Hazel was speechless. “Y-you all came to help us?”
“We have come to the aid of you, our kin, Lady Hazel.”
“You all came for me?” she squeaked.
“You requested our aid and we repay that faith with our protection. We are a robust people, accustomed to the elements. We will make our home in this forest until we have seen this through.”
It was in a daze that she led Blythe and another of the tribal leaders through the camp and to Armond’s tent. When she relayed the news to him, he fell into his seat.
“I didn’t think we would make it,” he said, dumbfounded. “But… how are we to feed and house everyone?”
“We feed and shelter ourselves,” Blythe replied proudly, slightly offended. After all, he hadn’t brought his whole region only to be considered a burden.
“Armond is only in shock,” Hazel explained. “But we are more thankful for your thoughtfulness and sacrifice than I can ever put into words. Truly, when the restoration is complete, we will send a number of our people to aid in yours.”
Blythe shrugged. “We shall not need it, but you may do as you wish.”
A commotion outside the tent sent Hazel to the opening. She feared the worst: that a dragon had been sighted. Instead, glowing in the evening atmosphere, a wee galmoira fluttered in and rested on Blythe’s shoulder.
“It is your galmoira,” he said, deeply pleased.
Hazel only smiled, neglecting to admit she’d gifted the animal to a servant.
“Now, you possess one of the rarest creatures on the continent,” he said dejectedly. “It was… clear the fire-beasts acquired a taste for the galmoira. They’ll be extinct by now, short of this fellow.”
Hazel’s heart bled over this. She couldn’t imagine the southern region without them. “I am so very sorry. It is a sorrowful loss.”
He looked her in the eyes. “Thank you, Lady Hazel. It pleases me you regard them as we do.” He appeared to shrug this off as he said, “At any rate, my people will make camp in your forest this evening. You may use the time to assure your people of our well-meaning. Tomorrow, we aid you in whatever respect we can be of use.”
Hazel glowed as bright as a galmoira at night as she looked to Armond, who seemed only to sit stunned by this turn of events. They had protection, they had manpower, they had builders. And they had allies. She widened her eyes at him, urging him to say something.
“I must thank you, Sir Blythe, for a debt I may never rightly be able to repay,” he said.
Hazel nodded happily.
* * *
Before the sun had scarcely risen the following morning, Hazel was awoken with a start.
“Lady Hazel,” Gunther whispered outside her tent.
“Come in,” she said groggily. Sitting up from her makeshift bed.
He opened the flap but only set foot in the doorway. “I apologize for waking you. We have a situation.”
She rubbed her eyes. “What is it?”
“Two of the smaller dragons have been sighted not far from here. It is believed they will soon find us and… do what they do.”
She blinked at him, her mind racing for what to do.
“Shall I… wake the king?” he asked.
The very fact he’d come to her before Armond was a concern. It revealed that Gunther knew the king was not in charge.
“Yes. I will come with you.”
Armond stood stricken upon hearing the news. Hazel stepped on his foot to which he leaped and righted himself.
“Shall we send guardsmen?” Gunther suggested.
“No,” Hazel replied. “Armond will wish to handle this himself. He is the dragon-slayer after all.”
Armond looked to her with a raised brow.
She eyed him.
“Uh, aye… I… will go,” he said weakly.
Gunther looked between them, clearly skeptical. “Very well, your majesty.” He bowed out of the tent.
“Are you cracked?” Armond hissed. “I can’t face off two dragons on my own!”
“First of all, they’re small. Secondly, I will be coming with you. I’ll meet you at the edge of the cliffs and we’ll go in together. The people need more assurance you are a capable leader and this is our chance.”
“First of all, I’m not a capable leader. Secondly, you’re no fighter.”
“I slew the big one.”
He nearly grinned, shaking his head. “How ever did you do it?”
“I raced up his back, stabbed my sword into his neck and hung on for dear life as it tore down his flesh.”
“That…” he began with raised brows, “is a stunning feat. Well done, Hazel.”
“I don’t need your adulation,” she replied shortly, her memory momentarily jolted back to the day he’d been so very disappointed she was like all the other girls. “I just need your armored rear-end in those cliffs by sunrise so I don’t have to do this alone.”
“What if I freeze up again?”
“Then I’ll do it alone.” She was impressed by her show of confidence in the face of her private trepidation. She only hoped “small” meant really small… and that Armond wouldn’t freeze up.
* * *
It wasn’t until she had fortuitously wandered into the very clearing where the dark dragon lay sleeping that she understood small really meant bigger than a horse. This, to her estimation, was quite large enough.
Silently, she backed away and hid behind the nearest bush. “This won’t do,” she murmured under her breath. And where was Armond? She worked to remind herself she’d bested a dragon many times this one’s size. Why could she not do so again? And yet… despite the fact that one of its kind had obliterated her kingdom, she found it difficult to descend upon the unconscious beast.
“Hazel,” Armond whispered.
She leaped, snapping a twig underfoot. The two peered over the bush.
No movement.
“Where have you been?” she scolded.
“It takes a while to get into all this.” He gestured to his armor.
She peered down at herself in her filthy, torn dress.
“I suppose this isn’t exactly fair, is it?” he said meekly.
She shook her head.
“So, what’s your plan?” he asked.
“My plan? You’re the one who’s been battle-trained.”
“But you’re the one who has actually done this before.”
She quirked her head. He was right. Recalling a book she’d read about a king who’d lopped off the head of his enemy in his sleep, she worked up both her stomach and her courage. Stepping out into the clearing again, she directed Armond to warn her should the creature awaken. Then, she tiptoed toward the creature until she faced its back, carefully avoiding the end where the fire blazed out.
Raising her crimson blade, she made ready to strike when the weight of the unfamiliar weapon sent her toppling backward. Into the pile of dead leaves, she went and up went the dragon.
With its barred teeth mere inches from her face, she reached for the fallen sword… but it was too far. Taking a last look at the animal, she dove for her weapon. That was when the flame surged. But when she turned over, she found it had merely singed the end of her dress. Taking up her sword, she leaped up in time to find Armond standing before the beast, hindering it from reaching her. At last, he had discovered his courage. But as she waited for him to make some move, he stood motionless.
“Armond! Either move out of the way or attack, but do something.”
She soon regretted this direction when the sound of her voice diverted the dragon’s attention. As it reared back on hind legs, Hazel did not realize it meant to leap until it was in the air, springing toward her.
“Armond, now!” she cried, recognizing he had the perfect opportunity to spear its fleshy underbelly.
In moments, it was atop her. She screamed and it was many moments before she realized it was not moving. At last, it was hoisted off her. Armond held a hand out to help her up. Leaping to h
er feet, she observed the beast. As she’d directed, Armond’s sword stuck out from its flesh.
The two looked to one another, smirks slowly spreading on their faces.
“We did it!” he announced, leaping to sweep her about in a circle.
Laughingly, she spun, but quickly she drew away. “So we did,” she said with satisfaction.
“I only wish that had been me the day of the first dragon attack. I might actually feel like the hero everyone believes I am.”
Hazel couldn’t say he had been altogether impressive, but she let it slide. “At least now it’ll be the truth when people call you dragon-slayer.”
His eyes widened.
“Well, it’s true…” she defended.
He shoved her and drew his blade from the beast’s side.
Mouth open in shock, she followed his gaze to where the second dragon stood over its companion. It nearly stole the breath from her to witness the pain in its eyes. She hadn’t realized how intelligent they were. For a moment—and despite the accursed fire that had altered its makeup—it felt the loss of its kind. Though it pained Hazel to do it, she leaped beside Armond, sword at the ready. But this one was faster, angrier. It swept them aside with its tail before they knew what was happening.
Armond drew back onto his feet while Hazel reeled from smacking her head upon a rock. The dragon lost no time in responding, casting seething flames over them. Armond tripped over Hazel’s legs in an effort to escape. With no other choice, Hazel rolled until she struck a tree. The pain of the impact jarred her hip. She turned over in search of Armond.
He was unconscious. Had he been hurt? Had he fainted? She worked to stand but it was difficult with her tender hip. Her sword was nowhere to be seen. This was it. They were done for. As the dragon surged toward her, she closed her eyes to her fate before she heard the thud of a body hitting the ground.
“Armond?!” she screamed.
She opened her eyes.
But it was the dragon, an arrow in its neck. She turned in elated expectation of a southern tribesman. What she found instead was… another dragon?
14
The beast floated down through the trees, nearly landing atop Hazel. She flung herself out of the way, then leaped to her feet, sword at the ready. But she stopped short.
This dragon possessed a rider.
The passenger leaped from the dragon with hands raised. “Hold your horses there, young woman. This dragon means you no harm.”
Her sword remained ready as she glanced beyond him to this new beast. It eyed her a moment before turning to a nearby tree and extracting a batch of leaves from it. Then, it chewed.
“It eats… leaves?” she muttered in confusion.
“Anything green,” the stranger replied. “As does every dragon who has not been possessed by the curse of the dark flame.”
She studied the stranger, who appeared a decade or so older than herself. This man had answers. She sheathed her sword and stretched out her hand. “Lady Hazel of Kierelia.”
“Latos,” he said, taking her hand, “Realm Leader of the Greater Archipelagos, a neighboring realm.”
Her hand froze as she studied him with a dubious eye. “I have heard of no such realm.”
“By realm I mean world… or perhaps planet. It is complicated.”
“Are you claiming you come from the stars?”
He shook his head. “More like an alternative layer of your universe. Yes, we travel from a portal in the sky, but—You know what? Yes, from the stars.”
She had never heard of men who came from planes in the heavens. “…Prove it.”
He eyed her. “That is a very difficult instruction, Lady Hazel.” He pondered a moment. “You have inherited the gift of voice, which… means you perform great acts with song through a power embedded in specific intonations of your vocal cords.”
She blinked back at him. “How can you know that? Do you know the prophet? A southern clansman, perhaps?”
He shook his head. “I possess a keen ear for the Great One’s voice. I listen for what he would say and hear more clearly than any other. It is my gift and it is one of many bestowed upon the people of my world. This, I’m afraid, is all the proof I can offer.”
“I have sung in the way you describe but once.”
“You will again.”
She shook her head. It was unnerving to have a perfect stranger claim to possess knowledge from the god of her land.
“He is God to us all,” he said as if hearing her thoughts.
She blinked at him. “You remind me of someone…” she murmured, considering the way he spoke, his appearance. “Ah! It is the prophet.” Though, this man was much younger than the other.
Latos appeared surprised. “You possess a prophet in this land?”
Armond squealed, alerting the two to his consciousness. The dragon ate from the branches over his body.
“It is all right!” Hazel cried, racing to him. “Do not harm it. I think it must be this man’s pet.”
Latos chuckled. “He is Tragor, my friend.”
The dragon eyed her.
Hazel glared back until she softened against her will. It was beautiful. “These dragons…” she began, “they are of your world, I gather?”
Shame crossed his face much as it had the prophet’s. But what could the two have had to do with this predicament?
“I’m afraid that is why I have come… I must speak with the leader of your kingdom at once.”
Hazel hoisted Armond to his feet. “This is the man you are looking for. He is king now.”
Armond looked to her. “And who is this?”
“Claims he is ‘Realm Leader’ of another planet. And he knows things.”
Without further ado, Latos fell to his knee before Armond, his right arm drawn across his chest. “I have come to bear responsibility for the destruction of your kingdom, King Armond.” Raising his bowed head, he said, “In a fury, I cast my problem into your world and your people have paid the price. I must now pledge the legions of my realm to the destruction of this strain of dark dragons. I give my word that I will not take my leave of your kingdom until every one of them has been obliterated and the sorceress who created them taken in hand.”
Hazel bent to raise him to his feet. She was not one for ceremony, even if the sentiment was so sincere. “Explain yourself, man.”
He sighed. “A woman by the name of Aradia professed love for me. As a married man, I rebuffed her. When she attempted to kill me in retaliation, I banished her to your world. From what we have been able to gather, she consorted with the sorcerers of your realm and was taught the dark arts, something never heard of in my domain. In any case, she is the woman who created the dark flame that summoned the dragons from my world, the Greater Archipelagos, and possessed them with the Dark One’s daemonkind.”
Hazel looked to Armond, who was wide-eyed and appeared to understand little of what was said. Certainly, he knew not how to respond.
“This is a sorrowful tale for both our worlds,” Hazel replied. “I deeply regret you thought Kaern, let alone Kierelia, an adequate prison for your foe… But I esteem your accountability, as well as your willingness, to attempt to amend the calamity. Truly, I am uncertain what we would do without it.”
The man bowed again. “I thank you for your understanding, Lady Hazel.” He looked to Armond, working to read him. “King Armond.”
Armond raised his brows and nodded. Clearly, he was unused to being called king. His own people scarcely did as yet.
“How many warriors have you brought with you to slay these beasts?” Hazel inquired.
Latos pointed to the skies. Squinting past the rays of the sun, she realized that what looked like hundreds of dots in the sky were actually dragons with riders.
“Those are all your men?” Armond gasped, possibly envious.
“Men and women, yes.”
Hazel looked to Armond with concern. “Our people will attempt to slay those dragons should they come ne
ar, riders or not.”
Latos appeared greatly concerned by this. “That is not acceptable. Perhaps you might leave the slaying of dragons only to my people.”
Armond looked to Hazel questioningly.
She shook her head. “That will not do either,” she said. “Our people will find it difficult to entrust their whole safety to strangers. I think you must put forth a directive, Armond. No dragon shall be slain who is marked by…” She searched the dragon before her. Though it possessed none of the malevolence of the dark dragons, it was fairly indistinguishable from them. “Sir Latos, I wonder if you could have your dragons wear some kind of flag about their necks to denote them as benign.”
He considered her suggestion before nodding. “That is an astute solution. We will do so immediately and commence our undertaking.”
Hazel bowed to the man who claimed to be leader of an entire planet among the stars and tugged at Armond to do the same.
“We wish you the favor of the Great Entity and admire your accountability,” Armond pronounced, appeasing Hazel with his diplomacy, even if he had all but mimicked her own words.
The man bowed low to each of them before leaping upon his dragon as it lifted into the sky.
Later that evening, Hazel lay in her tent, astonished by the events of the last few days. She and her people had lost everything. They were devastated and compromised. But for the first time since the upheaval, she might enjoy a peaceful night’s rest.
Though the prophet had claimed King Zephuel’s foolishness had lost them the favor of the Great Entity, she began to feel the Entity’s recompense for all they’d lost. The entirety of the southern tribes had come to their aid and now they’d acquired a battalion of protectors from another world. They had so much more than her sheer stubbornness and a king who boasted more beauty than ingenuity. Yet, Armond had demonstrated his potential that day. Not only had he stood between her and a dragon, he had helped her slay one. Surely, that was evidence of greater things to come.
15
It had taken but a year for Kierelia to unite, erect a new royal fortress and provide homes for most of its citizens to see them to this day: Armond’s coronation. Though he had been called king for some time, the occasion was imperative. It would dissuade any uncertainty that he was, indeed, ruler of the land.
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