Lady Dragon, Tela Du

by Kendra E. Ardnek

  Petra looked up with an intense frown. “I guess so. Rintaya might know what to do. She said she’d be in the kitchen. Go get her, Reuben.”

  Reuben nodded, but before he could turn to go, Laura gave a small, “Wait!”

  He turned back to her. She had rolled back towards them, and though her eyes were still squeezed shut, she was trying to sit up.

  “What is it? What do you need?” he asked.

  “Can you take me to her? Food sounds really good right now. I—” She fell back against the cushions. “I used a lot of my energy making that door. I’m not technically supposed to do it on my own, even though…” she trailed off with an inaudible whisper.

  “Rintaya said that she’d be fixing something for you to eat,” said Petra. “Reuben and I would be happy to take you. We’ll try to not end up in the main castle instead of the kitchen.”

  Laura managed a smile. “Sounds good.”

  Petra looked up at Reuben, raising an expectant eyebrow. Realizing what the expectant eyebrow meant, Reuben obediently scooped the girl up again. This time, since she was conscious, Laura clasped her arms tightly around his neck.

  Considering how recently this girl had been sixteen…

  Reuben glanced towards Petra to see what she thought of the situation and saw that her grin was back. “What?” He blinked in confusion. Where was her jealousy?

  “I was just thinking that you’re going to make a good father someday,” she answered, her eyes sparkling.

  “Awesome,” he replied, not sure what else to say to that. The thought of kids hadn’t even been on his radar that morning. “Don’t you think that we should probably think about the Dragon, first?”

  “Oh, naturally,” Petra actually laughed as she tugged on his arm. “Come on, let’s get the poor thing to Rintaya. We’re going to be a king and queen, Reuben. We’re going to have to have an heir.”

  Reuben was in a cloud as he let Petra guide him through the bookshelves. She wanted kids. He knew that tone in her voice. This wasn’t a passing, “Oh, yes, we’re going to have kids someday.” She wanted children.

  They found Ritis and Ashna before they found the kitchen, but Reuben was still only dimly aware of their offer to guide them back to the kitchen.

  It was only the smell of food brought Reuben to his senses. Rintaya was hard at work at the stove. Delta sat at the dining room table.

  “Ah, there you are. I was wondering if you’d ever smell this good food and come running,” said Rintaya, as they entered. “Delta and I were just discussing the possibility that we would have to eat everything ourselves, just the two of us.”

  “Sorry, dear,” said Ritis, placing a kiss on her cheek. Then he frowned. “We had a few interesting turns of events, more memories resurfaced, and they had to be discussed. Also, we thought we might as well watch and see if the Doorkeeper would awaken in time to join us.”

  “Which she did, just in time,” said Petra, guiding Reuben to a chair. “And she is starving, as you said she might be.”

  “The Doorkeeper?” said Delta as Reuben lowered Laura into the chair and Petra sat down beside her. “As in Laura, the one in the Legends?”

  Reuben frowned and took the chair on Petra’s other side.

  “The very one,” said Rintaya, setting the soup pot on the table. “She’s not much to look at, I’ll give you that, but I suppose that is the way with legends. We place more glory on the people Alphego works through than we Eliue actually deserve.” She ladled some soup into a bowl and placed it in front of the girl. “There you are, sweetheart. Do enjoy. It can’t be easy to live up to the legend expected of you.”

  Laura took a deep breath and shook her head mournfully. “No, no it isn’t, not at all.” She stared wistfully at the bowl but made no effort to eat.

  “Here,” said Petra. She picked up the girl’s spoon and filled it with broth. Carefully, she brought it to the girl’s mouth and poured it in.

  “Thank you,” said Laura, after swallowing. “Spoons are heavy when you have no energy.”

  “I imagine so,” said Petra.

  “Let’s pray, and then we can all eat,” said Ritis. “And then we can form our plans for tomorrow. How does that sound?”

  “That sounds lovely, dear,” said Rintaya, sitting down on Laura’s other side.

  “With the Tela Du here, tomorrow looks bright indeed,” added Delta, smiling across the table at Petra.

  And so Ritis prayed, thanking Alphego for Ashna’s safe return after these many years, and asking for guidance and counsel upon their plans, as well as courage and wisdom for Reuben and Petra. As always, Reuben marveled at the depth of the Bookholder’s prayer, and how he was able to talk to Alphego as a friend.

  “Ah, Delta, that reminds me,” he said as he finished and picked up his fork. “I completely forgot to introduce you to this lovely young lady.” He indicated Ashna, whose cheeks bloomed in a rosy blush. “This is your sister, Ashna.”

  “Sister?” repeated Delta.

  “Well, half-sister, actually,” Ritis clarified. “It seems that the Book wasn’t the only thing I had to forget when Amber came to this land.” He shook his head. “Amber killed my first wife, Ashna’s mother as one of her first acts of dragon fury, as Sarah was none other than the Tela Du’s twin sister.”

  “Her sister?” said Delta, glancing at Petra. “But she’s human.”

  “And the daughter of Queen Jane and King Ralph, no less,” said Ritis. “And it was to Sarah’s parents that I sent Ashna for her safety. That’s why she’s still young. Only two years passed in that world.”

  “That is … most strange,” said Delta, shaking his head. “Ruklow and I always wanted a sister, but this is unexpected.”

  “Indeed,” whispered Ashna.

  “Now, on to the plans for tomorrow,” said Ritis, firmly. “You see, it seems that because of her human blood, Ashna has acquired her Bookdaughter duties a bit early. Although her twentieth birthday is still a few weeks away, Ashna Spoke instructions to Petra today, telling her to go to Klarand for training. She even named a Klarand Queen who hadn’t even been born when your mother fled Klarand forty-five years ago, Delta.”

  “Really?” said Rintaya. “You know I’m always eager for news of my homeland. What was her name?”

  “Jillina,” Petra supplied.

  “Jillina?” repeated Rintaya, nodding slowly. “It would not surprise me if they named a daughter after Lady Jill Anna, whose time was not unlike this one.”

  “Indeed, it ought not to be surprising,” said Ritis. “And, of course, given Ashna’s untested state, I went to the Book to seek further clarification, which I received. Petra and Reuben are to go with their companion harandas to Klarand and request training. Ashna is to go later that evening so that she might study under her Aunt Adnama, and shall be accompanied by the Doorkeeper. Surprisingly enough, Noraeto is also to go with her.”

  “Noraeto,” Rintaya repeated. “That dear boy? Why him? Not that I’m questioning Alphego’s wisdom, of course, just an old woman’s curiosity.”

  “Curiosity isn’t wrong so long as you don’t allow it to take you into evil,” said Ritis. “Truth told, there wasn’t any reason given for Noraeto’s inclusion. I do find it intriguing, though, given that he’s Marno’s grandson.”

  Ashna gave a start. “Marno’s grandson? You mean…”

  “I’m afraid so, dear,” said Ritis. “He was Tied to Olinea only a little more than a year after you left. He couldn’t remember you, Ashna. None of us could.”

  “But I’d always assumed, hoped…”

  “I know,” said Ritis. “But it’s been fifty years. You couldn’t possibly have expected him to wait that long for a girl he couldn’t remember, nor do I think you would have wanted him to.”

  “No,” said Ashna, slowly. She stood, her face twisting with distress. “I’m … I’m not really hungry. Can I go to my … oh. It’s been fifty years. It’s probably not my room anymore.” She looked so small and lost.

>   “Here, dear,” said Rintaya, standing. “You can sleep in the room that I had prepared for Petra last week. I have different chambers prepared for them this time.”

  With that, they left the kitchen.

  “So…” said Reuben, breaking the heavy silence, “Petra and I are both going to Klarand tomorrow? There’s finally some prophecy concerning me?”

  “Yes, there was,” said Ritis, smiling. “And Rintaya told me what Marno said of your resemblance to the Dragon’s husband. I entirely agree that it can’t be a coincidence.”

  “It’s not,” said Laura.

  All eyes turned to her, and she shrank a bit under the attention.

  “What do you mean?” asked Petra.

  “Amber and Granite’s immortality is tied up in their marriage vow,” Laura explained, closing her eyes. “They must die together. Amber was told about Petra to strike fear into her heart, but knowledge of Reuben was denied her so that she would grow overconfident instead of desperate. Granite has been told, however, and he knows that his death shall come from you. I’m sorry, Reuben, but I fear that yours is the harder task.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Reuben, leaning towards the girl. “Is he worse than his wife?”

  “No, quite the opposite,” said Laura. “The evil that corrupted his wife never touched Granite’s heart. Not only that, but Granite is well-trained in almost every weapon ever devised, short of the modern firearms your world created, and will most certainly not give up his life easily. It is ever so much easier to take life from someone who is wicked than from one who is good.”

  “Oh,” said Reuben, the knowledge settling uneasily in his stomach. “Then…”

  Petra reached over and took his hand. And now you understand how terrible this whole affair is.

  “You need to train as hard as you can,” said Laura. “For now, try not to focus on what you will have to do with the skills you are learning. Petra, I recommend that you do the same. But … this was why you and Petra had to be Tied. Before you can meet with them in the Final War, there will be a series of tests that you’ll have to pass. The last of those tests will make or break the bond between the two of you. In Luna, this test was considered the marriage ceremony for the royal family.”

  “I … see,” said Petra, tightening her hold on Reuben’s hand.

  Rintaya returned to the table, they finished eating in silence, and then Petra helped Rintaya clean up afterward. Delta took his leave, saying that he needed to return to his own home. Ritis retired to his room, claiming that old bones tire easily. When the dishes were done, Rintaya announced that she would show Reuben and Petra to their rooms. “Although,” she said, glancing at Laura. “I’m afraid that I quite neglected to prepare a room for her. I suppose she could sleep in the room I’d fixed for you last week, Reuben…”

  “She can sleep with me,” Petra declared, firmly, helping the girl to her feet. Laura leaned heavily against her, even so. “I don’t want to leave her alone with the way she fainted on us earlier. She may be a powerful Doorkeeper, but to me, she’s still Alyce, the kid I used to babysit. I feel responsible for her.”

  “Quite right, quite right,” said Rintaya, smiling. “Very well, then, follow me.”

  As Laura was still quite unsteady on her feet, Reuben swooped in and picked her up. To his surprise, Rintaya led them back through the library, into the palace hallway, and to the bedrooms that he and Petra had explored the day before.

  “You have taken up the boxes belonging to the true kings and queens of Rizkaland,” she explained, “so now that you’ve been Tied, these rooms are yours. I hope you don’t think me presumptuous, but I chose the rooms that had belonged to David and Michelle’s heirs.” She pushed open a door. “This is the one I fixed for you, Petra. I hope you like it.”

  “Um…” said Petra, glancing about as she stepped inside, “I guess so.” She shrugged. “It’s a bit bigger than my room back at home.”

  And Petra didn’t have a small bedroom.

  “But it’s still purple, so I think you’ll get used to it,” observed Reuben.

  “Perhaps,” Petra admitted. “You can go ahead and lay Alyce down on the bed. It’s big enough for both of us.”

  Reuben did so gratefully. The girl curled up under the covers and immediately fell back asleep.

  “Your room is the next over, Reuben,” said Rintaya, pointing towards one of the bedroom’s doors. “That door leads to it. Now, I’ll just leave the two of you…”

  “Hang on, back up there,” said Petra. “You’ve given us rooms with a connecting door?”

  “Of course, dear,” said Rintaya, pausing in the open door to give a wink. “The two of you are Tied, after all. There’s nothing wrong with it.” And with that, she was gone.

  “Um,” said Reuben, “I’m going to leave you now if that would make you feel better.”

  “No,” she said.

  He blinked, turning towards her. “No?”

  She glanced down, fidgeting with her ring. “A lot has happened today,” she said. “A lot of those things I wish hadn’t happened. But being Tied to you isn’t one of those things, I want you to know that.”

  “I, uh, thank you?” Reuben really didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t used to this side of her.

  She gave a small laugh and shook her head. “Reuben, yes, I had other plans, other options, but marrying you was always my best-case scenario. The other plans were mostly in case you found someone else.”

  “That wasn’t going to happen.”

  “Yes, I was upset with your mother for pushing us … I still am, but it was as much for you as it was for me,” she continued. She raised her chin and her gaze hardened into a glare. “I know you, Reuben, I know that you need a goal to work for or you lose interest when it gets hard. I didn’t want to be your distraction because you create enough of those for yourself as it is. I wanted to be what you were working for. I still want to be that. Do you understand?”

  Reuben nodded. “I think so…”

  “Good,” said Petra. “You have my heart, but don’t think for a moment that the battle’s over.”

  “I – uh…” Reuben wondered if she knew how frightening she could be when she was like this. “Didn’t think it was. There’s still a Dragon for us to deal with.”

  Her eyebrow flickered. “Indeed.”

  Then, Reuben had no idea why he let the next few words slip out. “You want kids.”

  She blinked, taking a step backward. “Well, someday. I’m not in any hurry.” She rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively. “You can go to your room now. I’ve said what I wanted to say.”

  “Sorry? I love you?”

  “Good night.”

  Chapter 6

  Summer could get used to life in a palace. The bed alone was the size of her whole room back home and as soft as a cloud. She hated to leave it, but there was a closet beckoning, full of clothes that the older woman promised were hers the night before.

  So what if this was all too good to be true and probably just a dream? Far be it from her to not take advantage of offered luxury.

  The closet was filled with gorgeous dresses, in many varying styles and colors, and all seemed exactly her size. Honestly? This place was amazing. Summer was sure that it’d take her hours to choose a dress, but then she saw an absolutely gorgeous gown in her favorite shade of turquoise. She put it on without hesitation.

  While she was fastening the last button, a knock sounded at the door.

  “Miss Summer, Queen Amber requests your presence at the breakfast table. Are you awake?”

  Another meal at that awesome table? No one had to ask Summer twice. Since she was not only awake but dressed and ready to go, she emerged and allowed the old woman to guide her through the halls back to the dining room.

  “It must be amazing to work for a magical queen like Amber,” Summer mentioned to the woman.

  “Perhaps,” said the woman. “I certainly thought it would be when I was younger.”


  Summer frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Working in Queen Amber’s palace is certainly a better lot than many people these days have, but it places us directly in her line of fire,” said the woman, hesitantly. “There’s scarce a one of us working for her who still has their family intact. A word of advice, Miss Summer. Try not to make the Dragon angry. Her temper is frightful once roused.”

  “The Dragon?” Summer repeated. “There’s a dragon here?” Reuben should have come with them. He would have given anything to meet a real dragon.

  The woman shook her head frantically and lowered her voice. “Queen Amber has magic to turn herself into a dragon. Don’t make her angry. Now, I can’t say anything more, for here you are. Don’t breathe a word about what I just said, or I can assure you that it won’t be pretty for either of us. The queen wants something from you, though. I can’t say what for sure, but otherwise, she wouldn’t be treating you with such generosity.”

  They had arrived at the door of the dining hall, so the woman turned and walked away, casting a frightened glance back over her shoulder that warned Summer not to say anything more or follow.

  Summer shrugged and was about to shove open the door when she caught a glimpse of someone else trudging through the hallway from the direction the woman had fled. A gasp caught in her throat.

  “Reuben? Robert?”

  The guy looked up, and Summer immediately saw that she was wrong. He was far more muscular than either of her brothers, and there was a hardness to him and a tiredness to his eye that was completely unlike either Robert or Reuben.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “For a moment, I thought you were one of my brothers. They’re identical twins, you see, and you look … a lot like them.”

  “Indeed?” said the man, in the same thick accent that Amber had. “Perhaps it’s no coincidence. My wife did mention that she is housing a young man to whose sister she apparently bears a striking resemblance. Is it that much more of a leap of logic to suggest that I share a face with your … brothers? Two of them?”

  “Your wife,” repeated Summer in a whisper. He was married to the queen who looked like Petra? “But Petra had a twin sister, too, though no one knows what happened to her.”