Chapter 12: The Silver Dragons

To him, these eggs are not to claim, But sacred birth, not bought by name. He wages war with truth and wing, To end the theft, to break the king. Skylar The answer to my problem of getting to King Emmanuel's castle came the following day. “Skylar, now that King Emmanuel has an egg, I need to go hunt for my own. Please make yourself at home here in the castle. You’re welcome to anything. You will be queen here in a few short months. I’ve ordered the staff to follow all your directions and to help you with planning our wedding while I’m away. Will you wait for me to return before you go home?” “Of course, Kenneth,” I say. I would have anyway. If he comes home with an egg, I’ll have to find a way to return that one too. I know it’s because it’s nesting season for the dragons, but it suddenly feels like I’m going to be returning eggs one after another if this keeps up. In the past, it was only one a year that I had to return. Now, either the royals are getting better at stealing eggs, or the dragons are struggling to protect them. Maybe if I see Ylys again, I can ask her why there are more thefts this year. I wonder if she would find that rude. I’ll have to decide when I see her again. If I see her again. I stand with everyone to see Kenneth off later that day. Then I begin going through the motions of planning my wedding, looking at the places around the castle and grounds where we could have the pre-ceremony, the wedding itself, and the post ceremony, along with all the other activities we'll need to set up to entertain a bunch of royals. Kenneth’s mother spends a little time helping me, but she is busy taking care of her ailing husband, which suits me just fine. I’d rather not spend time with King Solomon. I haven’t seen him since I arrived. As is proper, I greeted him and Queen Victoria. He didn't even look at me, even when Queen Victoria tried to get his attention and tell him that his son’s betrothed had come to visit. He just stared off in the distance like he couldn’t hear us. Kenneth apologized, but it didn’t bother me. Honestly, I’d rather be ignored than have him scream that I’m the dragon thief. As the day wore on, I began to rub my stomach periodically. “Milady, are you alright? You keep rubbing your stomach,” one of the castle’s attendants asked me. “I’m sure it’s nothing,” I say, smiling and pulling my hand away as if I don’t want her to know how much discomfort I’m in. At dinner, I excuse myself early, saying I’m not feeling well. “Milady, are you sure you’re alright?” the attendant asks. “I’m sure it’s nothing, but I am feeling a bit nauseous. I’d rather be in the privacy of my own room if things get worse,” I tell her. “I’ll bring you a couple of pails, water, and something to help settle your stomach, milady.” “Thank you. That might be wise.” As soon as I was closed up in my room, I began to make my plans. I wrote a note to leave on the door, letting the morning attendants know that I’m ill and to stay away in case I’m contagious. I instruct them to leave food outside the door and I’ll eat if I’m able, but to please leave me in peace to rest. When the evening attendant comes to check on me, I make sure I’m on the opposite side of the bed, so she can’t see me when she steps in. I stick my finger down my throat and begin retching over a pail. “Oh, milady! Are you alright?” “Please, please just leave me be. I’ll be alright,” I say, then retch again. “Of course. I’ll tell the others to leave you alone tonight. I hope you feel better soon, milady,” she says, then leaves. I retch one more time, just in case anyone is listening outside, then I get up and go to the dressing room to get changed. Thankfully, I packed my cloak, and my thief’s clothing intending to clean it while I was here. I put on a pair of black pants that I sewed myself so no one would know that I have them and then one of my father’s dark undershirts that I took from his chest of drawers last year. It’s much too large for me, so I have to tie it at the waist. I stuff the pillows underneath the blankets on the bed. If someone were to poke their head in, it would look like I’m sleeping. I wait until the middle of the night, then put the note on my door, before quietly making my way down the hall and out of the castle. I stay in the shadows and head for the stables where I know Radiance is being kept. She smells me when I walk in and whinnies at me, walking over to the door of her stall. I check to make sure no one is here, then grab a carrot that they keep for the horses and walk to her stall. “Ready to go on an adventure, Radiance?” I ask, giving her the carrot. When she’s done, I open the stall door, then carefully close it so it looks like it’s closed, but the latch isn’t locked. I turn and walk out the back of the stable, looking around again to make sure no one is here. Radiance follows me and I lead her out of the gate before climbing onto the fence. She walks over to me, and I get onto her back. I’m thankful for all the training we’ve done, because this wouldn’t work if I had to use a bridle or saddle on her. I press my legs against her side and take her mane in my hands. “Okay, girl, let’s go,” I say softly. She takes off into the night. I have a general idea of where King Emmanuel’s kingdom is compared to Kenneth’s and I follow that direction, using the north star as my guide. I keep Radiance at a slow pace, not wanting her to injure herself in the dark, while still trying to make sure we’re headed in the right direction. I hear them before I see them, the dragons. “Come on, girl. It’s okay,” I encourage Radiance when she starts to slow. Horses are naturally afraid of the much larger, carnivorous dragons. She listens to me and speeds up again. When we pass from Kenneth’s kingdom into King Emmanuel’s, the landscape opens and I can finally see them. They are blazing fire down on the castle just like they did at my father’s castle. I have Radiance take me as close as I dare, but once she starts becoming too nervous, I stop and dismount. “Okay, girl. You need to go back. Let them think you snuck out and had an adventure,” I tell her. She whinnies at me, like she doesn’t like leaving me here alone. I rub her forehead and muzzle, then lean my head against hers. “I’ll be okay, girl. I’ll find my own way back.” I have no idea how, but I will. I have to. Once Radiance takes off, I begin running toward the castle. I’ve only been to King Emmanuel’s castle a couple of times. I pull up my memory of the layout as I run. I remember there’s a supply entrance away from the main gate, and I shift directions to the side of the castle to find it. It’s chaos, just like it was at our castle with fires everywhere, burning bodies falling from the castle’s ramparts, soldiers shouting orders, and dragons screaming. Thankfully, it’s the chaos that will allow me to get inside the castle unnoticed. Hopefully. ‘Human,’ I hear in my head, just as I make it to the castle. I look up, seeing a dragon flying overhead, a silver dragon with a rider on his back. ‘I’m here to get your egg for you,’ I say, not at all sure that he can hear me. ‘Do you know where it is?’ I guess he can hear me. ‘No. Do you?’ ‘Yes. I will guide you.’ I sneak into the castle, avoiding the burning bodies and screams of the injured that are lying everywhere on the ground. How long have the dragons been here fighting? ‘Two days,’ the dragon says. ‘You’re the silver, right? The one with the rider?’ I ask, making my way to the inner sanctum of the castle. ‘Yes. I am Bynjym. Turn right.’ The chaos continues inside the castle as the walls shake and pieces of rock and stone break off and fall to the floor around me. The air is heavy with dust and I pull the hood of my cloak over my mouth and nose to keep from breathing too much of it in. I turn right as he said and make my way down the hallway. I can tell the dragons have been focusing their attention here. The walls are cracked and shaking, looking like they will collapse at any moment. ‘We’ll get you out if they do,’ Bynjym says. That surprises me, but I don’t have time to consider why the dragons would save me. Ahead of me, I see several soldiers barking orders to the others around them. ‘I think I’ve found her,’ I say. ‘She’s surrounded by guards.’ ‘Find a way past them.’ Wow, that’s helpful. A moment later the ceiling shakes and dragon claws puncture through the walls, tearing them apart. The guards shout and scatter. ‘How about that? Was that helpful?’ the silver asks. Is that dragon sarcasm? I ignore it and rush forward, ducking past the falling debris. There, sitting on the cold floor is the blue egg. I don’t have a scarf this time, so I unbutton my shirt and place the egg against my skin. Then, I rewrap my father’s shirt around it, hoping it will hold. I wrap the cloak over the shirt, giving it an extra layer of protection and hold it like I’m holding my pregnant belly. Then, I begin making my way out of the castle again. “Hang on, little one,” I say to her, hoping she can hear me. Just like the queen, I can feel this one moving around inside, pressing her body closer to mine searching for a heat source. Stupid royals. This little dragon would have died if they’d left her on the cold floor. Even my father knows that. Doesn’t King Emmanuel know anything about dragons? ‘He knows we’re deadly now,’ Bynjym growls. When I get back outside, there are soldiers everywhere. Most of them are looking up at the sky, fighting against the dragons. “You there! Get back inside!” I turn and see a soldier pointing at me. ‘Go. I’ll clear the path for you,’ a different voice says. A moment later a riderless silver flies overhead, blowing fire behind me. I don’t wait. I run out the side gate and make my way to the forest. I know the dragons are following my progress, paying attention to where their blue egg is. I’m not as familiar with this part of the country as I am with my father’s and Kenneth’s kingdom, so I continue running, getting as far away from King Emmanuel’s castle as I can. I get to a clearing and quickly look around. Not seeing another castle anywhere nearby, I continue running. I’m about halfway across the clearing when I hear the heavy beat of dragon wings behind me. I start to slow, thinking they’re going to collect their egg and go, but instead, the riderless silver reaches his claws down and plucks me off the ground. I yelp in surprise and fear, until I realize that he isn't hurting me, he just picked me up and is carrying me and the egg away. He lifts the paw that is carrying me up and looks at me through the slits in his claws. ‘Don’t worry, Skylar. I’ve got you.’ That doesn’t make me feel any safer. I have no idea where they’re planning to take me or what they’re planning to do with me once we get there.