by Rachel Angel
It was a welcomed change. After weeks of feeling like an outsider, of fearing leaving her room and of being the constant prey to ridicule, the days were now pleasant and easy.
She’d grown far too weary of the constant battle with all of them, namely the Cruel Princes.
Sitting between Razor and Flint at the table at the Dragon’s Den, she looked at them, marveling at the change in them. They were all still such strong, bull headed men, but there was an ease about them that had never been there before.
“Ante up, Tar,” Razor said, nudging him with his elbow.
Tar, his eyes on Ally, tossed a few coins to the center of the table. “You must be feeling a little relieved,” he said. “You’re off the hook for the rest of the Diamond Trials.”
Nodding, Ally examined her cards. “It was a nice surprise, I’ll tell you that.”
“We haven’t been seeing a lot of you lately,” Jasper said with a curious grin. “What are you up to?”
“A little of this and that,” she said, deliberately vague.
“Three dragons, and two swords,” Flint grunted as he slammed his cards to the table.
“Three red dragons and two silver swords,” Tar said, proudly laying his cards to the table.
“Well,” Ally said. “Hate to slay you guys again, but I have four dragons, and…” She slowly placed her cards in the center of the table. “The magic wand.”
“Shit,” Razor groaned, tossing his cards on the table.
“Always a pleasure playing with you boys,” Ally said as she pooled the coins, slid them off the edge of the table and poured them into a small colorful velvet pouch. “Always a pleasure.”
“No need to gloat,” Tar said.
“No need to get angry, Tar,” she countered as she stood. “But now, my fine gentlemen, I bid you, adieu.” She bowed to them all and headed to the door.
“What?” Jasper said. “You can’t just wipe us clean and leave like that. Double or nothing.”
“Don’t you think I wiped you clean enough for one night? That was the fifth consecutive hand that I won.” Ally smiled, tossed her heavy little pouch in the air and caught it, then winked at him. “See you later.”
Walking back to her dorm room, she smiled. The evening was cool and pleasant with a gentle breeze blowing through her rainbow of hair.
In the privacy of her room, she tucked her little pouch of coins away in a drawer behind her undergarments and let out a heavy breath.
“Time to get to work.” She pulled her hair back into a tight, high ponytail and twisted it into a bun, securing it to her head with a long pin. She kicked off her boots and headed to her dressing room which she’d converted into a small laboratory.
Since the gala, since learning she’d be going to The Borders, going to battle those toxic creatures, she’d put a lot of energy into learning everything she could about them.
“Know your enemy,” she muttered as she pulled a brown robe over her clothes and sat down to work. Earlier that week, she’d scraped off some dry skin from her arm, hoping to find traces of the toxins left by the creature that had taken over Drag and tried to kill her. Though it’d been a while since that day, and there was probably not a trace of him left on her skin, she knew she had to try.
She looked into her little petri dish to see if anything had changed since that morning. Disappointed, she set it down. “Nothing.”
She had tried adding various chemicals to see if there would be a reaction that would give her an idea as to the toxins composition. She’d have to think of something else to try.
Why had the princes killed that monster and disposed of him?
She would have to ask them why… or perhaps ask where they’d disposed of its ashes.
Setting the dish aside, she concentrated on the other experiments she’d been conducting. She picked up a beaker of glowing red liquid, and, using a graduated pipette, set some of the liquid in a small test tube and dropped in a few drops of a silver liquid.
A small puff of smoke came from the test tube, but nothing more.
Calling on all the lessons she’d learned from Kate, she tried a variety of other experiments.
She set a flask on her little Bunsen burner, dropped in a measured amount of blue liquid then added pink crystals. As the liquid heated up, it created an offensive odor, but also became incredibly irritating to her eyes. She turned the burner off and left the dressing room to rinse her eyes off.
Determined to find something of substance, she returned to the dressing room and tried again. By midnight, tired and bleary eyed, she finally had had enough and went to bed. Though many of her attempts had resulted in nothing at all, others had shown considerable promise.
Chapter 6
It was a cool, foggy morning when Ally set out with the four princes to head to the Emerald Palace. They were quiet, lost in thought as they traversed the valley where the fog was thick. Their eyes on the constant look out for creatures of any kind, there was a palpable tension among the group. When they crossed through the forest the fog lifted slightly and by the time they finally arrived at the gate, the sun was shining.
“Hope dinner is good,” Tar said. “I’m starving.”
Jasper shot him a glare. “Dinner at the palace is always a feast. We’ll probably have to roll you away from the table when you’re done.”
Laughing, they entered the gate and Tar let out a loud whistle.
“Nice place,” he said.
“Queen Jade likes pretty shiny things,” Jasper said, looking to the shimmering green stones that made up the palace walls.
They reached the main entrance and were met by Queen Jade. Looking regal, yet subdued, in a dark emerald gown, she stood with her back straight and her shoulder back; her hands clasped in front of her.
“Lads,” she said when they arrived. “So nice to see you all.” She turned to Ally. “And, lovely to see you as always, Ally.”
“Thank you for inviting us,” Ally said with her customary awkward bow. “It’s an honor and a privilege.”
The queen smiled and nodded her agreement.
Jasper approached his mother and kissed her on the cheeks. “You’re looking beautiful as usual, mother.”
“And you’re as charming as usual.” She turned to look at them all. “I’ll leave you all time to rest and prepare for dinner. I look forward to sitting with you all to chat a bit.”
Three hours later they met at the large private hall reserved for special occasions. Ally wore a spectacular gown of pale green silk trimmed with thick golden lace on the sleeves and a more delicate golden lace at the neck. The men were all opted for proper and somber suits that spoke of elegance, but without the usual adornments of jewels, gem and gold.
They sat at a large round table set with pretty green china trimmed in silver, beautifully delicate silver and crystal stemware that had an intriguing green glow to them. Ally and Jasper sat on either side of the queen, while the others filled the remainder of the tall backed chairs.
“I hope you’ve all taken advantage of the peaceful days since my announcement at the gala.”
The princes and Ally nodded while the servants poured wine into their glasses.
“I’ve also learned a few new sword skills,” Tar said.
“And I,” Flint added, “learned a few tricks as well.”
“I think,” Jasper said, “what they’re trying to say is that we feel ready.”
Queen Jade lifted her glass and, with a tilt of her chin, invited them to do the same. “To you, my fine warriors, and my saviors. The kingdoms of Wyvern look to you to ensure their safety.”
They sipped their wine, and Ally was once again filled with questions and a certain amount of trepidation. Despite the training, she didn’t feel ready.
Servants came around the table, one by one laying platters and trays and bowls of steaming hot food. Beef stew with cabbage, grilled salmon and rice, stuffed chicken with roasted potatoes. Everything looked fabulous and smelled even better.
The men didn’t hesitate and dove in, filling their plates with heaping mounds of everything. They ate with ferocious appetite, and greedily took more. Ally took a more moderate approach, taking a bit of salmon and rice before trying some of the stew. And then, a bite of stuffed chicken. Everything was delicious.
After the savory meal was cleared from the table, the sweets arrived. Pastries of every shape and size and flavor; topped with raspberries, filled with custard or stuffed with apple and cinnamon. There were jellies and jams of apricot, pear and strawberries, and cakes of chocolate, butter pecan and vanilla.
Strong, flavorful coffee was served with it all, and when they finally set their desert forks down, none could eat another bite.
“Now that is a meal fit for a king,” Tar said.
The queen and crown princes looked at him and smiled.
“You must all know that the day is near,” Queen Jade said after a long moment of silence. “Soon you will be riding out to The Borders where headquarters will be set up.”
“I look forward to it, mother,” Jasper said, his eagerness glowing in his eyes. “We all do.”
“It pleases me to hear that, Jasper.” She smiled, but the smile quickly faded. “The monsters have been attacking more and more lately. Unfortunately, they go for the weak spot; easy prey.” She looked to Ally. “They’ve been busy at The Borders, making life hard for the inhabitants who must constantly be vigilant. But they are growing tired. Some of their strongest men have already been compromised, leaving young, inexperienced and untrained warriors to fight, and even some women are raising arms against the blood thirsty beasts.”
“Then we must be off as quickly as possible,” Jasper said. “We must help them before it’s too late.”
“Yes,” Queen Jade said, her beautiful eyes dark and solemn. She was quiet for a long while, seemingly lost in her thoughts, in her reverie. “I fought them once, did you know?”
Everyone turned to look at her.
Jasper, stunned, stared at his mother. “You? When?”
“Yes,” Ally said. “When?”
“Oh, it seems like ages ago. Well…” She counted out the years on her fingers. “I guess it was quite a few moons ago.” She looked to Ally. “I guess I would have been just a little older than you are right now. This was before The Borders and Wyvern came to an understanding and signed the Peace Pact.”
“You never told me about this, mother,” Jasper said softly, still stunned by his mother’s declaration.
“I never felt the need to.”
“And now?”
She wiped the corners of her mouth with her napkin and carefully set it down on the table. “Now I think it’s time to impart a few words of wisdom.”
“Like what?” Tar said. Showing a complete lack of decorum, he set both elbows on the edge of the table and looked inquisitively at the queen.
“Well, like shifting to dragon form. It is important that you remember that the use of a sword has only limited success. The use of fire is the best strategy to use. These beasts burn to a crisp at the touch of a flame and that’s that. Swords only injure and lame, but don’t often kill. You need to get too close. And you know what that toxic breath is like.”
“That’s easy enough to take care of.” Tar looked to Ally. “Well, for most of us it is.”
Ally nodded and knew she’d have to find another way of fighting. She’d have to develop her own methods of killing the creatures.
“You also need to keep your eyes and ears open for any strange and unusual happenings, but mostly, it’s your nose you’ll need to rely on. That acrid, toxic breath is the first sign that an otherwise normal looking human has been compromised and infected. Don’t be fooled by their appearance.” Again, she looked to Ally. “Especially if the human is one that you know. Put your emotions aside and rely on your instincts.”
The queen choked up suddenly, and her eyes became glassy with unshed tears. “It may be the hardest thing you’ll ever have to do in your life, but it must be done. If the situation should present itself, know that the human before you, the human that has been compromised, is not the human you once knew.”
Ally wanted to know more; wanted to know what the queen had been through to be so teary eyed, but she didn’t dare ask. It was obviously so emotional for her, even after so many years.
But she also hoped she wouldn’t have to face that awful decision; of having to kill someone she knew because they’d been infected.
She prayed she wouldn’t have to.
Chapter 7
“Gentlemen,” Queen Jade said as she stood. “If you would like to recline and have an interesting brandy or cognac, I invite you to do so, but I would like to steal away Ally.” She turned to Ally. “A stroll in the garden would be lovely this time of day.”
Ally nodded, sensing there was more to it than an early evening stroll. She rose and followed the queen out to the gardens where they walked side by side in silence for a long while. Crickets occasionally broke the silence while a distant owl hooted his presence a number of times.
“I hope you’ve come to find the trust in yourself these past days,” Queen Jade finally said. “That you’ve discovered your capabilities.”
“The training certainly helps, but then I think of the size of those monsters and wonder… how can I…?”
“You can,” Queen Jade said. “And you will.”
“One thing I can promise you, Queen Jade, is that I will do my utmost. Positively everything that I can to conquer those beasts.”
The queen smiled and stopped to face Ally. She took a lock of blue and purple hair and brought it over Ally’s shoulder so that it trailed down to her navel.
“Such lovely hair.” She reached to the other side to bring forward a lock of orange and red. “Truly remarkable.”
Ally looked at her with a quizzical gaze.
“You know, I once had rainbow hair.”
Shocked, Ally gasped. “You? I must admit I’m truly surprised. In all my life I’ve never met anyone who had hair like this.”
Queen Jade smiled. “Yes. It was as beautiful as yours and I loved it.”
“Really? Younger, I hated mine. I was constantly teased about it.”
“That’s because humans tend to have difficulty seeing the advantage of being different from others.”
Ally shrugged. “I guess.”
“I was revered for it. Oh, how I miss it.” Queen Jade looked longingly at Ally’s colorful locks. “Over the years, however, as you can see, the colors changed.” She unpinned her hair and let it fall to just below her shoulders. “The bright green turned to a darker green, the blue to, slightly duller green and the purple to teal. Like leaves on a tree, the colors all changed.”
“It still is quite beautiful.”
The queen laughed, an endearingly delightful sound. “You are sweet, aren’t you?” She shook her head slightly, letting her loose hair flow around her face. “In the right light you can still see hints of yellow and an orangy red.”
They continued strolling for a while, stopping occasionally to look at a pretty flower or admire a tall strong tree.
“The kingdoms of Wyvern are like a rainbow,” Queen Jade said as they looked at several multicolored flowers.
Ally tilted her head. “Hmm. I never thought of it that way.”
“The red flaming hair of Razor,” she went on. “And, of course, Jasper’s teal hair.” Queen Jade looked pointedly at Ally, as if imparting a secret message.
Disappointed in her lack of comprehension, Ally looked at the queen with a quizzical glance.
“You have all the colors of the kingdoms.”
“Oh,” Ally finally said, surprised. “I guess I do.”
Queen Jade laughed as she turned to Ally. “There are powers that are given to certain worthy beings, Ally. These powers come in many forms; strength, magic, hypnosis, but it is clear that they’ve been bestowed upon you. You have the magical powers within you.”
“Me
? I don’t have any magical powers.”
The queen leaned in closer and took a whiff. “Oh, my child, but you do. My nose never deceives me. You have dragon blood, and you have the powers of each kingdom in these two lovely little hands of yours.”
Chapter 8
As Ally and the Cruel Princes sat on their respective horses waiting, Jasper had a prolonged goodbye with his mother, Queen Jade, and even longer with the Queen Mother Jasmine who had joined them for breakfast.
Both women looked at Jasper with love, pride and concern as they spoke softly to him, kissed him, hugged him and kissed him again.
In typical masculine form, he grinned and took the hugs and kisses in stride, glancing up at the Cruel Princes who all smiled knowingly.
“Mothers have a way of making you feel like a kid again, don’t they?” Razor said when Jasper finally joined them.
Jasper nudged his horse into a trot. “They sure do.”
Ally and the princes followed him out the gate and onto the path to Wyvern Academy.
“Now that we’ve all seen the Emerald Palace, maybe we could one day visit the other kingdoms,” Flint said as they settled into a lazy gait.
“I’d like that,” Ally said.
“Better make it quick,” Razor said. “We’ve only a few days left before we make our way to The Borders.”
“I don’t know,” Tar said, frowning his displeasure at the idea. “I certainly don’t feel the need to show you around my kingdom, if we can even call it that. Not that my idiot brother would let us in even if we wanted to.”
Flint drew his sword and held it in the air. “We’ll find a way of changing his mind.”
The guys laughed and Ally smiled sympathetically. It saddened her to see how affected Tar was by his brother’s actions,
“I’m eager to show you the fabulous rose gardens of Rose Cliff,” Razor said.
“Wait,” Flint shot in. “You haven’t seen beauty until you visit the Metal Kingdom.”