Madison

Garret wasn't happy with Tristan's opposition to his leadership and for the first time I saw him the way he really was. A teenager like me trying to shoulder responsibility enough to break several adults, tired and discouraged, I felt sorry for him.

"We could ask Felix counsel you know. He could have some ideas. He's seen many orders rise and fall." Mist offered in her cool and detached way, as if she was stating the facts and had no interest in the result whatsoever.

Garret's face darkened and I feared he'd take his frustration out on her, but then he relaxed and nodded. Too wise to antagonise Mist.

"Why would I do that Mist?" He asked calmly. "I'm of the Order which has done indescribable damage to dragons throughout hundreds of years and he's been here to see it all. Why would he help me in my attempt to take care of the remaining soldiers business? Why would he help me at all? What's in it for him? I already owe him my life. How much debt is wise to take out?"

"Why have I helped you?" Mace cut in.

"Why am I standing here and watching you talk, when I've been ordered by the CEO of Talon to kill you?" Mace widened his eyes threateningly at Garret's surprised expression.

"Yes, her order from her own pretty mouth." He shook his head.

"This game is bigger than you kid, so get over yourself and use all the leverage you can get. Talon has been decimated by the mining facility operation, as most our soldiers and combat trained dragons were moved there to make sure your attack would fail. But it's not toothless, you need allies if you want to take it down."

Garret's eyes narrowed at that.

"So why haven't you killed me yet?" He asked impassive.

"Because I'm not a dog mindlessly following orders until one day it's my turn to be culled. I'm a Gila, protector of Talon and dragons in it. And I'm old enough to remember the times, when my thinking was as much protection as my muscles and jaws. I don't see you posing a threat to safety of Talon as it's been constituted after the treaty. And I'm not carrying out a jilted lover's revenge. If Ember wants you dead, she'd better kill you herself." Mace finished proudly.

"Stay away from me." Garret answered slowly and turned to Mist.

"Well Tristan needs a break and I don't have a plan. I can just as well use the time to hear if any of you have any valuable ideas."

"What is this exactly, you are trying to accomplish?" Felix leaned forward in his armchair after the four of us found place to seat. Garret in the armchair, me and Mist perched on the armrests and Nettle sitting on a footstool beside the cold fireplace.

Garret took a deep breath and pressed his eyes shut in expression of deep concentration. Then he sighed deeply and looked at Felix leaning back in his chair, completely at ease, dressed in blue silk shirt and dark blue linen pants and leather loafers. Polished look wasn't able to mask the undeniable Felix authority and power. Brown eyes were bottomless and unreadable, he weighed Garret and I couldn't determine if he's found him satisfying or lacking.

"I want to end the Order of St George in its original form. I want us to be the... facilitators of Talon's dragon's liberation and to cooperate with them in ensuring, that dragons don't try to hurt humans.

I want to depose Talon's CEO and see if she can be saved." Garret said calmly but the emotions emanating from him was undeniable, he was moved and trembling inside. Admitting this things to all of us, to a stranger...

"Then I want to bind my life to hers, taking care of her in any way possible. Because I love her, and I know her to be better than this." He finished in choked voice and I felt a stab of jealousy at this devotion, this unyielding, unconditional love he had for her. After all she's done! When I got rejected after nothing like that, after something that wasn't my fault.

Garret stayed silent and the two watched each other for several minutes before he continued in normal voice.

"It was my plan to be elected Patriarch and as such to disband the Order except for those, who want to serve in the new way. But I'm unable to get through anointment ceremony and my Lieutenant... My friend and partner in this is against the plan. And I don't know how else I can go forward. My people are restless, they need purpose and I need more authority to get them in line. Right now I have traitors in my ranks, who hope to succeed as long as my position is dubious. I need to do something."

"I see." Felix said watching Garret with more interest than before.

"If your goal is close cooperation with dragons. You could start it right now, here are dragons already cooperating with you." He gestured towards Nettle and Mist.

"Why assume higher ground and leave your men no choice? You can delay your election under pretence, that you want them to try out the new alliance before they tryst you with unconditional obedience. Respect given freely us worth more, than those granted by most rigid code. I've seen most impressive empires fall. And underdogs succeed through faith in their cause and their leader. You wish to be a leader, lead." Felix said.

Garret didn't seem happy with what he heard, he nodded and rose to leave.

Felix cleared his throat and he paused.

"Also you need a forger. And a good one. To forge the shield for your anointment ceremony. I could assist you in this, but those are hard to find and not cheap. So give it time."

Garret nodded and said "thank you for your counsel." Before he left.

I followed him quickly but Mist and Nettle lingered.

"We'll catch up." Mist said to me and moved to seat in the armchair vacated by Garret.

I followed Garret to the front doors and further to the surprisingly loud and busy street outside Felix house's walls.

We took the cab to the mansion, where Garret headed to his rooms without a word. So I went to myself and continued encrypting the security system I have built from generic home security cameras bought online. I reprogrammed them and movement detectors. Now with face recognition system and a net of movement detection outside we wouldn't get surprised by someone breaking in. That is once I was done, I was securing all the windows and passages and it took forever to reprogram and install all the equipment by myself...

With a sigh I plugged another camera to my laptop and started working. Mace's confession explained why Talon hasn't attacked the residence yet, but counting on such luck to continue wouldn't be wise. I surveyed my chipped nail, if only Peter was here to help me with the hardware... But I've left him behind alongside my father to make a life that was my own. And this was my first quest.

I woke up next morning and went down to the kitchen. Garret didn't show up last night and I ate with Jade, who ate little and went to Garret afterwards and Andrew who was a silent man. I suspected he secretly feared women outside of sexual setting, as many of the soldiers did. I recruited him to drill the holes and mount the cameras for me and with his help the work went faster. I really wanted to do this so we worked until late.

Now all the major points were covered I only had less likely ways in left, that weren't that crucial...

"Good morning Madison." Jade greeted me in the Kitchen. She sat with a mug of tea and watched the dew-covered garden outside.

"Good morning." I said and cheered up immediately. The eastern dragon has always been kind to me. Though last time we spoke was before the fateful night with Garret, my mood sank.

"How's Garret?" I asked her.

"Fine, considering."

"Did you know about the shield's magic?"

"No, there's a lot of things in this world that I don't know about."

"What do you think we should do?" I asked her, she might not be as ancient as this other dragon but surely she knew a lot.

"You should do what you find right."

"Seriously?! Cannot you help us?" I was annoyed with her serene indifference.

"Oh but is telling people what to do helpful? I'm of conviction that helping them to find out what they want to do is of much greater value. Both Garret and Ember followed other's advice since the great battle, that they only won because of their devotion and faith. And it looks like their luck abandoned them. No, what you need is each look into your heart and find the next step there." Jade said with a little smile.

"Is that what you've told Garret?"

"Yes. Garret is young and heart-broken. But a broken heart is still a heart."

I sighed and set about getting some food ready. Andrew bought eggs, I appreciated the silent man as I whipped an omelette and brewed more fragrant green tea.

Jade resumed her stillness and I let her be pondering my next move.

"Hi, Do you need anything?" I wrote Tristan and went upstairs to get dressed.

"I'm fine thank you." Came the answer and I groaned inwardly at whole day of work.

I have just programmed the last of the sensors, so that I could get them mounted after lunch, when a pounding on my doorstep made me look at the feed of the camera outside in the hall. I've made the wall opposite the balcony into screen wall displaying feed from the many cameras and my syite was the command centre as this way I had constant access and could guard the house from my luxurious bed.

I tossed my headset and almost fell of the sofa as I hurried to the doors.

"Hi." I said grateful for any diversion.

"Hi Madison. How is the security of this house?" Garret asked and I stepped aside to let him in.

"Now I'm going to secure the perimeter with movement detectors and once the special cams arrive also get full vision of the sky overhead. I've found all I need to build a radar too. I dare say I'll be done before the weekend." I finished my rapport.

Garret looked at the screens and the electronic mayhem in my sitting area.

"You did great job. Thank you." He said sending me a sad look that made my heart sink.

"I'm think about following the idea of bringing the Order and allied dragons back together. I've postponed my election yesterday. I'm going to the HQ now to break the news to them. Wanna come with me?" He asked, not ordered. I dreaded meeting my parents. The lunch I had with mom left me heartbroken. She didn't mind me pursuing Garret, if I fancied him, but going against father in regard of Order business was inappropriate and dangerous and the faster I saw reason the better.

I nodded slowly.

"Let me change."

He rose to leave.

"Okay, see you by the doors in thirty minutes?"

I dressed in boots black cargo pants and grey tanktop under black jacket. I wanted to look serious like a soldier, not an ornament. Nobody should think I'm sucking Garret's cock for my position.

As I run down the stairs in last minute I noticed that beside Garret stood Tristan. He looked me up and down but said only.

"Hi, let's get it over with."

We went out and entered one of the Patriarch's cars that Andrew drove for us.

"So you've gathered us all here for the election of a new Patriarch, but instead you announce that we're to train and live with dragons before we elect new leader?!" My dad boomed after Garret's short speech.

"Yes. The channels of recruiting new soldiers to our Order have been broken after all the teachers save for two, who were away for some business and all the young recruits were slayed during the Night of night and fire. Talon's CEO chose to attack us twice and we only survived both attacks with help of dragons. The future I see for this order is close cooperation with dragons in order to end Talon's hegemony, free the dragons still within it and supervise them in either rehabilitation or containment. I have made no secret of that. But I think before we truly can elect me, we need to taste that life. Many of you have not been with us in the United States when we took on Talon's former CEO in a coordinated effort of soldiers and dragons. We've all been raised and trained in blind hatred for them. I need my people to followed me truly and wisely. That's why I'm giving you and myself a chance to try this out. The Order has been following strict rules for hundreds of years. There were multiple great leaders to choose from at most elections. Now we're few, the rules are changed. You have right to see what you're signing up for, before you elect the person whom you are pledged to follow blindly."

Garret answered talking to all of the members gathered in the cantine of the Order's HQ.

I watched my dad from the corner of my eyes looking straight ahead. Ignoring my mother staring at me from the chair beside his.

"What if we don't want to work with some dragons?" My father insisted.

"Then you're free to leave the Order." Garret said firmly.

My dad sat down watching Garret intently.

"Questions?" Garret asked.

"Are we to let dragons into the HQ of the Order of St George? The untouched inner sanctuary!" St Christopher demanded and I almost smiled.

"No. We need our base free of them for the time being. Before relationships are close and the trust is built, we're going to train on the neutral ground of the late Patriarch's residence and other available areas. You need a safety and privacy of a space undisturbed by former enemy's presence, to process your experiences and draw your own conclusions. I will be supervising the beginning of this operation and will settle the details with the leaders immediately. You've been dismissed until tomorrow. Lieutenant Ward, St Christopher, meet me in my office after lunch to prepare." Garret finished and left.

I lingered to gauge soldier's reactions, very few of them knew Garret from before the treason trial. I noticed though that they were if not enthusiastic, then undisturbed by his announcement.

I went over to Alexander, Lieutenant's Ward's soldier, whom I knew a little better because of mom tending his injury after the eggs rescue mission. I chose him over my father's soldier, whom I knew better. I gathered the worst that could happen was that he would tell me nothing and reported to Ward about my prying. Which was better than alerting my father.

"Hi Alexander, how's your shoulder?" I asked him.

"My, my, my. Madison Knight herself asks me how my shoulder is. I should play lottery this must be my lucky day." He drawled.

"Your Commander wants you to work with dragons, might be your unlucky day too." I leaned into his opening.

Alexander lifted his face to look up at me from where he was still sitting down.

"I don't know Madison. Lieutenant Ward himself said something similar recently. If we only live because of last minute help of the free dragons we could live a little longer if we formed an unit with them. My shoulder is getting better, thank you for asking Madison. How's yourself?" He smiled friendly.

"Exhausted, but thanks for asking." I answered with a little smile and touched his shoulder. "Take care Alexander."

"Hi I got some of your clothes." I had all of his clothes, after we've arrived to London without anything but the clothes on our back each soldier got three changes of clothes. Curtesy of St Patrick remembering that the newest delivery of clothes for soldiers in one if the chapterhouses in the United Kingdom arrived shortly before the Night of Fang and Fire and was sent to HQ to be further distributed from there.

"Thank you." Tristan said and stood up to take the duffle bag from my hand and immediately return to where he leaned on Stealth's massive body. Garret granted his permission for Tristan to stay here until Stealth wakes up, though it eluded me why.

"How's she?" I asked.

"No idea. Felix says she's going to be fine, but thinks that me being here might speed up the process." He said as I looked around at a futon brought in for him into the ballroom. A couple of books and a set of dumbbells.

He camped here waiting for this dragon to wake up. Well, good for him, I hoped she'd like him back once she is up.

And I hoped it would be soon. Garret was running me haggard in his absence. Week ago dragons and soldiers met at the mansion to discuss possibility for cooperation. Since Ember was after dragonels and the Order they quickly agreed upon mutual aid and begun coordinating work.

Mist, Nettle and Mace agreed to train together with the soldiers and a larger exercise in terrain near some destroyed chapterhouses in countryside was planned in two weeks time.

Tristan looked at me.

"Talk to me Madison. What's going on in there? How's Garret doing, what did the others say to this new idea?"

"Well I wouldn't know, because no one is going to come and bitch to me about Garret's decisions." I said. I was tired.

"Mace is coming soon to coordinate the thing with you as the other lieutenant by the way. Ask him. He's a dragon, he might know things." I teased him and left to spend the afternoon with Mist and the dragonels in Shepherds Bush.

I climbed the stairs to their part of the house and entered the tiny hall. Kicked off my shoes and continued to the larger room, where Mist sat in the armchair and dragonels on the couch.

"Hi." I said cheerfully, I haven't seen any of them since the day I peed my pants.

They said hi but looked positively bummed.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Payday." Opal said and sighed.

"They can barely pay the bills." Mist said.

"What do you guys do?" I asked.

"Coffee shop." Opal said.

"We need better jobs. But we, have no education or experience and need to be able to watch the eggs too." Autumn said frowning.

"We shouldn't be in this position. We're dragons. We have treasure that humans desire not other way around..."

The doorbell buzzed and shortly after Kain and Molly joined us. They made their own tea and I wondered how often they came here.

"I got you guys some cake I've baked with mom yesterday. To celebrate your first payday. Another step on the way towards independence!" Molly announced cutting the said cake and placing peaces on assorted small plates that Kain handed each of us.

"We earn too little to live here Molly. We need better jobs but have no formal education or experience with humans." Autumn said mildly.

"Oh no!" Molly seemed crushed. She was so different from what I knew. Her expression lively and immediate.

"We were talking about how it should be us who has treasures coveted by humans not other way around." Vivian said.

"Well you do. You have magic, long life, perfect health, breathtaking beauty." The last thing she said looking at Kain and he smiled at her fondly. My Order upbringing made me cringe a little at the thought of a human child in love with a dragon.

"Hard to sell." Pearl said.

"Stealth saved my friend who was rendered open and bleeding out with a couple drops of her blood. Maybe you could sell it as a panacea?" I offered surprising myself.

They all looked at me positively horrified.

"I don't know if it works like this Madison. I'm pretty sure she used blood as a conduit of her own healing magic. Outside of our bodies our blood loses its magical qualities fast.

"Yeah, and how exactly would you advertise that?" Mist added.

"Well, dwelling on the negative won't do us any good."

Autumn said taking a bite of the cake. "Molly dear, this cake is delicious. Maybe we bake cakes?"

And so it went on.

"This room is so nice." Mist said sitting on my white sofa and looking around at four poster bed behind an arch with white plush curtains, gilded stucco, lovely sitting furniture and vintage wooden white coffee table in the middle. She frowned slightly at the wall with the doors that was covered with twenty screens constantly showing the feed of the cameras inside and outside, readings of the radar and the map of all the movement detectors each lit green.

I sat opposite her on the white sofa.

"What are they going to do?" I asked.

"Nothing, Riley and Wes are paying their bills. They just want to get free. Truly independent. Riley handed them to Talon after he's rescued them the first time. They don't want to risk to be asked to fight again. They want to be able to live independently in human society and raise their hatchlings as the first free dragons." Mist said.

"Oh, so they don't need money?" I asked.

"They do, but not to survive. To thrive." She smiled sadly.

"How come you landed such a good job right away?" I asked for myself. I had extensive experience and knowledge within programming, electronic, radio and communication systems and I wanted to be free too.

"Fake documents from Talon. Gathered over time in case they needed me to have serious credentials to complete my mission." She said.

"Oh. I wish the Order thought of that." I laughed nervously thinking about my interrupted education.

"You have good education Madison, great grades on your exam and you hot accepted to a great college too. Once you're done with the Order you can pick up your life where you've let off." She reassured me, which made me even more worried.

Where did I let off with my parents, even Peter didn't write me back when I sent him a message upon leaving dad...

"Don't think about it now. Let's dance!" Mist said surprising me.

She then played an old Rihanna song on her phone and started to twerk and dropped it to the floor until I joined her.

Half an hour later we were singing to another girl power song and dancing, when someone banged on the doors.

I opened to see Jade there.

"What is the ruckus?" She asked playfully as I was letting her in.

Mist stopped the music and stood in respectful waiting as she usually did in the presence of the Eastern dragon.

"No need to be so official Mist. One joy scatters a thousand griefs. We need joy now." She said sitting down in one of the low white armchairs.

We sat down to.

"I am leaving for Talon tomorrow night. You'll have to resume watching over Garret yourself." She said.

"What? Why?" I asked surprised.

"I am charged with keeping an eye on Talon's activity by the council of eastern dragons and must confront Ember about her recent actions. Besides I really want to know what the hell is going on." Jade replied smiling serenely.

"I'll miss you." I said and remembered how things tend to go south right aways after Jade leaves.

"I'll miss you girls too. How about we order some outrageous amounts of food and drinks and hold a little farewell party? Have you seen this house's living room? It's huge."

I woke up next morning and turned off my alarm. Jade forced me to make the stereo system of the house play music from our phones, then lured Andrew to dance with her, when he came to see what the noise was about. Then Garret joined us and we whipped our heads around to some heavy metal Andrew suggested. In the end we collapsed in the rooms huge sofa, with Garret and Andrew sitting on the floor a d talked about past victories and defeats, Ember's possible motives until Mist woke me up and walked me to my bed.

I checked if all the alarms of the security system were set with notifications being send to Garret's and Andrew pagers and went back to sleep. I slept until Jade knocked on my doors to say final good bye.