Beneath the Cypress - Xander Arrives

The swamp is a mysterious place, full of secrets and hidden wonders. For Caju, there was nothing quite like an adventure in this flooded forest. As the sun began to rise,the morning light flickered through the cypress trees, causing the water below to seemingly dance. The birds and frogs created a harmonizing symphony with their respective songs of celebration for this new day.

Caju sat quietly in a tree taking in his surroundings. The dragon had been watching the young boy sleep for over an hour. The boy could not be more than four years old. He lay asleep in the mud next to a tree on a small patch of land in the middle of the swamp. The boy had been easy to find.The distinctive smell of a human stood out from all the creatures of the swamp. Caju had no idea how the boy got there or how his father knew he would be there. All he knew were the orders from his father to bring this boy back to the Kingdom of Creoleton.

The day before, all Caju had thought about was his journey back into the swamp. The first journey that he would make into the swamp alone without his father. With all that excitement, he hadn’t given much thought to approaching the boy and how the boy would react to a dragon. But now as he sat in the tree watching the boy sleep, his mind was filled with the potential outcomes of this initial meeting. The last thing that he wanted to do was scare the boy.

Just as another thought went to enter his mind, he saw the movement in the water near where the boy was lying. Suddenly the eyes of the creature from the swamp peered above the water. Caju looked at the alligator and knew he had to react. He knew the speed of the alligators of the swamp and Caju could not let this swamp beast get to the boy before he did.

Caju moved so quickly that there was barely any movement in the tree. As the alligator approached the boy with mouth wide open, Caju swooped down and grabbed the boy into his arms and flew towards the gateway with lightning speed. He was trying to take in the beauty of the swamp below, but his mind was focused on one thing. He had to get back to the kingdom of Creoleton. The alligators may be known as the kings of the swamp, but the one thing that these swamp creatures did fear were the dragons from beneath the cypress.

Caju knew his way back to the cypress tree. The cypress tree that was the gateway back to his kingdom. He had traveled these swamps with his father numerous times. As he approached the tree, he took one last quick look around and dove deep into the water next to the cypress knees and felt the gravitational pull of the tunnel. The tunnel that would take him back home.

No matter how many times he did it, the flight from the swamp to the Kingdom of Creoleton never got old. It was a feeling like no other. The trip to the swamp was always fun, but nothing compared to the trip back. The tunnels were laced with gold and silver and the gentle pull of the air current made the flight spectacular. And then, that moment when you leave the tunnel and see the Kingdom of Creoleton below. The sight of the kingdom from above was exhilarating and breathtaking. Caju loved flying over this beautiful world that was led by his father Etienne. This beautiful world that he would one day himself lead.

Caju took dips and dives through the trees and flew out into the beautiful mountainous landscape of Creoleton. He would normally take detours around the many beautiful villages, but today he was on a mission and anxious to get back to the castle of Rosedown. He landed on the stone walkway that led to the beautiful enormous front doors of the castle. Caju then realized that since he had swooped up the boy, he had not once glanced down at him. He knew the boy was there. He could feel him in his arms next to his chest for the entire flight, but never once did he glance to see his reaction.

Caju peered down to see the boy looking up at him with bright blue eyes and a small little smile. How could this be? How could this human boy be so comfortable in the arms of a dragon? How could this human boy be so comfortable in a world so far removed from his own? There were so many questions to be answered. So many questions that his father assured him would be answered in time. His father had guaranteed him that the boy would be safe during the trip back to Creoleton and he was right. There was so much that Caju wanted to know, but he would be patient.

Suddenly, one of the doors swung open and King Etienne stood in the doorway staring at his son and this human boy. King Etienne had an intimidating demeanor. He was a large black dragon. The black dragons were common to the kingdom of Creoleton. He had massive wings that were folded against his sides and his head looked like it was crowned with horns. His eyes glowed red when he stared at you. He was no ordinary creature, but Caju knew him in a different light. Caju knew him as a loving father and fierce, but loving leader. Caju was much smaller than his father, but at 19 years old, he still had some growing to do. He still had hope to one day be as large as his father.

"Son! I'm so glad you made it back safely," Etienne said as he walked down the long stone walkway towards Caju and the boy. "I was starting to get worried."

“Sorry father, Caju stated and he shifted the boy to his other hand. “ I wasn’t sure how to approach this little guy and it took me a little time.”

"I'm glad you're back safe," Etienne said, relieved. "What happened? I am anxious to hear all about it. Let’s head up to my office"

Etienne put his wing around his son and walked with him to the door. They entered the beautiful castle of Rosedown and headed down the long hall to his father’s office in the back of the castle. They sat discussing the events of the morning as the boy sat contently looking out of the long windows in Etienne’s office.Suddenly, there were footsteps coming down the hall. Caju knew it was his mother and from the sound of the steps, this was not going to be good.

“You let him go into the swamp alone?” Queen Esma stormed into the room, “I cannot believe you did this without consulting me!”

Queen Esma was a petite dragon, but she could carry a large punch when she was mad. In public, she would never show her anger to King Etienne, but in private it was a different story especially when it came to her children.

“There is so much danger out there!” she stated as she walked farther into the room glancing slightly at the boy sitting at the window. “And what about your brother? Did you even think about what could have happened if he knew”

“I am pretty sure that he knows nothing about this,” said Etienne.

“Pretty sure?” Esma snapped back.

“I had no choice Esma” said Etienne in a pleading voice. “I knew that the boy would not be scared of Caju, but I was not sure how he would react to other dragons.We had to take the opportunity to get him here.”

As angry as she was, Esma knew that Etienne was right. They needed the boy and Caju was the only one that could get him. It still shook her inner core knowing how dangerous that task was and all that could have gone wrong. But Caju was fine and the boy was here. And from the looks of it, the boy was fine with being in Creoleton.

"So now what?" Queen Esma asked, her voice filled with a mixture of fear and worry. She knew what was coming next.

“We need to go and see her,” said King Etienne. He knew the Queen would not be happy with that answer, but they had no choice.

“So when do you plan to go?” Esma questioned with a nervousness in her voice.

“Tomorrow, we have to go tomorrow” said Etienne “But I am going with Caju and the boy, and I promise that we will be fine. We have to go before my brother finds out that we have the boy.

“I am sure that Neuville will know soon." Esma agreed.

“Caju”, ordered Esma, Take the boy and head to the east wing. They are setting up the room next to yours for him. There will be food there for both of you. There will be a nanny and a guard with him at all times.”

“Ok” Caju said with hesitation and then he spoke up again “We do need to give him a name. We can't keep calling him the boy.

“Xander” Etienne said and then hesitated for a moment “he is our protector.”

“Xander” Caju said as he took the boy in his arms. “Let me show you to your room.”

After leaving his Dad’s office, Caju made his way to the east wing. He knew there would be more heated conversations between his mom and dad and he was glad that he would not be a part of them. He dropped Xander off into the room next to his and the boy was content eating and playing with the nanny. Caju grabbed a few bites of the food that was prepared and headed to his room. He walked in to see his sister Zela sitting on his bed. It was not a surprise that she would be there waiting for him. He was excited to see her and couldn’t wait to tell her about his day.

Zela was 2 years older than Caju. They had always been really close friends. When you grow up as royalty, you really don’t have many friends outside of the family. Caju could always count on Zela to be there for him.

“Mom was so mad” Zela blurted out as Caju walked into the room and closed the door behind him.

“Yes I know” replied Caju “she had every right to be. Dad should have told her that I was going to the swamp”

"She would have only worried," stated Zela. "It was the right thing to do."

“You are right.” agreed Caju.

“So, I want to hear all about this morning," said Zela with a smile. "Don't leave out any details."

Caju spent the next hour telling Zella all about his morning. She sat with wide eyes and listened to every word.

“So what is next now that Xander is here?” she asked.

“Dad, I and Xander are heading into the city tomorrow,” said Caju as he walked over and looked out of his window.

“You and Dad are going to New Orleans tomorrow?” Zela asked with a curious , but nervous tone. “With Xander?”

“Yes, we are going to see her.” Caju said as he glanced over at Zela.

Caju has no idea what tomorrow will bring. He can only trust his father and know that in time all will be revealed. Tomorrow he will go into the city. He had only been there once when he was six. He could still remember what she looked like and hear her voice. She was the only one that they knew of that could speak and understand the dragon language. Very soon all the pieces will come together. He smiles at Zela and they walk towards the door.

“Let me go introduce you to Xander,” Caju says as he opens the door for Zela.

“I can’t wait,” she says with a huge smile on her face.