In a darkened cell inside the kingdom of Nijisanji’s most secure dungeon, Selen the moon dragon curled up to the extent that her chains would let her and nursed the wounds from her most recent torture session. To think it had only been a few years since she first entered the kingdom’s service, only to now land here. Every now and then, she searched the dungeon in vain for a way to end her suffering. If only. If only.
Except, of course, by confessing to a crime that wasn’t even a crime. The mere thought stiffened her resolve.
She heard footsteps descending down the stairway leading to her cell. It was probably the next visit by Lady Parfeit the Witch of Calamity or the heavenly hell-bird Enna Alouette, ready with their spiked whips for the next round of tender interrogations. She tensed up and clenched her teeth. But instead, Selen saw a blue-haired woman with wings on her head and a four-eyed drake on her shoulder. She knew exactly who it was.
“What brings you here, Elira?” the moon dragon coldly asked.
The sun-dragon, currently in her human form, took a seat and smirked slightly. “You know why I’m here. To get you to acknowledge your wrongdoings and begin your road back to King Tazumi’s good graces.”
Selen glared at her sister, who she knew played no small part in her current situation. “I served the king loyally ever since I followed you to this land, but each time, it seems something new stymies me from that very mission. I try to organize events to praise him, only to receive orders to stop. I commission my artisans to celebrate the kingdom, only to have to reimburse them myself when the treasury denies their payment. And now, a simple song for my followers, broadcast via the vision mirrors we always use, lands me here?”
Elira stood up. “You still don’t get it. It’s not merely what you do. But how you do. You must go through the proper channels. Recognize the rightful primacy of those above you. And above all, in no way cast any aspersions on the kingdom. Anything else risks Nijisanji’s hard won reputation as a bastion of freedom.” She pinched a scale on the Moon Dragon’s snout. “We have enough problems with that as it is.”
“With all due respect to His Highness Tazumi, we brought this upon ourselves. When the prophet Zaion warned of an impending dark future, the king had her executed. The beloved Fox-mother Nina left in disillusionment, followed shortly by Pomu and her fellow fairies.” Selen felt her blood begin to boil. “And now you have the gall to –“
Elira transformed her hand into its dragonclaw form and raked Selen’s face with her talons. “Enough of your insolence!” she growled. “It was a mistake to ever let a welp like you follow me. Now you have one final chance: Beg for forgiveness, or feel the king’s wrath!”
Silence. Blood dripped down from the Moon Dragon’s snout. Finally, she answered, “Let me go back to my old home, the one I had before I came to this accursed place. That’s all I ask, sister.”
Elira turned around with a snort. “I’ll consult the king,” she answered.
Days passed. Selen sat in the dungeon, waiting for something, anything. Then one day, as she wondered how her followers, the loyal Dragoons, felt, Elira, along with Lady Parfeit and the hell-bird Enna, suddenly entered. Dozens of guards flanked them.
“On orders from King Tazumi I, you are to be taken to the kingdom’s great capital of Yought, and executed for your crimes against Nijisanji.”
Part Two here: https://pastebin.com/MuNX9HXj