The Tail of the Sword and Shield #Wattys2020

Chapter 18: The Dragon King

The guard grabbed the pole of the spear with a jerk, pulling her in range with one hand. With his free hand, he swung at the back of her head.

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 Volsair saw it happen, causing him to take his eyes off his opponent. The guard Volsair was fighting saw the opening, stabbing him between the shoulder blades with his spear. All was quiet, eerily quiet that was followed by the sound of something breaking. Well, shattering would be a more appropriate term.

              *** 

At the same time, Cordelia would have been hit in the back of her head, six inches from her head, the guard's gauntlet, and all the bones in his hand broke. It was as if the guard had fallen off the Palace of Eldoria's roof, and struck the garden paving stones. The guard screamed in agony, falling to his knees on the floor, clutching his now useless hand. 

 At the same time, the guard broke his hand, the spear that would have ended Volsair, shattered like a pane of glass, before it could even touch him. The guard was in shock as the shards of his broken spear fell to the flagstones with a tinkling sound.

 "Are you ok?!" Volsair shouted, as the guard fell to the floor, looking in silent horror at the haft of the spear.

"I'm fine. Are you?" Cordelia said.

"Yeah. Just glad I got those rings, otherwise, our story would have a sad premature ending." he said, jogging over and picking Cordelia up in a hug.

Cordelia kissed his forehead lightly, Volsair smiled and set her back down.

"Thank you. But, weren't you supposed to-" Cordelia was cut off by the double doors banging open.

 The King of the Dragons entered,  flanked on both sides by four guards. The King had short red hair, and forest green eyes, his robe billowed out revealing his armor. On his head was a circlet of silver and amethyst gemstones. Around his waist was belted The Sword.

"What?" The King boomed, his voice like thunder on a close hill. "Is going on out here?"

"If we've gotta fight them, I'm gonna sing." Cordelia whispered to Volsair.

"Dragons are immune to it, we can't fight them all." Volsair whispered back.

"Your highness. I am the Bard Cordelia, and this is my...betrothed. Volsair, the Champion of Eldoria. We are Prince Alkanos's protection detail. We are here to beg you for an alliance," Cordelia motioned to Volsair. They both went to their knees. "So Prince Alkanos may assume the throne of Eldoria, and overthrow his usurping uncle."

The King studied them like a freshly caught rabbit. Then without changing his expression, he intoned, "Do you know how stupid it was of you humans to murder my ambassador? Then to come begging for an alliance? My ambassador was murdered and his family expelled from the Kingdom of Eldoria. All that remained of him, you could fit in a sewing thimble."

"That's news to us. Even to me," Volsair said, "It must have happened after we left the palace."

"King Martin should just be happy I expelled his ambassador instead of returning the favor," the King said, "Guards. Take those two back to their cells-"

"Wait, a minute, uncle!" Alkanos's voice rang out. Alkanos had originally been behind the guards when his uncle had come into the corridor. He walked into the center of the gathering, putting himself between his friends and his uncle.

"Both Aunt Imelda and I explained that I had pulled the sword. I am ready to claim the throne of Eldoria. Volsair and Cordelia both didn't know what happened to the ambassadors. They are my friends and my protectors. They are loyal to the throne itself, I wouldn't have been able to get out of the palace if it hadn't have been for them. And for that, I owe them my life." Alkanos began his Dragon transformation but still stayed in human form. "So if you're going to have them executed, then you're throwing away any chance of peace because then you've gotta execute me too."

The King of the Dragons laughed. When he got his laughter under control, he said, "Oh, nephew, I've been waiting twenty years for you to put your foot down like that. Now, you're ready for the throne. Do me a favor." The King unbelted The Sword and held it out by the sheath, the pommel towards Alkanos. "Pull the sword out and then we can begin devising a plan.

Cautiously, Alkanos took hold of the pommel with one hand, he felt a spark of energy course into him through the pommel. Then with a smirk, he unsheathed The Sword, swinging it with a dramatic flourish. "When do we begin?" he asked.

***

Volsair, Cordelia, and Alkanos were shown to the diplomatic quarters that were reserved for the Eldorian Ambassador, and their family.

The rooms were stately ornate rooms fit for royalty. Thick carpets covered the floors. Iron and gold chandeliers hung from the ceilings, adorned with teardrop shaped crystals. Each person got their own bed chamber with a four-poster bed, with two feather mattresses and and embroidered quilts. Each bedroom had a fireplace and a connecting private bath, that connected to a naturally occurring hot-spring.

On their beds was a change of clothes, that were made of silk and lined with wool. The weapons and the contents of their belt pouches were returned to their owners. With a request, for diplomacy, that weapons, other than The Sword of the King, were to remain in their owner's rooms until they were ready to leave the Dragon Kingdom.

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"I don't understand why I have to wear a dress. But, I'll wear it." Cordelia said, holding up the dark blue dress, the hem of the sleeves, and the skirt were red. The sleeves and bodice were embroidered with silver and gold thread. 

Cordelia changed into the dress. Other than it gaping slightly in the waist in the back, the dress fit. She spun around in front of her mirror, watching how the skirt flared out. The dress had an open, high neckline, that was hemmed with red. 

Picking up a hairpin from the table, she set to work pulling her thick hair up into an up-do. It took a pin and two comb style hairpins, but she got her hair in place. 

"Well, if I must be dressed up, I'll get dressed up all the way." Cordelia said to herself, as she turned around and saw a sewing bag sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed. A sewing bag? I guess could do some embroidery. It's been a while since I last did some, I wonder if there's a pattern in there.

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AN: Yay, this chapter is finished! 

Please favorite and comment, if you liked it. If you didn't please comment what you didn't like. Please, only constructive criticism. 

As for it taking this long to update, I've been trying to get this book Wattys ready. This also includes writing up a synopsis of the book, even the parts I haven't published yet.

Thanks,

Laura-the-bard