A Lonely World Where the People Are Blue Page 18

  As he headed to the right door, he heard the slithering sound again, but this time it was accompanied by a sharp tapping noise. Stopping again, he turned to investigate the now illuminated barn. There was nothing on the first floor, but the sound, still audible, was coming from above.

  Damn snakes, he thought as he went to the nearest ladder and started climbing to the loft. Focused on the rungs before him, he did not immediately see the source of the sound. But as he reached the second floor and stood upright, he saw it.

  It was quite hard to miss, as it was the midnight blue dragon from his dreams the night before.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Nerie

  Nerie and Raana raced through the streets, headed to the royal hatching ceremony. Young girls from the middle district, they were well dressed just for the special occasion. Raana wore a burgundy dress, while Nerie wore a navy vest over a white shirt and a long navy skirt. Both laughed in excitement as vendors sold colorful candies, and savory treats. On any other day they would have stopped to sample the wares, but not today. They were on their way to the palace.

  It was an exciting time for everyone in the country. All across the city of Roria, golden and navy banners hung from every window. Flowers laid in baskets waiting to be thrown into the air. The market bustled as the kingdom waited with bated breath to celebrate. As the girls wove their way to the palace, they discovered line after line nearly backed up to the lower district.

  “This way!” Raana said as she pulled Nerie through streets she hadn’t even known existed. Raana had told Nerie the night before that she had a friend in the palace that said that he could get the girls inside to actually see the hatching.

  As they made their way from crowded street to crowded street, Nerie felt lost. But Raana was confidently leading them from one turn to the next. When she brought Nerie to a small back door on the far side of the palace, Nerie held her breath anxiously. She’d never been inside the palace before. Not many commoners had, as it was only opened for the hatching ceremony and for coronations - neither of which had ever occurred in her lifetime.

  Raana knocked sharply twice before a handsome young man with dark hair and dark eyes pulled it open. She leapt into his arms and started kissing him. Nerie was shocked, as she’d had no idea that her friend had such a friend.

  “Raana! What would your mother say!” Nerie asked with a giggle, as Raana and the man separated.

  Raana just rolled her eyes.

  “I’m Zaid. And I intend to find out what her mother has to say as soon as I save up enough to ask for her hand in marriage,” Zaid said with a wink, then led them inside.

  It turned out that the back door lead to the nearly sweltering kitchens. Zaid grabbed two aprons and handed them to the girls.

  “I couldn’t just get you in for free. We need more hands than we have here in the kitchens today. Just for a while - we all want to be at the hatching too,” Zaid said apologetically.

  Raana and Nerie spent the next few hours helping prepare for the feast that would follow the hatching. Nerie was tasked with folding bread while Raana started turning a boar over the fire. Nerie was a little annoyed that Raana hadn’t told her in advance - even with the apron she was getting flour on her new outfit. While the kitchen was crowded and hot, no one was rushing. The way the staff were acting, it seemed like there was a while yet to wait for the hatching to start.

  After Nerie finished with the dough, she was dusted off and given a tray to carry to the front of the palace. She had no idea where she was going but was told that she just needed to head down the main corridor and that one of the servants was expecting her. As Nerie stepped out of the kitchen Raana shouted to her she would catch up in just a few minutes, that she was waiting for Zaid.

  As she walked, Nerie felt incredibly self-conscious at first but calmed herself down thinking that she was lucky that the outfit her mother had bought was nice enough to pass for a royal servant. She walked slowly but with determination as she tried not to slosh the liquid around.

  As Nerie approached a large set of double doors, one of the king’s personal servants came to her aid, taking the refreshments directly to a group of waiting nobles. Out the doors she could see that they had tents erected around the hatching grounds on one side, and the far side had tiered seating where commoners were already funneling in. She walked slowly towards the door, mesmerized by the scene in front of her. Between all the noble’s tents there was one that was clearly for the royal family.

  They were sitting on a dais behind where two dragons were curled around an egg. The one that the hatching was all about. The one who would choose the future ruler of Situra. A bright green dragon rested on the roof above the dais, his head drooping down, watching his soon to be hatched sibling with keen interest. Nerie was glad the tray had been taken from her, for if it hadn’t been, she would have dropped it in surprise.

  She had never actually seen a dragon before.

  The three dragons looked like jewels in firelight, the midday sun causing them to glow as they shifted slightly. Everyone in the kingdom knew that Soros was the dark purple dragon and Eras was the bright fire orange dragon. That meant that the acidic green dragon must be King Soren’s dragon, Ilex.

  The egg nestled between Soros and Eras was a pale yellow. Nerie stared at it with interest. She could already imagine the little dragonling clearly. She would be a creamy yellow like fresh turned butter, but as she aged, her scales would darken into the purest gold. Prince Aldis or Princess Astra would be more than lucky, Nerie thought wistfully. Soros looked over at Nerie, her purple eyes calm and deep. She blinked, and Nerie blinked in response.

  A servant, rushing to do some unknown errand, collided with her and she was jolted back into reality. She needed to join the waiting crowd. So many people were already cramming themselves into the stands overlooking the dragons that at first Nerie hesitated. Then she thought about how long she had waited to see the little dragon hatch and shoved herself into the crowd. There was a railing surrounding the warm sands that the egg was nestled into, and Nerie shimmied her way around it so that she was directly opposite the royal family, and directly in front of the large egg.

  Soros watched her for a moment longer but turned her attention to her bored son who had started huffing smoke rings above the crowded arena. A slight growl from Soros, and he was curled into a tight green ball. Nerie couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Twenty-one years old, and Ilex was still basically a hatchling himself.

  Nerie’s eyes were drawn once again to the royal family, waiting on the dais patiently. They were known for keeping to themselves. As far as Nerie knew, they only left the palace for matters of diplomacy. She’d only seen King Soren a few times from afar on crowded streets, and Queen Alaena once when she’d been very small. Looking at them now, she saw that the king and queen were regal and poised, sitting on two thrones and watching the dragons themselves.

  Nerie had never seen the prince or princess before. She looked at them while the crowd continued to shuffle in. The egg had begun to wobble slightly in the sand and the prince and princess were standing, waiting to walk forward when it hatched. Princess Astra looked to be nearly twenty, conceived directly after her father ascended to the throne. Her eyes were locked on the slowly rocking egg. Prince Aldis was younger, barely into his teens.

  There had been rumors when Nerie was young that Queen Alaena could bear no more children for the king. She could remember the kingdom had celebrated when Aldis was born vaguely. She’d been about four years old and a kind woman had given her a bouquet of yellow roses, telling her that each petal was a year the prince would live.

  As the egg rocked a little more fervently, a herald stepped forward, and started to recite the history of the ceremony to the crowd.

  “Dragons have been extinct in the wild for generations. Our kingdom of Situra and the royal family of Therius give home to the last mated pair, Soros and Eras. It is clear in our history they first came to Situra during the Great War, an
d they pledged themselves to General Kyre, who became our first king. Shortly thereafter Soros and Eras laid their first egg, and the dragoness Wyla was hatched. She chose to Kyre, reaffirming his right to rule, and starting our tradition of the hatching ceremony.

  Every twenty-one years since then, they have laid a single egg. An egg that determines the future of Situra, when our future king or queen is chosen by the young dragonling.”

  The man took a deep breath before continuing, the crowd nearly silent as they listened.

  “When King Soren Therius was chosen by the dragon Ilex, our kingdom celebrated for weeks on end. It has been twenty-one years since that day, and Soros and Eras have once again laid an egg. This time the hatchling will choose between Princess Astra and Prince Aldis.”

  The stands had become even more crowded while the herald spoke, and Nerie was now shoved into the railing as people pushed in behind her. A sharp crack could be heard from the sand and screams of joy echoed from the crowd.

  Astra and Aldis both stepped forward to greet the soon to be born hatchling.

  As she emerged from her shell Nerie couldn’t help but think, Oh I was right!

  As pale as the roses from so long ago, with glistening wings of gossamer, the young dragoness stepped forth. She looked to be made of gauze, but her eyes shone of a strength of steel.

  She raised her little head and looked Astra right in the eye. They stared at each other for a long moment before the little dragoness turned her head to look at Aldis. He didn’t even get to look her in the eyes before she had passed him over.

  The hatchling seemed unwilling to choose between the prince and princess. She paced restlessly around the large enclosure, and as she neared Nerie, Nerie wanted with all her soul to reach out and touch the hatchling. The small dragon paused to looked at Soros and Eras before stalking farther away from the prince and princess.

  She headed directly towards Nerie.

  Nerie couldn’t look away from those golden eyes. She didn’t even realize how close the hatchling had gotten until she nudged Nerie’s hand that rested on the railing. There were screams and yells from the crowd, and someone shook Nerie - but she still couldn’t look away from the large golden eyes.

  The king stood, pointing at Nerie, yelling for guards. Before she even knew what was happening, she was surrounded by guards, with the crowd being forcefully shoved away. The guards were demanding Nerie follow them, but she was still lost in the golden eyes, not able to focus on what was going on.

  Kiriga hissed and screamed in defiance that Nerie was being touched. All Nerie could think was that the dragonling was so tiny, and that she couldn’t look away from her.

  The hilt of a sword collided with the back of her head, and the last thing she saw before darkness was Eras, his giant fire orange body surrounding her and the golden hatchling, roaring.

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