Drayce moved his paint tray towards Arlan and passed him one brush. There were various colors to choose from.

“What are you drawing?” Arlan asked as he saw Drayce making lines with red paint on the sheet.

“A dragon,” Drayce answered.

“Why?” Arlan asked. “You like dragons? Oh, right. I remember the symbol of your family are dragons—”

“It’s not. The symbol of my family is the sun.”

“Huh? But my sister taught me that you call your king a dragon? My uncle also called your father the Dragon of Megaris.”

Drayce patiently answered the talkative boy, enduring because of his promise to his mother. “Because the kingdom is blessed by a dragon.”

“Ah! I remember! The story of the Black Dragon!” Arlan cheered. “But…why is your dragon red?”

“Red Dragon is the symbol of prosperity and I want my kingdom to always prosper,” Drayce replied.

“That is a nice thought. I think I heard about it during one of my lessons back in my kingdom,” Arlan said and then looked for something. “Dragon…dragon…I want to draw a dragon too. Don’t you have a gold colour?”

“Are you drawing a Gold Dragon?” Drayce lifted his hand and looked at the boy beside him in surprise.

Arlan nodded as his nanny arranged another wooden tray with mixed paint on it. She skillfully created a gold-coloured paint.

This time, Drayce was curious. “Why?”

“My teacher said that Gold Dragons are the kindest dragons and they’re good at making friends. When I light up this lantern, I will pray for us to be friends.”

A light smile appeared on Drayce’s lips. Till now, no one had wished to be his friend. The words of this Prince of Griven sounded genuine. As Drayce had previously learned about the different dragons after knowing he was a Red Dragon, he knew that Gold Dragons are meant to be simple and not pretentious. This overly curious yet frank foreign prince fit the description perfectly.

They both finished drawing dragons after taking their sweet time.

“How does mine look?” Arlan asked, showing Drayce his simple drawing.

“It’s good,” Drayce replied, although the ‘Gold Dragon’ looked more like a yellow snake. The proud Arlan glanced at his Red Dragon.

“Yours is good as well.”

As the two boys were drawing for some time, yet to even start making the lantern itself, Lady Saira asked, “How about Prince Drayce and Prince Arlan resting for a bit before you continue? Would you like to have some light snacks?”

Arlan nodded immediately. Seeing Arlan willing to have snacks, Drayce put the sheets aside and nodded as well.

Lady Saira opened the basket she put aside and served them together with Arlan’s nanny.  They were fruit tarts topped with slices of fruits with different colours, making them look pleasant to the eyes.

Arlan took a bite and exclaimed, “It’s tasty!”

“Mother made it,” Drayce informed.

“Her Majesty the Queen?” Arlan asked in surprise.

Drayce nodded, “Hmm.”

“Ohh, she makes good tarts, but you know, my mother makes the best cakes!” Arlan boasted. “My mother is mostly busy with her duties as a queen though so she rarely makes them. But you have to taste it! She’s the best! I love all the cakes she makes. If you ever come to Griven, I will ask my mother to make something for us. I am sure you will like it too.”

Drayce simply nodded as he continued to enjoy the tart.

“By the way, where is your pet bird, Second Prince?” Arlan asked as he swallowed the rest of his food and took a second one from the basket.

“He is not here,” Drayce replied and looked up at the sky. “Must be flying somewhere up.”

“Oh, a ‘he’. It’s a male bird.” Arlan narrowed his eyes as he looked up in the sky, trying to see if the large bird was nearby. “A pity it’s not here. I want to see your pet. Next time, will you show him to me?”

“I will.”

Just then, they heard a commotion behind them where all the other kids were gathered around something in awe.

When Drayce and Arlan turned to look,  they spotted a  magnificent dark blue lantern that looked like the night sky sprinkled with glittering stars. One could easily imagine how magical it would look once it was lit.

“That looks so awesome! I wonder who made it?” Arlan asked as he found the idea artistic.

“My brother made it,” Drayce answered.

Thanks to Drayce’s good hearing, he knew that it belonged to his older brother. He was happy and wished to see it up close as well, but he didn’t want to go near those kids who would probably do something to anger him again.

“Really? It’s so big. I want to see it up close. Let’s go—”

Since Arlan insisted, Drayce could not say ‘no’ to him. Drayce looked at his nanny. “We will be back shortly. Stay and make sure the sheets don’t get blown by the wind.”

“Your Highness…” Lady Saira wished to say something as she was worried, knowing that whenever Drayce came across those kids, they would say something upsetting.

“Don’t worry, Saira,” Drayce said and walked towards them with Arlan. He was determined that no matter how much they tease him, he would simply ignore it.

As they reached the lantern, Keiren looked at Drayce. “Dray, come here.”

Drayce and Arlan went closer and saw that beautiful lantern had the Black Dragon drawn on its four sides as if it were embracing the night sky. Keiren was proud to have drawn the symbol on his lantern.

“What do you think?” Keiren asked.

“I think it’s going to be the best lantern in the parade,” Drayce replied happily.

“True! It’s so big too,” Arlan added.

Keiren was uplifted by everyone’s praise, and he stood up, gesturing for his nanny to carry the lantern for him. “I will show it to Mother!”

The First Concubine, Lady Clarisa, was having tea with the parents of his friends in the garden on the other side of her residence. Some of the children also stood up to follow the First Prince, but the bullies from that kickball incident—the grandson of the Viscount and two of his friends—stayed behind.

Seeing them, Drayce was about to go back to his table with Arlan, but those boys were older and larger than him and Arlan. They were easily stopped by them.

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