Cookie was unhooked off of the stables and mounted by Lou as quick as she could. Finally, she would be done with this ridiculous quest and could go home. Cael's knuckles turned white from how hard his grip was on Cookie's saddle.
The horse shot through the forest at an unnatural speed. Lou didn't even know where she was going. She was just going. The energy that had built up after a whole week of trying to find this stupid dragon came out in her energy.
"Louanne," Cael screamed over the rushing wind. "Where are you going?"
"To the dragon!" Lou announced. She felt a pull towards the base of a mountain. Her heart told her that the mountain was exactly where she needed to go. .
"Why are you going to that stupid mountain?" Cael huffed. They were going far too fast for his comfort, and he'd just started riding horses to boot.
Lou pulled back on Cookie's reigns. "Sorry, Cael. I know it's weird, but I just feel like the mountain is the right place to go."
"You know," Cael said. He pulled leaves off trees as they passed them. "I'm going to trust you on this. You mostly trusted me on the Sixth being here."
"Mostly?" Lou said.
"You had to double check with the innkeeper." Cael deadpanned.
"Fair." Lou agreed. The mountain moved closer and closer into view. Trees huddled closely together and underbrush clumped around Cookie's hooves. The leaves Cael had painstakingly ripped off trees multiplied in his hands. He scattered them behind the two, marking a makeshift pathway.
"Before you ask, it's for memory, not for actually marking the path." Cael explained.
"I wasn't going to ask," Lou said. She was going to ask.
"Yeah." Cael hummed. He tore a leaf up and scattered it behind him. He grabbed another and handed it to Lou. "Rip it up. It eases nerves."
Lou ripped it in half, then again into fourths, and then eighths. With each tear of the leaf, some of her pent up energy disappeared. She took in a deep breath and refocused her thoughts.
"So. Cael." Lou said. Cookie was left to go at her own pace, Lou only slightly adjusted her direction with her legs. "The Sixth. You don't seriously expect me to kill the Sixth."
Cael rolled his eyes. "Of course not. You can do what you did with the elves, you never really completed that, did you?" He snickered.
Lou resisted the urge to push him off Cookie. "That was upon your own request, you little thief."
"You didn't have to listen to me," Cael coddled. "But I do take that into account."
Cookie tripped. The knight toppled forward into the brush and landed on her back. The horse spun in circles around her with Cael still atop her. She was about to scream at the horse when she saw what was in front of her.
A massive cave. The brush she landed in flattened and displayed a small cavern. Lou crawled into it, her face alit with curiosity. Cael hopped off Cookie, spouting of nonsense about how dangerous caves were.
Lou ignored him.
Water droplets fell down from the high ceiling like rain. One landed on Lou's forehead. The stone floor collected puddles to reflect the ceiling like mirrors. Lining the walls of the strangely large cavern were hundreds of bookshelves filled to the brim with thousands of books. Lou sucked in a breath.
Who would even live here?
Cael rushed in behind her and knocked her over. They fell down into a puddle and made a huge splash.
"Aren't you trying to be covert?" Lou hissed. "That's your job, isn't it?"
Cael didn't respond, he soaked in the environment like it was some sort of sweet nectar.
He stood up and scrambled towards the nearest bookshelf. He scoured it for a book, any book, picked it up and read it. His eyes widened. His breathing got quicker and quicker. He looked around the cave, astounded.
"This." He whispered. "This is the Lair of the Sixth."
Lou shook her head. "That's not possible! We've hardly been out for a day, there's no way that we're here already."
The farther she got into her sentence, the more she was sure she was wrong. The books, how secluded it was, it all made sense for the Sixth.
Cael looked up from his book. "I feel like we're going to get a very long explanation soon."
Lou walked towards him and peered over his shoulder. The book was in a language she couldn't understand. It must've been dwarvish. Cael's hands seemed to light up as he flipped the pages. He grinned wildly.
"I haven't seen this accurate of a dwarvish text since I lived with Mother...." Cael said. He looked too happy.
"I'm glad." Lou said. She wandered around the cave while Cael planted himself in place and read.
She ran her hands over the wall and smiled. Each bump and ridge on the wall felt new and strange. Like they had a story that needed to be told. Lou wanted to know the story, and she would do anything to understand it.
There was a low grumble through the cavern. "Just the earth congratulating us on finding her." Cael said.
"How do we even know the Sixth is a girl?" Lou said. Cael flipped a page.
"True." He said. The thief was in a tranced state, reading and smiling all the while.
Scratches sounded through the cavern. It sent shivers down Lou's spine. She moved towards them and immediately regretted not bringing her scythe with her. It seemed like a large inconvenience to bring it with her everywhere now.
What greeted her was a huge pair of crystal eyes. They blinked twice, first in recognition, second in surprise.
The figure attached to those eyes moved forward. It looked to be a young girl, over half Lou's age, with tanned skin and bright pink hair. For clothes, she had what looked like a brown rag sewn together at the sides. When she spoke, her teeth glared off the limited light the cavern provided.
"Well hello there." She said. She had the voice of someone much older than she seemed.
"Hello." Lou said slowly.
"I assume you know who I am?" The girl said as she paced around Lou.
"A young girl who wandered into the Sixth's cavern," Lou said sarcastically.
The Sixth looked Lou up and down. "Ha ha, Louanne Verrmien. I see that look in your eye."
Lou smiled. "Hello, O Great and Magnificent Sixth of the Seven," Lou bowed. "I am graced by your presence and honored by your voice. Please, guide me in your name."
The Sixth whistled. "Wow, you are one rule-follower. Where is your friend, Cael Beauregard?"
"Abegg," Lou corrected. "He was adopted by Bellona Abegg."
The Sixth rose a brow. "Whatever you say, knightling."
Lou resisted the urge to snap at her, too. She kept her tongue in her mouth and lead the small dragon towards her friend. He was still in place, although he had moved from standing to sitting.
He looked up from his book for just a second before turning back down.
"Cael, I would like you to meet the Sixth." Lou smiled.
Cael looked up at the dragon in a girl's body and laughed. "There's no way that's the Sixth."
The Sixth crouched down. "You're right, not many people call me that around here unless they know the Seventh all too well. Most call me Frauline."
"Why's that?" Cael said. He placed the book in front of him.
"Your friend has good intuition. The common people are not so observant." Frauline reasoned. "Although, neither of you are quite common, are you?"
Cael stood up. He towered over the young girl and glared. "How do you mean?"
Frauline stood up after him and brushed his tense tone off. "Please, it's no coincidence the two of you met."
A moment passes. Lou and Cael's faces turned stark white as they stared into nothingness. Frauline sputtered out a laugh and the two turned towards her in an instant.
"You humans are so fragile! I can't believe just saying," she puffed out her chest, "'it's no coincidence the two of you met' ruined your false composure in seconds! That's hilarious!"
Lou gritted her teeth. It wasn't hilarious. "What do you mean, dragon."
Frauline backed off. "Easy there, Verrmien. I know your family. You might not have a weapon, but I won't do anything stupid."
The dragon sucked in a breath. "I'm what you might call an "exposition dumper." I spend my time waiting for the fated heroes to walk their way here, dump a bunch of information on them, never to be heard from again. It's a great job, really."
"So you're not the Sixth," Cael said.
She held up a finger. "No, I'm the Sixth."
"Prove it," Lou snapped.
Frauline rolled her whole head around in disgust. She kicked the ground, stared at ground, and did anything to break eye contact. When she looked up and saw Lou was still looking down on her, she sighed.
"You're sure? There's a reason I don't." Frauline said. "I'm scary."
Lou crossed her arms. "Try me."
The girl stretched her arms over her head and grinned an awfully wicked smile. The farther she stretched her arms, the longer they grew. She leaned forward and placed them on the ground and arched out her neck. It grew and grew as pink scales sprouted along her body. A tail sprouted out from under her rag.
The rag slid off the top of her as her body was coated in scales. In seconds, her body lengthened into a long serpentine form with elegant pink scales to match her old pink hair. The blue eyes shone through as curious as ever.
Like the stories told, not a single horn or over abundant ridge sat on her body.
Once the dragon decided that she had gotten her fill of scaring the life out of Lou and Cael, she shrunk back down into her human form. She wandered around until she found the rag and slipped it over her head.
The Sixth sent Lou an opposing look.
"Still not scared," Lou said. Her voice wavered.
"Yeah. And I'm not a dragon," The Sixth chided. "So, dragon-killer, what do you want?"
Lou opened her mouth. The Sixth interjected. "Actually, no, don't answer that. You're trying to kill me, you're a Verrmien, that's what they do."
Cael laughed. "That's true."
"But," Lou added, "seeing as the dragon I was sent to kill is one of the Sacred Seven, I decided to go against that and take back a souvenir to the person who charged me with this."
"Did you check who gave that there job, little dragon slayer?" The Sixth leaned toward her. Lou rocked on her heels. She nodded slowly.
"Yes, dragon. They're from Cattail Rue."
"Covered in a magical spell that keeps all rain away, cursive letters flowing elegantly across paper." The Sixth hissed. "Of course. That little... Nevermind it. It says to kill the dragon here, correct?"
Lou nodded slowly. Cael kept his mouth shut, turning it into a straight line. The Sixth paced around for a few moments. She sped over to one of her bookshelves and ran her hands across the books there. One hand landed on a book and stopped. She pulled it out and brushed her hand against it's dusty cover. The dragon sucked in a breath and put the book back on it's shelf. She turned to the two.
The Sixth grinned her wicked smile. Her pointed teeth gleamed, and it looked rather unfitting on such a young body. Lou tensed up and moved in front of Cael. She needed to protect her thief, even if he did break the law a few times. More times than she could count.
"I'm assuming you know the tale of the Seven," The Sixth said slowly, her pink hair bobbing as she walked. "I am the Sixth, Frauline, the deity of intelligence and wit."
"You have told us, mighty dragon." Lou kept her voice as flat as she could. Talking to a god was harder then it seemed.
"The Sacred Seven. They are deities of guidance and trust." The Sixth said. "There's The First, the oldest and the strongest, and the leader of them. Then the Second, his wife, representing fertility and good luck, and good wives. The Third, master of war and war tactics, The Fourth, to make sure your crops are fertile and your cattle healthy. And of course the Fifth, of oceans and sea life. And finally, the twins, The Sixth and the Seventh. Wisdom and Love" The Sixth bowed. "My sister and I."
"We're aware," Cael mumbled.
The Sixth ignored him. "In the beginning, we thought of you humans as weak and frail. Skin and fragile bones. Easy pickings for any of our children. Molecular beyond imagining, roaring on and on and whining. It was insufferable!
"We saw your ancestors crossing a huge ocean over to a new place you had never been, and my siblings pitied you. We told you that we could send you somewhere safe. You made it here." The Sixth spread out her arms. "Your puny, infinitesimal brains could hardly comprehend that you'd gone through a portal! You called us gods, yet we are just as mortal as you, we just live for a very, very long time."
She turned to the two of them for a second. "You know, your polytheistic ways are a little outdated. Hasn't been done since the Greeks. Monotheistic is the way to go. It worked out for you cousins on Earth."
When the Sixth saw the confused faces on her listeners, she retracted her statement. "Ah, but astrophysics hasn't caught on here yet. No matter, Neil DeGrasse Tyson just hasn't been born yet. That'll take a few millennium. You do have telescopes, right?"
"Yes," Cael said slowly.
"Great!" The Sixth squealed. She turned to Lou. "Your ancestors changed that, Verrmien. They told us that although we were stronger and faster and mightier than the brats would ever be, the humans would still find some clever way to fight back.
"When your greasy leader came to me, saying he needed a way to barter with the Eighth, I thought it was hilarious! A human, trying to outsmart my devil of a brother, how could someone even conceive such an awful plan!" The Sixth crouched over, laughter ruining her composure. "Ah, but that slimy man had a good plan. He was going to trade his life for the lives of the rest of the Eighth's children. I thought it was reasonable, he had a scion for his name already, there was not much left to lose."
Lou held up her hand. "The Eighth?"
"Oh, he's just the manifestation of everything your dear mother isn't." The Sixth said as she waved Lou's question off. Lou's face fell. Her mother? What did her mother have to do with any of this?
"Excuse me?" Lou asked. Cael held on to her arm as she took a step towards the dragon.
"Oh, my." The Sixth placed her head on her hand. "My dear sister never told you. Ah, well, knowing her, she never would."
"Excuse me?" Lou said again. "Your sister?"
"Can I finish my story, human? You're making too much of a fuss. Your lithe little friend has a worse backstory than you." The Sixth said.
"No I don't" Cael said reflexively. "Tell me what's wrong with Lou's mother," he whispered sorry to Lou in the process, "and then finish your damn story."
Once again, the dragon rolled her whole head in annoyance. "Fine." She looked Lou straight in the face, and said "Your mother is the Seventh. Okay? Can I keep going?"
Lou gulped hard. Apparently, Cael was worse off, so she swallowed her pride and nodded. "Keep going."
The Sixth cleared her throat. "The human was in over his head. He met with the Eighth, and instead of trading his life, he promised a vessel for him." Her voice went flat. All of her expressions seemed removed from her face.
"What do you mean by a vessel?" Cael asked. His voice shook.
The Sixth locked eyes with Cael, and Lou moved to cover him more. He's not getting hurt any time soon.
"Why, wouldn't you like to know, Cael Beauregard?"
Cael made a sound that resembled a whimper, and Lou was enraged. "What are you talking about? His name is Abegg, his mother is a dwarf! He knows about the stars and the plants and the fae!"
The Sixth nodded. "I bet that's right true, knightling. Yet Abegg is not his birthname. He is the heir to the throne of this land of Allstella."
"He..."Lou was at a loss for words. She turned to her thief. "Cael, is this true?"
He managed a nod. His breath was uneven and shaky, his eyes shooting around the room, looking anywhere but the people.
"Cael...Why did you not tell me?"
The Sixth walked towards the two, her blank expression boring holes into Lou's heart. "Oh, it's most likely he cannot tell you. The panic would be setting in again now. Here, have a seat."
A chair popped into existence behind Cael, and he promptly sat in it. Lou crouched near his feet. Her face was ridden with worry, and her heart was beating faster than it ever had before. She stroked her thief's hand, trying to say anything to soothe him.
"See, knightling, when this lad was a boy, he was born with a special power. He could do things no other royal could. Mend magic into weapons; speak words to make men fall. He could do anything he wanted and get anything he wished. If only he was taught." The Sixth acted like it was a shame he never learned anything.
The more the dragon spoke, the more she started to look like one. Her face got longer, her nails sharper, and once again her tail poked out from under her rags. Lou felt deathly protective of Cael. He didn't deserve to remember any of this.
"His father, his wicked father, he was jealous of his small one. So he attempted to beat it out of his child. I do suspect it did not work."
Cael shook his head. "It... It didn't"
"Don't force words if you can't speak them, Cael." Lou said. She tried to keep her voice even, yet the worry was clear. She was surprised she could even form words.
The Sixth was in her full dragon form. She curled around the two of them, almost like a protective wall of dragon. She continued her story, like none of it mattered.
"The slimy Beauregard man promised the Eighth a vessel for when he was strong again. We banished him many years ago, but he still gains more power every day. The lad's father is trying to awaken him as we speak." The Sixth let out a sigh. She laid her head by Lou's feet.
Lou shook her head. "What do we do?"
The Sixth smiled again, looking as devious as ever. "You two are the heroes of this tale, are you not? Defeat the villain, and triumph. It is in your blood to slay the Eighth's children."
"How do you expect us to do that?" Lou spat. Her words felt like venom dripping down and off her lips. She couldn't believe anything the dragon was saying, whether it was true or not.
A tongue slid out of the dragon's mouth. She tasted the air and the bits of the ground with it. "There is a college of sorts."
"What?"
"There is a college of sorts, which teaches young children how to use magic. Not just young children, yet you do all seem so young to me. Maybe they teach up to your age? You'd think, being the epitome of intelligence I could remember this."
"Why would I need to go to a college?" Lou remembered this kind of school, her mother talked about it often.
"Because there is a child. There is a child who remembers everything he's ever read, anything he's ever been told, all because of a measly curse. You'd think after these thousands of years witches would get more creative."
Lou felt like there was too much information being relayed to her. She had to remember it all, or else her dear Cael would fall apart on her. She couldn't let the stress from all those memories be put on him.
"Has this happened before?" The knight asked.
"Oh, no, of course not. The damned witch cursed this old coot's whole family line. Sadly, I do believe the curse is going to run its end soon. The child doesn't seem to want to reproduce. All the better for his family curse, I suppose."
While Lou let all the information sink in, the chair Cael was sitting on turned into a bed. The thief lay in it, his eyes closed. He looked calmer than he did before. Lou leaned against the bed. Her eyes closed ever so slowly. The dragon's body heat felt like a blanket covering her. Easier than she would like to admit, the knight fell asleep in full armor leaning against her companion's bed.