"Wow," Rose gasped, staring starry-eyed at the island. "It's gorgeous."
"And you three," Lao Shi added to their amazement, "are the first non-magical creatures to ever set eyes on it."
"Ever?" Nicholas blanched. He had never intended to be part of history; had never intended to change the world. Now, he was a part of something much bigger than himself, and all he wanted was to live up to the challenge set before him. Huntsmistress Rose was their leader, but he was right behind her. His name may not go down in the history books, but he would know that he was there – he walked beside her – and that would be enough.
"Ever," Lao Shi repeated with a nod.
Fu stretched, limbs cracking after spending hours spent cooped up in a cage. "Let's go see our rooms and get settled in, hmm?"
Before they could take another step, however, a dragon swooped down ahead of them. Changing into his human form, he dropped neatly to the floor just ahead of the group.
"Lao Shi," he greeted with a bow. "And, Jacob Long – I heard that you were back."
"Better than ever," Jake said coolly.
"Rose, Nicholas, Kyle," Fu broke in, taking it upon himself to make introductions, "This is Benjamin. He became the Australian Dragon after his elder brother, Fred, disappeared a while back."
Rose was quick to control her facial features, giving nothing away. She wasn't about to break it to Benjamin that the Master had kidnapped the old Australian Dragon and smuggled him into the U.S.A., specifically for Rose to kill and prove her prowess to the Master. It seemed unnecessary to add to his pain, and it also seemed detrimental to their mission. She knew that her past grievances would, most likely, be put on trial tomorrow morning, but she wasn't about to announce anything; not before she knew the full scope of the dragons' knowledge, that is.
"How can we help you, Benjamin?" Lao Shi asked. "We are very tired from our travels. We were about to go to our rooms."
"The Council is … wary of allowing three Huntsclan members free reign of our island, especially one like her."
"Watch your tone," Jake snapped. "Respect her."
Rose fought to keep her surprise off her face. What did Jake have against Benjamin, anyway? Usually he understood that she could fight her own battles (though his protective instinct never did sit quietly) and didn't speak for her, knowing how it irked her. And she would have said something against Benjamin, if there had been a moment before Jake had broken in.
"Of course." Benjamin forced a smile on his face. "I didn't mean any disrespect."
"I'm sure," Rose replied. "Continue on."
Sometimes, when you're powerful, you have to remind people that you have that power. Though she was sure that Benjamin, from the way he was looking at her, had no actual respect for her. It was something that Rose had encountered from time to time, though those moments became rarer as her reputation spread. Men tended to underestimate her because she was a woman, until she kicked them in the face and left them lying in the dirt.
"The Council sent me to keep an eye on them while they are here."
"One dragon for three people?" Fu asked. "That doesn't sound right."
"I am here to keep an eye on Huntsboys 88 and 89," Benjamin clarified.
"They are people, not numbers," Rose barked. "Call them by their names."
Benjamin forced a smile. "As you wish, Huntsmistress. I was sent to escort Huntsboys Nicholas and Kyle to their rooms. The Council has requested Lao Shi, Jacob Long, and Huntsmistress Rose to go to their chambers immediately."
"The meeting isn't until tomorrow," Jake protested.
"I am only telling you what they said to me. I can do no more."
"Well, we must obey," Lao Shi resigned. He pinned Benjamin with his eyes, the ancient orbs glimmering with mirth. "You and the boys can take our bags to the room while we go meet with the Council."
Benjamin cringed. "But of course."
Rose, under the pretense of depositing her duffel, whispered to Nicholas and Kyle. "I don't care if we're here to make friends. I don't trust him, and I can clearly see Jake has an issue with him. If he does anything, kick his ass."
"Yes Huntsmistress!" They chorused, eyes flying to Benjamin like they wanted him to do something.
"But keep in mind, we are here to make friends," Rose said, taking in their trigger-happy expressions.
"Yes, Huntsmistress."
"I will see you soon."
"And you as well!" Nicholas called.
With a final nod at them, Rose followed Lao Shi and Fu, keeping step with Jake.
"Why do you think they want to meet with me now?" She whispered, anxiety breaking in every syllable.
"I think they're just paranoid about having humans on the island. And they know that you're dangerous; they know your reputation. They just want to have control over their territory. You wouldn't let an unknown dragon roam freely in the Huntsquarters, would you?"
Rose snorted. "No. You don't even roam freely in the Huntsquarters."
"I'm feeling the trust and love, babe."
Rose rolled her eyes at him, but felt better after the brief banter. Jake reached over, squeezed her fingers, and let go just as briefly.
They had arrived at the Council chambers.
Rose walked in, glancing around her surroundings, but not feeling intimidated by this place in the least. In fact, with the security measures the Council seemed rushing to put into place, she felt as though she were intimidating, rather than being intimidated. It was an interesting feeling - a blast from the past, really – and she was finding she liked being seen that way again.
"Good afternoon, Council." Lao Shi greeted.
"Afternoon," the tallest man rumbled. "I am Councilor Andam. Welcome, Huntsmistress Rose. It is truly an honour to have you here."
"I am truly honoured to be here," Rose responded, sincerely.
"We will go through official proceedings tomorrow, beginning at ten a.m.," Andam explained. "Right now, we would like to talk frankly about you being on our island. This is our sanctuary. We do not want to think the worst of you, but, as I'm sure you can understand, we do not, at this moment, think the best of you."
"I do understand," Rose concurred.
"Well," he smiled thinly. "That is one obstacle out of the way. We would like to place a dragon guard on you for the duration of your presence."
"Like the guard you already forced on my companions?" Rose demanded.
Andam actually grinned at her. "Benjamin is harmless. And I have no doubts that if your companions truly wanted to defeat him, they would be able too – I doubt the weak become second hands to the Huntsmistress."
Rose could only offer a gesture of acceptance.
"But it comes down to this: either you accept our guard or you remained confined to your rooms. I would hate to deny you the chance to explore our island, but if necessary, it would be done."
"I see. Who would my guard be?"
"The Irish Dragon, Brigh." Andam replied. "She is elderly, and gentle. She is more to keep an eye on you, rather than keep you under control. We are not here to be threatening. We just want to be aware of you."
"I see. And would Benjamin remain assigned to my companions?"
"That was our initial plan. Though, Huntsmistress, if I may admit something to you – we did not assign Benjamin to your companions for the sake of controlling your companions; Benjamin is new to his duties, and he needs to encounter some … obstacles … before he is ready to fully embrace what it means to become the Australian Dragon."
"You're testing him?" Rose questioned.
Andam relaxed back in his chair. Rose saw how the other Council members looked at him (though they remained silent, allowing him to speak for them) as though they couldn't believe he was telling her their plans for Benjamin. Rose was glad he was; it was them demonstrating their trust in her before they had any concrete reason too. If the weekend continued in this manner, Rose may just reach her goal after all.
"Yes, I suppose we are."
"If I may inform Nicholas and Kyle of this, he will indeed get tested. They will be mischievous but not cruel."
"I think that is a good idea." Andam agreed. "But, do you consent to Brigh?"
Rose glanced at Lao Shi. "Are you acquainted with her?"
"I am. She is even older than I; very knowledgeable and very maternal. She will not cause you problems. She will only observe."
Rose nodded, trusting his judgment – something she had come to do over the past year and a half, though she could not pinpoint exactly when.
"I consent to Brigh." She agreed.
"Excellent." Andam smiled at her again. "She will meet you at your room – I am sure you want to freshen up before you go exploring."
"I do." Rose smiled at him in return. "I look forward to talking to you tomorrow."
"As do I, Huntsmistress, as do I," Andam said with a nod before dismissing them.
They traipsed back out in the open air.
"I feel bad for Benjamin," Fu mentioned as they walked.
"Why?" Rose asked.
"He was never trained like Fred; never really considered by his parents. Fred, though obnoxious, was the golden boy – the first male Australian Dragon in seven generations. And Benjamin really looked up to his brother. It can't be easy to have him disappear and not know what happened to him."
"Mmm," Rose murmured.
She felt Jake's eyes on her.
'Do you know what happened to Fred?" Jake asked her, coming to a stop.
She heard Lao Shi and Fu halt as well, before feeling their eyes fall upon her.
"I do," she admitted.
"He's dead," Jake stated.
"He is. Not last Christmas, the Christmas before."
"Rose, you must tell us what occurred."
Rose glanced at Lao Shi. "I don't want it to come up as a strike against the Clan later."
"It's just us here," Fu said. "What's the story?"
Rose sighed, and spilled every detail. How she'd fought against Fred to prove that she could without the use of technology. She went down to every, last grisly, detail, including how she'd had to injure him so badly that he couldn't fight against her when she finally wrapped her hands around his neck, strangling him to death.
She looked to Jake, who looked positively horrified. Lao Shi had a calm acceptance on his face; Fu looked disgusted; but she couldn't take the way Jake was looking at her.
"It was a long time ago," she said quickly. "Things are much different now."
"Was the Australian Dragon the last one you killed?"
Rose shook her head. "No, it wasn't. Not much longer after that, a week, maybe two, there was a small group of dragons discovered. A scout saw them transform in Central Park and got photographs of their dragon and human forms. It appeared to be a full dragon family travelling through New York. I was sent to dispatch the six of them.
"We discovered the hotel room they were staying in. I slipped in while they were asleep. Three children went quietly. The final one let out a whimper before I ended him. I didn't think anyone had heard, but when I went to locate the parents, the mother was out of bed. She made enough noise to wake the father. I dispatched her quickly, before she had time to transform. The father, however, came out to face me as a dragon. It was a horrible fight, but I conquered." She took in a breath, meeting Jake's eyes. "It was him that created the scar along the back of my neck, the one you're always running your fingers across. One of his tail spikes caught my skin."
"I wasn't aware there were any other dragons in New York at the time." Lao Shi shook his head, disappointed in himself. "Ah, well, let's get back to our rooms."
As Fu and Lao Shi went on ahead, Rose grabbed Jake's arm. He quickly pulled out of her grasp.
"What's wrong?" She asked. "You knew that I did things like this – worse things."
"Worse things than murdering an entire family? You looked down at innocent children and killed them. How old were they?"
Rose shrugged. "All under ten, I think. Look, there's no defending my mindset back then, but I can't change anything. And, like I said, you knew I did things like that. Why are you so upset right now?"
"Picturing you wrapping your hands around the neck of a dragon after beating him to a pulp is not a comforting image."
"I've changed, and I wouldn't do that to you."
"But you almost did. Before we knew each other's true identities, think of how many times we fought? Both of us would have gone in for the kill if we could have, but we were to evenly matched." Jake's voice dropped. "At least we were, when we were children. Now, I think you have surpassed me, and that makes me fear for my life."
"Jake, I wouldn't –"
"It's not a question of whether or not you would," Jake interrupted. "It's the fact that you could."
"Jake…"
"Let's just go to our rooms, okay?"
"Okay," Rose agreed, feeling absolutely awful.
The Irish Dragon's name is pronounced "Bree".
I don't own anything recognizable. Thanks to my beta, Gift Of The Dragons.
~TLL~