Dragon's Khu'meir

Chapter Seventeen

After getting our food, we sat down and, looking around, I noticed how few dragons there were in the hall. Almost as if the palace was running out of dragons. That thought sent a chill down my spine, and I was really hopeful that was not the case. Though it was kind of odd to not see the hall busting with noise and movement.

I was still wondering what Dakoya had to show me, but also why he had wanted to be in Nakiirn's serves so badly. Turning my attention back to my food, I started thinking back on when he had come over to us at the pools- if I had seen it right, he was... almost desperate to serve Nakiirn? But I wasn't sure if I remembered it right. I glanced up at Dakoya from my bowl. "Can I ask you something?" I wanted to know, and I didn't see any harm in asking.

Dakoya had seated himself across from me. He looked up from his bowl of soup and nodded as he answered me. "Of course. What do you want to know?"

"Um..." I started, taking a moment to think, "How come you... want to serve Nakiirn so badly?"

"I'm one of the last of my clan. The war took a great toll on my family. When I came of age, I presented myself to Natirien, who then pointed me to Nakiirn. Being under contract is a special thing, especially for those of my clan. We gain more power through our bonded dragon. And... it means that I could do something worthy rather than watching from the sideline while everyone goes off to fight," Dakoya's gaze had slid back down to his bowl, but he wasn't eating anymore. There was a frown on his lips as he stared at the food. After a moment, he took a deep breath, then sighed.

Shaking his head, he turned a bit in his seat and reached into his clothing. From somewhere in his shirt, he produced a folded up paper. Dakoya opened it and slid it across the table to me. What I thought was just one page turned out to be three. "You asked for translations the other day. I finally got to it... I hope this suffices?"

I looked away for a moment before glancing back at him. I shouldn't have asked him but there were so many questions I had, and with the look on Dakoya's face, I felt really bad for asking. So instead I took the papers and upon opening, I saw that there were a few spells, along with how to perform them. I gave him a big smile, "Thanks!" I said as I looked back at the pages again. He had left the runes in there, and put what they meant right next to them. Even the spell that I had been trying to learn was in there.

"I hope it didn't take too long to do." I said taking a bite of food.

Dakoya gave a partial shrug. "Not really," he answered as he finally started eating again. "It wasn't as if you'd asked me to translate a language I didn't know," he added with a smile.

"Yeah but... It would have been awesome if I could have done it myself." I told him as I looked down at my food.

"And you're going to learn a completely different language in a night?" Dakoya asked, his smile still in place. "It wasn't a problem, truly. I'm sure you'll learn the different languages in no time. We were a little preoccupied too... so there's that as well."

"I guess so." I said with a giggle, looking back up at him with a small smile, "Tell me, how many languages do you speak then?"

"Draconic, Elven, Fae, and Common," Dakoya answered without hesitation.

I gave a light laugh, "That's three more than I speak." I said with a smile.

Dakoya's soft laugh was almost strange as I'd not heard it before. "Give it time. Orion is a great teacher actually. I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Plus, he'd spend more time with his new Eatheir."

"I'd like that. He seems to know a lot, and I would like to learn." I told him just before taking another bite.

"Orion is well read," Dakoya said in agreement. "I suggest setting up a few hours a day to spend with him. Not to mention he is the only human within the palace. Having you around is undoubtedly a special thing for him."