Dream of Dragons

by Alex Alcasid

  “Oh look, it’s the princess.’ Kae said dryly once Loren’s face came into view. “What do you want with me this time? Whatever it is, I think it’s going to end with my head on the chopping block.” Beside her, Ma’trii snorted in agreement.

  Loren sighed, and leaned against the bars. “I’m sorry, Kae. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

  “You didn’t think too far ahead, did you?” Kae said with a hollow laugh. She threw one more rock at the far wall before turning to Loren. “Of course the Spymaster would find you. Markin’s Pass isn’t that far down the Imperial Highway. It was only a couple hours walk from Markholme. And we kicked a guard in the nethers. We’re both idiots, princess. You for thinking that was a good idea, and me for trusting you.”

  “I know you’re mad at me-“

  “What gave it away?”

  “Will you let me finish?” Loren sighed, and rubbed at her eyes. “My mother, the queen…She’s been stabbed with a poison dagger. She’s fading fast.”

  Kae blinked, suddenly feeling guilty for snapping at Loren. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “I have to find Kaiten.”

  “Princess…” Kae sighed. “Loren. What does finding the lion prince have to do with your mother?”

  “They’re connected somehow, I’m sure.” Loren sat on the ground by the bars, and dropped her voice to a whisper. “First was Gaturr being killed, and his pelt sent to Aldoran. Queen Haedria of Sagna ordered it, and her sister Seraphis carried it out; the Sagnian messenger said as much. Then possibly the same time as the assassination, Kaiten goes missing. Then not a week later, an assassin from Sagna shows up in the castle and tries to kill the queen.”

  “So you’re saying that if we find Kaiten, we’ll magically find the antidote for the queen? You’re not making much sense, princess.”

  Loren leaned back, tears in her eyes. “I know. I just don’t know what to do, Kae. My mother is dying and no one knows how to cure her. I feel so helpless.”

  “Hey, don’t cry. I’m sorry for being mad, but getting locked up kind of does that to you.” Kae said softly, slipping her hand through the bars to lay it on Loren’s. “I’ll help you. I wasn’t able to help with your last crazy adventure, so I’ll make up for it here.”

  “But where do we start?” Loren sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes. She didn’t move the hand that was under Kae’s.

  “Well…Getting me and Ma’trii out is a start. Not to be rude, but we can’t do anything from in here.” Kae said with her usual cocky smile. Loren couldn’t help but chuckle.

  The princess took a ring of heavy iron keys down from the wall, and had Kae and Ma’trii out of the cell in a couple of minutes. The huntress stepped out of the cell, stretching and rubbing her wrists that were sore from shackles. Ma’trii stepped out soon after Kae, opening and closing his mouth to massage his jaw.

  “So, princess.” Kae said, looking to Loren. “Now what do we do? Are you sure this won’t land us back into the dungeons?”

  “I promise, this won’t. I just have to talk to the Warmaster, or Spymaster-“

  “Yes, my lady?” a voice said by the entrance to the dungeons. “Would you like to explain to me and Sairus why you are releasing prisoners?”

  Loren turned, and was face to face with Spymaster Isran. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a disappointed look in his face. Beside him stood Warmaster Sairus, with his hand on the pommel of his sword. Behind Loren, Kae and Ma’trii took a hesitant step back into their open cell.

  “Spymaster, Warmaster…” Loren began slowly, trying to think of an excuse. She didn’t think she would get this far. “I need this huntress and her Beastman companion to help me.”

  “With what?” Sairus asked. He looked at Ma’trii and wrinkled his nose. “That is no Beastman. And they are still prisoners, my lady. Your father’s orders.”

  “I know! I know my father ordered them captured. But they did nothing wrong! I wasn’t hurt, I went with them on my own!”

  “My lady.” Sairus’s voice was firm. “We cannot trust them, you have to understand. The queen was almost assassinated by someone we thought was harmless, and trustworthy. You are too important to be left alone with strangers.”

  “He’s right, my lady.” Isran said, his voice soft compared to Sairus’s. “You father will die of heartbreak if he loses you too.”

  Loren hung her head, defeated. She looked back to Kae and Ma’trii, but the two had already returned to their cell. Kae closed it behind her, and was just waiting for Loren to relock it. The huntress smiled.

  “It’s alright, princess. We understand, and we don’t hold it against you.” Kae said from behind the bars. Ma’trii came up and stuck his nose through, panting happily.

  “If its any comfort, my lady, we’ll make sure those two are well taken care of.” Isran said. Sairus still looked at Ma’trii with disgust in his eyes, but with no hostility.

  Loren approached the cell door and turned the heavy iron key to lock it. She couldn’t meet Kae’s eyes, and turned away so she wouldn’t have to. She stopped, as Kae took a hold of her arm and tugged it gently.

  “It’s alright, princess.” The huntress repeated, smiling softly. “We’ll be here if you need us.”

  Loren could only nod, fighting back tears, and pushed past Sairus and Isran as she left the dungeons.

  The two advisers sighed and shared a look, before turning towards Kae and Ma’trii.

  “We have some questions for you two.” The Spymaster said.

  “And we will take very good care of you.” The Warmaster added.

  The guards assigned for the night shift came at midnight. Two Beastmen clad in the plate armor of the guard stood at the entrance of the dungeons, one facing in and one facing out. Kae yawned, and leaned against the far wall of hers and Ma’trii’s cell. It had been hours since Loren met them. The Spymaster and Warmaster asked basic questions; who they were, how did they meet the princess, what were they really. They didn’t seem too worried about the huntress, but Warmaster Sairus always looked at Ma’trii with disdain. Most true Beastmen did.

  An alarm of some kind sounded outside the dungeons, in the courtyard. Kae thought nothing of it, but the two guards at the dungeon doors took off running. Kae leaned against Ma’trii for warmth, and began to nod off to sleep. Under Kae’s head, Ma’trii shifted and suddenly stood, dropping Kae’s head to the floor.

  “What? Ma’trii, what was that for?” Kae grumbled.

  “Nice to see you too, Kae.” Loren said, her voice muffled by a cloth drawn over the lower half of her face. She was busy fitting the key into the lock.

  “Princess?” Kae said in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”

  “Getting you out, obviously.”

  “What about the Warmaster and Spymaster? Your mother?”

  “I know!” Loren hissed with such urgency that Kae was taken aback. “I know about all that. But I cannot stay here, I have to leave.”

  “Why?”

  “I just have to leave! Come on, hurry up!” Loren said, throwing the cell doors open. She led the way out of the dungeons, trusting Kae and Ma’trii to keep up with her sweeping cloak. She was dressed just like a thief in the night, and Kae hoped to all the gods that would listen that this escapade wouldn’t land her in the dungeon again. Or worse.

  The alarm that drew the guards from their posts was a fire in the stables. Kae couldn’t hear any panicked neighing, and assumed that Loren set the fire in one of the older stables that didn’t keep horses since the time of the previous king. Loren grabbed Kae’s hand, as the huntress was getting distracted by the glowing embers floating up to the sky from the burning building.

  They hurried through the courtyard, keeping close to the shadow of the castle wall, with Ma’trii the wolf close at their heels. With the guard and servants attending to the fire, the way through to the castle gates and the path down to the Gold District was clear. Loren stopped for nothing, not horses nor extra supplies. She carried only wh
at she had in a hastily packed bag, and Kae and Ma’trii had nothing.

  They sped through the paved streets of the Gold District, boots sounding far too loud on the stone streets. Light began to flicker on as they passed, as their footsteps were starting to wake the nobles and the rich from their sleep.

  “Princess!” Kae said in an urgent whisper as she ran beside the princess. “Where are we going?”

  “Back to the camp.” Was Loren’s answer. She didn’t look back to the huntress, and instead focused on running.

  “There’s nothing there, Loren. The soldiers would have destroyed the camp by now.”

  “We’ll find an inn on the road then.”

  “As long as you pay.”

  “Of course. Royal gold, as much as I can carry.”

  “Oh, we are going to get mugged for that.”

  “Not if I can help it.” Loren moved a cloak aside as she ran, to expose the hilt of a sword strapped to her belt. “We can buy fresh, unmarked horses at the city gates. Can you ride?”

  “No.”

  “Well….You’re going to learn.”

  The horse merchant at the city gates looked warily at Loren and Kae as they ran up to him, pausing to tell him in breathless voices that they wanted two horses. He forgot all his suspicions once Loren took the gold coins from her pouch and pressed them into the merchant’s hand. He passed the reins of two horses to the girl, and told her to get out of his sight.

  “I’m tell you, princess, I can’t ride. I don’t know how.” Kae whispered desperately as Loren led the horses through the city gates. “Can’t I just walk? Ma’trii and I can keep up.”

  “No, Kae.” Loren said without looking back. “You’re getting on the horse.”

  Kae was taken aback, Loren had never spoken to her so firmly before. Perhaps the bossy princess side was showing. The huntress nodded, and took the reins of one of the horses from Loren.

  Loren easily mounted her horse, feet sliding into the stirrups confidently. She looked back to Kae, and saw the huntress awkwardly trying to copy her movements. It took a few seconds for Kae to find the stirrups, and at least three minutes of her using Ma’trii’s head as a stepping stone to somehow swing her other leg over the saddle. Loren shook her head, and kicked her horse into a gallop the very second Kae got settled into the saddle.

  “Wait!” Kae called after Loren. “Loren, wait!”

  The princess was too far ahead to hear Kae’s call. Loren pushed her horse as fast as it would go, galloping down the paved stones of the Imperial Highway. Wind whipped at her hair, the cold stinging her face. She road on, till all she could hear was the loud breathing of her horse and its hooves clacking against the stone. She pushed on till she could hear her own voice crying.

  Kae followed at a much slower place, using Ma’trii to track Loren’s scent down the Imperial Highway. The wolf eventually lead Kae to an inn by the side of the road, a long ways past Markin’s Pass. The inn was a moderately sized old barn house, with a hitching post at the side for traveler’s horses to rest. Kae found the horse Loren was riding, standing at the hitching post and breathing heavily to catch its breath having been worked hard into a lather. The huntress shared a look with Ma’trii before awkwardly stumbling off her own horse, and handing the reins to an urchin that was trying hard not to laugh at her.

  The interior of the inn was cozy, with a fire burning in the hearth to warm the travelers coming in from the chill of Aldoran nights. The innkeeper was a stout old man who had a loud laugh and a larger beard. His wife, not as stout as her husband, navigated the slim gaps between tables and handed out hot food and wine. Kae scanned the faces of the people quickly, and found a bundle of cloaks slumped over a table in the farthest corner. She approached and gently prodded the bundle, and heard soft sobbing from under the cloth. Kae pulled up a chair and sat beside Loren.

  “Princess…” she said softly, pulling back Loren’s hood. “You have to go home. You know that.”

  Loren’s eyes were red and puffy from crying. “I can’t. I can’t go back, I don’t know how to help. I don’t know what to do.” She sobbed. “I’m useless. I can’t do anything.”

  “Yes you can.” Kae said firmly, hand on Loren’s shoulder. “Look at me. You told me back at the market, that you were the princess of Aldoran. You told me one day you’re going to rule the whole kingdom.”

  “But I don’t want to rule it yet! That is what my mother should be doing.”

  “Are you listening to yourself? I know you don’t want her to die, I don’t want her to die either. But one day you’ll have to do things, you’ll have to rule without her. You’ll have to be strong. Now’s a good a time as any to start.”

  Loren wiped at her face with the edge of her cloak, and looked up at Kae. The princess said nothing, but her eyes bore pure grief. She pitched forward into Kae, embracing her tight and sobbing into her chest. Kae, stunned for a second, slowly hugged Loren back. After a while, she set about to gently stroking her hair.

  “Hey, princess.” Kae said softly. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll be okay. Go rent a room for the night. Me and Ma’trii can stay outside.”

  Loren shook her head, and her words were muffled by Kae’s mismatched hunting furs. “Please stay with me. I don’t know what I’ll do if I was alone.”

  Kae hugged Loren just a fraction tighter. “Alright. I’ll be with you.”

  The room in the inn was simple enough, with one bed with rough spun wool sheets, one flat chicken feather pillow with quill ends sticking out, and one table with no chair. The floor was dirty wooden slats that were coated in a layer of dust. It was cheap, and Kae didn’t even need anything. The huntress was content enough to sleep on the ground outside, but Loren insisted she stay to keep her company. Ma’trii would have to spend the night outside, but he was used to it as well. As Kae looked around the room, she realized how plain and rustic it must be for Loren. She was the princess, she must have been raised on silks and silvers. Kae was about to ask the princess about it, when Loren walked past her and fell face down onto the bed. She didn’t even take off her boots.

  Surprised, Kae moved to check on the princess, only to find her breathing deep and even, sniffing slightly from a clogged nose, but deep in sleep. The huntress smiled, untied and removed Loren’s boots, and got into bed herself. She laid beside Loren, not too close, and rolled over, using up only a fraction of the available space. Kae listened to Loren’s soft breathing for a while, and wondered if the princess had exhausted herself from crying. It was probably that and the general stress. Kae repositioned herself, one arm bent under her head as Loren had taken the only pillow, and drifted off to sleep.

  A soft beam of morning sunlight fell on Kae’s face. She blinked and groaned, squinting against the light in her eyes. She raised an arm to block out the light, but found that it was pinned under something. Loren was using Kae’s arm as a pillow, and had pressed herself close to the huntress in her sleep.

  Kae flung herself away, and landed hard on the floor. Her heart raced in her chest. She didn’t mean to get so close to the princess, and certainly didn’t mean to have her other arm wrapped around the other girl in an embrace. Kae shook her head. That was the princess of Aldoran, the future ruler of the Kingdom! She had no right to even be in the same room, much less be that close. While Kae panicked silently on the floor, Loren stirred and raised her head.

  “Kae?” she muttered, still dazed from sleep. Her dark hair stood up in a shock around her head. “Why are you on the floor?”

  “Nightmare?” Kae stuttered, coming up with an excuse. She tried not to think about how nice Loren was to hold.

  “Oh.” Loren yawned. “Get up, the floor’s dirty.” She didn’t seem to know what happened.

  Kae sighed and stood, brushing herself off. Little clouds of dust floated off her trousers with every pat; the floor really was filthy. Kae made a disgusted face, and ran her hands through her short hair. It normally stuck up in spikes pointing this way and that, so she never
cared for bed head. “I’ll head downstairs and ask for your breakfast, princess.” Kae headed for the door.

  “No.” Loren said with such finality that Kae looked back. The princess was frowning, looking down at the floor. “Not yet. Can you stay a bit? At least until I get ready. Then we can both go downstairs.”

  Kae nodded, and sat back on the other side of the bed. She watched Loren stretch and check her hair in a rusted old mirror that rested on the one table. After a while, she looked away and out the window.

  “I’m sorry for running off like that last night, Kae.” Loren said as she fixed her hair, tying it up into a ponytail.

  “Don’t worry about it, princess.” Kae answered. “I found you, and you didn’t run into people trying to kill you. That’s the important part.”

  “Thank you. Truly.” Loren looked to Kae and smiled. The huntress felt a blush rise in her cheeks.

  “You’re welcome?” Kae managed to say, and mask the blush with a cocky smirk. “You wouldn’t last the night out here on your own. You need me.”

  “Yes, I do.” Loren said matter-of-factly, turning back to the mirror. “And I thought about it. While we’re out of Markholme, we might as well start looking for Kaiten. I’m sure Ma’trii can pick up his scent.”

  Kae sighed, not quite sure why she was disappointed at the change of topic. “Do you have something of the prince’s? Ma’trii can’t pick up the trail of a scent he doesn’t know.”

  “I have this toy Kaiten gave me when we were children.” Loren said, rummaging through her pack for the toy. She held it out for the huntress to see. It was a wooden bird, carved so expertly it seemed life like. “Kaiten carved it himself. He said he used his claws, but I could see the tool marks.” She recalled with a fond smile.

  Kae approached the princess and took the toy, turning it over in her hands. “Nice craftsmanship. Ma’trii can use this, I think. Maybe the scent is still strong.”

  “I hope so.” Loren said, her smile fading. She took the toy back and returned it to her bag. “I’m really worried, Kae. For Kaiten, my mother, my father.”