But Peter, the dragon shifter king, was not in the Other anymore. He had closed his eyes one day, many years ago, unable to deal with the pressures of life on the throne. He had been the crown prince, his father's greatest pride, when he simply decided to fade in the Other – to die, for all intents and purposes. He was depressed; he could barely breathe through his depression. But he had been pulled back from that magical world a few months ago, finding his father dead and the crown on his head. He wasn't the only one who had returned from the Other. It appeared that the veil had basically fallen, and there were many others who were thought dead walking their streets, flying the skies, and returning to all the worlds of the universe. It wasn't just the innocent either. Those who had been executed for crimes were starting to show their faces again.
It was a very different world than he had left, and being king was almost the least of his worries.
“Peter,” Alexander said, again. Alexander was his Irish twin, just eleven months his junior. Up until Peter's return, Alexander had been running the kingdom under a complicated rule. He had done a good job, despite the fact that inheriting the throne had never been in his life plans. And now, as Peter waded through the heavy soup of his mind, Alexander guided him as best he could. “You're supposed to appear on the throne in five minutes.”
“Oh,” Peter ran his hand over his face, trying to get his bearings. “You can do it.”
“I am not king,” Alexander said, taking a stance. It wasn't that he disapproved or questioned his king, his brother. It was that he felt that he should not be taking duties that were meant for the king. When Peter was gone, it was a duty he did with heavy shoulders Now, he felt that his job was to act as heir and regent when he could.
“I am fully aware of that,” Peter replied, gritting his teeth. There had been mornings when he screamed at him; mornings when he simply didn't answer; mornings when he felt like he couldn't understand a word that anyone said. “What do I need to know?”
Alexander sighed. He had tried to go over this last night, but Peter didn't want to listen.
“There are various citizens here to plead for mercy, or cases to be resolved. In addition, Ariel has brought us documents from her last trip to Earth that show multiple cases of returnees from the Other.”
“Brother,” Peter said. “You know I disagree with your carapace wife risking someone else in returning to Earth.”
Alexander's wife, a marriage of convenience that had turn solid, was a carapace, which meant she could block the magic from the various magical creatures around her. carapaces were considered dangerous, and were once slaughtered by dragons for their own safety. Having spent eleven years around Ariel, the most powerful carapace ever born, and then surrounded by malicious carapaces on their last visit to Earth, meant that Alexander's magical defenses had been lowered permanently. He was too unwell to transport her to Earth, where her powers were even stronger. Their youngest brother, Cole, had a human wife who needed regular medical treatments and maintained a life on Earth. Cole was strong, cheeky, and happy to transport his feisty sister in law when needed.
Alexander didn't really want to have this fight again. “Well, you'll have to look at what she has.”
“Are you prepared to interpret?” Peter snapped at him.
“I…” Alexander thought of his full schedule. Not long after Peter had disappeared, he and his brothers had learned English quite well. Ariel also spoke dragon lore almost fluently, and Cole's wife, Enya, was learning. But Peter seemed to be refusing to learn, even though it was now part of his job to review cases from Earth. Dead dragons turning up in all parts of the universe were still his responsibility. “I can't, today, Peter.”
“Huh,” Peter grunted, indicating that Alexander should go so he could dress. Alexander sighed, closing the door behind him.
“Ah, that's the sigh of the man who's acting as king without any of the benefits,” his wife, Ariel met him in the hallway with her sister in law, Enya. They won't the only people on Umora who were from Earth, but they were the only ones in the palace. So, despite being radically different people, they could often be seen speaking together on a variety of terms. “What is he doing this time?”
“It's not what he's doing,” Alexander said, choosing his words carefully. “It's mostly what he isn't doing.”
“Ah,” Ariel said, smiling. “Learning English, remembering the eight times we've told him about the history in the past few years, or just flat out refusing to sit on the throne?”
“It's not that he's refusing to sit,” Alexander said. “It's mostly that I think he's overwhelmed by everything. Being king is not easy on a good day. Being king when you are missing half your information and language is an insurmountable task.”
“I might be able to help,” Enya said. She was still unsure in her time in Umora, and her dragon lore was broken at best, so she rarely spoke up. Alexander turned kindly to her, raising an eyebrow.
“Anything would be welcome,” he said. Enya was half a foot smaller than Ariel, and although both girls were thin, Enya's came from a lack of health. She was smart though, despite her body's limitations, and studied translation, already in her third year at school. Alexander suspected that dragon lore was difficult for her because her brain had several other languages bouncing around.
“Since I've married Cole, I've learned so much of the hidden magic world on Earth. There was a girl I met in the hospital named Yvette. The second she saw Cole, she knew what he was. Turns out, she is working with the people who have returned from the Other, teaching them culture, language, everything, in exchange for their magical ability to convince the hospitals to give her free health care.”
Alexander processed all of that in silence.
“Really?” he managed. “That is quite interesting.”
“She seemed good at what she did,” Enya said, “because she moved right in on Cole like a used car sales man.”
“What?” Alexander asked, and Ariel laughed, rapidly translating for him. Enya tried to follow the words, trying to remember them for later. It frustrated her that the language was hard for her. “Do you know how to contact her?”
“Maybe,” Enya replied. “She took a few pictures of Cole and I, and her hospital bracelet dangled in a shot or two. I might be able to find her last name.”
“Do so, please,” Alexander said. “Perhaps she'll be of use to us. Peter may not respect what we are asking, but I am at the end of my rope. It does not sit well with me that I am behind the scenes while he should be making the choices.”
“Most people would just hit him and be angry,” Ariel pointed out, even though she knew that her husband was not like that. “But good on you for being dignified.”
“Eleven years and this surprises you?” Alexander teased her. She rolled her eyes good naturedly.
“Come on, Enya,” she said. “Let's go find these pictures.”
“Please report back to me as soon as you can,” Alexander called after them, as they headed down the long, marble hallways. The palace was so grand, so spectacular, and yet he felt his bride commanded it with an equal amount of regal presence
“Those two are on a mission,” Nicholas came up beside Alexander, startling him. Alexander jumped, not impressed with his brother's sneaky ways.
“Every time,” he said. “It's as if your feet don't even touch the ground.”
“Well, we are dragons,” Nicholas replied, and Alexander rolled his eyes.
“You are in human form right now; did you know that?”
“Am I?” Nicholas grinned, patting himself down. “What a surprise. What did you send the girls off to do?”
“Hopefully, help Peter,” Alexander replied. “Where have you been?”
“Nowhere,” Nicholas replied. The third oldest brother, he had once enjoyed the privilege of being the heir to the throne. He took it lightly, grinning his way through his regency. He often vanished for days at a time, working hard before he left to make sure no one could claim he
wasn't doing his part.
Alexander would find an entire day's chores done before done when they were teenagers, and wonder what in the hell was motivating his brother. These days, he was often too exhausted to even wonder.
“Well, you're here now,” Alexander replied. “Peter has throne duty, and I have other things to attend to. Can you be there to translate for him, if he needs?”
“I can,” Nicholas replied, with a shrug. “Although he really should make an effort to learn a different language once in a while. It's not that's difficult.”
“Where is Cole?” Alexander asked, and Nicholas shrugged.
“I just got back,” he said. “If you have questions, you need to ask them yourself. Now, if you'll excuse me, I can't exactly enter the throne room looking like this, can I?” he asked, pointing to his traveling clothes.
“Nicholas,” Alexander caught his arm. “Have you heard any word of Father, possibly returning?”
“No,” Nicholas said. “But anything is possible, isn't it? Although if he does return, what do we do? Dethrone Peter and go back to the way things were?”
“Things have changed,” Alexander said. “And Peter and Father will have to accept it. We no longer stay away from Earth except for a slaughter. We no longer consider ourselves alone in this world, superior to everyone else. We are modern; our partnerships have changed.”
“But we are still dragon lords,” Nicholas said. “And that's what we must not lose sight of.”
“Right,” Alexander replied. “Go change, please.”
Nicholas sauntered off, leaving Alexander standing alone in the hallway. Despite that the palace was bustling with people, this was often how he felt. Alone, unsure, and no one to bounce his ideas off of. If he was going to fix the problems that plagued them, he would have to do it himself. Although there was support in another room, he often learned that the only person he could rely on was himself when it really came down to it.
Everyone envied them in the palace, but no one saw the pressure on his shoulders – the weight of the crown. He felt guilty of how relieved he was when Peter returned.
He had at least three meetings to attend in the next two hours. He should be in one right now. Instead of rushing, however, he knocked on Peter's door.
“All is well?” he asked, listening.
He heard Peter grunt his answer. “Fine.”
“Lovely,” Alexander said, and eventually strolled off. Another day to figure out how to run the world from dust to dawn.
He hoped that the girls could find a solution. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep up this pace; relentless and painful. The crown was more harmful than it was a privilege.
Chapter 2
“Alexander, are these dragons?” Ariel showed up just outside his meeting several hours later, photographs on her phone right in front of his face. The girls had been amazed that their phones had Wi-Fi up on Umora, which he thought was ridiculous They were an advanced society, far ahead of Earth. Wireless internet technology was something Umora had long before Earth. Their phones were primitive compared to the holographic tablets, but both seemed content with what they had.
“Uh...” He blinked and took a step back, trying to focus on what was in front of him. He had brilliant eyesight, but nobody could see when something was held half an inch from their face. Eventually, he focused on a few pictures in a collage of a girl a little bit younger than Enya, surrounded by several people at a Christmas tree. They were certainly dragons, with tinted yellow eyes, and the tall, lean, strong bodies gave them away. He also recognized them. “Yes. That's Dr. Donizetti and his family.”
“Oh?” she said. “They live on Earth.”
“Yes,” Alexander replied. “Dr. Donizetti made the move to Earth nearly thirty years ago, when my father started to wage wars on a constant basis. He used to work as a doctor within the palace, and he left on good terms. He is peace loving and kind. The people surrounding him are not his blood relations, but they've joined his family – his clan – as like-minded dragons. Although…” he squinted at the photo. “Some of them have passed on. This is recent?”
“It's dated last week, so I assume,” she said. “This is Yvette,” she pointed to the girl in the middle, who was clearly human. Short and fragile, she wore an oversized sweater and leggings, her face paler than the rest. “From what I can gather, she is living with them. They are her primary sponsors at the moment. I think I know what town they live in.”
“I know where Dr. Donizetti is,” Alexander replied. “He's living in a small town in the south, away from prying eyes. From what I understand, they act as if they are human, they take up school and normal actives”
“So, they've renounced dragon life?” she said.
“No,” Alexander replied. “They haven't. They transform when they can. They feed normally. They just have decided that life that close to the Royal Palace was not what they wanted. Their son, Thomas, here,” he pointed, “and their daughter Wilma, here, have passed away. Now that they are back, I'm guessing that is what they need Yvette for.”
“And you think that they will just hand her over?”
“Well,” he said. “Dr. Donizetti has always been a reasonable person.”
“But you are king, you can…” Ariel stopped. “Right, you're not.”
Alexander winced.
“I'm still the crown prince,” he said. “Although I hope that fact doesn't come up.”
“Well,” Ariel said, not quite sure which path to take. They couldn't be together on Earth, where Alexander's defenses were lowered. “I guess you and Peter have a trip to make.”
“Indeed,” he replied, not eager to make that trip. “Unless you want to go with Peter?”
“Ha,” she answered. “Ha-Ha-Ha.”
“I guess that answers my question.”
“Enya will go with you, though,” she said. “She's at least met the girl before. Nicholas, Cole, and I can hold down the fort.”
“I'll come back and the furniture will be glued to the ceiling,” Alexander said, and Ariel smirked.
“Maybe. Would you prefer a certain pattern?”
“Go away,” he said.
She giggled and kissed him on the cheek, sauntering off. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her go. It may have been a marriage of convenience, but it was working out just fine.
It was that evening that he brought up the idea of the trip to Earth to Peter, Enya, and Cole, who were gathered around the fire.
“I propose we go and meet her,” Alexander said. “And if she is as promised, we can bring her here.”
“And what makes you think that I have any interest in accepting the help of a human?” Peter asked.
“As crown prince, I'm allowed to put policies in place for the good of the palace,” Alexander said. “If she can help you learn English and just update you on what you've missed, it will be helpful to all of us. Think about all the times on the throne where you've simply been missing information, Peter. Each of us have our own duties to fulfill. And whether or not we wanted to sit on the throne, we've been tasked with this life.”
Peter said nothing for a long time, and Cole used that as an opportunity to speak.
“Should you be going back to Earth with the threat of the carapaces?” Cole asked.
“Do you think that I cannot protect him?” Peter raised his eyebrow, the confidence of the king showing through his words. He took offense to the fact that even his own family would question his ability to protect them.
The thought made him pause. It was the first time in a long time he had thought as a king, and not just as a burden he had to bear.
He realized that it was because of this potential journey that he was thinking this way.
“I'll go,” Peter said. “But I can't promise that it will end the way you want it to.”
“I think it will be good for you to meet her first,” Alexander said. “Thomas and Wilma have recently returned from the Other and perhaps having that in
common will assist as well.”
“You want to go now?” Peter asked, eyeing his brother. “You're exhausted, your day has taken its toll.”
It was refreshing, to have someone looking after him for a change. Alexander gave him a half smile.
“In the morning, then,” he said. “Enya?”
“I can make arrangements for Earth,” she said. “He's a doctor, right? Perhaps he can manage what I need. I'm almost due for a return anyways.”
“If that's alright with you,” Alexander eyed Cole, who nodded.
“Of course,” Cole replied. “Godspeed though. Earth is boring.”
“Says the dragon who recently tried to take it over,” Enya teased him, standing up. “I'll see you in the morning then.”
“Good night,” Alexander said, as Cole escorted her out of the room. Leaving him alone with Peter, he waited for his brother to have the first word.
“You really think this is the best way?”
“Didn't we always say that when we were on the throne, we would try our best to be different, modern, and to change?”
“That conversation seems a million years away,” Peter said.
“You have been through so much since then.” Alexander pointed out. “Through a world or two.”
“We were children of a different mind,” Peter sighed, getting up. “And I wish not to dwell on a past that was simple. I'll see you in the morning.”
“Indeed,” Alexander said, watching him go. He briefly wondered whether he should call Dr. Donizetti, and warn him that he was coming. But he decided against it, wanting nothing more than sleep. Dr. Donizetti had always been in corporation with the crown, and he believed that they would have no problems.
It was the hope he went with early the next morning, as the three of them gathered in the antechamber, just off the throne room. It was one of the easier transfer points and would send them back to the one vortex they knew was still open on Earth. The carapaces had closed many of them during the way a few months ago. As queen carapace, even one who was separated from her pack, Ariel had the authority to at least leave one open.
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