The Dragon Guard: Oceans and Pebbles

by Sarah Hite

  Shae looked back at the queen, and suddenly seemed the timid little hatchling she should be. “The dralics, ma’am. I...” She looked up at Kwan again, and he lowered his head to talk to her. “It’s alright Shae, you can tell her.”

  She looked back at the queen and nodded. “I’m not sure, but I think they have a weakness.”

  “Finally, some good news,” one of the Ocean dragons said.

  “Something we can use to our advantage,” Haru declared. The look on Shaelynn’s face was one of fear, and unease. She looked up at Kwan again, and took a step back. Her reaction did not go un-noticed. Kwan sat down and wrapped his tail around her, trying to put her at ease.

  Alani also noticed her reaction to that statement, and ordered, “Aatu, leave. Now!” Surprised, he looked over at her, but lowered his head and left the room glowering. After he was gone, Alani looked over at Shaelynn. She had pressed herself into Kwan’s hind leg, her fear was evident. She sighed, Haru was becoming a problem, one she would have to put to rest. “I am sorry, Shaelynn. He will not bother you again. Do you think you can tell me what the weakness is?”

  Again she looked up at her father. He could tell she was afraid of something, but she had not told him what the weakness was, so he did not understand the source of her fear. “It’s okay Shae. Really.”

  Alani exchanged glances with Seoung and Elder. What’s wrong with her? Seoung asked.

  I don’t know. The last time I saw her like this was after she was attacked by Dea-hyun two and a half years ago, Kwan answered. Whatever she was afraid of, it had to do with the Dralics’ weakness, but that was all he could figure out.

  Alani also understood that the secret she carried was weighing heavily on the child. She stepped forward and approached her. “It is okay Shaelynn. You do not have to tell me if you do not want to.”

  Shaelynn shook her head and took a half step forward. “No, I want to, it’s just…” She looked down, again, acting like the three-year-old she was. “It’s just…it’s how you would use it.”

  “Why would that be a reason to be afraid?” Alani asked gently.

  “Because, the weakness, it’s me.”

  Now the council was in complete shock. None of them knew what to say-- or what to think-- but now they understood why Haru’s comment affected her so. Finally, Alani sighed and said, “Do not worry Shaelynn. I will not use a child as a weapon, but I would like to know why you would think the dralics are vulnerable to you.”

  “Because, they wouldn’t hurt me, even though they took me, they didn’t hurt me. They didn’t know what to do with me.” Kwan laid down with her and took her in his forepaws. She gladly curled up with him.

  “Kwan, why don’t you take her to meet the other children?” Seoung suggested. He nodded and stood, nosing her along with him.

  “If it’s alright with you Uncle, I think I’ll go with them,” Torak requested. Seoung nodded and they led the hatchling out of the chamber.

  When they were gone, and the air in the room had become less tense, Alani turned to no one in particular and declared, “How could this have happened? How could a child be the only advantage we have against the dralics? I will not use her as a weapon. I refuse to use her like that. What should we do?” She turned to Seoung, “We have to think of something else; we have to.”

  “I know it may be awkward to bring this back up, but if we move the army to the Middle Kingdom…” He shook his head and said, “… Let me rephrase. If we exchange, the warriors here with fresh reserves from the Middle Kingdom, it would give our forces a possible advantage. Fresh warriors would have a better chance of fighting a dralic without a great amount of injury. It would also give us a chance to get Shaelynn to safety, as well as my brother. His recovery is taking longer than we thought, and he should be with the queen when their new clutch hatches. I also think the children should be moved there. They would be safe from harm and we would be able to give them a semblance of a normal life, even if temporarily.”

  “I understand your point, Seoung, but if I may, why is Shaelynn so important? If the rumors are true, she is considered to be a bad omen by the Middle Kingdom,” Aarto inquired.

  Seoung sighed, “That may be true, but they are wrong. Shaelynn is important to the royal family for more than one reason. When her egg was stolen, and the reason behind it, the kingdom was thrown into chaos. My sister was accidently exiled, and trust in our family’s leadership grew frail. Kyeon lost himself when Saydene disappeared. He was not the same for nearly a year. In the months that followed, the Dragon Guard found Shaelynn’s egg and were bringing it back to us. During their journey, they found Pai, who had been missing for fifteen years. He joined their cause to bring her home, and together they found Moon. She was ill, and thin, but more than that, she was suffering from an injury to her heart. It took years for her to regain what she once had.”

  “What was that?” Aarto asked.

  Seoung looked down at him and said sadly, “Hope.” The southern council exchanged glances, except for Alamine; she already knew Shaelynn’s history.

  Elder took over the story from there. “Princess Saydene, had lost everything. Her first clutch was among those destroyed when Shaelynn’s egg was stolen. Not only had she lost two out of four eggs, but being exiled forced her to lose her home, her family, and she believed that she had lost her brothers’ trust. She grew to fear and despise everyone and everything, except for Pai, and the small group of teenagers who were transporting the egg. She had also lost the support of her nation.”

  Alani was confused, “Hold up, I have met your sister. She does not look to have lost what you say, and why would the nation stop supporting her?”

  “Because, she was the Clutch Guard, and they blamed her for the loss of the eggs,” Seoung told them. Elder nodded and added, “As Clutch Guard, she was supposed protect the eggs, but the hunter that was assigned to bring her food, failed. He deliberately withheld her meals, forcing her to hunt for herself. While she was gone, Duke Vidar’s men broke every egg they could find, except for two. One they took, the other was buried and escaped notice.”

  “And it was Shaelynn’s egg that was taken?” Aarto asked.

  Seoung nodded. “She hatched a week late, but having the egg returned to her seemed to help Moon. After she hatched, Moon knew she could not go home. She refused to leave Shaelynn, even knowing the superstition. After losing her once, she wasn’t about to abandon her, but even though Shae was ‘protected,’ so to speak, she wasn’t out of danger.”

  “Vidar wanted her, and he was not going to stop until she was in is grasp. In order to keep her safe, Ania, Lukair, and the rest of their team went south to the city of Aretell, where they would be safe,” Elder continued. “While in Aretell, they found another scout who had been hiding there, one who had also been missing. When the true heir to the throne of Ciciana was found, we joined the war to end Vidar’s tyranny. Because of that, both Pai and Chekal were reunited with their families. Moon and her brothers were brought back together, and Shaelynn’s father, Kwan was found. He had been missing since he was a week old, and was found a prisoner of the duke, which is why Vidar wanted Shae…”

  “She was going to his replacement,” Seoung added. He clarified when the southern council looked at him confused. “Vidar had Kwan chained up inside a small cavern. He had been tortured and left to starve to death.”

  “To sum it up, because of that little hatchling, broken families were restored, and tyranny was ended; she even saved her brother’s life. Everything good that has happened in her short life, happened because of her, and we expect her to accomplish much more,” Elder added.

  “Because of the superstition, she is under the constant protection of the Dragon Guard, and lives in the human city of Ciciana with the king, Cainen Evander, and Ania. I just wish we could find a way to convince the rest of the nation that’s she is just a child who needs her mother, even if she could speak full, comprehensive sentences at the age of six months, and seems to be wiser
than most adults.” Seoung said. He turned to Alani. “If you don’t mind, I need to tell Kyeon of Shaelynn’s improvement.” She gave him permission and Ketowa also asked to leave. Even though she was on her feet, the child still had a great deal of recovering to do, and he needed to check her progress.

  ***

  Aatu Haru entered the inner chamber of his quarters. His anger was gone; now he was rather sad. As he had been walking back to his quarters, he realized he had deliberately disobeyed his queen, and much more. He knew his attitude was not beneficial to the survival of their nation, and knew that Alani would punish him. He decided to stay in his chambers until he was called for; that way he would not cause her any more trouble.

  He did not know how long he had been there when Alani came to see him. He looked up as she entered. “Aatu, we need to talk.” Her voice was firm, and he knew she was angry. He slowly stood and joined her, but did not speak, and neither did she. She sat down in the entranceway, and studied him with a shielded expression.

  “You have come to punish me?” he asked, knowing he deserved it.

  “What else am I supposed to do?” she answered. She sighed and said, “Aatu, you have poisoned Kyeon and Kym’s niece, you have insulted Prince Seoung’s judgment, you insulted the best shaman we have, and managed to insult every Pebbline in the nation. Do you understand the implications of your actions?”

  He looked at her but said nothing, so she continued. “Aatu, if our allies were not so understanding, you could have easily severed our alliance.” She took a breath. “I do not know you anymore. You would never have done anything like this before, why now? What happened to the dragon I grew up with?” He could tell she was upset, but he still did not reply. He was ashamed of himself, and he knew she was right. She turned and faced him, frantically searching for anything that would reveal the dragon she had known. He turned away, and walked to the back of the chamber. He did not want her to see how upset he was.

  When he turned and walked away, he did not see her reaction. She pulled back, disappointed. She had truly hoped he would have apologized, but now she could see that he was not going to. She sighed and took a deep breath. “Aatu, you are my oldest friend. You are like a brother to me, and I had hoped I would not have to do this, but you have given me no choice.” She spoke firmly at first, but her voice cracked, revealing how upset she was. However, she regained control of her emotions and finished with firm finality. “I have no choice. You are here by removed from duty, and will be confined to quarters as of now, and will be so until further notice. Guards will be posted outside, and your duties will go to another.”

  Surprised, he turned to look at her. He had expected to be punished, but this? “Alani.” She ignored him and turned to leave. “Alani wait! Your majesty!” She refused to look at him and ignored his calls. She left his quarters and nodded to the guards to take their places.

  She was fighting to control her emotions. Punishing him had been the hardest thing she had ever done, but he could not be allowed to continue acting like this. She returned to the council chambers, to find the rest of the council just leaving. They stopped when they saw her, and knew something was wrong. No one spoke. Alani passed them, stopping just long enough to say, “Congratulations Aarto, you have just been promoted.”

  Prophecy

  “Look out below!” Daro yelled before leaping off the stone ledge. He landed in the small underground lake, splashing the cold mountain water all over Javi, Tomel, and Zema. Javi glared at him annoyed and caught Tomel as the receding waters tried to wash him away. He saw Javi’s annoyed look and said, “What? I gave a warning.”

  The slightly older dragonder stood and set both Tomel and Zema on a stalagmite where they would be clear of the waves. This stalagmite was one of many; the stony statues were spread out throughout the large, well-lit chamber, with stalactites mirroring their counterparts over fifty feet above.

  Javi turned to face his childhood friend. “Next time you feel like jumping in like that, please try not to wash the little ones away.” Daro grinned and climbed out of the water.

  “Daro, listen to Javi.” The boys turned to Aelya. The female Ocean dragon was laying on a small ledge above them. Eika was asleep next to her and Nori was climbing down the path to the ground level.

  Daro looked up at her and replied, “Yes, Ma’am.” He shook off the water and walked over to his friend where he laid down and helped Tomel back off the pillar of minerals. As he set the little dragon on the ground, he apologized for splashing the Pebblines.

  Aelya looked down at the boys and added, “Nori be careful. Do not go in too deep.” The hatchling was nearing the water.

  “I know Mama,” he replied and climbed into the shallow end of the small lake. Aelya had taken over looking after the children the day they arrived. It gave Torak more time to attend his new duties, since the council was now training him to be king.

  The group looked up at the sound of someone approaching. They turned to see the young prince enter the chamber. “Torak!” they all said together.

  Torak smiled as he entered. “Your Majesty,” Aelya announced, before bowing her head. Daro looked confused, “Majesty?”

  Torak said nothing; he looked equally confused for a moment before replying, “Sorry, Aelya. I’m not used to being called that. I didn’t know I was the king’s son until we were reunited.”

  “I understand,” she returned. “Have you come to check on the children?”

  He nodded, ignoring the look of shock Daro wore. “We have another hatchling to add to the group, and I think everyone will be surprised when they arrive.”

  Meanwhile, in an upper passage not far from the council chamber, Shaman Ketowa caught up with the father and daughter. “Kwan! Hold up. Before Shaelynn meets the rest of the children, I need to assess her injuries.”

  Kwan stopped and nodded, however, Shaelynn looked annoyed; she was not fond of examinations. They turned into a small, secluded chamber so the shaman could do his job. Shaelynn was not happy, but she did as she was told. He had her turn in a small circle so he could examine her various injuries. For the most part she was surprisingly well. Most of her injuries had healed long before the shaman had estimated, and she was no longer ill from the poison. The only thing that showed the trauma she had endured was the fact that she was weak and thin from having not eaten, the bite on her neck, as well as her coloration, which was still more of a grey, than black.

  Ketowa slowly peeled the bandage back to reveal the wound. It was still open, but it was clean and no longer bleeding. As he applied a new bandage and smoothed a thin layer of cormin over it, he said, “I’m surprised you’re doing as well as you are.” He turned to Kwan and added, “The only thing I’m concerned about is that wound; I don’t think it will start bleeding again, but I could be wrong. She should be fine, but I recommend that she take it easy.”

  “Can I still play with them?” Shaelynn asked.

  The adults turned back to her, and Kwan answered her question. “Not yet. You can talk to them, but until the shaman say it’s alright, you will have to rest and take it easy.”

  “But Papa,” Shaelynn whined. Kwan looked down at her, “I’m sorry Shae, but you’ll have to wait.” He lowered his head and nuzzled her. “I know it’s not fun, and may take a while, but if anything happened to you, your mother, well, she would never be the same. I’m hoping that you’ll be better before we go home. That way your mother will keep her sanity,” he added sarcastically. After speaking to the shaman for a few more minutes, mostly about her recovery, and quickly designing a food regimen to help her gain weight, the shaman released them.

  When they were several chambers away, Shaelynn looked up at her father and stated, “I know Ketowa knows what he’s doing, but the last thing I want to do is rest. That’s all I’ve been doing for the last several weeks. I want to run, fly, play, anything but rest.”

  Kwan smiled and looked down at her, thinking she sounded a lot like Ania. He nuzzled her again and said,
“I know, but please be patient.” He looked up to check their progress and added, “We’re almost there.”

  Back in the lake cavern, the kids were trying to figure out who the new hatchling was. “Why would we be surprised?” Javi asked. Neela, who had entered from behind agreed and asked, “Who are they?” They could not imagine who the child could be.

  Torak did not get a chance to answer, Shaelynn bolted past him before he could open his mouth. She disappeared behind a stalagmite just before Kwan entered the chamber; he was clearly irritated. “Shaelynn Ryou, what did I say?”

  “Sorry Papa,” Shaelynn said coming back over. “I just wanted one little run before…I won’t do it again.”

  Kwan sighed, he knew she was anxious to move around, and he could not blame her. She was right, ever since she had been poisoned, all she had done was rest; and he understood how she felt. It was the same way he had felt after Ania had nursed him back to health. He lowered his head and gently butted her with his nose. “Oh, yes you will. You’re too much like your mother to keep still.” She looked up and him, her deep blue eyes dancing.

  Torak smiled at the confused and shocked expressions the other children wore. She was obviously the last child they expected to see. Daro proved his opinion true by stating, “Was she not like, half dead?”

  Kwan and Torak looked over at him, and Shaelynn eyed him, taking a step back. “Daro! Have some respect,” Aelya commanded from her overhang. She stood and turned down the path to the level below, Eika at her heels. When she reached the bottom level she turned and approached the small group. “So, this is Shaelynn. I have heard a lot about you, and I had hoped I would have the chance to meet you,” she said looking the hatchling over.

  Shaelynn looked up at her with curious, yet wary eyes. She stayed close to her father, but did manage to ask, “Really?”

  “Well of course,” Aelya smiled at her. “Do you want to meet the other kids?” Shaelynn slowly nodded, and with a little encouragement, left Kwan’s side.