TAKEN BY THE DRAGON KING

Bitter Words

***

Elena

I felt Dracul tense up beneath me, but I didn’t want to pull away. Not yet. He was alive.

I had never been so worried about someone in my life. I had never been so desperate to see them wake up. I had never been so tense, so concerned, felt my heart catch in my chest every time his breathing slowed.

I hadn’t moved all day, watching over him. Gulliver hadn’t seemed confident about his survival, and I couldn’t handle the thought of missing a moment if he woke up.

But now he was here. He had woken up, and held me close. He didn’t seem angry at me, just scared for my safety. But then, he had risked everything to save me.

He had risked everything to keep me safe, to protect me, to make sure that I was well. He had fought five guys and survived. He had fought five guys and succeeded in beating them all.

He was strong, he was fierce, he was amazing.

And he was here. He was alive. I never wanted to pull away.

Dracul shifted, and reluctantly, I shifted with him.

He turned his head to look towards the alcove where Gulliver had been sleeping.

I felt a jolt in my stomach. I had completely forgotten that Gulliver was in here. I hastily pulled down my skirts, feeling a blush rise to my cheeks.

Gulliver was there, staring at us like he had just had a revelation, like everything had become clear and he didn’t like it one bit.

There was something in his eyes that I didn’t like. There was a judgement there that I didn’t quite understand.

I pushed myself up, moving away from Dracul. But I reached out and grabbed his hand instead.

Yes, I was laying with him before marriage.

But I didn’t care. I was relieved that he was safe, and I wasn’t going to hide my affections.

I wasn’t going to hide my loyalty to Dracul, or the burning feelings I had for him.

Dracul pushed himself up, so he was sitting. I didn’t want to hide behind him, but I had a feeling that he had a good idea of what to say to Gulliver.

He knew him, he ruled over the kingdom. He had far more sway than I did.

“Is this… the reason, My Lord?” Gulliver said.

His words were clipped and quiet and it seemed like he had just discovered something big. Dracul was tense. I could see the tense lines in his shoulders twisting down his neck.

He wasn’t ready for this conversation, I realized with certainty.

“We need to do this later.” Dracul said shortly. There was no room for argument in his tones.

Gulliver shook his head and I saw real worry cross his brow. I didn’t know what was going on between them, but it seemed to be a big deal.

Whatever it was, whether it be about us, or the kingdom, I felt like I was on the verge of something.

I felt likeI was on the brink of learning something new, something that I might not want to learn. I wasn’t sure, but the feeling pounding in my chest made me think I was right.

“Why not?” Gulliver said, his voice cracking, “You needed the research done right away.”

“Gulliver …” There was a warning in Dracul’s tone, something that encouraged Gulliver to stop, to back off.

Dracul was sitting, but I felt the tension grow thick in the air. Gulliver swallowed and I could see the conflict on his face.

“You’re supposed to put your people first, Dracul.” Gulliver said.

I couldn’t remember Gulliver speaking to Dracul so candidly, so openly. I couldn’t remember him ever calling Dracul by his first name before. This was serious.

I could feel the chill in the air, but I had nothing to add to the conversation. I didn’t know what they were really fighting about.

He swallowed, taking a deep breath and shaking his head, “I didn’t like the plan either. I would understand if you were protecting her, but this…”

Gulliver shook his head again.

“Enough .” Dracul said.

But Gulliver didn’t seem interested in listening, not right now.

“This is…. for your own selfish gains?

Protecting her is one thing. I understand that.” Gulliver repeated again, “But this? Just for this? There are other women, Dracul!”

I felt a jolt in my chest. This was about me. But what did Gulliver mean? Why was Gulliver so angry at Dracul? Protecting me? A plan?

I had no idea what was going on and I felt like my head was spinning trying to catch up.

Everything since I first got here had been a game of catch up, my emotions running away from me as each situation got crazier and crazier.

Everything had been defensive on my part, holding back, playing it safe. And I still didn’t feel like I fully understood anything.

“Dracul, what does he mean?” I asked, my voice soft and hesitant.

Dracul squeezed my hand, but he didn’t answer, his focus still on Gulliver, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He said, his voice a low hiss.

“Don’t I?” Gulliver said, “Because I’ve spent sleepless nights figuring out a solution to our problems. It wasn’t a great one, but many lives could have been spared!” He said, his voice cracking.

“And now, I find that you disregarded my message straight after I gave it to you. And for what? I didn’t think you were ruled by your passions, Dracul.” He said, a scathing note to his voice.

Anger flashed across Dracul’s face and he pushed himself to his feet, letting go of my hand as he stared Gulliver down, “Don’t.” He said, his voice low.

“Don’t presume to know what I am doing. Don’t presume to know my motives.” He was calm, but there was a clear undercurrent of anger.

He had come close to death, he was weakened, but I had a feeling that he could still win a fight, if it came to that.

If it came to it, I had a feeling Dracul could take almost anyone down. Five on one wasn’t fair, but one on one and I knew that Dracul could take anyone down.

Gulliver snorted, shaking his head. The disgust was clear on his face, “Of course. That’s how you became ruler, wasn’t it?

Brute force. Use it now, go ahead!” Gulliver’s voice raised, “See how well that works for you, when I’m the only one who can figure out another way out of this mess!”

“Get out.”Dracul’s said, his voice shaking with anger.

“It’s my office.” Gulliver said, holding his ground.

“I don’t care!” Dracul roared, his composure snapping suddenly, quickly.

Gulliver took a step back, stumbling. He grabbed a bag and gathered a handful of notes into it. As he headed to the door, he turned, “Because I guess you still expect me to get results!”

His own voice raised in anger before he slammed the door, hand and swiftly, leaving the room in a shocking silence.

For a moment, I just stared. I couldn’t believe what had just happened.

Gulliver and Dracul had fought. It had been verbal, but the fight had been cutting and scathing. Gulliver had seemed like a nice guy.

He had saved Dracul..

And Dracul seemed to respect him. He seemed to care about his opinions. So why did they fight like that?

What caused these terrible words to pass between them?

I had a sinking feeling that it was me. I had caused this.

Gulliver had spoken about protecting me, right?

Dracul’s breath was coming in quick, short pants and I gently leaned over and touched his shoulder.

He shifted, pushing himself back on the table, taking a few deep breaths. He had over extended himself.

I watched his shoulders tremble as he leaned back on the table. There were beads of sweat on his skin and I could see how much standing had strained him.

I had heard that dragons healed quickly, but it would still take more than a few minutes for him to be up to his full strength. He still needed time to rest. He still needed time.

He had pushed himself too quickly.

“Dracul…” I swallowed.

I knew I should say something comforting. I knew I should reassure him, be there for him, comfort him after the fight.. But all I could think of were Gulliver’s words.

What had he meant, when he talked about Dracul protecting me? What had he meant when he said that Dracul was putting everyone at risk because of me?

What did he mean when he said there were other women?

I needed to know. In this crazy, turned around world, I needed to know this. Because it was becoming clear to me that I was involved, and sinking further and deeper

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And I needed answers.

“What did he mean?” I said, my voice a whisper.