by Mell Eight
"Such a depressing matter should only be spoken of in council, Prince," King Leander said airily, as if the matter were of no consequence to him. He turned to Nyle to change the subject. "What brings a Dragon Lord to my kingdom?"
Nyle's smile was cold. "I think you know, human king. A man of any station, even yours, does not get away with lying to a dragon. You have lied to the Eldest of us and he is eager to know why you feel the need to anger him."
The watching courtiers gasped. Nyle could tell that they were more distressed by the idea of an angry dragon than the fact that their leader lied to the Eldest. No one could survive angry dragon fire, so fear was part of the emotions swirling through the room, but Nyle also sensed a good touch of greed. With their leader formally chastised, did their chances grow to take the throne for themselves? Humans were really such primitive creatures.
King Leander just laughed, ignoring the bloodthirsty jostling for power with the habit of long practice. "There is no need to worry over such things. Come, let us have the evening meal and a good night of rest. In the morning we will meet and discuss this unfortunate misunderstanding."
King Leander stood and walked off his dais to a side door as the courtiers moved towards the main doors at his command for the evening meal to commence. Nyle watched King Leander leave, trying to see any weakness in the man's facade, and could just barely see a strange man greet the king as the side door swung shut.
"Who was that?" Nyle asked Leon.
Leon shook his head. "I don't know. But the way he looked was," he paused to look for the correct word, "odd."
The stranger looked human enough, but his hair gave him away as something other. His hair was a deep black color that seemed to absorb the light that touched it and had two bright streaks of white growing from each temple. An ordinary human might think the streaks were a sign of age and dignity, but Nyle and Leon knew better. The man was not human.
Dinner that night was strained. Neither of Leon's older siblings were at the table and King Leander ignored his youngest son and the dragon sitting at his side. Nyle spent the dinner wondering why the king felt he could insult and alienate a dragon.
The stranger did not make an appearance.
Afterwards, Leon led Nyle to his old bedroom. It was a well-appointed room, albeit dusty, with a large bed and sweeping curtains. It was also rather sterile. None of Leon's personal things were left on the mantle or the furniture, nor were there any personal touches like flowers or a mirror.
"Has it always been like this?" Nyle asked quietly.
Leon laughed humorlessly. "Ever since my childhood toys were removed. My father thinks attachments make children weak."
"So you've lived in what is essentially a guest room your entire life?" Nyle asked, horrified. How could someone live without a hoard to comfort them?
"I did tell you that leaving here was one of the best decisions I've ever made." He shook his head and forced his mouth into a smile. "Let's go to sleep. We'll talk to my father in the morning so we can figure out what happened, and then we can go back to your caves."
"All right," Nyle said with a forced smile of his own. He climbed into bed with Leon. When the wolf rolled over and clung to Nyle before they were quite asleep, Nyle clung right back. They both fell asleep curled in each other's arms, hoping that the morning would get them out of the castle for good.
*~*~*
The noise that woke Nyle wasn't the birds chirping in the morning. It was Leon choking and gasping for breath. It was Leon gripping Nyle's arms helplessly as he fought to breathe.
Nyle was awake in seconds, lifting Leon's head up so he could get some air. The wolf's face was turning purple from lack of oxygen and Nyle didn't know what to do. It wasn't poison because he had eaten the same things as Leon at dinner the night before. What else could be wrong!
"What can I do?" Nyle asked frantically as he patted Leon for injuries with shaking fingers. "Please! What's wrong?"
Leon was no longer getting any air at all. His throat was so swollen that Nyle could see his veins bulging from the outside. Still, he somehow managed to raise a shaking finger to point across the room.
Nyle whipped his head around in the direction of Leon's finger and saw it. A small satchel of purple flowers, green stems tied together with a ribbon that had not been in the room when they went to sleep.
Wolfsbane.
Nyle's fire took out the flowers, the dresser, and most of the wall behind it. Before the flames had even caught, Nyle had Leon in his arms and was out on the balcony in the fresh air.
Leon's struggles lessened away from the miasma the deadly plant secreted into the air. Nyle watched helplessly and hopefully as the swelling decreased and Leon finally drew a full breath.
"Pretty?" Nyle whispered when Leon stilled in his arms. "Pretty, are you better now?"
Leon laughed sharply and hoarsely. "I can breathe again. Give me a second to get over the fact that after less than twenty four hours in the castle someone has already tried to kill me."
Nyle let out a breath of relief. "You are alive. We shall handle the rest in due time." Nyle's eyes glowed at the thought of someone daring to harm his Leon, his most precious pretty. There would be retribution.
There was a loud commotion from inside Leon's room, but Nyle ignored it so he could comfortably hold Leon until the shaking stopped. No doubt the humans were busy putting out the flames. It did make Nyle a little curious about human priorities as time passed and no one bothered to check on a Dragon Lord and their Prince to make sure persons of such import were unharmed by the flames.
A pair of booted feet stopped at their side, minutes after the fire had been doused.
"You are ordered to attend the king at once," a guard snapped coldly. He waited while Nyle and Leon stood before escorting them through the burnt room and downstairs to the king's private meeting room.
Another overly ornate door greeted them. The guard knocked once before opening the door. Nyle and Leon walked in and were met by two more guards, King Leander sitting behind an excessively carved desk, and the mysterious black and white haired man.
"Your attempt to burn down the castle and kill me has failed," King Leander spoke coldly. "Any and all assassination attempts must be dealt with swiftly and harshly. Therefore, I will hand down your sentences at once. Leon, you are hereby stripped of your title and exiled from my city. Should you set foot into my land again, you will be executed."
King Leander ignored Leon's open-mouthed cry of surprise as he turned to Nyle.
"And you, Dragon, will inform your Eldest," he said with a sneer, "that your kind are also no longer welcome in my kingdom. I will be sending out my best knights to kill any dragons caught trespassing on my lands."
Nyle and Leon stood in front of King Leander, surrounded by guards and shocked out of their minds. The human king had just insulted the dragons!
Nyle nodded stiffly to King Leander. "Understood. I will deliver your message to the Eldest."
King Leander returned the nod, somehow managing to ignore the smoke accompanied by short bursts of flame that came out of Nyle's mouth as he spoke.
"Guard!" the king snapped. "Remove them from my Kingdom."
Nyle and Leon walked out of King Leander's office and through the halls of the castle, scattering frightened courtiers as they went. No one wanted to get in the way of a dragon trailing sparks.
When they had exited the building and were in the middle of the expansive grounds, Leon spoke.
"The king cannot exile a royal prince without the presence of the heir," he said to the two guards escorting them. "Where are my brothers?"
The corporal snorted. "Exiled, Sir. The eldest, Prince Felix, for treason, and Captain Bast for inciting a military coup."
"Then who will lead the country after my father dies? He has exiled all his sons!"
The corporal shook his head. "There will not be any heirs. The king plans to live forever—according to rumors at least."
Leon gasped, inc
redulous. "What would give my father that idea?"
"The black and white haired confidant," Nyle growled. "The one who is not human and whose scent we do not recognize."
Nyle turned to the chatty corporal. "When you return to the castle, discretely inform the residents of the insult given to the dragons. We do not enjoy killing innocents and this insult must be answered."
"He will kill any dragons on his lands," the corporal reminded Nyle.
Nyle shook his head. "He will try. Dragons are not so easy to kill."
"Then I will tell you something you have to know," the corporal said, his voice dropping to a whisper as they reached and passed through the castle gates.
"There is a new military brigade in the castle, one no one but the king has authority over. They appeared just after the odd man started advising the king and the Heir and my Captain were banished. The Royal Forces left with Captain Bast and this force appeared to replace them soon after. If the king says he will kill dragons, it can only be because that brigade has those capabilities. Be careful."
Nyle nodded to show he heard, but spent the rest of the walk through the city to the foot of the dragon mountain in silence. Only the trail of sparks singeing the ground behind them made any noise.
*~*~*
"An'anyle, to have returned so soon is inauspicious," Toel said gently when he saw the smoke and flames leaking from Nyle's human form.
Nyle shifted to dragon shape and blasted a spout of fire high into the ceiling.
"I need to speak with you and the Eldest immediately," he snapped once he finished emptying all the fire that had been bursting from his stomach with his anger.
"Has something so terrible occurred?" Toel asked.
"The human king has gone mad," Nyle hissed. "He has banished all dragons from his kingdom on pain of death."
"Impossible," Toel breathed. "I will inform the Eldest of your arrival." Toel took off as quickly as his legs could carry him.
When Nyle and Leon arrived at the Eldest's cave, Toel ushered them in and waited to hear what had happened.
Nyle told them.
Once he was finished speaking Toel was standing open mouthed and speechless and the Eldest was shaking his head sadly.
"He tried to kill Leon, my Leon," Nyle added vehemently; smoke trailing from his nostrils again. "I will not stand for anyone hurting my prettiest of pretties."
"Be calm," the Eldest said softly. "We cannot let such actions stand unpunished, of course. It is so disappointing how short the memories of humans are. The last uprising was barely a thousand years ago and already we have a fool in power who thinks solely with that power. Such an inadequate race."
"Do we attack?" Toel asked, clearly making the suggestion because it had to be asked rather than because he wanted to go to war.
"That special brigade worries me," the Eldest replied as he settled his head onto his forepaws. "There is an interesting chain of events at work here. First the werewolves, a race not prone to drawing attention to itself, begins attacking humans. Now the king of the humans exiles all his progeny, declares that he will never die, and insults the dragons in such a way that leaves us no choice but to retaliate."
The Eldest nodded to himself as he paused to think through what he wanted to say.
"Yes, the chain appears to begin with the werewolves, does it not? An'nanyle, travel to the werewolf village and discover what set off this series of events. I give you permission to fly over all dragon territories with a passenger."
He turned to Toel. "An'tatoel, go among those dragons you trust not to react without thought to this issue and ask for their opinions on the matter. We must do something, but I will not tolerate a mindless attack."
"At once, Eldest," Toel said with a bow.
Nyle and Leon bowed as well as they exited the caves. They walked all the way back to the main entrance of the dragon mountain before Nyle turned to Leon.
"It is much to ask of you, I do understand," Nyle began softly.
Leon shook his head. "It has to be done. My father has gone mad and we have to find out why before something terrible happens. Does this mean I get to fly?" he added with a grin.
Nyle laughed. "Yes." He bent one knee into a step Leon could use and indicated that Leon was to climb up. "There should be a space for you to sit and a spike to hold on to."
Leon climbed onto Nyle's back and settled himself into place. "You have to have permission for someone to ride on your back?" he asked as Nyle carefully walked out under open sky where the sun was slowly rising on the horizon.
"There was a time," Nyle said as he flapped his wings experimentally, "when humans sought to domesticate us for their own purposes. Before we had the Eldest to guide our actions, dragons would fight against each other, often with humans as their allies."
Nyle walked to the edge of a nearby cliff, warming up his wings as he went. It would be easier on his passenger to glide into flight than fight the jostling that jumping off the ground would cause.
"A dragon would flame their enemy and the human on their back would use the distraction to send a weapon through the opponent's wing, killing them when they fell hundreds of feet. It was when humans decided they were not satisfied fighting the battles of dragons and wanted to use the dragons in their own battles that dragons began to see their folly. Entire human villages could be wiped out with one dragon's breath at the behest of the greed of humans. The Eldest decreed that no dragon is to allow a human to ride on his or her back again, a rule that means that no dragon is to allow humans control over their actions."
They reached the cliff and once Nyle was sure Leon had a strong grip, Nyle jumped. He glided until he reached a thermal and then, careful not to dislodge his passenger, pumped his wings until they were at height.
Nyle let Leon ride in peace for a while, enjoying the gasps and happy sighs that first time flight always ensured. He knew their next conversation would not be nearly as fun, and he was right.
When they were halfway between home and the Wilds Nyle broke the silence.
"Tell me about the werewolves," he said gently. "I need to know what to look for when we get there."
Leon was silent for a long moment, no doubt gathering himself so he could tell his story.
"They're wild," Leon bit out. "But it's controlled. We didn't hear them coming, that night. Our sentries were dead and they were in our tents before we understood we were under attack. The bite was …" he paused, looking for words. "Painful," he finally said, in the softest of voices, as if speaking louder would bring the horror back to life. "They took me in my tent and when I woke I was as docile as any pup.
"Their society is built on power. The weaker follow the more powerful. The powerful are supposed to protect the weaker and the weaker give their support in return. But I wasn't bitten for that purpose.
"Powerless. That's what the bitten are. Protected until we either find power or find our place in the pack. But I was a slave, forced to do their bidding because I could not say no. They kept me in a cave at night. Bars blocked off the entrance and there were always two guards to watch me. Because I wasn't powerless after a few weeks. I fought back, tried to escape, and they put me in a cage. And then one night, the last night, one of the guards was sick. The lone wolf left to watch me fell asleep against the bars, something he did often. Only this time his partner was not there to stop me when I knocked him out, stole the keys, and ran away."
"Something poisoned their society," Nyle murmured. "As bitten you should have been brought into the fold, but you were not. We need to find what forced that change."
"I don't want to go back to that cave," Leon said wildly. "I understand what needs to be done for the kingdom and for the dragons, but I will not go back to what I was there. Chains and forced labor," he snarled.
Nyle returned his snarl. "Never! You are mine. Free to do as you like as long as no dragon laws are broken; so not chained, but safe. I will tear their village apart, burn every wolf, to keep you with me."
/> "And that," Leon murmured softly as he gently ran a hand down Nyle's back, "is why I am here, with you, and why I will always be with you. Forever is a long time for those of us who cannot die by natural causes, you know. But I think forever sounds nice with you."
Nyle rumbled happily. "Forever," he agreed.
They began their descent just before sunset. The vivid colors to their side made the tops of the trees of the Wilds glow with cheer. Nyle and Leon almost couldn't feel ominous about meeting with the wolves with that sort of welcome.
"Land there," Leon called, pointing to a spot in the scrubland bordering the forest. "It's about a mile walk to the village from there and we can avoid sentries that way."
Nyle did as instructed, warning Leon to hold on tight so the sudden absence of movement wouldn't send him flying, as Nyle slowed down as much as he could to make the landing gentle.
Once Leon climbed down, Nyle shifted to human shape so he could follow Leon.
They walked for a half hour, hiding occasionally to avoid any wolves Leon caught scent of, before they reached the outskirts of the village.
"It's different," Leon breathed to Nyle as they looked out from their hiding spot. "Right there," he pointed to a spot near a very large tree in the center of a large clearing with a number of small huts around it, "there was a stocks where they whipped anyone who tried to escape." He didn't look at Nyle as he spoke. He was clearly trying to keep his own memories of failed escapes to himself.
The area under the tree was empty. No evidence of Leon's pain remained in sight.
"And over there, where that small house is on the corner, used to be some sort of boarding place for some higher ups in the village. The entire building's gone."
"So maybe whatever poisoned the werewolves has left?" Nyle asked.
"Maybe," Leon replied, distracted by a man walking out of one of the buildings. "That's the Alpha. He's the leader of the wolves. If anyone knows something, it would be him."
