Great Daughter of the Endless Skies
I smiled at Leon's evident nervousness, and excitement, as he approached me. It was good that he had training (What ever that entailed) as I had no clue the proper way for a human to ride a dragon beyond what years of reading fantasy novels could tell me.
I was now just a little larger than the horses, but with me crouched, it wasn't too difficult for the prince to throw a leg over my pink, scaly hide, and get himself comfortable behind my wing joints.
Not that I thought he could possibly be comfortable.
.. I was quite sure that my scales were abrasive, and there was nothing but bone and hard muscle under them to provide a paltry cushioning for him.
Not that I was overly sold on the idea of being equipped with the same kind of saddle I had seen the much larger dragon wearing just now.
As Leon settled himself, I saw Serenity leaning out the window with a longing look in her eyes.
"Perhaps you can fly with me when you are a little older.
" I said gently. There would be no way that I would be taking a little girl god knows how many feet up into the sky with nothing but her grip strength to keep her from falling to her doom.
At least Leon was an adult and had training in some capacity.
Though, it was probably still pretty irresponsible to take him into the sky when I had no experience, and he had book learning. Did you need a dragon flying license in this world?
Serenity pouted a little but did not complain nor argue as Hannah got her situated back into the carriage.
Mean while, Leon shifter around a bit, trying to find a spot that was just right, and i questioned if my sense of judgement had been altered by becoming a dragon, the same why my inflated ego had.
The old me would never had even dared suggest taking a kid in his late teens up into the air with no means of securement.
Much less on the back of a freaking novice dragon who was still a little shaky with her arial maneuvers and landings.
"Ready?" I asked, putting aside my questionable life choices. Loric and the rest of the entourage cleared out some space so that I could get a running start. There was no way that I could make a cold take off at this stage, not matter how light Leon was.
The prince took a deep breath, leaned forward with arms around my neck, and nodded. "Ready..." He said, his voice somewhere around my shoulder. He sounded a little nervous, but eager too.
"For the love of the gods... please hold on well." Growled Loric, eyeing Leon's hold around my neck with some notable trepidation. "I would hate to have managed to keep you alive this whole time, only to have to become a smear on the King's Way right before your front gates..."
"Graphic, but heartfelt." I chuckled, earning a small glare from the guard.
It was a testament to how close we had all started to become that he felt comfortable enough to do that now.
Before he would never have dared levy a glare my way.
Heck, from the number of times they had expressed nervousness around insulting me, one would think that the average dragon would take down all of Helios for such a brazen insult! "I won't be doing any acrobatics."
No point telling the man that, even without the prince on my back, I would never try them with an audience. I was still having an awful time doing anything but keeping myself airborne at this point. Anything else and I would be making a fool of myself.
I looked back at my passenger (Noting the princess and the maid watching from within the carriage) and saw that he was smiling. "Alright, I'm ready."
I nodded, set my sights forward, and started to lope down the King's Way.
Dragons were surprisingly speedy on the ground for such bulky creatures, but it was also clear that they were not designed for running in general.
It was awkward, and I was sure a rather bumpy experience for Leon, but I would need the speed to get us both up off the ground.
I could hear the cheers of the others behind us as I unfurled my leathery wings and began to flap. Serenity was the loudest, her high pitched voice trilling above the deeper tones of the guards as she called out and laughed. It made me worried that I was about to face plant in front of an audience.
As I strained my wings in the effort of lifting additional weight, I felt us start to gain lift. I had under estimated how different it was to have the load on my back rather than in my paws, but it seemed that I was making it work.
On my back, Leon let out a whoop of genuine excitement as I look us into the sky for the first time, angling my wings till I found an updraft to take us higher with a little less work on my part.
Leon laughed out loud and I glanced back at him.
So far he had seemed every part the dignified, kind, level headed prince.
But right now, he simply looked exactly how I would imagine I would have looked if I found myself flying on the back of a damn dragon before I had become one.
He was grinning from ear to ear, eyes wide and sparkling (Though that may have been from tears caused by the wind rather than joy), and almost hopping where he sat.
"This is amazing!" He called out over the wind in our ears.
I chuckled and brought us a little higher. I was nervous about him falling off, but I also wanted this to be an unforgettable experience for him. It was his dream- at least in part- to be on the back of a dragon some day.
Once I got to a good height and got us steady in the air, I looked down at the group beneath us. They weren't so small as to be called ants, but I was sure it was a little hard to pick them out for Leon given he didn't have the eyes of a dragon.
"This is amazing..." I heard him say again, this time his voice was breathy with awe.
I laughed. "All we did was go up."
"Yes, well, normally humans can't do that. Besides, we didn't just go up. I went up on a dragon!"
I laughed louder, delighted at just how happy he was.
I supposed he was right. After all, it wasn't like this world have normalized air travel.
They didn't have airplanes and the like.
Well, I assumed they didn't at least. Magic can do a lot, so for all I knew there were magical fighter jets out there some place.
I internally snorted. I was a dragon. Maybe I was the magical fighter jet.
"I agree that I am pretty amazing." I told him, feeling good about myself.
Leon laughed loudly, his head swinging from side to side as he took in the view. "Yes, you are."
"Since you found 'up' so fun, how about we give 'horizontal' a try?"
"An excellent idea." Leon agrees, patting the side of my neck. "That way are the Alvada Gardens."
I looked in the direction he was pointing and saw the span of Helios spread out before me.
The entire city was built upon man small islands sprouting out of the massive lake.
Each island was fit to burst with stunning buildings and plant life, bridges connecting each island in a spider web of wood and stone.
Even at this angle it looked more like an elvish city than a human one, like it had been plucked right out of a fantasy novel.
A delightful blending of man made structures and nature.
Just as exciting to me was the fact that I also saw two other dragons soaring above the city scape, their own flights taking them away from us, but still drawing my eyes all the same.
"Garden?" I asked, a little distracted by the other dragons, but noting that I didn't see anything resembling a garden during my first glance of the city.
"Yes. It is quite famous, actually. It was built for dragons as well as the lesser races. It is said that it looks just as amazing above as it does when you explore it on foot."
"I take it you have been curious about that then?"
Leon chuckled. "Maybe a bit..."
"Alright, lets go there first then." I said, simply eager to explore. I did have a prince as my tour guide; it would be disrespectful not to take advantage of his understanding of his own home.
I directed our flight path to one of the larger islands- maybe two kilometers long and a little over a kilometer wide- near the center of the city.
As we drew nearer, I did see that it was lacking the number of buildings the rest of the islands possessed, and seemed to have a greater number of vibrant trees.
I tilted my wings and brought us to the center of the island, thinking it would provide the best view, then looked down.
"Wow!" I gasped, delighted.
Below me spread out a wide field of many flowers, all the colors dark and vibrant.
I had expected them, or course, it was a garden after all.
But I had thought they would be a variety of bright or pastel colored roses and daises.
.. That wasn't the case. Though I could not tell the spieces of plant at this height, I did see that the colors were richer rather than bright.
Deep, blood reds, heavy violets, burgundy and midnight blues.
Really, if someone told me that it was a garden for vampires I would not have been surprised.
But, beyond that was the intricate designs that the flowers had been planted in.
They might not have drawn a picture, but it was clear that a mandala like design had been planned out, and you could only appreciate it from above.
It was gorgeous and made me wonder how well the city's gardeners were getting paid.
"Its beautiful!" I said truthfully, following the various swooping lines of color all over the field beneath me. "I did not expect the colors though."
"They change with the seasons." Leon stated, also gawking at the garden. "These are at autumn colors. The best times to view Alvada are in the summer and winter, especially at night."
"Why at night?" I asked, wrenching my eyes from the flowers to note the very wide walking paths and many trees, their leaves still vibrant and changing from green to hues of red and yellow, the colors complementing the darker flowers surprisingly well.
"Many of the plant life that blooms at those times glow or light up at night. Even on the ground it is like walking through a fairy garden."
"Really?" I asked, fascinated. "I can't wait to see that!"
Leon grew silent, and I looked back to see what was the matter. He looked pensive and worried.
"What is it?" I asked. Was there some reason he didn't want me to view the garden? That seemed unlikely.
"Its just... well, you won't be here that long, will you?"
I frowned, realizing what it was that was bugging him. It was touching to think that he would miss me, truth be told. I was quite comfortable in saying that he had become my first friend in this world, and I had also come to rely on the comradery between us.
"My nest mates are my top priority." I stated, very serious.
I saw the prince's shoulders slump and almost smiled.
"But I don't think that means that I will need to leave any time soon.
I highly doubt your father will know where the bandits have taken them right away, even if he is a king.
No doubt there will need to be an investigation.
Also, I am a dragon. I can get from point A to point B in a relatively short span of time, no matter where I am.
It is best if I have a comfortable home base for that, and I see no reason why that shouldn't be Helios. "
I had thought about this quite a lot. As much as I wished to simply run off and get the eggs back immediately, I knew that- logically speaking- that likely wouldn't be the case.
If I stayed here I could put the kingdom and its information net works to my own use, and have them do the leg work for me.
They already had a head start over me anyways, with well established connection, and an intimate knowledge of this world as a whole, as compared to my own lack luster information.
Also, this place had dragons. Wild dragons, like myself, were not social creatures.
If I stayed here I might be able to learn more about my own kind that my poor mother was unable to pass on to me.
It was a little bit of a blow to my pride to ask for help, but it was less embarrassing than doing something wrong in the future just because of my stubbornness.
"Do you think your father would turn me away?" I asked Leon. I didn't think he would, but there was always a chance that he wouldn't want a wild dragon around his very flammable citizens.
"No! Not at all." Leon exclaimed, looking far more lively at this news.
"We are duty bound to aid dragons so long as it does not cause the kingdom any long lasting damage.
It was part of the agreement made when the dragoons were founded!
It would be the kingdom's honor to aid you as best we can.
There is no way that he would turn you away, so long as you have no plans involving eating our people. " He added with a laugh.
"I have never eaten a human, but I can't imagine they tasted very good." Not to mention, even if I was a dragon now, it would still feel a bit like cannibalism.
We continued on our tour, Leon in even greater spirits, if that was even possible.
He pointed out several important buildings within the city, including the grand library ( "There are even more books in there than the palace's personal library!
"), The apothecaries guild ("It was founded with Helios itself, and has been run by the same family of chemists since.
"), and the dragoon academy which was situated on the largest and most out of the way island.
"This is where I spend most of my time..." Leon said as we hovered over head. My wings and breast muscles were getting tired, but I was more concerned over the wistful look on my friend's face. "But I don't know if I can stay there much longer."
"Are you giving up on your dream?" I asked, quietly. It would be a sad thing to do, but I could also understand. It couldn't be easy having to attend a school where you were probably the oldest student by quite a bit. Loric had said that most dragoon hopefuls gave up long before Leon's age.
"... I don't want to. But I am a prince of Helios.
I don't have the luxury of doing nothing with my life.
There is a great expectation that I work hard for the benefit of the kingdom, rather than cling to a dream that was nearly impossible to begin with.
My father has been very accommodating with me, but even he has to listen to his advisors, and the nobles who lend him support.
I would hate for him to be put in a bind over my own stubbornness. .."
I realized then that there had been people in this kingdom who had been harassing Leon.
And It made me angry. Did I understand that there would be pressure on him to contribute, and that others might not like him 'wasting his and the kingdom's time' on a seemingly useless endeavor?
Sure, but that didn't give these pompous old men the right to belittle Leon for wanting to peruse his dreams. It wasn't like he was being lazy, after all.
From what I could tell, the prince was dedicating a great deal of time and effort to his studies and to becoming the best Dragoon he could be!
Still, there wasn't much I could say toward this fact. It was a decision that Leon would have to make on his own, and I would do my best to support him in what ever path he chose.
"We should head to the palace." Leon eventually said, sounding like he was a little disappointed that we had to get back to earth.
I nodded and angled our flight toward the very large and shiny palace that we had been avoiding this whole time because it would be our last stop.
Leon might have been disappointed, but I was pretty glad to be giving my wings a rest. I was at my limit and was more than ready to set my paws back on the ground, even if it made the prince a little sad.
It wasn't like we couldn't do this any time.
The palace was on a medium sized island which it occupied all on its own.
As the others had said, the King's way wound its way over several islands, and ended on a smaller island not too far from the palace where it was met by a tall gate of some kind of silver metal bars, ten guardsmen in uniform standing out front.
The palace itself was white and silver with blue tiled roofs.
There were towers, several wings, and what looked like a good sized garden in the back.
All of this artfully situated on the island, looking almost like it had grown out of the earth as if that were natural.
It was shimmery and beautiful! And, as we drew near it I noted the slight uptick in the rumbling in the distance.
I had almost forgotten the massive waterfall, so engrossed was I in the city itself, but the rumble that I hadn't noticed till now reminded me of it. I made a circle around the palace so that we could land and asked Leon, "So where is the waterfall?"
Looking back I saw that he was smirking.
He pointed out over the lake but I didn't see anything but the horizon.
.. then I realized that it wasn't the horizon, but the edge of a waterfall so large that it acted as a horizon!
I could see, even at this height and distance, that the water sped up greatly as it neared the false horizon, to drop off where the sky and lake seemed to meet.
"Later, if you want to really see it, all you have to do it head that way.
From here it doesn't seem like much, but I am glad we are not too close to it.
The roar of the water is immense, and no one would be able to live comfortably if it was that loud all the time.
Even at this distance we can still hear the falls. "
I nodded, very curious. It was definitely a trip I would be making soon.
Though, probably not with someone on my back.
.. the thought of accidentally dropping Leon off a massive waterfall was not pleasant at all.
So, rather than risk that, I began our decent toward the guarded gate where I could now see the carriage being guided through.
Deciding that it would be pointless to land now, I instead glided down near the carriage as it started to cross the bride leading toward the palace.
I heard a girl laugh and looked to see Serenity leaning out the window, waking at her brother excitedly.
I made sure that I was far enough away that I wouldn't accidentally smack the carriage with my wings and let out a small trumpet to the delight of the young princess.
I saw Loric- the only guard aside from the carriage driver now escorting the princess- roll his eyes and smile. It was impossible to keep pace with the horses while flying, so I zoomed ahead and landed on the tightly packed pavers on the opposite shore where several other people openly gawked.
The palace had been prepared for the arrival of their youngest charges, and there were a dozen guards, several maids and butlers, and more than a few people dressed to the nines whom I assumed were other nobles who had gathered for front row seats to the show.
"Leon?!" I heard a shocked female voice call out, drawing my attention to it's source.
I watched as a thin, frail, yet hypnotically beautiful woman came forward.
Despite the fact that she had the unparallel specimen that was myself before her, she had eyes only for my passenger, gazing up at him with worry and a need that I instantly associated with a mother terrified for the safety of their child.
Sure enough, my suspicion was confirmed when Leon replied: "Mother!" In a much happier tone.
So this was the infamous Sillia Orelious I had heard of, what seemed like a life time ago now.
Now that my eyes had drifted from her pale and blemish-less face with its painted lips and crystal like eyes, I did note her pointed ears, partially covered by long blonde hair.
But most surprising was how tiny she was!
Leon was not a particularly tall man, but his mother couldn't have been over five feet tall at the most!
Leon slid off my back, dodged around my wing, and rushed to embrace his mother in a hug that literally lifted the elf woman off her feet.
Her worry immediately melted into laughter as the prince spun her in a small circle, her white gown fluttering around them, and setting her back on her feet with great care.
"Mother, this is my new friend: Allura!" He stated, introducing me to his mother with a flourish.
It seemed that the prince let go of all pretense before his mother, as this had been the most animated I had seen him since our meeting on the side of a dirt road.
"Allura, this is my mother: Princess Sillia Orelious, fourth wife of King Orelious.
" He said with no small amount of pride.
It was clear that Leon doted on this tiny woman.
"Oh! A- a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Allura, Great Daughter of the Endless Skies." She stammered out with a deep curtsy. Ah, so this was where Leon had inherited his shameless flattery. Great Daughter of the Endless Skies? Really?
Well... It wasn't like I didn't like this made up title. It was also pretty accurate... I supposed I could also ignore the blatantness of her words as much as I did Leon's.
"Leon and Serenity have spoken highly of you, Lady Sillia. It is a pleasure to meet you as well." I said softly, snaking my head past Leon to tap my pink snout upon the woman's forehead, and watched her eyes grow wide as the gathered audience burst into hurried whispers.
I thought I had done something wrong. Perhaps touching a royal without permission was a no-no? I mean, that would make sense I supposed. I guess I had just gotten so used to getting away with just about anything that I had stopped worrying over the consequences of my actions.
But, rather than looking offended, I watched as Sillia placed thin fingers where I had just touched her and smile even wider than when Leon had embraced her!
"Thank you Allura! Your greeting warms my heart!
" I also just remembered that wild dragons rarely bothered learning other languages.
I suppose that could be why they were all surprised as well.
"Auntie Silliaaaaaaa!" Came a trill I had begun to recognize. Serenity bulldozed past me and bounced into the woman's arms, pink dress flapping about as much as her yellow locks.
Sillia laughed happily, and crouched to hold the little girl in an affectionate embrace. "Welcome home, Youngest."
"I'm home!" I heard, muffled, as Serenity held her even tighter.
"Milady..." Hannah sighed, approaching at a much calmer pace with Loric at her back. "You must greet her Ladyship properly."
"But Leon got to spin her in circles!" Pouted the little princess.
"Are you going to spin her in circle?" I asked, amused.
Serenity huffed. "When I am bigger I will!"
Hannah didn't look impressed but Loric, Leon and Sillia seemed to find it funny enough to laugh.
"Thank you for getting them home safely Keith." Sillia stated, looking up warmly. I was confused as to who she was talking about at first before I remember that Loric was the guard captain's family name, not his first name. His full name was Keith Loric.
"As always, it is my honor to serve and protect the great house of Orelious, Lady Sillia.
" Stated Loric, back pin straight, saluting the elvish woman and looking pleased at the her gratitude.
He didn't seem offended nor surprised at the use of his first name, even though I had only ever heard others use his family name.
Were the guard captain and the fourth queen old friends or something? They would make for an odd pair.
Suddenly, someone cleared their throat, drawing everyone's attention.
I looked around and saw yet another finely dressed woman, this one had rich, chocolate brown curls and sharp, aqua blue eyes.
She was tall for a woman and held herself stiffly, dressed in a dark red gown and almost glaring at young Serenity.
"Momma?" The little girl asked, looking genuinely shocked to see the woman.
She stepped away from Sillia and I noted that the mood had shifted greatly.
When the woman pursed her lips Serenity wasted no time approaching her and offering a small curtsy.
"I am home mother." She said in the most polite way as I have ever heard this little girl speak.
I could tell that Serenity was not comfortable around her mother at all.
"Welcome home, my daughter." She said in a husky voice, reaching out a hand with several rings upon it and patted her daughter on the head. It was so awkward that I was sure that this woman had never touched a child before.
It may have been judgmental on my part, but right then and there I decided that I did not like this woman. She made Serenity scared, and that was enough for me to dislike her as far as I was concerned.
"Is this a friend of yours?" The woman asked, pointing at me with a folded hand fan.
I felt myself grow tense, almost aggressive, as Serenity nodded and spun around to introduce us.
Leon's hand was suddenly on my shoulder and I saw that he also didn't like this queen/ princess.
.. what ever title she held as Serenity's mother.
But Leon seemed to be holding in his dislike for the woman (Probably for his sister's sake) so I decided to do the same.
"Um, Mother, this is Allura. Allura, this is my mother, fifth wife to the King: Amanda Orelious." The little girl said, looking a little deflated and nervous.
As for Amanda, she took a step forward and smiled brightly. She was, indeed, a beautiful woman.. but I realized immediately that she expected me to touch her forehead as well. The same as I had done for Leon's mother.
Old me would have done it, if only to keep the peace. But dragon me was not nearly so generous nor diplomatic to just bend to this woman's desires. Rather, I drew myself up to my full height, towering over the woman, and glared downward.
"Greetings, wife of the King. I am quite fond of your daughter, you must have raised her well for her to have grown so kind and gentle.
.." It may have been polite on the surface, but my words were a sneer and a threat.
If she dared to punish the little girl for my rudeness, then she would have to deal with the full wrath of a wild female dragon.
I suddenly understood why everyone was so on edge when it came to possibly offending me. Now that I was offended, I felt as if I- perhaps- could burn down a palace or two. Though, I could not breath fire yet, maybe this would be the instance to trigger it in me?