Heartscale

by Lola Ford

  People were everywhere, but unlike yesterday when everyone had been focused on their own tasks and business, today there were in groups. No one was traveling around the town on their own.

  They look like ants down there, Zel sounded in a poisonous mood this morning.

  Morning. Are you looking through my vision?

  Yes. You have business to attend to. Time to get moving. You need to return to me.

  Anxious, are we? he asked as he turned back to the room to change.

  You were injured last night!

  Graith rubbed his temple carefully. He remembered, and his face was sore. He wondered what wonderful shade of purple his eye might be.

  That I was.

  He could feel her tail twitch without even seeing her.

  Get a move on then.

  Before he’d fallen asleep the night before, all he’d managed to remove was his belt and throw it on to the small table in the corner, drape his cloak over the back of the accompanying chair, and pull off his boots. His rumpled clothes were less than appropriate to wear before Lord Arish. Pulling on fresh pants and shirt he quickly headed out of the room.

  When he reached the dining hall of the inn, a delicious smell wafted from the kitchen. What would it hurt to have breakfast? Daisy emerged from the kitchen at the sound of someone coming down the stairs. Seeing Graith, she immediately turned around and rushed back into the other room. Moments later an older gentleman with thinning gray hair came out. He was covered in flour and was wiping his hands on his apron.

  “Morning there! What can I get ya?”

  Graith sat at the same table as the night before, looking around. After the previous evening the large room felt empty. He could still smell appetizing odors coming from the kitchen though.

  “Ah well, whatever it is that I can smell, eggs and fresh toast perhaps?”

  “Aye we have eggs, but no toast. We do have a specialty pastry however.”

  “Sounds wonderful.”

  The man disappeared into the kitchen and reemerged carrying a plate and bowl. He set it down before Graith and dropped into a flourished bow.

  “Enjoy your food, Sir!”

  The man stood and went to leave, but saw Daisy sticking her head out of the kitchen. Graith also saw the serving girl and couldn’t help but frown. Not that she had done anything wrong, but he was the one supporting a swollen eye.

  “I am so sorry about last night, Sir. Daisy told me what happened. Sweet lass, my Daisy. Not the brightest, however. I’ve known Dominic was enamored with her for ages. She didn’t. And until last night he intentionally didn’t acknowledge that she… ah, enjoyed fully pleasing our customers.”

  Graith blanched a little. In his village, even the notion of such could get a person exiled at the very least.

  “You uh… don’t mind?”

  “Why would I? She keeps quiet about it, and guests are always willing to pay more for a room.”

  “Well, I’m sorry if I caused a disruption.”

  “Not on you at all, on her. But mostly on Dominic. I don’t think he’ll be playing here anymore.”

  The man patted Graith on the shoulder and walked back to the kitchen. Graith turned to his food, his eyes alighting on the pastry. It was round and flat, and looked to be filled with a soft cheese. He took a bite and the flaky dough was sweet in his mouth. This was a luxury he must indulge in whenever he was in a town.

  Hurry up and eat. You’re running late, Zel was letting her annoyance at him leak through.

  Late to a meeting that I’m going to have to force anyway? Not really. Graith didn’t care if she wanted him to hurry, his breakfast was too good.

  Zel huffed and backed out of Graith’s mind. He finished his breakfast quickly though and made his way out to the stable for Mero.

  Out in the courtyard, Graith could see Mero happily munching away at the grain in the box next to him. There was also a large bucket of water hung there and as Graith approached he could see the large horse was impeccably groomed. Graith whistled, impressed.

  He’d forgotten to come check on Mero the night before, along with the stable boy who’d taken such diligent care of him. Graith looked around now for the boy, but he was nowhere in sight. That was odd. The lad had looked like the stable and horses were his life.

  Graith was surprised that the boy wasn’t around, but he had places to be. He opened the stall holding Mero and had to chuckle. There in the straw at Mero’s hooves was the boy, asleep and covered with a stable blanket. Graith carefully led Mero out of the stall and over to the little cart. He really should have left the cart with Zel, but Mero was just too big to be comfortable to ride bareback. After he hooked up the horse, he went back into the stable.

  Squatting down next to the boy, he shook him gently on the shoulder. The boy threw an arm over his eyes and rolled over.

  “Lad. Come now and wake up.”

  “Pa, it’s too early…” the boy mumbled from under his arm.

  “Lad, I’m not your pa. Just trying to pay you for your services.”

  Little brown eyes blinked up at him. Then the boy was hastily sitting up, pulling straw from his hair.

  “Sir, I’m so sorry for sleeping in here. Mero though - he just looked so lonely -”

  The boy was nearly twitching he was so nervous about being caught sleeping.

  “Lad. It's alright. I just wanted to pay you for your service.”

  Graith dug out a full gold coin and handed it to the boy, who then looked at it with wonder.

  “Sir, you can’t give me this. It’s far too much.”

  “I can, and I have. Though if I were you I would either hide it or spend it where you’ll get a lot of change. Things like that go missing too easily.”

  The young boy just nodded before tucking the coin into his boot. Graith ruffled his hair and was on his way.

  ***

  There was a light knock on Myha’s door, and Karina entered at their acknowledgment.

  “My ladies,” she said while bowing, “I’m sorry to interrupt you - however King Soren has requested Princess Nerie’s presence.”

  Squeezing her tight, Myha helped her daughter stand.

  “Get him talking about dragons and you’ll be golden!” she whispered in Nerie’s ear.

  Bowing to Myha again, Karina led Nerie and Kiriga out the door. Nerie felt like a leashed dog as she followed Karina from room to room. She knew that it was only temporary until she learned to navigate the palace on her own, but she was growing tired of it quickly.

  It wasn’t long before they were faced with another set of large golden doors. At first Nerie thought that Karina had brought her back to her own room, but upon opening the door, she was greeted by an even larger suite than her own. Directly opposite the entry, the garden she remembered waking up in after the hatching ceremony faced her.

  Ilex lounged like a large giant snake. She saw for the first time that while he did have wings, only they were as small as Kiriga’s currently were. His acid green scales glistened in the midday sun. Kiriga trotted over to him and used his nose to stand on her hind legs.

  While Nerie couldn’t hear an exchange, she could see one was taking place.

  Ilex says that Soren wants to eat lunch with you. I’ll stay with him for now.

  Looking at the two dragons it was hard to believe they were siblings. While both had Soros’ smooth scales, they had drastically different body shapes, and without large wings, Ilex looked like a large snake.

  Karina was waiting patiently to the side and ushered Nerie though the door to the right. If the first room was just a lounge, this room was a private living room. There were more couches and tables scattered around. Nerie could see a study in an adjoining room.

  King Soren sat at one table, a plate in front of him, with another waiting across the table from him. Seeing her, Soren got to his feet - Karina quietly shut the door behind Nerie.

  “Nerie, thank you for joining me. I thought lunch would be a good chance to get to know yo
u,” he said smiling.

  He gestured for her to take the seat opposite of him and as she sat, he pushed her chair in before seating himself.

  “Of course, your highness,” Nerie said, looking at her lap, her hands folded together tightly.

  It wasn’t like she had a choice in the matter. So far, her life in the palace had been a series of go here's and do that's. It was rather aggravating.

  “How are your rooms? Do they suit you?”

  He seemed genuinely curious, looking at her, not his food.

  “They’re perfect. I have never had a bathtub before.”

  Nerie still couldn’t believe the rooms belonged to her.

  He chuckled.

  “I’m glad to hear.” His face became sober. “However, I’m not so glad to hear how you treated Queen Alaena this morning.”

  Nerie looked down at her plate, avoiding his gaze. “I am sorry, your Highness. I just don’t do well with criticism that I don’t deserve.”

  “Nerie, first off, you may call me Soren - or father if you wish - when we are not in public. Second off, being ruler comes with all sorts of criticism that you don’t deserve.”

  He laughed this time, “You can choose to make one decision, and even if it works out, some people will still criticize it. What you eat, what you wear, who you’re with. It will never be enough for some people. One of the things Alaena will teach you is how to deal with those kinds of people. How to minimize the things they can comment upon.”

  Of course, Nerie thought to herself, feeling foolish.

  She hadn’t even given the queen time to teach her anything. Had her own mother been the one she had said those things to, she would have been spanked like a small child. Here, the consequences were not the same. She was crown princess - she would one day rule the kingdom.

  “I should talk to Queen Alaena and apologize,” she managed to say, her face burning.

  “You can do so tomorrow at your daily lessons.”

  When he said that, she frowned.

  Deciding to do something and being given a time to do so were two very different things. She looked back up at him, studying his face.

  He was looking at her, smiling.

  She had been right about the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes. He must smile all the time. It was still strange to look at the man who was her father. The only thing she could find that she had in common with him was his skin tone. They were both a dark golden tan.

  “Sir - ah - Soren, you said I had a lot to learn about dragons. Will you tell me about them?”

  Mama had said to get him talking about dragons and she did love stories.

  “What would you like to know?” he asked, his eyes flicking in the direction of the garden, where the two dragons lay.

  “Everything.” she said in a rush.

  It was true. Thinking of Kiriga filled her with joy and wonder. She wanted to know as much about the dragonling and where she came from as possible.

  “All right then, I’ll start from the beginning.”

  He took a sip of water and cleared his throat.

  “Several generations ago, my and your, many times removed great grandfather Kyre was a general in the Great War. You know our two neighboring countries, Lutesia and Etria? Well they and our Situra were at war.”

  Nerie thought she knew where each was, but it had been a long time since she had seen a map. She nodded, having heard tales of the Great War.

  “The war started when Lutesia attacked Etria, trying to kill all the dragons. They believe - even to this day - that the dragons are monsters.”

  Her jaw dropped. How anyone could want to hurt a dragon was beyond her capability to understand.

  “But that’s not true!” she shouted, immediately covering her mouth in embarrassment.

  Soren chuckled darkly, then continued, “You’re correct, it’s not. Everyone but the people of Lutesia seem to know that. At first, Situra was not involved. This is our greatest shame. It was not until Eras and Soros came to the king of Situra to ask for help that our people got involved.”

  That man did not help us. He turned us away, Soros’ voice rang angrily in their minds.

  Your ancestor, Kyre, pledged to help us. High in the military, he took as many soldiers as he could recruit to our cause and marched to Etria. To get there from here, you have to go through the southern mountains. By the time they arrived, the capitol had been destroyed, Eras’ said somberly.

  Carcasses of our loved ones littered the country. We found no survivors. Kyre helped regroup the humans of Etria. Reclaimed their cities, routed the invading force from Lutesia, Soros continued the story.

  Nerie could feel the two dragons’ sorrow. Flashes of dragons she had never seen, lying dead before her eyes, caused tears to spill down her cheeks.

  “Kyre found the heir to Etria’s throne, left a force of men to defend her, and came home. The war was over. Lutesia was defeated - left to retreat to their own borders. But it was too late, they had succeeded at their goal. Eras and Soros were the only dragons to survive.”

  We returned here with Kyre for two reasons. First of all, we couldn’t stand the sight of our homeland. Memories of those we loved, lying dead - it was too much, Soros said.

  We also had a score to settle. The people of Situra were unhappy with the leadership of the man they had called king. Kyre was a better fit for that role. We gave him the throne. Not long after, we laid our first egg. When she hatched, she Chose Kyre.

  Eras projected the image of a small opalescent dragon and a man who had the same golden skin, but dark hair and bright blue eyes. He reminded Nerie strongly of Soren - the strongest impression being that he was kind.

  He was, a faint, voice whispered into her mind - a voice that she didn’t recognize.

  That would be Wyla - our eldest daughter, Eras said.

  Nerie’s eyes went wide.

  Of course, everyone knew that dragons lived a long time - Eras and Soros were ancient - but she had forgotten about the dragons who had Chosen the previous rulers.

  A chuckle came from Soros.

  It’s all right dear. When their partners passed, our children spread out, choosing a city to protect. We cannot bring back those dragons we’ve lost, but we can continue to have children.

  “Why have I never heard this story?” Nerie asked Soren.

  “I don’t know what your mother has or hasn’t taught you. My father’s dragon - Mazen - had already left the city before you were born. So, it’s simply possible he was never mentioned. Eras and Soros stay here in the capitol by choice, and Ilex always stays with me.”

  Soren shrugged.

  “How many dragons are in our kingdom?”

  Nerie was mystified that she had never known there were more dragons in the kingdom.

  “Well, there is Ilex, Kiriga, Wyla, Soros and Eras -” He counted off with his hand, “They have four more children. Tiryn, Riya, Galean, and Mazen.”

  As he said each name, an image of the dragon flashed in her mind.

  Ilex the bright acid green.

  Kiriga with her soft yellow.

  Wyla was an opalescent white.

  Soros was a dark purple.

  Eras was a fiery orange.

  Tiryn was a dark green.

  Riya was a purplish red.

  Galean was as orange as his father.

  Mazen a soft purple.

  Nerie realized they were the dragons in the tapestry on her mother’s wall - they were beautiful.

  Thank you, we are quite proud of them all, Eras laughed.

  Nerie frowned. “You said that Wyla chose Kyre - after you’d already made him king. What does that mean?”

  Dragonkind has an incredibly special connection with mankind. We have powers that are amplified through a Chosen human. We can choose at birth or later in life. The earlier a bond is formed, the stronger the powers manifest. We can also bond with more than one human; our family has just chosen not to, Soros answered.

  “What kind
of powers?”

  Telepathy for one. That is why Wyla was able to speak to you. Never bonded with Chosen, our telepathy is weaker. I believe it’s only about five miles - Wyla is at the border in Cian - far from here right now, Eras explained.

  There was a soft knock at the door. Vizen, who seemed to be Soren’s personal servant, opened it.

  “Sir, my lady, I apologize for my interruption, however, it’s nearing dinner time - also the small council is waiting for you, your Highness.”

  “Oh yes, well they can wait. Nerie, you’ll meet them soon enough, but for now you may go back to your rooms. Karina will have your dinner brought to you.”

  Soren stood and motioned for Nerie to do the same.

  Kiriga joined them in the antechamber, and once again it was time to follow Karina. This time however, Nerie paid more attention to the path from her room to the king’s. She expected that would be a trip she made often.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Nerie

  There was a light knock on Myha’s door, and Karina entered at their acknowledgment.

  “My ladies,” she said while bowing, “I’m sorry to interrupt you - however King Soren has requested Princess Nerie’s presence.”

  Squeezing her tight, Myha helped her daughter stand.

  “Get him talking about dragons and you’ll be golden!” she whispered in Nerie’s ear.

  Bowing to Myha again, Karina led Nerie and Kiriga out the door. Nerie felt like a leashed dog as she followed Karina from room to room. She knew that it was only temporary until she learned to navigate the palace on her own, but she was growing tired of it quickly.

  It wasn’t long before they were faced with another set of large golden doors. At first Nerie thought that Karina had brought her back to her own room, but upon opening the door, she was greeted by an even larger suite than her own. Directly opposite the entry, the garden she remembered waking up in after the hatching ceremony faced her.

  Ilex lounged like a large giant snake. She saw for the first time that while he did have wings only they were as small as Kiriga’s currently were. His acid green scales glistened in the midday sun. Kiriga trotted over to him and used his nose to stand on her hind legs.