The palace corridors were quieter now. Most of the guests had returned to their chambers, and the long celebration in the throne hall had faded into distant music and muffled laughter. Only the echo of Ryli's footsteps and the soft turning of the wheelchair wheels filled the stone hallway.
Ryli pushed Sonia slowly through the gallery. Tall windows allowed thin ribbons of moonlight to spill across the polished floor. Torches burned along the walls, their flames dancing against rows of ancient paintings.
Kings, queens, and great warriors of old.
Generations of rulers staring down from gilded frames.
Ryli slowed the wheelchair before the first large portrait. "This," he said, lifting his hand toward the painting, "is Dennis Dragarian."
Sonia leaned forward slightly.
"The first of the Dragarian lineage here on earth."
The painting showed a tall man standing beside a massive creature with wings stretched wide across the sky. His hair blazed bright red like fire, and in one hand he held a long spear pointed toward the horizon.
Sonia's eyes widened. She shifted excitedly in the wheelchair. Her fingers lifted slowly and touched the edge of the painting frame as if she were afraid the figure inside might disappear.
She had heard the name before. Everyone had. House Dragarian, the dragon house.
The stories had followed her since childhood like whispered legends told around winter fires. The alien who had journeyed down from Jupiter.
But she had never imagined she would see the man himself painted on a palace wall. Her voice dropped to a soft whisper.
"Is it true? He came from Jupiter?" Sonia asked with excitement.
Ryli nodded. "It is widely believed, and recorded to be so."
Sonia turned toward him immediately, curiosity burning across her face. "Widely believed?" she asked. "So no one truly knows?"
Ryli shrugged slightly.
"It is said that his world was destroyed by fire," he said. "Everything burned. Cities, oceans, mountains. Nothing survived."
His gaze drifted briefly back toward the painting. "He and his wife Rheana were the only ones who were able to escape."
Sonia watched him quietly.
"And they flew across the sky escaping their burning world to ours."
Her breath caught slightly. The story sounded like a mere myth. But too many stories have been told around it.
"How?"
Ryli's lips curved faintly. "By the help of his dragon."
Sonia froze.
"Dragon?" she whispered. The word slipped from her lips as though it were fragile.
Her eyes widened again. "Are they real?"
Ryli nodded once. "Yes."
The answer came without hesitation.
Sonia turned back toward the painting, staring at the massive winged creature beside the ancient king.
Her heart began beating faster. The stories had always sounded like fairy tales. Creatures breathing fire. Flying across the heavens. Capable of destroying cities.
But the way Ryli spoke made it sound real. "We still have a skeleton of one in this palace," he said casually.
Sonia turned so fast the wheels of the chair creaked. "You do?" Her voice lifted with excitement.
Ryli watched the sudden glow in her face. "Yes."
Sonia clasped her hands together. "Can I see it?" Her eyes shone like a child hearing about magic for the first time. "Please."
Ryli bowed his head slightly. "Of course, my lady." His voice softened. "I will do anything to make you happy."
Sonia's cheeks flushed immediately. She lifted both hands to cover her face. "Thank you," she murmured shyly.
Ryli turned the wheelchair. "Then let us go."
They descended a spiral staircase deep into the palace. The air grew cooler with each step. Torches flickered against ancient red stone walls. The further they went, the quieter the palace became, until the sounds of celebration vanished completely.
At the bottom of the stairway stood a massive iron door. Two guards stepped aside when they saw the prince.
Ryli pushed the door open. The chamber beyond was enormous. Sonia gasped the moment they entered.
In the center of the hall lay the skeleton of a dragon. Its bones stretched across the chamber like the ruins of a fallen fortress.
The skull alone was taller than a man. Its empty eye sockets stared endlessly toward the ceiling, and rows of curved teeth still lined the enormous jaws.
Its ribs arched upward like the pillars of a cathedral. The wings, though stripped to bone, still spread outward across half the chamber.
Sonia froze completely. Her hands gripped the arms of the wheelchair.
"This is…" Her voice trembled slightly. "This is as big as a castle."
Ryli smiled faintly. "It is said to be bigger than this when it was alive."
Sonia stared at the massive bones in silence. Her mind struggled to grasp the size of the creature.
The dragon's spine ran along the floor like a white stone road. Even its claws were larger than her entire body.
"Get me closer," Sonia whispered.
Ryli pushed the wheelchair slowly forward. The wheels echoed across the stone floor.
When they stopped beside the dragon's ribcage, Sonia lifted her hand cautiously.
For a moment she hesitated. Then her fingers touched the bone: cold, smooth, and ancient.
She traced the curve of the rib gently, her eyes filled with wonder. "What happened to them?" she asked quietly.
Ryli leaned closer to her ear. His voice dropped. "My father defeated them."
Sonia blinked.
"And killed them all."
Her eyebrows furrowed slowly. She turned her head slightly to look at him.
For a moment she said nothing. A dragon of that size could crush armies. Its skull alone could swallow a horse.
The thought of a man defeating such creatures seemed impossible.
But Ryli watched her closely. His expression carried a quiet pride.
She noticed the Prince's pride in his father. And even though she didn't believe his father truly defeated and killed the dragon, she didn't object to the narrative because she didn't want to crumble his pride.
Sonia looked back at the skeleton again. Then she nodded slowly. "That must have been a great battle."
Ryli smiled.
When they returned to the gallery, the torches had burned lower. Ryli rolled the wheelchair past another row of paintings.
Each portrait showed a king seated upon a throne. Each wore the same crown. Each carried the same fiery red hair.
Sonia studied them carefully. Her eyes moved from one painting to the next.
Finally she tilted her head slightly. "Why are they all having red hair?"
Ryli glanced up at the portraits. "Because they are Dragarians." He pointed toward one of the paintings. "It is said that people from Jupiter have red hair."
Sonia leaned back in the wheelchair, thinking. "So all Dragarian blood has red hair."
Ryli nodded. "That is why every king of Astarous from the Dragarian bloodline has red hair."
Sonia studied the portraits again.
Red hair. Sharp eyes.
The same strong features repeated through generations.
She let out a quiet laugh. "That fits perfectly."
Ryli raised an eyebrow. "How so?" Sonia shrugged lightly. "They are truly aliens."
Ryli chuckled. The sound echoed softly through the quiet hall.
After seeing the last painting, Ryli turned the wheelchair toward the corridor leading to Sonia's chambers. The palace had grown completely silent now.
Only the flicker of torchlight guided their path. When they reached her door, Ryli pushed it open and rolled her inside.
The room smelled faintly of lavender. He stopped beside the bed. For a moment neither spoke.
Then Ryli bent down and lifted her carefully from the wheelchair.
Sonia stiffened slightly at first. Then she relaxed. His arms were warm, and strong.
He carried her as if she weighed nothing at all.
When he placed her gently on the bed, Sonia felt a strange warmth spread through her chest. Her eyes followed him as he stepped back.
"You have to sleep," Ryli said softly. "Tomorrow might be busier than today."
Sonia nodded slowly. "You too."
Ryli gave a small bow and turned toward the door. The torchlight caught his face as he left the room.
For a long moment after the door closed, Sonia remained sitting on the bed. Her fingers still held the golden necklace he had given her earlier.
Her thoughts refused to settle. His smile. His voice. The way he had carried her.
She pressed the necklace against her chest and sighed softly. "He is also a nice young man," she murmured to herself.
A faint smile touched her lips.
"Maybe I will learn to fall in love with him."
But suddenly another face appeared in her mind.
Newton.
Her smile faded slightly. She shook her head quickly. "He doesn't see me as more than a sister."
Her voice grew quieter. "I do not exist in his world of romance."
The room fell silent again.