Chapter Two – Izzy
Chapter Two – Izzy
Izzy was not spoiled. She wasn’t. She enjoyed fastidious and detail-oriented work, she believed in due process, and felt that patience was a virtue. She didn’t like to use her privilege.
But this was absurd.
It had been roughly five hours of…
Of…
Disorganization.
She had been expecting a measure of bureaucracy. But this situation was far from a routine process. The truth was, no one was quite sure who she was supposed to meet.
She had been informed by the third (or was it the fourth?) servant that Lysander wasn’t even in Onson, let alone within the castle walls of Sourire Pointu.
So now, apparently, they were going down the chain of command to find out just who in the depths was supposed to be meeting with her. She huffed again as she fiddled with her signet ring. She had spent some of her time pacing the room, taking the time to examine the masterful embroidery work on the curtains. She’d looked at the oversized chairs (or, she supposed, regular-size for the dragonkin), had even studied the vein of gold that flickered across the otherwise featureless slate floor. But still, she remained.
The sun had begun to set now. She had not seen a servant in several hours at this point. At least she’d had a good meal of braised chicken and vegetables and received word that Aldric had been given a private room within the servants’ quarters. But her own status remained infuriatingly vague.
She heard the footsteps of another person coming, and sighed, putting a hand to her head. She was absolutely tired of people telling her that she would have to wait.
As the door opened she whirled, walking with purpose. She would get her questions answered.
A tall dragonkin with immaculate burnished bronze scales came through the doorway. His warm gold eyes gave off the appearance of barely contained annoyance. He was broader than most of the dragonkin who had come through here, and was dressed in a thick black leather doublet that had beautifully embroidered crocus flowers along the bottom hem, and fine black trousers.
Izzy began, nearly starting in her own tongue before switching to Draconic, “Is there anyone left in this mountain that I haven’t spoken with? What nonsense are you about to tell me? If it’s not about who I am to speak with, and where I am to meet them, then I am not interested!”
The dragonkin paused, the annoyance on his face growing more pointed as he closed the door behind her.
“Princess Isabella, I take it?” he said in her own tongue.
His voice was infuriating as well. It was warm, like rich treacle over bread, but the sarcastic nature of it had her seeing red.
“Oh, was it that obvious? What gave me away? My fashion sense? Or the fact that I’m the only human woman within four hundred miles of here?”
He let out a sharp huff of laughter, clasping his arms over his broad chest. Izzy’s eyes flicked down and then back up. No time to admire him now. She was too angry!
“We can stick to Aurelian, Your Highness. No need to continue struggling. I can speak it fine. I am Vicomte Remy of the Legrand Cluster, and now, I suppose, foreign ambassador. I’m the one you’re supposed to meet. Although I hear you’ve been taking that out on… how did you put it? Everyone on the mountain?”
“I am Isabella, of the Silver Order, Second Imperial Princess and Caller of Aurelia, Princess of Vinitore, of the Branch Echtarch, Flowers of the Grove Resplendent. I have been sent here on behalf of my brother, Emperor Laurentino, of the same distinctions. I was supposed to treat with Lysander. But I suppose, instead, I have to treat with you. Apparently, no one knows what to do with me, as despite the emperor sending word along with an enshrined courier, I have been stuck in this room, waiting. Where have you been?”
He straightened his shoulders, his face going from annoyed to irritated. “Oh I’m ever so sorry, Isabella, of the Silver Order, Second Imperial Princess and Caller of Aurelia, Princess of Vinitore, of the Branch Echtarch, Flowers of the Grove Resplendent. My humblest apologies,” he said, not sounding humble or apologetic at all. “I’ve been working. Am I to be excommunicated?”
“Well, no, but it’s been five hours and—”
“Yes. I’ve been made aware. I heard there was a carriage that had arrived, and was planning on coming to see you once I’d finished with my meeting. My apologies for the slight delay.”
“Slight?” she snorted. “I’ve aged years.”
He rolled his eyes. “Well, then we should waste no more time. Follow me, please.”
Remy opened the doors into the hallway. With the sun setting, she could now see the beauty of the castle.
Instead of building onto the mountains, the dragonkin of Onson had carefully carved alcoves into the rock itself, allowing sunlight to filter into the corridors from between the supporting columns left behind. Occasionally, she’d see the relief of a gigantic dragon, ancient and powerful, soaring over a vast mountainside. As they walked, she saw more dragonkin, each of them easily a foot taller than her, with colors of all sorts; red, green, and gold seemed to be the most common, but occasionally she would see one with metallic scales like Remy. Some even seemed to be carved out of jewels, like emeralds or rubies.
Izzy tried to hold onto her annoyance, but she’d never been all that good at staying mad. Laurentino had warned her about the fearsome presence of the dragonkin. During their earlier agreements, Laurentino had said that they were all teeth and claws and menacing intellect. But she was too intrigued to be frightened.
Her pace slowed with each new corridor they walked down. She wanted to sketch all of it, especially how the flickering candlelight bounced off of the roughhewn stone. There was a raw beauty to it that was very different than the ornate and painted walls of Vinitore. After a moment, she realized that Remy had kept at his own pace and had nearly cleared the next hallway.
“How many dignitaries are here, anyway?” Izzy asked as she caught up.
“Normally roughly two dozen from each prominent cluster, but with Lysander away, that number has certainly dwindled in the past few days. More will certainly clear out after the fete two nights hence. I’m sure it will be a smaller group until his return.”
Remy opened a door and ushered Izzy into a small suite of rooms. It didn’t have the same open windows as the rest of the castle, and the roaring fire in the hearth informed her that perhaps not all dragonkin were used to the cold. Remy seemed grateful for the fire as they walked in, and unbundled himself, his claws delicately readjusting the cloak he wore over his fine leather tunic.
She was still getting used to the fearsome stature of the dragonkin. Remy was obviously not as large as a tavern, with wings that would blot out the sun. But he was still large, perhaps six and a half feet tall. Remy had the features of a dragon, with bronze scales that glowed in the light. He had horn-like spines that protruded upwards from his head, and then a row of smaller, flexible spines that shifted as he moved. While his head was all draconic, and his hands ended in claws, he stood upright like a man. He didn’t seem that different from humans, at least not on the surface. She stole a few more glances at him as he closed the door behind her. He had a tail that was thick at its base and slowly thinned down to a point as it reached the ground.Well, all right, perhaps slightly different.
“Well, at least we can finally get started on protocol,” Izzy said, withdrawing her books from her satchel.
“Protocol?”
Izzy flipped her book open, happy to have the advantage. “Well, I suppose I can be gracious and refresh your memory. A few months ago, your highest nobility elected to join the Aurelian Empire, which spans from one side of the continent to the other, all the way from the northeastern city of Lutven down to the southwestern swamps and islands of Frigya. Your kingdom, Onson, will become one of ten noble houses, or branches, in the Aurelian Empire: Branch Caillan. Given your resources, the Aurelian Empire elected to bring you in at the highest tier of branches, the Silver Order. As I am in Branch Echtarch, and we have the current sitting emperor, we’re considered ‘above’ the Silver Order,” she emphasized, tapping her hand against the lines of text in her book. “We meet twice a year to discuss all matters imperial and how best to serve the people. We meet for six weeks during the summer, at Summer Court, and then another three weeks in the winter. As such, we have to have very important meetings.”
“I’m aware of what Lysander agreed to—”
Izzy couldn’t help the small grin on her face at Remy’s irritation. “And I’m here upon request from your primary, Lysander, to instruct you on the Code of the Crown—the protocols and procedures that govern Summer and Winter Court, which take place in Yaventown, the Imperial Crown City. Your court in Onson, so I have heard, works differently. In an effort to make your transition as a member of the Silver Order a success, it’s my job to teach Lysander and the other courtiers of Branch Caillan our rules, our committees, and our topics of debate, to an extent. I assumed that Lysander would at least have the decency to give me someone competent to instruct, but apparently I have just been provided whoever was left.”
A crackle of thunder interrupted her before she could continue. As she looked up, she saw the lightning spark and fizz around his mouth before it faded away, his tail thumping once against the hard stone floor.
Izzy jumped back in shock, feeling her heart race as the lightning dissipated, the sharp rumble of thunder fading away as he seemed to calm down. She had heard rumors that the dragonkin could breathe fire, that others could shower people in a torrent of acid and poison.
“Ah, yes, whoever was left,” he said. “Clearly, I will need some time to pull together what few faculties I have to provide you with my full attention, and it is much too late in the day for me to compare to what, I’m sure, is your unparalleled intellect.”
Izzy set a hand to her forehead, rubbing her temples. “Remy, my apologies. It has been a long day and… and I think I’ve spoken out of turn.”
“Quite.” He turned away from her, resettling his cloaks about him. “My knowledge of the Aurelian tongue is not common among our court, yet. I will need to act as a translator. Provide me with your materials and I will try to work them into our language.”
“I’ve tried to translate some of our texts—”
“If you write Draconic as well as you speak it, then I’d definitely like to review it first.” Somehow, he managed to bow with disdain. “So we will postpone our first round of education until tomorrow, mm?”
How positively deflating. Izzy sighed, closing her book. “If we must.”
“Hopefully this humble abode is enough for you, Princess,” he said, not bothering to wait for Izzy to object. “I’ll have your things collected from your carriage. There’s a basin in here for you to clean up,” he murmured, gesturing to her hands, still stained with ink.
Izzy looked down and colored, still annoyed. “Really?”
Remy gave a thin smile. “Welcome to Onson.”
He closed the door, and for the first time in weeks, Izzy felt totally and completely alone.