Tears and Fears (Anastasia the Nonbinary Dragon)
Princess Teefa threw herself at Ana, and hugged the red dragon tight.
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“Revi? Is that you?” Teefa’s beautiful eyes beheld him. She sat up from the ground, where fissures from the earthquake had cut it open, and wiped her tears.
Revi the gold dragon folded his wings, and morphed to his human form. He marched past a clump of broken rock, and reached out to Teefa. But he withdrew his hand at the last minute out of shyness. “What happened?” he asked in a quiet voice.
Princess Teefa’s usual shiny black hair, was dull and matted. She sighed. “Too much has happened. Leyla is…” Her eyes began to fill with tears once more. “Gone. I’ll never see her again.”
The gold dragon shifter was dumbfounded. Leyla, the wife of Teefa, always seemed cantankerous and hostile to Revi. He had never liked her. But it pained him to see Teefa in such grief.
He didn’t know what to say. Awkwardly, he mumbled, “I’m so sorry, Princess Teefa. How did Leyla — go?”
Teefa’s whole body seemed to shrink into herself. “My wife was brave. She protected me till the end. We were at the meadow where you and Ana last left us. Shortly after we got Ana’s message that you two had gone away on a mission, a group of dragons swarmed us.
“We didn’t recognize them, but they demanded to see Ana. We told them that ze wasn’t there and we didn’t know where ze had gone, because we really didn’t.” She lowered her eyelids. “They attacked us. I wanted to flee but Leyla wanted to fight back.
“I wish I were stronger. By the time they were done with us, Leyla was completely beaten up. Before I knew it, she had drawn her last breath.
“I was always the weaker spouse,” Teefa continued. “I should have done more to protect her, but all I did was get in the way. The other dragons kept separating us. They — they didn’t hurt me much. But they had no mercy for Leyla.” Princess Teefa sobbed, her body trembling with the outpouring of grief.
Revi sighed. “I’m so sorry,” he said again. “Where is she now? I can help you bury her in a peaceful place.”
Teefa stared at him for a while, then flicked her glance at the ground. “I buried my wife here. Under where our palace bedroom used to be, before the earthquake swallowed it whole.”
Silence stretched between them. Revi ran his hand through his hair, and his chest constricted. “Do you want a plaque for her grave?”
Teefa gazed at the ground again. “No.” Revi blinked with surprise. She went on, “Leyla isn’t the type who would want such showy fanfare. She’d prefer to rest in peace, where only her closest ones know where she is.”
The gold dragon shifter shuffled his feet with discomfort. “Doesn’t she want to be commemorated, though? We could build her a separate plaque in the palace cemetery if — ”
But Teefa shook her head. “No, no need. Leyla wouldn’t like that. I know — knew — her best.” She bit her lip. “This might sound terrible to you, but right now, all I want to do is to lie down here, close to Leyla, and never get up.”
Revi was agitated by that. “No, you mustn’t give up. Ana still needs you!”
Princess Teefa lifted her tired eyes at him, and a forced smile. “I know. That’s why I said that was just what I wanted to do, not what I would actually do.” With some effort, the dark-haired woman rose to her feet. “Take me to my child, Revi.”
With an anxious gulp, the gold dragon shifter nodded.
In a quaint tea room, Anastasia sat impatiently as ze listened to Byron’s wife, Qing Shui, chat about all sorts of pleasantries.
They sat around a glass table with emeralds encrusted in the center. Even the cups shone as if they were made of moonlight.
Ero the calf shifter sat next to zir, though he was currently bickering with Qing Shui’s son, Ya Luo.
Byron had excused himself earlier to go on some errands. Ana had noted the hint of irritation in Qing Shui’s face at this, though ze made no comment.
Even now, as Qing Shui regaled her guests, she seemed on edge.
The sovereign interrupted her with an upraised claw. “Excuse me, Lady Qing Shui — ”
“Qing Shui would suffice, Your Majesty!”
The red dragon cleared zir throat. “All right. All that you’ve told me is very nice to hear. But I wonder if you happen to know Narwal’s whereabouts?”
A shadow dimmed the gentle woman’s brow. Her sweet voice became a tad bitter. “My brother? Must we talk about him? He is an odious presence.”
“Well. . .” Ana said, wincing as ze clearly had no practice at diplomacy. “You know him better than I do. Just yesterday evening, I spoke with your brother. He requested that he join my inner court.”
Qing Shui’s eyes flashed. “And what was your response, Your Majesty?”
Anastasia waved zir claw in a dismissive manner. “I stalled him by saying that I will consider but that I make no promises.”
Tension crept at Qing Shui’s shoulders, though her expression was still friendly. “With all due respect, I advise you not to permit my brother into your inner court. He lacks conscience.”
Ana’s mouth curved up. “I know. But isn’t the saying to keep your enemies closer? Not that Narwal necessarily has to be our enemy.”
Qing Shui fiddled with her braid in her lap. “So you’re saying…”
“I’m saying that we need to play this carefully. I definitely trust you and your husband more than I trust Narwal. But I can’t just cast your brother aside, either.”
Qing Shui knitted her brow and folded her slender hands together. “I agree that my brother can’t be trifled with. Yet, to allow him into your inner court, would be to give him too much power.”
Anastasia was annoyed at being told what to do, though ze empathized with Qing Shui’s statement. Ana’s tail flicked back and forth. “Even if I do decide to allow him into my inner circle, he won’t get as much power as you seem to think. He only gets as much as I give him, and I intend to give him as little as possible.”
Qing Shui’s lips curved as if in amusement. “My brother is a master manipulator, Your Majesty. Even if you mean to give him an inch, he will take a mile out of you.”
Irritation flared in Ana. “I know that very well, Qing Shui.” At her widened eyes, Ana added quickly, “I have heard many reports about your brother. My grandmother and mothers have also warned me about his cunning. That’s why I asked your husband for help.”
At this, Qing Shui’s jaw dropped open. “You think Byron will help you?”
Anastasia raised an eyebrow. “Do you doubt his ability in this?” Ze initially hadn’t planned on telling anyone else but Revi about the spy plot. But ze felt that getting Qing Shui on their side would help. Ze had never been close to her, but had always had a positive impression of the woman.
Qing Shui fiddled with her long braid again, and her eyes dropped. “Mmm…Not exactly. My husband and brother are close.”
“Close isn’t the same as friendly,” Ana observed.
At this point, Ero stopped arguing with Ya Luo and nudged zir. “Ana, what are you talking about? Can I help?”
The red dragon shifter gazed fondly at zir innocent and pure cousin. Ana didn’t want to shut him out entirely like the adults always did to him. So ze said, “We’re discussing whether to include Lady Qing Shui’s brother, Narwal, in my inner court.”
The calf shifter gaped. He jiggled his legs in agitation. “Was Narwal that big bad dragon we met this morning?” He directed the question at Ya Luo.
The small black dragon nodded his head gravely. “Yes, my uncle.”
Ero scowled. “We definitely shouldn’t let him in. He’s nasty.”
Anastasia made a thoughtful noise, though ze didn’t feel defensive like ze did when Qing Shui suggested the same. Ze said, “I agree that he’s bad news. No offense, Ya Luo. But since he’s a dangerous dragon, I want him somewhere I can keep an eye on him.”
Ero furrowed his brows. “Isn’t there a better way to do that? You could lock him in the dungeon.”
Ya Luo snorted. Qing Shui sighed. And Anastasia shook zir head. “First of all, the palace is still in shambles. We don’t have dungeons. And I’d rather not rely on dungeons at all, to be honest.”
The calf shifter looked astonished. “Why not? How do you punish bad people, then?”
Ana grimaced. “I just don’t like dungeons. Do you remember how it was like when the ghosts at The Valley locked you up? I would rather not have anybody go through that.”
Ero shivered beside Ana, and ze felt guilty about bringing up the memory. The calf said, “Yeah, that was terrible. But surely we can’t let bad guys run free? If not the dungeons, we can think of something else, right?”
Anastasia twitched zir wings in discomfort. “We’ll think of something.” Ze glanced back at Qing Shui, who watched their interaction with a thoughtful curiosity. Ana wondered what she was thinking. Ze said, “Back to what we were talking about. Qing Shui, do you feel that Byron would be untrustworthy when it comes to protecting us against your brother?”
Qing Shui wrapped her arms around herself, as if she were cold. She avoided Ana’s glance. “Not exactly. If he promised to help you, he would honor his word. Yet, my husband has always been more sympathetic towards my brother than I am, hence why Narwal trusts my husband.”
“Interesting,” Anastasia said. Ze tapped the saucer of zir teacup, the tea still untouched and cooling. “If your brother is such a horrible person, then why is your husband sympathetic to him?”
A look of disgust passed over the woman’s face, but she quickly hid it behind a mask of politeness. “My husband is a relentless politician. He’s so good at playing games, that he traps himself in his own schemes. That’s what I think, anyway.”
“Hmm, so you don’t think Byron is kinder to Narwal for your sake?” Ana asked.
Qing Shui blinked as if she had never thought of that before. She laughed lightly. “My husband knows how much I dislike my brother. He wouldn’t befriend my brother for the sake of pleasing me, that’s for sure.”
Anastasia pondered her words for a while. “Then do you think your husband’s sympathetic feelings will compromise his work against Narwal?”
Qing Shui clenched her hands together again, and she exhaled. “Honestly, I don’t know. Byron isn’t one to break promises. But would his feelings bias him? I’m not sure.”
Ana got the sense that Qing Shui was not talking about Byron and Narwal. Ze was about to ask further when a guard burst into the tea room, hollering, “My Lady, Lord Revi is here! And he brought a guest.”
Right on cue, the gold dragon shifter sauntered into the room, looking radiant and confident.
Walking behind him, with her black hair tied up in a tall bun, was Teefa.
Anastasia gaped in surprise. “Mother — ”
Princess Teefa threw herself at Ana, and hugged the red dragon tight. She wept, “My baby, thank goodness you’re safe.” In a much quieter voice, she whispered, “Honey, are you sure you want to be the sovereign?”
