The Rose Of The South
Chapter 7: Istoriya Proiskhozhdeniya Drakonov

In an instant, Elias Winterthur was already in the room with them. It was impossible to mistakenly recognize those icy blue eyes even under the dim light of their cottage. The man was still wearing his duty uniform as a Northern Region border guard General complete with his sword draped around his waist. Elias did not seem surprised at all despite having just moved suddenly because he was used to it. Instead, Anna, Leon, Queen Isabella and Louis were surprised to see his sudden arrival.

"Why call me now?" Elias said directly to Xavier. Although it sounded very upset, but from the look on his face it was clear that he was very worried about his friend.

"So you called your pet Crazy Dog, huh?" Leon took out his sword and drew it toward Elias and pulled Anna back, as much as possible, keeping her away from Elias.

Elias looked back and found Leon ready to attack him. Elias quickly drew out his sword and drew it toward Leon.

"Finally I get to meet that famous Wild Cat from the South." Elias said, grinning at the sight of an opponent who was worth it to him.

"Not a cat, but a lion." Louis muttered softly, half as he was horrified to see the two Generals from the two opposing kingdoms wielding swords at their little huts.

"Elias, don't fight him." Xavier's orders.

With just that one sentence, Elias sheathed his sword back and retreated even though Elias was still tempted to try to fight Leon and see who won among them. There was a saying his father had said a few years ago that he still remembered so much that he was now, 'If your abilities were only like this you would instantly die as seen by the Lion of Schiereiland.'

It was those words that burned him every day that he became more and more diligent in practicing the sword until he became a General now. Elias wants to prove his father's words wrong. But it can still wait.

"Are you from anywhere?" Elias asked Xavier. "You don't know the whole Kingdom is in an uproar over the news of your death? You and Elle always make me miserable." Elias snorted in annoyance. While saying that, his eyes went around studying where he was now until finally his gaze met with the friendly smile of a graceful woman sitting not far from him. From the way he sat alone as if he had announced to the world who the woman was.

"Welcome, General Elias Winterthur." Queen Isabella's greeting to Elias.

Nordhalbinsel has no queen. King Vlad left the position vacant twenty-three years ago. Elias had seen only one woman who bore the title of Queen since childhood. Queen Isabella of Schiereiland. A graceful and gentle and loving woman. Elias recalls once stating to his mother that his goal was to become the knight who protected the Queen after seeing Queen Isabella's painting in one of his textbooks. She remembered her mother's reply back then, 'Then protect your sister. Later she will become Queen of Nordhalbinsel.'

Elias awakens from his daydream, then immediately bows very low to pay his respects to Queen Isabella. "Greetings to Your Majesty Her Majesty Queen Schiereiland. Pardon my attitude just now, I did not know that Her Majesty was here." Elias looked at Anna from the corner of his eye. Again he bowed respectfully, “Greet me respectfully to Her Royal Highness Princess Anastasia of Schiereiland.” Said Elias.

“Anna only. Act as usual, General Elias.” Anna said, holding a smile as she saw Elias' sudden change in attitude.

“Alright, if Your Majesty allows.” Elias said as he glanced towards Xavier.

Xavier reluctantly nodded, allowing Elias to behave as usual.

"I've heard the news." Said Queen Isabella. "It seems like the situation in your Palace is in chaos right now. And I heard that your twin sister is pregnant with the Crown Prince's child."

"Not—“ the new Xavier will explain, but Elias soon interrupts his explanation before there is a bigger misunderstanding,

"Not her son, Her Majesty." Elias.

Of course, everyone will immediately think the same as Queen Isabella when she heard the news of the pregnancy of Crown Princess Nordhalbinsel. Because from the beginning the relationship of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess is very close. And no one would be surprised if the Crown Princess was declared pregnant before they were both officially married.

"The son Eleanor conceived was not the son of the Crown Prince, Her Majesty. Their close relationship is just for..." Elias was silent for a moment, looking for appropriate words. "for a mere 'show. But that's the big deal right now."

"The show?" ask Louis.

"really. His Holiness the Holy and virgin Crown Prince did not even dare to hold my sister's hand without permission if not to be shown in public for the relationship of the two to look fine.” Added Elias.

“You don't need to explain it in that detail, General Elias.” Xavier.

“I think Her Majesty the Queen should know because Putri—“

Just before Elias finished his sentence, Xavier signaled him to be silent.

“Oh, haven't you told them yet? Then why did you disappear for a week? All right, it'll be your business later.” Elias said to Xavier. Then he turned back to face Queen Isabella who was still patiently waiting for an explanation from her. “So that's it, Your Majesty. That's what's our main problem right now. Please forgive me for being in a hurry, but may I bring His Highness Crown Prince Xavier in order to return to the Palace immediately and settle all matters?"

"I'll gladly give you permission. But, we need him to help us find my son. We also have a problem that needs to be resolved immediately. If the world finds out that the heir to the throne of Schiereiland, Crown Prince Alexis is still alive, then King Vlad must immediately restore power over our kingdom to the hands of my son. And if he's not willing, then we'll take it as a declaration of war." Queen Isabella said firmly. Anna had never seen her mother that hard before. Even while attending a meeting with King Edward in the past at the Palace, Queen Isabella was a typical Queen who was gentle and obeyed all the decisions taken by her husband. The death of her husband is what makes her have to be a figure of a strict Queen in order to take back her kingdom.

"Elias, I didn't call you here to take me back to the Palace. I know Elle must have planned something to solve this problem. Your twin sister is smart. He can solve any problem. I just want to make sure that his plan is the best plan and help him execute his plan."

"Whatchu mean? You talk like you already know what the plan is."

"Let me guess. He will be present at the Crown Prince determination meeting and acknowledge the baby he contains as the child of the Crown Prince."

"God! How the hell did you know? Have you planned everything before?"

"No. I just thought about it too. Therefore, I call you. Elle will need strong evidence as well as a high-ranking person supporting her to strengthen her position as the Queen Candidate."

"Prospective Queen?" Elias and Anna asked at the same time.

"It's actually a state secret. I shouldn't have said it. My father is dying right now. With his current condition, he would not be able to do royal business. I've been taking over all his duties. Not many people know this. Perhaps Empress Selena already knew, maybe that was also why she was in such a hurry to kill me."

"Then, Crown Princess Eleanor will be the future Single Queen?" Ask Queen Isabella.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"One Queen... That means a self-governing Queen without a King, like Queen Elizabeth of Westeria and Queen of Florence, the eighteenth Queen of Nordhalbinsel?" Ask Anna.

"You know about Queen Firenzia?"

"I read a lot of books about the lineage of the Nordhalbinsel royal family when going to the selection of personal guards. Queen Firenzia is the only Queen in the history of Nordhalbinsel. Her husband, the seventeenth King of Nordhalbinsel, died in a rebellion led by his own sister while Queen Firenzia was pregnant. Although there were princes who were the younger brothers of the seventeenth King, but the Queen of Firenzia who had no royal blood at all ascended the throne to become the Sole Queen until her infant son reached adulthood."

Xavier seemed amazed that Anna had even studied the lineage of the Nordhalbinsel royal family which was complicated enough to be her personal bodyguard back then. Xavier himself had even heard such a detailed story about Queen Firenzia from Anna. Xavier had previously found out about Queen Firenzia who was said to be the only Single Queen to have ever ruled Nordhalbinsel. She collected literature on the Queen of Florence to find ways to keep her promise to make Eleanor Queen of Nordhalbinsel if she died before she married Eleanor. Records of the Queen of Florence are mostly discarded, burned or omitted as her reign was considered the worst period in Nordhalbinsel's history by the nobles. Because the Queen who came from the common people was considered too inclined to the people and charged taxes that were too large for the nobles. Although in fact, at that time, the people were much more prosperous than during the leadership of the previous Kings.

"You're right." Xavier. "That could happen if he only led for a while until the child he contained was old enough to become King. But of course I won't let a child who doesn't have the blood of the royal family lead my kingdom. The tower witches could prove that the boy did not have royal family blood once he was born and that it could jeopardize the Winterthur family's good name. I'll be back as soon as I finish everything and get things back to the way they were. For that, I will need Elle to keep the throne until I return."

“Good. Let's say we can make Elle the Queen with Queen Firenzia as an example. But as we all know, unlike the history of Queen Firenzia, the child that Elle conceived was not your child. And Elle hasn't married you yet either. So how could he execute his plan?” Ask Elias.

“As long as the child has not been born, we can think of the child as really my son. After all no one knows other than all of us who are here.”

“How to?”

“I'll tell you how, Elias. Your job will be plenty from now on. I hope you can finish everything in time. And you also need to get to Westeria as fast as you can to see Queen Elizabeth."

"You mean Queen Eugene?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Queen Eugene. The present Queen of Westeria. You died for how long until you didn't know Elizabeth had left the throne and Eugene was crowned Queen of Westeria?"

...****************...

After Elias left to carry out the task given by Xavier, the night was already late. Louis is preparing dinner. Leon gathered some firewood for their fireplace. Anna helps Louis prepare their meal. Meanwhile, Queen Isabella and Xavier were chatting in the courtyard. At that time no one knew what the Queen was talking about with Xavier. But they talked for a long time and looked very serious.

"Have you ever heard of the legend of the four dragons?" Ask Xavier before starting.

"Four dragons descending from the sky to help Great Queen Zhenra? Yes, of course I have." Said Leon.

"It might be a little hard to believe.” Xavier glanced at Anna before continuing. “I was one of the four dragons. Great Fire Dragon.”

Xavier's statement invited a variety of reactions from them. Louis looked so shocked he forgot to shut his mouth. Leon seemed to not believe it in the least. Queen Isabella seemed calm and waited for further explanation as if she already knew the fact. Meanwhile, Anna was only speechless listening because she already knew the truth.

Even when Xavier said that he was the Great Fire Dragon, memories from a thousand years ago burst into Anna's head. The pieces of memory were as if they were his and had been forgotten for a very long time. Surprisingly, Anna felt something like longing feelings that had long been held back flowed through her heart. The longing was so painful and stifling that her tears suddenly flowed without her noticing.

In those pieces of memory Anna saw herself riding in the vast prairie with the man in the morning when the sun had not even awakened and the air was still very cold. The morning breakfast the man made when he felt too tired to get out of bed while she was pregnant and her stomach was already very large. A warm touch at any time where there are only the two of them. And their dances that make time seem to have no existence. All those memories invaded her when Anna saw Xavier leaving her confused by her own feelings.

Anna hated to admit this, but she wanted to recall even more of those past memories. Although sometimes painful, in fact the memories of the past are very beautiful. It is very real and hard to resist.

Xavier who felt that sad feeling from Anna immediately turned to look towards Anna. Anna hurriedly wiped away her tears before everyone noticed. He had as much as possible to take his gaze away from Xavier.

"You're right. That's hard to believe.” Leon said, breaking the silence after Xavier's shocking statement.

"He said honestly.” Said Anna. "Leon, we saw him near the Scheine River, remember?"

Leon recalled the Dragon he had seen from that distance on the Scheine River. He nodded, starting to believe Xavier's words.

"So the Four Dragons came back alive this time?" Ask Louis. "His Highness the Crown Prince is the Great Fire Dragon. Then where are the other three Dragons?"

"I don't know either. I don't know if they've been reborn or not." Xavier.

"Only the owner of the Dragon's Eye can know it." Said Queen Isabella. "The owner of the Dragon's Eye can trace the Dragon's whereabouts."

Xavier agreed. Even Xavier was also unable to figure out the whereabouts of the other Dragons, unless he was in the form of a dragon, he might be able to search for the other three dragons.

"Dragon Eyes... Like belonging to Great Queen Zhenra in the past? Eyes are red like fire." Leon said, half-thoughtful, recalling all the legend stories he had heard from all his acquaintances in the various Kingdoms, then surprised himself at the forgotten fact. "Crown Prince Alexis has Dragon Eyes."

"really. Alexis was born with Dragon Eyes." Queen Isabella agreed.

"I don't know where Crown Prince Alexis went, but if my guess is correct, it looks like he went to look for the Dragon. He may be looking for me or looking for another Dragon." Xavier.

"Why do you think Alexis is looking for a Dragon? What's for?" Anna asked, then looked at Xavier suspiciously. "Don't keep anything secret anymore. Please, tell us everything, Xavier. Please." Anna Pinta.

Xavier will never be able to refuse Anna's pleas. After all, from the very beginning, she was determined to tell Anna everything she knew. But right now, there were not only the two of them. Other people are listening too. So Xavier seemed to hesitate for a moment before he could actually tell her everything he knew.

"My father, King Vlad, has been searching for the Dragon Heart since twenty-three years ago. He needs the Dragon Heart to revive my mother." Xavier.

Everyone in the room was waiting for Xavier to continue his story. No one wanted to interrupt, so Xavier continued.

"One Dragon Heart can revive a dead person. The Four Hearts of Dragons can make eternal life. Selena's been telling him that since the death of my mother, Queen Irene. That was why, since then he had spent many years searching for the Dragon Heart."

"Then why didn't he take his own son's heart?" Ask Leon.

"A father will not kill his own son." Said Queen Isabella.

"As my father, he probably wouldn't do it. As the King, he was very likely to do so especially if it could bring my mother back to life. But he didn't know that I was one of the Dragons he was looking for." Xavier. "Even the greatest witch in Nordhalbinsel, Empress Selena, could not figure out the existence of the Dragon Heart. But that night, Selena said that she felt a powerful energy equivalent to the existence of a Dragon in Schiereiland Palace. King Vlad, who thought that King Schiereiland was the owner of the Dragon's Heart, killed him. But it turns out he was wrong. It seemed like it was just a trick created by Selena to take over Schiereiland. I tried to stop my father, but I was late. I came late that night. I'm really sorry."

Anna remained silent. He knew he should be angry. But he couldn't get angry at Xavier. Maybe he could, but he didn't want to be angry at anyone. He was too tired to blame anyone. Right now, if he had more energy to be angry, he wanted to divert his energy to look for his sister alone. Looking for Alexis, then back to his Kingdom. Rebuilding Schiereiland. That's all he wants now.

"Then, Alexis might meet your father and make a deal?" Ask Anna.

Xavier nodded. "That's my guess, too."

"So Crown Prince Alexis is looking for a Dragon for King Vlad? But why would Alexis bother? As far as I know, he's not a kid who likes to help the King who killed his father." Said Leon.

"My guess is, he did it to retake Schiereiland."

"Is there no other way? To be honest, if the nobles and people of Schiereiland knew that His Majesty, the Crown Prince and the Princess were still alive, we had the right to take back our kingdom even with war. I'm ready to fight for it." Said Leon.

The Queen clasped Leon's hand, "I will not prevent you, my son. If it must and there is no other way, we will fight against Nordhalbinsel to take back Schiereiland. But right now, we have to find Alexis first. Then we can fight Nordhalbinsel if there is no other choice." Said Queen Isabella.

"If Alexis is looking for another Dragon, where can we find him?" Anna asked, more to herself.

"There's a book." Leon said, almost as slow as a whisper. But Anna heard it.

"What book?" Ask Anna.

"Istoriya Proiskhozdeniya Drakonov."

"You speak an ancient language? Your pronunciation is perfect." Xavier said half surprised.

"That's the title of the book. The History of the Descending Dragons. More like a mere fairy tale to the people of Schiereiland. But the one who gave it to me was the one who disliked the children who believed in fairy tales the most." Said Leon. Then added, "My sword master from Westeria gave it to me in the first year I learned the sword from him."

"Do you remember the book?" Ask Anna.

"Your Majesty, when I read it I was only six years old. As I recall, there are some illustrations in the book that depict the places where the dragons descended for the first time to earth." Obviously Leon while trying to remember anything about the book. "Did the Great Fire Dragon not remember anything?"

Xavier. "I don't remember when I finally found them. Grand Queen Zhenra found them." Xavier said as he glanced meaningfully at Anna.

But Anna did not remember anything about the other three dragons. If only all his memories had returned, he might have been able to easily find the Dragons.

"Do you remember where you kept the book, my son?" Ask Queen Isabella.

"The Palace Library."

"Maybe the book is on fire. Nordhalbinsel's forces burned some parts of the Palace that night." Xavier.

"Maybe not yet. I put the book in a crate made of non-flammable material because it was a precious gift from my teacher."

"Then, we must return to Schiereiland." Sahut Anna's.

...****************...