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Deep in my heart, I knew that Tobias also had something to do with it. Why else would he have the map without my father knowing? Why else would he have just barely conveniently gotten a place on the throne by my father? Why was the nest of the Deathlies so close to this home village and the castle? It just didn’t make sense.
“Ugh, I wish I could’ve gone with you!” Luella complained. Her small voice pitched high in the air. “Mymaxz3 has been getting so much better! I could’ve iced down all the Deathlies! Killed them for good!” she shouted. I wanted to giggle, loving her confidence in her new abilities.
“Luella, we didn’t fight them. We just looked. You’re still learning to ride your dragon, so we didn’t want to put that on you. Maybe next time you could come?” Abner kindly offered.Her head nodded, then slowly drooped toward the ground, the weight evident on her shoulders.
“Let’s lighten up, aye? What if we learned some dances? Or games?” Loker pressed.
“I could teach you the Clandike dances? I don’t know them very well, as I have never needed to practice, but I could teach you what I know. Loker, maybe you could play your whistle? Enlighten us with your tunes?” I asked. A smile curved on his lips, appreciating the gesture and acknowledgment.
He pulled out his whittled whistle, placed his fingers over a few holes, and pulled it to his mouth, playing a few tunes. “Tell me what type,” he said, ready to play whatever I told him.
“It’ll be upbeat,” I said, standing up and walking behind the trunks of the quickly grown trees where everyone could see me. Luella, excitement lacing her movements, jumped up, matching my movements.
“You’re going to move this arm up and switch while tapping your feet.” I showed them the moves I remembered from the night of the masquerade ball. “Then you will switch sides and do it again with lower arms. You will then link arms with your neighbor,” I gestured, looking at Damian, and commanded him to stand up. He rolled his eyes as he stood up, ready for my next order. “Then you will link arms and switch partners, and then do it over, but with your partner linked in arms. Then you will move your feet behind you like this.” I showed them the movements and the claps that went in between.
By this point, everyone was standing up and following along. Loker was dancing as he played the flute, and it seemed that only he, Luella, and Clemmy cared. Abner, Angie, and Damian rolled their eyes a few times, but pulled it through.
It took Loker a few rounds before he got a hang of the song. I was impressed. He was playing it decently close to the original tune. It was off a little bit, but not by much.
After the fifth round, joy radiated from everyone, their faces bubbling with laughter, the lightness in their steps. The claps and the “hurrahs” were enthusiastic in between the steps, everyone's legs aching from the efforts.
Warmth filled my chest as a smile was displayed on my face. It was healing doing my kingdom’s dances with others like me. They understood me.
As a child, my mother taught me the intricate steps. However, after one lesson, she never taught me again. My memories of the dances were only built upon watching the drunken knights in the courtyard, stumbling through their steps as they exited the ballroom from one of the elaborate balls that my father would host.
After what felt like hours, everyone collapsed on the wooden seats made by Clemmy, leaning back far from the fire, getting away from the heat as their bodies were already heated from the activities. Their energy was fulfilling, reminding me of the freedom that life was like out of my tower.
1.Nesaiman (Nes-ay-mawn): Normally Winter (Nes for short)
2.Waimanimet (Way-mawn-imet): Abner’s dragon
3.Maxz (Mahz): Ability
Chapter fifty-six
AURELIA
As the evening began to settle, everyone got ready for bed, parting toward their tents. With the number of tents and the space they held, we had to sleep two in each tent. The last few nights, it had been Clemmy and I together, with Angie and Luella in the other tent, and the boys in the remaining tents. However, with Abner and Angie sneaking off a lot recently, they announced they would share a tent tonight instead, assigning Damian to my tent with me.
Thick and unrecognizable emotions stirred in my stomach. I wasn’t ready to go into the tent with him as everyone else left and slipped into their own, saying their goodnights.
The fire died out, only the embers glowing radiantly within the flames. They burned a bright red, almost the color of blood.
“Don’t worry, my Queen, I’ll sleep outside tonight.” He must’ve known what I was thinking. He sensed my hesitation, understanding that I wasn't prepared to be thrust into his presence just yet. My emotions were a chaotic mess. Hatredsurged within me, mingling with the desire to never lay eyes on him again. But I missed his lips on mine. I missed his touch. I missed the comfort of his smile and the dimple on his cheek that would show every time he laughed. My longing for his touch clashed with the bitter resentment simmering inside me.
With my mind cluttered with a myriad of thoughts, I deflected his comment, unable to address it in that moment. “Do you ever miss home but not want to be home?” I asked, looking in his direction to see his reaction. His soft brown eyes intently watched me, his head tilting to the side. Whispering, I then said, “I fear I can’t do this, Damian.” A lump formed in my throat, the weight of the Deathlies on my shoulders–the weight of saving my kingdom on my shoulders.
He paused, watching me shift uncomfortably in my seat, never breaking the eye contact that pierced my soul, wondering where his thoughts were taking him. “Don’t be afraid of how strong you are and how strong you can become. You have more to yourself than you give yourself credit for, my Queen.” He paused, his eyes deepening. “Use your fear as the weapon you are.”
I blinked, taking his words in. Sighing, I looked down at my feet. “I’m no weapon, Damian. I’m hardly a dragon rider. Amaxz1-less dragon rider with no abilities. No chance to save my own kingdom. How am I to save a kingdom from something more powerful than myself? We are running out of time, and I am not sure I can do this anymore.” My mind was racing. Everything was telling me to run away. To quit the quest. To give up the crown.
“Aurelia, stop,” he interrupted me. “Is this what you want?” I calmed down at the mention of my name on his lips. His hands landed down on my thighs, comforting me, his touch giving me the energy that I needed.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You always have a choice,” he said as he paused, his eyes meeting mine. “No matter your decision, I will walk to the end ofHaxnau2 to protect you, because Aurelia, you didn’t start these Deathlies. You don’t have to take on the responsibility of them. Quest or not. You have nothing that you need to prove to anybody. You are worthy of the crown whether you complete this quest or not. You, Aurelia. Scaleborne or not, you are worthy. Don’t want to be here anymore? I’d be the bad guy any day for you, take you wherever you want to go, whatever you want to do. To live your dreams. To be happy, because my Queen, I would kill again and again just to see you smile. Just to see you happy.” The dimple on his cheek was gone. His eyes were fueled with a fierceness that I craved about him. “Now tell me. Is this what you want?” I was struck by his abruptness, his desire to make me happy.
The weight of the crown wasn’t so heavy on my back anymore. Despite harboring jealousy for it my entire life, it wasn't what I trulyneeded. My soul yearned for freedom, and being out with the dragons, Damian, and the Scalebornes was the freedom I had craved my entire life without realizing it. However, I couldn’t leave my grandmother. There was still a need to help her and my parents, even with our messed up relationships–and Cora. They were depending on me, but Iwantedto help them.
