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Short filmTranscript
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 mine
00:00:19and 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 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
00:00:49was cold and sharp, stripped of all pretense.
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. Day and night you sat by it,
00:01:10but it never smelled me. 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. I brushed dragon repellent sap on your fingertips before
00:01:25the ceremony. That's why it bit you the moment it touched you. To it, you reek of something
00:01:31loathsome.
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. With it, I will take your throne, your title,
00:01:56everything that should have been mine. Just like that, I became a thief. My father stripped me of
00:02:03my claims into the throne and threw me into the dragon pit. The iron gate crashed shut behind me
00:02:09with a deafening boom. Starving lesser drakes tore at the hem of my gown. Hot, rancid breath rolled
00:02:16over my face, and sharp claws scraped against my arms. Before I closed my eyes, my sister was holding
00:02:27the golden dragon and wearing my crown, basking in smug triumph. When I opened my eyes again,
00:02:33I was back on the day my father gave us our dragon eggs. This time, I'd not kneel and beg
00:02:39anyone to
00:02:39believe me. If Isolate wanted to steal my 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 daisk,
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. Some
00:03:38fathers don't need a reason to favor one child over another. The child he loved was Isolate. The daughter
00:03:43born to his second queen, it did not matter how many royal laws I memorized, how many court rituals
00:03:49I mastered, or how many noble sons I defeated's training. To him, I'd always be the elder daughter.
00:03:55He did not want to acknowledge. Alarak glanced at me. There 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. Only 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 Isolate, he still needed her to receive a dragon in public. Only then would
00:04:36everyone keep quiet when she took the throne. I stared at the golden-veined egg. In my last life,
00:04:41I had reached for it first, my chest swelling with pride. I had thought it was a reward for my
00:04:47diligence. I had never guessed it was a trap laid from the very start. He lifted his hand,
00:04:53and a servant carried one of the eggs toward me. You and will each receive one. In one month,
00:05:00every noble and citizen will gather in the palace square to witness the hatching. When that day comes,
00:05:17I reached out and took the egg. The 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. She looked
00:05:37soft, 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. Her voice was soft enough that only the two of us could hear.
00:06:10In my last life, I had flushed with anger at this line, arguing loudly that I would hatch the stronger
00:06:18dragon. The 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. For a second, she froze. She had not expected me to be so calm.
00:06:40I held the dragon egg close. But 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. The dragon pit's darkness. The drake's sharp teeth flashed before my eyes.
00:07:57In the end, I lowered the knife, pushed the egg into an iron box, and locked it.
00:08:04By the time I reached the palace, the hall outside the throne room was already packed with nobles.
00:08:10Everyone was whispering excitedly about Isolde.
00:08:12Who would have thought? Everyone 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. That is the symbol of royal power. The succession is practically settled.
00:08:27Princess Seraphina has been hiding in that old tower, hasn't she?
00:08:31I heard her egg hasn't stirred at all. What 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, making her look like a saint anointed by the dragons.
00:08:47One glance was enough to turn my blood cold. It wasn't the egg hidden in my tower.
00:08:51But the gold markings, the cracks forming in the shell. Even the heartbeat coming from inside it,
00:08:56everything matched the egg I had awakened with my own hands. A chill crept slowly up my spine.
00:09:01My egg was still in the hidden chamber beneath my tower. Martha had been guarding it without leaving her post.
00:09:08The windows were sealed. My own people watched the door. Not even a bird could get in. So maybe the
00:09:14problem was never that someone stole the physical egg. Perhaps something had been redirecting the results
00:09:19of my hatching to Isolde all along. Isolde saw me and her eyes lit up. She adjusted her hold on
00:09:25the egg,
00:09:25holding it higher as if displaying a trophy. Sister, you came. She carried the gold egg toward me,
00:09:35smiling sweetly. Sis, I didn't think you'd show up. It must hurt watching your little sister hatch a
00:09:43gold dragon first. No matter how hard you try, the dragon always ends up mine. I did not smash the
00:09:52egg. I did not hurt the young life sleeping inside. The egg was not the one at fault. The people
00:10:00using
00:10:01it to trap me were. At the northern edge of the palace grounds stood an old dragon roost that had
00:10:06been
00:10:06sealed for years. My mother had told me of it when I was small, her voice soft as she spoke
00:10:12of the gold
00:10:12egg she had hidden there. A gift left for me when I came of age. Under the cover of night,
00:10:19I slipped past
00:10:19the sleeping guards and pushed open the rusted iron gate. Ash swirled up around my boots, thick with the
00:10:28scent of burnt scales and old magic. At the very back of the roost, half buried in cold ash, I
00:10:35saw it.
00:10:36It was small, but the moment I drew close, it trembled. From that night on, I began hatching a dragon
00:10:43again.
00:10:44I snuck to the roost every midnight, sitting for hours with the egg pressed to my chest, whispering
00:10:50old dragon lullabies my mother had taught me. Day by day, the shell grew brighter, the gold veins glowing
00:10:57like molten sunlight. On the 20th night, I pressed my ear against it and heard a faint heartbeat from
00:11:03within. It was alive. It was mine. Then, 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. Princess Islote's dragon egg has turned gold.
00:11:33The king has announced that she may hatch a gold dragon.
00:11:40The cup slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor. Impossible.
00:11:47The gold dragon egg was right here with me. How could Isolde's egg turn gold at the exact same
00:11:54moment my dragon awakened? Was this fate? Had I struggled so hard to change everything,
00:12:02only to walk right back into the same ending? I stared at the egg in her arms, my fingers going
00:12:08cold.
00:12:09My father sat on the throne, his satisfaction plain on his face.
00:12:18I looked up at him. He had spoken to me the same way in my last life. He had never
00:12:26given me a chance
00:12:27to explain. If Isolde shed a single tear, he could condemn me without hesitation.
00:12:32My egg has not hatched yet. Whispers burst through the hall. Isolde covered her mouth in exaggerated
00:12:39surprise, her eyes wide with false pity. How could that be? Sister, haven't you always worked the
00:12:47hardest? Are you saying you can't hatch a dragon at all? She shook her head softly as if grieving for
00:12:53me.
00:12:54Father, don't be angry with sister. I'm sure she tried her best. It's just, maybe the dragons don't
00:13:00favor her. My father's face darkened. Useless. He 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. I said
00:13:22nothing. Not because I was afraid. Because I had finally realized this was deeper than I had thought.
00:13:27The egg had not been stolen. Isolde had not been lucky. Something had been delivering my results to
00:13:33her from the very beginning. From this day forward, Serafina will remain in the old tower. She will not
00:13:41leave unless summoned. She will stay there until she hatches a dragon of her own. The noble's eyes
00:13:48changed when they looked at me. In my first life they called me a thief. In this life they called
00:13:55me a
00:13:55failure. There was not much difference. When I left the hall, Isolde followed me. She waved a hand to
00:14:03dismiss her maids, and 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. I stopped walking.
00:14:16You can't understand it, can you? You hid your eggs so carefully. So, why do I have a gold egg
00:14:27too?
00:14:28The truth is, I don't even need to know what you did. The result will always be the same.
00:14:35She lifted a hand and patted my shoulder as if comforting a loser. You guard it. You feed it.
00:14:43You love it. But when it breaks out of its shell, it will still choose me. I grabbed her wrist.
00:14:53Pain flashed across her face, but she did not pull away. Instead, her smile widened.
00:15:00Angry? Then I must be right. She leaned in, her lips almost brushing my ear.
00:15:08Just like in your little incubation chamber. You thought you were raising a dragon for yourself?
00:15:16You were raising it for me all along. I released her, Isolde.
00:15:23You had better pray you can keep winning. She smoothed her sleeve, her eyes full of contempt.
00:15:31I will. Father loves me. The kingdom expects me. Even the dragons choose me. What do you have? Sister?
00:15:41I watched her walk away and my mind became clearer than it had been all day. She was wrong. There
00:15:49was one
00:15:49thing I had that she did not. And I knew there was a second dragon growing in the old roost.
00:15:55One she
00:15:56would never see coming. On the third day of my confinement I began searching through my mother's
00:16:02belongings. At the top of the old tower was a small study. It had been locked for years. My father
00:16:08never
00:16:08came there. Isolde thought it too cold and dreary to set foot in. After my mother died her books,
00:16:14letters. And some old royal records had been piled inside like dust the whole palace wanted to forget.
00:16:19I sat on the floor and went through them one by one. Most of the books about dragon eggs had
00:16:24yellowed with age. They did not record mysterious legends. They recorded rules. Dragon eggs need warmth.
00:16:31Dragon eggs need quiet. Dragon eggs remember the contract. My hand froze.
00:16:37The contract. I read on quickly. Before a royal dragon egg could be hatched, the hatcher had to
00:16:44sign a magical contract. The contract bore the hatcher's name. When the dragon broke from its shell,
00:16:50it would recognize the name on the contract as its master. Worse, the contract did more than decide
00:16:55ownership. The blood, warmth, voice, and awakening power given by the hatcher would all be credited to
00:17:01the name that truly took effect. Then I saw a tiny note my mother had written in the margin.
00:17:07Queen's note. Beware the double ink. My heart clenched. Double ink was something royal mages used
00:17:13to hide secret orders. A line of writing appeared on the surface but beneath it. Another line the one
00:17:19that actually took effect could be concealed. Ordinary eyes could not see it. Only a revealing solution
00:17:25could expose it. At last I understood where the problem might be. That night I changed into a maid's
00:17:31dress slipped past the guards and broke into the royal archive. In my last life when I was desperate
00:17:36to prove my innocence, I had knelt there and begged them to let me see the contracts. They did not
00:17:42open
00:17:42the door. They only shoved me down the steps and called me a lying thief. This time I did not
00:17:47beg.
00:17:48I used the sleeping powder Martha had given me to put the guards to sleep, then took the keys from
00:17:53his
00:17:53belt. Who's there? The guard's voice faded before he could finish. He slid down against the wall asleep.
00:18:00The archive was cold. Rows of wooden cabinets stretched into the darkness. I found the contracts
00:18:06from the day of the egg ceremony by date, my fingers shaking so badly I could barely hold the papers.
00:18:11The first contract was Isolda's. On the surface it said Isolda. The second contract was mine. On the
00:18:18surface it said Serafina. I took out the revealing solution my mother had left behind and let a drop
00:18:24fall onto the page. At first nothing happened. Then the ink began to blur. The name Serafina faded.
00:18:31Beneath it, another name rose to the surface. Isolda. I stared at that name, ice flooding my veins.
00:18:38So that was it. My dragon had not betrayed me. Isolda 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,
00:18:55none of it had ever been mine. It had all belonged to her.
00:18:59The next morning, I walked straight into the throne room. King Alaric with Islica, examining her gold
00:19:05dragon egg. The shell was already crisscrossed with cracks, and faint, thin cries of a young dragon
00:19:14drifted from within. Isolette looked up at the sound of my footsteps. A sweet, triumphant smile
00:19:23spreading across her face. Sister, have you finally come to your senses? Are you here to apologize to
00:19:31Father? And beg to keep your place at my side? I did not look at her. I bowed to the
00:19:37man on the throne.
00:19:41Father, I can't hatch a dragon. The hole went silent.
00:19:48What did you say? I said I am willing to withdraw from the succession trial.
00:19:55I am no match for Isolette. Since she has already hatched a gold dragon, the throne should naturally
00:20:02belong for her. The smile frozen on Isolette's face. Her fingers tightened around the egg so hard
00:20:12her knuckles whited, and a small piece of shell flaked off onto her skirt.
00:20:19My father did not look pleased either. I looked at him calmly. Of course he could not let me quit.
00:20:32Isolette had not truly hatched anything. The gold dragon egg in her arms, depending on my contract
00:20:38within my blood. If I stopped hatching dragons, she would have nothing left to steal. Alaric softened
00:20:46his voice, trying on the mask of a gentle father. Seraphina, you have always been a proud child.
00:20:53One failure means nothing. The kingdom needs you to keep trying. I 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. The kinder he pretended to be,
00:21:14the clearer the truth became. Isolette'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. As long as that hidden name remained, every drop of blood I gave
00:21:35would become Isolette's claim. A small sound came from behind me. A soft rustle came from the archway
00:21:43behind me. I 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.
00:21:53Your highness, it's me. I saw you leave the tower and followed. I was afraid you'd be caught.
00:22:02Slowly, I lowered the blade. She stepped inside, and when her eyes fell on the glowing contract in my
00:22:09hand, her lips trembled and tears spilled over at once. The queen suspected something like this would
00:22:16happen. The year the eggs were moved to the vault. She said the contracts felt wrong. But she was
00:22:26already too ill. She died before she could prove it. I closed my eyes. The weight of my mother's
00:22:33unfinished protection settled over me, warm and sharp all at once. My mother had not failed to
00:22:40protect me. She had simply run out of time. Your highness, what do we do now? We have proof.
00:22:50We can call the nobles at dawn. Show them the truth. We can clear your name and take everything back.
00:22:58I looked at the name on the page and suddenly laughed.
00:23:05No. Martha stared at me. They won't believe it. In my last life, I laid everything bare, and they still
00:23:13chose Isolette's tears. The nobles did not care about the truth. Neither did the people. They believed
00:23:20the winner. Truth doesn't win here. Winners write the truth. So this time, I'd make the winner confess she
00:23:29was a fraud. I rolled the contract back up and put it where I had found it.
00:23:36If father loves changing names so much, then let that name stay there.
00:23:44Isolette likes stealing my dragons, then I'll let her steal one. She stole my golden dragon,
00:23:51my crown, my life. This time, I will let her steal something else. Something that will tear her lies
00:23:57apart from the inside out. The royal forbiddance vault lay beneath the dragon pit.
00:24:05There were no gilded pillars there. No golden flames to symbolize royal power.
00:24:12Only a cold, damp staircase leading down into darkness, the walls scarred with black burn marks.
00:24:19After the war, the royal family had sealed the most dangerous dragon eggs here.
00:24:26Not because they were noble. Because no one dared to hatch them.
00:24:37Not because they were noble. They were noble. They were noble. They were noble.
00:24:38My mother's notes mentioned one egg in particular.
00:24:43A black dragon egg.
00:24:49Black 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.
00:25:09Black dragons devoured falsehood in a contract. They attacked those who deceived them.
00:25:16Three kings had tried to bind black dragons to their will, over 300 years.
00:25:21All had paid a terrible price. The 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, it bit through his throat.
00:25:44After that, the black dragon egg was locked in the deepest part of the Forbidden's vault.
00:25:53In my first life, I died without ever knowing it existed.
00:25:58In this life, I 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.
00:26:11It was much larger than an ordinary egg. There were no markings on the shell.
00:26:17As I approached, the torch flame shrank and dimmed, as 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, the 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.
00:26:54No!
00:26:57This time, it was Isolate who spoke.
00:27:00She flinched as soon as she said it, realizing she too tortured who had broken her gentle ale mask in
00:27:05front of the nobles.
00:27:07Sister, I didn't mean it that way.
00:27:10I only think you shouldn't give up so easily.
00:27:27I want you to prove yourself too.
00:27:30I turned to her fully, taking one slow step forward.
00:27:35She stumbled back half a step before she caught herself.
00:27:39What 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?
00:27:54Several nobles in the hall exchanged puzzled looks.
00:27:58Isolate bit down hard on her lip, tears rolling down her cheeks.
00:28:02Sister, how 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 and ended up looking cruel beside her tears.
00:28:17This time, I only smiled.
00:28:21Then thank you for your concern.
00:28:23I bowed to my father again.
00:28:34Father, since Isolate has won, there is no reason for me to remain here.
00:28:40Alaric stared at me.
00:28:41For the first time, I saw panic in his eyes.
00:28:45You 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.
00:28:59I lowered my voice, just 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.
00:29:14Alex 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, my back straight.
00:29:24Forgive me, father.
00:29:25It was only a joke.
00:29:27But the joke had already sunk its teeth in.
00:29:30No one in that hall would forget the question, or the panic on Isolate's face.
00:29:35After I left the hall, Isolate followed me.
00:29:41She grabbed my wrist, her nails digging hard into my sleeve through the fabric.
00:29:48Serafina, what 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 you can raise one in secret and take everything back?
00:30:00I pulled my wrist free, brushing off my sleeve as if I'd touched something dirty.
00:30:05Then take your time looking.
00:30:08Search every tower, every cellar, every corner of the palace.
00:30:12I won't stop you.
00:30:14Her chest and fell with anger.
00:30:16She leaned in, her 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, rage, pleas.
00:30:41Anything but this quiet certainty.
00:30:44That's why this time, I'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.
00:31:05On the surface, it said Serafina.
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
00:31:15noose tight 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.
00:31:22On the stone platform, the black egg shook violently, so hard it rattled against the rock.
00:31:26A low, rumbling growl rolled out from within the shell.
00:31:29Deep and guttural, nothing like the soft, high chirp of a newborn gold dragon.
00:31:33Grow well.
00:31:36Soon enough, she will come to steal you.
00:31:38For the next ten days and ten nights, I did not step foot back in the old tower.
00:31:42I stayed in the damp, dark forbiddance vault, curled 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, soft taps from inside the shell.
00:31:57Gentle as an unborn child reaching for its mother, the black dragon never sought comfort.
00:32:01It never tapped back, never leaned into my palm.
00:32:04It only grew hotter and heavier with each passing day, the shell burning like forged iron.
00:32:08More than once, I felt as if it was watching me.
00:32:11On the eleventh day, the first crack appeared in the shell.
00:32:14Martha stood at the door, her face paler than the dust.
00:32:16Your Highness, black dragons are untameable.
00:32:19Once it breaks free, people may truly die.
00:32:22Isseled may die.
00:32:23And you still want to go through with this?
00:32:26There's no turning back once the shell breaks.
00:32:28I 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 pits never shut.
00:32:37Isolde's smug.
00:32:37Tear-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.
00:32:45Yes, I continue.
00:32:47If it truly recognizes Iselec as its master, will she die?
00:32:51I did not answer right away.
00:32:52Death would be too easy for her.
00:32:55First, the 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, the crown, and my life.
00:33:06On the night before the succession ceremony, Isolde came to the entrance of the Forbidden's
00:33:11Vault herself.
00:33:11She could not enter.
00:33:13She could only look at me through the iron gate.
00:33:15Sister, I 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, holding it up so the firelight
00:33:24fell full across its glossy black shell.
00:33:26Her eyes lit up at once, bright with naked greed, all pretense of gentleness vanishing
00:33:30in 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, at the ceremony in the square, you can stand in front of all the nobles and all the people,
00:33:46And tell everyone that this egg belongs to you.
00:33:50As I turned away, I 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, the 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 and witness Isolde become the next queen.
00:34:15Isolde stood at the center of the high platform in 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, his chest puffed out,
00:34:35Every line of his face screaming satisfaction at the heir he had chosen.
00:34:39The sight burned into my eyes, sharp with the pain of old memories.
00:34:43In my last life I had stood exactly where she was, holding that same glowing gold egg,
00:34:48believing my diligence had finally been rewarded.
00:34:51I had thought the world was fair, that 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 long before I ever stepped into that hall.
00:35:03The master of ceremonies lifted his staff and his booming voice rolled across the square.
00:35:08By the ancient laws of Valdoria, let both princesses present their dragon eggs before the people.
00:35:20Isolde stepped forward first, her 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 drawing a wave of odd murmurs from the nobles.
00:35:31A true gold dragon. I never thought I'd see one in my lifetime.
00:35:36The gold dragon is the very symbol of royal power. This is an omen.
00:35:41Princess Isolette truly is the chosen one. She is Valdoria's future.
00:35:47Beneath the hum of admiration, I stepped out from the shadow of the archway,
00:35:50the black dragon egg held steady in my arms. In an instant, every sound vanished.
00:35:55The black egg did not glow with warm, brilliant light like the gold one.
00:35:59It drank in the light around it. Heavy and oppressive, pressing down on every breath.
00:36:04Wherever it passed, the flames nearby bent low. A 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, his hands shaking on the railing.
00:36:19A black, black dragon egg! That's, that's a black dragon egg!
00:36:25Another noble leaned forward, his face pale with shock.
00:36:28Impossible. Wasn't that sealed deep in the forbidden vault generations ago? How did she get it?
00:36:35When Isolde saw the egg, all color drained from her face.
00:36:39Isolette drew a deep breath, lifting her chin and straightening her back, putting on all the dignity of a rightful
00:36:44heir.
00:36:44Yes, it belongs to me. It was sealed away for the royal heir, and I am the heir.
00:36:48I looked at her. And you are equally certain that when it breaks its shell, it will recognize you, and
00:36:54only you, as its master.
00:36:56Unease flickered in her eyes, but the thrill of victory quickly smothered it.
00:37:00Of course it will. Dragons know their true master.
00:37:05I stepped back slowly, putting distance between myself and the altar.
00:37:10Then go ahead. Prove it to everyone.
00:37:14Isolette had not expected me to yield so easily. She stared at me for a long time, as if searching
00:37:20for the trap.
00:37:21Every eye in the square was on her. Every noble, every commoner was waiting to see their future queen command
00:37:25her dragon.
00:37:26She had already declared the egg hers. If she hesitated now, all 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, I command you to break your shell and recognize your master.
00:37:35For one moment, the black egg was still. Then it cracked. A single, razor-sharp black line split the shell
00:37:41clean from top to bottom, glowing with faint, smoky light.
00:37:43The nobles closest to the altar stumbled back at once, their faces white.
00:37:46Your highness, please step back. Black dragons are ferocious. You cannot stand so close at hatching.
00:37:50Isolette forced a proud smile onto her face, but her fingers were trembling so hard against the shell she could
00:37:55barely keep them still.
00:37:56Why should I? It is my dragon. It will not hurt its own master.
00:38:04Before the crowd could finish whispering, Isarid 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. Tears filled her eyes right on Q's.
00:38:16Was stealing my gold dragon egg not enough? Now you've snuck into the forbidden vault to steal my black dragon
00:38:24egg too?
00:38:25The square exploded into an uproar. Angry shouts and murmurs rolled over me like a wave.
00:38:32I heard the crowd call me greedy, shameless, a thief who would do anything for power.
00:38:38I heard them say I'd never change, that I'd always been jealous of my sister.
00:38:42I heard a woman's sharp voice yell that I was not worthy of being a princess, not worthy of the
00:38:47royal blood in my veins.
00:38:48On the throne, King Alaric rose slowly.
00:38:52Seraphina, hand over the black dragon egg at once.
00:38:56I did not move. On 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? If she says it is hers, then it is hers?
00:39:18Isleth shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks.
00:39:21Sister, I know you hate me for being loved by father, but you can't steal from me again and again
00:39:23just because you want the throne.
00:39:25The gold dragon chose me, and you refused to accept it. Now you've gone and stolen the black dragon too.
00:39:28What else do you want from me? Do you want my life?
00:39:30In my last life, I had lost everything to those tears. I'd shouted, I'd argued, I'd begged, and I'd still
00:39:37looked like a cruel bully beside her soft weeping figure.
00:39:41But this life, there is no mention of explaining myself.
00:39:47I would not beg. I would not yell.
00:39:51I stepped up onto the platform, walked to the altar, and set the black dragon egg down right beside the
00:39:57blowing gold one.
00:39:58Isleth, are you certain this black dragon egg belongs to you?
00:40:01In front of father, in front of every noble, every citizen standing in this square, are you certain you want
00:40:05to swear before all of them that this is your dragon egg?
00:40:08Isleth's eyes darted to King Alaric, searching for reassurance.
00:40:12Alaric nodded, almost imperceptibly.
00:40:14I saw it. Good. Just like last time, they had chosen greed over truth.
00:40:21The moment the second crack split open, the sky above the square darkened.
00:40:25It was not that clouds had rolled in to cover the sun.
00:40:28It was as if something inside the shell had reached up and swallowed all the light in the air.
00:40:32One torch after another bent low, even the faint cries from the gold dragon egg suddenly stopped.
00:40:37Isolde's hands were still pressed tight to the black shell.
00:40:40But her knuckles had gone white.
00:40:42Her smile froze.
00:40:44This is wrong. This is all wrong.
00:40:46A black dragon's hatching is thunder and fire.
00:40:49It should not be this quiet. This is unnatural.
00:40:53The next second, with a sound like shattering obsidian, the entire shell burst apart.
00:40:57A young black dragon crawled out. It 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.
00:41:12It only lifted its head and looked at Isolde.
00:41:17Isolde took a step back before 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 and sniffed the contact.
00:41:32Paper on the altar, black fire ignited across the page.
00:41:35The name hidden beneath the surface slowly appeared.
00:41:38Isolde.
00:41:43Everyone saw it, Dot. Sharp 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.
00:41:53Must not have expected the black dragon to burn the hidden name into the open.
00:42:02The black dragon took one slow, deliberate step toward Isolde.
00:42:06Its claws clicking sharp on the stone altar.
00:42:10At last, panic broke through her composure.
00:42:15No! No, it wasn't me! This is a trick!
00:42:18She backed away, her voice shaking.
00:42:20I didn't hatch you! She did!
00:42:24Seraphina hatched you! She's the one who fed you her blood!
00:42:29But you just stood in front of this entire kingdom and swore it was yours.
00:42:35Isolde screamed, sharp and streal, her composure gone entirely.
00:42:40That isn't what I meant!
00:42:42You tricked me! You lured me into saying it!
00:42:45You said the gold dragon was yours, and everyone believed you. No one tricked you then.
00:42:50You said the black dragon was yours, and everyone believed that too.
00:42:54You reached for it gladly. You called it your birthright.
00:42:57I stopped just out of the dragon's reach, looking 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. Keep it.
00:43:09The black dragon lunged without warning, a low snarl rumbling in its chest.
00:43:14The guards beside Isolde 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.
00:43:24It did not kill her at once. It was toying with her,
00:43:27the way a cat toys with a mouse before the kill.
00:43:30It pinned her wrist beneath its claws, and black fire crawled up her skin.
00:43:35Isolde screamed.
00:43:37The golden contract marks on the back of her hand burned away inch by inch.
00:43:42It was not ordinary fire. It did not char her flesh. It burned the stolen contract out of her.
00:43:49Father! Save me! Please!
00:43:54She sobbed and shrieked toward Alaric, her 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! Seraphina! Make it stop this instant!
00:44:12Why should I? Isn't it Issala's dragon? Shouldn't her own dragon obey her?
00:44:21His face went studged.
00:44:23The black dragon continued pressing in on Isolde.
00:44:26Black 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.
00:44:43She no longer looked like a noble princess.
00:44:45She looked like a fraud finally being exposed.
00:44:50Father! Tell them! Say it out loud! Or it will burn me alive! I don't want to die!
00:45:00Every eye in the square turned to the king.
00:45:03Curiosity, doubt, judgment. All of it landed on him at once. I walked toward him.
00:45:11Tell them what, father?
00:45:13Alaric stared at me, hatred and fear warring in his eyes. His hands clenched at his sides.
00:45:20I lowered my voice.
00:45:23Father, don't you love Issala most?
00:45:29Saving her is simple. Tell everyone why every dragon I hatched. Every drop of Bly gave.
00:45:38All ended up recognizing her as their master.
00:45:44His lips trembled.
00:45:46Serafina, must you destroy the royal family? Must 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? The 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, and Isolde's scream tore through the square.
00:46:19Finally, Alaric closed his eyes.
00:46:25It was me.
00:46:29I changed the name on the contract.
00:46:34Wind swept across the altar, scattering the ashes of the burned contract into the air like black snow.
00:46:48Before any royal dragon egg can be hatched, the magical contract must be signed.
00:47:04When the dragon breaks from its shell, it recognizes the name on the contract as its master.
00:47:13I ordered the royal mages to use double ink on Serafina's contract.
00:47:28On the surface, Serafina's contract bore her own name.
00:47:35But the name that truly took effect was Isolette.
00:47:48Gasps erupted from the crowd.
00:47:53Isolde was crying so hard she could barely breathe, but she still shook her head wildly.
00:48:00No!
00:48:01No, 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.
00:48:22Three whole months.
00:48:26Every midnight you snuck into my incubation chamber and dapped my egg with your blood.
00:48:33You knew nothing then either?
00:48:35Her eyes went wide.
00:48:37She had never told anyone about those midnight visits.
00:48:42Before the hatching ceremony, you brushed dragon repellent sap on my fingertips.
00:48:48So the gold dragon bite me.
00:48:52You knew nothing about that either?
00:48:54Of course, no one else in this life understood those words.
00:48:58But Isolde did.
00:49:01But Isolde did.
00:49:01The fear on her face deepened, turning to something close to terror.
00:49:09You knew every time.
00:49:13You knew every time.
00:49:14Every time.
00:49:15You planned every step.
00:49:19You just thought you'd never get caught.
00:49:22You also knew that if you cried, father would always stand on your side.
00:49:30Isolde tried to answer, but the black dragon's claws pressed into her shoulder,
00:49:36and she could not form a single complete sentence.
00:49:39I stood and turned to the nobles.
00:49:44Do you still think I am a thief?
00:49:46No one answered.
00:49:48Those who had been so eager to insult me lowered their heads one by one.
00:49:52The hidden name has been burned into the open.
00:49:56The king has confessed with his own mouth.
00:50:00The gold dragon, the black dragon, and every dragon Isilic ever claimed as hers,
00:50:06were hatched by me.
00:50:07Some stepped back.
00:50:09Others dropped their eyes, unable to meet my gaze.
00:50:12At last, they understood that the princess they had worshipped was not chosen by dragons.
00:50:17She was a fraud propped up by her father's cheating, and they had all been her willing audience.
00:50:21An elderly noble fell to his knees.
00:50:23His whole body trembling.
00:50:26Princess Serafina, we 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 the more convenient lie.
00:50:46Because that lie did not require them to oppose the king.
00:50:49Because that lie let them stomp a disgraced princess into the mud.
00:50:52Because Isolde cried beautifully, and I refused to lower my head.
00:50:56They were not blind.
00:50:58They had simply decided the truth did not matter.
00:51:00Alaric suddenly spoke.
00:51:02Serafina, this was my crime.
00:51:04Punish me, if you must.
00:51:07Isolette is innocent.
00:51:08I turned to him.
00:51:09Even now, he was still protecting her.
00:51:13Innocent?
00:51:15She just claimed the black dragon egg in front of the entire kingdom.
00:51:17Did you force her to do that too?
00:51:19Alaric had no answer.
00:51:21Isolde finally broke.
00:51:23I was wrong, sister.
00:51:24I was wrong, I swear.
00:51:27She tried to crawl toward my skirt, but the black dragon pinned her to the ground.
00:51:32I was just scared.
00:51:34I was afraid that once you inherited the throne, we would have nothing.
00:51:39I only wanted a better life.
00:51:41You wanted a better life, so I deserved to die.
00:51:45You stole my dragons.
00:51:47You stole my throne.
00:51:49You stole my reputation.
00:51:51You let everyone call me a thief.
00:51:54You let father throw me into the dragon pit.
00:51:59She stared at me in horror, as if looking at someone who should not remember those things.
00:52:03I did not explain.
00:52:05I lifted my hand.
00:52:06The black dragon raised its head to look at me, its cold eyes softening for the first time.
00:52:12Enough.
00:52:13The black dragon released Isolde.
00:52:15She collapsed on the ground, trembling all over.
00:52:18The golden markings on her hand were gone.
00:52:20Only scorched black traces remained.
00:52:23She had lost every claim the stolen contracts had given her.
00:52:26From that moment on, no dragon in Valdoria would ever recognize her as its master again.
00:52:32It rained softly on the day my father was deposed.
00:52:35After the hidden contract was exposed, the council had no choice but to strip Alaric of the crown before
00:52:40the entire court.
00:52:41I did not kill him.
00:52:43Death would have been to light.
00:52:44I had his crown removed and replaced with a crude iron circlet.
00:52:47It had no jewels, no gold designs, only cold weight.
00:52:51When the guards lifted the old crown away, Alaric reached for it by instinct.
00:52:56Former King Alaric, lower your hand.
00:53:00The title struck harder than a slap.
00:53:02For the first time in his life, no one called him your majesty.
00:53:05He was imprisoned in the deepest dungeon beneath the throne room.
00:53:09There was a narrow window there, facing the great hall.
00:53:12He could not see the throne, but he could hear every word spoken above him.
00:53:16From then on, whenever the nobles swore loyalty to me, he heard it.
00:53:24Whenever the people shouted long live the queen, that sound would drift down through the stone and
00:53:28into his cell.
00:53:29The daughter he had despised, the one he'd thrown away like trash, sat on his throne.
00:53:34The daughter he'd loved most, the one he'd given everything to, had lost everything and been cast out of the
00:53:40palace in disgrace.
00:53:41That was the punishment I chose for him.
00:53:45Seraphina, you cannot do this.
00:53:48I am still your father.
00:53:50You cannot lock your own father in a dungeon!
00:53:54I stood outside the iron bars, looking at the iron circlet pressing into his greying hair.
00:53:59You only remembered you were my father.
00:54:03After you lost your crown.
00:54:05The kingdom needs me.
00:54:07You're your young.
00:54:08You don't know how to rule.
00:54:10You'll tear it apart.
00:54:12No.
00:54:14And it will thrive without you.
00:54:17The guards closed the iron door.
00:54:20The sound echoed under the throne room.
00:54:22Alaric stood behind the bars, staring upward as the first voice from the great hall rang down.
00:54:28Long live Queen Seraphina!
00:54:33Then another, then a hundred, then a thousand, until the whole palace rang with it.
00:54:38His face twisted with rage and grief and humiliation.
00:54:41He couldn't cover his ears.
00:54:43From that day on, he would have to listen to it every single day until the day he died.
00:54:49As for Isolde, I did not let her die either.
00:54:52After the black dragon burned away the stolen contract, she was too weak to stand on her own.
00:54:58Half her hair had been scorched by black fire.
00:55:00The contract mark on her hand would never return.
00:55:02Nobles no longer called her princess.
00:55:04Maids no longer lowered their eyes when she passed.
00:55:07I stripped her of her title and sent her to the lowest level of the dragon pit.
00:55:10It was no longer a place of quick execution.
00:55:12Now it housed the lesser drakes kept by the royal family.
00:55:15Filthy, sharp-toothed things that ate scraps and charred bone.
00:55:19Every day, she had to muck out their pens, carry baskets of charred bones, and scrub rust and filth off
00:55:24the iron bars until her hands bled.
00:55:26Chains circled her wrists.
00:55:28Shackles clamped her ankles.
00:55:29Isolde would slam her fists against the bars, her voice hoarse from screaming.
00:55:35Isolde.
00:55:35Take these chains off me!
00:55:39I am Princess Isoleth!
00:55:42You cannot do this to me!
00:55:45Guard.
00:55:48There is no Princess Isoleth in Valdoria anymore.
00:55:51There is only a prisoner doing hard labor.
00:55:54Noble girls who had once clung to her skirts, flattering her every word,
00:55:58would come to the pit edge on fine days and look down at her through the bars.
00:56:01Noble girl one.
00:56:07Is that the former Princess Isoleth?
00:56:10The one who used to call us common and unworthy?
00:56:14Noble girl two.
00:56:15She looks like any other servant now.
00:56:18Hard to believe she almost wore the crown.
00:56:20Noble girl three.
00:56:21I heard she never hatched a single dragon egg herself.
00:56:25Every bit of it was stolen from the queen.
00:56:28Whenever she heard those words, she would throw herself at the bars like a wild animal,
00:56:32spitting and screaming.
00:56:34Isolde.
00:56:35Isolde.
00:56:35Liar!
00:56:36All of you are liars!
00:56:38I was chosen by the dragons!
00:56:41I was the rightful future queen!
00:56:43But 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.
00:56:50The cruelest part of all was the black dragon.
00:56:52Sometimes it would circle high above the pit, whenever its shadow fell over her.
00:56:56Isolde would scramble into the darkest corner, curling into a ball and covering her head.
00:57:00Because she knew that she had once claimed that dragon as her own.
00:57:03She had stolen every dragon.
00:57:05I raised the last one became the nightmare she would live with for the rest of her life.
00:57:09On the night before my coronation, Martha carried the gold egg from the old tower to me.
00:57:14She told me that when Isolde's gold egg began to crack, mine had gone dim.
00:57:17As if every bit of life had been drained from it, but it had not died.
00:57:21After the black dragon burned away the false contract, it warmed again.
00:57:25Little by little, the power that had been diverted returned to it.
00:57:28The gold veins on the shell glowed once more, like a late sunrise.
00:57:31Martha, your majesty, it waited for you.
00:57:35I touched the shell with my fingertips.
00:57:37Seraphina.
00:57:39I made it wait too long.
00:57:41On the day I was crowned, the blood had already been washed from the square by rain.
00:57:45The gold dragon from my old tower finally hatched.
00:57:47It was small.
00:57:48Its scales bright.
00:57:49Its eyes clear.
00:57:50Now that the contract had been corrected,
00:57:52it walked to me at last and rested its head gently against my palm.
00:57:55The entire square knelt.
00:58:02Long live the queen!
00:58:03I looked down at the warm gold dragon in my hand.
00:58:06Then lifted my gaze toward the highest tower.
00:58:08The black dragon perched there, silent.
00:58:13One symbolized the throne, the glory, the hope of the kingdom.
00:58:16One symbolized the price.
00:58:17The truth, the cost of every lie.
00:58:19Baldoria would no longer be ruled by lies.
00:58:22That same day, I abolished every clause in the old contracts that allowed a king to alter them in secret.
00:58:26From then on, every dragon egg contract had to be signed in the presence of the council.
00:58:31Noble witnesses, and representatives of the people.
00:58:33No one would ever again use double ink to steal a name.
00:58:36I also opened the royal vaults and ordered every sleeping dragon egg to be registered again.
00:58:40Dragons would no longer be tools for a father to favor one daughter over another.
00:58:44They belong to the ones who truly awakened them.
00:58:47The first public dragon egg registration under the new law was held in the same square where Isolde had once
00:58:52lied.
00:58:53This time, there was no hidden ink.
00:58:55The contract table stood in the open.
00:58:56Three counselors to noble witnesses and five representatives of the people watched every name written down.
00:59:02A baker's son stepped forward with shaking hands.
00:59:04Your Majesty, may someone like me really try?
00:59:07I looked at the small copper-colored egg resting before him, an egg once deemed unworthy of royal blood, left
00:59:13to gather dust in the vaults.
00:59:15If you are willing to give it your blood, your warmth, and your patience, then you may try.
00:59:22Dragons do not care about birth.
00:59:24They care about who wakes them.
00:59:27The boy lifted his head, his eyes bright.
00:59:29He took a small knife, cut his fingertip, and signed his name clearly on the contract.
00:59:33The crowd murmured, not in fear this time, but wonder.
00:59:36At that moment, a pair of guards led Isolde through the edge of the square, on their way to deliver
00:59:40ash from the dragon pens.
00:59:41She was bent under the weight of a heavy basket, chains clinking with every step.
00:59:45She stopped when she saw the boy at the contract table.
00:59:48A baker's child?
00:59:50You let a baker's child touch a dragon egg?
00:59:53People turned to look at her.
00:59:55People turned to look at her.
00:59:56A laugh broke out first, then another, then more.
00:59:58Better a baker's child with his own name on the contract,
01:00:01than a princess who stole every name she ever had.
01:00:05Isolde lunged toward the table, chains dragging across the stone.
01:00:08Dragons belong to royal blood!
01:00:10The copper egg trembled.
01:00:12A tiny crack appeared in the shell.
01:00:13The boy gasped, his hand flying to his mouth.
01:00:16It moved.
01:00:17The gold dragon beside me lowered its head, calm and watchful.
01:00:20The black dragon's shadow slid across the square from the high tower.
01:00:24Isolde froze under that shadow.
01:00:25I stepped between her and the table.
01:00:27The guard pulled Isolde back toward the pit.
01:00:29No! Dragons belong to the ones who truly awaken them.
01:00:33She screamed and struggled until her voice cracked, but no one looked at her anymore.
01:00:38Behind her, the small copper dragon pushed its way out of the shell and crawled unsteadily
01:00:42toward the baker's son, nuzzling his hand.
01:00:45The crowd burst into cheers for a child Isolde would once have stepped over without a glance.
01:00:49That sound hurt her more than chains.
01:00:51The first winter of my reign was harsh.
01:00:54Not all the nobles King Alaric had left behind accepted me.
01:00:57Some swore loyalty to my face while secretly trying to support distant relatives for the throne.
01:01:01I did not rush to kill them.
01:01:02I let them expose themselves.
01:01:04One duke tried to bribe a witness during a public dragon egg registration,
01:01:07to have his son's name secretly added, and the witness's testimony read aloud in the square.
01:01:12Then I stripped him of all his lands in front of his own family and his own people.
01:01:15Your majesty, this is only a misdisunderstanding.
01:01:18A servant acted without my knowledge.
01:01:20Then let this misunderstanding be clear to everyone.
01:01:23From today on, your lands return to the crown, and your house will never again hold a dragon contract.
01:01:28One bishop declared from his pulpit that a woman could not rule Valdoria, that my reign was against the old
01:01:32gods.
01:01:33The ledgers of bribes he had taken were nailed to the doors of his own cathedral.
01:01:36This is an insult to the temple!
01:01:38No. Taking gold from villages where children froze to death was the insult.
01:01:44Then there were those who tried to smuggle Isolda out of the dragon pit,
01:01:47thinking they could raise a banner in her name.
01:01:49I did not execute them.
01:01:50I sentenced them to serve three months in the dragon pit themselves, doing the same work she did.
01:01:55When the three months ended, the man who planned the escape knelt before me, thin and shaking.
01:02:00Your majesty, I beg forgiveness. One week in that pit is worse than a year in exile.
01:02:05I will never do anything so foolish again.
01:02:09Then remember where you tried to send your loyalty.
01:02:12I was not merciful.
01:02:13But I'd not destroy the laws of my own kingdom for selfish love the way my father had.
01:02:17A year later, Valdoria was stable again.
01:02:19The gold dragon had grown enough to carry me over the capital.
01:02:22When the people looked up and saw it, they took off their hats and bowed.
01:02:25Children chased its shadow through the streets, shouting my name.
01:02:28Queen Seraphina! The gold dragon is coming!
01:02:32For the first time, their voices did not sound like judgment.
01:02:34They sounded like a kingdom learning a new truth.
01:02:39Sometimes, I visited Alarep in the dungeon.
01:02:43He aged quickly in that dark cell.
01:02:46The iron crown bent his neck.
01:02:49The king who once sat above everyone, now had only a damp stone bed and the sound of cheering from
01:02:56above.
01:03:00He called once through the bars.
01:03:02Can you truly never forgive me?
01:03:05I am your father.
01:03:07I looked at him.
01:03:08There was regret in his eyes, yes.
01:03:10But there was resentment too, and pride, and the bitter taste of having lost.
01:03:16I knew then that he did not regret hurting me.
01:03:19He regretted losing.
01:03:22No.
01:03:23His hands tightened on the bars.
01:03:25His voice shook.
01:03:26I am your father.
01:03:28I gave you life.
01:03:30You had many chances to remember that.
01:03:33Before the contract was altered.
01:03:37Before I was thrown to the drakes.
01:03:40Before you chose her over and over and over again.
01:03:45I turned and left.
01:03:49Behind me, I heard him crying quietly.
01:03:52I did not look back.
01:03:54Later, Martha asked me whether I ever felt lonely.
01:03:57Your Majesty, do you ever wish there was someone who could stand beside you without bowing,
01:04:02without calling you Majesty?
01:04:04Just someone who knew you before the throne?
01:04:06I thought about it for a long time, staring out the window at the Black Dragon's Tower.
01:04:12After taking the throne, I was surrounded by ministers, guards, and people who bowed to me.
01:04:18But there were very few people I could truly lower my guard around.
01:04:22Still, that loneliness was far better than kneeling at someone else's feet and begging for fairness.
01:04:29I'd rather stand alone on the throne than return to the girl who needed someone else's approval to exist.
01:04:35Martha lowered her head.
01:04:36Her eyes read.
01:04:38Your Majesty.
01:04:40The Queen would have been proud.
01:04:47Over the years, dragons slowly returned to Valdoria.
01:04:52Not every egg hatched.
01:04:54Not everyone who tried succeeded.
01:04:57But at least, the new laws gave everyone a real chance.
01:05:01Isolette remained alive, deep in the dragon pit.
01:05:04She was no longer beautiful.
01:05:07No longer proud.
01:05:09Years of labor in the dragon pit roughened her hands and bent her back.
01:05:13Sometimes the new servants didn't recognize her,
01:05:15and even asked whether she had once been a servant herself.
01:05:18She would fly into a rage and scream that 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 dragon filth down here?
01:05:42What she could not bear was not the hard work.
01:05:46It was that no one believed in her nobility anymore.
01:05:49The identity she had valued most had become the biggest joke of all.
01:05:53As for the black dragon, it never belonged to anyone.
01:05:58It still lived on the highest black tower of the palace.
01:06:02Sometimes it landed outside my window and watched me with those cold eyes.
01:06:06I knew it was not obedience.
01:06:08It was not affection, either.
01:06:13It simply remembered that I had let it hatch.
01:06:16That was enough.
01:06:20Years after my coronation, one of Isolde's former flatterers came to the dragon pit at midnight.
01:06:25The woman had once knelt beside Isolde's skirts, praising her beauty, her purity, and her so-called destiny.
01:06:30Now she wore a dark cloak and carried a hidden key stolen from a drunk guard.
01:06:35Old noblewoman.
01:06:36Isolet, be quiet and come with me.
01:06:41Isolde lifted her head from beside the filthy stone trough.
01:06:43For one impossible second, light returned to her eyes.
01:06:47Isolde.
01:06:48I knew it.
01:06:50I knew someone still remembered who I am.
01:06:53Old noblewoman.
01:06:57There are still people who hate the new queen.
01:06:59If we get you outside the city, they can use your name.
01:07:03Isolde grabbed the bars with both hands.
01:07:05Isolde.
01:07:10Use my name.
01:07:12No.
01:07:14They will kneel to me.
01:07:16I am the true princess!
01:07:17A lesser drake raised its head and growled.
01:07:20The guards appeared from 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 behind the guards.
01:07:31My cloak untouched by the rain.
01:07:33Isolde's face changed from joy to horror.
01:07:35Seraphina.
01:07:37Still trying to steal something that 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 collapsed to her knees.
01:07:50Old noblewoman.
01:07:51Your Majesty, Mercy!
01:07:54I only thought the old bloodline!
01:07:56Seraphina.
01:07:58The old bloodline nearly destroyed Baldonia with forged contracts and stolen dragons.
01:08:05I ordered the woman stripped of her remaining title and assigned to the dragon pit for one year.
01:08:10Then I looked at Isolde.
01:08:11Seraphina.
01:08:12For encouraging escape, your chains will bring you to the lower pens.
01:08:17Isolde.
01:08:20No!
01:08:21Not there!
01:08:22The lower pens housed the smallest drakes, but they were the coolest.
01:08:26They snapped at ankles, spat sparks, and never slept quietly.
01:08:29As the guards dragged her down the steps, Isolde finally screamed without pretending to cry.
01:08:34Seraphina!
01:08:35I am your sister!
01:08:37I did not answer.
01:08:38It's too late to awaken to family ties now.
01:08:41The next morning, Alarek heard the news before I went to him.
01:08:46The dungeon carried sound strangely.
01:08:49Cheers from the throne room drifted down.
01:08:52So did screams from the passages leading to the dragon pit.
01:08:56Alarek ripped the bars.
01:09:06The guard did not answer.
01:09:26The guard did not answer.
01:09:28Blinking.
01:09:31Neither was I.
01:09:35For once, he had no answer.
01:09:38I ordered the guards to open the small passage window that faced the lower pens through the
01:09:43iron grate.
01:09:45Alarek saw Isolde in the mud, wrists chained above her head while a young drake snapped
01:09:50sparks near her feet.
01:09:52Her white dresses were long gone.
01:09:54Her hands were cracked.
01:09:57Her hair was uneven.
01:10:03Father!
01:10:05Father, tell them to stop!
01:10:07Alarek staggered back as if the sight had struck him.
01:10:11Seraphina, please.
01:10:12Whatever I did, she should not suffer for it.
01:10:16You still don't understand.
01:10:18I stepped closer to the bars.
01:10:22She did not suffer for your crime.
01:10:25She suffers for her own.
01:10:29She was young.
01:10:32She was old enough to hold my dragon and call me a thief.
01:10:36The words landed between us like a blade.
01:10:38Above us, the mourning council began.
01:10:41Long live Queen Seraphina!
01:10:44The sound poured into the dungeon.
01:10:46It also poured into the passage where Isolde was screaming.
01:10:50For the first time,
01:10:52father and daughter heard the same truth from opposite cages.
01:10:57They had lost the kingdom they stole.
01:11:03Many years later, a historian asked whether I regretted hatching the Black Dragon.
01:11:08Your Majesty, the Black Dragon changed the fate of Valdoria.
01:11:12Did you never fear that it would destroy more than lies?
01:11:16No. Without the Black Dragon.
01:11:20I might still be explaining my innocence to people who had never wanted to hear the truth.
01:11:25Now they did not need to believe me.
01:11:30They only needed to remember that day.
01:11:32Remember that Isolde had claimed the Black Dragon egg as hers with her own mouth.
01:11:37Remember that Alaric had confessed with his own mouth that he had changed the contract.
01:11:43Remember how the princess they called a thief and a failure shattered the lie beneath her feet and took the
01:11:49throne.
01:11:55I was not born a queen.
01:11:56I was made one by betrayal, death, and rebirth, so what?
01:12:01Valdoria did not need a girl spoiled by her father's love.
01:12:04It needed someone who could see a lie clearly and dare to burn it down with her own hands.
01:12:10And I, Seraphina, did exactly that.
01:12:16Martha stood by the window, watching the gold dragon circle over the capital.
01:12:20Your Majesty, the people are gathering again.
01:12:23I looked down from the tower.
01:12:26Children were running through the streets beneath the dragon's shadow.
01:12:29Merchants paused their stalls.
01:12:32Soldiers lowered their spears in salute.
01:12:34No one shouted thief, no one shouted failure.
01:12:37They shouted queen.
01:12:39Far below the palace, Alaric could still hear them from his dungeon.
01:12:44Deeper still, Isolde could hear them from the dragon pit.
01:12:48That was the final justice.
01:12:51They would live long enough to hear.
01:12:55The name they tried to erase become the name the kingdom trusted most.
01:13:00The black dragon opened its wings on the highest tower.
01:13:05The gold dragon lowered its head beside me.
01:13:09I placed my hand on the window ledge and looked over Valdoria.
01:13:12Let the record show this clearly.
01:13:15A stolen crown can be returned.
01:13:17A stolen name can be burned clean.
01:13:20But a queen who has died once, will never kneel again.
01:13:24And the none of the white cuts of men helpedline Kiko would rear his foot us kneeling than a ŠæŃŠ°Š²mo
01:13:24troop.
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