Finding Their Camelot
1135 Words
Jameson POV
Terrance opened the thick file to reveal piles of receipts, meeting notes, nametags with some sort of insignia on them, and various other paperwork.
Terrance picked up one of the nametags and showed it to us. "Look at this. This would've been from one of his visits to the palace, since this is the royal family's insignia."
I took the nametag and studied the insignia next to Alpha Anthony's name. It showed a wolf-like beast, standing on his back legs, shaking hands (paws?) with the dragon facing him. The dragon was breathing fire onto their joined paws, while his tail wrapped around their feet. The full moon was in the background, encompassing them both.
Jonathan, meanwhile, being the more outspoken of the two of us, was already asking questions about it. "I'm assuming all the symbols in the picture mean something, right?"
Terrance nodded. "Yes, they do. In the Alpha classes I had to take, we had to study these insignias, for the royal family and for each of the packs, to learn the meaning behind them. The beast, of course, is a Lycan. The reason it shows him shaking hands with a dragon is to represent the peace treaty between the dragons and us all those years ago. The dragon breathing fire on their paws represents the dragons sealing the deal. The dragon's tail wrapping around them both is to show that we're now together in a circle of peace. And the moon behind them is to remind us that the same moon shines on us all."
I was impressed. So much meaning in one picture. "Wow. That's amazing." I reflected back on something else he'd said. "Wait. You're telling me dragons are real too?!"
He laughed and nodded. "There's a lot fewer of them than there used to be, but yes, there are still some dragons. Like us, they have a human half and a beast half. Most of them choose to stay in their human forms, only shifting into their dragons once or twice a year. They don't have the need to shift frequently like werewolves do, and while humans might be able to convince themselves they're seeing an abnormally large wolf if they see us, they wouldn't be able to rationalize seeing a dragon hanging around. They usually go to some abandoned islands and shift there, so that no humans are able to see them."
"Do you know any personally?" Jonathan asked curiously.
Terrance nodded. "I do. Some of my parents' oldest friends are a dragon couple named Kaina and Wym."
"Interesting names," I commented.
Terrance smiled. "Kaina is named that because a female dragon is called a drakaina, And a full grown dragon is called a wyrm, so therefore, Wym. They have four kids too, and all their names are based on dragon terminology. Their daughters are Pachuca and Dalina, and their sons are Nuri and Blaze."
"Wow!" I was amazed. "I'd love to meet them someday."
"That's a good possibility," Terrance told us. "They have a tendency to stop by unannounced sometimes, since they only live a couple hours away."
"Have you ever seen their dragon forms?" I asked him.
He nodded. "Only once, though. You see, they mate and reproduce in their dragon forms, and the female sits on the nest for awhile - I don't remember how long. They lay eggs instead of having live babies, and their young are actually only in their dragon forms for about three years, then they're able to shift into their human selves. When the babies hatched, Kaina and Wym invited my parents and their kids out to meet them. The kids are only about 12 now, so I guess I would've been around seven at that time. Wym was in human form at first, to greet us and guide us back to the nest, but I remember he shifted after we reached the nest and he told us all the kids' names. Kaina stayed in dragon form the whole time, since that's the only way the babies knew her. Wym's dragon is bright blue with some green mixed in, and Kaina's is purple and gold. They're both gorgeous, as dragons and as humans." He pulled another paper out of the file. "Anyway, getting back to the task at hand, here's some gas receipts for the time period he was in Maine. This one says it was in a town called Ogunquit."
Jonathan pulled his phone out of his pocket and put the town name into Google. "Looks like that's on the coast, or at least near it. It's not far from Portland, and even closer to Kennebunkport. And look." He turned his phone where we could see the Google Earth image he'd pulled up. "It looks like there's a lot of woods around it, so I'm guessing the kingdom could be hidden somewhere in there."
Terrance nodded. "You're probably right. We tend to build packhouses and things like that in deep woods, to avoid as much human traffic as possible, so I'm betting the Lycans do the same."
"Do you think your dad might have a way to contact them?" I asked.
Terrance sighed. "He does. I found an email address when I was looking through the computer this morning. I'm happy to give that to you, but it may not be a good idea to email them just yet."
I thought that over for a minute. "You're probably right. We've discussed before how we don't know who at the palace may have been working with Arthur on the kidnapping. I guess it's better to just show up."
"Honestly, I don't know," Terrance replied. "It's kind of a rock and a hard place. On one hand, if you contact them and it gets into the wrong hands. But if you just show up unannounced, the guards likely won't let you in without some proof of who you are. And who knows if the guards could've been in on it. Maybe my dad will have some advice to pass along."
"I hope so," Jonathan replied. "He's actually met our biological parents, right?"
"Yes, a few times," Terrance told him. "He says that they're actually very nice people, despite being the king and queen. But they're really strict on security protocols, which is why I know you likely won't be able to get in easily. Like I said, I think my dad may be able to help you there."
"I hope so," I said. "Because I'm pretty sure just showing up and yelling, 'Hey Mom and Dad!' at the gate ain't gonna do the trick."
"Nope, not unless you're trying to see how fast a Lycan guard can attack," Terrance agreed.
"I'd really rather not," Jonathan replied. "Unless, of course, said guard's a pretty female."
We all cracked up laughing.
- Writer
