The Loyal

24- A Royal Plea

Dain hadn't expected to be invited into a woman's house in Moonhaven, and he certainly wouldn't think and extremely beautiful princess would escort them to the palace. Thinking back, while he sat behind Ophira, his hands resting uncomfortably around her waist, Dain realised they had just as much good luck as they did bad luck on this quest, only the bad luck seemed to be growing.

Trying to stay optimistic after his break down last night, Dain focused on small things; Ophira's jasmine perfume, her hair billowing gently with the wind and flicking across his face, the gentle stoke of Sirath's marvelous wings, the distant call of birds as they flocked across the blue sky.

But something felt wrong, like the calm before a storm. Dain's body tingled as the breeze brushed against his burns, which, even though he was improving greatly thanks to the lotion, Dain still believed he looked like a freak. The worst part was that the burns were itchy, and yesterday Dain has made the mistake of scratching them, causing himself a lot of pain. But the more one tries to ignore an itch, the worse it becomes.

Sirath's scales looked incredibly beautiful in the morning light. The light blue triangular sparkled in a huge collection of star-like lights. It was almost too bright to keep Dain's eyes open.

"Do you want to know why I like Scias?" Ophira's voice floated over the wind, startling the boy from his deep thoughts.

"Definitely," he replied, then cursed himself. Why did this woman make him feel so . . . weird?

"Because he's given me a chance to explore my world. Moonhavians generally don't stray from the lake, we live all our lives in one area. That can be boring for the citizens, but they like it. My parents have kept me and my brother really close. They generally refuse us to even leave the palace. I became friends with Dalis a few years back, and my parents believe she's responsible and a good influence, so they let me visit her daily."

Dain couldn't imagine how boring it would be, stuck in a palace all his life. Then again, actually, he could, but his life had been a lot different. His mother lived only for him, he had work to distract himself from being bored and he was fed . . . twice a day. So there again, the princess had a great life compared to Dain, so, she was acting kind of spoilt, but Dain didn't really want to tell her that.

"I came from a prison," Dain told her, hoping she'd get the hint and realise how she sounded, "my mother died, my father abandoned me to save the baby prince and our queen. I had an iron burned into my skin every year. I was attacked constantly by the other boys. The guards whipped anyone not working hard enough. So you had a boring life?"

Ophira straightened in front of him. "Oh, I'm sorry!" She sounded close to tears and Dain felt really bad. "I didn't mean it like that, and I suppose Scias caused all this?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have said that, I'm just tried." Dain glanced down. "Is that where we're landing?"

"It's alright," she still sounded tearful. "That? Yes. Sirath, please take us down."

The dragon obliged, gliding gently down to a large plaza set out before huge doors. Though the plaza was empty, save a beautiful fountain in the middle, Havians from the streets stretching from it stopped and stared, their mouths wide open.

The elegant princess slipped off first, giving a smile to growing crowds. Dain followed her lead, glancing over the people in all their boy suits and pirate-like clothing. He walked to Sirath head, reaching out to stroke her snout.

"You need to be care with what you say to her," the blue dragon sniffed Dain's face. "We still don't know if she's a friend or enemy."

With a sinking heart, Dain nodded. Thinking, how, in these hard times, there was no in-between. "Are you going to stay out here?" The entrance the palace was not big enough for even a young dragon like Sirath to fit in.