Dream of Dragons

by Alex Alcasid

  Kae shrugged, just thankful for somewhere to put down her pack, and to have a bed to lie in. The huntress headed down the short hall to her’s and Loren’s room on her own, leaving Loren.

  “Oh, she left you.” Kaiten mused. The Beastman prince stood beside the princess. They were alone, as Cassendir was busy sitting too close to the fire, and Ma’trii had likewise gone ahead to the boy’s room to sniff around.

  “What do you mean by that?” Loren demanded. She hoped her cheeks weren’t burning so obviously.

  “Well, she headed off to the room without you.” Kaiten scratched his neck where his mane was coming in. “She was practically hanging off you the entire walk here. Even when you two were sleeping at the outpost, even when you passed out in the snow… You’re very close, aren’t you?”

  “We’re…” Loren swallowed dryly. She looked away, her heart racing. The words were out of her mouth before she realized she was lying. “We’re just good friends.”

  “Mm-hmm.” The prince scratched at his mane, his face unreadable. “Well, your friend is waving at you.”

  “Kae?” Loren looked up immediately. The huntress had peeked out of the room again and was trying to get Loren’s attention.

  “The room is clean! Aren’t you coming in, princess?” Kae called. “The bed frame isn’t all caved in like the one at Rhodia, so we’ll be able to get some decent rest this time.”

  Loren’s smile was wide. She didn’t spare Kaiten a glance as she set off down the short hall, disappearing into her’s and Kae’s room. She shut the door, and Kaiten smiled.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Kae was deep in a dream.

  She tossed and turned, the rough wool sheets of the inn’s old bed pricked at her bare skin. The huntress was more used to the worn out threads of her bed roll, and preferred that ratty old thing to sleeping in strange inns on the roadside. But her travelling companion, princess Loren of Aldoran, insisted they spend the night indoors as much as possible. She had the gold for it, and Kae never had to pay, so it was a win-win situation.

  Kae’s dreams usually involved hunting with her wolf, Ma’trii. She would stalk deer through the forest, or send Ma’trii off through grass as tall as a man to hunt rabbits. Always, she would have her bow drawn, and ears catching every small sound, eyes on the look out for every small movement. They were peaceful dreams, where Kae’s life followed the normal routine of her waking life. It was predictable, comfortable. She was in control. But not this time.

  She felt the roar vibrate in her chest, low and loud. Kae lowered her bow, ducking into the grass for cover. Her base instinct told her to hide, run away. Something big was overhead, something dangerous. Her eyes were wide as she scanned the grass around her, trying to see through the tall stalks for whatever would come. The grass was too tall, they seemed to close around her, trapping her in. Kae broke into a run, trampling through the grass, with her heart hammering away in her chest. She whistled for Ma’trii the wolf to come to her, to be her eyes and ears when her human senses were stretched to her limits. The wolf didn’t come and he made no sound, not even a howl to tell the huntress where he was. Kae was alone.

  The roar came again just as Kae crashed into a clearing. She nocked an arrow and held her bow at the ready, drawing the string to her chin. She scanned the grass around the clearing, weapon ready but breathing rapidly in a panic. Whatever was out there was big, far bigger than any game Kae had hunted before. She was sure that she was going to die. As Kae turned her bow to the sky, she thought of Loren. If she died here, who would take care of the princess? Who would make sure the princess didn’t go hungry in the wilderness, or lost among the mountains, or captured by bandits? What would happen to Loren, if Kae was gone?

  A large shadow flew over the clearing, startling the huntress. It blotted out the sun as it passed, and Kae knew it was no bird. As she turned to train her bow on it, she saw the shimmering glint of iridescent blue and gold scales shining in the sunlight. The light reflecting off the scales blinded Kae for a second. She shut her eyes, and realized too late that taking her eyes off the beast may be the last thing she ever did. An earth shattering impact on the ground crashed near the huntress, and Kae took a breath. She would face this beast to her last breath. Kae lifted her bow towards the sound, and opened her eyes.

  Loren stood in front of the huntress, smiling. The princess was not dressed in the rough travelling cloak and tunic that Kae had gotten used to seeing her in over the past few months of travelling together. Now, the princess wore silks: a floor length gown of dark blue, with scales embroidered with the finest gold thread. A sash around her waist accentuated curves that were so often hidden by the travelling cloak. Pauldrons of hammered gold were shaped into a dragon’s wings, and seemed to extend from Loren’s strong, confident shoulders.

  Loren laughed lightly, covering her mouth in a dainty gesture. The smile crinkled her dark eyes, and her mouth twitched in that little way Loren did whenever she tried to fix her expression to something more stern and courtly, trying in vain to hide her amusement. The huntress stared, mouth open in awe, for the longest time. Loren was beautiful, she always knew she was. But Kae never realized just how beautiful, how powerful, the princess truly was.

  “What are you staring at, Kae?” Loren asked with a giggle. “Put down your bow, you look silly.”

  Kae blinked, suddenly aware she still leveled a weapon at a princess. Her princess. A blush rose in her cheeks, and she immediately dropped to one knee to hide it. Maybe Loren didn’t see. Maybe the princess will ask her to accompany her back to the castle of Aldoran. Maybe Loren would invite Kae to stay at her side even after she took the throne. Kae shook her head, it was a foolish thought. She was about to speak, when she felt Loren’s palm gently caressing her cheek.

  “Come on, Kae.” Loren said, a twinkle in her eye. “We’re going to be late for court.”

  The huntress felt a slight tug from the hand on her cheek, and stood. She was slightly taller than the princess, but the look in Loren’s eye made her feel small. Small, but not powerless. Kae smiled.

  “At court, or wherever you want me to be. I’ll be there, princess.” Kae muttered, tucking a lock of hair behind Loren’s ear.

  Loren chuckled and raised a brow. “What about on the battlefield?”

  “I’ll be there too. An arrow among your archers, or a blade with your scouts.” Was the reply.

  “In the market?”

  “I’ll be your eyes and ears among the common folk.”

  “In another kingdom?”

  “I’ll be your voice, your messenger.”

  “At my side?” Loren asked, her voice no higher than a nervous whisper.

  It was Kae’s turn to smile. She brushed her fingers down Loren’s cheek, lightly passing a finger over the princess’s lips. “Always at your side. My princess. My beautiful, shining dragon.”

  Kae stirred awake, hand outstretched and reaching across the rough wool covers to the space beside her. She patted the space blindly, finding it empty. Opening her eyes, the huntress sighed, disappointed, until she realized the space beside her was still warm.

  “Finally awake, Kae?” came Loren’s voice from somewhere in the room.

  Kae sat up and looked around the dingy room at the inn, and found Loren bending over a small rusted mirror that was left on the table. She always fussed with her hair in the morning, brushing the tangles out of her long dark hair that settled into the middle of her back. The huntress smiled at the familiar sight. The princess was dressed in a plain tunic and trousers, with mud-caked boots, and had her travelling cloak draped over a rickety old chair.

  “Sorry. Did I keep you waiting, princess?” Kae said in her usual mocking but friendly tone. She smiled lazily up at the princess, leaning back on her elbows. Loren rolled her eyes and smirked at the huntress, and hurled her travelling cloak into Kae’s face.

  “Wake up, sleepy head. We’re a few days away from Sagna and I want to find another inn by nightfall.” Loren said
with a chuckle. She crossed the room to her pack and busied herself with making sure they had provisions for the road. “You know I don’t want to sleep on the floor as much as possible.”

  Kae swung her legs out of bed, stretching out. She watched Loren empty the contents of her travelling pack, repack the entire thing, only to forget if she packed something, and empty the whole thing all over again. Kae laughed, and found herself smiling, admiration shining in her eyes.

  “Anything for you, princess.” She said. “Anything for you."

  Loren hesitated. Her hands hovered unsure over her half-filled pack. She looked back at Kae. “What do you mean by that?”

  “Hmm?” The huntress answered. Kae looked away, hiding the motion with a stretch and yawn. Her dream was still fresh in her mind, the image of Loren, powerful and beautiful in a blue scaled gown, all the words she said, all the things she called her. Her princess. Kae nearly couldn’t hide her giddy smile. “Well, I meant what I said, princess. Whatever you need, I’ll be there. Who’s going to hunt and scout for you?”

  “Oh, Kae!” Loren started. She turned back to her pack, placing in the last of her clothes and what remained of their supplies. “You’re worth more to me than just that.”

  “I’m worth more to you?”

  After a beat, Loren heard Kae’s bare feet against the floor, coming around the bed and approaching her. “Of course you do. You’re a trusted companion, brave and loyal. Foolhardy at times, but you have the best intentions. You’ve never let me down before.” She said cooly, though her heart hammered in her ears.

  “Am I a friend to you, princess?”

  “Yes, Kae.” Loren tied off her pack with a sharp tug on its strings. “I never had friends of my age growing up at the castle. There were children of nobles to play with, and while we got along, I was never very close to them. They were ‘yes men,’ I realized. Probably coached by their parents to say whatever it took to keep me happy. But you, you always said what was on your mind. I treasure that about you.”

  “Do you want me to keep saying what’s on my mind, princess?”

  “I would appreciate it if you were honest with me, of course. But in the end, its up to you. I don’t want to force you to bow down to me. I’m royalty by birth, but that’s it. Otherwise, I’m no one special.” Loren chuckled. “You don’t have to keep calling me princess.”

  “Turn around.”

  Loren looked over her shoulder. Kae’s face was inches away from her own, her dark eyes staring into Loren’s. The huntress’s expression was intense, yet there was a layer of vulnerability. Honesty.

  “Kae?” Loren’s voice was a whisper.

  “I hope you don’t mind. I’ll keep calling you a princess. My princess.” Kae said haltingly, as if having difficulty saying the words. She took a breath, needing to get the words out now or risk them exploding in her chest. “I’d like to keep following you, if you’d have me. I want to protect you. I want to see you take the throne, I know you’ll be a great and kind leader.”

  “Kae?” Loren said again.

  “I believe in you. You’re headstrong, you don’t listen, sometimes you run off without thinking about your friends. But you do it for a reason. Your heart is in the right place, and I can see that. You care so deeply about your family, your duty, about us even. That’s why you’re doing this, that’s why you’re miles from home placing all your luck on this one chance that if you get to Haedria, get the antidote, everything will be fixed.” Kae spoke, running out of breath as her hands shook. She gestured, she stuttered, she wanted to say everything before she lost her nerve. “You’re powerful, even without the dragon magic. And you’re beautiful! You might not think about it of yourself, but I see it, you’re strong and unstoppable and—“

  Loren’s laugh cut her off. Kae leaned back, confusion and a hint of insult written on her face. “Kae! Thank you.”

  “Are you laughing at me?”

  “What? No, of course not! Never! I’m just…” Loren fell silent. She hid her face with her hand, looking away from Kae. What the huntress could see of Loren’s eyes were tilted, smiling, yet they were wet with tears. Loren tried to keep her breathing even, but her voice hitched in her throat. “I’m being honest, Kae. Thank you. No one’s ever said that about me.”

  “But you’re everything.” Kae said softly. “You deserve the throne, the whole kingdom. I can see that. And even if it’s difficult, I’ll be there to help you. At least, if you’ll have me.”

  Loren nodded, eyes closed and tears falling. “Please. I want you to be with me.”

  The huntress smiled, softly and sadly. “I’ll be right there behind you, your scout and servant. Please don’t cry, princess.”

  Loren gasped as if she’d been struck. Her tears fell, hot on her cheeks against the northern morning chill. “Servant? No. No, Kae, I want you to be with me. Not as a servant, not below me.” She grabbed Kae’s hand and held it in a tight grip, desperately, as if it was an anchor. As if Kae would bolt and run from her at any second. Her voice failed her, but her eyes held everything for Kae to see. “Please.”

  Kae was taken aback. There was an urgency to the princess, a loneliness that made her feel real. She looked more like a person now than an heir to a throne, descended from heroes. Still, Kae knew her place. “But princess, I’m no one. I’m just a girl that lived in the forest. I smell like wolf and dirt. And you… You’re the crown princess of Aldoran. The Daughter of Dragons.” She shook her head. “I’d be content to be at your side, at your beck and call. Where I belong.”

  “No… No, that’s not what I want. You’re so much more than that. You’re so much more to me!“ Loren only seemed to cry more. The princess choked back a sob, furiously wiping at her face with the edges of her tunic. She turned away hastily from Kae, picking up her pack and slinging it over her shoulder. She was shutting down emotionally right in front of the huntress’s eyes. Before Kae could say another word, Loren turned back to face her. The princess’s eyes were hard, cold, and shone with the dragon magic’s golden hue. “If that is what you want, Kae, then I’ll accept. I appreciate your presence in any capacity, servant or otherwise. But if that is what you wish to be, I have no right to order you to be otherwise.”

  “Loren!” Kae stood as well, facing down her princess. “I only want you to be happy. All I want is for you to be happy. But your life doesn’t have a place for me in it.” Her face fell. It was if the life was taken out of her just thinking her next words. “What would your court say? Your parents? That you…” she swallowed dryly. “That you chose a commoner? And a woman? What about your line of succession? You’re the only child of the King and Queen — if you’re with me, you cannot bear a child to continue the line. Please, princess. I know your hold your duties to the kingdom close to your heart.”

  Loren’s stare pierced right through Kae. Her voice was steady, but as she spoke, the huntress saw tears falling from her golden eyes. “Who are you to say who or what I hold close to my heart?”

  The silence that fell between them was suffocating.

  The princess turned away. “I’ll be outside asking around the town and buying provisions. Meet me and the others when you’re ready to leave. We’re so close to Sagna,” she said.

  She crossed the room in a few purposeful strides. Loren pulled the door open and paused at the threshold. “We’re days away from ending all of this. You can do whatever you would like after. You don’t have to serve me.”

  Kae’s protest was drowned out by the sound of the door falling shut.

  Chapter Twenty

  Cassendir emerged from his and Kaiten’s room feeling refreshed and back to his old self again. He was still much colder than he was used to, the climate was even colder than it was in Aldoran, but after a good night’s rest on a feather bed and a hot bath provided by the innkeeper, the scholar had himself sorted. He had spent the first hour since waking just writing furiously in his various notebooks, filling them with notes about the north and the nomad path
that he wasn’t able to jot down earlier due to misery and possible frostbite.

  He walked into the common area of the little inn, all smiles and a cheery mood, and stopped in his tracks. Seated around a small round table were his friends. But the princess’s eyes were gold as she spoke to Kaiten with the seriousness of a Warmaster discussing strategy. Beside her was Kae, staring blankly into the grain of the table, looking haunted. He approached them cautiously.

  “Good morning?” Cassendir said.

  “Are you ready to leave, Cassendir? I have one last thing to do before we set back on the road and it shouldn’t take too long.” Loren said curtly. She barely spared him a glance before turning back to Kaiten.

  The scholar frowned, annoyed at the princess’s bluntness. He pulled up a chair beside Kae, and saw that the huntress had a plate of stewed meat in front of her, untouched. “Kae? Are you alright?” he asked, then dropped his voice and looked pointedly at Loren. “Did something happen? She’s quite rough today, not to mention the eyes.”

  Kae nodded. “You could say that. What happened exactly…I’m not sure I can explain.” She looked back to Loren and saw that the princess paid the two of them no mind at all. They were at the edge of Loren’s vision, she suspected, but she wasn’t sure to what extent the dragon magic aided her senses. “I need to talk to you later, Cassendir.”

  Ma’trii the wolf arrived at the door to the inn. He politely sat just before the door and grunted to catch Kae’s attention. Even when the huntress waved at Ma’trii to come in, the wolf stayed put so as not to track mud into the inn.

  “Princess, Ma’trii says the snow leopard Beastman has walked back to his tent.” Kae said, looking over to Loren.