Dragon Prince, page 4
“Good morning,” Archana offered by way of opening the conversation. She would happily talk to those around her, if given the chance.
“Your father’s about already,” one of them said. “He’s asked for breakfast and wine.”
“Has he?” Archana asked. Her father asking for breakfast and wine was not unusual. It was the hour which made it strange. He did not rise with the sun, choosing to confine his hours to the later in the day and far into the night. “Is he in the dining chamber?”
“He is. Mistress, is something wrong?”
“I do not know,” Archana said. “But if it involves my father, I will certainly find out. Make sure his breakfast is prepared well.” Her own food would wait while she waited on her father and found out what it was which had brought him from his laboratory so early.
The morning food for the King was simple, but if it was not done correctly, the castle might well lose a servant and gain a knight.
Archana did not care for her father’s behavior in doing that, seeing as she had to look at the knights after they were made and seeing a face she had known previously sickened her in the soul.
When she entered the dining chamber, it was darkened, the windows shuttered against the daylight at her father’s order no doubt. Candles by the dozen had been lit up and down the table where he would eat. Arachnid did not care for company when he dined but he made a few exceptions. One of those was his daughter. Others were those who thought themselves still powerful enough to remark upon his decisions. That was a questionable at best practice and few engaged in it.
Archana swept into the dining chamber and went to the far end where the wine was kept. Her father would not serve himself, it was beneath him. However, she would serve him and by doing so learn what there was to learn about the happenings which had brought him so early from his bed. His goblet sat beside his charger and she picked it up to fill it.
“You rise with the sun, my child.” His tone was pleasant. For it to be so early, she did not expect it. However, there it was.
“As do you, my father,” she replied. “What brings the King from his bed so early?”
“A guest,” he said. Her interest piqued, Archana poured herself a third of a glass of wine and settled in a seat not far from him, leaving the wine near her in case he should desire more. A guest coming to see them, well, that was an odd gesture certainly. One who could ask a King to rise with the dawn even.
“Who is this guest?” she asked before taking a sip of her wine.
“You’ll find out soon enough. For now, go back to your room.”
Archana considered outright flouting his authority. She was no longer a child to be told to go to her room whenever it was convenient for her parent, but she chose not to do that. If he said she would find out soon enough, then she would, but angering him before a negotiation of some kind would make things difficult for him and probably for her as well.
“Yes, Father,” she said politely and then downed what was in her cup before setting it back on the table. There hadn’t been much, thankfully. No need to be drunk so early.
She took her leave and made it back to her room in time to find herself almost running. Leaning her staff against the door, she settled into her own breakfast, her mind spinning with the possibilities.
Her father had risen with the sun in order to meet a guest of their household. Who could it be? No one from the surrounding area certainly. He held disdain for the nearby. Even the other kingdoms were of little interest to him. So how far had this person come and who were they that they would get him out of his bed so early?
The mystery ate at her; however, she didn’t let it spoil her appetite. Instead, she tucked in to her breakfast and prepared for the studying she would do with her day. She still had to catch a dragon.
CHAPTER FOUR
KIERAN SLEPT FITFULLY, his awareness of what his parents had planned denying him the sleep he craved. And when he did sleep, all he could see was those saffron colored eyes staring at him from under a hood. She had been a beauty, brown skin, yellow eyes. She dominated his thoughts, even as he tried to anticipate his parents’ next move. They had arranged a mating for him, that much he was certain of. However, with whom he did not know. Solidifying their connection to another flight most likely, but which one? There were only a few who could hope to show a female big enough and strong enough to mate with him and survive. Therefore, it narrowed the field a bit. If only he had paid more attention when they were introducing him to the other flights over time, he might have some idea of what he was up against; however, he hadn’t.
Stretching first forward then back and then up, he prepared for daylight. He moved to the front of the caves, waiting for daylight to come streaming in. Morning was not his favorite time of day, but he had learned to care for it in recent times. Learned to appreciate the first rays of the sun touching all the world with glow. The stones grew bright as he watched with hooded eyes.
Far away and below, the forest between the draconic mountains and the human lands sat quiet. The snow, which had been summoned both by nature and magic had begun to melt, albeit slowly seeing as the warmth of the sun was not strong. However, the light reflected off everything.
Stretching his wings, Kieran considered whether or not to fly back into the forest and try to find that woman again.
What was the worst that could happen? Well, there was the fact that going anywhere near a human settlement as a dragon meant possibly being defeated or killed. There was the chance he could be captured and brought for justice. All things which could happen.
What could also happen was that he could find that woman again and find out what it was about her which had bewitched him so. She was a human, he didn’t expect himself to be attracted to her, but he couldn’t help wondering what her markings would look like as a dragon. Would they match her eye color? His second eyelid flickered as his tail twitched.
She would be a gorgeous dragon. Pity she was human. Or maybe, in this instance, it was a pity he was a dragon. If he were human, he wouldn’t have to deal with the arranged marriage and he could have this beautiful creature he had met as a mate.
He launched himself out of the cave entrance and soared above the still sleepy world for a few minutes feeling the chill of the air gathering under his wings and against his body. It would be time to take younglings for flight lessons soon. They would falter and fall and have to be carried and there would be a wonderful time had by them all. Nadia would likely join them, her wing healed.
There it was. He could go to the healing springs and then he wouldn’t have to say he was going to a human settlement to try and find her but would simply be going to deal with his own injuries from being ice bound. Not that he had any injuries, it was just a convenient excuse. He wingtip turned back toward the caves and his sleeping quarters. The others would be up soon. He needed to be gone before they were.
Kieran didn’t bother carrying anything with him. He could eat on the run, some small animal or two would be enough. He didn’t have to wait for someone to bring him breakfast, though there were those who thought it was his due as the Prince. He didn’t see it that way, but try convincing any dragon of something they didn’t want to believe and one would find out exactly how hard headed they were as a species.
He returned to the cave entrance and heard the stirring coming from his parents cave. Of course, his mother or father would be awake now. However, he had no interest in speaking with either of them, so he dove off the side and into the morning air.
Finding human settlements was easy enough, they tended to use fire in such a way that there was always a lot of smoke in the air; however, Kieran wasn’t trying to go directly to a settlement, he wanted to go back to the springs. Maybe the woman was one of the forest people and she could be found within its confines. He didn’t know.
Truthfully, he didn’t know much of anything about this woman other than she was powerful enough to create fire from nothing, a feat which he did not know many humans to be capable of, and that she had a good heart. That much was evident from the fact that she had been willing to set him free in spite of his dragonhood and their storied animosity toward his kind among humans.
Slow, steady wingbeats brought him to the springs in due time. The sun wasn’t high, but it was up enough that it glittered across the moving water. Warmth also came from the springs and offered itself to the dragon and the other animals nearby. The dragon found himself a pool large enough to bathe in and settled down, his head on the rocks outside of the pool. He knew better than to allow himself to fall asleep, but the water soothed him and the world seemed peaceful enough.
Nothing happened. He awoke an hour later, his limbs supple and warm from the springs and leapt from the pool into the air without fanfare with a great spray. Then he was in the air again and considering where else he might go to find the woman he was looking for.
Humans congregated in towns.
That was a part of his education. Towns were generally too be avoided. Centaurs also used the towns model, but they were more at one with their natural environment. Their towns were in the middle of forests with homes made out of trees. Humans lived in the middle of fields and meadows with few to no trees around them as if trees were inconvenient.
It also meant there wasn’t a lot of places for him to hide. Humans would see him coming for a mile or more from his size. First thinking him a bird, which was quite normal, at a distance a dragon could be mistaken for a bird.
Up close, there was no such mistake to be made. He did a spiral turn over the tree tops, enjoying the world for what it was, and then took off for the castle in the distance. There was a human settlement near there, the closest one to the forest. Perhaps she would see him and come out. Perhaps he would see her and they would have a moment before the other humans showed up with their axes and pitchforks.
Either way, he hoped against reality she would appear again and he would be able to have a moment with her.
Quiet as a hunter, he moved through the air toward the castle. Then he was high above it. Dropping through the air like a stone, he clapped his wings once when he reached just above the tops of the turrets and then flew to the human settlement nearby. His ears brought the sounds of screams to him.
Humans in fear. While it wasn’t exactly the reason he came, it was reason enough to stick around. Every mortal he skimmed with his eyes, looked much the same. The woman had stood out to him, different from them by her eyes and the scent of her power. These were normal humans, they had little power. Little if any.
Kieran did not show any aggression. He didn’t need to, his very presence was aggression enough in their eyes. A few of the males had gone for their weapons, as if those iron things would pierce dragon hide. Perhaps if some of them carried magical weapons, they could hope to fight him and perhaps even win. Taking up a spot on the edge of their settlement, he allowed them to draw near if they dared. Mostly they didn't dare. No one came close to him. Kieran folded his wings back, crossed his claws, and waited. If there was any chance of that woman being nearby, he would take the chance of dealing with a few humans for the chance to see her again.
Archana had retired to her study, her own study in the castle, when she heard the sound of someone running up the stairs. She kept her study on the side of the castle away from the sun and the stink of the fires so that she could concentrate. Of course, there was someone coming to see her as soon as she had settled into a hard chair for her daily meditations and learning. It never mattered when she wasn't busy, she muttered to herself. It always mattered when she was otherwise occupied.
A page, a child recently deceased from the look of him, came bolting into the room. Pages were not well known for their ability to spout words, but this one said one word which got Archana's attention.
"Dragon."
The page gestured toward the town on the far side of the castle toward the forest. Whether he did so because that was his former home or because he was indicating where the dragon was, Archana couldn't be sure, but she knew that if there was a dragon which had come into human lands, she needed to see it. Preferably before her father found out about it and mounted an assault of his own. She threw on her cloak, grabbed her amber staff, and bounded down the stairs from her study to the stables. The horses were agitated. They always were when she came in hurriedly.
The stableboy knew from her presence she wanted her horse, so he set about getting it for her.
"Shall I saddle for the knights as well?"
"No," Archana said. She didn't intend to bring the knights. They were difficult to round up and take care of when it came time to fight in open spaces. So she decided to leave them behind. Besides, the likelihood was there was nothing to be interested in. Or so she wanted to believe. Archana wanted to believe there was nothing because then she wouldn't have to worry about anything. This would just be a ride through the country toward the forest.
Her black stallion reared up when it trotted out into the courtyard, eager to be given his head to run. Archana could not help but let him once they were out of the castle gates. He wanted to run, let him run. It gave him joy and she couldn't deny the rush of feeling him surging beneath her with the wind whipping through her curls. She brought her staff to the fore as they came toward the town and weaved a simple spell to let others ignore them. She didn't wish to stop or talk or be bothered in that moment. She only wanted to see if there truly was a dragon near the village.
Kieran laid cat-like on the top of the hollock overlooking the village near the castle, he did not move. Nor did he make any overt gesture of violence toward those who now ringed him as if they could keep him from flying away if he so desired. However, he didn't desire to run. Not now. He needed to see if she would come. If she came, then he would consider his time well spent. If not, then perhaps he would truly never see her again and he needed to put her from his mind.
Leaving came to mind many times, but he didn't. Instead, he stayed, waiting, as if time alone could cure what ailed him. Of course, there were those who would think he had lost his senses to come to a human settlement and then sit as if he were little more than a statue. There would be those who thought as much. However, he didn't care what they would think in that moment. He wanted to see her.
The stallion ran through the village without stopping, men and women scattering before his hooves though they themselves could have hardly said why. Then they were beyond the village bounds and Archana brought him to slow down just a touch, slowed to a canter. There was a dragon on the hill above the village, a big one. One she had seen before. She recognized those markings from before. The same dragon had come to her again.
Archana brought the horse to a stop near the curve in the road so she could climb the hill. It wasn't a tall hill, but enough to give one a decent vantage of the nearby land. Of course, there would be where the creature would wait. So that it could see all comers.
There were villagers nearby, their weapons ready as if they could truly hope to fight off a dragon with their hoes and pitchforks. It seemed impossible to her, yet she knew for a fact that there were those who would defend their world to the last with those implements. Archana climbed the hill almost to the top before she flipped back her hood and addressed the creature in question.
"Why have you come?" she asked, her staff held loosely in front of her. If it chose to blow smoke or fire in her direction, she was prepared. The weaving of a spell was easy enough, even one handed, to fight with a creature so massive.
"For you," it rumbled.
Archana froze there. The chill of the autumn air could not have brought her to shivers so easily. A dragon had come for her. She knew of such things from the old tales, times when dragons and humans had once been allies. However, there was no telling now what it meant. She made herself think of it as male. It was a male of the species, she recognized that from the horns. They flared out rather than back like a female's would.
"Leave," she said quietly. There was no reason for it to come for her. If she knew anything at all, it was that this could only end in disaster. That's when she heard the hooves of the others coming up behind her. Turning to look, Archana cursed under her breath. The knights had been dispatched, undoubtedly by her father, to see that he was brought the heart he desired. Of course. Archana did not wish to fight this battle, but she could not allow the dragon to leave now when there would be witnesses. The knights would report back that she had not so much as fired a bolt at the creature and she would be in for a lashing at best. Yet she didn't want to fight him.
She wanted to see what there was she could learn from him.
Unfortunately, time was not on their side.
"Leave," she urged again. He would be in danger if he didn't. She knew it better than anyone what the knights could do. Some of them, very few which survived, she had made. Tying them to her will and power the same as those others were tied to her father. She didn't dare allow him to fight them. "Please."
Kieran's eyes flickered, following her gaze to those who came after. They were those pesky things he had seen before, the undead. Creatures made of mortal flesh who were mortal no more. Needing to be rended limb from limb to stop their assault. He blew a puff of smoke into the air, his internal furnace coming to heat for a blast of fire.
Her words pierced him. He would not leave. Not without her. She of the yellow eyes should be with him. He knew that as well as he knew the music of his name. Her soul called to his. He wondered if she could hear the same call he heard. Were humans numb to it as they were numb to much of the magical world? Or could she hear the sound of his heart beating over everything else on the wind, the way that he heard hers which had gone from deeply calm to disturbed in the moments since she had noticed the horses.
