Sterre & Elke nummer zoveel

Bold. Very bold, but she smiled.
'I may do a lot of things, Raphael, but the fact remains that you are my sisters whore and I will call you by your title if it pleases me.' Her tone changed just a little bit, implying that he shouldn't push his luck too far. Alistair and the soldiers behind her were already on their feet, they certainly didn't like the way Raphael spoke to her and Morgayne wouldn't keep them in check forever. Not when they were just doing their duty by protecting their princess.
She decided to leave the warning at that and went to her position for their fight. Alistair would do the countdown, he knew the both of them would wait. Both Raphael and Morgayne wanted to win, but not by cheating. There were too many soldiers watching them, if one of them cheated, they would never hear the end of it.
'On my mark,' she smiled, 'let the fight begin!' Just like last time, she made sure to be the first to attack. She had seen how he dodged most of her attacks and she was waiting for an opening she knew would come. It had been there a couple times before when they fought the first time, so she just needed to be patient for it now.
From across the field, she could hear somebody growl at her. Immediately her intentions went elsewhere. At the far end of the courtyard was her sister, growling and showing teeth to her twin sister. Morgaynes attention was completely lost and it was a good thing that Alistair noticed, because he was able to step in and use his own sword to catch Raphaels spear. Which probably would've hurt Morgayne if he didn't.
'How dare you speak to me that way?' Instead of just dropping the spear, she hurtled it towards Marian, who stepped away just in time. A very non-human growl was released from her lips. Nobody really knew what Marian had said, but apparently it hadn't been very nice.
'You truly think that you're better than me, don't you? You filthy bitch,' she was already stalking towards her sister and Marian was coming her way, when the courtyard went to hell. Between the two sisters the courtyard caught flame, courtesy of a very large, bright red dragon in the sky. The fire he released on the courtyard was meant to keep the sisters at bay from one another, but it also made a lot of noise. At least nobody could hear Morgayne shouting at the dragon now.

Alistair was looking at the spectacle and then turned towards Raphael.
'The big red dragon is Elred, the eldest prince. He is usually tasked with keeping the sisters in check, because eventually one of them will get hurt. And that's not a pretty sight.'
'Bullshit,' one of the other soldiers walked towards them, 'not one of them will get hurt, Marian will get killed eventually. Everybody knows that Morgayne would win a fight between them and they can't let her win, because Marian is the crown princess.' The soldiers didn't really seem to mind how they spoke about the royal family, but that was because these soldiers in particular were part of Morgaynes crew. If one of the royals decided to kill them, the youngest princess would become a pain in the ass. Even more than she already was.

Raphael was glad Alistair interfered when he did, because he too had noticed that Morgayne was distracted. It was, however, too late for him to cancel his swing at her and the clash of steel against steel echoed through the courtyard, although nobody could actually hear it in the situation. Raphael immediately put his weapon down and took a step back, although he and Alistair quickly exchanged looks, showing that both of them were on the same page.
The situation became so hectic in only three or four seconds. Raphael saw Marian on the other side of the courtyard. First he wondered why she was here, being that she had court business to attend to. Second, he wondered why she was so incredibly angry. Was it his fault? He hoped not, he wanted to stay on the good side of the crown princess for a little while longer. On the other hand, this was intriguing. These people had some kind of dragon language going on between them and it wasn't pretty, that was for sure.
His heart skipped a beat when the courtyard lit up in flames. A gigantic red dragon blocked the sun for a moment and Raphael felt a shiver go down his spine. He had never seen a dragon, but it was even bigger and mightier than he could have imagined. He wondered if this would escalate in a threeway fight with the two sisters and the big dragon in the sky. He hoped it would, but at the same time he really didn't want to see that.
He shifted his attention to the men standing next to him. Morgayne's soldiers, obviously loyal to her and not just to the royal family. He looked back at the red dragon in the sky, tried to imagine Elred in it, but it seemed impossible. It was such a big change, so surreal.
What was interesting, was the attitude of the men beside him. They seemed to be certain that Morgayne would win any fight and although Raphael had seen neither princess in a dragon form just yet, he somehow felt that Morgayne would come out on top. He definitely understood why their big brother was tasked with keeping them away from each other.
'Does this happen often?' he asked Alistair, who shrugged.
'The sisters clash quite often. It's not always as intense as today, though. I wonder what it is about.'
'Does it even matter?' one of the other soldiers said, 'they have fights about literally nothing all the time. I really do hope it comes to a big fight someday.'
Interesting. This could make his mission to kill the crown princess a lot easier, he had to admit that. If Morgayne would do his job for him, there was no chance he would be blamed for it. Everyone knew the tension between the two sisters, apparently.

She was extremely pissed off at both her brother and sister. Her sister was the worst, she had no right to talk to her that way. On the other hand her brother was keeping her from ripping her sisters throat to a bloody nothing, so she wasn't happy with him either. It didn't look like he was going to stop his fire storm anytime soon and as a human she couldn't enter it, but as a dragon she could. The true question here was if it was worth her mothers wrath. Somehow their mother always blamed Morgayne for fighting, even when, just like now, it wasn't her fault. Granted, most of the time she started it, but not this time.
Morgayne decided that this time it wasn't worth it and she started to walk away, but her sister decided otherwise. She had to jump to the side and got hit to the ground when a black dragon flew right past her, a tail headed in her direction. Marian. She was dead.
Without a second thought, Morgayne jumped to her feet and ran after her sister, who needed to turn since their courtyard wasn't big enough for all the dragons. When Marian turned, Morgayne shifted en went with all her claws first in her sisters side. Her roar could be heard across the entire capital. However, Morgayne didn't have a grip tight enough, so she had to let go and Marian flew up in the air. Her little sister right behind her.

'We both know that it will never be a true fight when Elred is around here, he won't let them kill each other, even though it would make his life a lot easier if he only had one sister.' Then he could protect that sister from their enemies, instead of protecting the crown princess from her twin. The soldiers started talking among themselves, they loved seeing the dragons like this, but Marian and Morgayne flew so high that they were barely visible. Elred gave up on his fire and followed them. In the meantime, Alistair decided to update Raphael.
'Like I said, the red one is Elred. The black dragon is Marian and Morgayne is dark blue. Morgayne is the smallest of the dragons, even a little bit smaller than her sister, but she is the only one that actually trains her human and dragon form. Which is why we are quite certain she will come out on top, if it ever comes to that.'

Alistair was barely done talking when Marian was coming back into view. With Morgayne on top of her. The two females crashed right into the courtyard, Marian was screaming and spewing fire everywhere to get her sister away from her, but Morgayne had her claws in her sisters body and wasn't about to let go. With her teeth she bit her sister everywhere she could, but mostly her neck.
Before she could end it however, Elred put his claws in her back and wings and lifted her away from her sister, who remained on the ground. Morgaynes fury wasn't gone yet, she was trying to get away from her brother with every tactic she could think of. The problem was that he had her at the back and he was stronger. If it was brother against sister she would win by being fast and smart, but she had been too caught up in hurting Marian.
She looked around the courtyard to see if there was something she could use, when her gaze landed on Raphael. He was glowing. Why was he glowing? There was some kind of dark blue halo around him, but Morgayne had no idea what that meant.

He had not signed up for this. He had most certainly, most definitely, not signed up for literally getting roasted. He deserved more hazard pay.
When Elred lit up the courtyard, he thought that was intense. Insane, even. Maybe it would settle the two sisters down, make sure they didn't kill each other. But it wasn't over with some flames when a black dragon flew right over Morgayne, obviously trying to kill the princess. Was this Marian? Alistair confirmed that the black dragon was indeed Marian, but Raphaels gaze had already turned to the dark blue dragon that soared the skies as well. It was as if he had already gotten hit by the flames, because his entire body started sweating, as if he'd just run a marathon.
The three dragons disappeared for a bit, giving Raphael a minute to catch his breath. What was happening? Sure, the fight between the two, three dragons was intense, but nothing to be so rattled by. Alistair must've noticed his strange behaviour and gave him a strange look, but Raphael took a deep breath and pushed a smile on his face. 'First time seeing dragons and seeing three of them fight,' he explained. It was a fair reason to be shocked and Alistair seemed to believe it, for now. Raphael was sure there was more to it than just shock, though.
The ground shook when the two female dragons landed and the soldiers, including Raphael, took a step back. Marian, who was breathing fire all around, didn't really seem to care who got burned, as long as her sister would let go of her. It felt like a very intense fight and at one point Raphael thought Morgayne would actually kill her sister. And sure enough, deep inside he wanted her to.
She didn't though. Eldred tore Morgayne off Marian and lifted the younger sister high up in the air.
That was when their eyes locked and it all became so clear. An intense shiver went over Raphaels spine as he looked in Morgayne's dragon eyes. For a second, he thought he was gonna faint from all of the emotions and feelings he was getting at that exact moment, but he didnt. He could feel Eldreds claws in Morgayne's back as if the older brother was actually holding him, instead of her. He could feel the rage Morgayne felt towards her sister, her urge to break free. He could feel her most primal instincts to murder.
And at the same time, he felt so calm. He looked at her, at the situation, trying to find a way for her to break free. Suddenly that was the most important thing.
There was no way for her to break free from the claws that were really hurting their backs, though. The only way for her to get rid of Eldreds firm grip, was to act like she surrendered. Then she could make a move again, when he thought she was done fighting.

The fight was quickly over when Marian had to turn back to her human form. She was bleeding over her entire body and just lay there on the ground while servants and doctors came running in from all over the place. Seeing her sister in her human form, made Morgayne a bit calmer and she relaxed her body, but her mind was all over the place. Raphael was her rider. She didn't know how she knew, but she did. She could feel him become a part of her and when she looked in his eyes again, she realised that he knew too. Not good. Certainly not good.
At some point Elred apparently decided that his youngest sister was calm enough and he let go of her back. She spread her wings to make sure she didn't crash right into the courtyard and when she was close enough to the ground, she shifted back to her human form. Some of the doctors came her way as well, but she waved them off. Her body would heal without their help. She just stood there, staring at Raphael, knowing full well what this meant. She wondered if he knew what was going to happen next, if he understood what she would do. There would be no more training between the two of them, no more jokes, because he would never see her again. It had been a very long time since a dragon had connected with a rider, so not every information had survived during all those years, but some things were common knowledge. One of them was that a rider could control their dragon, in both forms. And now one of the biggest houses, apart from her own of course, had a rider with a female dragon. That could only mean trouble.
Her eyes slightly narrowed when her brother shifted too and came up to her. She growled at him and turned around, to run back into the house. She couldn't tell anybody about this. If her mother knew, she would be cast out. Maybe even killed, just to make sure people didn't think that riders still happend. Her mother and the dragons before them always claimed that riders where no longer an option, that the dragons had moved beyond them. If it turned out now that this wasn't true, it would undermine her reign and she would never let that happen. Her mother was ruthless when it came to her children, but Morgayne was well aware that their mother would always chose Marian above her. If killing Morgayne to keep Marian save was the only option, she would. A bit depressing.
Morgayne entered her room, although rooms was the better word since her bedroom was connected to her own living, dining and bathroom. She was going to stay here until she could figure out what she was going to do with Raphael. For now she had to evade him. Maybe even forever.

Raphael was clueless. No, he knew exactly what was going on and at the same time, he was clueless. He was a rider. A word that has lost its meaning over the past thousands of years. Riders didn't exist anymore, dragons and riders never connected anymore. Of course, there were stories and legends about the mighty dragon riders, who soared the skies on the back of mighty dragons, but they were just that: Stories. Yet, he was connected to Morgayne. She knew, he knew. And he wanted to talk to her about it, but at the same time he had no clue. What did the legends say, exactly? Nothing much, really. Just that the dragon and rider were connected, their lives inevitably entangled. If she died, he died. If he died, she would die too. The pain he felt in his back was the pain that Elred inflicted on Morgayne. But they were healing. Thank god they were healing.
He wanted, no, needed to talk to her about this. But he couldn't, because after one very long look, she moved away. She left the scene of the courtyard, entered the castle and left Raphael. Not just physically, he could also feel her consciousness ebbing away from him. It didn't go away entirely, but it faded until it was only a tingle in the back of his head.
He understood. Being her rider meant he was able to command her. To make her do things. The mythical dragon riders usually controlled their dragon, for their sakes. The rider would make the decisions and the dragon would have to obey, so that they were both on the same page. To his knowledge, that didn't stop at the dragon form. He would be able to command Morgayne as well when she was a human. Of course she'd run away from him, creating a distance between them. A physical distance, to break or at least weaken the link between them. Was it even possible to break the link? He didn't know. There was so much he didn't know.
'Raphael.' The voice was weak, but it pulled him to the present immediately. Marian was on the ground, pale and weak. But she was looking in his direction and he realized that it was his job to care for her. Of course, he was no doctor, but he would support her when she needed him. It was his mission.
As he walked towards the wounded crown princess, he wondered. Would he ever speak to Morgayne again? And if so, did their bond mean she could also sense him? Would she be able to read his mind, would she learn of his intentions to kill Marian? And if she knew, what would she do? It was unsettling.
'I'm here,' he said, kneeling before Marian. She smiled weakly.
'I know,' she replied.
A doctor interfered. 'She needs a lot of rest, mostly. Her body can heal most of its wounds on its own, but it's gonna drain her strength.'
Raphael nodded. 'I'll bring her to her quarters,' he said. The doctor nodded as he took Marian in his arms. She was indeed weak, too weak to be the crown princess of the dragon family. As he walked towards her quarters, Marian in his arms and her army of servants right behind him, he wondered if he could get Morgayne to actually kill her own sister.

Morgayne hadn't left her room in over two weeks. She didn't know how to handle the situation, so she had decided to stay in until she could figure it out. It wasn't like her to run away from something, but it was like her to be unpredictable. Alistair had come by a couple of times, telling her the men were getting restless, wondering what was going on. He wanted to know if he could provide them with a message, but she had given him nothing. He was her friend and she knew he tried to help her, but he couldn't. Nobody could.
As far as she knew there was no way to break the link that now existed between Raphael and her. She could feel it, like a ever present bug in your room. That wasn't exactly true, she could feel the bond and her body wanted to connect with it. A few times she almost wanted to go to him, but her mind won that battle every time. If the stories were all true, and she was afraid that they were, then Raphael could control her. He would be able to order her around, to make her do things she didn't want to do. Her entire life her mother and sister tried to make her do things that she wouldn't, every time they failed because she was stubborn and a rebel. Raphael would not fail, he could command.
There was a knock at the door and she bolted upright. Morgayne was still in bed, contrary to her normal training she actually liked to sleep in, and certainly looked like it.
'Who?' She wasn't in the mood to be nice to her family, nor be bothered by servants. The person was neither.
'It's Alistair, can I come in, general?' He had gone back to calling her general since the last time they spoke. It stung a bit. That meant she had actually been rude to him, but she could barely recall their last conversation. What had it been about? The men, obviously, but more didn't come to mind.
'Come in,' he had seen her far worse than this. When Alistair entered the room, he wasn't the only one coming in. Two of the other men were present too. They should have asked her permission as well, but apparently Alistair thought the rules didn't count for them. She shot him an irritated glare.
'Apologies to do it like this, general, but the men need you. I brought two of my most trusted men to give you reports, but the fact is that moral is going down when you're not on the field. None of the other royals care about the army, none of them will come to train or to even have a look. The entire army looks to you, general, to lead them in case it's necessary, but now you've vanished and nobody knows why. They need to see your face, make sure everything is okay.'
'Why would it not be okay?' Her eyes were piercing him, the mood that caused him to call her general had returned.
'People were afraid that your mother or sister decided that only one successor was needed.' It was one of the other men, but Alistair nodded. Morgayne could feel her nails dig deep into the skin of her hands, a bit of blood welled up.
'I will be in the courtyard today. Now, leave.' It was more than she wanted to give him, but she did realise when it wasn't her turn to be selfish.

As days passed into weeks, Morgayne did not return to the courtyard. Or any of the official meetings. Or any meeting, really. Nobody had seen her since the big fight in the courtyard and even her own brothers were starting to get a bit worried about her. Marian was the exact opposite of them, a lot more lively now that her sister was no longer annoying her at every word she said or step she took. The crown princess had recovered rather quick indeed, just like the doctor had predicted. He was glad for that, because it took his mind of the situation with Morgayne. It was obvious she was avoiding him and he understood why, but the link that had formed obviously disagreed with this situation. It pulled him towards her and a few times he found himself walking to her quarters, only to stop halfway there and turn around. If she didn't want to speak to him, he wouldn't go to her and make the situation worse.
Although his performances were splendid and Marian obviously still favoured Raphael, she had obligations to spend time with her other attendants as well. Today, she went on a long walk with a man whose name Raphael didn't even remember. It was okay, it gave him time to relax a bit. And the best way for him to relax was to spread his wings and fly away.
In his human form, the link between him and Morgayne was always tingling. Now, as a hippogriff, the bond seemed less strong. Maybe it was because he was a rider, not supposed to be a shifter as well. It was good, it gave him some peace of mind. He was getting more and more used to the feeling, but a break from it was nice. He wondered if Morgayne would feel the change as well. God, so much he didn't know.
For a couple of hours he had been flying and resting away from the castle, but now he was returning to the place he was supposed to call home. Some of the servants saw him approaching and although they were used to dragons, the sight of a hippogriff seemed to give most of them an unsettling feeling. They would have to get used to this creature with black and white wings that were huge compared to the rest of his body, because he wasn't going away any time soon.
He flew towards the courtyard, where he left off earlier that day. The soldiers, who should have been training, were instead chatting on the side of the yard. They seemed to be out of it ever since Morgayne abandoned them. Raphael had tried to make some small talk with them a few times, but he couldn't really connect with the soldiers. Not the way Morgayne had done.
They did look up when he came closer to the ground and landed, but nothing else. In the past week, he had shifted a few times for the soldiers. Mainly to make sure they wouldn't shoot him out of the sky if he went away for a bit, like he did today. These men were used to their dragon family, but a hippogriff was new to them. They got used to it without a lot of hassle, though.
One more time the hippogriff spread his wings, let out a shriek and folded his wings again before shifting back in his human form. A servant hurried his way with some clothes, which he started to put on. Immediately, he felt the link between him and Morgayne become more intense again. No, he had definitely not missed that when he was away.

It had taken her an hour, but she finally emerged from her room and went straight to the courtyard. She promised Alistair would come and so she would, but that didn't mean she needed to be happy about it. As she walked down the stairs of the palace, right into the courtyard, she could see what Alistair meant. Nobody was training. The sound of people getting their asses kicked was nowhere to be found and that wasn't good. She barely even saw weapons out here. Did they really need somebody to look after them this much? They were adults, weren't they?
'If I don't see everybody training within five seconds, I am going to put each and every one of you on kitchen duty for the next month!' Her voice easily reached the entire courtyard. Everybody looked at her, realised who she was and what she was saying and started to run around. Everything to make sure they didn't get banished to the kitchens. Alistair was walking onto the courtyard as well, but he wasn't the only one here that she wasn't too happy with. Raphael was right there. Not in hearing distance unless he shouted at her, but she wasn't ready to speak to him yet. Maybe she never was.
Morgayne mentioned to Alistair to come to her and follow her, to make sure nobody heard their conversation.
'Raphael is no longer allowed in the courtyard when my soldiers are training here. I don't want him near my people, I don't want to see his face and I don't want to be able to hear him. Escort him back to the palace and make sure he remains there.' This time Alistair didn't share his personal opinion. Morgayne was still his princess and worth a lot more than Raphael to him.

Alistair gathered a few men and went up to Raphael, who had just shifted back to his human form. He wasn't exactly sure why Morgayne didn't want him around anymore, especially since she had forgiven him his comments in the beginning, but it didn't matter. He had a job to do. It wouldn't even surprise him if Raphael was the reason the two sisters got in a fight two weeks ago, it would make sense.
'Apologies Raphael, but you are no longer welcome on this courtyard during training. Our general doesn't want you here, you're a distraction and we can't use that. Furthermore, she also doesn't want to see you, you will stay away. Do I make myself clear?' Alistair might be human, but he wasn't scared of the guy in front of him. Hippogriff or not, attacking him would be an act against Morgayne and no hippogriff could win from a dragon. Absolutely none.

It was not just his human form that had made the link feel stronger again. He didn't notice at first, but when Alistair came up to him, he noticed her on the other side of the courtyard. Their eyes didn't cross, but she must have felt his gaze on her. She must have felt the link pulling her, but resisted it. He focused on Alistair again and smiled. 'No need to be so harsh to me, Alistair. If the general wishes me gone, I will not force a confrontation. Please give me a second and I will leave, in the future I will avoid the courtyard when the troops are here.' Raphael might have sounded rather polite, but his eyes told another story. He understood that Alistair was only following orders, but he had no business talking that way to a high-ranked consort to the crown princess. He was, after all, a soldier.
Without waiting for any more instructions, Raphael turned his back to Alistair and gestured a servant to come his way. Since his arrival at the palace, Marian had assigned him some personal servants. She said it was policy, but also believed it would be good for her consorts to have some people that would stay by them. This servant, a young man, had been very helpful and kind to Raphael the past few days. Raphael handed him some things he didn't want to carry himself, nodded to Alistair and looked into Morgayne's direction one more time. Of course she would want him gone. Her sorry ass got out of her room and everyone had to please her needs again. She would probably be better off with a harem of her own, more people to please her whenever she wanted.
They left the courtyard without talking. The servant must have realized the tension between Alistair and Raphael, because he kept silent.
For a second, Raphael wondered if he could force Morgayne to take back her order. He didn't like the way she treated him just now, but he was very sure he could make her look silly by forcing her to change her mind about him. It would definitely hurt the trust her soldiers had in her and she would think twice next time she sent him away from something. However, this was not the moment to use the link they had against her. He wanted to, but not yet. She had gotten out of her dark hole, who knows what else she was gonna do. And if she didn't... Well, the link they had didn't seem to fade, so he could always use it as a back up plan. To get back in contact with her, to humiliate her, or to make her kill her sister. It was definitely interesting.
Luckily, Marian was busy with another guy today. Raphael wasn't jealous of that, he knew she favored him. Rest could be good as well.

In the end she spent the entire day training with her soldiers. They needed to know that she wasn't going anywhere, even when she decided not to leave her room for a couple of weeks. That was her problem, not theirs. When it was getting dark, she shifted into a dragon and went flying for a while. The bond became ten times stronger than it was as a human and she had to physically push herself away from the castle, so she wouldn't just fly right back and land on Raphael. Not that making an omelette out of him would be such a good idea, but that didn't stop her from wanting to.
She knew exactly what Raphaels room was. She had figured that out the moment he got here for Marian, because she liked to know where her sister could be at all times of the day. Seeing Raphael and Marian that first day made her realise that her sister liked him, so his room was a need to know. It was a great place for a room, quite high in the castle and on a side that didn't have as many torches to light up the dark. It also meant that a certain dragon with the same color as the night sky would be able to come very close.
She saw that the hatch of his room was open, so it would be rather easy for her to get in. A dragon couldn't smile, but she smiled at the thought of scaring the crap out of him. She had seen his face when she ordered him to leave, he wasn't too happy about her order. Well he had to get used to her bossing him around if he was going to do the same thing to her.
Morgayne turned high in the air, picked up speed and went straight for Raphaels room. Right before she would crash into the castle, she shifted back to her human form and fell into the castle. She had to do a head roll or she would break her legs, but in the end she stood in the middle of the room. Looking at Raphael.
'We need to talk.' The bond was screaming from happiness. They hadn't been this close since the bond formed and she could feel that it liked it if they were together. Just a slight problem that she didn't intend on staying for long.
'I don't like this, I don't need some whore who can control my actions, but I suggest you to think twice before you actually start giving me orders. My mother would kill you before she allows you to be in charge of a dragon. She won't care that it would kill me too. Understood?' Her mother didn't need Morgayne, she had a daughter to take the throne and one was more than enough. If Morgayne and Raphael were a treat to Marian, then she would get rid of both of them. Morgayne was well aware that she wasn't important enough to keep alive.

He had spent the remaining hours of the day in his quarters, had a simple dinner and afterwards, played a game of chess with one of the servants. His mind wandered off sometimes, so in the end the servant won, but it didn't matter. It was annoying that he almost felt lost at this moment. Not because Marian was with another man, or because he was alone, but he just wasn't in his element. Maybe it was the link that kept pulling him, annoying him to bits. Especially after dark, when he was preparing to get some rest. It was so bad it actually made him feel restless, impossible to sleep. It was early, of course, but he never had trouble sleeping.
The reason why he couldn't fall asleep entered his room suddenly. Morgayne entered in an unusual way, rolling over the floor before landing back on her feet again. He immediately understood why the bond between them had felt so strong: The princess had of course been flying in her dragon form, making it even harder for both of them to ignore the bond that had formed between them.
'Good to see you too,' he replied, ignoring the rest of what she said. He didn't care. In this.... thing, they had now, he was the one who was stronger. He didn't like the way she treated him, she knew it, she chose to ignore it. Well, he chose to not care for her grand entrance or the way she talked to him. He shrugged, sat back down on his bed -from which he had gotten up when she entered by surprise- and tried to keep a calm posture. It wasn't easy to do so with the link in his chest screaming for more interaction, but he managed. He watched her in silence, kept an eye on every move she made and just waited until she was done.
'I do not feel the need to let anyone know what happened between us,' he then said, 'for I fear that you might be right. The odds of our survival are not in our favour if we let everyone know that we... connected.' He chose his words carefully. He knew his servants weren't listening in, they wouldn't do that, but he didn't want to give anyone a reason to think that he and Morgayne had this mythical bond. 'However, I don't think ignoring each other and staying away from each other will be beneficial either. We're the first in thousands of years to connect, nobody knows what will happen. I don't know about you, princess Morgayne, but I am at the very least curious.' He looked at her, curious to her answer. Although he understood where her words came from, he didn't like the way she talked to him. As if this was all about her. Well, guess what lady, he had an agenda too. And she might think she could still boss him around and he would let her to a certain degree, the degree that a princess should boss a consort around, but he would not allow any more than that. His eyes narrowed a bit as he waited. As if he was a hippogriff again, waiting for his prey to make a move.

It wasn't good to see him. Not at all. She really didn't want to be here, unless it was to kill him, but that was no longer an option. Could she kill him? It wasn't an option because she would die too if he died, but she wondered if she could go so far as to kill him herself. Or if she killed herself, it would be the same outcome. She just liked living a little bit too much to go to such drastic measures.
'We both know that the fight with Marian wasn't why I stayed so long in my room, although she obviously liked that outcome, but do you know what started the fight between me and my sister?' She was about to lie to his face big time, but she didn't care. 'Of course not, she would never share that kind of information, but I will. That was her reaction to the two of us, training. She missed the part where you're better with weapons than I am, but she was afraid I might hurt you. Steal you. Make you want me, instead of her. She called me a whore for trying to steal you from her. Ridiculous really, I don't need a guy like that, but that was what caused the fight. Do tell me, Raphael, how do you plan to be in contact if your master doesn't want that?'
There was absolutely no way Marian had told him what happend, because it was a secret. It was something within the highest ranks of the castle nobles and she couldn't tell him, because mother would never let her. It was still a gamble to lie, but she was a rather good liar and didn't see the harm in it. It could only gain her what she wanted.
'And to top that, no, I am not curious. I am quite happy with the life I have. I don't need somebody barging in and ruining every aspect of that. The only people that get to ruin my life are my family and my soldiers and you are neither. So too bad. If you want to know what this means, you'll have to use the library to find out.' She never talked this much, but it was necessary. If she stopped talking, he might start giving orders and she wasn't about to let that happen. Nobody gave her orders. None she cared to listen to at least. The problem was that she couldn't ignore his orders if he started throwing them around. Morgayne had no idea what to do if Raphael figured that he liked having a dragon under his command. She didn't even know up to what point he could order her around. The bond was already misbehaving by being in his presence, let alone what else could happen.

His eyes narrowed a bit when she spun her story. He didn't buy a single word. Somehow, he just knew she was lying to him and it was not just a hunch, it was just a fact that she was telling him a big fat lie. They fought, yes. But he knew for certain that the fight they had was not about him, not about Morgayne stealing him. Sure, she wasn't really lying about not needing a man like him, but that was just a sidestory to mask the lie she tried to tell him right now. He wasn't buying it at all.
'Now tell me the truth,' he said. It was a command, even though he didn't mean it as a command. He commanded her to tell the truth instead of the lie. 'Why do you want to avoid me so badly?' He could think of many reasons, but she had not spoken any of them out loud. All she had done was spin a story about why she fought with her sister. Even if he didn't have this sixth sense for her lies, he probably would have known it wasn't true. Marian didn't seem concerned enough with him to make a complete fight about that. Of course, the sisters often fought for small reasons, but he wasn't buying it.
While saying the words, he could feel some weird tingling go through his body, a weird shiver that left him as soon as he felt it. Like weird magic that touched him. In a split second he realized that it was his command. He had given her a command and this is what it felt like. This is how he knew he had really commanded her.
He couldn't say for sure that she was genuinly not curious at all. That was, if it was a lie, not as big of a lie as the first one she had told, making it harder to see. Not that it mattered, her argument was invalid. 'I don't think it matters what either of us wanted in the first place. We have this link, whether you like it or not. You stayed in your room for weeks and that didn't weaken it, did it? The life you claim to be happy with, has already changed.'
His emotions went all over the place, mostly because of the bond they had. It was like a little creature, happy that they were finally talking, sad that they didn't seem to be willing to cooperate. It made Raphael feel strong because he could command Morgayne, but at the same time it felt wrong to command her. Bitch or not, dragon or human, he didn't feel too good about telling her to tell the truth. It was not the worst command, of course, but still. He felt powerful and at the same time that sickened him. He swore to himself that he would only use his power to command her when he absolutely needed to. It wouldn't help her, him or their relationship. Their link, which he really wanted to explore. He wanted to learn what they could do and what they couldn't do. He wondered if the bond would strenghten now that they talked, or would they have to train more to make that happen. And how did you train this? It wasn't like a muscle, more like a sixth, seventh and eight sense all in one.

Her entire body went still when he gave her a command. She tried to keep her mouth shut, didn't want to answer him, but both her body and mind weren't having it. She felt the full force of his command on her, her body started to shake and it hurt like hell. Just like this morning, she put her nails in her hand, but it didn't distract her from the command. There was no option left. She looked him right in the eye and came a bit closer before answering him.
'Because I am the youngest of the dragons, the one they did not need. Or want. There is a reason why dragons stop getting children after their first daughter. So I became a rebel, to make sure my parents knew that I wasn't too pleased with them either. Being a rebel, a general, it's all I have.' She came a little closer his way. 'And now you are here, just another person who thinks he can boss me around, just like the rest of my family. The only difference is, you actually can. So I would rather avoid you, maybe even go crazy from ignoring that thing we now feel, than to be around you. Happy?' And just as she halted right before him, she hit him right in the face with her fist.
A small, surprised sound rolled over her lips when she felt how she hit him in his face. Only she felt it on her own face. Immediately she did a few steps back. What the hell just happend? Disbelief was written all over her body, if there was one thing she didn't see coming, it was this.
'Do we feel it when the other person gets hurt? Is this a joke?' Of course it wasn't a joke, nature hadn't been cruel enough to her, it needed to add this. 'Did you feel it when Elred put his claws in me?' If that was true, then he would've known that it would hurt her as well when he got hurt. He could've warned her. Even though her face now hurt, she squared her shoulders.
'Doesn't matter, I heal fast. Do you? Heal fast, I mean?' It would be such a bummer for her sister if she got hurt when Marian and Raphael had sex. She would like to know what would happen if she broke her leg when he was supposed to perform, how much pain it would cause him to continue. She smiled slightly. He might be able to command her, as proven, but she wasn't totally helpless. This could actually be very good for her. They could never be together all hours of the day, Marian wouldn't allow that. So when he could not command her, she might make his life miserable. Just like hers.

Now he understood why she acted that way. Come to think of it, he didn't know of any second dragon daughters that ended up well. Most of the time, only one daughter was born. The second was usually shipped off, died, or tried to rebel against her elder sister and died for that. Morgayne was that second daughter. Fact was, she didn't have a future here. No matter what happened, she wasn't wanted or needed here. So she walked the thin line between being a rebel and being killed.
Raphael tried to respond to her words, maybe even tell that they could work something out, when she punched him in the face. That hurt a lot and a quiet curse rolled over his lips when he bit through the pain. He saw that Morgayne felt it as well though, since she took a step back and obviously was in pain. So was he, he was lucky she didn't break his nose. Luckily, he too healed fast. Most shifters did. It would hurt for a while, but not as long as a normal human would feel it.
'No, not a joke. And yes, I felt it when he hurt you.' He remembered that moment, the pain in his back. As if Elred put his claws in Raphael too. 'But I thought it would only be like that when you were shifted. Not as a human, too.' This is exactly why they had to study this together. Train together. They would have to discover how to work with this, or around this if that came from it. If she wanted nothing to do with this connection, to avoid it, they would have to figure out a way to do that. To work around all the things they were connected in right now.
'I heal fast too, yes. Probably not as fast as you do, but a lot faster than humans or normal shifters.' By that, he referred to shifters that turned into other animals. Not into mythical creatures. He didn't think any less of them, unless they deserved it, but fact of the matter was that they were weaker than mythical shifters. Raphael let out a sigh and touched his face softly. The spot where Morgayne hit him hurt, but the pain was fading already. She had a mean fist and he had not expected her to do that. It made sense though, she didn't know she would hurt herself with it as well.
'Morgayne,' he said, 'please let me speak.' This time, he didn't command her. He chose his words very carefully to make sure he didn't. The weird tingle didn't happen, so it was no command. 'I don't want to abuse this link. I definitely don't want to command you around. But I really think we should learn more about this bond we have. I knew you were lying just now. I could sense your emotions when you were a dragon in that fight with Elred. We feel each others pain, we die when the other person dies. What more is there? Can we train it, weaken it?' He went silent for a little, searching for the right words. Now that he knew why she behaved the way she did, he wanted to tell her there was a way to get rid of the crown princess. But he couldn't. Not just yet. He didn't want to command her to keep the secret, but he didn't trust her entirely just yet. He wanted to convince her, but that seemed to be tough. It would probably be impossible to make her believe he wouldn't abuse his power over her. She didn't know how sick it made him to do that just a minute ago.

She wanted to ask him why he didn't do anything about it when Elred hurt her. If they were bonded, he could at least help her out. Then she remembered that a human against a dragon wasn't exactly what people would call a fair fight. And if Elred had killed him in the heat of battle, she would've died too. Not a great option.
Her eyes slightly narrowed when he asked her to let him speak. It wasn't a command, her body didn't react to him like a few minutes before, but she still wasn't pleased with him. Certainly not after she found out what it felt like to be commanded like the whore he was supposed to be. That wasn't her. That wasn't her life. It shouldn't be.
'Like I said, I don't care what more there is. Every bit of curiosity that I have towards this link, is undone by the fact that it is forced upon me. Yes, you didn't have a say in it either, I am perfectly aware of that, but it only brings you good things. For me it's a prison, no matter how you put it. And if you know me even a bit, then you know that I don't take lightly to being put in chains. Physically or mentally.' He knew that she had been lying before, than he also knew that this was the truth. Even if it wasn't entirely the truth regarding their bond, it was her truth. It felt like a prison to her, no matter what it was to him or what it used to be in the past.
'And I am sorry, Raphael, but I don't believe you. I don't believe that you're not willing to do whatever it takes to get whatever it is you want. You just got one of the most dangerous weapons in this world handed to you on a silver platter. Even worse, I can beat all of my siblings in a fight. Why would you not take advantage of that? Why would you not use me for whatever it is you want? You may not have been lying just now, but I'm not entirely sure if you're telling the truth either.' That might just be because she had no clue how this bond between them worked, but it felt weird. When she lied to him, he immediately knew that she was lying. After that, he also knew she told him the truth. He said that he felt the pain Elred put her through and that was a fact, that was the truth. It felt different than him saying something about the bond. As if he wasn't sure what he wanted to do with it. It made her doubt it.
'I need an answer, are you going to use me against my own family?' If they couldn't lie to each other, than she needed to know. She remembered him saying that he was here to kill a dragon the first time they fought and even though it seemed like a joke at the time, she wasn't sure anymore. It could've been a joke because he didn't have the means to kill a dragon. Now he did.

She acted like this was only negative for her. Like there were only perks in it for him. And he got that, it must have felt that way, but it was not the entire truth. There were negative sides for both of them. He didn't like being bonded with Morgayne when his focus had to be on Marian completely. He didn't like the fact that, any time she would get into a fight, he would feel the pain of it. He didn't like that if she trained a little rough, he would feel it too. But of course, he was the one that commanded her. It was different. He was the boss, she was just supposed to listen to him. She couldn't fight it. Well, maybe she could, but not now. It seemed to be impossible for her to ignore a direct command and he wondered if it would be even worse for her in her dragon form. Probably. Everything seemed to be more intense when they were in their connected forms. As a human, he felt the connection more than when he was a hippogriff. When Morgayne turned into a dragon, he felt more connected to her than when she was a human, like now. Of course, the bond was still there. Even if he was a hippogriff and she a human, the damn thing would never disappear. He would always be able to command her. It was an odd idea.
Her question surprised him. And at the same time, it didn't. Sure, he could've known she wanted an answer to that question. He dodged it once before with a joke, but now that she could detect his lies as well, she wanted an answer. A minute ago he didn't feel like telling her. Now, he still didn't feel like telling her. But he didn't really have a choice. He took a deep breath.
'I'm really wondering whether I should command you to stay where you are,' he said slowly. It was a joke, a bit. Not the best time. He shook his head. 'I won't.' Maybe the dumbest thing he'd ever done, especially when he was gonna admit that he was after her sister. He bit his lip, searching for the right words. Couldn't find them. She'd know if he lied, just like he knew she lied.
'You know I told you I came here to kill a dragon,' he said. 'I was joking at the time, but I really wasn't. I was sent here with the mission to kill one of the dragons of the royal family.' He hadn't answered her question yet. He looked up, into her grey eyes. 'I would lie if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind,' he said, honestly. He hoped, prayed, that this honesty would save him. She couldn't really kill him, but torture was a thing if she really wanted to hurt him. 'But.. unless you interfere, there is no need for me to use you. I didn't plan on using a dragon when I entered the palace, I don't need to change that now. I won't.' Again, he fell silent. He needed to convince her. But, convincing her did not mean he would get out of jail free. 'Morgayne, you can sense if I lie or not. I do not intend to use my power to command you against you or your family.' He looked at her for a very long second, preparing for some kind of outburst. I mean, he did just admit to wanting to kill one of her family members and she might not really be a big fan of Marian, she should not agree with him killing her sister. Even if it was just for the sake of an outsider killing a dragon. He expected anger.

She froze in place. Not because he ordered her too, but because he made very clear that he could. Didn't matter that he said he wouldn't, he should know how she reacted to even the words of possibly giving her a command. Not funny. He could have imagined that she wouldn't take lightly to that kind of communication, but apparently he was too stupid to understand that.
'Yes, I know.' She was so stupid that she thought it was a joke during that first fight. She should've known that a hippogriff didn't come her to be whore to a dragon. Hippogriffs were way too proud for that. And possibly the only house that could stand against the dragons, from what she had heard from her mother, they had a big army and could get the support of some of the other houses. If they got the support from the other houses and had Raphael and her leading them, it would be incredibly hard to stop them. The army of the dragons was mostly loyal to Morgayne, not to Marian or her mother. If they had to pick a side, she wasn't sure what would happen.
After his answer, she walked up to him again. Slowly. So slow.
'You came here to kill my family? To kill Marian?' It wasn't hard to put together. There were other ways to get to her family. If he wanted her dead, he could've tried to get a high position in the army. If he came for her brothers the army would've been a better option as well. Her mother was impossible to kill and her father not interesting. Even then, he became Marians whore, so he was after her. Normally she wouldn't care that her sister got in harms way, but she didn't want her dead. Not yet. Marian was a pain in the ass, but she was still her sister and that meant something to Morgayne.
'I know that you don't lie, but know that I am not lying when I tell you that I would sooner drive a dagger into my own heart than to let you kill my family. If you hurt my sister, I will make you pay. Hear the truth in that, Raphael.' She wasn't a bad person, probably even better than her family given how she treated their people, but this was one step to far.
'I am not a bad person. I'm really not. But you have to understand that I am a warrior. I trained, because I knew my family wouldn't. Not to protect themselves, not to protect anybody else. You can either work with me to make something of the situation, or this is going to be painful for the both of us.' She was really close to him and she kept making a fist with her right hand. She wanted to hit him so badly. She wanted to punch him in the face and she didn't even care if that would hurt her too. Morgayne was used to a lot more pain than that.

For some reason, he felt very powerful again when he saw her reaction. He was not a power tripping whore, but it was good to see that she realized that he was more than just a lowly whore to her sister. On the other hand, he had not pleased this dragon. Most certainly not, she seemed rather calm on the outside, but that made him even more concerned about the fury that raged inside of Morgayne. He wasn't stupid, he knew very well he provoked her and by telling the truth, he had just chosen one of two evils. Either he lied, or he told the truth. She would know if he lied, so that wasn't really an option anyway.
She was a dragon. He felt it from her way of moving. The slow movements, not a wrong move. His body became tense, but he showed no fear. As much as she might hate him, he didn't believe she had it in her to kill him here and now. She would die at the spot, in his quarters. If anything, she wouldn't want to be found dead in here.
Silently he looked at her, not answering her question. It was a rhetorical one, anyway. He had just stated he was here to kill a dragon, she just confirmed which one. Not bad, although it made the most sense. Killing the queen was madness, the brothers and her father were useless. Killing Morgayne wouldn't gain them anything, not as long the eldest daughter was alive. The princess must have realized that as well.
A hippogriff didn't blink often. Even in his human form, Raphael could go a long time without even blinking, just staring at the person who sat across him. In this case, the person who stood there. His gaze never left her, he noticed her every movement. Even the slightest shift in her muscles was noticed. That's why he immediately saw she was tensing her hand, forming it into a fist. She was close, so close to him. Not too close, not yet. Time to change that. Slowly, he got up. He was a little taller than her, but that not was the reason he stood up. It made the distance between them even less and right now they were so close their bodies almost touched.
He grabbed both her hands, quickly so she couldn't pull them back. Or hit him before he could act. Other than that, he did nothing. He just held her hands, clenched into a fist, into his hands. If she decided to make a move, he would at the very least be able to slow her down a lot.
'I know you are a warrior,' he replied. She didn't have to say that, he knew. He was not impressed with her threaths, it was the least he expected. He wondered if she had thought the same when she almost killed Marian in the courtyard a few weeks ago. He doubted it. So did most of her soldiers, who pledged to be ever so loyal to her.
'Then tell me, what would we make of this situation if I work with you?' he asked, slightly curious as to what she referred to. She had referred to her being a warrior for her family, but that didn't connect at all with making this situation work. Still careful, never letting his guard down, he awaited her response.

She knew he was a bit taller than she was, but standing so close to him made that even more obvious. She had to look up to look into his eyes and she wasn't a fan of that. As if him being in charge wasn't bad enough, he had to be taller as well. The thing that set her off, however, was that he had the guts to grab both her hands. Morgayne didn't move, but she slightly narrowed her eyes. It should be enough. She hated being touched by others. Training was different, she could get hit with a stick but people didn't touch her. Now he did and he was too close. Not good. But some things were more important, such as the words he spoke.
'The reason why Marian and I fought, was because the counsil wants to make me commander of the army. That is usually a title reserved for the queen, but they feel like I would be better suited. They fear an uprising if Marian tries to lead the army, so they want to prevent that. That is what we fought over.' It was entirely true, although the fight was instigated because of some very nasty things her sister said. Not that they never did that, but it was usually Morgayne that cursed at her family like that, not the other way around. Marian was proud to call herself a lady, well that vanished for a while that day on the courtyard.
'I won't let you kill my sister and if I have to stop you by killing myself, I will, but I would rather not go to such drastic measures. If I am commander of the army, I will have quite a lot of power in this place. Power that Marian can't touch. I could try and make a difference.' There was however one flaw in her plan. 'Only, that depends on why you want her dead. Revenge? No more dragons on the throne? Because that last one is going to be hard. Kill her and I become crown princess and you can't kill me.' But she supposed having her as a puppet while she was the queen, was just as interesting to him as anything else. Maybe even more.
Now that she was done talking to him about the important stuff, she went more deadly. He was still touching her. She looked down at their hands. Her hands in his. And when she looked up, it was very obvious that she wasn't too happy with him.
'I can try to have a civil conversation with you about this, but Raphael? Do. Not. Ever. Again. Touch. Me.' She made sure he understood every single word, before she pulled her hands out of his. That wasn't enough, she liked it better when he was sitting on that bed of his, so she didn't see that he was taller. So instead of stepping back herself, she lifted her hands to hit him on his chest. Both hands, to be clear. She didn't care if that would break his rib or if it would hurt her too, he should've realised why she didn't have a harem. Morgayne didn't want to be touched. Not now, not ever. That didn't change by him forming a bond with her.

She didn't like it when he touched her. Well, tough luck. He didn't like being punched in the face. Or punched anywhere, really. If she didn't want to be touched, she might consider not hitting him at every second occasion she got. That would probably be better for both of them. It wasn't as if he really wanted to touch her, but if he had to protect himself against her fists, he would.
This time she spoke the truth and it was very interesting. Commander of the army. He could understand why the council wanted that, although he could also understand why Marian did not want that. It would definitely undermine her power as the next queen, especially since the two sisters weren't exactly each others best friends. Morgayne might stop him from killing her sister, that was about as far as their sisterly love seemed to go. Marian didn't even think Morgayne would protect her if it came down to it, that said enough.
Raphael was just about to let her hands go, reassured that she wasn't gonna hit him this time, but she was faster than him. Before he knew it, he sat down on his bed again. This would've been very interesting if it had been Marian in the bedroom. However, with Morgayne, it was definitely another story. He wanted to make a smart comment on her words, something about hitting him, but he decided to ignore it and made it comfortable for himself on the bed again. If she wanted to stand around all day, she should. He didn't plan on doing that anyway.
'Many families are unhappy with the way the dragons are ruling,' he said, giving no more attention to the fact that she pushed him. Hard. 'They barely care for the normal folks, hardly ever get out of this big castle and only rule to stop violence. Instead of preventing it, by promoting trade and helping farmers out, like they want you to. But the dragons are also the strongest, biggest and baddest shifters of us all. Nobody dares to riot or declare open war against you. That's why I was sent to kill a dragon. To show that you are not invulnerable, to instigate the riot that would lead to overthrowing the dragons.' While he was talking, he kept a close eye on Morgayne. He wasn't blaming her, he felt like she was one of the more engaged dragons in this castle, but it was how the people saw the royal family. 'But I suppose a change of plans is already in play right now. Nobody could have foretold that I would link with a royal dragon. It complicates the situation and asks for different measures.'
He had been looking at her, but now his gaze became more intense. 'As an army commander, would you help the people? Make a change? Would Marian make a change, or would she sit on her throne, be pretty, and look at the people below her like they are ants?' She knew her sister better than he did, but he was afraid Marian would not be a better ruler than any of the dragons before her. Morgayne, however, gave some interesting opportunities. Not to abuse their link, but to wwork together with her. If she was indeed going to be the army commander, she could make a difference. Or she could become even more of a tyrant and just make the army murder anyone that dared to speak up. Dragons were, after all, all a bit arrogant. They all believed they were a little better than the rest of us. That didn't matter, as long as they didn't act on it.
He would have to inform his mother about this change, if it was going to happen. And he would have to be careful doing it, because even if it was just the plan, he would be burned for this.

'So after my sister, was your plan to kill me too? Assuming you wouldn't get caught, of course.' Which he would have been, but that was another matter. The answer to her question wouldn't change anything between them, positive or negative, but she was just curious. For stuff like that, she was curious. Not to find out how much control he actually had over her.
'Marian is not the kind of person to sit on a throne and be pretty. She likes to attend meetings, to make decisions regarding the future of this kingdom, but I don't believe all of her decisions are in the favor of the people. She likes having power and will do anything to keep it, or even to get more.' She didn't want to tell him everything she knew about her sisters plans, he would most certainly want her dead then. So she turned around and started pacing through the room. If he knew that Marian was making plans to even further undermine the power of the other houses, Raphael would lose it. Her sister wanted to take away their army, make them pay more taxes and have her own ministers in the houses so she could keep an eye on them. All to support the throne, but none of that did anything for the people that lived in their country. Marian didn't care for them. She never had and she never would.
'I just told you that I am not a bad person Raphael, but I am also not a good one. It is impossible for me to say how the future will go and even if I will be able to do anything for the people, wanting to or not. But the fact is that I like my army. I like training with my soldiers, sparring with Alistair and the other generals and I prefer being among them. So yes, I might make a change, but I can't say that for certain. Because I do not know how things will go down and I don't make empty promises.' It was a lot more than her family did. 'As for that, I have never left the castle. I have no idea what it's like out there, how the people live. I am not allowed to go there, in fear of people getting stupid ideas.' People like him. But she figured her tone was quite easy to decipher.
'I do have to warn you, Raphael. In case you didn't notice it yet, I have a temper. Do not antagonize me while others are around, that will end bad. That is not a threat, nor a promise, that is a prediction because I know myself. When dragons shift, our primal instincts take over, especially with females. So I might not be capable of reason. Watch your back when that happens.' It really wasn't meant as a threat to him, but she didn't know what would happen if she was mad at him for something and shifted. It would be ironic to die because she ate him, but then again, maybe if she killed him, she didn't die? There should be a loophole somewhere.

He shrugged. 'After killing her, my part in the plan was over. Nobody assumed I would be able to walk away from this unharmed and even if I managed to get away with murder on the crown princess, I would be done. When the riots started, the rest of the dragons would be killed or captured without me.' When they talked about the plan before, princess Morgayne was mentioned a couple of times. The problem with her was, nobody knew a lot about her. Sure, she existed, the second daughter of the dragons, but she had no business in public. It was hard to predict how to handle her when they didn't know anything about her. So they thought they would deal with her later, when the actual riots started. The bigger issue at that time was of course to get Raphael in killing distance of Marian.
What Morgayne told him was unsettling. She didn't go into detail, he didn't expect that from her, but it became clear that Marian was not gonna let power slip out of her hands once she sat on the throne. Dangerous, very dangerous. This was exactly why he had to get rid of her, to ensure that life wouldn't get any worse for the people. Families put their faith in him to end the reign of dragons and he knew he had to act. He simply could not sit by if Marian decided to fight for more power. More power? How on earth was she gonna do that? The only way for the royal family to get more power was to either expand to other regions, or to take power away from the families. That second option was a bad one. People would hate her for doing that. Raphael doubted whether Marian would care, though.
At least she was honest, though. He still believed she would do better than Marian, even though Morgayne couldn't promise to be good. It was better than nothing.
'People already have their ideas, Morgayne,' he said. He wasn't fighting her on this. 'No matter if you stay inside the castle or go out, they formed their opinion on the royal family. You can't change that anymore, I'm afraid.' He didn't know if she even wanted to go out and meet the people, but it wouldn't really change anything. Had they gone out a hundred years ago, maybe they could have changed the way things went. Now, not so much.
He didn't say it out loud, but he wondered if he could still control her if her instincts took over. Even if she tried to hurt him in those primal instincts, he should be able to actually stop her, right? It felt like that was partly the point of the bond. They should be able to communicate, even though she might have shifted and not be easy to reason with. He kept these thoughts to himself though, because Morgayne made it very clear she had no interest in him poking around in her head. Instead, he nodded. 'I'll be careful.'

She couldn't help it, but she started to laugh. 'So none of you even realised that I am a much bigger threat than my sister? Oh sweetheart, I would've ripped your rebellion to shreds.' Perhaps not the best thing to say right now, but she couldn't help it. It was ridiculous that these people managed to get Raphael in the castle, only to be stopped by the princess that he wasn't supposed to kill. It would have been a lot safer for everybody if he started with her.
'Do you remember the House of Fox? A couple of years ago?' Nobody had ever liked that house, it started fights with every other house, until the queen had decided that they were no longer welcome in her kingdom. That was probably one of the only times she had done something for her people, even though it was in her best interest too. They were not allowed to continue living. Nobody knew which dragon it had been, but one night a dragon came and torched the place. Nobody survived. The House of Fox was over.
'That was probably the only time I ever left the castle and I thoroughly enjoyed myself that night. Just because we dragons don't get out much, doesn't mean you people should forget the kind of power we hold. Your so called rebellion would never have survived. So perhaps peoples ideas are true. Maybe all dragons are evil, maybe none of them care for you humans. Maybe I do. You don't know me well enough for that, but that wouldn't have mattered if you killed my sister. It still doesn't, if you touch her, I will find my way to your house.' She wasn't done yet. 'Or we find a way to convince my sister to start doing things differently. She likes you. God knows why, I certainly don't see it, but she does. If my mother dies, she becomes queen and she will have to chose one husband out of her whores. I would be incredibly surprised if she didn't pick you. Between you as her husband and me as commander of the army, we could influence her.' It was the only way for both of them. At least the only way Morgayne would agree with.
'But I need your promise that you won't kill my sister. If you do that, I will promise to fight for the people that can't fight for themselves. Both as commander of the army and as princess of this country.' There was nothing more she could give him. Nothing more she was willing to give him. There were options, there would always be options, but he would never get one as good as this. However, if he didn't make that promise, she might just have somebody arrest him. If she kept him in the dungeons, if he couldn't reach her to command her around, then she could do whatever she wanted.