The Dragons' Chosen

by Gwen Dandridge

  Hugh’s face had turned a dark purple at Chris’s comment, darker after mine and black after Rauf’s. I held my ground, watching Hugh glower. I wouldn’t be led about by the nose for a coronet.

  One of the men called Hugh’s name as a glazed look in his eyes smoldered and burned. He turned to them and roared. I stood, not breathing, my head up, my eyes unwavering. How could such a sound come from a human throat? Was he changing? I felt a trickle of sweat between my breasts, a frisson of fear that I had pushed him too far. But I could not back down. Not now, not here.

  Rauf spoke, as if reassessing. “There is power and status in marrying a human.”

  Hugh spun towards him. His eyes darkened, his pupils enlarged. Wisps of smoke seeped out of his nose. Suddenly the cave, large as it was, seemed small. Chris tugged at my arm as the air around him wavered. The other men realigned, moved quickly into a small semi-circle between us and Hugh.

  Piers, who was barely my age and looked as if he had only recently started to shave, grabbed Chris’s arm and mine and dragged us behind a large rocky formation. “Um, your proposal comes as a slight surprise. I, ah…believe that Hugh needs a bit of time to consider it fully.”

  Before our eyes, Hugh transformed into a dragon. A tail, thick as a tree trunk, writhed and swept the floor but a few dozen spans from my feet. The gold and coral scales upon his back glinted in the torchlight, each as large as a child’s hand, hundreds of them. And beyond that, a head the full height of a man, with teeth. I couldn’t move. I shut my eyes, knowing I would die here in a dark echoing cave. Chris bumped against me and I snapped my eyes opened. Two others changed, Tristan, with scales of silver and emerald, and Rauf, bronze and turquoise, kaleidoscopes of color.

  Hugh roared again and steam poured from his mouth, flickers of flame snaking out. His tail swiped across a quartz outcropping, sending shards of stone across the cave. Red dust exploded into the cavern and everything appeared as through a rosy haze. Piers waded into the fray, changing as he moved. Steam pulsed and all were lost to my sight in the depths of the shadowed cave. Chris’s eyes were huge and I shook so hard that the ancient papers rattled in my hands.

  “I believe he is not used to being gainsaid,” I whispered.

  Chris nodded, her fingers trembling on my arm.

  “As my great-grandmamma used to say, ‘Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, because you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup,’” Chris whispered back from behind our stone shield.

  My teeth chattered as I replied. “It isn’t as if I have much of a choice.” Her words repeated in my mind. “I thought you didn’t have dragons in your world.”

  “We don’t. It’s just a saying.”

  Some debris thumped the stone wall to our side and bounced off. Within the haze, I couldn’t make out individual bodies as they vied against one another.

  Her hands dug into my wrist. “They seem…distracted. It may be a good time to leave.”

  I whispered back through my clenched teeth. “I won’t be intimidated by a puffed-up male. If I back down now, I forfeit any power I have over my future.”

  She looked at me, eyes bright with fear. “I take back everything I said about your being a wuss.” Beyond us, the long necks and tails of four dragons flailed, breaking rock formations into shards.

  James, still in human form, stood between us and his dragon kinsmen. We all ducked as a spat of flame whipped by us. It finally seemed to register to James that Chris and I might not be accustomed to such a display.

  He turned to us and bowed, then checked behind him before speaking. “This may take a wee bit longer to resolve. It is just a misunderstanding—a minor dispute among family. Hugh is a great fellow, but we’ve all been tense with this trip and everything. With a little more time, you will be able to see that Hugh has the utmost respect for you, that he’s a fine leader and has a good head on his shoulders. But, right now….” He ducked as a rock sailed by. “Right now,” he repeated, “I think it best that you retire while we sort this out.”

  Chris and I looked at each other and then at the flying rocks, bared teeth and claws beyond us. I nodded and we scooted away with as much dignity as we could muster.

  Chapter 30

  Back in our cavern “room” we discussed our situation again—and again, and again.

  “You’re still considering this? After what we just saw?” Chris shouted. “What do you need to convince yourself that this is crazy? They are monsters. You saw them. You’re planning a white-veil marriage to a thirty-foot-long, scaly creature with eight-inch claws and teeth. If you have the littlest marital spat you could end up like a toasted marshmallow.” She stopped, waiting to see if I had changed my mind. I was working my way through her bizarre language.

  “And, oh yeah, he would be so sorry, so contrite!” Chris rummaged through her bags and pulled out some clothing and a much-needed hair brush. We were both coated heavily with debris from the dragons’ “discussion.”

  I carefully removed my dust-covered dress and waited for Chris to help me with it. Of course she didn’t. She paced. I abandoned any hope of her coming to my aid and started donning the pieces of clothing she handed me.

  Her voice became muffled as she tugged a clean chemise over her head. “You can’t marry one of them. You don’t know them. You don’t know where they live. You don’t even know if their human wives survive birthing a dragon! What if you lay an egg or something?”

  As she continued her diatribe, some of her more creative images gave me pause. I pushed past the horrific visions that came to mind, interrupting her description of one particularly unlikely mating. “You heard, it’s been done before many times. This is a political marriage, just as he said, for the good of both lands. And stop yelling at me,” I added, nearly yelling myself. I caught myself and spoke softly, more like hissing now. “Lower your voice. We can be heard throughout the cavern,” I admonished. Anyone in my entourage would have quieted at my tone.

  Chris only got louder. “They’re having a knock-down, drag-out fight below and you worry about us yelling? You are totally and absolutely crazy! Deluded!” She stood with her nose inches from mine.

  I felt my own temper rise. I had tolerated her insults and disrespect for too long. How dare she treat me like a demented old aunt.

  I turned my back on her and stalked to the opposite end of the cave. Chris followed, one step behind.

  She was worse than the Duke of Montreau’s rat terrier. “You’re being used as a status symbol, like a trophy wife, no different. Or maybe more like cattle raiding in Scotland, a prize. Why can’t you see this?” she continued with her foreign allusions.

  I whirled toward her. “What I see is that you have no understanding of duty.”

  Chris’s gray eyes darkened, her skin flushed and shimmered, reminding me of the dragons as they shifted. It must be an illusion from the torchlight in the caves. We glared at one another.

  I couldn’t believe we had come to this. I took a breath, reaching for a calm, rational tone. “This solution has promise, both for me and for my land. My father would be pleased, my lands safe from war with dragon fire. Think on it. I could choose my future husband out of five eligible men.” Sort of men, I amended to myself. “And if I choose Hugh, I will be queen.”

  “If we aren’t flattened like pancakes or burnt to cinders during the prenuptial arrangements,” Chris added, flailing her arms.

  Pushing my fears down once more, I continued, ignoring her comments. “I’m going to negotiate a reasonable settlement and get it in writing—before I leave this place.” I looked at the documents again and shook my head. “We should go through these papers again. I want to make sure I didn’t miss anything.”

  Chris shook her head, open-mouthed in astonishment. “Didn’t you notice? They’re dragons, huge scaly monsters with teeth and talons and fire!”

  “At least none of them is fifty and bald with a huge paunch. That was certainly a possibility for an alliance at home after King Charles’ w
ife died; someone is going to have to marry him.”

  Chris closed her eyes. “Either way, this is wrong. Don’t you see? You were tricked. They aren’t going to change ’cause you shake your royal finger at them. It’s like my nana used to say: ‘Neither systems, nor people, nor dragons change without significant need.’

  “They will do this again, century after century, like they’re doing here. And the next princess may not be as plucky as you. She might end her life rather than go or capitulate to the first dragon that offers her his—claw.”

  I frowned at that. “What you say has merit. But that doesn’t change what I must do. I’m staying.”

  Chris shook her head at me again, then went to peer down to where the dragons thrashed about. “You are pigheaded,” she called over her shoulder, “but as my nana said, ‘even pigheads crack ’neath a dragon’s jaw.’” I joined her and we watched the walls glow with fire. There was a certain sparkle about it that caught the eye.

  “Chris, why would your great-grandmother speak of dragons? You’ve said she was neither a seer nor a witch, so why? Was there anything notable about her?”

  She looked up, shaking off the mesmeric effects of the flames reflected on the wall. “No, nothing. It was sort of a joke. She was a fanciful old lady.” Chris’s brow knotted. “I can’t think of anything abnormal about her. She was so much the proper lady. And always certain that people would jump when she said ‘frog.’ We used to call her Queen Ria behind her back.”

  I shook my head. “No, there must be something. She gave you the card, did she not? You’ve quoted her a number of times speaking of dragons, yet you’ve told me over and over, dragons don’t exist in your world.”

  Chris frowned and spoke as if reminiscing. “I guess there were a few odd things. She came over from the Scottish Highlands at the turn of the last century. She arrived at Ellis Island by herself, pregnant and alone. Her husband had died during their journey to America. I never knew of what. She was always a bit reticent about it. I often wondered if she left to hide an illicit pregnancy. You know, that she wasn’t actually married and got caught.”

  Chris’s face flushed. “I need to get some air. I can’t think in this place.” We both jumped as the glow of flames spattered against the stone-step walls. “Wow, talk about your challenging relationships. I’ve heard my friends talk about boyfriends breathing fire, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen it. So is this going to be one of your tests? I hold a candle out at arm’s length and see which one can light it without setting me on fire?”

  “I don’t believe that will be necessary,” I demurred.

  Chris raised one incredulous eyebrow and walked out of our cave room.

  Chapter 31

  Chris had been gone for what seemed like hours. Now that I had time for reflection, the reality of my delicate position sprayed over me like an icy stream. I was frightened.

  My initial outrage and indignation had seeped out, leaving only fear and horror. In the shadowed light, the silence stretched me to the ends of myself. For all my bravado, I didn’t know how much longer I could keep up the illusion of strength, for them or for myself. Once Chris left, I felt drained. The massive weight of the stone cave pressed against me, making it difficult to think clearly. I was tired of trying to be brave, of trying to be rational, of trying to disguise my fear.

  Objectively, my situation had vastly improved. I lived, though I would never see my siblings grow into adults, nor my parents age. Instead they would live, year after year, with the guilt of my supposed death.

  But now a future lay before me, ambiguous, one where I had to walk a careful path. A misstep, a careless word, would carve in stone the rest of my life. A marriage in a strange land to a half man, half dragon. My thoughts veered to one particular man-dragon—one that I wished would step forward and….

  I shook myself; this was no time to be the fanciful miss dreaming of illusions. They were not human.

  Only honor and duty forced me to consider their offer. I reminded myself of my father’s whispered advice after taking my rook with his knight during my ninth year: “Consider the war, not the battle. Most important: never, ever concede.”

  But, for all my bluster, I was at their mercy. I had no coin to play. No one was coming to my rescue. They thought me dead.

  And there was the treaty. I must marry one of them or else…or else what? I didn’t know.

  Perhaps Chris was right; maybe there was another way to protect my home. Mayhap they exaggerated the danger. It wouldn’t be the first time, nor would it be the last, that people twisted the truth to leverage an agreement to benefit themselves.

  My mind circled back to Chris. It seemed peculiar that precisely when I needed her, she appeared from a distant world. Something slipped across my mind like a feather, something she had said. Something odd, some passing comment about her great-grandmother. What was it that didn’t make sense?

  I heard the crunch of steps as someone approached and then hesitated. I ran forward, eager to see Chris again, to make amends and start anew. My face fell, but my tell-tale heart beat faster. Tristan, the erstwhile bard, and Piers, the youngest of the man-dragons, crooked their heads around the corner, bearing steaming bowls of stew. Every time Tristan appeared, I felt a pull, one that I struggled to contain.

  Tristan cleared his throat. “If there is anything we can do to make this easier…” I turned away from him. I knew my countenance must show the flush that rose to my face.

  “Aside from returning me to my life and my family?” I said, slapping a bitter edge in my voice to disguise my reactions. “No. Nothing.”

  Piers’s eyes grew large and he backed out quickly. Tristan paused before speaking. “Please, believe me. You won’t come to harm at our hands. Even though our comforts here are meager.” He turned toward the small pile of goods in the corner. “What little we have we extend to you.”

  Finally, one more missing piece slid into place.

  “It was you, wasn’t it? You were there at gatherings and dances, playing music, singing. You’re who marked me as chosen.”

  His face closed up. “You know I was among those who picked you. The three of us, Piers, Rauf, and I, were sent to find a princess.”

  “Might I ask, why me? Did I draw the short straw?”

  He sighed. “We were obviously looking for a princess. Someone worthy of a king. We wanted someone with backbone and strength.” He laughed deprecatingly as a slow flush crawled up his neck. “Someone I…we could envision marrying. And there you were, bright, courageous, well-spoken and beautiful. We congratulated ourselves when we found you. We were so sure.”

  Here with him alone, my breathing quickened. I ground my teeth to hold myself aloof. “You mean you, not we. You were sure.”

  He was quiet and then acknowledged, “Yes, me.”

  My heart betrayed me again, beating faster and faster. How could I feel so deceived and yet simultaneously feel this yearning?

  He shifted our conversation then. “I didn’t consider the cost of keeping our purpose known only to your Priestess. I tried to convince myself that it was not my concern. It was an understanding between your spiritual advisors and my kingdom. However, as the days went on, I found myself increasingly uncomfortable. I returned and tried to get an audience with the Priestess. Four times I went. She was unavailable and the doors barred.

  “And then that night, I watched you at supper and saw the toll that this was taking on you. Piers, Rauf and I talked that night, back and forth, debating our need to protect our kingdom, against our responsibility to our future princess, you. We were conflicted. It was too unkind, too severe a condemnation for anyone to endure, much less a gently-raised lady.”

  There it was again, another reminder that he had caused all of this to happen. My temper flared.

  “And this is where you’ve taken me, a ‘gently-raised lady’?” I parroted. “To wed a dragon?” I lobbed a low comment, “Perhaps marrying a half-beast is only slightly better to m
e than being eaten by one.”

  He flinched.

  He looked hard at me then, met my eyes and held them. I struggled not to lose my bearings in the otherness there, not to drown in the sea of wildness and warmth. Tristan seemed lost within himself, then gave a little shake, continuing as if I had not spoken.

  He looked past me, speaking with careful precision. “I know this can’t be easy for you, presented with a suitor from a foreign land. A people unlike your own. All of us are under much strain, but my brothers and cousins are good men. Men you’d want to have at your back.”

  He avoided my eyes as he spoke next. “I understand you not wanting to marry one who is not wholly human. I’ve thought much on this.”

  What was this about, some new gambit?

  Now that I was close to him, I marveled at the foreignness in his eyes. His pupils were more oval than round, and within their depths I could see power and a strange wildness. Beyond that I saw hints of compassion and sadness. And something more—longing?

  I almost snorted at my imaginings. No matter how human he looked now, he was a dragon. And one with his own agenda.

  But as we stood so close, I breathed in his scent. Longing coursed across my body, flooding my thoughts. The distance between us seemed to fade. Did he lean closer, or did I? I wanted—I didn’t want.

  I couldn’t.

  I braced myself and stared straight into those strange blue eyes. “You lied to me.”

  He met my eyes briefly, before leaning against the door, looking beyond me at the wall. “No, never.”

  I thought back. “Perhaps not in so many words. But you knew what was to happen and you let me believe that I was to die. Is that honest? Do you consider that fair and honorable?” He stood unmoving as if now part of the stone wall.

  He turned to leave. As he disappeared from my view, I heard him speak, “Not particularly, My Lady.”

  It felt like any hope I might have had disappeared with him.