Scales and Flames

by Catherine Banks

  Stian dropped down near me but didn’t approach.

  “This has to be a dream,” I whispered.

  “What happened?” he asked me.

  “She raised me in an area very few had homes in. She never told me about Priok. She told me that my father died during a battle. She told me that she couldn’t go back. A week ago, someone found out we were draconians and they attacked us. She gave me the envelope and made me swear to come here. She told me that it was the last thing she would do, protect me.”

  “She gave her life so that you could escape.”

  “Why? Why couldn’t she return?”

  “I don’t know,” he answered honestly.

  “I don’t want to be a ruler,” I told him.

  “You can’t fight your destiny.”

  “Destiny is a joke. We make our own paths,” I snapped, a quote from my mother.

  “What will you do then?” he asked.

  “Maybe I’ll become a pirate,” I whispered.

  He chuckled and then picked me up and flew up into the air, his wings the only shift he did as we headed back towards the castle. “You’d make a wonderful pirate,” he replied, “but I think you should at least give Priok a chance.”

  “I can fly,” I reminded him.

  “I need to make sure you get back to the castle or they’ll demote me.”

  “Who are you?”

  “I’m a guard,” he answered.

  “Did you know my parents?”

  He nodded. “I didn’t know them well, just saw them as a child.”

  “I don’t know what to do,” I admitted nervously.

  “One thing at a time,” he said, another of my mother’s favorite lines. “Let’s start with taking you back to the acting king and queen so they can talk with you about what’s happened.”

  “Will you stay with me?” I requested. I didn’t know him, but I felt comfortable with him.

  “Yes, my…”

  “No,” I growled and put my hand over his mouth. “Please don’t call me by a title.”

  “Yes, Aideen.”

  I removed my hand and tensed as the castle grew closer.

  “I’ll stay by your side and protect you,” he promised.

  “Can you protect me from becoming a ruler?”

  “If that’s what you want, I will try my best.”

  I chuckled. “Typical guard, promising things well beyond your ability.”

  “We never know until we try.”

  I laughed and felt myself relax as he set me on the ground at the castle entrance.

  “One step at a time,” I whispered to myself.

  Stian stood beside me and asked, “Would you feel better if I drew my sword?”

  Despite everything, I smiled. “Not this time.”

  Two

  The queen, acting queen, was pacing in the throne room when we entered, but stopped when she saw me. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “We shouldn’t have bombarded you like that.”

  “You didn’t know that mother had kept me ignorant,” I said and then exhaled loudly.

  “Would you like us to tell you everything?” King Afi asked.

  “First, I need food,” I whispered as I realized my lightheadedness wasn’t just from shock.

  Stian picked me up and carried me out of the room. “You should have told me.”

  “Thought it was nerves,” I admitted.

  He shook his head and chuckled. “You’re going to be a handful, I can already tell.”

  “At least things won’t be boring,” I teased.

  He scoffed and carried me to a table where there was already food and drink. He handed me a cup of water. “Drink,” he ordered.

  I was fairly certain a guard wasn’t supposed to order the ruler around, but since I was close to fainting, I obeyed. Five cups of water and four plates of food later, I felt a bit better.

  “I hope you didn’t catch a disease on that ship,” he whispered as he stared at me.

  “Stop staring,” I murmured.

  “Your skin is returning to its natural color, so that is a good sign.”

  “How is she?” King Afi asked as he entered.

  “Better,” Stian answered.

  “Sorry,” I whispered to King Afi who sat down at the table across from me.

  “Did your mother tell you anything?” he asked.

  “Just that my father died in a battle.”

  He nodded. “Twenty years ago, our kingdom was in the midst of the worst war in our history, battling demons. Your father, the king, was our strongest warrior. He killed hundreds of demons, but lost his life battling their ruler. Your mother tried to defeat them as well, but he was too strong.”

  “He?”

  “Hartol, the King of Demons,” Stian answered.

  “She used a spell that sent them back to the Shadow Realm, but it sent her out of the kingdom and wouldn’t allow her to return.”

  “Why not tell me then?” I asked.

  “Because you are young and she did not want to put the burden upon you,” King Afi answered.

  “It’s on me now.”

  “Yes, but learning now versus when you were nine is a very different thing,” King Afi said.

  True.

  “What now?” I asked him. “I know nothing of this kingdom or draconians. I can’t read or write. I’m hardly fit to be queen.”

  “You’re illiterate?” he asked in disbelief.

  I nodded.

  “That’s very unlike her,” he mumbled.

  He was silent a very long time.

  “What do you like to do?” he asked.

  “I practice magic and fighting,” I admitted.

  “She was turning you into a warrior,” King Afi whispered.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “She believes the demons will come back,” he explained. “That was part of what her letter said.”

  “So not only am I supposed to be queen, I’m also supposed to save the world? Great, no pressure.”

  “Ruling is up to you,” he told me. “We can continue to rule while you learn and once you are ready, you can take the throne. Or you can take the throne now and learn as you go.”

  “Are you related to me if you’re ruling in my place?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “There are no other heirs. Queen Bera was your mother’s best friend and she appointed her as heir.”

  That explained why she had broken down when she heard about her death.

  “What was my father like?” I asked him. “Mom couldn’t talk about him.”

  “He was a fierce warrior and fully devoted to your mother. He loved her more than anything else. He practically worshipped her.”

  “Could he…” I paused, not sure if I should ask him. “Could he use armored scales?”

  Stian and King Afi exchanged a look before King Afi said, “Yes. How did you know?”

  “Your Highness!” a guard yelled as he ran inside the room. “You’re needed.”

  “What’s going on?” Stian asked.

  “A fight in the courtyard,” the guard explained, tripping over his words.

  “Who?” King Afi asked and headed out of the room.

  “Come on,” Stian said and grabbed my hand. “I might need to help.”

  “Why are you so worried about a fight?” I asked curiously. Shouldn’t they just let the people work it out?

  “Fights are allowed, but not near the castle.”

  “So, just send them on.”

  “It’s harder than that to stop a draconian fight,” he said with a smirk.

  We pushed our way through the onlookers and I watched as two draconians, fully shifted into dragons, fought. I’d never witnessed it before and stood in awe.

  Stian marched forward to stand between them with a sword drawn. “Stand down!” he ordered them.

  King Afi stood beside me with his arms folded. “Even if you aren’t ruling, you’ll still need a guard to protect you.”

  “Why?”

&n
bsp; “Because people are cruel and will try to hurt you.”

  “Do I get to choose?” I asked.

  The dragons ignored Stian and continued to fight. He cut one of their legs, but they didn’t even flinch.

  “Yes, you get to choose,” he replied with a smirk.

  “Is that bloodlust?” I asked curiously.

  He nodded.

  During bloodlust, they wouldn’t be able to think clearly.

  Stian leapt out of the way, barely avoiding being bitten.

  I started to move forward, but King Afi stopped me. “He’ll handle it.”

  “They almost bit him in…”

  “Watch, Aideen.”

  I grumbled to myself but obeyed. Stian’s scowl deepened and he leapt up, grabbed each by the back of the neck and slammed them to the ground. “That’s enough!” he growled at them.

  I stared in disbelief as Stian, in human form, pinned the two dragons’ heads to the ground. It was unbelievable and yet I had witnessed it.

  “Would I be correct in assuming that you would be fine if I assigned Stian as your guard?” King Afi asked.

  “Sure,” I whispered since I didn’t really know what to say. Was I strong enough to do that?

  “If you decide you want to reassign him, that’s not an issue either.”

  The two dragons shifted back and Stian chastised them.

  “Would you like me to show you to your room?” King Afi asked.

  “Yes, King Afi.”

  “Please, call me, Afi,” he said. “And you may call the queen Bera. You are the rightful heir, so calling us by our titles is not needed.”

  “Okay,” I said but hadn’t taken my eyes off Stian.

  “Let me show you to your room now,” he said and smiled at me.

  I followed him into the castle, glancing back one last time at Stian who looked away from scolding the dragons to meet my eyes. I turned back around and jogged to catch up to Afi.

  “Since you didn’t have any luggage, I’m going to assume that you need some new clothes,” Afi said.

  I nodded. “I didn’t really have much before anyway.”

  “Have you decided about ruling?”

  “I’d like you to continue ruling. I need to learn to read and write and then learn about this kingdom.”

  He nodded in understanding. “Agreed. Once you’ve gotten acclimated here, I will start bringing you in to help with decisions.”

  “Okay.”

  He pushed open a door and said, “Here is your new room.”

  It wasn’t a room, it was a house! It was larger than the house we had lived in. “This is bigger than what I grew up in,” I admitted.

  He scowled, but then asked, “Have you worn dresses before?”

  I shook my head. “They’re not good for fighting in.”

  “Then dancing will need to be another thing you’re taught.”

  “Why?” I asked curiously.

  “Dancing is fun and as royals we are expected to appear at the balls and events with others.”

  “It sounds pretty frivolous.”

  “It is, but it also keeps everyone happy.”

  “Aideen?” Stian called.

  “In here,” Afi answered.

  He stuck his head in and asked, “Showing her her chambers?”

  Afi nodded. “Yes.”

  “Sorry I had to leave,” he whispered to me.

  “Stian, a word,” Afi requested.

  He followed Afi outside and they shut my door so I couldn’t listen. What were they talking about?

  Instead of trying to eavesdrop, I wandered around the room. It was clean and there were doors that led out to a balcony. I pushed open the doors and looked out at the beautiful garden. There was a maze of hedges with a fountain in the center.

  The door opened and Stian came back in alone.

  “Everything alright?” I asked him.

  He waited until he was standing next to me to say, “He informed me that I’m your guard.”

  “Only if you want to be,” I said quickly, unsure of how he felt about being ordered to guard me.

  He smiled and said, “I’m honored to be your guard.”

  “Really, if you don’t want to…”

  He put his hand over my mouth like I had done to him earlier. “Stop.”

  “Sorry,” I mumbled under his hand.

  He removed his hand and I found my smile mirrored his. “Would you like a tour or a nap?”

  A nap sounded amazing. “I’d like a tour,” I replied. The sooner I learned about this kingdom, the better.

  He jumped down from the balcony and landed lightly on his feet below. I copied him, and then we started walking towards the city below.

  “The kingdom is actually rather large,” he informed me. “This is one of five major cities with several smaller towns dispersed about, as well.”

  “Which town is your favorite?” I asked him.

  “Probably Dronton.”

  “What’s there?”

  “Why don’t I show you?” he offered.

  “Is it far?”

  “About an hour’s flight.”

  I nodded in agreement and shifted. He watched me and then as soon as I flew up into the air, he shifted and met me.

  “You shift differently,” he informed me.

  “How?”

  “Next time I shift, watch.”

  “Okay,” I agreed, dragging out the last sound.

  “This way,” he said and headed north.

  The city below was full of activity, but once we reached the countryside, there were very few houses.

  “Why do so few live out here?” I asked curiously.

  “Most prefer to live together,” he replied.

  “Why?”

  “So they can meet with friends and have fun.”

  “What do you do for fun?”

  “There are lots of things to do for fun.”

  “Do you have friends?”

  “I have a very small group of friends,” he replied. “Being a guard doesn’t give me too much freedom.”

  “Being my guard takes even more time away from your friends,” I realized.

  “Yes and no. While I will be spending my time with you, you are free to go wherever you’d like, so I will get to do more as your guard.”

  “Do I really need a guard?” I asked him.

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “It sounds like a rather boring job,” I commented.

  “That all depends on you,” he replied and gave me a toothy smile.

  “I still feel like there’s been a mistake or that I’m dreaming all of this,” I whispered. At least I didn’t have to be queen right now.

  “Why did you save those pirates?” he asked me.

  “What?”

  “When we found you, why did you stop us from hurting those pirates?”

  “They hadn’t done anything wrong. Andre had given me food and helped me, so I didn’t want to repay his kindness by letting you hurt him.”

  “You should be careful who you trust.”

  “You mean, like you?” I teased. “You do seem a bit shifty.”

  “Shifty?” he growled. “I’m hardly shifty.”

  “Still, I don’t know if I should trust you.”

  “Well, you’ll have to trust me as your guard.”

  “I’ll keep my eye on you,” I said threateningly.

  My stamina was quickly depleting and I started to drift closer to the ground.

  “Not used to flying long distances?” he guessed.

  “I couldn’t fly much because they hunted draconians.”

  He growled but didn’t say anything for a long time.

  “We’ll have to work on your flying stamina,” he finally said.

  “Great, add that to the list of a hundred other things I need to learn.”

  “A hundred?”

  “Yeah, Afi said I have to learn dancing too. Why should I learn dancing? I’d rather spend my time fighting.”

&nbs
p; He chuckled and said, “I think you’ll enjoy dancing.”

  “Doubtful.”

  The town finally came in to view and we swooped down to land just outside of it.

  “Stay close to me,” Stian ordered me after we had shifted.

  I wasn’t use to having someone with me as a guard, but I nodded in agreement and walked by his side as we entered the town. There were brightly colored flags hanging from every building and many vendors’ tents.

  Stian bought a couple items from a food vendor and handed me one. I ate it and smiled at him. The vendors all had unique items and I found myself spending time in each of the stalls. Stian stayed by my side but didn’t stop smiling as he watched me interacting with the vendors. Everyone seemed to know him, but then again, everyone was very nice to me as well.

  “This place is so energetic,” I whispered as we sat at a water fountain to eat another treat.

  He nodded. “That’s why I like it here. Everyone is happy and it’s always full of activity.”

  “Stian!” a male yelled across the courtyard. He ran over to us and hugged Stian warmly. “How have you been my friend?”

  Stian patted his back with a wide smile. “I’m good, Yorick. How’ve you been?”

  “Bored! Why haven’t you…”

  The male stopped talking when he realized I was there. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were here with someone.”

  “Yorik, meet Aideen. Aideen, this is my friend Yorick.”

  I held out my hand, but Yorick bowed to me and whispered, “It’s her.”

  I looked at Stian who smirked at me.

  “What?” I asked.

  Yorick stood up and whispered, “You’re the queen.”

  “How could you tell?” I asked.

  “You look like your mother,” Yorick explained.

  “Oh.”

  “Is she back?” Yorick asked with a wide smile.

  “No, she’s dead,” I replied sadly.

  Yorick’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry, Queen Aideen.”

  “No,” I whispered as people began to stare. “It’s just Aideen.”

  “I don’t understand,” he whispered.

  “Perhaps we can go to your house,” Stian suggested.

  Yorick led the way while he and Stian whispered. I heard several other people whispering behind them, having heard Yorick call me queen.

  Yorick had a small house in the town, a one bedroom with a small kitchen. Stian pulled out a chair at the table for me and then sat beside me with Yorick across from us.