The Dragon Bond: Heirs of Lyra

Chapter 33

"You can't be serious," Shade muttered disgustedly to himself. Then, turning to Elysia, "This is the dragon we're flying to Sagrado?"

Mukawa, not helping the matter, was preoccupied chasing his own tail while the royal family and Shade stood around him, observing.

Ralf released an exasperated sigh, clearly unimpressed with Mukawa's childish display. Then, Ralf shrugged his shoulders. "I've tried my best to train him, but it's like talking to a wall."

"Can he even fly?"

"For a while," Ralf admitted sheepishly. "He's been getting better but lacks the incentive. This trip will be good for him...I think."

"That's not very reassuring." It was Elysia's turn to be skeptical. Mukawa was definitely not the most impressive dragon, even his stature was lacking.

Ralf suddenly cleared his throat, hoping to get the dragon's attention and stop him from continuing on with his childish behavior. When that didn't work, Ralf clapped his hands together, and when that still didn't work, Ralf finally resorted to releasing an ear-piercing whistle.

The young dragon finally stopped his nonsensical behavior and immediately plopped down, successfully causing the nearby ground to shake and thereby faltering the footing of those surrounding him.

Ralf pressed his lips together and forced himself to relax. "I need you to listen very carefully," he said, addressing the dragon. "I need you to transport Elysia and her guardian, Shade, to a different kingdom for me."

"Why?" the dragon asked, cocking his head to the side.

"They need to find the Great Memory Trees in Sagrado."

"Why?"

Very few times did Ralf appreciate the inability of non-dragonbonds to hear the inner voice of dragons. Ralf was glad that only his father and mother could hear the insolence of Mukawa at this moment. At least his parents already knew the young dragon was hopeless. Perhaps that's why they asked Ralf to train him instead of doing it themselves. Ralf couldn't blame them, Mukawa was a headache and the King and Queen didn't need to add to their list of stressors.

"Mukawa, stop asking questions and listen to me. This is a matter of life and death and if you can't manage to stretch your incredibly short attention span a little bit further today then I won't even bother asking your help."

Mukawa ducked his head in shame, unaccustomed to receiving such backlash from his trainer. "I'm sorry," the dragon apologized. "I'm glad you are entrusting me with a mission of such importance. Please tell me what I need to do."

"Your job is simple," Ralf's tone softened. "I need you to fly as high as you can for as long as you can, wherever Shade tells you. He will direct you. You'll be flying northwest towards the kingdom of Sagrado and the journey will be long. You may have to make several stops and regain your energy. That's fine, so long as you don't fool around and make sure you listen to Elysia and Shade."

"I will!" Any sign of Mukawa's embarrassment from being scolded earlier was gone and replaced with the excitement of being honored with his first real mission for the kingdom.

"Fly as quietly as you can," King Alan added. "Niebla has been increasing their allies and we can never be too careful."

Once Mukawa settled down and the plan was talked through for the fifth time, Elysia and Shade readied themselves to leave. A sort of saddle was placed on the young dragon to allow a more comfortable and safe ride for Shade and Elysia. Packs for provisions of food and clothing were securely attached to the saddle, as were the impressive supply of weaponry Shade typically carried with him for journeys such as this.