Magi 16

Richard left the temple with the plan weighing heavy on his mind. Mary’s soul would have to go to the spirit world. And he had to leave her there long enough to drain the body completely of the Dragon, and yet make sure her soul didn’t get reincarnated. He didn’t know how he was going to do it.  The plan could very well not work.  
He stopped under a flowering tree, its pale yellow blossoms drifted down onto the grass below. He looked to the deep blue sky, as if the answer would be there in the sunlight.  


Mary strolled beside the Queen, taking in all the colors and architecture of the Palace. As the leisurely walk went on, she felt becoming more fatigued. Some time ago the Queen had noticed her companion wearing thin, leading her to the central courtyard.  
Mary eyes swept over the courtyard, marveling at the pastel blossoms slowly falling onto the grass.  Mary felt sad in that moment. Nothing ever looks perfect until something bad was about to happen. Her Great Grandmother had stared at the spring landscape from her home for hours, telling little Mary that it was the perfect day. The next morning, Mary’s elderly grandparent had passed into the spirit world.  
“So this is how she felt before she died.” She whispered into the breeze.
The Queen patted the young woman’s arm, pointing to a figure under the pale gold tree. There in the shadows of the tree, stood Richard, regal in his noble robes. The shadows played with his face, all Mary could think was that it was ridiculous a man could be so handsome.  Richard looked up at her with his bright green eyes, the motion making sunlight glint off the top of his crown.
Mary didn’t realize she was moving until she was toe to toe with Richard. It seemed impossible, but he seemed so huge and commanding in those lush robes.  His arms slid around her and held her in a tight embrace. Mary laid her head on his shoulder, hugging him back. The words just fell out her lips.
"This is a wonderful dream. I'm in a beautiful dress and I'm seeing my prince!" She held him tight, soaking in the warm embrace under the tree.
"You’re right. This is a beautiful dream" he whispered to her head. Mary felt her heart break into pieces; Richard would never lie to her. He knew this was real, and she knew this was real.  He shuddered under her touch, as if he could barely breathe. Something terrible happened in the Dragon's Den that afternoon. Mary’s mind whirled. Everyone had been treating her kindly. Very kindly, almost like glass.

"I'm going to die aren't I?" she didn’t want to acknowledge it, but she was a smart girl. No woman ever came back from a Dragon’s Cave normal.
Richard only hugged her body tighter to his, afraid to let her see the fear and guilt on his face.  Mary's eyes burned with grief as she realized what was happening.  She was going to die. If not by birthing the Dragon Egg, but when it sucked the last of her energy away.

They stayed in that embrace under the tree for several minutes.
One thing about the Royal family was they did not control the media, at least not outright. They merely let the journalists and artists do what they may within sane boundaries, and when a fact needed correcting, a press release was held with evidence to right the confusion. However, with many a paper proclaiming that the Regent Prince leaned more towards males, (which wasn’t a bad thing generally, but wasn’t good for marriage treaties) the Queen decided to give the press something to chew on.   A certain butler was brother’s with a journalist, and had often been caught ‘making notes’ in a large book. The Queen knew he was actually drawing scenes, and had found it useful to her means. That butler now was furiously sketching away in his book, page after page of an inopportune meeting of two lovers; the persons depicted, the couple beneath the pale gold tree.  Finding one satisfactory, she stopping the butler and sent him on an errand into town. If her plan went the way it always did, the story would be to the surrounding countries by word of mouth alone by the next afternoon.  

The Queen concluded the sad scene with the announcement that lunch was going to start soon.
Richard pulled back from Mary and smiled. “Enough of that, why don’t we go and enjoy some meat buns? You haven’t tried the ones from here and they are delicious!” He put Mary’s arm on his and led her up the stairs, back to his aunt.