Chapter Sixteen: Deadly Attraction

King Talonblaze hadn’t been able to sleep at all. His entire body itched to the point of driving him mad. He had spent the night tossing around, rubbing his hide against the bed and biting and scratching in a vain attempt to be rid of the itching.

Ear frills perking, the dragon averted his attention as the door swung open, grinding his back against the mattress, the skin beneath his scales burning from the friction. The nurse smiled as she sauntered into his quarters, her tail swishing from side to side as she crossed the room.

“Good morning, my liege,” she greeted in singsong. “Did--oh my stars!”

“My body is severely itchy all over! Do something!” he demanded before tearing off a patch of scales from a prominently itchy spot on his bicep with his teeth. Spitting out the scales, he subsequently scratched at the lump on his flesh feverishly with his upper fangs, the irritation biting at him like a swarm of fleas.

The mare rushed over to his side to look him over.

“Goodness! You broke out in hives!” she noted. Turning to gallop out of the room, she returned a few minutes later with her bag of medical supplies. Putting it down, she pulled out what appeared to be a jar of gel. Untwisting the lid, she slid her hoof inside to scoop out a glob and apply it to his skin and scales. “This is aloe. It should stop the itching and bring relief. And for goodness sakes, don’t scratch, you’ll just make it worse!”

The Draconian monarch snarled. Even though the urge to scratch was maddening, he held still as he allowed her to rub the aloe into his scales.

“I better not be allergic to this, too.”

“Well, if this doesn’t work, I honestly wouldn’t know what to say,” the earth pony spoke. “I’m not an expert on dragon physiology. If I was, this wouldn’t be a problem!”

She chuckled.

“Heh. If it weren’t for that little insect, I suppose there wouldn’t bee a problem in the first place.”

The mare gave him a wink.

A deeper scowl formed upon the dragon king’s scaly features as he stared hard at her.

“Not funny,” he deadpanned, clearly not amused. Snorting, he rolled over onto his back in order to grant access to the underside of his body.

Rolling her eyes, she delivered a playful smack to his upper foreleg.

“Oh, lighten up! Life’s too short to be all stone-faced and serious. You should laugh every once in a while. It’ll do you good,” she stated, climbing onto the bed and on top of him to get at the scales on his belly. “After all, laughter is the best medicine!”

“My life is not short. I am immortal,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “And I fail to see how laughter could be any form of medicine besides increasing heart rate and blood flow.”

“Immortal?” she parroted, arching a brow in disbelief. “Well, I’ll be.”

The carnation-pelted equine let out another chuckle.

“Boy, do you know nothing of the body. Laughter relaxes you, darling! It relieves physical tension and stress! And boy are you ever tense! I can feel it in my hooves climbing all over you!” She crawled further down him, continuing with her speech. “And, yes, it increases heart rate and blood flow, but by doing so that helps prevent heart attacks and the like! In fact, it adds to a better overall quality of health. Laughter helps you from feeling physical pain, aids in overcoming fear, and it helps us with dealing with day to day problems by making them seem smaller and less daunting!

“I’ve been doing studies on my fellow ponies. I’ve noticed ponies who laugh don’t get as sick and heal much faster than those who don’t. My supervisor thinks it’s silly, but I’ve seen the results for myself--it really does work.”

The winged reptilian emitted a growl, his leg twitching as she rubbed aloe into his belly.

“I do know much about the body.”

To prove his point, he pressed a finger into her shoulder to trigger a nerve--the same one Rhem had triggered in Princess Celestia’s shoulder.

The nurse blinked as her head involuntarily shot straight up.

“… Oh, my…” she said in a rather surprised note, her eyes wide. “That’s… What are you doing…?”

“I triggered one of your nerve points,” he replied, removing his finger from her shoulder and letting if fall limp at his side. “I know all of the nerve points in your body.”

The mare actually looked somewhat impressed.

“I see…” Her mind was spinning with ideas. There appeared to be a shining hunger in her eyes as she came to realization of what she could possibly use with this knowledge. “… Tell me more.”

“Finish rubbing that aloe on me and I suppose I will tell you more about nerve points. Though, genetics is more my specialty. No Draconian knows more about genetics than I.”

“Genetics?” The pony went back to rubbing aloe over his stomach, her face displaying confusion. “What are those?”

The dragon arched a brow.

“The nurse does not know what genetics is? It is the study of a creature’s heredity. Their pedigree. For instance, my soldiers have been created by breeding dragons with desired traits, so they will be passed down to their offspring.”

The nurse blushed lightly, biting her lower lip.

“That makes sense, but I am a medical nurse--I’m not a scientist, my liege. I’m more concerned with making sure ponies and others heal from sickness and injury, not… traits.”

“My soldiers are taught to tend to their own injuries, so we do not really have the need for medics,” King Talonblaze claimed, squirming a little as her hooves passed over his ticklish abdomen.

“No?” she asked, frowning a bit. “And of those who can’t tend to their own injuries?”

“They can. Do not underestimate my warriors,” he gruffed with a scowl, then decided to change the subject. “What is your name, by the way?”

She gave him a slightly skeptical look, but continued to rub aloe around his stomach and down closer towards his legs.

“My name is Amara, my lord.”

“Hm. Amara,” he repeated, parting his legs to give the nurse better access to his inner thighs. “Watch where you put those hooves.”

Amara nodded. After all, she didn’t want to hurt him. Carefully stepping around on his body, trying not to plant her hooves on any soft or sensitive spots, she resumed applying the gel-like substance to his legs and upper thighs. As she was busied, she subconsciously lifted her tail, exposing herself to the large male.

The scaly beast was inwardly amused at this position, his eyes traveling to her rump.

“I’m not complaining about the view though.”

Nearly stumbling off of him, the mare blushed furiously. Craning her neck over her shoulder, she stared at him incredulously as she lowered her tail partially.

“Um… Well. Thank you… sire,” she said as she finished applying the aloe to each leg, sounding flustered.

The urge to scratch was eating at him, but he kept himself distracted as he studied the mare’s rear. As much as it astonished him, he was entertaining the idea of seducing her. She was quite attractive, and he was curious as to how ponies performed.

“You know… if we were in my land, I would consider making you my queen.”

This information surprised Amara so much, she really did stumble and almost toppled forward. Managing to catch herself, but inadvertently raised her rear higher to briefly expose herself again and whirled around with wide eyes.

“My lord?” she said, a blush saturating her cheeks--clearly taken aback at this.

“You heard me.”

The ruler of Draconia raised his brow, waiting for the mare’s response. While he was open to the idea of taking her back to his country as a mate, there was no way he was going to share his power with her.

“Me? … A… a queen? My… my lord, I’m just a simple nurse… Wouldn’t you prefer somepony more… worth your stature?”

King Talonblaze snorted with another roll of his eyes.

“I said you, so I choose you.”

Amara appeared scared and flummoxed… but the edges of her lips rose in an elated, silly-looking smile.

“My lord, I… I would be… honored,” she said, in a humble intonation.

The behemoth’s eyes opened wide in sincere bemusement.

“You seriously would agree to it willingly?”

The mare blushed again, glancing away with a bashful smile.

“Well, are you seriously considering taking me as your spouse? … Nopony has ever really expressed any interest in me before. And what you’re proposing is, well…”

She giggled, turning back to him to flutter her eyelashes in a teasing manner.

The dragon was honestly more bewildered than he had been in many, many years. This young female was actually being receptive to him. He couldn’t even remember the last time someone held any sort of willing attitude towards him.

Lifting a clawed hand, he kneaded the sharp tips over the fur on her back as he continued to stare at her, uncertain of what to say.

Amara gazed at him with half-lidded eyes, shivering as his claws ran through her soft coat. Humming softly, she sifted a little closer to his head, her tail sweeping over his fingers.

His hives bit at his skin, but now he was more focused on the mare, his stone grey eyes piercing into her own.

“Why don’t you finish rubbing that aloe on me and… we will see what happens after that.”

Blushing, Amara nodded and resumed.

***

Rhem loped ahead the instant he and Princess Celestia were released from morning court with a pair of scribes tailing behind them.

“Maybe we should bring a few guards, too, to study underneath you as well?” the alicorn questioned to herself. “I wonder if General Blueblade and Warden Red Pommel will be intrigued by this.”

She was looking forward to studying the tactics of combat--if for no reason than to increase her guards’ repertoire of skills, even though she knew Rhem was training her. She shivered lightly in excitement. When was the last time she had a direct teacher?

“I was actually about to suggest the same thing,” Rhem chuckled as he bounded several more strides and waited for the princess and scribes to catch up. Allowing Princess Celestia to walk ahead for a couple of moments, he took another leap and landed at her side to walk with her with an energetic spring in his step. “What are your general and warden like?”

“Well, the warden is a bit of a crusty old sort. He may SEEM gruff, but he’s a pleasant fellow. He just happens to be because he has to look over the ward where we keep what prisoners we have. He doesn’t… really much tolerate injustice. Do good by him and he’ll do good by you.

“General Blueblade on the other hoof… He’s, well, he’s a no-nonsense type of pony. Somewhat aloof. Almost all business. But he’s fairly open and trusting about most situations, and he’s usually willing to lend an ear to his junior officers to take their advice. He’s often regarded as a father to the ones serving under him. Though…

“Blueblade is a little…” She paused to nip her lower lip. “How to say… xenophobic. He really doesn’t like outsiders, so… I don’t think he’ll take much of a shine to you. I’m just hoping his willingness to learn new techniques for his guards are enough to counteract any sense of distrust he’ll have towards you.”

“Oh, okay. Well, I am looking forward to meeting them. I hope they do not mind learning from someone younger than them. I know in my homeland that older warriors can feel indignant and irritated whey they are bested by younger and less experienced Draconians.”

Indeed the dragon knew. He dealt with dragons in and out of the sparring arena all the time. A lot of them have gone into fits of rage after losing, but it was expected. King Talonblaze wouldn’t tolerate a loss out of his general, even though he had lost plenty of times throughout his life--and had been subsequently punished for those losses.

“I don’t think the warden will mind that much. He’s getting fairly up there with age, so I don’t think he’ll personally be one to fight himself if he doesn’t have to. It’s not to say he can’t win a fight, but I’m sure he will be happy for the experience. In fact… Pommel’s usually proud of his guards whenever they happen to best him in a fight. He’s not easily beaten, and to do so usually means they’ve earned their worth as soldiers in his eyes.

“General Blueblade’s a little more complicated. He… can suffer from warrior’s pride from time to time, but he is still relatively young, compared to Pommel. Blueblade’s only in his mid-forties. Pommel is somewhere in his seventies… and Pommel can still easily defeat ponies less than half his age.”

“How long have they been serving you, Celestia?” Rhem queried, jumping ahead again and cutting across the alicorn’s path before eventually joining her opposite side when she caught up to him.

“Ever since the two of them were old enough to sign up in our armed forces at seventeen, if I recall properly. At least Pommel did. I think General Blueblade didn’t until he was closer to his twenties, and even then that was mainly at the recommendation of his father and more of a sense of familial obligation at first. Blueblade’s really more of a strategist than an outright warrior.”

“That is good. An army can have all the muscle it wants, but it will not do them any good without strategists.” The young general grinned, now looking forward to meeting the pair even more. “I… I officially became the general of King Talonblaze’s army when I turned fifteen.”

“I have to ask. How, exactly, did you get to be such a top general at so young an age, anyway?” Princess Celestia turned her eyes to him. “Physical prowess? Strategic superiority?”

“That is what I was bred and trained to be. King Talonblaze created me and my siblings with the most selective bloodlines. The two small strains of royal blood in my pedigree… they were skilled warriors and that is all he cares about.” Rhem led his gaze away for a few moments, then shifted back to the mare at his side. Countless times he had wished he hadn’t been bred the way he was, forced to be the warrior on top. The pressure was overwhelming at times. “I was put under tougher training than most soldiers. More work, more beatings, more punishments, more pressure.”

Princess Celestia seemed intrigued.

“So… you’re of royal descent?” she asked, tilting her head. If he was of royal descent and had royal blood in him, then theoretically he would have valid claim to the throne, should he ever desire to take control of Draconia himself for whatever reason.

Not that she figured she would have to worry about that, but she found that interesting.

“And you were… specifically bred for that,” she repeated, sounding a little surprised. “I heard of survival of the fittest… but that’s just ridiculous.”

“No one is bred unless King Talonblaze says so, and he picks who is bred to who. Even my future mates will be picked for me, but I will not see them at all except when it will be time to make offspring. That will not be until I turn one thousand years old.” Rhem frowned as he directed his eyes to the path ahead, a sudden pang of loneliness flooding his being. “But… they will not be immortal like me. There is no immortal female in Draconia.”

“I can imagine why.” The alicorn rolled her eyes and gave pause. “I’m curious… Wouldn’t it be a bit more… beneficial? This… It might sound gruesome, barbaric even, but wouldn’t an… immortal mate potentially lead to a perfect breeding stock? To continuously be able to produce offspring to ensure a deathless army?

“Or would King Talonblaze be too afraid of said deathless army rising up and overthrowing him? Yes, you’re immortal, but… you were specifically bred for that purpose, to be a loyal killing machine to him and nopony else.”

“I do not think so. We have too many superiors keeping the soldiers in line. And… having an immortal female I guess could lead to too many of one bloodline and too much inbreeding. And that will cause a lot of issues in offspring.”

“I suppose that would make sense. Diversity is they key for a healthy species…” the monarch mused. “Unless you were to have the immortal males share the immortal female, although that would very likely be a really good way to spread venereal diseases…”

The dragon went silent for a few minutes as he drifted into his thoughts.

“You know… we may have come from two very different environments, but we have a lot of similarities.”

She chuckled, nodding her head as the two of them plus the scribes entered the courtyard.

“Yes, you’re right. A world of differences apart, and yet, we share a lot of common points… I suppose this is what they mean by finding a common ground.”

“Yes. It is--hm?”

The sudden gasping of guards readying themselves to spar grabbed his attention. The armored unicorns stood in the center of the courtyard with wide, frightened eyes, too stunned at the moment to say or do anything. Along the sidelines were two older stallions. One of them was very old. Old enough for Rhem to guess that he might be the warden Princess Celestia had told him about.

Author's Note

Warden Red Pommel. No relation to Coco Pommel. This character was named long before Coco Pommel appeared. I had a good laugh when I heard her name. XD