A Different Destiny Chapter 7

The Winchester's unexpected reappearance at the training covert caused a good deal of consternation. "Levitas, you were under orders to report to the breeding ground," Celeritas reminded him sharply.

"Sir, he got those orders because he had no captain," Emily said as she dismounted and stood at attention before him. "But those orders don't apply anymore. Dragons with captains don't belong on the breeding ground."

"He accepted you?" the training-master asked. Emily and Levitas both nodded happily. "Well, this is a complication, although not entirely unexpected. You are quite young to take on the responsibility of caring for a dragon, Miss Roland; yet you are not the youngest ever to do so, and all the humans speak well of you. Another issue is that women are meant to serve as captains on Longwings, not on the other species. But, if I recall the regulations correctly, there isn't actually a prohibition against it; those regulations are more guidelines than actual rules. I already know that your mother is mildly displeased, but not utterly hostile to the idea. The dragon's wishes, of course, are usually paramount. I must consider this matter. In the meantime, I see that Hollin and Betsy returned with you. What became of Laurence and Temeraire?"

"They took a flight south to explain things to Admiral Lenton, sir," she answered crisply. "He said he hoped they'd be back before nightfall."

"Will his explanation to the Admiral include an explanation of how you intend to serve on a dragon who is not cleared for unrestricted flight?"

"He said yes, it will. He said he would probably bring you some new orders about me and Levitas when he came back. In the meantime, have you got any orders for us?"

"I have nothing in my training schedule for either of you," Celeritas admitted. "Levitas, pray remain in the area; I may use you later in the day to deliver a message to the men at the far end of the training grounds. As for you, Cadet Roland... no, I mean Captain Roland. I can no longer order you about like an ordinary runner, even though you have not yet been confirmed in your new rank. For today, join Commander Barstow's class on signal flags. If and when Captain Laurence brings me new orders for you, then you shall be the first to know."

"Yes, sir!" she acknowledged as she scampered off. Levitas watched her go, then took off smoothly and circled, looking for a sunny ledge where he could rest.

o

"I am sure your cadet thinks she has done a good thing," Admiral Lenton began impatiently. "But England cannot waste her resources on unproductive dragons. Please explain to me, if you can, how this semi-active dragon will earn his room and board."

"That is not difficult, sir," Laurence explained. "Up until now, Emily has served in my crew as a runner. Now, she and Levitas will both fill that role."

"A runner?" Lenton echoed. "You intend to turn a dragon into a runner? Pray, make yourself clear."

"I don't suggest that Emily and Levitas will serve as ordinary runners, fulfilling errands for each dragon's captain," Laurence went on. "I suggest that the two of them will serve as liaisons between Lily's wing and the commanding authority, which would mean yourself. He is perfectly fit for day-to-day flying, so he can deliver messages on the wing. Imagine, if you will, how convenient it would be to receive status reports from a flying patrol while it is still in the air! Levitas can bring you word of what we have encountered, and bring back orders in a timely fashion. Your ability to command and control us will be multiplied several times over."

The admiral considered that. "Yes, I can see the advantages to such an arrangement. But there are two details that must be resolved. It would be beneath a dragon's dignity to style him a runner. And I cannot, in good conscience, promote Cadet Roland to the rank of captain if she is not riding a fully-functional dragon."

"Those are resolved easily enough, sir," Laurence said. "Instead of calling Levitas a runner, I suggest that you call him an auxiliary dragon. That accurately describes his function with no hint of his being a servant or an unworthy member of the Corps. As for Emily, were you to make her a lieutenant instead of a captain, I am sure she would offer no complaints."

"A lieutenant? Aye, that will work. Do you suggest this so that your former runner will not equal you in rank?"

"No, sir. I suggest it so that my former runner will not equal her mother in rank. That would be a complication with which I have no desire to involve myself."

Lenton grinned. "You are a wise man, Laurence. Very well. Remain in the vicinity until I send for you. I shall draft some new training orders for Lieutenant Roland and her auxiliary dragon, which you will deliver to the Loch Laggan training covert when you return there tonight." He looked thoughtful. "While you are here and otherwise unoccupied, perhaps you could search the breeding-ground records for other dragons who are mildly injured but otherwise willing to serve. I am thinking that I may wish to assign auxiliary dragons to all of our fighting wings."

"I could do that, sir," Laurence said quickly, "but I have already received a summons to appear before Captain Roland. I assume that she wants an update on her daughter's situation. Shall I tell her that you have countermanded her order?"

"No, not at all," Lenton said dismissively. "I have a secretary for the sort of work I suggested. I merely meant to keep you occupied, had you nothing else to do, but it seems that Captain Roland has forestalled me. Pray give her my greetings. You are dismissed. Return before the striking of the four o'clock bell, if you would be so very kind."

"Yes, sir," Laurence nodded. He rose, made a quick salute, and left for Jane's quarters. She had actually invited him to join her for an afternoon glass of wine, but he had no intention of telling the Admiral that.

As it turned out, she had something on her mind that had nothing whatsoever to do with wine.

As they lay together afterwards, she brushed a few stray hairs out of his face. "You never disappoint me, Will," she smiled. "Let us see if you are as successful in this new endeavour."

"New endeavor?" he asked, puzzled.

"Surely you didn't think I called you all this way for a mere dalliance?" she explained. "Excidium will need a rider someday, someone who reminds him of me. My first attempt at providing that rider chose to ride another dragon, through no fault of my own. So today, we have started a second attempt. Congratulations, 'daddy.' "

He gulped. He had not considered that possibility at all.

"Oh, don't worry," she went on casually. "I won't tell her that you are the father unless you are willing for her to know. Over the years, we've learned to be discreet about these matters. Your life can go on as it was, or you can be involved in her life; I will leave the choice to you. She will be raised by foster parents until she is old enough to join the Corps as a cadet and a runner, much like Emily... except that I hope this one does not change her course so radically as Emily did."

"I... I suppose you have the whole thing planned out," he stammered. "But what if it is all for nought? What if you bear a son instead?"

Jane shrugged. "Excidium is not the only dragon who will need another rider someday. If I bear you a son, then he will become Temeraire's future captain, and you and I will try again in a year or two to make my own replacement." She kissed him lightly. "I don't much mind being in the family way, and I still have a few good years left in me. Why are you frowning?"

"It all seems so... impersonal," he admitted.

"It may seem impersonal to you and me," she answered softly, "but to our dragons, it is intensely personal. My first love and loyalty will always be to Excidium, and I'll place his needs and his well-being above all others. You do understand that, don't you, William?"

"Yes," he sighed. "I do understand that much."

o

"...so, to sum up," Laurence said, "you and Levitas will fly as messengers for Lily's wing, and you are to be promoted to Lieutenant. That is quite a step up from your former rank of Cadet."

"I won't let it go to my head, sir," Emily promised.

"You were always a sensible girl, Emily. I mean, Lieutenant Roland. Be a sensible dragon-rider, and you will do well. Oh, I bought some presents for you while I was in London, in honor of your promotion. Temeraire suggested them." He handed her two identically wrapped parcels.

She quickly unwrapped the first one, and her face fell. It was a book: "Basic Latin Grammar."

"It will give you something to read on long flights," Laurence explained. "I know it is not especially exciting, but you will be surprised how useful it will be, once you have worked at it for a bit."

She wasn't as quick to unwrap the second gift, but her face brightened when she saw its cover. It was another book, a collection of children's fairy tales.

"Now this is something I'll use on those long flights! Thank you, sir. This will keep Levitas happy, and it'll keep me from going out of my mind from repeating the same four stories over and over." Then she turned excitedly to Levitas. "Did you hear the news, Levvy? I'm a lieutenant now!"

Levitas smiled a gentle draconic smile and nuzzled his face against her shoulder. "I am happy for you, Lieutenant. But to me, you will always be my captain."

o

Epilogue

Lt. Roland and Levitas fulfilled their role handsomely, and justified Admiral Lenton's willingness to experiment with auxiliary dragons for fighting wings. Once word of their success had spread around the Aerial Corps, the leaders of the other wings all wanted their own auxiliaries. This set off a minor stampede among ambitious young cadets who were not in line to harness a fighting dragon. They used their leave time to descend on the breeding grounds, in search of dragons with minor injuries who might accept a new captain and become a Corps auxiliary. No less than four dragons (three Greylings and another Winchester) were plucked out of involuntary retirement and returned to usefulness and active duty (and a happy life) as auxiliaries, flown by ex-cadets with the new rank of lieutenant.

When the Dragon Plague struck the dragons of England, Levitas came down with a mild case. He begged to be allowed to go to Africa with the rest of his wing, but healthy dragons were so scarce in England that he was kept at home and put on patrol duty. The other dragons marveled at his fearlessness when confronting French patrols. He explained, "I have already faced the worst that they can do to me, and I have survived. What else is there to fear?" His only concern was that a boarder might threaten Emily. But the first French boarder who tried it was run through the middle by Emily's sword, and she tripped the second one and kicked him over the side when they were half a mile up. Once Levitas saw how well Emily could take care of herself, he ceased to fear so intensely for her, and they became an effective fighting team.

When Laurence and Temeraire returned from France after delivering the mushroom antidote to them, Levitas and Emily were the only English forces to greet the traitor in the air as he returned to English soil. "Sir, there's a lot of people waiting for you on the ground who aren't happy with you," she called. "But I think you did the right thing."

Shortly after this, Celeritas examined Levitas again and found that his wing had finally healed completely. He and the newly-promoted Captain Roland were assigned to courier duty, but it soon became painfully clear that Roland was temperamentally unsuited to such work. They were assigned to Lily's wing as light fighters instead, and here, they found their niche. They became boarding specialists, taking advantage of the Winchester's ability to fly great distances without flapping, which made them nearly undetectable to other dragons. They would carry one skilled boarder into the air, silently swoop in behind one of the French one-man dragons like a Roi-de-Vitesse or a Chasseur-Vocifere, and drop their boarder. He would nearly always succeed in surprising and imprisoning that dragon's rider, thus taking the dragon prisoner as well. They did this repeatedly, which slightly reduced the French advantage in numbers, added more variety to the English breeding stock... and made Emily Roland rather wealthy from her share of the prize money for capturing all those dragons. She shared that money with Levitas, buying him a gold ring or a golden coin every time they took a prize. He wore his treasures with pride on his harness, and could describe in detail how he and his beloved captain had won each of them.

Jane Roland did indeed bear Will Laurence a son, whom she named Peter. They tried again in a year and a half, and this time, the senior Roland was delivered of a little blonde girl named Mary Beth, Excidium's future rider. The two young riders, and their older sister Emily, grew up quite close and enjoyed flying their dragons together when their duties permitted it. They served England for the rest of their days, sometimes in an unconventional manner, but always with skill and honor.

The End

o

A/N
The idea for this story hit me between the eyes when I was pondering what I ought to write next. It's not my first Temeraire story, or my longest one (that would be "Every Thorn Has Its Rose" on both counts), but the idea was too good to ignore. I suppose this tale falls into the "fluff" category, but it was fun to write, and I hope you enjoyed reading it.

I think I have a soft spot in my heart for dragons; I don't like to see a good one die. When that happens, I often write a story that saves that dragon's life. So far, I've written four such stories; this one, and three in the HTTYD genre, rescuing the Snowy Bewilderbeast from the second movie ("Bewilderment" and "Telling Them Apart") and an unnamed Deadly Nadder from the Cressida Cowell book "How to Be A Pirate" ("A Nadder's Mystery").

On May 25, 2017, this story crossed the 500-hit mark. That's not much compared to some of my other stories, but for a short tale in a small fandom, it makes me happy.

October 5, 2017: 1000-plus hits. Thank you to all my readers.