The Dragon Queen

Epilogue

The sun is high in the sky with a calming warmth by the time Jaymie makes the small clearing of the forest. Pyro glides overhead, coming to a near stop by the swoop of his massive wings, and drops each leg to the ground, like a bird on a perch. Knowing Ezra and Dex are not far behind, Jaymie stays on Pyro's back until she spots glowing white eyes amongst the shadows. As promised, Ivory is waiting alone, and Jaymie can't help but feel the dread seeping into her veins. For the last five years, Ivory has asked Jaymie a request, one that Jaymie has refused every time. However, when she asked the last time, there was something in Ivory's eyes. Jaymie gave one demand in return. Should Ivory still wish Jaymie to grant her request in a year, Jaymie would do it. Now here they are. Jaymie approaches Ivory, who steps into the clearing in her human form. Ivory has aged and taken on a less commanding role in the last five years. Most of her days in the previous year were spent in Sarkin with the dragons. She no longer wears her silver armor but a flowing white dress that somehow was whiter than her skin. Perhaps after the many years of perfecting her human form, she has managed to add a tinge of color to her skin.

Jaymie approaches Ivory, and for a moment, nothing is said. Ivory only watches Jaymie with her pale eyes, which Jaymie notices have the glitter of blue amongst them, like snow on the ocean. Her pale blonde hair is loose and flowing in the soft mountain breeze breaking through the trees. She never looked more human nor freer.

"I suspected you would change your mind and not come." Ivory is the first to speak, her once icy tone now almost melodic.

"I thought about it," Jaymie admits and takes a deep breath before continuing. "But the more I thought about it, the more I could not deny you the one thing you have truly ever asked of me." Jaymie gives a slight shrug of her shoulder, feeling young in the presence of a creature so old. "My only hesitation is knowing I will miss you and that there is so much more I could learn from you."

"I suppose you could, but I doubt there is nothing I could teach you or tell you that you do not already know." Ivory tilts her head slightly at Jaymie with a ghost of a smile on her lips. In the last five years, Ivory has gotten slower, not that the creature couldn't kill anyone or anything faster than the flutter of a bee's wings. Jaymie suspects that Ivory was actually injured in the Battle for the Realm and didn't tell anyone about it. Ivory has never been one to let anyone fuss over her, and it made sense. It didn't help that they lost a dragon and a human descendant in that battle.

In the aftermath of such a heavy loss, Alfred has found a strange bond with Ederick's dragon. Felix supposes that the twins' shared blood allows it, though it isn't the same. Neither Alfred nor Jadeaves is the same as they were before, and no one can blame them for it. It isn't a complete bond, but it is enough to keep Alfred from ending his life and Jadeaves from going on a rampage...for now. Karic has kept a close eye on Alfred, securing his cousin the position of General of Sarkin. It is something to keep him busy and keep his mind off the dark thoughts everyone knows that he has.

"I am surprised you did not postpone this until after Karic's wedding," Jaymie confesses with the weight falling on her heart. The event takes place in three days, but it was nearly a five-year betrothal. Surely, Ivory could have waited three more days.

"I have seen many weddings in my lifetime, Jaymie." Ivory's tone is soothing but no less sharp, reminding Jaymie that she has no thoughts of deviating from her plan. "I have all the faith I can muster that Eoin and I's lineage will continue for many generations. No one but you knows of the beginnings of that lineage, and I will leave it to you to inform others at your discretion. And my decision to do this now is not because of Karic's wedding to Pascal."

Jaymie's thoughts drift to her brother and his soon-to-be bride, Pascal Shane. During the Battle of the Realm, Pascal's father fell in battle, leaving her elder brother to step into the role of Baron of Rivercross, Vrinian. It was in the aftermath of the battle that Karic met both siblings and became immediately infatuated with Pascal. Her brother agreed to their union after Pascal's nineteenth birthday. Karic, having only been sixteen upon meeting her, felt no rush to marry and happily accepted the betrothal to the then fourteen-year-old Pascal. In the last five years, Pascal's freckles have faded. Her blonde hair has darkened slightly to a golden straw color, and her green eyes have become more vibrant. Jaymie hadn't thought it was possible that Pascal could have gotten any more lovely from her adolescence. Still, she is happy to admit, this time, that she was wrong. Everything about Pascal's outward appearance radiated royalty. There is a spark of fire and rebelliousness in her soul that she imagines is what struck Karic's heart rather than her beauty. Their union has been long-awaited, and everyone Jaymie knows should be in attendance. The only person she can think of that won't be, is Ivory.