Crown of horns

Chapter six

I run in terror, the blood dragon strolls a few feet behind me.

"experietur quicquam mali tempus. prohibere. You are safe. Stop." The dragon tells me. I ignore him. He growls, his long tail collides with my body, stopping me mid run. I drop to my knees, my ribs screaming in pain. The dragon stops overheard. It cranes its neck to nudge me with his snout. "Forgive me." He apologizes. I scoot away, my hand still latched around my chest. "Go. Go away." I breathe. The dragon snorts, great puffs of air flaring his nostrils.

"ingratus est humanum. Ungrateful human. I have saved you from those men. Shall I call them back?" He snarls. I cower back. The back of my head strikes the hard ground. I groan. Tears spring to my eyes.

"paenitet. Stultus essem. paenitet." The dragon mutters. Something gently taps my side. I open my eyes to find the dragons tail curled around my side helping me up.

"They will come back. festina." The dragon urges. I take a shaky breath walking along side the dragon. He limps, an odd sight for such a mighty beast. Dragons are hunted for sport, perhaps he is just a lucky survivor of our vicious ways.

He leads me across the field, towards the dying star mountains. The moon creeps across the sky, soon to give way for the sun. When it crowns the mountain it burns. Where the name 'burning star' comes from.

"Where are you taking me?" I look up at the blood dragon. His dark eyes shift from the horizon to my form. I am barely tall enough to reach his knee. "A safe place. You're majesty." He stares at the crown still settled on my forehead. I take it off. "I am not the queen. That is Ysme, my sister." I explain debating weather or not to throw the crown.

"Royalty is not your birth or heritage. It is your wisdom." I realize now he speaks slowly, not slowly as if to pronounce each word to my understanding but to his, as if English is foreign on his tongue.

"Wisdom? Wisdom is royalty among dragons?" The dragon nods. "Among we dragons, wisdom is power. The king of the dragons is the dragon wise enough to outsmart the previous king. They battle in challenges of knowledge to rule and chose a mate based on this. If they are truly meant to be their mate they must pass a test of wisdom but a dragon does not choose their mate. It is a bond chosen by nature." The dragon explains as we continue on our path. "How often do these tests take place? For the title of king." He chuckles. "I have carried the title for years, none have seen themselves wise enough go to challenge me yet." He looks ahead, stretching his long neck up again.

Such a strange, but completely amazing system among dragons. Wisdom, wisdom is a very powerful tool. Among dragons it seems, they have already figured it out. "What happens to the dragon that looses?" The dragon turns to me. "They live among us, they are not banished or killed. They respect the winners wits and bow to their new king." He answers each question with such knowledgeable answers. Dragons are truly amazing. A king
Of the dragons, wise enough to be a scribe. Not as large a threat as they pose to be. They are not the monsters everyone believes they are- we humans are the monsters.

"What is your name, dragon?" I inquire as my feet touch smooth stone. "Rendroktheil." The name rolls from his tongue. "And you are?" He guides me towards the base of the dying star mountains; the steep, sharp mountain appears like a black tooth from so close.

"Alys." I muse. We approach a break in the rocks, creating a large doorway into the mountain. "Dragon territory is not around the mountain. It is the mountain." I mutter in realization. Rendroktheil tucks his tail around my shoulders like an arm and brings me close to his leg.

"Many dragons do not agree with humans. Stay close." He informs me. I tuck my hands into my sleeves crossing them in an attempt to make myself smaller.

The tunnel darkens to the point I can no longer see; when I begin to think the tunnel will continue forever, it lightens up and then opens to a massive underground cavern.

I gasp. Walls of multicolor crystals sparkle, lighting the expansive space. There are lush green trees stretching higher than normal trees should, their large leaves the length of a person or greater. The trees are scattered creating large forests stretching far into the distance of the other end of the cavern. Green grass blankets the earth being ripped open by the crystal blue river flowing from the rocks and weaving like thread between trees. Cliffs of rock jut from every wall, resting on these cliffs are dragons. Cloud dragons, their purple and blue scales blending into the rock. Desert dragons, their scales sand colored, and their massive wings stretched across the rocks. Slithering through the water- I barely notice them- are serpent like water dragons, their snake bodies and small flipper like wings propelling them through the water.

I am in dragon territory, and it is the most beautiful thing in the world.