The War God’s Favorite novel Chapter 79

 The Siblings’ Childhood
Cassandra was surprised, though she was suspecting it already. The straw couch’s indent was too large and deep for a regular animal. The size of it would be fitting if it was for a dragon… A young dragon.
“It’s your… Childhood bedroom?”
He nodded.
Was it really? She thought it might have been one of his brothers’ but… Cassandra couldn’t imagine a Prince’s room would have been left like this, even less if Kareen was in charge. Yet it felt completely abandoned, forgotten…
However, the way her Prince was standing outside, instead of coming to her, intrigued her as well. Something in his attitude didn’t feel right, like he was wary of that place. It was the first time Cassandra saw him like this. He… loathed this place. She could tell just by looking at him. He had the same look as when he was glaring at Vrehan, or the women who had tried to approach him before. Something about that place disgusted him. Why would he hate his childhood’s bedroom? It looked like it used to be a warm and nice bedroom for a child to be in… She looked at the damaged door again. Something had happened here. As if someone had gone berserk on it.
She turned around and left the room, but she had kept the little dragon toy with her. For some reason, she liked that stuffed toy. It only needed a bit of cleaning and sewing. As soon as she was next to him, Kairen put an arm around her waist and held her close. He was still glaring at the abandoned room.
“Let’s go,” he said.
He gently kissed her forehead, and Cassandra nodded. Somehow, she felt like she shouldn’t ask about that room now. He obviously didn’t want to talk about it, and she didn’t want to push him to.
They walked back together, the Prince guiding her silently to Missandra’s room. Her sister was still asleep when we got there, and Cassandra, worried, checked her temperature. She frowned, her hand on her sister’s forehead.
“She has a bit of a fever. I hoped she wouldn’t…”
Despite her worry, Kareen had already ordered some fever medicine to be prepared, just in case. Cassandra had nothing to say against it, so she gave it to her sister, once she was sure it had been tested, and let Missandra rest again.
“Son, your Dragon is making a fuss in my garden,” said Kareen.
The Prince went out to go and handle an impatient Krai. The Dragon had been waiting in the garden all afternoon for Cassandra, and was getting impatient and grumpy. The young concubine sighed.
“I’m so thankful to you, Lady Kareen. If it wasn’t for your help…”
“Don’t say such things. Of course. When an old woman like me can help, she will. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect my children.”
Cassandra blushed a bit, honored to hear the Imperial Concubine speak about her like so. She already knew Kareen was fond of her, regardless of Kairen’s relationship with her, but this was the first time she called her like she was her own daughter. For an orphan like Cassandra, this was probably the nicest thing Kareen could have told her.
“Lady Kareen, earlier… I got a bit lost, and ended up in an… abandoned aisle,” she whispered, hoping Kareen would understand.
“I know,” sighed the Imperial Concubine. “My son has that upset expression since earlier, and… that toy… Did he say anything?”
Cassandra looked down on the dragon plushie, and shook her head.
“No… I didn’t ask either.”
Kareen nodded sadly.
“It’s good that you didn’t, Cassandra. Men are men, they do not like to show their weakness and they do not share their secrets easily. Even the War God… Give him time. He will talk when he is ready.” (1)
Cassandra understood. She wasn’t curious enough to prey on someone’s past: She felt that whatever it was about, it was something Kairen wouldn’t share easily, either. Something dark and painfui to the War God…
The two women discussed Missandra’s health a bit longer, but when it became clear that the young woman wouldn’t wake up for a while after taking the fever medicine, Cassandra finally agreed to leave her for a bit.
In the garden, the sun was setting, and Kareen’s servants had prepared a little space for them to have a cozy dinner outside. Krai almost jumped on Cassandra when he saw her, dangerously wagging his tail around and growling happily. Thankfully, the garden was large enough for him to move around, or else it would have been a disaster around the excited dragon.
To her surprise, the dragon seemed curious about the toy, too. He kept sniffing it, and Cassandra wondered if he could remember it somehow. She turned to Dahlia.
“Could you get me a washing basin? And a sewing kit, too…”
“I can do it for you, Lady Cassandra!”
“No, thank you, Dahlia, but I would like to do it myself.”
“I understand. I will go get it then!”
Cassandra thanked her and went to sit next to Kareen on the large rug on the grass. There was a whole buffet waiting for them, there own little Celebration. Kairen and his sister joined them right after, too. The War God sat behind Cassandra, wrapping her in his arms, while Shareen laid down. (1)
“So, what’s the plan?” Asked Shareen, grabbing a cheese cube.
“There is no plan for now,” replied her mother. “We will treat Missandra, and as soon as the Celebrations are over, we are flying back to my Palace. I want to see Srai, too.”
Cassandra had almost forgotten about the little dragon. He probably missed his mom… Their baby’s egg was still in the Diamond Palace, too. Kareen had it safely guarded back there, and Cassandra trusted her fully with it too. Cassandra wondered what color would the baby dragon be?
“Oh, I’m bored!” Sighed Shareen. “Brother, come and spar with me! Like old times!”
Kairen frowned, but eventually got up. He and his sister drew out their swords and started dueling together. Cassandra wasn’t very worried. Those two were on the same level, and wouldn’t get too serious in front of their mother.
Meanwhile, Krai saw an opportunity and swiftly trotted to take Kairen’s spot behind Cassandra. His large and long body actually allowed him to be circled around Kareen, too, making him all the happier. He rested his head on Cassandra’s lap, while the Imperial Concubine laid her back against his body, used to his behavior. 11
The two women watched the siblings spar for a while. Dahlia had brought what she had asked for, so Cassandra slowly started working on improving the little dragon plushie’s condition while watching the duel. Cassandra was truly impressed at Shareen’s strength. Not only was the Princess extraordinarily strong, but she also didn’t have any issue fighting on equal terms with her brother, the War God. She was using two swords, and a perfectly balanced style, so elegant it almost seemed like a dance.
“Those two,” sighed Kareen. “I should have bought them dolls when they were kids!”
Cassandra chuckled, remembering the many toy sword she had seen. They may have not all belonged to Kairen, after all. Shareen was a bit of a tomboy, it seems.
“What kind of children were they?” Cassandra asked, still focused on her sewing.
“Exactly like now,” sighed the Imperial Concubine. “Kairen was silent and grumpy, Shareen was loud and grumpy. Those two little brats had such tempers… I only seldom brought them here. It was such a ruckus every time we came… Not only they always sparred between themselves like this, but they caused fights absolutely everywhere. Krai, too.”
“With their siblings?” asked Cassandra, glancing at the Dragon who was sleeping, or pretending to.
“With their siblings, with their father’s concubines… Shareen once broke all of one of her sister’s fingers because she had insulted me. Most concubines can’t talk back to the Imperial Children unless they are their own, but with those two, I had nothing to worry about!”
Cassandra had never imagined those two were once so protective of their mother… She could still remember how they weren’t thrilled about visiting her when she got a hold of Krai’s Egg. Kareen probably didn’t let herself be bullied, either. They definitely inherited a lot of their mother’s traits, especially Shareen.
“Lady Kareen, pardon me for asking this, but… Why didn’t you marry the Emperor? You’re his favorite since… long ago.”
Kareen sighed, sliding her finger on her wine cup.
“That old man… He did propose a few times. However, every time we got close to an engagement, something happened… I almost died or lost one of my children. Jealousy won over everything, I suppose. He already had too many women before me, and I realized that marrying him meant my children would be in more danger than ever. I couldn’t forgive that. Especially the idea that I would have to live in the same place as their assassins… We didn’t always found who had done it. So, I decided to isolate myself, and focus on raising those two. That’s when he gifted me the Diamond City and Palace, it was an apology for being useless in finding our child’s murderer… I was devastated then and became paranoid over protecting those two. I left the Palace. Since I ignored him, he got other concubines, other children… Time passed.”
“I thought… The Diamond Palace was a present for Kairen’s birth?”
“That’s what I told them. Trust me, a mother will find many lies to hide to her children how ugly the price for their survival was…
Cassandra felt a bit sorry for Kareen.
She had met the Emperor too late, and gotten involved in the cruel games of the Imperial Palace. She put a protective hand on her tummy. Maybe, in other circumstances, she would have made the same choices as her. Now that she was expecting, her instincts were all about this baby’s protection. Her refusal to marry Kairen for the time being had to do with that too… Though she was only willing to wait. She still held on to that idea of becoming his one and only woman, when they would be in a safer place.
“Talk about the Dragon, and he will show his tail…” said Kareen.
Cassandra lifted her head, and so did Krai, who growled immediately. To their surprise, Glahad was flying high above them, making circles in the sky and seeming hesitant to come down. His golden scales were almost blinding with the sun’s reflection in it. The Imperial Concubine clicked her tongue.
“Looks like he didn’t appreciate me not coming to his damn celebrations. Well, suits him. He can send his dragon, I don’t care.”
Cassandra kept staring at Glahad. Did the Emperor send his dragon to spy on them? She couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for him. He probably didn’t dare approach and was only sent to check on his beloved… Krai kept growling, in warning, though he would probably have lost a fight against Glahad.
“Hey!”
Meanwhile, on the grass Shareen had just gotten an injury. Probably unfocused because of Glahad, the sister had just received a large cut on her arm. She frowned, staring at it. To Cassandra’s surprise, scales immediately appeared on her dark skin to cover it up, just like Kairen’s injuries. Shareen’s scales were more of dark indigo than black, though.
“She can do that too?” Said Cassandra, surprised.
“Of course! My Daughter has Dragon blood too, after all!”
Shareen, who had heard them, rolled her eyes.
“Really, Cassie, you underestimate me that much?”
With a little laugh, she suddenly seemed like she was inhaling a lot of air, and, turning towards the area Glahad was flying in, Shareen suddenly exhaled a fireball!