered, being so happy to be with him again you could cry. “I haven’t been able to sleep well without your voice talking to me or singing to me.” You confessed as you gasped for breath between the deepest most amazing kisses you had ever had in your life as you pressed your forehead into his as a few tears managed to escape the corners of your eyes before he reached up to wipe them away with his thumbs as he held your face in reverence. His hands once again trying to memorize every curve of your face, a face he hadn’t been able to get out of his head ever since he first laid eyes on you before he kissed those away too which made you giggle before he hugged you so tight your back cracked as you hugged him just as hard. 

Unfortunately, it was only a moment before someone came walking through and your moment of privacy was interrupted. 

The day of the wedding felt like a flurry and it seemed everyone but you was running around like chickens with their heads cut off and Ester seemed to turn into a bridezilla because she needed everything to be perfect as you inwardly contemplated about eloping with Zaq as you sat in your seat in deep thought, barely aware of the flury around you. Would anyone really notice if you just disappeared? You had no idea where you would go or what in the world you could ever do. But as long as you were with Zaq, you didn’t care anymore. You didn’t need or really want all this fanfair. All of this was utterly ridiculous. 

“Miss,” a maid came and handed you a note, bringing you out of your reverie, it was a small note but you knew that seal. You quickly took it from her and thanked her before you walked out to Ester’s window to use the light to read it in some semblance of privacy surrounded by Ester’s huge wedding party all in her lavish rooms as all of them were in various stages of getting ready, since you were the maid of honor, you were the first to be attended to and now you simply got to wait and drink tea and snack on some refreshments as everyone else got ready.  

My Dearest Anya, 

I’m sitting here watching Xander slowly lose his mind that he’s about to finally marry Ester and I can’t help but think about what you would want when we get married. I can only imagine the monster she’s probably turned into in there but I have no worries or doubts that you’ll turn into one when it’s your turn. I would hope that you would just be happy. That’s all I could ever hope for is your happiness anyway. And I just want to say- don’t let this deter you from having any kind of wedding you want. If it’s important to you to be surrounded by your family and friends, then you should have exactly that. We will have as lavish or as simple of a wedding you want, personally I don’t care either way. I’ll just be happy to be your groom. If I have to jump through hoops that are on fire over canyons, that’s what I’ll do because you’re worth it. You will always be worth it. I’ll bet my life on it. 

Yours Always

Zaq Ceda.

 You practically had to bite your bottom lip almost in half to keep from crying but the smile on your face was brighter than sunshine, you quickly grabbed a piece of stationary from Ester’s desk to write down your reply. 

‘You are going to make me cry all my makeup off! 

But yes, she’s turned into a bridezilla in here. Her voice is going to be hoarse from yelling orders at everyone that she may not have a voice left to say her damn vows. I do not want or need anything like this. Right now, I’m wondering if anyone would notice if I just happened to disappear into thin air, like, how fast can we run to the stables and how fast can you get Sossa saddled and how long it would take to fly to either Shalia or Tasmus or another country that doesn’t have an extradition policy where we can hide out as refugees for a while and get married by whoever had the power or authority. Or hell, I have a hundred gold bullion in my coin purse in my room, do you think we can bribe the ArchBishop to marry us in secret right now before anyone would suspect anything? I would think it wouldn’t take more than 5 minutes. I’ll just go home with you or you can go home with me or whatever and everyone can just die mad and bitter about it. This is all just ridiculous. 

But thank you for the note and the reminder. I appreciate the vote of confidence. As long as you’ll be my groom, I can’t imagine I would want much else.

Yours Forever

Anya Unasta (hopefully, someday soon- Anyastasya Ceda)’

You quickly folded it in a particular way before sealing it with one of Ester’s other seals and gave it back to the maid and paid her a gold bullion, which for her was a year’s wages- if she would get this into Zaq Ceda’s hands and only his hands to which she revealed that Zaq had done the same with her before eagerly left and did as you asked before you started to pace, wondering if there would be another note or if that would be the end of it before the same maid came back, this time with a new note. 

“Miss, his response.” She whispered, her five gold bullion practically burning a whole in her pocket in addition to your gold bullion before she handed you a small box that was wrapped simply but elegantly, you unwrapped it in the greatest of care and it was a travel stationery kit as you gasped softly as you opened it at Ester’s desk and marveled at it. There were pearlized and metallic waxes in all your favorite colors, there were a small variety of seals with the most gorgeous designs you have ever seen in your life. And stationary that had your jaw dropping. You quickly fanned yourself to keep yourself from crying. There were fountain pens that were just as fine, if not finer than Ester’s. 

But before you could jump in and use it, you had to read the letter. 

“My Beloved Anya

Do not tempt me beyond what I can bear. 

That being said, I would hate for you to do something in haste in the heat of this moment that you could possibly regret later on. Have faith that things won’t get that dire and don’t assume that when we move forward that either of our families will be against it. I’m sure that once whatever issue your grandfather has gets cleared up, things will be much better. There is a plan already in motion, let’s just wait and see how it plays out. And if things go sideways, and all my contingency plans fail and everything turns to shit, then yes, I will fly to you in the middle of the night and we’ll elope and go wherever you want to go. I will take care of you, no matter what. I will wait however long I need to. I know you think this “hassle” is ridiculous, but if all this “hassle” is what it will take to court you properly to marry you properly so that you don’t have to hide to love me, so that our love can be seen by all and both of us will be proud to show it and that both of our families will be at peace with it- then so be it. Just be patient with me. Give me time to make things right, or at least the way things should be made. Our future is worth preparing for. I promise.

Yours Forever and Always

Zaq Ceda’  

“Damn it Zaq,” you sniffled as you used his handkerchief to wipe your tears in the corner of your eyes but you couldn’t stop your smile even if you tried. 

You pulled out the paper, marveling at it more before you used your new set to compose your response. 

Beloved- I almost hate how right you are. I will do my best to have more faith and do my best to be more patient with my current circumstances, I have absolute faith in you and if you say that you have plans in place, then I will believe you and trust that they were made with the same wisdom that you share with me. But make no mistake, I will make you mine one way or another so help me God- just as soon as I can.

Also Yours Forever and Always, 

Anya

You used your new supplies to prepare the letter and sealed it with a gold flaked wax and sealed it and handed it to the maid who promptly left and delivered it as you sat and marveled at your traveling stationary kit as you made sure to take note of every little thing about it and before you knew it the maid returned with a simple note which you opened to find a simple message. 

Go to the balcony.

You practically shot up to your feet and quickly walked to the doors. 

“Where are you going?” The other bridesmaids asked. 

“To get some fresh air.” You answered before you practically yanked the doors off their hinges opening them before quickly closing them behind you before you eagerly looked around and walked to the edge and looked all around. 

“You need to learn to look up when you’re looking for a dragoner.” Zaq practically purred as you looked up and saw him looking down on you from the balcony above. 

“The view from up here is second to none.” He mused which got you to laugh before you reached up and pushed your cleavage up more. 

“Better?” You teased which made him just shake his head with amusement and with an adoring smile. 

“Your smile is.” He complimented and you blushed crimson as you crinkled your nose at him. 

“So now what?” You asked as you leaned back guardrail and crossed your arms under your chest and smirked when you saw his gaze travel down for a moment before it went back to your eyes. 

“Hang on,” he held up a finger and dissappeared for a moment as you just stared up expectantly before your ears heard rustling before you left from the spot to look over and up and gasped when you saw him scaling the fucking palace as he used the vines to climb down. 

“Oh my god Zaq! Do you have a death wish?!” You tried to yell at him in a hushed whisper as you practically reached out to make sure he made it to this balcony at least semi safely. 

“You…” You tried to argue before he grabbed your face and kissed you with all the passion in his being as you completely surrendered yourself to him and practically melted in your spot. 

“I know you’re worried that today will be the last day we will get to be together. I swear on my life it isn’t. Just enjoy today, enjoy the moment, don’t let your worry steal your joy. Your best friend is getting married today, enjoy it with her. Ok?” He urged you. 

“Ok,” you caved and nodded before stepping up on your tiptoes to kiss him again before he pulled himself away from you and climbed back up and just as you were about to go back in you heard the vines rustle and went over thinking Zaq came back but instead it was Xander climbing down.  “Hi,” Xander said awkwardly. 

“Hi,” you laughed. 

“I need…” Xander began. 

“I know, just wait one moment.” You offered as you went back inside and got Ester and pulled her out to her own balcony. 

“Xander, you know it’s bad luck to see…” She began to argue before he just grabbed her face and kissed her and you got to appreciate that romanticism ran in his family as you went back inside and guarded the door to make sure no one interupted them.  

“Ester, I just...I just need to know that you’re walking down the aisle because you actually want to marry me, not that you have to, forget fate and destiny and the money and political bullshit, are you doing this because you want me or because you have to?” He pleaded and the poor man was near tears which made Ester start to cry as she clung to him. 

“Xander I feel like I’m dying. All the pressure, it’s crushing me, the whole world is watching and if everything isn’t perfect, what is that…” She started to sob before he kissed her again. 

“Then let’s just get out of here, fuck it. I love you so much I don’t care about any of this. I just want you to be happy. That’s all, that’s all I want. But is that what you want? Are you happy about any of this? Are you going to be happy with me?” He asked. 

“Are you kidding? I couldn’t be happier about marrying you. You’re my soulmate, I know that, I’m so lucky Xander, I don’t mean to be a bitch, it’s just...this damn dress is killing me.” Ester broke down before she held her lower belly before Xander put two and two together and took his dragon toothed blade and cut the stitches in the back before cutting the strings of her corset before she breathed in relief once she pulled all the constraints away from her belly. 

“That’s why you needed...” He said as he embraced her as she nodded in confirmation. 

“How far along?” He asked, happy tears in his own eyes. 

“Four months.” Ester confessed. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked. 

“I couldn’t trust anyone not opening our correspondence and finding out and everything going to shit.” Ester couldn’t help but laugh through her tears. 

“I’m just worried now…” Ester began. 

“No, no, no worries, most women in Zarcade are usually five to six months pregnant by the time they get married, we had our Pozur ceremony already which that was five months ago and to Zarcadians, that’s the start of the intimacy anyway, so no worries, it’s going to be fine. And see now you get to really wear the dress you prefer, cause wasn’t this your mother’s choice?” He asked as he casually took his knife and cut the sleeve and made a few other “random” cuts before the dress practically fell off of her as she gave him an appreciative smile before she kissed him again. 

“I am going to rock your world tonight, now go get out of here before anyone sees you.” Ester shooed him away before she picked up the remains of the dress and walked back inside. The bridezilla completely gone and becoming the happy bride she wanted to be. 

“Oh no, this dress got caught on something and tore, looks like I’ll have to wear the other one.” Ester sarcastically explained to her wedding party as you and her exchanged knowing grins as she got put into a different bra that wasn’t corseted and into the other wedding dress that had been made for her. 

Less than two hours later you met Zaq at the end of the aisle and happily took his arm and walked down just before Ester did and you happily signed the marriage certificate as her maid of honor right next to Zaq, having already memorized his signature. 

The marriage feast was of course fabulous and decadent and you did your best to eat what you could and when it came down to dancing, the only one you would dance with was Zaq. 

“So I have a question for you.” Zaq prompted which made you lift your head from his shoulder to look at him expectantly. 

“After this feast- there’s a Zarcadian tradition, where the whole wedding party flies off into the moonlight with the bride and groom and one by one, they all eventually land, since you’re the maid of honor and I’m the best man, we’re the last to break off from following the bride and groom. There’s a set of camps for the rest of the wedding party but if you didn’t want to camp with everyone else, I have our own set up that we can go to for the night.” Zaq revealed. “So it doesn’t matter what your parent’s say when Ester asks for you to visit her in Zarcade after her honeymoon, we’ll have tonight, it’ll be the first of many if you’re interested.” Zaq offered as your eyes got wide. 

“When do we return to everyone else?” You asked. 

“Well, you see that’s the thing, the tent is magicked, time passes normally for those in the tent but very slowly outside, so what may feel like a few days for us, will only be a night and a morning to everyone else.” He answered with a look that had your panties soaked. 

“Seriously? You could have told me and I could have packed for the occasion, and worn lingerie at least.” You playfully slapped his chest but your excited smile shamed the sun. 

“Wait, Ester’s gonna ask what?” You asked, that detail just now sinking in. 

“Well, judging by the way Ester and Xander are walking purposefully over to your parents right now…” Zaq nodded over before your head whipped around and found them before your hands closed firmly around Zaq’s and the two of you promptly left the dance floor as you dragged Zaq behind you as you weaved through the others with Zaq snickering a laugh behind you as he followed after you as you stopped just short of the scene, your chest heaving as your grip became as hard as iron on Zaq’s hand as he stood next to you as both of you watched with bated breath and eager eyes. 

“Dauphine Unasta, I have a favor to ask.” Ester began. 

“Anything Princess Ester.” Your father invited. 

“Immediately after my honeymoon, I wish for Ester to visit me in my new home in Zarcade, please permit her to come visit me for as long as I will want her with me.” She requested loudly, stopping everyone within earshot as everything seemed to pause as all eyes suddenly went to your father. 

“Surely you would like more time with your groom and getting settled with your inlaws before you….” Your father tried to excuse. 

“It is my dearest and most fervent wish.” She interrupted him and the look in her eyes conveyed that she was not going to take no for an answer. 

“If I may interject.” Zaq suddenly piped up and let go of your hand to step forward where your father’s eyes landed on him and there was suspicion veiled behind your father’s forced pleasant features. 

“In talking with your daughter Anya this evening I understand that the patriarch of your family, your father Eli Unasta Sr- is too ill to be here in attendance here tonight. Perhaps it would be a matter that would be best brought up to him before an answer is made.” Zaq countered and the looks of surprise and disbelief on Xander’s, Ester’s and your own face were almost comical. You could have smacked him, your father was this close to caving. What was he thinking?!

“Yes, that is correct. Forgive us Princess, Anya is most beloved by her grandfather and since he is the patriarch of the family, he does have the final say, when we return home, we will inquire and we will send word of his response when you return from your honeymoon.” Your father Leo put to Ester who you could tell was not happy or pleased about that answer but a quick squeeze of Xander’s hand a look that said ‘it’s ok’ kept her from arguing further. 

“Well, please convey the urgency of the request, especially since Anya will be the godmother to my future children and in order for certain traditions and rituals to be observed, her attendance will be demanded then.” Ester reminded them with a smile that said ‘I will raise hell myself if you don’t say yes’ and promptly left and gave you an apologetic smile to you before she practically marched away as Zaq then escorted you back to the dance floor. 

“What the fuck was that?!” You growled angrily. 

“Part of the plan.” Zaq began calmly. “You see now instead of your father feeling like he was forced to say yes and being begrudging and resentful about it- what do you think the chances were that if your father had said yes- that there would be no way you would have been able to come alone- your whole family or at least a brother or two would have accompanied you to act like bodyguards who would have put all of you on guard and would have made sure we had no alone time at all?” Zaq asked. 

“Extremely likely, but when my grandfather says no- that means I wouldn’t have been able to come at all. Some is still better than none.” You argued.

“But all is better than some. Have faith, hopefully your father now thinks I’m respectful and mindful of Unasta’s traditions instead of just my own or just Suters. Father’s dig respectful future sons in law- trust me on this. I need to win their faith, trust and approval in the small things so that when the time comes- they’ll trust me with the big things, like your health and happiness, they’ll be more willing to take that leap. This is a process, with many tiny little battles, but trust me, we’re gonna win the war, I’m in this for the long haul, whatever and however long it takes, it’s gonna be worth it.” Zaq explained. 

“But if it takes us twenty years…” You tried to argue. 

“It’s not going to take that long. I give it by the end of the year.” Zaq informed you. 

“Wha..? How? How do you think it’ll only take 9 months?” You questioned. 

“If I told you now, you wouldn’t believe me.” Zaq insisted. 

“Try me.” You prodded. 

“Your grandfather will say ‘yes’ to Esters request. I don’t know how he’ll say yes, but I have it on good authority that he will.” Zaq revealed in a whisper. 

“How do you know?” You questioned. 

“I’ll tell you when we get to the camp tonight.” Zaq placated before a quicker song started to play and he really danced with you. 

When it came time for the end of the feast, you happily put you dragon wool cloak on over your dress as your parents asked what was going on but you didn’t stay long enough to hear any of their objections before riding off into the moonlight with Zaq. 

And as you looked back you saw how one by one, each couple start to veer off, having passed the camp where a series of tents had been put up and once each one pulled away, the others would veer off and fly back to the camp leaving you and Zaq riding behind Ester and Xander before finally you saw a small tent surrounded by lanterns in a small clearing on a hillside, and on the opposite side another larger one where Xander and Ester flew to. 

“Wow,” you breathed in awe when you saw everything, appreciating how incredibly romantic it all was as Zaq took of Sossa’s saddle and things off of her so she could do as she pleased for the night. 

“Can I help carry anything?” You asked as you noticed he was about to carry her saddle bags and saddle into the tent. 

“Sure.” He agreed, happy that you were helping him and once inside the tent, you noticed how it was so much bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. 

“Wait,” you giggled as you left the tent to walk around it’s normal sized outward appearance before you went back in and noticed it was like a palace on the inside. It was decadent and luxurious and you just couldn’t stop laughing. This was the coolest thing you had ever experienced. 

“You like it?” Zaq guessed. 

“I love it, it feels like a home away from home.” You praised, trying to appreciate every little detail you could as Zaq’s smile turned absolutely adoring, because it was. 

“So, I wanted to ask you, if you would go through a Pozur ceremony with me.” He rather nervously asked. 

“What is it?” You asked curiously. 

“It’s where a couple vow’s their commitment to each other, it’s like a more private more intimate version of an engagement.” Zaq explained as he sat you down at a lovely and comfortable sitting area. 

“What is involved? Like do I have sign something in blood or…?” You guessed. 

“No! No, nothing like that, we literally drink a pot of tea together and each of us eat half of a Jetzi melon in between promising each other things in between each bite.” He explained. 

“Oh! Yeah, I’m in,”  you readily agreed. 

“Ok, there’s also special robes we get to wear,” he added as he showed you a special blue dragon silk robe set before you both got behind your own curtains to get undressed. You loved the feel of it on your skin before you came out wearing nothing but the robe and could tell he wasn’t wearing anything under his as he showed you to a special area where a pot of tea and a melon were before he poured you a cup of tea and had you drink some as he sliced the melon in a very specific manner as you noticed there was a basket with other melons along with other fruits. 

Jetzi melons were unique to Zarcade- they only grew above a certain altitude and only grew in volcanic soil that had a good amount of volcanic ash and was fertilized with dragon manure. They were sweeter than the most intense wild honey and were famed for having aphrodisiac properties and they were incredibly fragrant and just him cutting the melon open filled the entire tent with the fragrance before you noticed that your tea was special Limini tea, it also didn’t grow below a certain altitude and needed special conditions too. It had a tropical fruit flavor with a kick that wasn’t necessarily like caffeine or even alcohol or even spicy or tart or sour but perhaps a mix of all of them, but it had euphoric effects on the drinker and the only way it had been described is it helped couples feel love drunk, but only if they were predisposed to feel that way. Otherwise it just helped you feel at peace and a sense of serenity and was also popular to drink after funerals to help with the mourning process while Jetzi melons were usually strictly a honeymoon fruit to nonzarcadians. 

Once he was done slicing it in half, he took a spoon to one side and scooped out some of the center pulp and held out his hand for your teacup before you handed it back and he dropped it into the tea and refilled the cup and handed it back as you watched as the stringy pulp that tied all the seeds together practically melted in the hot tea and when you had thought the tea had tasted wonderful before- now it tasted amazing. 

“Try not to drink the seeds, they won’t hurt you but I want to save as many as we can.” He urged you. 

“Why?” You asked curiously. 

“So we can plant them wherever we end up living.” He answered and that answer made you so unbelievably happy before he handed you a slice of the melon after he dumped a spoonful of the pulp in his own tea cup and then put the rest into a bowl and you couldn’t help but think the seeds looked like caviar or papaya seeds.

Then he presented you with a lapis lazuli stone connected to two necklace chains. 

"From now on, this will connect us instead of just these." He announced as he unwrapped the handle of his dagger to reveal a polished lapis handle and once you went and got yours and put them side by side- you realized they were the perfect matched set, his was a bit more masculine and yours more feminine but gorgeous but a dagger was hard to keep in your hand all the time before you put the daggers down next to each other on the table before he put one chain on his neck before he put the other on you before the stone magically split in half, each side having one half of an intricate design that interlocked perfectly with the other, looking like sapphire blue druzy from a distance and now that it was on your chest, you felt how he was feeling more intensely, he was nervous but so excited and he just loved and adored you and he was willing to do whatever it took to make you happy as you realized you felt the same way about him. It was so beautiful. 

“Ok, between each bite, we make a series of promises to each other, now what you can do is either repeat what I say or you can twist it or add to it or one up me or whatever you want to do, but you have to live up to what you say.” He said as he sat back into the couch with you, his tea cup in one hand and a slice of the melon in the other. 

“I promise that I will love you until the day I die.” He began as he clinked his tea cup with yours which signified the start of the ceremony before he took a bite of the melon. 

“I likewise promise to love and cherish you until the day I die.” You returned as you did the same and took a bite of the melon. It was so insanely sweet and rich but yet refreshing. Like a sugar kiss melon, papaya and mango all drizzled with wild honey had a baby in your mouth with hints of ripe peaches, custard apple, pineapple and kiwi. It was hard to only have one bite. 

For what felt like hours, you went back and forth, each of you practically making up your own marriage vows as you continued to drink the amazing tea, eat the wonderful melon and deposited the “used” seeds into a separate bowl, since all the seeds had a sweet coating but once that coating melted off, they gave a spicy aftertaste that made your mouth tingle and just a tiny bit numb but the heat intensified after a moment so once that happened, you had to quickly strain the seeds out of the tea and chug what was left in your glass so it didn’t “taint” any more tea before you got a fresh cup full. 

By the end of it, you were both laughing your asses off, feeling drunk on love but not really “intoxicated” to the point your senses were dulled or inhibited, if anything, they were intensified as you scooted closer and closer to each other until you were in his lap and kissing him in between bites of melon and sips of tea and it was like every nerve in your body was alight with delight while every muscle was relaxed in your body and even though you didn’t need the aphrodisiac effects of any of it, it didn’t hurt either. But what ended the ceremony was penetrative sex, so that meant that this was the most intense makeout session ever with lots of heavy petting and grinding and when you both tried wracking your brains with what you could possibly promise each other- you both gave up and gave in and once the robes were openned fully and you really got to see the other, you both realized the absolute prize the other was. 

And when he lifted you up and carried you to the bedroom portion of the tent, you were all too happy to wrap your bare legs around his waist and kiss him and grinded your sopping wet pussy on his waist as he groaned before he laid you down reverently. But instead of finally entering you, he worshiped you with his hands and mouth, you had thought that hours long kissing and grinding was all foreplay- no- that was just the beginning, now it was foreplay time. 

When his fingers and his mouth finally played with your clit, you couldn’t help it- you came- rather quickly and easily too as your legs shook and you pulled his hair and rode his face like he was a bucking bronco. And it was not just any old orgasm either- it was the biggest most intense orgasm of your life so far and you felt like the high lasted almost 20 minutes because Zaq kept sucking and licking up your cream like it was the tastiest dessert which prolonged it until you got to the point that you were overstimulated and begged for him to stop so that you could recover as he crawled up your body, kissing a trail over every inch of skin before he laid beside you and cradled you into his arms before he pulled up the blankets around you so that you would both be warm and once you were recovered, you happily hiked your leg over his hip and pulled him into you. You didn’t know how he didn’t have a headache from having a boner for so long. But when it finally entered you- it was overwhelming. One- you were a virgin. Two- so was he but both of you had read more than your fair share of smutty romance novels so you had a clue what sex was. 

Somehow you felt like you were being stuffed full to the point of bursting, yet surprisingly whole as you both marveled at how well you both fit together like two puzzle pieces finally locking into place. 

“Holy fucking shit,” you exclaimed, feeling like he was about to split you in half but at the same time, this felt better than anything ever had as you opened your eyes and saw that his own face was drawn in intense concentration as he shuddered but wouldn’t move. 

“What’s wrong?” You asked. 

“I need a moment, I’m trying not to cum yet.” He admitted because your hot pussy was already constricting around him and he was ready to pop. 

“Yeah, I don’t think we only have one round in us do we?” You asked. 

“No, but I don’t want to hurt you or wear you out, because I can already tell, I’m going to want to make love to you until we run out of cum or we’re both raw and you’re going to have to make me stop cause once I get started- I don’t know if I’ll…” He worried before you silenced him with a kiss. 

“I’ll stop you when I’ve had enough, I promise, just cum.” You urged before he tried to do a single pump and immediately came himself, cumming so much it filled you to the brim before it leaked out. 

But, but he barely softened before he seemed to roll into round two- using his own cum as extra lubrication and in no time at all, he brought you both to your second orgasm, then a third, and a fourth and after that you lost count, you experimented with every possible sex position as you used the nest of the bed and the overabundance of pillows to support the both of you and once you reached the point that your sex did practically feel a bit raw so you had to stop him before he had you both drink a milk drink that seemed to cool off your sex drives and invite sleepiness as the top of the tent was pulled back to reveal a silk screen so you could watch the stars and the moon as you both drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms, all the lanters in the tent dimming until they turned off and once again, you both marveled at how you fit together so wonderfully. 

When you woke up, the top of the tent had been pulled back in place and the lights had been turned up so it was brighter in the tent, you felt like you had slept for at least 12 to 14 hours and while there was some residual soreness, you otherwise felt refreshed and restored and so unbelievably happy because the heart that beat in the chest under your head- you knew belonged to you just like you were sure that the one beating in your own chest belonged to the man you were sleeping with as you moved your necklace over to him so that the two halves of the stone magnetically were drawn to each other and fit back together to make a whole stone. 

“Good morning,” you cooed when you heard his breathing start to change as he woke up, his hold on you becoming a smidge tighter before it relaxed again before his arm that was wrapped around you stroked your arm tenderly. 

“Good morning Beautiful.” He grunted sleepily before he peeked an eye open and smiled down at you before kissing your forehead and squeezed you a little tighter as you hugged him back and kissed his chest sweetly before you playfully licked his nipple just to see him squirm. 

“Ah,” he laughed as he sunk his chest and tried to squirm out of range as you giggled and tried “chasing” him, since one of your discoveries last night was that he had sensitive nipples, almost as sensitive as yours. 

“Stop, stop,” he playfully pleaded between giggles himself as he halfheartedly pushed you back to keep you from doing it again. But this was too much fun as you both rolled around in the bed, half playing half gently wrestling before you managed to land your mouth on his neck and promptly gave him a hickey on his neck which he gladly let you do as your mouth traveled up his neck to his jaw then his mouth as you kissed him deeply, your body immediately seeming to slip into a rhythm as you grinded into him to feel his morning wood before you kissed a trail down his body, the necklace, being pulled apart once more because last night- you had discovered that sucking him off had been way more delicious than your sisters and cousins claimed it was when they did it with their significant others and the look on his face when you closed your mouth around his cock was so beautiful. The way his eyes were lidded and his smile was pleasured and the way his body reacted to it, was just so fun to watch. His breathing became labored again as his fingers threaded through your hair before fisting in it just enough to drive you wild and speed up your own menstrations a bit. 

“Anya, I’m, I’m gonna,” he tried to warn you as you sucked even harder and faster before his whole body tensed as he came in your mouth and you noticed that last night- his cum had tasted like the Jetzi melon and Limini tea but now it tasted less like the melon and more like...well what you supposed his normal cum would taste like. It wasn’t a bad taste- but it was more...well, you couldn’t describe it. But the look of him happy and practically dazed made you so proud of yourself that you had this power over him. 

“Alright, you’re turn,” he practically growled before he pulled you up so that you could sit on his face. Thank God there was a headboard there to hang onto because the feel of his mouth on your womanhood and especially your oh so sensitive clit was heaven and just about overwhelming and had you keening and crying out in tortured bliss over him as you rode his face as hard as you dared and in what felt like a matter of minutes you were practically screaming your release. Your mind was practically blown at this point. 

Once you rode it out, you got off to collapse next to him for a few minutes before going another round, this time slower than you had last night- really savoring each touch and caress and once you were both finally satisfied, then you realized how much of an appetite you had both worked up by the sound of your stomach’s growling. 

“Hungry?” He asked. 

“Yeah,” you confirmed before he got out of bed and handed you another robe- this one just fluffy, plush and soft like fur, but it wasn’t quite fur as he then led you to the kitchen area where there was a large block of ice that was it's own room, surrounding every kind of meat and seafood imaginable- like a mini market inside the big block of ice that had an ice door and the kitchen also had a pantry stocked with every other ingredient you could ever want to make any dish you wanted and dishes and cutlery too and a spice cupboard that you knew could cost a fortune and every spice there was. 

“How did you get all this in here?” You asked. 

“It’s easy- I buy one of everything and put it in here and the magic properties of the ice- lets me have as many of the item that I want, you just have to be extremely picky and make sure that you have as perfect of a specimen as you can get and get as much of a range as you can.” He explained. 

“Cool, now how well do you cook?” You asked him. 

“I’ll be honest, I’ve always had servants cook for me, so I’ve never done it.” He confessed with a wince. 

“That’s ok, I’m fairly decent, we’ll cook together.” You urged him as he was ready and willing to learn this valuable life skill as you walked him through how to make a proper Unastan breakfast and after you cooked everything, he showed you how it had a macial dishwashing sink, you just put all your dirty dishes into it and they washed themselves which was a nice wonder. 

“Ok, so, spill, how do you know my grandfather will say yes?” You pressed as you sat together in your robes in the little breakfast nook. 

“Because my great grandmother is an oracle, her dragon that’s been the only reason she’s still alive this long- it uses it’s magic to do so, so one of her abilities thanks to that bond is to spill a few prophecies and turns out she’s been prophesying about you my whole life.” He grinned. 

“Nuh uh,” you frowned disbelievingly. 

“Really Eagle?” He teased as he went and got his journal and showed you the pages of half the prophecy he had written down just for this occasion and showed it to you and showed you the dates of the prophecy and when they were fulfilled about what you had said in conversation and what had happened during the engagement feast as you just sat there with your jaw on the floor. 

“Well I’ll be damned.” You marveled at it. “This explains quite a bit actually. Alright, alright, if you say he’ll say yes, then I’ll trust he will. I have no idea how he’ll do it, but ok,” you agreed before you handed it back before you stretched and yawned. 

“I don’t want to go back,” you complained as you laid your head on his shoulder. 

“Well, we still have about a day and a half in here before anyone would miss us.” He gauged by looking at the hourglass next to the door. 

“Oh so that’s how you slow down time.” You realized as you got up and looked at it closer. 

“Yup, so far in real time we’ve been here for about two hours, because every hour gives us 12 in here,” he revealed. 

“Is there any part of your life that magic doesn’t touch?” You asked. 

“Not really, I’m sure Zarcade would come to a crippling halt without the magic of the dragons, and we’ve all gotten so lazy- that I don’t think any of us would know how to do anything without it.” He admitted. 

“Yeah, I’m not moving to Zarcade, I can’t imagine my boredom if I were to actually move there.” You confessed. 

“I know, I would never ask you to. And frankly, I can’t wait to get the hell out of it myself. While I love the fact that destiny brought you into my life- I don’t want to be ruled by it anymore. I see how happy my brother is with Ester and I see how happy I am when I’m with you- but I also see how miserable my parents are, and how everyone always seems to clash living together at the tower because we all practically live on top of each other and there’s hierarchy and bullshit and politics and intrigue and part of me doesn’t want you to come and see it all for yourself or ever be the victim of any of it. And when you come I will do my best to protect you from it, but I am only human, and I can only do so much. That’s why I want your parents to like me as much as possible because when I leave Zarcade- I want to be able to leave there and call your home my home and this is as close to Zarcade as I want your home to ever be. I don’t care if we don’t have a copper piece between us and I have to give up my dragon and all of this and all the magic my dragon shares with me, because life in Zarcade isn’t really life or living- it’s just...not dying, there’s a difference. The reason I pledged my undying fidelity, is because my father didn’t when he did that ceremony with my mother when they got married- and now I have more half siblings than I can count with just about every maid in the house that my mother keeps on getting rid of them to the other families and bringing in new ones and trying to get the ugliest ones she can and now I see the way my father looks at my brother’s wives and their friends and relatives I just want to hurl most of the time. It’s like he’s addicted to other younger prettier women and I can’t tell you the depth of my mother’s pain. But she puts up with it because she feels she doesn’t have a choice and the glitter of gold and jewels and softness of dragon silk can never distract her from that recurring betrayal. That’s why Xander was so sick yesterday because he’s scared that he’ll turn into our father because all these women keep making passes at him because he’s a handsome guy and he keeps rejecting them, as firmly as he can and he feels like he’s becoming an asshole but that’s the lengths he’s going to- to stay faithful to her. And I know Ester is already suspicious and I don’t ever want you to feel like I would ever cheat on you or betray you in any way, shape or form." Zaq explained. 

"OK, well good news is, that in the Unasta province, there are several high mountains in a mountain range near the sea, if I could get given a male dragon that Sossa would happily mate with, we can settle there and if we have to carve out a nesting site there, that's what we'll do, this tent can be our home even. We'll be OK." You ventured with a scheming grin. 

You enjoyed another 12 hours with him in the tent which was only another hour out of it before he had you drink another special tea that was a special kind of birth control before he helped you get redressed in your bridesmaid dress and cloak and handed you a backpack of other gifts and you helped him take the tent down, marveling how it all just folded up like a throw blanket with a few special rods and fit in a backpack of his own before he called Sossa back and he walked you through saddling her before you packed up the other lanterns and flew back to the other camp where you begrudgingly left Zaq's side to camp with your other sisters and cousins who wanted to stay up half the night giggling and gossiping about how fine those Zarcadian men were. You realized most of them were where you were four months ago. 

When you got home, you pressed your father to actually make the request that Ester had made and your father begrudgingly went in, letting your father’s giant boa out who slithered up to you as you pet her, not noticing how she nuzzled your belly before climbing you to nuzzle your face with her own. 

“I don’t suppose there’s any way you can ask grandpa to let me go to Zarcade is there?” You jokingly said as your faith started to waiver a little before she gave you her version of a hug. 

“Thanks Shasa,” you smiled as you hugged her back before she left and went back into the other room through her modified “snake door” which was basically a doggy door before you heard your father call you to hear your grandpa’s answer yourself. 

“Yes Papa?” You answered. 

“Come here dearest.” He bid you before you came and kneeled down next to the bed as you grasped his withered hands as you could feel your tears prick your eyes as you prepared yourself for whatever was about to befall you. 

“Leave us.” He ordered the others and you waited until it was just you, your grandpa and his snake Shasa laying over him like an overgrown cat. 

“I’m so proud of you.” He said simply which made you lift your head and consider him. “You have always done everything your own way. And you are going to embark on the journey of a lifetime, I have been waiting for this moment my whole life- only you have the strength and courage to do what needs to be done. And you will make this leap of faith and your beloved will catch you and when the two of you make the next leap of faith, your family will catch you. You worry for nothing child. You will go to Zarcade- and when you leave- your beloved will follow you, but he won’t be the only one- more than you can count will follow you back home.” He told you and you wanted to pinch yourself, there was no way this was real. 

“Thank you.” You thanked him as you kissed his cheek and squeezed his hands. 

“Now, bring all of my children in here, I need to tell them too.” He said as you quickly gathered everyone into the room before you returned to your place next to him, eager to have him repeat his answer to everyone. 

“Write this down.” He ordered your aunt which recorded all of his commandments. 

“She will go to Zarcade and stay for as long as she wants- she needs to go, she has fate in one hand and destiny in another and she will mold both to her will. She is like the eagle- she is the Eagle of Unasta, soaring cloud high, proud and sharp, seeing and observing everything, she will be our spy in enemy territory. She will find the Zarcadian’s fall and demise and hold it in her hands and can turn them against each other so that they crumble from the inside out.” He foretold and your heart and stomach dropped and you felt like you were going to be sick. Suddenly you didn’t want to go anymore. 

“There is one that will abandon his traditions and ways to follow her and we must accept him for he will be her family and she will be his and he will be her greatest helper and ensure her success. She will see dragonfire and the dragon nests with her own eyes, she will understand and unlock secrets as the dragons themselves will show her and imprint on her and follow where she goes. She will be the breaker of chains- free-er of slaves and unlock sacred secrets hoarded by the Zarcadians since the beginning of time. She will restore my house and make whole what has been shattered and splintered and heal all my wounds and afflictions. She will be the first dragoner of Suter and she will bring dragons to the rest of world so that the Zarcadians will no longer be able to hoard them and their power, and she will bring in a new age and pioneer and bring together all the pieces of this puzzle. She will go. Prepare her and equip her with every tool we have. The Eagle will see all and her talons must be large and sharp to grasp her prey. She will not fail. And when she returns- she will inherit the mountains themselves and she will build a house taller and greater than any in Zarcade that will stand forever and we will use the time she is away to lay the foundations for her to build on, for she will be gone for most of the summer, she will be missed but she will come home to us with success because she will achieve the impossible, because she has already captured the heart of her prey. The one who her heart is set on- is a good, faithful, protective, honorable, honest and courageous young man, he has a strength of character that only diamonds can boast of, he will care for her for the rest of their days and will fill this family with joy and pride. He will be the first of many Zarcadians into this family and we will welcome them all, for they will all have their eyes opened and see their homes for what they really are. He must come as soon as possible and stay until Ester and Xander come and pick him and Anya up to bring them back to Zarcade, in the meantime, we will welcome him into the family with arms wide open and embrace him fully, for he is our newest member and we will open his eyes and show him that there is more to life than dragons and traditions, we will show him how we are a fun, easy going, hard working, exciting, loving, kind, hospitable and generous family, he will have the cabin on the hill at the very base of the mountains that he will inherit it with Anya and no one should interfere with their relationship or privacy- they are one- both in mind and spirit. When he comes again in the fall, he will marry Anya and their wedding will be the greatest this family has ever had, then he will stay forever and he and Anya will raise their family and the dragons in the mountains, give them everything they ask for. We must apologize to Anya for making her feel like she had to hide this from us, fearing we would tear her apart like wolves and disown her just for loving him. No one should ever feel that way, not in this family and not anymore.” Eli smiled so proudly at you as you gave way to tears, both happy for the blessing that said that you will make Zaq yours, but how could he ever forgive you for finding a way to bring down his home and spying on his country and his family? You didn’t know. 

[yourcoolfriendwithallthecandy]

The Eagle of Unasta and The Dragon of Zarcade Part 2

Look, I’m in a funk ok? I will get back to my Viking’s stuff as soon as I get this story out of my system. @waiting4inspiration​ you still might like this even though it doesn’t pertain to any particular fandom that you like. In case you missed it, here’s part 1.  Enjoy part 2. 

Part 2

In the morning, you woke up, feeling well rested, and rejuvenated, dreaming of flying with Zaq some more among other things and when you fully woke up, you realized you had slept in the cloak but you hadn’t sweated in it, if anything you had been perfectly comfortable in it. It smelled of the night air and Zaq and you couldn’t help but bring it to your face and breathed in as deeply as you could as you marveled at its softness against your face. 

He had carried you to bed like you had weighed nothing. Truth be told you were a rather voluptuous woman, shorter than you supposed was average and very curvy but compact and much heavier than you looked because you had more strength and muscle than most realized, so that was a feat in itself because he carried you like you had been barely a feather and he was clearly quite strong himself which you appreciated. 

You got dressed and came down to breakfast at about the same time the rest of your family did as Ester eagerly waived you over to sit next to her again at her table. 

“I thought you’d be in bed for at least another hour.” She murmured under her breath as she gave you a scheming smile. 

“So did I, I have no idea when we got back.” You muttered back, keeping your voice barely above a whisper. “Now I’m just waiting for the floor to drop and my family to throw a fit over what I did when they find out, every Zarcadian here practically saw me riding last night- if my family doesn’t know already- I give it an hour before they do then shit will hit the fan.” You predicted. 

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so quick to worry. If anything you just gave every Zarcadian here hope that they have half a chance.” She mused which made you snort a laugh into your coffee. 

“Yeah right, like one dance, one ride and two gifts is the magic combination to the Unasta’s lock.” You gave her a disbelieving look. 

“Wait, gifts? What gifts?” She asked. 

“That cloak I was wearing last night on that ride, it was given to me as a gift by Zaq.” You explained. 

“Well a cloak can be just a cloak, it’s an item of clothing that can be bought and sold like any other.” She waived off dismissively. “I’ve been given dozens of cloaks in every color conceivable not to mention a whole new wardrobe of nothing but the finest dragon silk and dragon wool clothes which I'm finding I'm becoming incredibly partial to because they are rather comfortable- no offense to your aunt, but I would happily never wear another corset ever again after I marry Xander. But what makes my clothes special is Zarcadian’s use their dragon’s magic to divine your adult size even when you’re little or even when you’re a newborn, they somehow use it to figure out what your sizes will be when the engagement will be implemented, so that all of your clothes fit you like a glove when they’re given to you, it’s supposed to signify how you were always fated to fit in with the rest of the family and how your place has been carved out for you, although it is uncanny how well it all suits my tastes, the dragon silk and wool takes ages to dye and it has to be carefully crafted for years, which is why Zarcadian fashion tends to be so timeless.” She added. “So what was the second? Please tell me it was a kiss good night though, because I saw the way you eyed him all last night and I know once your eagle eyes lock on, there’s no losing your target and I must say I wholeheartedly approve because you two looked so great together when you were dancing last night.” She gushed. 

“No, it was a dragon tooth blade.” You answered as you pulled it out of your pocket and showed it to her before she took it and took it out of its sheath to inspect it. 

“Huh, interesting.”  she frowned in concentration as she looked it over carefully, using the point to casually clean out her fingernail. “It’s nice, I mean not as nice as mine because I have mine spectacularly bejeweled, to the point I’m afraid the stones will come out if I use it. But you prefer functionality over looks so this suits you incredibly well. Does Zaq have one that is like a masculine version of it? Like a matched set?” She asked hopefully. 

“No, not that I’ve seen, why?”You returned curiously. 

“Well, see here’s the thing, if he had one just like it or a masculine version of it- like it’s a matched set- that means something.” She revealed. 

“What does it mean?” You pressed as you felt vindicated in your gut feeling about it last night. 

“So what the Zarcadians will do for couples is they enchant one big rough stone once the match is set, and it will be the link to join the couple and the stone- usually the nonzarcadian’s favorite stone- and it can be made into anything- jewelry, like a bracelet or a pendant, but the most common is handles for dragon tooth blades. And it’s supposed to signify that even in battle, you will defend each other and that your connection to each other is as strong as the dragon toothed blade it’s attached to. But if he doesn’t have one that matches it- then it’s just a normal dragon toothed blade- and again- those get bought and sold and traded all the time. So either those gifts mean he’s just being nice and generous and trying to befriend you, or they could mean something a bit more serious depending on your point of view.” She explained and you found yourself secretly wishing it was more serious but knew it was too much to hope for.  

“How is the stone enchanted?” You asked because you just had a gut feeling that it wasn’t just some normal dragon toothed blade, you just felt in your bones that this was special, why else would it fit your hand like it was made for it because honestly you had small, dainty, delicate- but supremely strong hands and buying gloves was always a nightmare because none of them seemed to fit right so to have something that suited your hands, was a welcome and refreshing change of pace. 

“Ok, so think of it- like a worry stone but it’s connected to the other half. Whatever you’re feeling- the other can feel it when they touch it and whatever feelings or emotions the other is feeling, you can get a sense of it from them through your half of the stone. It’s not necessarily thoughts per-say- like you can’t ask them a math question and they’ll feed you the answer, cause I tried it and it didn’t work, but it feels like…” She paused as she tried to find the right words to explain it. “You know how you feel sympathy and empathy for another person and you take how they are feeling and you make it your own?” She questioned as you nodded in understanding. 

“It’s like that, like with mine, if I’m missing him or I’m sad or frustrated, and I can hold my dagger and if he’s holding his- he can feel that and vice versa, you can tell that it’s very much how they are feeling and you choose to make it your own or not, it’s a way for the couple to always be connected so that by the time of the wedding, you’re more or less friends and get a chance to get to know their emotional makeup and moods at least.” She explained. 

“So who is Zaq betrothed to anyway?” You felt the need to ask. 

“I have no idea. No one does. His great grandmother announced at his birth that his betrothed will be ‘one of great surprise’, and ‘it is she that will make herself known to him and to his family’ according to Xander who overheard his grandmother and mother talking about it right before they came here. Which is completely against custom because usually Zarcadian men are betrothed from a year up until they are like 10 or however long it takes for a “suitable” wife to come along and be born and once the match is made- it’s practically preached in the town square and everyone knows and word spreads like wildfire and they usually become pen pals and spend a lot of time together as kids and teenagers so that they’re not strangers to each other at their wedding. So either his betrothed is older than him which would be a first for Zarcadians because usually Zarcadian men are a couple of years older than their wives. But a woman of high enough stature or valuable enough that they were simply waiting for the next son to be born and whoever was born the quickest gets the girl because Zaq and several others from the other families were all born within the span of just a couple days of each other, some even hours apart. But I don’t think that’s what happened, or at least the whole story. His whole situation makes me think that they put in a bid for a princess and that great grandma made that announcement before she got an answer back because in this day and age who in their right mind would say no to a Zarcadian? Especially one from the house of Ceda, the second most distinguished house besides the royal family? Well besides your family of course, but the fact that she has maintained that all his life- makes me think that he secretly got rejected but she’s saving face and she doesn’t want anyone to know. So I believe he’s actually single and not betrothed to anyone and that the moment any woman no matter how humble or high her station who expresses any interest in him can have him and great grandma will go ‘Tada see? Somehow it was Miss Random all along.’ And cover her ass for dropping the ball and no one would be any wiser for it. But I mean look at him and his handsome self, if my theory is right- it’s not going to be long before he’s snatched up like this last lemon custard tart.” She hastily snatched up her prize from the tray and stuffed it in her mouth which made you snort another laugh and roll your eyes as you turned the dagger over in your hand, still marveling at how perfectly fit your hand as you wondered what was really going on before you put it away. 

After breakfast you were walking through the solarium, enjoying the exotic flowers from around the world as you held that dagger in your hand in your pocket and mentally called out to Zaq to come and find you and where you were before Zaq seemed to come out of nowhere to answer your unspoken call. 

“Those don’t really have a scent Eagle.” He gently teased which made you smile excitedly before you turned from sniffing them and feeling disappointed that they did indeed, not have a scent, despite their beauty but hoping that your little “test” just proved true. 

“I suppose you already know which ones do Dragon?” You returned with a grin which made his own smirk grow into a smile. 

“I do actually.” He confirmed. 

“Then do lead me to said blooms.” You invited as you gestured for him to lead the way before he offered you his arm which you gratefully took and walked together, your strides naturally syncing with one another, not even wanting to look to see if he was wearing another dagger because you were afraid you would get disappointed that it wouldn't match just in case this was a fluke and you wanted to enjoy this little fantasy of yours a little longer before reality shattered it. 

“So where are the other wolves today? Out hunting again?” You guessed. 

“Yes, trying to anyway,” he confirmed which you hummed in response to. 

“Was there a meaning behind your gifts to me last night? Or are you just a generous person by nature?” You asked wondering if he would speak freely with you, the most you could hope for is he would be honest but he was Zarcadian after all, and you knew they did love their secrets, and wondered how many ulterior motives he had and what they were. 

“Well you are right, I am a generous person by nature, or at least I try to be and there is meaning behind them, an amicable one I assure you.” He answered. 

Well that confirmed that he wanted to be your friend but it didn’t negate the more serious intentions either. 

“Well I am appreciative of the gifts, the cloak fits me well and is perfectly balanced in that it kept me warm but wasn’t suffocating in any way, and this blade is especially exquisite and the handle is extraordinary, I have never had a blade fit my hands as well as this does and it has a beautiful balance of functionality and beauty. The blade your brother Xander gave to Ester is in my opinion, overly decorated to the point that it negates it’s functionality but Ester does love that kind of thing, I’m sure a gem would fall off the moment she would try to use it to spread butter on her toast not that it’ll probably never leave it’s sheathe. However I understand there is some cultural significance considering Xander has one that matches it since it came in a set. She informed me that it’s to signify that they’re a couple, which is a sweet tradition in my opinion, it can make a betrothal easier to accept especially when the parties have little to no choice in the matter.” You ventured as you took it out and continued to appraise it.   

 “It does, but I know that you are not chained to such traditions.” He answered carefully, knowing he would have to choose his words carefully and not spill the beans too soon and scare you off. 

“You are also correct. My grandfather is very clear to his children and even his grandchildren that we should freely choose for ourselves what we should do and who we should marry and to hold fate in one hand and destiny in another and yet not give into either unless we want to but to otherwise carve out what you want with your own two hands.” You revealed. 

“What I would give to be in such a family.” Zaq sighed, a week before he would have been feeling extremely jealous himself but right now he was tickled that you once again said word for word what his grandmother had predicted and he couldn’t wait to actually be your family one day.  

“So absolute freedom then? No strings or restrictions?” He asked. 

“Well, there is one stipulation. We are forbidden from marrying any Zarcadians, my grandfather may be old and getting perhaps a little senile in his old age but he's still the patriarch of the family and he still decides who inherits what and he does get the final say in all the important matters and so far he has never been wrong about anything, so at least while he lives, his word is law to a degree in our family. Now I'm told he has his reasons for feeling the way he does about Zarcadians but my parents as well as all my aunts and uncles refuse to tell me or my sisters or my cousins what those reasons could possibly be and shut us down every time we try to ask. There is a theory among us though that he loved a Zarcadian woman in his youth. But my grandfather was of very little means with no political ties so he had nothing but himself to offer her, and she had been betrothed to another since infancy or childhood or whatever the Zarcadian custom may be and could not break it for him. So his rejection made him bitter and there was no way for him to know at the time that he or any of his relation would ever amount to anything more than a commoner. I have seen Zarcade from a distance, even the houses of slaves are great and even they can trace their lineage back generations whereas in my family- all we have is living memory that my grandmother can remember about her own large family since my grandfather can only remember himself as a tumbleweed before he was in the army. But he found a place for himself as a soldier of Suter and his friends that he made there were closer than brothers and he made his own found family and he did get to marry my grandmother which he has vowed always was, always is and always will be the love of his life and even now, their love for each other burns brighter than the sun, as does the love between my parents and all my aunts and uncles." You confessed, shocking yourself with how easy it was to be so forthcoming, and worrying that Zaq now had ammunition against you as your stroked the handle to the blade anxiously before you felt a sense of calm, like you were safe- like you were with a dear friend who would keep your confidence- there was no other way to explain it. 

“Well I am, technically only a small, tiny fraction Zarcadian, surely that’s far enough away from it for it not to be held against me.” He tried to reason, his own tone still light and a little teasing which helped you relax as you smiled fondly at him. 

“Well while I can only speak for myself, I promise to do my best not to hold that against you, however I think others in my family probably- and by probably I mean most likely- would. I think they would take issue with the fact that your family is one of the most noble families of Zarcade, second only to the royal family and you live in one of the towers in the old kingdom do you not?” You questioned as he grimaced. 

“Details, details,” He tried to waive off dismissively which made you giggle as you either consciously or subconsciously hugged his well muscled arm and laid your head on his shoulder for a moment before he covered your hand that was in the crook of his elbow and you found yourself appreciating for a second time how warm his hands were, still that same balance between softness and calloused-ness, yet profoundly tender, thinking to yourself that you could so fall in love with him with almost alarming ease and wondered if you could live with yourself if you defied your family to chase this dream you were perceiving now when you looked at him, of course, with him being possibly betrothed to another didn't sit well with you, as you were brought up that a husband and wife should be absolutely loyal and faithful to the other and that mistresses were never an option, that if there was no more love in a marriage- that one should divorce the other so that you were both free to love another and find happiness and love again, you never wanted to be the other woman and would in turn never tolerate infidelity but if he was secretly free and single and looking to get out of Zarcade you could definitely be interested and you would happily break him out of the traditions he was chained to if he wanted to be free that is. You supposed only time could tell at this point though.  

When you got to the promised blooms, you reluctantly let him go to take a few steps off the path to smell the blooms as Zaq’s dragon flew all around the salarium to try to get a closer look at the two you as Zaq was shooing her away. 

“Is your dragon missing you?” You asked, having seen her reflection in the glass around you. 

“Kind of?” Zaq grimaced, you really did see everything and he didn’t want his dragon ruining or spoiling anything just yet. 

“So if I may be so bold- is there any way to be a dragoner without being a Zarcadian?” You asked. 

“Well, in theory, yes, if you could get your hands on some dragon eggs and manage to incubate them and successfully hatch them, you could grow them up and start breeding them once they’re of size but most dragons have a way of finding their brethren and returning to the same place their ancestors hatched from since they use the same sites for generations as long as the sites are not compromised or contaminated because most dragons are actually really picky about how and where they lay their eggs, of course, with that being said- you’d have to brave a whole cavern full of nursery and guardian dragons to get to the eggs.” He answered and you got the sense that he was being truthful. 

“So how are dragon eggs incubated?” You asked curiously, thrilled that he was sharing even this much with you. 

“Well they get set on fire by the parent’s dragon fire and have to stay at really high temperatures for several months, the longer the better. I have to get dressed in many thick layers of dragon leather and dragon scale armor and use special lenses made out of translucent dragon scales to even see the eggs so I can count them while they’re in incubation and drop off all the carcasses for the nursery and guard dragons to eat because they never really leave the caves, that’s why most dragons who hunt are actually males- but once they reach those final few weeks, the dragons instinctively and very carefully lower the temperature so that by the time they are ready to come out of the egg, we can be present to welcome them into the world and you would be surprised to find out how shockingly similar they are to kittens or puppies when they’re little, especially when they’re roughly the same size, and they usually imprint on us and their parents and the other nursery and guardian dragons so it’s much easier to teach them how to take a rider when they want to be ridden by you.” He explained, happy to talk so freely about something that Zarcadians usually were sworn to secrecy about but to you- he knew he could trust you with this information in turn as he was relieved that the reason your grandfather had forbidden the marriages before was probably due to a grudge but if your grandfather was already old and frail, surely he wouldn’t have to wait too long before that obstacle would remove itself, hopefully sooner than later. He could sense that you were a revolutionary in the making, an independant trail blazer and he couldn’t wait to show you everything he was talking about as soon as he figured out how in the world he was going to manage to get you to come to Zarcade. 

“So basically the only way to really get into dragons is to first have a pair of them to lay eggs in a cave that isn’t their ancestral nesting site on Zarcadian soil and get them to incubate and care for the eggs themselves because doing it any other way doesn't seem feasible, so the venture does seem like an impossibility since owning dragons is an exclusive right held only by Zarcadians and the only way into that is by marrying into a Zacadian family who breeds them on their own and already knows the tips and tricks as you appear to.” You surmised and Zaq could only nod in agreement to that reasoning. 

“Well, there is one other kind of roundabout way, you could marry into a Zarcadian family, get given those dragons as wedding presents since dragons are the last present given to a bride coming into the family then find a way to divorce them and take the dragons with you- if you managed to be the first to get your legal divorce since divorce is banned, I mean you could, in theory do it.” He offered. “Just because every other person has failed trying to be a dragoner without becoming a Zarcadian- in the history since my ancestors, however distant they may be in my family, shouldn’t deter you.” He tried to encourage you but his tone was still playful which made you laugh. 

“Oh is that all? Easy peasy then. All I would need now is a Zarcadian groom who isn’t betrothed already, which I will need all the luck in the world to find unless he practically fell out of the sky into my lap,  to agree to teach me all there was to know about dragons, marry me, hand the dragons over to me and then immediately divorce me if he was not willing to turn his back on his people, culture and traditions unless he wanted to do all of those things and leave with me, in which case we’d both be outcasts from our families and we would be completely on our own from that moment on and be the enemies of not just Suter and the Unastas but the Zarcadians as well and find a mountain range suitable to building a new nesting site in addition to him having dragons who would in turn be willing to follow me home and go against their own instincts which are stronger than any animal.” You realized as Zaq simply smiled, knowing it would never get quite that bad but if he had to be dropped into your heavenly divine lap, so be it. 

“You could hold auditions, have the declaration of war right next to the sign up sheet.” He mused which got you both to laugh as you walked back to him before you just casually took a walk through the solarium together, talking about everything, upbringings and cultures and food and of course going back to dragons as often as possible before it was lunchtime and you snagged a servant to bring you lunch in the solarium so that you could enjoy it in privacy with Zaq without the whole world watching. 

“So could I use this on like everyday things or just use it for special occasions or what?” You asked as you both enjoyed nice little sandwiches as you sat on the swing together and gently swung, enjoying the fresh spring blooms and their scents around you as you appreciated the dagger some more, getting used to its weight and balance. 

“You can use it however you see fit. But just be careful- it is sharp and will cut through just about anything but if it ever gets dull, just let me know and I’ll resharpen it for you.” Zaq offered. 

“Thank you.” You beamed happily at him as you were just amazed that the more time you spent with him, the more you felt like you had always known him, like you had been friends for forever already and something about him just clicked with you. 

“Ok, do you mind if I asked you a rather personal question?” You asked as you split the last mango custard tart which was your personal favorite. 

“Go for it.” He invited as he gratefully took the other half and ate it gleefully. 

“I know Zarcadians have the custom of being betrothed very young, would I be correct to assume that you are too?” 

"You would be wrong if you did." He answered with a smile that was practically scheming that excited every nerve in your body. 

"What? How? How are you not betrothed?!" You pressed, forcing your voice to be a hushed whisper as you turned towards him and leaned even closer to him. 

"Because an offer of marriage hasn't been made on my behalf yet and no one will either. No offer, no proposal, no betrothal. In fact, most of my younger siblings aren't even betrothed and they are well passed the age." He informed you, his own voice an equally hushed whisper as his body language mirrored yours. 

"Who handles all the betrothals in your family?" You asked. 

"My great grandmother, you're not the only one with a senile grandparent." He hinted. "Of course if you ask anyone else, they'll tell you that I am but "it's a secret surprise" but there has never been a name mentioned. When I was younger it used to give a lot of anxiety because not knowing was unnerving. But the older I get- the more I appreciate it.” He admitted as you both laid your heads against the back cushions of the swing as once again your sleepiness seemed to take over, because it was now siesta time but you didn’t want your time together to end. 

“Are you ok?” Zaq asked as you yawned. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, I had a great lunch so now it’s siesta time to Unastas.” You murmured sleepily as you struggled to keep your eyes open but you couldn’t wipe the dreamy smile from your lips if you tried. 

“Do you wish to return to your room?” He asked. 

“No, I don’t want to leave and I love hearing you talk about...everything.” You answered. 

“Here,” Zaq said as he pulled a cushion from another chair and scooted back so that you could lay down which you gladly obliged, laying on your back on the bench, your knees laing over the armrest of the swing looking up past the frame into the canopy as Zaq pulled a magicked dragon wool handkerchief out of his pocket and started to stretch and pull and fluff it so that it grew into a throw blanket big enough to cover you before he laid it over you so you could sleep comfortably and actually sang you a lullaby, his tone becoming soft before you quickly fell asleep with the added gentle swaying and rocking of the swing. 

“God is my fate beautiful.” Zaq whispered in awe as he gently reached out and gently traced the lines of your face, memorizing every curve before he pulled out a journal from his breast pocket and made notes of the other details of his great grandmother’s prophecy you had gotten right before he sketched you in his journal, marveling at you and so happy with himself that he had waited for you. Because you were obviously worth the wait and his great grandmother was right in that if she had told anyone who The Eagle was, no one would believe her. But now he did, with his whole heart and soul. 

He put the journal away and pulled out a second book and happily read in silence to let you sleep for as long as you needed, happy and content that you trusted him enough to be so open and vulnerable with him so soon, he thought it would take at least a week to get half as far but when you stirred and rolled over and moved up, moving the pillow to his lap so that all of you could fit on the bench, he happily continued to sit there and have you sleep peacefully in his lap as he read out of his favorite book before he heard someone else come into the solarium and worried about who it might be before he heard his brother and his future sister in law’s voices as they came in and eagerly went to their own hidden spot nearby, thankfully out of sight to have a randevu as Zaq rolled his eyes and tried to push the noise they were making out of his head as he tried to focus on his book and not let what they were doing affect him, not wanting his boner to disturb your slumber and when they had finally finished many heated moments later he blew out a breath of relief and couldn’t help but grin when they were all giggles and cooing to each other as they then got straightened up and continued to walk around the solarium. 

“Oh!” They exclaimed as they noticed Zaq sitting on the bench reading with someone sleeping in his lap. 

“Please tell me that’s Anya,” Ester whispered excitedly as she came over to see who it was and silently cheered when it was you. 

“Yes!” She practically bounced as she then went to her fiance to shake him in excitement as he stood there in shocked surprise. 

“No way, that can’t be The Eagle.” Xander shook his head in disbelief. 

“Wait what? Eagle?” She pressed. 

“Zaq’s mystery woman, who everyone has always refered to her as The Eagle.” Zaq explained. 

“Unasta’s have golden griffens in their coat of arms. Sudi has Eagles.” Xander argued. 

“Red Eagles, so you take the color of one and the creature of the second because her mother is of Sudi, it’s her father who’s an Unasta. Grandma said that mine was supposed to be golden, look at her hair and tell me that isn’t the same colors as a golden eagle, when we were dancing last night we were bantering and she called me a wolf, I called her an Eagle and she didn’t argue and when I said Golden Eagle, she beamed before she corrected herself and called me a dragon.” Zaq defended. 

“Look, you don’t know Anya, she’s literally the embodiment of an eagle, she is the most eagle eyed woman I have ever known, she sees her target and she goes for it and won’t stop until it’s hers. She’s incredibly perceptive and sharp and she practically flies on her horses, the faster the better and did you see how natural of a rider she was last night? Come on, she is it, I totally see why your grandma said no one would believe it. Oh my god, my best friend is gonna be my sister,” Ester practically squealed in excited whispers before she started doing a small victory dance. 

“How in the world are we going to get her to Zarcade though?” Xander wondered aloud. 

“Oh leave that to me, I can ask her parents on our wedding day for her to visit me after we get back from our honeymoon and no one in their right mind says no to a bride on her wedding day, at least to me.” Ester schemed as Zaq and Xander looked at each other in pleasant surprise. 

“Thank you,” Zaq thanked her appreciatively. 

“Now, word of advice, when you really want to prove to her that this is fate and destiny, give her the gloves, she has the hardest time getting gloves that fit her hands. Also, we should stop on our way to Zarcade to pick her up and you need to come with us, because their entire district is gorgeous and stay at least one night because their family feasts that they have every night are always super laid back and casual instead of so formal like it is here, that and Unasta’s always take siestas which I’m kind of jealous that I wish we did too but every Unasta works very hard all day and all of Anya’s siblings and cousins kind of flock to whoever they want to work with that day and they all have their own projects that they work on with everyone so that everyone has a well rounded education and nothing is gendered, like her cousin Parker, he can design clothes just as beautiful as his aunt can and her sister Megan, she can butcher hogs better than anyone and they all have their own plots of gardens so they grow what they want to grow, be it flowers or vegetables or fruits or whatever. They are given freedom, opportunities and choices most could only dream of while they all love and support each other so much and they just generally have so much fun.” She urged them as they all sat down in the sitting area, Ester choosing to sit on Xander’s lap because the other chair didn’t have it’s cushion which Xander didn’t mind one bit.

 You woke up to the sound of soft conversation before you slowly let your eyes flutter open. “Hey sleepy head.” Ester greeted cheerfully as Xander himself smiled happily at you from his place behind her. 

“Hey,” you greeted as you stretched and yawned before you sat up. 

“Thank you,” you thanked him appreciatively as you begrudgingly tried to give it back. “How did you make it so big?” You asked him curiously as you looked at the royal blue fabric in your hands appreciatively. 

“Like this.” Zaq said as he demonstrated how to make it smaller and then bigger again as Ester and Xander watched on with amusement before he handed the folded handkerchief to you. “For you.” He offered. 

“Really? Thank you so much! It’s even my favorite color!” You gushed excitedly which had Ester and Xander smiling knowingly at each other. Oh this was going to be fun.