Summoners Wings

A small female stared down at the man across from her. The same man who had no doubt allowed his children to drug her. Her stare was shocking for everyone in the room, well, everyone but the man. He was none other than Andri Ryuu, King of the Drake Kingdom. It was not uncommon for the Kings three boys to be stared down. They did have two other sisters after all. ”No, ” she said with a very clear tone. This small female was none other than Iris, the long-lost daughter of Andri Ryuu and his only heir. How unfortunate for the King that the only child that had been chosen by Kun to succeed him happened to hate royalty. Her mother also told him no once upon a time. How fitting that they were so much alike in the fact that they wanted little or nothing at all to do with this King.

Any other orphan would have been happy to have a family decide to come back for them. To take them away from the evil that was the Trinity House. But Iris would be free in just two more years anyway. Not that Trinity would stop her at this point from leaving. At her age, she had been deemed Useless. Orphanages stayed about for two reasons: noble bastards and legal child sales. Powerful bastards with no family ties could be sold to the highest paying noble. Most saw themselves being placed in the Arena to fight for the honor of their new house. Lies. Nobles had families born and bred for generations to fight for their honor. Orphans bought could expect the life of being a noble childs nursemaids and butlers. Or worse, a Pleasure Mate. Only Iris saw being a Pleasure Mate as a bad outcome. Indeed, becoming one seemed to be a great arrangement for both sides. You were fed, protected, clothed, and often provided very nice lodging. You would also be no more than a glorified Sex slave.

The Orphanage had treated her well enough when she was young. She had been dropped off there just days after birth without so much as a name. So, she had been handed to the sisters to care for. Without even a name, she was dubbed the red child for her hair. It had unnerved many of the sisters, but a baby could not be blamed for her hair color. She was officially labeled a whores bastard after a month. Nobles were always careful to give their children a first name and an heirloom. They wanted to ensure that the child could be identified in the event of possible inbreeding. Nothing had come like that for the blood-red hair child.

Eventually, Sister Mindy had taken her under her wing, raising her as her own. At age one, Iris said her first word. Sister Mindys favorite flower and her first word. Iris. It was deemed fitting for the child. Her eyes back then were the color of blue iris flowers. But it wasn blue that stared at the King now. No, it was light purple. Sister Mindy had long since left her ward behind. With the first test every child takes, at age five, Iris had earned her label… Useless. So, when she had first seen the three brothers sitting in the room, she had assumed she was about to be sold off. Still, she had sat down and slipped the tea put before her. Drugged tea. Within minutes, she had been out when she came to, here on the couch within the Kings Villa. The king is in a wing-back directly across from her. The brothers were on another couch off to the side. Iris would have left long ago. Not that she would get far with all the guards placed at regular intervals around the room. The drugs they had used still made the room spin, however.

”Iris, you are my heir. In this, you have no choice, ” Andri said.

She leaned forward, ”I do not care. You see, I want nothing to do with this kingdoms nobility, nor you for that matter. ” The room had been swaying since she came to. She was in poor health. Something no one in the room missed. Her face was a bit too thin, her clothes tattered. She had not been cared for at Trinity House that was plain to see. She was nothing more than a black hole of resources to them at worst. A moving training dummy for the other kids at best. Iris had no loyalty to this Kingdom… Nor any other. That was dangerous. She was a God-chosen heir. They were many things but never weak. Andri was called weak but he wasn chosen. No, his very dead brother had been. It was not a secret that the Drake Kingdoms main god had lost his champion only to be replaced with the only halfway decent child.