The Stolen Princess And The Cursed Dragon ✅ FULL HD [Eng Sub]

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Transcript

00:00:06The gold dragon I had raised with my own hands bit through my fingertip the moment it broke out of

00:00:11its shell.

00:00:12A heartbeat later, it turned away from me and flew straight to my sister, Izalith, and curled tamely into her

00:00:18arms.

00:00:19She held the dragon that should have been mine, and sobbed in front of the entire kingdom.

00:00:26Seraphina, how could you steal my dragon egg?

00:00:29I did not steal it. I was the one who brought it to life from the egg.

00:00:35Murmurs swept through the noble stands like a storm.

00:00:38King Alaric slammed his seppler against the stone floor, and guards swarmed forward to pin my arms behind my hack.

00:00:46Izalith glided toward me through the chaos, but when she leaned close to my ear, her voice was cold and

00:00:52sharp, stripped of all pretend.

00:00:54Did you really think the dragon chose you? Newborn hatchlings are blind. They know their master only by the scent

00:01:01of blood on the egg.

00:01:02For three whole months, I snuck into your incubation chamber every midnight and dapped the shell with my own blood.

00:01:10Day and night you sat by it, but it never smelled me. All it knew was my scent.

00:01:16She paused, her fingertips brushing the bite wound on my finger, and I flinched as a sting of burning pain

00:01:22shot through my hand.

00:01:24I brushed dragon-repellent sap on your fingertips before the ceremony.

00:01:28That's why it bit you the moment it touched you to it. You reek of something loathsome.

00:01:37Why would you do this to me?

00:01:42Izalith laughed softly.

00:01:44Why?

00:01:46Because you were born first and the crown was handed to you without effort?

00:01:50A golden dragon is the omen of a rightful ruler.

00:01:54With it, I will take your throne, your title, everything that should have been mine.

00:02:00Just like that, I became a thief.

00:02:04My father stripped me of my claims into the throne and threw me into the dragon pit.

00:02:08The iron gate crashed shut behind me with a deafening boom.

00:02:12Starving lesser drakes tore at the hem of my gown.

00:02:15Hot, rancid breath rolled over my face and sharp claws scraped against my arms.

00:02:49King Alaric's voice rang out above me.

00:02:52Serafina, what are you waiting for?

00:02:54My head shot up.

00:02:55I was standing in the golden hall.

00:02:57Candlelight flickered over the marble marble floors.

00:03:00Nobles lined both sides of the chamber.

00:03:02Every pair of eyes fixed on me.

00:03:04Before the daisk stood two silver trays, each holding a dragon egg.

00:03:09One was pale, threaded with delicate gold veins.

00:03:12The other was dull and dark, without shine at all.

00:03:16I had seen this scene before.

00:03:18No, I had lived it before.

00:03:21Back then, I was the crown princess of Valderria, the only daughter of the late queen.

00:03:26The kingdom called me, calm, disciplined, worthy of the throne.

00:03:31I had believed that, if I worked hard enough if I became perfect enough,

00:03:35my father would finally see me.

00:03:37Later, I learned the truth.

00:03:39Some fathers don't need a reason to favor one child over another.

00:03:43The child he loved was Isolette.

00:03:45The daughter born to his second queen.

00:03:47It did not matter how many royal laws I memorized, how many court rituals I mastered, or how many noble

00:03:53sons I defeated's training.

00:03:54To him, I'd always be the elder daughter.

00:03:57He did not want to acknowledge.

00:03:59Alarak glanced at me.

00:04:01There was no warmth in his face.

00:04:04Valderria was once protected by dragons.

00:04:09After the Great War, almost every adult dragon died.

00:04:14Only a few eggs remain, sealed in the royal vaults.

00:04:18By our oldest law, the one who hatches a dragon will earn the right to inherit the throne.

00:04:26What he did not say was this.

00:04:29Valderria's nobles would never accept an heir without dragon.

00:04:32No matter how much he loved Isolette, he still needed her to receive a dragon in public.

00:04:37Only then would everyone keep quiet when she took the throne.

00:04:40I stared at the golden-veined egg.

00:04:42In my last life, I had reached for it first.

00:04:45My chest swelling with pride.

00:04:47I had thought it was a reward for my diligence.

00:04:50I had never guessed it was a trap laid from the very start.

00:04:53He lifted his hand, and a servant carried one of the eggs toward me.

00:04:58You and we'll each receive one.

00:05:00In one month, every noble and citizen will gather in the palace square to witness the hatching.

00:05:07When that day comes, the true heir will show herself.

00:05:19I reached out and took the egg.

00:05:22The shell was cold, exactly as I remembered.

00:05:28A ripple of whispers moved through the hall.

00:05:33Isolde stood beside our father in a white gown, her golden hair falling over her shoulders.

00:05:38She looked soft, innocent, like a cherished little princess who had never done anything cruel in her life.

00:05:46But when she looked at me, a familiar flash of triumph crossed her eyes.

00:05:53It was the exact same look she had worn as she watched me fall into the dragon pit.

00:05:59Isolde came to my side, her voice was soft enough that only the two of us could hear.

00:06:08Sister, you will definitely lose to me.

00:06:13In my last life, I had flushed with anger at this line, arguing loudly that I would hatch the stronger

00:06:20dragon.

00:06:25The nobles had whispered that I was petty and unworthy of the crown.

00:06:31But this time, I only tightened my grip on the egg.

00:06:36We'll see about that.

00:06:38For a second, she froze.

00:06:40She had not expected me to be so calm.

00:06:43I held the dragon egg close.

00:06:46But inside, I went cold all the way through.

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

00:07:02After I returned to my old tower, I dismissed every maid.

00:07:08I placed the dragon egg on the table and stared at it.

00:07:15In my last life, this was the egg that hatched into the gold dragon.

00:07:20Before it broke open, it had answered my voice from within the shell.

00:07:31I drew a small knife and pressed the tip to my finger.

00:07:38If my blood touched the contract, the hatching would begin.

00:07:44My hand hovered there for a long time.

00:07:50Images of Isolde's smug face.

00:07:52The dragon pit's darkness.

00:07:54The drake's sharp teeth flashed before my eyes.

00:07:59In the end, I lowered the knife, pushed the egg into an iron box, and locked it.

00:08:06I did not smash the egg.

00:08:08I did not hurt the young life sleeping inside.

00:08:13The egg was not the one at fault.

00:08:16The people using it to trap me were.

00:08:18At the northern edge of the palace grounds stood an old dragon roost that had been sealed for years.

00:08:23My mother had told me of it when I was small.

00:08:26Her voice soft as she spoke of the gold egg she had hidden there.

00:08:30A gift left for me when I came of age.

00:08:33Under the cover of night, I slipped past the sleeping guards and pushed open the rusted iron gate.

00:08:41Ash swirled up around my boots, thick with the scent of burnt scales and old magic.

00:08:46At the very back of the roost, half buried in cold ash, I saw it.

00:08:51It was small, but the moment I drew close, it trembled.

00:08:56From that night on, I began hatching a dragon again.

00:09:00I snuck to the roost every midnight, sitting for hours with the egg pressed to my chest,

00:09:06whispering old dragon lullabies my mother had taught me.

00:09:09Day by day, the shell grew brighter, the gold veins glowing like molten sunlight.

00:09:14On the 20th night, I pressed my ear against it and heard a faint heartbeat from within.

00:09:20It was alive. It was mine.

00:09:24Then, at dawn on the 21st day, the palace bells began to ring.

00:09:32Martha hurried into my chamber, her face pale.

00:09:41Your Highness, news has come from the palace.

00:09:45Princess Islote's dragon egg has turned gold.

00:09:49The king has announced that she may hatch a gold dragon.

00:09:56The cup slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor.

00:10:00Impossible.

00:10:02The gold dragon egg was right here with me.

00:10:06How could Isolde's egg turn gold at the exact same moment my dragon awakened?

00:10:13Was this fate?

00:10:15Had I struggled so hard to change everything, only to walk right back into the same ending?

00:10:22By the time I reached the palace, the hall outside the throne room was already packed with nobles.

00:10:27Everyone was whispering excitedly about Isolde.

00:10:30Who would have thought?

00:10:31Everyone assumed Princess Serafina had the stronger gift.

00:10:34But Princess Islote is the one truly chosen by the dragons.

00:10:37A gold dragon.

00:10:39That is the symbol of royal power.

00:10:42The succession is practically settled.

00:10:45Princess Serafina has been hiding in that old tower, hasn't she?

00:10:48I heard her egg hasn't stirred at all.

00:10:51What a shame for the late queen.

00:10:53I walked through the crowd and entered the hall.

00:10:55Isolde stood before the throne with a gold dragon egg in her arms.

00:10:59Golden light wrapped around her like a halo.

00:11:01Making her look like a saint anointed by the dragons.

00:11:04One glance was enough to turn my blood cold.

00:11:07It wasn't the egg hidden in my tower.

00:11:09But the gold markings, the cracks forming in the shell.

00:11:12Even the heartbeat coming from inside it, everything matched the egg I had awakened with my own hands.

00:11:17A chill crept slowly up my spine.

00:11:19My egg was still in the hidden chamber beneath my tower.

00:11:23Martha had been guarding it without leaving her post.

00:11:25The windows were sealed.

00:11:27My own people watched the door.

00:11:29Not even a bird could get in.

00:11:30So maybe the problem was never that someone stole the physical egg.

00:11:34Perhaps something had been redirecting the results of my hatching to Isolde all along.

00:11:39Isolde saw me and her eyes lit up.

00:11:41She adjusted her hold on the egg, holding it higher as if displaying a trophy.

00:11:47Sister, you came.

00:11:50She carried the gold egg toward me, smiling sweetly.

00:11:54Sis, I didn't think you'd show up.

00:11:57It must hurt, watching your little sister hatch a gold dragon first.

00:12:02No matter how hard you try, the dragon always ends up mine.

00:12:08I stared at the egg in her arms, my fingers going cold.

00:12:11My father sat on the throne, his satisfaction plain on his face.

00:12:17Serafina.

00:12:21Bring out your egg, too.

00:12:23I looked up at him.

00:12:24He had spoken to me the same way in my last life.

00:12:28He had never given me a chance to explain.

00:12:30If Isolde shed a single tear, he could condemn me without hesitation.

00:12:35My egg has not hatched yet.

00:12:38Whispers burst through the hall.

00:12:40Isolde covered her mouth in exaggerated surprise, her eyes wide with false pity.

00:12:45How could that be?

00:12:47Sister, haven't you always worked the hardest?

00:12:50Are you saying you can't hatch a dragon at all?

00:12:53She shook her head softly, as if grieving for me.

00:12:56Father, don't be angry with sister.

00:12:58I'm sure she tried her best.

00:13:00It's just...

00:13:01Maybe the dragons don't favor her.

00:13:03My father's face darkened.

00:13:06Useless.

00:13:07He seized the goblet beside him and hurled it at my feet.

00:13:10It shattered against the floor, shard scraping my hem, wine splashing over the tips of my shoes.

00:13:18Valdoria needs someone who can wake a dragon, not a failure who only knows how to look proud.

00:13:24I said nothing.

00:13:25Not because I was afraid.

00:13:27Because I had finally realized this was deeper than I had thought.

00:13:30The egg had not been stolen.

00:13:32Isolde had not been lucky.

00:13:34Something had been delivering my results to her from the very beginning.

00:13:38From this day forward, Serafina will remain in the old tower.

00:13:42She will not leave unless summoned.

00:13:44She will stay there until she hatches a dragon of her own.

00:13:49The nobles' eyes changed when they looked at me.

00:13:52In my first life, they called me a thief.

00:13:55In this life, they called me a failure.

00:13:58There was not much difference.

00:14:01When I left the hall, Isolde followed me.

00:14:04She waved a hand to dismiss her maids,

00:14:07and the soft, innocent mask fell from her face the moment they were out of sight.

00:14:12Sister, the look on your face just now was beautiful.

00:14:16I stopped walking.

00:14:19You can't understand it, can you?

00:14:22You hid your egg so carefully.

00:14:27So, why do I have a gold egg too?

00:14:30The truth is, I don't even need to know what you did.

00:14:35The result will always be the same.

00:14:38She lifted a hand and patted my shoulder as if comforting a loser.

00:14:42You guard it.

00:14:44You feed it.

00:14:46You love it.

00:14:48But when it breaks out of its shell, it will still choose me.

00:14:53I grabbed her wrist.

00:14:56Pain flashed across her face, but she did not pull away.

00:15:00Instead, her smile widened.

00:15:03Angry?

00:15:04Then I must be right.

00:15:06She leaned in, her lips almost brushing my ear.

00:15:10Just like in your little incubation chamber.

00:15:13You thought you were raising a dragon for yourself?

00:15:18You were raising it for me all along.

00:15:21I released her.

00:15:23I released her, Isolid.

00:15:26You had better pray you can keep winning.

00:15:29She smoothed her sleeve, her eyes full of contempt.

00:15:33I will.

00:15:35Father loves me.

00:15:37The kingdom expects me.

00:15:39Even the dragons choose me.

00:15:41What do you have?

00:15:43Sister?

00:15:44I watched her walk away and my mind became clearer than it had been all day.

00:15:49She was wrong.

00:15:50There was one thing I had that she did not.

00:15:54And I knew there was a second dragon growing in the old roost.

00:15:57One she would never see coming.

00:16:01On the third day of my confinement, I began searching through my mother's belongings.

00:16:05At the top of the old tower was a small study.

00:16:08It had been locked for years.

00:16:10My father never came there.

00:16:12Isolid thought it too cold and dreary to set foot in.

00:16:15After my mother died, her books, letters, and some old royal records had been piled inside

00:16:20like dust the whole palace wanted to forget.

00:16:22I sat on the floor and went through them one by one.

00:16:25Most of the books about dragon eggs had yellowed with age.

00:16:28They did not record mysterious legends.

00:16:30They recorded rules.

00:16:32Dragon eggs need warmth.

00:16:34Dragon eggs need quiet.

00:16:36Dragon eggs remember the contract.

00:16:38My hand froze.

00:16:40The contract?

00:16:41I read on quickly.

00:16:43Before a royal dragon egg could be hatched, the hatcher had to sign a magical contract.

00:16:48The contract bore the hatcher's name.

00:16:50When the dragon broke from its shell, it would recognize the name on the contract as its master.

00:16:55Worse, the contract did more than decide ownership.

00:16:58The blood, warmth, voice, and awakening power given by the hatcher would all be credited to the name that truly

00:17:04took effect.

00:17:05Then I saw a tiny note my mother had written in the margin.

00:17:09Queen's note.

00:17:10Beware the double ink.

00:17:12My heart clenched.

00:17:13Double ink was something royal mages used to hide secret orders.

00:17:17A line of writing appeared on the surface but beneath it.

00:17:20Another line the one that actually took effect could be concealed.

00:17:24Ordinary eyes could not see it.

00:17:26Only a revealing solution could expose it.

00:17:28At last I understood where the problem might be.

00:17:32That night I changed into a maid's dress, slipped past the guards, and broke into the royal archive.

00:17:37In my last life, when I was desperate to prove my innocence, I had knelt there and begged them to

00:17:42let me see the contracts.

00:17:43They did not open the door.

00:17:45They only shoved me down the steps and called me a lying thief.

00:17:48This time I did not beg.

00:17:51I used the sleeping powder Martha had given me to put the guards to sleep, then took the keys from

00:17:56his belt.

00:17:57Who's there?

00:17:58The guard's voice faded before he could finish.

00:18:00He slid down against the wall asleep.

00:18:03The archive was cold.

00:18:04Rows of wooden cabinets stretched into the darkness.

00:18:07I found the contracts from the day of the egg ceremony by date.

00:18:10My fingers shaking so badly I could barely hold the papers.

00:18:14The first contract was Isolda's.

00:18:16On the surface it said Isolda.

00:18:18The second contract was mine.

00:18:20On the surface it said Serafina.

00:18:22I took out the revealing solution my mother had left behind and let a drop fall onto the page.

00:18:28At first nothing happened.

00:18:29Then the ink began to blur.

00:18:31The name Serafina faded.

00:18:33Beneath it, another name rose to the surface.

00:18:37Isolda.

00:18:38I stared at that name, ice flooding my veins.

00:18:41So that was it.

00:18:42My dragon had not betrayed me.

00:18:45Isolda had not truly beaten me with her own power.

00:18:48From the moment I signed my name on that paper, my father had already replaced it with hers.

00:18:53Every drop of blood, every hour of warmth, every whisper I had breathed into that egg none of it had

00:18:58ever been mine.

00:18:59It had all belonged to her.

00:19:01The answer was already in my hands.

00:19:04As long as that hidden name remained, every drop of blood I gave would become Isolette's claim.

00:19:10A small zound came from behind me.

00:19:14A soft rustle came from the archway behind me.

00:19:17I whirled, dagger drawn and pressed to the intruder's throat before I saw her face.

00:19:23Martha stood in the doorway, pale as a ghost.

00:19:27Your highness, it's me.

00:19:30I saw you leave the tower and followed.

00:19:32I was afraid you'd be caught.

00:19:35Slowly, I lowered the blade.

00:19:37She stepped inside, and when her eyes fell on the glowing contract in my hand,

00:19:43her lips trembled and tears spilled over at once.

00:19:47The queen suspected something like this would happen.

00:19:51The year the eggs were moved to the vault.

00:19:54She said the contracts felt wrong.

00:19:58But she was already too ill.

00:20:01She died before she could prove it.

00:20:04I closed my eyes.

00:20:05The weight of my mother's unfinished protection settled over me,

00:20:09warm and sharp all at once.

00:20:11My mother had not failed to protect me.

00:20:14She had simply run out of time.

00:20:18Your highness, what do we do now?

00:20:21We have proof.

00:20:24We can call the nobles at dawn.

00:20:26Show them the truth.

00:20:28We can clear your name and take everything back.

00:20:32I looked at the name on the page and suddenly laughed.

00:20:38No.

00:20:39Martha stared at me.

00:20:42They won't believe it.

00:20:43In my last life, I laid everything bare, and they still chose Isolette's tears.

00:20:48The nobles did not care about the truth.

00:20:51Neither did the people.

00:20:53They believed the winner.

00:20:55Truth doesn't win here.

00:20:57Winners write the truth.

00:20:59So this time, I'd make the winner confess she was a fraud.

00:21:04I rolled the contract back up and put it where I had found it.

00:21:09If father loves changing names so much, then let that name stay there.

00:21:17Isolette likes stealing my dragons, then I'll let her steal one.

00:21:22She stole my golden dragon, my crown, my life.

00:21:26This time, I will let her steal something else.

00:21:29Something that will tear her lies apart from the inside out.

00:21:34The next morning, I walked straight into the throne room.

00:21:37King Alaric with Islika, examining her gold dragon egg.

00:21:43The shell was already crisscrossed with cracks,

00:21:46and faint, thin cries of a young dragon drifted from within.

00:21:54Isolette looked up at the sound of my footsteps.

00:21:56A sweet, triumphant smile spreading across her face.

00:22:00Sister, have you finally come to your senses?

00:22:04Are you here to apologize to father?

00:22:06Father, and beg to keep your place at my side?

00:22:09I did not look at her.

00:22:11I bowed to the man on the throne.

00:22:15Father,

00:22:17I can't hatch a dragon.

00:22:20The hall went silent.

00:22:23What did you say?

00:22:25I said I am willing to withdraw from the succession trial.

00:22:30I am no match for Isolette.

00:22:33Since she has already hatched a gold dragon, the throne should naturally belong for her.

00:22:41The smile frozen on Isolette's face.

00:22:45Her fingers tightened around the egg so hard her knuckles whited,

00:22:48and a small piece of shell flaked off onto her skirt.

00:22:55My father did not look pleased either.

00:22:59Nonsense!

00:23:01I looked at him calmly.

00:23:04Of course he could not let me quit.

00:23:07Isolette had not truly hatched anything.

00:23:09The gold dragon egg in her arms,

00:23:12depending on my contract upon my blood.

00:23:15If I stopped hatching dragons,

00:23:17she would have nothing left to steal.

00:23:20Alaric softened his voice,

00:23:22trying on the mask of a gentle father.

00:23:24Seraphina,

00:23:25you have always been a proud child.

00:23:28One failure means nothing.

00:23:31The kingdom needs you to keep trying.

00:23:34I almost laughed.

00:23:37In my first life,

00:23:38when he stood over me in the dragon pit

00:23:41and condemned me to die,

00:23:43he had never once said the kingdom needed me.

00:23:46The kinder he pretended to be,

00:23:49the clearer the truth became.

00:23:53Isolette's golden dragon was nothing but a shadow of mine.

00:23:57And without me,

00:23:59it would die before it ever saw the sun.

00:24:04Father, I'm tired.

00:24:06I accept that I am not as capable as Isolth.

00:24:11Please allow me to leave the tower

00:24:13and move to the estate outside the city.

00:24:16I will never touch another dragon egg.

00:24:19No!

00:24:21This time,

00:24:22it was Isolette who spoke.

00:24:25She flinched as soon as she said it,

00:24:27realizing she took option to have broken

00:24:29her gentle ale mask in front of the nobles.

00:24:32Sister, I didn't mean it that way.

00:24:34I only think you shouldn't give up so easily.

00:24:39You are my sister.

00:24:52I want you to prove yourself too.

00:24:54I turned to her fully,

00:24:56taking one slow step forward.

00:24:59She stumbled back half a step

00:25:01before she caught herself.

00:25:04What good would that do you?

00:25:08Isolette's face went pale.

00:25:11Don't you already have a gold dragon?

00:25:13Aren't you about to become the heir?

00:25:16Why are you afraid I'll stop hatching dragons?

00:25:19Several nobles in the hall exchanged puzzled looks.

00:25:22Isolette bit down hard on her lip,

00:25:24tears rolling down her cheeks.

00:25:26Sister, how can you think that of me?

00:25:29I'm only worried about you.

00:25:33In my last life,

00:25:35I'd have rushed to defend myself

00:25:36and ended up looking cruel beside her tears.

00:25:41This time,

00:25:43I only smiled.

00:25:46Then thank you for your concern.

00:25:48I bowed to my father again.

00:25:59Father,

00:26:00since Isolette has won,

00:26:02there is no reason for me to remain here.

00:26:04Alaric stared at me.

00:26:06For the first time,

00:26:07I saw panic in his eyes.

00:26:10You must continue hatching dragon eggs.

00:26:15Why?

00:26:16He stopped.

00:26:17The words died on his tongue.

00:26:20He could not say the quiet part out loud.

00:26:23I lowered my voice,

00:26:25just loud enough for the front rows of nobles to hear.

00:26:28Surely it isn't because Isolette needs me to hatch them for her.

00:26:32The sentence cut through the false calm of the hall.

00:26:36Isolette's face changed completely.

00:26:39Alaric slammed his palm down on the arm of the throne

00:26:41so hard the goblets rattled.

00:26:44How dare you!

00:26:46I knelt slowly,

00:26:47my back straight.

00:26:49Forgive me, father.

00:26:50It was only a joke.

00:26:52But the joke

00:26:53had already sunk its teeth in.

00:26:55No one in that hall would forget the question

00:26:57or the panic on Isolette's face.

00:27:00After I left the hall,

00:27:02Isolette followed me.

00:27:05She grabbed my wrist,

00:27:07her nails digging hard into my sleeve through the fabric.

00:27:13Seraphina,

00:27:14what are you planning?

00:27:15I'm planning to give up.

00:27:17You're lying.

00:27:19You must have hidden another dragon egg somewhere.

00:27:21You think

00:27:21you can raise one in secret

00:27:23and take everything back?

00:27:25I pulled my wrist free,

00:27:27brushing off my sleeve

00:27:28as if I'd touched something dirty.

00:27:30Then take your time looking.

00:27:33Search every tower,

00:27:35every cellar,

00:27:35every corner of the palace.

00:27:37I won't stop you.

00:27:39Her chest and fell with anger.

00:27:41She leaned in,

00:27:42her voice low and vicious.

00:27:45Don't think you can threaten me.

00:27:47Father will stand with me.

00:27:48The nobles will stand with me.

00:27:50As long as I say you stole something from me.

00:27:52They will throw you into the dragon pit.

00:27:55All over again.

00:27:57I know.

00:27:58My calm only stoked her panic.

00:28:01She had expected tears,

00:28:03rage,

00:28:04pleas,

00:28:06anything but this quiet certainty.

00:28:08That's why this time,

00:28:10I'll give you something

00:28:11you won't be able to resist stealing.

00:28:14Something you will beg to take from me.

00:28:16She did not follow again.

00:28:20The bait was already set

00:28:21and I knew she would bite.

00:28:25The Royal Forbidden's Vault

00:28:27lay beneath the dragon pit.

00:28:30There were no gilded pillars there.

00:28:32No golden flames to symbolize royal power.

00:28:37Only a cold, damp staircase

00:28:39leading down into darkness.

00:28:41The walls scarred with black burn marks.

00:28:44After the war,

00:28:46the royal family had sealed

00:28:47the most dangerous dragon eggs here.

00:28:51Not because they were noble.

00:28:53Because no one dared to hatch them.

00:29:02My mother's notes mentioned

00:29:04one egg in particular.

00:29:08A black dragon egg.

00:29:14Black dragons were powerful,

00:29:16savage,

00:29:17and almost impossible to tame.

00:29:24They were not like gold dragons,

00:29:26which symbolized the throne.

00:29:29They were not like red dragons,

00:29:32which burned for war.

00:29:34Black dragons devoured falsehood

00:29:36in a contract.

00:29:37They attacked those who deceived them.

00:29:41Three kings had tried to bind black dragons

00:29:44to their will,

00:29:45over 300 years.

00:29:46All had paid a terrible price.

00:29:49The first lost an entire hand

00:29:51to dragon fire.

00:29:52The second went mad

00:29:54on the day the dragon hatched.

00:29:56The third managed to make the dragon

00:29:58open its eyes.

00:29:59But when he declared himself its master,

00:30:02it bit through his throat.

00:30:09After that,

00:30:10the black dragon egg

00:30:11was locked in the deepest part

00:30:12of the Forbidden's Vault.

00:30:18In my first life,

00:30:20I died without ever knowing it existed.

00:30:23In this life,

00:30:24I opened the door.

00:30:27There was no light behind the iron door.

00:30:31I walked in with a torch

00:30:33and saw a jet black dragon egg

00:30:34resting silently on a stone platform.

00:30:37It was much larger than an ordinary egg.

00:30:40There were no markings on the shell.

00:30:42As I approached,

00:30:43the torch flame shrank and dimmed

00:30:45as if the darkness itself

00:30:46was eating the light.

00:30:48The thing inside was awake.

00:30:50I know you're dangerous.

00:30:52The black egg did not respond.

00:30:55I also know you won't kneel tamely

00:30:57at anyone's feet.

00:30:59This time,

00:31:00the shell trembled lightly.

00:31:03I unfolded the crumpled copy

00:31:05of the altered contract

00:31:06I'd taken from the archive.

00:31:07On the surface,

00:31:08it said Serafina.

00:31:09The name that truly took effect

00:31:11was Isolda.

00:31:12My father thought

00:31:12he had built a throne for Isolda.

00:31:14He did not realize

00:31:15the same forged contract

00:31:16he'd used to steal my dragon

00:31:17would also tie a ravenous noose

00:31:18tight around her neck.

00:31:19I cut my finger

00:31:20and let my blood fall onto the contract.

00:31:22The name on the page flared.

00:31:24Isolette.

00:31:25On the stone platform,

00:31:26the black egg shook violently,

00:31:27so hard it rattled against the rock.

00:31:29A low,

00:31:30rumbling growl

00:31:30rolled out from within the shell.

00:31:32Deep and guttural,

00:31:33nothing like the soft,

00:31:34high chirp

00:31:35of a newborn gold dragon.

00:31:36Grow well.

00:31:38Soon enough,

00:31:39she will come to steal you.

00:31:41For the next ten days

00:31:42and ten nights,

00:31:43I did not step foot back

00:31:44in the old tower.

00:31:45I stayed in the damp,

00:31:46dark forbidden's vault,

00:31:47curled up beside the black egg

00:31:49through every hour.

00:31:49I gave it warmth.

00:31:51I gave it blood.

00:31:52I gave it silence.

00:31:53It was nothing like the gold dragon

00:31:54I'd raised in my last life.

00:31:56The gold dragon had answered my whispers

00:31:57with tiny, soft taps

00:31:59from inside the shell.

00:32:00Gentle as an unborn child

00:32:01reaching for its mother,

00:32:02the black dragon never sought comfort.

00:32:04It never tapped back,

00:32:06never leaned into my palm.

00:32:07It only grew hotter and heavier

00:32:08with each passing day,

00:32:09the shell burning like forged iron.

00:32:11More than once,

00:32:12I felt as if it was watching me.

00:32:14On the eleventh day,

00:32:15the first crack appeared in the shell.

00:32:16Martha stood at the door,

00:32:17her face paler than the dust.

00:32:19Your Highness,

00:32:20black dragons are untamable.

00:32:22Once it breaks free,

00:32:23people may truly die.

00:32:25Issa Ledd may die.

00:32:26And you still want to go through with this?

00:32:29There's no turning back

00:32:30once the shell breaks.

00:32:32I stared at the glowing crack

00:32:33on the black shell

00:32:34and the memories of my last life

00:32:35flashed before my eyes.

00:32:37The iron gate of the dragon pit

00:32:38slamming shut.

00:32:39Isolde's smug,

00:32:40tear-streaked smile high above.

00:32:42My father's cold,

00:32:43unforgiving eyes.

00:32:44The roar of the crowd

00:32:45screaming thief as I fell.

00:32:47They never gave me a way back.

00:32:48Yes,

00:32:49I continue.

00:32:50If it truly recognizes

00:32:51Iselec as its master,

00:32:53will she die?

00:32:53I did not answer right away.

00:32:55Death would be too easy for her.

00:32:58First,

00:32:59the black dragon

00:33:00will tear away

00:33:00every last one of her lies.

00:33:02It will make every person

00:33:03in this kingdom

00:33:04see exactly what she stole.

00:33:06The dragon,

00:33:07the crown,

00:33:08and my life.

00:33:09On the night before

00:33:10the succession ceremony,

00:33:12Isolde came to the entrance

00:33:13of the Forbidden's Vault herself.

00:33:14She could not enter.

00:33:15She could only look at me

00:33:16through the iron gate.

00:33:18Sister,

00:33:19I knew it.

00:33:21You've been hiding something

00:33:22this whole time.

00:33:22I picked up the black egg

00:33:24and carried it to the iron gate,

00:33:25holding it up

00:33:26so the firelight fell full

00:33:27across its glossy black shell.

00:33:28Her eyes lit up at once,

00:33:30bright with naked greed,

00:33:31all pretense of gentleness

00:33:32vanishing in the dark.

00:33:33A black dragon egg.

00:33:35The most powerful dragon

00:33:37in all of Valdoria.

00:33:39Stronger than any gold dragon.

00:33:41Isolde's throat bobbed hard

00:33:42as she swallowed.

00:33:43She could not look away

00:33:44from the egg.

00:33:45Tomorrow,

00:33:45at the ceremony in the square,

00:33:47you can stand in front

00:33:48of all the nobles

00:33:49and all the people

00:33:50and tell everyone

00:33:51that this egg belongs to you.

00:33:52As I turned away,

00:33:53I heard her whisper.

00:33:54It will be mine.

00:33:56Everything will be mine.

00:33:58I smiled.

00:33:59Serafina quietly to herself.

00:34:00Of course it will.

00:34:03On the day of the succession ceremony,

00:34:05the palace square

00:34:06was packed from end to end,

00:34:07the crowd buzzing with excitement.

00:34:09Nobles stood on both sides

00:34:10of the high platform.

00:34:12Commoners crowded

00:34:13behind the iron railings.

00:34:14Everyone wanted to see

00:34:15the gold dragon hatch

00:34:16and witness Isolde

00:34:17become the next queen.

00:34:18Isolde stood at the center

00:34:20of the high platform

00:34:20in a snow-white ceremonial gown.

00:34:22A delicate pearl crown

00:34:24perched on her golden hair.

00:34:25The gold dragon egg

00:34:26in her arms

00:34:27was crisscrossed with cracks.

00:34:29Warm golden light

00:34:29seeping through every gap.

00:34:31And faint,

00:34:32soft chirps

00:34:33drifted out from within.

00:34:34King Alaric stood proudly

00:34:36at her side,

00:34:36his chest puffed out,

00:34:38every line of his face

00:34:39screaming satisfaction

00:34:40at the air he had chosen.

00:34:41The sight burned into my eyes,

00:34:43sharp with the pain

00:34:44of old memories.

00:34:45In my last life,

00:34:47I had stood exactly

00:34:48where she was.

00:34:49Holding that same glowing gold egg,

00:34:51believing my diligence

00:34:52had finally been rewarded.

00:34:54I had thought the world

00:34:55was fair,

00:34:55that the dragon

00:34:56would choose the one

00:34:57who raised it.

00:34:58But justice had always

00:34:59been a joke

00:35:00written by the winners.

00:35:01The real rules

00:35:02had been rewritten in secret

00:35:04long before I ever

00:35:05stepped into that hall.

00:35:06The master of ceremonies

00:35:07lifted his staff

00:35:08and his booming voice

00:35:09rolled across the square.

00:35:10By the ancient laws

00:35:13of Valdoria,

00:35:15let both princesses

00:35:18present their dragon eggs

00:35:20before the people.

00:35:23Isolde stepped forward first,

00:35:24her skirt trailing

00:35:25elegantly behind her.

00:35:26She set the gold dragon egg

00:35:28gently on the stone altar,

00:35:29and golden light burst forth,

00:35:31drawing a wave of odd murmurs

00:35:32from the nobles.

00:35:34A true gold dragon.

00:35:37I never thought I'd see one

00:35:38in my lifetime.

00:35:39The gold dragon

00:35:40is the very symbol

00:35:41of royal power.

00:35:42This is an omen.

00:35:44Princess Isolette

00:35:45truly is the chosen one.

00:35:48She is Valdoria's future.

00:35:50Beneath the hum of admiration,

00:35:51I stepped out

00:35:52from the shadow

00:35:52of the archway

00:35:53the black dragon egg

00:35:54held steady in my arms.

00:35:56In an instant,

00:35:57every sound vanished.

00:35:58The black egg

00:35:59did not glow with warm,

00:36:00brilliant light

00:36:01like the gold one.

00:36:02It drank in the light

00:36:03around it.

00:36:04Heavy and oppressive,

00:36:05pressing down

00:36:06on every breath.

00:36:07Wherever it passed,

00:36:08the flames nearby

00:36:09bent low.

00:36:10A commoner

00:36:11in the front row

00:36:12breathed out the question.

00:36:15What...

00:36:16What is that thing?

00:36:17An elderly noble

00:36:18in the front row

00:36:19stood up abruptly,

00:36:20his hands shaking

00:36:21on the railing.

00:36:22A black black dragon egg!

00:36:24That's...

00:36:25That's a black dragon egg!

00:36:27Another noble

00:36:28leaned forward,

00:36:29his face pale with shock.

00:36:31Impossible.

00:36:32Wasn't that sealed

00:36:34deep in the forbidden vault

00:36:35generations ago?

00:36:36How did she get it?

00:36:38When Isolde saw the egg,

00:36:39all color drained

00:36:40from her face.

00:36:46Before the crowd

00:36:47could finish whispering,

00:36:48Izzavid suddenly stepped forward

00:36:50to the edge

00:36:50of the platform.

00:36:52Sister,

00:36:53why do you keep doing this?

00:36:55I stopped

00:36:55and looked at her.

00:36:56Tears filled her eyes

00:36:57right on Cuse.

00:36:58Was stealing

00:36:59my gold dragon egg

00:37:00not enough?

00:37:02Now you've snuck

00:37:03into the forbidden vault

00:37:04to steal

00:37:05my black dragon egg too?

00:37:07The square exploded

00:37:08into an uproar.

00:37:10Angry shouts

00:37:11and murmurs

00:37:12rolled over me

00:37:12like a wave.

00:37:14I heard the crowd

00:37:15call me greedy,

00:37:16shameless,

00:37:17a thief who would

00:37:18do anything for power.

00:37:20I heard them say

00:37:21I'd never change,

00:37:22that I'd always been

00:37:23jealous of my sister.

00:37:24I heard a woman's

00:37:25sharp voice yell

00:37:26that I was not worthy

00:37:27of being a princess,

00:37:28not worthy of the

00:37:29royal blood in my veins.

00:37:30On the throne,

00:37:32King Alaric rose slowly.

00:37:34Seraphina,

00:37:35hand over the

00:37:36black dragon egg

00:37:37at once.

00:37:38I did not move.

00:37:40On what grounds?

00:37:44His gaze cut through

00:37:46the noise.

00:37:47Isleth has said

00:37:47it belongs to her.

00:37:49I laughed.

00:37:52So that's the law

00:37:54of the palace now?

00:37:56If she says

00:37:56it is hers,

00:37:58then it is hers?

00:38:00Isleth shook her head,

00:38:01tears spilling

00:38:02down her cheeks.

00:38:03Sister, I know

00:38:03you hate me

00:38:03for being loved

00:38:04by father,

00:38:04but you can't

00:38:05steal from me

00:38:05again and again

00:38:05just because

00:38:06you want the throne.

00:38:07The gold dragon

00:38:07chose me,

00:38:07and you refused

00:38:08to accept it.

00:38:08Now you've gone

00:38:09and stolen

00:38:09the black dragon too.

00:38:10What else do you

00:38:11want from me?

00:38:11Do you want my life?

00:38:12In my last life,

00:38:13I had lost everything

00:38:14to those tears.

00:38:16I'd shouted,

00:38:17I'd argued,

00:38:18I'd begged,

00:38:18and I'd still looked

00:38:20like a cruel bully

00:38:21beside her soft

00:38:22weeping figure.

00:38:24But this life,

00:38:26there's no mention

00:38:26of explaining myself.

00:38:30I would not beg.

00:38:32I would not yell.

00:38:34I stepped up

00:38:34onto the platform,

00:38:36walked to the altar,

00:38:37and set the black dragon egg

00:38:38down right beside

00:38:39the blowing gold one.

00:38:40Isleth,

00:38:41are you certain

00:38:41this black dragon egg

00:38:42belongs to you?

00:38:43In front of father,

00:38:44in front of every noble,

00:38:45every citizen standing

00:38:46in the square,

00:38:47are you certain

00:38:47you want to swear

00:38:48before all of them

00:38:49that this is your dragon egg?

00:38:50Isleth's eyes darted

00:38:51to King Alaric,

00:38:52searching for reassurance.

00:38:54Alaric nodded

00:38:55almost imperceptibly.

00:38:56I saw it.

00:38:57Good.

00:38:58Just like last time,

00:39:00they had chosen

00:39:01greed over truth.

00:39:04Isleth drew a deep breath,

00:39:05lifting her chin

00:39:05and straightening her back,

00:39:06putting on all the dignity

00:39:07of a rightful heir.

00:39:08Yes,

00:39:08it belongs to me.

00:39:09It was sealed away

00:39:10for the royal heir,

00:39:11and I am the heir.

00:39:12I looked at her,

00:39:13and you are equally certain

00:39:14that when it breaks

00:39:15its shell,

00:39:16it will recognize you

00:39:17and only you

00:39:19as its master.

00:39:20Unease flickered in her eyes,

00:39:21but the thrill of victory

00:39:23quickly smothered it.

00:39:24Of course it will.

00:39:26Dragons know

00:39:27their true master.

00:39:29I stepped back slowly,

00:39:31putting distance

00:39:32between myself

00:39:32and the altar.

00:39:34Then go ahead.

00:39:37Prove it to everyone.

00:39:39Isleth had not expected

00:39:40me to yield so easily.

00:39:41She stared at me

00:39:42for a long time,

00:39:43as if searching

00:39:44for the trap.

00:39:45Every eye in the square

00:39:46was on her.

00:39:47Every noble,

00:39:47every commoner

00:39:48was waiting to see

00:39:48their future queen

00:39:49command her dragon.

00:39:50She had already

00:39:50declared the egg hers.

00:39:51If she hesitated now,

00:39:52all her lies would crumble,

00:39:52so she squirms flat

00:39:53against the cold black shell.

00:39:54In the name of Valdoria's

00:39:55future queen,

00:39:56I command you

00:39:57to break your shell

00:39:58and recognize your master.

00:39:59For one moment,

00:40:00the black egg was still.

00:40:02Then it cracked.

00:40:02A single razor-sharp

00:40:04black line split the shell

00:40:05clean from top to bottom,

00:40:06glowing with faint smoky light.

00:40:08The nobles closest

00:40:08to the altar

00:40:09stumbled back at once.

00:40:10Their faces white.

00:40:11Your highness,

00:40:11please step back.

00:40:12Black dragons are ferocious.

00:40:13You cannot stand

00:40:14so close at hatching.

00:40:15Isolade forced a proud

00:40:16smile onto her face,

00:40:17but her fingers

00:40:17were trembling so hard

00:40:18against the shell

00:40:19she could barely

00:40:19keep them still.

00:40:20Why should I?

00:40:21It is my dragon.

00:40:21It will not hurt

00:40:22its own master.

00:40:24The moment

00:40:25the second crack

00:40:26slid open,

00:40:27the sky above

00:40:27the square darkened.

00:40:28It was not that clouds

00:40:29had rolled in

00:40:30to cover the sun.

00:40:31It was as if

00:40:31something inside the shell

00:40:32had reached up

00:40:33and swallowed

00:40:34all the light in the air.

00:40:35One torch after

00:40:36another bent low,

00:40:37even the faint cries

00:40:38from the gold dragon egg

00:40:39suddenly stopped.

00:40:40Isolade's hands

00:40:41were still pressed tight

00:40:42to the black shell,

00:40:43but her knuckles

00:40:44had gone white.

00:40:45Her smile froze.

00:40:47This is wrong.

00:40:48This is all wrong.

00:40:49A black dragon's hatching

00:40:51is thunder and fire.

00:40:52It should not be this quiet.

00:40:54This is unnatural.

00:40:56The next second,

00:40:57with a sound like

00:40:57shattering obsidian,

00:40:59the entire shell

00:41:00burst apart.

00:41:01A young black dragon

00:41:02crawled out.

00:41:03It was not large,

00:41:04but the entire square

00:41:05fell into dead silence.

00:41:07Its wet black scales

00:41:08clung to its body,

00:41:09but its eyes

00:41:10were already cold.

00:41:11It did not cry softly

00:41:13like a gold dragon.

00:41:14It did not nuzzle

00:41:15anyone's hand.

00:41:16It only lifted its head

00:41:17and looked at Isolde.

00:41:20Isolde took a step back

00:41:21before she could

00:41:22stop herself.

00:41:25Come here.

00:41:27I am your master.

00:41:29The black dragon

00:41:31tilted its head,

00:41:32then it lowered its snout

00:41:33and sniffed the contact.

00:41:35Paper on the altar,

00:41:36black fire ignited

00:41:37across the page.

00:41:38The name hidden beneath

00:41:39the surface

00:41:40slowly appeared.

00:41:41Isolde.

00:41:46Everyone saw it, Dot.

00:41:48Sharp breaths

00:41:48rose all around me.

00:41:50Isolde's face

00:41:51turned white.

00:41:52She whipped her head

00:41:53toward our father.

00:41:54Alaric had frozen to it.

00:41:56Must not have expected

00:41:57the black dragon

00:41:58to burn the hidden name

00:41:59into the open.

00:42:05The black dragon

00:42:06took one slow,

00:42:07deliberate step

00:42:08toward Isolde,

00:42:09its claws clicking sharp

00:42:10on the stone altar.

00:42:13At last,

00:42:15panic broke through

00:42:16her composure.

00:42:18No!

00:42:19No, it wasn't me!

00:42:20This is a trick!

00:42:21She backed away,

00:42:22her voice shaking.

00:42:24I didn't hatch you!

00:42:25She did!

00:42:27Seraphina hatched you!

00:42:28She's the one

00:42:29who fed you her blood!

00:42:32But you just stood

00:42:34in front of this

00:42:35entire kingdom

00:42:35and swore it was yours.

00:42:38Isolde screamed,

00:42:39sharp and streal,

00:42:41her composure

00:42:42gone entirely.

00:42:43That isn't what I meant!

00:42:45You tricked me!

00:42:46You lured me

00:42:47into saying it!

00:42:48You said the gold dragon

00:42:50was yours

00:42:50and everyone believed you.

00:42:52No one tricked you then.

00:42:53You said the black dragon

00:42:55was yours

00:42:55and everyone believed that too.

00:42:57You reached for it gladly.

00:42:59You called it

00:42:59your birthright.

00:43:00I stopped just out

00:43:01of the dragon's reach,

00:43:03looking down

00:43:03at her cringing figure.

00:43:05Dear sister,

00:43:07haven't you always loved

00:43:08stealing my dragons?

00:43:10This one is yours now.

00:43:12Keep it.

00:43:12The black dragon

00:43:13lunged without warning,

00:43:15a low snarl

00:43:16rumbling in its chest.

00:43:17The guards

00:43:18beside Isola

00:43:19drew their swords

00:43:20with a sharp clang,

00:43:21but the dragon

00:43:22swept them aside

00:43:23with one flick of its tail,

00:43:24sending men and steel

00:43:26crashing into the stone steps.

00:43:28It did not kill her at once.

00:43:29It was toying with her,

00:43:31the way a cat toys

00:43:32with a mouse

00:43:32before the kill.

00:43:33It pinned her wrist

00:43:34beneath its claws

00:43:35and black fire

00:43:36crawled up her skin.

00:43:38Isolad screamed.

00:43:40The golden contract marks

00:43:42on the back of her hand

00:43:43burned away inch by inch.

00:43:45It was not ordinary fire.

00:43:47It did not char her flesh.

00:43:49It burned the stolen contract

00:43:50out of her.

00:43:52Father!

00:43:55Save me!

00:43:56Please!

00:43:58She sobbed

00:43:59and shrieked

00:43:59toward Alaric,

00:44:00her body twisting uselessly

00:44:02beneath the dragon's claw.

00:44:03At last,

00:44:04Alaric could no longer

00:44:05stand still and watch.

00:44:07He stormed down

00:44:08from the throne platform.

00:44:10Stop it!

00:44:11Seraphina!

00:44:12Make it stop

00:44:13this instant!

00:44:15Why should I?

00:44:17Isn't it Isola's dragon?

00:44:20Shouldn't her own dragon

00:44:21obey her?

00:44:24His face went studgied.

00:44:26The black dragon

00:44:28continued pressing in

00:44:29on Isolada.

00:44:30Black fire had already

00:44:31climbed to her throat.

00:44:38Her carefully arranged hair

00:44:40had fallen loose.

00:44:41Her pearl crown

00:44:43dropped to the ground

00:44:44and shattered

00:44:44beneath her own foot.

00:44:46She no longer looked

00:44:48like a noble princess.

00:44:49She looked like a fraud

00:44:51finally being exposed.

00:44:54Father!

00:44:55Tell them!

00:44:56Say it out loud!

00:44:58Or it will burn me alive!

00:45:01I don't want to die!

00:45:03Every eye in the square

00:45:05turned to the king.

00:45:06Curiosity,

00:45:07doubt,

00:45:08judgment,

00:45:09all of it landed

00:45:10on him at once.

00:45:11I walked toward him.

00:45:14Tell them what, father?

00:45:17Alaric stared at me,

00:45:18hatred and fear

00:45:19warring in his eyes.

00:45:21His hands clenched

00:45:22at his sides.

00:45:24I lowered my voice.

00:45:27Father,

00:45:28don't you love

00:45:29Isoleth most?

00:45:32Saving her is simple.

00:45:35Tell everyone

00:45:36why every dragon

00:45:37I hatched,

00:45:39every drop of

00:45:40I gave.

00:45:42All ended up

00:45:43recognizing her

00:45:44as their master.

00:45:46His lips trembled.

00:45:49Serafina,

00:45:50must you destroy

00:45:52the royal family?

00:45:53Must you humiliate us

00:45:55in front of

00:45:56every subject?

00:45:57I smiled.

00:46:00Didn't you already

00:46:01do that?

00:46:03The day you

00:46:04altered the contract?

00:46:06The day you

00:46:07threw your own

00:46:08daughter into

00:46:08the dragon pit.

00:46:11You destroyed

00:46:12the royal family's

00:46:13honor yourself.

00:46:16The black dragon

00:46:18growled again

00:46:18and Isolde's scream

00:46:20tore through the square.

00:46:23Finally,

00:46:24Alaric closed his eyes.

00:46:27It was me.

00:46:32I changed the name

00:46:34on the contract.

00:46:37Wind swept across

00:46:39the altar,

00:46:40scattering the ashes

00:46:41of the burned

00:46:42contract into the air

00:46:43like black snow.

00:46:51Before any

00:46:53royal dragon egg

00:46:54can be hatched,

00:46:56a magical contract

00:46:57must be signed.

00:47:07when the dragon

00:47:08breaks from its shell,

00:47:10it recognizes

00:47:10the name on the contract

00:47:12as its master.

00:47:16I ordered the royal

00:47:17mages to use

00:47:19double ink

00:47:20on Serafina's

00:47:21contract.

00:47:31On the surface,

00:47:33Serafina's contract

00:47:34bore her own name.

00:47:38But the name

00:47:39that truly took effect

00:47:40was

00:47:41Isolette.

00:47:52Gasps erupted

00:47:53from the crowd.

00:47:56Isolde was crying

00:47:58so hard

00:47:58she could barely breathe,

00:48:00but she still

00:48:00shook her head wildly.

00:48:03No!

00:48:04No, it wasn't me!

00:48:06Father did it!

00:48:08I didn't know anything!

00:48:09I knew nothing!

00:48:16You knew nothing?

00:48:21I crouched down

00:48:22in front of her.

00:48:26Three whole months.

00:48:29Every midnight

00:48:30you snuck into

00:48:31my incubation chamber

00:48:33and dapped my egg

00:48:34with your blood.

00:48:37You knew nothing

00:48:38then either?

00:48:39Her eyes went wide.

00:48:41She had never

00:48:41told anyone

00:48:42about those

00:48:43midnight visits.

00:48:45Before the

00:48:46hatching ceremony,

00:48:48you brushed

00:48:49dragon repellent

00:48:49sap on my fingertips

00:48:51so the gold

00:48:52dragon bite me.

00:48:55You knew nothing

00:48:56about that either?

00:48:58Of course,

00:48:59no one else

00:48:59in this life

00:49:00understood those words.

00:49:02But Isolette did.

00:49:04The fear

00:49:05on her face

00:49:06deepened,

00:49:06turning to something

00:49:07close to terror.

00:49:13You knew every time.

00:49:17Every time.

00:49:18You planned

00:49:19every step.

00:49:22You just thought

00:49:23you'd never get caught.

00:49:25You also knew

00:49:27that if you cried,

00:49:29father would always

00:49:31stand on your side.

00:49:34Isolde tried

00:49:34to answer,

00:49:35but the black

00:49:36dragon's claws

00:49:37pressed into her

00:49:38shoulder,

00:49:39and she could not

00:49:40form a single

00:49:41complete sentence.

00:49:43I stood and

00:49:44turned to the

00:49:44nobles.

00:49:47Do you still

00:49:48think I am a thief?

00:49:50No one answered.

00:49:51Those who had been

00:49:52so eager to insult

00:49:53me lowered their

00:49:53heads one by one.

00:49:55The hidden name

00:49:56has been burned

00:49:57into the open.

00:49:59The king

00:50:00has confessed

00:50:01with his own mouth.

00:50:03The gold dragon,

00:50:05the black dragon,

00:50:06and every dragon

00:50:07Isolette ever

00:50:08claimed as hers

00:50:09were hatched

00:50:10by me.

00:50:11Some stepped back,

00:50:12others dropped

00:50:13their eyes,

00:50:14unable to meet

00:50:14my gaze.

00:50:15At last,

00:50:16they understood

00:50:17that the princess

00:50:18they had worshipped

00:50:18was not chosen

00:50:19by dragons.

00:50:20She was a fraud

00:50:21propped up

00:50:21by her father's

00:50:22cheating,

00:50:23and they had all

00:50:23been her willing

00:50:24audience.

00:50:25An elderly noble

00:50:26fell to his knees,

00:50:27his whole body

00:50:28trembling.

00:50:30Princess Serafina,

00:50:31we were deceived.

00:50:35We did not know

00:50:36the truth.

00:50:38Forgive us.

00:50:39I looked at him.

00:50:42No.

00:50:44You were not deceived.

00:50:47You chose

00:50:48the more convenient lie.

00:50:49Because that lie

00:50:50did not require

00:50:51them to oppose

00:50:52the king.

00:50:52Because that lie

00:50:53let them stomp

00:50:54a disgraced princess

00:50:55into the mud.

00:50:55Because Isolde

00:50:57cried beautifully,

00:50:58and I refused

00:50:58to lower my head,

00:51:00they were not blind.

00:51:01They had simply

00:51:02decided the truth

00:51:03did not matter.

00:51:04Alaric suddenly spoke.

00:51:06Serafina,

00:51:06this was my crime.

00:51:08Punish me,

00:51:08if you must.

00:51:10Isolette is innocent.

00:51:12I turned to him.

00:51:13Even now,

00:51:13he was still

00:51:14protecting her.

00:51:17Innocent?

00:51:18She just claimed

00:51:19the black dragon egg

00:51:19in front of the

00:51:20entire kingdom.

00:51:21Did you force her

00:51:21to do that too?

00:51:22Alaric had no answer.

00:51:24Isolde finally broke.

00:51:26I was wrong,

00:51:27sister.

00:51:28I was wrong,

00:51:29I swear.

00:51:30She tried to crawl

00:51:31toward my skirt,

00:51:32but the black dragon

00:51:33pinned her to the ground.

00:51:36I was just scared.

00:51:38I was afraid

00:51:39that once you

00:51:39inherited the throne

00:51:40we would have nothing.

00:51:42I only wanted

00:51:43a better life.

00:51:45You wanted

00:51:46a better life

00:51:46so I deserve to die.

00:51:49You stole my dragons.

00:51:51You stole my throne.

00:51:52You stole my reputation.

00:51:54You let everyone

00:51:55call me a thief.

00:51:57You let father

00:51:58throw me into

00:51:59the dragon pit.

00:52:02She stared at me

00:52:03in horror,

00:52:04as if looking at someone

00:52:05who should not

00:52:06remember those things.

00:52:07I did not explain.

00:52:08I lifted my hand.

00:52:10The black dragon

00:52:11raised its head

00:52:11to look at me,

00:52:12its cold eyes

00:52:13softening for the first time.

00:52:16Enough.

00:52:16The black dragon

00:52:17released Isolde.

00:52:18She collapsed

00:52:19on the ground,

00:52:20trembling all over.

00:52:21The golden markings

00:52:22on her hand

00:52:23were gone.

00:52:24Only scorched

00:52:25black traces remained.

00:52:26She had lost

00:52:27every claim

00:52:27the stolen contracts

00:52:28had given her.

00:52:29From that moment on,

00:52:30no dragon in Valdoria

00:52:31would ever recognize

00:52:32her as its master again.

00:52:35It rained softly

00:52:36on the day

00:52:37my father was deposed.

00:52:38After the hidden contract

00:52:39was exposed,

00:52:40the council had no choice

00:52:42but to strip Alaric

00:52:43of the crown

00:52:43before the entire court.

00:52:44I did not kill him.

00:52:46Death would have been

00:52:47to light.

00:52:48I had his crown removed

00:52:49and replaced

00:52:49with a crude iron circlet.

00:52:51It had no jewels,

00:52:52no gold designs,

00:52:54only cold weight.

00:52:55When the guards

00:52:56lifted the old crown away,

00:52:57Alaric reached for it

00:52:58by instinct.

00:53:00Former King Alaric,

00:53:01lower your hand.

00:53:03The title struck

00:53:04harder than a slap.

00:53:05For the first time

00:53:06in his life,

00:53:07no one called him

00:53:08your majesty.

00:53:08He was imprisoned

00:53:09in the deepest dungeon

00:53:10beneath the throne room.

00:53:12There was a narrow window

00:53:14there,

00:53:14facing the great hall.

00:53:16He could not see

00:53:16the throne,

00:53:17but he could hear

00:53:18every word spoken above him.

00:53:19From then on,

00:53:21whenever the nobles

00:53:21swore loyalty to me,

00:53:23he heard it.

00:53:27Whenever the people

00:53:28shouted long live the queen,

00:53:30that sound would drift down

00:53:31through the stone

00:53:31and into his cell.

00:53:33The daughter he had despised,

00:53:34the one he'd thrown away

00:53:35like trash,

00:53:36sat on his throne.

00:53:38The daughter he'd loved most,

00:53:39the one he'd given

00:53:40everything to,

00:53:41had lost everything

00:53:42and been cast out

00:53:43of the palace in disgrace.

00:53:45That was the punishment

00:53:46I chose for him.

00:53:48Serafina,

00:53:49you cannot do this.

00:53:52I am still your father.

00:53:54You cannot lock

00:53:55your own father

00:53:56in a dungeon!

00:53:57I stood outside

00:53:58the iron bars,

00:53:59looking at the iron circlet

00:54:00pressing into his

00:54:01graying hair.

00:54:02You only remembered

00:54:04you were my father

00:54:07after you lost

00:54:08your crown.

00:54:09The kingdom needs me.

00:54:11You're your young.

00:54:12You don't know

00:54:13how to rule.

00:54:14You'll tear it apart.

00:54:16No.

00:54:18And it will thrive

00:54:19without you.

00:54:20The guards closed

00:54:21the iron door.

00:54:23The sound echoed

00:54:24under the throne room.

00:54:26Alaric stood behind

00:54:26the bars,

00:54:27staring upward

00:54:28as the first voice

00:54:29from the great hall

00:54:30rang down.

00:54:31Long live

00:54:32Queen Serafina!

00:54:36Then another,

00:54:37then a hundred,

00:54:38then a thousand,

00:54:39until the whole palace

00:54:40rang with it.

00:54:41His face twisted

00:54:42with rage and grief

00:54:43and humiliation.

00:54:44He couldn't cover

00:54:45his ears.

00:54:46From that day on,

00:54:47he would have to listen

00:54:48to it every single day

00:54:49until the day he died.

00:54:52As for Isolde,

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

00:54:56After the black dragon

00:54:57burned away

00:54:57the stolen contract,

00:54:58she was too weak

00:55:00to stand on her own.

00:55:01Half her hair

00:55:02had been scorched

00:55:02by black fire.

00:55:03The contract mark

00:55:04on her hand

00:55:04would never return.

00:55:06Nobles no longer

00:55:06called her princess.

00:55:08Maids no longer

00:55:08lowered their eyes

00:55:09when she passed.

00:55:10I stripped her

00:55:11of her title

00:55:11and sent her

00:55:11to the lowest level

00:55:12of the dragon pit.

00:55:13It was no longer

00:55:14a place of quick execution.

00:55:15Now it housed

00:55:16the lesser drakes

00:55:17kept by the royal family.

00:55:18Filthy,

00:55:19sharp-toothed things

00:55:19that ate scraps

00:55:20and charred bone.

00:55:22Every day,

00:55:23she had to muck out

00:55:24their pens,

00:55:25carry baskets

00:55:25of charred bones,

00:55:26and scrub rust

00:55:27and filth off

00:55:27the iron bars

00:55:28until her hands bled.

00:55:29Chains circled

00:55:30her wrists.

00:55:31Shackles clamped

00:55:32her ankles.

00:55:33Isolde would slam

00:55:33her fists

00:55:34against the bars,

00:55:35her voice hoarse

00:55:35from screaming.

00:55:38Isolde.

00:55:39Take these chains

00:55:41off me!

00:55:42I am Princess Isoleth!

00:55:46You cannot do this

00:55:48to me!

00:55:49Guard.

00:55:51There is no Princess Isoleth

00:55:53in Valdoria anymore.

00:55:54There is only a prisoner

00:55:56doing hard labor.

00:55:58Noble girls

00:55:58who had once clung

00:55:59to her skirts,

00:56:00flattering her every word,

00:56:01would come to the pit edge

00:56:02on fine days

00:56:03and look down

00:56:03at her through the bars.

00:56:05Noble girl one.

00:56:10Is that the former

00:56:11Princess Isolth?

00:56:13The one who used

00:56:14to call us

00:56:15common and unworthy?

00:56:17Noble girl two.

00:56:18She looks like

00:56:19any other servant now.

00:56:21Hard to believe

00:56:22she almost wore the crown.

00:56:23Noble girl three.

00:56:24I heard she never hatched

00:56:26a single dragon egg herself.

00:56:28Every bit of it

00:56:29was stolen

00:56:30from the queen.

00:56:32Whenever she heard

00:56:32those words,

00:56:33she would throw herself

00:56:34at the bars

00:56:34like a wild animal,

00:56:35spitting and screaming.

00:56:37Isolde.

00:56:38Liar!

00:56:39All of you

00:56:40are liars!

00:56:41I was chosen

00:56:43by the dragons!

00:56:44I was the rightful

00:56:45future queen!

00:56:47But no one was

00:56:47afraid of her now.

00:56:48She had lost

00:56:49my father's protection.

00:56:50She had lost

00:56:51her title.

00:56:52She had lost

00:56:53everyone's trust.

00:56:54The cruelest part of all

00:56:55was the black dragon.

00:56:56Sometimes it would

00:56:57circle high above the pit

00:56:58whenever its shadow

00:56:59fell over her.

00:57:00Isolde would scramble

00:57:01into the darkest corner,

00:57:02curling into a ball

00:57:03and covering her head.

00:57:04Because she knew

00:57:05that she had once

00:57:05claimed that dragon

00:57:06as her own,

00:57:07she had stolen

00:57:07every dragon.

00:57:08I raised the last one

00:57:09became the nightmare

00:57:10she would live with

00:57:11for the rest of her life.

00:57:13On the night

00:57:14before my coronation,

00:57:15Martha carried

00:57:15the gold egg

00:57:16from the old tower

00:57:17to me.

00:57:17She told me

00:57:18that when Isolde's

00:57:18gold egg

00:57:19began to crack,

00:57:20mine had gone dim,

00:57:21as if every bit

00:57:22of life had been

00:57:22drained from it,

00:57:23but it had not died.

00:57:24After the black dragon

00:57:25burned away

00:57:26the false contract,

00:57:27it warmed again.

00:57:28Little by little,

00:57:29the power that had

00:57:30been diverted

00:57:30returned to it.

00:57:31The gold veins

00:57:32on the shell

00:57:32glowed once more,

00:57:33like a late sunrise.

00:57:35Martha,

00:57:35your majesty,

00:57:37it waited for you.

00:57:38I touched the shell

00:57:39with my fingertips.

00:57:41Seraphina.

00:57:43I made it wait

00:57:44to long.

00:57:45On the day

00:57:45I was crowned,

00:57:46the blood had already

00:57:47been washed

00:57:47from the square

00:57:48by rain.

00:57:49The gold dragon

00:57:49from my old tower

00:57:50finally hatched.

00:57:51It was small.

00:57:52Its scales bright.

00:57:53Its eyes clear.

00:57:54Now that the contract

00:57:55had been corrected,

00:57:56it walked to me

00:57:56at last and rested

00:57:57its head gently

00:57:58against my palm.

00:57:59The entire square

00:58:00knelt.

00:58:02Crowd.

00:58:05Long live the queen!

00:58:07I looked down

00:58:08at the warm gold dragon

00:58:09in my hand.

00:58:10Then lifted my gaze

00:58:11toward the highest tower.

00:58:12The black dragon

00:58:13perched there,

00:58:13silent.

00:58:16One symbolized

00:58:17the throne,

00:58:18the glory,

00:58:18the hope of the kingdom.

00:58:19One symbolized

00:58:20the price.

00:58:21The truth,

00:58:22the cost of every lie.

00:58:23Baldoria would no longer

00:58:24be ruled by lies.

00:58:25That same day,

00:58:26I abolished every clause

00:58:27in the old contracts

00:58:28that allowed a king

00:58:29to alter them in secret.

00:58:30From then on,

00:58:31every dragon egg contract

00:58:32had to be signed

00:58:33in the presence of the council.

00:58:34Noble witnesses,

00:58:35and representatives

00:58:36of the people,

00:58:37no one would ever again

00:58:38use double ink

00:58:38to steal a name.

00:58:39I also opened

00:58:40the royal vaults

00:58:41and ordered every sleeping

00:58:42dragon egg

00:58:42to be registered again.

00:58:44Dragons would no longer

00:58:45be tools for a father

00:58:45to favor one daughter

00:58:46over another.

00:58:47They belong to the ones

00:58:49who truly awakened them.

00:58:51The first public dragon egg

00:58:52registration under the new law

00:58:54was held in the same square

00:58:55where Isolde had once lied.

00:58:57This time,

00:58:57there was no hidden ink.

00:58:58The contract table

00:58:59stood in the open.

00:59:00Three councillors

00:59:01to noble witnesses

00:59:02and five representatives

00:59:03of the people

00:59:04watched every name

00:59:04written down.

00:59:05A baker's son

00:59:06stepped forward

00:59:06with shaking hands.

00:59:08Your majesty,

00:59:09may someone like me

00:59:10really try?

00:59:11I looked at the small

00:59:12copper-colored egg

00:59:13resting before him.

00:59:14An egg once deemed

00:59:15unworthy of royal blood,

00:59:16left to gather dust

00:59:17in the vaults.

00:59:18If you are willing

00:59:19to give it your blood,

00:59:21your warmth,

00:59:22and your patience,

00:59:23then you may try.

00:59:25Dragons do not care

00:59:26about birth.

00:59:28They care about

00:59:29who wakes them.

00:59:31The boy lifted his head,

00:59:32his eyes bright.

00:59:33He took a small knife,

00:59:34cut his fingertip,

00:59:35and signed his name

00:59:35clearly on the contract.

00:59:37The crowd murmured,

00:59:37not in fear this time,

00:59:39but wonder.

00:59:39At that moment,

00:59:40a pair of guards

00:59:41led Isolde through

00:59:42the edge of the square

00:59:42on their way

00:59:43to deliver ash

00:59:44from the dragon pens.

00:59:45She was bent under

00:59:46the weight of a heavy basket,

00:59:47chains clinking

00:59:48with every step.

00:59:49She stopped

00:59:49when she saw the boy

00:59:50at the contract table.

00:59:51A baker's child?

00:59:53You let a baker's child

00:59:55touch a dragon egg?

00:59:57People turned

00:59:58to look at her.

00:59:58People turned

00:59:59to look at her.

00:59:59A laugh broke out first,

01:00:01then another,

01:00:01then more.

01:00:02Better a baker's child

01:00:03with his own name

01:00:04on the contract

01:00:05than a princess

01:00:06who stole every name

01:00:07she ever had.

01:00:08Isolde lunged

01:00:09toward the table,

01:00:10chains dragging

01:00:10across the stones.

01:00:11Dragons belong

01:00:12to royal blood!

01:00:14The copper egg trembled.

01:00:15A tiny crack

01:00:16appeared in the shell.

01:00:17The boy gasped,

01:00:18his hand flying

01:00:18to his mouth.

01:00:20It moved!

01:00:20The gold dragon

01:00:21beside me lowered

01:00:22its head,

01:00:23calm and watchful.

01:00:24The black dragon's shadow

01:00:25slid across the square

01:00:26from the high tower.

01:00:27Isolde froze

01:00:28under that shadow.

01:00:29I stepped between

01:00:29her and the table.

01:00:31The guard pulled

01:00:31Isolde back

01:00:32toward the pit.

01:00:33No!

01:00:34Dragons belong

01:00:35to the ones

01:00:35who truly awaken them.

01:00:37She screamed

01:00:38and struggled

01:00:38until her voice cracked,

01:00:39but no one

01:00:40looked at her anymore.

01:00:41Behind her,

01:00:42the small copper dragon

01:00:43pushed its way

01:00:44out of the shell

01:00:45and crawled unsteadily

01:00:46toward the baker's son,

01:00:47nuzzling his hand.

01:00:48The crowd burst into cheers

01:00:49for a child Isolde

01:00:50would once have stepped over

01:00:52without a glance.

01:00:53That sound hurt

01:00:53her more than chains.

01:00:55The first winter

01:00:56of my reign was harsh.

01:00:58Not all the nobles

01:00:58King Alarig

01:00:59had left behind

01:01:00accepted me.

01:01:01Some swore loyalty

01:01:01to my face

01:01:02while secretly trying

01:01:03to support distant relatives

01:01:04for the throne.

01:01:05I did not rush

01:01:05to kill them,

01:01:06I let them expose themselves.

01:01:08One duke tried

01:01:08to bribe a witness

01:01:09during a public

01:01:10dragon egg registration

01:01:11to have his son's name

01:01:12secretly added

01:01:13and the witness's testimony

01:01:14read aloud in the square.

01:01:16Then I stripped him

01:01:16of all his lands

01:01:17in front of his own family

01:01:18and his own people.

01:01:19Your majesty,

01:01:20this is only

01:01:21a misdisunderstanding.

01:01:22A servant acted

01:01:23without my knowledge.

01:01:24Then let this misunderstanding

01:01:25be clear to everyone.

01:01:26From today on,

01:01:27your lands return to the crown

01:01:29and your house

01:01:29will never again

01:01:30hold a dragon contract.

01:01:31One bishop declared

01:01:32from his pulpit

01:01:33that a woman

01:01:33could not rule Valdoria,

01:01:35that my reign

01:01:35was against the old gods.

01:01:36The ledgers of bribes

01:01:37he had taken

01:01:38were nailed to the doors

01:01:39of his own cathedral.

01:01:40This is an insult

01:01:41to the temple!

01:01:42No.

01:01:43Taking gold from villages

01:01:45where children

01:01:45froze to death

01:01:46was the insult.

01:01:48Then there were those

01:01:48who tried to smuggle

01:01:49Isolda out of the dragon pit,

01:01:51thinking they could

01:01:51raise a banner in her name.

01:01:53I did not execute them.

01:01:54I sentenced them

01:01:54to serve three months

01:01:55in the dragon pit themselves,

01:01:57doing the same work she did.

01:01:58When the three months ended,

01:02:00the man who planned

01:02:01the escape knelt before me,

01:02:02thin and shaking.

01:02:03Your majesty,

01:02:05I beg forgiveness.

01:02:06One week in that pit

01:02:07is worse than a year

01:02:08in exile.

01:02:09I will never do

01:02:10anything so foolish again.

01:02:13Then remember

01:02:13where you tried

01:02:14to send your loyalty.

01:02:15I was not merciful,

01:02:16but I'd not destroy

01:02:17the laws of my own kingdom

01:02:18for selfish love

01:02:19the way my father had.

01:02:21A year later,

01:02:22Valdoria was stable again.

01:02:23The gold dragon

01:02:24had grown enough

01:02:24to carry me over the capital.

01:02:26When the people

01:02:26looked up and saw it,

01:02:27they took off

01:02:28their hats and bowed.

01:02:29Children chased its shadow

01:02:30through the streets,

01:02:31shouting my name.

01:02:32Queen Seraphina,

01:02:33the gold dragon is coming!

01:02:35For the first time,

01:02:36their voices did not

01:02:37sound like judgment.

01:02:38They sounded like a kingdom

01:02:39learning a new truth.

01:02:43Sometimes,

01:02:43I visited Alarep

01:02:45in the dungeon.

01:02:47He aged quickly

01:02:49in that dark cell.

01:02:50The iron crown

01:02:51bent his neck.

01:02:53The king,

01:02:54who once sat above everyone,

01:02:56now had only

01:02:57a damp stone bed

01:02:58and the sound

01:02:59of cheering from above.

01:03:03Seraphina.

01:03:04He called once

01:03:05through the bars.

01:03:06Can you truly

01:03:07never forgive me?

01:03:09I am your father.

01:03:11I looked at him.

01:03:12There was regret

01:03:13in his eyes, yes.

01:03:14But there was resentment, too.

01:03:16And pride.

01:03:17And the bitter taste

01:03:18of having lost.

01:03:19I knew then

01:03:20that he did not

01:03:21regret hurting me.

01:03:22He regretted losing.

01:03:25No.

01:03:26His hands tightened

01:03:28on the bars.

01:03:29His voice shook.

01:03:30I am your father.

01:03:32I gave you life.

01:03:34You had many chances

01:03:35to remember that.

01:03:37Before the contract

01:03:38was altered.

01:03:40Before I was thrown

01:03:42to the drakes.

01:03:44Before you chose her

01:03:45over and over

01:03:47and over again.

01:03:49I turned and left.

01:03:53Behind me,

01:03:54I heard him crying quietly.

01:03:56I did not look back.

01:03:58Later,

01:03:59Martha asked me

01:03:59whether I ever

01:04:00felt lonely.

01:04:01Your Majesty,

01:04:02do you ever wish

01:04:03there was someone

01:04:04who could stand

01:04:04beside you

01:04:05without bowing,

01:04:06without calling you

01:04:07Majesty?

01:04:08Just someone who knew

01:04:09you before the throne?

01:04:10I thought about it

01:04:11for a long time,

01:04:12staring out the window

01:04:13at the Black Dragon's Tower.

01:04:15After taking the throne,

01:04:17I was surrounded

01:04:18by ministers,

01:04:19guards,

01:04:19and people who bowed

01:04:21to me.

01:04:21But there were

01:04:22very few people

01:04:23I could truly

01:04:24lower my guard around.

01:04:25Still,

01:04:26that loneliness

01:04:27was far better

01:04:29than kneeling

01:04:30at someone else's feet

01:04:31and begging for fairness.

01:04:33I'd rather stand alone

01:04:34on the throne

01:04:35than return to the girl

01:04:36who needed someone else's

01:04:37approval to exist.

01:04:38Martha lowered her head,

01:04:40her eyes red.

01:04:42Your Majesty,

01:04:43the Queen would have been proud.

01:04:50Over the years,

01:04:52dragons slowly returned

01:04:54to Valdoria.

01:04:55Not every egg hatched.

01:04:58Not everyone

01:04:59who tried succeeded.

01:05:00But at least,

01:05:02the new laws

01:05:03gave everyone

01:05:04a real chance.

01:05:05Isolette remained alive,

01:05:06deep in the dragon pit.

01:05:08She was no longer beautiful,

01:05:10no longer proud.

01:05:12Years of labor

01:05:13in the dragon pit

01:05:14roughened her hands

01:05:15and bent her back.

01:05:17Sometimes the new servants

01:05:18didn't recognize her

01:05:19and even asked

01:05:20whether she had once

01:05:21been a servant herself.

01:05:22She would fly into a rage

01:05:23and scream

01:05:24that she had been a princess.

01:05:25I am a princess!

01:05:28I was Valdoria's future queen!

01:05:29You dare speak to me like that?!

01:05:33Then everyone would laugh.

01:05:35A princess?

01:05:36In the dragon pit?

01:05:41What princess cleans

01:05:42dragon filth down here?

01:05:46What she could not bear

01:05:47was not the hard work.

01:05:50It was that no one believed

01:05:51in her nobility anymore.

01:05:53The identity she had valued most

01:05:55had become

01:05:55the biggest joke of all.

01:05:57As for the black dragon,

01:05:59it never belonged to anyone.

01:06:01It still lived

01:06:03on the highest black tower

01:06:04of the palace.

01:06:05Sometimes it landed

01:06:07outside my window

01:06:08and watched me

01:06:08with those cold eyes.

01:06:10I knew it was not obedience.

01:06:12It was not affection, either.

01:06:17It simply remembered

01:06:18that I had let it hatch.

01:06:20That was enough.

01:06:24years after my coronation,

01:06:25one of Isolde's former flatterers

01:06:27came to the dragon pit

01:06:28at midnight.

01:06:29The woman had once knelt

01:06:30beside Isolde's skirts,

01:06:31praising her beauty,

01:06:32her purity,

01:06:33and her so-called destiny.

01:06:34Now she wore a dark cloak

01:06:35and carried a hidden key

01:06:36stolen from a drunk guard.

01:06:38Old noblewoman.

01:06:45Isolde lifted her head

01:06:46from beside the filthy stone trough

01:06:47for one impossible second.

01:06:49Light returned to her eyes.

01:06:51Isolde.

01:06:51I knew it.

01:06:54I knew someone

01:06:55still remembered who I am.

01:06:57Old noblewoman.

01:07:01There are still people

01:07:02who hate the new queen.

01:07:03If we get you outside the city,

01:07:05they can use your name.

01:07:07Isolde grabbed the bars

01:07:08with both hands.

01:07:09Isolde.

01:07:14Lose my name.

01:07:16No.

01:07:17They will kneel to me.

01:07:20I am the true princess.

01:07:22A lesser drake

01:07:22raised its head and arrived.

01:07:24The guards appeared

01:07:24from both ends of the passage.

01:07:26Swords drawn.

01:07:27Guard.

01:07:28Step away from the prisoner.

01:07:30The noblewoman dropped the key.

01:07:31It rang against the stone floor.

01:07:33I walked down the stairs

01:07:34behind the guards.

01:07:35My cloak untouched

01:07:36by the rain.

01:07:37Isolde's face changed

01:07:38from joy to horror.

01:07:39Serafina.

01:07:40Still trying to steal something

01:07:42that isn't yours?

01:07:43Isolde.

01:07:43You set this up!

01:07:46You knew she would come!

01:07:48No.

01:07:49I let greed walk where it wanted.

01:07:51The old noblewoman

01:07:52collapsed to her knees.

01:07:54Old noblewoman.

01:07:55Your majesty, mercy!

01:07:58I only thought the old bloodline...

01:08:00Serafina.

01:08:02The old bloodline nearly destroyed Valdonia

01:08:05with forged contracts

01:08:07and stolen dragons.

01:08:09I ordered the woman stripped

01:08:11of her remaining title

01:08:11and assigned to the dragon pit

01:08:13for one year.

01:08:13Then I looked at Isolde.

01:08:15Serafina.

01:08:16For encouraging escape,

01:08:18your chains will be moved

01:08:19to the lower pens.

01:08:21Isolde.

01:08:22Isolde.

01:08:23No!

01:08:25Not there!

01:08:26The lower pens housed

01:08:27the smallest drakes,

01:08:28but they were the cruelest.

01:08:29They snapped at ankles,

01:08:31spat sparks,

01:08:31and never slept quietly.

01:08:33As the guards dragged her

01:08:34down the steps,

01:08:35Isolde finally screamed

01:08:36without pretending to cry.

01:08:38Serafina!

01:08:39I am your sister!

01:08:41I did not answer.

01:08:42It's too late to awaken

01:08:43to family ties now.

01:08:45The next morning,

01:08:47Alaric heard the news

01:08:48before I went to him.

01:08:49The dungeon carried

01:08:51sound strangely.

01:08:53Cheers from the throne room

01:08:54drifted down.

01:08:56So did screams

01:08:57from the passages

01:08:58leading to the dragon pit.

01:09:00Alaric ripped the bars.

01:09:06That voice.

01:09:09Isolet.

01:09:10The guard did not answer.

01:09:14When I entered,

01:09:15Alaric's eyes were bloodshot.

01:09:19What have you done to her?

01:09:21What she earned.

01:09:23She is weak.

01:09:25She was never meant

01:09:26for filth and chains.

01:09:28I looked at the man

01:09:29who had once thrown me

01:09:30into the dragon pit

01:09:31without blinking.

01:09:35Neither was I.

01:09:39For once,

01:09:40he had no answer.

01:09:43I ordered the guards

01:09:44to open the small

01:09:45passage window

01:09:45that faced the lower pens

01:09:47through the iron grate.

01:09:49Alaric saw Isolde in the mud,

01:09:51wrists chained above her head

01:09:53while a young drake

01:09:54snapped sparks

01:09:54near her feet.

01:09:56Her white dresses

01:09:57were long gone.

01:09:58Her hands were cracked.

01:10:01Her hair was uneven.

01:10:07father!

01:10:09Father!

01:10:10Tell them to stop!

01:10:11Alaric staggered back

01:10:12as if the sight

01:10:13had struck him.

01:10:15Seraphina,

01:10:15please.

01:10:16Whatever I did,

01:10:18she should not

01:10:19suffer for it.

01:10:20You still don't understand.

01:10:22I stepped closer

01:10:23to the bars.

01:10:26She did not suffer

01:10:28for your crime.

01:10:29She suffers

01:10:30for her own.

01:10:33She was young.

01:10:36She was old enough

01:10:37to hold my dragon

01:10:38and call me a thief.

01:10:40The words landed

01:10:41between us

01:10:41like a blade.

01:10:42Above us,

01:10:43the morning council

01:10:44began.

01:10:45Long live

01:10:46Queen Seraphina!

01:10:47The sound

01:10:48poured into the dungeon.

01:10:50It also poured

01:10:51into the passage

01:10:52where a soldier

01:10:52was screaming.

01:10:54For the first time,

01:10:56father and daughter

01:10:57heard the same truth

01:10:58from opposite cages.

01:11:01They had lost

01:11:02the kingdom they stole.

01:11:07Many years later,

01:11:08a historian asked

01:11:10whether I regretted

01:11:10hatching the black dragon.

01:11:12Your Majesty,

01:11:13the black dragon

01:11:15changed the fate

01:11:15of Valdoria.

01:11:16Did you never fear

01:11:18that it would destroy

01:11:19more than lies?

01:11:20No.

01:11:21Without the black dragon.

01:11:24I might still be

01:11:25explaining my innocence

01:11:26to people who had

01:11:27never wanted

01:11:27to hear the truth.

01:11:29Now they did not

01:11:30need to believe me.

01:11:34They only needed

01:11:35to remember that day.

01:11:36Remember that Isolde

01:11:37had claimed

01:11:38the black dragon egg

01:11:39as hers

01:11:39with her own mouth.

01:11:41Remember that Alaric

01:11:42had confessed

01:11:43with his own mouth

01:11:44that he had changed

01:11:45the contract.

01:11:47Remember how

01:11:48the princess

01:11:49they called

01:11:49a thief

01:11:50and a failure

01:11:51shattered the lie

01:11:52beneath her feet

01:11:52and took the throne.

01:11:59I was not born a queen.

01:12:00I was made one

01:12:01by betrayal,

01:12:02death,

01:12:03and rebirth.

01:12:04So what?

01:12:05Valdoria did not need

01:12:06a girl spoiled

01:12:07by her father's love.

01:12:08It needed someone

01:12:09who could see a lie

01:12:10clearly and dare

01:12:11to burn it down

01:12:11with her own hands.

01:12:14And I,

01:12:15Serafina,

01:12:16did exactly that.

01:12:20Martha stood

01:12:20by the window,

01:12:22watching the gold dragon

01:12:23circle over the capital.

01:12:24Your majesty,

01:12:26the people

01:12:26are gathering again.

01:12:28I looked down

01:12:29from the tower.

01:12:30Children were running

01:12:31through the streets

01:12:31beneath the dragon's shadow.

01:12:33Merchants paused

01:12:34their stalls.

01:12:36Soldiers lowered

01:12:36their spears

01:12:37in salute.

01:12:38No one shouted thief,

01:12:40no one shouted failure.

01:12:41They shouted queen.

01:12:43Far below the palace,

01:12:45Alaric could still

01:12:45hear them

01:12:46from his dungeon.

01:12:48Deeper still,

01:12:49Isolde could hear them

01:12:50from the dragon pit.

01:12:52That was the final justice.

01:12:55They would live

01:12:56long enough to hear.

01:12:59The name they tried

01:13:00to erase

01:13:01become the name

01:13:01the kingdom trusted most.

01:13:04The black dragon

01:13:05opened its wings

01:13:06on the highest tower.

01:13:09The gold dragon

01:13:11lowered its head

01:13:11beside me.

01:13:13I placed my hand

01:13:14on the window ledge

01:13:15and looked over

01:13:15Valdoria.

01:13:17Let the record

01:13:17show this clearly.

01:13:19A stolen crown

01:13:20can be returned.

01:13:21A stolen name

01:13:23can be burned clean.

01:13:24But a queen

01:13:25who has died once

01:13:26will never kneel again.

01:13:29The gold and silver

01:13:31of the stone

01:13:32will feel

01:13:32the woman

01:13:32can never

01:13:32heal.

01:13:32You

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