"I'd make sure I included evacuation plans in your defence planning," John commented, standing up to speak to Lord Robert. "I know it's hard to accept, but you may lose one or more of your cities. Those who survive and escape could live to fight to defend Furnace."
Lord Robert stared at him, surprised by his statement and how certain he sounded. "Thank you, John. I'll bear that in mind. Good luck with your journey. I'm in a minority in the council, but I think you could actually make it to the Browns."
John laughed. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"You're welcome. Now if you'll excuse me, unfortunately I need to do some more work, despite not having slept yet. Do take care Crystal, and go and say goodbye to your mother before you leave. She'll be staying here with me for a couple of days so she won't be returning with you."
Crystal nodded before hugging her father and kissing him goodbye. The others remained quiet until he left the room.
"So, John, what's the plan?" Seth asked. "You knew we would be coming, didn't you?"
"Go and get ready," John told them. "We have a long flight ahead of us. As soon as you're ready, you should leave. I'll wait until the treaty is ready and I'll catch you up before you reach Furnace. Then tomorrow, we'll head for the border."
"Are you really going to fly there on your own?" Seth asked. "What's the real plan, John? You never tell us the whole story, do you?"
John smiled as he headed for the door. "Go and get ready, Seth. I'll see you in the air."
Chapter 44: Preparing to leave
Crystal, Seth, Daisy and Arthur began the long flight back to Furnace after leaving a note for Gerald and the twins' parents. The twins hoped neither of them would read it in time to send anyone to stop them, which they undoubtedly would as soon as they read the note. True to his word, John did catch them up on the way, joining them before they had reached the halfway point; he reported that no one had noted their absence when he left, so they had probably got away with it.
It was a fine day for flying, and on any other day they would have appreciated the marvellous views of the countryside, but each one was preoccupied with the events of the past few days and the uncertainty of what was to come. Seth jabbered away as they flew, but the others were quiet, letting him talk uninterrupted.
When they finally reached Furnace, John asked them all to meet him outside the palace in the evening, after he had obtained the King's signature. Crystal went straight to see her cousin, knowing she would be desperate to know what had happened and wouldn't forgive her if she didn't see her straight away.
"Crystal!" Jenna squealed when she saw her. "You're back!"
Jenna gave her a big hug, and for a moment Crystal wondered if her recent close shave had affected her cousin more than normal, as she seemed genuinely relieved to see her.
"Hi, Jenna," Crystal replied warmly. "Did you miss me?"
Jenna shrugged nonchalantly. "Come on, it's just been two days." She grabbed Crystal's hand and pulled her into the house. "Right, I want you to tell me everything."
"Everything? Can't I just give you a summary?"
Jenna shook her head. "You've met Arthur's parents, I haven't. What are they like? Did Arthur talk to them about me?"
"Don't you want to know about the council meeting? What they're going to do about the invasion?"
Jenna shrugged. "I'm sure they'll take care of it all. I doubt it will affect us."
"It'll affect John," Crystal replied. "He's flying through the Blue Dragons' territory to get to the Brown Dragons, to offer them an alliance to fight the Blue Dragons with us."
Jenna's jaw dropped. "Seriously? Even for John that's a little crazy. Does he really want to die that much?"
"Father thinks he's got a chance," Crystal replied defiantly.
"More fool him." Crystal glared at her. "Come on, Crystal, you can't possibly think that he's got a chance of getting through, do you?"
"You did," Crystal countered. "You went straight to John when that storm took us."
"I was upset; I didn't know what to do."
"Yes, you did know what to do, and you were right. He flew straight in, found us and brought us out of Blue Dragon territory."
"Well, this is going to be ten times harder. He's trying to fly right across their territory to get to the other side without getting caught. How would he even know the way? He can't stop and ask directions."
"Who knows how he'll do it, or how he would know the way, but I bet he does. He seems to know a lot of things he shouldn't."
"Like what?" Jenna asked. "It's mainly boring stuff from the library, isn't it?"
"Like about the Green Dragons disappearing. How to find us in Blue Dragon territory. Seth's always pointed out that he knows far too much, and how suspicious it is. Well, maybe in this case he knows just about enough."
Jenna shook her head. "You're fooling yourself. If I was you I'd go and say goodbye to him now. And get him to tell you about your mother while you can. You won't see him again."
Crystal shrugged. "I don't need to. I'm going with him to the border. We all are."
Jenna latched on to this immediately. "All? Including Arthur?"
Crystal nodded. "We'll be flying to the West afterwards. I'll be staying there until the war is over. I'll think of you though. I'm sure you'll be fine here. As you said, it probably won't affect us."
Jenna glared at her. "Very funny. I'm not letting Arthur spend months back in the West without me. He'll meet some soppy western girl with the legs and wits of his moronic sister and I'll be forgotten. When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow morning. I'll be staying with one of my mother's cousins. She married well over there—some rich landowner I've never met. Apparently she was close to mother when they were younger, but forgot about her when she saw her opportunity to ensnare someone with money. Just imagine, eh?"
Jenna pulled a sour face. "Very funny. Right, come and get me tomorrow morning. We will fly together. I guess we'll be camping again. What fun. You may as well go now; I have to convince my mother to let me go. This might take some time."
"You're kicking me out?" Crystal asked. "I just got here."
"Yes, and I'm sure you have plenty of packing to do. Don't worry about the tent, I'll take care of that. Go on, I'll see you first thing tomorrow morning."
Crystal felt a little put out as she left Jenna's house, but wondered why she had expected anything else. Her cousin was always selfish and never gave too much thought to the feelings of others, especially when they clashed with her own interests.
She didn't have a lot of packing to do of course; she just had to give a list to the maid, Janet, who would do it all for her. She could pretend to supervise, but the job would be done far better without her interference. She gave her two lists: one long list of things to be taken directly to her mother's cousin's house, and a shorter list of things for the next few days. She supposed Jenna was right; they would probably camp, so she added camping things to the list, and food for the next two or three days.
She decided to go straight to the palace after giving Janet the packing list, and wait for the others there. She hadn't mentioned this to Jenna, and knew she would be cross, but she didn't really care. She still felt a little annoyed with her cousin for dismissing her so quickly. It was a bit of a walk to the palace, but John wasn't likely to be ready that soon so she didn't mind.
"Hi, Crystal," Daisy called as she approached the palace. Daisy and Arthur were sat on a bench outside the palace grounds, their bodyguards absent. Crystal was never particularly impressed with the palace. It was very large of course, but just looked like an oversized mansion rather than a palace. She guessed that being so far from the borders, the King never felt the need to build a more secure dwelling.
"Hi," Crystal replied. "Have you seen John?"
Arthur shook his head. "Not yet. We haven't been here very long."
Crystal nodded and sat next to Daisy. "So, Crystal, what happens about your lessons? Are you going to try to get
John to finish them before we leave?"
Crystal shrugged. "Maybe, although I have a feeling he'll wait until we're near the border."
Daisy nodded. "I wonder what he knows about your mother."
Crystal studied her face. "He hasn't told you anything?"
Daisy shook her head. "I know no more than you do. Knowing John, he won't tell me anything about your mother without your permission. I guess that's fair enough, but I get the feeling that there's a lot of other things he's planning on telling you."
"What sorts of things?" Crystal asked.
"About John of course. How he knows everything he does. About this journey. Maybe about his connection to your mother. Perhaps you two are related."
Crystal shook her head. "He told me we're not. You know John. He doesn't bother with lies."
Daisy shrugged. "Something else then. Will you tell me what he tells you? If it affects me?"
Crystal frowned. "How could it affect you?"
"I don't know. I'm just a bit worried that John's planning to not come back." She looked down, avoiding Crystal's eye, and Crystal could tell she was holding back tears. She put her arm around her. "John wouldn't do that to you," she assured her. "He'd rather die than intentionally hurt you."
Daisy sniffed. "He's flying through the Blue Dragons' territory. Even if he makes it there, he might not make it back. He would still go if he thought he could get that treaty agreed even if he was certain that he wouldn't live to come back."
Crystal didn't reply, knowing that Daisy was right; John would do exactly that. But something told her that John was coming back—or at least he expected to be back.
"John believes that without the Browns, we will lose this war," Arthur pointed out. "If he thought there was a chance he wouldn't make it, he'd have a backup plan, which he doesn't, so he's going to be certain he can get there. I don't know how, but then John does do a lot of things we can't explain. If he can get there, he can get back. If you want to worry about something, worry about what he might come back to, because if John's right we might not win this war."
"That's a cheerful thought," a voice from behind them commented.
"Hi, Seth," Crystal said cheerfully, turning to greet him. "Daisy's worried about John and whether he'll come back, and Arthur's trying to cheer her up by telling her we'll all going to die anyway."
"Fantastic," Seth replied, sitting down next to Crystal and making her move along the bench. "Where is John anyway? Shouldn't he be here by now?"
"I guess the King can take as long as he likes," Crystal replied. "Is that John over there?"
A blond figure had just emerged from the palace gates, and was headed towards them. Daisy stood up and went to meet him, followed by the others.
"What's wrong, Daisy?" John asked. "You look upset."
Daisy shook her head, looking away, and John embraced her, looking over her shoulder at Arthur and mouthing a question to him.
"Daisy's worried about whether you'll make it back, John," Seth volunteered.
Daisy turned to glare at him. "Shut up, Seth. No one asked you."
John nodded. "Fair question. Here's an answer that might satisfy you. You know when we were being hunted by those Blue Dragons?"
"Which ones, John?" Seth asked. "It's happened twice now."
"When we were hiding under that tree. Do you remember, when I told you my plan, Seth asked me what my real plan was?"
"Yes," Seth said, "and you refused to answer. And you never did tell us what happened."
John nodded. "Well, Seth was right. I hadn't told you the real plan, but I was completely certain that I could keep you all safe, and I did. Just like then, I can't tell you my real plan, but I am just as confident that I can get there and back safely."
"Wait a minute," Seth objected. "Are you telling us you did kill all those Blue Dragons? What about all the destruction of the trees, and how their bodies were mangled so badly? You couldn't have done that."
John shook his head. "I couldn't tell you then, and I can't tell you now."
Daisy brightened up. "I don't need to know. What's next, John?"
"Wait, are you seriously going to let John leave it at that?" Seth asked.
Arthur nodded dismissively. "Apparently. John, what's the plan? Did you get the treaty signed?"
John nodded. "We're ready to go. I'll cross the border at a point that isn't particularly near a town, so we will need to camp. I want to make the most of the daylight, so I want to leave at dawn. Shall we all meet at Crystal's house?"
"Jenna wants to come as well," Crystal told them. "She told me to come and meet her."
John raised his eyebrows. "Fine. We'll meet at her house. I need to see the Keeper and explain where I'm going, so I have to go. I'll see you all tomorrow morning."
"Wait for me, John," Crystal called as he walked away. "I just want to ask you something."
John nodded. "Tomorrow night. Final lesson. Was that your question?"
Crystal smiled and nodded. "Thanks, John. I know you'll come back, but it might be a while."
John shook his head. "You misunderstand. I have to tell you tomorrow. I have to, because you'll have a decision to make. You'll understand when I tell you."
With that, he walked away, leaving a slightly confused and apprehensive Crystal behind.
Chapter 45: Final lesson
"We've run out of time," John told her. "I probably should have taught you more, but I can't do anything about that now. I think it's time to tell you everything."
Crystal nodded, excited and nervous at the same time. The whole day while they had been flying from Furnace she thought about nothing else. It was almost sunset, and John was going to cross the border at dawn, so she was starting to get impatient. "You're going to tell me about my mother?" she whispered in anticipation.
"What I know of her, but a lot more than that. I need to show you something as well. Walk with me; the others can't be allowed to see or hear any of this."
The others were all busy putting up tents in their little campsite not far from the border. Crystal furtively glanced about to check they weren't being watched before following after him. John led her down a rough and narrow path through some woods that led away from the campsite. He waited till the path widened enough for them to walk side by side before continuing speaking.
"Firstly, I must tell you that I haven't told you or anyone else the truth about where I am going after today. I'm not going to visit the Brown Dragons, at least not at first. I am going for help though."
Crystal was confused, not expecting this. "Oh? So where are you going?"
"To the land of the Golden Dragons," John replied simply.
"Golden Dragons? You've not mentioned them before. I thought you knew nothing about them. They weren't even in your book."
"No, I haven't mentioned them," John replied, "although I was surprised you didn't ask me more about them after you saw one. There's a good reason why they weren't in that book, and there's a good reason why I haven't mentioned them to you."
"Why? Why would you keep that back?"
"Let me first tell you about them; then you'll know the answer to that question."
Crystal nodded, but didn't wait for him to continue. "Wait a minute; I have one question about them. What do they look like when they're not a dragon?"
"Exactly like you and I," John replied, smiling slightly.
"So is this the secret?" Crystal asked angrily. "What I am descended from? Some Golden Dragon captive, caught by our soldiers? I thought you said that wasn't how it happened, that there were no Golden Dragons."
John shook his head. "No, I said that there were no Golden Dragons recorded in Red Dragon history. But anyway, no, that is not how it happened. You misunderstand me completely."
"So how did it happen? They fell in love?" Crystal asked sarcastically. "A Red Dragon and a Golden Dragon. That really doesn't sound likely." She couldn't believe that this was the secret that John had made her wait all year to find out.
"About who I am?" Crystal asked irritably. "I know who I am. You're making no sense."
John looked at her inquisitively. "Are you sure you know who you are?"
"Of course I do! I'm a Red Dragon!"
John shook his head. "No, you're not. And neither am I. That's the secret that I've kept from you."
Crystal laughed at him. "Well if that is the case, Golden Dragons look very much like Red Dragons. Although I assure you that the one Seth and I saw looked very different from us."
John paused and watched her carefully. "That's what makes them unique; why I say that you're special. Golden Dragons can look like any dragon they want. They can take the form of any dragon."
"What? That's crazy. That's not possible."
John said nothing for a moment. He spoke calmly, but Crystal noticed that his hands were shaking. "Do you remember when we saw those Blue Dragons? Do you remember their eyes before they changed?"
"What? Er, yes, I think so," she replied, trying to remember. "They turned bright blue, just like their scales."
"And what happens to your friend's eyes before they transform?"
"They burn bright red, just like mine."
"No, not just like yours," John replied. "What do yours do first?"
"They change colour, going through lots of colours," Crystal replied, still not seeing where John was going with this.
"Exactly, just like mine. Selecting a colour. You only know how to pick red."
"Wait a minute, you're serious about this?" Crystal couldn't believe that this wasn't a joke. "That I can turn into a Golden Dragon? That you can?"
"Yes. It's what you are. You, me, your parents. You're not a Red Dragon at all."
"No! I don't believe it. This is ridiculous." Crystal stopped walking and turned away from him angrily, refusing to believe a word he was saying.
They had just reached a clearing in the woods, and John grabbed her arm and spun her to face him. "Watch!" he commanded. They were standing face to face, just inches apart, and John's eyes began to change colour. He didn't transform; his eyes just flashed through the colours of the rainbow and dizzied her as she gazed at them. Suddenly they stopped on gold, and brilliant gold scales spread across his face. He sprang backwards as he transformed, and when his feet touched the ground, they were golden. He was a Golden Dragon!
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