Dragon Queen

“There weren’t always dragons in the valley,” I said not looking at him.

“There still aren’t! These,” Jordan shouted as he slung his arm out to indicate the dragons, “these… these things, are not dragons!”

“I don’t know what went wrong,” I sniffed hanging my head. Jordan sighed as his anger waned at the sight of my tears.

“You can’t breed dragons. They are wild creatures with magic souls. The eggs you found lacked the magic they need to hatch. Human magic can’t take the place of dragon magic. Stop trying to keep these poor things alive, they are suffering without their magic. They're mere echoes of their wild-born ancestors. Look in their eyes, they don’t want to survive. They won’t eat because they are not whole, let them die. It’s the most humane thing you can do for them now.”

“You know the king will have my head,” I said. Still refusing to meet his eyes.

“I know,” he sighed, “come with me,” he said resignedly.

My head snapped up; finally meeting his eyes. I had to see if he was serious. No woman had ever gone on a quest. I wanted to go, had in fact begged to go. I was laughed at. Which is what led me to use my magic to hatch the eggs. But he was right they had no will to live and it was getting harder each day to force life upon them.

“It won’t be the easy life you have here. But, I don’t want to see you slain because you can’t hold your tongue, and you allowed it to make promises you can’t fulfill. I won’t caudle you,” he said with a bite, “you will do your share of the work! Be ready, we leave at first light,” he said as he stalked off.

I had to be smart and take only what I couldn’t do without. I left the barn and ran to the cottage to begin packing. My brothers were all out on hunting trips, so luck was with me. I tore my dress off and took the trousers my youngest brother had tossed into the ever-growing sewing pile. Claiming he could no longer pull them over his ass. And a few of my father's shirts. They were all big, but I would make do.

A memory of when I was about ten years old fought for my attention, as I slipped the shirt over my head. I was stilled in its grip remembering my father’s voice. I was crying because I couldn’t have the beautiful dresses the other girls my age were wearing. I tried to spell, my dress into something grand. The spell failed epically, and I was laughed at and humiliated. My father found me and dried my tears. ‘You must learn to find the magic in what you have. Once you have done that you will find happiness,’ he told me with a wink. It would seem I have still not learned that lesson. It was the only tender memory I had to hold on to. I was supposed to hide my magic. I told myself they were jealous but I really didn't believe that. People with magic went crazy. They knew about the magic and that's why they didn't like me. No one gave me a chance. But I had that one memory when it seemed like my father actually cared for me.

He and my mother perished last fall. The wheel on their cart broke as they were crossing the cliff bridge, that joins the lands. The wheel snapped off, and they were flung from the seat over the edge into the sea. If it had happened just a few feet sooner, they would have hit the ground and at the most had a broken bone. We still have no idea why they were there. We knew no one that lived in the city surrounding the castle.

The castle and its city are all that were on the other side of that bridge. The castle was built on top of that cliff with the sea surrounding it. The only way in was across the cliff bridge. The bridge was nothing more than a long narrow strip of road connecting the two pieces of land. Once you got to the other side there was plenty of room for the castle and the city surrounding it. But there was nothing green over there.

There wasn’t a lot of green on the top of this side either, but once you descended into the valley it was magical. The land was fertile, and everything grew almost without effort. Flowers were everywhere and their fragrance lived in the air. It was peaceful and easy until the tax keepers came. Thank the gods that happened only once a year.

“I am so sorry, I must leave. There will be no one to care for you,” I told the small blue dragon as I led her out of the barn. There were nine of them now. None were any bigger than knee-high to me. They all stood in the moonlight staring at me. This was going to be the real test. Could I leave them? They all depended on me to care for them. If that’s what you called it. I forced them to eat. There would be no one to keep them alive. “You must go and feed yourselves now,” I told them, knowing they wouldn't. Not one of them had the will to live. All of them were docile, except for the black one. He was angry and would nip at me any chance he got. He had nearly taken my hand once. I couldn’t heal the bite, my magic wasn't strong enough then. I have the scar to remind me of his hatred and my shame. I knew they would die, and it broke my heart. I had developed strong feelings for them. But I felt like I was righting the wrong I had done them when I forced them to hatch. I just wish they didn’t have to suffer anymore. I watched as they disappeared into the forest. I knew they had gone to find a place to die.

I slept very little if at all. My time here was short, and Jordan knew it. The king had grown tired of my promises. The dragons had grown none in the past two years and my reassurances that they would were falling on deaf ears. I wasn’t sure Jordan would come for me. Our relationship was tense, to say the least. But I was ready at first light and was relieved to see him riding up the lane.