by Alex Alcasid
“Haedria!” Seraphis roared in frustration. The warrior princess burned with something other than her sister’s magic and the dragonfire’s heat. She burned with anger. “My queen!”
Loren squeezed Kae’s hand. The golden dragonfire spread down the hallway again, streaming with a regularity as if it was breathing. The huntress balked once she realized where Loren was taking her, but the princess’s grip on her hand became firmer. Loren’s stride was sure and confident, her back was straighter and her demeanor stronger than she had been in a long time. Kae stared strangely at Loren; wondering if the princess somehow still had the dragon magic despite the pendant having been destroyed.
“Loren?” Kae asked again. They stepped over bodies of soldiers, their once shining armor now streaked with blood and blackened with soot. Men bearing the blue and gold dragon of Aldoran on their chests lay in haphazard piles on the floor, their flesh torched and melted to their armor. But closer to the source of the fire, there was only ash. “Loren, are you sure of this?”
The princess inhaled, held the breath, and nodded. She didn’t trust herself to speak. The dragon was the symbol of her family and of her kingdom. The dragon was emblazoned on the soldier’s armor, on their banners, on their flags. The princess herself bore the image of the dragon around her neck for years, ever since she was old enough to understand what it meant. The dragon would not hurt her. Loren gulped and felt her heart race. She could only hope it would not.
The golden fire retreated again once Loren and Kae approached it. The long hallway that lead to the entrance of the Firestone Keep and the drawbridge that lay beyond was empty. The tall, heavy wooden doors at the far end of the hall had been blasted away, what charred bits off wood that clung to the walls still burned and smoldered. In the open door, Loren saw a large, golden eye.
The princess made a mad dash for the dragon, tears streaming down her face. She had let go of Kae’s hand in her haste, and the huntress could only follow with caution, darting between pillars and unburned cover in case the dragon decided to breathe.
Loren threw herself onto Lind’s shimmering blue scales, her hands scrabbling for purchase and trying to hold onto the dragon’s large snout. She sobbed, emotions spilling out of her like a burst dam. She babbled, incoherently, voice choked with sobs, pressing her tear stained face to the scales. Lind said nothing, only turned his gaze onto the princess, who seemed for all the world a very little girl.
“Lind?” Kae said once she was close enough. The huntress kept to the inner wall of the entrance, peeking out of it cautiously. “I’m sorry to ask but, uh…”
The dragon turned a bright, golden eye onto the huntress. She yelped, hiding back behind what little cover she could. When the dragonfire didn’t come, she peeked back out. Lind rumbled, deep in his chest, and slowly blinked.
Loren calmed down slightly. She rubbed at her face with the edge of the rough tunic. “I don’t understand, Lind. I thought you weren’t going to come.” She muttered.
The dragon rumbled again, but in short bursts. It sounded like a laugh. Lind nudged Loren in the side, causing the princess to chuckle. The girl’s eyes shimmered the same color as the dragon’s, and Kae knew that — somehow — they were communicating. The huntress came out from her hiding place and approached the two of them.
“Lind, we can’t leave yet. Sairus, Isran, and Kaiten are in there.” Loren said. Even as she said it, her heart was choked with fear. She was outside, with Kae and her dragon. She could just get on the dragon and fly away. “Ma’trii and Cassendir are still fighting. For me. For all of us.”
The princess looked sadly at Kae, while the dragon rumbled behind her. “Yes, I know. That’s why I have to go back in. I have to help somehow.”
“What? Why are you looking at me?” Kae yelped.
“I have to save…” Loren muttered. When Kae came out, the princess seemed to snap out of it. She shook her head as if to shoo away a thought. The gold in her eyes receded, and the dragon rumbled behind her. Lind nodded his large head slowly, knowingly.
The princess turned to the dragon, smiling and reassured, when the dragon’s expression became pained. Lind reared onto his hind legs, roaring at the sky. Jets of flame erupted from his mouth, and his wings flapped up a strong gust.
“Lind! Lind, what’s wrong?” Loren cried. She held up an arm to shield herself from the dust and debris kicked up by the winds.
Row after row of dark, swirling markings spread from the stone floor of the Firestone Keep, creeping up the rock and flowing into the dragon’s legs and tail. The markings began to glow like firestone; a soft flame color that pulsed as if with a heartbeat. The markings looped themselves around the dragon’s ankles, going up its body in slow circles.
“Lind!” Loren called again.
“Haedria’s markings!” Kae’s hand flew to her waist, but she carried neither blades nor her bow. The dragon’s roars drowned out the sound of her voice, and as Lind began to thrash, Kae ducked back behind the wall. “Loren, get away from him!” she screamed.
The princess of Aldoran held her hands out, attempting to calm the dragon. She spoke soothing words to him in a gentle voice, but the dragon only continued to thrash. Lind beat the ground with his forelegs, his tail whipping about behind him. The markings only continued to spread, passing over his blue and gold scales like viscous ink.
The markings pulsed with a coal-like glow, and Loren knew he was in pain. And it was all Haedria’s doing.
A boiling rage began to bubble up inside the princess. She remembered this feeling before, this sense of pride and insult and desire to crush those who have gotten in her way. Dragon magic or no, this rage was her’s. Haedria hurt her, she hurt Kae and Cassendir, and Ma’trii. Those were slights never to be forgiven. But when the queen set her sights — set her magic onto her dragon — things were different.
Perhaps it was the dragon’s rage and hurt transferring itself to a human host, one of the descendants of the Lady Ylfair, the Dragonheart. Perhaps the royal line of Aldoran were not meant to be merely protected by a dragon, but to protect it, and to serve it. Now that Haedria’s foreign magic dared to seep into Lind, it was if a lock had been opened.
The princess’s eyes turned a fiercer gold than before. Her irises became reptilian slits, mirroring the rampaging dragon’s. Slowly and with a fierce snarl on her lips, the princess turned back towards the Firestone Keep. The markings that ran across the stone floor and spilled onto the dragon were easily traced back up the hallway, burning and crackling with tongues of flame on the floor as they went. The queen was there, in the middle of the hall, kneeling on the stone with both hands pressed to the floor.
Queen Haedria lifted her head. Her blood red hair was plastered to her face with sweat, and her eyes bore a look of madness and greed. The markings on her pale skin pulsed erratically, burning as if the woman herself was made of firestone. She saw the princess standing by the dragon, and saw she was unarmed. There was nowhere to hide weapons in the prisoner’s roughspun tunic, she knew. And she was the Fourth Daughter, her magic was strong enough to chain even a dragon! What had she to fear?
Princess Loren took a step towards Haedria. Then another. Her footsteps rang confidently on the Keep’s stone floor. The ash that coated the stone like a thick carpet parted before the princess from the winds whipped by the dragon’s wings. The torches that hung bolted to the walls of the keep were blown out as the dragon roared, thrashing and flailing, its legs pinned to the ground from Haedria’s magic chaining it to her keep.
Loren’s eyes glowed furiously as she approached. As she drew closer, Haedria began to stand. The madness that ran through her blood, stretching as far back as the founding of her kingdom, shone through her eyes, wide and rabid. Her smile was wide as the queen raised her arms, beckoning the princess towards her, a gesture in a mockery of welcome.
“Yes, that’s it.” Queen Haedria purred. “Come to me, my darling dragon. Together, we will rule over all with this, our new pet. Wouldn’t
that be simply marvelous?”
The mage markings burned into Loren’s skin crackled fiercely as Haedria poured more of her magic into the princess, bidding her to come to her, to become subservient, to bow before her and worship at her feet. The princess did not bow. She showed no pain despite the markings burning, tongues of flame leaping from them and flittering across her skin. The closer the princess drew to the queen, the quicker her steps became. Haedria’s grin stretched wider.
Loren crossed the last few meters of the hallway at a run. Her golden eyes flashed, and she pulled her arm back, hand clenched into a fist. She roared a challenge, matching the ferocity of the blue and gold dragon just outside, and threw the punch with all her might. Her fist connected into the queen’s gut, and the red haired woman reeled back unprepared.
Haedria gasped in pain, her hand reaching for her abdomen. When she looked back up, her eyes met another fist flying towards her face.
Kae emerged from the cover of the door to find that the princess of Aldoran had pinned the queen of Sagna to the ground, pummeling her with a flurry of blows, screaming as tears fell down her face, her knuckles getting torn and bloody.
Lind’s pained roaring began to cease. The markings that had been steadily spreading over his scaled hide began to fade or recede down into the floor, shrinking away and retreating to their master. The dragon ceased his flapping and turned his large head towards the Keep.
The princess was screaming.
Her words were incoherent, the sound tumbling from her lips in a mad attempt to process her emotions. Anguish, despair, hatred, and pain poured out of her, lending their strength to the blows that cracked against the queen’s jaw and cheeks, the sharp, angular bones cutting into the princess’s fists from the force. Her thoughts flashed before her eyes, faster than she could comprehend them. All she knew was the force of emotion, blowing out of her in a storm.
Loren thought of her mother, dying slowly from poison. She thought of Gaturr, the old king’s skin ripped from his body and thrown at her feet. She thought of Kaiten captured, of Cassendir in chains, of Ma’trii dragged away to the kennels. She thought of Lind, thrashing about in pain as magic burned into his scales.
Then her thoughts turned to Kae.
She saw in her mind’s eye the anguish on the huntress’s face, the tears that fell, the broken, desperate sound of her voice as she called her name. She saw how Kae fought, kicking and screaming against the holds on her arms, reaching towards Loren. She remembered the fear that she would never see Kae’s face again as she was dragged out of the throne room, and the heavy doors closed shut behind her.
Her vision cleared for a second, and she saw Haedria beneath her.
The queen was bleeding from a split lip, and her eyes were turning dark from bruises. She turned her head to the side once Loren had stopped, and spat blood out onto the stones. Haedria made a noise that Loren at first thought was a bubbling cough, but as she continued, she laughed.
The queen looked up from the ground at the princess, grinning with a bloodied mouth, and smiled.
“My, how feisty you are, my little dragon.” She said in a faint voice. “If only you were this feisty with me earlier, in my chambers. What fun we would have had, wouldn’t you agree?” she paused, spitting out more blood onto the ash-caked stones. “Where has this come from, I wonder? Was it because I tried to chain your dragon? Or perhaps, your precious hunter?”
The princess’s eyes went wide. The memory of Haedria grinning just as maliciously at her rose to the surface, only their roles were reversed. She was lying on her back, with the queen looking down at her. Loren began to scream before the rest of the memory could play out in her mind, before the memory of the queen could take hold of her again, forcing her into submission. She grabbed the queen by the front of her gown and shook her viciously, slamming Haedria’s head into the stone as hard as she could.
Loren got in only two strikes before a blur of bright red hair dashed towards her.
Seraphis flew at Loren, leaping through the air at her in a tackle, and pulled the princess off her sister. The warrior princess rolled to the ground with Loren gripped in her arms before throwing her bodily away and into the nearest wall. Seraphis panted as she stood, blood dripping from the gash above her eye. Her leather armor was slashed through in some places by Kaiten’s axe, her wounds leaking blood that fell to the stones in fat drops.
“Loren!” Kae cried as she rushed towards the princess. Loren had been knocked into the wall, shattering a firestone vase on a plinth as she did. She lay sprawled on the floor, dazed and struggling to raise herself. “Loren, are you alright?” Kae said softly, taking Loren by the arm.
The princess’s head snapped up, startled and confused like a forest deer scared by a noise. But once she realized it was Kae, Loren calmed. She nodded her head and leaned into the huntress, grateful for the help. “Yes.”
“You’ve been better, princess.”
“I can’t argue with that.” Loren muttered.
“Can we please leave now? You’ve beaten the queen’s face in, and I’d rather we not stick around when her sister finishes tending to her.”
The princess shook her head slowly, straightening up. The gold was still in her eyes, but Kae felt she was still herself. There was less of the unnatural confidence she knew to be the dragon magic, and more of Loren’s natural doubt and caution. The princess was careful when the path ahead was not perfectly clear, and now, even with the gold of the magic, she did not forge ahead as she would have before.
“Loren?”
“I’m sorry Kae, we’re not done yet. Do you remember who had the antidote?”
“Haedria gave it to Seraphis. She might still have it on her.”
Loren nodded. “Ma’trii and Cassendir?”
“Last I saw they were fighting.”
“Please go get them.” Loren paused and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, focusing herself, and exhaled sharply. “Hurry, Kae. Before both of the Red Sisters notice you. Go and save them. Find the Warmaster and Spymaster, they might still be fighting as well. Have them order the soldiers back on my behalf.”
“What? What about you? Loren, I said I’m not leaving you.”
The princess grabbed Kae by the shoulders and looked her square in the eyes. Her tone was gentle but stern. “Kae, please. I love you. I don’t want you to die, I don’t want the Red Sisters to lay even a finger on you. And I need you right now, I’m not strong enough to do everything. Thank you for your courage and your support after so long, but I need you to leave me. Let me do what I need to, as the heir to Aldoran. Please, Kae.”
Kae stood there, stunned.
The huntress was suddenly aware of every tiny detail about herself. She stood an inch taller than Loren despite them being roughly the same age. She was lean from hunting while the princess was toned from proper training. She was a commoner, a no one, easily missed and forgotten. Loren was the heir to the throne of a kingdom, descended from ancestors blessed by the dragons. Yet here she was, asking Kae for help.
The huntress blinked slowly, her mind having ground to a halt after she realized what Loren had said. “You…You love me?”
“Kae! Yes!” Loren couldn’t help but smile despite her frustration. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you the whole time!”
A stunned, lopsided smile slowly crept onto Kae’s face. A movement caught Loren’s eye, a flash of bright and blood reds. The princess shook Kae hard, her grip on the huntress’s shoulders digging her nails through Kae’s tattered leathers.
“Now is not the time!” Loren said, pushing Kae back behind a pillar. “Go, now! I’ll distract them so please, hurry!”
Kae’s mouth fell open to respond, but the princess had already turned her back. Seraphis had helped Haedria up, and the queen and princess were an image of fury. Loren glanced back, towards the pillar where she knew Kae was safe and hiding, and smiled sadly.
“That was not very kind of you, my little dragon.” Hae
dria purred. She reached a pale hand to her face, wiping the blood off her mouth and leaving a streak of crimson on her skin. “It was quite unladylike, so unbecoming of a princess. What if your mother knew? I assume she would be so displeased, so dishonored to know her little girl has acted so savagely. Perhaps…” The queen grinned. “I could teach you some manners. Seraphis, my dear sister, if you could assist…”
Haedria reached forward and laid a hand on Seraphis’s shoulder. The younger sibling, already in the act of drawing a blade from her belt, pitched over screaming. Twisting, burning markings flowed from Haedria’s fingers and into Seraphis’s skin. Flame rose freely from the markings, starting fires across Seraphis’s leather armor, heating the metal buckles and details to a white hot glow. The warrior princess of Sagna screamed in pain till the very air in her lungs burned out, yet still she moved. She drew her blade and began to advance towards Loren.
“Lind!” Loren screamed, backing away. “Lind, please, I have to help her! She doesn’t deserve this!” She turned back to glance at the dragon who stared curiously back. “There has to be something you can do!”
Lind’s gaze on the princess was passive, watching her every move. Loren kept her eyes on Seraphis, even as the latter raised the sword she wielded. Loren scrambled backwards, unarmed and out of options with Haedria’s twisted instrument of death approaching her, and the dragon did nothing.
Desperation took hold. Loren screamed a challenge at Seraphis, golden eyes glittering with a faint hope that she could do something. Anything. She charged at the flaming specter knowing full well Haedria’s magic could leap into her instead. But maybe, just maybe, Haedria could not control them both.
Lind extended his long neck towards the Firestone Keep, his head hovering just above Loren. He looked down, and exhaled.