Aurora, Ember, Truth, Jasmine, Joseph, Arthur, and Alexander, along with several gypsies and peasants, stood watching as Fireball came swooping down and landed within the castle wall. Several “oos” and “awes” could be heard from those less used to the presence of the mighty dragon, along with gasps of fear.
“This is your beast?” Alexander asked uneasily, backing away from the huge winged reptile.
“Yeah, it attacked us in the forest, and we were pretty much fast friends,” Aurora replied. Alexander turned to look at Ember.
“You don’t have a dragon, too, do you?” he gulped.
“No, I just have a cobra.”
The serpent crawled out of Ember’s sleeve and she stroked its scaly head. Alexander watched this in shock, looking more than a little grossed out.
“So, what is the plan, then?” he asked, obviously trying to change the subject.
Truth answered this. “First, we stop in Wyvern City, where my brother is, then Mystic City, where the rest of my family are. Unless you have different plans.”
“That sounds perfect,” Aurora agreed. She was feeling homesick as well.
“We could go to Mystic City to earn a little money,” said a gypsy man. This was met by a general agreement from many of his comrades.
“Then, onward to Mystic City,” Alexander declared.
Aurora looked back at the crowd standing behind her.
“But, what about all of them?” she wondered. She glanced at Fireball, whose back could hold several people, but certainly not the two hundred or so hungry captives desperately wanting to leave the Dark Mountains.
Fireball looked Aurora in the eye as if to say, “I’ve got it covered.” Then the great dragon stood on two legs and let out a mighty roar.
* * *
Aurora sat astride the base of Fireball’s neck, the wind blowing in her face once more. Only this time, rather than the usual crew sitting behind her, there were three strangers, Ember, and Alexander. Truth, Jasmine, and Arthur were each sitting at the front of their own dragon, with several strangers sitting behind each of them. Aurora had figured it would be best for the people with a little more experience to lead some of the non-experienced ones as they all rode toward Mystic City on a flock of about forty dragons.
“Who would have thought Fireball could have so many friends?” Arthur shouted above the wind, trying to get his dragon to fly faster than Aurora’s.
Aurora had thought that her dragon had flown fast before. But now, they raced over the Forest of Dragons at breakneck speed. Aurora thought how helpful it would have been if they had flown this fast before, even if it was a bit terrifying at first, but by the time they landed at the crack of dawn at the Northern Entrance of Wyvern City, she could feel Fireball panting, heart pumping faster than was probably healthy for a dragon.
It seemed the entire village was gathered at the Northern Entrance to watch the flock of dragons land. As about two hundred people dismounted, an eager little boy ran from the crowd of villagers into Truth’s arms.
“Benny!” Truth exclaimed at the sight of her little brother. “I’ve missed you so!”
“Why did you leave me?” Benny asked, hurt.
“It was not safe for young boys,” his sister replied.
“But I’m brave! I could have killed hundreds in battle!” Benny boasted.
Truth giggled and rustled his hair. “I am sure you could have,” she told him.
The whole day was filled with much celebration. The forest people put aside their usual labors and replaced them with much dancing and music. Aurora spent much of her time between dancing and eating in Auntie Rosedust’s tent, where Miriam was staying for the convenience of the village women who were nursing her back to health.
Miriam was healing fine. She was delighted to see Aurora alive, and even more delighted to hear that Alexander and Ember were alive as well. Aurora brought them in to her, and there were many hugs shared and tears shed. Then one of the women came in to check on Miriam and made them all leave so she could get some rest.
Other than her meeting with Miriam, Ember spent most of her day in the forest, outside the village, by herself.
“You can stay and celebrate,” Aurora told her. Ember shook her head.
“I am the one who terrorized these same people for years. I don’t belong with them.”
Aurora couldn’t deny that she had noticed some hostility between the peasants and gypsies towards Ember, but she tried to comfort her nonetheless.
“Sure you do,” Aurora said.
“No. I will never belong.” With that, Ember vanished into thin air, leaving Aurora behind. She looked for her sister for a while, but soon gave up and tried to have a good time.
The villagers did dance after dance after dance. Aurora wondered how they could know so many dances. She found that she seemed to be Arthur’s favorite dancing partner, and, she had to admit to herself, he was hers.
That night, Aurora, Truth, and Benny slept in Miriam’s treehouse with Sage (which proved to be slightly awkward as Sage still had not forgiven Aurora), while Jasmine stayed with her family of gypsies and Arthur stayed at the Olde Dragon’s Wing Tavern. It didn’t take long for Aurora to get to sleep that night. As she laid down on her surprisingly comfortable sleeping roll, she felt more tired than she had ever been in her life.
* * *
If the people of the Dark Mountains and Wyvern City made a big fuss over a dragon landing in their midst, then the ruckus the people of Mystic City made was really something to remember. When Fireball and two other dragons carrying Jasmine’s family of gypsies who wanted to make a little money in the city landed in the courtyard of the palace and before anyone knew it, there were peasants running in fright from all directions. It wasn’t until their riders dismounted and Aurora pulled out Ahriah’s Blade that they started to get an idea of what was going on. Soon a sizeable crowd was gathered in the evening twilight.
“It’s Wysteria’s hero! She has returned!” someone shouted.
“She has a dragon!” cried another.
“That’s not Ahriah’s Blade, is it? It can’t be!”
They were taken before the king, who had apparently heard about Princess Azalea’s secret trip to the Other Realm. He raised an eyebrow at the group of weary travelers, but allowed them all to stay the night in the palace, although the gypsies preferred to camp outside.
The next day Azalea, Aurora, Truth, and Benny rode a royal carriage to Iris’s house. Iris embraced her long-awaited children, then gave Aurora a hug. She gave Benny a scolding for running off, but then hugged him again, tears of joy and relief streaming down her face.
As if they hadn’t had enough celebrating the day before, there was an enormous celebration feast that night in Aurora’s honor. Princess Azalea let Aurora, Ember, and Truth borrow some nice gowns, though they couldn’t get Jasmine or Joseph to dress up. They insisted on merely changing into clean outfits that were similar to the ones they’d been wearing before, only slightly more colorful. Alexander, Arthur, and Benny also were allowed to borrow some clothes from Prince Jacques’s wardrobe. (He was doing business in Zander far across the sea, and was not there to object.)
All dressed like royalty, they sat at the same table as the king and queen. Aurora noticed the uncomfortable expression on Ember’s face. Ember had always dreamed of coming here, but never as a guest of honor. If the king knew who she really was, surely she would be given a far less hearty welcome. She had been given a veil to cover the dark hair that was one of Mistress Ember’s signature features, and all of Jasmine’s family had sworn to secrecy (against their will), but Ember felt as though she was treading thin ice, and Aurora understood this. If Ember had had her way, she would not have come at all, but Aurora had wanted her to so badly, she could not say no, no matter how much she wished she would have.
The peasants crowded into the courtroom, which was full of long tables laden with interestingly colorful assortments of food. There were cakes molded in the shapes of dragons, and even brightly colored birds that had been roasted and then covered with their original feathers again.
The king stood to speak. As Aurora watched him rise, she felt confident that she had never seen a man fatter than he was, but she tried not to stare.
The king spoke, his great voice filling the spacious room.
“My loyal subjects!” he began. “We are gathered here tonight to honor the brave hero who courageously fought to defeat Mistress Ember and Lord Artimus!” He indicated Arthur and asked, “Young man, tell us how you did it.”
Arthur looked at him, confused. The queen stood and whispered something in his ear.
“What?” the king bellowed. “You mean it’s the girl who is the hero? She doesn’t look like much at all! Well, never mind, then. You may all eat now.”
Aurora blushed. Ember shot a glare at the king, who did not notice. Then, they proceeded to eat.
Looking down at her plate of food, Aurora wasn’t sure she could force it down. The plate itself seemed to be a slab of hard bread, and it was laden with chicken that didn’t appear as though it was cooked all the way, and a mess of what looked like slimy snakes, but on closer look, she realized were eels. The king didn’t seem to believe in vegetables, which explained his size.
“Are you going to eat that?” Arthur asked her. Aurora handed him her whole plate, which he devoured happily.
As she was sipping her goblet of water, Princess Azalea leaned over and pointed subtly to an elegant woman coming in through the door.
“Does that lady over there seem familiar to you, Mistress Aurora?” she asked knowingly.
Aurora looked in the direction Azalea was pointing. Her eyes widened and a surge of pure joy flooded through her as she saw the one person on earth she longed to see the most. She got up and ran through the courtroom, dodging the odd person walking in between tables.
“Mom!!” she called as she ran toward her mother and finally landed safely in her arms. Their embrace lasted for what felt like an eternity.
“Mom, I missed you,” she mumbled.
“I missed you, too,” Mother replied. “I am so proud of you!”
“You’ll never guess who I found,” Aurora said proudly. She turned to see that Alexander and Ember had followed her.
A giant smile spread across Pallas’s face such as Aurora had never seen. She ran to Alexander and what ensued was like a romantic scene from a love story. It was a happy scene, but Aurora thought it lasted way too long. (She’d never been fond of those movies.)
After Pallas and Alexander finally let go of each other, Pallas turned to Ember.
“I always knew you were still alive,” she said tenderly, stroking her newfound daughter’s face. She reached out to give her a hug, and Ember, unused to this particular kind of attention, pulled away at first, but Pallas caught her and Ember gave in and returned the hug.
Pallas was allowed to join them at the table that was normally reserved for royalty, and they got back to eating (except Aurora who had given away her food). After a few moments, the king, just finishing a hushed conversation with his wife, stood up and turned his gaze to Aurora.
“I am sure we would all like to know something. Why don’t you tell us all what happened to Lord Artimus?” he inquired.
“Uh. . .” Aurora wasn’t sure how to answer this, as she didn’t actually know the answer.
“He is gone for now,” Ember answered for her.
“For now?” The king raised an eyebrow.
“Yes. He cannot return without someone to do the black magic required to bring him back.”
“I see,” the king replied, although it was clear he did not. “And what of Mistress Ember?”
Now it was Ember’s turn to be lost for words.
“Mistress Ember, the evil sorceress, is gone. She is dead and never coming back,” Aurora answered for her.
The king nodded, satisfied, and sat back down next to the queen. Everyone else at the table looked inquisitively at Aurora. Ember turned to her sister.
“You did not have to lie for me,” she said in hushed tones, so only they would hear.
“I didn’t,” Aurora said nonchalantly. “Mistress Ember was a ruthless sorceress. She is gone for good. Now, you are only my sister. I guess you’re just ‘Ember’ now. That really is a nice name, you know.”
Ember smiled. The only ones who had heard this were those who already knew who she was. Aurora had been too kind to her. She resolved to repay her someday.
After everyone was finished eating, the gypsies played music and danced. After the performance, everyone joined in the dancing. Alexander and Pallas were surprisingly good dancers.
Arthur had no trouble finding a dance partner. There were many local girls who wanted to meet him, and he took advantage of it. Aurora found herself very much forgotten.
After a while, Truth found her sitting alone and, in an effort to cheer her up, she said, “My brother, Jasper, found a friend.”
She indicated a sandy-haired boy who Aurora recognized from Truth’s house dancing with someone. Aurora’s jaw fell open when she realized it was her sister, Ember.
“So, what is the great hero of Wysteria going to do now?” Truth asked laughingly.
Aurora shrugged and said, “I don’t know. How about you?”
“Princess Azalea told me I could work here at the palace as a maid. Her last maid got banished from the palace, so there is an opening.”
“That’s great!” Aurora said, smiling at her friend’s good fortune.
Just then, a group of young men came and started introducing themselves to Aurora. Several asked her to dance at one time. Truth laughed and said, “Good luck.”
She danced with as many as she could, then, when they started fighting over her, she started thinking about sneaking away. A couple weeks ago, she, the lonely girl with no friends, would never have imagined being fought over by sons of gypsies, peasants, and lords. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a fluttering shadow in the doorway. She snuck away from the crowd unnoticed to check it out.
She stood in the doorway of the courtroom and breathed in the cool night air. It felt so nice after being in the room filled with noisy people.
“It’s a lovely night, isn’t it?”
Aurora turned to see Sylvor, who had appeared out of nowhere. This time she was not surprised to see him. Only glad.
“I just wanted to tell you that I’m happy you found your family,” he said.
“Thank you so much for helping me. I never could have done it without you,” she told him earnestly.
“You probably could have,” Sylvor shrugged. “Is there someone waiting for you?”
Aurora peered behind her. Arthur, the one person she actually wanted to miss her, was flirting with several young girls at one time.
“No, I guess not,” she said. “Do you want to come in?”
Sylvor looked uncomfortable at the mere idea of this.
“No,” he said apologetically. “I am risking enough just coming here to see you.”
“That’s a long way to come just to see someone.”
Sylvor gazed at her with his penetrating black eyes.
“Actually,” he said, “there is something I have to tell you.”
“What’s that?”
“There are those in the West who would do you harm. It would be best for you and your family to stay away.”
“Gee, thanks,” Aurora huffed.
“I am serious. If you value your life, then stay far from Wysteria. It is the only way, except. . .” He trailed off.
“Except what?”
Sylvor suddenly reminded her of a lonely little boy once again. If vampires could have blushed, she was sure he would be.
“You could come with me,” he said shyly. “There are few things that could destroy a vampire. You wouldn’t have to worry about much.”
Aurora struggled to take this in. “You want to make me like you, so I could join you as the un-dead? Is that what you’re saying?”
Strangely, this idea didn’t seem so bad.
“I knew you wouldn’t want to,” Sylvor admitted, face full of shame.
“It’s not that,” Aurora told him. “It’s just. . . My place is with the living. I’ll definitely remember your offer, though.”
Sylvor’s eyes lit up a little, then he went back to being serious.
“Do you still have the gift I gave you?” he asked.
Aurora took out the painting of Ahriah from her bodice. “You mean this?”
Sylvor nodded, then took a few steps forward.
“I hope to see you very soon, Mistress Aurora,” he said. Then, before Aurora could utter another word, he transformed into a bat and flew away. Leaving Aurora alone. As she watched the bat fly away, wings fluttering, she found her heart was fluttering in a similar manner.
“There you are,” came Arthur’s voice behind her. “What are you doing out here?”
“Nothing,” Aurora said a little too quickly. Arthur took no notice.
“Your mother is looking for you,” he told her. He walked her to where her parents were waiting together with Ember. Princess Azalea was standing nearby.
“Rori!” her mother exclaimed when she saw her. “It’s time we went home.”
“Are we really going to the Other Realm?” Ember asked, brimming with excitement.
Aurora thought about Sylvor’s warning. Her mother looked knowingly at her, as though she understood what she was thinking, but said nothing.
Azalea handed her mother the charm that had brought Aurora here.
“This is the key between realms,” she explained. “Only two exist. Use it well. Perhaps you may return when the time is right.”
“And, here is your sword,” said Alexander, handing Ahriah’s Blade to Aurora. “Do not forget it. You must take good care of it.”
Aurora took the sword from her father. She wanted to give her friends good-bye hugs, but Azalea insisted they leave as soon as possible. They went out the door, so as not to be seen, then all held hands in a circle as Azalea instructed. Pallas read the words on the charm and they all vanished together, reappearing in the living room that Aurora never thought she would see again.
That night, they all found a bed or couch, or whatever, flopped down, and fell asleep. The next day would begin their new life as a family. It would not be easy, but it would be better. Aurora knew that for certain.
The End