Welcome to Sheca
Just as the sun was setting, we crossed over a ridge of mountains covered in fog.
When we came out the other side, there was Zan’s home.
An ancient-looking stone castle stood on a cliff that jutted out from the side of a mountain.
It showed all the age of being abandoned for the past four hundred years.
Below the castle was a winding path wide enough for us to see from the air that led to a village in the valley.
Lush green vegetation set the land off from the cool gray mountains around it, with a river running through the middle, feeding the various crops.
Homes were built into the mountainside off the main path to the castle, but there were others in the flat land of the valley itself.
People were working in the fields and gardens, pausing to look up as the dragons’ shadows crossed over them.
No one seemed surprised at the sight, leading me to believe it was more common here than it had been in Norden.
As if they heard my thoughts, four dragons with riders appeared from the slopes around us, heading right toward us.
Ifra let out a bugle, and Zan waved a greeting to them once they got closer.
The other dragons returned the call as they wheeled to fly alongside us as an escort to wherever we were to land.
I took a moment to reach out to the new dragons, trying to get a feel for their emotions or thoughts, but like Ifra when I first met him, they were closed off and unwilling to let me talk with them.
Pulling back, I observed more of the town around me, noticing a town center at the base of the main road before it led out into the fields.
The call of the dragons must have alerted everyone to our arrival since they started to flood the street, looking up at us.
Kids yelled as they pointed at me, waving their arms excitedly, while the parents didn’t appear to feel the same.
“What do you think Zan told them about you?” Abbott asked, his lips brushing my ear.
“He keeps calling me the Dragon Queen, but I don’t really know what that means to him or them,” I shared with a shrug. “I’m just thankful they aren’t shooting at us or running to get their pitchforks.”
Abbott chuckled at my worries. “I truly don’t think Zan would bring you here if he thought you would be killed. He might be new to our group, but that man has more honor in him than anyone I’ve met in a long time.”
Ifra circled and landed in a large open area, free from any grass or anything else we might damage or trample with how large the dragons were. It was two dragon widths wide and four dragon lengths long, leaving enough room for all of us to land easily.
“Picking up anything from these dragons that I should know about?”
“Why does this remind me of when you first arrived at the fortress? I will tell you what I told you then… you are their queen.”
“Remind me not to bother asking you for a pep talk before things like this. You’re not very good at them.”
“Maybe, or I might be amazing at them, and you just don’t like what I’m saying.”
“Still not helpful.” I huffed as I began to undo the straps.
Abbott finished first and slid off, holding out his arms to me. “Careful as you slide down. The ground here is really rocky, but I’ll catch you.”
My heart warmed at how this man was always looking after me and keeping me steady, though there were moments I doubted myself.
“This is the type of support I was looking for.”
“I am your pair-bond. He is your guardian and possible consort. It wouldn’t be right for me to take his job.”
Caught off guard by Vasin’s words, I dropped more than slid down his side. But as Abbott promised, he was right there, his hands catching me around the waist before my feet could touch the ground. I smiled at him and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you.”
His eyes warmed, but he kept his face neutral as I heard the crunching of boots approaching.
Looking over my shoulder, I spotted the four dragon riders approaching—all men of various ages, each holding a soldier's stance.
Izel joined us, taking up a position on the other side from Abbott as Zan headed to greet the men, Ezzu sitting up tall on his shoulder.
“Naytan, I’ve returned with the Dragon Queen,” Zan announced, making me stiffen at his words.
Please don’t tell me he is going to betray me too!
“Last time I saw you, you said she didn’t want to be our queen. Why should we care that she’s arrived now when she’s just like all the others?” Naytan grumbled, crossing his arms over his barreled chest.
He was the oldest of them, reminding me of Ballard in a way with salt and pepper shaggy-cut hair. Only this man had a thick, full gray beard and bushy eyebrows that were knit together as he glared at me.
“Now I really want to know what Zan told them about you when he was here last,” Abbott muttered under his breath, placing a protective hand on the small of my back.
It would seem that it was my lot in life to dispel all the assumptions that people were going to make about me, no matter where I went.
I wasn’t lady enough to be a noble. I wasn’t trained or skilled enough to be a mercenary.
Now it would seem I wasn’t worth their time because I didn’t come the moment I found out they existed, even though we were on the brink of war, and I had another group to lead.
Sometimes, a person could only take so much before it caused them to snap, and I was a thread away from doing so.
“You know that is not what I said or what I meant. Queen Cassarah had just been crowned and was dealing with a threat to our brethren that needed to be dealt with first before she could take the time to come here. We’ve waited hundreds of years for this moment.
What do a few more days or weeks mean to us? ” Zan defended.
Naytan grunted at Zan’s words. “They always come before us. It’s how we ended up forgotten here in Sheca in the first place.
What need do we have for a novice queen who lost the battle at the Norden castle, having to flee back to the mountains?
Let me guess… you came here to seek our help to save you from the Lost King because you’re in way over your head, little girl. ”
Upon hearing this, that last thread snapped, and I charged forward, brushing past Zan right up in Naytan’s space.
“You know nothing about what happened at the castle or the Lost King. If you did, you wouldn’t be talking about it so flippantly.
Yes, we did lose that battle, but we lost it because the queen wanted to play politics when I told her we needed to move and move fast. They lost Royal City because of their stubborn pride, and the same thing will happen here if you don’t get your head out of your ass and look at the world around you.
“You might have survived the last however many hundred years, hiding away behind your mountains, but that will no longer save you. The Lost King will stop at nothing until he controls everything he can get his hands on, and I’m the only one willing to stand up to him while taking the threat seriously.
If you want to remain lost and forgotten here, then so be it, but know that this time it’s because you decided to cut off your nose before hearing what I have to say.
” Finished with my tirade, my breathing was heavy with how heated I was about this entire situation.
I was done taking shit from people who didn’t even know me.
Naytan looked at me with a calculating gaze before he signaled with his hand, causing the other three men behind him to draw their weapons.
This caused everything to turn to chaos as Vasin roared, flaring his wings as he came to my rescue, and my guardians drew their weapons.
However, I didn’t move a muscle as Naytan drew his sword, never letting his gaze drop from mine.
“Do not threaten us, child. We’ve survived far worse than the likes of the Lost King,” Naytan sneered as he stepped back and lifted his sword.
Sensing the danger I was in, my Birthright flared to life, causing me to glow in a blue light as my bow materialized in my hand and the quiver on my back.
The marks on my guardians also began to glow from where they stood, backing me up, their weapons at the ready.
I wasn’t going to fight Naytan and his men, there being no need to prove myself to them in that way.
Never did I want to be known as the queen who led with an iron fist or would savagely kill those who didn’t follow her every whim.
Naytan was scared and protective over the people he’d been guarding his entire life.
“Put your weapons away,” I ordered. “There will be no fighting between us.”
One of the men behind Naytan scoffed. “I don’t think she’s very bright if she won’t even fight back.”
“What good would killing you do? It would only serve to create more problems. Since I have an extremely pissed-off black dragon at my back, I’m not worried about the four of you,” I shared, releasing my hold on my bow so it dissipated.
“Now, seeing as you are the soldiers of this land and not the people who speak for everyone, I will take my leave to talk with them. Somehow, I feel they might be more agreeable to deal with.”
Zan started to cough, covering up what I might guess to be laughter as I turned on my good foot and headed off toward the center of the village.
“You dare to turn your back on me?” Naytan yelled.
“Go, Cass, I’ll deal with the rabble.”
“Thank you. I knew you’d have my back.”
The sound of cursing and growling behind me made me smirk to myself, knowing that Vasin could be intimidating to others.
“Your Majesty, are you sure you’re all right?” Izel asked as he walked beside me.
Glancing at him, I nodded. “No harm done other than being irritated that I wasted so much time arguing with someone who wasn’t going to do me any good. I just snapped when he badgered me as if he wanted to provoke me into fighting with him. What good would that do anyone?”
“I should have warned you that there is a group of zealots among the people who believe we should choose our own ruler and break forever from the mercenaries completely,” Zan informed me.
“Let me take you to the village hall where the viceroys work. There are three of them who guide us as a people or handle issues that arise that cannot be handled between peers.”
“Please tell me they are going to be more willing to hear me out before they write me off.” I sighed as we approached a simple stone and wood building with a bell tower attached to it.
Zan turned his head in my direction and offered a comforting smile. “Lawrence and the others are good men who have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Dragon Queen. They are our scholars as well as our leaders. You can’t advise the future if you don’t know the past.”
“I like these men already.” I grinned.
As we made our way up the few steps, a guard at the entrance nodded to Zan before he opened the door, allowing us to enter.
The building was dimly lit by lantern light, making shadows dance on the walls.
But instead of it being spooky, it was comforting.
Much to my surprise, the building was a library filled to the brim with books and scrolls, along with desks for you to read at or work from.
Already, I was fantasizing about getting lost in this place, discovering everything it had to tell me.
“I’m sorry, but we are not taking any more audiences for the day, but we will be of service tomorrow after eight bells,” a soothing voice called from somewhere in the row of shelves.
“If Thomas let them in, then it must be important,” another man said.
“Eleazar, if we make an exception for one, then we will have to for all. These are the rules we have established, and we must follow them,” the first voice countered. “I’m sorry, whoever you are, but Thomas shouldn’t have let you pass. We will speak with you in the morning.”
Hearing the two men bickering made me smile and set me at ease. “What if the person is the Dragon Queen?” I called out.
There was a pause then the shuffling of feet as two men appeared out of the shelving, wearing robes with hoods covering their faces. The man in the green robe with gold stitching headed toward a set of armchairs by the fire where a man in a blue robe was sleeping.
The sleeping man spluttered awake, his arms thrashing about as he fought off his supposed attacker. “What the bloody hell, Lawrence? It better be important for you to wake me up after I just fell asleep.”
“Mathew,” Lawrence hissed as he pointed at us. “She’s here.”
When waking up, Mathew had knocked his hood back, and I saw he was an old man with a wrinkled face and short white hair…
well, what was left of it. He shot to his feet with surprising ease for a man his age and brushed out his robe before pulling the hood up again, collecting himself.
Then the two of them were joined by the man in the red robe, I guessed to be Eleazar, before they approached and fell to their knees in front of me.
“Your Majesty, it is an honor to be in your presence,” Lawrence said, his head bowed.
Shocked, I looked at my guardians, but Zan just shrugged while the other two seemed as caught off guard by the whole interaction as I was.
Thankfully, I didn’t sense any danger from them.
I reached out and touched Lawrence on the shoulder.
“Please, this is unnecessary, but your greeting humbles me.”
Lawrence looked up at me, hope shining in his hazel eyes that didn’t match his weathered face and thinning beard. “I can’t believe you came. Zan wasn’t sure if you would, but we prayed to the gods they would guide you to your true place and destiny here.”
“There is much that I want to ask you and hope to learn, but why don’t we find a more comfortable place to do that,” I suggested, hoping they would listen to my request this time.
Thankfully, they rose and pulled back their hoods so I could see their faces better.
Each of these men had experienced a long and full life, but the glint in their eyes told me they weren’t to be underestimated.
“If you will follow us, we can’t talk in the meeting chamber,” Lawrence offered, leading the way.