Starbeam

by Adrienne Woods

  “He should’ve known better, she was a commoner.”

  “Excuse me. It doesn’t make you better than her. You are just jealous, that is all. Is this girl really even dead?”

  “Yes,” Connie yelled. “You think so little of me.”

  She wasn’t dead, she was just not a girl at this moment.

  “Then how did she die?”

  “I can’t tell you that.”

  “Constance!” Issy warned.

  “There are too many ears here.”

  “Oh please, Andrew has his own shit to worry about.”

  “What shit?”

  She sighed. “The bond we were told as kids, the myth,” Issy said.

  I didn’t see what Constance did with her head.

  “It’s real. Emanual’s grandfather saw it with his own eyes.”

  “Bonds like that aren’t natural.”

  “Oh, I agree,” I finally said, still pissed off with this Silver Annex for lying through her teeth.

  “Emanual thinks Andrew is sharing one with Tanya.”

  “The Green-Vapor?”

  “She is hostile towards him without a reason.”

  My eyes landed on Constance. “Anyone ask him?” She sounded hostile too.

  “Ask me what,” I retaliated.

  “You’ve never met her before. She is Chromatic. You might want to be a dragon slayer for all we know.”

  “Constance, what has gotten into you?”

  “If only it was that easy. No, I’ve never seen her before in my entire life, and for your information, I was keeping my distance as far from them as I could. I’m not like Albert, but I’m no monster either.”

  “There could be other reasons,” Connie said.

  “Like what?” Issy asked, clearly annoyed at her twin.

  “I don’t know. Maybe she is attracted to him and that is pissing her off.”

  “Or maybe she feels something she can’t explain with him. A dragon always knows.”

  “What is that supposed to mean.”

  “You know what that means, Issy.”

  “Oh for crying out loud, it’s Bob. He actually is going to kill this one if he comes back and finds out this ludicrous tale you all are coming up with. He will not like it and he is never going to see you in that way Issy. Whatever you feel for Bob, it’s not mutual.”

  Connie stormed out.

  “And neither is Al’s feelings for you.” Issy yelled and my lips tugged softly as Issy growled.

  “Sorry,” she said and grabbed another plate to dry. “She just infuriates me at times.”

  “You really think your sister would tell Al that she was dead if she wasn’t?”

  “No, she isn’t cruel. Jealous yes, but she would never say something like that just to get her way. There is something she isn’t telling us though. Sorry for what she implied.”

  “Don’t worry, she wouldn’t be the first woman at this camp hating my guts.”

  Issy laughed. “You know she doesn’t hate you Andrew. She just doesn’t want it.”

  “And neither do I.”

  “She is one lucky dragon but if that bond is real, something will happen. It’s not something you can run away from Andrew.”

  I didn’t like that, not one bit.

  “So you and Bob.”

  She grunted again and covered her face with her hands. “It’s a hopeless case.”

  “Not that hopeless. You are kind, Tanya isn’t, or in my opinion.”

  “He is Chromatic, I’m not.”

  “You are a dragon. Not human.”

  “It’s not that different to be honest. They hate our guts too.”

  I squinted. “They do.”

  “Because we love humans, they hate our guts for that. To be honest when Al came up with this stupid idea, I never even thought we would get to this stage, but here we are.”

  “You have known him for a long time, haven’t you?”

  She nodded. “Our mother and father are in King Louis’ Royal Council. My father is a Swallow Annex too. We practically grew up with Albert.”

  “I see. So he’s really hard up on this girl, huh.”

  “Love at first sight. The way Al talks about that night is magical, which I guess we will never hear about it again.”

  I nodded solemnly.

  “Bob has been trying for years to find her, at least he knows her name now.”

  “Not that it will help now that she is dead.”

  “Sad but true. Just give him space for a few days please.”

  I nodded and we finished the dishes in silence.

  ALBERT

  * * *

  I was spent. Took all my frustrations out on a tree while Helmut and Caleb waited patiently.

  Constance refused to tell me how my lady, how Katherine had died.

  My heart was shattered.

  So what if I had no idea what she looked like.

  That night was perfect, magical, she hated my guts and I had no idea how she felt about me after that and now, now I would never know because she was dead.

  Bob could find her friend. I know Constance would tell me at least what this woman’s name was that knew Katherine.

  I would strangle a name out of Constance if I needed to.

  I needed to know how she passed away, even if that was the last thing I did.

  “Al,” Helmut said. “Do you think Connie might have just said that because of how she feels about you.”

  “No, Helmut, Constance would never do that. We live in an imperfect world, that is it. But I knew she was the one for me.”

  I sighed, Helmut and Caleb too.

  “Let’s be honest here for a second, Al. I know you felt something deep with this girl.” Caleb said. “But would your dad really step aside this time.”

  “He loved a dragon, Caleb. He would see the same love in my eyes. I know he could relate to that. Drizelda is nothing compared to Katherine.”

  Katherine. She even had a royal name. “She loves her people like I love Chromatics. I wanted to be a better person after my brief encounter with her and the best part was that it felt as if I was. She was that powerful and I didn’t care how I felt about commoners, I was wrong. I didn’t even get a chance to tell her that.”

  “She knew that Al, if she passed away she truly did.” Helmut said.

  “I need to know what happened. I need a grave, Helmut.”

  He sighed again. “Al, what if she was a dog.”

  Caleb started to laugh and I wanted to punch Helmut in the face.

  I growled at them instead and got up.

  “C’mon Al,” they both yelled as I stormed back to the camp. They both followed me. I wished they would piss off.

  “You only saw sad grey eyes, and beautiful lips. She could seriously have been hideous underneath that mask.”

  “Then she was a fucking dog, Helmut.” I roared. “I don’t care.”

  “Okay, sorry. The connection was real. I just wanted to make sure that you cry for the real deal and not what you made up in your head. Sorry.”

  “I didn’t make things up. Her soul spoke to mine.”

  “You do know what you sound like, right.”

  “I don’t care!” I yelled again. “She is dead and you both are acting like idiots. Just leave me alone.”

  I stormed to my tree and would stay there until it was time to fight again, and hopefully I would die in this war so that I could finally be with her.

  My body shook with silent sobs. My lady was gone. She wasn’t in this world anymore.

  * * *

  KATIE

  Issy scolded Helmut and Caleb when they got back. There was talk about how inconsiderate they were to Al’s feelings about me. It was still so hard to accept.

  I wanted to laugh from joy as he truly did feel the connection I had had that night, but I didn’t like him being this unhappy and sad. I wasn’t dead, I was right under his nose and he had no idea.

  “It was real to him, I don’t care what he sounds lik
e. The day is going to come Helmut when you are going to lose your head over a girl the way he did and I hope she gives you the cold shoulder.”

  “Issy,” Helmut sounded shocked and I chuckled.

  “You didn’t hear him, shut up.” Helmut joked playfully. “I’m not made for that mushy talk.” He shivered.

  “Still, Issy has a point. I heard it’s pretty bad when you meet the one.”

  “If I were you,” Caleb said. “I would shush as you could be the dragon’s lover.”

  “Oh shut up, she is not my type.” I growled and the banter stopped.

  We sat and talked about the intel that Goran got back via men that scouted our perimeters. They really had smart tactics and I could see that all three of them had grown up around war discussions, probably had tutors that taught them how to start a war and how to end one.

  I went to bed early and thought about that ball.

  It was magical but for him to be so down just by rumors that I could possibly be dead was hard to witness. It was just one night. We didn’t grow up together, we had nothing in common and to be honest, it made me nervous for the day he was going to discover who I truly was.

  He knew my name.

  I sighed at just how hopeless this was. I should’ve walked out that day when he came to pay off Drizelda’s debt. At least we could’ve met for real, but then maybe this would’ve been harder or maybe it wouldn’t. I wasn’t as beautiful as Maggy or as spontaneous as Fallon. I was difficult when it came to the opposite sex and only could relate to them through Andrew.

  I should just try to forget about Albert in that way and let him believe that I was dead. That would be the best for both our hearts

  Chapter 18

  KATIE

  Days flew by without Albert.

  I had to agree with Caleb and Helmut, this was getting a bit too much. He didn’t know me technically. It was just a mask ball and I was sort of drunk. But I knew we had a connection. To be honest I fell harder for him here than that night now that I thought about it and I still had mixed feelings about Goran.

  That night was definitely stronger and more for Albert.

  The women in his life must be wretched.

  Well Constance was.

  What had Maggy told her?

  He finally emerged on the fourth day but he was sullen for half the day.

  He spoke a lot to Connie and I could tell she was annoyed.

  It always put a smile on my face.

  But that died too. He didn’t speak to her that often anymore.

  I was a wedge between them.

  He finally came to sit down next to me.

  “You okay?”

  “Yes, I’ll be fine.” He said and pushed stew into his mouth as we had lunch around the table.

  You idiot, I’m right next to you. I rolled my eyes.

  “So how did she die.” I asked.

  “She refused to tell me, but I got what I needed from her.”

  “Do I want to know?”

  He huffed with a smile tugging at his lips. “A name.”

  “I heard, Katherine.”

  “No, the one who told her. I’ll get the truth from her.”

  “How Al, no one is supposed to know you are alive.”

  “I have a dragon, he’ll be back soon. He does wonders with a name.”

  Oh crap. I hadn’t met Bob yet, and he would not like me.

  “About him. I heard him and Tanya…”

  “They are not a thing. I told him many times to forget about her. She despises him as much as she despises humans.”

  “And you want me to embrace that.”

  Al laughed which made me laugh too.

  “You have something amazing with her, Andrew. We could learn more from the two of you than I ever learned from Bob. I was sure he told me everything, but he never mentioned that bond.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t believe in it, the way Emanual does.”

  “Maybe but still, he would have mentioned it. We covered superstitions a long time ago.”

  “It’s far fetched Al and I have to agree with them, a bit blasphemous.”

  “You don’t know what you are saying, Andrew. If a bond between dragon and human exists and we can find the recipe for them, the signs, it would mean lesser beatings.”

  “Beatings, what beatings?”

  “It’s something Bob told me. Chromatics only stay good through beatings.”

  “You beat him?”

  “It breaks me more. I hate the beatings, but I have no choice. He tells me when it gets too dark and it’s not something I enjoy believe me. If I could find an alternative for that, I don’t care how far fetched it sounds.”

  I could see the sincerity in his eyes.

  “I’d have to beat Tanya, I couldn’t do that.”

  “You have the bond idiot. She wouldn’t need it if she goes through whatever she needs to change with the bond.”

  “It sounds unreal, something sinister Albert, I don’t want to be part of it.”

  “You heard what Emanual said that night. Maybe this is how it’s meant to be. Otherwise why do we both exist. If we can’t learn from them, and they from us, what is the point of them being here. Or us being here, Andrew.”

  I sighed.

  “We know nothing about them. And through the school, we can change that.”

  “What are the requirements for this school and can anyone have a dragon, Albert?”

  “I don’t know that one yet, but just like we discovered the bond, we’ll discover that part too.”

  “Fine,” I smiled. “Who am I to crush your far fetched dreams.”

  His smile disappeared. “It’s already crushed, this dream is doable.”

  It melted my heart. Was I really his dream?

  * * *

  ALBERT

  I slept that night with Connie.

  My feelings for Andrew couldn’t be ignored today. It wasn’t admiration, there was something about that guy that I couldn’t pin down.

  He was everything that I wanted to be, but this feeling wasn’t admiration. It was much deeper than admiration.

  Connie loved every minute of it and let’s be honest, I needed a woman’s touch.

  The next day I only saw Andrew when he came back from the hunting party.

  Something was troubling his soul today and then it hit me why he was so scared about his dragon.

  Shit, Andrew had feelings for men.

  It was against the law, but it wasn’t unheard of. That was why he was so easy to talk to, why he was drawing me in. Why Tanya said that her feeling him up didn’t work. She just said that, didn’t give me more. She too thought he was hiding something. Maybe it was his attraction toward men.

  I had to keep my distance.

  “Robert is coming.” One of the scouts yelled from a tree.

  I look at the sky. His outline was on the horizon.

  It was about bloody time too.

  He was really fast and when he landed the earth shook.

  Andrew fell over as Bob was as big as a house and he shifted immediately into his human form.

  I looked at Andrew.

  Bob was a handsome fellow or so Issy and Connie said.

  A twelve among the ladies.

  Andrew definitely had feelings toward men rather than women as he couldn’t stop looking at Bob. His gaze shifted when he found mine staring at him.

  Bob hugged me first.

  “What is wrong?” He asked and my eyes welled up immediately. “Let’s talk.”

  “No, we need intel.”

  “No, we talk first. Intel can wait.” He took me by the arm and led me to the back of the log house.

  We sat down as a tear rolled down my cheek.

  “Talk to me Al.”

  “It’s stupid, I didn’t even know her that well.”

  “Your lady.”

  “She’s gone, Bob.”

  “Gone, as in…”

  I nodded.

  “How did you discover this?”
/>
  “Her name was Katherine. Constance found the girl that won mother’s lottery. She told her.”

  “How?”

  “She doesn’t want to tell me, said I would blame myself so it could only be that attack on Eikenborough.”

  “You didn’t instigate it.”

  “I need to know how, Bob.”

  “I’ll find out, does this woman have a name?”

  “Marguerite, or Maggy, I assume.”

  “I’ll find her and I’ll get the how from her, I swear to you.”

  “Thanks, now please can you tell me what is going on in the castle.”

  “Your father is raving mad. You are not going to thin out his numbers Al. He is getting assistance from outside.”

  “Outside the wall. Those people will never be able to leave Bob.”

  “They will be here in 90 days, you can stop it.”

  “90 days. That’s too soon.”

  “You have dragons.”

  “He has too.”

  “Chromatics I mean.”

  “You know they don’t stand a chance against Jako’s army.”

  “If they discover they are fighting against you, Al. I’ve never seen your father this distraught in all the time that I’ve worked at the castle.”

  “I thought he was raving mad.”

  “During the day he is, at night it’s a different story.”

  I nodded.

  “He will listen.”

  “What if he doesn’t. If I go back now, he would not see me as a threat, he would see me as a liar. We need to fight, draw swords for him to see how strong my beliefs are for change.”

  “Whatever you say my lord. But if you want to win this war, Al, it has to happen in 90 days.”

  I nodded.

  We got up. “Andrew is finally here.”

  “Andrew, as in Goran’s best archer.”

  “The best,” I said.

  “Better than you?”

  I nodded. I swallowed hard. “There is something else.”

  “What?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about the bond?”

  “What bond?”

  “Between dragon and human.”

  “Seriously Al, that bond is an old dragon’s tale.”

  “It’s not.”

  He looked at me and squinted. “We are seeing it, Emanual told us what it is.”