Amaranth's Yule

Chapter Five ~ Two Crowns on a Pike

Dim, autumn sunlight filtered into the office through the ornate, glass windows. Emira leaned against the windowsill and gazed out over the dying garden. She watched absent-mindedly as golden leaves silently fluttered down from the branches of the birch tree, until the breeze whisked them away to land somewhere else. Behind her, Lassor sat at their desk, humming to himself in thought as he read over a scroll. After a moment, he set it aside in a separate pile to his right and picked up another scroll form the stack on his left.

"What are you doing with those?" Emira questioned him, meandering over to the desk.

"I'm setting them aside for both of us to go over," he replied distractedly as he added another scroll to the pile.

Irritation jabbed at her stomach as Emira picked up the first scroll off the smaller pile and read it over. She read the next one, her frustration growing. "More ruins have been discovered in the east," she read aloud. "Phoenix Tail wants to set up shop in Silverkeep." She eyed her brother with displeasure. "These are not important enough that we both have to go over them."

"They could be," Lassor argued, flashing her an annoyed look.

"But nothing is ever going to get done if we don't split up the work," Emira protested, slamming the two scrolls in front of him. She was fully convinced he was only trying to get out of doing his share of the work. Sighing, she walked back over to the window. She missed the halcyon days when their family was whole. She had never understood until a few days ago what her parents' work really involved. The excitement of being queen was already starting to wear off.

Suddenly, the office doors flew open and an agitated looking Jac entered the room. Hay from the aviary was stuck to his tight-fitting leather garments. He brushed it off quickly and stood up straight, clearing his throat before he spoke. "Me and my squad were patrolling our border with Ivygate, when we discovered something concerning at the edge of the field." His eyes glazed over with a grave look. "Charred vegetation. A lot of it."

Emira's breath caught in her throat as dragons instantly came to mind. The tyrants of the skies that brought nothing but trouble. The dreaded, winged creatures that had killed her parents and ruined her life. They were now right outside Revelen territory, and Emira had never been so scared in her life.

"You should come see for yourself."

Lassor was on his feet immediately, just as concerned. Swallowing the lump of fear in her throat, Emira ran after the two of them with the same thought still locked in her mind. "Find Rowan," Emira instructed a servant that she passed. "He's in charge until we return." The servant nodded and scampered off.

As they ran, Emira picked up her dress and tied it up to her waist using a ribbon. She considered changing, but then realized there was no time. If a dragon was nearby, it had to be dealt with now. Emira and Lassor chased after Jac through winding halls and steep stairs until they emerged into the bright, dazzling aviary.

The aviary was a large, glass structure on the outside of the castle that resembled the shape of a bird cage. The entire ground inside was covered with tall, green grass to simulate the outside terrain, along with many ivy-covered logs, laying around the edges of the pen. There were huge boulders here and there and a shallow drinking pond in the center of the enclosure. When they entered, a dozen feathery heads poked out of the grass. Their beady, black eyes locked onto the newcomers as they closed the door behind them. All the roc's feathers were around the same orangey-brown color. All but one.

Red Sky began squawking happily before running over to Emira's side. She stroked his scarlet plumage as he nuzzled into her, almost knocking her to the ground. "Aww," Emira laughed. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"