I frowned looking at the moon shining in the dark sky. Taking long sigh, I buried my face in my hands. My fingers slid and reached my blond hair.
After hours of being left at the bottom of that ravine, I was certain they wouldn't come back to help me. I was in the middle of the woods, there was nothing around except for trees and the only way back I knew was climbing the almost 20 feet high cliff that I fell from.
All by myself and feeling a latent pain on my twisted ankle – maybe even broken ankle –, I could barely move and had no supplies, except for the little water left in the canteen.
Betrayed. I was betrayed by my patrol "brother". When I swore the oath, they said we would live in a brotherhood, where everyone should take care of each other, especially during missions. This wasn't the case. It's not like I had a choice anyway, it was either the patrol or living on the streets, so I'd rather have food in my stomach and a roof to sleep under. Survival was the priority, not everyone gets to fulfill their dreams anyway... All of that to end up alone in the middle of the woods.
In desperation, I had already tried to scream for help and tried multiple times to climb my way back, grabbing onto tree roots and rocks, but I was unsuccessful: the wet earth just made me slide right back again and it was even harder to move without using a leg. Now, defeated, I just stayed on the ground. I had no way to escape. I massaged my temples, struggling to keep my eyes open, lightheaded. Dying stuck like that and not even getting to be buried or cremated wasn't even close to what I had pictured for my end...
Chills ran down my body and I crossed my arms on my chest trying to keep myself warm, at least the uncomfortable leather vest was helping me not to freeze to death. Despite my exhaustion and muscles screaming in agony, my mind kept going, searching for alternatives to get out of there.
Wings flapped and by the loud noise, it could only be a dragon, making my heart jump, drumming at my chest in a violent rhythm. I pressed my back against the ravine wall, in a stupid and irrational attempt to disappear from the gigantic reptile's radar. The typical guttural noise escaped from the creature, it couldn't be very far.
I was still, not even breathing so that no sound could get the attention of the creature. After another low growl, the dragon went away. I let out a sigh of relief. Tired and ignoring the pain on my ankle, I relaxed to get some rest and try to climb the ravine again the next day.
***
I was regaining consciousness little by little, but my eyelids were heavy, just like the rest of my body. I expected to be welcomed by the strong sunlight, however, it was even darker than before. I rubbed my eyes and sat up slowly. The cave was dark and wide, with a narrow, long path, from there the only light source came. That was where I needed to go.
A wave of pain hit me as I tried to get up, my ankle pulsed with such strength I nearly lost my breath. Suppressing a complaint, I forced myself to stand, supporting my weight on my non-hurt side.
Something bright moved on the other side of the cave. I leaned against the rough wall. The creature came forward, getting in just enough in the weak light for me to recognize the scaly skin of a white dragon. My hand went directly to my waist, where my sword should have been, however, I only found air instead of the sword.
The dragon moved one of its feet, touching and dragging something lengthy: the sword in the sheath. I gasped and didn't even think before trying to run away; it was obviously a terrible idea, because my hurt ankle gave up after three steps. Determined to get out of there as soon as possible, I turned and crawled my way to the exit, since I couldn't get up again.
A red apple rolled in front of me, hit the wall and halted. That was so unusual that my body froze for a moment. The dragon wanted to feed me? Certainly, it was trying to fatten up its next meal.
The dragon grunted, which made me crawl even faster to that light. That is, until the dragon grabbed one of my legs and pulled me in the opposite direction. Before I had a chance to continue my escape, its tail got in the way. It growled even more, pushing more fruits in my direction.
I mocked it with a nervous laugh.
"You think I'm stupid enough to eat that? If I'm gonna die either way, at least I'm not giving you the pleasure of giving you extra meat!" I reminded myself, because arguing with an animal wouldn't work.
The dragon grumbled between its teeth, moving its head from one side to the other. It even rolled its eyes, until a specific point on wall grabbed its attention. It started to point with its to the place. I hesitated a little before looking away, however, the only thing there was, was a dark wall. The dragon lost its patience and after grunting, it let out a gassy sigh that almost caught fire, making a flare of hot and bright fire by my side.
I backed off, pressing my back against the wall and covering my face with one arm. The fire was far enough from me and it soon went out. The dragon repeated its action and after being hypnotized by the glow for a few seconds, something on there caught my attention. There were slits, a little further up from where the flames were aimed at; they were clearly made by huge dragon claws. The place where it sharpened its claws, maybe?
The world went dark again when the fire went out, but the dragon soon repeated the act for the third time. Now I knew exactly where to look when the fire lit up the cave. Those deep slits weren't random, they made up patterns: they were letters. The letters formed a word, or rather, a name... Aylin.
Her tail pointed at herself as she grunted softly. My chin dropped. Not because the female dragon had a name, but because the simple fact of having its name written meant she could read and write.
"Aylin..." I read out loud. "All of you can do that?"
She shook her head.
"How? It doesn't make any sense. The logic of it can't be explained. Animals can't completely comprehend the human language."
Aylin rolled her green eyes and left me babbling how incredulous I was; she lied down in a corner of the cave.
I shook my head.
No, she couldn't be that smart. No being besides humans could acquire that intellectual ability to comprehend the written word. Maybe she had been trained. Maybe that wasn't even her name, if it wasn't for the fact that she recognizes the sound as her name. But then, why would anyone train her for that? And who could have gotten close enough to her?
Nothing made sense...
"Prove that you can really understand me." I broke the silence of the cave.
She looked at the slits then she pointed at her own body. Her big orbs looked green in the middle of the darkness. I put my hand on my chest.
"My name is Sorin."
She got up and headed to the other wall, scratching the stone with her sharp claws. The result was a little smaller than the slits that spelled her name, but since the light reached that wall, I could read my name which was now inscribed there. It couldn't be a coincidence and I doubt someone could have trained her to this point. She understood what she was doing.
I must have been paralyzed for a while there, looking at my name written on the wall, eventually, the dragon laid down on the opposite side of the cave.
"But... how did I end up here, then?"
She huffed and moved her wings. I cleaned my throat, a little embarrassed.
"Yeah, sure, you must have found me and brought me here by flying..." I sighed and let my shoulders fall. If she really was a rational being, there must have been a reason why she brought me here. Maybe I wasn't her dinner, but there had to be some motivation. "Why did you bring me?"
With her nose, she pointed at my hurt leg. I looked down and then at her green orbs.
"Oh... Thanks?"
I rubbed my eyes, leaning against the wall, trying to relax, but not so much. If Aylin wanted to, she could easily kill me and would have done it when I was unconscious, but anyway, I wouldn't let my guard down completely.
A guttural sound came from her, still curiously looking at me and waving her head in my direction. It took me a few seconds until I understood what she wanted.
"Let me guess, you want to know what happened for you to have found me in that state, right?" Aylin nodded; the fact that she understood me still gave me chills. I gulped. "I was betrayed... but it was my fault."
She tilted her head, confused.
"I'm a part of the local patrol. We have to establish order and be ready to defend the kingdom when we are called. And... well, we protect the humans from mystical creatures..." I cleared my throat as I looked at her, who just blinked, looking at me. "Anyway, I was with a friend, making ground recognition in the morning, near that ravine. It was only me and a colleague, Klaus Ingvar. When I fell, it was so quick that I don't even know exactly what happened, if I tripped or if someone pushed me, but after spending the entire day reliving it and trying to climb back up, I'm almost sure he bumped into me moments before, and since I was very close to the edge, I lost my balance and fell. Klaus doesn't really like me, he's very competitive and is always trying to prove himself and be better than me. That was the perfect moment for him to get rid of me and I fell for it... I was so stupid!
She grunted. There was no way to know what she meant by that, but I interpreted the way I could, and to me, it seemed like she wanted to know about my certainties.
"Of course he did it on purpose. If he hadn't, he would have come back soon when he said he was gonna get help. We weren't that far away for him to take all day. And he isn't the kind to get lost, he's one of the best trackers we have. If he didn't find me again, is because he didn't want to." I crossed my arms. "But he'll see! He will! I will go back there and make him pay for it!
Aylin huffed, resting her head on her front feet, suddenly uninterested. The disgust for human beef was evident. She closed her eyes and let herself relax, not at all bothered by my presence, maybe because she had part of her body on top of my sword. I was unarmed and hurt, so I wasn't a threat to her.
I took off my boots, since I wasn't going to get out of there anyway, I had to see the condition my hurt ankle was in. It was swollen, but in the darkness, I wasn't able to see if the color was any different. I reached for some of the fruit she had brought, starving.
After feeling satisfied and having nothing else to do, I leaned back and fell asleep, despite being difficult to completely relax. One of the thoughts that wouldn't leave my mind alone, after 'be careful around dragons, they can kill you with a sigh, were the questions: 'why did she bring me here? What did she want from this?'.
***
It was only a quick nap. I mean, I think so. It was hard to tell the time in that dark cave, but I didn't think I had fallen asleep for many hours. Aylin wasn't anywhere to be seen... neither was my sword.
I got up with difficulty, leaning against the wall. I wobbled my way to the exit, not putting my hurt foot on the ground.
I didn't know it yet, but I should have guessed the cave was in a mountain and despite the fear of being so high up, I admit I had never seen a view as beautiful as that. The horizon extended until where the eyes could see, filled with green trees and some even colorful with flowers. Tiny and big birds flew from one side to the other in perfect sync in the orange, pink and blue sky, a mixture that happened as the sun was hiding in the West.
And directly below, a free and painful fall. I gulped, leaning back.
Aylin lied close to the entrance, observing the view. How long had she been there?
Where is my sword? I'm gonna need it when I go back..." I looked around.
She looked up. I hesitated a little before following her eyes. On some sort of step above, I could see the handle of my sword. I met her bright green eyes again. I understood that she didn't want to let me armed, even if I couldn't use it properly.
"Thank you for not abandoning my sword where you found me."
I sat awkwardly on the floor to take a look at my damaged foot in the sunlight. Besides swollen, it was bruised on some parts. I ripped the sleeves off my shirt and improvised some bandages, tying them around my wound. Now I just had to wait a few weeks for the torsion to heal and hope that Aylin wasn't tricking me...
I took a deep breath of fresh air while I enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Something grey far ahead captured my interest and I squinted my eyes, trying to see that thing so far away better, I slightly leaned forward. There were pointy towers sticking up over the horizon. It must have been huge to be able to see it from here.
"Is that a castle?"
She grunted and nodded. She didn't even look at where I had pointed.
I observed our surroundings more carefully. Aylin had her attention focused on another grey spot on the other side of the scenery, maybe even further than the first. It was another castle.
"I think I know where we are." I pointed at the first castle. "That is the old and now abandoned castle that belonged to the Ritaere family, the former judges of the kingdom. The castle and the family were destroyed years ago." I was bored, so having a conversation was better than doing nothing. "They say that the kingdom lived in great harmony, everything was wonderful when that family was active. They didn't judge every little thing that happened in the realm, but determined fair punishment, and thus crimes weren't as usual. Legends say that the family was magic and could make any kind of punishment become reality."
Aylin puffed and rolled her eyes.
"What? You don't believe humans were civilized and fair, living in a utopia?" I laughed crossing my arms. "Okay, I don't think I believe in it either and, after all, if the family was destroyed then it wasn't that perfect. I think it happened because of political reasons, this region, that was ruled by the Ritaere, was attached to the shire that belongs to the Cenerics, who live on that castle." I pointed at the second.
I was silent, observing the constructions with her.
"I wish I could get justice against Klaus. If he knew he was getting punished, he wouldn't have done anything wrong to begin with. He would have been scared of getting busted." She looked at me, deeply like she was staring directly into my soul. "Right, maybe not exactly. Who wants to do the wrong thing will do it anyway, but certainly if the judges were here, he would have been punished and I would have been happy with that."
I leaned back on the mountain wall and kept chatting for a while, or rather monologuing. When the moon was already high up in the sky and the wind got stronger, I decided it was time to head back into the cave. I got up with difficulty, without using my hurt foot and she even helped me, letting me use her neck as support. I laid down on a nook inside the cave and she did the same, curling up in an oval shape on the other side.
***
The sun rose in the morning, I tried to soothe my raspy throat as soon as I woke up, but the canteen was so light I didn't even have to open it to know it was empty. So I asked Aylin if she could take me somewhere with drinkable water.
When we left the cave, I had to mount on her, so Aylin lied down and I positioned myself on her back as if she was a big horse. I ignored my pounding heart and shaky fingers holding her neck as she stood up, opening her wings and soon we were airborne. I flew for the first time clinging to her scales, I mean, it wasn't really the first time because she had brought me to the cave before, but only now I was conscious.
She flew across the sky with unbelievable speed, way faster than if I had gone galloping on the fastest horse in the patrol. The wind in my blonde hair was pleasant and refreshing against my skin. We soon arrived at a river where I dismounted and limped towards the margin.
The crystal-clear water was cold, but it was a good sensation, I splashed a little on my face and felt way more awake. After, I filled up my canteen and drank half of its content in one gulp; then I put the object underwater again until it was completely full again.
Next to me, Aylin drank and then dunk her head into the water a few times, washing her face.
"You're copying me, huh?" I laughed and curled my hands up so I could throw some water at her.
She grunted and looked at me with no surprise whatsoever. Her tail moved and came against the river in a sudden movement, throwing at least ten times more water at me than I threw at her.
She emitted guttural sounds that I could swear sounded like a laugh. I removed the excess water off my body, being thankful for the mild weather. I harshly stared at her trying to look outraged, but the smile sent her the opposite message.
I thought she was genuinely having fun, but Aylin got distracted looking at the running water and suddenly became serious. I couldn't tell what happened, I just felt like her expression had darkened. I even thought she might have felt the presence of a predator, just like dogs do, however, nothing happened. She walked away. I was alert for a moment and looked down. I couldn't see anything besides the bottom of the river and my own reflection.
I soon got up and went to where she was, then Aylin took me back to the cave.
***
The days were going by, she would constantly take me to that river so that I could get water and we would spend most of the day at the entrance of the cave, talking. My ankle was getting better little by little and the agony was toning down, sometimes it was almost nonexistent, especially when I was too distracted by that wonderful view with her by my side.
"Those castles are huge! I bet they could easily fit over twenty families there. Or even more. Thirty? Fifty? What do you think?" But Aylin didn't even move except for blinking. Her head was resting on her front feet. "Have you ever imagined how it's like inside one of them, like the Ceneric family's castle? Or the state the former Ritaere home must be in?"
She grunted and this time she moved her head to the opposite side, staring at the horizon.
"I have..." I sighed letting my body relax, supporting it with my hands on the floor behind me. "I've dreamed of seeing everything in this world. I still do, but I can't. I had to join the patrol. I wanted to do so many things, like studying in the eastern monasteries, where the cradle of all human knowledge lies. But only the rich get to do that. I only had two options: either die of hunger or join the patrol.
Her green eyes turned to me with a spark of curiosity in them. She didn't care at all about the castles from the view she looked at every day, but she did about me. She let out another noise, but this time it was soft, a mixture of a grunt with a purr. I assumed she was asking me why.
"There have been some disagreements." I shrugged. "I used to work in a bakery. It was a nice job, I had plenty of food and I also helped at the tavern next door at night. I was saving money to leave this town. However, life is full of surprises. People were fighting over money at the tavern one day and since my family was never well-off moneywise, they blamed me. The owners didn't want me there anymore and fired me, and no one else wanted to give me a job. That's why the only place I could go to was the patrol, they welcome anyone.
My arms were starting to go numb, so I sat up leaning forward. The sun was already setting and the breeze that reached up was getting cooler. I continued talking, which was good to pass the time.
"I never really understood why my family was badly thought of, it has kind of always been like that, maybe we were already used to it. Because of that, ever since I was a little boy, my father taught me how to fight using wooden sticks. I was no knight, but it helped me not to start at the patrol like a complete idiot, like Klaus." I laughed humorlessly. "Too jealous for his own good."
She made another noise and pointed with her nose towards the view. I crossed my arms trying to understand her. When she realized it wasn't working, Aylin looked at the sword which was still on top of the rocks a few feet above us and shook her head, then repeated the gesture towards the horizon.
"Are you asking me why I don't quit the patrol now that I'm here?" She nodded. My shoulders fell. "I have to admit I did think of that. But I can't. I swore an oath and my parents have always taught me to keep my word. I don't think I could run and sleep soundly at night without having the guilt eat me up inside. It's ridiculous, I know..."
I tried to laugh but I couldn't. Not a single word left my mouth until I was tired enough to head into the cave and sleep again. Aylin didn't make any more noises, she just kept admiring the view with me, with her head resting on her feet again.
***
The next day, Aylin was as still as a rock on the other side of the cave. At first, I thought she was asleep, but her eyes were wide open staring at her name on the wall. I called her name and tried to talk to her, but she ignored me, so I got up using the wall as support.
I limped my way to the exit, my ankle was already better, but it still felt uncomfortable, so I did my best not to use my left leg to support my weight. As I found the morning breeze, I took a deep breath; my gaze went straight to the abandoned castle.
I have always wanted to explore and travel to many different places, but I never had the opportunity to do so. And there I was, looking at an abandoned castle that I could break in and have a little taste of the lifestyle I always wanted to have, even if it was only for a day. After all,I needed to go back to the patrol when I was fully healed.
Aylin finally got out of the cave taking slow steps and stretched herself.
"Good morning, Lin..." I smiled at her. "I was thinking about doing something different today."
I looked at the huge building miles away and told her my idea. She didn't seem as thrilled as I thought she was gonna be, but she showed me her back signaling for me to mount her. We flew towards the castle and arrived in no time. She went over the old, locked gates, landing on one of the wide courtyards that were once certainly home to a beautiful garden, but now it was overgrown with weeds and tall bushes covering the ground.
The walls and the gates around the castle were still firm, but the ones actually on the castle weren't. Almost all the windows were shattered on the floor.
I went through the wide main entrance that led to a huge hall, the place was large but with only a few overturned tables and chairs, and torn curtains, almost every single one on the floor; everything covered by layers of dust.
My steps echoed and Aylin's did even more. There weren't many valuable possessions in sight, only old heavy furniture and awful smell. I was hoping to see abandoned chandeliers and silverware, but I here was none.
"I don't think we were the only ones that broke in here since the Ritaere family disappeared." Aylin glanced at me puzzled, I could even read the question she wanted to ask in her green eyes: how did I know that? I shrugged. "I don't think they took all of their valuable possessions. Thieves must have jumped over the gates and taken it all until there was nothing left and no one else came in. Or the Ceneric family took everything after they won the battle.
A dusty pennant was still firm on the wall above the throne, probably where the lord of the dwelling stayed during the hall parties. The ripped and torn fabric was blue, it probably used to be way more vibrant then what I was seeing. The animal that was the family symbol was embroidered in grey – or was it white? –, a griffin, representing the wisdom and balance the family must have had. And it wasn't a coincidence that their symbol was a griffin, they said that it had been such a mythical creature that had given them the power to act as judges.
I walked past the throne and walked into the hallway. Aylin wasn't able to follow me because she couldn't fit through the portal, so she laid down in the middle of the hall to wait for me. Limping, I couldn't move quickly, but it almost didn't hurt even though I walked around the castle for a long while.
I went up all the floors and after getting bored with so many similar rooms, I went back down to see the other different halls, the simpler rooms made for the servants, the kitchen... until I found a wooden door in the back of the library, which was one of the few rooms that weren't plundered, maybe because the thieves didn't care that much about books, although the shelves were mostly empty. The door creaked as it was opened, revealing a stairway leading down, could that be a passage to a secret room?
Curious, I looked for a candle in the library. The cabinets were empty and the there were fallen and broken chairs and tables scattered around under layers of dust. I found some candles along with old papers and empty ink cartridges in a desk drawer on the corner of the library. I lit the candle up and grabbed the holder, going down the stairs. I ended up in a room that wasn't very big and had shelves filled with books, a table and chairs.
"Great, more books..." I rolled my eyes. I have nothing against books, but I was hoping to find something a little more interesting.
There were candlesticks on the table, which was something I haven't found in any other room, probably no thieves had reached the secret room. I walked towards the table and left the candleholder next to the open book. I blew the excess dust off the old pages.
I closed the book and there was nothing written on the black leather cover. I opened it on the first page and something was written in big and dandy letters: "Judgments of Melchior Ritaere". So that was the last logbook of the last member of the family. Looking at the title a second time, I noticed that the letters seemed to lightly sparkle. Maybe I was going crazy.
On the first page, there was some kind of oath Melchior had sworn, vowing to always be fair and impartial in every case he registered. There were mentions about the griffin feather he would use. I flipped through some pages, and on all of them, the light sparkle was present in the calligraphy. On each page, there were records of many cases and their judgments.
There were so many pages in that thick book that it must have taken years to fill them, there were only a few blank pages left at the end. Did each book belong to a different member of the family? Or each one used several books? How long was the family doing this before being wiped out?
I stopped leafing through the book when I found a pages on which the writings weren't lightly glowing, the sparkle was more intense, even though it wasn't as bright as the candlelight.
On the page, another one of the judged cases was reported, and what caught my attention was when my eyes found the word 'dragon'. At the time, a vain and arrogant girl wanted to show her beauty and power by wearing one of the most powerful creatures known, a dragon. To achieve that, she hunted and killed a baby dragon, making her the first one to dare to do something like that. The Ritaere family, blessed by a mythical creature, the griffin, did not accept the act, even though her powerful family insisted that they forgave her.
My gaze soon followed the sentence and I read it whispering to myself.
"I hereby decree that Aylin Ceneric must live in the skin of a dragon..."
I had to read that sentence at least three times until I finally understood the real meaning of it. My jaw dropped and my heart started beating so fast that the air in that room was already not enough. Suddenly everything was making sense; the fact that she could write, her disinterest in the castles, but her curiosity about the old families from the point of view of a peasant and even the incredulous puff when I said that the world believed to live in peace when the judges worked in the kingdom in a fair way.
Overwhelmed, I grabbed the book and walked as fast as I could towards the first hall I had seen.
Aylin looked curiously at me, I didn't know what to say so I kept opening and closing my mouth, searching for words and looking like an idiot. Her eyes traced my body from head to toe, analyzing me with slow and lazy movements until she found the book in my hand. She must have recognized it somehow because I had never seen her get up so fast and grunt so intensely. I backed off a little.
"So it's true..." I admitted it, but it was still had to believe. "The book is referring to you."
She started to walk restless, from side to side, desperately grunting and wailing.
"You didn't want me to know? I'm so sorry, I'm not gonna tell anyone." She shook her head negatively and pointed to her body with her nose. "You want to go back to being human." She nodded this time. "I understand, Aylin, but there's nothing I can do. Only a Ritaere can write on this book and all of them have been dead for decades."
She roared and pointed at me several times, not calming down as much as I told her I didn't understand what she wanted. Annoyed, she walked towards the throne, for a second I thought she was going to throw it at me, but what she did was bite the pennant off the wall and throw the almost rotten fabric at me. I coughed the dust off my lungs and soon got rid of that old piece of cloth.
"Are you insane? I'm not one of them!"
Of course, she stubbornly insisted on nodding.
I sighed.
"I'm so sorry, but I'm not one of them. It's impossible."
She grunted more and continued to insist.
"And even if I was, I would have to use the family's griffin feather, which I don't have."
She pointed vigorously to the book with her snout.
"It's not in here."
She angrily puffed, pointing at the book and to where I had walked in from.
"Wait, you think it's in the room?" She nodded. "I didn't see anything in there, I swear."
More unsettled and desperate guttural sounds came out of her throat while she frenetically walked from side to side.
I gulped when I imagined what she must have been feeling like being stuck in a body that wasn't hers for so long. I wanted to be able to do anything to help her, but I wasn't. I was only a commoner. It broke my heart seeing that the noises she made soon became whimpers filled with sadness and sorrow... was she crying?
"Fine, I can go back there and see if I can find it. I can even try to write something, but it won't work."
Aylin came closer to me, her green eyes staring into the depths of my soul like she knew it would work.
I soon left the hall and went back into the library, grabbed the candle once again and headed down towards the hidden room.
I put the book, which was already opened on that page, on the table and looked for the quill that could be the griffin feather. I looked in the drawers, in the bureau on the corner, but I only found it on one of the dusty boxes on top of the bookcase. The long and white feather was the only thing in that room that wasn't dirty. Despite being forgotten there for so many years, it looked new, like it was too pure to be tarnished by dirt or even the actions of time. I had no doubts it was special.
There wasn't any ink in that room, but even if there was, it would have been dry for a long time. However, because it was a very special quill, maybe her effects would work even without ink to mark the paper, certainly its tip was sharp enough to scratch it.
Only it wouldn't work anyway... but what if it did? It would mean that I would have to be a new judge? I could make Klaus pay for what he did to me. My jaw dropped when I realized where my thoughts were taking me. Could I be truly fair?
My hands trembled only thinking about the consequences of this.
And could I, with no preparation whatsoever, really go against the sentence of my supposed ancestor that was not only trained for the role but practiced it for years before what happened? Or did Aylin already suffer enough? After all, he had not stipulated time in his sentence.
I shouldn't be worrying about this. It wasn't gonna work. I was only testing it to prove my point that it wouldn't work to her, I owed her at least this for saving my life. So, I took a deep breath and relaxed my arms as I sat in the desk and forced my handwriting to come out steady even though my hands were still trembling.
Underneath Melchior's sentence, I added that, in case she regretted her cruel deed, she should return to her original form immediately. It seemed fair enough to me. I observed the slits on the paper, they were almost invisible, but now I only had to show her I had at least tried.
To my surprise, the slits started to fill up with a black and lightly sparkly color like all the other writings from that case, like I was putting ink on top of it, but I wasn't moving a single muscle.
When the period was filled, the sparkle of the whole case decreased, making it look like the rest of the book, like the sentence and consequently the case had been closed, leaving only the weird sparkle to show the supernatural aspect the quill had. It was scary thinking that everything written by it could become real.
I gulped without taking my eyes out of the page until a guttural scream that could only belong to a dragon echoed throughout the castle. My heart froze and I ran towards the hall where I had left Aylin, despite the pain in my ankle that made me limp as fast as I could.
I called her name asking if she was fine. But I couldn't find her. My stomach was churning... what if something went wrong and I killed her? But that was impossible.
As I walked into the room, something in the middle of it grabbed my attention: an unconscious girl laying on the floor. I walked towards her and kneeled by her side as soon as she started moving. Her appearance was very distinct, her skin was tanned and her hair was long, wavy and as white as the cloak she was wearing.
"Are you okay?" I helped her to sit up, and she held her head like she had a headache, or maybe she had hit it when she fell.
I was about to ask her who she was and what she was doing here, but she didn't have to say a word; all she had to do as look at me with her unmistakable and piercing green eyes.
"Aylin," I murmured and she nodded. "But it can't be. It wasn't supposed to work, I'm not a nobleman, let alone a Ritaere."
She smiled and placed her hand on my face.
"But you are, Sorin." Her voice was as soft as her touch. She got up awkwardly and I tried to help her as I got up as well. "I'm sorry, I'm not used to using my legs." She shrugged.
Looking closely, I noticed that her cloak was made of scales; it was dragon leather just like the corset that traced her waist perfectly. The sleeves and the flared skirt were as red as blood, contrasting with the white in a flashy way. Like she needed to resort to this kind of tactic, everything about her was attractive enough.
"I... I don't understand."
"Why not?"
"The quill is only supposed to work with a Ritaere."
"Exactly. And it seems like you have Ritaere blood."
"How?"
"Maybe you're a descendant of a bastard, from one of Melchior's affairs or another relative. Although you mentioned your family wasn't well thought of, right?" I nodded in response. "It might have been because at the time, Olivia was a single mother. I remember that every survivor that worked in this castle started to be badly thought of. Any relation to the Ritaere family became like that after my father took over the shire. In few generations, it must have become a habit of the people that lived in the same region as you to treat your family so badly. Besides, you mentioned that your old relatives knew a little about fighting with swords and that you were also trained, that's why you were good at it when you joined the patrol. Normal commoners don't have that kind of knowledge."
My head was still spinning trying to make sense of her words, but I ended up only asking in a whisper:
"Olivia?"
"Melchior Ritaere's wife. My father killed him and looked for one of his children so they could undo my sentence and turn me back into a human, but Olivia had already escaped with them. My father declared them dead after the intense search that lasted for years, but only a few people knew that they had escaped. I'm the only one left that knows about this and now you. What matters now is that me, being a human again, proves your noble ancestry.
"Wait... so you saved me hoping that I would turn you back?"
"Don't you remember that the idea of coming here was yours?" For a moment, I had forgotten. I nodded and she continued. "Actually, I had no idea about your ancestry before I saw you with the book. I knew it was inside a place only a Ritaere can enter."
"So why did you save me?"
Aylin's gaze fell to the floor. She backed off with slow steps, joining her hands in front of her stomach and intertwining her fingers. Her voice got out in a tone lower than before.
"Because I was feeling lonely... Because I wanted human company. I hadn't spoken to a human in so long. I felt like I was forgetting how it was." Her eyes were lost in an imaginary horizon.
A thought crossed my mind.
"Is that why you wrote your name on the wall of the cave? Not to forget yourself?"
She nodded and hugged herself, looking for support within her.
"Yes, but sometimes I wondered if my name there kept me sane or drove me to insanity."
She sighed and took off the white cloak, stroking the dragon scales. It was hard to believe she had killed a dragon by herself, even if it was a baby, like the record in the book affirmed. Small patrol groups would have never had the courage to do that, but they also would never attack a mythical creature unless it was threatening their or other people's lives.
"So, what now? What do you want to do?"
Aylin turned back to me. I thought that that piercing gaze, like she was staring directly into my soul, was a dragon thing but I was wrong; it was hers, her form didn't matter.
"I just want to go back home."
"Okay. I can take you there."
A small smile graced her face and I liked seeing her like that.
"Great, because your presence will be needed."
"What do you mean?"
"For having turned me back, you will have to serve as a witness. Your oath as a member of the patrol will have a high level of credibility. And of course, with proof of your noble origin and as the only heir of the Ritaere, the king will have to free you from your oath and you can live here."
"What?" I shrieked in surprise. "No. No way. I can't do that! I wasn't prepared nor do I want to have this much responsibility! I am just a peasant."
"I'm sure it must be hard for such a limited mind to believe the truth presented right in front of you. However, your disbelief doesn't change it. And fear not, the king wouldn't allow you to have such an important role without proper preparation and it would also not be of his interest."
"But that's ridiculous! I didn't even like the idea of judges that much; it was impossible for everyone to be in favor of that after they were gone. Like if they suddenly became saints after death."
"Indeed, most of the judges were fair and benevolent. Melchior, despite being one of the most despicable people I've had the displeasure to meet, he was pretty fair at first. However, as time passed by, his judgments slowly started to show exaggerations and there was no one to control his impulses. The apex came with my sentence. Perhaps the power of transforming people into other things made him more and more arrogant and drove him to insanity. He thought he was indestructible and didn't realize when the kingdom stopped endorsing his judgments. It wasn't hard for my father to buy some servants whose families were affected by his judgment so that they could help him end Melchior's domain."
Shivers went down my spine and I forced myself not to tremble.
"I don't want that to happen to me."
"That's good; the fear will make sure to keep you on a short leash and will help you make fairer judgments."
"Either way, I can't leave the patrol."
"Of course you can if it's at the king's request. You are the only Ritaere heir, aren't you? I don't recall you mentioning any brothers or sisters."
"I don't have any, but..." My voice was gone when she interrupted me.
"I thought you didn't want to stay there. I know this isn't exactly what you had in mind as a goal, but it wouldn't be that bad, would it? As a nobleman, you will be able to do some of the things you wished you could. Besides, you will be free of your betrayer fellow, what was his name again?"
"Klaus Ingvar."
"Exactly. You are only going to win from this."
I laughed mockingly.
"You are only forgetting that all of this region now belongs to your family. The Cenerics are not gonna want to give me the shire."
Aylin smiled and stroked my cheek, condescendingly, like she was having fun with the question of a child.
"And you don't understand two things. The first is that the Cenerics are under the king's orders and he is the one who's going to decide this. And the second is that, because the descendants that are now living in the castle are my younger brother's, the one who actually has power over all this land is me."
My jaw dropped and she had even more fun with my reaction. She backed off slowly, taking a more serious stance.
"Don't worry. You will understand it all better tomorrow when we get to my family's castle. Right now, I'm tired and you must be too. Save your energy, because the path will be long.
***
Aylin was right and the path was indeed so long that the pain in my ankle was already unbearable when we finally got to the Ceneric dwelling. She ordered to speak to the Count and the leader of the house, her tone was so authoritarian and she had the typical characteristics of a Ceneric and since she claimed to be related to them, no guard or servant dared to stop her. We walked through a long hallway full of enormous paintings of the members of the family that ruled this shire.
We soon entered Count Ceneric's office. The middle-aged man was sitting at his desk. Just like Aylin, his skin was tanned and white and sort of long hair was tied up in a half ponytail. The red pennant behind him had the family symbol, a golden dragon.
He was not at all happy about our arrival, but he was curious, so he listened to us. Aylin explained her situation and consequently what she had found out about my origin. When she was done, he got silent for a while until he puffed a mocking laugh.
"Ha! And you think you can simply come in here with no proof to try to take what is mine?"
"I'm not taking anything from you. Everything is mine until the end of my days or until I resign. Of course, it is unusual to pass on the nobility title to a daughter, but I have always been the favorite heir and my father had left everything to me on his will. However, I am willing to reach an agreement, I know you are used to living as a Count and what I want is to simply live in peace."
"But I will have to give half my land to him!" He pointed at me.
"It is his family's land, therefore it belongs to him by right."
"That is preposterous! I will not give what I have to strangers I have never even met! We won his part in a war, don't you recall? And even if what you said was true, there is no evidence! And if you are the older sister of my great-grandfather, you should be much older!"
Thinking about it well now, it was actually really stupid to come here like this. Maybe if I wasn't so confused and overwhelmed, I would have been able to think better before.
"Winning land in the dispute had never been my father's intention! And of course, dragons live for hundreds of years, which is why I almost didn't age, I spent one hundred years in the skin of one, which would be only a few years in comparison. Anyway, there are records here, in the Ritaere castle and probably even with the current king about me being turned into a dragon. Moreover, as evidence, there are several paintings of me hung on the walls of this castle and if that is still not enough, I know about every single secret of this castle, secrets only the members of the family and the most trustworthy servants know. Call the king and we can proof Sorin's Ritaere ancestry so he can then give his statement and his word."
The Count huffed and hit the table with his hands as he got up. I took a step backward, but Aylin didn't even flinch.
"Insolent girl, you must be insane! Stop this madness! Leave my castle, leave my lands, I never want to see you again!"
I gulped, my gaze met the floor for a second before looking at her, not brave enough to move before she did it too. His look of disgust and anger were directed to her, but Aylin didn't look tense, she was distracted by many expensive objects around the room, like paintings and candlesticks. Did she understand the severity of the situation?
He was now even more angry, walking out from behind the table, going around it to stand in front of her with the distance of a few feet. The Count was tall and intimidating, his loud voice almost made me tremble, but Aylin didn't move.
"Leave now and never return! Or else I will get rid of you! I do not care who you are, I will get rid of everyone that gets in my way! I will personally end every single one of you and burn your bodies so that no one will ever find them!" He laughed, triumphantly while my shoulders could not have been tenser. "That is what happens when you mess with a dragon, young lady. You get burned."
Silence. All I wanted was a hole to hide in.
"A dragon..." She said quietly, making him shut up to listen to her. "And what do you know about being a dragon?"
With a little ironic smile, she finally got him the attention he wanted. He regretted it, because her gaze was so piercing and intense, and with no hint of the fear that he wanted to impose upon her. It was only then that I realized that she wasn't acting on impulse, every movement of hers was calculated.
"I lived in the skin of a dragon for over one hundred years and you think you can teach me on how to be a dragon?"
Aylin walked slowly and with firm steps. To my surprise, he tried to keep the distance between them, taking a few steps backward.
"You want to know why I was my father's favorite? Because I have always shown myself to be a dragon that would bring honor and respect to the family. At age 12, I was already an exquisite swordsman, excelled at the bow and arrow and at age 15 I was the best hunter of my generation, and I began to be known as Lady Dragon. I was so good that at age 22 I killed a dragon by myself. It as a baby, of course, but it is something that nobody else dared to do, let alone you." She looked at him from head to toe, analyzing and judging him. "Our ancestors would have been disappointed if they knew they would have a Count like yourself. A leader of a family of hunters who does not hunt. A leader incapable of fighting that came from a powerful family who is proud of being warriors. A disgrace."
She advanced even more and he backed off so much he ended up back on his chair.
"You know nothing about me!" This time, there was a hint of despair in his voice.
"I know enough. Even stuck in the form of a dragon, I have always kept my eye on the people who lived in my castle. Your first hunt was at age 21, if I am not mistaken, is it not true? You were the oldest Ceneric to go through this rite of passage.
He gulped. Aylin leaned forward, resting her hand on the wooden desk like it was hers.
"You are going to write a letter to the king and invite him to meet Sorin Ritaere. Next, you will write a declaration handing him the land of the Ritaere shire, using the family stamp that is kept in the first drawer. I assume you know how to write such a deed."
"Never!" Taken by anger, he yelled even louder as he banged his fist on the table. Aylin did not waver, reprehending him with an even tougher look.
"Do it, if you don't want to lose everything you have. As I said, I spent years as a dragon, I have made acquaintances and if you dare to touch me, I know some of them would hate to hear about it. They would destroy this castle, burn it down entirely. You will see your house and your family being completely destroyed and when you finally cannot bear the pain and beg for your end, only then you will find eternal peace."
"You wouldn't do this to your own family."
"Of course I would. Because that is what happens when you deal with an actual dragon. You get burned." She gestured to the room around us. "It might be my house and my family, but I have no bond with you. If you try to do anything against me or if you do not take my orders, I will either take you down with me or you will suffer the consequences and I remain here to restore what is mine by right. Therefore, give back the shire land to the Ritaere heir and I will relinquish ownership of the Ceneric shire; I will leave and never again you will have to lay eyes on me."
The count angrily puffed; without saying a word, he opened the drawer to get the family stamp and then reached for the paper and ink to write the document. It was only after Aylin had approved what he had written that he put on the stamp. She grabbed the paper and left the office with me. With quick steps, we left the castle without looking back.
I was quiet behind her, Aylin walked so fast it was hard to keep up with her.
I opened and closed my mouth a few times until I was finally able to make words come out of it.
"What now? I don't understand, I thought you wanted to go back there. And where should we go now, to the castle?"
"I don't think it's safe to go back to the castle for now, in case he regrets it and sends someone to end us. Let's go to the patrol headquarters, at least until the king arrives and officially hands you the land.
"Was it true? About the dragons?"
She turned to me, her eyebrows furrowed in a V shape.
"Yes and no. Dragons think, but in a less complex way than us. Certainly, I could convince some to burn down the whole castle, but it wouldn't be as easy as I made it sound. Anyway, you shouldn't make unfounded threats."
"At least it worked. You were able to control the situation well."
"Only because he has always been a coward. He didn't even seem like a Ceneric." She shrugged, rolling her eyes.
"Right, but... what about you?"
She stopped.
One of her hands held the deed firmly, while the other hand wiped a few tears off her cheeks. Then, she nervously and angrily laughed.
"What a fool I was to think I would be able to go back home like nothing ever happened. All I wanted was to rest and be at peace waiting for my days to end here." She turned to me, her green orbs merged with my brown ones. "Maybe now I will come with you for a while so I can teach you how to be a nobleman. After all, you were so scared at the office that I thought you were going to run away like a scared bunny."
"I think it would be a good idea..."
"Great." She resumed walking and I followed her.
"But if they really give me that castle, you can stay for as long as you want, you saved my life after all."
It was weird, but I felt the need to give her that explanation, even if it wasn't completely true. Of course, it was part of the reason, but the other part was that I didn't want to be alone as much as her and I liked her company.
Aylin didn't turn to me, but I saw her small and sincere smile from the side, and that was enough for me.
***
When we got to the patrol headquarters, the leader was happy to see me alive. Despite being reluctant to believe our news, he sent a raven to call the king. However, until he got here, I had to go back to my usual activities.
Even though they lent a room just for Aylin, she surprised me by knocking on the door and came in unceremoniously. I closed the door, hoping no one had seen us.
"It's safer if we stick together, in case the Count sent someone to come after us."
I opened my mouth to say that it would be very unlikely that someone would invade the housing of warriors and protectors of the kingdom, but I decided to just tell her she could have the bed, after all, she must miss a bed much more than me after spending one hundred years away from one. I didn't know if her staying here was out of fear from being chased, or if she wanted protection or to protect me, or if she just wanted some company. I must admit I was also getting used to having her around, and even after spending weeks without hearing a word coming from her, I felt like I already knew her.
The king came a few weeks later. We had to return to the castle, only the fact that I was able to get into the room already proved my ancestry, because neither the king nor Aylin could get in, it was like there was an invisible door on the last step, and even so, I showed him the quill and the book, especially Aylin's sentence and the paragraph I had added to turn her back into a human. The king also saw that the shire had been given to me without bloodshed, so all he had to do was officially set me free from the patrol and say that he would send financial aid for the reconstruction of the castle and a deadline of one year for me to prepare myself for the role of judge.
And that's what I've been doing for almost twelve months, studying all about my ancestors, laws, judgments and hoping I could be fair enough; and of course, I was also learning how to manage a whole shire. The first places to be restored were obviously the main room and one of the rooms Aylin had chosen for herself, the library and the halls, only then could the other rooms be ready.
During this time, Aylin helped me with everything she could, especially with what she knew about ruling, organizing the shire finances and she guided the men who were sent by the king for the renovations while I was studying at the library. I couldn't have chosen someone better to help me even if I could.
With a heavy sigh, I took my eyes off the same paragraph I was reading over and over without absorbing anything. My head was so tired and full it felt like it was about to explode, leaving me with a latent pain. I needed a break.
Aylin was on the other side of the library. She spent a lot of time with me in this room and I didn't know if it was because she liked the books, if she missed reading, if she was around to help me or even if it was because she didn't want to be alone in her room. Maybe it was a little bit of everything.
Laying on one of the couches, she held a book to her belly, lifting it just enough so she could read the bottom of the page. Her silver hair was spread across the couch and falling almost to the ground, leaving me curious to know if they were as soft as they seemed. Her right leg was resting on the arm of the couch and the other was on the floor, almost allowing me to see part of what was hidden underneath the dress.
"If you're not studying anymore, maybe we could discuss the preparations for the party."
My tired mind was too slow, so it took me a while to process what she had said and babble something.
"Party? What party?"
She closed the book and looked at me confusedly.
"The opening party? The castle is almost ready, and soon your job will officially start. The king must come to make sure everything is okay and surely is expecting some sort of celebration. Besides, how do you expect to meet the other noblemen of the kingdom? It is time to make your connections and find political allies, especially because the Ceneric must have already spoken ill of you to theirs. But don't worry, with the important position as judge, certainly there will be many noblemen wanting to get closer to you and many young ladies interested.
"Interested in what?"
Like I wasn't already feeling stupid enough with the questions that automatically left my mouth, her facial expression raising an eyebrow wasn't helping at all.
"In you, of course." She gestured one of her hands towards me. "You are going to need suitress soon. You don't expect to live forever, do you? You need heirs if you don't want the Ritaere family to die with you. I finally understood what she was saying and I didn't like it at all. I got up in a flash and walked towards her.
"What? Who said I want a suitor?"
Aylin brought her leg to the floor and sat up, putting the book aside.
"Adoption, then? It's not very common and definitely not well thought of in high society, but it is an option. Or the problem is that you prefer the company of other men? There have to be young ladies willing to deal with that, maybe many want nothing but political ties with you and prefer the company of other women in the room. I heard rumors of these practices before my verdict."
"It's not that!" I shook my head. "I like the company of women. A lot."
"What is the issue, then?"
For someone so sharp, she could also be a tad innocent. Or she was pretending to be. I gulped and changes stances a few times, restless by nervousness.
"Well... I thought that maybe you and I... us..." I gestured to both of us without being able to say anything else. "I thought that..."
My voice was disappearing and I was surprised when she laughed.
"No, Sorin. I couldn't. Right now, you need allies."
I frowned.
"Do I look like I care about that?"
"You say that now."
She broke eye contact. I got closer, moving the book to sit next to her. I reached for her hand.
"Is it because I am too young?"
She laughed at the funny tone behind my words.
"It's not that."
While the silence wrapped around us, I intertwined my fingers with hers.
"Do you not like my company because of Melchior?"
The small – and beautiful – smile she had on fell apart.
"No. Sometimes I even forget you two share the same blood. You were the only one that was able to make me laugh when I wanted..." She stopped her sentence like she remembered she was about to say something forbidden. "Never mind."
Aylin moved like she was about to stand up, but I didn't let her, holding her by the shoulders.
"Wait!"
I didn't have time to say anything else, her hand grabbed mine and she turned, writhing my arm and allowing herself to stand up without any troubles. Rubbing my arm to get rid of the pain, I also stood up.
"What were you expecting?" I asked, but Aylin ignored me and kept walking out of the library. I ran after her and tried to grab her wrist; she deflected. I stopped in front of her, blocking her way. I tried to hold her, but her gaze was so serious and intimidating that I just raised my hands, showing her my palms so I wouldn't touch her. "When you wanted... to die?"
Her gaze dropped to the floor and her eyes gleamed in tears. I knew I was right, despite not wanting to be.
"I don't think I can love again." She whispered. "And I can't give you any political advantages."
"There is more to life than waiting for it to end. I can't even imagine what you must have gone through all this time, I just know it was enough and now I want to see you be happy. I need you by my side because I know if you are here, I will always remember to be fair. I will always remember not to abuse the power I have. I want to have you by my side."
"To be a reminder?" She crossed her arms.
"No! It's not that." My hands went up to my face, rubbing my eyes for a second. "It's part of the reason... I... I don't want you to feel that way ever again."
"I least of all..."
I got a hold of her delicate face so that she could look at me.
"You are a wonderful person and you deserve to be happy."
Her parted lips looked like an invitation and taken by an insane impulse I let myself lean forward to meet her lips with mine. A nice tingle in my heart replaced the anxious twitches at it moments before. It was brief and as sweet as I imagined it would be. As the kiss finished, I hesitated to pull away, touching her forehead with mine.
"Why didn't you do it sooner?" Her hands softly reached mine.
"I don't know... I was embarrassed. I was trying to give you some time..."
Her hot breath hit my silly smile that didn't want to go away. That was making me crazy. I leaned forward once again, with even more desire. One of my hands let go of her face and ended up on her waist, pulling her closer. She let out a moan that I took as positive when her hands met the back of my neck, pulling me towards her.
My heart was beating faster than a drum and, when I pulled away breathless to see her reaction, I was surprised to see tears rolling down her eyes.
"I'm so sorry! Did I do something wrong?"
She lightly shook her head.
"No... I had forgotten how it feels like to have someone care about me. I had forgotten how it's like to feel my heart beating euphorically. I was afraid of feeling this again and that I was never going to feel like this again."
"I want you to feel like that every day."
She smiled.
"I will like that."
"So why don't we go for a walk around the garden while we talk about the king's party?"
"You are not neglecting your obligations, are you? I will not allow that." Her countenance went back to the usual seriousness, which I was already getting very familiar with.
"Certainly not. We must check on the progress of the renovations on the way, don't you agree?"
I reached out my arm and she rolled her eyes before accepting the gesture and we walked to the other rooms in the castle.