The Dragon's Kiss

"When you said that you wanted me," Kel began, her breath catching uncomfortably in her throat as she spoke, "what did you mean by that?"

"Hmm," the emperor remarked thoughtfully.

Kel was too afraid to look at his face, almost certain her worst expectation would be manifested there.

As she studied the wall next to the bed, suddenly, the emperor's soft fingers brushed against her cheek. She tried to shake it off, unwilling to be distracted from the matter at hand, but the emperor's hand remained firm. Slowly, he pressed against her skin until she found herself spinning her head back toward him under the pressure.

She gulped and blinked a few times before finally daring to meet his eyes. His red irises weren't cold and dark, but they also weren't glinting with emotion. She wasn't sure what to make of his expression because it was one she had never seen from him.

"What did I mean?" the emperor repeated softly. "... Something like this?"

"Like wha-"

Before Kel could finish speaking, the emperor leaned in, pressing his lips against hers.

Her eyes widened in shock. She'd experienced this moment before but only in her dreams. The way his lips felt now, however, wasn't breathtakingly cold or fiery hot. Instead, they just felt comfortable. They were warm and soft as they suctioned against her gaping mouth.

After a few moments, the emperor placed his other hand on her back, drawing her waist closer to him. Instinctively, Kel's hands shot up, and she braced herself against the man's chest.

In the midst of her surprise, a small sort of relief flowed through her body, and she soon gave in to the emperor's kiss.

Unlike the way his mouth had passionately danced against hers in the forest of her dreams, this kiss was sweet and gentle. His lips moved slowly and his tongue softly prodded Kel's own stone-like lips.

At last, he pulled away, leaving Kel gasping for air.

What was that? If that was the answer to her question, then did he mean…?

"Breathe through your nose," the emperor chuckled, resting his forehead against hers.

Even with his face so close, Kel could see his lips curled into a smile.

"Soren said the same thing," she said softly, shaking her head as she couldn't suppress a smile of her own.

The emperor instantly pulled away, his lips pressed into a flat line. "He said what?"

Realization crashed over Kel as she observed the emperor's expression turn into a scowl.

"Oh no!" she insisted, waving her hands. "No! It's not what you think!"

"Then what is it?" the emperor raised an eyebrow, angrily folding his arms across his chest.

"He was just teasing me and mentioned to breathe through your nose when kissing," Kel babbled, recalling the awkward moment between them back in the palace's dungeon.

"Why were you talking about kissing with that man?" the emperor spat.

Kel's haphazard explanations were clearly making the situation worse, but she couldn't stop herself.

"I wasn't! Well, I was, I guess," she stammered. "Just a little!"

"Either you were or you weren't," the emperor glowered. "Which is it?"

"I was! But it was about kissing you, so-"

Kel clamped her hand over her mouth wishing she'd done the action five seconds sooner. How could she have said something like that out loud, much less to the emperor's face?

The emperor's grimace softened at Kel's revelation.

"... about.. kissing.. me?" he hesitated.

"Ah, it was only in my dreams though!" Kel added hurriedly.

Before the sentence was even fully formed, she wanted to die. While she was uttering such nonsense, she should just reveal her true identity as well and escape this embarrassment with a nice, comfortable execution.

She peeked up at the emperor's face from behind her hands, but the man seemed just as surprised as she was at her words.

"You remember that?" he asked.

"Remember that?" Kel echoed. "Oh! Ah, yes when I had the fever. I remember my dream very well actually. It was-"

Stop talking!!! Her mind yelled, silencing her tongue before she could bring even more shame upon herself.

"It wasn't," the emperor said quietly in the midst of Kel's internal explosion.

"I'm sorry, what?" she questioned absently, wondering if it would be better to hide under the bed or try to stuff herself in the closet.

"It wasn't a dream," the emperor repeated more loudly. "That kiss… it wasn't a dream."

"Oh it wasn't a-Wait! It wasn't a dream?!" Kel gasped.

This time, it was the emperor's turn to implode. Kel noticed his porcelain cheeks turning pink as he opened and closed his mouth a few times, unsure what to say.

"So you.. kissed me?" Kel pressed, feeling a little better now that she had a comrade in shame.

The emperor nodded, bringing a hand to cover his mouth.

"When I was sick and unconscious?" Kel continued.

"Wait, no!" The emperor started. "Don't get the wrong idea! I had to…"

He trailed off again, his whole face turning the same shade as his cheeks.

Finally, he hung his head and shrugged. Kel could tell he was having just as difficult of a time as she was.

"Um.. shall we table this issue, Your Majesty?" she suggested, covering the smirk forming on her lips.

His head still hanging, the emperor nodded pitifully.

After taking a few minutes to compose themselves, the emperor looked back at her.

"Will you leave this place with me?" he ventured, hints of red still lingering around his cheekbones.

Kel scrunched her eyes shut and quickly turned away. How could such a dangerous tyrant look so pathetically adorable? Even with her brain yelling at her that she still hadn't thought everything through properly, she knew there was no way she could turn him down.

Clearing her throat, she looked back over.

"I will," she declared. "I will leave with you."

The emperor's face brightened momentarily, but he quickly resumed his usual poker face. "Great. Now the question is how should we get out of here?"

Kel blinked several times in confusion.

"You don't have that part figured out already?"