The Stolen Princess And The Cursed - Ep - FULL ✅ - video Dailymotion

PlotCraftStudios

Watch The Stolen Princess And The Cursed - Ep - FULL ✅ - PlotCraftStudios on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00:04The gold dragon I had raised with my own hands bit through my fingertip the moment it broke out of

00:00:09its shell.

00:00:10A heartbeat later, it turned away from me and flew straight to my sister Izalith, and curled tamely into her

00:00:16arms.

00:00:18She held the dragon that should have been mine, and sobbed in front of the entire kingdom.

00:00:24Seraphina, how could you steal my dragon egg?

00:00:28I did not steal it.

00:00:30I was the one who brought it to life from the egg.

00:00:33Murmurs swept through the noble stands like a storm.

00:00:36King Alaric slammed his seppler against the stone floor, and guards swarmed 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 was cold and

00:00:50sharp, stripped of all pretend.

00:00:53Did you really think the dragon chose you?

00:00:56Newborn hatchlings are blind.

00:00:57They know their master only by the scent of blood on the egg.

00:01:01For three whole months, I snuck into your incubation chamber every midnight and dapped the shell with my own blood.

00:01:08Day and night you sat by it, but it never smelled.

00:01:13All it knew was my scent.

00:01:15She paused, her fingertips brushing the bite wound on my finger, and I flinched as a sting of burning pain

00:01:21shot through my hand.

00:01:22I brushed dragon-repellant sap on your fingertips before the ceremony.

00:01:26That's why it bit you the moment it touched you to it.

00:01:31You reek of something loathsome.

00:01:35Why would you do this to me?

00:01:40Izalith laughed softly.

00:01:42Why?

00:01:44Because 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.

00:01:59Just like that, I became a thief.

00:02:02My father stripped me of my claims into the throne and threw me into the dragon pit.

00:02:07The iron gate clashed shut behind me with a deafening boom.

00:02:11Starving lesser drakes tore at the hem of my gown.

00:02:14Hot, rancid breath rolled over my face and sharp claws scraped against my arms.

00:02:24Before I closed my eyes, my sister was holding the golden dragon and wearing my crown, basking in smug triumph.

00:02:32When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my father gave us our dragon eggs.

00:02:37This time, I'd not kneel and beg anyone to believe me.

00:02:41If Izalith wanted to steal my dragon so badly, I'd give her the most dangerous one of all.

00:02:48King Alaric's voice rang out above me.

00:02:50Seraphina, what are you waiting for?

00:02:52My head shot up.

00:02:54I was standing in the golden hall.

00:02:56Candlelight flickered over the marble floors.

00:02:58Nobles lined both sides of the chamber.

00:03:01Every pair of eyes fixed on me.

00:03:03Before the daisk, stood two silver trays.

00:03:06Each holding a dragon egg.

00:03:07One was pale.

00:03:09Threaded with delicate gold veins.

00:03:11The other was dull and dark.

00:03:13Without shine at all.

00:03:14I had seen this scene before.

00:03:17No.

00:03:17I had lived it before.

00:03:19Back 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.

00:03:29I had believed that, if I worked hard enough, if I became perfect enough, my father would finally see me.

00:03:36Later, I learned the truth.

00:03:38Some fathers don't need a reason to favor one child over another.

00:03:41The child he loved was Isolette.

00:03:43The daughter born to his second queen.

00:03:45It did not matter how many royal laws I memorized.

00:03:48How many court rituals I mastered.

00:03:50Or how many noble sons I defeated's training.

00:03:53To him, I'd always be the elder daughter.

00:03:55He did not want to acknowledge.

00:03:58Alarak glanced at me.

00:03:59There was no warmth in his face.

00:04:03Valderria 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.

00:04:17By our oldest law, the one who hatches a dragon will earn the right to inherit the throne.

00:04:25What he did not say was this.

00:04:27Valderria's nobles would never accept an heir without dragon.

00:04:30No matter how much he loved Isolette.

00:04:32He 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.

00:04:41In my last life.

00:04:42I had reached for it first.

00:04:44My chest swelling with pride.

00:04:46I 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.

00:04:53And a servant carried one of the eggs toward me.

00:04:56You and we'll each receive one.

00:04:59In one month.

00:05:01Every noble and citizen.

00:05:03Will gather in the palace square to witness the hatching.

00:05:06When that day comes.

00:05:09The true heir.

00:05:11Will show herself.

00:05:18I reached out and took the egg.

00:05:21The shell was cold.

00:05:22Exactly as I remembered.

00:05:26A ripple of whispers moved through the hall.

00:05:31Isolette stood beside our father in a white gown.

00:05:34Her golden hair falling over her shoulders.

00:05:37She looked soft.

00:05:39Innocent.

00:05:40Like a cherished little princess who had never done anything cruel in her life.

00:05:45But when she looked at me.

00:05:47A 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.

00:05:58Isolette came to my side.

00:06:00Isolette came to my side.

00:06:00Her voice was soft enough that only the two of us could hear.

00:06:11In my last life.

00:06:13I had flushed with anger at this line.

00:06:16Arguing loudly that I would hatch the stronger dragon.

00:06:24The nobles had whispered that I was petty and unworthy of the crown.

00:06:29But this time.

00:06:31I only tightened my grip on the egg.

00:06:35We'll see about that.

00:06:37For a second she froze.

00:06:38She had not expected me to be so calm.

00:06:41I held the dragon egg close.

00:06:44But inside.

00:06:45I went cold all the way through.

00:06:50In this life.

00:06:52I'd never again give my life just to earn my father's approval.

00:07:00After I returned to my old tower.

00:07:03I dismissed every maid.

00:07:06I placed the dragon egg on the table and stared at it.

00:07:14In my last life.

00:07:15This was the egg that hatched into the gold dragon.

00:07:18Before it broke open.

00:07:20It had answered my voice from within the shell.

00:07:29I drew a small knife and pressed the tip to my finger.

00:07:36If my blood touched the contract.

00:07:38The hatching would begin.

00:07:43My hand hovered there for a long time.

00:07:48Images of Isolda's smart face.

00:07:51The dragon pit's darkness.

00:07:52The drake's sharp teeth flashed before my eyes.

00:07:57In the end.

00:07:59I lowered the knife.

00:08:00Pushed the egg into an iron box.

00:08:02And locked it.

00:08:05By 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 Isolda.

00:08:13Who would have thought?

00:08:14Everyone assumed Princess Seraphina 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.

00:08:28Princess Seraphina has been hiding in that old tower, hasn't she?

00:08:31I heard her egg hasn't stirred at all.

00:08:34What a shame for the late queen.

00:08:36I walked through the crowd and entered the hall.

00:08:38Isolda stood before the throne with a gold dragon egg in her arms.

00:08:42Golden light wrapped around her like a halo.

00:08:44Making her look like a saint anointed by the dragons.

00:08:47One glance was enough to turn my blood cold.

00:08:50It 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.

00:08:57Everything matched the egg I had awakened with my own hands.

00:09:00A chill crept slowly up my spine.

00:09:02My egg was still in the hidden chamber beneath my tower.

00:09:06Martha had been guarding it without leaving her post.

00:09:08The windows were sealed.

00:09:10My own people watched the door.

00:09:12Not 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 Isolda all along.

00:09:22Isolda 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.

00:09:37Sis, I didn't think you'd show up.

00:09:40It 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.

00:09:58The egg was not the one at fault.

00:10:00The people using it to trap me were.

00:10:03At the northern edge of the palace grounds stood an old dragon roost that had been sealed for years.

00:10:08My mother had told me of it when I was small.

00:10:11Her 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.

00:10:26Ash 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.

00:10:35It was small, but the moment I drew close, it trembled.

00:10:40From that night on, I began hatching a dragon again.

00:10:45I snuck to the roost every midnight.

00:10:47Sitting for hours with the egg pressed to my chest, whispering old dragon lullabies my mother had taught me.

00:10:54Day by day, the shell grew brighter, the 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.

00:11:07It was mine.

00:11:09Then, at dawn on the 21st day, the palace bells began to ring.

00:11:16Martha hurried into my chamber, her face pale.

00:11:26Your Highness, news has come from the palace.

00:11:30Princess Islote's dragon egg has turned gold.

00:11:34The king has announced that she may hatch a gold dragon.

00:11:41The 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 Islote's egg turn gold at the exact same moment my dragon awakened?

00:11:58Was this fate?

00:12:00Had 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.

00:12:10My father sat on the throne, his satisfaction plain on his face.

00:12:15Serafina.

00:12:19Bring out your egg, too.

00:12:22I looked up at him.

00:12:23He had spoken to me the same way in my last life.

00:12:26He had never given me a chance to explain.

00:12:28If Islote shed a single tear, he could condemn me without hesitation.

00:12:33My egg has not hatched yet.

00:12:36Whispers burst through the hall.

00:12:38Islote 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?

00:12:52She 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...

00:12:59Maybe the dragons don't favor her.

00:13:02My father's face darkened.

00:13:05Useless.

00:13:06He seized the goblet beside him and hurled it at my feet.

00:13:09It shattered against the floor, shards scraping my hem, wine splashing over the tips of my shoes.

00:13:16Valdoria needs someone who can wake a dragon, not a failure who only knows how to look proud.

00:13:22I 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.

00:13:30Islote had not been lucky.

00:13:32Something had been delivering my results to her from the very beginning.

00:13:36From this day forward, Serafina will remain in the old tower.

00:13:40She will not leave unless summoned.

00:13:43She 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.

00:13:59When I left the hall, Isolde followed me.

00:14:02She waved a hand to dismiss her maids,

00:14:05and 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.

00:14:17You can't understand it, can you?

00:14:20You hid your eggs so carefully.

00:14:25So, why do I have a gold egg too?

00:14:28The truth is, I don't even need to know what you did.

00:14:33The result will always be the same.

00:14:35She lifted a hand and patted my shoulder as if comforting a loser.

00:14:40You guard it.

00:14:42You feed it.

00:14:44You love it.

00:14:46But when it breaks out of its shell,

00:14:49it will still choose me.

00:14:52I grabbed her wrist.

00:14:54Pain flashed across her face but she did not pull away.

00:14:58Instead her smile widened.

00:15:01Angry?

00:15:02Then 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.

00:15:20I released her.

00:15:21Isolid.

00:15:24You 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.

00:15:35The kingdom expects me.

00:15:37Even the dragons choose me.

00:15:39What do you have?

00:15:41Sister?

00:15:42I watched her walk away and my mind became clearer than it had been all day.

00:15:47She was wrong.

00:15:49There was one thing I had that she did not.

00:15:52And I knew there was a second dragon growing in the old roost.

00:15:55One she would never see coming.

00:15:59On 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.

00:16:08My father never came there.

00:16:10Isolid thought it too cold and dreary to set foot in.

00:16:13After my mother died her books, letters, and some old royal records had been piled inside like dust the whole

00:16:18palace wanted to forget.

00:16:20I sat on the floor and went through them one by one.

00:16:23Most of the books about dragon eggs had yellowed with age.

00:16:26They did not record mysterious legends.

00:16:28They recorded rules.

00:16:30Dragon eggs need warmth.

00:16:32Dragon eggs need quiet.

00:16:34Dragon 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.

00:16:54Worse, the contract did more than decide ownership.

00:16:57The blood, warmth, voice, and awakening power given by the hatcher would all be credited to the name that truly

00:17:02took 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.

00:17:10My heart clenched.

00:17:12Double 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.

00:17:22Ordinary eyes could not see it.

00:17:24Only a revealing solution could expose it.

00:17:26At last I understood where the problem might be.

00:17:30That night I changed into a maid's dress, slipped past the guards, and broke into the royal archive.

00:17:35In my last life, when I was desperate to prove my innocence, I had knelt there and begged them to

00:17:40let 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.

00:17:49I 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 guards' voice faded before he could finish.

00:17:58He slid down against the wall asleep.

00:18:01The archive was cold.

00:18:02Rows of wooden cabinets stretched into the darkness.

00:18:05I 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.

00:18:12The 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.

00:18:26At first nothing happened.

00:18:28Then the ink began to blur.

00:18:29The name Serafina faded.

00:18:31Beneath it, another name rose to the surface.

00:18:35Isolda.

00:18:36I stared at that name, ice flooding my veins.

00:18:39So that was it.

00:18:40My dragon had not betrayed me.

00:18:43Isolda had not truly beaten me with her own power.

00:18:46From the moment I signed my name on that paper, my father had already replaced it with hers.

00:18:51Every drop of blood, every hour of warmth, every whisper I had breathed into that egg none of it had

00:18:56ever been mine.

00:18:57It had all belonged to her.

00:18:59The next morning, I walked straight into the throne room.

00:19:03King Alaric with Islica, examining her gold dragon egg.

00:19:08The shell was already crisscrossed with cracks, and faint, thin cries of a young dragon drifted from within.

00:19:19Isolette looked up at the sound of my footsteps.

00:19:22A 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.

00:19:37I bowed to the man on the throne.

00:19:41Father, I can't hatch a dragon.

00:19:45The hall went silent.

00:19:48What did you say?

00:19:51I said I am willing to withdraw from the succession trial.

00:19:56I am no match for Isolette.

00:19:59Since she has already hatched a gold dragon, the throne should naturally belong for her.

00:20:07The smile frozen on Isolette's face.

00:20:10Her fingers tightened around the egg so hard her knuckles whited, and a small piece of shell flaked off onto

00:20:17her skirt.

00:20:20My 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.

00:20:32Isolette had not truly hatched anything.

00:20:35The 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.

00:20:49Seraphine, Seraphine, 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.

00:21:02In 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.

00:21:19Isolette'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.

00:21:31As long as that hidden name remained,

00:21:34every drop of blood I gave would become Isolette's claim.

00:21:37A small sound came from behind me.

00:21:41The 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.

00:21:50Martha stood in the doorway, pale as a ghost.

00:21:54Your Highness, it's me.

00:21:57I saw you leave the tower and followed.

00:22:00I was afraid you'd be caught.

00:22:02Slowly, I lowered the blade.

00:22:05She stepped inside,

00:22:06and when her eyes fell on the glowing contract in my hand,

00:22:10her lips trembled and tears spilled over at once.

00:22:14The Queen suspected something like this would happen.

00:22:18The year the eggs were moved to the vault.

00:22:22She said the contracts felt wrong.

00:22:25But she was already too ill.

00:22:28She died before she could prove it.

00:22:31I closed my eyes.

00:22:32The weight of my mother's unfinished protection settled over me,

00:22:36warm and sharp all at once.

00:22:39My mother had not failed to protect me.

00:22:41She had simply run 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.

00:22:54Show 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.

00:23:07Martha stared at me.

00:23:09They won't believe it.

00:23:10In my last life, I laid everything bare,

00:23:13and they still chose Isolette's tears.

00:23:15The nobles did not care about the truth.

00:23:18Neither did the people.

00:23:20They believed the winner.

00:23:22Truth doesn't win here.

00:23:24Winners write the truth.

00:23:26So this time, I'd make the winner confess she was a fraud.

00:23:31I rolled the contract back up,

00:23:33and 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,

00:23:47then I'll let her steal one.

00:23:49She stole my golden dragon,

00:23:51my crown, my 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.

00:24:01The Royal Forbidden's Vault lay beneath the dragon pit.

00:24:05There were no gilded pillars there.

00:24:08No golden flames to symbolize royal power.

00:24:13Only a cold, damp staircase leading down into darkness,

00:24:17the walls scarred with black burn marks.

00:24:20After 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.

00:24:43A black dragon egg.

00:24:50Black dragons were powerful, savage,

00:24:52and almost impossible to tame.

00:24:59They were not like gold dragons,

00:25:01which symbolized the throne.

00:25:05They were not like red dragons,

00:25:07which burned for war.

00:25:09Black 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,

00:25:20over 300 years.

00:25:22All had paid a terrible price.

00:25:24The first lost an entire hand to dragon fire.

00:25:28The second went mad on the day the dragon hatched.

00:25:32The third managed to make the dragon poop in its eyes.

00:25:35But 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.

00:25:54In 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

00:26:08and saw a jet black dragon egg

00:26:10resting 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.

00:26:23The thing inside was awake.

00:26:25I know you're dangerous.

00:26:27The black egg did not respond.

00:26:29I also know you won't kneel tamely at anyone's feet.

00:26:34But this time,

00:26:36the shell trembled lightly.

00:26:40Father, I'm tired.

00:26:42I accept that I am not as capable as Issoth.

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.

00:26:55No.

00:26:57This time,

00:26:58it was Isolate who spoke.

00:27:00She flinched as soon as she said it,

00:27:03realizing she took ocean to have broken her gentle ale mask in front of the nobles.

00:27:08Sister,

00:27:09Sister,

00:27:09I didn't mean it that way.

00:27:10I only think you shouldn't give up so easily.

00:27:15You are my sister.

00:27:28I want you to prove yourself, too.

00:27:30I turned to her fully,

00:27:32taking 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,

00:28:03how can you think that of me?

00:28:05I'm only worried about you.

00:28:09In my last life,

00:28:11I'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.

00:28:24I bowed to my father again.

00:28:35Father,

00:28:36since Isolate has won,

00:28:38there is no reason for me to remain here.

00:28:40Alaric stared at me.

00:28:41For the first time,

00:28:43I saw panic in his eyes.

00:28:46You must continue hatching dragon eggs.

00:28:50Why?

00:28:52He stopped.

00:28:53The words died on his tongue.

00:28:56He could not say the quiet part out loud.

00:28:59I lowered my voice,

00:29:01just 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.

00:29:08The sentence cut through the false calm of the hall.

00:29:12Isolate's face changed completely.

00:29:15Alaric slammed his palm down on the arm of the throne

00:29:17so hard the goblets rattled.

00:29:20How dare you!

00:29:22I knelt slowly,

00:29:23my back straight.

00:29:24Forgive me, father.

00:29:26It was only a joke.

00:29:28But the joke

00:29:29had 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.

00:29:36After I left the hall,

00:29:37Isolate followed me.

00:29:41She grabbed my wrist,

00:29:43her nails digging hard into my sleeve

00:29:45through the fabric.

00:29:49Serafina, what are you planning?

00:29:51I'm planning to give up.

00:29:53You're lying.

00:29:55You must have hidden another dragon egg somewhere.

00:29:57You think?

00:29:57You can raise one in secret

00:29:59and take everything back?

00:30:00I pulled my wrist free,

00:30:02brushing off my sleeve

00:30:04as if I'd touched something dirty.

00:30:06Then take your time looking.

00:30:09Search every tower,

00:30:11every cellar,

00:30:11every corner of the palace.

00:30:13I won't stop you.

00:30:15Her chest and fell with anger.

00:30:17She leaned in,

00:30:18her voice low and vicious.

00:30:20Don't think you can threaten me.

00:30:23Father will stand with me.

00:30:24The nobles will stand with me.

00:30:26As 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.

00:30:37She had expected tears,

00:30:39rage,

00:30:40please,

00:30:42anything but this quiet certainty.

00:30:44That's why this time,

00:30:46I'll give you something

00:30:47you won't be able to resist stealing.

00:30:50Something you will beg to take from me.

00:30:52She did not follow again.

00:30:56The bait was already set.

00:30:58And I knew she would bite.

00:31:01I unfolded the crumpled copy

00:31:03of the altered contract

00:31:04I'd taken from the archive.

00:31:05On the surface,

00:31:06it said Serafina.

00:31:07The name that truly took effect

00:31:09was Isolda.

00:31:09My father thought

00:31:10he had built a throne for Isolda.

00:31:12He did not realize

00:31:12the same forged contract

00:31:14he'd used to steal my dragon

00:31:15would also tie a ravenous noose

00:31:16tied around her neck.

00:31:17I cut my finger

00:31:18and let my blood fall onto the contract.

00:31:20The name on the page flared.

00:31:22Isolette.

00:31:22On the stone platform,

00:31:24the black egg shook violently,

00:31:25so hard it rattled against the rock.

00:31:27A low,

00:31:27rumbling growl rolled out

00:31:28from within the shell.

00:31:29Deep and guttural,

00:31:31nothing like the soft,

00:31:32high chirp of a newborn gold dragon.

00:31:34Grow well.

00:31:36Soon enough,

00:31:37she will come to steal you.

00:31:39For the next ten days and ten nights,

00:31:40I did not step foot back

00:31:42in the old tower.

00:31:42I stayed in the damp,

00:31:44dark forbiddance vault,

00:31:45curled up beside the black egg

00:31:46through 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

00:31:52I'd raised in my last life.

00:31:53The gold dragon had answered my whispers

00:31:55with tiny,

00:31:56soft taps from inside the shell.

00:31:58Gentle as an unborn child

00:31:59reaching for its mother,

00:32:00the black dragon never sought comfort.

00:32:02It never tapped back,

00:32:03never leaned into my palm.

00:32:05It only grew hotter and heavier

00:32:06with each passing day,

00:32:07the shell burning like forged iron.

00:32:09More than once,

00:32:10I 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.

00:32:17Your Highness,

00:32:18black dragons are untamable.

00:32:20Once it breaks free,

00:32:21people may truly die.

00:32:23Issa Ledd may die.

00:32:24And you still want to go through with this?

00:32:27There's no turning back

00:32:28once the shell breaks.

00:32:29I stared at the glowing crack

00:32:31on the black shell

00:32:32and the memories of my last life

00:32:33flashed before my eyes.

00:32:34The iron gate of the dragon pit

00:32:36flew over shut.

00:32:37Isolde's smug,

00:32:38tear-streaked smile high above.

00:32:40My father's cold,

00:32:41unforgiving eyes.

00:32:42The roar of the crowd

00:32:43screaming thief as I fell.

00:32:44They never gave me a way back.

00:32:46Yes,

00:32:47I continue.

00:32:48If it truly recognizes

00:32:49Iselec 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.

00:32:56First,

00:32:57the black dragon will tear away

00:32:58every last one of her lies.

00:33:00It will make every person

00:33:01in this kingdom

00:33:02see exactly what she stole.

00:33:04The dragon,

00:33:05the crown,

00:33:06and my life.

00:33:07On the night before

00:33:08the succession ceremony,

00:33:09Isolde came to the entrance

00:33:10of the Forbidden's Vault herself.

00:33:12She could not enter.

00:33:13She could only look at me

00:33:14through the iron gate.

00:33:15Sister,

00:33:17I knew it.

00:33:19You've been hiding something

00:33:20this whole time.

00:33:20I picked up the black egg

00:33:22and carried it to the iron gate,

00:33:23holding it up

00:33:24so the firelight fell full

00:33:25across its glossy black shell.

00:33:26Her eyes lit up at once,

00:33:28bright with naked greed,

00:33:29all pretense of gentleness

00:33:30vanishing in the dark.

00:33:31A black dragon egg.

00:33:33The most powerful dragon

00:33:34in all of Valdoria.

00:33:37Stronger than any gold dragon.

00:33:39Isolde's throat

00:33:39bobbed hard as she swallowed.

00:33:41She could not look away

00:33:42from the egg.

00:33:43Tomorrow,

00:33:43at the ceremony in the square,

00:33:44you can stand in front

00:33:45of all the nobles

00:33:46and all the people

00:33:47and tell everyone

00:33:48that 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,

00:34:03the palace square was packed

00:34:04from end to end,

00:34:05the crowd buzzing with excitement.

00:34:07Nobles stood on both sides

00:34:08of the high platform.

00:34:10Commoners crowded

00:34:10behind the iron railings.

00:34:12Everyone wanted to see

00:34:13the gold dragon hatch

00:34:14and witness Isolde

00:34:15become the next queen.

00:34:16Isolde stood at the center

00:34:17of the high platform

00:34:18in a snow-white ceremonial gown,

00:34:20a delicate pearl crown

00:34:21perched on her golden hair.

00:34:23The gold dragon egg

00:34:24in her arms was crisscrossed

00:34:25with cracks,

00:34:26warm golden light

00:34:27seeping through every gap.

00:34:29And faint,

00:34:30soft chirps drifted out

00:34:31from within.

00:34:32King Alaric stood proudly

00:34:33at her side,

00:34:34his chest puffed out,

00:34:35every line of his face

00:34:36screaming satisfaction

00:34:37at the air he had chosen.

00:34:39The sight burned into my eyes,

00:34:41sharp with the pain

00:34:42of old memories.

00:34:43In my last life,

00:34:44I had stood exactly

00:34:45where she was,

00:34:47holding that same

00:34:47glowing gold egg,

00:34:49believing my diligence

00:34:50had finally been rewarded.

00:34:51I had thought the world

00:34:52was fair,

00:34:53that the dragon would choose

00:34:54the one who raised it.

00:34:56But justice had always

00:34:57been a joke written

00:34:58by the winners.

00:34:59The real rules

00:35:00had been rewritten in secret

00:35:01long before I ever

00:35:02stepped into that hall.

00:35:04The master of ceremonies

00:35:05lifted his staff

00:35:06and his booming voice

00:35:07rolled across the square.

00:35:08By the ancient laws

00:35:10of Eldoria,

00:35:12let both princesses

00:35:15present their dragon eggs

00:35:18before the people.

00:35:20Isolde stepped forward first,

00:35:22her skirt trailing

00:35:22elegantly behind her.

00:35:24She set the gold dragon egg

00:35:25gently on the stone altar,

00:35:27and golden light burst forth,

00:35:29drawing a wave of odd murmurs

00:35:30from the nobles.

00:35:32A true gold dragon.

00:35:34I never thought I'd see one

00:35:36in my lifetime.

00:35:36The gold dragon

00:35:37is the very symbol

00:35:39of royal power.

00:35:40This is an omen.

00:35:42Princess Isolette

00:35:43truly is the chosen one.

00:35:45She is Valdoria's future.

00:35:47Beneath the hum of admiration,

00:35:49I stepped out

00:35:49from the shadow

00:35:50of the archway,

00:35:51the black dragon egg

00:35:52held steady in my arms.

00:35:53In an instant,

00:35:54every sound vanished.

00:35:56The black egg

00:35:57did not glow

00:35:57with warm,

00:35:58brilliant light

00:35:58like the gold one.

00:36:00It drank in the light

00:36:01around it.

00:36:01Heavy and oppressive,

00:36:03pressing down

00:36:03on every breath.

00:36:05Wherever it passed,

00:36:06the flames nearby

00:36:07bent low.

00:36:08A commoner

00:36:09in the front row

00:36:10breathed out the question.

00:36:12What,

00:36:13what,

00:36:14what is that thing?

00:36:15An elderly noble

00:36:16in the front row

00:36:17stood up abruptly,

00:36:18his hands shaking

00:36:19on the railing.

00:36:20A black,

00:36:20black dragon egg!

00:36:22That,

00:36:23that's a black

00:36:24dragon egg!

00:36:25Another noble

00:36:26leaned forward,

00:36:27his face pale with shock.

00:36:29Impossible!

00:36:30Wasn't that sealed

00:36:31deep in the forbidden vault

00:36:33generations ago?

00:36:34How did she get it?

00:36:35When Isolde saw the egg,

00:36:37all color drained

00:36:38from her face.

00:36:40Isolée drew a deep breath,

00:36:41lifting her chin

00:36:42and straightening her back,

00:36:43putting on all the dignity

00:36:43of a rightful heir.

00:36:44Yes,

00:36:45it belongs to me.

00:36:46It was sealed away

00:36:47for the royal heir

00:36:47and I am the heir.

00:36:48I looked at her

00:36:49and you are equally certain

00:36:51that when it breaks

00:36:51its shell,

00:36:52it will recognize you

00:36:54and only you

00:36:55as its master.

00:36:56Unease flickered

00:36:57in her eyes,

00:36:58but the thrill of victory

00:36:59quickly smothered it.

00:37:01Of course it will!

00:37:02Dragons know

00:37:03their true master!

00:37:05I stepped back slowly,

00:37:07putting distance

00:37:08between myself

00:37:09and the altar.

00:37:10Then go ahead.

00:37:13Prove it to everyone.

00:37:15Isolée had not expected

00:37:16me to yield so easily.

00:37:17She stared at me

00:37:19for a long time,

00:37:20as if searching

00:37:21for the trap.

00:37:22Every eye in the square

00:37:22was on her.

00:37:23Every noble,

00:37:24every commoner

00:37:24was waiting to see

00:37:25their future queen

00:37:25command her dragon.

00:37:26She had already

00:37:27declared the egg hers.

00:37:27If she hesitated now,

00:37:28all her lies would crumble,

00:37:29so she squirms flat

00:37:30against the cold black shell.

00:37:31In the name of

00:37:31Valdoria's future queen,

00:37:33I command you

00:37:33to break your shell

00:37:34and recognize your master.

00:37:36For one moment,

00:37:37the black egg was still.

00:37:38Then it cracked.

00:37:39A single razor-sharp

00:37:40black line split the shell

00:37:41clean from top to bottom,

00:37:42glowing with faint smoky light.

00:37:44The nobles closest

00:37:45to the altar

00:37:45stumbled back at once,

00:37:46their faces white.

00:37:47Venus, please step back.

00:37:48Black dragons are ferocious.

00:37:49You cannot stand

00:37:50so close at hatching.

00:37:51Isolade forced

00:37:52a proud smile

00:37:52onto her face,

00:37:53but her fingers

00:37:54were trembling

00:37:54so hard against the shell

00:37:55she could barely

00:37:56keep them still.

00:37:56Why should I?

00:37:57It is my dragon.

00:37:58It will not hurt

00:37:58its own master.

00:38:05Before the crowd

00:38:06could finish whispering,

00:38:07Isolade suddenly

00:38:08stepped forward

00:38:08to the edge

00:38:09of the platform.

00:38:11Sister,

00:38:12why do you

00:38:12keep doing this?

00:38:13I stopped

00:38:14and looked at her.

00:38:15Tears filled her eyes

00:38:16right on Cuse.

00:38:17Was stealing

00:38:18my gold dragon egg

00:38:19not enough?

00:38:20Now you've snuck

00:38:21into the forbidden vault

00:38:23to steal

00:38:24my black dragon egg too?

00:38:25The square exploded

00:38:27into an uproar.

00:38:28Angry shouts

00:38:29and murmurs

00:38:30rolled over me

00:38:31like a wave.

00:38:32I heard the crowd

00:38:33call me greedy,

00:38:35shameless,

00:38:36a thief

00:38:36who would do anything

00:38:37for power.

00:38:38I heard them say

00:38:39I'd never change,

00:38:40that I'd always been

00:38:41jealous of my sister.

00:38:42I heard a woman's

00:38:43sharp voice yell

00:38:44that I was not worthy

00:38:45of being a princess,

00:38:47not worthy of the

00:38:48royal blood in my veins.

00:38:49On the throne,

00:38:50King Alaric rose slowly.

00:38:53Seraphina,

00:38:54hand over the

00:38:55black dragon egg

00:38:55at once.

00:38:56I did not move.

00:38:59On what grounds?

00:39:03His gaze cut

00:39:04through the noise.

00:39:05Isleth has said

00:39:06it belongs to her.

00:39:07I laughed.

00:39:11So that's the law

00:39:12of the palace now?

00:39:14If she says

00:39:15it is hers,

00:39:17then it is hers?

00:39:18Isleth shook her head,

00:39:20tears spilling

00:39:20down her cheeks.

00:39:21Sister,

00:39:22I know you hate me

00:39:22for being loved by father,

00:39:23but you can't steal

00:39:23from me again and again

00:39:24just because you want

00:39:25the throne.

00:39:25The gold dragon chose me

00:39:26and you refused to accept it.

00:39:27Now you've gone and stolen

00:39:28the black dragon too.

00:39:28What else do you want

00:39:29from me?

00:39:30Do you want my life?

00:39:31In my last life,

00:39:32I had lost everything

00:39:33to those tears.

00:39:34I'd shouted,

00:39:35I'd argued,

00:39:36I'd begged

00:39:37and I'd still looked

00:39:38like a cruel bully

00:39:39beside her soft

00:39:40weeping figure.

00:39:42But this life,

00:39:44there is no mention

00:39:45of explaining myself.

00:39:48I would not beg.

00:39:50I would not yell.

00:39:52I stepped up

00:39:53onto the platform,

00:39:54walked to the altar

00:39:55and set the black dragon egg

00:39:57down right beside

00:39:58the blowing gold one.

00:39:59Isleth,

00:39:59are you certain

00:40:00this black dragon egg

00:40:01belongs to you?

00:40:02In front of father,

00:40:03in front of every noble,

00:40:04every citizen

00:40:04standing in the square,

00:40:05are you certain

00:40:06you want to swear

00:40:06before all of them

00:40:07that this is your dragon egg?

00:40:08Isleth's eyes darted

00:40:09to King Alaric,

00:40:10searching for reassurance.

00:40:12Alaric nodded

00:40:13almost imperceptibly.

00:40:15I saw it.

00:40:16Good.

00:40:17Just like last time,

00:40:18they had chosen

00:40:19greed over truth.

00:40:22The moment

00:40:23the second clock

00:40:23slid open,

00:40:24the sky above

00:40:25the square darkened.

00:40:26It was not that clouds

00:40:27had rolled in

00:40:27to cover the sun.

00:40:28It was as if

00:40:29something inside the shell

00:40:30had reached up

00:40:30and swallowed

00:40:31all the light in the air.

00:40:32One torch

00:40:33after another bent low,

00:40:34even the faint cries

00:40:35from the gold dragon egg

00:40:36suddenly stopped.

00:40:37Isolde's hands

00:40:38were still pressed tight

00:40:39to the black shell,

00:40:40but her knuckles

00:40:41had gone white.

00:40:42Her smile froze.

00:40:44This is wrong.

00:40:45This is all wrong.

00:40:47A black dragon's

00:40:48hatching is thunder and fire.

00:40:50It should not be this quiet.

00:40:52This is unnatural.

00:40:53The next second,

00:40:54with a sound

00:40:55like shattering obsidian,

00:40:56the entire shell

00:40:57burst apart.

00:40:58A young black dragon

00:40:59crawled out.

00:41:00It was not large,

00:41:01but the entire square

00:41:02fell into dead silence.

00:41:04Its wet black scales

00:41:05clung to its body,

00:41:07but its eyes

00:41:08were already cold.

00:41:09It did not cry softly

00:41:10like a gold dragon.

00:41:11It did not nuzzle

00:41:12anyone's hand.

00:41:13It only lifted its head

00:41:15and looked at Isolde.

00:41:18Isolde took a step back

00:41:19before she could

00:41:19stop herself.

00:41:22Come here.

00:41:25I am your master.

00:41:27The black dragon

00:41:28tilted 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

00:41:35across the page.

00:41:36The name hidden beneath

00:41:37the surface slowly appeared,

00:41:39Isolde.

00:41:44Everyone saw it.

00:41:45Sharp breaths rose

00:41:46all around me.

00:41:48Isolde's face

00:41:48turned white.

00:41:49She whipped her head

00:41:50toward our father.

00:41:52Alaric had frozen to it.

00:41:53must not have expected

00:41:55the black dragon

00:41:55to burn the hidden name

00:41:56into the open.

00:42:02The black dragon

00:42:03took one slow,

00:42:04deliberate step

00:42:05toward Isolde,

00:42:06its claws clicking sharp

00:42:08on the stone altar.

00:42:11At last,

00:42:12panic broke through

00:42:13her composure.

00:42:15No!

00:42:16No, it wasn't me!

00:42:17This is a trick!

00:42:18She backed away,

00:42:19her voice shaking.

00:42:21I didn't have to!

00:42:22She did!

00:42:24Seraphina hatched you!

00:42:26She's the one

00:42:26who fed you her blood!

00:42:30You just stood

00:42:31in front of this

00:42:32entire kingdom

00:42:33and swore it was yours.

00:42:35Isolde screamed,

00:42:36sharp and streal,

00:42:38her composure gone entirely.

00:42:40That isn't what I meant!

00:42:42You tricked me!

00:42:44You lured me

00:42:45into saying it!

00:42:46You said the gold dragon

00:42:47was yours

00:42:48and everyone believed you.

00:42:49No one tricked you then.

00:42:51You said the black dragon

00:42:52was yours

00:42:53and everyone believed that too.

00:42:54You reached for it gladly.

00:42:56You called it

00:42:57your birthright.

00:42:58I stopped just out

00:42:59of the dragon's reach,

00:43:00looking down

00:43:01at her cringing figure.

00:43:02Dear sister,

00:43:04haven't you always loved

00:43:06stealing my dragons?

00:43:07This one is yours now.

00:43:09Keep it.

00:43:10The black dragon

00:43:11lunged without warning,

00:43:12a low snarl

00:43:13rumbling in its chest.

00:43:15The guards beside Isolad

00:43:16drew their swords

00:43:17with a sharp clang,

00:43:18but the dragon

00:43:19swept them aside

00:43:20with one flick of its tail,

00:43:22sending men and steel

00:43:23crashing into the stone steps.

00:43:25It did not kill her at once.

00:43:27It was toying with her,

00:43:28the way a cat toys

00:43:29with a mouse before the kill.

00:43:30It pinned her wrist

00:43:32beneath its claws,

00:43:33and black fire

00:43:34crawled up her skin.

00:43:36Isolad screamed.

00:43:37The golden contract marks

00:43:39on 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.

00:43:46It burned the stolen contract

00:43:48out of her.

00:43:49Father!

00:43:52Save me!

00:43:54Please!

00:43:55She sobbed and shrieked

00:43:57toward Alaric,

00:43:58her body twisting uselessly

00:43:59beneath the dragon's claw.

00:44:01At last,

00:44:02Alaric could no longer

00:44:03stand still and watch.

00:44:04He stormed down

00:44:06from the throne platform.

00:44:07Stop it!

00:44:08Seraphina!

00:44:10Make it stop this instant!

00:44:13Why should I?

00:44:15Isn't it Isola's dragon?

00:44:17Shouldn't her own dragon

00:44:19obey her?

00:44:22His face went studged.

00:44:24The black dragon

00:44:25continued pressing in

00:44:26on Isolda.

00:44:27Black fire had already

00:44:28climbed to her throat.

00:44:35Her carefully arranged hair

00:44:37had fallen loose.

00:44:39Her pearl crown

00:44:40dropped to the ground

00:44:41and shattered

00:44:42beneath her own foot.

00:44:43She no longer

00:44:45looked like a noble princess.

00:44:47She looked like a fraud

00:44:48finally being exposed.

00:44:51Father!

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!

00:45:01Every eye in the square

00:45:02turned to the king.

00:45:04Curiosity,

00:45:05doubt, judgment.

00:45:06All of it landed

00:45:07on him at once.

00:45:08I walked toward him.

00:45:12Tell them what, father?

00:45:14Alaric stared at me,

00:45:15hatred and fear

00:45:16warring in his eyes.

00:45:18His hands clenched

00:45:19at his sides.

00:45:20I lowered my voice.

00:45:24Father!

00:45:25Don't you love

00:45:27Isoleth most?

00:45:29Saving her is simple.

00:45:32Tell everyone

00:45:33why every dragon

00:45:34I hatched,

00:45:35every drop of Bly gave,

00:45:38all ended up

00:45:40recognizing her

00:45:41as their master.

00:45:44His lips trembled.

00:45:46Serafina!

00:45:47Must you destroy

00:45:49the royal family?

00:45:51Must you humiliate us

00:45:52in front of

00:45:53every subject?

00:45:55I smiled.

00:45:57Didn't you already

00:45:58do that?

00:46:00The day you

00:46:01altered the contract?

00:46:03The day you

00:46:04threw your own

00:46:05daughter into

00:46:06the dragon pit?

00:46:08You destroyed

00:46:10the royal family's

00:46:11honor yourself.

00:46:13The black dragon

00:46:15growled again

00:46:16and Isolde's

00:46:17scream

00:46:17tore through

00:46:18the square.

00:46:20Finally,

00:46:21Alaric closed

00:46:22his eyes.

00:46:25It was me.

00:46:30I changed

00:46:31the name

00:46:31on the contract.

00:46:35Wind swept

00:46:36across the altar,

00:46:37scattering the ashes

00:46:39of the burned

00:46:39contract

00:46:40into the air

00:46:41like black snow.

00:46:48before any

00:46:50royal dragon egg

00:46:51can be hatched,

00:46:53a magical contract

00:46:55must be signed.

00:47:04When the dragon

00:47:05breaks from its shell,

00:47:07it recognizes

00:47:08the name

00:47:08on the contract

00:47:09as its master.

00:47:13I ordered

00:47:14the royal mages

00:47:15to use double ink

00:47:17on Seraphina's

00:47:19contract.

00:47:28On the surface,

00:47:30Seraphina's contract

00:47:32bore her own name.

00:47:35But the name

00:47:36that truly

00:47:37took effect

00:47:38was

00:47:39Isolette.

00:47:49Gasps erupted

00:47:50from the crowd.

00:47:53Isolde was crying

00:47:55so hard

00:47:55she could barely breathe,

00:47:57but she still

00:47:58shook her head

00:47:58wildly.

00:48:00No!

00:48:01No,

00:48:02it wasn't me!

00:48:03Father did it!

00:48:05I didn't know anything!

00:48:07I knew nothing!

00:48:13You knew nothing?

00:48:18I crouched down

00:48:19in front of her.

00:48:23Three whole months.

00:48:26Every midnight,

00:48:28you snuck

00:48:29into my incubation chamber

00:48:30and dapped my egg

00:48:31with your blood.

00:48:34You knew nothing

00:48:35then either?

00:48:36Her eyes went wide.

00:48:38She had never told

00:48:39anyone about

00:48:40those midnight visits.

00:48:42Before the hatching

00:48:43ceremony,

00:48:45you brushed

00:48:46dragon repellent

00:48:47sap on my fingertips.

00:48:48So the gold

00:48:49dragon bite me.

00:48:52You knew nothing

00:48:54about that either?

00:48:55Of course,

00:48:56no one else

00:48:56in this life

00:48:57understood those words.

00:48:59but Isolde did.

00:49:01The fear on her face

00:49:03deepened,

00:49:04turning to something

00:49:05close to terror.

00:49:10You knew every time.

00:49:14Every time.

00:49:15You planned every step.

00:49:19You just thought

00:49:21you'd never get caught.

00:49:23You also knew

00:49:24that if you cried,

00:49:26father would always

00:49:28stand on your side.

00:49:31Isolde tried to answer,

00:49:33but the black dragon's

00:49:34claws pressed

00:49:35into her shoulder,

00:49:36and she could not form

00:49:37a single complete sentence.

00:49:40I stood and turned

00:49:41to the nobles.

00:49:44Do you still think

00:49:46I am a thief?

00:49:47No one answered.

00:49:48Those who had been

00:49:49so eager to insult me

00:49:50lowered their heads

00:49:51one by one.

00:49:52The hidden name

00:49:53has been burned

00:49:54into the open.

00:49:56The king

00:49:57has confessed

00:49:58with his own mouth.

00:50:00The gold dragon,

00:50:02the black dragon,

00:50:03and every dragon

00:50:04Isilic ever claimed

00:50:05as hers

00:50:06were hatched

00:50:07by me.

00:50:08Some stepped back,

00:50:09others dropped

00:50:10their eyes,

00:50:11unable to meet

00:50:12my gaze.

00:50:12At last,

00:50:13they understood

00:50:14that the princess

00:50:15they had worshipped

00:50:15was not chosen

00:50:16by dragons.

00:50:17She was a fraud

00:50:18propped up

00:50:19by her father's cheating,

00:50:20and they had all

00:50:20been her willing audience.

00:50:22An elderly noble

00:50:23fell to his knees,

00:50:24his whole body trembling.

00:50:27Princess Seraphina,

00:50:28we were deceived.

00:50:32We did not know

00:50:33the truth.

00:50:35Forgive us.

00:50:36I looked at him.

00:50:40No.

00:50:41You were not deceived.

00:50:44You chose

00:50:45the more convenient lie.

00:50:47Because that lie

00:50:47did not require them

00:50:48to oppose the king.

00:50:50Because that lie

00:50:50let them stomp

00:50:51a disgraced princess

00:50:52into the mud.

00:50:53Because Isolda

00:50:54cried beautifully,

00:50:55and I refused

00:50:56to lower my head.

00:50:57They were not blind.

00:50:58They had simply decided

00:50:59the truth did not matter.

00:51:01Alaric suddenly spoke.

00:51:03Seraphina,

00:51:04this was my crime.

00:51:05Punish me if you mustn't.

00:51:07Isolette is innocent.

00:51:08I turned to him.

00:51:10Even now,

00:51:11he was still protecting her.

00:51:14Innocent?

00:51:15She just claimed

00:51:16the black dragon egg

00:51:17in front of the entire kingdom.

00:51:18Did 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.

00:51:25I 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.

00:51:33I 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.

00:51:42You wanted a better life,

00:51:44so I deserve to die.

00:51:46You stole my dragons.

00:51:48You stole my throne.

00:51:50You stole my reputation.

00:51:51You let everyone

00:51:52call me a thief.

00:51:54You let father

00:51:55throw me into the dragon pit.

00:51:59She stared at me in horror,

00:52:01as if looking at someone

00:52:02who should not remember

00:52:03those things.

00:52:04I did not explain.

00:52:05I lifted my hand.

00:52:07The black dragon

00:52:08raised its head

00:52:08to look at me,

00:52:09its cold eyes

00:52:10softening for the first time.

00:52:13enough.

00:52:14The black dragon

00:52:14released Isolde.

00:52:15She collapsed

00:52:16on the ground,

00:52:17trembling all over.

00:52:19The golden markings

00:52:20on her hand were gone.

00:52:21Only scorched

00:52:22black traces remained.

00:52:23She had lost

00:52:24every claim

00:52:24the stolen contracts

00:52:25had given her.

00:52:26From that moment on,

00:52:27no dragon in Valdoria

00:52:29would ever recognize

00:52:29her as its master again.

00:52:32It rained softly

00:52:33on the day

00:52:34my father was deposed.

00:52:35After the hidden contract

00:52:36was exposed,

00:52:37the council had no choice

00:52:39but to strip Alaric

00:52:40of the crown

00:52:40before the entire court.

00:52:41I did not kill him.

00:52:43Death would have been to light.

00:52:45I had his crown removed

00:52:46and replaced

00:52:46with a crude iron circlet.

00:52:48It had no jewels,

00:52:49no gold designs,

00:52:51only cold weight.

00:52:52When the guards

00:52:53lifted the old crown away,

00:52:54Alaric reached for it

00:52:55by instinct.

00:52:57Former King Alaric,

00:52:58lower your hand.

00:53:00The title struck

00:53:01harder than a slap.

00:53:02For the first time

00:53:03in his life,

00:53:04no one called him

00:53:05your majesty.

00:53:06He was imprisoned

00:53:07in the deepest dungeon

00:53:07beneath the throne room.

00:53:09There was a narrow window

00:53:11there,

00:53:11facing the great hall.

00:53:13He could not see the throne,

00:53:14but he could hear

00:53:15every word spoken above him.

00:53:17From then on,

00:53:18whenever the nobles

00:53:19swore loyalty to me,

00:53:20he heard it.

00:53:24Whenever the people shouted

00:53:26long live the queen,

00:53:27that sound would drift down

00:53:28through the stone

00:53:29and into his cell.

00:53:30The daughter he had despised,

00:53:31the one he'd thrown away

00:53:32like trash,

00:53:34sat on his throne.

00:53:35The 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.

00:53:42That was the punishment

00:53:43I chose for him.

00:53:46Seraphina,

00:53:46you cannot do this.

00:53:49I am still your father.

00:53:51You cannot lock

00:53:52your own father

00:53:53in a dungeon!

00:53:54I stood outside

00:53:55the iron bars,

00:53:56looking at the iron circlet

00:53:58pressing into his graying hair.

00:53:59You only remembered

00:54:01you were my father,

00:54:04after you lost your crown.

00:54:06The kingdom needs me.

00:54:08You're your young.

00:54:09You don't know how to rule.

00:54:11You'll tear it apart.

00:54:13No.

00:54:15And it will thrive

00:54:16without you.

00:54:18The guards closed

00:54:18the iron door.

00:54:20The sound echoed

00:54:21under the throne room.

00:54:23Alaric 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

00:54:46every single day

00:54:46until the day he died.

00:54:49As for Isolde,

00:54:51I did not let her die either.

00:54:53After the black dragon

00:54:54burned away

00:54:54the stolen contract,

00:54:56she was too weak

00:54:57to stand on her own.

00:54:58Half her hair

00:54:59had been scorched

00:54:59by black fire.

00:55:00The contract mark

00:55:01on her hand

00:55:01would never return.

00:55:03Nobles no longer

00:55:03called her princess.

00:55:05Maids no longer

00:55:05lowered their eyes

00:55:06when she passed.

00:55:07I stripped her of her title

00:55:08and sent her

00:55:09to the lowest level

00:55:09of the dragon pit.

00:55:10It was no longer

00:55:11a place of quick execution.

00:55:12Now it housed

00:55:13the lesser drakes

00:55:14kept by the royal family.

00:55:15Filthy,

00:55:16sharp-toothed things

00:55:16that ate scraps

00:55:17and charred bone.

00:55:19Every day,

00:55:20she had to muck out

00:55:21their pens,

00:55:22carry baskets

00:55:22of charred bones,

00:55:23and scrub rust

00:55:24and filth off the iron bars

00:55:25until her hands bled.

00:55:26Chains circled her wrists.

00:55:28Shackles clamped her ankles.

00:55:30Isolde would slam

00:55:30her fists against the bars,

00:55:32her voice hoarse

00:55:32and screaming.

00:55:35Isolde.

00:55:36Take these chains off me!

00:55:39I am Princess Isolette!

00:55:43You cannot do this to me!

00:55:46Guard.

00:55:48There is no Princess Isolette

00:55:50in Valdoria anymore.

00:55:51There is only a prisoner

00:55:53doing hard labor.

00:55:55Noble girls who had once

00:55:56clung 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

00:56:01through the bars.

00:56:02Noble girl one.

00:56:07Is that the former

00:56:09Princess Isol?

00:56:10The one who used to call us

00:56:12common and unworthy?

00:56:14Noble girl two.

00:56:16She looks like

00:56:16any other servant now.

00:56:18Hard to believe

00:56:19she almost wore the crown.

00:56:20Noble girl three.

00:56:21I heard she never hatched

00:56:23a single dragon egg herself.

00:56:25Every bit of it

00:56:27was stolen from the queen.

00:56:29Whenever she heard

00:56:29those words,

00:56:30she would throw herself

00:56:31at the bars like a wild animal,

00:56:33spitting and screaming.

00:56:34Isolette.

00:56:36Liars!

00:56:36All of you are liars!

00:56:38I was chosen by the dragons!

00:56:41I was the rightful future queen!

00:56:44But no one was afraid of her now.

00:56:45She had lost my father's protection.

00:56:47She had lost her title.

00:56:49She had lost everyone's trust.

00:56:51The cruelest part of all

00:56:52was the black dragon.

00:56:53Sometimes it would circle

00:56:54high above the pit,

00:56:55whenever its shadow

00:56:56fell over her.

00:56:57Isolette would scramble

00:56:58into the darkest corner,

00:56:59curling into a ball

00:57:00and covering her head.

00:57:01Because she knew

00:57:02that she had once

00:57:02claimed that dragon

00:57:03as her own.

00:57:04She had stolen every dragon.

00:57:06I raised the last one

00:57:06became the nightmare

00:57:07she would live with

00:57:08for the rest of her life.

00:57:10On the night before my coronation,

00:57:12Martha carried the gold egg

00:57:13from the old tower to me.

00:57:14She told me that

00:57:15when Isolette's gold egg

00:57:16began to crack,

00:57:17mine had gone dim.

00:57:18As if every bit of life

00:57:19had been drained from it.

00:57:20But it had not died.

00:57:21After the black dragon

00:57:22burned away the false contract,

00:57:24it warmed again.

00:57:25Little by little,

00:57:26the power that had been

00:57:27diverted returned to it.

00:57:28The gold veins on the shell

00:57:29glowed once more,

00:57:30like a late sunrise.

00:57:31Martha,

00:57:32your majesty,

00:57:34it waited for you.

00:57:35I touched the shell

00:57:36with my fingertips.

00:57:38Seraphina,

00:57:40I made it wait too long.

00:57:42On the day I was crowned,

00:57:43the blood had already been

00:57:44washed from the square

00:57:45by rain.

00:57:45The gold dragon

00:57:46from my old tower

00:57:47finally hatched.

00:57:48It was small,

00:57:49its scales bright,

00:57:50its eyes clear.

00:57:51Now that the contract

00:57:52had been corrected,

00:57:53it walked to me at last

00:57:54and rested its head

00:57:54gently against my palm.

00:57:56The entire square knelt.

00:57:59Crowd.

00:58:02Long live the queen!

00:58:04I looked down

00:58:05at the warm gold dragon

00:58:06in my hand,

00:58:07then lifted my gaze

00:58:08toward the highest tower.

00:58:09The black dragon

00:58:10perched there,

00:58:10silent.

00:58:13One symbolized the throne,

00:58:15the glory,

00:58:15the hope of the kingdom.

00:58:16One symbolized the price.

00:58:18The truth,

00:58:19the cost of every lie.

00:58:20Baldoria would no longer

00:58:21be ruled by lies.

00:58:22That same day,

00:58:23I abolished every clause

00:58:24in the old contracts

00:58:25that allowed a king

00:58:26to alter them in secret.

00:58:27From then on,

00:58:28every dragon egg contract

00:58:29had to be signed

00:58:30in the presence of the council.

00:58:31Noble witnesses,

00:58:32and representatives of the people,

00:58:34no one would ever again

00:58:35use double ink to steal a name.

00:58:36I also opened the royal vaults

00:58:38and ordered every sleeping dragon egg

00:58:39to be registered again.

00:58:41Dragons would no longer be tools

00:58:42for a father to favor

00:58:43one daughter over another.

00:58:44They belong to the ones

00:58:45who truly awakened them.

00:58:48The first public dragon egg

00:58:49registration under the new law

00:58:50was held in the same square

00:58:52where Isolde had once lied.

00:58:54This time,

00:58:54there was no hidden ink.

00:58:55The contract table stood in the open.

00:58:57Three councillors to noble witnesses

00:58:59and five representatives of the people

00:59:00watched every name written down.

00:59:02A baker's son stepped forward

00:59:03with shaking hands.

00:59:05Your majesty,

00:59:06may someone like me really try?

00:59:08I looked at the small

00:59:09copper-colored egg resting before him.

00:59:11An egg once deemed unworthy

00:59:12of royal blood,

00:59:13left to gather dust in the vaults.

00:59:15If you are willing to give it

00:59:17your blood,

00:59:18your warmth,

00:59:19and your patience,

00:59:20then you may try.

00:59:22Dragons do not care about birth.

00:59:25They care about who wakes them.

00:59:27The boy lifted his head,

00:59:29his eyes bright.

00:59:30He took a small knife,

00:59:31cut his fingertip,

00:59:32and 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,

00:59:37a pair of guards

00:59:38led Isolde through the edge

00:59:39of the square

00:59:39on their way to deliver ash

00:59:41from the dragon pens.

00:59:42She was bent under the weight

00:59:43of a heavy basket,

00:59:44chains clinking with every step.

00:59:46She stopped when she saw

00:59:47the boy at the contract table.

00:59:48A baker's child?

00:59:50You let a baker's child

00:59:52touch a dragon egg?

00:59:54People turned to look at her.

00:59:55People turned to look at her.

00:59:56A laugh broke out first,

00:59:58then another,

00:59:58then more.

00:59:59Better a baker's child

01:00:00with his own name

01:00:01on the contract

01:00:01than a princess

01:00:03who stole every name

01:00:04she ever had.

01:00:05Isolde lunged toward the table,

01:00:07chains dragging

01:00:07across the stone.

01:00:08Dragons belong to royal blood!

01:00:11The copper egg trembled.

01:00:12A tiny crack appeared

01:00:13in the shell.

01:00:14The boy gasped,

01:00:15his hand flying to his mouth.

01:00:17It moved.

01:00:17The gold dragon beside me

01:00:19lowered its head,

01:00:20calm and watchful.

01:00:21The black dragon's shadow

01:00:22slid across the square

01:00:23from the high tower.

01:00:24Isolde froze under that shadow.

01:00:26I stepped between her

01:00:27and the table.

01:00:27The guard pulled Isolde

01:00:29back toward the pit.

01:00:30No!

01:00:31Dragons belong to the ones

01:00:32who truly awaken them.

01:00:34She screamed and struggled

01:00:35until her voice cracked,

01:00:36but no one looked at her anymore.

01:00:38Behind her,

01:00:39the small copper dragon

01:00:40pushed its way out of the shell

01:00:41and crawled unsteadily

01:00:43toward the baker's son,

01:00:44nuzzling his hand.

01:00:45The crowd burst into cheers

01:00:46for a child Isolde

01:00:47would once have stepped over

01:00:48without a glance.

01:00:49That sound hurt

01:00:50for more than chains.

01:00:52The first winter of my reign

01:00:54was harsh.

01:00:54Not all the nobles

01:00:55King Alarig had left behind

01:00:57accepted me.

01:00:57Some swore loyalty to my face

01:00:59while secretly trying

01:01:00to support distant relatives

01:01:01for the throne.

01:01:02I did not rush to kill them.

01:01:03I let them expose themselves.

01:01:05One duke tried to bribe a witness

01:01:06during a public dragon egg registration

01:01:08to have his son's name

01:01:09secretly added

01:01:10and the witness's testimony

01:01:11read aloud in the square.

01:01:13Then 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,

01:01:17this is only a misdisunderstanding.

01:01:19A servant acted

01:01:20without my knowledge.

01:01:21Then let this misunderstanding

01:01:22be clear to everyone.

01:01:23From today on,

01:01:24your lands return to the crown

01:01:25and your house

01:01:26will never again

01:01:27hold a dragon contract.

01:01:28One bishop declared

01:01:29from his pulpit

01:01:30that a woman could not

01:01:30rule Valdoria,

01:01:31that my reign was

01:01:32against the old gods.

01:01:33The ledgers of bribes

01:01:34he had taken

01:01:35were nailed to the doors

01:01:36of his own cathedral.

01:01:36This is an insult

01:01:37to the temple!

01:01:39No.

01:01:40Taking gold

01:01:41from villages

01:01:42where children

01:01:42froze to death

01:01:43was the insult.

01:01:44Then there were those

01:01:45who tried to smuggle

01:01:46Isolde out of the dragon pit

01:01:47thinking they could

01:01:48raise a banner

01:01:49in her name.

01:01:49I did not execute them.

01:01:51I 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,

01:01:57the man who planned

01:01:58the 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

01:02:11to 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.

01:02:20The gold dragon

01:02:21had grown enough

01:02:21to carry me

01:02:22over the capital.

01:02:23When the people

01:02:23looked up and saw it,

01:02:24they took off

01:02:24their hats and bowed.

01:02:26Children chased its shadow

01:02:27through the streets

01:02:28shouting my name.

01:02:29Queen Seraphina,

01:02:30the gold dragon

01:02:31is coming!

01:02:32For the first time,

01:02:33their voices

01:02:33did not sound

01:02:34like judgment.

01:02:35They sounded like

01:02:35a kingdom learning

01:02:36a new truth.

01:02:39Sometimes,

01:02:40I visited Alarep

01:02:42in the dungeon.

01:02:44He aged quickly

01:02:45in that dark cell.

01:02:47The iron crown

01:02:48bent his neck.

01:02:50The king,

01:02:51who once sat

01:02:52above everyone,

01:02:53now had only

01:02:54a damp stone bed

01:02:55and the sound

01:02:56of 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?

01:03:06I am your father.

01:03:07I looked at him.

01:03:09There was regret

01:03:09in his eyes, yes.

01:03:11But there was

01:03:12resentment, too,

01:03:13and pride,

01:03:13and the bitter taste

01:03:15of having lost.

01:03:16I knew then

01:03:17that he did not

01:03:18regret hurting me.

01:03:19He regretted losing.

01:03:22No.

01:03:23His hands tightened

01:03:25on the bars.

01:03:25His voice shook.

01:03:27I am your father!

01:03:28I gave you life!

01:03:31You had many chances

01:03:32to remember that.

01:03:34Before the contract

01:03:35was altered.

01:03:37Before I was thrown

01:03:39to the drakes.

01:03:40Before you chose her

01:03:42over and over

01:03:44and over again.

01:03:46I turned and left.

01:03:50Behind me,

01:03:51I heard him crying quietly.

01:03:53I did not look back.

01:03:54Later,

01:03:55Martha asked me

01:03:56whether I ever felt lonely.

01:03:57Your Majesty.

01:03:59Do you ever wish

01:04:00there was someone

01:04:01who could stand beside you

01:04:02without bowing,

01:04:03without calling you Majesty?

01:04:04Just someone who knew you

01:04:06before the throne?

01:04:07I thought about it

01:04:08for a long time

01:04:09staring out the window

01:04:10at the Black Dragon's Tower.

01:04:12After taking the throne,

01:04:14I was surrounded

01:04:15by ministers,

01:04:16guards,

01:04:16and people

01:04:17who bowed to me.

01:04:18But there were

01:04:19very few people

01:04:20I could truly

01:04:21lower 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

01:04:28and begging for fairness.

01:04:30I'd rather stand alone

01:04:31on the throne

01:04:31than return to the girl

01:04:32who needed someone else's

01:04:34approval to 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,

01:04:49dragons slowly

01:04:50returned to Valdoria.

01:04:52Not every egg hatched.

01:04:54Not everyone

01:04:55who tried succeeded.

01:04:57But at least,

01:04:59the new laws

01:05:00gave everyone

01:05:00a real chance.

01:05:02Isolette remained alive,

01:05:03deep in the dragon pit.

01:05:04She was no longer

01:05:06beautiful,

01:05:07no longer proud.

01:05:09Years of labor

01:05:10in the dragon pit

01:05:11roughinged her hands

01:05:12and bent her back.

01:05:13Sometimes,

01:05:14the new servants

01:05:15didn't recognize her

01:05:16and even asked

01:05:17whether she had once

01:05:17been a servant herself.

01:05:19She would fly into a rage

01:05:20and scream

01:05:20that she had been a princess.

01:05:22I am a princess!

01:05:24I was Valdoria's

01:05:25future queen!

01:05:26You dare speak

01:05:27to me like that?!

01:05:29Then everyone

01:05:30would laugh.

01:05:31A princess

01:05:32in the dragon pit?

01:05:37What princess

01:05:39cleans dragon

01:05:40filth down here?

01:05:42What she could not bear

01:05:44was not the hard work.

01:05:46It was that no one

01:05:48believed in her

01:05:48nobility anymore.

01:05:50The identity

01:05:50she had valued most

01:05:52had become

01:05:52the biggest joke of all.

01:05:54As for the black dragon,

01:05:55it never belonged

01:05:57to anyone.

01:05:58It still lived

01:05:59on the highest

01:06:00black tower

01:06:01of the palace.

01:06:02Sometimes it landed

01:06:03outside my window

01:06:04and watched me

01:06:05with those cold eyes.

01:06:07I knew it was not

01:06:07obedience.

01:06:08It was not

01:06:09affection either.

01:06:13It simply remembered

01:06:15that I had let it hatch.

01:06:16That was enough.

01:06:20years after my coronation,

01:06:22one of Isolde's

01:06:23former flatterers

01:06:24came to the dragon pit

01:06:25at midnight.

01:06:25The woman had once

01:06:26knelt beside Isolde's skirts,

01:06:28praising her beauty,

01:06:29her purity,

01:06:29and her so-called destiny.

01:06:31Now she wore a dark cloak

01:06:32and carried a hidden key

01:06:33stolen from a drunk guard.

01:06:35Old noblewoman,

01:06:36Isolde lifted her head

01:06:42from beside the filthy

01:06:43stone trough

01:06:44for one impossible second.

01:06:45Light returned to her eyes.

01:06:48Isolde.

01:06:48I knew it.

01:06:51I knew someone

01:06:52still remembered

01:06:53who I am.

01:06:54Old noblewoman.

01:06:57There are still people

01:06:59who hate the new queen.

01:07:00If we get you

01:07:01outside the city,

01:07:02they can use your name.

01:07:03Isolde grabbed the bars

01:07:04with both hands.

01:07:05Isolde.

01:07:11Lose 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

01:07:20and arrived.

01:07:20The guards appeared

01:07:21from both ends

01:07:22of the passage,

01:07:22swords drawn.

01:07:24Guard.

01:07:25Step away

01:07:25from the prisoner.

01:07:26The noblewoman

01:07:27dropped the key.

01:07:28It rang against

01:07:29the stone floor.

01:07:29I walked down the stairs

01:07:30behind the guards,

01:07:31my cloak untouched

01:07:32by the rain.

01:07:33Isolde's face

01:07:34changed from joy

01:07:35to horror.

01:07:36Seraphina.

01:07:37Still trying

01:07:38to steal something

01:07:39that isn't yours?

01:07:40It's all done.

01:07:41You set this up!

01:07:43You knew she would come!

01:07:45No.

01:07:46I let greed

01:07:47walk where it wanted.

01:07:48The old noblewoman

01:07:49collapsed to her knees.

01:07:50Old noblewoman.

01:07:52Your Majesty,

01:07:53Mercy!

01:07:54I only thought

01:07:55the old bloodline...

01:07:57Seraphina.

01:07:58The old bloodline

01:08:00nearly destroyed

01:08:01Valdonia.

01:08:01With forged

01:08:03contracts

01:08:04and stolen dragons.

01:08:06I ordered the woman

01:08:07stripped of her

01:08:08remaining title

01:08:08and assigned to the

01:08:09dragon pit for one year.

01:08:10Then I looked at

01:08:11Isolde.

01:08:12Seraphina.

01:08:13For encouraging escape,

01:08:15your chains will be moved

01:08:16to the lower pens.

01:08:18Isolde.

01:08:20No!

01:08:21Not there!

01:08:23The lower pens

01:08:23housed the smallest drakes,

01:08:25but 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

01:08:30her down the steps,

01:08:31Isolde finally screamed

01:08:32without pretending to cry.

01:08:34Seraphina!

01:08:35I am your sister!

01:08:37I did not answer.

01:08:38It's too late

01:08:39to awaken to family ties now.

01:08:42The next morning,

01:08:43Alaric heard the news

01:08:44before I went to him.

01:08:46The dungeon carried

01:08:47sound strangely.

01:08:49Cheers from the throne room

01:08:51drifted down.

01:08:52So did screams

01:08:54from the passages

01:08:55leading to the dragon pit.

01:08:57Alaric ripped the bars.

01:09:02That voice

01:09:05is a let.

01:09:07The guard did not answer.

01:09:10When I entered,

01:09:12Alaric's eyes were bloodshot.

01:09:16What have you done to her?

01:09:18What she earned.

01:09:20She is weak.

01:09:22She was never meant

01:09:23for filth and chains.

01:09:24I looked at the man

01:09:25who had once thrown me

01:09:27into the dragon pit

01:09:28without blinking.

01:09:31Neither was I.

01:09:36For once,

01:09:37he had no answer.

01:09:39I ordered the guards

01:09:40to open the small

01:09:41passage window

01:09:42that faced the lower pens

01:09:43through the iron grate.

01:09:45Alaric saw Isolde in the mud,

01:09:48wrists chained above her head

01:09:49while a young drake

01:09:50snapped sparks near her feet.

01:09:52Her white dresses

01:09:53were long gone.

01:09:55Her hands were cracked.

01:09:58Her hair was uneven.

01:10:04father!

01:10:05Father!

01:10:06Father!

01:10:06Tell them to stop!

01:10:07Alaric staggered back

01:10:09as if the sight

01:10:09had struck him.

01:10:11Serafina,

01:10:12please.

01:10:13Whatever I did,

01:10:14she should not

01:10:15suffer for it.

01:10:17You still

01:10:18don't understand.

01:10:19I stepped closer

01:10:20to the bars.

01:10:23She did not

01:10:24suffer for your crime.

01:10:26She suffers

01:10:27for her own.

01:10:30She was young.

01:10:32She was old enough

01:10:34to hold my dragon

01:10:35and call me a thief.

01:10:36The words landed

01:10:37between us

01:10:38like a blade.

01:10:39Above us,

01:10:39the morning council began.

01:10:41Long live

01:10:42Queen Serafina!

01:10:44The sound

01:10:45poured into the dungeon.

01:10:46It also poured

01:10:48into the passage

01:10:48where Isolde was screaming.

01:10:50For the first time,

01:10:53father and daughter

01:10:54heard the same truth

01:10:55from opposite cages.

01:10:58They had lost

01:10:59the kingdom

01:10:59they stole.

01:11:04Many years later,

01:11:05a historian asked

01:11:06whether I regretted

01:11:07hatching the black dragon.

01:11:09Your majesty,

01:11:10the black dragon

01:11:11changed the fate

01:11:12of Valdoria.

01:11:13Did you never fear

01:11:14that it would destroy

01:11:15more than lies?

01:11:17No.

01:11:18Without 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.

01:11:33Remember that Isolde

01:11:34had claimed the black

01:11:35dragon egg as hers

01:11:36with her own mouth.

01:11:38Remember that Alaric

01:11:39had confessed

01:11:40with his own mouth

01:11:40that he had changed

01:11:41the contract.

01:11:44Remember how the princess

01:11:45they called a thief

01:11:46and a failure

01:11:47shattered the lie

01:11:48beneath her feet

01:11:49and took the throne.

01:11:55I was not born a queen.

01:11:57I was made one

01:11:58by betrayal,

01:11:59death,

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.

01:12:05It needed someone

01:12:05who could see a lie

01:12:06clearly and dare

01:12:07to burn it down

01:12:08with her own hands.

01:12:11And I,

01:12:12Seraphina,

01:12:13did exactly that.

01:12:16Martha stood by the window,

01:12:18watching the gold dragon

01:12:19circle over the capital.

01:12:21Your majesty,

01:12:22the people

01:12:23are 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.

01:12:30Merchants paused

01:12:31their stalls.

01:12:32Soldiers lowered

01:12:33their spears in salute.

01:12:35No one shouted thief,

01:12:36no one shouted failure.

01:12:38They shouted queen.

01:12:39Far below the palace,

01:12:41Alaric could still hear

01:12:42them from his dungeon.

01:12:44Deeper still,

01:12:46Isolde could hear them

01:12:46from the dragon pit.

01:12:48That was the final justice.

01:12:52They would live

01:12:52long enough to hear.

01:12:55The name they tried

01:12:57to erase become

01:12:57the name the kingdom

01:12:58trusted most.

01:13:01The black dragon

01:13:02opened its wings

01:13:03on the highest tower.

01:13:06The gold dragon

01:13:07lowered its head

01:13:08beside me.

01:13:09I placed my hand

01:13:10on the window ledge

01:13:11and looked over Valdoria.

01:13:13Let the record

01:13:14show this clearly.

01:13:16A stolen crown

01:13:17can be returned.

01:13:18A stolen name

01:13:19can be burned clean.

01:13:21But a queen

01:13:22who has died once

01:13:23will never kneel again.

01:13:25serve him.

01:13:26A sealed mask

The Stolen Princess And The Cursed - Ep - FULL ✅

Category

Transcript

Comments

Recommended