Ablaze

Chapter 6

                                                                                            Rezzik

The Habkki ceremony was performed solemnly. The entire Drakkon Kingdom paid its last respects to Ifadi, and I was the one to lead it as the mourning family member.

In the morning, just as the sun was up, Ifadi’s remains were carried by two elders in their dragon form. They flew him to the highest point above the castle and just below the clouds. I was close by in my own dragon self. Howling. Crying. It echoed throughout the Drakkon Kingdom. I was barely aware that all dragon shifters in their human form below us were on their knees, hands and foreheads on the ground.

Beating the air with my wings, I circled my father’s remains thrice, going up and down in the air. And then, I gently blew black ice on his remains, wrapping him with it. When it was done, the two elders handed him to me. I grabbed him by my huge and sharp claws, carrying him with care and affection toward the highest peak of Drakkon Kingdom. It was the frozen Mabqarra Mountain, where Drakkon royals were laid to rest. It was filled with our relatives and family for millennia. These included the late consorts, queens, kings, princes and princesses.

A decade ago, Ifadi and I laid Inadi near the top. Now, I gently laid my father down next to her frozen remains. Transforming into my human self and materializing a red robe as a sign of mourning, I knelt down, yowling. Now, I had no one else. Not even a brother or a sister or cousins and uncles and aunts. They were all gone decades and centuries ago, and I was all alone.

No! I’m not all alone. I have Kalai… Kalai… I’ll have Kalai!

Sniffling, I stood up and transformed into my massive self. I left the Mabqarra Mountain, cloaking myself so that no one could follow me. I soared high and speedily. It was just a matter of an hour or so, and I was already inside the boundary of Doragon Queendom, flying over it and toward the fortress. As usual, the guards were unable to detect my presence.

And there was Kalai with her long hair down her back. It was like she was waiting for me. She was standing in the middle of the maze garden, looking up at the sky, directly at me. It seemed. Today, she wore a long, thin red dress and a pair of sandals. Because of it, my heart kicked hard in my rib cage. It was as though she mourned with me.

Kalai… my mind whispered, tears rolling down my scaly dragon face.

She looked so beautiful… and I did my best to suppress not to roar with the emotions that were bottled up inside of me.

I dipped a little lower to have a closer look at her. I wished I could just get through the invisible protective wall and take her into my arms. I was too distracted by her and my feelings that I hadn’t realized I was getting too close to it. There were sparks of greens and blues that went off, alarming the guards. Even Kalai scrutinized that part in my direction.

“What is it, Princess Kalai?” Haalash asked, slithering from her wrist toward her shoulder. The pet also looked up.

“I don’t know, Haalash. Inadi’s protective wall just flickered. Did you see it? The guards seem to notice it, too. They’re calling out the others now.”

A couple of Doragon guards blew red fires in my direction, so I quickly shifted my location. The fires seemed to howl as they were blown.

Still using my stealth powers, the guards blindly breathed fire in all directions, not even singing me. Just as the dragon guards came up behind me, I moved higher, looking down at Kalai. I saw her running while she still watched my direction as though she could see me.

I wanted to roar and destroy the invisible wall between us with my black ice. But I held back as much as I could.

More dragon soldiers swarmed the area. I guessed none of them could use magic that could detect cloaked dragons. It was my advantage then.

I dipped once again, leaving the guards overhead. I circled to where there were only a small number of guards. Down below, I also noticed the warrior shifters. They were all on high alert level.

Davroz, Kalai’s keeper, now appeared beside her from nowhere. “I was looking all over for you, Kal!” he admonished, and I wanted to growl at him.

Kalai gave him a cutting look. “There could be an enemy or enemies out there, Davroz. I want to stand here and fight!”

“Your sisters and brother are already in the throne room with your mother and her consorts. Queen Tymistra’s looking for you!” he said.

Kalai sighed and was forced to go to the main palace. Until she entered it and I couldn’t see her anymore, I decided to leave.

A feeling of emptiness blanketed my whole being as I flew back to Drakkon Kingdom. I decided that I must make a way to be with her even though there was yet the matter of investigating my father’s death.

***

When I arrived at the Drakkon Kingdom’s palace, Umrrath and the elders were waiting for me just in front of the throne room door. It was closed. They dared not enter it without my presence, as I left a strict order that any meeting especially inside the palace, without me, was considered treason. The guards were ordered to execute all of them right on the spot.

Still in my red robe, since the official mourning started from the moment the Habkki ceremony was performed until the full moon in two weeks, I strode past them, entering the throne room just as the guards opened the huge ceiling-to-floor doors. Ydraz was not far away from me, quiet and alert.

The elders and Umrrath were clad in red robes as well, just as the royal protocol demanded. The palace servants, guards, soldiers and keepers were exempted to observe such formality. Thus, they still wore their uniform.

I went straight to the platform, dragging my feet as I climbed the eleven steps. The emerald-and-lapiarta throne looked strange to me. Or maybe it was just what I felt since I must sit on it from now on. Taking a few deep breaths, I slowly turned around to sit slowly and closed my eyes momentarily.

The elders and Umrrath all lined up in front of the platform, with the adviser in the middle. They bowed their heads to me, saying, “Our greetings to you, Your Greatness Rezzik!”

Umrrath continued, “The official coronation is tomorrow, Your Greatness.”

“It’s awkward to hear my greatness, Umrrath. Let’s change it,” I said without even thinking.

The elders and he exchanged glances. “What’s wrong with Your Greatness, Your Greatness?” they all asked almost at the same time.

I waved a hand. “I’m not myself,” I honestly spoke.

They all stood straight, maybe thinking I’d have them executed if I snapped. They already heard about the healer’s death, but they thought it was Ydraz who beheaded him. This wasn’t corrected, as they were afraid to point fingers at me. Although technically, Ydraz would have moved and done as I told her, it was the executioner that was on their mind, not me. That was kind of weird.

“Your Greatness, rumors say you killed your father to get the throne and the crown for yourself,” one of the elders reported.

My head snapped, glaring at him. “Who started it?”

“We are currently investigating it, Your Greatness,” Umrrath calmly answered.

I gave him a cutting gaze. “Investigate, but no more killings.” Well, that should go with me, too. Perhaps? If I could help it.

“As you wish, Your Greatness,” Umrrath replied, bowing his head.

When they were all gone after that, I beckoned for Ydraz to approach me. She signaled the guards with her head to move to the farthest part of the throne room. I conjured a piece of yellowish paper with words written on it in red ink.

Did anyone see my departure to Doragon Queendom?

“No, I don’t think so, Your Greatness,” she answered in a low voice, shaking her head.

I nodded at her, conjuring another piece of paper after the other one was devoured by black ice and disappeared.

Can you find me someone who can perform strong magic without the elders’ detection?

“I know someone, Your Greatness,” she replied with a serious face. However, her brown eyes queried what I was thinking.

The paper I held in my hand turned to black ice and vanished, replacing another one with the words that played in my mind.

I want to be with Kalai.

“Your Greatness!” she gasped, eyes unsettled.

“Don’t stop me, Ydraz,” I nonchalantly told her. It was a kind warning though, and she knew it.

She just swallowed slowly and bowed her head to me. She turned around to get to her errand. I watched her straight back, where the sword was always resting.

***

Just like the usual coronation ceremony in Drakkon Kingdom, it was noon the next day that I was crowned and proclaimed the new Drakkon King. The emerald-and-lapiarta throne was levitated high up at the center of the palace for everyone in the kingdom to see that a new dragon shifter was to rule Drakkon Kingdom. Gold-orange lights surrounded it like a circular pillar.

In my dragon form, I glided and shifted into my human form to sit on the levitated throne. Umrrath and an elder both in their dragon appearance carried the black crown with white diamonds that made it glitter. The crown was slowly placed on my head with the elders’ magic. Then they blew black shards of ice in my direction as a sign of respect and as a part of the ceremony. With my magic powers, I melted the shards before they could touch my human skin, the crown or the throne.

The guards and my keeper in their black dragon form roared as they flew above head, circling twelve times before they separated and shot to different directions so that the dragon shifters that lived the farthest from the palace would know of my coronation.

Would Kalai know at least my name now?

“Greetings and all hail to you, Your Greatness!” the elders began to congratulate me.

The voices of the guards and servants were echoed by the rest of the shifters from all over the Drakkon Kingdom. It went on until the sun started to set.

The emerald-and-lapiarta throne, with me on it, started to descend and was back in the throne room. The roof magically closed on its own.

I let out a deep sigh, thankful that the coronation was over and I could rest finally. But I was starving.

I summoned a servant to bring me food in the dining hall. It didn’t take long as the maids already anticipated that I’d need replenishment. I watched my trusted poison tester before I helped myself with the food.

Ydraz came, signaling the female poison tester to leave us. “He’s in the library, Your Greatness,” she informed me, referring to the one I asked of her yesterday.

My heart swelled upon hearing it.

I just nodded to her. She watched me eat dinner, which was all meat, and went with me to the study afterward.

The doors were pushed open by Ydraz, and one trusted shifter stood guard outside. The doors were closed as soon as I stepped into the expansive library, which was protected with the oldest spell that none being done or said can get out of this place. On the right, rows and rows of golden shelves held countless scripts and books, which ranged from fiction to non-fiction. Some were really, really old. I did manage to read at least half of the countless books, a good excuse that I didn’t need to see Ifadi for my morning greetings everyday. Aside from reading, I had to train to develop my combat skills, using weapons or without.

 When my mother was alive, I also seldom visited her to supposedly give my daily greetings. She was too busy developing her magic anyway. Or rather, dark magic. Unfortunately, it was the one that took her life. The moment I got the news from the resident healer, I regretted how Inadi lived… and how I was too inattentive of her. Nonetheless, that never gave me the lesson. I was also neglectful to Ifadi. I was too selfish to pay any respects to my parents. And now, I was all alone.

Am I being punished by the dragons’ god? Is this why my parents are taken away from me and let feel how it is to be really alone? Thinking about this made my heart heavier. I was embraced by such loneliness that I’d never felt before in my life.

My eyes darted to my left, where the sitting area was. There were long benches that were made comfortable by placing soft stuff on the seats and backs. And there, a shifter was seated, wearing a dark blue robe and a pair of matching boots. He was well-built and dark skinned like me. However, his dark hair was short, unlike mine that was past my shoulders. He was a little shorter than my six feet and five inches height.

“Your Greatness, I’m Incerion at your service.”