Chapter 1 I can't marry a dragon
DANIKA’S POV
“I'm not marrying Lord Lucien,” I said on my knees, tears flooded my eyes as I looked at my father.
“You don't have a choice. Women are made for the kitchen, and you won't bring shame to my household by declining this marriage.” Alfred, my father, responded, swinging in his armchair.
“Father, I deserve more than being locked up in a mansion making babies for a dragon.”
“Insolent! How dare you call Lord Lucien a dragon!” My father rose to his feet, pointing his fingers at me.
“Say this outside, and you will lose your head immediately.”
I crawled closer, held his leg, and sobbed.
“I... I can't do this, Father. I want to become Orum's most successful dancer. If I marry Lucien, my dreams are...”
His hand landed on my cheek before I could finish.
“Over my dead body will my daughter, born of nobility, do such degrading and harlot work.”
“It is not harlotry, Father. Dancing is expressing oneself through body movement.”
“Enough!” He raised his hand to silence me.
“Over fifty women's names were submitted, but you were among the three picked to be Lord Lucien's bride. You ingrate! You are living another woman's dream. The dragon lord has chosen you, and that's final.”
I stood up, wiped my tears, and bowed.
“Yes, Father.” I spoke in a defeated voice.
He walked out of my room, locked the door with a key from outside — as usual.
I sat on the ground, sniffling through my tears.
Resisting my father was useless. I looked around my room. Gold jewellery, the finest dresses in my wardrobe, and stacks of books about being a virtuous woman.
To be honest, I was tired of living this life. I was tired of being a nobleman's daughter, and tired of letting them decide my life for me.
All my life, I'd been told what to wear, how to speak, how to walk, and even how to sit. I couldn't laugh too loudly because it was unladylike. And heaven forbid I ever expressed interest in anything that didn't involve finding a suitable husband.
Dancing was the only thing that made me feel alive.
Whenever I danced, I forgot I was Alfred's daughter. I forgot about the endless rules, the expectations, and the suffocating walls of this mansion.
For a few precious moments, I was simply Danika with the red mask.
And now, my father wanted to take even that away from me.
I wiped my nose with the back of my hand and pushed myself off the floor.
Fine.
If he wanted a well-behaved daughter who obeyed his every command, he could have one.
I just had to play along and escape when the time came.
I'd never settle for a life I didn't want.
By dusk, we sat around the dining table, eating.
My father reminded me to visit the tailor's shop to get my measurements taken for the introduction dress.
“Yes, Father,” I replied.
He was taken aback, and he didn't hide it.
I suspected he was expecting me to refuse or argue with him. Perhaps he had already prepared another speech about my ingratitude and how lucky I was to have been chosen by the dragon lord.
Too bad for him, I had no intention of giving him another reason to slap me.
Little did he know, this would be the last time he would see me.
I wasn't planning anything dramatic. I simply refused to let an old man run my life because he happened to be my father.
So I plan on running away.
Perhaps if he didn't see me, he would realise the consequences of his actions. He'd miss me and beg me to come back home.
I almost laughed at that thought.
My father?
Beg?
That would be the day the sun rose from the East.
Still, a girl could dream.
“I'm done eating.” I stood up to leave while the maids cleared my dishes.
My father coughed, eyeing me as I walked upstairs.
I kept my face straight and continued walking.
Just one more hour, Danika and you'll be free.
I entered my room and quietly shut the door behind me.
Then I hurried to the bed, dropped to my knees, and reached underneath it.
My fingers brushed against the small backpack I'd hidden there.
I pulled it out and checked its contents for what must have been the hundredth time.
Some dresses, a pair of flat shoes. little money I'd secretly saved from the allowance my father gave me. Some bread wrapped in a clean cloth and a bottle of water.
I stared at the bag.
Was this really enough to start a new life?
I had no idea but it was better than marrying a man I'd never met. Not just any man, a dragon and human girl?
A Lord who, according to every story I'd heard, was powerful enough to destroy an entire village if only one person offended him.
Just thinking about it made my stomach twist.
Who in their right mind would willingly marry a dragon Lord?
Apparently, fifty women had volunteered for the opportunity, and I was supposed to feel honoured that I'd been selected.
I hated the fact my father submitted my name alongside my portrait.
I'd rather marry a goat.
At least a goat wouldn't expect me to produce heirs.
Years ago, humans ambushed the dragon clans, poisoning their water and killing them. Lord Lucien's ancestors lost his wife in the tragedy.
He went gaga and destroyed 70% of the human clan, took their properties, burned their lands and this went on for about twenty years till a human brought out the idea of sacrificing women alongside other tributes as offering to the dragon king to make peace.
I let out a scoff in disbelief.
Women always deal with the consequences. Men poisoned and fought yet women were offered like we meant nothing.
At first, they were used as slaves in the frost palace. Being slaves include sexual intimacy whenever the lord needs it plus a series of hard work and mistreatment.
Fortunately, a human slave girl caught the heart of a particular dragon lord and he made her queen. Her descendants followed and since then women were married off to the dragons.
A lot would jump on the opportunity because you get to live in frost palace, the most powerful territory in Orum but for me?
I’d rather die.
Because living in frost palace comes with one rule: birth a male or you and your newborn daughter will be slaughtered.
