Page 241 of The White King's Favorite

She turned around, facing Cece once again, on the ground this time. Her dragon’s long body was extended behind it, but the head was right in front of Cessilia, those big ruby eyes fixated on her. Cessilia took a deep breath and walked up closer, offering her hands.

“...Good morning,” she muttered.

Cece growled softly in response. Cessilia stepped even closer, until she and her dragon were just an inch away from each other. Then, she caressed the silver-scaled snout with her hands and leaned her forehead gently against her dragon’s. Both of them closed their eyes together.

The relief and gratitude in her heart was beyond any words. Cessilia just felt so blessed to have her dragon back, her Cece right here. It still felt unreal, despite the dragon’s large presence. She had this urge to touch the silver scales non-stop, as if she feared it would all disappear at any moment. But Cece was here to stay, and it was almost as if they had never been apart. It was strange, considering how long they had been separated, and how much both of them had changed, but it was true. They felt closer than ever, their hearts beating as one. It was as if she was facing her own reflection, her heart and soul taking the appearance of a mythical creature. Cessilia wasn’t sure if her heart was really as strong as Cece seemed to be, but she definitely felt like she had taken a leap forward, and she would never go back to her former shell. She felt strong, fierce, confident, and even a bit proud. If anything, she felt at peace with her past. Those burdens and dark shadows from the past weren’t weighing on her shoulders anymore. That tight feeling down in her throat was gone... for good.

Suddenly, Cece gave her a little head bump, making Cessilia fall back.

“Hey!”

But her dragon lowered its head, tilting it with its lower rear moving around, moving around playfully. Cessilia’s lips opened in a smile, and she rolled on the sand, running to the waves until she could splash Cece. The dragon happily jumped into the fresh seawater with her, fooling around and teasing Cessilia. Obviously, Cece was much bigger than her, and capable of sending her flying, but was careful not to. In fact, the dragon was just like a large dog wary of its owner, pushing Cessilia around with its snout and taunting her to keep playing around; Cessilia wasn’t sparing her efforts, sprinkling Cece as much as she could, and diving underwater to play tag with the dragon too. For a while, the two of them played as if they were twelve again, ignoring everything around, laughing and growling in happiness, having fun with the simplest things.

When they both grew tired of their game, they laid on the sand, Cece’s large body making a nice seat for Cessilia to rest her back against. The Princess let out a long, tired, but satisfied sigh. They sat facing the rising sun, using its gentle rays of light to dry themselves. Cessilia was glad she could endure the cold water, as most normal humans would have gotten sick from playing in the chilly water. Cece too seemed happy to simply lay around and dry. The ruby eyes were already closed, preparing to nap in the comfy bed of sand.

“Good morning, my darling.”

Cessilia opened her eyes, surprised to hear her grandmother’s voice. She looked to her right, where the old lady was just climbing off of Krai’s back. The Black Dragon immediately jumped to play around with Cece, and before she could even get up, Cessilia was pushed in the sand by the two dragons’ unruly playing. Unlike with her, Cece didn’t have to show restraint while playing with Krai, and soon enough, the whole beach became a huge playfield for these two. Despite the age difference, dragons remained dragons, and played all the same. In fact, Cece being a bit bigger than the Black Dragon made it even funnier when they began to chase each other, as poor Krai had to run twice as fast to escape. Cessilia chuckled watching them, and walked up to her grandmother while being cautious of their playing.

“You’re up early, Grandmother.”

“Of course! I’ve woken up with the sunrise every day since I was born. Old ladies don’t need that much sleep, either.”

“You’re not old...”

With an amused smile, Cessilia wrapped her arms around her grandmother, hugging her. She had been a bit embarrassed the previous day, but now, she was happy to have some time alone with Kareen. The older lady hugged her back, but soon she frowned, and looked at Cessilia’s hair with an upset expression.

“What in the world is this?” she exclaimed.

She was holding some of Cessilia’s sharply cut hair, the strands she had to cut the previous day, during the fight... Cessilia grimaced.

“Collateral damage,” she muttered.

“Ha! As if I was going to leave you like this. Come over here.”

Cessilia didn’t even think about asking or protesting, she trusted her grandmother wholly. Lady Kareen made her sit on the beach, and began rinsing her hair with sea water, clearly determined to clean it and cut it herself. She had taken out a small dagger too. Because she was turning her back to the sea, Cessilia had Jinn in her direct line of vision. The Red Dragon had woken up but, intimidated by the two others present on the beach, it didn’t dare make a sound, staying still with a sad expression.

“...Grandmother. You said dragons without owners can... survive, right?”

“Yes. I’ve raised a few myself. When your uncles were murdered, I had to raise their dragons on my own. The last one passed away just a couple of years after you were born, you wouldn’t remember it.”

“This dragon... It belonged to a boy that died a long time ago. It survived by staying with his sister, but now, that woman... she is gone too.”

Cessilia glanced to the side. She wasn’t surprised that Jisel’s body was gone. It had been taken away by the tide... probably.

“Well, it probably won’t live much longer,” Kareen said, still busy cleaning and combing her hair. “That brat looks quite big already for one that lost its owner.”

“...I feel sorry for him,” Cessilia muttered. “I wish I didn’t have to... make it so he was alone again.”

“Was the woman good to that dragon?”

“I’m not sure. She wasn’t a good person, but... in my heart, I know she wasn’t completely bad either.”

She felt that dread in her heart, as if she couldn’t find real closure about this. In fact, she was almost grateful that Jisel’s body was gone. She was almost sure that the woman was dead, but... she wasn’t mad about thinking there was a very, very slim possibility she had survived too.

“No one is either completely good or bad, Cessilia. Humans are too complex for that. Even the kindest soul can feel resentment, and even the worst can feel remorse.”

“That woman went through a lot. Things that made her... make terrible choices. I can’t help but think...”

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