Lady Dragon, Tela Du

by Kendra E. Ardnek

  Laura glanced between Petra and Reuben. “I don’t … I don’t know. She didn’t tell me anything about this.”

  “You’re afraid it’ll count as meddling?” asked Petra, leaning forward and resting her elbow on the arm of the sofa and her chin on her fist. “To be honest, I don’t think my knowledge of her powers would be a complete sway in my direction; there are too many variables. I’ll leave it up to you, however, though your older self did say that you could trust your instincts.”

  Laura walked over and leaned against the bedpost, her face completely serious as she stared Petra in the eye. “I’ll do it … on a condition.”

  Up went Petra’s eyebrows, and she leaned back. “Let’s hear it.”

  Laura glanced towards Reuben before she blurted, “Name one of your children after me.”

  “And that’s it?” asked Petra.

  Laura nodded. “My older self told me to give that condition to anyone who … makes any requests of me. Apparently, I’m supposed to use it as my primary bartering chip. It’s weird, I know, but when has my life not been weird?”

  “Fair enough,” said Petra. “One kid named after you means one name fewer that Reuben and I will have to worry about when the time comes, and I do like the name Alyce. Now, do we have a deal?”

  Laura stiffened a moment, but then smiled and gave a quick nod. “I’ll get the list for you. But, one more thing. Wait until you return to your own world and have kids there. The people here know about me, and they might get confused by a Laura who isn’t me. It’s a common name in your world, though, so it won’t cause any confusion there.”

  “Well, as I said, it’s one less name for us to worry about,” said Petra, giving Reuben a sidewise glance, as though daring him to say something. He didn’t. A name in exchange for a list that might be the difference between life and death was a good deal. It wasn’t as though Laura was demanding they give her their firstborn child. “Now, I for one am tired of running in mental circles trying to prepare for the battle. As much as I think it’s premature, we still ought to talk about what we’re going to do if and when we win.”

  “Rule Rizkaland, of course,” said Reuben. Wasn’t it obvious?

  “None of us have experience with leadership on this scale,” Petra pointed out, shooting him a glare. “And only Ashna has experience with the official Rizkan government. Even though Noraeto has lived here his whole life, it’s been under Amber’s rule. From what I understand, Amber’s politics are a bit different than Rizkaland’s normal.”

  “Very different,” whispered Ashna.

  “And then we have the mystery of where Summer and Tyler are and when they’ll join us,” Petra finished. “Laura claims that the last two thrones belong to them. I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but I personally would be far more comfortable if I knew where they were.”

  “No, I don’t think you would,” said Laura.

  “So … they’re somewhere we wouldn’t want them to be?” asked Petra. “That is really going to help us sleep tonight while I run scenarios through my head, each one worse than the one before it. Don’t suppose you can elaborate with any details that will help to set my mind at ease?”

  “They can give you details themselves when they get here,” said Laura, backing away towards the door. “I have to write a list.” And with that, she fled the room.

  A wave of frustration rolled off of Petra, so Reuben wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. We’re going to get through this. Somehow.

  She laid her head against his shoulder. That “somehow” kinda ruined the encouragement, but I’ll take it.

  They were all quiet for a long moment before Petra raised her head and spoke again. “Noraeto, I know you’ve told us everything you know ten times already,” she wasn’t exaggerating, she was rounding down, “but your grandfather is our biggest connection to Amber outside of Laura. I don’t know, maybe you’ll remember something new. Maybe Reuben or I will make a connection that we haven’t yet.”

  However, the thought was interrupted by the appearance of a servant, a girl not much older than Reuben, in the doorway that Laura had left open.

  “Begging your pardons, your highnesses,” she said, placing a fist over her heart and bowing deeply. “I know you didn’t want to be disturbed, but there are people here to see you. I told them that you’re having a private meeting, but they just wouldn’t take no for an answer. They claimed that you’ll want to see them. That you’ll be angry if I didn’t let you know about their arrival.”

  “Who are they?” asked Reuben, raising an eyebrow.

  “They won’t tell me their names – they say they want to surprise you,” said the girl. “But it’s an older man and a girl and boy about your ages. They’re in the Heartroom at the moment. They just came over from Rizkaland.”

  Noraeto’s eyes unfocused, which meant that he was using his gift. “I don’t recognize the younger two, but I’m willing to believe that the older man is my father,” he said. “I’m not entirely sure, because the purple light in the Heartroom makes things different, and I’ve only seen him in his natural appearance once, but it does look like an older version of you, Reuben.”

  “Send them here,” said Reuben.

  The girl bowed again and left the room. She returned some time later with their guests. Reuben agreed with Noraeto that the older man looked a bit familiar, but his heart leaped as he recognized the younger two.

  “Summer, Tyler!” he cried, springing to his feet. “You’re all right.”

  “All right. Yeah, that’s a way of putting it,” said Summer, as he pulled her in for a hug. Surprisingly, she didn’t fight it.

  “Where have you been?” asked Petra. “And, Summer, what are you wearing?”

  “She’s borrowing one of Linette’s dresses, since the dress I found her in was in bad shape,” supplied the older man. “I imagine that you could probably find her something she’d like better here.”

  “If you don’t mind purple, you can borrow one of my dresses until a seamstress can make you another one. You’re closer to me in size than Ashna,” said Petra. “Now come join the discussion – we’ve instructed people to leave us alone for the next hour or so – and tell us where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing.”

  Summer and Tyler shared a glance as they sat down on the sofa across from Petra and Reuben’s, and Reuben sat back down next to Petra. The man hovered over Petra’s desk.

  “It’s … a long, very weird story,” said Summer. “But, um, there’s this queen who looks just like Petra and wants to kill her, and her husband looks a lot like Reuben.”

  “Amber and Granite?” said Petra. “The Lady Dragon and her Silent Husband? Guess what? We were just talking about them. What do you know about them?”

  Summer bit her lip and closed her eyes. “We just spent … several days in her dungeon. It was impossible to tell the exact amount of time, only that it was way too long. She wanted us to give up information about you, Petra.”

  “I’m not surprised,” said Petra. “I’m supposed to kill her if she doesn’t kill me. That’s what we were talking about when you arrived. You didn’t tell her anything about me, did you?”

  “More than we meant to, but hopefully less than will prove useful to her,” said Summer. “Granite and Laura both warned us to not tell her about Reuben, but … it kinda slipped out the last time she questioned us, which was just before we escaped.”

  “We didn’t tell her that you look like Granite, though, which we gathered was the most important detail,” Tyler quickly inserted. “However, I did let her know that the two of you are very good friends.”

  “I see no problem in her knowing about us,” said Reuben, glancing towards Petra with a grin. She frowned. “Let her know that Petra and I stand together as a force for her to reckon with. It might actually scare her.”

  Summer bit her lip. “But when she finds out you’re here, she’ll try to … do something to you to hurt Petra and break
her confidence. I mean, she specifically asked if losing you would hurt her.”

  “Amber doesn’t know who she’s dealing with,” said Petra, folding her arms over her chest. “Besides, once she sees Reuben’s face, she’ll have a better reason to want to kill him than breaking me.”

  Reuben frowned. You care about me that little, Petra?

  Shut up, we can talk about this later. I’m trying to make them feel better. I’m pretty sure that they couldn’t help whatever information they let slip. As you tell me all the time, fretting over what has happened won’t help anything. Besides, since you look like Granite, she’s going to want you dead anyway, once she sees you. I’ve already resigned myself to that fact.

  Reuben patted her knee. I have no intention of dying before you do.

  “So … how did you escape Amber’s prison?” asked Noraeto, filling the silence that Reuben and Petra had created. “My grandfather works for her, and as far as I knew, there was no way out of her dungeons.”

  “Granite and Laura helped us,” Summer explained, staring at Reuben’s hand a moment, then shaking her head. “However, Tyler was able to operate some magical stones that supposedly only Amber is able to. Laura said something weird about how it was because he’s your brother, Petra. Honestly, she’s confusing.” She shrugged. “Remember that kid you used to babysit almost every day for two years?”

  “Yes, I’m quite aware that she has world-ripping powers and is actually much older than she looks,” Petra answered. Reuben withdrew his hand as he felt her mind whirling, sliding this new bit of knowledge into place lest she try to slip it into his mind instead. He could make his own connections, thank-you-very-much. “So it’s possible that I could use some of Amber’s magic? I wonder if Laura would know which ones I could and can’t.”

  “You’ll have to ask her when she finishes the list she promised us in exchange for our firstborn child,” said Reuben. “Well, the name thereof.”

  Petra gave him a sidewise glance then turned to Summer and Tyler. “So who’s the man that you’ve brought into my bedroom without introducing?” She nodded towards the older man, who had kept quiet except for the comment on Summer’s dress, and who was probably Noraeto’s father. Reuben’s heart skipped a beat. If it were true, then it meant that the man was Robert, his brother.

  “Ah, I’ve been waiting for you guys to take note of me,” the man said, standing. “But perhaps I should have taken an appearance that more of you would recognize.” A familiar grin pulled at the corner of the man’s mouth as a blue mist twisted around him, leaving behind a much younger man when it disappeared.

  Reuben swallowed. He was Robert.

  “I don’t usually make myself look younger,” Robert continued. “It makes Noraeto uncomfortable. However, given that the rest of you are more used to me at this age, we’ll just have to put his comfort aside for this occasion, eh, son?”

  “Yeah,” said Noraeto, glancing back at Robert with an almost confused expression. “Father, I’m used to you not looking like … you. And since I know that Reuben is your twin brother and I’ve grown used to him, it’s not really that bad. It makes it easier for me to accept that the two of you are brothers.”

  “So, what do you think of your uncle?” Robert asked.

  “He’s not what I had imagined having for an uncle, but…” said Noraeto, glancing Reuben’s way. “I think he and Petra will do a good job of ruling Rizkaland should they win the war.”

  “And what about you and young Ashna?”

  “Are still trying to wrap our minds around the fact that we’re going to be ruling alongside them,” said Noraeto. “I mean, you did tell me a couple years ago, but Ashna had no idea until she returned here to Rizkaland, and even with the warning it still feels so surreal for it to be coming together now.”

  “I’m sure that the four of you will do a great job. Which reminds me, I took Summer and Tyler through the throne room when we passed through Loray to get to Alphego’s Hill. They managed to open the last few boxes and secure for themselves the remaining two thrones.”

  “Awesome,” said Reuben. “Glad to have them in the party.” He turned his attention to Summer. “What weapons were you given?”

  “Weapons…” Summer repeated. She gave a half-shrug. “We were given bows and one arrow each, but they disappeared when we used the Hill to get here.”

  Petra tilted her head to the side. “I see. Summer … is that a new necklace?”

  “You mean the box?” Summer asked.

  “No, the other one.”

  Summer gave a start and put a hand to her throat where she found a necklace with a bow and arrow as its pendant.

  “And, Tyler, I was rather suspicious of that bracelet you’re sporting.,” Petra added. “They like hiding. Reuben and I will show you how to use them in a bit, although I can’t imagine why you only received one arrow each.”

  “The Wind Prince and Leaf Princess received twelve arrows each,” Ashna inserted.

  “However, the more important issue is what Alphego gave you charge over,” Petra continued. “Ashna and Noraeto are to rule over plants, Reuben and I have charge of Eliue. So, the two of you?”

  “Beasts,” Tyler answered. “Animals.”

  “The three levels of life,” said Reuben, nodding. “That makes sense, especially considering that our parents did the four elements.”

  “So … did Robert, by any chance, explain everything that is entailed in ruling Rizkaland?” Petra asked.

  “Um, the boxes show the chosen heirs, there must be more than one king and queen, the two of you will probably be doing most of the work, we’re mostly here for balance and assistance,” said Tyler. “I think that was the important stuff.”

  Your brother didn’t tell them about the Tying. Petra frowned fiercely, glancing towards Robert. Reuben, go talk to Robert.

  “Summer, we probably ought to go ahead and get you a better dress,” she said aloud, standing. “Come with me.”

  Summer seemed to appreciate the offer, and as they disappeared into Petra’s closet, Reuben took a deep breath and caught Robert’s eye.

  “Can we have a word in the hall, please?”

  “Certainly.”

  “You didn’t tell them about the Tying Ceremony, did you?” Reuben began as he shut the door behind them.

  “No, now that you mention it, I didn’t. Time was limited, and they were already freaked out enough from accepting the responsibility of king and queen,” answered Robert. “Besides, I’m not quite sure they trust that I’m the real me. It is me, but with the whole disguise thing … well, you know how skeptical our sister can be.” Robert shrugged. “To be honest, I think they’d take that bit of information better from the two of you. You’re also caught by the Tying Law.”

  “Both Petra and I knew what we were getting into before we opened the boxes,” Reuben pointed out. Granted, they hadn’t discussed the fact ahead of time, but at least they had both known. That was the important part.

  “Tyler has been sweet on Summer almost as long as you’ve been on Petra,” said Robert, shaking his head. “And probably about twice as serious when it comes to marrying her. If either of them will be an issue, it’ll be Summer, and she was the one who trusted me the least.”

  “So why didn’t you at least tell him?”

  “I couldn’t get them apart for such a discussion. Besides, he isn’t the one who needs to be told. He already plans to marry her. Now, you guys enjoy your chat, I have other matters to attend to and some old friends to catch up with.”

  The blue mist swirled around him again, and it was the elf Robert that they had first met when coming to Rizkaland who stood before Reuben. The man whom Noraeto would consider his father. The man turned and left. Reuben could have followed, but instead chose to contact Petra.

  Robert says that it’s our job to explain the Tying Ceremony to them.

  Her: Awesome. Your sister doesn’t know how to pick out a dress quickly. So, how should we do it to make sure th
at they don’t freak out? I vote one-on-one.

  Him: That would probably be best. We found out individually, after all.

  Her: I’ll tell Tyler – no. I have a better plan. I’m going to tell Summer. Not right now, they’re both too traumatized for any more big reveals today, but we’ve all been hinting that he likes her for long enough that I’m honestly surprised that she’s never picked up on it. Time to whack her upside the head. You can tell Tyler to get himself pulled together and learn to talk to a girl because we’re not going to do it all for him.

  Him: Will do.

  Her: Again, not right now. Wait until tomorrow, at least. As far as I’m aware, their Tying isn’t required any sooner than Ashna and Noraeto’s, and they’re waiting until after the battle.

  Reuben put on a grin as he reentered the room. “Are the girls not out yet?”

  “Nope,” said Noraeto.

  Reuben shook his head. “Knowing my sister, it’ll probably be a while and not until Petra goes insane.”

  “The world might end if those two were ever to agree on an issue,” said Tyler, shaking his head with a knowing smile. “Especially if the issue is clothing. So … this is Petra’s room in this world?”

  “It’s on the small side compared to the one she has in Loray,” Reuben admitted. “One of the perks of being royalty and all that, we’ve discovered. You and Summer will probably receive rooms of at least comparable size to this one until we can return to Loray.”

  “Wow.” Tyler shook his head as he glanced around the room. “Just like that. No strings attached.”

  “Of course there are strings attached,” said Petra, emerging from the closet. “We’re royalty, and they expect us to rule them. Which I think is stupid – who in their right mind just hands the reins of their country over to six kids, most of whom are from another world? And don’t get me started on the fact that they expect me to kill the Dragon.”

  Sorry about eavesdropping, she added mentally, glancing at Reuben, but your conversation is much more interesting than mine.

  “Yeah,” said Tyler. “That probably won’t be easy. That does remind me, though; Laura gave us a message for you about the Dragon.” He extracted a piece of folded paper out of his pocket. “Said it was for your eyes only, so I’ve not looked at it.”