My partnership with Burn was... really kind of one-sided and toxic, looking back. For the first part of my tenure, when I wasn't working in the Library, I was with the Princess, helping her with her studies or building "toys" for her amusement. I was still officially the Court Librarian, but the low level of use meant I ended up spending most of my time with the Princess and her family.
The Sandwing Royal Family was not the most... functional, let's just say. For all the love and praise we gave Oasis, and as nice and sweet as she could be, I was immensely terrified of the old lady. I wasn't there when she killed her sister after Blaze hatched, but I saw what was left of her when they dragged her corpse out for burial. It looked like she'd been torn apart by a wild animal, stabbed and bitten and torn to shreds. And yet the next time I saw her, she was playing and coddling her newest dragonet as any other loving mother would. Like she hadn't just butchered her own flesh and blood a few hours ago. That any dragon (let alone the one who ran our Kingdom) could at the drop of a coin could go from kin-slaying monster to completely normal scared me.
It seems like a very big flaw in how we run things back then, that only females can rule, and that a Queen could only be replaced if challenged by an aunt/sister/cousin/daughter in a fight to the death. It inherently rewards the biggest, strongest and most ruthlessly murderous dragons with ultimate power. This might've been useful and good back during the days of The Scorching, when dragon society was just beginning to form, and we were fighting for our lives against a supposed empire of scavengers hunting us down for our goods. But in modern times, when diplomacy and debate are possible and preferable methods of problem-solving, replacing a matricidal brute with another matricidal brute just ensures that we continue to wallow in violence and bloodshed. Say what you will about the Rainwings and their traditions, but picking a Queen through luck and talent is a better way to get a new leader than ripping each other's throat out.
But I digress. King Char was a pretty chill dragon, all things considered. He ran the army, so on occasion Burn would get me an audience to demonstrate some of my wares. He seemed to be engaged when I talked, interested in what I created, approving of my partnership with Burn. Whereas his daughter was more interested in just my weapons, he was just as interested (if not more interested) in my more peaceful works. It was my design for indoor plumbing that was used in the construction of new buildings or repairs to the Palace, including the "royal throne" used within the King and Queen's chambers. You'd never hear it from me at the time (especially since the idea of a King ruling a kingdom seemed so ludicrous to everyone there), but there were plenty of times where I wished Char was in charge, rather than his wife.
Scald, Singe and Smolder were cool, the only real friends that I... Well, that Burn would let me have. They would invite me to join them on their occasional hunting trips or nights drinking at the nearby tavern, giving me much needed time away from the Palace. Scald was the oldest of all the dragonets, a big bruiser of a drake with rugged good looks that all the dragonesses would swoon over whenever he flew by. I didn't even know it was possible to have multiple girlfriends, until I went with them to one of the Harvest Festivals, and he joined us with three "girlfriends". I asked how he was able to pull it off - relationships seemed hard enough as it was when there were only two, let alone when it's doubled! He just laughed, and said that all dragonesses are attracted to power and fame, and that many will do anything to get a taste of the good life. Plus, he only ever pursued girls who wanted to remain casual, who'd be okay just having some fun with him and other girls and didn't want dragonets of their own. "The last thing you want," He explained, "Is to end up with golddiggers who want to use you to have Royal Eggs, and put a big fat target on all of our heads."
Singe, meanwhile, was a gentle soul. Artistic, poetic, creative, soft-spoken and handsome in a gentle way. He could've had just as many romantic partners as his brother, if not more, if he ever expressed interest. I never got to figure if he was secretly into males, had some fear of intimacy or was simply aromantic, but every time a barmaid, servant or friendly merchant would flirt or proposition him, he would always respond with a polite "No, thank you". Even so, the two of us got along well as fellow introverts. While his brothers would do most of the heavy partying and womanizing, the two of us would sit in the corner, discussing matters of the Court or our respective projects. He was impressed by the work I put in with my creations, and he instilled in me the appreciation to make them aesthetically pleasing. Science and the Arts are both pursuits of the Mind, and often go paw-in-paw.
Then, there was Smolder. Gentledrake, funny guy, all-around bro. He almost always led our little outings and activities, essentially functioning as a de facto leader. I had been told by my parents and other friends that it's usually the eldest sibling who leads the others, so I found it rather curious that Smolder had taken up that role himself. He was always really friendly to me, protective even. Part of me thinks because he was worried about my association with Burn (which, considering who she was, makes total sense), Part of me also thinks that it was because we were a lot alike, both physically and personality-wise. The black stripe along my neck and body was like a solid version of his diamond pattern, though I lacked the diamonds on my wings. We both had the nifty idea of wearing keys and pouches full of useful tools and trinkets wherever we went. Dragons said we had the same "resting smug face", like we always knew way more than we let on. Even our sense of humor was identical, to the point that we could finish each other's punchlines from across the room (much to the annoyance to the rest of his family).
Blister was a very... interesting young dragon, to say the least. We were a lot alike in a lot of ways. She was smart, charismatic, eager to learn all the ins and outs of how the Court functioned. I'd like to think in another world, she and I would've been best friends; Had I been fortunate enough to work for her instead of Burn, the War would've been won before it even started, and she would've been a decent (if manipulative and harsh) queen, and the Kingdom of Sand would've built a massive and prosperous empire with me by her side. But alas, that was not meant to be. In fact, I dare say we became rather bitter, secret enemies, all for the sole reason of Burn getting to me first. I couldn't help but feel that she resented me working for her brutish and blunt older sister, and sometimes I would catch her glaring at us as we entered a room together. I, for my part, became rather paranoid and suspicious of her activities. I would think to myself, What would I do to me, if I were her? The answer always seemed so obvious: Someone just as smart and cunning as I am, who worked a rival as cruel and crazy as Burn, was and always would be a threat. Even if they ended up on my side, I could never trust them, so I'd dispose of them the first chance I could once I had power. At least, that was my hypothesis, and that's what kept me up many a long and lonely night in my workshop.
Blaze was hatched at the beginning of my time working in the Palace, so I had the privilege of watching her grow up from start to finish. She started off as sweet, precocious, kinda ditzy but very likable all around. Sometimes she'd come up to me or a random stranger, ask a couple questions, then go on a non sequitur about her scales, or a butterfly she saw, or some other innocuous thought that passed through her mind at any given moment. As she grew up, the bubbly dragonet became an absolutely gorgeous dragoness, idolized and envied by so many dragons. Alas, for all the beauty and grace she was given, she was only just smart enough to realize it and use it when it suited her. Which isn't to say that it was completely awful: she retained that naïve, bubbly personality of her youth, and without the stronger will dominant in her sisters, she was easy to persuade. All you had to do was compliment her a couple times, and she'd agree to just about anything. Needless to say, this made her very popular with the people, who saw this as the sign of a "good" and "kind" queen. I had hoped that, should things play out a certain way, maybe I could jump ship and side with her as the new Queen. At the very least she didn't seem to hold grudges, and would be easy to... "advise".
Burn started off as a big and intimidating dragon, and only grew to be bigger and badder. She would train and spar and hunt almost every day it seemed, and I can't recall a single time where she ever lost to anyone. Some would be lucky enough to get some strikes in, leave several mighty scars across her face and neck and chest, but she would bear them with pride. She reveled in violence, in laying waste to anyone who dared challenge her, in winning. She got reprimanded more than once for inflicting more harm on her opponents than strictly necessary, and even for using her stinger in fights (which, for those of you who haven't been to the Kingdom of Sand, is a pretty big non-no outside a fight for life and death).
But it was also during this time that she began developing... a bit of a hobby. See, as I spent my time teaching her, she took quite an interest in biology, and in particular, mutations. A taxidermist came to the markets outside the Palace one day, selling his various wares of stuffed camels and bears and whatnot. Burn was awestruck, asking the merchant all kinds of questions about how he got them and how he made them. After a serious grilling, the merchant sold her one of his scrolls on the practice for a hundred gold pieces (a rather steep price for anyone outside the Family). Over the next several days, she went about hunting quite a bit, taking all manner of different creatures to, well, "practice on". Camels, sheep, lions, leopards, every manner of creature that could call the desert home found their way on her table. She took to it surprisingly well, her "subjects" looking remarkably lifelike and articulated. Most dragons thought it was rather odd and macabre - who goes around spending their free time cutting into dead animals? But I knew that she took many of my lessons to heart and to practice, as she would have me attend her sessions, asking me questions about things we came across. Her eyes would light up, and she'd have this very slight smile, every time we worked upon a mutant or "freaky" animal, cataloging all the various differences and quirks we discovered. It was... fun, in a rather dark manner of speaking.
Still, despite her violence and her strange hobbies, I could tell that Burn was Oasis's favorite. She made her eldest her Royal Executioner, after all, handing the responsibility of killing the worst kinds of traitors, murderers, rapists and egg-smashers to Burn. While Blister and Blaze were busy building their retinues of followers and learning the ways of the Court, she always seemed to be by her mother's side, or enacting her will. It seemed clear to me that Oasis fully intended to pass the crown to her, and that at some point in the future, she would have Burn challenge her and pass in the ancient tradition of queens. Her brothers and sisters could get sent off and married to various nobles or merchants for all her mother cared for them. This was the way of things, and this was how it was meant to be.
Now, there was a brief period of time where I started to have... feelings... for her, when she was 18 and I was 20. I had spent much of my late teen years in close proximity with the Royal Family, and aside from the boys she was the one I felt closest to. If I had a chance with anyone in the Royal Family, surely it'd be her, right?
Looking back, the whole thing was destined for failure regardless of how things could've gone. There were a lot of little signals that seemed obvious in retrospect, but that I, a naive and hopeful young drake, had missed or outright ignored. Surely, I had thought, if I said the right thing, made just the right gesture, I could crack through her hard outer shell and warm her heart enough to let me be her boyfriend?
Spirits, the plan was so cringey, I shudder to remember it! Like I said, it was her 18th hatchingday, and her mother had given her one of the empty towers to her eldest daughter to do as she wished. Between her own work in taxidermy and my own talks about a lack of museums, she had started placing her "projects" in there for storage and display, calling it her "Weirdling Tower". I had this dumb idea that, if I made a taxidermy animal of my own and gave it as a present, she'd really like and be more open to an invite for a date or something.
The problem was, I'd never done it before. I could study and go through the book dozens of times, but there was no way of knowing if I could make the specially treated skin of an animal look "life-like". So, rather than attempt to go realistic, I decided to go for funny. I went and caught myself a large fox, while also building myself a little chair. In a process that ended up taking an entire weekend, I completed the horrific(ly cute?) gift. The stuffed fox was positioned to sit politely and cross-legged on the chair, as a dragon would while waiting outside an office, or resting after taking a little stroll. I gave it dumb, cartoonishly big eyes, and a big derpy smile that could easily be interpreted as absolutely adorable AND completely horrifying at the same time. I figured that if I couldn't impress my Princess, I could at least make her laugh.
When her hatchingday came, Oasis threw a party for her eldest daughter. It wasn't quite as big or festive as the previous hatchingdays for Blister and Blaze (for many reasons, I'm sure), but there were still quite a few who still wanted to be on the Queen's good side, or get some free food and drink. I don't remember much from that party, aside from being close to Burn throughout much of it, waiting for things to die down enough to catch her attention and pull her aside. During a lull of activity in the party, I whispered in her ear, "Hey, wanna see what I got you?"
"Sure." Burn sighed, bored with the entire thing. Her eyes were lidded and her cheeks were slightly flushed. I hadn't seen her drinking (certainly no more than I had), but if she was buzzed, maybe she'd like the gift more?
We sneaked away from the crowds, making our way to the Weirdling Tower. I led her up a couple flights of stairs, to a mostly empty room with a table and something hidden under a large red velvet curtain.
"What is that?" She asked, boredom permeating her voice.
"Close your eyes," I instructed, "To get your surprise." She sighed loudly, but her eyes did close. I went over to the table, pulled off the curtain, and said, "Okay, now you can look. Happy Hatchingday!"
Burn opened her eyes. The expression on her face as she processed what she was looking at had my tail twitching with nervous energy. Did she like it? Did she hate it? Was she going to set it on fire for being an abomination to all Creation? I waited and waited for her to react, and then... the corners of her mouth turned up. Then it grew into a smile. Then she made a sound that I had never heard her make before: She laughed, a deep, rumbling sound that surprised me with its sincerity and pleasantness.
"Oh Spirits!" She declared, coming closer, leaning this way and that to look it over. "Look at this thing! Did you make this?"
"Yeah." I said, suddenly feeling a lot more anxious. "Do you like it?"
"Are you kidding? I love it!" She laughed. "It's the cutest, ugliest thing I've ever seen!" She reached over and pulled me into an unexpected hug. I could smell the wine on her breath, as she gave me a playful peck on the forehead. My cheeks felt warm, caught off-guard by this sudden display of affection.
"I-uh, I'm g-glad you like it." I stammered, uncertain of how to feel, and what she might do next.
"Hey, this reminds me." She said, grabbing my muzzle and looking me right in the eye. "I have something to show you, in the dungeons. You're not doing anything tomorrow afternoon, are you?" I shook my head; even if I did have something going on, you make time when your boss asks you to show up, lest she rips your wings off.
"Great! Now, let's get back to the party before mother thinks we've flown off to... I dunno, hunt scavengers or something."
"Or something." I repeated, as she dragged me back downstairs and outside for a night of dancing and drinking, leaving me unsure if I had just been asked out on a date, or walked into a trap...
"...She did what now?" Scald said, nearly choking on his wine.
"I know, right?" I chuckled, taking another sip of wine. I'm one of those lucky dragons who never drinks too hard, and NEVER gets a hangover after a party. "I was just as surprised as you guys. I didn't know she could be, you know, affectionate."
"We didn't either." Singe agreed, sipping from his teacup. "Congratulations, by the way. Maybe you can help calm her down. Make her less scary, you know?"
"I don't know what that would look like," I admitted, "But I'll try my best."
"Let me ask you something, Xero," Smolder asked, his tone a lot more serious than his brothers, "Have you ever dated anyone before?"
"No." I admitted. Working as I did in the Palace, tinkering away or serving the Princess, I didn't have a lot of time to go courting (especially when you could never tell which servants or courtesans are serving who).
"And are you sure you want to date... her?" He asked cautiously. He didn't sound like he was asking as a protective brother watching out for his sister, but more as a friend trying to steer me away from someone with "bad news" written all over them.
"I mean... I like her," I said, "I'm pretty sure she likes me. And it's not like either of us have a lot of other options, do we? Blister and Blaze can have suitors lining out the door from here to The Den if they wanted. And I'm the only one around here who doesn't try to fly out the room the minute she walks in."
"What about Tanwen, our cousin?" Scald suggested. "She's single."
"Yeah, but she works for Blister." Singe pointed out. "Even if she were interested, our sisters would never allow it." The boys nodded in agreement. The last thing any of us wanted was for the two eldest daughters to start fighting over their lovey-dovey minions. Oasis would have to intervene, and THAT wouldn't end well for anyone.
"Look, Xero," Smolder said, putting a forepaw on my shoulder, "I'm just trying to look out for you. Don't go getting your hopes up, okay? Burn isn't the type to go all lovey-dovey on anyone."
"Maybe." I replied, "Maybe I'm the one who could bring the 'lovey-dovey' part out of her, like how your dad brought it out from your mom. I think it's worth the risk, don't you?" Scald and Singe and Smolder all exchanged looks, and the older brothers just shrugged. After we finished our drinks, I took my leave and went over to the dungeons.
Being underground and lined with stone, the dungeons are quite cool and dank compared to the outside, a small comfort given to those no doubt suffering the worst days of their lives. There were a handful of torches lining the halls and empty rooms, giving just enough light for me to make it to the "interrogation room" at the farthest end of the tunnels. I saw Burn in the room, standing over something on a table, fiddling with it on one end. She turned to me, looking tired from the long night of partying even as she smiled at me.
"Xero," She called, walking up to the doorway and blocking my entrance, "I wanted to thank you for your little present last night. I've been thinking of all your hard work and loyalty, and I've found something that we can both enjoy as a reward."
"Oh, well- I mean, you didn't have to do that." I started, feeling a little embarrassed. This was going better than I expected. Behind her, I could hear something moving, and a dragon whimpering.
"What was that?" I asked.
"Before you go in," She warned, "You must swear to me that you won't tell anyone about what you see or do here."
"Of... Of course," I said, "I swear. I can keep a secret."
Burn nodded, and ushered me inside the chamber. When I could see the thing tied down to the table, illuminated by torchlight, I stopped. Before us was a dragon, though it wasn't of any Tribe I'd ever seen before. Her scales were a purplish silver, with a green underbelly on full display as she was laid out spread eagle. She had a set of antennas above her eyes, rapidly twitching this way and that with agitation and fear. She had a set of four wings - not made of skin and scales like ours, but translucent, membranous wings like an insect. She was battered, half-starved, covered in cuts and bruises and smelling like low tide and rotten fruit. Her mouth was gagged, her wrists broken and covered in blood and this gooey, silky material. She looked at me with bloodshot green eyes, so full of terror and desperation. Help me! Those eyes pleaded.
"What... What the hell is THIS?" I demanded.
"I have no idea." She said, walking around the table. "I bought it off a merchant on the way to the Scorpion's Den. She said she found it washed up on the beach just south of the Ice Wall, babbling something about a 'Pantala' and 'Clearsight', whatever that is. I've never seen a dragon as horribly mutated as this before. I was thinking that you could take notes while I cut it open and see how deep the defects run."
She reached the other side of the table, pulling aside a towel from a stand, showing a wide array of surgical instruments. The weird dragon looked at them, and the horrified sound she made will stay with me to my dying day.
"So," She asked, coming 'round to my side again, "What do you think?"
There were a lot of things I was thinking of at that moment. I was shocked that she was about to cut into a living, breathing dragon, and expected me to watch. I was horrified that someone I was so close to every day and night had such darkness and depravity within them, and I had no idea of it. I was weighing my options, trying to think which would be worse: staying here and watching a literal horror show, or walking out of here, saying goodbye to my career, and placing a target on my back for the rest of my life?
What ended up saying was, "Um, this wasn't what I was expecting."
Burn snorted. "What did you think I was going to do?" She asked derisively. "Ask you out on a date?"
Suddenly, I felt as though I were a bug under a magnifying glass, one false move away from being burnt to a crisp. I laughed nervously, trying to think of some answer, some excuse, some out of the hole I suddenly found myself in.
"Ha-ha, What?" I stammered, "I mean, heh-heh, that's uh, what gave you that idea?"
She blinked, and frowned. "You didn't really think I'd go out with some peasant from the Scorpion's Den, did you?"
Would you think less of me, dear readers, if I said that was the part that hurt me the most?
"Let me explain something to you." Burn growled, stepping close enough to loom over me. "For one, you're not my type. I prefer strong, powerful warriors, not scrawny little bookworms. For another, I don't want a family or dragonets. They're a distraction, and they make you weak. I need to focus on becoming a strong queen, and you need to focus on science and working for me. And finally, even if I felt like letting you be my bedwarmer... If you EVER disappointed me in any way - in public OR in private - if Spirits forbid you ever made me gravid... You would end on that table just like that thing right now, and your drakehood would be stuffed and mounted right next to your little fox in my tower. Is that a risk you want to take, Xerophilous?"
I stared back at her, taken aback by this sudden tirade. The edges of her mouth had twitched as she spoke that last part, the barest hint of a smile. Was she daring me to say yes? Did she want me to play in her dangerous little game? Maybe she did, but this was all too much for me. I realized then just how twisted my patroness truly was. My life's work, my fate was tied to this sociopath, and I couldn't get out of her grasp without losing everything I've ever worked for. My choice was made for me.
Seeing no way out, I sighed, and went over to the table. I dipped my talons in ink, grabbed a few sheets of paper, and motioned for her to proceed.
"Good choice." She complimented me, turning around to the bound dragon. "Now the fun can begin."
The next several hours were... informative. The strange dragon clearly didn't belong to any known tribe, but at least she (mercifully) stopped screaming early on, and succumbed soon after. Many future prisoners and subjects would not be so lucky. Each session saw Burn learn and improve, developing the skills needed to keep whatever poor bastard that ended up on her table alive for days, just as I got an extensive understanding in draconian anatomy.
In time, word ended up going around of what we were doing. It was one thing for dragons to be afraid of Burn, as they had before. Having dragons looking at me with the same fear and suspicion? That stung, dear reader. That stung quite a bit...