Heirs of Merlin: The Hidden Princess and the Tree of Life

Chapter 8

The sky wolves carried the children – and Veka, who threatened to follow them on his own if they didn't take him along – close to a small, rural community belonging to the Dragon Clan. It was a long journey, lasting almost two full days. They did not see any drake riders, but it would only be a matter of time before they ran into patrols if they approached the castle.

Lana had learned to keep her wings folded comfortably over her shoulders instead of tensing her back muscles all the time. With Alex's raincoat on, nobody would notice she had "sun wings" – or even that she was of the Bird Clan. Seto thought she looked quite suspicious like that, but it was the best they could do. With her horns uncovered, they could only hope she would pass as a child from the Dragon Clan with everybody busy gawking at the heirs of Merlin.

"The birds told me that this settlement remains loyal to the Queen and the Dragon Prince," Asara said. The birds in question had made themselves comfortable on her back. "They have no love for the Dragon King but dare not openly rebel."

One of the birds chirped loudly.

"I see. Their leader is a woman named Youna. Find her."

The few people, mostly children and old people watching over them, out and about in the settlement all stared at them when they reached the main cluster of buildings. Some older children ran off, probably to fetch someone in charge.

A few moments later a woman on her late 30s or early 40s approached them. She barely looked like someone of the Dragon Clan if Uncle Thomas was the comparison. She had normal hands and feet and no tail. The only thing that made her different from a human in appearance was the horns of steely hue. Now that the children paid attention to it, all the other people around them were pretty much the same. Their horn color aligned somewhat with hair and skin tone, so there was a little variation but not much. Nobody had any strong dragon features.

"I am Youna, one of the ruling council of this village," she introduced herself. "What are heirs of Merlin doing here? If you wish to buy drakes, I'm afraid whatever coin you have will not be of enough value."

"Um...Can we speak...in private?" Samantha asked. Announcing on the streets that they planned to go against the Dragon King would not be a good idea.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Lana giggled when Alex pointed people out to her and whispered who he was certain was bronze dragon, silver dragon, gold dragon and so on. That pulled Youna's attention to her.

"Can it be...?" she spoke in awe. She moved closer and dropped to one knee. "Your horns...That color..."

Lana quickly covered her horns with her hands. Too many people were making a big deal of how she looked. "It's nothing special."

Youna gently, almost reverently, moved one of her hands aside. "Platinum horns...Only the royalty have this color." She took her hand and pushed the sleeve to reveal the tiny feathers covering her arms. "Princess..."

"Yeah, she's the princess," Alex stepped in – Samantha just hoped they could somehow talk themselves out of this mess. "So could you help us free our dad and uncle from the Dragon King's castle?"

Youna just looked at Lana with adoring eyes.

"Please?" she asked.

"Yes, of course. We should be able to get there unnoticed if...Yes, the matron usually descends from the mountains to see her grandchildren around this time of year. They won't suspect anything."

"The matron?" Lana asked curiously.

"You could say she's the queen of the drakes. Like us, they are led by females. Males are way too aggressive and reckless to be good leaders." Youna stood up and bowed deeply. "Your Highness, may I introduce you to the council ruling our little settlement?"