Page 5 of The White King's Favorite

Yassim was baffled. There were a dozen children there, and from what he could see, half of them had light-colored skin! Not as white as the Water Goddess’, but definitely lighter than any other person’s skin in the Dragon Empire. He was dying to ask if all six were her children, including the two young women. Aside from the older boy who had run to his mother, only one of the boys and one of the girls on the grass also had green eyes; all the other children’s eyes were dark. But the fact that the one holding her hand had black eyes meant not all her children had inherited that feature...

“Children, this is Yassim the Wise. He came from the Eastern Kingdom.”

All the children suddenly turned their eyes to him, and for a second, the old man felt a bit panicked. However, things didn’t turn out at all like he had expected. Actually, the children with darker skin stood up and bowed politely before leaving the grounds. ...Were those children of servants? The ones with lighter skin that remained were obviously related to the Imperial Family, and they all wore purple or green clothing...

“From the Eastern Kingdom?” said the other young woman, sitting next to the one who was reading. “Really?”

She bore a close resemblance to the girl next to her, but she had dark eyes, freckles on her nose, and her hair was cut at an unusual shoulder length. She exchanged a look with the young woman next to her.

“Yes, my lady,” replied Yassim, bowing.

“This young woman is Tessa, my niece,” said Cassandra. “Next to her is my oldest daughter, Cessilia. Then, there’s my third-born daughter, Sadara...”

Sadara waved shyly at him, her big green eyes sparkling with interest. Next to her was a boy about the same age as her and, unlike his younger brothers, he hadn’t moved and was frowning instead.

“Mother, what does he want?!”

“This impolite child is my third son, Shenan. And those two are his little brothers, Kassein and Sepheus.”

Yassim kept nodding, wondering if it was important he remembered all those names. He was trying to do the math in his head to understand how many children the Water Goddess had. With five boys and three girls, it meant... at least eight children?

“Where are Kiera and Raissa?” she asked the two young women.

“Raissa is with Mom,” answered Tessa. “Kiera... was with us until an hour ago, I think?”

Cassandra sighed.

“She probably ran off somewhere again... Did she leave Kiki here?”

The two girls exchanged a look.

“I’m not sure...” finally muttered Tessa.

The Princess’ mother didn’t look too happy with that answer. To Yassim’s surprise, she turned her eyes toward the sky and the walls of the garden, as if she was looking around for something.

“Krai!” she suddenly called loudly.

Yassim froze, hearing a sudden, loud noise one second later like an earthquake, as well as a gust of wind. He could tell something big was moving on the other side of that wall, something very, very big. A fright chilled the old man’s body, as a shadow suddenly grew in front of them. Something dark and incredibly huge...

“There you are,” sighed Cassandra.

The gigantic Black Dragon stood with all its might, grabbing the top of that wall with its claws as if to support its humongous weight with it. Yassim was struck both by the magnificence and scary size of that creature. Its scales were shining like onyx under the sunlight, and its big, red eyes were like ruby jewels, both gleaming and frightening. It moved its body with surprising grace considering its size, and its movements were akin to a snake or a feline. Its front paws landed one after the other in the grass, and Yassim couldn’t help but take a step back as this creature was now in the garden, headed in their direction.

“Krai!” exclaimed the two younger boys, running toward the beast.

It was terrifying to see such young children run fearlessly toward the Black Dragon, but no one else seemed shocked. Instead, Cassandra crossed her arms and the Black Dragon kept coming forward, its gigantic tail whipping the air around. Krai growled softly, a growl that echoed throughout the area and left Yassim wondering how big that mouth was... and those fangs.

“You... You let Kiera leave again, didn’t you?” Cassandra scolded the dragon. “Did she feed you meat, Krai? You can’t let the children trick you with treats each time!”

The Black Dragon laid down in front of the human woman, its head between its paws, and growled again, a short one this time. The two boys immediately began climbing to play on its back. Yassim was astonished. A huge creature like that, with such sharp claws, was lying like a house dog in front of the Princess? No wonder that woman was considered a living deity!

“You’re supposed to watch all the children, you know,” Cassandra added. “...Were you napping?”

Krai turned its head to the side, visibly ignoring her scolding. Yassim was truly unable to believe his eyes. Was it only an impression, or had the dragon purposely turned away to... pout?

Cassandra sighed, putting a hand on her hip.

“Fine, I guess I can use the good old method then... Call the little ones, Krai, please.”

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