Heir of Dragmoore- The Veiled Haven

by Jennifer Ann Schlag

  Dragmoore is thrown into a panic as the dragon flies overhead. It lands in the farmland. Its massive reddish-brown body nearly takes up two crops. Its wings reach almost completely across the entire farmland. Its yellow-green eyes cast an eerie glow on the ground. It sniffs along the rows of vegetables. Its mouth opens, showing off its large teeth and the endless abyss that awaits should anyone end up in there. Vegetables are plucked free and devoured. It shakes its head and lets out a cough. For it to move around in a less than desirable amount of space for a dragon, it has to folds its wings and swing its tail around to the side of its body. It sniffs out a water trough and heads for it.

  The Hunters ride up. They look on in awe.

  “Alright, get your heads screwed on. We must report to the king. Come,” the Marksman says.

  The Hunters ride towards the grey wall. Gavin, however, continues looking at the dragon. The dragon stops drinking water and lifts its head up at the sky. Its nostrils flare. It quickly turns its head and locks eyes with Gavin. It lets out a small roar as if recognizing him. Gavin gets down off his horse and sends it off.

  Talen comes out of her house and catches her father walking towards the dragon. “Father!”

  He waves at her to stay where she is. The dragon shoots its gaze over to her, then back at Gavin. Another small roar.

  Ragbar comes out and grabs Talen. “Let me go.”

  Seeing her distress, the dragon snarls and shakes its tail, knocking into farmers’ homes. It walks over to Talen, shifting its weight back and forth.

  “No! Here,” Gavin says.

  The dragon lifts off with its front legs but keeps its hind legs on the ground.

  Gavin knows what is coming next. “Ragbar, let Talen go.”

  “I’m not having her bring a terrible curse upon me.”

  “If you don’t let her go, you won’t have to worry about a curse.”

  The dragon sucks in a breath.

  Now Ragbar understands. He lets go of Talen and runs inside.

  The dragon releases the breath with a small fireball exiting. It hits one of the crops, setting all the rows on fire.

  Talen looks up at the grey wall. The guards should be coming. Or the king. But no one is coming. Gavin makes his way over to her.

  “Father?”

  “Remain steady.”

  The Marksman pummels through guards in his way to the throne room where the king is sitting in distress. “A dragon is here. Get off your ass and be the leader of this city.” He grabs the king by his arm and throws him onto the floor.

  The advisor takes a step forward, ready to attack with his hand moving in a certain direction.

  “No. Don’t.” The king waves his hand at his advisor. “He’s right. But I can’t. How can a dragon be here?”

  “Maybe you failed with your end of the agreement. What a pathetic king you are.”

  The king grabs at the Marksman’s boots, begging for guidance.

  “My king, get up,” the advisor says.

  “I am going back out there to do what you should be doing. I swear, if anything happens to Gavin or Talen, you will pay for it with your life.” The Marksman turns away from the king and heads out.

  “Desmond?”

  The Marksman freezes under the archway.

  “You know what you have to do. But does she really mean that much to you that you’d risk sending this world into darkness?”

  “I shouldn’t have to answer that.”

  The dragon stomps over the blazing crops. Most of the flames are extinguished. It stops a few feet from Talen and Gavin.

  She begins to reach out her hand.

  “No!” He pulls her hand back.

  The dragon snarls. Gavin releases her hand. The dragon reaches its head out to Talen. She carefully places her hand on top of its head. Tears swell up in her eyes. She looks back and laughs at her father. It’s a laugh that is full of so many different emotions. Fear, suspense, excitement. She doesn’t know what to feel.

  “Father, maybe I can --”

  “Don’t.”

  The bells ring out from behind the grey wall. Guards are coming.

  “You must flee. I feel that it isn’t safe for you,” she says to the dragon.

  The dragon lowers its head and then takes flight. It lands somewhere in the Wilderness.

  “Father, we can’t let them hurt the dragon.”

  “That dragon is safer than we are right now.”

  “No. I feel that it is in danger.”

  Gavin backs her up against her front door. “Don’t you dare move from this spot.”

  She folds her arms across her chest.

  “Did you talk to the dragon?”

  “No.”

  “But you said to it that it should flee because it isn’t safe. It responded to you by flying away.”

  “Then you have your answer.”

  He unfolds her arms and grabs both of her hands. “Talen, talking to rabbits, even cauldysacs, isn’t half as bad as talking to dragons. Why do you think dragons are the most sacred of the seven beasts?”

  She doesn’t break away from her father. To break from him now might cause him pain. “They are the first of the seven beasts to be born.”

  “Think hard on that. If you can talk to a dragon, a beast that is the first creation, what would that make you?”

  “I’d have to be a Master.”

  His panic reveals that he knows something about her and her talent that he won’t say out loud. This time she grips her father’s hands and won’t let go. Has her lifelong dream always been a reality?

  “I’ll be damned if I see my daughter turned against me.” Gavin runs into the Wilderness.

  “What do you mean? How can I turn against you?”

  She hugs the side of her house. Afraid to ever leave it. Wanting desperately to chase after her father. The last time she chased after a parent, she had to watch them be torn apart. Where she didn’t believe the dragon meant anyone harm, her father was foolish enough to get himself killed over proving that he’s right. She can’t sit still. As she is about to chase after him, she looks up at the prince’s tower. Does Remy know about the dragon? She wants to run there and tell him. She’d be stopped before she even got to the corridor leading to his room. Sure, she could probably get in to see him, but that might trigger gossip that she doesn’t want uprooted. She looks back at the Wilderness. There are no human sounds. Only the dragon. Her heart races with the unknown outcome that awaits.

  Chapter Four

  Heavy hearts say the least and feel the most.

  Banging on Talen’s front door wakes her. She comes out of her bedroom to find her uncle being interrogated by the palace guards. They are asking all kinds of questions regarding her father. Then one of the guards spots Talen.

  “The daughter. Take her.”

  Talen doesn’t struggle. Doesn’t fight. She goes willingly and calmly until she finds out what is going on. She rubs her eyes. She didn’t go into the Wilderness. Fear overtook her curiosity. She figured her father killed the dragon or he was killed. She’d find out later. Her mind was exhausted. She had to sleep.

  Talen is brought before the king. She can tell he is in a sour mood. He sits on his throne with a pensive look but there is fire behind those eyes. The way he rises from the throne chair in haste to hurry along the bad news—she knows it is about her father.

  “My king, what has happened?”

  “Did you see the dragon that came over the city mere hours ago?”

  “Many of us did.” That’s not the answer he wants. “Yes, I did.”

  “Then you will be interested to know that it is dead. And it was a mother. My guards found the poor thing curled up around her dead infant.”

  “My king, that is terrible.”

  “Not as terrible as who killed her and her infant.” He motions to one of his guards.

  The guard goes into the room behind the throne. Seconds later he comes back out with Gavin in chains.

  “Fat
her!”

  “Your father has killed a dragon. No, killed two dragons.”

  “My king, you must be mistaken. My father knows the law. He protects the law. Dragons are sacred. He would not kill one, unless he was told to.”

  “You are implying that I asked him to kill a dragon?”

  “No. I am saying that my father knows better than to kill without permission.”

  “You don’t know your father very well. Take him to the dungeon.”

  The guard pulls Gavin along. Talen wants to fling her arms around him but knows what it will do for him. Such emotion will enrage the king. If she is to show sympathy for a subject of Dragmoore that breaks the law; that will make her a supporter of the criminal.

  The king dismisses Talen, but Talen isn’t done yet. “Permit me to seek the truth. Allow me to find a way to prove my father’s innocence.”

  The king returns to his throne chair. He will hear her out.

  “Out of respect for your loyal subject Gavin Dragniss, give me the chance to prove that you are mistaken, my king.”

  “I do understand your difficulty with processing this. I do not want to believe it myself. But facts are facts. Your father was the only one with the dragon when my guards found him. It was his arrow in the dragon’s chest.”

  Talen thinks back. He warned her of speaking to it. Was he hiding something he knew the dragon would tell her? Is that why he had to kill it? “Give me just one chance to prove he is innocent. If I cannot, then let the law pass its judgment.”

  The king’s advisor sees him growing soft. He is about to make a motion to stop him from talking, but the king shoos him away. “Very well. Seek your truth, Talen. You only get one chance.”

  She bows and then leaves the room.

  Outside the throne room she takes in a deep breath. “How am I going to prove this is not true?”

  Talen is returned to her house by two guards. She finds the Marksman talking to Ragbar. She walks past both gentlemen and heads for her room.

  “She is not taking this well.”

  “I would say there is something wrong with her if she was taking it well. I can hardly believe it myself.”

  “You will do what you can to prove Gavin is innocent?”

  “Whatever I can do that doesn’t land me in a cell next to him.”

  Talen comes back out. Says nothing as she heads into the Wilderness.

  “Talen?” the Marksman calls out.

  It doesn’t take long for Talen to find the slain mother dragon. She bends down and pats the head. “I’m sorry.” Kisses it.

  A rustle brings alarm to her.

  She searches around the mother dragon. “The king said your baby was with you. I hope that no other animal came and took it.”

  Who are you?

  “Who said that?”

  The voice is young and frightened. She searches a few feet out from the back of the mother dragon. A pile of leaves rises and falls like something is breathing underneath. A brown tail peeks out, whips a few leaves around, and then slides back into cover. She paws at the leaves and receives a snap. Luckily it didn’t connect with her hands.

  “If you’re going to be rude, then I’ll leave you be.”

  No. Don’t leave me.

  The leaves fall to the sides and out pops a baby dragon. Its skin is reddish-brown. Its head is a little too big for its body. Its nails are small but sharp. Its eyes are swirls of yellow and green with a bit of blue leftover. Even dragon babies have blue eyes when born. Most dragons have dark, dull colors for their bodies. They must blend in with their environment when not flying. The males are usually black. The older ones are mostly dark-grey.

  “Oh my. Bless the gods.”

  It looks up at her and quivers.

  “No, no, it’s okay. I am not going to hurt you. Can you understand me?”

  Of course I can. I did respond to you.

  “You did. They’re going to paint me as a bad omen if they find out I can talk to dragons.”

  It shakes its body and stretches its tiny wings.

  You want me to burn them?

  “I think you’re still too young to do that.”

  It nods then sniffs her hand.

  She falls back on her rear in complete ecstasy. “Oh my. This is truly the best day of my life. I must take you to the king. You are my proof that my father didn’t… didn’t hurt your mother.”

  The infant shakes its head, confused on what to say about that.

  “Do you know what happened to your mother?”

  Mother is hurt. I tried to get her to move.

  “Your mother has moved on from this world. Do you understand death?”

  The infant quivers, then leaps into Talen’s arms. Nuzzles its face into her breasts. She immediately caresses it and hugs it. Then it lets out a small roar. A puff of smoke and the smell of burning embers. It can’t create a fireball yet. Tears stream down her cheeks. She carefully gets to her feet with the infant’s tail wrapped around her arm and its front claws clinging to her shirt.

  “Are you a boy or a girl?”

  Boy.

  “Do you have a name?”

  Not a name that you can say. Humans can’t say dragon names.

  “What can I call you?”

  My father always called me Kip. He said I always behaved myself more during my small kips.

  “Okay. I will call you Kip. My name is Talen.”

  Please don’t take me to the palace.

  “I must bring you before the king.”

  You won’t let them take me, will you?

  “Definitely not. We will wait a few days if that makes you feel a little better.”

  The dragon nods and almost smiles.

  Talen gets up early the next morning and tends to the crops. Helps replant the ones that the mother dragon destroyed. She works alongside the other farmers without them saying a word about her father. She’s grateful for that. She spots Kip peeking out from around the side of her house. He darts back between a bale of hay and firewood. He inches out again. She puts up a finger. He walks backwards. She giggles.

  “What is so funny?” a young farmer asks.

  “Nothing.”

  Dinner is hard to work around. She gets her plate of meat and vegetables. Ragbar watches as she piles on the food. He suspects her of being up to something no good. She can’t tell him. She leaves the house with the plate.

  She comes around to the back of the house. “Kip?”

  The infant dragon comes out from a hole he made inside the bale of hay. He sniffs at the plate.

  “It’s chicken with carrots and broccoli. I assume you can eat all of this, or do you require milk?”

  I was eating meat already. But it was raw.

  He eyes up the chickens that got loose from one of the abattoirs.

  “No, Kip.”

  He runs after the chickens.

  “Kip!” She tries to scream lightly.

  Kip pounces on the chickens, grabbing two of them. They make their terrifying sounds of pain. Talen reaches him but it’s too late for the chickens. Feathers decorate his teeth.

  “Who goes there?”

  “Kip, we better go.” She scoops up the dragon and runs back to her house.

  The owner of the abattoir comes out with a pitch fork. He finds the blood and some feathers from the chickens and begins searching around his yard. The animal grease and leftover innards are practically sliding off his hairy arms. She doesn’t imagine the butchers will ever get married.

  “Kip, you have to learn to eat whatever I give you. Until you are big enough to fly away.”

  I’m sorry. I don’t want to get you into trouble.

  He snuggles with Talen. She feels like she is his adopted mother. But that bond will have to be broken one day. For both of their sakes.

  Ragbar is asleep at the table when she returns. She quickly moves into her room, sets Kip down on her bed, and gets changed into her sleep clothes. He immediately gets under the blanket and goes to sl
eep.

  “I can’t wait until I tell the Masters what I can do. I may not even need training now.”

  For two days straight Talen has been running wild through the Wilderness with Kip. She hasn’t strayed too far from Dragmoore though. She has purposely done all her farm chores before sunrise so she can spend the entire day with Kip. Knowing that she is in the Wilderness has raised concern amongst some of the people but no one has come looking for her. Thanks to the king. He has ordered his guards, the Hunters, and the Marksman to leave her be while she searches for proof to exonerate her father. She is grateful for the shroud of deceit. She already has her proof, if she can get it out of Kip. He is reluctant in talking about how his mother died.

  Kip is on her heels, playfully nipping at her ankles. With his wings outstretched it gives him a bit more speed. He can only glide and hover above the ground for a few minutes. He isn’t swift on his feet without the updraft under his wings. She trips over a branch and falls face first. Kip pounces on her and roars.

  “Kip, you may have to tone it down. You’ll bring unwanted attention.” She pats his head and he purrs. “We have to talk about me presenting you to the king. My father is in the dungeon for killing your mother. Who knows what they are doing to him.”

  Your father is being hurt?

  “Possibly. I am not allowed to see him.”

  He lays his head down on her lap.

  We barely got away. My mother grabbed me in her claw and took off. I closed my eyes and kept them closed the whole time we were in the sky. When I felt land again, I ran for the nearest bush and stayed there. When I found my mother, I couldn’t understand what happened. But she told me to always hide when things go wrong.

  “I will go before the king without you.”

  No. We will go together.

  He stands on his hind legs and wraps his front feet around her. One good lick to the face. She laughs and wipes away the saliva.