“Transparency and honesty are not always comfortable, and that is why in normal human conversation your thoughts are shielded until you give them birth with your speech. Here, I listen to your intent as well as your words. Nobody loves you more than I do, Sarah. You are safe here. I already know every struggle, every motive, every accusation and condemnation you have struggled with, and love you anyway. When you really grasp that and hold on to it, your life changes.”
Sarah slowly nodded.
“Now then, what is on your mind?”
Sarah laughed and said, “You just told me you already knew, so why should I have to tell you?”
The King’s smile broadened. “Oh, my dear, it is not for my benefit but for yours. Now talk.” And with that, he sat back on his throne, crossed his legs, and waited.
Sarah took a deep breath and said, “I know I love Harry. I want to be with him. Of that there is no doubt.” She paused.
The King tilted his head and raised his eyebrows, a whisper of an all-knowing smile shifting into place. “I sense a ‘but’ coming up…”
Sarah breathed out a long, slow breath. “Yes, sir. This thing with Lizzy. The sword says she is his biological daughter and yet the sword also verifies that Harry has no knowledge of ever having been with Lizzy’s mother. How can those things be? Right now Harry is apparently fighting and or courting, depending on the day,” she mumbled, “a witch whom he suspects is and or will be… these time tenses are hard to keep up with.”
“Keep going, you’re doing fine,” the King encouraged.
“So, Harry has a dilemma. He loves his daughter…”
The King nodded, adding, “As he should.”
“Right… but Harry also does not want to do anything with the witch and betray me. Or so he says,” she grumbled.
“Sarah, do you trust—”
“Of course I trust Harry. It’s just that—”
“Sarah, I wasn’t going to ask you if you trusted Harry; I was going to ask you if you trusted me.”
“Oh.” Her body flinched back. She tilted her head and frowned. “Of course I do, sir.”
“Then you need to understand that Harry will not willingly violate his love for you. He will not do it. Do you believe me?”
As soon as Sarah heard the King say, “He will not do it,” tears burst from her eyes. She bent forward, put her head in her hands, and began to sob, rocking back and forth. The King stood, reached down, and picked her up, then sat back in his chair and held her.
“I’m sorr… I am so sorry…” She struggled to hold back the flood. “It seems all I do is cry like a baby. I don’t want to be weak.”
The King pushed her back just enough to force her to look at him and shook his head. “Sarah, your soul is recovering from the incredible trauma you have been under for what some would say was centuries. I invented tears. I have shed them myself. They are not manifestations of weakness; they are the steam valves that allow strength to continue. So, do not be ashamed. You are safe in my house. You are safe in my arms. You are the apple of my eye. Now peace, be still.”
She looked back at him and said, “If I quit crying, will I have to go back to my chair?”
He smiled at her, his eyes shining. “Do you want to?”
“No,” she answered without hesitation.
“Good, I didn’t want you to go back either. Now that you are safe and your steam valves are vented, what else is on your heart?”
Sarah raised an eyebrow and tried to stop the thought that immediately came but winced when she knew it had scampered out of her like a mouse darting from its hole. The King snorted. “Sarah.”
“I know, I know…” she chatted on like a daughter with a beloved father who she knew would give her whatever she wanted. “So, tell me… How can Lizzy exist if Harry does not willingly…” She stopped speaking. Her mouth opened wide, her eyebrows furrowed; she wasn’t aware of it, but heat started to rise off her body and slight curls of smoke came from her mouth. In a cold tone of voice, she growled, “She wouldn’t dare.”
“Sarah, it is probably not a good idea to manifest your dragon self here. The room is a bit small for that. And before you go full-on flaming dragon, think about something… are you listening?”
Sarah’s breathing calmed; her heart started to settle. She shivered a second and then answered in a very meek voice, “Yes, sir.”
“Good… here is my question to you. How much does Harry love his daughter? And what price do you think he would pay to ensure she lives?”
“Harry adores Lizzy… he would lay down his life and on one occasion almost did.”
“Now let’s go on to the other dragon in the room,” the King moved forward.
Sarah’s eyebrows rose and her eyes widened when it dawned on her that the King was referring to Kusaila.
“Oh… ah… yeah,” she whispered, shaking her head.
“I’ll go first. Let me start by saying there are many kinds of love in this universe. Some you already know. The kind of love between a man and a woman is only one, and even it has various forms. You with me so far?”
Sarah nodded. “Uh-huh…”
“Okay, there is the immediate attraction that is enhanced by intense circumstances. You and Harry have experienced that.”
Sarah kept on nodding agreement.
“But, even though you love Harry, at this point in your relationship to him, you have not made up your mind about a permanent relationship. A covenant relationship. Circumstances have prevented it. Truth be known, Sarah, I have prevented it.”
The King watched as Sarah reacted to his statement. Her eyebrows furrowed, her body grew rigid, sadness and betrayal sketched their darkness across her face, her breaths came in short gasps.
“Do you trust me? It always boils down to that… do you trust me?”
“I don’t understand?”
“Do you have to understand in order to trust me?”
“Well, it sure helps,” she barked and then winced. “Sorry, sir, it’s hard.”
“Yes, it is. Not knowing, not understanding and trusting anyway is very hard,” he agreed.
“I am trying, my King, I am trying, but it feels like you just thrust a knife in my heart!”
“May I finish?” he asked while not really asking.
“Of course…” she whispered.
“Sarah, you have not made up your mind about Harry, especially with the unsettled questions about Lizzy. Also, you are attracted to Kusaila; he is a good man and loves his people and is a dragon shifter, and those things are attractive. There is no wrong in this indecision. As a matter of fact, Sarah, I want you to push through this and decide. Now I would be lying if I said I didn’t know what your decision will be. But if I told you, it would rob you of the freedom to choose. So I will not tell you. I will, however, give you the freedom, minus condemnation, to make the right choice… and, Sarah, you will make the right choice, so please rest in that. Your heart is in tune with mine. Follow it.”
“This is not helping…” she murmured beneath her breath, not looking up at the King.
“Yes, it is; you just don’t know it yet. Now time to go back. I love you, Sarah.”
And with that, Sarah felt her body being pulled through space. There was a sense of falling, and then she felt the warm sunshine on her face and fresh-smelling flowers beneath her. She blinked as she opened her eyes and looked around. She had transformed back into a human and sat on top of a high mountain.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Sarah’s eyes scanned across a vast plain stretched out beneath her. Then she noticed a horde of tents and people spread across the horizon.
“That is the camp of my enemies,” she heard a deep voice behind her say. She jumped but immediately recognized it and turned to see Kusaila in his dragon form laid out behind her. She then noticed she was seated between his great claws.
As she looked up into his huge, compassionate eyes, she sighed. “I am sorry about last night. I got some very disturbing
news and overreacted. I am better now.”
“You appear to be. And you feel different… stronger… more at peace, settled. I am glad to see it.”
She giggled and answered, “I bet you are… you just don’t want me tearing up any more tents or scaring your people.”
A bright toothy grin lit up the great dragon’s face, and had Sarah not been a dragon herself, she would have trembled. But she knew he was laughing at her and it delighted her heart.
“Perhaps that is true, my Sarah, but I am willing to risk my tents to ensure your safety and sanity. Now it’s time for lessons.” And with that, he backed up a few feet and exhaled, was covered in flame, and stepped out of the flame in his human form.
“Now as I was saying…” He reached into a satchel at his side and drew out a large leather-bound book. He handed it to her.
As she grasped it, she was surprised to feel her hands tingle. She almost dropped it but didn’t want to embarrass herself anymore and held on. After a moment the tingles stopped. The book was warm like a living thing. She opened its pages and pressed her face into them, breathing deeply. She didn’t think books were supposed to smell but didn’t feel strange sniffing. As she inhaled the vaguely familiar fragrance, she was reminded of an old schoolroom with wooden floors freshly mopped. Of children herded together giggling and whispering as they watched a young schoolmarm write on an ancient chalk blackboard.
She turned a page and read the chapter titles. The title of the book was The Proper Care and Training of Dragons.
She continued to read through the chapter titles.
1. Control Issues
2. Muscle Coordination of Tail and Hands (Like Rubbing Your Belly and Tapping Your Head)
3. How to Fight in the Air
4. How to Shift from Human to Dragon Quickly (Practice… Practice… Practice)
5. Vulnerabilities of Natural Enemies
6. Training with Other Dragons
7. How to Use Your Voice to Hypnotize
8. Prophetic Dragon Song
9. Predictive Powers and Visions
10. How to Navigate Underwater
11. Weather Control Abilities, Latent Thunder Callers, Etc.
12. Naturally Flying but Better at It
13. How to Respond to a Dragon Rider
“Oh my!” she said, starting to feel overwhelmed. “So much to learn. I thought you were going to be my teacher?”
Kusaila grimaced at her. “I am, Sarah… but even the best of teachers needs a good text to teach from. You will have two teachers, by the way.”
“Really? You didn’t tell me that. Who is my other teacher?”
“I am, Sarah,” a very feminine voice answered from her thoughts.
Sarah almost dropped the book. “Speaker, is that you?”
The voice chuckled. “No, Sarah, I am not a sword, although I have been known to cut pretty deep. I am this book. A living book. I am self-aware and have been for hundreds of years. I know the speaker sword of whom you speak, and although I would not call us friends, we do get along after a fashion.”
“Huh?”
“We don’t always agree, Sarah. Swords are a bit arrogant, at least the ones I have met. They think they know everything.”
Sarah smiled and said, “Well, now I have my own invisible friend and mentor, and she is a female. This is good.”
“Ha!” Kusaila blurted. “Let’s see if you are saying that a few days from now. That ancient book can be a tyrant, and the reason she argues with the speaker sword is because she is just as arrogant.”
The voice hidden in Sarah’s mind harrumphed. “Don’t listen to him, Sarah, he is just a contrary old dragon.”
Kusaila continued, “The reason I know she is a grumpy old tyrant is because she taught me. I remember her cutting words and unnecessary disciplines. But, and as much as I hate to admit it, she is a great teacher. When she and I are done with you, Sarah, you will not be a frightened little waif who cries at every opportunity; you will be a scourge… a flaming killing machine.”
Sarah’s eyebrow rose at the phrase “killing machine.” She was prepared to defend herself and fight if necessary, but the idea of being a killing machine did not strike her as compatible with what she had just experienced in the King’s house. But for the moment she would be wise enough to keep her mouth shut.
The voice in her head responded to her, “You are right to keep your silence, Sarah. Kusaila is a good man and a great leader, but he is also greatly troubled. In the hordes stretched out before you across this plain, he sees the death of his people. And he is prepared to do whatever he has to do to stop them. Do not judge him too harshly. Now let’s fly out of here. There is much to learn and your lessons begin now.”
With that, Sarah ran toward the cliff and without a moment’s hesitation leaped into the sky, transforming into her dragon self as she caught the currents beneath her great bat-like wings. It is time to get to work, she thought, and besides that, I have to respond to Harry’s letter.
Kusaila watched her for a moment, then proceeded to follow. But not before taking a long, hard look at the horde spread out before him.
Chapter Thirty
Harry had almost drifted off to sleep in the easy chair by Belle Rodum’s bed. The nurse had left a few minutes before. It was late, he was exhausted, and the chair folded back. He was settling into a peaceful slumber when he heard a voice. The speaker sword. “Harry, Harry, sorry to wake you, but I thought you might want to hear from Sarah.”
Immediately Harry was awake. “Of course I want to hear from Sarah! Thanks for waking me, Speaker.”
With that, he closed his eyes and focused. Words began to form and he read:
Dear Harry,
It was so good to hear from you. I sincerely apologize for not getting back sooner. It has been crazy? Intense? I do not know what word to use. Maybe all of them are appropriate.
I know exactly how you feel.
I have so much to tell you. I don’t know how to squeeze it into a short sword mail… notice the expression sword mail? Didn’t seem quite right to call it email.
Sounds good to me, honey.
Anyway, I am digressing. Let me give you the high points. I am somewhere in the eighth or ninth century. I think. I also am in a desert land that is under siege. The mentor I was assigned to is named Kusaila and he is an amazing dragon/man. He is the chief of his tribe. His people love him. He is strong and wise and a gentle but firm teacher.
Sounds like another John Timothy type.
He led me in a shared vision where I went back to the cave and the time when you fought Romlott Hus for me. I went back as far as I could and stayed as long as I could. Kusaila didn’t force any more on me than I could handle.
He is a wise teacher and obviously a gifted healer.
When I finally came out of the vision, I was human again! I was curled in a ball weeping. He held me in his arms till I finally got control.
Hmmm…
He told me that it was not the curse that had held me in dragon form but my own sense of condemnation.
Wow! That is amazing… maybe now you can cut loose from there and come help me.
It was a very intense and intimate moment. After that Kusaila introduced me to his people. We had a great feast where I met all kinds of folks. I also was introduced to a beverage that, at first, I thought was just a sweet drink… it was not just a sweet drink… It was honey mead.
Oh no, I see a train wreck coming…
My inebriated condition led to an unfortunate… how can I say this. Ahh hmm. Well, shoot! I tore up Kusaila’s tent.
Kusaila’s tent?
In a panic, I shifted back into dragon form and flew with the flaming tent draped around my shoulders into the sky literally like a bat out of a he… Well, my grandmother would not approve of me using that word, but it was a very hot place.
Oh my gosh, I bet that was a sight to see… a dragon flying while under the influence… I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
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While working off my inebriation, whom should I meet in the highest point of the sky while basking in the light of a glorious sunrise… but the King! Harry, I met the King… your King and now my King. I had my commissioning service.
Amazing! Wonderful, oh this is going to make all the difference. I bet that is why she was sent there in the first place.
And to be honest, I think I got a better first introduction than you; of course, my circumstances were different. I wasn’t stuck in a musty cave running from a demonized dragon. I was flying drunk thousands of feet above a desert! HAHA ANYWAY… I got to visit him in his house… same one he took you to. And we had Dr Pepper instead of sweet tea, and you know what else…
She is spoiled rotten. It never fails. Whether it is her grandparents or now even the North Star!
I danced with him… Yep, I got to dance with the North Star, the dragon rider King…
You danced with the King… that is… that is almost unbelievable… good grief!
And then, of course, I cried… It was about you, BTW. And then we talked about some other things… anyway. It was amazing and I feel so much better, and also, I understand now how he empowers you and strengthens you. It is amazing. I am about to start training in earnest tomorrow. So, it may be a while before I can get back to you.
Oh man… of course… a thousand years and now who knows when I get to hear from you again…
Kusaila is a wonderful mentor and a great man. He is also a sad kinda man, Harry; he is just a little older than we are.
Oh?
And get this… he never married.
Oh really?
Reminds me of someone else I know… What is it with you guys? He said he could not bring himself to love a woman only to leave her a widow or father a child he could not be around to raise.
A noble, honorable, handsome young man who happens to be a gentle teacher in a desperate situation. Seriously, Sarah? You can’t see what’s going on?
The enemies here are serious and he fears for his people. Such amazing courage and self-sacrifice. I think he is hoping that my presence here will even the score.
The Harry Ferguson Chronicles Box Set Page 42