Princess Daughter Ereneya Vaesern Greyson Ruinheart

  I sat in the quarters that Heskari had offered us. My children were split among the castle. I trusted Tiran to be able to survive against Heskari’s children but the Dragoness herself was a threat that only I could deal with. I was keeping my mind connected to Naravie and keeping an eye on her. She was far too trusting but I couldn’t argue that her shredded wing would force us to stop. Carrying the four of them wouldn’t be overly difficult but if Heskari did speak true about Tesvin’s forces then I would not be able to defend them all.

  My gaze flicked up as the door opened. I was hoping Irand had returned but instead I was greeted by Heskari’s face, fashioned into a frown as she waltzed in and took a seat next to mine.

  “Ereneya.”

  “Heskari.”

  “I have questions.”

  “Such as?”

  “You haven’t aged a day in the centuries since our clash. What have you done?”

  “I simply age well.”

  “That is false. You were stronger than I when we fought in the past. But now I have the advantage in strength while you have stagnated.”

  “I have not spent the intervening centuries training.”

  “Perhaps but I worry for you and your children.”

  “We do not need your pity.”

  Her eyes narrowed and she bared her teeth.

  “I am trying to make sure that that girl does not end up like my youngest! Dragged away while I could do nothing! To be raped and killed! Do you want that for her?!” She roared, her voice echoing off the tall walls.

  “I would die before I let that happen.” I hissed back.

  “And if you were not given that choice? If he wounded you but left you alive? I know that pain of losing a child to a monster like that. Let me help you.” She said, her voice growing calmer as she gripped àthe stump of her shoulder.

  “There is nothing that would stop me.”

  “Arrogance. You are falling into the trap our ancient kin did.”

  “I have the power to defe-” I was cut off as she lunged forward and gripped me by the throat.

  Her hand was like steel, I tore at it but I could not loosen her fingers. I felt my magic well up and the floor began glowing beneath her feet. She did not respond as the smell of burning flesh filled the room but brought me close to her face, her singular eye boring into me.

  “I know what you are. Only someone who never had to fear the touch of a man would brush off a threat like that. A woman you may be but you have not always had that body have you?” She growled.

  “You don't know anything about me.”

  “I know enough to see a woman who refuses to face her past. What happened that you are so frightened by? If you don't face it you will be stunted, you will be weak. You will not be able to protect your daughter.” She growled.

  I lashed out.

  One heavy fist barreled into the side of her face. She didn't flinch as the blow connected, her grip around my throat still like iron. My hand came down and I could already see the bruise forming on the side of her face.

  “Let me help you.”

  “I. Do. Not. Need. Your. Pity.” I spat out.

  “It is not pity. You are acting like a prideful child.” She growled back.

  “Leave it.”

  She held my stare for a moment before she dropped me to the ground to catch my breath. I struggled to stay on my feet as she turned away and made her way to the heavy door.

  “If you continue on like this then sooner or later you will lead your family to ruin. I hope it's worth your stubborn pride.” She growled before she left the room.

  I brought a hand up to my neck. Definitely bruised. She didn't know what she was talking about. I was fine.

  I carried myself to the bed in the room I had claimed and I threw the blankets over myself. I was still keeping track of my children but some rest wouldn't hurt right now.

  Lady Naravie Greyson

  I awoke as I got smacked in the face. My eyes snapped open and I quickly saw the culprit. Odessa had rolled over on herself and her arm was now draped across my face. She herself had her hair falling down in front of her face and I brushed it back across her head and tucked her arm onto her where it would be more comfortable. My ears twitched as I heard the turning of paper and I turned towards the source of the sound.

  Heskari sat next to my cot, a hefty looking book in hand. A multicolored bruise covered the side of her face and she blinked in surprise as I sat up to meet her gaze. My back ached with the motion and I felt more of that salve had been freshly applied to my wounds.

  “I did not expect you to be awake for several hours more.” She said as she marked the page she had been on and closed the large tome.

  “I've always recovered quickly. Much to everyone’s chagrin.” I said remembering the last time I had been badly hurt and Tiran and Lady Greyson forcing me to remain in bed.

  “You are quite hardy. I imagine before you became a Dragon you were quite strong indeed.”

  My ears twitched at the insinuation. She knew I had been human? How? Why did she care? Before I could form questions she spoke.

  “You can relax. Given how…. friendly your mother has been since you arrived, I cannot imagine she has taken a mate. And the fact that she carries your Brothers tells me that she has friends among humans. Of which you were most likely one.” She said, her confidence filling the words.

  “I was not her friend. I met her by stabbing her with a spear.”

  For her part Heskari looked taken back by that.

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  “You… stabbed her? And she still made you her daughter after that?” Heskari asked.

  “I was following a legend that drinking a dragon’s blood could grant strength. My home had been threatened by an army and we needed something to combat them. So I went dragon hunting alone.”

  “But you survived.”

  “Yes but I was changed. She didn't turn on me because of the bond between us. Originally she was going to chase me off once the transformation was done.”

  Heskari barked out a laugh. I gave her a quizzical look and she stifled her amusement.

  “While it is true that a bond exists between hatchling and parent, it fades relatively quickly. Within a few weeks we are no longer bound to being overbearing or protective. How quickly did she change her tune?”

  I stared at her, not quite believing.

  “Within two weeks.”

  “Ah she would have still been in the throes of it then. I would guess she was trying to save face on the fact that she had grown fond of you.”

  “I’m not sure. She changed her tune when we were attacked by men from the Church and I used magic for the first time. I tried pulling a river from its banks and sweeping them away. It worked for a few moments.”

  “You were able to pull an entire river from its banks? Before you had fully changed?”

  “Yes, is that abnormal?”

  “Indeed. You must have had an innate connection to magic if you were able to do that while still in the throes of the changes. I would guess that since you changed you have noticed you have quite a bit deeper well of power to draw from?”

  “I… When my home was attacked my Father was killed and… it broke something in me. I called on all my power. I pulled an entire lake in my wake to drown an army. And I did. And then I spent two weeks asleep. I don’t know that I have that much power.”

  Heskari gaped at me like I was some sort of fairy tale come to life. I gave her a quizzical look and she composed herself.

  “Child, you called upon more power than most my age possess. And you recovered it within only the span of two weeks? If I did what you did I would sleep for the better part of a year to awaken once more. You could be a prodigy in magi- Wait. Did something go wrong around your transformation? Were you injured or drained?”

  I gave her a suspicious nod. Her skin paled by a few shades and I saw concern enter her eyes.

  “May I see your hand for a moment?”

  I hesitated but I held out my hand for her to inspect.

  She traced her finger along it and up my arm, gently poking a few spots that made me wince. The last point she pressed made me reel back as it felt like needles piercing the skin. I looked up at her with rage in my eyes and I was met with a concerned look.

  “Child, You are suffering from Magic Blight.”

  I gave her a questioning look and she let out a sigh.

  “When you transformed your body was compensating for the lack of magic you had. You wouldn’t have noticed much difference early on but now… has your physical strength been dwindling? Have you gotten noticeably weaker since you transformed?”

  I thought too myself for a few moments. I had noticed that a few things had gotten harder. I’d had to rest more frequently, especially since we started traveling, I had been quick to fall asleep and I had resisted waking up. I nodded to Heskari and she let out a curse.

  “So what is Magic Blight?”

  “It is a condition that Dragons can afflict themselves with, almost always as a byproduct of hatching or just after hatching, by expending more magic than their body can manage to replace. It converts one’s body tissue into magic to compensate for the loss. In most cases it will run its course in a few months but in some like yours… it can lead to death. You have several months before it reaches that point and I at least have the means to stop it. Alvina suffered much the same fate when she went through the transformation. Out of curiosity how old are you child?”

  “Twenty-Three. Why?”

  She stared at me with something akin to horror.

  “You should be much much larger than you currently are. The Blight stunted your growth when you hatched I would wager.”

  “Why wouldn’t Mother have told me of this? Why should I believe anything you have to say about it?” Anger flared in my voice.

  “Because your mother has been floundering her way through her life. She is trying her best but she has her own issues. I’m sure you noticed we were vastly different sizes?”

  I nodded.

  “We are less than a century apart, she should be very close to me at her full size. And I should not be able to overpower her with a single arm.”

  That caught my attention. My eyes narrowed and she held up her hand defensively.

  “I tried to speak with her about this but she simply grew angry and we had a bit of a fight.” She said, gesturing to the bruise.

  “Why do you care? You barely know us. From what I heard she beat you and threw you into a lake last time you met.”

  “But she let me live. And for that I will be grateful. I met Alvina only a few weeks after that battle. And I have been overjoyed since. And I care so much because I do not want her to suffer the same fate that I did, where I was unable to protect my children.”

  “They both seem alright.” I said, remembering Alvina’s injuries as I spoke.

  “There were three child. My youngest was taken from us by a male who… He made his plans known as he carried her away. I lost an arm and an eye in that battle. Alvina’s eyes were damaged and her throat was ripped out. She only survived because Ilgard was able to mend her wounds while I was unconscious. The four of us could not stand against him, he brought to bear more power than we could match. And I lost my youngest child. She was barely older than you when she was taken. We had only had her with us for a short few years before she was taken.” Heskari explained, her eye watering as she spoke.

  The tone in her voice was disarming. She was still hurting from the loss. She was trying to help us.

  “What was her name?”

  “Vakaya. She was a child of Water and Wind like Alvina. I found her when she was naught but a young boy begging for scraps at one of the coastal villages. I brought him home and after a few months he asked if he could be like us. I obliged and the day she hatched… I had never seen someone so joyous in my life.” Her voice wavered as she spoke and I felt the sorrow emanating from her.

  “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “It has been nearly eighty years and I still…. I still cannot think of her without breaking my heart. I would try to spare your mother of that pain but she has refused my aid and I cannot force her to accept it.”

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  “If and when she ever faces what blocks her from growing and binds her to the past… be there for her. Protect her. I do not know what form that unraveling may take but it will not be a quick process. Nor I imagine will it be a painless one. But for now I would help you counter the curse that is killing you. If you wish I can have the ritual ready by this evening.”

  “I’d like to speak to my brothers before I agree to anything.”

  She nodded in understanding.

  “Very well. As I said you have several months before it will become fatal but… Do as you will.”

  “Why are you here? Were you waiting for me to awaken?”

  “Partially. I came to retrieve some salve for this bruise and I wished to speak with you. But also it is one of the few places in the palace that Alvina’s Telepathy will not reach me.”

  “You don’t want her to speak to you?”

  “Oh no child, When she is in the throes of emotion she often has trouble… concealing her thoughts and emotions. She sends them out unintentionally. And currently your brother is putting her through a very strong series of them.”

  “Tiran is doing that?”

  “Is he the pale one who likes books?”

  “No thats Irand.”

  “Ah, then Irand is currently bedding her.”

  I choked on air as she said it.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Irand? Irand is bedding her? And you are… fine with that?”

  “Yes? Should I not be?”

  “Its just… She is your daughter shouldn’t you be angry that a grou of strangers has come to your home and… bedded one of your daughters?”

  She barked out a laugh.

  “Child she is four centuries old, and since she lost the ability to speak it has been difficult for her to speak with anyone, let alone bed someone. If it makes her happy then I have no qualms about it.”

  “I just never thought he would… be so forward.”

  “I do believe she was the one who was forward. But they seem to be enjoying themselves. Alas now that I have spoken with you, I think I may go enjoy the afternoon sun. Simply reach out to me if you wish to perform that ritual. I can teach you as well if you wish to perform it yourself once you leave.”

  “Thank you.”

  She rose to her feet and quietly left the room. I snuggled my way back against Odessa and thought to myself for a long while before I drifted back to sleep.