The Dragon Bond: Heirs of Lyra

Chapter 24

On the way to Ledeberg, Ralf could sense Elysia's uneasiness. She kept fidgeting in her saddle and sighing every five minutes. Ralf urged his horse to speed up until he was even with his sister's horse.

"Everything all right?"

Elysia glanced at her brother and released yet another sigh. "I'm fine. It's just been so long, you know?"

"You think things might be different?" Ralf prodded. He knew Elysia was best friends with Phillip but that they had parted on bad terms. He also knew that Elysia probably didn't want to talk about such things around her new guardian. He tried to be discreet and not mention Phillip's name.

"I know things will be," Elysia replied softly. Her mind seemed far away and Ralf decided he wouldn't prod his sister any further. He allowed his horse to slow until he was back behind his sister.

Taking a shorter route to reach Ledeberg, the group decided to cut through a very small, almost nonexistent village called Hinton. As they rode through they passed only a few homes, if you could call them that. This was one of Lyra's poorest villages, second to Ledeberg's financial insecurity.

Shortly upon their arrival into Hinton, Ralf's eye caught sight of movement to his right. A boy, probably only six years old with bright blond hair was running at him excitedly. A woman, Ralf assumed the boy's mother, was hurrying after the boy, attempting to get him to stop.

When the boy finally got to Ralf, he jumped around and smiled up at the Prince.

Ralf smiled back at him and stopped his horse.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty!" The woman said frantically when she caught up to her son. She grabbed his arm and struggled to pull him back from the Prince's horse.

Ralf laughed and began dismounting his horse. "It's no problem."

When the boy realized Ralf was dismounting, his eyes widened and his cheeks practically burst.

Once Ralf was off his horse, he took a few clumsy steps towards the boy and then knelt down so that he was eye level with the blond-haired kid. "What might your name be?" he asked.

The boy's brown eyes glimmered with excitement. "Camry!" he answered.

Ralf stuck his hand out and shook the boy's hand. "Very nice to meet you, Camry. My name is Ralf."

Camry giggled. "I know who you are. You're the Prince!"

"What gave me away?" Ralf asked, laughing as he met the mother's eyes. She looked half worried that her son might say something foolish, and half amazed that Ralf was bothering to talk to him.

"I know all about you!" Camry exclaimed. "You live at the castle and you have a dragon. And that's your dragon's mark," he pointed to the mark on Ralf's right hand.

Ralf positioned his hand so the boy could get a better look. After Camry was done oohing and ahhing over the mark, he looked down at Ralf's leg.

"What's wrong with your leg?" He asked. "Why do you limp?"

"Camry!" His mother exclaimed, clearly embarrassed and furious with her son. "Where are your manners? That is no way to speak to a person, let alone a royal." She turned to look at Ralf, her eyes fearful. "Please, Your Majesty, forgive me, he's just a boy. Still learning. I try to teach him manners."

Ralf waved her off. "There is absolutely no need to apologize. I admire his curiosity." Addressing the boy now, he answered, "I was born with a crippled leg."

"What's crippled mean?"

"Someone who is crippled has a hard time walking and getting around normally like other people. We have to work twice as hard just to walk the same distance. I was born like this so I don't know anything else. But my leg doesn't keep me from doing everything I want to do." Ralf's voice was calm as he tried his best to explain the foreign concept to this wide-eyed boy.