Among Dragons (Editing)

Chapter 10

“And this is it,” The guard motioned around us before turning to look back at Niram and I. Her face was kind and welcoming, even though I knew that she had more combat skills that I could ever dream of having.

“I apologize again for the wait to see Nereus. He has been extremely busy recently, and we know how rushed you two are as well.”

 Niram threw on a polite smile. “No, it’s fine. Raiden needed the break anyways. The flight to Phoenix’s kingdom was the longest.”

  She nodded. “The King and Queen do want to see you as well, would you like me to take you there, or let you rest a while?”

 He glanced over at me, his eyes full of a question he didn’t even have to ask. I shifted my own over to the guard. “Of course, we’d love to meet them.”

Her smile back seemed almost as vibrant as our surroundings. Unlike Phoenix’s kingdom or even Raiden’s, with villages that were full of people working and minding their own business, here it seemed like a festival. People danced to a wafting music, laughter entwining itself along with the melodious sound.

 There was cobblestone paths leading in different directions, and water nearly everywhere. It bubbled from miniature windmills, bounced in large fountains, flowed in manmade waterfalls. The air felt so much cleaner and fresher than anywhere else I had been to before. Maybe the presence of so much water somehow purified the air around it.

 The dancing, happy villagers weaved around out of our path as we walked toward the grand castle near the middle of the village. If it was silent between the three of us, I didn’t notice. My eyes kept darting around to the different groups of people, some out right just waltzing through the streets, some working but still looking like they were enjoying the music. As usual, children raced through the streets with no responsibility, hopping and maneuvering around their obstacles like pros.

 Again, as I noticed when we were walking through the village of Raiden’s kingdom, I noticed people glancing over at Niram with respect and trust. Some even waved to him with a grateful, pleasant smile. His face was friendly, but empty as always, just a smiling face that slipped through memories to get lost and forgotten with time.

Why did so many people recognize him and trust him? I know that there was a lot about him that I didn’t know, and that would be a little invasive to outright ask, but I couldn’t help my curiosity from stirring.

It was only when his green eyes rested on my own that I realized I had been staring at him. I swallowed down my embarrassed panic and spat out the first question that bubbled forth. “Have you met the King and Queen before?”

“Yeah, I have,” He responded without a hint of suspicion. “Quite a few times, actually. Like I said before, our kingdoms are very close. I’ve never actually seen Nereus before. I was always curious.”

“Did you end up getting to see Phoenix?”

“At the end.” His gaze skirted from mine. “She called me in so I could pick you up from the floor.”

I stared at his profile for a second, realization taking a moment to slam into me. “Is that how I got my headache? She just let me fall and smash my head against the ground?” Anger seethed in my chest for a second, but it was elusive and slipped from my hold a second later. “Well, I guess that just shows her consideration for guests.”

Niram laughed a little, amusement dancing around in his eyes. “I’m sorry for not telling you earlier. It just didn’t seem right to say anything when you were still in pain from it. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll try my best to be there next time you fall.”