So the Journey Begins
When we entered the strategy room, we found a huge argument going on with the clan leaders, King Edward, and Queen Mary, with Gavin trying to defuse the situation.
“Surely, there has to be a mistake. Why would I allow another to ride with me on my dragon?” King Edward demanded. “What if they try to harm me? I’ve seen the looks they have been giving us. We aren’t welcome here.”
“Father, it makes sense to allow those who can’t make the journey to go first,” Gavin argued, standing up to his father.
“As clan leaders, we need to arrive first so we can be there to greet our people and make sure they are being taken care of. There is no way the queen meant for us to take the long route. We know nothing about this place, and to send our children off without their parents is ludicrous,” Xio stated.
The group was so absorbed in their argument they hadn’t noticed I was there yet, but it gave me time to set the ground rules for the dragons.
“Vasin, make sure every dragon knows that if one of my guardians doesn’t escort a person to them, they are not to take them anywhere. It appears our so-called leaders are throwing a temper tantrum.”
“Are they allowed to remove or retaliate against such advances? If someone gets bit or hit with a tail, I don’t want them to be in trouble.”
“I’m fine with them being able to defend themselves.”
“That will please a fair amount of them.”
Lifting my hand to my lips, I let out a shrill whistle that Becka had taught me.
It did the trick splendidly, grabbing all their attention and shutting them up.
“It seems there is some confusion about what’s happening with our evacuation.
Would anyone care to tell me what the issue is so I can clear it up? ”
“Ah, Queen Cassarah, you’re back.” Queen Mary sighed with relief, making her way over to me. “It seems your guard here is telling us the dragon riders are only taking the elderly or children, including us.”
“That is exactly what I expect to happen,” I answered.
Queen Mary blinked at me as she processed my answer. “Surely, you don’t think that is a wise move. What about our safety?”
“What about theirs? As a queen, you should understand putting your people ahead of your own needs. Doing this will show my people that the agreement we had to become allies wasn’t just a bunch of pretty words while you bide your time to betray us as your ancestors have done before.
If you no longer want to be allies, then you are free to get on your dragons and fly to your sister if you think she will offer you the protection you need at the standard you require,” I expressed with a tilt of my head, waiting for her reply.
“Your Majesty, do you really intend to cast off an alliance with the Norden royalty so easily over refusing to take someone with them?” King Edward demanded.
“I’m not sure what the confusion is.” I turned my gaze to Gavin. “Was I unclear in what I said?”
Gavin tried to hold his face in a neutral expression, but I could see his lips twitching. “No, I think you explained yourself clearly.”
“All right then, the choice is yours, Your Majesties. Are you an ally, or are we parting ways here?” I inquired.
“Your Majesty, is this wise?” Garold pressed as he stepped up next to King Edward.
Letting out a heavy sigh, I looked up to the heavens and then back at the people before me.
“Vasin will be taking two or three people himself as I ride with the group traveling by ground. I expect my fellow leaders to do the same or at least allow one other person to travel with them. If you do not wish to help an elder, then what about a child? Do you view them as a threat to your lives as well? I promise even though we train our children to fight, it’s to protect themselves and not to be killers where there is no payoff. ”
A snort came from somewhere to the left, and my guess was it came from Cole. Apparently, lack of sleep and dealing with self-entitled nobility made me short-tempered and petty, but even monks have their limits of being gracious to those around them.
“You plan to ride with them the whole way?” Acton asked, curiosity in his tone.
“Clearly, I am not explaining myself well if I need to keep repeating what I’ve said.
Yes, I will be riding the entire three days with my people.
” I huffed. “If I expect them to make this journey, how can I place myself above them just for my own comfort? When I first came to the clans, I was asked to prove myself as one of you. I had to complete the same training everyone else does. Mercenary first, queen second. This is the way I want my people to see me. Otherwise, how can I ever expect them to trust me? Now, are there any more questions?” When no one answered after a moment, I nodded.
“All right, we need to take whatever supplies you want out of here to the ledge so we can load up the first group of dragons. Then we can commence with the people.” Grabbing a small crate of books, I turned on my heel and left, refusing to discuss this issue further.
With the dragons’ help, we were able to take much more with us, allowing for more food to be taken along for those of us traveling through the mountains.
Once that was all completed, they were sent off and began the trip back to Sheca, where the viceroys were working on setting up placement for our people once they arrived.
I’d been a little worried that people would be scared to ride on the dragons, but that was soon tossed from my mind.
The excitement on their faces, young and old, was priceless as they greeted their dragon and rider.
We fell into a good rhythm of settling and buckling them in before they took off, making short work of the whole ordeal.
King Edward and Queen Mary each took two children with them as if they hadn’t tried to refuse the idea.
I was glad to see that when push came to shove, they made the right choice for the future of their people and mine.
Vasin was the last to get settled in since he would be going without me.
He was the only one I trusted to take Sal.
As much as I’d love to see the first meeting between him and the viceroys, I knew I couldn’t go with them.
Instead, a little girl took my place, strapped and ready to fly with excited giggles and all.
“When you get there, ask for the viceroys. They are the men in charge and are aware of the whole situation. Plus, I feel like you will find kindred spirits among them,” I said with a grin.
“Don’t you worry about me, Cassy. I’ll make sure nothing goes wrong while we wait for you and the rest to arrive,” Sal assured me with a wink.
“I know I don’t need to say this, but keep me apprised of how the journey goes.”
“Don’t fret, Cass. I will look after the old man and the rest of them. You focus on those in your care. The journey won’t be without challenges. Once I’ve dropped them off, I will return to keep a lookout just like the others of your dragon-riding guardians.”
Hugging his large head, he hummed his pleasure before pulling away and leaping off the ledge.
Jade, Paxton, and Zan flanked the group, keeping an eye on how things went as they too carried a passenger to Sheca.
I was now left with those of us who would be making the long trek through the mountains.
Becka and I walked arm in arm as we made our way down to the stables.
When we reached them, my leg was throbbing, having been on it way too much today and not having slept.
Would I be able to make it through a long day’s ride?
As if reading my mind, Alto walked up to me with a knowing look of disapproval. “Your Majesty, you are not doing yourself any favors by being on your leg so much.”
“Once we get to Sheca, there will be time to rest. Until then, we need to keep moving forward,” I explained.
“Don’t make me have to slip something into your food to make you take it easy once we get there.
I won’t have you push it to the point we might have to remove part of your leg due to infection.
” Alto scowled at me, hands on her hips.
When I nodded my understanding, she motioned for me to give her my hand.
“Chew these roots if the pain gets bad. It will ease it without making you sleepy. Since I know you haven’t slept yet, these roasted beans will keep you awake.
Typically, we brew them and drink the liquid, but since we don’t have that luxury, this will have to do. ”
She pressed a small leather pouch into my hand before heading off.
I glanced at Becka, knowing she was the one to tattle on me.
She just grinned and tugged me over to the front of the procession of horses.
Inali, my black mare, was saddled with packs filled with supplies, ready to set out on our journey.
She snuffled my pockets, looking to make sure I wasn’t hiding any treats from her and snorted when she didn’t find any.
I smiled at her as I rubbed her silky ears, trying to make up for not bringing her anything.
“Cassy-bear,” Dayson called out, walking up with his arms wide, letting me know he was going to hug me.
His strong arms wrapped around me, and he picked me up off the ground, making me squeak in surprise.
“Now I see why Cole calls you mouse. You sound just like one.” He chuckled, setting me down.
“Did everything go well? I heard about the dragons. That is a major help, seeing as we had far fewer horses than we originally thought.”
“Things went fine in Sheca, but it wasn’t a long enough visit to really get a feel for what things will be like,” I shared with a heavy sigh.
“Day, there is so much we don’t know. The things they were telling me about being queen and my purpose were overwhelming and strange yet made perfect sense at the same time.
Being there was like tasting a dessert before it’s done baking, and now, I have to wait to get a real piece of it. ”
Dayson’s eyebrows rose higher the more I spoke. “Sounds like we better get these people hustling so we can get you back there. Are you sure going with us is the best choice? Sounds like it might be better for you to be there already.”
“No, this is the right move. I already sent Vasin off with Sal and had to tell Gavin’s parents they couldn’t be selfish, so neither can I.”
“Love, the last thing anyone would call you is selfish,” Gavin announced as he walked up to us.
“My parents deserved to be scolded. They have been tucked away in their castle for too long and don’t know what the real world is like anymore.
Even though it’s been a short while, being here with the clans has opened my eyes to so much. ”
“I shouldn’t have been that hard on them,” I countered. “They just lost everything, and now I’m forcing them to look after people they’ve been fighting against for decades, if not centuries.”
“You didn’t force them to do a damn thing.
Hell, you gave them an out, little mouse,” Cole said, joining our group.
“All you asked them to do was prove they weren’t just allies in name only.
If you were in the same situation, would you hesitate to help them by allowing one person to ride with you on Vasin? ”
“Of course not,” I answered.
“Exactly. You aren’t asking anything from them that you wouldn’t do yourself,” Cole pointed out. “Now that we have that settled, I’m to tell you everyone is ready to move out at your signal.”
I looked around the space and saw people mounted up and the rest lingering behind with their packs at the ready. “Then we should be off.”
Double-checking my tack just as I’d been trained, I grabbed hold of Inali’s mane and tossed myself up on her back as if I’d been doing it all my life. Inali pranced in place, far too well-trained to actually step out of her position until given a command.
“Would you look at that? You’d never know she couldn’t do that six months ago. I wonder who taught her that?” Becka mused as she settled on the back of her red roan gelding behind me.
Laughing, I gave a light kick of my heel, and Inali was moving out into the bright morning sunlight.
Cole pulled up next to me, acting as the guide out of the fortress and steering us in the right direction for our journey to Sheca.
Zan sketched out a map for us to follow for the first part since tomorrow we would have a few dragons to lead the way as they scouted, making sure we weren’t being followed.
Thankfully, the ground was rocky enough that it would be hard to follow our trail from the fortress.
Vasin said they would help keep it hidden as well.
This was it. I was bringing the two factions of mercenaries back together after four hundred years apart. I hoped they could learn to be a united people once we got there.