Semaj

by Amari A

Chapter 16

  I look at Onyx and his expression is blank. I can tell that he’s still absorbing the information, just as well as I am. I look at Maylo and he goes to the back of his house where he came from. I guess he has said all that he plans to say to the both of us and wants a break. I stand up to leave out of the house and Onyx does the same. We walk out of the door and I take a bite of the bread that’s in that basket that Jamo gave me and it’s surprisingly sweet.

  “So, got kind of intense in there, huh?” asks Onyx.

  “I guess, but I mean, it was weird to put a face to the voice that’s been invading my dreams. I really thought I was crazy,” I say as I take another bite of the bread.

  “I didn’t know that he was invading your dreams. All I know is that he said that he could help you and I believed him. And turns out he did give you some really good advice.”

  “Yeah, he did, but I still wish this was all over and that we could go back to being the peaceful kingdom with no evil chasing after us and stuff like that.”

  “Can’t be easy all the time, can it?”

  “No, it can’t, but that doesn’t mean that a girl can’t dream.”

  “So do you want to go back to the castle? I’m sorry if I put a damper on your birthday but I didn’t want you to go into any battle blindsided.”

  “You didn’t ruin my birthday. That guy actually gave me some pretty solid advice. And I definitely do not want to go back to the castle. We are going to the dragon berry festival.”

  He laughs. “Well, let’s get to it.”

  He takes my hand again and we head back towards the village. When we get back to the middle, it looks completely different. There are decorations everywhere. There are purple and gold flags up with dragon berries on them. There are a lot of booths set up with different foods and games on them and there are little dragon kids running around and older ones talking in packs.

  “Wow! I’ve never seen a festival like this before,” I say as I look around, taking it all in.

  “You’ve never been to one of your kingdom’s festivals?” he asks.

  “No, I was always off in other realms or stuck in the castle. I only met Brenden by chance on one of the occasions my mom came down here.”

  “Well then, let’s get you to your first festival. What do you want to do first?”

  “Let’s try out the games,” I say as I pull him over to a table.

  He laughs and follows behind me. We spend the afternoon at the festival playing games, eating lots of dragon berry goodies, and interacting with the other dragons. They all seem really sweet and for a minute I forgot that I was actually their princess. I see the sun is getting low and I realize that it’s time for Onyx and I to leave.

  “Well, I guess we better be headed back to the castle,” I say.

  “You don’t sound too happy about that,” he says.

  “Well I’m not. There, it’s nothing business. Here, it just seems so….so natural and fun.”

  “Yeah, but you have a duty to uphold and so do I.”

  “I know. I know. Let’s get going because you know we have to get to my birthday dinner with my parents.”

  “I know,” he says.

  We say goodbye to the dragons that we became friendly with at the festival and begin our walk back to the castle. I can tell that by the time we get back up the trail it will probably be almost dark and that I will have to rush into the hall to be on time for dinner.

  “Thanks for today,” I say to Onyx as we walk up the trail.

  “It’s no problem. I mean, it was all your idea. I’m just glad that you decided to have your babysitter tag along with you,” he says with a laugh.

  “I know. But really, you seem like you wouldn’t spoil my fun, so I guess it wasn’t a bad decision. Plus, I had fun with you.”

  “I had a lot of fun with you to. You’re not so bad for a princess.”

  “And you’re not so bad for a babysitter.”

  We walk the rest of the way in silence. I think about all the fun that we had today and a small smile spreads across my face. We make it back to the castle and the guards open the door for us. We immediately head towards the hall and push open the doors. My parents are sitting at the table, along with Brenden. I see a cake in the middle and all types of other goodies spread out across the table.

  “Happy birthday, baby,” says my dad as he comes over and gives me a hug.

  “Thanks dad, but, uh, why is Brenden here?” I ask.

  A confused expression crosses my dad’s face and he looks over at my mom who looks away. I can tell that she didn’t pass on the memo that I wasn’t talking to Brenden to my dad. “He’s your best friend, sweetie. I thought that you would want him here.”

  “Well you thought wrong,” I say “And he knows why I wouldn’t want him here so I don’t know why he agreed.”

  Brenden stands from the table and walks towards me. “Semaj, look, can we please just talk?”

  “Uh, no. You had your chance to talk to me and you chose not to, so now I’m choosing not to speak to you. You can go back to the medical ward because I don’t want you here.”

  Brenden looks at me and then walks away. I feel the urge to chase after him, but I don’t. I just stay standing there. My dad looks awkwardly at me and I decide to break the silence. “Dad, can Onyx take Brenden’s place?”

  He looks at Onyx and then at me. “Uh, sure, sweetheart. Anything for you.”

  I sit at the table and Onyx takes the seat beside me.

  “So, how was your day sweetheart?” asks my mom.

  “I actually had a lot of fun. There was a dragon berry festival in the village today and we went to it. I’ve never been to it before and it was very interesting. I got to play games and eat a lot of food with dragon berries in it. It was great.”

  “I forgot all about the dragon berry festival. Your dad and I used to go with each other all the time when we were younger. It’s actually where we first met.”

  “Really? I never knew that.”

  My dad nods his head. “Yes, I had entered a dragon berry pie eating contest and when it was over, she caught my attention. But when I tried to talk to her I actually got sick and hurled by her feet.”

  “Ew, that’s gross dad. And mom you still talked to him?” I ask.

  She laughs. “Yes, sweetie. He looked so pitiful that I just couldn’t turn him down. And I’m glad I didn’t because he’s a wonderful husband and we have the most beautiful daughter.”

  I smile. “Well, it was indeed a lot of fun. It was nice to get to know some of the dragons in the village.”

  “Yes, it’s always wise to get to know the ones you will one day rule over,” says my dad.

  “I guess, dad,” I say as I bite into a cookie.

  “So Onyx, did she give you any trouble while you were out in the kingdom?” he asks.

  Onyx shakes his head. “No sir. She was actually well-behaved. We had a lot of fun together. She even kicked my butt in quite a few of the games.”

  I laugh. “Really? I think he was holding back because he didn’t want to kick my butt on my birthday.”

  “Well, it’s good to know that you two are getting along,” he says. “Semaj, you do know that your punishment starts again tomorrow right?”

  I sigh. “Yes, dad. I know that I go back on lockdown tomorrow. You don’t have to keep reminding me.”

  “I was just…” he starts to say.

  “You were just trying to ruin my birthday. You act like I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I make one mistake, but granted, that one mistake has helped stop the kingdom from getting poisoned anymore. I don’t understand how you want me to be the chosen one and do what needs to be done when I’m cooped up in this castle or have my head in books somewhere. None of that stuff even helped me when I came across Velshkar. Neither did any of the stuff I learned in basic dragon training. I was basically defenseless because of you,” I shake my head as I stand up from the table. “I’m not a little kid anymore, dad.
I know more than you think I know. I’m going to bed. Tell Simon I’ll see him bright and early for my intense dragon training.”

  I walk out of the hall and run up the stairs to my room. Leave it to my dad to be the one to rain on my parade. I just didn’t get him sometimes. It’s as if he wants me to feel bad all of the time. He scolds me and then reminds me of the same thing over and over, like I’m the one who actually has the problem. He does. Nothing matters to him. No matter what I do, he will never be satisfied and I guess that it’s something that I will just have to deal with.