__________________
Ash fell to the ground, his breathing was labored.
“Euan, how in the name of the Gods does one train a bloody dragon?” Ash asked the wind in an open field just outside of the castle walls. A gentle breeze came from the East and the grass around him began to sway.
“Well, currently this dragon is not bloody, and we should strive to for her to remain so. ’Tis no different than training a hound. Have ye never trained a hound before, Prince of Larutte?”
“I…have…,” Ash paused momentarily to think to himself “Actually Euan, I have not. Any of the hounds at the castle were trained by others and my father never allowed me to waste my time with activities he deemed unworthy of a prince,” Ash replied as he ran he ran his right hand through his long blond hair, his left hand pressed steadily into the ground for support.
“Ah yes, good ole King Alric, a prick… a-lee man if ever there was one. Well, my boy, it’s just like training a hound, except that it’s nothing like it,” Euan said with an ever-growing smile and the subtlest of glints in his eye.
Sephine flew high in the sky, circling the castle ramparts. The wind flowing like water beneath her wings. Her wing span currently was close to fifteen feet from wing tip to wing tip. From the tip of her snout to the tip of her tail, she measured roughly thirty-six feet. Her red scales shone brilliantly in the mid-day sun. The one thing that Ash had not expected was for her to have feathers and scales towards the ends of her wings the scales began to change into feathers, leaving the edges of her wings displaying a fluid mix of crimson and onyx that gave the impression of the dark red wine shifting between the shadows and the light.
“Sephine,” Ash shouted. “Come here, girl.” Hey, Euan, she can hear me…right?”
Euan shook his finger in his ear, “I don’t know if she can hear ye, but I certainly can. Ash, animals sense more than they listen to words. Dragons are much more sensitive than any other animal you’ve ever encountered. They can be trained, but it starts with establishing a connection between the two of you. Ye had it when she was smaller. I remember ye running and wrestling with her only a few months ago. But, ye stopped recently. Why?” Euan asked.
“I’ve been busy with affairs of the kingdom, Euan. My father has me listening to his rulings and then overseeing that they are followed through as he decreed. I’ve been tasked with training Sephine to defend the kingdom in exchange for Marric’s life. If she doesn’t learn to do so, my father will throw him back in the oubliette indefinitely. He’s even begun to turn his eye toward Farrah. He has begun to wonder if she is s spy for King Caelin. I’m running out of bargaining chips to use to save those I care about Euan,” Ash replied as he sat back onto his legs.
Sephine made a sound that was somewhere between a coo and a chirp as she dove head first towards the earth. She began to spiral, and Ash smiled.
“She is magnificent, isn’t she?” Ash said.
“That she is, my boy. That she is…” Euan replied.
“I don’t know if I can wrestle with her anymore. She’s the size of three oxen, and just as heavy. She’ll crush me, Euan,” Ash said as he stared up into the sky at Sephine.
“It’s okay for ye to be afrai-” Euan began.
“I’m not afraid, Euan,” Ash interrupted.
“It’s okay for ye to be afraid, Ash.” Euan waited for Ash to make eye contact before he lifted his hand with one finger raised, “Fear should inform you, not paralyze you…” Euan said.
“I’m not afraid, Euan. I’ve fought and slain both men and beasts to protect my kingdom… “ Ash interrupted.
“This not be like that. Ye are accustomed to fighting. Ye’ve been trained for it. That be easy for ye. Ye’ve never trained a dragon before, not even a hound, and on top of that, ye father has hinged ye brother’s life on whether or not ye can train this dragon to serve the kingdom of Larutte. I know ye can train Sephine, but I think ye father believes he’s assigned ye an impossible task. Before ye can begin to train Sephine, ye must first acknowledge the fear inside.”
The ground shook following the thump, thump sound of Sephine’s landing. She shook from her head down to her tail and then nuzzled her head against Ash’s chest. He rubbed the top her cool scaly head, and as he did so, he noticed the beginning of the finest feathers running from the point where her spine and her head met down her back to towards her tail.
“Hey, Euan, I didn’t know that dragons could have feathers. I was shocked when I saw feathers on her wings. But, now I’m seeing them on her in more places. Her mother didn’t have feathers,” Ash said before falling on his back with a laugh as Sephine knocked him backwards.
“They can. It’s not common, but it’s possible. I once saw a white dragon covered in white feathers and golden scales. I’ve even seen some that look like giant snakes, with long twisting bodies and much smaller wings in comparison to Sephine here,” Euan replied as he looked towards the tallest most isolated rampart of the castle.
“But, if her mother didn’t have feathers, then why would she have them? And, she came from her mother’s heart. I thought perhaps that she was, I don’t know, her mother born again…” Ash said to Euan as he stood up fastening his black leather sword belt over his dark blue tunic and black leather breeches. He stomped his feet, knocking off any grass from his shiny black boots.
“Not an altogether foolish thought my boy,” Euan said as his eyes creased from his growing smile.
“Magic. Magic fueled by your love is what gave life to Sephine. There was but only a hope that this outcome would prevail over the multitude of others. She is like her mother, but different. In a way, like you are your father, but different. And yet, you are also nothing like your father, which is why I never came to him. Worry only about your bond with the dragon, Sephine, Ash,” Euan replied as footsteps could be heard coming up the hill.
“My lord! My. Lord. Prince. Ash. The king…” said a solider as he waved his hand and held his side, his chest heaving high and low. Ash turned to see who was calling for him. He heard the rustle of the grass and felt a breeze blowing. He turned back to Euan only to find him no longer there.
“What is it solider?” Ash asked.
“Your. Fa-,” replied the solider.
“Stop. Catch your breath. Unless King Caelin’s men are at the gate, you can take a moment to catch your breath,” Ash said as he walked closer to the solider.
“I cannot say for sure, your majesty. But, one of our southern scouts came back. Just reported in with a message from Commander Raeker at the southern outpost. I was immediately sent to bring you to the King, your majesty,” said the solider between attempts to catch his breath.
Hope Chest Page 9
