Chapter 5 The Queen

Yet midst these lords who seek to reign,

One soul stands silent in her pain.

She walks in silk and royal thread,

But moonlight masks the life she's led.

Skylar

The moment my father raced off, I went straight to my bedroom. In the very back of my closet, I have the dark cloak that I wear when I steal eggs and sneak out of the castle. I quickly change out of my high heels and into shoes I can run in, and then put the cloak over me.

As I make my way back to the egg, I'm thankful that everyone is either panicking or rushing to fight. In my cloak, no one pays me any attention.

I can hear the roaring of multiple dragons outside, feel it in the shaking of the concrete walls of the castle, and smell it in the dust and debris that shakes loose as the walls quiver, fighting to maintain their position while the dragons roar threatens to bring them down.

The moment I'm back at the dragon egg, I wrap the long silk scarf I brought around my neck, tying in in a knot and letting it hang to my waist. I throw the switch to turn off the trigger, but with so much noise going on around the castle, I can't tell if it turned off or not.

I look up at the flame thrower as I reach out for the egg. Sending up a silent prayer to whatever deity might be listening, I slowly move the egg off the trigger. As soon as it's on the edge of the nest, I lift it, finally taking a breath now that the flame thrower didn't burn me alive.

I tuck the egg into my silk scarf, flip the switch for the trigger again, then rush out the door.

Unlike my father, I take a moment to close the door, but without the key, that's all I can do. Rather than heading back to the main area of the castle, I head to the farthest reaches of the castle.

Very few people come this way. There are no bedrooms, no meeting rooms, and no dining halls. This area is reserved for space as my father or I deem necessary, like hiding dragon eggs.

I keep one arm around the heavy egg as I make my way through the castle's corridors, listening to the sounds of the angry dragons above me.

Once again, I swear I feel the dragon in the egg move.

"Hey, little one. Do me a favor and don't hatch yet. I need you to wait until you're back with your kind. Just hang on a little bit longer," I say, rubbing my hand against the egg in what I hope is a soothing gesture.

I've just reached the end of another long hallway when it feels like the earth shakes around me. I hear another angry bellow of a dragon and several others screeching.

When I open the door to exit the castle walls, I stop. I am bombarded with the sound of warriors screaming in fear and in pain. Just before I take a step, a soldier smashes to the ground in front of me. He has literally been burnt to a crisp. His body is still smoking, and the smell of his scorched flesh makes me want to vomit.

I swallow the bile in my throat and turn away from the body. There's nothing I can do for him now.

Because this egg is so heavy, I can't run, but I move as fast as I can through the forest.

Our castle is on a hill, but the best place for me to leave this egg is higher up in the mountains. So, I make my way to a small pathway and I begin to climb.

"Geez, dragon, could you be any heavier?" I grumble as I walk up the steep incline carrying twice my weight.

When I come to an area where I can look to see what's going on at the castle, I'm shocked. There is fire everywhere. It looks like the entire castle is on fire and as I watch, I see a beautiful golden dragon lift up out of the castle's courtyard.

"Shit!" I exclaim. They've probably realized that I have the egg and I've left the castle. I need to drop the little egg off and then get back before my father realizes that I'm gone.

I begin moving faster, using my hands and legs to run up the steep incline of the mountain.

When I get to the top, I race through the forest to an area where I know there is an opening.

I've barely stumbled ten feet into the clearing when I feel the earth shake around me again. This time, however, it seems as if the entire world has suddenly been covered in gold. Even in the dark her body shimmers in the moonlight.

I stop, forcing myself not to scream, run, or lose my bowels, all things my mind and body want to do at this moment. I try to control my heartrate and my breathing. When that doesn't work, I pull the heavy egg out of the improvisional carrier I made from my scarf and, keeping my head bowed in deference, I extend the egg to the golden queen in front of me.

All around me, dragons begin landing. The space here isn't meant for so many large animals and it feels suffocating.

I feel the queen's snout touch the top of my head. She takes a deep breath, making me feel lightheaded and strange. Then I feel the heat of her breath as she exhales.

'What is your name?'

My head snaps up quickly, unsure of who was speaking to me.

I can't see anything past this huge dragon.

"Skylar," I answer, not sure who I'm answering.

'Why are you running away with a queen egg, Skylar?' the voice says. It's a female's voice, but it has an eerily ethereal quality to it.

"I was trying to bring it back to the dragons," I say.

It's quiet a moment and my arms begin to shake with weight of the egg.

"Please, I need to put the egg down," I say. "It's too heavy for me to hold."

The queen reaches out and takes the egg from my hands. As soon as the weight is lifted, I drop my arms at my side, but I don't look up. I continue to leave my head bowed in deference to her station as queen.

"She helped me, My Queen. She's the one who rescued my egg," I hear a higher pitched voice say.

I glance to the side and see a red dragon. She leans over and sniffs me, just like the gold did. Once again, I feel dizzy and I'm pretty sure I sway on my feet.

"She is the one who rescued me, as well, My Queen."

I turn to where I think I heard the voice, but standing there is a bronze dragon.

"So, this isn't the first egg that you're returned to us, Skylar?" the first voice says.

"No. I don't agree with the practice of stealing eggs from a mother. When I can, I return them to the dragons," I say.

"What would you say if I told you they killed this dragon's mother in order to steal her," the voice says.

For a moment, I forget my fear, the horror of what I just heard making me act without thought. I look up into the golden eyes of the queen dragon.

"They killed a queen?" I ask, appalled.

"That upsets you?" the voice says.

"Of course it does! She was a queen. They are so rare."

"There are only two of us now," the voice says.

"Wait ... I can hear you?"

"It appears so."

"I ..." how do you apologize to a dragon for what your father and the other royals have done to them? "I'm sorry."

"You are not to blame. According to Syphy and Yttyc, you rescued them after they were captured. You are, quite likely, the only reason they aren't being held captive in horrible conditions or possibly dead at the hands of incompetent humans.

I stand up straighter and realize that I'm not only surrounded by dragons on the ground, I'm surrounded by some in the sky as well. Of those in the sky, some actually have riders.

I've heard of dragon riders, people who are chosen by the dragons. I wonder if these riders were all chosen by their dragons. I push that thought away and look at the red dragon.

"Syphy? That's you?"

'Yes, human. I am Syphy.'

"I'm glad you're safe and that you didn't come to any harm because your egg was stolen," I say, then turn to the bronze. "And you are Yttyc?"

"Yes, human," a much deeper voice says.

"I'm glad you are safe as well. I'm glad my efforts weren't for nothing."

I turn back and face the queen.

"I am Ylys," she says.

"Queen Ylys, it's nice to meet you. Will the egg be okay, even though the mother is gone?" I ask, worried about the little dragon. "I think she's ready to hatch. I could feel her moving around in the egg."

The dragons around me all begin making a deep rumbling sound. I have no idea if that's good or bad.

Ylys lowers her head so her eye is at my level.

"I will be interested to see what happens with you, human. But no, this egg is not ready to hatch just yet."

She carefully takes the egg in her claws and looks at the other dragons.

"The human lives," she says and then lifts into the air, carrying the dragon egg with her.

The others lift off behind her. I notice the dragon riders watching me, but I ignore them.

I need to get back to the castle quickly so my father doesn't know that I was gone.