Princess Ahira

by K. M. Shea

  “If Azmaveth is guilty then I am as well,” an icy voice announced.

  I winced. Oh please oh please no! Facing public humiliation due to Azmaveth was enough. I didn’t want Zerah ratting about their little jokes as well!

  “Wait, two of my dukes broke a sacred law for one human girl?” the king demanded, completely incredulous.

  “Azmaveth left out one part, as usual,” Zerah said, strolling up to stand next to Azmaveth in his usual, elegant glory. “He might have wanted to spare me, but it is my burden to bear as well. Rose, the inglorious rat, didn’t bother to discover that I too had taken on a human identity as well.”

  I twisted to stare at Zerah who was gazing back. His face was emotionless as ever, but affection warmed his grey eyes.

  He broke the eye contact when Azmaveth nearly bashed his skull in. “What are you doing?” Azmaveth hissed.

  Zerah ruffled his wings and ignored Azmaveth. “Of course I introduced myself to Ahira as well. It was interesting and daring to talk to her as a human. I tried to befriend her and ingratiate my human self with her. As you can obviously see, I am guilty as well.”

  There was a stunned silence in the cave. No one had ever expected Zerah, hater of humans, to become one and admit to being friends with me.

  I considered Zerah’s speech. I wasn’t boiling mad at him. His betrayal did not sting nearly as bad as Azmaveth’s. Zerah and I had not lived together, and I had only known Levi for a short while. Zerah had not carried on with such an elaborate scheme like Azmaveth had.

  The black dragon sitting on the King’s other side spoke up, staring at me with glowing, red eyes. “My King,” he hissed. “I find myself more sympathetic to Lady Rose’s argument. Tempting Azmaveth is one thing, but Zerah is an entirely different matter. If she can change the mind of Lord Zerah it is quite possible she may be some kind of enchantress. If we let her walk free who knows what she’ll do?”

  Amaveth’s betrayal may have robbed me of my voice, but I found it again as I entered a staring match with this black dragon. “Excuse me?” I asked, leaning back on one heel. “I, as everyone here must know, am a princess. I come from a human country. It was you dragons who ripped me from my home, and you have the audacity to act as though this is all my fault?” I asked, cold anger building in my voice. “I have been lied to, made into a test subject, mocked, and publicly humiliated! None of you want to admit that your stupid, precious dukes might have made a mistake so you’re going to make me the scapegoat? You know what? I don’t care about your asinine politics. I don’t care if Zerah hates humans or not, I don’t care if Rose has the hotts for Azmaveth, I don’t care if these dukes broke your stupid code, I don’t care if you win your dumb war against those stupid valkyrie!” I shouted, venting my anger.

  As quickly as the inspiration came to speak, it left me.

  I swallowed and shut my eyes, hoping I didn’t just get myself killed.

  There was silence.

  “I may believe her,” the king said.

  My eyes snapped open.

  He was watching me with a thoughtful frown. “At the very least she is brave. Perhaps foolishly so, but brave all the same.”

  I raised my hand to run it through my hair, relieved for the moment. The charm bracelet on my wrist fell down my arm, the charms clicking as they hit each other.

  The King’s face was suddenly mere feet away from me. “What do you have?” he asked, his voice dangerously quiet.

  “N-n-nothing!” I squeaked.

  “Ask Azmaveth, my King,” Rose snarled from her seat. “Ask him why that miserable maggot wizard was after her and tried to kill her this afternoon,” she hissed.

  The King turned to Azmaveth and waited for an explanation. “She has the Guardian Charms,” Azmaveth admitted.

  “Are you a complete imbecile?” the King roared. “You GAVE her one of our greatest national treasures?”

  “Like you’re one to talk! You told me it was the Gaffer Charms of Gentlery! I gave it to her before I was properly able to identify it because of your false advertising,” Azmaveth snarled, shaking his long head.

  “Silence!” the black dragon hissed. “You will address our King with proper respect!”

  “It’s a family feud, Blackie. Keep out of it!” Azmaveth snorted.

  The King rolled his eyes. “It’s fine, Blacksford. Azmaveth is not entirely wrong in his accusation. This, however, does change matters. Before I withdraw to consider the case are there any other comments?”

  “Let it also be known that the Keeper is smitten with her,” Shammah said, avoiding looking in my direction. “He doesn’t love her, but he is incredibly fond of her. That fondness might possibly outweigh his loyalty towards us.”

  “That is beyond dangerous,” the black dragon, Blacksford, hissed. “He is only the first of a long line of creatures that will turn against us if we let her live.”

  I was surprised when another voice jumped to my defense. “May I point out,” a dainty, white, female dragon started. “She is a mortal. It’s not like she will remain here long, she has perhaps 50 years left to live, max. Plus it seems to me that she doesn’t really seem to be very excited about Azmaveth’s deception.”

  I was so grateful to this white dragon I could have kissed her. That Blacksford seemed bent on getting me killed.

  “It is so,” the King said before turning around and leaving, Behemoth and Blacksford trailing after him.

  My life was in the claws of the Dragon King, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

  Chapter 17Ardeo Again

  The second the King disappeared the dragons started to murmur to each other. Azmaveth, who still had his paws placed on either side of me, whispered. “Ahira.”

  I stonily ignored him.

  “Ahira, I’m sorry, we’re sorry,” Azmaveth said as he and Zerah drew closer to me. He moved so he could see my face, and he stared at me with his beautiful, deceptive eyes.

  “Please leave me alone,” I politely said through gritted teeth.

  Azmaveth recoiled, as though I had hit him. My politeness was a stone wall thrown between us.

  “Ahira… I—.”

  “Please,” I stiffly repeated.

  Azmaveth looked hurt.

  He expected me to throw a temper tantrum, to sob and collapse in a miserable heap. Instead I managed to keep myself standing, my chin held high as I stared straight through him as if he were a wisp of fog.

  I was a princess.

  I was royalty.

  I would hold myself together until I heard my sentence. Even as my legs buckled and tears threatened to burn at my eyes, I stared forward with a dignity that would have surprised and delighted my mother.

  It seemed like hours before the King returned, but really it was only a few short minutes.

  Behemoth looked absolutely worse for the wear. His scales were dull and his ears were pinned back. But when he met Azmaveth gaze he nodded and smiled in a reassuring matter. (I suspect he had earned a scolding for knowing about “Kohath” and not telling the King.)

  Blacksford was not so content. He looked furious and had a hard time looking anything but murderous. Rose picked up on his anger and started to grow irate as well.

  “I have made my decision,” the King announced as the dragons hummed with apprehension.

  I held my breath and waited.

  “The princess shall be returned to her homeland, uninjured. Azmaveth will not be punished, however, he will not be allowed to see the girl again. Let us put this predicament behind us. It is only foolishness. May this be a lesson unto all. Lord Zerah is to take the mortal back to her home,” the king decreed before unfolding his beautiful wings. He made a quick and determined exit out of the cave, ending the trial.

  My knees crumpled up underneath me in relief. I sat down on the cave floor and tried to take steady breaths.

  Azmaveth passed through the corner of my vision. Behemoth was escorting him out of the cave. He watched me as they walked past, but I unflinch
ingly ignored his gaze.

  Zerah slowly approached me. He bowed his head once before scooping me up in his claws. His sadness was apparent in his dulling scales.

  Without exchanging any words we flew out of Tsol and to Ardeo. Zerah thoughtfully flew lower than when I had first come to Tsol, making it much easier for me to breathe.

  The flight gave me an hour or so to think. I still wasn’t completely sure how I felt. Azmaveth’s betrayal had hurt me deeply. All of this time I thought we were friends, comrades, when really I was just some silly science experiment.

  I should have known better.

  Zerah’s deception hurt less, and perhaps even made some sense to me. Zerah hated humans, but he had always been curious about our ways. His observation from a human form made sense.

  Not Azmaveth’s. Azmaveth didn’t have a single good reason after our initial meeting as Ahira and Kohath.

  My ears started to pop, signaling our decent.

  Human screams, squeals, and shouts squirmed through Zerah’s paws. The peasants/farmers were hysterical, I was sure.

  Zerah landed, rocking me in his paws when his hind legs touched the ground. He slid down to his belly and slowly opened his paws, allowing me to crawl off his claws.

  Zerah stared down at me with big, grey, regretful eyes.

  I cast my own gaze around. Zerah had landed in a field. All of those who had spotted us were running towards a castle. My family’s castle. It didn’t really feel like my castle anymore.

  As I stared at my family’s residence there was a giant explosion. I jumped in the air, surprised and a little terrified when a huge cloud of smoke gathered around Zerah and I.

  I nearly shrieked when I felt human arms encircle my shoulders as the smoke cleared. “I’m sorry Ahira,” Zerah whispered into my hair.

  He had switched into his pseudo-human form.

  I tried to stay as stiff as a board and as emotional as a rock.

  “We weren’t fair to you, and we never meant to hurt you. Things just got… out of hand,” Zerah said. “And now the dragons have thrown you out like some kind of unwanted child. I’m so sorry Ahira.”

  I will shamelessly admit that I gave in.

  Unable to keep my granite mask from cracking, I reached out and wrapped my arms around Zerah’s waist. I squeezed so hard I suspect I might have cracked one or two of his ribs.

  It wasn’t fair.

  I wanted to boil with anger and rage at Azmaveth and Zerah, but I didn’t want to leave Tsol. I didn’t want to leave Tuggles, and Behemoth, heck even Cinders. I wanted to find out what the dragons would do to Aaron, and how they would fight off the valkyrie.

  If I was being honest I also wanted to rail at Azmaveth. I wanted to kick him for making me his little experiment. And now I never would see him again.

  I was split between feeling hurt and lost.

  My introspective thoughts were ruined when I inhaled a piece of Zerah’s silky silver-blue hair.

  “They’re coming,” Zerah said, his arms slowly sliding off me as I coughed. He smiled sadly. “This might be for the best. You’ll be safe here, far out of the valkyrie’s reach.”

  My lips formed a sad smile. “Take care Zerah.”

  Zerah half smiled. “I will try,” he said before glancing at the castle. A large party of soldiers and prancing horses were moving through the field, heading in our direction.

  “Tell everyone I say farewell,” I added.

  “I will. Ahira, you surely can’t believe that Azmaveth really thinks of you as an experiment,” Zerah said.

  I twisted my neck to look at the rescue party. “That’s my brother,” I said, my eyes landing on Caspian and his white horse. “You had better go. Good bye Zerah.”

  “Good bye, Ahira,” Zerah said before muttering words under his breath. He reversed the transformation, returning to his dragon body, and instantly launched himself into flight.

  The horses in the rescue party reared and squealed, frightened by the silver dragon.

  It was only when Zerah disappeared on the horizon that they were able to draw closer.

  “Ahira!” Caspian called. His white steed was galloping, full speed, towards me.

  Caspian flung himself off Windfall, his mount, while the horse was still moving and scooped me into a bone crushing bear hug. “Ahira, Ahira!” he laughed.

  “Caspian, it’s so good to see you!” I laughed as well when he finally released me, allowing my lungs to take on more oxygen.

  It surprised me. Caspian had changed in my absence. He was several inches taller again. He was thicker, his build more muscular. His face had lost some of its boyishness as well.

  I had been gone almost a year. It made sense. It wasn’t like the world stopped turning because I wasn’t here… and yet I couldn’t help but feel surprised.

  “You look… different,” I said, waving a hand in an attempt to illustrate.

  “As do you,” Caspian said, giving me a head to toe inspection as the rest of the riding party caught up to us, my father leading the charge.

  “Welcome home, Ahira,” my father greeted with a kingly smile.

  “Thank you,” I replied as Caspian mounted his horse and pulled me up behind him.

  “Mother is going to be so disappointed that you haven’t brought home a prince,” Caspian told me as we walked back to the castle. “I take it that was your dragon that dropped out off?”

  “No, that was Lord Zerah, a friend,” I stonily said, making it clear that all questions about dragons were off limits for the time being.

  Caspian nodded and glanced back at me before shaking his head. “What?” I asked.

  “You, you, you really changed,” he fumbled.

  “What, you can tell I’m not as bratty?” I teased.

  Caspian laughed and shook his head.

  My father narrated our trip back to the castle, catching me up with the politics at home. Two of his lords were squabbling over a river that ran between their properties. A prince from another nation had come to study with Caspian at our university. My mother had bought an exotic tiger as a pet, and my father had finally managed to finagle a private ship for the royal family.

  It was pleasant enough until we reached the castle gates. I observed, with dread, that Jezbell’s flag was flying over head with our family’s flag. That could only mean my trollish sister was also present.

  When we reached the inner courtyard of the royal castle I slid off Caspian’s horse. Caspian hopped off after me and handed Windfall over to a stable boy before dragging me to the castle. “Mother! Ahira is back!” he yelled. “A dragon dropped her off!”

  I was ready for the scolding of a lifetime. After all, I’m sure my mother had counted on me returning on the horse of a lovely prince, not being dropped off by a dragon, plopped at their doorstep like dirty laundry.

  My mother poked her head out of the door before exiting the castle. She blinked twice and stared at me for several awkward moments.

  “Um… Ta da,” I awkwardly joked, waving my hands like a wizard.

  One of my mother’s eyebrows nearly disappeared into her hairline, but for some odd reason she looked relieved. “I suppose it would have been too much to ask that those dragons would have ironed out your flashiness while you were over. Perhaps observing Jezbell would do you some good,” she dryly said. “Welcome home Ahira,” she said, a small smile flitting across her face before reaching out to lightly embrace me.

  I was shocked.

  Where were the horrified screams? Where were the accusations that I’m trying to ruin all of her plans?

  “I’m going to take Ahira back to her room, Mother. I’m sure she is tired,” Caspain called as he lugged me away. He pulled me through the storm cloud that was my sisters. (Well, most of them. Jezbell was blessedly missing.)

  My sisters regarded me with wide eyes and whispered to each other while singing out in sweet voices that they were glad I had safely returned home.

  Caspian didn’t let go of me until we reach
ed my room.

  “What was that, down there?” I asked, rubbing my head in awe and surprise.

  “What?” Caspian asked.

  “Mother! She didn’t scream, she didn’t lecture! She didn’t even mention the fact that I had no prince! All she had was one little, lame remark about how I should watch Jezbell!”

  “Well that should hardly be a surprise. Jezbell has always been her favorite,” Caspian logically pointed out.

  “But, but she wasn’t really mad!” I said, my eyes wide.

  “Why would she be?” Caspian frowned. “Ahira, I know you and Mother never really saw eye to eye…”

  I snorted.

  “I mean, you never understood why she was so worried about her daughters being perfect and beautiful so they could all land good husbands, but surely you know that she loves you.”

  I turned my surprised mind to Caspian. “When did you start talking like an emotionally intelligent human being?”

  “Diplomat training,” Caspian wisely nodded. “Comes with the territory of being king.” He shifted uncomfortably for a moment. “Ahira, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to come get you.”

  I sighed. Truthfully I had been a little hurt that Caspian hadn’t instantly trekked across Somnio to find me… but also truthfully I had pretty much put my family out of mind in my latter days of living with Azmaveth

  “It’s okay Caspian,” I said. How could I begrudge him when the thought to come home hadn’t entered my mind in months?

  Outside the church bells rang.

  “Oh, I have to go,” Caspian said.

  “Where?” I asked.

  “Class. In agriculture today I’m being taught about the different grains our lands can produce. I’ll see you later tonight!” Caspian said before hurrying out of my room while looking as stately as possible. “I’m going to be late,” he muttered before he moved out of hearing distance.

  I was still staring at the door as though seeing a ghost. Caspian!? Willingly going to class?!? On TIME?!?