The dragoons were together once more.
He narrowed his burning eyes. He had expected they would reunite, but this soon? No matter. His armies would soon arrive, and then the defeat of Serpent Mother would be accomplished.
I may have lost the Seventh, I may have failed to get Alakyl, and I may have failed to destroy the human king, but I still have my claws within the dragoons. I need only to twist, and they will fall apart.
-----
Albert had taken to walking around Indels in the late evenings now that he was well enough to move without significant pain. He hadn't realized he had grown so weak during his illness, and he intended to rectify that situation. While he was still weeks away from being able to wield his spear once more, he could now at least keep up with his children, even allow his son Aricin to ride on his shoulders for brief periods. He was not strong enough to carry Diandra yet. That irritated the princess to no end, and she was very vocal in letting her father know so.
At this time of night, it was now well past the children's bedtimes. Emille was with them, and most of the nobles had also retired to their homes for the night, so Indels Schloss was quiet. Albert's footsteps echoed softly in the stone stairway. Stairs had proven to be quite a problem for him, as Indels was full of them, but in the past weeks he was better able to climb them without ending up gasping for breath, or in serious pain. His chest still throbbed tonight as he walked up the steps, but it was a dull sensation. He still paused to rest when he reached the top though. Better to not take chances. I don't want this to hurt any longer than it must.
There was a chill draft in the hallway. Who left the balcony doors open at this time of night? Frowning slightly, Albert pulled his cloak around himself and set out to investigate. If there was one thing that still made him ache more than anything, it was the cold. Normally, he enjoyed having the windows open slightly at night. It kept the palace from becoming too stuffy and, if the weather was not too inclement, put enough of an edge in the air that he would have ample reason to use his favorite warm blankets.
He approached the balcony doors slowly, reaching out a hand to steady himself. The nights were getting very cold indeed now, and the sudden shock of a breath of the icy air had made him stagger.
"Albert? I mean, Your Majesty? Er..." This was accompanied by a low, frustrated growl in the Northland language.
"Reezy? Is that you?" None of the balcony lights were lit, and Albert couldn't quite make out the dark shape by the railing.
"Yes. You're looking better tonight."
"I felt better until I realized how cold the weather's become." If only poor Coen was doing so well as to even know what the weather was like... The king made his way to the Northlander's side. "I wasn't expecting you to be up here."
Reezy nervously scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, well, er...I don't mean to be sneaking around where I shouldn't..."
"You know you're welcome in Indels. This isn't a private balcony. Though I must say that you're here later than most."
"Yeah, I know." He gave a small smile. "I just...heh...I needed a place to meditate, and it's very peaceful up here."
Albert said nothing in response. His chest was starting to burn again. He only nodded as he looked out across Bale. It really was a beautiful city, in its own way. Wood, stone, wrought iron...
"I couldn't meditate anywhere else, with Lavitz carrying on the way he is. He's scary when he's mad."
"I know." The king smirked. "He's a lot like his father in that respect." He's more like Servi than he realizes. In fact, if Lavitz had a beard, the resemblance would be nearly perfect.
"My dad's like that too, only he usually goes out and kills a nemstok to get it out before he scares us too much."
The significance of a 'nemstok' was lost on Albert. He was too tired to ask about it, at any rate.
Reezy's head suddenly turned to face east, his attention focused there alone.
"What is it?" Albert asked, even though the cold air was making his voice hoarse.
"I sense..." He was silent for a moment. "Dragons."
"Whose dragons?" His interest piqued, Albert leaned forward over the railing slightly, trying to see what Reezy was talking about.
"I don't know...um...wait." He had closed his eyes. "Alakyl's dragon. And Niira's."
"Are they all right? Where's Meru?"
"I don't feel Meru, but I'm not used to sensing for her either. I think they're fine...no...Niira's hurt."
"How badly?"
"Bad enough that I can feel it."
Albert could just make it out now, two shapes in the distant sky. A large, dark, winged dragon, and a glowing snake-like dragon. They were approaching quickly. "I must have Lavitz notified. As much as I fear what he'll do to Niira." Wrapping his cloak around himself once more, he hurried as fast as he could back to the doorway.
Then he heard Reezy comment, very softly, "Oh no."
"What?" Albert looked back at him.
Reezy returned the gaze, his eyes wide and shining in the light that spilled out from the hallway. "He found her."
-----
He had just finished having dinner with his mother when he heard Kitty hooting in the stables. It was a sound he understood to mean that the gryff had seen something of interest, which nowadays usually meant someone was approaching the front door. The early warning he gave was perhaps the one good thing that had come of moving the beast from the forest to the stables for the winter. No matter what Niira said, Lavitz did not trust an animal with a beak strong enough to bite off his arm.
Sure enough, there soon came a knocking from the front door. Lavitz sighed, stopping halfway up the stairs. "I'll get it, mom," he called. He trudged back down to the ground floor, walking past the dining room on his way to the door.
"Who is it?" Maeja asked from the kitchen.
"I don't know yet," Lavitz said, trying to hide the exasperation in his voice. He reached up to throw back the lock on the door, then pulled it open.
Happy Tail stood on the front step, hopping from foot to foot, his feathers ruffled up in an effort to stay warm.
"What are you doing here?" Lavitz hated it enough when the bird disturbed him during the day, but at home? At his mother's home?
"S-sorry," the avian muttered. "Albert sent me."
The knight merely grunted in response, moving aside so Happy Tail could come in out of the cold.
"He says, he says..." The bird was still shivering. "Reezy says..."
"What, already?"
"Dragons comin' back from the East."
About time. Oh Niira, you are going to wish you were never--
"They're gonna be here in a couple minutes or so."
"Where?" Lavitz was already putting on his coat.
"I don't know, the eastern gate?"
Lavitz stormed out the front door, past the well in the center of Slambert Square. His mind was full of a thousand raging thoughts as he headed for the far gate. I don't care if she is an adult now. How dare she run off like that.
The Jade Dragoon Spirit buzzed against his skin. Fight now? it seemed to ask.
-----
He arrived at the eastern gate shortly after the returning dragoons. It was then that he hesitated. Alakyl was walking alongside Niira, who took very slow, deliberate steps, obviously in pain. She was leaning against a dragon for support.
Lavitz didn't recognize the dragon. It was small, for a dragon, with four narrow wings folded back against its golden flanks; its neck was covered in a thick, terrifying mane of bristling red spines. Magic positively rolled off of the beast. Fire magic.
Although the question of who controlled this dragon was a pressing one, even more so was Niira herself. Lavitz hurried to her, taking her by the shoulders so that she was no longer leaning against the dragon. "Niira, what were you thinking?" he hissed. "I told you not to go running off like that!"
She didn't look at him. She didn't say anything. She just stood, allowing her father to support her.
"What happened? Are you hurt?"
Again no answer. Her blonde hair fell wildly across her face, but it couldn't hide the look of blank hopelessness in her eyes.
That look. It scared Lavitz enough to make him forget his anger toward her. "Niira, what's wrong?" he asked softly.
"Wuff," Alakyl commented in a low voice.
"I must say, I hadn't realized Bale was such an impressive city the last time I was here."
Lavitz glanced up, beyond his daughter. Standing back in the darkness was a man in thick leather armor. Even in the dim light, Lavitz could see that his hair was pulled back to expose his face. The features were not Serdian at all, with the high cheekbones. It was hard to make out more than that, as the man had a short beard that covered his jaw line.
For some reason, the man reminded Lavitz of his late wife. Warnings were going off in his mind.
"Although, I must admit..." The man was still talking in that chilling voice of his. "I had set fire to most of this city fourteen years ago. That hardly makes for good sightseeing."
Lavitz's stomach had twisted into a cold knot. He helped Niira lean against the golden dragon again. "You." He stalked to the strange man. "You..." He was shaking in his rage, and couldn't even begin to get his thoughts in order. You, my wife's brother. You took away the most precious thing in my world. You destroyed my life.
The man stared back, hardly disgruntled by the First Knight. If anything, he was amused. "Yes?" When Lavitz wasn't able to respond, he continued. "Yes, I am the one called Shining Claw. I presume that you are Lavitz. Am I correct in this assumption?"
"Don't mock me," Lavitz growled. If only I had my spear with me right now.
Shining Claw shrugged.
The knight was finally able to get his thoughts in a coherent state again. He spoke slowly and deliberately to Shining Claw. "If you ever come near my daughter again..."
"What'll you do, knight? You won't hurt me."
"What makes you think that?"
"You are a dragoon." Shining Claw held up a hand to silence Lavitz. "Nobody told me. I can sense it. As you are a dragoon, you know how important it is that our entire group is together. You won't hurt me because, no matter how much you dislike it, I am one of Serpent Mother's dragoons. I am needed."
Again Lavitz's dragoon spirit called to him. Fight, kill, it said.
"You know this is true."
"Don't assume so much," Lavitz said. "I don't care who or what you are."
"Really."
"You so much as look at Niira wrong, and I swear to Soa above I will do everything in my power to hurt you."
"I'd like to see you try."
"You keep this up, and you'll get that chance."
Shining Claw smirked.
-----
"No! No! No! No!"
Alakyl was thrown backwards by the collision of the two dragoons. When she was finally able to get on her feet again, Lavitz and Shining Claw were far above her, their wings of light shimmering in the darkness. Anesh, Shining Claw's dragon, watched with fascination, but made no move to help his master. Alakyl knew Shining Claw well enough to know why: The dragoon did not need his dragon in order to inflict serious damage on Lavitz. She knew what the outcome of this duel would be, and that it was only really a matter of how many blows Lavitz could land before he was bested.
Despite her exhaustion from the earlier battle, Alakyl summoned her dragoon powers, her wings spreading out from her shoulders. "No!" she shouted again. She barked once, the sound amplified by magic, rippling the air as it rushed for the battling dragoons. It burst upon them in a shower of rainbow sparks. From her vantage, Alakyl could see them shudder from the impact, then fall from the sky. They were able to catch themselves mere feet from impact with the ground.
Alakyl took the opportunity to launch herself at Lavitz, who was the closest. Her paws connected with his thick breastplate, and she pushed him downwards. "No! Stop!"
Something struck her in her back, filling her veins with pain like a living fire. Arching back, yelping, she fell to the ground. Lavitz and Shining Claw then ignored her, once again rushing for each other in a blur of magic and glowing wings.
Niira was sitting under Anesh, her knees drawn to her chest. She had her hands clamped tightly over her ears, eyes squeezed shut. And she was screaming, like a terrified child. It was a loud, unearthly sound that echoed around in the still cold air.
Alakyl was still shaking from the magic attack she had suffered when the ground next to her burst into flame. She struggled to her feet and quickly stomped the flames into the dirt before they could spread. No more burning the city!
The sky above her was suddenly filled with dragoons. They forced the two battlers to the ground, although it took significant effort to do so. Kongol and Guilao had Shining Claw, who still looked nonplussed about the whole thing, as if he was allowing the two huge dragoons to hold him back simply for show. Lavitz was restrained by Haschel, Ereil, and Heja...and he did not like it one bit. Despite not being able to move now, he was still attempting to harm his opponent. His face was twisted in rage, eyes glowing green from the sheer effort of trying to pull enough magic together to attack Shining Claw.
Alakyl had never seen a dragoon that angry before. She too hid underneath Anesh, frightened of the Jade Dragoon, her wings folded tightly against her sides in a submissive stance. Niira was no longer screaming, but now whimpering like a lost puppy.
Heja had turned her head back to shout at Shining Claw in the Northland language. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! He is an ally!"
"He started it," Shining Claw replied calmly. "For no reason at all."
There was a brief pause as Guilao translated this for Kongol, who had appeared very confused by the short exchange. "Lie!" the Giganto thundered once he understood the situation. "Lavitz never fight without reason!"
Lavitz was too far gone in his ire to realize he was being talked about. He strained against the other dragoons, actually managing to move forward a few steps. "Let go of me!" he snarled.
"Lavitz, get a hold of yourself!" Haschel cried. "Don't make me punch you again!"
The broad wings of the Jade Dragoon beat a few times. "Son of a bitch..." he growled.
"Come on, pull yourself together! You died the last time you were like this!"
Alakyl noticed Lavitz falter briefly in his struggles at Haschel's last words. But the effect was short-lived, and he picked up his attempts to escape with a new vengeance. Crazy, Alakyl thought to herself. Love something that much, that you would die for it and not care if your death serves no purpose.
Shining Claw shrugged off his captors. "He sure is touchy, isn't he?"
All of the dragoons glared at him. Lavitz was finally starting to calm down, but he still had Shining Claw fixed in his icy gaze.
Haschel slowly released his hold on Lavitz's arm. "All right. You two aren't going to go at it again, are you?"
"I'm not promising that," Lavitz said.
Shining Claw shrugged. "Suit yourself."
The violet-clad dragoon scowled. "Well we certainly can't have you duking it out in Bale."
"It doesn't matter where," Lavitz muttered.
Haschel turned to his old friend. "What is your issue with...whoever this is, anyway?"
"He's the one who burned down Bale fourteen years ago in order to kidnap my daughter."
"I see."
"Your king will not be pleased to know Shining Claw is here then," Heja said.
"I don't think Serpent Mother will appreciate hearing about her dragoon doing things like kidnapping and committing arson, either," Ereil stated.
Shining Claw chuckled. "She knows," he said in a low voice, though no one heard him. Except Alakyl. She growled softly.
What did you do to make her accept your behavior? I will hurt you. No, me and Lavitz. We will hurt you.
"You will leave," Haschel said to Shining Claw. "Now. You will not set foot in Bale again, ever."
"By whose command?"
"If you really want to speak to King Albert about your crimes, I'm sure he'd be happy to give you a harsher sentence."
Shining Claw shook his head, smiling. "There's no point. Such threats mean little to me. I will come and go in this city as I please. But if you wish, I will stay away from the knight. Even if such exercises as these are amusing, they serve no purpose."
"They serve the purpose of me hu--" Lavitz was pounced on by his restrainers again.
Putting aside her fear of the irate Jade Dragoon, Alakyl stepped out from under Anesh. Shedding her armor, she walked over to Shining Claw, tilting her head up so she could look him in the eye. "Wuff."
"You think you of all people could stop me from doing as I please?" He looked down at her over the curve of the clear green stone set in his breastplate.
She narrowed her eyes. "You know very well what I can do." She paused for effect. "You stay away from the city."
With a snort, Shining Claw turned and stalked off into the night, as if that had been his plan all along. His dragoon armor disappeared like red smoke as he called Anesh to his side.
"Albert is going to love hearing about this," Haschel said.
"Wuff," Alakyl agreed.
-----
"Niira, this way!'
Running, running, running... Blinding heat, choking ashes, flames that seared his skin. The fires seemed to reach to the sky. Somewhere nearby, a wooden beam fell down, sending out a shower of sparks. He caught some of them on his bare arm. The pain was immediate, the feeling of skin being burned away. But he couldn't stop. They had to get out.
Trapped. Burning building ahead. Burning debris to either side. Must turn around and go back. She was coughing, standing close to him, afraid. He was afraid too, but he had to get them out of there. "Come on!" He grabbed her arm, ran back the way they had come. Somewhere along the way, he let go. They continued to run. And then he realized that she was no longer behind him. Panic. He turned around again, looking for her.
It was waiting.
Mane tossed about by the heat of the flames, wings arched and flashing in the light. In on hand he grasped Niira's arm, holding her off the ground at an odd angle. She writhed, squealing in fear.
"Niira! No!" He ran for her. He had to rescue her from the monster.
It glared at him through fiery eyes, growling softly. Then it lifted up its free hand, as if to strike the boy who ran at him.
The pain. He was forcefully thrown backwards, though the creature's hand had not touched him. He landed in a pile of burning slats. Something crackled around him, lightning bolts of fire. Pain.
The monster stared at him for a moment. It beat its powerful wings once, rising into the air. And then it was gone, taking Niira with it.
Stumbling forward. Calling her name, knowing she wouldn't answer. Things were blurry now. Sights, sounds, thoughts. Where am I?
Someone standing in front of him. A knight. He recognized the face, but whose was it? He was being picked up...carried...nothing...
He couldn't shake the dream. It was so real... He hadn't dreamed about that night so vividly since...ever. What's going on?
He was shivering, covered in a cold sweat. Slowly, carefully, painfully, he sat up. His side was throbbing, sending jolts of torture through him. How long has it been now?
I've been awake three days and already this place is driving me crazy. He didn't care what Shadow Hunter said, he had to get out. Away from this place of sickness and nightmares. Away from Indels and the dragoons who currently resided there. Every time one walked in the vicinity--he still wasn't sure what constituted the 'vicinity'--the wound in his side would burn in response to the dragoon spirit they carried. Though it was hurting less with time, it was still an extremely unpleasant feeling, and what had actually woken him from his comatose state.
He had awoken three nights ago to piercing pain like nothing he had ever known, pain so horrific he had screamed and screamed until he was hoarse. It was the only thing he could do. Nothing Shadow Hunter had done had helped. It had just eventually stopped on his own.
He had later found out that two dragoons had been fighting in the city, and he had actually alerted the others to the situation.
I can...feel magic now. Gods, why? I don't want to be an early warning system.
Moving carefully so as not to pull his wound open again, he slipped on a loose shirt. I have to get out of here. I can't take it any more. This place is cursed. Taking a quick look around his infirmary room, he didn't see any more clothes. Of course not. They expect me to stay in here. Grabbing all the blankets he could find, he stood--gods above, stop the pain--and wrapped them all around himself, then limped slowly out of his room.
Let Shadow Hunter say her worst when I get back. I have to get away for now.
-----
To the west of Indels, across the river, at the top of a hill, was the rock. He had come here often as a child. It was quiet, and the stars were easily visible away from the lights of the city. The rock stuck out of the ground at an angle, perfect to lay on in order to view the stars. Or one could sit on the ground on the far side of the rock, and lean back against it, which offered a view of the landscape to the west.
The cold bit at his face, and his side felt like it was splitting open, but still he kept walking. He had come this far. It wouldn't make sense to turn back now.
He felt that stabbing pain again. The same kind he had felt when the dragoons were fighting, what he felt whenever one walked nearby. He paused, wincing, waiting and hoping for it to go away. Thankfully, it did dull after a while, and he continued walking to the rock.
"Coen?" He couldn't see who had stood up from a seat on the far side of the rock, but he knew the voice.
"Niira?" he asked quietly. So that's why I was hurting. "What are you doing out here?" He had to keep his voice low, as he couldn't take deep enough breaths to speak louder. But the night air carried the small sound well.
She ignored his question. "Oh god...Coen..." She ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck, nuzzling her face against his shoulder. "I thought I'd never see you again."
Her embrace caused a sudden shift in balance, and immediately his painful cramps shot up his side. He drew his breath in sharply.
"Oh...I forgot. I'm sorry." She stepped back.
"You just caught me off guard, that's all."
"Well...come on. Let's sit together."
"I'm surprised you still remember this place."
"How could I forget? We came here all the time." She had walked back to her spot and motioned for him to join her.
Coen hesitated.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm just afraid that once I get down, I'll never be able to stand up again." Not to mention getting back to the infirmary. I'm not going to have the unicorn-man carry me around again.
"I'll help you."
He still hesitated for a moment. Then he joined Niira. He hasn't realized even just sitting down would be so arduous. Wincing, he braced himself against the rock. Even with Niira's assistance, it took a while for him to get down to the ground. When he was settled, he pulled his blankets around himself once more, closing his eyes as he concentrated on not shaking so damn much.
They sat in silence for a while. Niira eventually wormed her way under the blankets as well.
"I heard you had quite an adventure," Coen said.
"Really." It was said dully.
"Is something wrong?"
"Nothing I want to talk about."
Why won't you tell me things any more? He seethed inwardly. But that took too much energy, and he was soon calm again. "It has to do with the dragoons fighting the other night, doesn't it?"
She didn't answer.
"So what happened in the East?"
"Meru, Alakyl, and I went to stop Phoenix's army."
"How did that go?"
"Hard to tell." It sounded pretty negative to Coen. "I don't know, you'd have to ask one of them. I was out for most of the battle."
"Sounds like me," Coen muttered to himself. Like during one of the first battles I ever fought, when I got an arrow in my shoulder. I thought I was going to die and made such a fuss about it that I was no good for the rest of the battle. Radulf had to explain to me that no, an arrow in the shoulder will not usually kill you...
Niira was still talking. "The clan leader made me drink some healing potion, and I hallucinated pretty bad."
"Really?"
"Yes. Why, don't you?"
"No. Very few people react like that to ingesting that stuff."
"Oh..." She looked to the ground.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised though." Coen paused to catch his breath. He hadn't talked this much in...he didn't know how long. "Must run in the family. Sir Lavitz is the same way."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. It's part of the reason why he hates the field doctors so much. From what I've heard, his father was like that too..."
"I didn't know that."
"It's funny what we can learn about people we thought we knew." He knew he sounded bitter as he said that.
The silence that followed was a very awkward one indeed. Niira shifted slightly, trying to steal more of the blankets. "I heard about what happened with your father," she said at last, in a very quiet tone.
Coen's mind froze. I was down in the infirmary for gods know how long. The prisons are two floors below that. My father...is down there... "Who told you?"
"My father. I asked him."
"Why?" Why would anyone want to know about that?
"You said something to Albert when we got back to Indels."
"I don't remember saying anything to him."
"You weren't exactly lucid at the time."
Coen simply stared at the cold ground. Gods, she must hate me. She knows. She knows it all...doesn't she? He brooded over this for a few minutes. "He didn't tell you what happened at the cliffs, did he?" Why...why did I say that? Stupid, stupid...
"No, he didn't mention any cliffs. Why?"
"Oh." Only he and King Albert and Radulf know. That's enough...I hate that even they know. But you are my friend, my best and oldest friend. You deserve to know the truth. But I don't want to tell it...I don't...I need to though...you deserve to know... "You know the cliffs northeast of here? The ones that overlook the river?"
She thought for a moment. "Vaguely."
"I...I used to spend a lot of time there. It's very quiet, and alone. No noise. It's a beautiful view. The canyon's really wide. And deep. Very deep. I would stand at the top and not have any thoughts or worries..." I can't go on... The memory was like a vice on his heart. "After the...situation with my father, I went there... Niira, you don't know what it's like." He had to choke back tears. "Not all of us were so lucky as to have fathers like yours."
"Coen..."
"I stood there one day and just wondered, how far is it to the bottom? If I was to jump, how long would it take? What if I landed in the river and not on the rocks? Would there be this pain after death?" He stopped there. It was in the evening. The canyon's especially nice when the sun's setting.
After a few moments, Niira asked, "Why didn't you go through with it?"
"Radulf found me."
She was clinging to his arm, her head resting against his shoulder. He knew she was crying. He could feel her tears through his sleeve. But he made no move to comfort her. He couldn't. He couldn't comfort himself.
"I haven't been back there since then."
He heard her whimper once in her otherwise silent sobbing.
Gods, I'm sorry Niira. I'm sorry I'm such a mess. You don't know what it was like after you disappeared.
"I'm very glad he found you," she said.
There are some days where I wish he hadn't.
-----
Okay honestly, I don't know what's up with the past couple chapters being so depressing. I'll try not to make a habit of it.