It took all Rion's courage to convince himself that he needed to speak to
Traag. Then he had to ask the guards to take him. Some of his confidence
came from the fact he didn't expect the guards to agree to take him.
He knew Ari wouldn't ask where he was because she told him Lis was leaving today and she wanted to spend the rest of her time here with her sister. So Rion opened his door and spoke to the soldiers posted outside as always.
"I'd like to visit Traag," he said, somehow managing to keep his voice from betraying his nervousness.
"Of course, your highness," one of the soldiers replied. The shock of having his request accepted was enough to make his heart skip a beat. Rion seriously considered saying that he'd changed his mind and darting back inside his room.
He took a deep breath and then walked between the guards. It was probably his imagination, but this journey seemed a lot longer than the one he'd taken with Ari. Perhaps because he felt as though these might be his last moments alive.
At last they reached the entrance chamber and the two soldiers waited in the doorway. Rion looked at them for a moment, wondering if they were scared. They didn't look it, but his father often said that soldiers didn't show fear, even when they were terrified.
Even if they weren't, Rion was terrified enough for the three of them. He walked slowly down the corridor, each step increasing the shaking of his limbs. Just when he thought his legs wouldn't carry him any further, he entered the red glow of the main chamber.
"Welcome, your highness," Traag said without even lifting his head from where he lay.
"You knew it was me?" Rion asked.
"Of course," the dragon replied, "we dragons have an excellent sense of smell." He lifted his head and stared at Rion.
"Why are you visiting me?" Traag asked, "You didn't seem very interested in my company last time you were here."
"I was wondering," Rion said, trying to keep the tremble from his voice, "about the speed you can fly. How long would it take you to fly from Tharden to Gondor?"
"It depends on the weather. On a fair day with a low wind, perhaps half a day. However in storms it would be much longer." Rion's eyes went wide at that reply, remembering the hellish journey on the boat, days shut away.
"You needn't bother with your next question, Prince Eldarion," Traag went on, "I will not take you home."
"Why not?"
"Because I have sworn to serve the king of Tharden, and he wishes you to remain here. Unless he orders me to take you, I will not."
"Why does King Ramal have your loyalty? I never heard that dragons were known for keeping their word."
The jet of flame that burst from Traag mouth wasn't long enough to cover even half the distance between Rion and the dragon, but it was still enough to make Rion jump backwards and need to cling to the wall for support.
"Do not insult my honour again, Prince Eldarion," Traag said menacingly, "I will not break my oath to the king and nothing you may say will change my mind. Now go!" Rion turned and ran up the corridor. Once he could see the light from the entrance chamber he slowed, controlling his panicked breathing. Traag wasn't going to hurt him, if he'd meant to Rion would be little more than a cinder now. His rational mind tried to convince the rest of him of this, and he walked into the entrance chamber and the view of the soldiers as calm as he could possibly be given what had happened.
He went to his room, to find Mir sitting by the fire waiting. Rion wondered what he'd done to earn the look of anger on his friend's face.
"Been spending time with your Ari?" he asked with a sneer.
"She's not my Ari," Rion replied, taking off his cloak, "and as a matter of fact, I haven't."
"So where have you been?"
"Trying to find a way to get us home."
Some of Mir's anger disappeared at that statement. "What have you found?" he asked anxiously.
"I went to talk to Traag."
"What!" The anger was replaced by an expression showing that Mir thought Rion was mad.
"I asked him if he'd take us back to Gondor."
"You did WHAT!" Mir's expression now showed that he knew Rion was mad.
"Don't worry," Rion said, "he said no."
"But, you asked a dragon?"
"I don't think he would hurt me, his safety here depends on not killing anyone."
"Still, you shouldn't take such a risk!" Behind Mir's shock and anger was genuine concern, making Rion feel a little touched.
"You were the one saying we needed to get home," Rion said, "and I don't think there's any possibility of escape that doesn't involve some risk."
"But a dragon?"
"I know, I didn't want it either, I was just trying to see if it would be a possibility."
"How about from now on you only look into sane possibilities?" Mir suggested.
"Alright," said Rion with a smile, sitting down by the fire with him. "So, have you done anything interesting?"
"Like what? We're prisoners."
"Just tell the soldiers guarding you that you want to go to the library or somewhere," Rion suggested, "As long as you look like you've got the right to do so they'll probably take you."
"That's good idea, actually."
"Don't sound so surprised," said Rion, pretending to be hurt.
"How am I supposed to sound when a miracle occurs?" Mir teased.
"That's rather unfair, especially coming from you." The teasing continued, and Rion was able to laugh, secure in the knowledge that Mir was still the good friend he had been. He had begun to doubt that other the past few weeks.
There came a soft knock on the door, and Rion called, "Enter." Ari stepped in, and glanced over at Mir, who was looking at her with cold dislike.
"Oh, I'll come back later," she said.
"No, it's alright," Rion said.
"Yeah, I was just leaving," Mir said. He stood up, but Rion caught his arm.
"Why must you be so rude?" Rion asked quietly.
"Why must you be so stupid?" Mir responded. He pulled his arm from Rion's grasp and walked out, giving Ari an angry look as he left.
"I'm sorry about him," Rion said.
"Why are you sorry?" she asked, "You can't help how he behaves."
"I know, I just don't see why he's like this."
"He doesn't trust me. It's rather like you and Traag."
"This is completely different from the way I feel about Traag."
"How?"
"Because. . . It just is."
Ari laughed, her soft, sweet laughter filling Rion's world. "You really need to come up with a better argument than that," she said.
"Traag is a creature whose race is known for cruelty and evil. You're a human being. That's quite a large difference."
"That argument's a bit better," Ari commented.
"We're supposed to be having an argument, not discussing my skills at them."
"Lack of skills, I would say."
"For someone who's supposed to be my friend," Rion said, "you're not very nice to me." Ari laughed again.
"Life would be so boring if I had to be nice to people," Ari said. She grinned at him and sat down in the chair Mir had been occupying.
"Don't you have anything better to do than annoy me?" Rion asked.
"No, Lis has gone back to the training grounds so I can't annoy her." Ari's tone was light, but Rion saw the grief behind her eyes.
"Do you miss her?"
Ari nodded, "She was always there for me when I was little. We fought like all siblings do, but since Father sent her away I kept thinking of things I wanted to tell her, but not been able to."
"Why did your father send her away?" Ari was silent for a while, reluctant to answer. "I'm sorry," Rion went on, "I shouldn't be prying."
"It's alright," Ari replied, "I don't mind. There were two reasons for it, one was personal and I won't go into that. The other reason was that Father thought she should learn to take orders before she becomes Queen, so she knows the sort of orders that she has a right to give."
"I don't need to be sent away from home to be ordered around. 'Eldarion, go and change into something more suitable for a prince,' 'Eldarion, stop fooling around and behave in a dignified manner.'" Ari laughed at that.
"It's the same here, I don't know why Father needed to send her away." Only a short while ago Rion would have protested about the difference between this place and his home, but not now. Now he just laughed along with her.
***
Author's note: I hope all those who thought Traag would take them home aren't too disappointed. Of course, you were assuming I'd give it a happy ending and let them go home, and I'm not promising anything.
He knew Ari wouldn't ask where he was because she told him Lis was leaving today and she wanted to spend the rest of her time here with her sister. So Rion opened his door and spoke to the soldiers posted outside as always.
"I'd like to visit Traag," he said, somehow managing to keep his voice from betraying his nervousness.
"Of course, your highness," one of the soldiers replied. The shock of having his request accepted was enough to make his heart skip a beat. Rion seriously considered saying that he'd changed his mind and darting back inside his room.
He took a deep breath and then walked between the guards. It was probably his imagination, but this journey seemed a lot longer than the one he'd taken with Ari. Perhaps because he felt as though these might be his last moments alive.
At last they reached the entrance chamber and the two soldiers waited in the doorway. Rion looked at them for a moment, wondering if they were scared. They didn't look it, but his father often said that soldiers didn't show fear, even when they were terrified.
Even if they weren't, Rion was terrified enough for the three of them. He walked slowly down the corridor, each step increasing the shaking of his limbs. Just when he thought his legs wouldn't carry him any further, he entered the red glow of the main chamber.
"Welcome, your highness," Traag said without even lifting his head from where he lay.
"You knew it was me?" Rion asked.
"Of course," the dragon replied, "we dragons have an excellent sense of smell." He lifted his head and stared at Rion.
"Why are you visiting me?" Traag asked, "You didn't seem very interested in my company last time you were here."
"I was wondering," Rion said, trying to keep the tremble from his voice, "about the speed you can fly. How long would it take you to fly from Tharden to Gondor?"
"It depends on the weather. On a fair day with a low wind, perhaps half a day. However in storms it would be much longer." Rion's eyes went wide at that reply, remembering the hellish journey on the boat, days shut away.
"You needn't bother with your next question, Prince Eldarion," Traag went on, "I will not take you home."
"Why not?"
"Because I have sworn to serve the king of Tharden, and he wishes you to remain here. Unless he orders me to take you, I will not."
"Why does King Ramal have your loyalty? I never heard that dragons were known for keeping their word."
The jet of flame that burst from Traag mouth wasn't long enough to cover even half the distance between Rion and the dragon, but it was still enough to make Rion jump backwards and need to cling to the wall for support.
"Do not insult my honour again, Prince Eldarion," Traag said menacingly, "I will not break my oath to the king and nothing you may say will change my mind. Now go!" Rion turned and ran up the corridor. Once he could see the light from the entrance chamber he slowed, controlling his panicked breathing. Traag wasn't going to hurt him, if he'd meant to Rion would be little more than a cinder now. His rational mind tried to convince the rest of him of this, and he walked into the entrance chamber and the view of the soldiers as calm as he could possibly be given what had happened.
He went to his room, to find Mir sitting by the fire waiting. Rion wondered what he'd done to earn the look of anger on his friend's face.
"Been spending time with your Ari?" he asked with a sneer.
"She's not my Ari," Rion replied, taking off his cloak, "and as a matter of fact, I haven't."
"So where have you been?"
"Trying to find a way to get us home."
Some of Mir's anger disappeared at that statement. "What have you found?" he asked anxiously.
"I went to talk to Traag."
"What!" The anger was replaced by an expression showing that Mir thought Rion was mad.
"I asked him if he'd take us back to Gondor."
"You did WHAT!" Mir's expression now showed that he knew Rion was mad.
"Don't worry," Rion said, "he said no."
"But, you asked a dragon?"
"I don't think he would hurt me, his safety here depends on not killing anyone."
"Still, you shouldn't take such a risk!" Behind Mir's shock and anger was genuine concern, making Rion feel a little touched.
"You were the one saying we needed to get home," Rion said, "and I don't think there's any possibility of escape that doesn't involve some risk."
"But a dragon?"
"I know, I didn't want it either, I was just trying to see if it would be a possibility."
"How about from now on you only look into sane possibilities?" Mir suggested.
"Alright," said Rion with a smile, sitting down by the fire with him. "So, have you done anything interesting?"
"Like what? We're prisoners."
"Just tell the soldiers guarding you that you want to go to the library or somewhere," Rion suggested, "As long as you look like you've got the right to do so they'll probably take you."
"That's good idea, actually."
"Don't sound so surprised," said Rion, pretending to be hurt.
"How am I supposed to sound when a miracle occurs?" Mir teased.
"That's rather unfair, especially coming from you." The teasing continued, and Rion was able to laugh, secure in the knowledge that Mir was still the good friend he had been. He had begun to doubt that other the past few weeks.
There came a soft knock on the door, and Rion called, "Enter." Ari stepped in, and glanced over at Mir, who was looking at her with cold dislike.
"Oh, I'll come back later," she said.
"No, it's alright," Rion said.
"Yeah, I was just leaving," Mir said. He stood up, but Rion caught his arm.
"Why must you be so rude?" Rion asked quietly.
"Why must you be so stupid?" Mir responded. He pulled his arm from Rion's grasp and walked out, giving Ari an angry look as he left.
"I'm sorry about him," Rion said.
"Why are you sorry?" she asked, "You can't help how he behaves."
"I know, I just don't see why he's like this."
"He doesn't trust me. It's rather like you and Traag."
"This is completely different from the way I feel about Traag."
"How?"
"Because. . . It just is."
Ari laughed, her soft, sweet laughter filling Rion's world. "You really need to come up with a better argument than that," she said.
"Traag is a creature whose race is known for cruelty and evil. You're a human being. That's quite a large difference."
"That argument's a bit better," Ari commented.
"We're supposed to be having an argument, not discussing my skills at them."
"Lack of skills, I would say."
"For someone who's supposed to be my friend," Rion said, "you're not very nice to me." Ari laughed again.
"Life would be so boring if I had to be nice to people," Ari said. She grinned at him and sat down in the chair Mir had been occupying.
"Don't you have anything better to do than annoy me?" Rion asked.
"No, Lis has gone back to the training grounds so I can't annoy her." Ari's tone was light, but Rion saw the grief behind her eyes.
"Do you miss her?"
Ari nodded, "She was always there for me when I was little. We fought like all siblings do, but since Father sent her away I kept thinking of things I wanted to tell her, but not been able to."
"Why did your father send her away?" Ari was silent for a while, reluctant to answer. "I'm sorry," Rion went on, "I shouldn't be prying."
"It's alright," Ari replied, "I don't mind. There were two reasons for it, one was personal and I won't go into that. The other reason was that Father thought she should learn to take orders before she becomes Queen, so she knows the sort of orders that she has a right to give."
"I don't need to be sent away from home to be ordered around. 'Eldarion, go and change into something more suitable for a prince,' 'Eldarion, stop fooling around and behave in a dignified manner.'" Ari laughed at that.
"It's the same here, I don't know why Father needed to send her away." Only a short while ago Rion would have protested about the difference between this place and his home, but not now. Now he just laughed along with her.
***
Author's note: I hope all those who thought Traag would take them home aren't too disappointed. Of course, you were assuming I'd give it a happy ending and let them go home, and I'm not promising anything.