Zander was taken aback, but took her request seriously. “You know it will be painful to be branded with it? And I cannot guarantee how long it will last. For all I know its magic could fade away tomorrow, or next week, or even stay until your dying breath.”
Silvia nodded. “I do not care about the pain, and as long as the magic lasts for the next week I think the pain is worth it,” she said. Or did she? She did not want to be in extreme, long-lasting pain! But if it was going to hurt a lot, then she wanted her own kind of dragon; no one would be choosing one for her. “The scales need to have the essence and strength as to be arrow proof and sword repellant, and the wings must be great and beautiful. I want the coin done with pigments, dyes, paints, or any way to make it have colors. I need the tail to be long and whip-like, and I want it to be able to walk on two legs as easily as on four…And it has to breathe fire.”
Zander chuckled at the last request, but was still perplexed. “Dragons are rather dangerous creatures, my dear. When Keelan was first granted the ability to change into a fox, he went wild whenever he transformed. You would need to be most careful. What is this for, might I ask?”
“To possibly help me to get my throne. How long would it take you to make it?”
“I can have it completed before you leave to return to the palace for dinner, if I begin as of ten minutes ago.”
“You will then?” exclaimed Silvia. “Oh, Zander, I am delighted! I cannot wait!”
“Well, I’m afraid you’ll have to,” he laughed.
Silvia told everyone of her mother’s dreams and of the strange carvings on the stone jars. Zander listened with particular interest, now knowing why it was so important for her to have the dragon coin. As she finished telling him what she thought the meanings of the dreams were he began sharpening a piece of lead and drawing sketches on a spare piece of parchment, with Silvia at his shoulder to guide his hand in the right direction.
“Make the forearms longer, so that I may walk on all fours like a true beast,” she would say, giggling at the thought. Or she would make exaggerations with her arms as she talked about the snout she would like to have, and exactly the way her tail would curve. Dessica laughed at the way her adopted daughter was acting, until she was told that Silvia would be branded with the coin in question. She argued with Silvia and Zander until her face was a delicate shade of purple, but in the end Silvia won her over with charm…and a lot of begging. Dessica finally gave in with the condition that she be present at the time of the branding.
When the product was finished, everyone gazed at the golden coin with wonder and appreciation. Zander had melted several old necklaces and rings to make it and had taken several long hours etching the detailed dragon onto the precious metal. It was nearly half an inch thick and three inches wide. All the finer details had been etched into the softened gold with the tip of a tiny bone needle, the curves flowing almost seamlessly. The dragon had been painted with expensive bottles of paint that Zander kept for very special occasions, and the colors made the coin itself look as though the dragon on it were breathing.
“I am going to have to excuse everyone from the house now, so that I may brand her with good concentration,” Zander said when it was time. “She will have to be unclothed to the waist so that I may do this on her back as I did young Keelan.”
Keelan wished to be there for emotional support, but Dessica would have none of it. “You are not married yet, young man, so do not think that you can ogle at her naked body!” Keelan managed to persuade Dessica to let him stay in the room, blindfolded, and under Dessica’s supervision. Neither he nor Silvia bothered to tell her that they had actually seen each other naked several times now, even though their bodies were still unknown to one other.
When the four of them were alone, Dessica (after making sure Keelan’s blindfold was very snug) unbuttoned the back of Silvia’s dress and slid it down to her waist. She placed Silvia’s hands within Keelan’s, giving him a firm pinch on the arm to remind him that he would be watched. Then she stood beside the Queen of Darkania, and watched Zander intently as he performed a sort of ceremony. The old man said words in Kieluna that Silvia and Dessica barely recognized as he splashed scented water onto her skin. Silvia closed her eyes and shivered as she thought of what was to come.
“My Queen, I said this would be painful and I did not lie,” said Zander softly. “Be prepared.”
He placed the coin, dragon-side down, in the middle of her upper back and pressed it firmly against her soft skin. Unintelligible words were mumbled and Silvia gasped, clutching Keelan’s hands tightly as the coin began to heat up. She felt it burning into her skin and shed silent tears, wondering if it had been this painful for Keelan. She looked up and saw the worry behind his blindfold, the frown on his lips, and forced herself to loosen her hands. The burning sensation was almost too much to bear, and she bit down on her tongue to keep from crying out. Why, it was as if the sun itself had traveled from the sky and landed upon her back, so hot was the gold. She marveled (briefly) how the coin was not melting. A minute later it was done and Dessica was pressing a cool, damp cloth to her back and wiping away her tears. She wrapped a clean cloth all the way around Silvia’s body a couple of times before slowly doing up the buttons on her dress, only letting Keelan remove his blindfold after the last button was done up. He smiled and embraced Silvia carefully.
“I am proud of you, my love,” he whispered in her ear.
Silvia smiled at everyone, wincing a little as she moved. Zander told her she could say a small spell to make the pain disappear for a while, but she refused. “The pain is not as bad as the curiosity,” she said.
“Of course. You wish to try out your new shape-changing skill, do you not?” the old man said, smiling. “I would love to see this myself. But if you don’t mind, would you practice your transformation outside? You may be rather small now, but you won’t be afterwards and I don’t need a new roof!”
She closed her eyes and thought of the dragon inside her, the new being within her very soul that was yearning to be set free. She could almost hear the dragon breathing heavily with anticipation at the thought of escaping her human form. Her body immediately started to shift and change, alternating into the body of a dragon. It was the strangest thing she had ever felt, especially when the branded symbol on her back began to tingle. It was akin to a thousand tiny feathers trailing softly against her skin. When she opened her eyes she was more than shocked to find that everyone else was many, many feet below her. She had to be twelve feet tall! Spreading her giant wings, she looked at them with amazement. The tough leathery skin was a deep, deep shade of purple and the veins showed silver through them. Her arms were long and sinewy, yet covered with muscles, as were her massive legs. Her hands still had five digits, though they were now scaled and had great talons on the ends. She bent down, trying to walk on all fours and found it just as easy, if not easier, than walking on two legs.
Utterly delighted with her new image, she wished to see her face and went swiftly to the river, her dragon body moving faster than she expected. Though she could run incredibly low to the ground, she was still too big for the tiny path she had walked on the other day with Keelan. The sides of her folded wings knocked over saplings and took the leaves off the underbrush, breaking all the branches she came into contact with in her excitement. Once at the river, she saw her reflection in the Tambian’s waters and stared. Most of her scales were a deep purple mixed with deep blue and they shimmered, changing colors in the bright sunlight. From the bottom of her long, lower jaw ran a pattern of broader, thicker scales. They widened as they went down her neck and over her large smooth chest, all the way down to her tail. Those scales remained the same color of purple and blue, no matter how the light changed. Her face was long, broad at the top and tapering at her snout, where two small humps protruded for her to smell by. Two long strips of silver streaked the top of her head, and on the bottom side of each was a large hole where her ears were. Her jaws contained w
icked, sharp triangular teeth that looked as though they could bite through anything. Her eyes were still a vivid shade of emerald green.
What a wondrous creature she was! How beautiful! Silvia was more than pleased at her appearance and turned this way and that to look at herself. She was excited and amazed. Her senses had become finely tuned, and she could hear everything in the forest around her, even eavesdropping on Keelan and Quentin at the other end of the trail to the water! Her eyes saw birds that would have been nearly invisible to the naked eye, so high were they in the clouds. To think that she had tried to shun Zander and his magic! She thought of Gregorich Hapshamin bitterly, not noticing how her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits in the water. Would he be frightened of such a beautiful dragon? Would he run screaming from her now or would he laugh at her? She knew not how big and terrible the dragons were in his dreams, and she hoped this form would be enough to do him in. She had a brief daydream of protecting innocent citizens from him before her mind drifted to the homeless shelter. She prayed to Saphrite and Aklamon, the Parent Gods, that Sir Grant and Prince Dalton had gotten them away to safety. Would Gregorich really have sent them off to help his father in the war? Anger flared up and she saw tiny tendrils of smoke start to rise from her nostrils. Looking down at her reflection, she grinned malevolently, and the dragon in the water did the same. She took a deep breath and held it in her stomach, then let it all out at the water. No air came out; only flames that seared the water, making it boil and cooking the fish that happened to be in the vicinity.
When she returned to the others with a handful of dead fish that were already cooked, Zander laughed. She had changed back (hesitantly) into her human form. She smiled shyly and said, “How do I roar? I can make fire, but I wasn’t sure how to roar.”
“Dragons make fire from the pit of their stomachs—the never-ending pit of their fearsome rage. I believe you should try to roar from your chest.” He took the fish from her. “What did you think? You were a beautiful creature, I have to say. Never before have I seen a live dragon, only pictures in books and paintings. They were great, but terrible. You, my dear young queen, change the very definition of ‘dragon’.”
“I absolutely love it! The way it makes me feel is indescribable and beyond belief,” she said. She looked at Keelan and winked mischievously. “I think I will be able to find many uses for this form.”
Chapter Fourteen—Secrets
One of the King’s Guards was waiting at the stables when they returned to the palace near sundown.
“I wonder why he’s here?” said Hans, uncertainly glancing around for more. A bad feeling settled in quickly.
“It’s just George,” said Frero. “He comes through the gardens sometimes and talks with me about plants that his wife has. Interesting fellow. He was here when your parents were on the throne, milady, though I don’t think he remembers me whatsoever.”
“He is also Captain of the Royal Guard,” said Hans, glaring into shadowed corners of the stable suspiciously.
“You’ve never mentioned talking to him,” said Maura with a huff of irritation. “I thought you were supposed to befriend the Guards and tell us of it.”
“That’s because he’s never talked of anything important,” Frero replied bluntly. “Besides, you haven’t mentioned that you’ve been conversing with the laundry maid and the cook’s apprentice.”
Maura’s cheeks reddened to that of a turnip. “They are nice ladies, and I enjoy their company…okay, your point is now proven.”
Willis came to help the ladies off their horses, and asked Hans to help take off the saddles and rub the horses down. George walked over, trying to look at ease, and asked Frero to speak privately with him. Frero obliged and they walked out into the open air amicably.
“I want to be clear on one thing first,” said the Captain in a quiet voice, though the others were well off. “I am not supposed to say a word to anybody by order of the King; however, I like your mistress. She reminds me of someone I cannot place and she warms my heart for reasons I do not know. Now, everything I’m going to tell you is a secret to all but the King and me. Please do not let on that I have done treason to my King by opening my mouth to you, or I shall visit the God of the Dead before it is my time.”
“No one outside of my company will ever know about this conversation, friend,” Frero said solemnly. His old heart was racing with fear: What could be so important that the Captain of the Royal Guard was afraid to speak a word of it?
They continued walking, coming upon a small group of wild flowers. George stopped and bent down as if to admire the pretty petals and Frero followed suit. Neither looked at the other, but at the flowers and made motions at the plants as though speaking about them.
“I do not know who your Lady is, but she is not who she puts on to be. The King received a message yesterday evening by eagle. It is from Lord Algermark of Alwak, and my Lord Gregorich knows that she has put on a front. He is exceedingly angry with her, Frero, and I am afraid for her person. He was screaming and cursing her in his room after he received the letter and has been stewing all day. He is so mad that I doubt he will show even to greet his guests for dinner. Tomorrow, after breakfast, he will have a council of war, for there are other things not to his liking that have occurred. There, he is planning on revealing Serena and requiring her true name. I do not know if my information helps or hinders you, but I am guessing the latter. As I said, do not tell anyone but the people you are with and please…be prepared. The King is known for making irrational messes over the simplest of matters.” He hesitated, stroking the soft red petals of the wild flowers. “If your mistress should feel the need to…to travel in the middle of the night, I can have it arranged. I do not wish her to be harmed. She reminds me of a woman I once knew…”
“I thank you for your trust and confidence in me,” said the older man. “My lady will appreciate your words more than you know and it will not be forgotten whom you have helped.”
Frero awaited Silvia and the others at the door to the palace. Minutes later they appeared and walked towards him.
“My lady,” Frero whispered quietly in her ear, “I have most pressing news. Let us have a meeting after we freshen up from our journey.”
Silvia’s face remained stone smooth, showing no notion that she even heard him, except for a tiny nod of her head. Everyone went to their rooms to change into clothes that didn’t smell like wet horses. Ten minutes later they gathered in the Queen’s bedroom. Frero related George’s words into the sinking silence of the room, and reiterated the fact that he could not be pointed to as a tattletale. Maura and Hans were crestfallen, but Quentin and Keelan were nothing less than devastated.
Silvia stood up, looking at all of them in turn. Her eyes were bright and her voice clear and sharp. “Do not look so beaten. We have not yet failed! I had planned to confront Gregorich before Lord Rohedon comes, and I still plan to do so. Do not lose faith in what we have worked so hard for. We all knew the chances of Gregorich finding us out were high, especially with us right under his nose. It only brings the time to fight him closer, and I believe we are as prepared as we are ever going to be.” Her voice had started to quiver. “His reign is coming to its end, my friends, and we must all be prepared for the most unexpected things. Fear not the so-called King, for I am stronger in mind, magic, heart, and soul than he could ever be.”
Her speech stirred them and the depressing air seemed to evaporate, if only a little.
“Okay, so what is the next step?” Quentin asked.
Silvia flashed a magnificent smile under her watery eyes. “Why, if Hapshamin starts acting out towards me, I won't deny that I am not who I said I am. I will play games with his mind until the time is right to shatter it. If he treats me as he has been doing, then I will laugh and play along. I want all of you acting jolly, as though the weight of the world has been lifted from your sore shoulders. Do not worry over what will happen. I will take care of you all to the best of my abilities. Do not let
Gregorich see that we are bothered by anything in this world. For now, we will be joyful and spontaneous, for great things usually happen quickly. We shall run and hop and bounce down to dinner!” Silvia exclaimed. “Let them all see that we are not afraid.”
They did not run or hop or bounce. But they did walk quickly, bumping into each other and laughing at anything and everything as though they’d taken a healthy dose of borchum. An invisible Quentin was tickling Hans and Frero, and Silvia was pleasantly shocked to see that Hans was extremely sensitive on his sides and turned as red as a tomato from laughing. Keelan ran in and out between their feet, and when he accidentally tripped Frero (who promptly fell on his face) they all laughed, but nobody as hard as Frero. And so they entered the banquet hall, catching the diners’ attention at once. They ignored the stares and curious whispers, dropping off one by one in their designated chairs. When Silvia plopped into hers, her beautiful face was flushed with gaiety. Prince Dalton and Sir Grant were puzzled, but pleased to see the young lady in such high spirits. They gave each other a meaningful look. King Gregorich was not there yet, if he was even going to show at all, so Dalton leaned over and whispered, “All of the homeless are safely away and are awaiting further directions from you for saving their lives. I am sure His Highness is a bit peeved.” He smiled when she giggled.
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