The Dragon Tamers

The Dragon Tamers [6]

"And the Queen awakes!" Fenwir chuckled as he entered the room, he carried a tray with assorted herbs surrounding a delicate bone china tea pot, a similarly delicate tea cup next to it.

"Great Mother! You scared me half to death!" I clutched my chest, my heart was racing, adrenaline surged through my veins as the blood rushed to my head and made me a little dizzy, but oh so aware of every little detail around me.

The smell of herbal tea flooded my nose, it was almost hypnotizing and brought back fond memories of my parents, they used to feed me herbal tea to help my body fight off disease and aide in the recovery of wounds.

"I have some herbal tea for you, I remember your wonderful mother teaching me how to make this for you. She said to me, "Fenwir, don't let any harm come to my little Princess!" And then she promptly taught me how to make this." he raised the tray slightly, I never knew my mother had taught him this, it was normally a woman's responsibility, first aid and healing that is. "She had a very commanding presence about her, so naturally I paid strict attention." he laughed heartily, but careful not to spill the tea.

Fenwir placed the tray on the bedside table, he had changed out of his battle armor and was wearing a military uniform. He wore a uniform of emerald green, a matching set of pants and a shirt, lavish Elven war patterns were printed onto the material, the lines were harsh with sharp edges, some resembled shards of glass and other lines reminded me of lightening bolts.

"Drink," he handed me a tea cup, the liquid was light purple in color, I could smell rosemary, lavender and a whole plethora of herbs I couldn't name. I gulped it down eagerly, the tea already made me feel perkier, I felt my eyes become a little less puffy, although knew it would take a few hours for the swelling to subside. 

I finished the tea in record time, pouring cup after cup until I reached the concentrated tea at the bottom of the pot, that was my favourite. It tasted like a herb garden in my mouth, it even make my tongue tingle and feel numb in places.

It is hard to describe how the tea made my body feel, it sort of felt like every cell in my body was stronger and as a whole I was more alert and felt strong again, both physically and emotionally. Although, I couldn't help but remember my dream, and wonder if it actually was a dream or a premonition of what would happen should I fail. Another figurative block of pressure landed on my shoulders, how many blocks until the dragon's back breaks? I shuddered at the thought but quickly dismissed it.

"Negative thinking always brings negative outcomes." I recalled my fathers voice in my head, he repeated that saying over and over again, "To be a good Queen you must always stay positive." I remember his broad, toothy grin, beaming down at me, even as an adult he always towered over me.

I told Fenwir we were leaving today for the Orc lands, although I did send a messages to tell him yesterday, it just didn't seem real enough, no matter how many times I repeated it. No, I could believe I was asking for help from our neighbours , it's not like its a disgrace or anything, but it felt weird asking for aid, when usually they asked us.

Fenwir smiled , kissed me gently on the forehead and left the room to saddle a battle dragon. It was only then I realized I had forgotten to pack for the trip, I cursed under my breath as I ran around the room trying to find my belongings.

"No need M'lady, we thought you might leave this to the last minute.We packed everything you need, some of the other maids are on their way now to the Dragon Keep." My personal attendant peered in the door, looking at me amused, I must have looked an absolute mess. She ushered me to sit in front of the mirror, and began untangling my hair.

The attendant twisted my hair into a tight bun, small wisps of hair dangled around my face, it made me look rather whimsical but grown up and determined. The woman knew my wardrobe back to front and inside out, I'd bet money she knew my clothes better than I did. In no time flat, she picked out a beautiful silk gown, it was light green with beautiful patterns embroided onto the fabric, thin metal leaves adorned the bottom of the gown, dispersing the further up the leaves were. Crystals and pearls native to The Veil were sown into the bodice, it laced up at the back with an emerald ribbon. Every detail of the dress was sown together twice, to withstand the strong winds that would whip past me while riding a dragon, it was rather clever if you ask me.

I walked as fast as was appropriate for a Queen in public, I was to meet with the council one last time, to finalize a letter that would be posted to every registered person living in The Veil. It seemed a little impersonal, but we only had a small amount of time to prepare for war, there wasn't enough time to prepare a formal speech.

The meeting was over quickly, I listened and agreed every now and then, but my mind was else where, I was plotting a route for the Orc lands, and devising a schedule for the commander to follow to train the men.

"Your highness, could you please recite the finalized letter back to us?" The old man's deep voice croaked, snapping me out of my trance just as I signed the bottom of the training schedule.

"Of course," I picked up the parchment in front of me, careful not to smudge the drying ink. "Citizen of The Veil, I write to you heavy heartedly to inform you of great misfortune.The Humans to the east have demanded our most prized possessions, our beloved dragons, or else they would declare war on us.The Humans are in allegiance with the Dwarves in the far east, their combined army holds a hundred and fifty thousand men.After careful consideration and much discussion with both our army commanders and council, I have decided to go to war with the Humans, to protect our national treasures from the cruel hands of Humans and Dwarves. Us Elves did not spend thousands of years taming and caring for the Dragons, bringing them back from the brink of extinction, just to let greed Humans seize them. Most of us are old enough to have seen many wars, brutal, bloody and cruel battles.War is not an easy decision, but there was no other choice. I urge any man or woman who has the capabilities of helping the war effort to do so. I, your Queen, will defend our borders and secure our nation, I implore you not to worry, I ensure every citizens safety and well being during these dark times. May The Great Mother watch over you. Queen Feluna." I signed the bottom of the document, I looked around the room, the elders nodding in approval.

"This meeting is adjourned." I pushed my chair back and left the room in a hurry., the sooner the commander got my orders, the sooner he could start cracking the whip.