The Dragon Queen

How to Ride a Dragon

For a moment, Thomas thought he had regressed to the age of a toddler again. He had barely even opened his eyes before his mother strode into his room and wrenched open the heavy curtains, blinding him with sunlight. He instantly hissed and seized his pillow for protection but she took that from him too. "Get up" she commanded sharply.

"What have I done to deserve this?" Thomas groaned into the mattress, not moving an inch.

"Somehow won the queen's favour" his mother replied.

"You're joking" Thomas mumbled, not believing her for a second. Ever since she had accused him of being so stupid as to actually love the Dragon Queen she had not ceased in teasing him about his apparent existence of a heart. She was still as delusional as ever. But to his surprise, she replied with "No, I'm not. See for yourself" and a letter landed on his head. Thomas rolled his eyes beneath the paper. "What is this?" he asked, sluggishly moving it from covering his face. It took a few moments for him to convince his eyes to decipher the artfully crafted writing, but when he did he couldn't believe it. Part of him didn't want to believe it and his brow furrowed. "She wants me... to do that?" he asked, almost hoping that it was his mother's idea of a joke. But she shook her head with a wide grin. "Yes. Now get up. The letter says she's coming to collect you within the hour".

Dragons typically resided in warm dark caves, usually with a river of lava to drink from, at least the dragons that Lucia was used to did. So it was quite a surprise to hear that two beasts from her castle had escaped her dragon riders and ventured into the icy lands of Yot for a laugh. Yot was absolutely freezing cold, its bitter winds harsh and sharp, carrying upon it flurries of snow, and Lucia couldn't help but pull her furs closer to her for warmth as she and Thomas trecked through the knee high snow. He didn't seem the slightest bit bothered by the cold; Lucia sometimes suspected he had Yot blood in his veins but only as a little joke in her mind. The Assar royals were all very proud of their heritage, even Thomas but he wouldn't like to admit it. "Sayis usont sana desirum I to rasharg sana frendil paranski tremsoras? (Why did you want me to help you with these dragons?)" Thomas asked her curiously, as the two gradually neared the creatures, who seemed intent on feasting on the ice cold snow.

"Sana eros mystrak, ditrute lillonray. (You sound suspicious, my darling)" Lucia teased "Mes I sog rangara oligay ils compano? (Can I not just enjoy your company?)".

"Sana messeg. (You could)" Thomas nodded "Gased pasar sana esatared ditrute kinmar, I mayad egas itarus sana mayad asarog hitrull compano arona. (But since you kissed my brother, I would have thought you would prefer his company more)". Lucia rolled her eyes. Ever since she had given Alexander a kiss on his cheek, purely because she'd had no choice, the insufferable prince hadn't stopped teasing her about it. Simply to reassure him, she took his hand with her near numb fingers and didn't miss how he stared at their intertwined hands with a furrowed brow. "Paranski tremsoras air frendrilreleasay osaruses. (These dragons are without riders)" she explained, nodding to the beautiful beasts. She flashed Thomas a smile, but he had already paled knowingly. "Isa- (No-)" he began.

"Gased sana kyanic bes a gatares osarus! (But you will be a great rider!)" Lucia argued.

"Isa etara. (No way)" Thomas growled stubbornly. The pair finally came to stand afore the gigantic creatures and Lucia couldn't help but smile in awe. No matter how many times she lay eyes on them, dragons were always the most beautiful creatures within the Ten Realms. Thomas however didn't seem to share her adoration and glared at her. "First you name me Chief of the Greencloaks to stop crime and now you want me to be a rider?" he snapped at her.

"I want you to ride a dragon back to Saltari, not become a rider. There's a difference" Lucia corrected.

"I'm not doing it" Thomas refused flatly "I've seen these beasts burn down castles. There is no way I am riding one for miles and miles".

"What are you afraid of? They're amazing". But Thomas still looked sceptical. "Oh, come here" Lucia hissed. She quickly dragged the scowling prince towards the closest dragon - a reddish beast with scales like rock - and the beast inquisitively raised its majestic head from the snow it had been happily chewing on. "Dragons are more than fire-breathing weapons" she told him "Tell me what you see when you look at a dragon".

"I suppose...". The large blood red and grey snout parted to reveal several hundred curved fangs but instead of devouring the two where they stood, the gorgeous dragon curiously nuzzled Lucia's hand. She laughed at the warm breeze that ruffled her hair, flowing from its wide nostrils, and happily patted its scales. "I suppose I see you" Thomas stated, watching her.

"Dare I take that as a compliment?" Lucia chuckled.

"Take it as you like, as I know you will".

"As a dragon will also".

"Meaning?". Lucia gave him a rare smile, quite like the smile of the dragon, before she gently guided his hand into resting upon the dragon's snout. His long fingers instantly flinched away from the warm tough skin, but Lucia refused to allow him to move, and the great dragon gently nuzzled him, as if sensing his wariness. "A dragon will accept you as they want to see you and they usually see the best in you" Lucia explained.

"And that's why you're what they call the Dragon Queen?" Thomas challenged "Because you see the good in everyone?".

"I wish I did, Thomas, but in a world like this, the task is harder". Quickly shaking her head, she looked back to him, her hand still on his, and grinned mischievously. "Feel like riding now?".

"How does one even ride a dragon?" Thomas asked, brow furrowed.

"No one knows that, silly!" Lucia laughed "You climb on and simply zar! (fly!)".

Deep in the bowls of the Saltarion castle, the guards were in a panic. "We have to tell the queen!" one hissed.

"She'll kill us all" the second replied.

"She'll kill us faster if she finds out we knew and didn't tell her!".

"Tell her what?" a voice barked and the guards whirled around to find Zane glaring at them in the shadows, a stack of fluffy blankets in his arms. At request of the queen, he was entrusted to keep the new dragon eggs warm until they hatched. He didn't mind doing it. Compared to what he'd had to put up with recently he was rather glad to be doing such a simple task. The youngest of the guards, perhaps little over twenty, swallowed nervously. "Its the dragon eggs, sir" he said, his voice tiny "One of them is.... gone". The blankets immediately fell to the floor.

"WHAT?!" Zane shrieked, his petrified voice magnified by the echoey corridors. Muffled roars suddenly sounded from somewhere outside the castle and the advisor paled with fear as was quickly becoming a regular occurrence for him. The queen had returned and soon all hell would break loose. "That's not all, sir" another guard contributed "We found this where the egg should have been". He handed Zane a note and his eyes widened as he read over the hastily written scrawl. "Find the prince and lock him up" he ordered the guards and they instantly ran past him to obey. Zane simply couldn't believe it. But who else would have written such a thing?

Because you wouldn't be mine, the egg will not survive.