Dragon Tide Chronicles: Dawn Rising

Chapter 16: Bejeweled Realm

Chapter Sixteen: Bejeweled Realm

Alexander handed Ore and I two hooded cloaks. I stare at him.

“What are these for?” I ask, nervous. Alexander does a facepalm. I suddenly feel really stupid for some reason.

“BECAUSE, I would think that the capital city of the Gem Dragonlings would be really mad if they saw two fairies mucking around in the city. And then, getting so mad, might try to kill those two fairies. Now what fairies could I POSSIBLY be talking about?” He says in a very sarcastic tone. I flush and quickly put the hood on. Ore seems really annoyed.

“What about Summer? Doesn’t she need a cloak or something?” He asks, clearly annoyed. Alexander growls.

“You’re really stupid, aren’t you, pixie? She’s HUMAN. Humans weren’t the ones who massacred our people, were they?” Ore grits his teeth in anger. “I didn’t think so, PIXIE.” Alexander then looks at a narrow ridgeline on the west side of the city. “We’ll go around the city, there. At the far end, the wall is just a fence line. Let’s move.” I stand up.

“Not so fast, Alexander.” I sternly growl. I’ve fed up with his attitude. Now I was going to show him some manners. He glowered at me.

“We don’t have time for this, Danica Crown.” He snarled.

“Yes. We do, Alexander. We’re going to stand here as long as it is necessary until you get my point. You are not to call us ‘pixie’ again. You are going to show us respect, we are royalty, and we deserve at least some respect. No one is going anywhere until you apologize and promise to stop showing us such disrespect.” I fold my arms. He glares at me, before starting to walk off.

“Oh no you don’t.” I snap. I clap my hands, and a wall of earth erupts right in his face, blocking his path. There is an eerie silence, as he just stands there. Then…

“You should not have done that, Crown.” He snarls my last name with great rage. Too little, too late, Alexander’s fist drives right into my stomach, making me cough up blood. Ore comes to my defense with a wind spell. It pushes Alexander away, only for Alexander to inhale sharply. Draconic Breath. Not good at all. Alexander’s wings flared, shining blood red in the dawn’s light. And with a great rush, he exhaled, unleashing a firestorm on my brother. At that moment, Orph breaks in, and secures Alexander.

“ENOUGH.” Orph growls in a commanding tone. “Calm yourself, Alexander! The last thing we need is for the other dragonlings to see you enter a rage! You will expose our position!” Alexander stops fighting, and he sighs.

“Just keep them away from me. Otherwise, I will snap their necks like toothpicks. And keep your human quiet! I don’t need to hear that annoying chatter every other second!” Alexander storms off, with Orph’s face flushed with anger. He lets it pass, then guides Summer on towards the ravine. I glance at Ore. He exchanges my look of annoyance with me. At least someone understood my frustration with Alexander. If this keeps up, we were going to lose it.

We couldn’t wait to go home.

It did not take long after reaching the farthest point of the city to find the fence line, and we managed to sneak in without too much effort. The city was huge, and I wished that our architects were capable of such feats, and I momentarily wonder what beautiful wonders like this we destroyed in our war with the dragonlings, and feel sadness and regret, just by looking at the city’s gleaming skyline. Then I snap out of it, as Alexander begins walking off, curtly saying,

“Follow me. I know a place we can stay for the night. Follow me.” He led us to a hotel, and he indicated one room.

“I already prepared the room we’ll be staying in. It has enough rooms for each of us. Go shopping, while me and Orph plan out how we will get in the Elder’s Tower.” Alexander says in an undertone, not wanting attention drawn to him. Orph and Alexander left, leaving Summer, Ore, and myself to go shopping. I nudge Ore.

“Come on. Let’s go see what these dragonlings have to sell. We might find something cool to buy.” As it turns out, there was a lot of things there. I even saw a Phaser weapon store. Phaser weapons were used in the Great War. It is not known what material is used for the ammo, but it was clearly deadly: even our best armor stood no chance against them. What shocked me was that the guards I saw all had at least three different types. Whatever if it was a shotgun, a pistol, or even an assault rifle, they were all Phasers. That could only mean that Phaser technology was now standard issue. If a war did start, we’d be in big trouble. The only material we can make that can counter it is super expensive and time consuming to make.

But besides that, it seemed dragonlings had very expressive fashions, from tuxes to tee shirts, any fashion you name, there probably was a fashion store dedicated to that type. I began to suspect that dragonlings were very fickle about their fashion, and often changed their style literally overnight. This was evident when a woman dressed in a coat made of feathers, came out of a store wearing a tee shirt and tennis shoes. Man. Jessica would have a freaking heart attack if she saw how these guys act! Jessica is a good friend of mine who runs a fashion store. She can keep up with the latest trends in the Fairywoodlands, but I doubt even she could keep up with the constant changing fashions of these dragonlings. For hours on end, Summer, Ore, and I all took in the rare sight of a dragonling civilization, believed to be completely destroyed, only to be flourishing in secret. I realized however, with my arrival here, their strained peace could be shattered.

I honestly hoped nothing bad would go wrong here. That would be the last thing we would need here. I just hoped this venture would be done and finished soon.