When they reached the door of the king’s private dining chamber, Dorian said to the guards, “You will remain out here and allow no one into this room for at least the next two hours.”
“But, Your Majesty,” one of the men replied, “it is our job to stay with you at all times, for your safety.”
“Nonsense, man,” the king shot back, “my great-nephew, Delno, is a skilled swordsman, magician, and Dragon Rider. What makes you think that you can keep me any safer than he can?”
At the perplexed looks on the faces of the two guards, Delno said, “I believe it is me they wish to keep you safe from, Uncle.”
The king made a rude noise and said, “Delno Okonan is the Hero of Stone Bridge. If I am not mistaken in my Dragon Lore, that saber he carries is a Dragon Blade. Without it, he is more than a match for the two of you. With it, he is unstoppable.”
The men were still quite reluctant to leave their liege lord, so Delno said, “Really, Uncle, they are just doing their jobs; jobs that you have given them to do. Can’t they at least station themselves inside the door? That way they can do their jobs, and we still have our privacy.”
“Oh, very well,” Dorian replied, “they can station themselves inside the door.”
As they all entered the door, the senior of the two guardsmen whispered to Delno, “Thank you, sir; we really aren’t supposed to leave him.”
Delno smiled at the men and then walked to the dining table with his family. At the king’s request they chose seats. The king, Delno’s brother Will, and Delno moved to pull out the chair for Laura but John, since he was already standing beside her, beat them to it.
Dorian smiled and said, “I see that manners were well taught in the Okonan House, and that they were taught by example. It’s nice to know that my kin has been in good hands all these years.”
John smiled at the compliment while he held the chair for his wife.
Once they were all seated, Dorian was the first to speak. “I must apologize for not finding you sooner. I had no idea that my niece and her family lived in the same city with me. I placed a medal on Delno after the war without even suspecting that he was my great-nephew.”
“You couldn’t have known,” Laura replied. “The last time my father was here he gave me vague hints that I was related to the royal line of Corice, but he didn’t tell me that my uncle was the king. It was only recently that I heard anything about my father, and that news was of his death at the hands of those foul beast-men in the south.”
“Well, you are home now,” Dorian said, “I wronged your mother by refusing to accept her love of a Dragon Rider. Knowing Dragon Lore, I did not want her marrying a man who would most likely outlive her by several centuries. I wanted her to marry the man who now sits on the throne of Bourne and create strong ties between the two kingdoms so that we might stop these wars that crop up every generation or so. She found the King of Bourne repugnant, and we both refused to listen to each other. She left with Corolan in the dead of night without saying good-bye. I have regretted ever since that I pushed her so hard that she felt compelled to leave her home. I should have listened, and you would have been born and raised here.”
“Everything happens for a reason, Your Majesty,” Laura replied. “My mother had the best healers on hand when I was born, and still she died in childbirth. I don’t think she would have fared better here than she did in Palamore. If she had stayed, then I would not have been raised among the caravans and would never have met Delno’s father.”
Delno, sensing that his world was once again about to be tilted on its axis, stared openly at his mother as she continued, “You see Delno, you are adopted by the man you have called father all of these years.”
Delno looked from his mother to his father and back again. “I had suspected that this was so at one time; you don’t have a child with dark hair and eyes born to parents with fair hair and light eyes. I had put it out of my mind for quite some time. Why did you never tell me before?”
“We saw no need, until now,” John Okonan answered. “If you had lived out your life here in Larimar, it would have made no difference. Since you have become a Rider, it is time that you know all of your story.”
“When I was old enough to be considered a woman by the standards of the vanners I lived with, but still naive enough to fall in love with the first dashing boy who looked my way, I met the young man who fathered you. Since he was of Corolan’s clan, he was a cousin, but many times removed. He was strong telepathically, and he also had some small skill with magic. His father was the Caravan Master, and he was the eldest son. He was nearly four years older than I was. He and I were making plans to get married when he died in an accident at a river crossing. His name was Timothy Moreland.”
“That name sounds very familiar,” Delno said. He thought about it for a moment and then asked, “Did he have a brother named Roland?”
“Yes,” she replied, “do you know Roland?”
“I met him several months ago just before I left Larimar. He is now Caravan Master. I guess he inherited the position from his father.”
“Well,” Laura remarked, “Roland is your uncle. In fact, he offered to take me in when his brother died. He was such a serious young man, and had a well-developed sense of responsibility. It’s not surprising that he is now Caravan Master.”
“If Roland wanted to take you in, how did you end up in Larimar?” Delno asked.
“Roland is a good man, but I had no real love for him. I decided that my child would not be raised as a vanner. It’s a harsh life and can be quite dangerous. Even your father, who was well-trained and had the advantage of magic, was killed trying to maneuver one of those over-sized wagons and protect those stupid oxen while fording a swollen river. I wanted a different life for you. Our next stop was Larimar, and I left the caravan when we arrived. I found work cooking at an inn, and that’s where I met John Okonan. I was four months pregnant and just beginning to show. We were well suited to each other, and he asked me to marry him. He didn’t care that he would be raising another man’s child, and he has always treated you as his own.”
Delno looked at John Okonan and said, “Well, that’s certainly true. You have never favored the son of your own blood over me. You’ve treated us both equally and given us both all that you could. I’ve never known Timothy Moreland, and I can’t even picture him. You are the man I think of as father, and always will.”
John smiled at his adopted son and nodded. Will, though not stupid, was a bit confused. “So, Delno and I are only half-brothers?” he asked. “What does all of this mean?”
“It means,” Dorian interjected, “that I have found my lost niece and that you and Delno are both my great-nephews. It also means that your mother and her family are welcome to move into royal quarters and live in luxury if you desire.” He paused for a moment and then said, “It means that now that I have found my family after so many long years that I have no intention of losing track of them again.”
“I am just a simple man,” John Okonan said. “I don’t think I am suited for palace life, but my wife is. She should live in luxury, and I’ve always regretted that I wasn’t able to provide enough for her to do so. If she would like to move up here, I guess I’ll have to move with her and walk back to my carpentry shop every day.”
John paused and everyone smiled at him. “As for my sons,” he continued, “they are old enough to make their own decisions. Will is a good carpenter, but I have seen that he would like a different life than one I’ve pushed him into. He enjoys working with wood, but he’d prefer it was a hobby rather than a job.”
He paused while he and Will exchanged glances. “I wish I could deny that, but my father is right; I would rather be an artist, but we live in a pragmatic society. More people would rather put furniture on their floors than paintings on their walls.”
“I never knew you enjoyed painting,” Delno remarked.
“Well,” Will responded, “you are my older brother, and I love you as s
uch, but we have never really been friends, so we haven’t paid much attention each other’s interests. Perhaps we can work on changing that in the future.”
“I think I’d like that,” Delno replied.
There was a knock at the door, and the guards opened it just enough to see who it was. At first they said that no one was to be admitted, but then one of the guards approached and said, “I’m sorry, Sire, but the woman Rider is outside the door and wishes to speak with Delno Okonan.”
At the same time Geneva said, “Rita wishes to know if she is allowed a few moments of your time or if you intend to stay sequestered with the king for the remainder of the day?”
“Relay to Rita that I am also with my mother, father and brother. If she has business, then it can wait. However, if she would simply like to join us as my companion, then she is certainly welcome at this meeting as far as I’m concerned.”
“Rita says she apologizes for her jealousy and would very much like to join you,” Geneva relayed.
Delno realized that everyone was looking at him. “Were you in contact with your dragon?” Dorian asked excitedly.
“Yes,” he replied, “She was relaying a message from Rita to me. Rita’s business with me can wait, but I would like to have her in here if no one objects.”
The king told the guards to admit the Rider, and as Rita joined them, he asked Delno, “Can all Riders converse with all dragons on a mental level then?”
“No, at least as far as I’ve seen,” Delno answered, “but all dragons can communicate with each other that way. Rita tells Fahwn what she wants to say to me and Fahwn relays that through Geneva. It takes a bit of time to get the messages sorted out, but when you are half a mile away from each other, it actually speeds up communication.”
Dorian laughed and said, “It sounds like a good way to hold private discussions even in the midst of large groups. Wish I had something like that when dealing with the council.”
Rita joined them and Delno made introductions all around. Once more wine had been poured John remarked, “A woman Rider, and so young.”
Rita and Delno both laughed. At John’s perplexed look Delno said, “I know that we shouldn’t tell a woman’s age, Father, but Rita had passed your present age before you were born.”
At John Okonan’s perplexed look, Rita explained, “I was born over a century ago on an island in the south. I was presented as a candidate for bonding when I was fourteen.”
“You look to be no more than perhaps your early twenties,” John stated.
Delno chuckled. “Men have made the mistake of believing Rita to be young and immature to their regret before, Father,” he said.
Both Delno and Rita laughed. John was smart enough to know that they were sharing some private joke, so he let the matter drop.
“Are you and my son . . . attached?” Laura asked.
“Mother!” Delno said.
“Well, you may be the leader of the Dragon Riders and Corolan’s grandson, but you are my son as well, and as your mother I have a right to know such things.”
“Delno and I are very close,” Rita answered. “Our relationship is one of mutual respect, trust, and love.”
Delno cocked his head and looked at Rita. Up until now he and she had strictly avoided mentioning the word “love” when speaking of their relationship, even though they both knew it was so. He smiled at her and nodded, and she nodded to him in return. It was such a small, simple gesture that it might have gone unnoticed by any one not paying careful attention, but to them it was as if they had climbed to the heights of the walls yelled it to the whole city.
“Are the two of you married or not?” Will asked.
“Will!” Laura Okonan said sharply, “Dragon Riders are not to be held to the standards that the rest of us take to be normal.” To Rita she said, “I can see that you and Delno are certainly attached and that you care deeply for each other. I didn’t mean to embarrass you; I merely wished to know that my son is happy.”
“There is no offense taken,” Rita responded. “Delno and I are as attached as two people who will live for two to three millennia can be. Whether we will always remain so is something that only time will tell. As you have said, Riders can’t be held to the same standards as other people in such matters.”
“But tell me, Nephew, if you can both use telepathy why don’t you just contact each other’s minds directly?” Dorian said, still thinking of the telepathic link between Dragon and Rider.
Delno thought for a moment before answering, “There are two reasons, Uncle. First, to just reach into the mind of another is not as easy as using the magical bond we already share with the dragon. The second reason is that it is an invasion of privacy.”
“But surely if you and Rita are bonded as you say, Brother,” Will interjected, “you have no great secrets from each other.”
“Will,” his mother intoned, “all people have some secrets, even from those they love. Suppose Rita was angry with Delno for something small. In her mind that would translate to hurtful things she might never say out loud. She wouldn’t want Delno to know those thoughts, and he wouldn’t want to be subjected to them. I think going through the dragons the way they do is a good filter for preventing hurt feelings and problems.”
“Exactly, Mother,” Delno replied.
The five of them sat talking for much more than the two hours Dorian had set aside for the meeting. As they realized how long they had remained sequestered, Dorian called to the servants and had them find suitable quarters for his niece and her family.
Delno and Will lingered and talked just a bit more. Delno discovered for the first time that his younger brother was much more complex than he had thought. Will even expressed a desire to meet the dragons and said he would like to get them to pose if they could be persuaded to do so.
Once he and Rita had been shown to their quarters, she had quickly found the bath tub and decided to make full use of it. Delno helped her fill the tub and watched as she undressed and got in. He then helped her wash her hair and back as he usually did when they bathed together.
While they sat, he asked, “So, what do you think of my family?”
Rita made a bit of a show of thinking it over before saying, “I like them. They are nice people, and I can see where you get your good manners from.”
They sat for a moment before she said, “In my culture, you don’t bother formally introducing your family to someone unless you intend that she is to become part of that family also.”
“There is a similar custom in this culture,” he responded. “In fact, if we were going by the customs of some of the mountain folk around here, just introducing you to my parents would mean we are now married.”
“Well, then,” she said mischievously, “I guess that makes the rest of my plans for this evening all right then, since we’re properly married now.”
Later that night as he lay in bed with Rita he reached out to see if Geneva was still awake.
“Yes, I am awake, Love; I was simply giving you your solitude.”
“I never seek solitude from you, Dear Heart,” he replied.
“Yes, you do, especially when you and Rita are involved,” she chuckled, “but I am getting used to it. Everyone needs a bit of total solitude sometimes.”
Delno considered her words carefully and realized that she was right, “I love you, Geneva,” was the only response he could think of.
“I love you, too, Dear One, but you should sleep. You have a big day tomorrow since we must arrange to return that insane man to his own lands. Also, we must work out the particulars of your diplomatic mission and then make arrangements to return to Orlean.” She was silent for a long moment but finally added, “Sleep now, Love, I am here with you if you need me.”
“Good night, Love,” he said. “I will see you tomorrow.”
He closed his eyes and was asleep within a few moments.
Chapter 12
“I would like to help with your problem, Nephew,” Dor
ian said, responding to Delno’s inquiry about sending troops to Horne, “but the plague has left my army at three-quarter strength. We have defeated the force that Bourne sent to conquer us, but they still have an army of over five thousand on their own soil ready to move at the whim of their king.”
Delno and Rita were once again sequestered with the king in his private dining hall. Delno, realizing that they had little time to lose, took the opportunity afforded by his privilege as royal nephew and as leader of the Dragon Riders who had saved the country to press the king for aid in Horne.
“Well, Uncle, as far as the situation in Horne goes, it is a problem of fight them now, or fight them later when you will most likely stand alone.”
“I understand that,” Dorian replied. “I also understand that the King of Bourne has never forgiven either Corice, or me, for the perceived slight of your grandmother not marrying him. Counting that rout that you and your Riders perpetrated, the man has waged four wars on us since I took the throne a little over thirty years ago. I believe you are right, and he has acted on the advice of messengers from your enemies in Horne as regards this last campaign. But one defeat won’t stop him. It is clear that he has been massing troops and equipment since your victory at Stone Bridge caused him to sign the last treaty. The intelligence gathered from those who have defected from the command of that Bournese madman confirms that there is still a significant threat just across the border. I have to move troops to the passes and fortify our own lands before I can even consider sending troops elsewhere.”
“It appears that our enemies have outguessed me,” Delno said. “I had hoped to come north and find neighboring kingdoms who would join forces and send reinforcements to fight those I believe to be our mutual enemies. Instead I find that Warrick has already looked to this land and taken the time to sow the seeds of dissent. I wonder how he managed to think so far ahead of me and figure out what I was about before I had tipped my hand and begun moving in this direction.”
Dragon Blade Page 12