The Dragon's Fight

Chapter 4

-Laelia-

We once again found ourselves on that little border. Once we crossed it, we would be in the enemy’s territory. It was strange to think all of this chaos was caused by my estranged uncle. I had barely met the man, only at a few gatherings and parties. He had always given me a strange vibe, but I had never known if it was good or bad. Now I knew … it had always been bad.

“So, are we ready?” Liam asked.

“Are you scared?” I teased.

He just smiled at me before we finally crossed the invisible line and started to move into a plainer landscape. It was rather quiet though. Only the birds singing and flying around in the sky was the only sound we could hear.

“Do any of us even know what these nymphs are like?” I asked after a little while.

I had read about nymphs, but I had never met them. It was true what Liam had said about them not wanting to go to war. They were healers and a peaceful people. They, like the elves, lived in harmony with nature, and only took what it gave and made sure to take care of it as well. We humans and dragons had lived in a very different way. Taking what we wanted and not remembering to give much back, if anything at all.

“I mean … can they hurt us?” I asked.

“Well, nymphs are said to be able to possess a man’s soul,” Liam said in a dramatic voice.

I rolled my eyes, as my older brother started to tease me again, and turned to Samuel instead, who was on my other side. Tylon rode in the front, but I caught him glancing back at me, probably making sure I was alright. This was exactly why I didn’t want people to know I was pregnant. I didn’t want to be treated like glass again.

“Have any of you ever seen a nymph?” I asked.

Samuel and Liam were quiet, and I looked at Liam again, who just shrugged, as if he didn’t see the big deal in not having met a nymph before.

“I have.”

I turned and looked at Tylon, but he wasn’t looking at me. He just spoke into the open air, and as he kept quiet, not continuing to speak, I decided to ride up beside him. He just kept looking ahead, while my eyes were locked on him.

“And?” I asked.

“And?” he just repeated.

“What are they like?”

“Dangerous if angered …”

“So, they can fight?” I asked.

Tylon didn’t say anything at first, and I feared he was not going to answer me at all, but then he said:

“Not in the way you are imagining.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“The nymphs are usually used for predicting the future, but many have also sought them out because their blood is said to be able to keep you young if you continue to drink it,” he told me.

I remembered reading something about that, but I stayed quiet as I continued to listen to him telling me about the nymphs.

“If they are angered, they can use their powers to enchant a man and then they will make him do … vicious things to himself or others, if more have hurt them,” he said.

“Make him do what? Kill?”

“Kill … steal … confess to a crime he has never committed. Whatever they desire.”

“Only men?” I asked.

Tylon took a few seconds to think about my question before he answered,

“Only men have ever sought them out. It is said they are more beautiful than any goddess.”

“So, I will be the first woman to test their power,” I whispered.

“Do not test them,” he warned me. “They are not to be tested. They are stronger than … than any of us. We should not try to see what they can do when angered.”

“But we need to know if they can be of value to us!” I said.

“No, we already know they are. People on that battlefield will be men. They will be of value to us if we can convince them to help us,” he said.

“Most people.”

“What?” he asked.

“I said most people will be men on that battlefield.”

Tylon just looked at me confused, and I could see out of the corner of my eye my brothers, looking at me confused as well. It made me smile a little. They still had not figured it out? I was not just here to help get allies. I was here to win the damn war!

“You didn’t think I would just sit around on my ass waiting for you all to return, did you?” I asked.

“Laelia, what are you saying?” Liam asked.

“I am going to war with all of you, of course. I thought we had discussed this.”

They all shook their heads slowly, shocked by my words, and it just made me smile. They had clearly already forgotten who saved them … twice, and who was one of the last white dragons and the future queen of the North and South … was I forgetting something? Oh yes, I also had the sworn loyalty from Pymyrth to serve me until his last breath. I was going to be in this war whether they liked it or not.

“I don’t think that is a good ide-“

Tylon was already trying to convince me that I should change my mind, but I was not changing it. I was going to fight for what was mine and avenge my brother and father, who had lost their lives because of my uncle’s evil game.

“I am fighting. I won’t be talked out of it!”

Tylon moved closer and lowered his voice,

“Are you sure this is a good idea, considering …”

I gave him an angry stare that told him quite clearly to back off! I was pregnant. I had not lost both my arms!

“I am,” I told him in a dark tone.

“Laelia, you have never fought in a war,” Liam said.

I turned to him and just glared at him as well. He quickly sighed and shook his head. He knew how stubborn I was and if I wanted to fight. I would.

“Laelia, just listen-“

Samuel tried too to talk to me, but I would have none of it. Now that I was pregnant again, the fire in me burned even stronger, and I could feel it making my body turn warmer and stronger. I could fight. I could easily do it. The only thing I feared was the blood that would be spilled. I remembered what Liz told me about some people wanting war and it dragged others into the darkness with them. I would not come out the same, I knew that, but if this war meant a peaceful world for my child and any future ones, then wasn’t it worth it?

“We are just trying to make sure you actually will be able to be crowned queen,” Liam said. “Going to war … many die.”

I could see the pain in my brother’s eyes. He had before been sent out like the rest, fighting against other humans trying to take more control over the lands. My father could not have such traitors running around causing trouble for him, so my brothers had been sent out together with a big army and had taken care of these things. I had seen only half of that army return. Sadly.

“I can protect myself.

“You have never fought in one!” Liam said.

“Now I will …”

“Laelia …”

“Am I the white dragon, or are you?” I asked him.

He sighed, closing his eyes for a little while before answering,

“You are.”

“And am I the one who will sit on the throne ruling the North and the South?”

“Yes …”

“Then why should I not fight in this war? I can’t speak to these people asking them to give up their lives, if I am not even willing to risk mine!” I said.

“But they aren’t the future queen!”

“No, but a queen is nothing without her people! I cannot ask them to risk so much if I am not willing to fight along side them. They are my people and I will protect them with everything in me.”

They all turned quiet, and I looked over at Tylon beside me. Was that a smile? Or something close to one? He seemed to be shocked by the power I showed, but it had also been a long time since we had spent any time together. He wasn’t the same either. He was quieter now. He didn’t joke around like he used to. I understood. He had been under a terrible kind of torture. I had seen the way it had affected Ashes, and they had kept Tylon prisoner longer than him. He had almost lost his mind completely, but luckily, we had brought him back, or at least a part of him. There was still a way to go, but I knew he would get better by each day that went by … at least I hoped so.