Chapter 17
1552 Words
17
Cayden stepped to the front of our group and knelt on one knee before the ram-skull king. “A moment, if you would, Your Highness. We would like to ask a great favor of you before we begin these negotiations.”
The king arched an eyebrow. “And what is that?”
“We ask only that during our visit none of your ships will leave the island,” Cayden requested.
The human scoffed. “We must fish for what little catch these waters offer us.”
Cayden smiled. “My apologies. Only that they not raid the coast, and if they are out that they will return.”
King Cathal studied Cayden for a moment with pursed his lips before he nodded. “I swear to you on my honor that none of our ships are away from the island, nor will they leave for the coast until we have spoken.”
Cayden bowed his head. “I will accept your word, Your Highness, and thank you for your kindness.”
The king scoffed. “It is not kindness but annoyance that grants you your wish. I wish for you to be gone as quickly as possible.”
Cayden climbed to his feet and tilted his head up to look the king in the eyes. “We would like nothing better ourselves, King Cathal, but first I demand to know why you invade my realm and steal away my people’s goods.”
“Necessity knows nothing about stealing,” King Cathal argued.
Cayden gestured to the guards in their woolen clothes and skulls. “But your island is legendary for its flocks of sheep. Why must you steal our animals?”
The king stiffened and pursed his lips. “It is because we ourselves have been violated that we seek to lessen the suffering of my people with these voyages.”
The young dragon lord arched an eyebrow. “But how is that possible? How can anyone violate your impenetrable defenses?”
Cathal shifted in his seat and furrowed his brow. “We do not know, but with each passing day our flocks grow smaller. That is why we venture forth.”
“But suffering should not be met with more suffering,” Cayden argued. He took a step toward the king. The guards around us stiffened. “Your Highness, for the sake of both our realms your raids must stop.”
Cathal frowned. “While my people suffer, the raids will continue. That is-” a sly smile slipped onto his lips as he leaned back to study Cayden, “-unless you wish to offer some ‘compensation’ in return for an end to these raids.”
“What?” I yelped. My voice bounced against the walls and echoed back at me, amplified a thousand times. I shrank beneath all the stares. “Sorry. . .”
The king leaned forward and glared at me. “You disapprove of my offer?”
Cayden stepped between us. “What would you have from my people?”
“I would have a shipment of twelve dozen sheep sent to my realm every week,” the king demanded.
Cayden started back and his eyes widened. “So many? But the flocks of my own people would soon be depleted.”
Cathal stood. “That is your problem to solve, dragon king, but I will allow you time to think over my proposal. In the meanwhile, you will be shown to-”
“A moment, Your Highness.” Xander moved forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Cayden. He nodded at the red dragon who smirked back. “Why do you invite a traitor to your court?”
The red dragon bowed to Xander. “I am merely a lamb lost without its shepherd and guided here by pity for the plight of the humans.”
Xander’s eyes narrowed. “There is not enough pity in the whole of the Bestia Draconis to find compassion for a fly.”
The stranger straightened and chuckled. “Perhaps the dragon lord is blinded by his prejudice?”
“I am not blinded from the truth,” Xander snapped.
Cathal raised one hand. “Whatever qualms you have among yourselves is of no concern to me. However-” he cast a warning glance at the red dragon and Xander, “-I will not tolerate fighting among my guests. If you wish to destroy one another do so over the ocean.”
The red dragon bowed his head to the king. “I would rather keep peace in your territory, Your Highness. Besides-” his eyes darted to Xander, “-this dragon cannot fly.”
Xander ground his teeth together. Spiros set a hand on his shoulder, and my dragon lord turned his tense face away from the red dragon.
Cathal looked to his right. A small contingent of the guards broke off and marched over to us. “Show them to their rooms.” The guards bowed to their king and turned to us with a clack of their boots.
Our little group was marched out of the throne room and down the wide hall. Halfway down we took a left into a narrower hall that allowed me to sidle up to Xander. I leaned toward him. “You okay?” I whispered.
He stiffly nodded. “Yes.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“No.”
I frowned and straightened. “You’re as moody as a brooding hen. What’s wrong?”
Our entourage stopped in front of a few elegant wooden doors. One of them stepped out of the crowd and gestured to the entrances. “These will be your rooms while you are here. Don’t wander the halls except to leave the royal residence.”
“Thank you, captain,” Cayden replied. The leader bowed and the guards marched off.
Xander looked to Spiros. “Watch Miriam. Cayden and I will make inquiries about the trouble here.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. “Have you forgotten that I beat you at the get-out-of-bed game? If there’s trouble, I want to be there.”
“That is why you must remain with Spiros, and I will have Cayden at my side. He will hold my promise to keep you safe until my strength returns,” he insisted.
My eyes flickered to Spiros. “Why don’t we all just go together instead of this splitting up-” I glanced back to Xander. He and Cayden were halfway down the hall. “Hey! Wait-” I rushed after them, but Spiros caught my shoulder. I spun around and glared at him. “Come on, Spiros, you know I’m right. We need to stick together.”
He smiled and shook his head. “You have a gift for finding more trouble than Xander and I are able to manage. It would be best if you remained here.”
I tapped my chin and rolled my eyes to the ceiling. “How about no?”
I turned on a dime and raced down the tiled corridor. My pounding feet were the only noise that followed me. I reached the intersection and glanced over my shoulder. The hall was empty. Spiros was gone.
I straightened and turned my head left and right. “Spiros? Spiros, you there?” No reply.
To make matters worse, I didn’t see Cayden or Xander anywhere, either. There were a dozen different halls they could have followed.
My arms drooped and I glared at the many halls. “This is a fun house, but I’m not having much fun.”
I decided sticking around wouldn’t be much fun, either, so I made my way to the front doors. The bright sunlight of the fresh day greeted me like an old friend and welcomed me with warm, open arms.
I wandered forth into the wilds of the metropolis. My attire caught the attention of many of the sheep-attired locals. Many of the people I saw were women with their young children in tow.
It was a soothing sight, but all this walking was going to get me nowhere fast. I stepped toward my fellow wanderers, but they turned off into side streets or hurried past. Others, seeing my actions, gave me a wide berth so that I soon found myself alone in the middle of the streets.
After five terraces my feet complained about the hard ground. I found myself at a large square, one of many that dotted the terraces and chatted among themselves at the wells. Their children raced each other up and down the cobblestoned roads, or played a form of jacks with the bones of sheep.
I took a seat on a stone bench at the edge of one of the squares and watched the serene pandemonium. A small group of young children kicked a rubber ball between themselves. One of them kicked a little too hard and the ball bounced over to me. I leaned down and caught the wayward toy in both hands. It was squishy and a little sticky in spots.
One of the children, a girl dressed in a short, silk-thin wool dress dyed red, hurried over to me. She stopped a yard short of the bench and glanced from the ball in my hands to my face.
I smiled and held out the ball. “It’s a very pretty ball.”
She returned the smile and took the ball. “Thank you. . .”
“What’s it made out of?”
“Sheep bladder.”
My smile froze on my face. I resisted the urge to run to the well to wash my hands. “That’s neat. By the way, you didn’t happen to see some tall men come by, did you? They wore funny clothing.”
She shook her head and scampered back to her friends. I sighed and gingerly wiped my hands on my jeans, but paused halfway through my chore. Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention, and I glanced to my left.
There, half hidden by the shadows of a narrow alley, stood the girl from the trees. Her full attention lay on me. I stood and took a step toward her. “Could you-” She beckoned to me with one hand and disappeared down the alley. “Hey! Wait!”
- Writer
