Truth and More Surprises
The meeting room was an office of sorts with three desks and a small seating area with a couch, a few armchairs, and a roaring fire to keep the chill out. I sat on the couch with my guardians standing behind me while the viceroys sat in the armchairs opposite me.
“Are you hungry, thirsty? I imagine the trip here was a long one if what Zan told us is accurate,” Mathew asked, reaching for a bell on a small table next to him.
“Something to drink would be lovely. Flying always seems to make me thirsty,” I answered, giving them a smile at their thoughtfulness.
Mathew rang the bell, and a few moments later, a woman appeared, wiping her hands on her apron. “Working late tonight again? Do I need to make supper too?”
“Ann, if you could bring us something cool to drink for our guests as well as some bread and cheese to tide them over before dinner,” Mathew requested.
Her whole countenance changed when she spotted me, standing straighter and bobbing a curtsy. “Straightaway… anything else I can get you, ma’am, milady, Majesty, miss…”
“No, thank you. What was requested will be wonderful,” I answered, trying to ease her nervousness.
After bobbing a few more hasty curtsies, she left the room in a flurry.
“Forgive her. Once people found out that Zan was leaving us to become a guardian of the Dragon Queen, it spread like wildfire,” Lawrence said as he folded his hands in his lap. “It has been a prophecy that we have waited generations to be fulfilled.”
Little did these men know that they were drawing me in with every word, making me want desperately to know everything about this prophecy.
“I absolutely want to know more about that, but I have come for a specific purpose. Having already met some of your soldiers, I understand you know about the Lost King and what happened in Royal City?”
“Yes, since Zan’s departure, we felt it was wise to keep ourselves more informed of things happening outside our valley,” Eleazar concurred.
“Unbeknownst to me, one of my guardians was an impostor and spy for the Lost King, reporting everything we were doing. This leads me to believe he’s also given the location of our hidden mountain fortress where the mercenary clans have been hiding.
I’ve come to request your help by giving refuge to my people,” I stated, searching each of the men’s faces.
They shifted in their seats and looked at one another, confused, until Lawrence spoke. “Your Majesty, why would you feel the need to make such a request to us? This is your home. These are your people, and we are your subjects who have humbly kept your throne ready for your return.”
“What?” I blurted, my brain having trouble processing all of this. “You are willing to hand me over your entire kingdom just like that?”
“Perhaps we need to start at the beginning,” Mathew suggested. “I assume you aren’t heading back tonight?”
“Actually, I need to be back by first light to accompany my people as we leave our hideout,” I answered. “But we have a few hours before we need to return since I wasn’t expecting this to be so… simple.”
Eleazar muttered something under his breath as he got up from his chair and headed to a cupboard.
He produced a key from somewhere in his robes and unlocked the door, revealing a collection of old books and scrolls.
Carefully, he removed two scrolls wrapped in what looked like bright red velvet and returned to set them on the low table between us.
“These are the first scrolls ever written by the first king, King Yash, just after he established the mercenaries here in Sheca. As you know, he was the first man to build a bond with a dragon. He said that when the venom entered him, he saw a vision. This vision was of our future and what our people would one day become. King Yash foresaw a time when our people would need a champion, but he didn’t see who that champion would be.
Of course, we never got a timeline of when that would happen, but we did get events and other signs to look out for.
This second scroll is that of our third king, King Cardon, and his vision that predicted the name of the champion…
the Dragon Queen,” Eleazar said as he opened one of the scrolls.
Peering at the scrolls in the light of the fire, I could tell they were written in the old tongue. They had a slightly different way of being written, making reading a little more challenging.
“Vasin, is this version of our language in your memory?”
“It is old, to be sure, but we do not forget something once it is pulled into our memory bank. This dialect dates back to the beginning of our memory.”
“So, you can help me if I get stuck?”
“Yes, Cass. You will not miss out on any secret those scrolls possess.”
I couldn’t help but grin that he knew me so well. When I processed what I was reading, my smile faded into a frown as I read the signs of the champion. My gaze flicked up to Eleazar studying me as I read. “This can’t be… how could this be true?”
“Now, do you see why we do not doubt you are the Dragon Queen? Your arrival has been foretold hundreds of years before it could ever be possible,” Mathew interjected, his voice filled with excitement.
The guys shifted behind me as they tried to get a better look at the scroll, but I didn’t think Abbott or Izel could read it.
Shifting, I turned so I could see them as I explained what I’d just read.
“The scroll starts with predicting the hour of need that would bring forth the champion. Our countries will be hunting the mercenaries, forcing us back into hiding. A great evil will arrive out of the East, but we won’t know until it’s too late because of the fighting within our borders.
It goes on to explain the signs that the champion has arrived.
A black dragon will reappear after a century without one, on the verge of dragons abandoning us as a lost cause.
The champion will be found among people who’d lost the knowledge of their heritage.
Upon their coronation, they will unite the mercenaries and end the reign of evil to create a time of prosperity, the likes we’ve never seen before… ”
“So, the queen is a scholar,” Lawrence commented with a kind smile.
“Not many besides us can read these ancient words. Many believe them to be the ramblings of a madman, but we know the truth the others chose to turn a blind eye to. The time of darkness is coming, and the hour of the Dragon Queen is upon us.”
“Why don’t they believe?” Izel asked as he came to sit beside me.
“Because they are fools,” Eleazar snapped.
“They let resentment cloud their judgment even though it’s been four hundred years since we were left here.
Many want to release us from our history and blaze a new trail as a new people independent from the mercenaries who forgot us.
Our wise king knew we would be needed. It’s written clearly here in these scrolls.
We weren’t abandoned. We were being protected for when we would be needed.
If we had all left together, then who would be here?
Who would you have to turn to in your hour of need when hope seems to be fading away?
They choose to be ignorant, and that will be their downfall,” he finished, slamming his fist on his armchair.
Ann entered the room with a tray of cups but paused when she saw the scroll on the table. “I’ll just set these on the side table for you. Do you still want me to bring some food or just wait for dinner?”
“Might be safer just to wait,” Abbott offered. “None of us will waste away before then.”
Having been on the receiving end of Abbott’s full attention combined with a smile, I couldn’t blame her for the blush that colored her cheeks. It was rather overwhelming. I didn’t appreciate her flirtatious look in return and how her walk had a little more sashay to it.
“Would you like us to continue, or should we change topics to another subject less historical?” Mathew asked, drawing my attention back to him. He had a knowing twinkle in his eye that told me I hadn’t been as subtle in my disapproval of Ann’s actions as I thought.
“I would greatly love to learn all the history here in Sheca, but I think right now, we need to focus on the future before the rest of my people arrive,” I suggested.
“Very well then,” Lawrence said as he stood from his chair to grab another book out of the cabinet. This one was bound in leather with gold writing on it, announcing it as the concordance of royal decrees. “Tell me what steps you have taken as queen so far.”
“Steps?”
“Yes, I assume you have gone through the full coronation since you have your guardians. Who have you chosen as your consorts? I see these men don’t hold that mark. Are there more back with the rest of your people waiting for you?” Lawrence inquired, looking down his nose at my guardians.
Shifting in my seat, I looked up at Zan, confused, but he just shrugged his shoulders as unsure as I was.
“I think it might be best if we assume I’ve completed nothing.
My coronation was not planned and happened more on the spot out of necessity.
When I came to the clans around six months ago, I was tasked with a year of training in all things mercenary on top of learning the history and role of being queen.
I’d been kidnapped by the Lost King and was rescued by one of my other guardians who brought me to the fortress where I was announced as queen.
My Birthright picked my guardians out of necessity, not in the typical fashion of one from each clan. ”
Now it was their turn to look stunned and confused. Eleazar sputtered as he tried to find the words to express his displeasure at what I’d just told him. “Gods above, that… whatever that was, is absolutely no coronation!”
“Calm yourself, my old friend. We don’t know how things have changed in the past four hundred years,” Mathew chimed in, trying to soothe Eleazar. “You do not wear a crown, either. Is there another mark to establish you are queen?”
I pulled out the pendant I wear all the time since I’d been given it. “This is the symbol of royalty and also a key to unlock certain rooms or things meant for our eyes only.”
“May I?” Mathew asked, holding out a hand.
Slipping off the necklace, I handed it to him and watched as he studied the design. It was of a dragon curled around a sword, and the tip of the sword was the key.
“Do you know what you have here?” Mathew asked, his voice full of reverence.
“That’s foolish of me to ask. I’m sure you don’t, seeing as you didn’t know we existed until meeting Zan.
This, my dear girl, is the key to the Dragon Castle.
” Upon hearing the shocked sounds coming from his friends, he handed over the necklace for them to inspect.
“This is proof that the king always planned to return. Why else take the one and only key to the castle with you?” Eleazar announced as he looked down at it in his hands, rubbing a thumb over it.
“It’s been locked up for four hundred years, an impenetrable fortress that dragons can’t even access once it’s been secured.
It’s one of the reasons we use this building to conduct our work and not the castle as it should be. ”
Just when I didn’t think more surprises could pop up, they kept coming. I was going to assume that everything had more meaning to it than I was told so it would make it easier for me when things like this happened.
“You’re telling me that castle we saw when we flew in hasn’t been touched in four hundred years?” Izel asked, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “How is it still intact if no one has maintained it?”
“We might not be able to get inside, but that doesn’t mean we will let it fall into ruin,” Eleazar grumbled. “We’ve maintained what we could from the outside.”
I could tell the others had more questions, but they could wait a little longer. “Back to the coronation, what is it that you require?”
Lawrence flipped through the book’s pages before handing it to me. “Here is the outline that has been laid out for us.”
Taking the book, I settled it in my lap and read over what was written, surprised at the level of detail listed. This reminded me more of how things were done in Norden, but with a few differences. “Do you still have everything needed for this to happen?”
“We have some, but the rest of it is locked away safely in the castle. Now that we have the key, we can gather those as well,” Mathew said, giving me an excited smile. “We will be the first to see the inside in over four hundred years. Think of all the things we can learn!”
Before the others could get too excited, Ann poked her head into the room. “Dinner is ready if you would like to come to the dining room.”
Thankful to have the break, I stood and followed the others out.
I knew this place would hold secrets, but I didn’t know just how many there would be.
It seemed that around every corner there was something more.
We haven’t even broached the subject of dragons or Birthrights, either.
It might be better to wait for those revelations once we’ve gathered our people here and have had time to dive into everything once the castle is reopened.