Clara sat on her bed in her chambers with a sleeping Theo in her lap. She changed out of her gown and was now in her night clothes as she thought about how she would be able to fight this trial. The Queen had given her a chance and she did not want to mess this up for herself. She looked down at Theo who let out little puffs of smoke from his nose as he slept.

“What are we going to do Theo? I can’t have the kingdom knowing you exist yet. It’s not the time.” She whispered as she the reptile’s scales. Another puff of smoke left Theo’s nose and she smiled at the peaceful sleep he was having.

A knock on the door immediately made her jump and cloak Theo on her lap. She let out a sigh of relief when it was just Seungri. “You scared me.”

“Not as much as you scared damn near every noble in the kingdom. What were you thinking Lady Clara?” He closed the door behind him and sat down at the table.

“I was thinking that the kingdom wouldn’t be ready for a dragon in the kingdom again so soon after living without them for decades.” She placed Theo on the pillow and watched as he adjusted himself before curling up to sleep. “I would’ve been put on trial either way but at least he is safe.”

“Well how are we going to prove you aren’t a terrorist to the nobles? They aren’t really the kind of people who care about right from wrong. Just fear and power and control.” Seungri said.

“I don’t know. But I do know that I’m not to step foot outside of that door until the trial. When will it be?” Clara asked as she paced the area between her bed and the table.

“The king and queen want to wait until the Duke returns and who knows when that will be.”

“It’ll be soon.” She answered without really thinking.

“Wait. How do you know?” Seungri’s voice held heavy curiosity.

“There’s something in my magic that lets me know when dragons are distressed and scared. I’m slowly but surely gaining back all the knowledge that my mother passed down to me so I know for a fact that the Duke will be back within the week with something that will probably get me the death penalty if it was up to the nobles.” Clara continued to pace while Seungri watched her.

“Then we just have to make sure you don’t then?” Seungri said with a mischievous grin. Clara stopped pacing and looked at him worried.

“What are you planning?”

Seungri walked towards her door. “You’ll see Lady Clara. You’ll see.” He turned and bowed to her slightly before closing the door behind him. Clara looked down at Theo, who cocked his head sideways at her before tucking his head into his arms to sleep.

~~~

Princess Lina paced within her chambers, still in her ball gown, furious. “This isn’t good.”

Jean stood in his spot by the door, watching her silently.

“She wasn’t supposed to be this strong this quickly!” She screamed and threw a vase, shattering on the ground beneath the window. “What the hell is she?”

“Your highness?” Jean finally spoke up, walking over to the broken vase with a broom. “If I may, the Duke has sent word that he will be returning soon. He wants an update on what has been going on in the castle.”

“What am I supposed to tell that old coot? That his nephew’s love is inherently magical and she’s hiding something from us? He would return back here in an instant! I need to deal with this myself.” Lina sat in front of her vanity and began fussing over her hair.

“But your highness, you’ve branded her as a possible terrorist within her own country. What more are you looking for on her?”

“Something that will get her out of the palace and away from the prince forever.”

“Sounds a bit cliche, don’t you think, your highness?” Jean said, humor in his voice. Lina shot a glare at him and his face went back to its monostance. “But wouldn’t the prince just try and leave with her if she’s banished?”

Lina paused and stared at her reflection. “You’re right. He loves that girl too much for his own good.”

She picked up her brush and absentmindedly ran it through her hair. With news of the Duke returning and Clara now on trial, she had to figure out how to be rid of them both in order to carry out the one thing that her own people wanted, war. A grin spread across her face slowly and she turned to look at Jean.

“Time to pay the king a visit.”

~~~

Seungri knocked on the queen’s personal study hurriedly.

“Come in.”

He stepped into the room and bowed respectfully. “Your majesty.”

Queen Nara looked up from her desk. “You may rise.” Seungri made his way to her desk and sat on the velvet chair. “What brings you to my study?”

“Your majesty, it is in regard to Lady Clara and her upcoming trial.”

“If you’ve come to ask me to help her, I cannot. No matter how much my son is in love with her.” She went back to reading over some documents but Seungri wasn’t willing to give up that easily.

“With all due respect, your majesty, I would like to offer my assistance to Lady Clara during her trial. Otherwise, the prince might stand for her. Causing more problems for himself and the kingdom if he were to do so.”

Queen Nara glanced at the knight and sighed. She placed her pen down and rested her chin in her hand. “And what is it that you will do to help her during the trial?”

“I would provide a less biased view on her. I have watched her and the prince since his return to the castle. I have a suggestion that would keep Lady Clara from being branded as a traitor to the kingdom.”

The queen smiled and leaned back into her chair.  “You think that she would be put to death?”

“It is a worry that the prince has shared with me. With how much he cares for her, it would be dangerous to harm her. He would quickly abandon the crown to be with her if something were to happen.”

“Then I guess it is a good thing that I will see to it that she will live despite Princess Lina’s magic spells trying to take over the minds of the kingdom.” Seungri’s jaw dropped at her words. “Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on in my own castle, Sir Lee. I know that the princess is up to something but I cannot just allow my son to marry a common girl. No matter how much he loves her. At least not now.”

“I understand, your majesty. Thank you for this chat. I look forward to seeing you at the trial.” He stood up and bowed before heading towards the door.

“Sir Lee?” Queen Nara spoke up and he turned to face her. “Tell Lady Clara that I do hope she is doing well.”

Seungri smiled and bowed once more before leaving her chamber.

Hey y'all! I know it's been a while. But I'm trying to finally get to finishing this. I have another chapter that will be ready for upload in a week. I will try, keyword try, to update at least twice a month. I'm excited to get back into this story and finish it. This title is now ironic since Netflix "The Dragon Prince" is out but hey, we all know that I had this posted and out before that was even a thing. Enjoy this update!

Snooopid