“No Princess, we are not powerless pups,” he said, craning his neck to look back at her, banking north. “You are the only heir. If your father falls, you will be queen no matter how it happens. You need to surround yourself with advisors who will not take over your kingdom but will help you build it up. But first, we need to focus.”
“On what,” Zhao asked.
Marut descended faster, preparing to come in for a landing. “We have to find a magical human who can work the spells in that book; or a Water Dragon who isn’t a hundred and ten years old. Or; gods forbid, a human Water wizard who can actually do magic. That way we would have a whole team.”
She followed him. They were headed toward an edge that had the easiest thickness of trees to get to the water, and provide shade that wasn’t too thick with undergrowth.
Zhao said, not even trying to whisper. “Agne, have you considered that Marut isn’t taking you to the place your Aunt said was safe to hide.”
“Zhao,” Marut said with more than a hint of disapproval as he put his paws down on the sand. “You weren’t with us. The King was at her Aunt’s house, he even gave Chucktoe…”
“Chactau.”
“Yes, that dude with the name that sounds like a human foot disease. He gave the Minister a notice that her mother was being replaced by means of a beauty contest. He wiped out his own family. What do you think he will do to Minister Ty-Leah to get the information out of her?”
Zhao didn’t say anything as Agne landed next to Marut.
“Torture her beloved adopted pups? How long would a mother hold out to save her babies? Agne – coups are time sensitive. Once resources are in place, they happen fast, or they fail. We can worry about maintenance after we win the crown. But right now, we need to focus on justice.”
Agne stared at him for a moment. “What are you saying about Queen Airyanna? You have to remember, to me, she was a loving mother. I never knew these monsters everyone else is talking about.” She knew, but she needed to hear someone else say it aloud.
“Agne…” Marut for once seemed speechless. “Princess, you know there is no way he would tolerate your mother letting you go. He would execute her for treason.” He glanced up at Zhao. “The Minister told me to keep her safe. That is what I am going to do. When she is on the throne, I intend to be able to present an acceptable portfolio to be the Crown Prince until she has her own family who can follow in her line.” He glanced at Agne. “Yes, I know who our real mother is, and who has actually provided for my cushy life and education – my biological father; who took me to my real parents who loved me. You’re right, Airyanna is as big of a monster as your father, but she’s a descendant of Shestafa, and your father’s fifth cousin three times removed. For the nation, we’ll keep the crown safe for Shestafa’s line.”
“Portfolio?” Zhao folded his arms and snorted.
“Again, your inane tone suggests an inept attempt at ridicule.” Marut hissed at him. “In case you are unaware, the princess doesn’t need only a husband, she needs one who can also be the king consort. As you know, that won’t be me, but until there is an heir, it will, by blood be me. I may not be the King’s son, but I am traceable back to Shestafa, and I am Agne’s brother. And trust me, I don’t want it. Personal freedom is the price for the crown, and it’s a price I am not willing to pay to. However, I will help you secure it.”
“My first subjects,” Agne said, haughtily, as she tried desperately to lighten the situation. She couldn’t fall apart right now; she couldn’t think of her mother. “You, my rider, will address me as Lilac. Zhao…”
“Yes, my Queen.”
“When things calm down, you will continue your Air Temple education as you promised. This will make you well versed in Water and Air, a perfect complement to my powers. Marut; just keep doing what you are doing, with two exceptions…”
“Yes, my Queen.”
“Back off my rider. You two must learn to get along. We all have our own growing up to do. And if you don’t stop lying to me, or so-called forgetting to include relevant information, then you will never gain enough of my trust to be in my court, let alone be my confidant. Because I assure you – I need to trust my confidant. The people need to be able to trust their Regent Crown Prince. Right now, Zhao is my chosen rider and continues to foster his role with me in that respect. Stop fighting with each other.”
“Yes, My Queen,” they said in unison.
“Now, Prince Marut, we have not eaten since last night at my Aunt’s. As soon as you are comfortable that we can eat in peace, I really need a rabbit, squirrel, ferret, or something.”
She glanced around the oasis of date palms and bushes with purple and white flowers for cover. In just a few minutes, Marut caught two ferrets and a large rabbit. Zhao gathered dates for himself, and filled his pockets for later.
“That’s a Rouker rabbit. I remember them from my storybooks.” Agne smiled at Marut’s catch. “They are the largest rabbits known to exist.” They were about the size of a large dog.
“This is the Rouker Oasis.” Marut cleaned the rabbit for her and then settled in next to her while Zhao was gathering his dates.
“One of my favorite stories, when I was a little pup, was Rouker the Rabbit,” she said smiling.
“Isn’t that a fairytale told in non-magical human villages?” Marut said, looking at Zhao off in the trees.
She nodded, as she munched on her rabbit. She swallowed, then said, “It’s designed to give the non-magic’s confidence to fight against dragons. Rouker, the largest rabbit in the little rabbit village, fights the dragons who brought elemental control to the village. My Father said, they preferred rain to come when it came and snow to fall when it fell. They wanted to kill us for trying to make their lives easier to live.”
“You do know that is a propagandized version of that. They used the story to make their children believe that dragons were blowing localized hurricanes on their villages. Not to mention that rabbits - all rabbits - are on a dragon’s menu as a preferred dinner item. They are prey: not the other way around.”
“That is the whole point of the story: someone who shouldn’t be able to win, does.” She nodded, slicing off a small steak for Zhao as he returned.
“It’s the Non-Magic’s propaganda to make the young grow up with a fear of dragons.” He leaned on her left hindquarter, stuffing a date into his mouth.
She used her dragon’s breath to roast Zhao’s steak. “My father said I had to learn it because the non-magic’s believed in it. And, to rule them, a king or queen had to know what his or her people believed in."
“I never understood why someone would think that a tornado, hurricane, earthquake, or worse destroying their village randomly would be a good thing to teach their children. In other words, the elements need to be controlled.” He smiled. “And I am pretty sure your father meant that if you violate their belief system, you will create a whole new enemy, an incredibly powerful one, holy warriors. And, I won’t address how rich that advice is coming from him.”
She smiled as he wrapped his tail around her tail and gently brushed his face against her cheek. “I am here for you princess. I’ll help you take your throne. I promise, and I won’t let Zhao….” Marut’s words were cut off as he snarled at Zhao for stepping on his tail.
“Whoops, I was trying to climb over the Princess’s tail. I didn’t notice yours was so close. Sorry- Brother of the Queen– is that a title?” He half-snorted and half-smirked the apology out.
“You have something useful,” Marut snarled, bearing fangs.
“It’s a tale they use to teach gullible people to believe that living in a non-magical village makes them freer than they are. They think they are freer than the other villages because there is an illusion that everyone is as free to succeed as they are to fail.”
“What’s that got to do with it?” Marut licked his tail where Zhao stomped it.
Zhao watched as she roasted his steak. “This is only true if they can outbid thei
r neighbor- and hope they don’t need dragon support for droughts, or floods-whatever. If they can do that, then they are free, but if they are poor, they can’t and are left without the opportunity to do anything. They aren’t free at all. They are a society ruled by the wealthy, who then harbor the fantasy in others that they too will be rich one day. That is how they maintain their diabolical power,” he said, taking the steak. “Thank you, Lilac.”
“Zhao. Brother of the Queen is a title.” Agne smiled, and nodded, “And as to Rouker: They make their people, ironically, slaves to their freedom.” She took another bite of her rabbit. Zhao was correct.
If Marut was over twenty, which she strongly suspected he was, then her mother could have hatched him before she married Father. Was Mother so power hungry that she could throw her son away?
“It was Mother who sent me the eagle, begging me to help you,” Marut said, lying down and nibbling on his rabbit. He frowned and looked up at her. “That’s why I was hiding in the bushes; waiting for you.”
“And you would simply help the female who chucked you out of the pouch like garbage?” Zhao bit his steak.
“I thought about betraying her, but you are a good dragon. You’ll be a good queen. You are everything your father isn’t. So, I am helping you, not our power hungry mother.”
“Thank you,” she nodded. “I will need one thing from you, though.”
“Of course, my sister.”
“I need you to stop hiding things from me. I know I am young and sheltered, but I am not stupid. If I know things, it’ll be easier for me to help, and accept the right help. I need you to be my brother – not an unending tale of Rouker the Rabbit in dragon form. As in- where and what are we doing? The whole story as if you are talking to someone whose rank and office demands the respect of official candor, and not to a fifteen-year-old, sheltered pup.”
He nodded. “Of course Princess. I think I know a magical person who will help us. An Earth Witch from Sea An’Tia. Or, she was from there. There are rumors she moved out to the abandoned village of Botock.”
“Buttock?” Zhao said, popping a date in his mouth.
“No, it is bo, as in bow and arrow. Don’t be a pillock,” Marut scoffed. “It’s a village that fell to the Blood King’s father. It was burned because they were three bushels of apples short. It’s about five miles south of Glacier Plains.”
“Dragon’s don’t even eat apples,” Zhao said, taking a bite of his steak. “Just another layer of oppression.”
“The apples were for the slaves,” Marut said, with a slight sneer, “Do you even know who the Blood King’s father – your dragon’s grandfather – is.”
“The Coal King?” Zhao said, making a face like it was painful to try to remember the royal line.
“Are you serious you immeasurably idiotic, tail-stomping child?” Marut sat up straight on his hindquarters, towering over Zhao. “You want to be her rider, but don’t even know the royal line? It was the…”
“Melting King, because he used lava flows as a means of conquest. Although my father always thought he was moronic because the lava also destroyed the bounty,” Agne answered. “He said, what is the point of taking a village if they no longer have the means to pay tribute.”
Marut nodded, “The Blood King told you that? Yet he uses liquefaction? Like that doesn’t destroy the bounty?”
“I didn’t say it was logical.” She nodded, “He told me over tea with cakes. He used to tell me all kinds of stories about the Melting King, and the Queen before him, the Passion Queen- the Coal King was her father. It was rumored that…” She stopped, and drew in a deep breath.
Marut finished for her. “That her touch would cause people to offer allegiance to her. She had the most loyal army in history. Her reign was peaceful, but manipulative.”
She looked at both Zhao and Marut. “Why are you both here?”
Zhao ran his hand along her shoulder, “I have to, somehow, make things right.”
“You are my sister, and thanks to your father, my only remaining family,” Marut said, picking at his fangs. “And, I think you’d be the perfect queen. I know what side to back.”
“Marut, you and I played that first day, you ran into me while showing me the rules to Castle Tower. You touched my scales. And now you think I am perfect. That is the same thing Mingway said, Zhao, I have somehow poisoned you with my touch.”
Marut almost laughed, “Well that would make the two of you even since he poisoned you first by giving you that shot; unless of course, you asked him to do that.”
Zhao half smiled. “Thankfully, she doesn’t harbor ill feelings. Shall we get in the air? Do you want to check if the coast is clear, or should I?”
She offered her best polite princess laugh, the topic was dropped for now, but not forgotten. “Perhaps, I should check, with all these purple flowers it would be easier for me to….”
Marut stiffened, “The Princess will most certainly not,” he said, frowning as he got up and walked over to the edge of the bushes. He sniffed the breeze, and nodded, “No one around, and no need to look when you have an Air Dragon’s sense of smell.”
She nodded. “Ready?”
Zhao climbed on her back, grasping her horns. “Let’s go. I can’t wait to see a village that would actually allow itself to be called Buttock,” Zhao said, laughing.
“Bow – Tock!”
“It’s actually ruins, it was once a small castle, built into some of the foothills of the Dragon’s Lance Mountain Range.” Zhao chuckled, “It used to be part of the small nation of Rothelande.”
She smiled, resisting the urge to shake her head as she took off, following Marut.
TRACKING A PRINCESS
“I am still appalled at myself,” Chactau said, landing in a clearing in the palm forest on the edge of a desert. “I am going to see if they have landed.”
“I know.” Loutic looked away as he landed next to Chactau.
He had been very quiet since they’d found out the queen was dead. Loutic was probably worried about him.
He looked around, sniffing at the ground. If they were within fifty miles, he would know it. He dug his claws into the ground, concentrating on the princess. However, images of the queen’s disembodied head clouded his ability to focus. Everything seems so surreal over the last few days. He was going to find that boy and make him pay for spiraling the nation out of control.
“You know if we hadn’t roared, some enterprising Fire and Earth Dragons would have stepped up to take our place. We did what we had to in order to survive long enough to help the princess.”
“If we can find her.” He couldn’t detect anything; “She’s too far away”. She definitely wasn’t the pampered brat he had been led to believe. “There’s no dragons, or anyone else, around for miles.” He refocused.
“We’ll find her. But you have to know that if we had not done that shameful thing, we would be under escort right now. And – we can’t risk the possibility that whoever came with us would help the princess.”
“You mean, help us? I got them – they just left. Heading to the north.” He pointed with his tail.
Loutic nodded. “I’ll send a bird to the king, that we are tracking her, and that Grayling’s plan did not work.”
“Hopefully, the king won’t be too hard on him.”
“Hopefully, he’ll live long enough for the princess to pardon him.” He put his tail in the air to call a bird over so he could send a message.
THE BLOCK
This time, the flight was nice. It seemed like no one was around for miles. The air was warm and fresh, while the sunlight brightened the day. If Agne didn’t know for a fact that a battle for the nation was brewing, she would think this was a perfect day.
“Higher,” Marut said, dropping back to fly next to her. “Some villages are coming up, but we’ll be out of sight if we can stay high.” He glanced over at Zhao. “Are you okay that high?”
He nodded, “Yes, we flew very high on the way h
ere. Just try to keep the really high stuff to a limit, just to get us over the villages unseen. That’s about the limit of my magic without proper cold-weather gear.”
“Pat my neck if you get too cold,” Agne said, tilting her wings up, and climbing on the air currents as they whipped around her body. “It feels so free to be out here. I have wasted my whole life bound up in my chambers.” She never wanted to stop exploring.
“We should be past the villages in about thirty minutes,” Marut said, turning on the speed.
She gently flapped her wings to keep up with Marut and allowed some stress to flow out of her while she admired how amazing it was to fly. Soon the villages were long gone, and they had returned to the level of flight comfortable for a rider.
After another twenty minutes, she knew where they were. “We’re over the foothills to the Mountains of Dragon’s Lance,” she said noticing that the terrain was getting higher, and rockier. The high, rocky mountains of Dragon’s Lance were the highest known mountains of Shestafa and bordered the small nation of Rothelande. They were a vast, nearly impassible range with very deep valleys, and deeper fjords. Dragons could fly over them, but humans without a dragon would be trapped on one side or the other or face a frozen, three-month journey around them. At the higher elevations, it snowed year-round.
“Thankfully, we’re only going to the upper foothills,” Marut said, glancing at Zhao. “The downdrafts can be deadly for bareback riders. Hang on tight.” Marut began his descent. “Let’s drop down about five hundred feet. We are looking for a burned-out watermill by a small river. It used to be an Air village. The small castle carved into the side of the rock bluff will be the first clue.”
The Lilac Princess and the Blood King Page 13