"What?" Cassandra was taken aback by the blatant challenge from the child.
"I said, try to take them," Kennie spoke slowly so the challenge could not be missed. "Maddie couldn't take them, you won't be able to take them either."
"Ken," Nikhi laid his hand on Kennie's shoulder, trying to settle the girl before she did something they would all later regret.
"No, Nikhi," she shrugged his hand away and narrowed her gaze at the queen. "And when you've failed, we'll be leaving with Sparta and Argos and you'll never see or hear about us again."
"You won't make it out of this castle with those dragons!" Cassandra seethed reaching out to take Argos from Kennie's shoulder.
Argos hissed, flaring his wings he dodged the queen's hand, coming to a stop wrapped around Kennie's wrist. Cassandra reached out with her other hand to take the dragon from Kennie's wrist, using her right hand to block Argos' path back up the girl's arm. Argos barred his teeth, hissing as he leapt off Kennie's arm, slithered around Cassandra's outstretched hands, and landed on Kennie's other arm, wrapping himself around it defensively.
Cassandra narrowed her eyes at the smug expression on the child's face. "What's wrong? I thought the dragons were yours?" Kennie asked innocently, entirely too innocently. "Shouldn't you be able to at least touch something that belongs to you?"
"They are," Cassandra lunged at the child, wrapping her hands around the girl's arm. "And I can."
As Cassandra had expected, Argos swarmed on the assaulted area, digging his claws into Cassandra's hand and biting at the exposed flesh on her arm. Cassandra barred her teeth, releasing Kennie's arm and taking a firm hold on Argos. Cassandra shouted in triumph stepping away from Kennie, holding Argos up over her head.
"And they're not leaving," she grimaced as Argos squirmed in her hands, clawing at her arms trying to free himself. "Take that one too," she motioned with her head for someone to attempt and take Sparta from Nikhi.
Nikhi had a knife is his hand before anyone could make a move toward him, holding out defensively before his chest as he turned so he could see all of the Rangers. Sparta hissed retreating to Nikhi's back beneath his vest. She squeaked rapidly to Argos while the other dragon fought to free himself from the queen's grasp. Horace and the Rangers stared opened mouthed at Cassandra, unable to make a move toward the boy.
"Let him go," Kennie leapt at the queen, pulling her knife as she flew through the air. Will was galvanized into action, he had to protect his friend. He ran at the child. Before Kennie made it to the queen, Will had his arms wrapped around her waist and was pulling her back.
"Get. Off. Of. Me," Kennie kicked at Will trying to free herself just as desperately as Argos was trying to free himself from Cassandra's.
"Settle down, we can talk about this," Will tried to pry the knife from the girl's hand and keep the others from attacking him as well, they were quickly forming a circle, bearing fists. "You can't just attack people," he managed to get his hand the hilt of Kennie's knife and pulled it from her hand. "Especially monarchs."
"Can't you see she's hurting him?" Kennie landed a solid kick to Will's knee. Will loosened his grip marginally, using all of his willpower not to just release Kennie and attend his throbbing knee. She had done enough, the moment his grip weakened, Kennie to ripped free of his hold. She tore away from the grey-beard Ranger, crashing into Cassandra at the waist and knocking the queen back several steps. "Let him go," she aimed a kick at Cassandra's shin, holding her so the queen could not step out of range.
"Kennie," Maddie took hold of the girl, pulling her away from the queen and just out of reach for the powerful kick. "Stop it. You're acting like a child."
"Give Argos back," Kennie elbowed Maddie in the stomach, and found her feet as Maddie stumbled away from her. The girl clenched her fists glaring at the queen. She did not advance; it was obvious that tactic would not work.
"This dragon belongs to me," Cassandra answered, grimacing as the pain radiating from her hand threatened to overpower her desire to keep a hold on the small blue dragon.
"He belongs to me," Kennie yelled, her hands reaching toward her empty sheath on her belt. "He hatched in my hands, he talks to me. You can't just take him away."
"You stole the eggs," Cassandra snapped back. "He would have hatched here if you had not taken them. And if you insist on leaving, these dragons are not!"
"Cassie, I think you should stop and think about this," Horace stepped up behind his wife, wrapping his arms around her as he attempted to take the blue dragon from the queen. "Losing your hands to prove a point is stupid."
"Don't call me stupid," Cassandra stepped out of Horace's grasp, pressing the dragon to her stomach to try and contain it. "And don't patronize me!"
"We're not trying too," Maddie gasped, messaging her stomach. "But, come on mum. Do you really think just taking the thing from her is really the best idea?"
"Argos is not a thing," Kennie turned on Maddie, narrowing her eyes dangerously.
"Fine," Maddie sighed holding her hands up before her chest. "Just taking Argos by force is not going to accomplish anything, expect hurting him and yourself. Mum, I'm sure we can reach some form of agreement if we all just settle down, and talk about this."
"There's nothing to discuss," Kennie lunged at Cassandra so suddenly no one had any time to react.
The girl took hold of Cassandra's elbows, applying pressure to the inside of the elbow, and hooked her leg behind the queen's knee. Off balance, Cassandra sank to one knee and her grip loosened on Argos while Kennie held the pressure point. The dragon wasted no time, he tore his way free of Cassandra's grip and wrapped himself around Kennie's arm as the girl disengaged from Cassandra and started running for the door.
Nikhi joined her as they retreated from the Royal Family and the Rangers. The other children formed a lagging tail as they chased after them. At the door they turned, going the same route they had taken from the gate to reach the courtyard. Once they reached the courtyard, seeing the gates were closing, they scattered.
"Do you really think that was smart?" Nikhi gasped running beside Kennie while looking for a way off the grounds or a place to hide. "Attacking the queen?"
"Are you saying you wouldn't have done the same thing if she had taken Sparta from you," Kennie shot back, her hand running carefully down the length of her blue dragon.
"You shouldn't have challenged her like that," Nikhi shook his head.
"You challenged Maddie."
"She's just a Ranger. You challenged the queen, and then you attacked her," he would have shouted if they had not been running and trying to hide.
Kennie rolled her eyes, still stroking Argos gently. "I had to get Argos away from her, she was squeezing him and he couldn't breathe. She was going to kill him."
"You attacked the queen," Nikhi sighed shaking his head. "You can't just do something like that. We're not on the coast anymore, there are laws here."
"There were laws on the coast, you used to not care."
"At the Grey Mire I don't. But this is a castle."
"Fine, I'll find my own way out of here," Kennie turned from Nikhi and ran back into the castle.
Nikhi sighed watching Kennie run through an open archway. After she disappeared behind a wall he looked down at Sparta. He would have done the same thing if someone had tried to take Sparta. But would he have challenged the queen like Kennie had?
However, this was not the time to debate what he would have done. He had to make sure everyone made it out of the castle. He also had to make sure Kennie refrained from doing something reckless before she made her escape.
Knowing Kennie, she would attack the queen again just to prove her point, and send half of the castle up in flames before she made her grand exit. And even then she would still be causing even more trouble as she left the towering spires behind her. He shook his head, if he managed to keep everything under control he would not have to try and imagine what Kennie would do.
"Why couldn't it have been you that got attacked?" He asked rubbing Sparta beneath her chin.
I'd have bitten that woman's fingers off, Sparta responded heatedly. Argos should have, but he's too nice.
"Maybe it's better that it was Argos," Nikhi sighed rubbing the back of his neck, and starting off after Kennie. "She'd have killed you and me, and had Kennie thrown in the dungeons."
I'd like to see her try, Sparta hissed. If that woman thinks she can just decide how I'm going to live, she's got a lot to learn.
"You sound a lot like Kennie," Nikhi sighed.
Don't you agree? Spatra's red eyes turned up at Nikhi, he could see the confusion in them.
"Yes, but I still wouldn't have attacked the queen."
So you say.
In the audience hall, Marion sighed looking where her family had just retreated. "That went about as well as expected," she turned back to Cassandra and the others. "She has a thing about authority," she explained quietly, wanting to make sure these people understood why Kennie had reacted the way she did. "She has to feel like she has some control in any given situation, because for a long time she didn't."
Marion nodded, having said her peace and started after the others.
"So, now we know," Angie scratched her temple with her thumb watching the girl leave the audience hall. "Just taking the thing from her, was not the best idea."
Will gave his apprentice a withering look, "Thank you Angie. Do you have anything else to add?" Angie sighed looking down at the floor, her brows rising and narrowing rapidly, her face falling to a frown as she considered the question.
"No," she finally answered looking up at Will, "I think that's it," she smiled briefly. "I'll just go, try and round them up," she waved her hand around the room before Will could give the order and started down the audience hall. "Come on Johnny, let's go find our little thieves."
"Again," Johnny sighed, tailing after Angie.
Will turned his attention to Cassandra, who had sat on the floor holding her hands against her chest. "How bad is it?"
"Nothing too serious, I don't think," Gilan answered from the queen's side where she had offered him an injured wrist. "They appear to be superficial, and they're hardly bleeding now. But I'm not a healer."
"I'll go and get him," Liliana offered quietly following after Angie and Johnny down the length of the hall.
"Thank you," Cassandra smiled after the apprentice.
"See mum, I told you we should have just talked," Maddie sat her mother's side and began wrapping the queen's wrist with the hem of her shirt. "She probably would have talked if you hadn't just attacked her like that."
"She attacked me," Cassandra managed to snap, but it was a half-hearted action. She had been so intent on having her way she had failed to try negations with the child.
"She was only trying to save that dragon," Horace defended the child gently. "The poor thing was in a panic, and you squeezing him wasn't helping anything."
"I noticed," Cassandra held her freshly wrapped wrists against her stomach. "When you find them, bring them to the suite."
"Are you going to throw them in the dungeon?" Will asked as Horace and Maddie helped Cassandra to her feet.
"No, I'll try and talk them into joining the Corps. They cannot just roam the countryside with those dragons."
"They would be a serious threat," Gilan stroked his beard in thought.
"Not only that, but they'll be in grave danger," Cassandra sighed, shaking her head. "The eggs were sent here to protect them from a dragon hunter. In the land they came from, killing a dragon is a way to prove you are a master. Sparta and Argos are two of the last hundred dragons in the world. And the hunters will track them anywhere, and kill anyone who gets in their way."