“And this is it,” The guard motioned around us before turning to look back at Niram and I. Her face was kind and welcoming, even though I knew that she had more combat skills that I could ever dream of having.
“I apologize again for the wait to see Nereus. He has been extremely busy recently, and we know how rushed you two are as well.”
Niram threw on a polite smile. “No, it’s fine. Raiden needed the break anyways. The flight to Phoenix’s kingdom was the longest.”
She nodded. “The King and Queen do want to see you as well, would you like me to take you there, or let you rest a while?”
He glanced over at me, his eyes full of a question he didn’t even have to ask. I shifted my own over to the guard. “Of course, we’d love to meet them.”
Her smile back seemed almost as vibrant as our surroundings. Unlike Phoenix’s kingdom or even Raiden’s, with villages that were full of people working and minding their own business, here it seemed like a festival. People danced to a wafting music, laughter entwining itself along with the melodious sound.
There was cobblestone paths leading in different directions, and water nearly everywhere. It bubbled from miniature windmills, bounced in large fountains, flowed in manmade waterfalls. The air felt so much cleaner and fresher than anywhere else I had been to before. Maybe the presence of so much water somehow purified the air around it.
The dancing, happy villagers weaved around out of our path as we walked toward the grand castle near the middle of the village. If it was silent between the three of us, I didn’t notice. My eyes kept darting around to the different groups of people, some out right just waltzing through the streets, some working but still looking like they were enjoying the music. As usual, children raced through the streets with no responsibility, hopping and maneuvering around their obstacles like pros.
Again, as I noticed when we were walking through the village of Raiden’s kingdom, I noticed people glancing over at Niram with respect and trust. Some even waved to him with a grateful, pleasant smile. His face was friendly, but empty as always, just a smiling face that slipped through memories to get lost and forgotten with time.
Why did so many people recognize him and trust him? I know that there was a lot about him that I didn’t know, and that would be a little invasive to outright ask, but I couldn’t help my curiosity from stirring.
It was only when his green eyes rested on my own that I realized I had been staring at him. I swallowed down my embarrassed panic and spat out the first question that bubbled forth. “Have you met the King and Queen before?”
“Yeah, I have,” He responded without a hint of suspicion. “Quite a few times, actually. Like I said before, our kingdoms are very close. I’ve never actually seen Nereus before. I was always curious.”
“Did you end up getting to see Phoenix?”
“At the end.” His gaze skirted from mine. “She called me in so I could pick you up from the floor.”
I stared at his profile for a second, realization taking a moment to slam into me. “Is that how I got my headache? She just let me fall and smash my head against the ground?” Anger seethed in my chest for a second, but it was elusive and slipped from my hold a second later. “Well, I guess that just shows her consideration for guests.”
Niram laughed a little, amusement dancing around in his eyes. “I’m sorry for not telling you earlier. It just didn’t seem right to say anything when you were still in pain from it. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll try my best to be there next time you fall.”
I nudged him playfully. It seemed like the cheerful atmosphere was getting to us as well. “Hey, it’s not like I have control over that. I’m still learning.”
He shrugged. “We still have many dragons to speak to, you’ll get the hang of it eventually.”
I touched my head lightly, my fingers finding a small bump that sent out the ghost of a pain down my nerves. For my sake, I really hoped he was right.
~
“Okay, now sit straight while I do your hair or else everything will come out crooked,” A light voice chimed from behind me.
I did as she said and sat up straight, my eyes resting on my reflection in the mirror in front of me. I could also see two girls milling about the room and the one directly behind me, her hands entwined in my hair.
Right as we had entered the castle, a servant had informed us that the King and Queen planned to meet us over a meal. Of course, that then required us to have to clean up before we went. A group of young maids, probably no older than thirteen, had pulled me away from Niram before I could even react. Now, I watched them mill around to try and put something together for me to wear.
“So what is it like being in such a new realm?” One of them asked. I remembered that she had introduced herself as Lacey. She held up a cerulean dress, the light from the window shimmering through it magnificently. A displeased look crossed her tan face shortly and she tossed it back onto the bed.
“Overwhelming,” I said. “Tiring, mind blowing.”
The one doing my hair behind me giggled. Her hazel eyes mixed into a vibrant color from the natural light in the room, making it so that you wanted to stare at them for longer to see just what color they were. “I can imagine. I mean, the dragons are menacing, especially if you were always told they don’t exist.” Her eyes widened slightly as her gaze locked with mine in my reflection. “I couldn’t imagine. What a dull world.”
“Riley.” Lacey scolded. “You can’t just insult other realms. It’s her home.”
That made me smile. “Don’t worry, I couldn’t agree more. I was always trying to escape from it.”
The third girl, Liara, skipped over next to me, her brown hair floating behind her from the movement. “We heard that Niram is the one who rescued you.”
“Rescued? I wouldn’t say rescued so much as kidnapped.”
“But he did save you from Rhaegos’ people right?”
“Yes, but-”
“So then he rescued you.” Her smile was wide and innocent. “Don’t worry, there’s no shame in that. I’d throw myself into a pit of snakes to be rescued by him.”
Riley kicked her lightly, earning a scowl. “Liara’s got a major crush on him.”
“How do you know him?” My curiosity was finally at its edge, and now seeing a path further, it brimmed over. “It seems like a lot of people here know him personally or something.”
Lacey laughed, the sound of it young and light. “No, most of them don’t know him well at all. He’s just known around here because he helps out a lot.” She glanced over in my direction. “Like charity, I guess.”
Riley nodded. “It’s nice. Even though other highborns try to help, it’s always because they see us a charity case or something to brag about. ‘Oh, I’m such a good person to give a little orphanage girl an extra day off to rest, I can’t imagine how hard it must be for her’,” She mimicked. “He actually cares. It’s nice to get help that isn’t out of a forced pity or to look good.”
“He’ll make a great king,” Liara added. “Better than his father, that’s for sure. I’ve heard rumors of how little he does for his people. Even the stuff he has done was just to benefit him in the long run anyways.”
I listened to them chatter back and forth, still soaking in the newly found information. That explained why so many of the people gave him their trust so easily, and why they were so friendly. It was just like Niram as well, to pass over something like that as insignificant or not important enough to ever be acknowledged. From the little bit I had seen of his father’s demands, I didn’t have to question why.
Riley smoothed her hand down the french braid in my hair, her smile bright from her work. “The king here is nice, but I still think that someone else would do better. He tries to help us, I know, yet everything he does just ends up giving us more work and not helping at all. We usually just settle for the generic pity thrown at us from the highborns.” She rolled her eyes.
“The highborns do seem pretty stuck up,” I shrugged. Just remembering their pretentious expressions as they walked about the ballroom with expensively made dresses made me want to shudder. “I know they can’t help it, they were born that way, but they really need to wake up and notice what’s happening around them. I bet half of them don’t even know about the impending war.”
“They never do,” Lacey shook her head. “Now enough talk about this, come here so I can have you pick one of these dresses.”
My eyes skimmed over the three she had laid out on the bed, but they were immediately stuck on one with a grayish blue fabric. “This one,” I said, laying my hand on the soft texture of it.
Lacey gave me a warm smile. “That one was my favorite too,” She picked it up carefully. “Let’s get started.”
~
“Eris,” Niram called from a slight ways down the hallway.
I turned to look at him and watched while he lightly picked up his pace to reach me. I tried not to focus on how natural he looked in his suit, and instead decided to focus on a small waterfall off to my left. Instead of having torches to light the hallways, there were small waterfalls with little candles floating in them. It gave off a surreal glow to the interior, along with the sunlight that streamed through the occasional window on the light stone walls.
Niram held out his arm to me, and I took it, with only a slight twinge of awkwardness. “Are you feeling okay again? Nothing’s hurting or making you feel sick?”
“Yeah, I promise I’m absolutely fine now. I’m just a little hungry, but I guess that’s going to be fixed soon.”
He smiled lightly. “The King and Queen aren’t so formal. Not nearly as formal as my parents.”
“So are the highborns going to be any less pretentious?”
“Oh, no, don’t get me wrong. They’re just as bad here as anywhere else. It’s just something that comes with a lot of money I guess.”
I shook my head. “Not entirely. You have a lot of money, and you’re not stuck up. I bet there are some others out there just like you.”
He gave a mock scoff. “You don’t really know me. On the exterior, I seem friendly and down to earth. It’s when you really see what’s on the inside that you realize I’m a selfish brat.”
I laughed. “I doubt the truth of that, Niram, you’re apparently quite the community service man.”
“It’s not really that important,” He averted his eyes away from mine bashfully. “I just stop in from time to time to help out when it’s needed.” He shrugged.
I let out a small sigh. “If you say so.” I didn’t really want to push it that much further, especially when the subject clearly made him uncomfortable. It didn’t really make sense to me why he would be ashamed of something like that. It showed that he actually cared about his people like the girls had mentioned to me earlier, but by the way that they had also talked about the king, it could have had something to do with that. I had already seen enough of how the King treated his son to know that the things Niram deemed important were probably went unacknowledged by the King.
He nodded, but his eyes stayed on the ground. While a brief silence drifted between us, I watched out the windows to see the village sprawled out before me. I was actually very glad that the girls had let me pick such a comfortable dress. The bodice was held up by two thin straps and it wrapped in a cross like pattern until it reached my midsection. Then it flowed out like water all the way until the floor.
“Right after you speak to Nereus, we’ll be leaving again. I want to keep moving as quickly as we can.”
“Just don’t let me hit my head this time,” I mused, my eyes still fixated on the windows.
I could hear the breath of a smile break out across his face. “Hopefully this time I’ll be allowed in when you go to speak to him. Phoenix just likes to boss people around.”
You don’t have to tell me twice,” I mused. We then stopped at the end of the hall. “Is this it?” My eyes were dragged over to a large set of double doors in front of us. One of them was cracked open, and light chatter wafted from it along with strongly cold air.
“I believe it is.” He reached forward and pushed the door inwards enough for us to slip through. We were immediately greeted by a halt in all conversations while heads turned to stare.
“Niram, welcome!” A deep voice boomed from the head of the table. The man who it came from stood, his graying blond hair kept short and neat. The beginning scruffs of a beard covered his chin, not quite like he was growing it out, but more like he had just forgotten to shave. Multiple times.
“King Harris,” Niram greeted, extending out his hand for a handshake. “Always a pleasure to see you.”
“To you as well,” He gave a hearty smile before his eyes rested on me. They lit up with surprise. “And I’m guessing this is the Seer here? What’s your name Miss?”
“Eris,” I smiled. “Eris Kindler.”
The King just shook his head in an awed way. “Simply amazing. I always read about Seers but I never imagined that I’d meet one. Not in a million years.” He took my hand gently and kissed it in greeting. “It is truly an honor to meet you, Miss Kindler.”
The King turned his attention back to Niram. “So, how is your father doing? I haven’t really been in touch with him all that often recently. Well, until he sent out the warning of that prophecy.”
“He’s doing great. I’m afraid he’s been a bit busy ever since we found Raiden’s egg, and hasn’t had much time for communication. I apologize for that now.”
The King laughed. “Oh, no need for apologizes, boy! I know old Fletcher’s not really the writing type. It always took me pulling his leg to get him to write to me. Even then the letters were mostly dry.”
Niram smiled, but there was a discomfort glinting in his eyes. I could easily relate, though. How were you supposed to respond to that?
The King just smiled back at us and took a drink of whatever was in his cup. “Well enough talking for now, I’ll let you two get to eating some food. We just got a new cook in training so it’s not too impressive.” He frowned some, most likely reflecting back on the meal he had just eaten. “Though I bet a warm meal is better than a cold one!”
His smile was contagious. I grinned back, shifting my attention over to Niram. His gaze caught mine, and he motioned over to two empty chairs near the head of the table.
Once we were seated, butlers quickly brought over plates full of food that made my mouth water. I didn’t know an inexperienced chef from an experienced chef, and my stomach didn’t either. It rumbled again, emphasizing how little it really mattered at that moment.
The chatter that had stopped when we walked in had now picked up again. It rose and fell slowly but with a constant pattern, even though Niram and I were nearly silent the entire time we ate. It wasn’t that we didn’t have anything to talk about, it was just whatever we could conversate about was not very fitting with the atmosphere around us. The topics were too heavy for the small talk that drifted around the table with ease.
I set down my fork, finished and content with my meal. The Queen locked eyes with me. She had startlingly vibrant blue eyes, her richly brown hair adding to the intensity of the color. A small smile worked its way onto her face before she gestured for me to move to a seat closer to her.
As I got up, Niram only glanced at me for a second before he was pulled back into what seemed like an endless conversation with a highborn seated near him. He gave me an exasperated look, which evoked a smile to break out across my face.
“Miss Kindler,” The Queen greeted as I sat next to her. “How are you settling in here?”
“Great, I thank you for the hospitality, your majesty.”
She laughed slightly. “You don’t have to be so formal, honey. Just call me Miranda.” Her eyes drifted over the highborns around us with distaste. “I used to be a commoner, so I’ve never really taken to the formality so well.”
“Okay,” I shifted uncomfortably. Why did she want to talk to me? It seemed like they just wanted to meet us and give us something to do while we waited for our turn to speak to Nereus.
“I don’t mean just here, in this kingdom. I mean around this realm. I know how difficult it must be for you. I’ve visited the realm of logic.” She let out a breath. “It is very different from anything around here.”
“It was difficult,” I said. “Very difficult to accept at first. I mean, for the first couple of hours it just wouldn’t sink in. But then, it did, and it was a very,” I struggled to find the right word for it. “Awakening, realization.”
I didn’t know why I was telling the Queen this. I didn’t know her at all, but something about her made me want to spill everything to her. It was like she actually cared about how I felt about all of this, all of the new information that was hard for anyone who wasn’t born into it to accept.
“I can imagine. You should be proud, now. I can tell how determined you are about carrying out this mission.”
I was surprised. “I-”
“It’s in your eyes, dear, the will to keep moving forward and prove your place. You may not feel it now, but that doubt in your chest will be replaced soon enough. You’ll know when it happens.” Her eyes were kind, and endless at the same time. Looking into them felt like looking into the ocean. They were so vast and so endless that you couldn’t even imagine how deep they went.
“Thank you,” A blush spread across my cheeks. “I just hope that assurance comes sooner, rather than later.”
The Queen smirked knowingly. “It will, my dear. Just have patience.” Her eyes darted over to her left, where the King’s seat was, though he was currently a ways down the room, gesturing grandly for what must have been a very exciting story.
She slid a thin envelope across the table to me quickly. I stared at it for a second before I caught her eyes again. They were guarded with an air of secrecy. “I want you to deliver that to Queen Fletcher. No one must know about it except you, okay? Not even Niram.”
I swallowed hard. So that’s why she wanted to talk to me. It didn’t really surprise me that she wanted a message to be delivered to the Queen of Raiden’s kingdom, as they were supposed to be close allies. It was the secrecy in her posture that sent a bolt of hesitance through me.
“Okay, I will do my best,” I mumbled out.
She smiled. “See? That potential is working it’s way to the front stage already.”
~
“Hello, Miss Eris,” A playful voice bounced around the room with energy. “What a pleasure to meet you.” A pair of swirling blue-green eyes met mine in a tangling stare, the look in them open and inviting.
“Nereus.” I gave a quick curtsy, trying not to focus too much on our surroundings. I knew that it was just in his mind, and I had already gotten over the fact that I was able to breathe just fine under the water we were in, but it was still unnerving to feel the pressure on my lungs and the constant weightlessness around me.
Bright light, blue from the water, streamed straight down from above us in glowing stripes. My feet were touched down onto cold, smooth sand that clouded into a dust with even the smallest movements. It was so peacefully silent around me, a silence that not even stale air can give, that made me just want to float along with the gentle current that pulled my clothes into a slight dance around my body.
Nereus was seated on a throne that seemed to be made out of a jagged dark rock, just like the walls that surrounded us. It reminded me of an underwater cave, the way the rocks surrounding us dripped into points from above and covered most of the ground below.
“Oh, it’s been such a long time since I’ve had someone in my mind like this,” He smiled and pushed himself up from his throne, floating a ways closer to me. He reminded me exactly of what someone would describe as a “surfer” with dirty blond hair hovering around his face in the water, piercing eyes that danced like the sea, tan skin and a lean build.
“I can imagine. With all of the Seers being dead and all.” I couldn’t keep my tone from sounding snappish.
Nereus frowned slightly. “I’m not the one who agreed to that. I actually liked the Seers. They were the only ones who could communicate with me the best. Readers, well,” He scrunched his nose. “They sort of get what I’m trying to say confused. They’re always so formal and scared of me as well. You don’t look so scared of me now.”
“Well you don’t look very intimidating like this,” I shrugged. “You just look human.”
He smiled. It was a magnificent smile. “Of course, I like it that way.” He navigated through the water freely, making circles around me. My feet, of course, felt like cement.
“And how is Raiden settling in? I hope he hasn’t grown too cocky already.”
“Only slightly,” I shrugged. “I’m not so sure myself how a dragon supposedly settles in. You’re asking the wrong person. He doesn’t seem too shaken up, if that helps.”
Nereus let out an amused chuckle. “Oh my, I seem to forget that you’ve come from the realm of logic.” His eyes were bright with intrigue as he locked them with my own. “Tell me, please, what is it like there? Do people honestly believe that everything is so black and white?”
I smirked some. “They don’t even believe in two shades. Everything has its simple explanation, and anything even hinting towards supernatural gets tossed in with unrealistic and false.”
He gasped, pausing in his tracks. “How shameful. If only they knew how much they were missing.” A sigh sent him back into motion again, the slight stir of water moving my hair from his wake. “Enough small talk for now. Let’s get to what I’m sure you really came for.”
I nodded. “I’ve been informed that you have already agreed to help us?” I kept the tone hesitant, in case it was too forward to automatically assume.
“Of course,” Another laid back smile slid onto his face. He stopped circling around me and settled on the ground in front of me, leaning against one of the jagged pieces of rock. “I don’t doubt the truth of the prophecy, not with you standing here, and I refuse to just sit by and let Rhaegos take over.” I watched him shake his head in slight aggravation. “As much as I hate war, letting my people die or become slaves without trying to stop it is infinitely worse.”
“I’m sure you’re not the only one who feels that way.”
“I’m sure that I’m the only one who’s not skeptical of King Fletcher’s ways. I mean, if there was no alliance, I wouldn’t be so willing to help him myself. It seems kind of suspicious, that the second his kingdom has attained a dragon, a powerful one at that, he automatically targets the most powerful dragon as a threat to us all that should be stopped.”
“Are you saying that he’s a traitor?” I asked out of pure curiosity. I myself had no ties to the king, so hearing that he might be lying didn’t really send any bits of hard feelings through me. It was Niram that the worry carried over to. He wouldn’t take it lightly, to know that people, even close allies, doubted his father.
“No, I’m just saying that it’s quite convenient.” He let out a small sigh before running a hand through his hair. “I mean, a prophecy is a prophecy, and the fact that you’re here right now certainly proves its truth. It will probably be a bit harder to get the others to agree.” Nereus’s eyes turned harder in warning. “The younger they are, the more temperamental and impulsive they tend to be. Be careful around them, Seer.”
I nodded, swallowing hard. “Of course, thank you again for agreeing to help us. I may be new, but I can sense the tension around, so I know it’s a very serious issue that shouldn’t be tossed off lightly.”
“Did you just arrive here?” His eyes narrowed at me. “And you’ve already been sent out to speak to each and every one of us?”
Without knowing how to respond, I simply just nodded.
Nereus laughed, the action lighting up his whole face and replacing the sudden tension that surrounded us with a lighter feeling. “That bastard, sending you out to take on a task people dread they never do, right before you can even get settled in.” I could sense the respect that lined his gaze on me. “I have to say, Seer, I’m impressed that you’ve done so well. Not many people from the realm of logic can wrap their wits around a whole new world like this. But you,” He laughed. “You seem right at home.”
The smile broke out onto my face before I could stop it. It felt good to be praised, after doubting myself and fearing this journey ahead of me. “Thank you, Nereus. It certainly hasn’t been easy.”
“Nothing’s ever easy,” He smirked. “You only get used to the strain of it.”
The water around me began to swirl faster, the current now clawing at my hair and clothing with a ripping force. It hurt to hold onto where I was standing, not to mention the fact that the rushing froth of water blocked me from seeing anything but a stream of white and blue. I decided to not struggle against the rough force, and let myself get carried away by it, finding a peacefulness in the roar of the surging water around me. Then it was silent, and the darkness pounced on top of me like an eager tiger.