Arimore

The next morning Elara found Rowan and handed him a parchment, “Please have one of your riders deliver this to Prince Mason as soon as possible. I will be unavailable this morning so if there are any needs that arise I trust you will handle them.”

“Of course,” he took the parchment and brought it to Gabriel because he had the swiftest horse. He instructed Gabriel that he was to deliver the letter directly to Prince Mason. He understood and quickly rode away.

Meanwhile, Elara headed for the dungeon. She locked the door from the inside so she was sure she wouldn’t be disturbed and went to the armory and into the secret chamber. “Sacha?” she called.

“I am glad you are here,” Sacha replied. “The time is near.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Just be here,” Sacha’s voice sounded nervous.

“It’s alright Sacha. I am here and I won’t leave you until you’re ready.”

A shudder came over the egg. A small crack appeared near the top of the shell. A second shudder and a third. Several small cracks now appeared. One final quake and the shell burst flooding the floor with water. Out stepped a beautiful young woman with long white hair and pearly white skin. She lay on the floor shivering. Elara brought a blanket and wrapped her gently. She then lifted the child off the floor and cradled her in her arms. Sacha looked to be about sixteen years old in human years. She opened her eyes and looked at Elara. Her eyes were as blue as a cloudless sky. She was breathtakingly beautiful.

“Oh Sacha, you are so beautiful!”

Arimore woke from a sound sleep sensing the birth of the dragon, “It is here!” He roared at the top of his lungs shaking the mountain causing an avalanche that sealed his den. “Female! NO! How dare you make it a female!” His anger burned and sent flames shooting from his nostrils melting the opening of the den and sending a cloud of smoke into the afternoon sky. “Elara!” he shouted.

Elara’s head bolted up, “It’s Arimore,” she whispered to Sacha, “He is angry.”

“Take me to the egg so I can feed then go into the outer room and speak to him.”

Elara placed Sacha next to the smaller egg and she made a small hole in the shell. Sacha reached into the hole, removed a handful of the egg and began to feed. Elara walked into the armory closing the door behind her.

“Elara!” Arimore shouted again, “How dare you make my dragon a female!”

“Arimore, the decision of naming the dragon was mine as its caregiver. When I laid eyes on the egg I knew it was meant to be female. It’s form was beautiful and graceful.”

“This was to be a male to stand beside me,” his voice began to calm, “Your choice has changed everything. You have no idea what you have started. A female dragon is very rare and this makes her even more valuable to those who would use her for evil. She can be the beginning of a whole new race of dragons. Do you understand the impact your choice has had?”

“When I met the egg it told me that I needed to choose a name for it before it hatched. I was told to choose wisely for the name of a dragon has great impact on what it grows to be. I was not told of the importance of the sex of the dragon. I chose a name that I felt fit what I saw within the egg. I chose a name that I felt fit the beauty and strength of the creature within.”

“And what name did you choose?”

“Sacha.”

“Defender of mankind. A wise choice indeed. She will serve you well.” Arimore continued with a warning, “Understand this young Queen, the fact that you have chosen for this dragon to be female makes her particularly vulnerable until she comes of age. Tell me child, what form does she take?”

“That of a young woman.”

“Good, that means she is strong and will have powerful magic. She will need your protection Elara. You must keep her safe. Anyone who knows anything about dragons will know that her power is greater than any dragon ever born. She will be the mother of a race of powerful, magical beasts the likes of which have never been seen before. Knowing this, many will want to see her destroyed. Their fear will drive them to do everything in their power to end her life. Be careful who you trust.”

“My first question Arimore is, can I trust you?”

“I want her to survive because I want our species to survive. I would caution you about trusting Rowan, his loyalties may be split. Right now he is your greatest ally but he holds the potential to be your greatest adversary. He cares very deeply for you Elara but he may view your devotion to Sacha as a threat.”

“What of Prince Mason? Rowan seems to think he is a good man. His instincts are rarely wrong.”

“Prince Mason is a good man. It is not he that you need to worry about it is his father King Andre’. There is only evil in his heart. He would see not only an end to all dragons but to all Calithornians as well. My concern with the young Prince lies with whether or not he remains loyal to his father.” Arimore paused thinking carefully before asking, “Elara, I would very much like to meet her.”

“And you shall but she needs time to strengthen and feed before I dare take her anywhere.”

“I agree. Please tell her that I will be watching over her. I cannot make contact with her mind until she is fully grown but when she is ready…Elara do not doubt me or my motives. Being a female means there is hope for my kind. I was angry at first only because I know how difficult it will be to protect her until she is able to protect herself. Chances of her survival are not good but it feels good to hope.”

“Arimore, how far can you see into the future?”

“The future is a shifting vision child. What is there now may change in a moment’s time. One decision by one person can alter its course greatly. So even though I can see years ahead, it is an ever changing picture. I often see more than one outcome at the same time.”

“So nothing is set in stone which means as long as we do everything in our power to protect her and help her to grow strong and true to her name she does at least stand a chance.”

“Yes, and if I know you, a very good chance.”

Gabriel arrived in Mardock and was greeted by armed guards. “I come with a message from Queen Elara.”

“I’ll take it and you can be on your way,” the guard said as he held his sword pointed at Gabriel.

“I have strict instructions that I am to personally deliver it to the Prince,” Gabriel stood his ground.

Prince Mason heard the commotion in the courtyard and went to investigate. When he overheard the guard threaten Gabriel he intervened, “Stop! What do you think you’re doing? Is this any way to treat a guest?”

“But sire,” the guard tried to explain, “he is Calithornian.”

“I’m quite aware of that. You are excused.” The guard bowed and returned to his post grumbling beneath his breath. Mason reached his hand up to assist Gabriel from his horse, “Please,” he called to another guard, “get this horse some fresh hay and water.” The guard bowed and took the horse to the stable. “Come, let us get you something to eat and drink as well.”

“Thank you.” Gabriel was surprised by Prince Mason’s kindness. He followed Mason to the dining hall and they sat together and ate. He reached in his satchel and pulled forth the parchment handing it to Mason, “I have a message from Queen Elara.”

“Thank you.” Mason reached out and took the parchment then sat back in his chair and began to read:

My dear Prince Mason,

First I would like to thank you for your kind treatment of my men while they were in your company. I have spoken extensively with Rowan who spoke very highly of you. He told me what you did not find but also what troubling things remained unanswered. I am in agreement with you that this matter must be investigated further. I also believe that if this matter is in fact true and as complicated as it may be, we will need to align ourselves on the same course if we hope to emerge victorious. I would like the opportunity to discuss this matter with you personally at your earliest convenience.

As I’m sure you can understand I would like this to remain between us for the time being. Please return my rider with a time and place we can meet. I hope you understand my reluctance to come personally as I am not sure how the King would receive my visit. You however have proven yourself to have a kind and true heart and I would welcome your visit here anytime you wish to come.

Thank you again

Queen Elara

“Please bring word to the Queen that I will come in two days.”

“I will.”

Elara returned to check on Sacha and found her asleep on the ground. She walked back to the dungeon and pulled a straw mattress from one of the cells and dragged it into the chamber. She lifted Sacha’s sleeping body and laid her upon the bed. She then placed another blanket over her and lay down next to her.

Sacha opened her eyes and smiled, “I’m glad you were chosen to be my guardian. You are truly special.”

“Sweet Sacha, I am not the only one that will be watching over you. I have spoken with Arimore. He is not angry. He is concerned because he knows how special you are and will become. He knows that this will make the job of protecting you very difficult but he and I have both pledged to do everything within our power to keep you safe. Even if it means laying down our own lives to save yours.”

“I would not want you to die for me Elara,” a tear fell from her eyes.

“Arimore has very powerful magic. All I can do is care for you and try to keep you hidden for I have no magic to use to fight for you.”

“Oh Elara, you do not know do you?”

“Know what?”

“You were chosen for a reason. Only possessors of great magic are chosen to guard dragons.”

“But I don’t have magic.”

“Sometimes magic lays dormant within a being until it is needed. Think back to when you were a child. Did you ever feel threatened or frightened?”

“I’m sure I must have, don’t all children at some time?”

“Yes I suppose they do. You were not an ordinary child. Think Elara, think about a time you were frightened, think about what happened at the moment you felt most afraid.”

Elara searched her memory. She remembered being a little girl and hearing that her mother had died. That was when she felt the most frightened. She was afraid of what life would be like without her. “I was very frightened when my mother died,” she told Sacha.

“What happened when you heard?”

“Nothing. I began to cry and it started to rain. My father told me the rain was my mother’s tears because she didn’t like to see me sad.”

“You made it rain.”

“No, that’s not possible.”

“Now I see the problem. You don’t believe. You see Elara, the thing about magic is that you have to believe. Would you try something for me?”

“Yes.”

“This is a very simple task but you must believe. There is no wind in this room correct?”

“Right.”

“Look at the flame on your torch. Command it to move.”

Elara concentrated and for some reason she believed Sacha. She closed her eyes and thought over and over… “Move” Although her eyes were closed she could see the light shifting. She snapped her eyes open in surprise and watched the flame dancing as if in the wind, “I did that?” she said in surprise.

“Yes, you did.” Sacha smiled. “You see Elara, only magical creatures are chosen to raise dragons because they will need their magic to protect them. Together we will discover what you can do. I would venture to guess you have a great deal of magic.”