Just three days later the end of summer Festival of Grian Suan began. It was a week-long festival celebrating the beginning of the Goddess Grian's slumber bringing on the cooler days of fall and winter.
This was one of the biggest festivals of the year, or rather, I should say one of the more raucous ones. Shambyl was getting overcrowded with festival goers. It was the last hurrah before the start of Academy. It was two more months until my promised arranged marriage. I was on a date with Fergus, enjoying a brief furlough from work and responsibilities. We were just wandering around the Festival marketplace with goods from all over the realm and visiting merchants from other realms.
“There sure are a lot of people in Rhonelan dress this year,” Fergus said.
“Well the Imperial State is just over the fjord. Is this really that unusual?” I asked.
“It is in fact, to see so many, they often look down on the Dargon people. We have long had strife with the Empire. They have constantly tried to invade, and make us part of the Empire,” Fergus said.
“You humans are always so quick to war. So slow to reconcile,” Hestia intruded.
I glared at Hestia. At least let me pretend to be alone on a date with my mate, as I wanted to say.
“Yes, lover. You make a good point. I am not used to life in Shambyl, even after two years. It has always seemed strange to me that we have our capital right on the border of our greatest threat, and oldest enemy. I have never really questioned why Rhonelans are not a more frequent sight,” I said.
“Well, no matter. I heard there was a mysterious dragonkin alchemist vendor here this year, but haven't seen one yet,” Fergus said.
“Oh, how unusual! A dragonkin merchant? Shall we see if we can find the alchemist?” I said, grabbing Fergus' hand and leading deeper into the crowd and stalls.
We hadn't gone very far when an explosion rang through the streets and a cloud of dust, debris, and flames shot up in the direction of the Palace.
“An attack?” I said turning to Fergus. But Fergus was already engaged with a Rhonelan soldier. A flash of light caught the corner of my vision. I spun to see a blade coming at me.
Hanabi!
The soldier exploded into dust and flames. Flames which landed on nearby people. Probably not the best spell for fighting in a crowd.
Extingo!
That extinguished the flames, but I had no time for such matters. We were engulfed in a sea of Rhonelan soldiers.
Rhonelan Heishi Maaku! Ice Dart Storm!
I marked all the Rhonelan soldiers and hit them with ice dart.
“Fergus! To the Palace!” I grabbed Fergus, and cast,
Gate!
A gate near the castle opened, and I pulled Fergus through. We were in an unused alley, and we were alone. We ran out of the alley and the Front gates of the Palace had been blown to nothingness. Guards were lying around dead or in pieces. Body parts were all over and blood was everywhere. It was a scene from a nightmare.
Blink!
I blinked us to the doors of the castle, which were wide open. Bodies, and blood, littered the entry hall. There were Rhonelan bodies, as well as faces I knew.
I transformed and launched forward where I sensed a fight, and the Queen. I blasted into the throne room and the Queen was fighting a number of mage knights with the few guards she had left. The room was filled with invaders. I reacted on pure instinct and sliced through all those in my way with a pair of iceblades that came so naturally It didn't require thought anymore.
Cryos! Cryos! Cryos!
Killing three mages, before the rest turned to see the dragon slice off their heads. I turned to finish off the soldiers to see Fergus take down the last one with an ice dart.
“My Queen! Are you injured?”
“I am fine, but Rupert ...” Matilde turned to see the body of her husband laying in a pool of blood. I leapt over and knelt before him, but there was sign of life. No sign of mana. There was no spirit left to pull back.
“He is beyond my powers to save. His mana and spirit have already fled,” I said.
“His mana and spirit?” Matilde said.
“I looked at Matilde and realized I'd said that aloud.”
“You're a necromancer!?” Matilde said.
“I have that cursed power. Do not ask me to use it. Were his spirit and mana here I could have pulled him back, but he has been gone too long. It would be an empty, mindless, monstrosity that would rise if I called his body back. I have only used my powers twice in my life. Just pretend you didn't hear me say any of that, my Queen.”
“I understand,” Matilde said, as she sank down by the love of her life.
“He was a good man. A great lover, and a better father. He was my rock in hard times. We are all poorer with his loss,” Matilde said.
I poured my healing into him and pulled the blood back inside him and closed his wounds. I pulled down his eyelids.
“There, now he can rest in eternal sleep with the dignity he had in life. It is not much, but all I can do for him. Now I will stomp out these vile invaders for you and the realm.”
Gate!
I flew through the gate above the City and took my full form.
Rhonelan Inbeedaa Maaku! Ice Dart Storm!
With a single spell I marked all the Rhonelan invaders in the city and killed them all. I took my battle form and flew down to the West gate and perched on top, and my four guards joined me.
Dún an geata!
Fergus, tell the Queen the city is clear of invasion troops. I am guarding the West Gate.
Understood, my love. Be safe. We will be there soon.
I shut my gate. Fergus and the rest of our unit joined me at the city gate within the hour. The Empire sent no further invasion force. Soon the Royal guard was re-established at the West Gate. The gate remained closed. Aoi made a magik device to control a shield I put up to further protect the gate.
“You don't let me make enough magik devices, Dee,” Aoi said.
“You don't need my permission to make magik devices. Use your own imagination. I will be happy to add spells and mana to anything you create. Well maybe not ... anything,” I said and laughed, and the girls laughed too, the guys didn't seem to get the joke, and just shrugged at each other.
It didn't take long to clean up the city. Many civilians were dead, or wounded, including citizens of the Empire and other nations. More than fifty of the Royal guard lay dead, and many more wounded. The invasion force totaled five-hundred.
The foreign merchants and visitors all fled the capital. The Festival was over, before it had much chance to even begin. The next day I was before the queen with my squad.
“Your majesty, I have an idea on how to end this conflict without going to war. You may not like my plan, but I am confident it will stop the Empire. However, I don't know how other nations will react. It may appear that we have done nothing, in response,” I said.
“Well, what is this plan, and we will see if we can't make something of it.”
“I suggest taking all the bodies of the invaders, and dropping them into the Empire's capital during the Festival. Then during the night, we take hostage as many of the empress’ children that we can, and return here,” I said.
“Well, what's not to love about that plan? But how will they know we've taken them hostage?” Matilde said.
“I will broadcast it from safely above the city, and if they deny we have them. I will return one, by releasing the child from above. Maybe they will be able to save the child, and maybe they won't,” I said.
“That's potentially cruel. Is it more cruel than slaying unarmed civilians on a Festival day, and slaying a king in his own castle?” I said.
“You have a point. It will still mean killing someone,” Matilde said.
“Well, then perhaps I will prevent the child from falling completely and just keep the child dangling out of reach until someone admits we have the children, and then take the child back. No one dies. We keep all the hostages, and everyone knows we have them. Win, win, right?” I said.
“You are truly a devious mind, my Red Knight. I assume this will just be you and your team. You'd better hurry, not many days of festival are left, and the capital is far away,” Matilde said.
“No worries I have a quick way there and quicker way back. We should be back tomorrow or the next day,” I said.
“Take me with you!” Celestine said.
“I don't think that's a good idea, Princess,” I said.
“Nor I, dear daughter,” Matilde said.
“I won't get in your way or endanger the mission,” Celes said.
“Who do you plan to kill?” I asked.
“No one,” Celes said.
“You can't come, if you are only capable of such thin lies,” I said.
“A consort, I will kill a consort,” Celes said.
“An eye for an eye. A king for a king. I will allow it, if the Queen consents,” I said.
“Can it be done?” Matilde said.
“I do not know. I am not enthused about the idea. I will keep the princess safe on this trip, but there is usually a price to pay for such deeds. What the weavers will weave is in darkness. That should tell you all you need to know,” I said.
“Thus speak the Dragons. Even when they foretell they say nothing,” Matilde said with a weak laugh.
“The future is hard to read. Not all visions are true, and some change only if one tries to change events. Some things cannot be changed. The future is always in motion. Only the weavers know what they weave. Even they cannot control all that is to be. Fortune-telling is a fool's game to play,” I said.
“This! This is why you should never ask a dragon for advice! They will say both do, and do not!” Aoi said. Everyone laughed.
“This is true,” Matilde said.
“Very well, Celes, you may go, and have your ounce of revenge. Perhaps then you will learn how empty it is,” Matilde said, in a tired voice. It was then I noticed, it must have been sometime since she has slept.
“We will be off then, and please, my Queen, get some sleep, and rest,” I said.
“You are too observant, Little Queen,” Matilde said with a soft smile.
We left the queen and went to our barracks to prepare for our journey.
“How are we going to make it to the capital of the Empire in a day?” Celestine asked.
“We aren't. I am. When I get there, I will open a gate, and you will all walk through it,” I said.
“Why not use the carriages?” Kanae asked.
“They aren't fast enough. I am much, much faster,” I said.
We are coming with you, our Queen, my guard said.
Alright, I said.
“We will be ready,” Kiera said.
With that I took off and transformed to full dragon form and my guard came with me. We flew as fast as dragons could fly, and stayed high and out of sight of most beings. Many hours later we could see the Imperial capital, and we descended far from the sight of any in the capital. We then teleported to a spot near the capital barely above the trees of a forest. We descended into the forest. I opened a gate and our twelve infiltrators walked through.
“This looks like a forest, not the capital,” Darby said.
“Did you really expect me to open a door in the actual capital of another realm? We will go in after dark. But I have one task to perform first. I have to return their soldiers,” I said.
“I'm so glad I won’t see that,” Aoi said.
I opened a gate high in the sky and flew through it. I then flew high over the city and the festival was in full swing. I opened my storage and began throwing out the dead soldiers and mages all over the festival and even a few over the royal palace. Even from my height I could hear the screams of the festival goers. When I was done I could see and hear the panic in city below and people fleeing the capital in all directions. I could see and feel the eyes and spells being cast at me from the city below. I blinked away, then teleported back to my companions.
“It's done, and had the desired impact. A great many celebrants have fled the city. Now we wait a few hours,” I said.
Darkness came, and we had a light meal. Shortly after midnight we advanced to the city. I reached out and found the mana of the empress and her mates. I found the one who was her closest mate. I found her children. She had many. I found the strongest ones.
“Alright, Celes I've found your target, how close do you want me to get you?” I asked.
“Can you get me into his room?” Celes said.
“Yes, shall I hold the gate open for your return?” I asked.
“Can you do that?” Celes asked.
“I am capable of many things I have not revealed to any yet,” I said.
“I thought as much. Yes hold the door, this will be quick,” Celes said.
Gate.
As she said, it was quick. A knife in the dark can be quick indeed. She returned with his head. I put it in storage.
“I'm going to start pulling the children. We'll take the twelve strongest. Hit them with an unspoken stasis spell as they drop out, Kanae,”
“We aren't going to infiltrate the castle?” Darby said.
“We are infiltrating it, just in an unusual manner,” I said.
“Once we have them you are all going back with a hostage, and I will remain to reveal what has happened, along with my guard.”
“I don't like this part of the plan. You didn't say anything about this before,” Kanae said.
“We'll be fine. Here we go,” I said.
Gate!
A teen girl fell from a horizontal gate, I opened.
Stasis! Kanae cast.
I repeated this until we had the twelve children.
They were all laying there wide awake and frozen stiff. Fear, or anger, and confusion in their eyes.
“Alright that concludes our little hostage taking campaign. I'll hold onto this teen here. She's the strongest from the underage children. We didn't get any of the elder children who are grown,” I said.
“Now off you go to safety,” I said.
Gate!
“I really don't like this, Dee,” Kanae said.
“You'll only make what I'm about to do more dangerous by staying, and what can you do while guarding them?” I said.
“I understand, but that doesn't mean I like it,” Kanae said.
Then we were off, one by one.
“Don't get careless, and come home safe, my Love,” Fergus said.
“I will, lover. See you in a few hours,” I said.
Then they were gone.
Now we wait, I said.
Yes, my Queen, Vulcana said.
Morning came, and the spy golems I left in the palace began reporting. I waited until the panic was in full bloom.
Gate!
I flew through the gate and cast
Zoofuku!
Salutations Empress! Your cowardly attack on the people celebrating the Festival and the palace in Dargon has been repelled, as I demonstrated yesterday. I have taken hostage twelve of your children, so you do not foolishly attack us again. You killed one of the Queen's husbands, and we have exacted revenge against one of your husbands. Attack us again and all twelve of your hostage children will die.
One of the Queen's Mages shouted in reply,
“Lies! You could not have infiltrated the Empire's palace to assassinate or abduct anyone!”
I dropped the princess.
“Cancel!” I cast canceling the stasis spell.
The child started flailing and screaming as she fell.
“Decelo!” cast the mage.
Nullo, I cast, and the mage's spell shattered.
“Retardius!” the mage cast.
Nullo, I cast, and the mage's spell shattered.
The child was getting dangerously close to the ground and the reach of others.
Suspenus, I cast and the child's movement ceased, and she continued to pedal through the air and scream, until she realized she wasn't moving,
As you can see, I do indeed have the princes and princesses as I said. I am showing you only one. The other eleven have been safely spirited away already. Your husband's head will be found on a spike outside the West Gate of Shambyl.
I pulled the Emperor's head out of storage and showed it to them. Of course, I was too far away for them to see any detail.
Now I will be taking this child with me.
Stasis. Blink.
“Come to Shambyl in peace, and we may return your emperor's head,”
“This all an elaborate hoax! The mage screamed. You haven't even given your name, coward!” the mage screamed.
“You are an arrogant, blind fool human. How can you not know me? I am Princess Deirdre, daughter of the Red Queen! Heir to the throne. Be thankful I have not reduced your entire city to ash. Your death is assured, human. Do you think you can speak thus to the Queen of Dragons and yet live?”
Sol ball!
I cast a fireball hotter than the sunstar, and it blasted down upon the mage, obliterating him and the entire tower he was standing on, leaving a molten pool of glass where once stood a proud stone tower. I don't know how many people were in that tower just then.
Blink!
I blinked away beyond their line of sight. Then opened a gate and returned to the capital. I was taken to the Queen right away. I laid the princess down, and cast
“Cancel.”
The girl shriveled up and crawled away from me.
“Did something happen?” Matilde asked.
“A mage may have gotten very rude with me. I may have lost my temper, being in full dragon form. I may have accidentally killed the mage, and everyone in the tower he was standing on. I may also have melted the entire tower into a puddle of molten glass. But I got our message across first. So we should be seeing either an entire army, or a peace delegation in a few days,” I said.
Kanae started laughing. Then everyone joined in, except the terrified Imperial princess.
“So, what are we doing with the Imperial brats?” I asked.
“My mother will come with her entire army and crush you all,” the princess said, finding her voice.
“If your mother was capable of that she'd have done it a long time ago. If she comes here now I will wipe her army off the face of the planet, and then hunt her down and her entire line, and remove them from existence. I can't stand fools, and dangerous, powerful fools deserve only death,” I said.
The princess bit her lip and quivered staring at me.
“Are you really a daughter of the Red Queen? I have never heard of your name as a daughter of the Red Queen,” the princess said.
“I am not the daughter of the current Red Queen, but I am the daughter of a Red Queen. The current Red Queen is my aunt,” I said.
“You called yourself a princess, and also a queen. You can't be both!” the princess said.
“I am both a princess and a queen. There are more realms than just the Red Dragon realm. There is much you do not know, princess. Some truths are hidden, and wait only for the right moment to be revealed,” I said.
“Riddles. You talk like a dragon,” the princess said. And everyone burst out laughing.
“Are you still sleeping princess? She IS a dragon!” Kanae said.
The princess just looked at me and sulked, then turned to Queen Matilde, and asked,
“What are you going to do with me?”
“Put you someplace safe. Guards, escort the princess to her new temporary home,” the Queen said.
The princess was led away.“”
Box, I cast,
and dropped the Emperor's head in it.
“The head of the Emperor, the Empress' favorite,” I said.
“You took care of the tiniest details didn't you?” Matilde said.
“Such a waste of life. We should consider removing that idiot from the throne,” I said.
“She was no idiot, when last we met. Many years have passed since then. I don't know what has happened to her to try such a stunt,” Matilde said.
“I need to check in on the White City,” I said.
“What are you planning?” Celes said.
“Hmm, you are getting to know me too well, Princess. I need some volunteers to keep some eyes on that idiot Empress, so we have a few days notice of which choice she is going to make,” I said.
“That's a very good plan, Dee” Celes said.
I returned to the White City and spent a day talking to the Council and the workers. I then returned to the capital with five volunteers to keep an eye on the Empire. They in turn recruited more dragonkin to help them. In the end, the Empress sent a Peace delegation, and they arrived ten days after our little mission. I asked to be left out of this whole thing, but the Empress' delegation had other ideas.
“It is disgraceful and disrespectful your hanging of the Emperor's head on a pike outside the city walls as if he were a common criminal. How can the Emperor have a decent funeral with the condition his head is in,” said Noroi, the first member of the delegation.
We had retrieved the Emperor's head when the delegation entered the city and introduced themselves.
I leaned over the head and restored it to a pristine state.
“I do not revel in this man's meaningless death. Do not put any blame on us for your Empress's ill-conceived machinations. This entire episode is her fault. Be happy, I chose a much less violent method to bring this sad episode to an end, and had the Queen's ear in allowing me to resolve this matter,” I said.
“Yet, you killed one of our mages and over a dozen people, who were blameless, inside the tower below him.”
“And your invasion force killed dozens of our blameless soldiers, as well as indiscriminately killing blameless unarmed civilians in the middle of a festival, some of whom were your own citizens and others who were citizens of other nations at war with no one. But if you allow a fool to speak foolishly to a dragon, you cannot blame the dragon for the consequences. I may be sitting in a human like form, but I am a dragon of royal lineages and am both a Princess and a Queen. Even you have been speaking to me in ill manor unbefitting that of a princess or a queen, human.”
“Pfft,” scoffed one of the standing guards.
I glared at the man, rose, bowed at the queen, and began to leave. He glared back, before a guard elbowed him. I put pressure on his throat and gravity, shoving him down until he started to bleed, and passed out. I released him. I turned to Noroi, and said,
“You will execute this man for disrespecting one of royal blood, or I will find some other way to restore my honor,” I said, and left.
The Queen had an easy time settling the matter, and we returned nine hostages. News spread through the many realms of what happened. I had a new target on my back.