Chapter 188 New Ambassadors
Elara’s POV
“Find her!” I screamed. “Before she reaches the Iron Kingdom!”
Dragons filled the sky. Searching. Calling Aurora’s name.
But she was fast. Powerful. Already miles away.
“She’s heading straight for the trap,” Drakon said grimly. “We have maybe two hours before...”
Aurora appeared. Landed on our balcony. Eyes red from crying.
“I’m sorry, Mama. I lost control. Again.” She shifted human. “You were right. I’m not ready to go alone. I’m dangerous.”
“You’re not dangerous. You’re seven. And learning.” I hugged her tight. “But you can’t run away every time we disagree.”
“I know. I was stupid. The anger just… took over.” She looked at me. “But Mama? I still want to be an ambassador. I want to help. I just… need to learn how first.”
“Then we teach you,” Drakon decided. “You do small diplomatic missions. With us. Supervised. Safe.”
“Really?” Aurora’s eyes lit up. “I can still help?”
“Of course. But we start small. Work your way up. No Iron Kingdom until you’re ready.”
Aurora hugged us both. “Thank you! I promise I won’t mess up!”
Over the next weeks, Aurora accompanied us on diplomatic trips. Small ones. Easy ones.
First mission: Settling a border dispute between two allied kingdoms.
“Why can’t we share the border?” Aurora asked both kings. “Split it down the middle. Everyone wins.”
“It’s not that simple...”
“Why not?” She tilted her head. “You’re both afraid of losing. But if you both win, nobody loses.”
The kings looked at each other. Laughed. Agreed.
“She’s a natural,” one king said to me. “Your daughter sees solutions we miss.”
Second mission: Mediating a trade disagreement.
“You have fish. You have grain,” Aurora told the merchants. “Trade! Easy!”
“But the prices...”
“Are made up! You both need food! Just swap! Nobody needs money if everyone has what they need!”
She was right. The merchants traded. Everyone happy.
Third mission: Calming tensions between magical creatures and humans in a borderland town.
“You’re scared of each other,” Aurora said, standing between both groups. “But look at me. I’m dragon AND human. And I’m not scary. Right?”
She shifted forms. Dragon. Human. Hybrid. Back again.
Children laughed. Adults relaxed. Fear dissolved.
“She’s remarkable,” the town mayor said. “Seven years old and better at diplomacy than trained ambassadors.”
Drakon and I watched proudly. Our daughter was born for this. Helping. Bridging. Healing.
“She’s going to be an amazing queen someday,” Drakon said.
“If we can keep her alive until someday,” I worried.
Fourth mission: Visiting the Western Coalition. Testing whether they’d accept Aurora.
The queen who’d proposed the junior ambassador program welcomed us. “Princess Aurora. We’ve heard about your missions. Impressive.”
“Thank you!” Aurora beamed. “I love helping people find peace.”
“Would you help us? We have a… delicate situation. With a neighboring kingdom. They refuse to talk to us. But they might talk to you.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re innocent. Non-threatening. A child. They can’t refuse a child offering help.”
Warning bells rang in my head. “Which kingdom?”
“The Iron Kingdom.”
My blood froze. The trap. It was happening anyway.
“Absolutely not,” I said immediately.
“But Mama!” Aurora protested. “This is my chance! To prove I can handle hard missions!”
“Not the Iron Kingdom. Anywhere but there.”
“Why not? What’s so special about..." Aurora stopped. Studied my face. “You know something. Something bad.”
“The Iron Kingdom hates mixed-bloods. They’ll hurt you.”
“Or I’ll change their minds! Like I’ve changed everyone else’s!” Aurora stood tall. “I’m ready for this. I’m controlled now. Integrated. Safe.”
“You exploded three weeks ago!”
“And I haven’t since! Because I’m learning!” She looked at the Western queen. “I’ll do it. I’ll talk to the Iron Kingdom.”
“Aurora, no...”
“It’s my choice, Mama. You wrote a book about making brave choices. About choosing love over fear. Let me choose.”
I looked at Drakon. He looked equally torn.
“We go with her,” he decided. “All of us. She talks. We protect.”
“Agreed,” the Western queen said. “The meeting is in three days. At the Iron Kingdom capital.”
Three days. Not enough time to prepare. Not enough time to plan. Not enough time to stop this.
But looking at Aurora’s determined face, I saw myself. The seamstress who pretended to be a princess. Who took impossible risks. Who chose bravery over safety.
“Fine,” I agreed. “Three days. But at the first sign of trouble, we leave.”
“Deal!” Aurora hugged me.
The kingdom erupted with excitement. The junior ambassador program was happening. Aurora was leading it. Unity was spreading.
“We should commemorate this,” the council suggested. “A statue. Of your family. Showing what unity built.”
“Just Elara and me,” Drakon said. “Representing dragon and human.”
“No!” Aurora interrupted. “Aunt Lily too! She’s part of our story! She helped save me! She fought beside you! She matters!”
She was right. Lily had been there. Always. Fighting. Supporting. Believing.
“All three of us then,” I agreed. “Dragon, human, and mage. The real unity.”
Plans began immediately. A massive statue. In the capital square. Showing our family. Our story. Our triumph.
But that night, I found another message in my book.
“The statue will be beautiful. A symbol. A beacon. And in three days, when Aurora enters the Iron Kingdom, it will become a memorial. Because she won’t return. They’ll kill her. Take her convergence power. Use it to destroy the statue. Destroy everything. The junior ambassador dies. The unity shatters. And the statue becomes a grave marker. All in three days.”
I looked at the statue design. Showing me, Drakon, and Lily. Standing together. Victorious.
Soon to be a tombstone.
For Aurora.
Who I was sending straight to her death.
In three days.
And I had no idea how to stop it.