The Return of the Dragonhawk

Chapter 48 - A King to Lead Them

"Master Donn!" Alyx exclaimed when he descended from the Kingstower. "Skipping school again?"

"I have no need of further schooling," Donn said. "I must be by your side."

Alyx sighed inwardly. He appreciated Donn's devotion, but it was becoming burdensome. "We will share our midday meal," he decreed, "and then we will parlay."

Amazingly, Donn managed to wolf his food and talk non-stop without choking. Alyx learned that his former pupils had founded a secret society, 'The Brotherhood of the Dragon', dedicated to serving their beloved Dragonkeeper and preserving goodness everywhere in the world. It had been little more than a game until Peregret succumbed to Halgrim. Shivanna's sharp ears had overhead the plot to betray Dys. Her father was none other than Lord Trevolta, who was currently quartered in Draklunys' dungeon.

"She betrayed her own father?" Alyx asked, not knowing what to think.

"She said wrong is wrong, even if one's own kin does it. We cannot allow evil to spread unopposed."

"Her father only meant to protect his family from harm," Alyx said.

Donn looked at his master sharply, as if he could not believe what he was hearing. "Evil is evil. If it is stronger than we are, that is all the more reason to take a stand against it."

I must be getting old, Alyx thought, bemused. I no longer see in black and white, but in shades of grey. What will I do with this young firebrand?

When Alyx saw Martenn coming into the hall, he excused himself and went to speak to her, promising that he would deal with Donn's defection from school, although he had no idea how. Shivanna had known full well that she was on the wrong path when Alyx disciplined her, but Donn was fired with righteous zeal. He had laid his life on the line for his beloved Dragonkeeper, and would endure any amount of punishment rather than desert the post he had assigned himself.

After the meal was finished, Alyx took Donn to the library for a private parley. He was soon filled with helpless frustration. Donn insisted that he had a higher duty than obedience or common sense. "I am your man, and I will not leave your side."

Restraining his impulse to enforce his will at any cost, Alyx sat back in his chair and studied his charge. Donn sat stiffly, his eyes bright, both fists clenched, like a defiant kitten facing a lion. Alyx could see that he would reap nothing but trouble if he let Donn have his own way, but how to bring this feisty cub to heel without breaking his spirit?

Donn stared back at Alyx. Then, unexpectedly, he sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve. In a flood of insight, Alyx realized that he was not facing a hardened warrior like Urammin, but a frightened child far from home.

"Donn," he said gently, "if you are truly my man, then trust me to guide you in the direction that is best for both of us."

Donn swallowed hard and looked away. "You speak like a father," he muttered.

"I mean to be a father to you until such time as you return to yours."

"My father will think I am a traitor!" Donn cried passionately, and Alyx understood where his trouble lay.

"He will see things differently after we have conquered Halgrim," Alyx said. "The song-makers will remember you as the one who saved both Dys and Peregret."

"But what if Halgrim is too strong, like they say?" Donn said desperately, overwhelmed by tears. "What if -- what if something happens to you?"

As Alyx held the sobbing boy in his arms, he remembered his own fears long ago, when he first fled from Draklunys. His worst nightmares had come true then, and they might again. There was nothing to be gained from speaking anything but the truth.