Chapter Three

" Bakala hem'balo tas'tor'lao?!" Four voices called out as one.

" Koundo'tou partier're opa Steile'Kor!" Vax replied in the same tone of voice as the four guards at the door.

I recognised the formalities instantly. To put it simply, the front guards had asked who was there and Vax had responded that it was me, Kor Steile, and that I came in peace. In reality, there was a lot more nasties being thrown at us courtesy of the ryuu guards. And though Vax's face was blank, I could practically see the flame rising in his throat. Okay, I admit. I was a little worked up about what the ryuu guards had called us, but that wasn't my main concern. My main concern (aside from keeping the peace around here) was to lie low as Kor and not scream it out for the whole world to hear. In the minds of the dragons, Kryner was supposed to be Kor, not me. And personally, I did not want a riot on my hands as well as the plague and the aftermath of the civil war that I was about to declare over.

We were only left waiting for a couple of minutes, but those minutes were rather intense. Vax had to swallow his fire. And I knew from experience how badly that scorched your throat. It was not pleasant. Eventually the head of the Royal Guard, a green ryuu by the name of Captain Qui Long, came and led us into the Den, three more members of the Royal Guard following behind us. Protocol carried out by both the Royal and Hatian Guards… and one thing that I wished I did not have to go through at this particular time.

The halls we were led down were of the most ancient designs that my hidden architect self was practically fainting over. Okay, maybe that was a little too much exaggeration. But, for someone who had never been in Ryuu's Den before in their life, it really was awe inspiring. The Den had a perfect balance of oriental and stone corridors which opened up to the world outside and beyond whereas the Nest was, plain and simple, like a prison cell in the form of a cathedral. I don't know, but being in the Den made me feel like I was at peace. And let me tell you, I have seen and heard the most gruesome of things ever since I can remember.

All too soon, before I could truly appreciate the work around me, we were at doors to the ryuu's throne room.

" Milady Caria, Milady Keiko, guests from the royal court of the Dragons." The Captain announced as he opened the doors to the throne room.

The place was small for a throne room. Simple wooden carvings decorated the bottom of the elaborately decorated, marble pillars. After a few minutes, I realised that the carvings represented eight different animals… and one of them was a dragon. Okay, I admit. I was curious about the carvings and was slowly making my way towards the nearest pillar. Vax, the ever watchful dragon that he was, pulled me back.

" You can admire things later. Now's not the time." He hissed in my ear.

" So, Steile Drakkan. What brings you to Ryuu's Den?" A voice called from the end of the room.

Instantly my attention was drawn to the two women standing at the other end of the room in front of the small staircase that led to the Ryuu's Throne. The taller of the two wore a long, t-shaped robe which fell to her ankles. I believe it was called a kymon or something like that. Okay, I admit. I've been neglecting my lessons… especially those on the Yongs. Happy?

Anyway, the dress was a sky blue colour with silver ryuus embroidered along the hems. The woman wore matching silver slippers on her delicate feet. Her skin was a pale yellow like the moon and her eyes were a deep gold. The woman, I was more than sure, was Visi Caria, oldest of the Royal Yong family. But the stern look she was giving me made me believe that she was the one who had spoken and that she also hated my guts.

Beside her stood her younger sister, Keiko. Keiko was wearing the same kind of dress as her older sister the only exception was the colour was gold instead of blue. Another noticeable difference between the sisters was that Caria's hair was an ocean colour while Keiko's hair was as silver as the embroidery in her dress. Keiko's eyes were also a silvery blue that I felt myself get lost in. The teen's face was also less aggressive as her sister's and her skin was as golden as the sand. Before I could stop myself, I had stepped back and looked down at my feet, not wanting to look at either one of the ryuus for fear of my eyes locking onto Keiko's again.

" Why am I here? I'm here to stop the war. You can take the damn throne just as long as you give the dragons the night to farewell Kor Istavan." I replied, a little roughly.

" May I ask the cause of loss?" Keiko's voice rang through the room like chimes in the towers.

" The accursed plague took my brother this morning as the sun rose."

" Then you and your followers will have the night to farewell your brother." Caria agreed, not a shred of sympathy in her voice. " I expect to see you front and centre at the crowning ceremony at tomorrow's sun rise."

" As you wish… Ryuu." I managed to force out nicely.

Vaxitas and I were escorted all the way back to Dragon's Nest by ryuu guards once our meeting with the Yongs was over. As soon as we returned, Vax disappeared to light the smoke pyre and alert all the dragons of Arkonas Cove to Istavan's funeral that night. Not even Kryner wanted to see if I had kept my word and arrived alive or not. I was left to myself.

The first thing I did was throw the white cloth to the floor and stomp on it. Why? It was a great reliever of the stress that Caria had built up in me. I hated that woman with a passion… even if it was only the second time I'd ever seen her in my life. The first time I saw Caria, I was only two watching Istavan be crowned after our mother had died. To be honest, I only remember a scowl and hard gold eyes. But it was enough to realise that the scowl and hard eyes belonged to Caria Yong. I guess even then I didn't like her.

Unbidden, something opened a usually sacred area in my mind and I remembered my brothers laughing at the name I had once given Caria… or rather evil Cari. The memory was from when I was five. Kryner was eight and so still had his dragon form and his eyesight. What was more, Kryner was laughing; something he rarely did now a days. Elija and Istavan were still alive at the time.

All three of their laughing voices exploding in my head made me lose it. I closed my eyes and completed the transformation into the white dragon that was my other form. With a weak call to the past when I was young and my brothers were alive and well, I somehow made my way to the nest in the corner of my room. I didn't care about the mess I made as I blindly crossed my room. Nor did I care about the shadow that was blocking the sun from entering through my window. All I cared about was if people left me alone.