The Emery Chronicles: The Black King's Beauty (SECOND BOOK)

Chapter 8

Chapter Eight- The Gift

The next day, Daegan awoke, and this time he was the one to find that he was alone. He saw no sign of Kieran in the room, and when he knocked on the door to her bathing chambers, there was no reply.

Daegan opened the doors that led into the bedchambers and motioned to one of the guards outside.

"Did you see the queen this morning?" He asked, becoming slightly concerned.

"Yes, m'lord. She asked to be escorted to the barnyards." Daegan sighed with relief at the guard's reply and nodded for him to go back to his post. He went back into the room, threw a simple black linen shirt over his head and left to go to the barnyards. He would not be satisfied until he saw her himself.

The doors to the barn were wide open as Daegan approached. He entered the barn and again sighed with relief at the sight of Kieran feeding Sinopa bits of dried beef. She was wearing a Rider outfit, a vest and trousers much like the ones she had worn the first time Daegan saw her, except they were of richer quality for they had been made especially for her by the palace seamstresses.

"Good morning," she remarked as he approached, giving him a smile. Daegan's heart skipped a beat, but he only smiled in return. "I'm sorry if I worried you, I just had some things to get done before you awoke."

"Things? Why before I awoke?"

"I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me. I know you... have feelings... for me that I can't return, but you've made me very happy since I've come here." She blushed, standing up to walk toward him.

"Oh, it's no trouble, really." Daegan tried chuckling and shrugging it off, but her presence made him so nervous and giddy, he felt so awkward.

"No, you've really done a lot. So I decided to get you a gift in return." She smiled and gestured for him to follow her toward the end of the barn.

"You shouldn't have, really."

"No, please, I really wanted to!" They reached a spot where a large chest was lying closed on the ground. Kieran gestured toward it, wanting Daegan to open it. He walked to it and extremely carefully did so. What was inside amazed him.

As the chest was opened, steam rose out of it. Once fully open, Daegan could see why: the chest was almost completely full of hot coals. And lying amidst the burning coals was the largest egg he'd ever seen. But it wasn't just large, (almost the size of a fully grown pumpkin!), it was also black and scaly, like Sinopa's body.

"It's a dragon egg. One of Sinopa's sons, actually." Kieran told him, watching for his reaction. He seemed stunned, but pleasantly so.

"How do you know it's a son if it hasn't hatched yet?" Daegan asked, kneeling before the egg.

Kieran came to kneel beside him as she answered, "See how the scales grow upward? When they do that, it's a boy. If the scales grow downward, it's a girl." She motioned over the egg to explain. "I thought, since you wanted Dragon Riders behind you, you ought to learn a thing or two about it. Maybe you won't really ride one day, but you can help me raise this dragon. If you'd like, of course."

"Like?" Daegan asked, mesmerized. "I'd love it! And I don't want cheap lessons either. If I'm going to spend time learning, I want to go all the way. Teach me everything about dragons! Teach me to ride!"

Kieran giggled and said, "Alright!" That giggle was the most enchanting sound Daegan had ever heard in his life. He stared at her, lost in her deep blue eyes, hearing only that sweet, sweet melody. She eventually stopped giggling and stared back, her smile vanishing and her body tensing. She could feel herself becoming breathless as she looked into his dark, warm eyes. A cracking noise broke her reverie, and she quickly turned to the egg. "I think it's hatching!"