by Resa Nelson
Luan Lu’s heart dropped. She hated it when her family didn’t believe her. “I wish that was true. I saw the man clearly. He wore the yellow robes that only the emperor is allowed to wear.”
More neighbors stopped to listen, forcing Luan Lu to stand still alongside her mother.
“Then who rules us?” the man in front of them said.
“Emperor Po changed the law,” Luan Lu said. “No one who marries into the Po Dynasty can rule. Only children of the emperor can take his place.”
“I see,” a neighbor woman said. “It’s one of the sons of his concubines that’s become the new emperor.”
“No,” Luan Lu said. She paused to enjoy the puzzled expressions on the faces around her. In that moment, she appreciated the tremendous rush of power that came with having information that no one else had. “The Hall of Concubines has been emptied. The women who once served the emperor now act as handmaidens to the empress.”
“You make no sense, Luan,” Madam Lu said. “You talk nonsense.”
Luan Lu smiled, enjoying her last secret before she made it clear. “Emperor Po’s eldest daughter Ti now rules Zangcheen and the Wulong Province. I know because I met with her in person.” Luan Lu paused for effect and then delivered her final verbal blow. “Not in court, but inside the council chamber in the Hall of Justice. Empress Ti stood as close to me as I now stand by you.” She drew herself up proud. “Empress Ti ordered her most precious guards to come help us. She also gave me her cousin. This woman Frayka.”
“Frayka?” Madam Lu said. “What kind of a name is that?”
“Northlander. She’s from abroad, but her bloodline comes from the Po Dynasty.”
Madam Lu frowned. “And why is this foreigner here?”
“She is a woman of portents.”
“Portents!” a neighbor woman said. “Finally, someone who can help us!”
Luan Lu nodded her agreement. When inside the council chamber, Empress Ti’s dismissal of the power of portents came as a startling surprise. Everyone on Dragon Mountain knew the value of portents, especially because their local seer had died decades ago, leaving them without one.
The man standing in front of Luan Lu said, “Then Empress Ti must have good sense and a kind heart to be so generous to our people.” He turned and led the procession down the hill.
“Good sense,” Madam Lu muttered. “How will portents help our problem? We already know who our enemy is.”
Luan Lu thought back to her encounter with the empress. She had never expected to have such a close and personal experience with royalty, and the experience seemed like a blur. But Luan Lu remembered her own excitement and sense of hopefulness when leaving the royal complex. That gave her the confidence to re-imagine what the empress must have told her. “Empress Ti promised Frayka will help us get Ling away from the serpent before it kills her! Empress Ti says Frayka then will have a great portent. And that portent will be the key to saving my sister’s life and our entire village. Frayka’s portent will tell us how to be rid of the serpent forever.” Luan paused and reconsidered her words. “Unless, of course, Frayka kills it when she rescues Ling.”
“Empress Ti,” Madam Lu grunted. “If Emperor Po had told you such a thing, I would believe it. But whoever heard of a young girl filling her father’s shoes?”
Everyone in the village gathered around the royal guards and Frayka.
Madam Lu stepped forward to welcome them. Despite her reservations, she said, “We are grateful for your presence. You are welcome to sleep in our homes and share our food.” She cleared her throat and stared at Frayka. “Have you seen our future yet?”
Frayka stared back in silence.
“Is she mute?” Madam Lu said.
“I told you,” Luan Lu said. “She’s a Northlander. They speak a different language.”
Her neighbors sighed and groaned in disappointment.
“Then what are we supposed to do with her?” Madam Lu said.
The royal guard Jojen said, “She’s attempting to learn our language. I’ve found that even with a few simple words she can understand my meaning. If she’d had a portent, I believe she would be trying to tell us right now. Might I suggest taking her to the place where she can witness the problem for herself?”
“That’s a fine idea,” Madam Lu said. “I will give you directions to the place where the serpent keeps my daughter hostage, and you can take your men and Frayka there.”
“There is a misunderstanding.” Jojen shook his head. “My men and I came to make sure Frayka arrives here and returns to Zangcheen. We serve the royal family. We have nothing to do with serpents unless they are a direct threat to the royal family.”
Madam Lu pointed at Frayka. “But she’s a member of the royal family.”
Jojen glanced at Frayka. “She’s a distant cousin. We don’t serve cousins or aunts or uncles.”
Madam Lu waved her hands in the air as if trying to beckon the gods to come and help. “Then how is she supposed to help my daughter?”
Ever since meeting Empress Ti, Luan Lu had felt powerful and invincible. How many people could say they’d had an intimate conversation with royalty? And not any run-of-the-mill royalty, but the first girl to become empress! Surely, some of her power must have rubbed off on Luan Lu. “I will take Frayka to the serpent’s lair,” she said before thinking it through.
“There,” Jojen said. “The arrangement has been made.” He told his men to stand down and make themselves at home in the village houses. Tired and hungry, the other guards immediately accepted all offers from the neighbors crowded around them. Within minutes, the neighbors and guards wandered toward the closest homes, leaving Jojen alone with Frayka, Madam Lu, and Luan Lu.
Madam Lu’s eyebrows lowered like angry clouds. “Ling is already in grave danger. I will not place Luan in that same danger!”
“Your daughters have Frayka to protect them.” Jojen looked at Frayka and said, “Serpent.” He then pulled out her dagger from beneath his belt and slashed at the air as if facing a monster. “You fight serpent!”
“Yes!” Luan Lu clapped her hands together in delight. “Frayka is a Northlander. She must know all about fighting serpents and demons!” She mimicked Jojen and pretended to fight an invisible monster with an imaginary weapon.
Frayka stared in dismay at Jojen and Luan Lu. She jabbed a finger at Luan Lu and then gave Jojen a pointed look.
Luan Lu flinched. “I don’t understand. What does she want?”
“I don’t know.” Jojen frowned. “Frayka?”
Frayka gestured toward Luan Lu’s hand that gripped an imaginary weapon and then at the dagger in Jojen’s hands. Frayka showed the empty palms of her own hands.
“She needs a weapon!” Luan Lu clapped her hands together again. “Give her that dagger!”
Jojen’s face darkened. He kept a tight grip on the dagger in his hand but showed its blade to Frayka. “Serpent,” he said. “This is for use against the serpent, not against me or my men.”
“That’s silly,” Luan Lu said. “Why would a serpent-slaying Northlander have any interest in fighting you?”
Frayka lifted her chin in a prideful gesture. She planted her feet wide and then extended one hand to show she expected Jojen to place the handle of the dagger into it.
“You have my blessing,” Madam Lu said with conviction to Jojen. “You convinced me that this Northlander Po girl knows what she’s doing. Luan will take her to the serpent’s lair, but they cannot go unarmed.”
Jojen hesitated, and Luan Lu wondered if he was weighing the risk of facing the serpent against the risk of handing the dagger to Frayka. Finally, he placed the handle in Frayka’s hand.
Taking a firm grip on the weapon, Frayka smiled. She then turned to Luan Lu and said, “Serpent?”
“Yes,” Luan Lu said, even though she suspected Frayka understood nothing she said. “I’ll take you to the serpent and my sister now.”
CHAPTER 7
A few hours after following Luan Lu through the
dense brush in the mountain forest, Frayka felt grateful they’d eaten before leaving the village. Despite the hearty meal, Frayka’s stomach rumbled.
At least Luan Lu had stopped her incessant yammering. Frayka didn’t understand why a simple mountain girl seemed to have so much to say to everyone.
But she helped convince Jojen to give my dagger back to me. So, she’s good for something.
Up ahead, Luan Lu gestured for Frayka to stop and stay quiet.
Maybe she’s found the dragon.
Throughout their entire trek, Frayka kept in mind what her father taught her since childhood, based on his life in the Northlands: there are two types of dragons.
One type of dragon is a dangerous animal that won’t hesitate to kill mortals and animals. Such dragons destroy crops and starve entire villages. These dragons must always be killed.
The other type of dragon is an entirely different matter. These dragons are often shapechangers and intelligent beings, possibly even more intelligent than mortals. They should never be killed.
Frayka wondered what type of dragon she might be about to face.
Luan Lu led the way through the forest to a narrow dirt path made by animals. The girl gestured as if holding a weapon and pointed for Frayka to take the lead.
We must be close. Or maybe the dragon is one of the animals that uses this trail.
Frayka drew her dagger and held it in front while she walked down the narrow trail. Trees and bushes crowded each side of the trail, constantly brushing against Frayka’s shoulders. She flinched when she walked face first into an abandoned spider web because she saw it too late. Frayka rubbed the sticky silk off her skin.
She remembered one more thing her father had taught her about dragons. They hunted by disguising their presence and waiting for prey to walk by. Dragons would dig trenches by the side of a road, climb inside, and then cover themselves with leaves, dirt, and other debris to hide. When an animal or mortal came down the road, the hidden dragon waited until it could easily spring from its hiding place and take down its unsuspecting victim.
Shuddering at the sticky touch of the spider web, Frayka kept her focus on the road ahead and any disturbance beside it that looked suspicious.
The trail took them to a shallow stream that raced down the mountain slope where it would join a river below. The women jumped across the stream and then followed the next uphill path.
Still walking in silence, they came to an abrupt halt at the sound of a loud snort.
Is it the dragon? Has it found us?
Luan Lu’s face paled with terror.
Frayka reached out and placed a reassuring hand on the mountain girl’s shoulder, determined to settle her down before Luan could give them away. Frayka studied their surroundings.
The stream rushed next to them. Dense forest stood on the opposite side of the stream. On the women’s side, a rocky wall stood ten feet high. Weeds and new pine growth dotted its table.
Another snort sounded, coming from the plateau.
Frayka looked up to see a mountain deer come into view and nibble at the weeds. She nudged Luan Lu and pointed up at the animal. Forgetting the girl couldn’t understand her, Frayka said, “That plateau must slope downward, away from us. Down toward the incline behind that rock wall. It hid the deer until it walked to the edge where we could see it.”
At the sound of Frayka’s voice, the mountain deer snorted louder. It turned its back to the women and then kicked its hind legs high in the air while continuing to snort.
Luan Lu laughed and slumped in relief.
The deer lifted its head high and pranced down the deceptive plateau, vanishing from sight in seconds.
Frayka took one last look at the rock wall and the edge of its slanted plateau before continuing forward. A short time later, the path opened onto a small clearing in front of the open mouth of a cave. A circle of young pines rested in the center of the clearing.
“Ling!” Luan Lu shouted.
Before she could run into the clearing, Frayka clapped one hand over the girl’s mouth and held on tight.
Does she see someone I don’t?
Frayka stared at the clearing until she noticed slight movement among the young pines. She made out the shape of a woman who stood but wriggled as if trying to free something that bound her.
“Luan?” a faint voice called from the circle of young pines. The voice shouted frantically in words that Frayka didn’t understand.
But Luan Lu did understand. Instead of running into the clearing as Frayka feared she might, Luan pried Frayka’s hand away and clung to it. Luan rested her other hand over her own mouth to stay silent.
Ling. That’s what Luan called out. It must be that woman’s name. And whatever she’s saying is convincing Luan to stay hidden.
Frayka noticed how easy it would be to walk behind the trees that circled the clearing. The ground stood free of roots, stones, or any other obstacle that might trip Frayka. She saw no dry leaves or twigs that could crunch or snap to give away her presence.
In the clearing she saw no hiding places where dragons could lurk.
Walking around the perimeter of the clearing would give Frayka the opportunity to get a better look at the woman hidden among the young pines as well as any potential danger.
Frayka wrenched her hand free of Luan’s frenzied grip and gestured for Luan to stay in place.
Ling’s voice continued in pleading tones, and Luan looked from the pine trees to Frayka with wide-eyed horror.
Taking Luan’s response as her willingness to stay put, Frayka crept behind the trees bordering the clearing.
The skittering sound of clawed feet against stony ground caught Frayka’s attention, and she looked into the clearing to see a peculiar dragon scuttle out of the cave. At first glance, it looked like the largest snake Frayka had ever seen. Fat as a pig, its length was the same as a small boat. The reptile’s scales were as green as pine needles and sparkled in the sun. Bright yellow eyes bulged from its flat head, while an even brighter yellow tongue flicked out from its mouth.
And yet when it slithered, Frayka noticed short and stumpy legs helped propel it along.
A short distance behind Frayka, Luan moaned in fright.
The serpent dragon stopped abruptly. Its short front legs straightened to raise the creature's head. Its mouth gaped open, and its tongue probed the air.
They taste information in the air, that’s what Father always said. Did it hear Luan? Is it trying to find her by tasting her scent in the air?
Behind her, Frayka was startled by Luan’s soft cry of surprise.
Frayka turned in time to see Luan’s stumbling body fall toward her with outreached hands. The angle of Luan’s askew legs and the disturbed dirt around the gnarled root that must have tripped her made Frayka understand what had happened but she had no time to react.
Luan’s momentum made her collide with Frayka, hurtling the Northlander into the nearest tree.
Frayka’s head hit the wood hard enough to make her lose consciousness.
Before Frayka passed out, she saw Luan’s face tense with panic.
CHAPTER 8
When Ling Lu heard her sister’s voice call out from the thicket of trees around the clearing, she knew there was little time to waste. Ling answered. “Luan?”
The men from her village had left her here days ago, lying on the ground with thick heavy ropes binding her feet and hands. Unable to walk, Ling had crawled into a copse of young pine trees, which gave her some shelter from the elements and morning dew to drink from their lower needles.
“I’m here with someone who can help,” Luan called from behind the trees. “She’s a cousin of the Po Dynasty. She’ll rescue you from that monster!”
Ling realized that if their situations were reversed, she would be standing in Luan’s shoes right now saying the same words. Shaking her head in frustration, Ling didn’t know how to tell her sister that everything they thought they knew about the world had been wrong.
Luan went silent behind the trees.
Ling wrestled with her bonds. If only Luan knew what Ling had learned.
* * *
When the men from her village bound Ling and deposited her in this clearing, she’d assumed the serpent would devour her. Ling resigned herself to a painful and brutal death. Hours later, when the serpent first appeared, Ling turned her face away from it and cried, wishing her life wasn’t about to be cut so short.
But the serpent did what she least expected. Opening its mouth to reveal small but sharp teeth, it nibbled at the rope binding her. The nudging sensation made Ling peek at the serpent’s head when it worked at the bonds at her feet.
When the serpent saw that she looked at it, the creature skittered a few steps back, appearing to be uncertain of Ling’s intentions. Its bright yellow tongue flicked out like a fisherman’s line. The serpent took tentative steps toward Ling. It placed a gentle front paw on Ling’s leg, steadying itself against her, and then nibbled at the rope again.
Ling considered the thick nature of the rope and the serpent’s small teeth. The task would take time.
But why would a monster demand that a young woman be delivered to its lair and then free its victim?
Wouldn’t it make more sense for the monster to simply gobble her up?
Ling became even more perplexed when the serpent stopped chewing on the ropes, disappeared for a short while, and returned with a large piece of fire-bush fruit in its mouth. Ling had propped her body to sit up with her back against one of the young pines, her bound hands resting in her lap. The serpent crept toward Ling and dropped the fruit into her bound hands.
Ling stared at the serpent in astonishment.
It nudged her arm with its nose and then backed away.
This isn’t a monster. It’s a friend.
Fire-bush fruit was one of Ling’s favorite foods. More important, the flesh of the fruit held a great deal of water. She wasted no time in devouring it. Before she could finish it, the serpent brought more.
