***
Li-Liang stood in line with his fellow soldiers. He stood tall, trying to impress the commander. The tall dragon paced among the soldiers, hand picking soldiers for the Rank, the emperor's private army.
Li-Liang felt his blood boil as the commander passed him by.
***
Li-Liang punched the tree again. Whenever he was upset, as he was now, he would come out to the woods behind the barracks and beat up a tree or two. He really wanted to send a good right hook to his superior's jaw, but he knew better than that. A tree wouldn't kill him.
A sound made him pause and listen. He twirled around at the sound of a snapping twig, hoping to relieve some of his tension on a living being.
"Li-Liang!"
He paused and relaxed. "Akasuki, what are you doing here?"
The female dragon held up the hem of her skirt as she jogged over to him. "I snuck away as soon as I heard. I'm so sorry, Li'."
Li-Liang turned away. "It's not your fault, 'Suki. I'll just have to try harder next time."
Akasuki came up behind him and circled his waist with her arms. "And as soon as you make it, we can be together."
He tensed and turned around to face her. "Please, Akasuki, you shouldn't be here. If you're caught…"
She giggled. "I can take care of myself." She traced a line down his chest with her finger. "I love it when you get so protective."
He grabbed her hands. "Your family will be worried."
Akasuki rolled her eyes. "My family worries when I sneeze. The curse of being a High Warlord's daughter."
Li-Liang frowned. "Another reason you should not be here. A Warlord's daughter should not waste her time with a common solider." He swung around and hit the tree again. "Sometimes I wonder why you do."
Akasuki smirked and coiled her arm around his. "You know why I do, my darling."
"Not now, 'Suki."
She frowned a moment before running her fingers through his hair.
***
Li-Liang flipped his gold coin between his fingers as he waited for his guide.
"The Oracle will see you now."
Li-Liang was so startled that he almost dropped his payment. He gripped the valuable metal tightly and followed the young dragon girl. She was small, still several years away from the Burning, dressed in dark silk. She led him into a large cavern lit by glowing pools of water with fires floating in them.
Sitting between two of the pyres was a female dragon. She was older than he was, but he could not pin point her age because a shroud shaded her face. She held a leather bag in her hands.
Li-Liang knelt down before her, putting his clenched fist over his heart. "Divine Oracle, I come to seek your advice."
The Oracle reached out a thin arm and Li-Liang placed his gold piece in her palm without meeting her eyes. She placed the coin in the bag and mixed it together with her other coins.
Li-Liang sat cross-legged in front of her, patiently waiting for her to finish her ritual. She turned the bag over and several coins, including his own, rolled along the floor in-between them. After a moment they lay still and the Oracle leaned forward. She folded her hands and examined the patterns.
They meant nothing to Li-Liang, but he knew they meant much to the Oracle. He did not understand what the symbols meant, or how to interpret their positions, but the Oracle did. It's what she had done for the last five hundred years.
She finally spoke, in a low, cold voice. "You are unsatisfied with your current status." Li-Liang nodded. "Because you are meant for greater things," she said.
"I want…" he began but she silenced him with a hand gesture.
"You will rule over all dragons, and the humans will fear your name. You will make many allies, but even more enemies. You will gain what you thought was beyond your grasp, and lose what you thought would always be there."
Li-Liang tried not to show his confusion. Couldn't she be more specific? He waited for more, but none came. The young servant tapped him on the shoulder. "You must go now."
***
"That's wonderful!" Akasuki cried upon hearing the Oracle's prediction. Li-Liang wished he could share her enthusiasm.
"It wasn't all good," he reminded her.
She kissed him and danced away past the trees. "My darling, you worry too much. The Oracle said you will rule the dragons, and you will." She stopped and turned, placing her hands on her hips. "But first, we must get rid of the old one."
Li-Liang stared at his beloved Akasuki in shock. "Get rid of him? Are you insane? And he has two sons to follow him."
She touched her fingertips to his lips. "Shush, my darling, I have a plan."
Li-Liang shook his head. "Akasuki, we can't do this, he's our emperor. Besides, how can I claim the throne? I'm not even a Rank solider."
She looked up at him with an expression she knew would melt his doubt. "Trust me, Li-Liang. If the Oracle says it, then it will come to be."
***
Li-Liang walked up to his highest-ranking officer. "Are we ready?"
"Yes, sir. We've surrounded the castle, and can begin with your order."
"Attack at sunset."
Li-Liang returned to his tent. Five years had passed since his trip to the Oracle, and now it was all going to come true in one fateful night. He had left the army five years ago and trained with mercenaries, who he then hired, with Akasuki's donations, to be his army.
He showed no surprise at finding Akasuki reclined back on his cot.
"You should not be here." It seems he was always telling her that, but he meant it more now than ever.
She stood with little difficulty. "Did you really think I could stay away from this?"
Li-Liang sighed. "I do not want you to be a casualty, especially not when you're carrying our child."
Akasuki lifted her chin up. "And what are you going to do about it?"
Li-Liang covered his face with his hands. Why did she have to be
so stubborn? He looked into her amber colored eyes and discovered again
why he could never tell her no.