“So, this is the first time that you’ve been in a library? I love coming here. It is better being here than being at court. The court is so boring for me. People do not look at me like they do, Oren,” he said.
Looking at him, I could tell he was now telling me the truth. He was the younger brother, and he was not seen as important, so he did not like court as much. So, coming to a library was a prominent alternative, but I could tell he was sad, so I wanted to say something to him to break this kind of awkwardness.
“Thank you for not letting me fall,” I said.
“Well, of course,” Jonah replied with a shy smile.
Looking at him, he was starting to show how uncomfortable he was, so, to break the ice, I walked away and to a table.
“So, is that the reason you almost fell. For this dusty old book?” Jonah asked, looking at the dust-covered book on the table in front of me.
“It looks fascinating. That is why I wanted to get it,” I replied.
Opening the book, I noticed that it had a lot of pictures in it. Turning the pages, I saw an illustration that I thought was interesting.
“Wait a second. Is that what I think it is?” I asked, shocked at what I was seeing.
“Yes, that is a dragon,” Jonah confirmed.
The book explained how dragons used to be creatures that were well known around this Kingdom. They were beautiful, majestic creatures and not just creatures from fable stories.
“What happened to them?” I asked.
“From the stories I have heard, they died out over time. It has been over fifteen hundred years since a dragon was last seen,” Jonah replied.
Jonah took the book from me and turned to the book's final page to what looked like a map—pointing to what looked like a mountain.
“This is where many of them resided. No one knows why the dragons disappeared, and many of them answered to one person called the Dragon Master. No one ever saw this master, and some people believed that the master was a myth,” he said.
Looking at him, I could see he was nervous. Just being close to me was making him shake. Feeling bad for him, I shut the book tight and put it back on the shelf. Beads of sweat were beginning to appear on Jonah's brow. It was as if it was hard when he looked at me, and he wanted to etch my face in his mind.
“Um…I do need to get going. Just be careful, and try not to fall, okay?” Jonah said with a bit of a smirk.
I nodded my head and continued looking at other books as Jonah left the room.
Now I was in the library alone, and I did not know what to do now because I was here alone. Around now, I would have been doing my chores with my sister at home. I would have possibly been aiding my father if he needed any help, but now I must look pretty and be part of a court.
Looking around, I could see there was no one else there, and I wanted to take this book with me to read more about it. Reading about dragons was starting to interest me.
As I walked out of the library, I walked down the long corridor. I wanted to know what was around here in this mysterious castle—turning the corner. I ran straight into Queen Aliza. All I could do was curtsy. Looking up at her, all she could do was smile at me.
“What a delight to see you, Lady Arabella,” she said.
“It is always a pleasure to be in your company, dear Queen,” I reply.
We both begin walking together, making our way back towards the flower garden I had found earlier this morning. She walked ahead of me and sat down on the same bench.
“From looking at you, I can tell that something is bothering you,” she said.
“How can you tell?”
Queen Aliza did nothing but laugh, knowing that she was reading my expressions on my face. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the book I took from the library. She smiled and picked it up.
“Well, Prince Oren found me this morning while I came into this garden. He was extremely uncomfortable when it came to me. Then he ran out of here in a hurry. I did not know if I said or done something wrong,” I stated.
“My son is a man of few words. It is a common quality of his, but the one piece of advice that I can give you when it comes to this kind of situation. Go, and talk to him. Find a way to get to know him. That was what I had to do when I was engaged to his father,” the Queen advised.
Hearing the Queen say that, I knew she was so right. I remember from back when we were children, he was so shy and his younger brother was more social than himself, but now that we are much older, I would have to help him come out of his shell.
“Thank you, Queen Aliza,” I said.
All I could do was a bow to her, and she smiled. The Queen turned to look at me as she again looked at the book. It was like she was wanting to say something else but wasn’t too sure about it.
“Oh, by the way, don’t forget the book. It may be of some interest of you,” she said.
The Queen handed over the book I had found in the library about the dragons. She stood up from the bench and said her farewells before disappearing through the doors.
I left the garden shortly after, making my way to my room. I laid the book down under the pillow on my bed, not wanting anyone else to know I was interested in something that was only known as a fairy tale.
Making my way to the other side of the castle, I found Oren’s room. The door was partly open, and he was sharpening a sword. Being polite, I knocked on the door.
He looked up and saw I was at the door.
“Well, hello, Lady Bella,” he said.
“Wow, you have not called me Bella since we were children,” I said.
He opened the door further, allowing me to enter his room. Seeing that there was an empty chair far on the other side of the room, I went right for it. I sat down in the seat and looked around. I heard his mother’s words going through my mind telling me I needed to know him.
“There is something that I need to know?” I asked.
“Sure, ask me anything,” Oren replied.
“Why have you been so uncomfortable when it comes to me?”
Oren did nothing but stare at the ground like he did not want to talk to me about it.
“Do I have to repeat myself?” I asked.
“The reason I was nervous was that when my parents told me about this, it was a shock. I was involved with someone romantically for over a year. Someone that they disapproved of. I ended it with her before you came here,” he replied.
All I could do was get up from the chair and run out of the room. I ran at top speed, not wanting to look at him. I could see now that he did not love me and knew that he loved another woman.
“Bella! Come back!” Oren shouted.
Even though I was hearing him yell my name, I did not turn around. I now knew coming here had been such a horrible mistake, but now I am stuck. I was engaged to someone that did not want to love me.
Walking into my room, I made sure it was locked. I closed the drapes so that my room was nothing other than completely pitch dark. Now laying down on my bed so much was going through my mind, then I decided that I would show all these people of this court and Oren, I was worthy of being here.
Seeing how Oren did not love me, I would prove to all of them, including him, that they were wrong. I would be an important Queen one day, and then a thought came through my mind. Remembering something I had read in that book.
I remember Jonah saying that there was once a dragon master. One person was the expert in dragons but knowing that Merakor would declare war against two smaller kingdoms or they would declare war against us. Someone would need to have a weapon. Having someone finding the weapon is not a myth but real.
“If there are dragons out there, then I’m going to be the new master.”
Chapter Three
Staying in my room was the only thing that I could do because hearing Oren did not want anything to do with me, devastated me and I knew that I had nowhere else to go. My father promised me to be the King’s oldest sons’ wife one day.
/> I knew that I would have to find ways to keep myself involved but not be near Oren whenever possible. Part of me wanted to tell him he could go and court that girl he was with if he so wishes because I did not care.
Finally, getting up from my bed, I knew I would have to show my face at the court because people knew that I was here, and they know the reason I am here.
Walking out of my room, again, I am walking down the long hallways of the castle, making my way to these two enormous, ivory, double doors. People were coming in and out, telling me that this had to be the throne room. Walking in, it was packed! I made my way through the crowd as people started to look at me and began whispering into each other's ears about me as I passed. I noticed that Oren and Jonah were sitting in chairs right next to their parents. Oren did not smile when he saw me, but his brother did. King Valkan got up and walked over to me.
“So glad that you have made your way here. I know that you have been here one day, but you will fit in well, dear,” he said.
All I could do was smile at them all. Walking up, and I sat down next to Oren. Not looking at him, I wanted him to know that I was not going anywhere anytime soon. I was here now, and I will put on an act and play my part.
Later in the day, I was sitting on a bench in a secluded part of the castle. I watched as so many people walked past me. Then Oren found me and walked towards me.
“Here you are. I’ve been looking for you since court,” Oren said.
“Listen, Oren. I know what you want to do, but I am here for my family. I am here to make a difference. If you do not want to see me romantically, I do not care.”
“No, I did not say that,” he said.
“Then what do you want, Oren?” I asked.
“All I want to do is get to know you. Ever since I said what I said, I have felt like an idiot because before I knew what we were going to become, I had a different life. But now, when I look at you, there is something about you that makes me want to know more,” he replied.
Looking at him, I did not know whether to believe him or not. When I saw him earlier, he did not give a damn about me, and now, he was trying to tell me that he was being forced into this.
“So can we try again?” he asked, looking at me hopefully.
The prince sat down next to me, took my hand, holding it, and kissed my hand gently. It was like he wanted to prove to me that he wanted to make this work. But looking at him, I knew he was forcing himself.
“Oren, let me tell you one thing. Where I come from, my parents love one another. Even though my parent's marriage was arranged, they loved one another and have been together for a long time. They support one another. It is hard for me to believe you,” I replied.
He sat next to me in silence. Like he was sad to hear what I was telling him—but seeing how sincere he was. I knew he wanted to get to know me, honestly.
“I tell you what, give me time, and maybe over time, we can get to know one another. This is all new to me, Oren. I am far from home and now a member of this court. All I want to do is learn more about this place, and knowing that I am going to be here for the rest of my life, I want to see everything,” I said.
Oren looked at me and smiled, “You want to try it with me?”
“In due time, yes, but I want to be involved in this place. I want to be someone quite different and have major importance that no one will ever forget,” I replied.
Oren got close to me and kissed my cheek. Then he got up and walked away from me. Like he wanted to leave me alone in peace to think about what he has said. So much was going through my mind, but hearing him say that, I knew I would have to think about it.
Making my way down to the gate, people stared at me as they were learning who I was. All I wanted to do was explore around, learn about my surroundings, thinking in my mind about what I had read in the book and the mountains that were over a mile away from Merakor.
Getting closer to the gate, I was close to walking through when suddenly, I heard someone yelling, “Bella!”
Turning around to see who it was, Jonah was riding on a horse towards me like he did not want me to go through the gate.
“What the hell are you doing?” I asked.
“Well, if you must know, someone like you should not be leaving here alone, and not because I do not want to stop you, but someone like yourself should have someone go with you if you want to go out there,” Jonah replied.
Looking at him, I knew that he was dead serious, and I should not be going somewhere on the other side of the gate without someone with me. So looking at him, I turned around without saying anything and not wanting to question his authority.
While walking back to the castle, many thoughts were going through my mind. More so, how to get to the mountains in the distance. What I saw in that book had me curious, and I wanted to know what happened to those dragons.
Getting there was going to be troublesome, that I know for sure. Jonah is the only one who knows I am interested in seeing the place. I will keep trying to go there, and Jonah was going to be the one who will take me there.
Chapter Four
Living in Merakor for the last few weeks has not been bad at all. Jonah was someone I was starting to see less of. Part of me wondered if he had a fancy for me because when Oren was around, he would begin to look sad and disappear. All I wanted was to be his friend, but it was going to be difficult.
Oren would walk with me every day because Merakor was a wonderful place and very prominent. My biggest fear was getting lost and not knowing where I was going. Oren walking with me was a way of us getting to know one another, considering that we were fiancees, but we were beginning to learn to care for one another.
Making my way down one of the castle's many long hallways, I was looking for Jonah because I knew it was time to talk with him. Jonah knew I was interested in seeing the mountains, and he was the one I knew who would take me there if I asked.
Oren was not around and had gone somewhere with his father. I made my way to an isolated part of the castle that I had never been to before and knocked on Jonah’s door. No one answered me, but I knew he was there. I was not going to give up on wanting to talk to him.
I walked into the room and looked around, knowing that this was Jonah's room. Jonah was someone who kept to himself, but it was sad because he seemed to disappear whenever his brother was around me. Part of me would miss him because he was there for me when I needed someone to talk to.
Jonah then walked out of another room, and he had no shirt on! He jumped when he saw it was me.
“Oh crap! I am so sorry!” I said, turning back towards the door.
“Do not worry; you can turn around now.”
Doing as he said, I turned around, and he was sitting on his bed. Waiting for me to talk to him.
“Well, spill it. What is going on?” Jonah asked.
In my mind, I wanted to get up and run and not say anything, but then it was going through my mind that Oren was still a little uncomfortable with me. Even though he was trying to be the fiancée he was supposed to be, he always had a way to run.
When it came to Jonah, he always wanted to talk to me. So I was not going to run.
“Bella? What do you want to ask me?” he asked.
“I was hoping you could take me to that mountain I read about in the book a while back. It has never left my mind, and you are the only one that knows I have any interest in it,” I replied.
He looked at me with no look of shock on his face. Like he knew what I was thinking, leading him to chuckle under his breath.
“There is always something new about you that I admire,” Jonah said.
“And what is that exactly?” I replied with a raised eyebrow.
“You never give up on anything. My brother will be fortunate to have you for a wife,” he said.
Looking at his face when he said that, I could tell he was a little uncomfortable, but it was an issue that was going to have to be ignored for the time being.
“So, does that mean you will take me there?” I asked pleadingly.
“Yes, after dark when all of the guards have switched to the night shift. No one will notice us when we go through the gate. Many of them will be asleep by that time. I know if I tell you no, then you will try and go alone,” he replied.
Hearing that he said yes to taking me there, all I could do was run over to him and hug him because I was surprised that he actually agreed to take me.
After I hugged him, I could tell he was nervous about me touching him. So I stepped back and walked out the door. Walking down the same long hallway, so much was going through my mind. I knew Jonah cared for me, but I wanted to respect what my parents wanted me to have with Oren.
For the rest of the day, part of me wondered what would happen when we went through the gates. I have never traveled outside of this place before, and part of me wanted to forget about it and not get Jonah into trouble. However, I would always be curious about what was out there. Being that one day I was going to become Queen, I wanted to know.
All I could do was lay on my bed with thoughts going through my mind because I was about to do something that was not very ladylike—going somewhere with someone who was not my fiancée but my fiancée’s brother. He is convinced, like me, that there could be something out there, and if there is a dragon or an egg out there, it can help protect this Kingdom if the enemy does declare war.
I pulled out the book that I got from the library, and I kept going through the pages. It looked like a book that people forgot about, and all I wanted to do was make a difference. The only way I knew I could make a difference was to find a way to protect this Kingdom. I needed to see if dragons lived in those mountains and if it was either a myth or actual reality.
When nightfall arrived, I left my room and doing what Jonah told me to do. There was no one around, and there was nothing but pure silence.
Making my way down to the gate was no problem. I walked down the long, eerily quiet streets and wearing a cape so that nobody would recognize me. I could hide in the shadows if a guard were coming my way. Getting down to the gate was easy, and as I walked through, someone was waiting for me with two horses. As I walked closer, it was Judah waiting for me as he promised.
The Dragon Master (The Journey Book 1) Page 2
