by A. J. Medina
“Aye, m’lady.”
I turned to face her. “Nay. Nothing’s changed between us. Call me Alora, like before.”
She smiled. “Aye, Alora.”
The next morning, I stood at the side of my king as he explained to the city that the apprentice had been defeated. The crowd of castle city citizens applauded and cheered at the news. Next, he broke the news about the wizard. The crowd fell silent, until he introduced me as his first knight. The king grabbed my hand, raised it overhead and the audience cheered.
I looked at the king and he appeared genuinely thrilled, busily shaking his fist and smiling at the people. I wondered if I would be able to protect him after all. As doubt crept in, I turned back to face the crowd. The knightlys stood in front and were all focused on me, throwing their arms into the air and cheering as loud as they could. If any of them didn’t consider me their leader before... they definitely did now.
Epilogue
There was a knock at the door. Lucah wondered who it could be this late in the evening. When he opened it a man stood in front of him that he’d never seen before. The man’s hair was long and dark, resting on his shoulders. His eyes were a dull shade of gray and he had a full beard that was black as night. In the cool night air his face could easily camouflage among the shadows.
“May I help you ser?” Lucah asked.
“The question young man, is can I help you? I have a message for you from the apprentice.”
Lucah took a step back. “What message?”
The man peered into the house and looked at what he could see from the door. “Are we alone?”
“Aye. Everyone is asleep.”
“He would like to invite you to join his army.”
“What?”
“Word has spread through the kingdoms that you have been released from the, king’s knights, is it?”
“The knightlys.”
“Aye, them. The apprentice would like to make you a captain in his army. You will be expected to train others and teach them what you have learned. Magic and all.”
“I need to think about it.” But he didn’t really have to.
“This offer is only valid for the moment. Don’t you want to be a knight? Those others, the knightlys, didn’t they act better than you? Act as if you were nothing? Laughed even?”
That wasn’t true, but he decided to play along. “How do you know—”
“The apprentice knows many things. He has many followers throughout the kingdoms. What he is offering you is much more than just a place in his army, he offers you freedom from oppression. Freedom from the king’s rule. Decide quickly.”
Lucah was silent as he acted like he was weighing the decision. King Remi’s plan had worked. The king was right, the apprentice would try to recruit him. “I accept.”
“Then gather your things. We leave at once.”
Lucah tip toed to his room to collect his belongings, but realized he didn’t own anything worth holding onto. He took one last look around his home and stopped at the table. He thought back to the day he had mustered up the courage to finally kiss her. When King Remi had ordered him to stay away from Alora, his heart sank. But it was either do what the king commanded or be dismissed—or worse. He inhaled deeply, let out the breath and then left with General Ugo.
Alora and the Dragon Wizard
Book 2
A.J. Medina
Chapter 1
When I finally cried myself to sleep, the dream came...
It felt like I was running forever. I made it through the castle city, past the stables, and then out the main gate. Lucah was sitting in the carriage and it was pulling away.
I yelled his name and he turned around to check who it was. He screamed at the driver to stop and then jumped out of it and ran over to me. I ran to him and jumped into his arms and we kissed.
When I pulled away from his lips, the whole scene changed. I found myself in Silas’ arms on the balcony, like so many nights before. Confused about what was happening, I looked into his violet eyes and realized it must be a dream. Lucah had left some time ago and Silas was now in the dungeon. There was no way we could be on the balcony. Once I made the connection, the castle city began to fall—it melted to the ground.
When I looked around, I found myself inside the burned remains of my cottage. It was dark and lonely so I ran outside and kept running towards my meadow. The sun was suddenly high in the sky and the sunflowers that acted as sort of a gatekeeper around the perimeter, swayed in the gentle breeze.
And then they ignited. Every single flower and every single tree was ablaze. The red dragon, who the wizard called The Dragon Wizard, swooped down and exhaled fire, igniting anything that wasn’t already burning. I raised my hand to the flames and then dropped them quickly, commanding the flames to extinguish.
But they didn’t listen to me. I tried it over and over again, like I did when the wizard tried to teach me how to control fire, but it was of no use. The flames grew closer to me and I could feel their heat and smell the burning trees. Smoke surrounded me, making it hard to see and breathe. I coughed—my body’s reaction to the foreign air. Over and over, my lungs tried to clear themselves, but they couldn’t. Falling to my knees, I worried that this was it. This was where it all ended. In my meadow, the happiest place I could think of.
But then a large drop of water pelted me from above. Rain began to fall from the sky. When I looked up, I found myself in the wizard’s workshop.
The clear glass above me was being pelted with giant water droplets, the sound both comforting and scary all at once. A bright flash was followed by a thunderous roar that made me almost jump out of my second skin.
Somehow I ended up in the city square with the king holding my raised hand in front of the city’s citizens. The knightlys were in front of me cheering because I was the king’s first knight and the wizard of Ly’vera.
I pulled my hand away from the king and then found myself in the bath being washed by Neala, my chamber maiden. After Silas had made me realize she was a slave, I had thought about my treatment of her long and hard.
Had I treated her like a slave?
The dream shifted again.
Neala held her head down as the wizard scolded me and asked me to apologize for making the princess sad.
It wasn’t my fault her feelings had been hurt, but I told him that me and the princess were going to walk in the garden. He warned me to be careful. He didn’t want me to become like The Apprentice. After that, me, Neala and Princess Evelyn all went to the garden and ran around in the rain and mud. It was so much fun. I could have chose to be upset with Neala or just see it as her doing her duty. I chose—doing her duty. But in reality, she was doing as she — a slave — had been commanded.
And then I woke up.
I lay in bed staring up at the ceiling thinking about how I had acted that day towards her. I was so stupid. Neala had told the wizard about me and he was upset, asking that I apologize to the princess. Then I had treated her like a servant, ordering her to come with us to the garden. Neala had lowered her head and kept it that way the whole walk to the garden. I was glad she felt bad and maybe a little ashamed for telling the wizard on me, but I didn’t treat her like I should have. She was my maiden, but I didn’t know I would need her to be so much more. With Tessa gone, and my living in the palace, I would need Neala to be my friend.
But what now? What was my next step?
I sat up and began playing with my feet when someone knocked on my door.
“Who’s there?” I asked.
“Me,” a soft voice said from the other side.
It was the familiar voice of my chamber maiden.
“Enter.”
Neala had become accustomed to knocking before entering my room ever since Silas began sleeping over. Each time she came in and woke us, she would ask our forgiveness for intruding. To be on the safe side she began knocking, at least when she remembered to. But there was no longer any reason for her to knock. Silas was locked away
— in his prison... his cell... his cage — down in the dungeon beneath the palace.
Neala waved good morning and went into the washroom. She banged around a little and emerged with her bowl of wake up water.
I swung my legs off the bed and dipped my hands into the bowl. The water was freezing and I hated the cold rush it always gave me. I wished it wasn’t that cold and when the water touched my face, it didn’t feel as cold as I thought it would. I found a smile creeping onto my face. It was an original feeling of happiness, not a fake one that I had to portray in front of others.
Neala handed me a towel to dry my face and then disappeared back into the washroom.
I stood, stretched my arms high into the sky and opened my mouth wide, yawning so loud that the whole kingdom might’ve heard me.
“Slept well?” Neala asked when she reappeared.
“Nay. My mind won’t be still. I keep having dreams about everyone I care about. Yesterday was Tessa. Today it was Lucah, Silas, my home, my meadow, and...”
“And...”
“You were in my dream too.”
“I was?”
“Aye.”
“What part did I play in your dream?” Neala asked, and then opened the closet to retrieve my second skin. After walking over and placing it on the bed, she waited for my answer.
I shook my head and then lifted my sleep shirt up and off. I didn’t want to tell her what was on my mind. Reaching for my second skin, I blurted it out anyway. “I don’t want a slave. Neala, I think you should go.”
Neala grabbed me by my shoulders before I could pick up my second skin and forced me to look into her eyes.
“Nay! Don’t send me away! Please Alora!”
I wasn’t sure why Neala was so frantic.
Neala’s tears began to flow and she cried it this time. “Please Alora, don’t send me away.”
“But I’ve been thinking about it and I don’t want... a slave.”
“Try not to think about it. Besides, I’m not your slave, I’m the king’s.”
“Aye, but—”
“Chamber maidens that are sent away are seen as... not good enough. And right now I’m...” Neala stopped talking, let go of my shoulders, and turned around.
I slid into my second skin and said the magic words, “Apta magnitudine,” to make it form to my body. “You’re what?” I asked.
Neala didn’t answer.
I walked around to face her, grabbed Neala’s shoulders and whispered, “You’re what?”
Her eyes stared at the floor. “I’m under your protection.”
My nose twitched, as if something tickled the inside of it. “I don’t understand.”
Neala wiped the tears from her eyes and then lifted her head. “Ever since you asked for me to be your maiden, I haven’t had to do certain things.”
“What things?” I asked.
“I don’t want to say. It’s a secret. But I haven’t had to do them, and I’m glad I don’t have to. Please don’t send me away. Please...”
What were the things Neala was asked to do? Things that she didn’t have to do since she became my maiden. And was it so bad, so terrible, that she couldn’t share it with me? I didn’t want a slave, but I didn’t want Neala to do things that were so bad they made her cry. Maybe if she had to serve someone it was best if it was me. I would make sure never to treat her badly ever again. She still had to be my maiden, otherwise people might get suspicious, but at least I wouldn’t ask her to do things that would make her cry.
“Um... fine, I won’t send you away. Maybe one day you’ll trust me enough, or we’ll be such good friends, that you’ll tell me your secret.”
Neala nodded, wiped her nose on her brown dress sleeve and then wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tighter than I had ever been squeezed.
“Am I expected anywhere today?” I asked Neala.
“Nay. As I understand it, the king isn’t feeling well and the queen is at his side.”
“Is it serious?”
Neala shook her head. “He drank too much ale at the feast and needs to recover.”
The feast. A second celebratory feast thrown in honor of our victory over The Apprentice and to honor my new position and those that had fallen.
No one at last night’s feast seemed to enjoy themselves except for King Remi. Queen Rosaleen had made an appearance, which was unexpected since she liked to spend most of her time alone or with the princess, but she didn’t appear to enjoy herself either.
The jesters tried to make everyone laugh, but the only one who laughed was the king, and once or twice, the princess let out a chuckle.
Princess Evelyn seemed more concerned with trying to copy me and the other knightlys sitting around her table—silent and serious.
But the princess could only contain herself for so long. When the three dancers started gyrating their hips and floating across the floor, the princess stood and joined them. She tried her best to emulate their movements, but failed miserably. I had to admit, watching the princess attempting to dance like them forced a smile onto my face.
Since no one had sent for me, I made a mental list of the things I would do. I wanted to visit my new workshop and look through the wizard’s book. It was now my book and I wanted to learn all that I could from it.
After that, I would like to pay a visit to the guard’s wing. It would be nice to practice with the knightlys and maybe even eat with them.
But first, the one thing that I’ve wanted to do since forever, was to visit Silas.
“Neala, I’m going to visit Silas. Will you come with me?”
“Of course,” Neala said, and then fetched my boots—the ones that were sitting by the door.
I sat down on the edge of the bed and Neala placed my boots in front of me. I was about to reach out and slip them on myself when Neala slapped my hand away.
After she slid them on and tied them, I worried if Silas was in worse condition than the last time I had seen him. Just before the king had walked in, I had healed the bruises on his face. If he was beaten again, I wasn’t sure if I could heal him. I didn’t even know how I did it the first time. But I would definitely try.
Last time it took me a while to find the right way down to the dungeon, this time I would pay attention and memorize the way.
With my second skin on and my boots tied, I was ready. “Okay Neala, lead the way.”
After going down to the main level and past the pillars in the great hall, Neala led me through the many twists and turns that reminded me of my first time walking through the guard’s wing. I remembered how I had labeled it a maze. This felt exactly the same way.
As I followed at Neala’s side, I painted a map in my mind of the many twists and turns that led to the winding staircase that led down to the dungeon.
No wonder I got lost last time, it was a miracle that I found my way down there at all.
A guard was posted at the main gate that led into the dungeon cells. At the first sight of us, he stood from his chair and touched his fist to his chest and greeted me by my knew title. “Wizard.”
I returned his salute. “I am here to visit the prisoner.”
“Sorry Wizard, but you may not enter.”
“I am First Knight and your commander... let me pass.”
“My orders come from the king himself.” The guard lowered his head. “Forgive me.”
King Remi was being unreasonable. He wanted to keep me away from Silas. But why?
I searched through my memories for a clue. Besides him being the enemy, of course, there had to be another reason that would explain why the king wanted to keep me away. The king told me I shouldn’t have been there when I visited Silas that night after the celebration.
He knew about our relationship — he had to, everyone else did — and now maybe King Remi thought Silas could turn me against him.
My body tensed and my arms lifted slightly out and away from my body. I imagined my stance looking like I was about to breathe fire like a
dragon would. The wind picked up and the breeze caused my hair to sway. “Stand aside!” I ordered the guard, and then the wind picked up even more, causing my braid to fly in all directions.
The guard didn’t move, instead choosing to keep blocking my path.
Neala lay her hand on my shoulder and tugged. It didn’t help.
The guard spoke again. “Please... Wizard, they are the king’s orders.”
Neala whispered into my ear. “Alora, it’s not his fault. He’s under orders.”
The gust of wind died down and my body relaxed. “Fine,” I huffed. “Let’s go, Neala.”
We turned to leave when the guard spoke again. “The king didn’t mention your maiden. She can enter with your message.”
The two of us turned around just in time to catch the guard wink.
“What would you like me to tell him?” Neala asked me.
I wasn’t sure. I didn’t even know what I was going to say to him yet. All I knew is that I wanted to see him. I wanted to hold his hand and kiss his lips. I didn’t say that, instead making something else up. “I need to write it down. It’s personal.”
“Aye, Wizard. Whenever you are ready, send your maiden down and I will allow her entry.”
I thought about it for a moment when I had an idea. “Wait! Neala, go in and check on Silas. Inform him that I will be sending you back with a message from me. I won’t be needing you any longer this morning. I plan on training with the knightlys and then going to the wizard’s... um... my workshop.”
Neala curtsied. “Aye, m’lady. I will tend to my duties when I am done.”
I saluted the guard once more for his kindness and then went back up the stairs to the main level of the palace.
Chapter 2
Tuum manifestes, tuum manifestes, tuum manifestes. As she walked up the steps back to the palace’s main level, Neala repeated them over and over so she wouldn’t forget them. They were the words Silas told her to give Alora.
After reaching the main level, Neala walked past the great hall and towards the kitchen. Two girl servants, carrying vases with dead flowers, walked towards her.
