Chapter 9: The Council Room

O’er cliff and cave, through mist and gloom, She carries life back to the womb. A phantom swift, a breath, a sigh, The thief who makes the dragons cry. Skylar I jolt awake, disoriented because of the very real dream I was having where a golden dragon was talking to me. I shake my head. Okay, maybe that wasn’t a dream. Maybe that was real. Or was it? “My lady! My lady, you have to get up. The thief stole the egg! King Augustus is furious!” one of my maids says. “The thief?” I ask, my mind still reeling from the dream or memory of that queen dragon. ‘The human lives.’ Me. I’m the human. I got to live, because the golden queen said so. “My lady, please! His majesty is calling everyone to the council chambers. He’s calling for the head of the thief and for the blacksmith who created the most recent trap for the thief.” “WHAT?” I ask, shooting out of bed. I can’t let my father kill the blacksmith. He only did what my father asked. I can’t let him die because I use my father’s knowledge to thwart him. “Hurry, Melanie,” I say as she quickly helps me to get into a gown appropriate for me to wear into the council chambers. “Fix my hair while we walk and tell me everything,” I tell her. I walk slower than normal as she tucks and pins my hair into an updo that I’m sure will make me look like I’m about to enter a ballroom. When we arrive at the council chambers, the doors are closed. “Some mint, my lady,” Melanie says, holding out several leaves for me to chew. I was in a hurry and didn’t have time to freshen my breath. “You’re amazing, Melanie,” I say, chewing the mint quickly before squaring my shoulders and walking into the council chambers. The blacksmith is on his knees in the center of the circular room, his head bowed. “You were charged with creating a trap that would catch the thief, not allow him to steal the egg and escape with it!” my father shouts. He doesn’t look like he’s slept much. I glance around the room quickly, looking for Kenneth. If anyone can help me calm my father, it’s him. When I spot him, he nods his head subtly, gesturing for me to join him. I make my way around the room until I’m standing beside Kenneth. “Did you betray me?” my father shouts. “Did YOU steal the egg? Who else would know how to steal the egg from me?” “No, Your Highness! I swear. I did exactly as you asked. I was trying to help you catch the thief, or even kill them, never to help them get the egg out of the castle,” the blacksmith says. “Have they searched his rooms?” I ask Kenneth quietly. “Yes. They found nothing.” I think quickly, trying to find some way to get my father to realize this man had nothing to do with stealing the egg. “Where were you during the battle, Blacksmith?” I ask, my voice ringing out in the room. Because this is my father’s interrogation, as his daughter, I am allowed to ask questions as well. If this were any other king’s interrogation, I would have to remain silent. The blacksmith turns and looks at me. “I was fixing the harpoons on the ramparts. They break when they are used as much as they were last night, not to mention the extreme heat they suffered from the dragons. One of them will have to be completely rebuilt because the metal melted in the dragon’s fire. “So, you were in the towers?” I ask, looking at Kenneth. He was in the towers, too. “Yes! You saw me Prince Kenneth, do you remember? The harpoon was jammed and I was fixing it.” Kenneth frowns. “Yes. Yes, I do remember seeing you up on the tower.” I breathe a sigh of relief. “Father, how could he have been on top of the tower and stolen the egg at the same time? It’s impossible,” I say. My father slams his fist onto the podium where he’s speaking. “I want this thief! I want his head! He will pay for what he’s taken from me. Again and again he finds a way into my castle. He steals my dragon eggs. Well, I’ve had enough. When the thief has been found, he will be beheaded in front of the entire kingdom so everyone will know that I will not tolerate dissenters in my ranks. I glance away before my father’s eyes can meet mine. I don’t think my father would ever behead me, but it’s a possibility, especially when he’s as angry as he is right now. He turns and storms out of the room and I let go of the breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Well done, Skylar. I’d forgotten that I’d seen the blacksmith. We were so busy, everything was happening so fast and then the fire …” “It’s easier for me to see clearly because I wasn’t in the middle of all the chaos. I didn’t come out until the dragons were gone,” I say. “I’m glad,” he says, gently taking my face in his hand. He strokes his thumb over my cheek. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to my betrothed.” “I feel bad hiding when others are fighting,” I say. It’s not entirely true. I’m fighting my own battle and if my father hadn’t brought the dragons down on us, there wouldn’t have been a fight to begin with. “Someone has to be available to help take care of the wounded when the battle is over. You didn’t go to bed until everyone was seen and assessed, Skylar.” “I still went to bed before you did, Kenneth, and you were in the battle.” “I’ve trained for that. You haven’t. Your battles are different. You fight in arenas like this one,” he says, gesturing to the room around us. “And, I fight against dragons.” “I wish there was another way. I wish we didn’t have to fight against the dragons,” I say. His hand falls away from my face. “What do you mean?” Shit! “I just mean, so many soldiers were killed or wounded. I wish there was a way to avoid all of that.” “There is, Skylar. We need a dragon. Once your father and I each have a dragon, we will never have to worry about that kind of fighting again.” I nod, knowing that there’s no arguing with Kenneth, any more than I could argue with my father about this. “You’re right. So, what now? How do we find this thief?” “We set a trap,” he says. “My father just did that, Kenneth. It didn’t work.” “Not that kind of trap, Skylar.” “What kind of trap?” I ask. I need to know if I’m going to thwart him and my father. He taps his temple. “The kind that comes from here. I have some ideas, but I want to run them by your father. However, I need him to calm down before I do.” “What about your father, Kenneth? What does he say about all of this?” I ask. Kenneth has been more of less running his kingdom for the last year. His father has started to lose him mind, but he still has moments of lucidity which is why Kenneth hasn’t forcibly taken the kingdom from him … yet. “You know how my father is. He doesn’t always make sense. Remember when he proclaimed you as the dragon thief last year?” I force a smile. I’d been terrified with King Solomon had announced that I was the dragon thief. It was right after I’d returned the bronze dragon egg to the dragons. The bronze I now know is named Yttyc. The bronze who survived. King Solomon had stood and pointed at me. “Her! She is the thief!” I’d stood in shock, unable to move or speak. It was Kenneth who broke the terrifying silence from everyone in the room. “Father, you’re ill. Skylar can’t possibly be the dragon thief. How could she have taken an egg that heavy? It’s not possible. Why don’t you go rest?” As soon as Kenneth said it, the others in the room began murmuring their agreement, but I’d seen King Solomon’s eyes. He’d looked right at me as if he knew. I don’t know how he did, but he did. Thankfully, no one believed him. But ever since that day, I haven't felt comfortable in King Solomon’s presence. He may be losing his mind, but somehow, that makes him see what others do not. I know he knows that I’m the dragon thief.