Dawn's Light

Chapter 55

Reverberating footsteps woke Celia up from her restless slumber. She groaned a bit and rolled over in an attempt to resume her sleep, but merely hit her head against the opposite side of the corner. With a wince, the human female woke up. As she rubbed the forming bruise on her forehead, Celia looked around their dimly lit cell, but the origin of the footsteps was still around the corner.

Xan woke with an annoyed groan, "Here come the guards to take us out to the arrow squad." He with an annoyed murmur, the male cellmate shifted and turned in his makeshift sleeping spot until his back was turned to the corner so he could watch the people on the other side of the bars.

A few more moments passed before two men stopped in front of the bars of Celia's and Xan's cell. The first man was the one who captured him. This time, Celia noticed he had bright red eyes, and a slight shutter vibrated through her bones. "Red eyes...," Celia quietly whispered

However, the second person was unfamiliar. A golden ring studded with jewels adorned the man's head atop yellow hair as green eyes looked down to them. Like his companion, a black cloak graced his shoulders, but he did not wear armor. Instead, the figure wore simple grey pants and a long buttoned deep blue shirt with gold buttons that matched his crown.

After he studied the two foreigners, the man spoke,  "Konrad, these are just children," his voice sounded both irritated and agitated. "I do not see how these two could be plotting to steal the ray of light. It is not feasible. Unlock the cell and allow them to roam like the free people they are."

"Sir, your majesty, they were searching the obelisk for the door, and they wear strange clothing." Their captor stated in a tone that gave Celia the feeling that the lightly armored man wanted to say something, but could not for some reason. Perhaps the red-eyed man was hiding something.

"Plenty of locals try to find the door." The crowned man rubbed his temples with one hand, then crossed his arms as he looked up to the much taller man with a crinkled nose. "Release them. Now. That is an order. And next time, do not just capture people without real evidence."

"Yes King Baron," the armored one, Konrad, scowled, but approached the door and unlocked the lock with a key he produced from his pocket. "You two are free to go. Enjoy the rest of your lives." His voice dripped with frustration and hints of sarcasm as he opened the gate for the two prisoners.

Xan stood to his feet and quizzically looked up to the slightly taller king, who only appeared to be a few years older than the blue-cloaked dragon rider. "King Baron? Do you mean Prince Baron? What happened to King Rook?"

"Ah, so you have been in Urre before, or at least you have heard of my father. You may not be complete foreigners but that is no matter now," the king nodded to Xan. "My father stepped down and appointed me as king as soon as I became of age. Ruling an empire was never his thing, as he would rather just choose for himself. I have been ruling Roahla for six moons now, and I quite enjoy it."

"He advocated the throne against my suggestions and much to my chagrin," Konrad mumbled inaudibly over his shoulder with an angered exhalation. After a deep breath, the armored man faced the two former prisoners with a forced smile plastered across his countenance. "As per king's decree," he motioned with his hand for the two formerly imprisoned humans to advocate the cell, "you are free to go."

Xan briefly took a moment to dust the dirt off of his pants and cloak as Celia rose to her feet. "Thank you, King Baron," the male dragon rider said with a slight bow of his head as he walked out of the cage and into the passageway.

"Yes, thank you," Celia agreed and bobbed her head in mimicry on Xan's miniature bow as she followed him outside the cell. She felt strange about the motion but felt that she needed to follow Xan's behavior since he was the one that knew the city's culture, not her.

"Please, follow me. Since the day has long left us left, you can spend the night in the castle since no inns will be taking visitors at this late hour." The king motioned for the two of them to follow him down the stairs as he began to walk.

"Thank you, sir," Xan nodded as he swiftly followed the ruler of the land towards the dungeon's exit with Celia just behind them. With a hidden scowl, Konrad silently brought up the rear of the line.

"hold the light up atop the highest peak," a hushed voice spoke as Celia passed. She looked to the owner of the voice as they passed, then discovered that the whispers belonged to the thin priest. Unlike the previous time the two riders passed his cell, the skeleton of a man seemed to be chained to the far wall. "The light dragon says—mmmm!" A black gag of magic silenced the man's words.

Konrad released a single note of a concealed chuckle as the man struggled against the bonds that kept his wrists tied behind his back and covered his mouth.

At the sight of the struggling priest, Celia swallowed nervously and slowly glanced back to the man behind her.

Konrad's eyes blazed and gleamed like fiery rubies as he grinned darkly to the green-cloaked dragon rider.

Celia quickened her pace and caught up to Xan. She shivered slightly, but not because by a draft emanating from the depths of the dungeon. She did not realize until a few seconds later her breath was ragged and her heart pounded in her ears. 'Beware the man with eyes the color of blood,' she remembered.

Soon, the quartet climbed the tower of spiraling steps and emerged out of the dark prison and into the castle itself. "This way," King Baron motioned for them to follow him down a brightly lit hallway, "Alic can take you to rooms where you can spend the night in the finest beds in Roahla."

After they walked a few paces, the king stopped and used his arm to part a curtain door. "Alic! I require your service please." When he finished, the crowned man covered his arm and stepped back to wait. 

A blonde man in a dark grey suit emerged after a short pause. He fully bowed as his green eyes remained on the lord of the castle, "King Baron, how may I serve you this wonderful evening?"

"Deliver these two guests to the best available guest rooms and make sure they are comfortable." The king replied.

"Of course, your majesty." Alic nodded and straightened. "Follow me," he motioned with his hand as he began to walk.

Celia and Xan immediately followed the servant as he composedly walked down the well-lit halls of the castle. After he walked down the hall for a while, Alice stopped and opened a door, "lady," he said politely, "This shall be your quarters for the night. And sir," he opened a second door, "this shall be your room."

"Thank you," Xan nodded to Alic and entered his room.

"Thank you, sir," Celia nodded to the servant, then entered her own room, where she was immediately overtaken by its beauty. Golden curtains framed a pair of massive glass doors that lead to a balcony and perfectly complimented the sunset orange of the walls and ceiling. Paintings of stylized suns and clouds adorned the walls above expertly carved dressers and bed frame made from strange brown stone with a high visible swirling grain. Celia walked over to the bed and jestingly put her hand of it, then marveled at the softness of the blankets.

"This is amazing," the female rider awed, then approached the glass doors and gazed outside. Her eyes immediately widened as she realized her room faced the garden and the pillar that supported the ray of light.

After she figured out how the glass door moved, Celia slid it aside and stepped into the cold night air. As she looked up to the massive dark tower of stone, she noticed the square holes carved on each side near the top.

The door to her left slid open and Xan stepped out onto the balcony next to Celia's. After a moment of silence, the blue rider spoke. "Do you think Verbena could fit through that hole?"