To have a Dragon's Heart

Chapter 6 - Gravedigging

                                                             Malia

            The air was cold and our breaths turned to clouds as they left our mouths. Colbax was digging and I crouched to the side. I had been taught that it was disrespectful to step on someone’s grave, but now the best I could do was not knock over the headstones. I kept trying to make myself smaller. That wasn’t my only problem in the graveyard. I had to keep my gaze on Colbax’s back. If I let it stray it would travel two rows up, three graves over, and land on the headstone. The one that marked my mother’s final resting place.

             Jaskar was fast asleep in my cave. He’s become a friend, but I still don’t trust him not to run away back to Faver. If he did Faver would beat him and possibly kill him if that’s what Sovijaka wants. I’m still hoping Sovijaka thinks I ate him after a carried him off. If not… Thunk! I’m brought back to reality by the sound of Colbax’s shovel on wood. It was time to know the truth.

            I lean over and try not tremble. I reach down and pull up the coffin. It's caked in dirt and the wood looked the way wood should after being underground for twelve years. The fact that a prince was supposed to be in it didn't stop that. I'm beginning to realize that this royal thing isn't as great as the mask we put on it.

          I set down the coffin and we stare at it for a long while. Colbax takes a deep breath, then breaths out slowly in preparation for what's to come. "So, I guess this is it?" He says it like a question. We've been planning for this moment for a month. I waited until Jaskar fell asleep and met Colbax in the forest to plan. Colbax scouted and found the perfect time of night for it, the time a dragon in the royal graveyard would be less likely to be noticed. We both had nightmares over it, though Colbax won't admit it. I spent hours putting all my strength into blocking the questions from my mind. I was blocking them from my mind at this moment as I stared at the coffin.

         It's tradition to put a person’s name on their coffin. Most can only afford to carve it themselves, but the royal family puts extravagantly gold plates on their coffins. Now as I stated at Prince Rether Heskar Tarer III, I thought of how wasteful it was. The only purpose it served was to let gravediggers and dragons know they had the right person. I toke in a deep breath and decided to stop procrastinating.

          The lid creaked as it opened. Colbax gasped, then his face morphed from fear to confusion, but when I looked in the coffin I only felt relieved. "Well," I said cheerfully, "It's empty so we better get go..." "You don't see it?" Colbax interrupted me with a squeak. "Wha... what do you mean?" I said trying unsuccessfully to keep the fear from my voice, "I don't see anything in the coffin." Colbax stared at me for a long time before he whispers, "I do. There's a babe in there. But it… he doesn't look like he’s been dead for twelve years. More like he just died.”

         I stare at Colbax in disbelief. Slowly an idea forms in my head. “Can you reach into it?” I ask. Colbax tries and shakes his head. Great, now it’s my turn. I slowly lower a claw into the coffin. At first it felt like there was a glass pane preventing my entry. Then it gave way and I was inside the coffin. I felt around and realized nothing was there. I started breathing again. Had I really been holding my breath? “Nothing’s here,” I told Colbax. He gave me a weak relived smile and we replaced the coffin.

          Colbax got on my back and we flew to the middle of the woods to discuss our findings. By the time I landed I was seething with anger. “Sovijaka that… that…” I’m afraid I can’t tell you what I said next, since it was very unladylike. Several of the ladies I knew would have swooned on the spot. The thought cheered me up a bit. “Do you know what she did?!” I asked Colbax. Of course he did. Everyone knew, but of course I told him anyways, “She kidnapped a baby, supposedly killed him, and sent us the body in an enemy flag! Then she cast a spell on the coffin so we couldn’t take out the body to put it in proper burial clothes!” Colbax looked like he wanted to say something, but I wasn’t done. “It turns out that she didn’t kill him, but turned him into a servant and gave him to Faver to use as target practice! Then she sent him to me hoping I would kill and eat him! Why the sick, twisted little…” I finished up with more unladylike words. Colbax waited a bit before speaking to make sure I was done.

         “What now? If Jaskar is the first born of King Rether, then he is the heir to the throne,” Colbax stated. “Is it safe to tell him and the kingdom who he really is?” I think for a moment. “We’ll have to figure out if it’s okay to tell his father. We need to wait until he’s safely living in the castle so we don’t go public and alert Sovijaka. As for telling him, I want to make sure he won’t runaway and return to Faver before he knows,” I decide. Colbax nods, “Alright then. I’ll scout around the castle and you prepare Jaskar. We set a meeting time and go our separate ways.