by T J Trapp
Amelia reared back in shock, hand to her face, and squalled, “I am the Queen! You don’t talk to me that way! Off with your head!”
Pequa walked over to Amelia, grabbed her by the shoulders, and shook her. “Ha! Don’t make me laugh. You are a worthless little drone girl! Not good enough for anything. When I eliminate the House of Lian, no one can protect this little backwater land from us elves, or from our dragon! Then you will learn to respect your betters! I will enjoy watching you suffer ten times over for the trouble you have caused me.”
“Take her! Help me!” Amelia looked around and saw that none of the riders stepped forward to help her. “Off with her head!” No one moved.
Pequa’s clutchman stepped up and grabbed Amelia by the hair. He jerked her off her chair and shoved her face into the dirt.
“Stay there until you are told to do otherwise,” he snarled at her.
Amelia lay on the ground sobbing loudly; the clutchman kicked her and then stood beside Pequa. Pequa looked at the dragon, and in response the beast slowly started walking towards the narrow gap. It barely fit through the space. With her head, the dragon pushed the dead trogus and riders out of the way and slithered up to the gate. The dragon leaned against the gate, and the wood groaned. Alec focused and reinforced the wood with dark energy. The dragon leaned further against the gate, and the wood continued to groan but held the beast’s weight. Alec continued to strengthen the wood. Then with a great crack, the hinge between the wood and the rock failed, and the gate fell aside. The dragon’s head pushed the failed gate out of the way.
Erin sensed the dragon. It is the same beast that we met before, she thought to Alec. She could feel the different minds swirling inside the dragon. The entwined lines that linked the minds seemed tighter than ever before. Help me, she thought to Alec.
Alec let dark energy flow into Erin. Now Erin felt that if she could find the right place, she could unsnarl the entwined lines. She used the dark energy from Alec to help change the lines. She pushed energy through her sword towards the dragon. At the edge of her senses was the feeling of rightness. She could not capture the rightness; it stood tantalizingly just beyond her reach.
Erin’s effort relaxed the lines a little, and she could feel a great loneliness and feeling of isolation coming from the dragon. Erin echoed how a Princess also was lonely and isolated in the same way. Erin stepped forward and walked towards the dragon. Trust my feeling, she thought to Alec.
The dragon watched Erin approach; Erin walked up and touched the dragon with the flat of her sword. Dark energy swirled. Alec pushed dark energy into the sword and Erin used it to soothe the dragon, stroking the creature’s scales with the flat blade. Erin felt the entwined lines relax slightly more. The feeling of rightness stayed just beyond her reach.
Erin was one with the dragon. The dragon almost purred. Erin shared memories with the dragon: Erin saw a memory from within the dragon of no one caring for her since before she had come to this world. A time long ago sprung to her mind – a time before the elves came and took her mother and father away. Erin saw the dragon’s memory of a little girl running free in the grass with her friend. She remembered tripping and scraping her knee and she cried. Her friend had held her, and father had used dark energy to heal the scrape. They had cared. The dragon embraced the feeling of peace and caring. It was the same feeling that Erin’s dark energy gave the dragon.
Then Erin felt the lines tightening within the dragon’s mind. The dragon looked confused and bellowed a pleading call, then backed out of the gap until she was even with Pequa. There she stopped.
✽✽✽
An envoy pulled a parley flag out and planted it in the ground beside Pequa. Erin looked at Alec. “She wants to talk, so we might as well go to her.”
The two of them walked through the gap and walked along the edge of the woods until they reached Pequa. Pequa stood looking at them with disgust. “I was hoping to come here to celebrate your demise, but now I will have an even better opportunity – I can watch your death. I give you one chance to surrender. If you surrender, I will allow your riders to join Queen Amelia’s riders. Otherwise, they will all die with you today.”
Erin could sense the anger in her riders. “My riders would prefer to die than to join her,” Erin said sharply
A loud howl from the dragon interrupted their conversation. Now that Pequa wasn’t standing over her, Amelia had quit sobbing and crawled over to her food basket. After fumbling through the contents, she pulled a pouch out of the basket and opened it. The rich smell of ripe purple mushrooms permeated the air. The dragon sniffed and headed in Amelia’s direction.
“No, you fool!” shouted Pequa. “I told the servants not to let you bring those. They are irresistible to the dragon!”
The dragon had identified the source of the delicious aroma and shoved the carriage out of the way to reach Amelia’s pavilion. The carriage careened into the ditch, splintering into pieces. With one delicate flick, using the very end of her long tongue, the dragon pulled half of Amelia’s purple mushroom out of the pouch and into her mouth.
Amelia looked at her half-empty stash with shock. Then she screamed at the dragon, “I am the Queen. These are my mushrooms! Give them back!”
The dragon flicked her tongue a second time. This time Amelia reacted in time and pulled the pouch away. “No! Leave this alone, or I will have you beheaded. Now – begone!”
The dragon flicked her tongue again, reaching for the purple mushrooms. Amelia grabbed a spear from one of her attendants and swung at the dragon’s tongue. Her clumsy stroke wasn’t hard enough to harm the beast, but it did divert the tip of her tongue enough to miss the mushrooms. Amelia held the pouch behind her back and stood pointing the spear at the dragon. The dragon let out a great bellow and raised herself to her full height. Amelia stood in front of the huge creature, spear pointed upwards, protecting her mushrooms.
The dragon opened her mouth, and Amelia lunged towards the dragon with the spear, screaming angrily. One snap and the dragon pulled Amelia up by the spear and into her mouth; then the dragon spit. Amelia’s head went in one direction and her body in another, followed by the broken spear. Now that the annoying person was out of the way, the dragon quickly flicked her tongue to get the remainder of the purple mushrooms.
Erin and Alec watched the encounter without moving from their position. “Too bad she didn’t care for her people like she cared for her mushrooms. If she had, she might have made a good queen,” Alec said sardonically.
Pequa watched while the dragon ate the purple delicacies, then motioned to the great beast. The dragon reluctantly responded.
Erin sensed the lines inside the dragon. The lines were becoming tighter and tighter. She sensed anger in the dragon. Erin felt the dragon thinking, No, Mother, no, this is a friend. I have a friend, and I cannot kill a friend.
“Kill her.”
No Mother.
The thought was interrupted by intense pain.
No, Mother, do not make me.
The pain increased. Erin could sense the dragon’s pain. The reptilian brain only wanted the pain to end and now saw Erin as the source of the pain. Suddenly Erin was no longer linked with the dragon. The giant mouth raised and opened and started to snap towards Erin. Erin anticipated the dragon’s action and at the last minute rolled away. The mouth closed on empty air. The dragon turned and looked long and hard at Pequa.
Pequa laughed and said to Erin, “You fool! If you had learned to align yourself with the Dragon Stone, you could have taken the dragon from me and made it your slave. Instead, the dragon will be your death.”
Erin felt the dragon’s pain increase. The dragon let loose a great angry bellow, and Erin felt the lines twist tighter. She sensed resignation from the dragon – the beast had to obey the Mother elf.
Erin backed away from the dragon. She thought to Alec, Pequa controls the dragon and is forcing it to kill us.
I have an idea, Alec thought back. See if we can maneuver
the dragon into the woods.
Erin dashed into the woods followed closely by Alec. The dragon lumbered after them, angrily knocking down trees as it moved.
It is herding us, thought Alec. It will knock down trees until we are trapped!
The dragon sensed Erin’s location and headed towards her. Erin ran further into the woods and the dragon continued to follow, creating a wide path of fallen trees. Erin sensed the dragon and could feel the twisted lines of force that were compelling the dragon to respond. She tried to untwist the lines, but they were too heavy for her to move.
Try to lead the dragon towards the clearing, Alec urged.
The dragon continued to follow Erin; there was no opportunity to get close to the dragon without being dismembered by falling trees. As they backed towards the clearing, Erin and Alec separated. The dragon continued to follow Erin. Erin tried to sense the dragon and tried to think about purple mushrooms. The dragon continued its charge through the trees, upending them and letting them fall with a crash, following Erin as she retreated through the woods.
Erin drew her sword and turned to face the dragon. She tried to push thoughts of purple mushrooms to the dragon. When the dragon reached the edge of the clearing she slithered towards Erin, moved closer, and raised her head. Erin could see into the great gaping mouth and see the crumbs of purple mushrooms stuck to the long teeth.
Make it come a few more paces forward, thought Alec.
Erin backed away from the dragon, still thinking of purple mushrooms. She sensed the twisted lines inside the dragon and tried again to untwist them, but the lines were too thick for her to move. The dragon stepped forward and opened her mouth, tongue flicking in anticipation. Erin stood still, letting the dragon approach.
Focus. The dragon snapped toward Erin and she quickly jumped backwards; the portal circle in the clearing opened just front of her feet – light dimmed and started to go black. The great dragon stood half inside and half outside the portal. Time froze as the portal tried to respond to the immense energy of the dragon. Alec started sweating and felt the energy try to rebound towards him. He felt the world in black and white for what seemed like an eternity until the portal reshaped itself around the dragon and the dragon suddenly vanished.
Where the dragon had been, a torrent of water poured out. The outline of the dragon’s head and tail were replaced with rock from the cave dropping dully onto the clearing floor.
“You did it,” yelled Erin in relief. “You ported the dragon into the cave!”
“Yes, and hopefully it is dead,” said Alec.
“I can sense her in the cave. She is very alive and very angry because she was expecting purple mushrooms. She is trying to dig her way out, but I think it will take a while. Let’s see if we can end this battle before the dragon frees herself.”
✽✽✽
They could hear the sounds of battle, the ringing of swords, the snorting and snarling of trogus, and battle whistles reverberating. “Our riders have arrived,” exclaimed Erin in delight.
Erin stopped and sensed the surroundings. “Pequa and her clutchman have fled and are heading away from us, back to the Elf Mountains. We should go to Mother. Our riders can take care of the remainder of Amelia’s riders. They couldn’t handle the threats posed by Pequa or the dragon, but now that they are both gone, neither is a problem.”
They returned to the grotto residence. Queen Therin was resting; she was still very weak but improving. Erin excitedly told her mother about the dragon and the death of Amelia, and what Pequa had told her about the Truth Stone. The Queen listened in amazement.
A short while later Ferd entered. “My Queen, it is wonderful to see you alive. I apologize. We were preparing a carriage for you, but I must tell you that it is not yet ready. Our scouts told us that Amelia had many riders headed to this area, and we were very concerned about your safety. We thought it was most important to arrive as quickly as possible. I hope we were not too late.”
The Queen replied, “Your timing was exquisite. I am glad to see you and my riders – or should I say ‘Erin’s riders’?”
“The Princess is our leader, but we will always be your riders, my Queen,” Ferd responded, and Erin nodded in agreement.
Queen Therin smiled weakly from her couch. “We will have a carriage available to take you back to your rightful place, the Residence at Freeland City,” Ferd continued. “The carriage will be available later today.”
They spent another night at the grotto before trying to move the Queen. Erin could sense the dragon making slow progress digging its way out of the hillside, but Alec calculated that it would take several days to succeed.
Alec wondered, “Should we try to kill the dragon before it escapes?”
Erin was very firm, “No. The dragon is not going to attack us or anyone else unless Pequa is close by and forces an attack and Pequa has left. The dragon is not a vicious beast; but she has been misused and abused.”
As they started their trip back to Freeland City, Erin announced to all the riders, “It is time to retake our rightful place in the leadership of Theland. Queen Therin has been rescued, and we are going to return her to her Residence and the throne of Theland. Ride for the Queen!”
A great cheer went up from the riders. “Hail to the Queen,” they chanted, followed by “Hail to the Princess, our leader.”
✽✽✽
Early afternoon the procession entered the gates of Freeland City. The first stop was Justice Square. Erin helped Queen Therin to the platform; there they stood and stared at the Stone of Truth several minutes before finally putting their hands on it. Word of the Queen’s arrival spread like wildfire, and a crowd of citizens was rapidly forming in the Square. Then, in front of her people, Queen Therin firmly declared that she was the rightful ruler of Therin and was resuming her reign. Erin vowed silently to better understand the Stone and learn of its dragon properties. The Stone of Truth shone with a golden hue, and the people cheered.
Then the Queen’s procession moved to the Residence. Alec helped the Queen from her carriage, and they walked to the grand double doors of the audience chamber. Erin stood before the doors and looked at them. She had opened these doors a thousand times. Standing there made her think of all the good that her mother had done and the waste and anguish that Amelia’s capriciousness had caused in such a short time, directed by Pequa. The anger built in Erin. She would dedicate her life to repair the damage that the elves had wrought. She would not allow her mother’s efforts to be in vain.
The thought gave her courage as she pushed opened the doors and stepped inside. Amelia’s minions had made a mess of the room, but at the far end of the chamber was the carved chair Queen Therin had always used. The Queen walked slowly across the room and sat in her chair. Erin waited until her mother was seated and then she also walked across the chamber and stood in front of the Queen, her head bowed. Erin felt the weight of her people as she had never felt before. They would eventually be her responsibility. She sensed Alec behind her. He let her stand in front of her mother for a long time, and then he put his arm around her. She felt the warmth and the strength that he provided.
“Mother, I will never be as good a leader as you, but I will support you until death and then, if it is my honor to take my turn, I will do my best to care for our people.” She leaned on Alec, mentally and physically exhausted. There were a thousand things that needed her attention from minor personal items to major decisions, and without Alec, she didn’t know where she would find the energy for any of them.
The Residence personnel quickly materialized and were soon at work clearing away the trash left behind by Amelia, cleaning the furnishings, filling the lanterns, and polishing the floors. In a few days it would again be the royal Residence that Erin remembered.
The Queen was too weak to greet anyone, so she asked Erin to fill in for her. Ferd brought Colin back from his place of banishment in the city’s jail tower; Colin was overjoyed to see his mother alive and unharmed, and spe
nt the rest of the day tending to her. Erin and Alec stood in the audience chamber greeting the many well-wishers, hearing tales of Amelia’s excesses, and acknowledging pledges of service to Queen Therin and Erin.
Finally, the two of them were alone. Alec could feel that the responsibility of leading her people was weighing heavily upon Erin. He took her in his arms and said, “I will be here to support you. You are a great leader, and one day you will be a great ruler of our people.”
“It is nice to be home,” said Erin, nestling in his arms. “It is too bad you don’t have more portals. They are a convenient way to travel across Theland. We could have brought Mother home more quickly if you had more of them.”
“That is one of the things I want to do,” Alec said. “I think I can figure out how to make more portals. Once I train a few wizards to handle the routine requests around here, I will be able to think about how to make them.”
“The Chief Wizard is a fitting role for you,” Erin said, mostly to convince herself. “But I wish you would reconsider Mother’s request and serve as head of the Council.”
Alec shook his head. “You can sense as well as I can that heading the Council is not my skill. The head of the Council must work with all the people and cajole them until they agree. I am too impatient to do that. Especially now that your Mother has taken to my idea of letting the people select half of the Council Members.”
“I know you are right – but you are so much easier to work with than the grumpy old men who will end up on the Council.”
“Leading the Council might be an excellent task for Colin. He is good at that sort of stuff.”
Erin nodded, and then added, “By the way, you know that the Chief Wizard will have to be a Council Member.”
Alec groaned in protest.