Growing Pains
"And who are you?" I asked, glaring down at the man. It was true that he was short and portly, but I suddenly registered that I must be growing once again. It felt as if I was suddenly taller than before. I really hoped I didn't go through another shameful shedding incident.
"I am marquee Farsteadder, oh great dragon." The man stated, lowering himself in what felt like a condescending bow. It was so low that not only was I shocked that he didn't topple over, but his mustache also brushed the polished floors.
I resisted the urge to growl. I would be the first to admit that I was a sucker for a compliment, and that habit was getting more and more ingrained with each passing day.
Yet, hearing flattering words from this man felt more like someone was pouring greasy oil over my scales then anything.
It was gross and slimy, and made me want to bite the man.
"Sir Farsteadder are one of the many esteemed noble families within the Orelious kingdom, Allura.
" Said Leon, a forced smile on his face as he oh-so-cautiously put himself between myself and the noblemen.
"The Farsteadders have served the empire with grace and loyalty since the inception of our great nation. "
"Oh ho! You know well young master Leon.
" Grinned the man, stroking that nasty mustache, his eyes not reflecting the pleasure of his grateful words.
And how dare he call Leon 'young master', rather than 'prince' or 'his highness'?
Just because Dragons disdained from titles, that didn't mean that humans should not be more vigilant to their own customs!
There was an anger in me now. To be honest, it was rather frightening how sudden and intense the emotion had been stirred in me.
It was true that, ever since arriving in Helios, I had seen- and resented- how the nobles seemed to treat Leon, who they saw as being a 'failure' of a prince.
But surly it didn't warrant the irrational anger bubbling up within me at the moment.
Today had started off in a good place too.
"Well, since we have made our report to the king-" Leon started, his voice nervous as he instantly picked up on my change in mood.
"Should we not return to the training grounds?
" An idea seemed to come over the prince as I hovered menacingly over the oblivious noble.
My appearance must have still been outwardly calm for them not to seem agitated at all.
Especially since people usually seemed to be overly cautious about insulting me.
maybe they did not see that insulting Leon was as good as insulting me, in my eyes?
"Come to think of it, we haven't introduced you to Kalon!" Said the prince, blocking my view once again.
The king looked from the noblemen, to his oddly behaving son, to the dragon and understanding seemed to dawn on him.
"Ah, yes. It was rude of me to call you here when I should have guessed that Allura would follow.
I am sure that Allura would be quite eager to meet such an old and wise drake like Kalon. "
I wasn't even paying attention. It was like I had locked on the the noblemen, and in my eyes he was prey.
"Leon, why don't you escort Allura and make the introductions?" the king asked, signaling subtly to the knights located around the room. It was about now that the man called Farsteadder seemed to clue in that he wasn't in the safest of positions, and his face had gone pale.
My nostrils flared as I drew in the scent of his fear. Like prey...
"Um, Allura? Should we not go?" Leon asked, his hand out stretched. I could smell... not fear exactly, but nervousness on the prince.
I saw the nobleman grow pale and felt a disturbing sense of pleasure. He took a step back- likely finally clueing in that he was attempting to stare down a being that could eat him in three bites- and I felt myself put a paw forward, following him.
"You know, dear husband, I hear that Kalon has had some experience in hunting brigands and thieves of dragon eggs in the past, has he not?" the sudden, sweet sound of the prince's very own mother- Sillia- broke though my strange haze, causing me to look away from the noblemen for the first time.
"You are quite right!" Chirped the king, an angst to his normally commanding voice. Now that I was looking their way, I could see that it was more then the noble that appeared to be on edge.
Indeed, without realizing I had done it, I was now several steps further from the king than I had been, with a nervous looking Leon standing next to a rear leg.
My pink, leathery wings were half unfolded, blocking my view of most others, but the scent of uneasy was in the air. Acrid, yet stimulating.
"Dragon eggs?" I asked, realizing that it had been- not just my vision- but my mind that had lapsed into a bit of a fog. What had I been doing?
"Yes! It was one of the first things I had inquired of our most esteemed dragon upon his return.
" Continued the king. He looked a little on edge.
Behind him I could see the elven queen. She was smiling kindly at me, and didn't look concerned or on edge at all.
"Neither he, nor his dragoon, knew about your situation directly, but you may not find a better source on such deviants and their habits. "
"Oh?" It would be really good to finally have a lead on my siblings... I couldn't say that the time since my hatching had been wasted, but it did make me feel that the poor eggs (or the young dragons that may have hatched from them) were getting farther and farther from my reach.
"Why don't we go find him now?" Leon suggested, setting a calloused hand upon my flank.
At his touch I realized that my muscles were very tensed.
"Actually, after my bout with Master Trent, I think I'm very eager to have him introduce Kalon to us.
I've never met him before, and only ever saw him fly over head a few times! "
"I see..." I could tell that Leon was forcing cheerfulness. I didn't like it. Still, it would be good to ask about any source that could lead to my siblings.
"Alright, lets go." Grinned the prince. And, to my surprises, he immediately hoped on my back.
Never mind that normally he would have asked first- not that I cared all that much, it was Leon after all- but it was also rather rude to act this way in a formal setting.
Wouldn't his parents get angry at him for not acting proper in front of so many men and woman of political power?
I was about to look back, to confirm that Leon wasn't going to get in trouble, when his hand practically slapped into my face over my shoulder. "Come on! Lets go." He said, nudging my cheek and almost bouncing on my shoulders.
"Alright, alright... I'm going..." Why was he acting so strange? Deciding to ask about it when not surrounded by so many strangers, I started to walk past the others, not even saying a farewell. For that moment, it didn't even occur to me that I was being rude in my actions.
"Of all th- MMPH!!" A voice started angerly before getting cut off. I turned to see the nobleman from before. However, he currently had Loric's gloved hand over his steadily reddening face.
The guardsmen smiled, raising his other hand in farewell. "I hope you learn something relevant Allura. Let me know if I can be of any help!"
"Alright..." I said, confused. But I also felt a little of that strange, aggressive, focus slip back over me.
"The captain may still be at the training grounds if we hurry." Leon said, in that strangely loud and overly cheerful voice. Still, it caused me to forget all about the stupid noblemen. Right, protecting the eggs came before anything else. Even if these damn nobles were a load of trash.
My claws clicked on the tile as Leon and I slowly made our way out of the hall. I didn't even bother to look over my shoulder, while Leon let out a long, relieved, sigh on my back.
It wasn't till the knights at the door made sure that they were shut after my scaly tail that Loric released the wretched man, who fell to the floor in a spluttering mess. The guard captain let out a stress laced sigh reminiscent of Leon's own, brushing a hand through his dark hair.
"Well done Loric." the king growled, eyes narrowed on the disgraced fool on the floor.
"How dare you!" the man snapped up at Loric, eyes flashing in rage and embarrassment. "Do you know who-"
"Be silent you fool." Hissed a quiet, yet clearly enraged, voice.
The elven man it belonged to was none other than the maid, Hannah's, uncle: Vanier Strouser.
Despite his tall stature and commanding presence, I hadn't even noticed him while I'd been in the room.
Then again, I hadn't noticed much at the time.
"This man fairly saved you neck." From the narrowed eyes trained down on the now frightened noblemen, it was clear that the elf had many other- less pleasant- things he had wanted to say to this man.
"It seems that some of us have grown complacent here, in the capital." the king sighs, leveling an apologetic look toward the elf before turning to his wife . "You did excellently as well, Sillia."
"Not at all." Smiled the elven queen. Despite the air of calm she had been exhibiting, she now looked a little shaken as the king took her chilled hand in his own. Her eyes were trained on the door when her son had just left on the back of a clearly upset wild dragon.
"You needn't worry, your highness." Sighed Vanier, also looking towards the closed doors. "No matter how wild a dragon is, it isn't mindless. Killing this imbecilic man may not have seemed like a bad idea to her, but harming the prince is another matter."
"What happened...?" Loric asked, though from his hushed tone and down-cast eyes it was clear that he was merely speaking out a thought, and not seriously asking. Butting in on a conversation between the king and one of the most decorated Dragoons was not his place after all.
Still, Vanier answered all the same. "It's clear that Allura is still aging at an accelerated pace.
" He stated, addressing his words to the king rather than Loric.
"As you know, we tend to isolate hatchlings as they enter their final stage of maturity.
I suspect that young Allura is entering that now.
Bouts of barely provoked aggression, mood swings, and the instincts of a hunter are greatly heightened at this stage.
For a female... well, I can only report as I have seen in passing, and from others.
.. It may be best if we find a mission to send her on for a short time. "
"You don't think she might get offended?" asked the king, contemplating.
"If we frame it as a mission geared toward her own goals, I don't think she would mind. It isn't like we intend to banish her from the kingdom, Your Majesty."
"Yes. Despite Allura being a wild dragon, she is quite compassionate towards others." Said Sillia in a quiet voice. "She wouldn't want to accidentally hurt anyone, I don't think." No one bothered to mention whether or not I would care if I had intentionally hurt someone.
"Very well. How long do you think this mission should be? And should we send some of the other cadets along?" the king asked Vanier.
"Given her rate of growth, and the typical length this stage should take.
.. a couple weeks should be plenty. If it seems that her physiology has not settled down by then we could always reassess.
As for the cadets... I wouldn't send younger dragons.
Kalon should be capable to handle anything a young dragoness might do, as well as any other older drake, that is.
The younger ones... might just be brazen enough to think they had a chance at wooing Allura. That could have dire results."
Most people- even the ignorant nobles who seem to intentionally neglect that knowledge at times- new that it was disastrous for a bonded drake to assume he had a chance at seducing female.
.. it was especially bad if the drakes were young and stupid.
Older drakes, at least, knew how to test the waters with a female before making an advance.
.. after all, a bonded dragon being allowed to mate with a female was rare, but not unheard of.
Young ones were dumb, and hormonal enough, to think that they could be that one in a million.
"If Allura really is entering her maturity, then getting her away from the barracks till her body settles would be best. We will let her and Leon go to Kalon for now, and hopefully she will cool off. Later we will tell her of the mission. I assume you have something in mind?" He asked Vanier.
The elf nodded. "Yes, it should help the young dragon blow off some steam, while preventing any accidents within the capital."
"Good, we will go with that plan then."