Dragon Envy

by Kelly Armenta

  In but a moment, everyone in the room was dressed like royalty except the three guards, who pretty much looked the same in their black on black guard outfits though they were wearing their swords upon their hips. Lira and Roral shifted to accommodate the blades while Knolls stood. For once everyone was dressed to match me instead of the other way around. Even Gareth and Jace wore shades of red beneath their brocade jackets of gold. It almost looked like the British were coming and I nearly smiled at the thought and gripped Amras’ wrist for courage.

  Jace got up and left the room, his long legs carrying him quickly down the hall. He returned in under a minute and was carrying my blade and ring which he slipped onto my finger as he knelt in front of me. We somehow managed to push my dress up my legs so he could assist me in strapping on my blade while the others looked on in surprised approval. I wasn’t certain how I would reach it if I needed to; this dress was worse than the black one Areth had provided me to go out in with my parents. There just wasn’t room for anything in here besides me and my skin, not even undergarments. I sighed at the thought while low chuckles erupted around the room.

  “So will we see the Queen immediately?” I asked conscious of Cursed and Amras desire to get me in and out quickly.

  “No one sees the Queen immediately,” Mi replied with a sniff and shook her head. “We will go and you will wait patiently while her Court gets a good look at you. Then she will decide when and if she will see you. Though I suspect it will not take her long as you are her first Grandchild and she is pleased to have learned that your Mother is once again with child… or more aptly, with children,” she told me and smiled, flashing her fangs. “One more thing,” she said and flicked her tail. Appearing in air in front of me was my golden flute. “You will want to bring this with you. The Court will demand to see you play.”

  Nodding a reluctant acceptance, I plucked it gingerly from the air and held it loosely. One just never knew when the thing was going to inspire me to play and what the outcome might be.

  “So they can throw rotten apples at me?” I teased. “A little pay back for the dirges I’ve inflicted on them these past years?”

  Her large amber eyes widened slightly then narrowed. “No… between the flute and the throne they will test your worthiness. The Queen has indicated an interest in naming you heir, but it will be the thrown and the Sidhe that will make the final decision.”

  Well that was cryptic. I didn’t realize the Sidhe was able to vote? And what was this about the throne, I wondered, while I glanced around the room in question. I swallowed painfully when no one felt the need to meet my eyes. Usually that wasn’t a good sign, nope not a good sign at all.

  “If we are ready then?” Mi asked and without waiting another millisecond flicked her tail. I found myself teetering precariously in my heels within a rocky outcropping on a somewhat smooth trail just in front of a huge boulder that shimmered slightly in the bright overhead sun. Mi was next to me on the ground while my men were spread out behind me. Mi seated herself on the trail and glanced up at me. “Child, you must ask entrance,” she informed me.

  “How do I do that?” I wondered, glancing carefully around lest I upset my balance and find myself on my face on the somewhat smooth trail in front of the huge bolder. In the event there was a door somewhere close, it was not the position I wished to be found in upon this, my first visit.

  “You must say… Ayae Ed' i'ear ar' elenea assa sina annon.”

  Hail, by the stars and seas open this door? Okay I could do that. I thought and carefully took a step forward. In a clear voice I repeated the phrase in Elvish. There was a high musical sound and rock in front of me vibrated. A large doorway appeared through the shimmer, right in the middle of the huge boulder, making me double glad I hadn’t embarrassed myself and fallen face first onto the pathway, though I could see no one standing there waiting for us.

  “After you,” Mi told me. I stepped forward and crossed the threshold into the Sidhe for the first time ever. Inside the entrance and to one side of the doorway, several guards stood at attention, staring at me in frozen shock while our group quickly streamed in behind me. The guards appeared speechless, their eyes wide and wary, hands gripping the pommels of their swords. When we were all in, Cursed stepped forward, drawing their gazes. He stood to my right planting his feet firmly as he crossed his arms over his chest while he and the one of the guards eyed each other carefully. Behind us the door closed with a soft little explosion of air. No changing our minds now, we were really and truly here.

  “The Princess Lexi Helyanwe,” Cursed informed them abruptly and his words broke the silence. As one, the four guards glanced toward me and dropped immediately to their knees, their heads bowed respectfully. Around us the Sidhe walls seemed to sigh and murmur joyful greetings. Someone behind me inhaled sharply causing the guard to glance up at me in surprise. Behind me one of the Queen’s guards muttered softly. I glanced at Cursed who gazed back at me in wonder. His dark eyes seemed pleased for some reason. “The Sidhe recognizes and welcomes you,” he replied softly, and bowed his head to me while I raised my eyebrows and nodded, trying not to show the surprise I was feeling. Okay so the Sidhe apparently did get to vote.

  “Greetings, Princess,” One of the guards on the floor spoke to me and I turned back to them.

  “You may rise,” I told him and they moved to their feet gracefully. All of them were fair with varying shades of blond hair and pale eyes. The one who spoke stepped forward, leading me to surmise that he was in charge. A rather brilliant deduction on my part seeing as how he and Cursed had been doing that ‘manly’ eye contact thing just moments earlier.

  “My apologies, we were not told to expect you.” He informed me by way of explanation. His eyes slid behind me hesitating briefly when he glanced at Amras, who I knew stood to my left, then on to Lira, Nolls, and Roral, who he recognized, before he turned his head and looked once again at Cursed. His face tensed but showed no other sign of emotion and I felt my own gaze narrow protectively and reached for Cursed’s arm. He didn’t hesitate this time, merely stepped closer to me, holding out his forearm, while I placed my fingertips upon him. My clear show of favor caused the guard’s eyes to widen slightly before they were able to hide their reaction behind stoic expressions..

  “Well, we are here now Sellion so perhaps you could run ahead and let someone know we’re coming?” Cursed informed him, his voice sounding bored but with a steely thread of command underlining the request. “Although as you clearly heard, the Sidhe has already announced the Princess’ presence.”

  The man nodded and glanced over his shoulder, giving a nod to one of the men who quickly went to a knee, rose and turned, setting off at a lope, his long legs carrying him quickly down the tunnel and out of sight. “If you will but wait a moment?” Sellion requested turning back to us. “I will send for someone to escort you to the Grand Hall.”

  Lira and Roral stepped forward. “No need Sellion,” Roral informed him. “We were sent to escort the Princess home.” Sellion nodded and stepped back, making room for us to pass. He and the other two went to a knee again while Lira and Roral moved out in front of us. Nolls dropped to the back of our little pack.

  “That went better than expected,” Amras muttered and I glanced at him a bit surprised by his comment.

  “Worried that the door wouldn’t open for me?” I teased and he shook his head.

  “No, that they would have arrested me on sight,” he muttered and I nearly stumbled at his words. Cursed assisted me and we moved on down the tunnel… corridor or whatever it was. I glanced around me at the finely marbled veins in the walls. There were torches burning in gilded holders which seemed a bit redundant as the walls themselves glowed with an inner light. The hall didn’t look used, though it wasn’t in disrepair. It just had an empty or abandoned feel to it. The Sidhe had quieted, and aside from the noise our breathing made, I could not hear any other evidence of occupancy. I assumed Sellion and his group must have drawn the short str
aw to have been given guard duty in what appeared a remote location.

  “The door hasn’t been opened in over fifty years,” Lira informed me softly, his eyes searching out the hall in front of us. “Sellion recently found himself in some minor trouble and has been given the duty as a show of disfavor. Though to guard the door is no shame, merely is it seen as an unnecessary post. The Queen’s own onus is on the door, which prevents it from opening on this side and there are none, except you, Princess that have managed to open it from the other side since it was closed.”

  Apparently Mi and my Mother had been sneaking around through the backdoor, I thought, and then smiled when Mi gave me a haughty look. Amras and Cursed had come to my call, the whole flute ripping tears in space, making that possible. My guards arrived via Mi, so why was it necessary to come through the front door?

  “For all the obvious reasons Child,” Mi informed me. “You are no thief in the night to be sneaking around. If you were unable to open the door on your own…” and she trailed off, but I got the gist of the message.

  I glanced down at the flute still gripped in my hand and nodded thoughtfully. It was a test; of course it was at test. I sighed softly and couldn’t help wonder if the next few days would be one long series of tests.

  Mi nodded and advised, “Be you child.”

  I considered her words for a moment then nodded agreement. It was all I could do. I was here for a purpose but nothing was ever easy, lives were at stake and I had best be prepared to do what was necessary.

  After several minutes of walking along in silence, I started feeling an odd tingling sensation across the top of my head. It seemed to be coming from the very air around me. My feet slowed and I reached up to touch my hair just behind the circlet Kit had given me, as the sensation grew stronger. I stopped in the middle of the hall and glanced around, my lack of forward motion bringing everyone else to a halt.

  “What is it?” Lira called and I shook my head as the tingling intensified on one side and I turned to glance toward the wall.

  “I’m not sure,” I said and lifted my hand from Cursed and moved to the side of the hall which seemed to increase the sensations. The others watched as I hesitated, then tucked my flute under my arm and placed both palms flat against the smooth surface. My head fell back on my neck, nearly dislodging the circlet and silent voices flooded my mind while memories crashed into me like waves. The tingling on the top of my head ceased as the Sidhe itself burst into song, echoing up and down the hall. A low vibration started beneath my feet and behind me I heard murmurs and swords pulled smoothly from sheaths. When I opened my eyes I stared in shock at the wall, swallowing as I stepped back and stared in stunned silence while lines began forming in the stone, spreading outward from where my hands had rested in what appeared to be some sort of pattern.

  I watched the lines leap and run across the stone for several seconds and took a step back from the wall as they moved farther down the hall. The lines continued crossing and running until a massive portrait was revealed. One that looked as if had been carved directly into the stone.

  “The Sidhe has welcomed her indeed,” Roral remarked, his voice holding a note of wonder.

  “It is very… realistic,” Lira added as he stared at the lifelike portrait of me as I had been last night in my dress, at the moment I’d shifted to Dragon. The wall chronicled the shift from my Elven form to Dragon in a series of pictures that advanced down the hall for nearly forty feet, ending in a full length carving of my Dragon self in flight, wings spread wide, and mouth open as I roared.

  “The first female offspring of Elf and Dragon,” Owen whispered as the music from the Sidhe echoed one last time and then fell silent around us.

  A movement in the hall caused our guards to turn, several raised swords, while the others pulled me into their midst, creating a wall of shoulders and chests about me. Amras lowered his head and crossed his arms over his chest, while Cursed dropped to a knee and bowed his head, allowing me to glimpse the man who had stepped into the hall along with his guards.

  Three of the new comers wore pitch black armor covering bodies and faces, leaving only a red glow from what I assumed to be their eyes staring back at us. The swords hanging at their waists were huge things that must have weighed thirty pounds or more. The three stood behind another man dressed in very fine clothing. The man they flanked was both tall and fair with large intelligent black eyes, eyes that flicked from the wall to me where I stood directly behind Cursed’s kneeling form. Before him the other guards also kneeled, while Gareth, Jace, and Dane simply stood with their arms crossed. Amras was the only Elf still on his feet and even he had bowed his head.

  No one spoke as the Lord of Air and Darkness, King Tdem Stoneshadow ran his eyes over me and I in turn, took my time looking him over. Behind him one of his guards growled low, but I ignored him and stood calmly under his gaze. Inside me Goldy slowly sat up, her nostrils quivering as her head swung around in Tdem’s direction while his eyes widened slightly and his somewhat haughty look turned to one of interest. It was as if he was thinking, ‘Hmmm, something more than just a pretty face.’

  I wasn’t sure what the protocol was for introductions and it didn’t appear anyone else knew exactly how to proceed. Beside me Dane shifted slightly, his black eyes flicking amongst the men facing us. I mentally reached for him and soothed him with the feel of my palm cupping his cheek. He breathed deeply and seemed to settle a bit.

  “Well,” the King murmured, his dark eyes sharpening upon me. “that was… interesting, Princess,” he remarked. “You’ve only just arrived and you are already redecorating. I wonder what the Queen will make of that.”

  I considered his words and had a bad moment when I realized the enormity of what had just happened. I thought about it for a second or two and realized that while I might have been the catalyst, I certainly wasn’t the artist. And though the walls were now engraved with a forty plus foot lifelike mural, I could do nothing about it but hope the Queen didn’t hold it against me.

  The King lifted one eyebrow and tilted his head to the side apparently following my inner ramblings. No one spoke for a moment then he flicked his glance down at Cursed and remarked in a somewhat smug tone. “It also seems you have taken from me, something which I value.”

  I had to force myself to not look at Cursed who was still kneeling in front of me. His head nearly pressed to the floor. “King Stoneshadow?” I replied calmly, making my response more of a question.

  He flicked his own eyes to Cursed and then to the wall seeming to study it closely while totally ignoring my question. “You altered a good portion of the Sidhe entryway. Quite the feat, that,” he finally remarked as he eyed me thoughtfully.

  To the side Mi sat quietly, her amber eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she watched the interaction between us. Even her tail was still, as if she did not wish to draw any attention to herself.

  “Our door has not been opened in more than five decades,” he continued, his voice thoughtful. “And these halls have not sung in welcome in more centuries than I care to admit. Nor can they boast the sight of Dragons and yet here stand two and a half Drakes before me. And I’m told more reside within.” He remarked and tilted his head to the side as he stared thoughtfully at Dane. “I think…” he whispered and Dane gasped, clutched at his head and slumped to one knee on the floor while my eyes widened and I glanced between Tdem and him. “you belong to me.”

  “No!” I told him sharply and moved to my left past Gareth and Jace, placing myself in front of Dane’s kneeling form. Cursed hissed at me from where he still knelt and Amras would have reached to stop me but I deftly avoided him to stand facing the King, my gold eyes flashing. “The Drake is mine and has claimed the Right of Meranne,” I challenged him. “You may not interfere here.” And I sent a mental nudge to Dane urging him to stand.

  Tdem seemed to expand about two feet as his eyes narrowed while he watched Dane climb to his feet behind me. The King’s three guards shifted and one
moved his hand onto the hilt of his blade. “The right of ascension is only invoked in pursuit of a Queen. I did not realize you aspired to be Queen, Princess?”

  I eyed him carefully, realizing that just that easily he had played me. I could feel the tension rolling off my men and took a moment to consider my options. It suddenly seemed best to count to ten, before I opened my mouth and committed myself. Apparently the King had come to force the issue once and for all and in this instance Dane and my future men would be hostages if I refused to declare. “I am already Queen,” I told him simply and tried to ignore the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. While in my mind I felt a surge of joy aimed at me from my three Dragons.

  At my words he murmured softly and a secretive smile spread over his lips. He blinked and glanced at Cursed, then back at me. He dipped his head acknowledging me as he formally announced. “Then Greetings Queen Lexi Helyanwe Mal’Oki from King of the Slaug Tdem Stoneshadow, Lord of Air and Darkness.”

  At his introduction I took a breath and gave him a slight nod then turned to my men. “May I present my men?” I asked, my mind nearly on autopilot as I tried to figure out if I had just done something smart or incredibly stupid. At his nod I proceeded to introduce Gareth, Jace, Dane, Owen, Amras, and Kit. Owen and Kit raised the King’s eyebrows but he said nothing, merely acknowledged each with a blink of his eye. Amras got his full attention for several seconds, causing me a moment of concern but he said nothing. “And of course, Cursed” I stated. The King’s eyes narrowed as they rested on Cursed still kneeling to my side now.

  “Arise Sister’s Son, blood of my bone and heir to my thrown,” he told him, his voice velvet encased steel. I felt the hair stand up on my arms at his tone and Cursed arose warily to his feet, his face void of all emotion.