Crown of horns

Chapter seventeen

Perhaps the world is sick and twisted, perhaps my father was right when he said I was going to restore his wrongs but now, I feel, as though nothing I have been told is true.

I understand why Rendroktheil lied, why he hid the truth to some degree but maybe that is because I would have done it too. To protect the ones I care about. But I also do not want to believe I have already forgiven him. The one I trusted most, the one I knew the least.

I must have Fallen asleep in The dirt, my stained cheeks against the ground and my fingers knitted in the soft grass. When I wake Rendroktheil is there, he sits between the trees, green eyes pointed towards the sky, his tail beating the ground absently. I watch him. Seeing the crystals sparkle in the light of his eyes. I remember how much he wanted to help, how he couldn't face what he feared was best so he told me in a form he knew I would not recognize. He chose me over himself even as we both were consumed by pain. He lied for his people. He lied for me. I am the one who is wrong.

"When I was young, my father always told me, what was best for our people was not always what we wanted and what was bad for our people, may be exactly what they need sometimes," I sit up, crossing my legs and forcing my hands to still in my lap. "I allowed myself to be consumed by what you had kept from me. I was not seeing what I should see but what I wanted to see. I wanted to blame someone now that I know the truth. Now that I know the world is not as black and white as I once thought it was. I can not decide if I have forgiven you or not but I ask you wait a while longer. So much of my life was not as I was told it was and now I feel as though I have been plucked from it and dropped into a new one." I stare at the dirt. Watching light dance off the damp blades as my fingers slide through it.

When I look up Rendroktheil is staring at me, his eyes glow with unnatural admiration and awe. "Your Dragon is showing Alys. Your soul, it glows at times of true wisdom, of true courage. It is amazing." Rendroktheil Steps towards me, in one graceful motion he stands a head taller than me, white hair static.

"I am sorry for keeping secrets Alys. I am grateful you have chosen to speak to me. Now, we must speak about your sister. You say she is mad, why is this?" Rendroktheil sits down beside me, copying my actions with his own hands. As if he has never pulled on the grass before.

"I spoke to my father- he came to me, while I was unconscious. He did not make Ysme queen. She came to him demanding that he not make me queen because of the story he told her. The story of the heir of dragons, they were all stories to make her believe she had a chance to be queen one day," I look towards him, he remains fixated on the grass.

"She took them to be true. She demanded that he not make me queen to spare my life. When he refused she drew a blade against him. Made it look like he had inflicted the wound on himself. We must return to the keep But Ysme will be brought to justice by my hand. I must speak with her."

Rendroktheil snorts. A dragon habit no doubt. "Your father would not have let this go so far if he had known the truth. Ysme is unstable and preparing for a war against dragons anyway. What do we do?" He looks towards me, to me as a soldier not a king. "We return to the keep, we return with Opaskai and yourself, in this form, not as king of the dragons. I will speak to her. We will remove her from the throne and we will start over."

"Do you think it is wise to return so soon? You are still recovering." Rendroktheil wobbles to his feet. I pull him back down. "We are both recovering. We will wait." Rendroktheil rises again. A calm smile. "We May recover. Veni. come." He Suddenly scoops me up on to his back and shifts.

I shriek. My hands sliding on scale attempting to find something to stable me.

A low laugh escapes him, the feeling rumbles against my hands. "Be careful." He warns. I shriek as Rendroktheil jogs through the trees. As quickly as I found myself clinging to Rendroktheil scales do I find myself plunged in cold water that smothers my senses. A boom echoes above me. I crawl to the surface, sputtering and spitting up the fresh water.

Behind me, great splashing echoes across the water as it lapses across my back.

I roll over in the soggy dirt, pulling myself up to allow my feet to drag in the water.

Rendroktheil floats across the surface of the serene blue waters, his large wings spread across the wide carve through the land. His head rests on the dirt beside me, planting him in place.

"Why must you see fit to toss me into the water?" I demand marching across the dirt, my feet sinking in to the bank as I step towards him. Rendroktheil glances towards me without moving his head.

" I did. aqua sanat. The water heals. The dragons that lurk in the murky depths have a gift of healing, this gift is in their voice and they spread it through water. Over centuries this has adapted them to water dwelling creatures that have called home to this flumen. River."

He explains. I cautiously sink back into the current and slide across the scales of Rendroktheil a back, resting my head against his neck.

The current tugs on the folds of the tattered material of my simple dress.

"Dragons are so amazing, I will never understand how my father could not see the beauty in your kingdom." I whisper, twirling my fingers through the soft water.

"You forget Alys that you have the soul of a dragon, a strange old magic that has given you a gift of connection to our kind your father could never find." Rendroktheil mutters. I laugh, running my fingers across the soft membrane of his wings.

He flinches from my touch.

"That... that feels rather strange" He manages. I tug my hand away. A string of apologies falling for my mouth.

"Calm Alys. Just know that my wings are not as thick as my scales, it has taken many years to grow accustomed to the feeling of air running across our wings. Longer still to the everyday touch of other objects."

I slip from his back to sit on the bank, letting my feet drag in the current. I fall backwards, my back against the grass and the dirt. I stare up at the crystals above. The silence is all too familiar and for a change, welcome. I am here, and I am grateful for that.