Queen of Dragons

by J. A. Armitage

  Outside, someone screamed, making me forget what it was I was about to say.

  Milo stood quickly, taking my hand in his as all around us, people left their seats to see what was going on. We both ran outside into the street as a dragon shot a breath of fire straight at us. Milo shut the door just in time before we both got barbecued.

  My father had been right. The curse was returning. The dragons were back.

  4th January

  I woke up to an urgent knocking on the door. Opening up my eyes, I tried to get my bearings in the unfamiliar room. Next to the bed, a side table held a book about ancient swords. It was a book I would have liked to have thumbed through, but it wasn't mine. Outside the room, another door opened, and then Milo spoke. He wasn't speaking particularly loudly, but just like in the bar, I could hear every word. My hearing was becoming keener with each passing day, though I didn't understand why.

  "She's here. She's safe. I'll go get her."

  Heavy footsteps sounded, getting closer, and then the door to the room flew open. Pulling the covers up to my neck, my muscles tensed as I recognized the man entering the room.

  "Father!"

  "Get out of bed!" he ordered, through gritted teeth, his red face scrunched in anger, "Now!"

  I'd never seen my father look so angry in his whole life. His knuckles were white where he held his sword, his cape saturated by rain.

  When I'd pulled myself from the warmth of Milo's bed, he pointed to the front door of Milo's house, leaving no room for misunderstanding.

  "You," he shouted at Milo as we passed. "Get your ass up to the castle. If you don't have a horse, one of the guards will take you." He nodded to one of the castle guards who grabbed Milo's arm and began to drag him to the door.

  Outside, wind blew torrential rain right into my face, making it difficult to see. The storm of last night was still going strong. I was almost pushed into the black carriage, and when the doors were closed, I was finally able to speak.

  "This isn't what it looks like, Daddy," I said, reverting back to the name I'd called him as a child.

  "I'll tell you what it looks like," he bellowed, slamming the curtains of the carriage shut. "While the dragons were rampaging through Zhore, you were here with some strange man. Sleeping in his bed, no less! Your mother is so unwell over the stress that she's been ordered to go to bed by the court physicians."

  My mother was unwell? I knew staying out would have worried her, but I didn't want to hurt her.

  "I'm sorry, Father. I was only in town to talk to Milo. Mother asked me to break up with him and..."

  My father grimaced and drummed his fingers on his knee. "Talk? In his bed? Please, Azia. It didn't look like you were breaking up with him to me. I wasn't born yesterday."

  "But I..."

  "Save it for when we get home. I'm in no mood to talk to you right now. I've been out all night knocking on doors looking for you. I thought you'd been taken. That's what they did, you know. The dragons. They took people. Young girls were their favorite."

  My heart dropped. Of course, he would come to that conclusion. "I'm sorry, Daddy."

  He huffed and turned away from me.

  We made the rest of the journey in silence, anxiety eating me up all the way. I wanted to know everything about the dragons, such as, if my father knew why they had come down from the mountains and if anyone was hurt. I had to be patient and wait, and all the time, I knew Milo was behind us on horseback, being forced to come with us.

  I tapped my toe against the carriage floor as the anxiety of the situation threatened to take over. My father must have been aware of it, but he didn't say a word. Maybe he couldn't hear it over the staccato beat of the pouring rain hitting the carriage windows. After what seemed like an age, we arrived at the castle. The portcullis shut behind us, only letting the guards through, though I couldn't say why. If the dragons were still active, it would be easy for them to swoop into the open courtyard. As it was, we only had the rain to contend with as we trooped from the carriage to the castle entrance hall. I followed my father, and behind me, Milo was brought in flanked by two other guards.

  "Father, please let him go," I begged. "He's done nothing wrong. He was protecting me; that's all."

  "Is this the young man you spoke of yesterday?" My mother's voice drifted across the hall. I turned to her, and my heart lurched. My father had said she was ill, but nothing had prepared me for the sight of her. Her usually flawless face was marred with blotchy skin, and dark circles painted the skin under her eyes. Her usually perfect hair resembled a bird's nest, something that I'd never seen once, and she looked about to pass out. I ran to her, afraid she might fall without assistance.

  "You should be in bed," my father said, taking her other arm. She swayed a little in his arms.

  "I couldn't go to bed knowing Azia was outside. I'm just tired; that's all. Thank you for bringing my girl home."

  A tear fell from her bloodshot eyes, and she brought us both in for a hug. This was more disconcerting than the blotchy face. My mother never lost it in front of people, and as far as I could tell, half the guards were currently in the entrance hall, most of them with swords trained on Milo.

  "Sorry to interrupt your majesties, but can someone tell me why my lad Milo here, has fifteen swords at his belly?"

  I turned to see the grouchy older guard, who worked alongside Milo. Jack, somebody. He didn't hide the irritation of having his workmate held up.

  "I found Azia in his bed," my father announced, both to the guard and to my mother, making my cheeks flame once again.

  "So bloody what?" Jack said. A round of titters went round the assembled guards. I'd never been so embarrassed in my whole life. And if my nonexistent love life being blown completely out of context wasn't bad enough, Caspian walked into the room, eating an apple.

  "My fiancé has been sleeping with whom?" he inquired, not seeming particularly bothered by the current state of affairs. He wasn't angry, not that he had any right to be, merely curious.

  "I've not been sleeping with anyone," I shouted out. "I went into town to see Milo. Mother, you already know we are dating. I was barely with him an hour when the dragons came down. They were spitting fire. Milo very kindly let me sleep at his house until the threat passed. I knew you would be worried for me, but I had no way of letting you know I was safe. I could hardly send a message to you and risk the life of someone. I had to do what everyone else in Zhore did yesterday. I hid." My throat constricted as I spoke, and I was aware that everyone was watching. "And yes, I slept in Milo's bed, but as you saw yourself, Father, when you barged through his door, he wasn't in it. He slept on the sofa all night. He was a perfect gentleman. Now could you please let him go!"

  My voice had risen by at least an octave, and I was bordering on hysteria. The whole scene must have looked a sight to any outsiders.

  My mother obviously thought the same thing. "Guards, leave the poor boy alone and go and do your jobs. There's enough to do at the moment without holding one of our own up. Alec, did you order this?"

  My father looked down at the floor, shame written on his face. My usual stoic father was certainly running the gamut of emotions today. Not that I could blame him. There was a lot going on. He'd certainly never treated me the way he had this morning before. It just wasn't like him, but the strain in his voice was evident with every word he spoke.

  "I was worried," he said, turning to me. "I am worried about both of you. Azia, please forgive me. I'm under a lot of stress. The kingdom is going to rack and ruin today, and I acted rashly." He lifted his hand to his brow and began to massage his temples.

  I moved closer to him and lowered my voice." It's ok, Father, but I think you are apologizing to the wrong person." I moved my eyes to the retreating guards.

  Milo was the only guard in the entrance hall not moving.

  My father turned to him. "Young man, please accept my most humble apologies." He held his hand out, which Milo stood forward to accept. It was a great hono
r to shake the hand of the king, and yet, Milo did it with grace.

  "Perhaps we should all sit down and have a talk about everything that's going on," my mother said.

  "Milo, please be our guest, and Caspian, you'll join us for tea?"

  "Delighted," he purred, giving me a wink, which brought a bitter taste to my mouth. I was close to socking the guy in the face, but I held back. I was a princess, after all.

  "I'll go and fetch Milo a towel," I offered, more to get away from Caspian's gaze than anything else. "He's soaked."

  Milo followed me to the guest bathroom, and surprisingly, nobody stopped him.

  I pulled a white towel embroidered with the castle crest from the cupboard and turned, ready to dry his hair.

  He stood there in nothing but underwear, his almost naked body damp from the rain.

  My heart pounded against my ribs, and my eyes widened at the sight of him. He was gorgeous. Because he had a cute face and curly hair, I'd not thought of him as someone to have such an amazing muscular body, but clearly, I was wrong. I cleared my throat, pulling the towel to my chest, trying to hide both the flush that was rising up my neck and my heart that seemed to be making an escape for freedom.

  "I was going to dry your hair," I choked out.

  He took a step closer and bent his head forward a little. If either my mother or my father walked in now, they would both ground me for a month, and Milo would lose his job. It would be pointless pretending this was all innocent when he was mostly naked, and I was rubbing my hands all over his body...his hair. I corrected my internal voice and pulled the towel over his head, trying to ignore the fact that below it, he had no clothes on except his underwear.

  If Caspian walked in now, well, that would be another thing entirely. I'd get great satisfaction from seeing his face.

  I rubbed Milo's hair vigorously, trying not to let this get any more intimate than it already was. I was already imagining the headlines in tomorrow's newspaper if we got caught. The dragons wouldn't get a mention. Besides, I reminded myself. I wasn't actually dating Milo nor did I want to. I wanted my freedom. Although, I could be persuaded to change my mind given the current situation.

  I felt a tug and the towel came away from my hands. Milo quickly wiped down his body and made to get back into his saturated clothes.

  "I think we may have a spare uniform. If you like, I can get it for you?" Yeah, please put clothes on before I do something stupid...like drool.

  He looked up and gave me a smile. "That would be great, thank you."

  When I hadn't moved, he raised his eyebrows.

  Now was the time to tell him that I didn't want to date him in real life. Now was the time to mention that I only wanted him for show, for pretend to get out of marrying Caspian. It was unfair to him if he had a crush on me. If he knew that I wasn't ready to date in real life, then he could make up his own mind about whether to carry on the pretense. Now was the time...but he was so breathtaking that I couldn't get the words out.

  I left the room and grabbed him a uniform from the storage cupboard off from the entrance hall. I was just about to pass it through the door to him when my mother caught up with me.

  "Is Milo in there?"

  I nodded, hoping that she wouldn't decide to go in herself to check up on him. Although, knowing my mother, she'd enjoy the display.

  "Wonderful," she gave me a smile. "We are in the drawing room. Tell Milo to join us when he's ready."

  I passed Milo the uniform through the door and headed to the drawing room, followed a minute or so later by Milo. He looked very handsome in his uniform. He took a seat next to me and took my hand in his, making me squirm. My mother noticed the gesture and pursed her lips, but she made no mention of it. I guess we had bigger fish to fry what with the dragon situation and all.

  "Please excuse me," she said, nodding at Milo and trying to pull her hair back into something more presentable. "I was up all night. We have two major problems here. The dragons that affect all of us, including pretty much everyone in the kingdom, and the matter of Azia. That is why I wanted all parties involved here to discuss the matter. As one matter has directly arisen from another matter, I think we should discuss the dragons first. Milo and Caspian, normally, I wouldn't involve anyone outside of family in talks like this. They should be held between my husband and his advisors, but nothing is normal at the moment, and quite frankly, I think the king's advisors are running scared."

  "I agree," my father said. "The dragons are definitely a problem we need to address first."

  "Was anyone hurt, Your Majesty?" Milo asked. He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees, showing great interest. By contrast, Caspian sat back and stared out of the window.

  My father shook his head as he answered Milo. "No major casualties that I'm aware of, although I'm told there were a number of minor injuries from people tripping over themselves while running away. No one got burned, but I believe luck was involved. Now that the dragons are coming down the mountains, we will have to prepare."

  I thought of the dragons that had been peaceful my whole life. Nothing about their sudden appearance made sense to me. Before yesterday I couldn't comprehend the thought of them causing havoc. They were such beautiful creatures, and if I was going to be honest with myself, I envied the way they lived, flying freely over the mountains. Many times throughout my childhood, I'd dreamed of being able to fly with them.

  "How do we do that?" Caspian asked lazily. He didn't care one iota that dragons had invaded. He could scoot on back to The Forge whenever he wanted. I only wished he would.

  My father put his head in his hands. I'd never seen him look so defeated before. He'd always spoken about how lucky he was to have never had to deal with any big problems during his reign. This was the first time he'd had to prove that he was the man in charge. Unfortunately, from where I was sitting, it looked like he was crumbling. Worry over my mother and then me only compounded everything, hitting him all at once. Without waiting for an answer, I spoke up.

  "We need to set up some kind of alert system. A siren or something that could go off whenever a dragon is spotted lower down in the mountains."

  My father shook his head. "That's all well and good, but the dragons are not really the main concern.

  Before you were born...just before you were born, a reign of terror ended. Everyone over the age of twenty-five or so remembers how awful it was. The dragons were an omen. I can deal with them. I have an army that can go out and kill them all if need be. My men are trained in the art of combat. It's what's coming next that worries me."

  The thought of my father's army killing all the dragons brought a lump to my throat. Yeah, they'd rampaged through the capital, but no one had been hurt. Before that, they'd kept to themselves, living peacefully in the mountains.

  "Do you really believe that this is an omen?" I asked. I didn't believe in omens, and before this, my father had never been superstitious.

  "Don't you feel it?" My father asked, directing his question to all of us in the room. "Something has changed. I can't describe it, but it's like nothing is quite right anymore."

  Milo looked at me, and I shrugged.

  "He's right," Caspian said, inspecting his nails. "There's been a huge magical energy shift. I'm surprised you felt it as a mere human, Alec."

  My father flinched at Caspian's choice of words. Mere human! Who did he think he was talking to?

  "I think it was just about time for something to happen," Milo said, diffusing the situation. "It is a blip, and that is all. If you find a way to deal with the dragons, everything will go back to normal."

  "Actually," Caspian jumped in. "I cannot disagree more, Mikey. I'm a magic-user, and because of that, I can sense that the vibrations in the air are off. I cannot tell what has caused the shift, but recently, as recently as last week, there was an event that happened, changing the magical atmosphere. I don't know what it was, but there was a massive shift in the magical equilibrium, and I think it will be a mistake
to discount it."

  "It's Milo," Milo corrected him.

  "Hmmm," Caspian replied, unbothered by his deliberate mistake.

  Ignoring the fae's rudeness, I thought back to the past week or so. It had been a great week, and nothing about it predicted doom and gloom, as far as I was concerned. First, there was Christmas where we opened the castle grounds for people to join us to celebrate. After that, came my eighteenth birthday, which was mainly spent eating cake and opening presents and, finally, the huge celebration ball we hosted every year for New Year's Eve. No doom and gloom here, just parties and fun. Caspian had to be wrong. He was a manipulator at the best of times, and this was far from that.

  "Let's just see how this plays out," I argued. "It could be something and nothing. For all we know, someone decided to climb the Fire Mountains and steal a dragon egg. That would set the dragons off, right?"