A Dragoneer's Silver Lining

Chapter Twenty

 A/N: You must be all wondering why this chapter was delayed... I blame work for it YnY
lol, yeah, it really is. Work has been giving me a lot of work to work on... but yeah, sorry about that. I hope this chapter was worth your wait:))) 

"His name is Pengadorn! Its sounds anything but noble!"

The Scalesian King's voice echoed vividly in Scott's head as he and his group entered the foyer of the grand Scalesian castle. With each step his foot made throughout the sandy carpet, his heart made a gradual marked increase to the point that he could hear his blood race through his ears.

The castle was bright from within, unlike the Pendragonian castle--this castle was bright and glowed with hues of gold and beige as if it were made of golden sand; from the tiles to the windows and even to the furniture. Banners of the Scalesian flag and the Pendragonian flag streamed down the walls as Scott walked past them.

His footfalls moved in sync with his group, save for Whistle whose pace moved a bit faster to catch up with them. 

The king sat patiently on a throne chair at the end of the room, watching them with a calculating gaze. His wild bushy black hair framed his ebony face like a mane would a lion. His deep dark eyes never left Scott's as the redhead stepped closer and closer to them.

He could feel himself wanting to melt away. When his pace staggered, Drostan yanked him back into place before they all bowed towards the king in one smooth motion. Even Whistle seemed to understand what was needed to be done.

"Hear, hear," announced one of the Dragoneers that escorted Scott's group, "hailing the new Dragoneer from the land of Pendragon, Scottreyg of the Pengadorn clan,"

Scott could feel the king wince as the Dragoneer said his name. The king sighed as he rose to his feet.

"Rise young soldiers and fellow Dragoneers," he said with a deep voice and strong accent, "I welcome you to my Kingdom, the Flower of Immortalis, Scalesia,"

All rose in silence, the sound of the grand double doors to the castle rumbled as it was shut tight as if it were sealing off the outside world.

"How do you find it here, Lord Pengadorn?" asked the king, articulating his name.

Scott cringed slightly as he awkwardly rubbed his arm, an action that Drostan silently reprimanded with an elbow to the redhead's side. 

"What was that for?" Scott hissed.

Drostan ignored him, irritably rolling his eyes he turned back to the king before remembering his question. He quickly dropped his gaze as he answered timidly, "very festive bunch of people, your Highness,"

Drostan pursed his lips and slowly shook his head minutely. This made Scott grow conscious only to be worsened when the king himself raised his chin higher to look down at him.

"Bunch of people?" He repeated slowly as he folded his arms across his chest.

"What he meant to say, your highness," Drostan quickly intervened, smiling as charmingly as he could, "was that he truly enjoyed dancing with us fellow Scalesians, as you may see, he even had the urge to take his clothes off and dance among us, your highness,"

"Is this why you are shirtless?" The king asked carefully gesturing at Scott's bare torso.

"Um," Scott glanced at Drostan whose smile was frozen where underneath his facade he could clearly see him begging to just agree with what he said all in a split second.

"Yes, your highness…?"

The king pursed his lips together in a moment of silence before raising his hands to clap three times high in the air. 

Music suddenly erupted throughout the castle as dancing women garbed in straw skirts began filing down the foyer with food in their hands as they began filling tables that were not there a moment ago with loads and loads of food. 

As Scott's attention turned back to the king, he finally lost his royal robe as he was now garbed in a bright purple tunic and floral shorts as he danced to the music. He was given a cup filled with wine as he waltzed down the few steps of the staircase before slightly dancing before Scott.

"This is brilliant news!" Beamed the king, Scott blinked back before he was offered to drink from the king's cup. Scott hesitated as he looked at Drostan cluelessly.

The blonde nodded eagerly before Scott took the cup from the king and drank the bitter sparkly drink from the king's cup. King Marovich chuckled heartily and patted Scott's back as he ushered the teen to an empty seat.

"I never knew you were such a party animal!" The King laughed as he took a seat next to Scott, then he paused as he saw his Dragoon and Drostan gape at the King, "what are the rest of you standing around for? Sit!"

The king poured his own drink into Scott's cup as he ushered the teen to drink some more. The redhead faltered as he looked at Drostan helplessly.

Drostan chuckled nervously as he gestured Scott to just play along. Begrudgingly, Scott took a careful sip as the liquid burned his throat, leaving his mouth dry. His facial reaction caused the king to laugh in sheer amusement.

"I like that you love to drink!" The king chuckled.

"Actually," Scott stopped himself from retching, "I really don't--"

"But let's not get carried away here, Lord Pengadorn," the king grinned, plucking the cup from Scott's hand to his relief. The music slightly faded as the king plucked a grape from a nearby plate, "so tell me, do you know what element your dragon carries yet?"

Both the king and Scott leaned back from their chairs to watch Whistle devour a slab of meat from a golden bowl at a special area for the dragon.

"Not yet," said Scott slowly.

"Not yet?" The king repeated incredulously, "how long has it been since it last hatched?"

"Um," Scott frowned his brows as he tried to remember.

"Well, lets hope it's a water kind," said the king, "that way you will spend another month with us as we teach you how to master the likes of one,"

"Before anything else," added King Marovich, "I would like to apologize what happened back then in the council meeting, it was very rude of me,"

"It's fine your highness--"

"No, no, no," interrupted Marovich, "let's just put everything behind us, eh, Lord Pengadorn?"

Scott warily exchanged glances with his group. Morschell didn't seem to notice Scott's unease, Galvus didn't seem to bother showing any sign of concern and Luina just kept her gaze down as she began peeling off some strange fruits native to the kingdom. Drostan on the other hand gave the redhead an encouraging nod.

Apparently, they were all clueless. He didn't know if it was a good thing that they had no idea why he was nervous seeing the king of Scalesia. Didn't they know that the King doubted his rights as a Dragoneer simply because of how not 'noble' his name sounded?

Dubiously, Scott cleared his throat as he spoke slowly, "sure, your highness,"

"No hard feelings?" asked the King.

Smiling tightly, Scott nodded, "no hard feelings,"

The feast barely lasted an hour as everyone devoured every dish they plucked out from the table. The Tahitas, a delicacy, were the first to go since Drostan hauled almost every plate. Scott learned that the King easily shifted moods from anger to joy like a bird would from branch to branch. He also learned that the King was a jolly person and would want nothing more but to find ways to keep celebrating even for the smallest of reasons.

Suddenly, a gaseous gurgling belch escaped Scott's lips faster than his mind could understand what his body just did. It was so loud that it echoed distinctively in the foyer despite the loud music playing in the background.

His Dragoon and Drostan glanced at the king and back at him, utterly surprised. Scott could feel his face burning up as he mumbled his apologies, still frozen in place.

Another moment of silence had gone by before the king burst out laughing followed by an even louder burp of his own. He continued laughing manically until the rest decided to laugh as well, unsure at first but then comfortable later on when a momentous belch erupted from Morschell.

"You lot are an insane bunch of people," King Marovich articulated his words as he repeated Scott's term jovially.

X

"Welcome to Scalesia! Today, I shall be your guide--before anything else, let me introduce myself, I am Or, the next heir to the throne,"

A lanky tanned gentleman towered over them with nothing more but a brightly colored cloth draped right below his hips. His unruly hair haphazardly tamed by two sticks sat right above his head, wobbling about as he moved and a stiff, slender beard jutting out from his chin. 

After scanning through their host, Scott was elbowed back to reality by Drostan before he found himself finding words to respond with. The blonde cleared his throat, it was a subtle way to remind him of the lengthy silence that was growing awkward.

"So," Scott began, instantly their host, Or, seemed to have perked up, "you're the King's son?"

"No, no, no, no, no, no," Or chuckled humbly with a rich baritone voice that contrasted with his looks.

"He's the king's grandson, my lord," Morschell corrected his Dragoneer.

Or pursed his lips together, "not exactly--"

"His great grandson?" Drostan asked curiously.

"Almost--"

"His great, great grandson?" Scott asked eagerly.

"That I am," Or chuckled, lightly scratching his subtly muscled abdomen, "Lord Horven, if you please,"

A Dragoneer garbed in full armor who was standing by the Prince's right flank cleared his throat as he announced aloud, "all hail Prince Oramaganadafranco por Marovichekezeplastas por Hufrinuminolusin por Urumastalanestes por Klaparestosingko the third,"

"Thank you," Or nodded as the Dragoneer bowed briskly in response.

"Are you Scottreygpengadorn?" Or asked, combining Scott's name into one.

"Yes, your highness," Scott nodded curtly, slowly starting to consider if his name still sounded weird after having heard Or's whole name.

"Por...?" Asked Or, waving his hand in the air as if silently asking for the non existent continuing name.

"For?" Scott repeated, currently confused before turning to Drostan.

"Your highness, Scott must be of ancient blood, it is quite rare for a bloodline of royalty to become a Dragoneer these days," the blonde Dragoneer explained as lively as he normally would.

"Forgive me," Or nervously chuckled, "for it is my first time to be the host of my ancestor's kingdom,"

"Now," he said, spinning on his bare heels, he faced the town beyond the wide open doors of the castle. His semi skirt flapped against the back of his knees as he paused to throw his hands out, "let me personally take you around our beautiful Kingdom!"

With all the people back to their daily business, it took Scott a moment to realize that there was a garden of beige statues between the castle and the main gates that bordered between the royal grounds and the town. 

"I know the castle should be the first tour," Or began, "but all castles are the same aren't they? So instead, let me just show you what makes Scalesia different from the other kingdoms,"

He waltzed up to the first nearby gargantuan statue of a serpentine dragon poised gracefully with its head held high, "this is the first dragon to have ever hatched to our King Klapares,"

A short sudden laughter escaped Scott's lips at the sound of the name. Drostan instantly elbowed Scott in the ribs without a second thought as the redhead quickly tried to pass off his laugh as a subtle cough.

"Is this guy for real?" Scott asked with a whisper that could only be heard between the two.

"Shut up," Drostan said a little too quickly. Confused, he glanced at the blonde only to realize that he was also having an equally hard time trying to keep a straight face.

"This is a water dragon that gave birth to that dragon over there," Or pointed at the neighboring dragon angled in the same position as the first, "that is King Urumas' dragon,"

Out of the blue Morschell gasped, "the very king that led the Venodraconi War!"

Or chuckled as he scratched the back of his neck unnervingly. This revealed a mat of tangled hair from his armpits. It was a sight that challenged Luina's sudden outburst from the surprise. Scott, who saw this, had yet to suppress another wave of laughter while Drostan was already dying in a silent laughter of his own while Morschell and the Prince conversed.

"Actually," Or began, "I wouldn't exactly say that he led the war, rather, he aided it,"

"Aided?" Morschell repeated as if the word never existed in the books he read.

"Yes," Or said, "aided,"

Morschell blinked before he found the urge to speak again, "but I thought--"

"Now let's move on to the town, shall we?" the Prince insisted more than he did ask, he instantly turned his back to them and began striding past the aisle of statues that had yet to be explained. Unlike the two Dragoneers that tailed the prince, Drostan, Scott and his Dragoon were left to scurry after his highness.

"But what about the--"

"We're moving on, Morschell, I'm afraid," Drostan smiled at the skinny teen as he took his time to recover from his laughter.

Scott sighed the last of his laughs as he looked around only to have his face contort with shock.

"Whistle, no don't!" the redhead hissed as he spotted his dragon raising a leg in an attempt to urinate in one of the mentioned statues only to realize that it was too late.

Scott grabbed a fist full of his hair before glancing back at the group and the Prince. At least no body saw him. He sighed in distress before Whistle happily jogged to him and nudged his Dragoneer to head back to the group as they have already stepped beyond the royal gates.

Compared to this morning, everyone was less festive despite the urge to break into a dance. Everyone stopped whatever it was they were doing as they watched the Prince and Dragoneers pass by them. They walked along the path of hardened sand watching busy people file away to let the majestic group pass by before they went about their daily duties. 

Scalesia, no matter how beautiful and refreshing, had one problem though as Scott thought deeper into it. This place had the potential to burn you up. Perhaps it was because he was used to the pleasant Pendragonian weather that made it hard for him to cope with all the burning skin and sticky sweat. As he glanced down, he came to remember that he was still shirtless and now that he noticed his bare skin, he slowly grew mortified at the fact that his skin had a layer of sensitive, pinkish flesh.

"Are you alright?" Drostan gave Scott a little clap on the shoulder causing the redhead to silently squeal in pain. Slowly, Scott turned to the blonde with his mouth hanging wide open in a silent scream of agony.

Drostan's eyes widened at the slow realization of what he had done before gently peeling his hand off his shoulder.

"Oops," the blonde muttered.

"This is our market," Or paused as he threw a hand to make a grand gesture at the said place. 

The sound of people chattering, making bargains and kids running about made the chaotic place feel pleasant to Scott compared to his kingdoms market. In Pendragon, kids who played in the market were considered a nuisance and would usually end up being punished by the authorities, or when he was lucky enough, a Dragoneer. 

One of the kids who ran past them came back to stare at Scott. He was a scrawny little boy with his hair similarly tied up like Or's and had on a little wrap around cloth to cover his waist.

"Wow," gasped the kid, his playmates came back running to fetch him. At this point Or was explaining how Scalesia specialized in the best seafood cuisine in the whole kingdom, but Scott's attention was drawn towards the kid more as they stared at each other in admiration.

"Kulalapat, come on! We'll be late for the show!" Said one of the three kids, they almost looked all the same save for the different hairstyles: dreadlocks, shaved and bald.

"Hey mister," said the boy named Kulalapat as he bravely took a step forward with his bare feet. Scott looked around to see his Dragoon, Drostan, the Prince and his escorts watch him before realizing that it was himself the little boy was referring to. And yet, Scott stupidly pointed a finger at himself, "me?"

The boy nodded with big dewy eyes, "are you the Dragoneer?"

It was funny because the rest looked far more presentable than he did with his sun-burnt skin. Slowly, he answered, "yes?"

Excitedly Kulalapat turned back to his friends as they all began quivering in delight before turning back to Scott, "can we see your dragon, please?"

"Oh sure," Scott couldn't help but smile warmly, straightening up he began scanning the crowd quickly given that Whistle was not next to him--where he should be--but when he spotted him, he saw his scaly companion burrowing its head into one of the fish baskets, getting stuck and waddling around in panic as he continued bumping into more goods that eventually caused a mini ruckus in a nearby stall.

"Actually," Scott's face fell flat as he did his best not to panic, "he's busy at the moment,"

All the children groaned as if he crushed their very dreams. 

"But," Scott added quickly, "you will see my dragon,"

Kulalapat looked back at Scott with hope trying to find its way in his big brown eyes, "really?"

Scott nodded, "the day before we leave, I will wait for you kids at the gate at a very early time,"

Kulalapat narrowed his eyes at Scott before standing on his tiptoes with his little right pinky raised, "promise?"

Scott knelt down on one knee and wrapped his pinky against the boy's tinier one, "by the words of a Dragoneer, I promise,"

Immediately the children began cheering, "we're gonna see a dragon!" Kulalapat squealed.

"This is so awesome!" The child with dreadlocks jumped around punching the air with multiple fist pumps.

"What's his name again?" Asked the bald kid as he picked his nose and stared at the dirt he dug out.

"Are you stupid?" Kulalapat gasped.

"He's Scott flipping Pengadorn!" the kid with the shaved head roared in excitement as he quivered on the very spot.

"You know me?" Scott asked lowering his hand that Kulalapat let go of minutes ago.

"Of course!" Kulalapat turned back to the redhead, "everybody in town knows you, Lord Pengadorn!"

Scott chuckled embarrassingly as he slowly got to his feet, "actually, I think it's better if you just call me Scott,"

"Scott!" Repeated the boy with dreadlocks, "we're orphans just like you!"

"Shush, Maruhaha!" Kulalapat clamped his tiny hands around the boy's mouth, "he doesn't have to know that,"

"Yeah!" The two other boys chorused.

"Now he won't think we're cool!" the bald kid pouted.

Scott's heart crumbled as he decided whether or not he should say he was an orphan too. Sighing, he smiled at the children warmly, "hey, being an orphan isn't all that bad,"

All kids stopped bickering at once to look at him with a heart breaking gaze.

"I'm an orphan too," Scott shrugged.

"Oh my Kikuna!" All kids slapped their hands against their chest.

"Children!" Hollered an old woman with mangled teeth.

"It's the caretaker, we have to go guys," said the kid with the shaved head. 

"Awe!" The children chorused in sadness.

"Well, Scott," Kulalapat grinned, "don't forget your promise,"

And just like that the kids disappeared into the moving crowd leaving Scott a bubbling sense of warmth welling in his chest. And then a hand gently led him out of his train of thoughts as it sat on his shoulder.

"Feels nice, huh?" Drostan asked, sharing the same warm smile.

"Yeah," Scott sighed, "yeah it does,"