This is definitely meant to say Chapter 10. Sorry guys - I never said I could count.
The night lit up with bright orange flames, glowing through the thick smoke as the scarlet dragon twisted and wailed. The boy pulled Vera back down as she tried to stand, a pillar of fire singing his cheek as it barely missed them.
Vera ran to the dragon, ignoring its hisses and snapping jaw as she tried to lift one of the heavy metal spears tied to the net. "It's okay." She soothed, finally pushing it off the dragon's wing. "You're gonna be alright just stay still."
The boy grabbed her, ripping her away from the ensnared and wounded dragon as it thrashed its head to try and strike her. Instead of thanking him for the quick save, her gaze fell to the blades sheathed in his belt. "Help me cut her loose!"
The boy shook his head. "Dangerous."
"She's not dangerous! Her name's Sinnalyn! She's just scared!" Vera yelled, grabbing one of his blades while she squirmed out of his hold and went back to the dragon.
As Sinnalyn saw the glistening knife she let loose an enraged roar, flailing in the heavy net and spewing flames everywhere except the space Cinder protected.
After some effort Vera cut through a portion of the net, straining to drag one of the heavy metal spikes off the dragon. Sinnalyn paused, shaking the weight off and watching Vera go for the next tangle of rope. Vera glared back at the boy. "If you're not gonna help then go away!"
He sighed, pulling his other knife out and cautiously approaching the still dragon as it let off shallow breaths of fear. He sliced through the ropes pinning down her neck, carefully pulling out the chunk of metal that had dug into her shoulder and pushing it to the side.
By now Sinnalyn had grown calm, lying on the ground whimpering while the two children untangled her. As the shock wore out she recognized the girl, but hadn't seen her in some time, not since Lanskriez was captured, not since the war.
The two children shoved the last chunk of metal off her, untangling the remaining ropes off of her claws and horns. She lifted to her feet with a groan, putting more weight on one of her front paws than the other that was dripping from a deep wound.
She drooped her head to Vera, sniffing at her satchel that smelt of Shiorellus. Not the reeking stench of his death but the sweet scent of his blessing, it was the girl that had visited them so many times before.
"Your hurt," Vera stared at the gash in Sinnalyn's arm. "I brought some bandages..." She pulled out a pitifully small bundle of cloth, barely getting it around Sinnalyn's arm once as the dragon tapped her head comfortingly. "I wish I could use healing lumience," she sniffled.
"That will do, thank you little one," Sinnalyn said, her voice a soft hiss. "You shouldn't be here, you nor that Garaean. My kin now bite before smelling."
Vera checked her shoulder where the boy stood. "Garaean?"
His gaze drifted to the ground as he replied with a small wave.
She tucked that detail to the side, looking out over the field of smoke where the dragonlord sat. "Is Shiorellus...?"
Sinnalyn sighed. "Yes little one. There was an arrow of light. A weapon of Novan magic crafted by the gods. The king couldn't have fired it on his own... they whisper he had help."
Vera stopped, looking up at Sinnalyn's caring gaze. "The king?"
Crunching footsteps met their ears, so far away the forest concealed it to the children. Sinnalyn however caught the tell, nuzzling Vera's head one last time as she backed away. "You must hide little one, I cannot stay with you." She arched her massive wings, taking to the sky and leaving a blemish of splintered trees in the forest. The boy grabbed Vera as the steps reached their ears, leading her into a bush and casting a small spell that surrounded them in a bubble that twinkled like morning frost.
The crunching grew louder, now accompanied by the jubilant yelling of the armoured soldiers they belonged to. Three stumbled into the clearing with heavy undeliberate steps. "This place smells like crap... Where'd it go?!" one yelled, dropping his shield lazily.
"Damn thing was massive, must've chewed through th' ropes in time."
The first soldier burst into laughter. "Said you'd catch'im or you'd owe me a drink, guess ya lost!"
"I hit it, wassa perfect catch," the second soldier replied. "Said nothin' bout it escapin' after gettin' caught!"
"It didn't escape on its own," the third soldier cut in, his voice nowhere near as drunken or jubilant as the others. "These ropes have been cut. Someone freed it."
Vera saw the boy tense at the words, his hand hovering over the one blade he had as he glared at the clearing.
"Freed it? What bloody idiots goin around freein bloodthirshty dragons? We should shoot em!"
"Must've been Garaean scouts, dragon loving trash," the third soldier spat. "I guess we didn't catch them all. We'll have to report it, one dragon freed is another ten innocents dead."
"To hell with reportin! We say there's more Garaeans we get put on huntin em down! An when we come up with nothin we get punished!"
"Yeah. Generals really need a brain, can't get over the fact that there ain't as many infiltrators as they think."
The serious guard sighed. "The King gives the orders, perhaps we should look a little higher than his generals on who to blame for all this. Wouldn't have had these dragons on our arses if he hadn't shot down that dragon lord's little runt for escaping the dungeons."
"Did he really do that? Thought it was another guard." the first soldier replied, taking a swig of a bottle around his belt.
"Yeah it was a guard," the second added. "I remember, he jus put the dragon in the dungeons, didn't shoot it. Probly woulda shot its wing off and put it back in the dungeons if he had been on the crossbow."
"Shot its wing off?!" the first guard exclaimed, going red with laughter. "Sounds like a game! Wanna try it?!"
"Sure as hell works better than these damn nets!"
The sober guard let out a drawn sigh, dropping the cut rope and kicking some leaves over it. "We should have taken their plea for neutrality."
"Hah! Look at ya! If I wasn't in a good mood I'd catch ya for treason!" he laughed, taking another swig of his bottle. "Shootin dragons is fun! Easier than cuttin down Garaeans!"
"Unless they're in those camps," the second guard chimed. "Magic ain't a problem with four walls of dalem stone."
"Yeah, but I don't got the stomach for some of that work, soldiers are one thing..."
"Yeah, and that demon of a Garaean prince has been layin waste to em. Even levelled that big one up near Goldwater."
The serious one nodded. "There's barely anything left of it, the only survivors were prisoners, the Garaean Empire made an example of the rest."
"Bloody savages."
There were murmurs of agreement as the guards trudged away, forgetting the shield that was still thrown at the foot of a tree. The boy slowly rose to his feet, pulling Vera with him until they had stopped at a safe cluster of trees. He stopped, flicking a leaf out of her hair as she drooped her head silently. He didn't try to strike conversation, written or otherwise, coaxing his second blade out of Vera's white knuckled grip to sheath.
They walked in silence for some time, Vera's choked sobs the only thing to the silent air. But in time even that grew quiet, the two of them so deep in their own worlds of thought that even the sour stench to the air was hardly noticeable.
Finally Vera piped up, her voice a cracked whisper. "What does neutrality mean?"
The boy stopped, gently grabbing her hand and lacing his fingers between hers as he continued walking.
She complied to the gesture, slowly lifting his arm up to stare at his fingers. His hand was a little bigger than hers, but it was the same. "Sinnalyn called you a Garaean." she felt his grip loosen some as she stared at his hand. "But you don't have claws..." she muttered, catching the saddened look the boy paid her. "Or red eyes... Can you transform then?"
The boy masked a laugh as a cough, silently shaking his head. He slowed their walk to a halt, kneeling to pluck a small blue flower from the grass and carefully twining it into her hair. She felt it, her eyes slowly widening. "That's it! Can we... give Shiorellus some flowers? I know he's dead... but he was my friend..."
The boy's face fell to concern. "Dangerous."
"I don't care. I'm gonna give him flowers even if you don't come... but I hope you do," she replied, heart sinking as they came across a familiar pile of leaves. There was the smallest crack where the boy had propped the hatch with a rock. The two of them relieved and regretful at the same time as they stared at it. "Thank you."
The boy nodded, moving to assist Vera with the hatch when the faintest glimmer caught his attention. The residue of a spell catching the light of the stars like cobwebs between the trees. He stiffened as he realised the spell was surrounding them, a forcefield. Perfectly crafted by the man that stepped into the clear.
The temporary invisibility he wore melted off as he removed the pointed metal mask over his eyes. He still had his usual bookbag in tow, brow scrunched and hair tied back as he looked down at the two frozen children. "Miss?"
Vera paled at the sight of Mr. Jackling, slowly pulling off the red scarf over her face to hand back to the boy. Part of her still couldn't believe the sight, her eyes searching the trees for any guards waiting in the wings to converge on the boy.
The boy seemed to have a similar thought, turning tail to run as soon as he grabbed the red scarf, only to fall flat on his face as a thin thread of spellwork clipped his ankles together. "Let's all take a second," Mr. Jackling spoke, displaying his open palms to try and soothe the panic in the air. "I'm sure none of us wish to make a scene out of this..."
Vera scooched away as he stepped closer, nearly sitting on the boy like a protective hen as she splayed out her arms. "What are you doing out here?"
Mr. Jackling took his usual tone at the question, smiling down at Vera as if they were all exactly where they should have been in the palace. "Well. I came out tonight as I noticed a rather obvious draft in the halls." He motioned to the propped door. "But under normal circumstances, I usually come out here for walks."
"In the middle of the night?"
"Indeed."
Vera exchanged an odd look with the boy, both of them still stiff at what could come next, and entirely reluctant to let down their guards.
"Might you inform me why you were out here?"
"I wanted to see Shiorellus..."
He gazed into the trees that they had come from, nodding his head in understanding. "I see. I'm sorry Miss. "
"Are you going to tell my father about this hatch?"
"If you promise not to use it until things have calmed, I will not."
"But-"
"Miss."
"I wanted to go back. One last time, just to give Shiorellus some flowers."
"You can do such when things have calmed."
"What if they don't?"
He took in a deep breath, his eyes drawn to the trees again. He seemed disappointed at his own words, toying with the rims of his gloves as he thought. "Your mother is against me mentioning this to you, but there are days when I am not required to stay in the castle. In three days I have a day off, and perhaps, I will be able to take a longer than usual walk." He paid Vera's hope with a bitter frown. "I fear you are remarkably talented at sneaking off when someone tells you no, and I would much prefer you have some form of supervision."
Vera tried to share her excitement with the boy, but nothing Jackling had said extinguished the cautious doubt. Even for Vera it was strange how Jackling ignored the boy. Perhaps in an attempt to keep her from panicking while he processed the situation, or, by some form of impossible miracle, he did not care for the additional guest.
Vera knew the latter couldn't be the case. But there was another note of distinction that both of them shared. It was a look she was certainly no stranger to.
They both looked like they'd been caught.
Mr. Jackling swept the leaves from the hatch, holding it open to coax Vera inside. He eyed them boy impassively, dipping his head to finally acknowledge his presence. "If you are willing to stay for a moment or two, I would like to speak with you."
The boy watched the forcefield disintegrate, the spell binding his legs melting into the grass. He could run now. But the gesture of freedom sat ill as he slowly got up, one hand never leaving the hilt of his dagger.
"I will not thank you for endangering Acadruis' bloodline," Jackling spoke, helping Vera into the hatch as he eyed the boy with disappointment. "but thank you for returning her safely."
Vera found her footing on the small stool splayed out, looking to Jackling with one last pleading smile. "Please don't hurt him."
Jackling smiled warmly, "You have my word. Now straight to bed, you've had enough escapades to use up that birthday pardon."
Vera watched the hatch close, crouching on the stool to still her shaking legs as she collected herself. Wondering if she should have so easily complied to Jackling's request and left them both to their privacy. She sighed, nestling onto a small wooden stool to wait for Jackling to come through the hatch.
Mr. Jackling wasn't long, quietly coming through the hatch and locking onto Vera with some surprise. It was clear without words that he had expected her to find some guards to take her to her room, but he didn't seem irritated that the task had been placed on him instead.
"Is he okay?" Vera piped, receiving a comforting rub on the head.
"Yes, he left. I was sure to provide him with the safest route out of Latos."
Vera stared at the hatch somberly. "Will he be coming with us to visit Shiorellus?"
"I am afraid not, he has stayed here long enough, it would be dangerous to keep him longer." Mr. Jackling replied, ushering Vera to his side.
She allowed him to lead her out of the closet, only ending their sneaking journey once they had gotten far enough from the spot not to cause alarm to the guards. Mr. Jackling was paying the sparse guards friendly nods now, both of them relieved that they had yet to be stopped by a particularly curious soldier.
Vera rubbed her eyes with a yawn when they had reached the halfway point of their journey, catching a flicker of light from the foot of a large door. She knew the spot, a grand meeting room filled with enchanted maps, and a polished redstone table far too large for anyone to get much done on it. There were four royal guards outside the door, which meant at least one of her parents were inside.
She slowed a little to hear the chatter pouring through, the belting thrum of her father's voice making it right through the walls.
"I'm to sign a treaty when their forces are still infiltrating our borders? This is ridiculous."
Vera stopped in her tracks, resisting Jackling's soft nudges to keep her walking. She pressed her ear against the door, shushing Mr. Jackling and the guards before either could speak.
"Love, the last one was a Songbird," a softer voice replied, unmistakably her mother's.
"I don't care what emblems he was flashing, he was a Garaean. He could use magic."
"Still, they're usually quite open about crossing into Latos," another voice said, "This one wouldn't state their business, he found other routes when we would not allow him passage."
"Those monsters have no loyalty. Elisious thinks he has them in his palm, but I'm sure he would find a blade at his throat if another client had more coin."
Vera pushed on the door, shrugging off Mr. Jackling as she stepped into the brightly lit room. She'd barged into meetings before, it wasn't unusual in the castle. But this time, she had a table full of eyes on her, every general under her father having to blink twice to make sure they weren't seeing things.
Cilvren stopped, his immediately voice softening. "Vera, what's the matter my little torch? It's the middle of the night."
Her mother rose from her seat next to Cilvren, rounding the table to hover over her and inspect her for anything that could have caused the visit. "Love, is your room too cold? You look a little chilled."
Mr. Jackling came into the room, bowing his head low as he stood behind Vera. "I sincerely apologize for the interruption. She wished to have a short walk around the castle after going to the bathroom, I accompanied her to ensure nothing happened."
Vera locked gazes with her father, squinting to keep her front from faltering. "I'm worried about Shiorellus." She didn't look at her father as the statement settled over the room, she looked at the generals and how they either turned their heads to him, or kept their gazes cast to the table they were seated at.
Cilvren sighed. "Why?"
"I heard some guards talking about shooting down dragons."
Cilvren's face darkened, his eyes drifting around the room accusingly at the few stationed to the corners "Which guards, where?"
"At the party."
Cilvren eyed one of the generals at the table, sat closest to him with the Acadrius Gryphon plated in gold upon his vest. Galeth Shalerend, the general of the royal guard. He exchanged a silent nod, marking something in the notes splayed in front of him.
Cilvren's face softened once more as he looked over to Vera. "You have nothing to worry about my little torch."
Vera watched her father for a few seconds, memorizing every piece of his expression. She had seen it nearly every time she spoke with him, but now a sickness had pitted itself in her stomach. It was the face he made when he was lieing.
"Then can we go visit him? I always visited him on my birthday."
"We should discuss this later. I have an important conversation that I need to finish up."
"What sort of a conversation?"
One of the generals flaunting a patrol crest cut in with a chuckle. "Treaty business your little highness, fraid it'll put you right to sleep."
"What's a treaty?"
The general smiled, "It's a promise not to fight, and if you break that promise you get punished."
"Really? So I can force Adrian to sign one and he won't be a jerk anymore?" Vera replied, causing Galeth to nearly lose half his drink.
Cilvren held in a sigh. "It's something like that, Jackling can teach you in the morning.
Her mother bent down to pull her hair out of her eyes. "Come along love, let's get you back to bed."
Another General rose from the table, the winged emerald serpent of House Strylaz stitched to his shoulder. He was rare to leave her mother's side in meetings, and something to his height and dark scraggly beard always gave Vera shivers. "My lady, your opinion is better seated at this table. I would be happy to escort her."
The Queen smiled as Vera's fell. "That would be wonderful, Wren."
Vera stiffened as Wren lead her past Mr. Jackling. They locked eyes for a mere second, Mr. Jackling bowing his head further to hide from his scrutiny.
"Jackling," he perked some at the king's voice. "I would like a word after this meeting."
"I will wait outside your majesty."
Unlike most of the castle regulars that Vera found herself walking with, Wren was rare to strike up any form of conversation. Wholly content in silence. But Vera didn't like the combination much with the dead of night. "Have you gone into the black smoke?"
Wren eyed Vera curiously. "My duty is with House Strylaz my lady, I watch over the dungeons."
"Do you think Shiorellus is alright?"
He chuckled to himself as they reached the foot of Vera's staircase. "You grow more like your mother every day. Most of the questions you ask, you already know the answer to. It is not my place to discuss that topic I'm afraid."
He paid her a parting salute as she started on the first step, the rhythmic click of his boots departing by the time she reached the door to her room.
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Fun and Useless Fact #37:
House Strylaz is the third largest noble family in Latos. The House holds forces independent of the castle, which Queen Yahsha leads, and Wren oversees.