“That means all ambassadors are now present to talk with the King,” Jacob said.
Looking at my brother, I knew he was right. All I could do was breathe in and out slowly.
“I will come and find you later,” I said.
Walking down the hall, I knew that it was now time for me to do what I am meant to do.
Chapter Eleven
There was no one around except King Valkan, Queen Aliza, my father, and Lady Heather. There was a large cedarwood table in the middle of the room, which I don’t remember seeing anywhere before. The King and Queen are sitting on one side of the table. The three of us take a seat on the other side of the table.
“Thank you all for being here. As you all know, war and violence have been threatened towards us. That is why all three of you are here today,” the King said.
“Have any threats been given?” my father asked.
“Not as yet that we know of. The only information that has been given to me is that Daramir and Eros have allied,” King Valkan replied.
Hearing that again was frightening due to how Daramir has been an enemy of Merakor for many years. Eros is well known for having a strong military. Both kingdom’s merging is not good and can lead to horrible consequences.
“Has Lord Milo shown any signs that he wants war? Lady Heather asked.
“In due time, because he is a stuck-up prick, he will show his face, and he will probably have that witch at his side,” my father replied.
Hearing what my father was saying, I knew he was referring to Lady Kris’s sister Rosalie.
“Then what do we do now?” I asked.
“It is simple; this is when all three of you will develop a plan. We do not want to have war stain us,” King Valkan replied.
Both the King and Queen got up from where they stood and walked out of the room. Having myself, my father, and Lady Heather sitting all alone in the hall in silence. All of us did not know what to think next. But I decided to break the ice.
“If we believe that these Lord’s are meant to create harm to people, then we need to show that we are not meant to harm anyone. That they should not fear us,” I said.
My father and Lady Heather looked at each other. Hoping that they knew I was right.
“Daughter, you do serve an excellent point. While we need to develop a plan to show them that we do not want to have war come to us, we will have to create a backup plan, and both shown to the king,” he said.
“Should I draft a proposal and see if King Valkan approves of it. Suppose the King adopts the proposal, then maybe I should deliver it myself? I asked.
They both looked at me like I was crazy, but I was not kidding. No one would know who I am and would not even consider me coming in the end.
“It is very dangerous if you do this,” Lady Heather said.
“No, my daughter volunteering is very brave. Lord Milo or Lord Adeem of Eros will have no idea who she is, but my daughter will not go alone. We will make sure that she is protected along the way,” my father said.
I got up from the chair I was sitting at and walked near the door.
“Where are you going?” Lady Heather asked.
“To write a letter to these two Lords, then see that the King will approve it. If the King gives the go-ahead, then I will travel south towards Daramir and deliver this letter in peace,” I replied.
Making my way out of the hall, I went straight for my room and shut the door. Now that this is all in play, I was determined to make sure this letter would be delivered. If I can do this brave task, maybe the dragon egg suspects it and can hatch. I feel it in my bones that I do have what it takes to become The Dragon Master.
Sitting down at my desk, I pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. All I could do was stare at the blank piece of paper. This is a letter I am intending on delivering myself. Then a thought came to my mind, and I snapped my finger.
“Dear Lord Milo, and Lord Adeem,
My name is Lady Arabella of Winterdom, representing the Kingdom of Merakor. I am writing this letter today because it has come to our attention that both of you have allied.
We do not want war and violence to happen. My father, Lord Jacob of Wintrdom, and Lady Heather of Darrow Hills have allied to protect us all together. We do not want to declare war. Please think of the people in both your Kingdoms.
Consider that because death is not what people deserve. Living in peace and harmony is what matters. I know both Kingdoms have had issues with Merakor in the past, but that should not be the case now. Please consider it.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.”
When I was finished writing the letter, I smiled—knowing that this was the first time for me ever doing this and knowing that I have never met any of these lords before. I then folded it and put it in an envelope. Walking back down towards the hall, I did not hear my father or Lady Heather. So I looked to see who was inside. Peering in, it was King Valkan and Jonah talking.
All I could do was walk in, and they both turned and looked at me. Bowing to both the King and Jonah, I stepped forward with the letter I wrote in my hand.
“What can I do for you, Lady Arabella?” he asked.
“I am here to present to you the letter I want to deliver myself to those in Daramir personally. The only reason I am here now is to present the letter and see if you approve it. If you do approve it, then I want to get it there as fast as possible,” I replied.
Handing the letter over to the King, I bowed down to them both and walked away, closing the door right behind me. I heard the door open not long after, and Jonah was following right behind me, running up to me with such a big smile on his face.
“Why are you so happy? You must be sad about what has happened to your brother?”
“Of course I am. My father is shady about telling me, but he told me that your engagement to my brother is now null and void. Meaning that I can ask you if you would consider me,” Jonah replied.
Standing there in shock, I could not comprehend what he was trying to ask me, but I knew that having the King’s approval is what was on my mind. Also wondering how the egg was.
“Can we talk about that another time, please?” I asked.
Jonah knew I was overwhelmed, and he nodded. Respecting my choice, that was one of the things I admired about him.
“If you want to, we can go see the egg,” Jonah said.
Jonah took my hand, holding it tight. For the first time, I was not letting Jonah go. We walked down the long hall, and we made it to the door that would lead to Jonah’s room.
“Thank you for offering, but I have a feeling the egg is in good hands. I have a feeling in my heart that it will come into this life when it knows the best time to,” she said.
“Ever since we have moved it from that cave in the mountains down to the cave near the lake, it’s like it has no idea that it has changed the environment. I feared it would not make the trip, but it did,” Jonah said.
Looking at him, I could tell he was so kind. All I could do now was kiss his cheek, and I walked away from him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw he was touching the cheek that I had just kissed, and he wanted to keep that feeling.
Making my way down to the village, I noticed my brother and father admiring the surroundings, “Father!” I yelled.
They both turned around and smiled at me.
“Since you have been here, you have changed, dear daughter,” he said.
“Really? Why do you say that?” I asked.
“There are no words, but you have changed, and it has done very well for you,” Father replied.
“Let me borrow Jacob,” I said.
My brother walked forward, and we turned around and walked back towards the castle—both of us in silence.
“Father told me what you are planning to do. I am surprised he is not stopping you,” he said.
Jacob was shocked that I was planning on doing this in the first place. But I wanted him to come with me.
; “Brother, once the King approves the letter, I am not going to Daramir alone. I want you to come along with me,” I said.
My brother stood where he was, shocked that I even asked him in the first place. He is one of the few I trust in doing such a dangerous task. I know I would not be allowed to go to Daramir alone. So my brother would be a wise choice to be a companion to come with me.
“I will do anything for our father and protecting you; I can never say no to that. Let’s only hope the King approves of what you wrote,” he said.
Looking at Jacob, I could tell him anything, especially concerning what I found in that book to my little adventure with Jonah to find that egg. I just wish I could spill it all out to him, but then I had to show Jacob for him to believe it.
“Jacob, do you trust me?” I asked.
My brother looked at me so confused. He raised his eyebrow. Like he was questioning me.
“Of course, I trust you. Why?” Jacob replied.
“What I want to tell you I cannot do it here or in my room. While I was here, I figured out that I needed to be important to this place. That I am meant to be here, and someone helped me discover it, but I need you to meet me in front of my room when it is dark. Like when everyone is asleep,” I said.
He nodded at me and smiled. Turning around and walked back towards the village. Knowing that he knew I was up to something. Remembering Jonah, I promised that what we found would be kept between us. But in this case, Jacob deserved to know. I told him everything, and he was always good at keeping secrets when we were growing up.
Walking into my room, I opened the book that was right by my bed. The book that I found in the library about dragons. There was a segment that caught my eye that I had not read before.
“Giddeon The Great could talk and understand dragons. People of his home kingdom of Daramir worshipped him. They believed that he had the gift of being the final Dragon Master. Giddeon loved to spend time in the mountains and care for them, but his untimely demise has led to all of his secrets dying with him.”
Putting the book down, I was in complete shock. Realizing that the final Dragon Master was from a kingdom that I would be going to. How Giddeon’s demise is a mystery and that no one ever knew about it. People believed that he was the true and final Dragon Master. It made me wonder if the people of these kingdoms were ready to have someone like me take the reins from him.
From reading that segment from the book, it had me wonder. If I become The Dragon Master, will it lead to my death? But then I had to remind myself that I am my own person. What if I do become The Dragon Master? Then what kind of future does it hold for me?
There was a knock at my door. Putting the book under my pillow, I ran to the door, and King Valkan was at my door. I bowed down, and my body was shaking. Wondering about what his decision was going to be.
“Lady Arabella, I looked over this letter that you want to deliver to them. It is awe-inspiring, and I will allow you to deliver this to them, but you are not to go alone,” he said.
“Do not worry, I asked my brother if he could come with me if you approved of it, and Jacob agreed to come with me,” I stated.
The King smiled and started walking away from my door with a look of approval on his face. Suddenly he stopped and turned around.
“There is one suggestion. I think my son should go along with both of you. After you presented this to me, I asked Jonah right away, and he volunteered. The best time to leave will be tomorrow morning. Safe travels to all of you, ” he said.
All I could do was stand there in pure silence, knowing this journey was going to be complicated. I was having not just my brother but also a man that is romantically interested in me by my side on this journey. I just hope my personal life was not going to entangle in this mission.
Chapter Twelve
Making my way around the castle, all I wanted to do was find Jonah because keeping our lips shut about the dragon egg was our secret, but my brother is coming with us, and I need him to know about what we found.
Walking to his room, I knocked on the door, and Jonah quickly opened it.
“Hi you,” Jonah said, smiling. I just noticed that he did have a beautiful smile.
All I could do was stand there in silence because so much has happened in less than a day.
“Can we talk?” I asked.
“Yes, of course. What is it?” Jonah now looked a little worried.
“I know that your father told you of what I plan to do and are planning on coming with me. But I have also asked my brother to come with us. I do believe having him come with us, he can protect us along the way,” I said.
“Well, of course, he should come with us. Jacob is older than both of us and knows a lot more. But I know you want to talk to me about something important that is why you are here now,” he said.
“May I come into your room?” I asked.
Jonah moved out of the way and let me into his room. All I could do was walk to the window and lookout. I was breathing in and out slowly due to knowing that finding the egg was our secret.
“Jacob is going to have to be told about the egg,” I said.
“What do you mean? Because we swore, we would tell no one. I remember that we both thought no one would believe us,” he said.
From the look on his face, he was shocked that I was even considering wanting to tell someone about the dragon egg, but I needed him to know my reason why I wanted to tell my only brother about what we had discovered.
“If Jacob sees the egg for real, then he would not say a word. He has been good with keeping sibling secrets since we were children. But I do not want to go to such a hostile place and have that on my conscience,” I said.
Jonah’s face went from being confused and not understanding then to chuckling and then smiled. He walked closer to me and took both my hands.
“I am not going to question you because what I admire about you is that when you are determined, then you go for it. Jacob being shown what we found is fine with me,” he stated.
Walking to his door, I stopped when he put his hand on my shoulder.
“Did you tell him what he is going to be seeing?” he asked.
“No, because Jacob needs to see the egg to believe it. Please join us when I take him tonight. He was shady in wanting to join, but I convinced him. My brother needs to see that egg in the cave!” I replied.
Jonah nodded at what I said and smiled at me. I smiled back and walked out of his room. I made my way back to my room because if I were going to be back to that cave, I would have to do some sleeping now and not later. Plus, tomorrow, we will be leaving for the south of Merakor towards the hostile territory.
It was hard to fall asleep. Perhaps it was the sun that was not letting me. No, it was not that; it was the past events keeping me from going to sleep. All of a sudden, my eyes became too heavy to stay open, and I fell asleep. When I opened my eyes again, I realized I was home! Back in Winterdom. How was that possible?
Strolling, I looked around. It was during the cold months. Everyone around me was wearing fur. But what caught me off guard was no one was noticing me! Like I was not even there.
I looked down and saw that I was wearing the same clothes I had put on when I woke up this morning! That only has to mean that this is a dream! I did not want to wake myself up! I was curious about why I was taken home to Winterdom, in my dreams of all places.
Going slowly around the open courtyard, I noticed my father walking out of our small castle. I then realized that he was much younger. It had to have been about ten years ago! Following him, he stood still and was greeting some people arriving at our home on horses. A large group of people came from our castle. I saw that it was my brother, sister, and mother, but where was I?
The group of horses arrived, and then I realized it was King Valkan and Oren! It had to be the memory that Oren told me about when he first saw me so long ago!
My sister tried to charm Oren as he had said! Everything word for word.
“Who is that over there?” Oren asked.
“Dear Prince, that is my youngest daughter Arabella. People around here call her Bella. She is someone I wish would follow the rules around here,” father said, shaking his head.
“She had such a beautiful voice,” he said.
Suddenly, I saw the younger version of myself turn around, and I see Oren was walking towards me. He stepped closer to me, and I could tell he was blushing.
“That is such a beautiful song. What is it called?” he asked.
“I do not know. It was a song that my mother taught me,” I replied.
“Can you sing it again for me? He asked.
“Beautiful morning. Sun is shining above the snowy hills…”
Before I was able to sing anything else, my older sister walked near us. Everdeen, with her stuck-up attitude, walked towards us, and she pushed him away. I was starting to feel anger rise within me. It was like seeing this was getting me to remember repressed memories.
“Ignore my baby sister. She does not matter, but I am older than her,” Everdeen said.
Watching this happening, I finally started to remember this moment, and I had not sung that song since I was a little girl. Now I know why. Oren was the first boy to look at me, and after my sister doing that, I was not interested in singing, and I never sang again after that moment.
Everything went black, and I opened my eyes! I heard somebody knocking at my door, and the sun was already down! I was lying in my bed in a cold sweat!
The knocking continued at the door, so I got up from my bed and opened the door. Jacob and Jonah were both standing there.
“Are you alright? Jacob said.
“Is something wrong, Bella?” Jonah asked.
Looking at both of them, I could not bluntly tell them about my dream because I wanted Jacob to see what we have been keeping hidden from all the people of this kingdom.
The Dragon Master (The Journey Book 1) Page 6
