The Dragon Guard: Oceans and Pebbles

by Sarah Hite

  He looked up at a commotion outside. The little dragons were filling his mind with angry and disappointed comments. He left his student’s side to see what was happening. A long, sleek dragon with blue and silver markings was following several of the Pebblines. He heard someone call Alamine and tell her that the elder had arrived.

  Alamine had spent the morning with her shaman. He had asked to assess her healing injuries, and after finding out about being attacked by the cat, her fall, and her pregnancy, he had wanted to make sure she and her clutch were alright. He had requested that she rest, and he would have someone fetch her something to eat.

  During his stay in Clearwater, he discovered that Alamine was the clan chieftain, and the Chief Toma; as such, she was in command of the other chieftains. Being the Chief Toma, she was one of the highest ranking officials in the Southern Kingdom. He also learned that the shaman was her brother and that her mate was another dragon of importance, and that the Pebbline dragons had so far escaped the dralics’ notice.

  Alamine landed in the clearing, intent on scolding the elder. She was in a foul mood; her pregnancy was progressing quickly. Even though she was not quite two months along, she was already in the second trimester, and was beginning to show. Aatu Haru, do you ever think before you act? She was very angry with him. Do you want to start another war?

  Haru looked down at her, confused. “Alamine? What are you taking about, and when did you get back?”

  You know full well when I returned. You were there. What did you think you were doing, poisoning the Queen Kym’s envoy?

  Haru was stunned. “Envoy? What envoy?”

  The child who came to me on the beach, the one who was standing over me when you left the water. She saved my life, twice. Once when I nearly froze to death in the Middle winter, and again when I was attacked by that cat. She was sent by Kym so that you would know they had not abandoned us.

  He sighed, now remembering the child, but he did not believe that she was old enough to be an envoy, and he made that very clear. “Do not tell me that one as intelligent as yourself, would believe that child is an emissary from the Keep. She was far too young, probably an outcast. The Keep would have sent a messenger, not a child.” He continued to jump to conclusions about Shaelynn and why Alamine would believe what he thought was a trick. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and she was about to interrupt him to defend them both, when a shadow fell over the eight-foot dragon. He turned to see Pai standing right behind him. Now fully grown, he stood almost twelve feet tall, and was roughly twenty feet long. The young shaman towered above him.

  “Perhaps I should introduce us. My name is Pai, son of Kei-ata Lorbrein, the shaman of Dragons’ Keep. I am both a shaman and a messenger scout for the council; and this…” He motioned to Shaelynn, whom he had retrieved from the cave and was now at his feet, “…is Shaelynn, the daughter of Princess Saydene Mangjul Ryou, the sister of Kyeon Mangjul, King of Dragons’ Keep. We are here to deliver a message from the Council, of Dragons’ Keep.”

  Aatu Haru stared up at him, stunned. He looked down at Shaelynn and back up at Pai. The Ocean dragon almost seemed afraid of him, which he found slightly amusing. Aatu was about to speak again, when Pai overrode him. “We were sent to tell you that our warriors are being assembled, and should arrive soon.” He picked up Shaelynn and went back to the cave. He gently laid her down and slowly administered another treatment of the anti-venom.

  Truth

  It was late into the afternoon, more than a week later, when the setting sun cast deep shadows over the ground and the air cooled, did the young dragon wake. Shaelynn slowly opened her eyes, and blinked to clear the blur away. She looked up, but did not lift her head. She felt weak, ill; and could not quite remember what had happened. Her whole body hurt, but not as badly as her head. She blinked again, trying to figure out what had happened. A rasping to her right startled her, and she rolled her eyes to look.

  Alamine slowly climbed down a pile a stones and came to her side. You are awake, good. We were worried you might not.

  Shaelynn did not quite understand her meaning. Slowly, she began to remember the Ocean dragon who had sprayed something in her face. Slowly, she began to understand what had happened. What… what did…he do? Even speaking with her mind was difficult. Besides the headache, her mind was clouded. It was difficult to form thoughts, let alone words.

  Alamine looked down for a moment, then she said, Aatu Haru is the chief general of Queen Alani’s army. He is also the chief of the council, and has a bad habit of jumping to conclusions. He saw you, and did not attack you because of your hide, but because he thought you meant to do me harm. She looked at the child who lay next to her, anger in her eyes; but even through her own anger over what had happened, she could see a pain, more than physical, behind the hatchlings eyes. She had noticed the long scars that marked Shaelynn’s hide, and against her better judgement, asked where they had come from.

  Shaelynn closed her eyes. She did not want to think about the scars, or the reason they existed; but Alamine had asked the question, and she could not leave it unanswered. She took a breath and slowly began her story. When my e…egg was only a…week old…my mother was forced to leave the cave in…in search of food. The h…hunter…had not brought any in a l…long time…and she was starving. When sh…she returned, the cave was…there was nothing left, ex…cept for one egg.

  Yours?

  Shaelynn tried to shake her head, but it only made the headache worse. She closed her eyes and said, My brother. Duke v…Vidar ruled the humans then. He h…had ordered that o…one egg be taken… and the rest destroyed, but they…they missed my brother’s egg. She paused, and took a breath to steady her rising emotions. My mother w…was forced to leave. She believed her actions had…had caused the Nesting Cave’s destruction, but she did…did not understand it…was part of the Duke’s…plan. He had…convinced the hunter to neglect his duty, and forc…forced Mother to hunt for herself, l…leaving the cave unguarded.

  The men who…took th…the egg…took it to a…a small village at the base of a…a mountain. It was…all the way across the nation, and too…took them several weeks…to reach it. They kept the egg there until…the Dragon g…Guard found out. They s…stole it back…and sent Ania, Lukair, and Stone…with a few others…to bring it back to the Keep. They met Pai just…after they left, and met my m…mother almost four weeks later.

  Wait, Alamine interrupted her. You said it took several weeks to reach the village, and four weeks until they met your mother, how long did the egg stay at the village?

  About a week.

  That’s eight weeks! The egg should have hatched by then. Shaelynn only nodded, she was sure that Alamine knew who had hatched from the egg. She looked up when Alamine asked gently, How much longer until you hatched?

  It was a week later, in the middle of the night. Kei-ata Lorbrein said…that most eggs hatch between six and eight weeks, but the…lack of a steady heat source had…caused me to hatch late. She grew silent for several minutes, and then said, Pai knew the… the…

  Alamine knew of the superstition of the black dragons, and helped the child find the right word, Superstition.

  He didn’t care. Mother…knew what would happen if she kept me, but she…couldn’t leave me, not after losing me once. That incident nearly destroyed her, then when Sayden was taken by Gunner…she left. She could not…guarantee that she could…keep herself from…hurting anyone. Leaving was the only way…she could keep herself from attacking anyone who said something bad against her, or me. They s…still blamed her for th…the Nesting Cave, and many called her disgraced and dishonored. They tried to kill me several times, and they almost got their wish. The Duke threatened to kill Sayden if Flame did not surrender, he had four ballistae aimed at him. Ania and I snuck up on them; she unlocked th…the chains that bound s…Sayden to the ground. Vidar saw her and tol…told the men to shoot. I pushed Sayden out of the way.

  Alamine stared at the hatchling. She had heard
others call Shaelynn a hero, but she had not expected that she would be willing to die to save her brother. How did you survive?

  I…I don’t know. Shaelynn answered quietly. I sh…should not…have lived. It would have been better if they had just let me die. They should have…just let me die. Her voice was filled with sorrow, despair. She truly seemed to believe that everyone would be better off without her. Her anguish was all the more noticeable when she added, Why didn’t they just let me die?

  Alamine did not know what to say, but she looked up as a voice said, “Because you matter.” Shaelynn rolled her eyes to look over at Pai, who had arrived just in time to hear the last of her story. “You matter to your parents, your brother, your aunt, and uncles. You matter to Ania and Flame, to Stone, Lukair, and the rest of the Dragon Guard. You matter to Chekal, and you matter to me.”

  She slowly lifted her head to look at him. How?

  He came over and sat down next to her, setting down the deer he had brought with him. He looked her over and said tenderly, “Shae, I am not just your teacher, or your shaman, I am your friend, and I know how much they care about you. When you saved your brother’s life, your mother almost died.” Shaelynn looked up at him; she could not hide her surprise or confusion. “She, died inside.” He gently poked her in the chest as he spoke.

  “Until we found out that you would live, she…He took a breath and tried to figure out how to say it so she would understand. “When it was unclear if you would live or not, your mother did not eat, speak, or sleep. She stayed curled up at the back of her den for weeks. She barely even moved. It was only after my father returned to tell us that you would recover, that she did anything. She refused to eat until she saw you, and then refused to return to the Keep until after you had woken. She took care of you, Shae. She only left after they were sure you would continue to improve, and that was only because the clan was holding an assembly to figure out if they could bring you home. It broke your mother’s heart when they refused.”

  Shaelynn looked down, she did not quite believe him; she still could not see how her life mattered. Sensing this, Pai continued, “I have seen the lives you’ve touched, the lives you’ve changed. I know you hear this a lot, but I’m going to say it again. The Guard’s mission to bring your egg back to the Keep, was just the beginning of a series of events that improved the lives of every dragon, and human in our kingdoms. If they had not tried to take you back, I would not have joined them, nor would we have found your mother. We would not have camped on that ridge above where they held your father, and Ania would not have found him. If Ania had not found him, he would not have lived to be reunited with your mother.”

  She still did not answer, and he continued, “If we had not been on the ridge, we would not have gone to Aretell, and if we had not gone to Aretell, we would not have found Chekal, and Flame would not have discovered he was the true heir to the throne. If he had not found out that he was royalty, we would not have gone to war, and if that had not happened, neither Chekal, your father, mother, or myself would have been reunited with our families.”

  He looked at Alamine, they could tell that she still did not believe him. But if…if we had not gone to war…you would not…have been hurt...and Sayden would not…have been in danger. It was obvious to the older dragons that the child was beginning to believe that she was to blame for the war, for the injuries they had received in battle, for the hardships her mother had faced, and more. They needed to find a way to convince her that she was not their cause.

  Alamine turned back to the youngster and added, Pai is right. Do you think that I would still be alive if you had not led the children home? I would have died, and the Keep would not have known that we were in trouble. It was because of you that we have a chance to save my kin. If you had not helped the children save me, then Kym would not have been in Aretell to meet her children, children she thought had died in the egg. She could tell the child was fighting with herself. Even though Aatu attacked you, he did not do so because of the color of your hide, but because he thought you were there to harm me. When I explained who you were and why you were there, he admitted that he had jumped to conclusions and should have spoken with you first. He said that even after he had spit the venom, you had pulled me away from it. By doing that, you saved my life again. If I had inhaled it, I would have died in minutes, but you saved me from it.

  She looked the child in the eye and said, Little one, I can truly say, that in all my years, I have not met one so caring, generous, or selfless as you. You alone, in your short life, have done more for the good of all dragons, than any I have ever met, and I am honored to have been lucky enough to meet you.

  Really?

  Really. Those superstitious fools do not know what they are missing. The color of our hide does not matter, only what lies inside. We are all dragons, and we should all be treated as dragons.

  They saw the spark of hope in her eyes as she slowly began to believe the truth. Now they just had to strengthen that belief.

  Endangered Life

  Meanwhile back in the Sheadod, Kyeon was in Kym’s quarters. He looked down at the queen asleep at his side. He had been watching her all day; he knew that she was not comfortable, and with each passing day, she only grew weaker. He stopped his observations and looked up at the sound of the horn. He carefully rose, not wanting to wake her, and left the building. As he did, he saw Elder and Seoung land in the courtyard, they were followed by the rest of the council. Even Moon had come, which surprised him since he thought she would be still be at the Nesting Cave. He joined them, and after they exchanged greetings, he turned to Moon and asked about the cavern.

  “The last of the eggs hatched two days ago. I was no longer needed so I joined the rest of the council.” She mentally added, I also wanted to see how Kym was doing. We were told of the pregnancy, and we’re concerned about her.

  He nodded and said out loud, “I know you care for Kym’s health and safety, but before I tell you how she is, I want to know about the warriors. Have they been mobilized?” He saw Alani exit the Guest House as he voiced the question.

  “Two regiments were sent to Aretell. One will continue on to the South. The other will stay at Aretell and act as reinforcements. The rest will station themselves along the coast as a defense for both the Middle Kingdom, and the humans’ kingdom of Altera,” Lyong Ryou answered.

  He looked over at Alani and asked, “Will this work for you?”

  “The arrangement is acceptable,” she answered as she joined them. “I only wish that I could accompany them. My people need to know that I still live.”

  “Your Majesty,” Elder said in greeting. “You have improved greatly since we last met.”

  “Your shaman, and the humans who help him are very good at what they do.”

  Elder turned to the rest of the council, “For those of you who have not already guessed, this is her Majesty, Queen Alani of the Southern Kingdom.” The remaining council members bowed to her.

  Kyeon looked over at Moon and asked, “Did you bring Sayden with you, or is he with Hanna?”

  “He’s here, somewhere,” was her reply. “He probably went to see Mychal.”

  A mental cry stopped Kyeon from saying anything else. The cry was so intense, that his whole body went ridged. “Kyeon, what is it?” Seoung asked growing concerned.

  The King looked at his brother and said, “Kei-ata went to find a type of herb to help Kym. I need you, Kwan, and Lyong to find him.” The three nodded and left.

  As they left, he turned to Moon. “Can you take the children and introduce them to Sayden? I don’t think they’ve met yet.” She nodded, but knew something was wrong. “It’s Kym, isn’t it?”

  He did not answer her, another mental shout filled his mind. Kyeon! Kyeon, I…I need you. He could sense her pain and fear.

  I’m right here, I’ll be with you in a moment. I’m just outside. He gave his sister a quick nod, “She’s in labor. I need to be with her.” He looked up at Elder and
requested the old dragon’s help until the shaman returned.

  “I will take the children for a walk,” Moon said, and turned back toward the Guest House. Kyeon only nodded, his mind elsewhere, and turned to join the queen.

  Several hours later Kyeon sat facing his mate, she was not doing well. She looked up at him, fear drowning out her usual expression. Kyeon… I… Kyeon I’m scared. She was interrupted as another pain filled contraction tore through her. She closed her eyes against the pain and whimpered. So far, this Nesting was not preceding very quickly. He did his best to support her through her struggle, knowing that her chances of survival were low. When the next contraction hit, and she groaned from both pain and exertion, but when it was over, she was able to relax. The first of the eggs had come.

  Kei-ata carefully picked up the egg and instructed her to rest before he examined it. He could find nothing wrong with it and gave Kyeon an approving nod. He buried the egg in the soft sand about ten feet from one of the two massive fire pits. He turned back to the queen, and knew that the first egg and taken a heavy toll on her. Her breathing was strained, and her head rested on Kyeon’s left forepaw, he was patting her on the head with his right. He was deeply concerned, the second would likely take longer and be more difficult for her; she was already exhausted. He wanted her to rest as long as she could, and try to regain some of her strength. However, she was not able to rest long, as the next contraction began.

  When morning came, the council found their king sitting in the snow outside of the Queen’s quarters. He seemed tired, unhappy. Moon left the others and sat with him. She said nothing but offered him her companionship. After several minutes he spoke quietly, fear easily heard in his voice. “She’s not doing well. There were only two, but her strength is gone. Kei-ata doesn’t… he said we will have to wait and see if she regains her strength. Right now, it doesn’t look…”