"Yes, Your Majesty. I awakened my Dragon Clan blood when the tide of battle shifted in our favour at the Oakwind Strath. I would transform for Your Majesty, but, as I only have one set of clothes and each transformation causes their destruction without being custom-made, I will have to refrain. I hope that Your Majesty understands." The experienced nobles and officials could all see the small shivers on the boy's body as he nervously spoke. Their initial dislike of Luca for his mildly rude action earlier subsided somewhat as they understood that he was struggling with his nerves, an impressive feat for one so young.
King Arthur's small grin spread just a tad more at the boy's words, "There's no need to worry. There will be plenty of time to see your transformation in the future." He folded his hands in his lap as he asked a second question, "According to history, as it is recorded, each time a Dragonborn appears in the mainland, they bear a mission tied to the fate of the mortal world. Such was the case with the previous Dragonborn, whose mission was to seek out and resolve the three final, major disasters of the Storm Era in a manner that would greatly reduce their final death toll, and his predecessor, who was responsible for convincing the Dragon Clan to join the battle against the invading demons at the cost of her own life. As you are a Dragonborn, I am certain you also bear such a mission." His silver irises shimmered as he gazed at the lad.
Suddenly feeling even more pressure than before, Luca remained silent for longer than he should have. If not to Elizabeth nudging him slightly, he might have totally frozen. "Yes, Your Majesty, I do bear a mission. However, due to its nature and the restrictions placed on me by the heavens, I cannot reveal it in its entirety. I can only reveal some of it with time."
Hearing the boy refuse to admit his mission, one of the nobles roared, "Outrageous!" He turned to face the king, "Your Majesty, this boy dares to keep his intentions hidden before the throne! He is undoubtedly here to threaten the kingdom!"
As Arthur prepared to cut off the noble, as he knew that he was trying to weasel his way into the king's good graces, the previously silent dragonling beside Luca growled before, quite loudly, unleashing his juvenile dragon roar. While it was nowhere near as powerful or effective as a full-fledged dragon's, the sudden roar caught all of the witnesses off-guard. In a panic, Luca quickly got up and gave his companion a hug in his best attempt to calm him down. Thankfully, it did quell the anger that Arcturus felt. The dragonling was very sensitive towards his big brother, even more so when he is insulted.
As soon as he had convinced Arcturus to calm down, Luca began to kowtow rather than kneel in apology, forehead pressed to the cold stone floor, "My most sincere apologies, Your Majesty. My partner is only a month or two old, and he is very protective of me. Like me, he also bears the same mission, so he also understands why it cannot be explained. At present, it is far too dangerous to reveal all of our mission, but I can confidently say that my mission will not threaten the Light Faction whatsoever. Only upon the completion of certain prerequisite events in the future may I speak of my full mission." He took a deep breath before continuing, "My two predecessors, and even the first Dragonborn in the Sage Era, all had missions that could be revealed because their nature was not something considered serious enough to keep secret. My mission, on the other hand, is severe enough that, should I reveal more than I am allowed to, I will perish immediately. That is just how serious the heavens have deemed my mission, and I hope Your Majesty can understand why I cannot answer."
After hearing Luca's apologetic attempt to explain the difficulties of his mission as best as he could without overstepping his bounds, although they were somewhat disappointed, none of the listeners was able to conceal their surprise. For a ten-year-old boy to bear a mission that could kill him upon overstepping his bounds was unthinkable, not to mention unbearably cruel. No child should ever have to suffer such a fate. Even the noble that had spoken out earlier could not continue his suck-up attitude.
Of course, nobody knew that Luca was, in fact, lying, at least to some extent. The truth of the matter was that, while his mission was indeed unbearably cruel for a ten-year-old to have to endure, and it was tied to the fate of all of Andor, he was not bound by any heavenly seal or such. However, by playing this card, he could turn the favour of the conversation towards himself, all while gathering sympathy and convincing them of his sincerity. Arcturus had been told to play along through their mental link, so, aside from his actual nervousness, his outburst was basically scripted. This also gave the Stellar Dragon whelp an image of loyalty and steadfastness in the defense of his partner. All of these actions, in a short amount of time, fully altered the air of the hall from mildly heated to sympathetic just like that.
To Luca's surprise, though, he noticed that both Elizabeth and Ella did not show any changes. It was as if they had expected it. Considering the extensiveness of their individual experience, Luca calculated that both the Head Guildmaster and her avian companion had spoken telepathically and come to a conclusion that Luca was, in fact, acting. Such insight frightened the boy somewhat, though it also made him feel warm, because their lack of disbelief meant that they trusted him.