The morning was no better than the night before. Suzume awoke to the sound of two of the shrine maidens gossiping outside her window.

“I heard the dragon took her to his chamber last night.”

Suzume pushed herself up on one arm and scowled at the offending sound of twittering voices.

A second girl gasped. “She must realize that she is not really his bride. It is just a title!”

“She’s from the palace. Maybe they don’t understand southern customs?” The first woman asked.

“I am shocked she would give her virtue so lightly.”

“The way I heard it, she’s had countless lovers. I don’t think there was any virtue that remained for her to lose.”

Suzume had enough. She stood up and poked her head through the open window that looked unto a garden where the two women were conversing. They spotted her as she rested her head on her upturned palms her elbows resting on the windowsill.

“I had one thousand lovers. One for each night of the week and they would shower me with treasure and the finest silks. That was until a warrior stole my heart and I forsook them for none but him. My father, the emperor, however, had already chosen for me one of his best generals: General Tsubaki. When the general learned about my lover, he challenged my lover to a death match. They fought and both lost their lives to win my love. That is why the emperor banished me here, because his favorite general died.” She smirked.

The two women cowered and lowered their gazes to the ground.

“What nothing more to say? I thought that would make for much better gossip than what you were saying.”

“We did not mean any offense,” the second woman said.

“Oh? I suppose I sound favorable having spread my legs for hundreds of men rather than thousands and being foolish enough to believe a dragon would be my husband?”

“No, that is to say...” the first woman tried to defend the second.

“Get out my sight before I call down the dragon’s wrath upon you,” Suzume said with a sharp gesture they both scattered like maple leaves in the wind.

Suzume slid down from the window and sighed. She gathered her knees up to her chest and stared at the blank wall across from her. She was used to gossip. She had grown up surrounded by it, but somehow she had hoped this far from the White Palace, Her reputation would not have preceded Suzume. It seemed her mother’s legacy was stronger than she expected. It doesn’t matter. I don’t care what they think. She thought.

Suzume got up and dressed in her everyday clothes: a pair of billowing pants in a deep crimson and a white robe that was tucked in and tied with a bit of cloth around the waist. She bound her hair in a low tail with some white ribbon. These were the garments of a priestess, every shrine maiden in the complex wore them. It only served to make her hate them more, she missed her silk and attendants who dressed her and jumped to entertain her every whim.

After a quick breakfast, in which none of the other shrine maidens even so much as looked her in the eye, Suzume went to meet with Zakuro to get her morning assignments. It was an unfortunate side effect of being a shrine maiden. She was expected to clean and perform other menial tasks. I don’t even know why it is necessary when the god is a fake. She sighed and then when she looked up again, she saw the Dragon standing across the garden beneath a maple tree. His head was titled back as he stared at the crimson leaves.

He was wearing a long robe than end at his knees over a pair of billowing pants and his long hair had been tied up in a top knot. From a distance, he was handsome but Suzume knew beneath that seemingly pleasing outer veneer was a monster and a maniac.

He spotted her and waved her over, at first she considered pretending to not see him and walk away but he would not allow it. He crossed the garden and jumped over a small decorative pond before landing gracefully beside her.

“Good morning, my bride,” he stage whispered. A few of the shrine maidens looked in their direction but when Suzume scowled at them they ducked their heads and went back to sweep or carrying linens to be washed.

“I thought we had established that I was not your bride,” she said with fake sweetness as she fluttered her eyelashes at him.

“Mmm,” he said and cupped her cheek running his thumb along her high cheekbone. “Isn’t it fun to pretend though?” the air crackled around her and she felt the burning pool of energy rumbling in her stomach. Now would be a good time to learn to master this power in order to burn him to a crisp.

The dragon pulled away from her and laughed. “You are so predictable. I am glad I chose you.”

“You did not choose me, my power unleashed you!” She countered.

“How do you know I did not give you that power?” he asked with a quirk of his lip. She glowered at him and had no appropriate response. It seemed these new found abilities only manifested around the dragon, could it be nothing she could control but her body’s reaction to his presence. She refused to give him credit; it would only go to his head.

“There you are!” Zakuro shouted and bustled over to the pair of them. When she saw Suzume with the Dragon however, she faltered. She folded her hands in front of her and bowed low to the dragon.

“My lord Dragon,” he looked down at her with a narrowed gaze and the crackling sensation tinged the air and made Suzume’s skin itch. Zakuro did not seem to notice. She did maintain her averted gaze as she spoke to Suzume. “The head priestess wishes to speak with you.”

“We’ll be there in a moment more,” The dragon replied for Suzume.

“I can speak on my own,” Suzume snapped.

“Can you now, since you were not able to answer my earlier question, I thought perhaps you had lost the power of speech.”

She puffed up her chest and considered shouting at him but Zakuro and the other shrine maidens were staring. She didn’t want to reveal even a small weakness to them. She lifted her chin and turned away. “We’ll speak to the head priestess now.” It was a small triumph. Zakuro bowed again and showed them the way to high priestess’ room. Zakuro kept a few steps ahead of them as if she were eager to put distance between herself and the two of them.

When they arrived at the high priestess rooms, Zakuro knelt by the door and slid the doors open. Inside, the head priestess was sitting at the far end of the room on a cushion upon the floor. Suzume entered and walked with her head bowed before taking a seat across from the head priestess. The dragon, adversely, declined to sit and loomed above the two women.

“I am glad you came, Lord Dragon.” The Head Priestess greeted him and he nodded in response. Then to Suzume she said, “I called you hear to speak about what happened yesterday. I wrote a letter to the head of temple at the White Palace but I wanted to hear the words from you, as well.”

Suzume’s heart beat faster. She had been caught out in her lie! They would banish her for sure, or worse. She panicked there was nowhere left for her but here. It would have been wise to confess the truth and hope for mercy from the head priestess but she was too prideful to admit to a lie.

“What do you want to know? I am an open book.” Suzume replied.

The Dragon snorted. “That is an understatement.”

She shot him a glare but he only smiled at her and motioned for her to continue.

The High Priestess glanced between the two of them and sighed. “I never asked you this before because I did not sense it when you arrived. But given recent developments, I thing it bears investigation. Have you been tested for spiritual sensitivity?”

This Suzume could answer honestly, “No. It never seemed a concern, I suppose. I am descendent from the high gods, as the daughter of the emperor, so it was assumed I would.” Well, partly honestly; no one would have assumed Suzume, the fifth daughter of the emperor’s second wife, would have anything remarkable about her. She had been lucky enough to have such a fortuitous marriage arrangement, that was all in the past now. Thanks to mother’s wanton ways.

“I suppose you are right,” The high priestess said while scratching her chin.

Suzume sighed. She had accepted her lie so easily. Then again they would not have taken me into the temple if they did not think I had some spiritual sensitivity.

“Perhaps you can answer a question for me, Chiyoko?” The dragon asked the Head Priestess. “How does a woman with previously no indication of spiritual power break a thousand year old seal? I know it could not have been weakened because the priestess who made it would not let such a thing happen. I suspect that is why she built this shrine. Your prayers should have kept me sealed for another thousand years and beyond. Nothing but the fall of mankind would have weakened it, and even then perhaps it still would have held and locked me in eternal slumber.”

Chiyoko, the High Priestess, glanced between Suzume in the dragon her mouth working as if she were trying to give him a reasonable explanation but there was none.

“I cannot say, my lord.”

He waved off her response. “I did not really expect you to. Instead, tell me, the first priestess of your order, did she have any descendants?”

She went to shake her head no but paused. She held up a wrinkled finger. “There is a myth that when High Priestess Hotaru began our order she was great with child but there is no proof of this. It is probably superstition or allegory. She is often called the mother of our order; she is said to have traveled all around the empire creating shrines and temples wherever she went.”

“Is there more to the legend?” The dragon pressed. Suzume squirmed under the force of his spiritual pressure which seemed to be bearing down upon her. She laid her hands down flat on the reed flooring and tried to steady her labored breathing.

Chiyoko frowned and looked at Suzume who was struggling to breathe. The dragon, stood above her with an intense gaze that seemed it could burn her just with a look. The high priestess continued, “Some say High Priestess Hotaru died bringing that child into the world, others say she lived and raised the child who became a great spiritual leader, others still say that she gave birth to the first emperor and that she is the mother of our empire, but these are all just legends without recorded evidence. There was a fire one hundred years after her death, it burned the temple to the ground and historical records were lost.”

The dragon was pacing about the room. “There must have been back up copies somewhere. Are there any great places of learning?”

“Just the library at White Palace but—“ The Priestess stopped and looked at Suzume once more. She was panting heavily and clutching at her throat. “What is wrong with the girl?”

The dragon noticed her lying on the ground forced down by the weight of his spiritual energy. He eased it back and she gasped a breath.

“She is particularly in tune to your energy, my lord,” Chiyoko remarked.

“Yes, she is.” He stared at Suzume who was perspiring and glowering at him. “You will take me to the palace. I would investigate these claims about that woman’s offspring and together we will find them and kill them.”

Chiyoko gasped and Suzume sat up and swayed in place. “My lord, she is the daughter of the emperor, what if the legends are true and High Priestess Haruto is the mother of emperors?”

“Then I shall kill her and her entire family,” he replied in a calm voice that gave Suzume chills. He meant what he said, of that she had no doubt.

“What if she had no children, if she died without descendants? Will you hunt down her sisters’ legacy or her brothers’?”

“There was a child, of that I am certain.” He said and the thunder clouds seemed to gather in his eyes once more. Chiyoko trembled sensing the unleashed spiritual energy of the Dragon and Suzume stood up and flames seemed to envelop her aura which was burning a bright red.

“How can you be so certain?” She challenged and the red of her aura shot towards the dragon.

He pushed it aside as he would a fly. “I know because it was mine.”