Pupandaka 2

Chapter 5 - A Dream Come True

As the sun crept down on the horizon, Drele figured it was time to go. He put on his shoes and looked at the blue ring he got from his mother some years ago. It was, as it seems, blue and it had a small dolphin-shaped sculpture on the base of the ring. Drele could remember what his mother had said like it was only yesterday. "Take this ring. Remember me. It holds the most magnificent power than you can imagine. Take it, and remember me. Save it well," his mother had said. But, of course, he was 8 years old then. His parents were leaving out to this far distant place called Trudioplazova, which he could never figure out where.

Drele grabbed his jacket and left the place. He walked down the quiet old streets towards the Orienda Palace, hearing the dragons' most beautiful song. He could barely hear it, but he can remember their song as if they were bright sparkling stars in the sky:

Oh, come to me,

Dear dragons of power,

Come to me,

As we sing this song

Of twilight in the night.

Wherever you may be,

Our power is united.

And never will our bond fail

In this land of prosperity

And strength we grow in.

The more we live

The stronger we believe!

So, come on, dear dragons of power,

Let's take a rest on this night

And restore our precious energy.

Over the morn, we will rise,

Free once more!

After singing this song, the dragons then settle into sleep. Drele loved their song. Every time he hears it, he wishes he was involved singing it with the dragons.

Drele walked up the stairs to the main gate of the palace. He carefully knocked on the doors. One of the guards opened up the doors and said, "What are you doing here at this time of night?" Drele was surprised. He wasn't expecting a guard to open up the doors. "Is the queen here?" Drele asked nervously. "No, why?" the guard said in a loud voice. "I requested something from her earlier today and I need to tell her about it," Drele said. "Well then, she's down by the pier behind the palace. Move along, son," the guard said as the doors closed.

Drele crawled down the steep slope to the beach behind the Orienda Palace and found Queen Tearlach standing on the pier. He ran up to her. The queen turned around and saw him running up towards her. "Ah, you're here!" Queen Tearlach exclaimed. "Yeah, what are you doing?" Drele asked. "Just enjoying the cool twilight breeze. I see you've come for the request I approved of earlier," Queen Tearlach said, looking into the sky. "Have you listened to the song the dragons sang tonight? It was so beautiful, so keen."

"Yeah I have. Do you ever wish you wanted to be there with them, live the life they always had?" Drele asked, looking up at her. "Well, to be honest, yes, I do, all the time. I also wish I had been perhaps easier on them," Queen Tearlach looked down. "Anyway, let's do the thing."

"Oh, yes, the thing," Drele looked up in realization as they began to walk. He looked at his watch. It was half past 10, closing time. "Don't worry, I have a private boat we can ride in on the way. Jerome!" she shouted over to a person who appeared to be royal. "Yes, my liege?" Jerome came over. "I would like a ride to the Garden of Dragons, as well as this sweet little boy here," Queen Tearlach requested. "Sure, ma'am. May I get your name?" he asked Drele. "Drele Kindera, son of Vesar," Drele said, "and heir to the throne with the queen," he then joked. Queen Tearlach laughed, "No you aren't!" They got on the boat.

"So, what's your experience with Tanark?" Drele asked. "Tanark, oh, she's beautiful. I admired her ever since I was 9. Such a beautiful dragon," Queen Tearlach said. "But Renaha, she didn't know what would happen if we merged the dragon kingdom with ours. As it turns out, she thought wrong. Dragons do no harm to us." Drele looked down. "And Renaha died fighting for Pupandaka. So you took her place and made it the way it is now. I'm grateful for what you've done," Drele smiled. Tearlach smiled back.

The boat pulled into the docks of the Garden of Dragons. The song had faded away and the island was quiet. It was exactly the same as when he had arrived the day before. "I presume you've been here, yes?" Queen Tearlach asked. "Yeah," Drele answered. They walked along the shorelines of the island. "It saddens me, you know, that these dragons have a much longer way of life than we do," the queen frowned. "True, true. How old is Tanark?" Drele asked.

"She's a bit over a thousand years old. I think perhaps the precise number is 1,028. She may be very old to us, but in reality and physical appearance, she appears very young. Dragons age very slowly while us humans age very fast. 80 years really isn't that long. As soon as you exit your childhood, your remaining life just whizzes by, you know? It's that fast. But to dragons, that's probably 800 times as long," Tearlach explained. Drele was surprised that the queen was able to explain all of that. Nobody had ever compared the life of a human to the life of a dragon. "I understand," Drele spoke quietly.

When they rounded a corner, they started heading inland, towards the waterfall where he and Bluni saw the fire dragon, Jerxian. They then walked around the waterfall. They stopped. "Around this corner is Tanark's den. I must ask you to not disturb her as she's asleep. Let me do the work," Tearlach explained as she walked over to Tanark. She pulled out a long instrument that resembled a flute. As the queen played it, soft notes echoed. Tanark's eyes flew open. "Huh?" Tanark said as she yawned. "Who wakes me at this hour?"

Drele cannot believe his eyes. He's actually watching Tanark crawl out of her cave. He rubbed his eyes as if to think it was a dream, but it's not. "It is I, Queen Tearlach of Pupandaka. I'd like to introduce to you a friend of mine," Tearlach said. Drele was amazed that the queen called him a friend. "Drele, come!" Queen Tearlach waved over to him.

"This is Drele," Tearlach said. "A-a-are you real?" Drele stammered. "Yes, I am. Are you real?" Tanark asked. "No way," Drele gasped. "Darn right. I'm Tanark, or what I'm sometimes called, the Dragon of Dragons," Tanark pointed to herself. "Tearlach. Couldn't you wait till the festival next month?" Tanark asked. "No, Drele was so pumped to see you," Tearlach answered. Drele stood there, gasping in surprise.