The King Returns

Chapter 9 - The truth of that day

After the heart-warming reunion, the two elf's helped each other to carry the unconscious Almar to the bedroom down the hallway in order to let him rest. Eira absolutely refused to leave Almar's side no matter how many times they said that he was going to be okay. So, the little dragon decided to lay awake next to him until he would open up those grey eyes of his. The others went into the kitchen, located opposite of the bedroom, to catch up on everything.

The kitchen was small, it was made so that only the most necessary equipment would fit inside the limited space. A cabinet stocked up with supplies, a small counter, a small dining table and at last, a tiny fireplace for cooking the food. However small, it was still cute, Eir thought to herself as she took a seat in the kitchen bench next to her grandma at the tiny dining table in the corner of the room. Sylvina jumped up into Eir's lap and made herself comfortable. 

  "So... where would you like to start?" Eir's grandma suddenly said. 

  "What's your name?" Sylvina asked curiously. 

  "You can call me Sage," Sage responded with a kind smile. 

  "O gosh, I have so many questions, I have no idea where to start!" Eir said, hand on forehead as if she was thinking really hard on what to say. 

  "Haha, that's quite alright dear, I have all the time in the world," Sage told her confused grandchild with a little chuckle. 

  "Okay, so, what happened to you?" Eir finally asked her after having been thinking for a while. 

  "Now that is a long story," Sage said with a distant look in her eyes, almost as if she were somewhere else, in another time. 

  "If you really want me to tell you everything... you're gonna need to get real comfy in your seats. First, let me make you some tea," she suddenly remarked as she stood up and walked over to the tiny fireplace. 

Eir watched her grandma's movements as she reminisced about the old days when she used to watch her by the fireplace as she read from the different botanical books, trying to learn every plant by name.

  "There you go," Sage said as she put down two cups filled to the brim with hot tea. 

  "I hope you don't mind camomille," she added as she blew on her own cup and took a tiny sip. 

  "I don't mind it!" Sylvina said with a smile. 

  "Good!" Sage smiled back, "Well then, shall we begin? What you're about to hear is something which I have never told a single soul up until this point. So pay close attention...

"It all began one fateful day when Eir was still a small girl...

The kings soldiers had been pestering me for quite some time now. They wanted me to reveal everything I knew about the dragons. All of the sacred information that had been past down our family for generations. Of course, I refused. I couldn't possibly tell them anything. It was a secret entrusted to us by the dragons, a sacred bond that we had formed with each other. Our family has always had a strong connection to the dragons. We've always been dragon trainers as long as I can remember. Of course, the info was something Zyron desired but that wasn't the only thing he wanted. He was looking for something else too. For quite some time, there had been a rumour spreading around of an underground movement that was plotting against the king. A rebellion that wanted the true heir of the kingdom to sit on the throne... I was the one who founded it.

The reason I created a rebellion goes way back to when the King and queen was still alive. I used to be the Royal Dragon Trainer, standing by the king's right side. One day, something truly tragic occured. It's something that I still even now can't bear to recall. It was the day the prince was born. The queen had been very sick for a long time. The royal healer had advised her from giving birth, for if she would try to do so, her body simply wouldn't be able to take it. Despite all warnings, when she went into labor, she was dead set on going through with it and sadly... she past away just as we had feared. When Zyron, the king's twin brother heard of the news, he blamed it all on the King for not being able to keep her safe. Of course, the King hadn't done anything wrong, he was struck with deep grief just like everyone else who had dearly loved the queen. That same night, the King was brutally murdered, pierced right through the heart by his own sword. Truly horrible, I'm not sure exactly what had occurred but my guess is that the king didn't even put up much of a fight. After all, he had just lost his beloved wife.