A Dragon's Passion

First Kiss 1 Land of Miradel, Petroset Kingdom New Kingdom Year 445 “Father, I do not care that I am nineteen and well beyond the age considered traditional for marriage. That ship sailed more than several years ago. Nor do I care about the curse that has bound me to the other five princes of Miradel. I will only marry a man that I love and who loves me in return. That is the very least I should be entitled to, given it is your fault the curse even exists!” My father, King Claude, rose from his seat and strode toward me with an angry scowl on his face. I knew what was going to happen before the blow even hit me on my cheek. I was pretty sure it was going to bruise this time, but I just did not care anymore. “Annaliessa, you will spend time with the five princes, and you will choose one of them as your husband before your next birthday! Given that we royals are only allowed to be with child once, you must produce an heir. For the other four princes you do not choose, let us hope you have a girl, or they will have to leave Miradel and travel to far off lands to find another princess to marry, or be forced to marry a cousin.” “That wicked witch somehow managed to make a disproportionate number of males be born, limiting our ability to maintain our Kingdom’s lineage and security,” my father huffed. “I am not sure why you are complaining, father, it has benefited you greatly these past eighteen years. You hold their very hope of existence in your hands through me. Your scourge of having a daughter rather than a son has, in the end, made you very wealthy and powerful indeed. So, do not forget that I am the one controlling the future of this kingdom the next time you want to strike me. I could easily disappear, and then what will you have?” With that I turned and stomped out of the room. As soon as the door was closed behind me, I ran. I found myself in the forest on the mountain slopes behind our castle which is in the eastern kingdom of Miradel. The mountain separates us from other lands to the east. The land of Miradel is a temperate rain forest, rich in resources that other kingdoms long to have access to. However, most were afraid to invade as they did not want to risk being subject to the curse. This also made them reluctant to form covenants with us and allow us to intermarry with them. ¥ I never asked for any of this. You would think I would be happy about five very handsome young men being physically and emotionally attached to me. The fact that they cannot even choose another mate until I have made my selection is only another festering sore to my heart. I have grown up with these men and have been friends with them my whole life, how can anyone expect me to choose one over the other. If they were not bound to me, would they even like me? With so many thoughts going through my head, I did not hear him come up behind me. “What has you so troubled, Annaliessa?” Prince Jordan asked. I jumped at the sound of his voice, and he started to laugh. Jordan was the prince of the southwest kingdom, Vulterrian, which bordered the enormously wide river to the south and the ocean to the west. He was eighteen years, six feet tall, and had light blond hair which he kept short, rather than shoulder length (which was more common), welcoming hazel eyes, and a strong chin and cheekbones. Of course, one of his more alluring features was his well-muscled body. He was rock hard with muscle, and he had the confidence to carry it all, yet without seeming conceited. Out of all the princes, he was by far, my favorite, as he was so easy to talk to. I had always felt comfortable and safe around him. Not that the other princes were unfriendly or reckless, it was just something I could not explain. “My father is on a rampage again about me getting married.” “Is that why you have a bruise forming on your cheek? I swear, Annaliessa, if he was not your father, and one of the kings, I would have him arrested and beaten for striking you.” “Jordan, believe me, if he was not my father, I would have him arrested and beat him myself.” This garnered a hearty laugh from Jordan. “Remind me to never get on your bad side.” Now it was my turn to laugh. He was good at taking a tense situation and making me smile in spite of it. He was indeed going to make some woman very happy one day. Then the thought that his happiness was dependent on me wiped the smile from my face. He saw the look of depression and hopelessness descend, and he positioned himself directly in front of me. He took my chin in his hand and brought my head up to look into his eyes. “What is troubling you now, my princess?” My eyebrow raised in curiosity, “Since when am I your princess?” “You have always been mine; the others just do not know it yet.” “You really are quite full of yourself.” I could tell he was playing with me, and was really enjoying himself, too. He took another step, closing the small gap that had been between us, and wrapped his other arm around my waist, and taking his hand that had been holding my chin and sliding it behind my neck, tangled his fingers in my long blond hair. His mouth closed in on mine and I felt a tingling sensation start from my lips and run down my body. I was receiving my first kiss, and I was not prepared to feel the things he was doing to my body with that kiss. His tongue brushed against my lips and I opened to him, surprising myself with the desire to surrender to his advances. I had not expected to want more of him, and I had to fight back the heat that was coursing through my body, so that I could finally break his hold on me. “What was that for?” I gasped. “What made you think that it was alright for you to take advantage of me that way?” “It hardly seemed like I was taking advantage of you. It felt like you enjoyed it as much as I did.” Just then, the other four princes came up on horseback. “There you two are,” said Prince Charles, with a look of disapproval on his face. “We have been looking for you.” “We have all been sent by our kingdoms to yours so we can spend some more quality time with the princess,” snickered Prince Josiah. “It looks like Jordan has tried to ingratiate himself to the princess to get a head start on the rest of us,” declared Prince Kalvin. “Prince Samuel, do you not have a snide retort for me as well?” I inquired. “I think Jordan understands why we would be a bit edgy with him here alone with you.” “Really! Is he someone who is likely to take advantage of a young woman’s innocence? You better tell me now, so that I can take extra care when I am without a chaperone in the future.” “Why are you without a chaperone anyway?” asked Charles. “I had another heart-to-heart talk with my father, and found myself needing to work off a little anger.” “Is the mark you bear on your cheek from your father?” asked Kalvin. “I guess I should have stopped to grab a cold cloth before making a run for it. Is it really bruising that badly?” “I have seen worse, but bruises do not belong on the beautiful face of a princess,” said Josiah. “How long are you all here for this time,” I questioned? “A fortnight,” stated Jordan simply. “Well, I guess we better all head back to the castle and start socializing before I end up with a matching bruise on the other cheek.” “Ride with me back to the castle?” asked Jordan. “I think you and I have had enough one-on-one time today. Samuel, will you allow me to ride back with you?” Samuel blushed, rendering his normally well-chiseled features to stand out even more. You would think it would take more than a ride with a princess to cause this hulking, six foot one inch man who had just entered his eighteenth year a quarter of a moon cycle ago, to blush, but it made him so endearing.