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00:00:04The gold dragon I had raised with my own hands bit through my fingertip the moment it broke
00:00:09out of its shell. A heartbeat later, it turned away from me and flew straight to my sister
00:00:13Izalith, and curled tamely into her arms. She held the dragon that should have been
00:00:19mine, and sobbed in front of the entire kingdom.
00:00:24Seraphina, how could you steal my dragon egg?
00:00:27I did not steal it. I was the one who brought it to life from the egg.
00:00:33Murmurs swept through the noble stands like a storm. King Alaric slammed his seppler against
00:00:38the stone floor, and guards formed forward to pin my arms behind my hack.
00:00:44Izalith glided toward me through the chaos, but when she leaned close to my ear, her voice
00:00:49was cold and sharp, stripped of all pretend.
00:00:52Did you really think the dragon chose you? Newborn hatchlings are blind. They know their
00:00:58master only by the scent of blood on the egg. For three whole months, I snuck into your incubation
00:01:04chamber every midnight and dapped the shell with my own blood.
00:01:08Day and night you sat by it, but it never smelled you. All it knew was my scent.
00:01:14She paused, her fingertips brushing the bite wound on my finger, and I flinched as a sting
00:01:20of burning pain shot through my hand.
00:01:22I brushed dragon repellent sap on your fingertips before the ceremony. That's why it bit you
00:01:28the moment it touched you to it. You reek of something loathsome.
00:01:35Why would you do this to me?
00:01:40Izalith laughed softly.
00:01:42Why? Because you were born first and the crown was handed to you without effort?
00:01:48A golden dragon is the omen of a rightful ruler.
00:01:52With it, I will take your throne, your title, everything that should have been mine.
00:01:58Just like that, I became a thief. My father stripped me of my claims into the throne and
00:02:05threw me into the dragon pit. The iron gate crashed shut behind me with a deafening boom.
00:02:10Starving lesser drakes tore at the hem of my gown. Hot, rancid breath rolled over my face
00:02:17and sharp claws scraped against my arms.
00:02:23Before I closed my eyes, my sister was holding the golden dragon and wearing my crown,
00:02:29basking in smug triumph. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my father gave us
00:02:35our dragon eggs. This time, I'd not kneel and beg anyone to believe me. If Izalith wanted to steal
00:02:42my dragon so badly, I'd give her the most dangerous one of all.
00:02:47King Alaric's voice rang out above me.
00:02:50Serafina, what are you waiting for?
00:02:52My head shot up. I was standing in the golden hall. Candlelight flickered over the marble marble
00:02:57floors. Nobles lined both sides of the chamber. Every pair of eyes fixed on me. Before the dask
00:03:03stood two silver trays, each holding a dragon egg. One was pale, threaded with delicate gold veins.
00:03:10The other was dull and dark. Without shine at all. I had seen this scene before. No. I had lived
00:03:18it
00:03:18before. Back then, I was the crown princess of Valderria, the only daughter of the late queen.
00:03:24The kingdom called me, calm, disciplined, worthy of the throne. I had believed that, if I worked hard
00:03:31enough, if I became perfect enough, my father would finally see me. Later, I learned the truth.
00:03:37Some fathers don't need a reason to favor one child over another. The child he loved was Isolet.
00:03:43The daughter born to his second queen, it did not matter how many royal laws I memorized,
00:03:48how many court rituals I mastered, or how many noble sons I defeated's training. To him,
00:03:53I'd always be the elder daughter, he did not want to acknowledge. Alarac glanced at me.
00:03:59There was no warmth in his face.
00:04:02Valderria was once protected by dragons.
00:04:07After the Great War, almost every adult dragon died.
00:04:12Only a few eggs remain sealed in the royal vaults.
00:04:16By our oldest law, the one who hatches a dragon will earn the right to inherit the throne.
00:04:24What he did not say was this. Valderria's nobles would never accept an heir without dragon.
00:04:30No matter how much he loved Isolet, he still needed her to receive a dragon in public.
00:04:35Only then would everyone keep quiet when she took the throne.
00:04:38I stared at the golden-veined egg. In my last life, I had reached for it first.
00:04:43My chest swelling with pride. I had thought it was a reward for my diligence.
00:04:48I had never guessed it was a trap laid from the very start.
00:04:52He lifted his hand, and a servant carried one of the eggs toward me.
00:04:56You and we'll each receive one.
00:04:58In one month, every noble and citizen will gather in the palace square to witness the hatching.
00:05:05When that day comes, the true heir will show herself.
00:05:17I reached out and took the egg.
00:05:20The shell was cold, exactly as I remembered.
00:05:26A ripple of whispers moved through the hall.
00:05:31Isolde stood beside our father in a white gown, her golden hair falling over her shoulders.
00:05:36She looked soft, innocent, like a cherished little princess who had never done anything cruel in her life.
00:05:44But when she looked at me, a familiar flash of triumph crossed her eyes.
00:05:51It was the exact same look she had worn as she watched me fall into the dragon pit.
00:05:57Isolde came to my side.
00:05:59Her voice was soft enough that only the two of us could hear.
00:06:06Sister, you will definitely lose to me.
00:06:11In my last life, I had flushed with anger at this line, arguing loudly that I would hatch the stronger
00:06:18dragon.
00:06:23The nobles had whispered that I was petty and unworthy of the crown.
00:06:29But this time, I only tightened my grip on the egg.
00:06:34We'll see about that.
00:06:36For a second, she froze.
00:06:38She had not expected me to be so calm.
00:06:41I held the dragon egg close.
00:06:43But inside, I went cold all the way through.
00:06:50In this life, I'd never again give my life just to earn my father's approval.
00:07:00After I returned to my old tower, I dismissed every maid.
00:07:06I placed the dragon egg on the table and stared at it.
00:07:13In my last life, this was the egg that hatched into the gold dragon.
00:07:18Before it broke open, it had answered my voice from within the shell.
00:07:28I drew a small knife and pressed the tip to my finger.
00:07:36If my blood touched the contract, the hatching would begin.
00:07:42My hand hovered there for a long time.
00:07:48Images of Isolde's smug face.
00:07:50The dragon pit's darkness.
00:07:52The drake's sharp teeth flashed before my eyes.
00:07:57In the end, I lowered the knife,
00:08:00pushed the egg into an iron box, and locked it.
00:08:04By the time I reached the palace,
00:08:06the hall outside the throne room was already packed with nobles.
00:08:10Everyone was whispering excitedly about Isolde.
00:08:13Who would have thought?
00:08:13Everyone assumed Princess Serafina had the stronger gift.
00:08:17But Princess Islaid is the one truly chosen by the dragons.
00:08:20A gold dragon.
00:08:22That is the symbol of royal power.
00:08:25The succession is practically settled.
00:08:27Princess Serafina has been hiding in that old tower, hasn't she?
00:08:31I heard her egg hasn't stirred at all.
00:08:33What a shame for the late queen.
00:08:35I walked through the crowd and entered the hall.
00:08:38Isolde stood before the throne with a gold dragon egg in her arms.
00:08:41Golden light wrapped around her like a halo.
00:08:43Making her look like a saint anointed by the dragons.
00:08:47One glance was enough to turn my blood cold.
00:08:49It wasn't the egg hidden in my tower.
00:08:52But the gold markings, the cracks forming in the shell.
00:08:55Even the heartbeat coming from inside it.
00:08:56Everything matched the egg I had awakened with my own hands.
00:08:59A chill crept slowly up my spine.
00:09:02My egg was still in the hidden chamber beneath my tower.
00:09:05Martha had been guarding it without leaving her post.
00:09:08The windows were sealed.
00:09:09My own people watched the door.
00:09:11Not even a bird could get in.
00:09:13So maybe the problem was never that someone stole the physical egg.
00:09:17Perhaps something had been redirecting the results of my hatching to Isolde all along.
00:09:21Isolde saw me and her eyes lit up.
00:09:24She adjusted her hold on the egg, holding it higher as if displaying a trophy.
00:09:30Sister, you came.
00:09:33She carried the gold egg toward me, smiling sweetly.
00:09:36Sis, I didn't think you'd show up.
00:09:39It must hurt, watching your little sister hatch a gold dragon first.
00:09:45No matter how hard you try, the dragon always ends up mine.
00:09:51I did not smash the egg.
00:09:53I did not hurt the young life sleeping inside.
00:09:57The egg was not the one at fault.
00:10:00The people using it to trap me were.
00:10:02At the northern edge of the palace grounds stood an old dragon roost that had been sealed for years.
00:10:07My mother had told me of it when I was small.
00:10:10Her voice soft as she spoke of the gold egg she had hidden there.
00:10:14A gift left for me when I came of age.
00:10:17Under the cover of night, I slipped past the sleeping guards and pushed open the rusted iron gate.
00:10:25Ash swirled up around my boots, thick with the scent of burnt scales and old magic.
00:10:31At the very back of the roost, half buried in cold ash, I saw it.
00:10:36It was small.
00:10:37But the moment I drew close, it trembled.
00:10:40From that night on, I began hatching a dragon again.
00:10:44I snuck to the roost every midnight.
00:10:47Sitting for hours with the egg pressed to my chest.
00:10:50Whispering old dragon lullabies my mother had taught me.
00:10:54Day by day, the shell grew brighter.
00:10:56The gold veins glowing like molten sunlight.
00:10:59On the 20th night, I pressed my ear against it and heard a faint heartbeat from within.
00:11:05It was alive.
00:11:06It was mine.
00:11:08Then, at dawn on the 21st day, the palace bells began to ring.
00:11:16Martha hurried into my chamber, her face pale.
00:11:25Your highness, news has come from the palace.
00:11:29Princess Islote's dragon egg has turned gold.
00:11:34The king has announced that she may hatch a gold dragon.
00:11:40The cup slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor.
00:11:45Impossible.
00:11:47The gold dragon egg was right here with me.
00:11:51How could Isolda's egg turn gold at the exact same moment my dragon awakened?
00:11:58Was this fate?
00:11:59Had I struggled so hard to change everything, only to walk right back into the same ending?
00:12:06I stared at the egg in her arms, my fingers going cold.
00:12:09My father sat on the throne, his satisfaction plain on his face.
00:12:15Serafina.
00:12:19Bring out your egg, too.
00:12:21I looked up at him.
00:12:23He had spoken to me the same way in my last life.
00:12:25He had never given me a chance to explain.
00:12:28If Isolda shed a single tear, he could condemn me without hesitation.
00:12:32My egg has not hatched yet.
00:12:35Whispers burst through the hall.
00:12:38Isolda covered her mouth in exaggerated surprise, her eyes wide with false pity.
00:12:43How could that be?
00:12:45Sister, haven't you always worked the hardest?
00:12:48Are you saying you can't hatch a dragon at all?
00:12:51She shook her head softly, as if grieving for me.
00:12:54Father, don't be angry with sister.
00:12:56I'm sure she tried her best.
00:12:58It's just, maybe the dragons don't favor her.
00:13:01My father's face darkened.
00:13:04Useless.
00:13:05He seized the goblet beside him and hurled it at my feet.
00:13:08It shattered against the floor, shards scraping my hem, wine splashing over the tips of my shoes.
00:13:15Valdoria needs someone who can wake a dragon, not a failure who only knows how to look proud.
00:13:21I said nothing, not because I was afraid, because I had finally realized this was deeper than I had thought.
00:13:28The egg had not been stolen.
00:13:30Isolda had not been lucky.
00:13:31Something had been delivering my results to her from the very beginning.
00:13:35From this day forward, Serafina will remain in the old tower.
00:13:40She will not leave unless summoned.
00:13:42She will stay there until she hatches a dragon of her own.
00:13:47The nobles' eyes changed when they looked at me.
00:13:50In my first life they called me a thief.
00:13:53In this life they called me a failure.
00:13:56There was not much difference.
00:13:58When I left the hall, Isolda followed me.
00:14:02She waved a hand to dismiss her maids.
00:14:04And the soft, innocent mask fell from her face the moment they were out of sight.
00:14:10Sister, the look on your face just now was beautiful.
00:14:14I stopped walking.
00:14:16You can't understand it, can't you?
00:14:20You hid your eggs so carefully.
00:14:25So, why do I have a gold egg too?
00:14:27The truth is, I don't even need to know what you did.
00:14:32The result will always be the same.
00:14:35She lifted a hand and patted my shoulder as if comforting a loser.
00:14:39You guard it.
00:14:41You feed it.
00:14:43You love it.
00:14:46But when it breaks out of its shell,
00:14:49it will still choose me.
00:14:51I grabbed her wrist.
00:14:53Pain flashed across her face but she did not pull away.
00:14:57Instead, her smile widened.
00:15:00Angry?
00:15:01Then I must be right.
00:15:04She leaned in, her lips almost brushing my ear.
00:15:08Just like in your little incubation chamber.
00:15:11You thought you were raising a dragon for...
00:15:14Yourself?
00:15:16You were raising it for me all along.
00:15:19I released her.
00:15:21Isolid.
00:15:23You had better pray you can keep winning.
00:15:27She smoothed her sleeve, her eyes full of contempt.
00:15:31I will.
00:15:33Father loves me.
00:15:34The kingdom expects me.
00:15:36Even the dragons choose me.
00:15:38What do you have?
00:15:40Sister?
00:15:41I watched her walk away and my mind became clearer than it had been all day.
00:15:47She was wrong.
00:15:48There was one thing I had that she did not.
00:15:51And I knew there was a second dragon growing in the old roost.
00:15:55One she would never see coming.
00:15:58On the third day of my confinement I began searching through my mother's belongings.
00:16:03At the top of the old tower was a small study.
00:16:06It had been locked for years.
00:16:07My father never came there.
00:16:09Isolde thought it too cold and dreary to set foot in.
00:16:12After my mother died her books, letters, and some old royal records had been piled inside
00:16:17like dust the whole palace wanted to forget.
00:16:19I sat on the floor and went through them one by one.
00:16:22Most of the books about dragon eggs had yellowed with age.
00:16:25They did not record mysterious legends.
00:16:28They recorded rules.
00:16:30Dragon eggs need warmth.
00:16:31Dragon eggs need quiet.
00:16:33Dragon eggs remember the contract.
00:16:36My hand froze.
00:16:38The contract?
00:16:39I read on quickly.
00:16:41Before a royal dragon egg could be hatched, the hatcher had to sign a magical contract.
00:16:46The contract bore the hatcher's name.
00:16:48When the dragon broke from its shell, it would recognize the name on the contract as its master.
00:16:53Worse, the contract did more than decide ownership.
00:16:56The blood, warmth, voice, and awakening power given by the hatcher would all be credited to
00:17:01the name that truly took effect.
00:17:03Then I saw a tiny note my mother had written in the margin.
00:17:07Queen's note.
00:17:08Beware the double ink.
00:17:09My heart clenched.
00:17:11Double ink was something royal mages used to hide secret orders.
00:17:15A line of writing appeared on the surface but beneath it.
00:17:18Another line the one that actually took effect could be concealed.
00:17:21Ordinary eyes could not see it.
00:17:23Only a revealing solution could expose it.
00:17:26At last I understood where the problem might be.
00:17:29That night I changed into a maid's dress, slipped past the guards, and broke into the royal archive.
00:17:34In my last life, when I was desperate to prove my innocence, I had knelt there and begged them to
00:17:39let me see the contracts.
00:17:41They did not open the door.
00:17:43They only shoved me down the steps and called me a lying thief.
00:17:46This time I did not beg.
00:17:48I used the sleeping powder Martha had given me to put the guards to sleep.
00:17:52Then took the keys from his belt.
00:17:55Who's there?
00:17:56The guard's voice faded before he could finish.
00:17:58He slid down against the wall asleep.
00:18:00The archive was cold.
00:18:02Rows of wooden cabinets stretched into the darkness.
00:18:04I found the contracts from the day of the egg ceremony by date.
00:18:08My fingers shaking so badly I could barely hold the papers.
00:18:11The first contract was Isolda's.
00:18:14On the surface it said Isolda.
00:18:16The second contract was mine.
00:18:18On the surface it said Serafina.
00:18:20I took out the revealing solution my mother had left behind and let a drop fall onto the page.
00:18:25At first nothing happened.
00:18:27Then the ink began to blur.
00:18:29The name Serafina faded.
00:18:31Beneath it, another name rose to the surface.
00:18:34Isolda.
00:18:35I stared at that name, ice flooding my veins.
00:18:38So that was it.
00:18:40My dragon had not betrayed me.
00:18:42Isolda had not truly beaten me with her own power.
00:18:45From the moment I signed my name on that paper, my father had already replaced it with hers.
00:18:50Every drop of blood, every hour of warmth, every whisper I had breathed into that egg none of it had
00:18:55ever been mine.
00:18:56It had all belonged to her.
00:18:59The next morning, I walked straight into the throne room.
00:19:02King Alaric with Islica, examining her gold dragon egg.
00:19:07The shell was already crisscrossed with cracks, and faint, thin cries of a young dragon drifted from within.
00:19:18Isolda looked up at the sound of my footsteps, a sweet, triumphant smile spreading across her face.
00:19:25Sister, have you finally come to your senses?
00:19:29Are you here to apologize to father, and beg to keep your place at my side?
00:19:34I did not look at her.
00:19:36I bowed to the man on the throne.
00:19:41Father, I can't hatch a dragon.
00:19:48I said I am willing to withdraw from the succession trial.
00:19:55I am no match for Isoleth.
00:19:58Since she has already hatched a gold dragon, the throne should naturally belong for her.
00:20:06The smile frozen on Isoleth's face.
00:20:09Her fingers tightened around the egg so hard her knuckles whited, and a small piece of shell flaked off onto
00:20:16her skirt.
00:20:19My father did not look pleased either.
00:20:24Nonsense!
00:20:26I looked at him calmly.
00:20:29Of course he could not let me quit.
00:20:32Isoleth had not truly hatched anything.
00:20:34The gold dragon egg in her arms, depending on my contract upon my blood.
00:20:40If I stopped hatching dragons, she would have nothing left to steal.
00:20:45Alarith softened his voice, trying on the mask of a gentle father.
00:20:49Serafina, you have always been a proud child.
00:20:53One failure means nothing.
00:20:56The kingdom needs you to keep trying.
00:20:59I almost laughed.
00:21:01In my first life, when he stood over me in the dragon pit and condemned me to die,
00:21:08he had never once said the kingdom needed me.
00:21:11The kinder he pretended to be, the clearer the truth became.
00:21:18Isoleth's golden dragon was nothing but a shadow of mine.
00:21:22And without me, it would die before it ever saw the sun.
00:21:28The answer was already in my hands.
00:21:30As long as that hidden name remained,
00:21:33every drop of blood I gave would become Isoleth's claim.
00:21:37A small zound came from behind me.
00:21:40A soft rustle came from the archway behind me.
00:21:44I whirled, dagger drawn and pressed to the intruder's throat before I saw her face.
00:21:49Martha stood in the doorway, pale as a ghost.
00:21:54Your highness, it's me.
00:21:56I saw you leave the tower and followed.
00:21:59I was afraid you'd be caught.
00:22:02Slowly, I lowered the blade.
00:22:04She stepped inside, and when her eyes fell on the glowing contract in my hand,
00:22:09her lips trembled and tears spilled over at once.
00:22:13The queen suspected something like this would happen.
00:22:18The year the eggs were moved to the vault.
00:22:21She said the contracts felt wrong.
00:22:25But she was already too ill.
00:22:28She died before she could prove it.
00:22:30I closed my eyes.
00:22:32The weight of my mother's unfinished protection settled over me,
00:22:36warm and sharp all at once.
00:22:38My mother had not failed to protect me.
00:22:41She had simply ran out of time.
00:22:45Your highness, what do we do now?
00:22:48We have proof.
00:22:50We can call the nobles at dawn.
00:22:53Show them the truth.
00:22:55We can clear your name and take everything back.
00:22:58I looked at the name on the page and suddenly laughed.
00:23:05No.
00:23:06Martha stared at me.
00:23:08They won't believe it.
00:23:10In my last life, I laid everything bare,
00:23:12and they still chose Isolette's tears.
00:23:15The nobles did not care about the truth.
00:23:18Neither did the people.
00:23:19They believed the winner.
00:23:22Truth doesn't win here.
00:23:24Winners write the truth.
00:23:25So this time, I'd make the winner confess she was a fraud.
00:23:30I rolled the contract back up,
00:23:32and put it where I had found it.
00:23:36If father loves changing names so much,
00:23:39then let that name stay there.
00:23:44Isolette likes stealing my dragons.
00:23:46Then I'll let her steal one.
00:23:48She stole my golden dragon.
00:23:51My crown.
00:23:52My life.
00:23:53This time, I will let her steal something else.
00:23:56Something that will tear her lies apart from the inside out.
00:24:00The royal forbiddance vault lay beneath the dragon pit.
00:24:05There were no gilded pillars there.
00:24:07No golden flames to symbolize royal power.
00:24:12Only a cold, damp staircase leading down into darkness.
00:24:16The walls scarred with black burn marks.
00:24:19After the war,
00:24:21the royal family had sealed the most dangerous dragon eggs here.
00:24:26Not because they were noble.
00:24:28Because no one dared to hatch them.
00:24:37My mother's notes mentioned one egg in particular.
00:24:43Black dragons were powerful, savage, and almost impossible to tame.
00:24:59They were not like gold dragons, which symbolized the throne.
00:25:04They were not like red dragons, which burned for war.
00:25:08However, black dragons devoured falsehood in a contract.
00:25:12They attacked those who deceived them.
00:25:17Three kings had tried to bind black dragons to their will, over 300 years.
00:25:21All had paid a terrible price.
00:25:24The first lost an entire hand to dragon fire.
00:25:27The second went mad on the day the dragon hatched.
00:25:31The third managed to make the dragon open its eyes.
00:25:34But when he declared himself its master,
00:25:37it bit through his throat.
00:25:44After that,
00:25:45the black dragon egg was locked in the deepest part of the Forbidden's Vault.
00:25:53In my first life,
00:25:55I died without ever knowing it existed.
00:25:58In this life,
00:25:59I opened the door.
00:26:02There was no light behind the iron door.
00:26:06I walked in with a torch and saw a jet black dragon egg resting silently on a stone platform.
00:26:12It was much larger than an ordinary egg.
00:26:15There were no markings on the shell.
00:26:17As I approached,
00:26:18the torch flame shrank and dimmed,
00:26:20as if the darkness itself was eating the light.
00:26:22The thing inside was awake.
00:26:25I know you're dangerous.
00:26:27The black egg did not respond.
00:26:30I also know you won't kneel tamely at anyone's feet.
00:26:34This time,
00:26:35the shell trembled lightly.
00:26:40Father,
00:26:41I'm tired.
00:26:42I accept that I am not as capable as Isoth.
00:26:47Please allow me to leave the tower and move to the estate outside the city.
00:26:51I will never touch another dragon egg.
00:26:54No!
00:26:57This time,
00:26:58it was Isolate who spoke.
00:27:00She flinched as soon as she said it,
00:27:02realizing she took motion to have broken her gentle ale mask in front of the nobles.
00:27:08Sister,
00:27:08I didn't mean it that way.
00:27:10I only think you shouldn't give up so easily.
00:27:15You are my sister.
00:27:27I want you to prove yourself, too.
00:27:30I turned to her fully,
00:27:31taking one slow step forward.
00:27:35She stumbled back half a step before she caught herself.
00:27:40What good would that do you?
00:27:44Isolate's face went pale.
00:27:46Don't you already have a gold dragon?
00:27:49Aren't you about to become the heir?
00:27:52Why are you afraid I'll stop hatching dragons?
00:27:55Several nobles in the hall exchanged puzzled looks.
00:27:58Isolate bit down hard on her lip,
00:28:00tears rolling down her cheeks.
00:28:02Sister,
00:28:02how can you think that of me?
00:28:05I'm only worried about you.
00:28:09In my last life,
00:28:10I'd have rushed to defend myself
00:28:12and ended up looking cruel beside her tears.
00:28:17This time,
00:28:19I only smiled.
00:28:21Then thank you for your concern.
00:28:23I bowed to my father again.
00:28:34Father,
00:28:35since Isolate has won,
00:28:37there is no reason for me to remain here.
00:28:40Alaric stared at me.
00:28:41For the first time,
00:28:42I saw panic in his eyes.
00:28:46You must continue hatching dragon eggs.
00:28:50Why?
00:28:51He stopped.
00:28:53The words died on his tongue.
00:28:55He could not say the quiet part out loud.
00:28:58I lowered my voice,
00:29:00just loud enough for the front rows of nobles to hear.
00:29:04Surely it isn't because Isolate needs me to hatch them for her.
00:29:07The sentence cut through the false calm of the hall.
00:29:12Isolate's face changed completely.
00:29:14Alaric slammed his palm down on the arm of the throne so hard the goblets rattled.
00:29:19How dare you!
00:29:21I knelt slowly,
00:29:23my back straight.
00:29:24Forgive me,
00:29:25father.
00:29:25It was only a joke.
00:29:27But the joke
00:29:28had already sunk its teeth in.
00:29:31No one in that hall would forget the question
00:29:33or the panic on Isolate's face.
00:29:35After I left the hall,
00:29:37Isolate followed me.
00:29:41She grabbed my wrist,
00:29:43her nails digging hard into my sleeve through the fabric.
00:29:48Serafina,
00:29:49what are you planning?
00:29:51I'm planning to give up.
00:29:52You're lying.
00:29:54You must have hidden another dragon egg somewhere.
00:29:56You think?
00:29:57You can raise one in secret
00:29:58and take everything back?
00:30:00I pulled my wrist free,
00:30:02brushing off my sleeve as if I'd touched something dirty.
00:30:05Then take your time looking.
00:30:08Search every tower,
00:30:10every cellar,
00:30:11every corner of the palace.
00:30:12I won't stop you.
00:30:13Her chest and fell with anger.
00:30:16She leaned in,
00:30:18her voice low and vicious.
00:30:20Don't think you can threaten me.
00:30:22Father will stand with me.
00:30:24The nobles will stand with me.
00:30:25As long as I say you stole something from me.
00:30:28They will throw you into the dragon pit.
00:30:31All over again.
00:30:33I know.
00:30:34My calm only stoked her panic.
00:30:36She had expected tears,
00:30:38rage,
00:30:40please,
00:30:41anything but this quiet certainty.
00:30:43That's why this time,
00:30:45I'll give you something you won't be able to resist stealing.
00:30:49Something you will beg to take from me.
00:30:52She did not follow again.
00:30:55The bait was already set.
00:30:57And I knew she would bite.
00:31:01I unfolded the crumpled copy of the altered contract I'd taken from the archive.
00:31:04On the surface,
00:31:06it said Seraphina.
00:31:07The name that truly took effect was Isolda.
00:31:09My father thought he had built a throne for Isolda.
00:31:11He did not realize the same forged contract he'd used to steal my dragon would also tie a ravenous noose
00:31:16tight around her neck.
00:31:17I cut my finger and let my blood fall onto the contract.
00:31:19The name on the page flared.
00:31:21Isolette.
00:31:22On the stone platform,
00:31:23the black egg shook violently,
00:31:24so hard it rattled against the rock.
00:31:26A low,
00:31:27rumbling growl rolled out from within the shell.
00:31:29Deep and guttural,
00:31:30nothing like the soft,
00:31:31high chirp of a newborn gold dragon.
00:31:33Grow well.
00:31:36Soon enough,
00:31:37she will come to steal you.
00:31:38For the next ten days and ten nights,
00:31:40I did not step foot back in the old tower.
00:31:42I stayed in the damp,
00:31:43dark forbiddance vault,
00:31:45curled up beside the black egg through every hour.
00:31:47I gave it warmth.
00:31:48I gave it blood.
00:31:49I gave it silence.
00:31:50It was nothing like the gold dragon I'd raised in my last life.
00:31:53The gold dragon had answered my whispers with tiny,
00:31:55soft taps from inside the shell.
00:31:57Gentle as an unborn child reaching for its mother,
00:32:00the black dragon never sought comfort.
00:32:02It never tapped back,
00:32:03never leaned into my palm.
00:32:04It only grew hotter and heavier with each passing day,
00:32:07the shell burning like forged iron.
00:32:08More than once,
00:32:09I felt as if it was watching me.
00:32:11On the eleventh day,
00:32:12the first crack appeared in the shell.
00:32:14Martha stood at the door,
00:32:15her face paler than the dust.
00:32:16Your Highness,
00:32:17black dragons are untamable.
00:32:19Once it breaks free,
00:32:20people may truly die.
00:32:22Issa Ledd may die.
00:32:23And you still want to go through with this?
00:32:26There's no turning back once the shell breaks.
00:32:29I stared at the glowing crack on the black shell
00:32:31and the memories of my last life flashed before my eyes.
00:32:34The iron gate of the dragon pit flew shut.
00:32:37Isolde's smug,
00:32:38tear-streaked smile high above.
00:32:39My father's cold, unforgiving eyes.
00:32:41The roar of the crowd screaming thief as I fell.
00:32:44They never gave me a way back.
00:32:46Yes,
00:32:46I continue.
00:32:47If it truly recognizes Iselec as its master,
00:32:50will she die?
00:32:51I did not answer right away.
00:32:53Death would be too easy for her.
00:32:55First,
00:32:56the black dragon will tear away every last one of her lies.
00:32:59It will make every person in this kingdom see exactly what she stole.
00:33:03The dragon,
00:33:05the crown,
00:33:05and my life.
00:33:06On the night before the succession ceremony,
00:33:09Isolde came to the entrance of the Forbidden's Vault herself.
00:33:11She could not enter.
00:33:13She could only look at me through the iron gate.
00:33:15Sister,
00:33:17I knew it.
00:33:18You've been hiding something this whole time.
00:33:20I picked up the black egg and carried it to the iron gate,
00:33:22holding it up so the firelight fell full across its glossy black shell.
00:33:26Her eyes lit up at once,
00:33:27bright with naked greed,
00:33:28all pretense of gentleness vanishing in the dark.
00:33:30A black dragon egg.
00:33:32The most powerful dragon in all of Valdoria.
00:33:36Stronger than any gold dragon.
00:33:38Isolde's throat bobbed hard as she swallowed.
00:33:40She could not look away from the egg.
00:33:42Tomorrow,
00:33:43at the ceremony in the square,
00:33:44you can stand in front of all the nobles and all the people
00:33:47and tell everyone that this egg belongs to you.
00:33:50As I turned away,
00:33:51I heard her whisper.
00:33:52It will be mine.
00:33:54Everything will be mine.
00:33:55I smiled.
00:33:56Serafina quietly to herself.
00:33:58Of course it will.
00:34:00On the day of the succession ceremony,
00:34:02the palace square was packed from end to end,
00:34:04the crowd buzzing with excitement.
00:34:06Nobles stood on both sides of the high platform.
00:34:09Commoners crowded behind the iron railings.
00:34:11Everyone wanted to see the gold dragon hatch
00:34:13and witness Isolde become the next queen.
00:34:16Isolde stood at the center of the high platform
00:34:18in a snow-white ceremonial gown,
00:34:20a delicate pearl crown perched on her golden hair.
00:34:22The gold dragon egg in her arms was crisscrossed with cracks,
00:34:26warm golden light seeping through every gap.
00:34:28And faint, soft chirps drifted out from within.
00:34:31King Alaric stood proudly at her side,
00:34:34his chest puffed out,
00:34:35every line of his face screaming satisfaction
00:34:37at the air he had chosen.
00:34:39The sight burned into my eyes,
00:34:40sharp with the pain of old memories.
00:34:43In my last life,
00:34:44I had stood exactly where she was,
00:34:46holding that same glowing gold egg,
00:34:48believing my diligence had finally been rewarded.
00:34:51I had thought the world was fair,
00:34:53that the dragon would choose the one who raised it.
00:34:55But justice had always been a joke written by the winners.
00:34:58The real rules had been rewritten in secret
00:35:01long before I ever stepped into that hall.
00:35:03The master of ceremonies lifted his staff,
00:35:06and his booming voice rolled across the square.
00:35:08By the ancient laws of Valdoria,
00:35:12let both princesses present their dragon eggs
00:35:17before the people.
00:35:20Isolde stepped forward first,
00:35:21her skirt trailing elegantly behind her.
00:35:23She set the gold dragon egg gently on the stone altar,
00:35:26and golden light burst forth,
00:35:28drawing a wave of odd murmurs from the nobles.
00:35:31A true gold dragon.
00:35:34I never thought I'd see one in my lifetime.
00:35:36The gold dragon is the very symbol of royal power.
00:35:40This is an omen.
00:35:41Princess Isolette truly is the chosen one.
00:35:45She is Valdoria's future.
00:35:47Beneath the hum of admiration,
00:35:48I stepped out from the shadow of the archway,
00:35:50the black dragon egg held steady in my arms.
00:35:53In an instant,
00:35:54every sound vanished.
00:35:55The black egg did not glow with warm,
00:35:57brilliant light like the gold one.
00:35:59It drank in the light around it.
00:36:01Heavy and oppressive,
00:36:02pressing down on every breath.
00:36:04Wherever it passed,
00:36:05the flames nearby bent low.
00:36:08A commoner in the front row breathed out the question.
00:36:12What, what, what is that thing?
00:36:15An elderly noble in the front row stood up abruptly,
00:36:17his hands shaking on the railing.
00:36:19A black, black dragon egg!
00:36:22That's, that's a black dragon egg!
00:36:25Another noble leaned forward,
00:36:26his face pale with shock.
00:36:28Impossible.
00:36:30Wasn't that sealed deep in the forbidden vault generations ago?
00:36:34How did she get it?
00:36:35When Isolde saw the egg,
00:36:36all color drained from her face.
00:36:40Isolette drew a deep breath,
00:36:41lifting her chin and straightening her back,
00:36:42putting on all the dignity of a rightful heir.
00:36:44Yes, it belongs to me.
00:36:45It was sealed away for the royal heir,
00:36:47and I am the heir.
00:36:48I looked at her,
00:36:49and you are equally certain
00:36:50that when it breaks its shell,
00:36:52it will recognize you,
00:36:53and only you,
00:36:55as its master.
00:36:56Unease flickered in her eyes,
00:36:57but the thrill of victory quickly smothered it.
00:37:00Of course it will.
00:37:02Dragons know their true master.
00:37:05I stepped back slowly,
00:37:07putting distance between myself and the altar.
00:37:09Then go ahead.
00:37:13Prove it to everyone.
00:37:14Isolette had not expected me to yield so easily.
00:37:17She stared at me for a long time,
00:37:19as if searching for the trap.
00:37:21Every eye in the square was on her.
00:37:23Every noble,
00:37:23every commoner was waiting to see their future queen command her dragon.
00:37:26She had already declared the egg hers.
00:37:27If she hesitated now,
00:37:28all her lies would crumble,
00:37:28so she squirms flat against the cold black shell.
00:37:30In the name of Valdoria's future queen,
00:37:32I command you to break your shell and recognize your master.
00:37:35For one moment,
00:37:36the black egg was still.
00:37:37Then it cracked.
00:37:38A single razor-sharp black line split the shell clean from top to bottom,
00:37:42glowing with faint smoky light.
00:37:43The nobles closest to the altar stumbled back at once,
00:37:46their faces white.
00:37:46Your highness, please step back.
00:37:47Black dragons are ferocious.
00:37:49You cannot stand so close at hatching.
00:37:50Isolette forced a proud smile onto her face,
00:37:53but her fingers were trembling so hard against the shell
00:37:55she could barely keep them still.
00:37:56Why should I?
00:37:56It is my dragon.
00:37:57It will not hurt its own master.
00:38:04Before the crowd could finish whispering,
00:38:06Izzavid suddenly stepped forward to the edge of the platform.
00:38:10Sister, why do you keep doing this?
00:38:13I stopped and looked at her.
00:38:14Tears filled her eyes right on Cuse.
00:38:16Was stealing my gold dragon egg not enough?
00:38:20Now you've snuck into the forbidden vault
00:38:22to steal my black dragon egg too?
00:38:25The square exploded into an uproar.
00:38:28Angry shouts and murmurs rolled over me like a wave.
00:38:32I heard the crowd call me greedy, shameless,
00:38:35a thief who would do anything for power.
00:38:38I heard them say I'd never change,
00:38:40that I'd always been jealous of my sister.
00:38:42I heard a woman's sharp voice yell
00:38:44that I was not worthy of being a princess,
00:38:46not worthy of the royal blood in my veins.
00:38:49On the throne, King Alaric rose slowly.
00:38:51Seraphina, hand over the black dragon egg at once.
00:38:56I did not move.
00:38:58On what grounds?
00:39:02His gaze cut through the noise.
00:39:05Isleth has said it belongs to her.
00:39:07I laughed.
00:39:11So that's the law of the palace now?
00:39:14If she says it is hers,
00:39:16then it is hers?
00:39:18Isleth shook her head,
00:39:19tears spilling down her cheeks.
00:39:21Sister, I know you hate me for being loved by father,
00:39:22but you can't steal from me again and again
00:39:23just because you want the throne.
00:39:25The gold dragon chose me,
00:39:25and you refused to accept it.
00:39:26Now you've gone and stolen the black dragon too.
00:39:28What else do you want from me?
00:39:29Do you want my life?
00:39:30In my last life,
00:39:31I had lost everything to those tears.
00:39:33I'd shouted,
00:39:35I'd argued,
00:39:36I'd begged,
00:39:36and I'd still looked like a cruel bully
00:39:39beside her soft weeping figure.
00:39:41But this life,
00:39:43there is no mention of explaining myself.
00:39:47I would not beg.
00:39:50I would not yell.
00:39:51I stepped up onto the platform,
00:39:54walked to the altar,
00:39:55and set the black dragon egg down
00:39:56right beside the blowing gold one.
00:39:58Isleth, are you certain
00:39:59this black dragon egg belongs to you?
00:40:01In front of father,
00:40:02in front of every noble,
00:40:03every citizen standing in the square,
00:40:05are you certain you want to swear
00:40:06before all of them
00:40:07that this is your dragon egg?
00:40:08Isleth's eyes darted to King Alaric,
00:40:10searching for reassurance.
00:40:12Alaric nodded almost imperceptibly.
00:40:14I saw it.
00:40:15Good.
00:40:16Just like last time,
00:40:18they had chosen greed over truth.
00:40:21The moment the second cloud split open,
00:40:24the sky above the square darkened.
00:40:25It was not that clouds
00:40:26had rolled in to cover the sun.
00:40:27It was as if something inside the shell
00:40:29had reached up
00:40:30and swallowed all the light in the air.
00:40:32One torch after another bent low,
00:40:34even the faint cries
00:40:35from the gold dragon egg suddenly stopped.
00:40:37Isolde's hands were still pressed tight
00:40:39to the black shell,
00:40:40but her knuckles had gone white.
00:40:42Her smile froze.
00:40:44This is wrong.
00:40:45This is all wrong.
00:40:46A black dragon's hatching is thunder and fire.
00:40:49It should not be this quiet.
00:40:51This is unnatural.
00:40:52The next second,
00:40:54with a sound like shattering obsidian,
00:40:56the entire shell burst apart.
00:40:58A young black dragon crawled out.
00:41:00It was not large,
00:41:01but the entire square fell into dead silence.
00:41:04Its wet black scales clung to its body,
00:41:06but its eyes were already cold.
00:41:08It did not cry softly like a gold dragon.
00:41:11It did not nuzzle anyone's hand.
00:41:13It only lifted its head
00:41:14and looked at Isolde.
00:41:17Isolde took a step back
00:41:18before she could stop herself.
00:41:22Come here.
00:41:24I am your master.
00:41:27The black dragon tilted its head,
00:41:29then it lowered its snout
00:41:30and sniffed the contract.
00:41:32Paper on the altar,
00:41:33black fire ignited across the page.
00:41:35The name hidden beneath the surface
00:41:37slowly appeared,
00:41:38Isolde.
00:41:43Everyone saw it dot.
00:41:45Sharp breaths rose all around me.
00:41:47Isolde's face turned white.
00:41:49She whipped her head toward our father.
00:41:51Alaric had frozen to it.
00:41:53Must not have expected the black dragon
00:41:55to burn the hidden name into the open.
00:42:02The black dragon took one slow,
00:42:04deliberate step toward Isolde,
00:42:06its claws clicking sharp on the stone altar.
00:42:10At last,
00:42:12panic broke through her composure.
00:42:15No,
00:42:16no,
00:42:16it wasn't me.
00:42:17This is a trick.
00:42:18She backed away,
00:42:19her voice shaking.
00:42:21I didn't hatch you.
00:42:22She did.
00:42:24Seraphina hatched you.
00:42:25She's the one who fed you her blood.
00:42:29You just stood in front of this entire kingdom
00:42:32and swore it was yours.
00:42:35Isolde screamed,
00:42:36sharp and streal,
00:42:38her composure gone entirely.
00:42:39That isn't what I meant.
00:42:42You tricked me.
00:42:43You lured me into saying it.
00:42:45You said the gold dragon was yours
00:42:47and everyone believed you.
00:42:49No one tricked you then.
00:42:50You said the black dragon was yours
00:42:52and everyone believed that too.
00:42:54You reached for it gladly.
00:42:55You called it your birthright.
00:42:57I stopped just out of the dragon's reach,
00:43:00looking down at her cringing figure.
00:43:02Dear sister,
00:43:04Haven't you always loved stealing my dragons?
00:43:07This one is yours now.
00:43:08Keep it.
00:43:09The black dragon lunged without warning,
00:43:12a low snarl rumbling in its chest.
00:43:14The guards beside Isola drew their swords with a sharp clang,
00:43:18but the dragon swept them aside with one flick of its tail,
00:43:21sending men and steel crashing into the stone steps.
00:43:25It did not kill her at once.
00:43:26It was toying with her,
00:43:28the way a cat toys with a mouse before the kill.
00:43:30It pinned her wrist beneath its claws,
00:43:32and black fire crawled up her skin.
00:43:35Isolad screamed.
00:43:37The golden contract marks on the back of her hand
00:43:40burned away inch by inch.
00:43:42It was not ordinary fire.
00:43:44It did not char her flesh.
00:43:45It burned the stolen contract out of her.
00:43:49Father!
00:43:52Save me!
00:43:53Please!
00:43:54She sobbed and shrieked toward Alaric,
00:43:57her body twisting uselessly beneath the dragon's claw.
00:44:00At last, Alaric could no longer stand still and watch.
00:44:04He stormed down from the throne platform.
00:44:07Stop it!
00:44:08Seraphina!
00:44:09Make it stop this instant!
00:44:12Why should I?
00:44:14Isn't it Isola's dragon?
00:44:17Shouldn't her own dragon obey her?
00:44:21His face went studged.
00:44:23The black dragon continued pressing in on Isolada.
00:44:27Black fire had already climbed to her throat.
00:44:35Her carefully arranged hair had fallen loose.
00:44:38Her pearl crown dropped to the ground and shattered beneath her own foot.
00:44:42She no longer looked like a noble princess.
00:44:46She looked like a fraud finally being exposed.
00:44:50Father!
00:44:52Tell them!
00:44:53Say it out loud!
00:44:55Or it will burn me alive!
00:44:58I don't want to die!
00:45:00Every eye in the square turned to the king.
00:45:03Curiosity, doubt, judgment.
00:45:06All of it landed on him at once.
00:45:08I walked toward him.
00:45:11Tell them what, father?
00:45:13Alaric stared at me,
00:45:15hatred and fear warring in his eyes.
00:45:17His hands clenched at his sides.
00:45:21I lowered my voice.
00:45:23Father,
00:45:25don't you love Isoleth most?
00:45:29Saving her is simple.
00:45:32Tell everyone why every dragon I hatched,
00:45:35every drop of Bly gave,
00:45:38all ended up recognizing her as their master.
00:45:43His lips trembled.
00:45:46Serafina,
00:45:47must you destroy the royal family?
00:45:50Must you humiliate us in front of every subject?
00:45:54I smiled.
00:45:56Didn't you already do that?
00:46:00The day you altered the contract?
00:46:03The day you threw your own daughter into the dragon pit?
00:46:08You destroyed the royal family's honor yourself.
00:46:13The black dragon growled again,
00:46:16and Isoleth's scream tore through the square.
00:46:20Finally,
00:46:21Alaric closed his eyes.
00:46:24It was me.
00:46:29I changed the name on the contract.
00:46:34Wind swept across the altar,
00:46:37scattering the ashes of the burned contract
00:46:39into the air like black snow.
00:46:48Before any royal dragon egg
00:46:51can be hatched,
00:46:53the magical contract must be signed.
00:47:04When the dragon breaks from its shell,
00:47:06it recognizes the name on the contract
00:47:09as its master.
00:47:12I ordered the royal mages
00:47:15to use double ink
00:47:17on Serafina's contract.
00:47:28On the surface,
00:47:30Serafina's contract bore her own name.
00:47:35But the name that truly took effect
00:47:37was
00:47:38Isoleth.
00:47:48Gasps erupted from the crowd.
00:47:53Isolde was crying so hard
00:47:55she could barely breathe,
00:47:56but she still shook her head wildly.
00:47:59No!
00:48:01No!
00:48:02No, it wasn't me!
00:48:03Father did it!
00:48:04I didn't know anything!
00:48:06I knew nothing!
00:48:12You knew nothing?
00:48:17I crouched down in front of her.
00:48:23Three whole months.
00:48:26Every midnight,
00:48:27you snuck into my incubation chamber
00:48:30and dapped my egg with your blood.
00:48:33You knew nothing then, either?
00:48:36Her eyes went wide.
00:48:37She had never told anyone
00:48:39about those midnight visits.
00:48:42Before the hatching ceremony,
00:48:44you brushed dragon repellent sap
00:48:46on my fingertips,
00:48:48so the gold dragon bite me.
00:48:52You knew nothing about that, either?
00:48:54Of course,
00:48:56no one else in this life
00:48:57understood those words.
00:48:58But Isolde did.
00:49:01The fear on her face deepened,
00:49:03turning to something close to terror.
00:49:09You knew every time.
00:49:14Every time.
00:49:15You planned every step.
00:49:19You just thought
00:49:20you'd never get caught.
00:49:22You also knew
00:49:24that if you cried,
00:49:26Father would always
00:49:27stand on your side.
00:49:30Isolde tried to answer,
00:49:32but the black dragon's claws
00:49:34pressed into her shoulder,
00:49:35and she could not form
00:49:37a single complete sentence.
00:49:39I stood and turned
00:49:40to the nobles.
00:49:44Do you still think
00:49:45I am a thief?
00:49:46No one answered.
00:49:48Those who had been so eager
00:49:49to insult me
00:49:49lowered their heads
00:49:50one by one.
00:49:52The hidden name
00:49:53has been burned
00:49:53into the open.
00:49:56The king
00:49:57has confessed
00:49:57with his own mouth.
00:50:00The gold dragon,
00:50:01the black dragon,
00:50:02and every dragon
00:50:04Isilic ever claimed
00:50:05as hers
00:50:05were hatched by me.
00:50:08Some stepped back.
00:50:09Others dropped their eyes,
00:50:10unable to meet my gaze.
00:50:12At last,
00:50:13they understood
00:50:14that the princess
00:50:14they had worshipped
00:50:15was not chosen by dragons.
00:50:17She was a fraud
00:50:18propped up
00:50:18by her father's cheating,
00:50:19and they had all
00:50:20been her willing audience.
00:50:21An elderly noble
00:50:22fell to his knees,
00:50:24his whole body trembling.
00:50:26Princess Serafina,
00:50:28we were deceived.
00:50:32We did not know the truth.
00:50:35Forgive us.
00:50:36I looked at him.
00:50:39No.
00:50:41You were not deceived.
00:50:43You chose
00:50:44the more convenient lie.
00:50:46Because that lie
00:50:47did not require them
00:50:48to oppose the king.
00:50:49Because that lie
00:50:50let them stomp
00:50:51a disgraced princess
00:50:51into the mud.
00:50:52Because Isolda
00:50:53cried beautifully,
00:50:54and I refused
00:50:55to lower my head.
00:50:56They were not blind.
00:50:58They had simply decided
00:50:59the truth did not matter.
00:51:01Alaric suddenly spoke.
00:51:02Serafina,
00:51:03this was my crime.
00:51:04Punish me
00:51:05if you must.
00:51:07Isolette is innocent.
00:51:08I turned to him.
00:51:09Even now,
00:51:10he was still
00:51:11protecting her.
00:51:13Innocent?
00:51:15She just claimed
00:51:15the black dragon egg
00:51:16in front of the entire kingdom.
00:51:17Did you force her
00:51:18to do that too?
00:51:19Alaric had no answer.
00:51:21Isolda finally broke.
00:51:23I was wrong, sister.
00:51:24I was wrong, I swear.
00:51:27She tried to crawl
00:51:28toward my skirt,
00:51:29but the black dragon
00:51:30pinned her to the ground.
00:51:32I was just scared.
00:51:35I was afraid
00:51:36that once you inherited
00:51:37the throne
00:51:37we would have nothing.
00:51:39I only wanted
00:51:40a better life.
00:51:41You wanted
00:51:42a better life
00:51:43so I deserve to die.
00:51:45You stole my dragons.
00:51:47You stole my throne.
00:51:49You stole my reputation.
00:51:50You let everyone
00:51:52call me a thief.
00:51:54You let father
00:51:55throw me into
00:51:56the dragon pit.
00:51:59She stared at me
00:52:00in horror,
00:52:01as if looking at someone
00:52:02who should not
00:52:02remember those things.
00:52:03I did not explain.
00:52:05I lifted my hand.
00:52:06The black dragon
00:52:07raised its head
00:52:08to look at me,
00:52:09its cold eyes
00:52:10softening for the first time.
00:52:12Enough.
00:52:13The black dragon
00:52:14released Isolda.
00:52:15She collapsed
00:52:16on the ground,
00:52:17trembling all over.
00:52:18The golden markings
00:52:19on her hand were gone.
00:52:20Only scorched black
00:52:21traces remained.
00:52:23She had lost
00:52:23every claim
00:52:24the stolen contracts
00:52:25had given her.
00:52:26From that moment on,
00:52:27no dragon in Valdoria
00:52:28would ever recognize
00:52:29her as its master again.
00:52:32It rained softly
00:52:33on the day
00:52:33my father was deposed.
00:52:35After the hidden contract
00:52:36was exposed,
00:52:37the council had no choice
00:52:38but to strip Alaric of the crown
00:52:40before the entire court.
00:52:41I did not kill him.
00:52:43Death would have been to light.
00:52:44I had his crown removed
00:52:46and replaced
00:52:46with a crude iron circlet.
00:52:47It had no jewels,
00:52:49no gold designs,
00:52:50only cold weight.
00:52:52When the guards
00:52:52lifted the old crown away,
00:52:54Alaric reached for it
00:52:55by instinct.
00:52:56Former King Alaric,
00:52:58lower your hand.
00:52:59The title struck
00:53:00harder than a slap.
00:53:02For the first time
00:53:03in his life,
00:53:03no one called him
00:53:04your majesty.
00:53:05He was imprisoned
00:53:06in the deepest dungeon
00:53:07beneath the throne room.
00:53:09There was a narrow window there,
00:53:11facing the great hall.
00:53:12He could not see the throne,
00:53:14but he could hear
00:53:14every word spoken above him.
00:53:16From then on,
00:53:17whenever the nobles
00:53:18swore loyalty to me,
00:53:19he heard it.
00:53:24Whenever the people shouted
00:53:25long live the queen,
00:53:26that sound would drift down
00:53:27through the stone
00:53:28and into his cell.
00:53:29The daughter he had despised,
00:53:31the one he'd thrown away
00:53:32like trash,
00:53:33sat on his throne.
00:53:34The daughter he'd loved most,
00:53:36the one he'd given
00:53:37everything to,
00:53:38had lost everything
00:53:39and been cast out
00:53:40of the palace in disgrace.
00:53:41That was the punishment
00:53:42I chose for him.
00:53:45Seraphina,
00:53:46you cannot do this.
00:53:48I am still your father.
00:53:50You cannot lock
00:53:51your own father
00:53:53in a dungeon!
00:53:54I stood outside
00:53:55the iron bars,
00:53:56looking at the iron circlet
00:53:57pressing into his graying hair.
00:53:59You only remembered
00:54:00you were my father
00:54:03after you lost your crown.
00:54:05The kingdom needs me.
00:54:07You're your young.
00:54:09You don't know how to rule.
00:54:10You'll tear it apart.
00:54:12No.
00:54:14And it will thrive
00:54:16without you.
00:54:17The guards closed
00:54:18the iron door.
00:54:20The sound echoed
00:54:21under the throne room.
00:54:22Alaric stood behind the bars,
00:54:24staring upward
00:54:25as the first voice
00:54:26from the great hall rang down.
00:54:28Long live
00:54:29Queen Seraphina!
00:54:33Then another,
00:54:34then a hundred,
00:54:35then a thousand,
00:54:36until the whole palace
00:54:37rang with it.
00:54:38His face twisted
00:54:39with rage and grief
00:54:40and humiliation.
00:54:41He couldn't cover his ears.
00:54:43From that day on,
00:54:44he would have to listen to it
00:54:45every single day
00:54:46until the day he died.
00:54:49As for Isolde,
00:54:50I did not let her die either.
00:54:52After the black dragon
00:54:53burned away
00:54:54the stolen contract,
00:54:55she was too weak
00:54:56to stand on her own.
00:54:57Half her hair
00:54:58had been scorched
00:54:59by black fire.
00:55:00The contract mark
00:55:01on her hand
00:55:01would never return.
00:55:02Nobles no longer
00:55:03called her princess.
00:55:04Maids no longer
00:55:05lowered their eyes
00:55:05when she passed.
00:55:07I stripped her of her title
00:55:08and sent her to the lowest level
00:55:09of the dragon pit.
00:55:10It was no longer
00:55:10a place of quick execution.
00:55:12Now it housed
00:55:13the lesser drakes
00:55:13kept by the royal family.
00:55:15Filthy, sharp-toothed things
00:55:16that ate scraps
00:55:17and charred bone.
00:55:19Every day,
00:55:20she had to muck out their pens,
00:55:21carry baskets of charred bones,
00:55:23and scrub rust
00:55:23and filth off the iron bars
00:55:25until her hands bled.
00:55:26Chains circled her wrists.
00:55:28Shackles clamped her ankles.
00:55:29Isolde would slam her fists
00:55:30against the bars,
00:55:31her voice hoarse from screaming.
00:55:34Isolde.
00:55:35Take these chains off me!
00:55:39I am Princess Isoleth!
00:55:43You cannot do this to me!
00:55:45Guard.
00:55:48There is no Princess Isoleth
00:55:50in Valdoria anymore.
00:55:51There is only a prisoner
00:55:53doing hard labor.
00:55:54Noble girl who had once
00:55:55clung to her skirts,
00:55:57flattering her every word,
00:55:58would come to the pit edge
00:55:59on fine days
00:56:00and look down at her
00:56:00through the bars.
00:56:01Noble girl one.
00:56:07Is that the former
00:56:08Princess Isoleth?
00:56:10The one who used to call us
00:56:12common and unworthy?
00:56:14Noble girl two.
00:56:15She looks like
00:56:16any other servant now.
00:56:18Hard to believe
00:56:18she almost wore the crown.
00:56:20Noble girl three.
00:56:20I heard she never hatched
00:56:22a single dragon egg herself.
00:56:25Every bit of it
00:56:26was stolen from the queen.
00:56:28Whenever she heard those words,
00:56:30she would throw herself
00:56:30at the bars like a wild animal,
00:56:32spitting and screaming.
00:56:34Isolde.
00:56:35Liar!
00:56:36All of you are liars!
00:56:38I was chosen
00:56:39by the dragons!
00:56:41I was the rightful
00:56:42future queen!
00:56:43But no one was afraid
00:56:44of her now.
00:56:45She had lost
00:56:45my father's protection.
00:56:47She
00:56:47had lost her title.
00:56:49She had lost
00:56:49everyone's trust.
00:56:50The cruelest part of all
00:56:51was the black dragon.
00:56:53Sometimes it would circle
00:56:53high above the pit
00:56:54whenever its shadow
00:56:55fell over her.
00:56:57Isolde would scramble
00:56:57into the darkest corner,
00:56:58curling into a ball
00:56:59and covering her head.
00:57:00Because she knew
00:57:01that she had once
00:57:02claimed that dragon
00:57:02as her own,
00:57:03she had stolen
00:57:04every dragon.
00:57:05I raised the last one
00:57:06became the nightmare
00:57:07she would live with
00:57:07for the rest of her life.
00:57:09On the night
00:57:10before my coronation,
00:57:11Martha carried the gold egg
00:57:12from the old tower to me.
00:57:14She told me that
00:57:14when Isolde's gold egg
00:57:15began to crack,
00:57:16mine had gone dim,
00:57:17as if every bit of life
00:57:18had been drained from it,
00:57:19but it had not died.
00:57:21After the black dragon
00:57:22burned away the false contract,
00:57:23it warmed again.
00:57:25Little by little,
00:57:26the power that had been
00:57:26diverted returned to it.
00:57:28The gold veins
00:57:28on the shell
00:57:29glowed once more,
00:57:30like a late sunrise.
00:57:31Martha,
00:57:32your majesty,
00:57:33it waited for you.
00:57:35I touched the shell
00:57:36with my fingertips.
00:57:37Seraphina.
00:57:39I made it wait too long.
00:57:41On the day I was crowned,
00:57:43the blood had already
00:57:43been washed
00:57:44from the square by rain.
00:57:45The gold dragon
00:57:46from my old tower
00:57:46finally hatched.
00:57:47It was small,
00:57:48its scales bright,
00:57:49its eyes clear.
00:57:50Now that the contract
00:57:51had been corrected,
00:57:52it walked to me at last
00:57:53and rested its head
00:57:54gently against my palm.
00:57:55The entire square knelt.
00:57:58Crowd.
00:58:02Long live the queen.
00:58:04I looked down
00:58:04at the warm gold dragon
00:58:05in my hand,
00:58:06then lifted my gaze
00:58:07toward the highest tower.
00:58:08The black dragon
00:58:09perched there,
00:58:10silent.
00:58:13One symbolized the throne,
00:58:14the glory,
00:58:15the hope of the kingdom.
00:58:16One symbolized the price.
00:58:17The truth,
00:58:18the cost of every lie.
00:58:20Baldoria would no longer
00:58:20be ruled by lie.
00:58:22That same day,
00:58:23I abolished every clause
00:58:24in the old contracts
00:58:24that allowed a king
00:58:25to alter them in secret.
00:58:27From then on,
00:58:28every dragon egg contract
00:58:29had to be signed
00:58:29in the presence of the council.
00:58:31Noble witnesses
00:58:31and representatives
00:58:32of the people,
00:58:33no one would ever again
00:58:34use double ink
00:58:35to steal a name.
00:58:36I also opened the royal vaults
00:58:37and ordered every sleeping
00:58:38dragon egg to be registered again.
00:58:40Dragons would no longer
00:58:41be tools for a father
00:58:42to favor one daughter
00:58:43over another.
00:58:44They belong to the ones
00:58:45who truly awakened them.
00:58:47The first public
00:58:48dragon egg registration
00:58:49under the new law
00:58:50was held in the same square
00:58:51where Isolde had once lied.
00:58:53This time,
00:58:54there was no hidden ink.
00:58:55The contract table
00:58:55stood in the open.
00:58:56Three councillors
00:58:57to noble witnesses
00:58:58and five representatives
00:58:59of the people
00:59:00watched every name
00:59:01written down.
00:59:02A baker's son
00:59:02stepped forward
00:59:03with shaking hands.
00:59:04Your majesty,
00:59:05may someone like me
00:59:07really try?
00:59:07I looked at the small
00:59:08copper-colored egg
00:59:09resting before him.
00:59:10An egg once deemed
00:59:11unworthy of royal blood
00:59:13left to gather dust
00:59:14in the vaults.
00:59:15If you are willing
00:59:16to give it your blood,
00:59:17your warmth,
00:59:19and your patience,
00:59:20then you may try.
00:59:22Dragons do not care
00:59:23about birth.
00:59:24They care about
00:59:25who wakes them.
00:59:27The boy lifted his head,
00:59:28his eyes bright.
00:59:29He took a small knife,
00:59:30cut his fingertip,
00:59:31and signed his name
00:59:32clearly on the contract.
00:59:33The crowd murmured,
00:59:34not in fear this time,
00:59:35but wonder.
00:59:36At that moment,
00:59:36a pair of guards
00:59:37led Isolde through
00:59:38the edge of the square
00:59:39on their way
00:59:39to deliver ash
00:59:40from the dragon pens.
00:59:41She was bent under
00:59:42the weight of a heavy basket,
00:59:44chains clinking
00:59:44with every step.
00:59:45She stopped when she saw
00:59:46the boy at the contract table.
00:59:47A baker's child?
00:59:50You let a baker's child
00:59:51touch a dragon egg?
00:59:53People turned
00:59:54to look at her.
00:59:55People turned
00:59:55to look at her.
00:59:56A laugh broke out first,
00:59:57then another,
00:59:58then more.
00:59:58Better a baker's child
01:00:00with his own name
01:00:00on the contract
01:00:01than a princess
01:00:02who stole every name
01:00:03she ever had.
01:00:05Isolde lunged
01:00:05toward the table,
01:00:06chains dragging
01:00:07across the stones.
01:00:08Dragons belong
01:00:09to royal blood!
01:00:10The copper egg trembled.
01:00:12A tiny crack
01:00:12appeared in the shell.
01:00:13The boy gasped,
01:00:14his hand flying
01:00:15to his mouth.
01:00:16It moved.
01:00:17The gold dragon
01:00:18beside me
01:00:18lowered its head,
01:00:19calm and watchful.
01:00:20The black dragon's shadow
01:00:21slid across the square
01:00:22from the high tower.
01:00:24Isolde froze
01:00:24under that shadow.
01:00:25I stepped between
01:00:26her and the table.
01:00:27The guard pulled
01:00:28Isolde back
01:00:28toward the pit.
01:00:29No!
01:00:30Dragons belong
01:00:31to the ones
01:00:32who truly awaken them.
01:00:33She screamed
01:00:34and struggled
01:00:35until her voice cracked,
01:00:36but no one
01:00:36looked at her anymore.
01:00:38Behind her,
01:00:39the small copper dragon
01:00:40pushed its way
01:00:40out of the shell
01:00:41and crawled unsteadily
01:00:42toward the baker's son,
01:00:44nuzzling his hand.
01:00:45The crowd burst
01:00:45into cheers
01:00:46for a child
01:00:47Isolde would once
01:00:47have stepped over
01:00:48without a glance.
01:00:49That sound hurt
01:00:50her more than chains.
01:00:52The first winter
01:00:53of my reign
01:00:53was harsh.
01:00:54Not all the nobles
01:00:55King Alaric
01:00:55had left behind
01:00:56accepted me.
01:00:57Some swore loyalty
01:00:58to my face
01:00:58while secretly
01:00:59trying to support
01:01:00distant relatives
01:01:01for the throne.
01:01:01I did not rush
01:01:02to kill them.
01:01:03I let them expose
01:01:03themselves.
01:01:04One duke tried
01:01:05to bribe a witness
01:01:06during a public
01:01:06dragon egg registration
01:01:07to have his son's
01:01:08name secretly added.
01:01:09The witness's testimony
01:01:10read aloud in the square.
01:01:12Then I stripped him
01:01:13of all his lands
01:01:14in front of his own family
01:01:15and his own people.
01:01:16Your majesty,
01:01:16this is only a
01:01:17misdisunderstanding.
01:01:18A servant acted
01:01:19without my knowledge.
01:01:21Then let this misunderstanding
01:01:21be clear to everyone.
01:01:23From today on,
01:01:24your lands return
01:01:24to the crown,
01:01:25and your house
01:01:26will never again
01:01:26hold a dragon contract.
01:01:27One bishop declared
01:01:28from his pulpit
01:01:29that a woman
01:01:30could not rule
01:01:30Valdoria,
01:01:31that my reign
01:01:31was against the old gods.
01:01:33The ledgers of bribes
01:01:34he had taken
01:01:34were nailed to the doors
01:01:35of his own cathedral.
01:01:36This is an insult
01:01:37to the temple!
01:01:39No.
01:01:39Taking gold
01:01:40from villages
01:01:41where children
01:01:42froze to death
01:01:43was the insult.
01:01:44Then there were those
01:01:45who tried to smuggle
01:01:45Isolde out of the dragon pit,
01:01:47thinking they could
01:01:48raise a banner
01:01:48in her name.
01:01:49I did not execute them.
01:01:50I sentenced them
01:01:51to serve three months
01:01:52in the dragon pit themselves,
01:01:53doing the same work
01:01:54she did.
01:01:55When the three months
01:01:56ended,
01:01:56the man who'd planned
01:01:57the escape knelt
01:01:58before me,
01:01:59thin and shaking.
01:02:00Your majesty,
01:02:01I beg forgiveness.
01:02:03One week in that pit
01:02:04is worse than a year
01:02:05in exile.
01:02:06I will never do
01:02:07anything so foolish again.
01:02:09Then remember
01:02:10where you tried
01:02:10to send your loyalty.
01:02:12I was not merciful,
01:02:13but I'd not destroy
01:02:14the laws of my own kingdom
01:02:15for selfish love
01:02:16the way my father had.
01:02:17A year later,
01:02:18Valdoria was stable again.
01:02:19The gold dragon
01:02:20had grown enough
01:02:21to carry me
01:02:21over the capital.
01:02:22When the people
01:02:23looked up and saw it,
01:02:24they took off
01:02:24their hats and bowed.
01:02:25Children chased its shadow
01:02:27through the streets
01:02:27shouting my name.
01:02:28Queen Seraphina,
01:02:30the gold dragon
01:02:31is coming!
01:02:32For the first time,
01:02:33their voices did not
01:02:33sound like judgment.
01:02:34They sounded like a kingdom
01:02:35learning a new truth.
01:02:39Sometimes,
01:02:40I visited Alarep
01:02:41in the dungeon.
01:02:44He aged quickly
01:02:45in that dark cell.
01:02:46The iron crown
01:02:48bent his neck.
01:02:49The king,
01:02:50who once sat
01:02:51above everyone,
01:02:52now had only
01:02:53a damp stone bed
01:02:54and the sound
01:02:55of cheering
01:02:56from above.
01:02:59Seraphina.
01:03:00He called once
01:03:01through the bars.
01:03:02Can you truly
01:03:03never forgive me?
01:03:05I am your father.
01:03:07I looked at him.
01:03:08There was regret
01:03:09in his eyes,
01:03:10yes,
01:03:10but there was
01:03:11resentment too,
01:03:12and pride,
01:03:13and the bitter taste
01:03:14of having lost.
01:03:16I knew then
01:03:17that he did not
01:03:17regret hurting me.
01:03:19He regretted losing.
01:03:21No.
01:03:23His hands tightened
01:03:24on the bars.
01:03:25His voice shook.
01:03:27I am your father.
01:03:28I gave you life.
01:03:30You had many chances
01:03:31to remember that.
01:03:33Before the contract
01:03:35was altered.
01:03:37Before I was thrown
01:03:38to the drakes.
01:03:40Before you chose her
01:03:42over and over
01:03:43and over again.
01:03:45I turned and left.
01:03:49Behind me,
01:03:50I heard him
01:03:51crying quietly.
01:03:52I did not look back.
01:03:54Later,
01:03:55Martha asked me
01:03:56whether I ever
01:03:56felt lonely.
01:03:58Your Majesty,
01:03:59do you ever wish
01:04:00there was someone
01:04:00who could stand
01:04:01beside you
01:04:01without bowing,
01:04:02without calling you
01:04:03Majesty?
01:04:04Just someone who knew
01:04:05you before the throne?
01:04:07I thought about it
01:04:08for a long time,
01:04:09staring out the window
01:04:09at the Black Dragon's Tower.
01:04:12After taking the throne,
01:04:13I was surrounded
01:04:14by ministers,
01:04:15guards,
01:04:16and people
01:04:17who bowed to me.
01:04:18But there were
01:04:18very few people
01:04:19I could truly
01:04:20lower my guard around.
01:04:22Still,
01:04:23that loneliness
01:04:24was far better
01:04:25than kneeling
01:04:26at someone else's feet
01:04:27and begging for fairness.
01:04:29I'd rather stand
01:04:30alone on the throne
01:04:31than return to the girl
01:04:32who needed someone
01:04:33else's approval
01:04:33to exist.
01:04:35Martha lowered her head,
01:04:36her eyes red.
01:04:38Your Majesty,
01:04:40the Queen
01:04:41would have been proud.
01:04:47Over the years,
01:04:48dragons slowly
01:04:49returned to Valdoria.
01:04:52Not every egg hatched.
01:04:54Not everyone
01:04:55who tried succeeded.
01:04:57But at least,
01:04:58the new laws
01:04:59gave everyone
01:05:00a real chance.
01:05:01Isolette remained alive,
01:05:03deep in the dragon pit.
01:05:04She was no longer beautiful,
01:05:07no longer proud.
01:05:09Years of labor
01:05:09in the dragon pit
01:05:10roughened her hands
01:05:11and bent her back.
01:05:13Sometimes the new servants
01:05:14didn't recognize her
01:05:15and even asked
01:05:16whether she had once
01:05:17been a servant herself.
01:05:18She would fly into a rage
01:05:19and scream
01:05:20that she had been a princess.
01:05:21I am a princess!
01:05:24I was Valdoria's future queen!
01:05:26You dare speak to me like that?!
01:05:29Then everyone would laugh.
01:05:31A princess?
01:05:32In the dragon pit?
01:05:37What princess cleans
01:05:39dragon filth down here?
01:05:42What she could not bear
01:05:43was not the hard work.
01:05:46It was that no one
01:05:47believed in her nobility anymore.
01:05:49The identity she had valued most
01:05:51had become
01:05:52the biggest joke of all.
01:05:53As for the black dragon,
01:05:55it never belonged to anyone.
01:05:58It still lived
01:05:59on the highest black tower
01:06:00of the palace.
01:06:02Sometimes it landed
01:06:03outside my window
01:06:04and watched me
01:06:05with those cold eyes.
01:06:06I knew it was not obedience.
01:06:08It was not affection either.
01:06:13It simply remembered
01:06:14that I had let it hatch.
01:06:16That was enough.
01:06:20years after my coronation,
01:06:22one of Isolde's
01:06:22former flatterers
01:06:23came to the dragon pit
01:06:24at midnight.
01:06:25The woman had once
01:06:26knelt beside Isolde's skirts,
01:06:27praising her beauty,
01:06:28her purity,
01:06:29and her so-called destiny.
01:06:30Now she wore a dark cloak
01:06:32and carried a hidden key
01:06:32stolen from a drunk guard.
01:06:35Old noblewoman.
01:06:36Isolet,
01:06:37be quiet and come with me.
01:06:41Isolde lifted her head
01:06:42from beside the filthy
01:06:43stone trough
01:06:43for one impossible second.
01:06:45Light returned to her eyes.
01:06:47Isolde.
01:06:48I knew it.
01:06:50I knew someone
01:06:52still remembered who I am.
01:06:53Old noblewoman.
01:06:57There are still people
01:06:58who hate the new queen.
01:06:59If we get you outside the city,
01:07:01they can use your name.
01:07:03Isolde grabbed the bars
01:07:04with both hands.
01:07:05Isolde.
01:07:10Lose my name.
01:07:12No.
01:07:14They will kneel to me.
01:07:16I am the true princess.
01:07:18A lesser drake
01:07:19raised its head and growled.
01:07:20The guards appeared
01:07:21from both ends of the passage.
01:07:22Swords drawn.
01:07:23Guard.
01:07:24Step away from the prisoner.
01:07:26The noblewoman dropped the key.
01:07:28It rang against the stone floor.
01:07:29I walked down the stairs
01:07:30behind the guards.
01:07:31My cloak untouched by the rain.
01:07:33Isolde's face changed
01:07:34from joy to horror.
01:07:35Serafina.
01:07:37Still trying to steal something
01:07:38that isn't yours?
01:07:39Isolde.
01:07:40You set this up!
01:07:42You knew she would come!
01:07:44No.
01:07:45I let greed walk where it wanted.
01:07:48The old noblewoman
01:07:48collapsed to her knees.
01:07:50Old noblewoman.
01:07:51Your Majesty, Mercy!
01:07:54I only thought
01:07:55the old bloodline...
01:07:56Serafina.
01:07:58The old bloodline
01:07:59nearly destroyed Valdonia
01:08:01with forged contracts
01:08:03and stolen dragons.
01:08:06I ordered the woman
01:08:07stripped of her remaining title
01:08:08and assigned to the dragon pit
01:08:09for one year.
01:08:10Then I looked at Isolde.
01:08:11Serafina.
01:08:12For encouraging escape,
01:08:14your chains will be moved
01:08:16to the lower pens.
01:08:17Isolde.
01:08:22The lower pens housed
01:08:23the smallest drakes,
01:08:24but they were the coolest.
01:08:26They snapped at ankles,
01:08:27spat sparks,
01:08:28and never slept quietly.
01:08:29As the guards dragged her
01:08:30down the steps,
01:08:31Isolde finally screamed
01:08:32without pretending to cry.
01:08:34Serafina!
01:08:35I am your sister!
01:08:37I did not answer.
01:08:38It's too late to awaken
01:08:39to family ties now.
01:08:41The next morning,
01:08:43Alaric heard the news
01:08:44before I went to him.
01:08:45The dungeon carried
01:08:47sound strangely.
01:08:49Cheers from the throne room
01:08:51drifted down.
01:08:52So did screams
01:08:53from the passages
01:08:54leading to the dragon pit.
01:08:56Alaric gripped the bars.
01:09:02That voice
01:09:04is a let.
01:09:06The guard did not answer.
01:09:10When I entered,
01:09:11Alaric's eyes were bloodshot.
01:09:15What have you done to her?
01:09:18What she earned.
01:09:19She is weak.
01:09:21She was never meant
01:09:22for filth and chains.
01:09:24I looked at the man
01:09:25who had once thrown me
01:09:26into the dragon pit
01:09:27without blinking.
01:09:31Neither was I.
01:09:35For once,
01:09:37he had no answer.
01:09:39I ordered the guards
01:09:40to open the small
01:09:41passage window
01:09:41that faced the lower pens
01:09:43through the iron grate.
01:09:45Alaric saw Isolde
01:09:46in the mud,
01:09:47wrists chained above her head
01:09:49while a young drake
01:09:50snapped sparks
01:09:50near her feet.
01:09:52Her white dresses
01:09:53were long gone.
01:09:54Her hands were cracked.
01:09:57Her hair was uneven.
01:10:03Father!
01:10:05Father,
01:10:05tell them to stop!
01:10:07Alaric staggered back
01:10:08as if the sight
01:10:09had struck him.
01:10:11Seraphina,
01:10:12please.
01:10:12Whatever I did,
01:10:14she should not
01:10:15suffer for it.
01:10:16You still
01:10:17don't understand.
01:10:18I stepped closer
01:10:19her to the bars.
01:10:22She did not suffer
01:10:24for your crime.
01:10:25She suffers
01:10:26for her own.
01:10:29She was young.
01:10:32She was old enough
01:10:33to hold my dragon
01:10:34and call me a thief.
01:10:36The words landed
01:10:37between us
01:10:37like a blade.
01:10:38Above us,
01:10:39the morning council
01:10:40began.
01:10:40Long live
01:10:42Queen Seraphina!
01:10:44The sound
01:10:45poured into the dungeon.
01:10:46It also poured
01:10:47into the passage
01:10:48where Isolde
01:10:49was screaming.
01:10:50For the first time,
01:10:52father and daughter
01:10:53heard the same truth
01:10:54from opposite cages.
01:10:57They had lost
01:10:58the kingdom
01:10:59they stole.
01:11:03Many years later,
01:11:05a historian asked
01:11:06whether I regretted
01:11:06hatching the black dragon.
01:11:08Your majesty,
01:11:09the black dragon
01:11:11changed the fate
01:11:11of Valdoria.
01:11:13Did you never fear
01:11:14that it would destroy
01:11:15more than lies?
01:11:16No.
01:11:17Without the black dragon,
01:11:20I might still be
01:11:21explaining my innocence
01:11:22to people who had
01:11:23never wanted to hear
01:11:24the truth.
01:11:25Now they did not
01:11:26need to believe me.
01:11:30They only needed
01:11:31to remember that day.
01:11:32Remember that Isolde
01:11:33had claimed the black
01:11:34dragon egg as hers
01:11:35with her own mouth.
01:11:37Remember that Alaric
01:11:39had confessed
01:11:39with his own mouth
01:11:40that he had changed
01:11:41the contract.
01:11:43Remember how the princess
01:11:45they called a thief
01:11:46and a failure
01:11:47shattered the lie
01:11:48beneath her feet
01:11:48and took the throne.
01:11:55I was not born a queen.
01:11:56I was made one
01:11:57by betrayal,
01:11:58death,
01:11:59and rebirth,
01:12:00so what?
01:12:01Valdoria did not need
01:12:02a girl spoiled
01:12:03by her father's love.
01:12:04It needed someone
01:12:05who could see a lie
01:12:06clearly and dare
01:12:07to burn it down
01:12:07with her own hands.
01:12:11And I,
01:12:12Seraphina,
01:12:12did exactly that.
01:12:16Martha stood
01:12:17by the window,
01:12:18watching the gold dragon
01:12:19circle over the capital.
01:12:20Your majesty,
01:12:22the people
01:12:22are gathering again.
01:12:24I looked down
01:12:25from the tower.
01:12:26Children were running
01:12:27through the streets
01:12:28beneath the dragon's shadow.
01:12:29Merchants paused
01:12:30their stalls.
01:12:31Soldiers lowered
01:12:32their spears in salute.
01:12:34No one shouted thief,
01:12:36no one shouted failure.
01:12:37They shouted queen.
01:12:39Far below the palace,
01:12:41Alaric could still hear them
01:12:42from his dungeon.
01:12:44Deeper still,
01:12:45Isolde could hear them
01:12:46from the dragon pit.
01:12:48That was the final justice.
01:12:51They would live long enough
01:12:52to hear.
01:12:55The name they tried
01:12:56to erase
01:12:57become the name
01:12:57the kingdom trusted most.
01:13:00The black dragon
01:13:01opened its wings
01:13:02on the highest tower.
01:13:05The gold dragon
01:13:07lowered its head
01:13:07beside me.
01:13:09I placed my hand
01:13:10on the window ledge
01:13:11and looked over
01:13:12Valdoria.
01:13:12Let the record
01:13:13show this clearly.
01:13:15A stolen crown
01:13:16can be returned.
01:13:17A stolen name
01:13:19can be burned clean.
01:13:20But a queen
01:13:21who has died once
01:13:22will never kneel again.
01:13:24Amen.
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