Sacred Flame: Bound to the Dragon Kings

My parents and I set out on one of our cross-country treks. My three-year-old self assumes that this is something that they have done every year, but I am uncertain of that now. It was getting dark and I was very sleepy. I don't even remember my mother taking me out of my car seat. What I do remember is her singing about a princess who was brave and strong. She sang of a mythical land of magic and fairy tales. My father would hum along too. I felt so safe with them, but isn't that how a child is supposed to feel?

Anyway, as I was dozing in my mother's embrace, I remember hearing growling and a roar. But when I opened my eyes, I only saw blackness. I felt eerily cold, too. So, so cold. It was a damp coldness that seeps into your soul, freezing it. I remember rubbing my arms, and that's when my sight fully returned.

I looked down, only to notice that I was rubbing blood on my arms. I felt so scared as I stared at my red, trembling hands. I sensed something, so I turned my head from side to side, but discovered that I was alone. Alone in the dark woods in the dead of the night. Then I heard a group of unfamiliar voices. A tall, burly man cautiously approached me as if he feared me. I was a three-year-old little girl alone in the woods, covered in blood. What is there to fear?

He showed me a badge that had an odd symbol on it, and he said that he was a guard. He had one of the other guards remove their cape, which smelled like cedar and singed fur, to wrap me in it. I felt like a burrito, but I still wondered where my parents were. Since then, I have bolted awake every time, too. Essentially, every night it was the same dream until I was six, and then the dream extended itself. I am not sure if it is true or just my imagination trying to cope with my parents' deaths.

Nonetheless, in the extended dream, the guard took me to an orphanage where they eventually told me that my parents had been killed by dragons. That moment was when I learned that humans weren't alone in this world. But, at the time, I didn't believe in dragons, so I convinced my childhood self that they were murdered by evil people, until I saw one for myself, in that very same forest, too. So I learned to believe in dragons, but I am still unsure if they had anything to do with the death of my parents. Since then, I have tried to avoid the forest and dragons, but one day I found myself without such a choice. Looking back, it all makes sense, but living it was an entirely different story...

I don't remember much of my childhood, which in and of itself could be a blessing in disguise. My dreams seem to have blurred fact and fiction, but from what I do recall, a patrol found me covered in blood, barely clinging to life, drifting in and out of consciousness near the remains of what was once my parents. I was three then, and now that I'm turning eighteen, I can barely remember their faces. I often try to force myself to remember my childhood and how I wound up at an odd orphanage, but I met with an impenetrable wall.

I cannot remember the details of my parents' faces, but I can, however, remember songs that my mother would sing about a fierce princess who would save us all. Growing up, I wished that I were that princess, but that was a destiny not meant for me.

As for me, now, I am turning eighteen. I was raised in what I thought was a human orphanage, like many others. I was always picked last for everything and never got adopted. At thirteen, I was an outcast among outcasts, thus providing me with many horror stories from my stint at that orphanage that I keep bottled up. Perhaps that isn't the healthiest coping mechanism, but it has kept me alive thus far. However, there is a memory from five years ago that still invades my daydreams and nightmares...I was hiding from a group of kids who teased and bullied me because I was so thin and pale. They called me a leech, a vampire, and a corpse. No matter how hard I tried to hide the hurt, every word pierced my soul. Riddled with invisible scars that I believed would never heal, I sought refuge in a fallen tree. Their constant torment was becoming too much. I wanted to curl up and die so much so that I remember praying for it that day, too. Much to my dismay, the group of tormentors found me. However, just as they were ripping my clothes off, two dragons blasted the treetops with their flames.

Everyone ran, including me. After all, dragons are known to be one of the most powerful beings in existence, and the most menacing, too. I ran as hard as I could, but I was exhausted and tripped. I rolled down a hill, landing at the feet of a woman who was patting down a few embers that were smoldering on her dark green dress. Her eyes were kind, and her touch was warm and soft as she helped me to my feet. Her husband came over and healed my scrapes the best he could. He carried me to their modest home in the heart of the Naga Tribe.

June and Anton, the dragon shifters who saved me, officially adopted me a few weeks later, after they obtained approval from the nobles. My new parents were farmers for the tribe and the nobles for whom the tribe served. But the lands weren't always plentiful, so I was fortunate enough to get a job in the tribe. I didn't want to be a burden to the two people who kindly raised me as their own. I was turning fourteen, and it was acceptable that I had a job, as long as it didn't impact my grades. Instead of being happy, I let fear get the better of me and tried to run away. Luckily, the king and queen took pity on me and gave me a job at the palace. At first, I started out as a maid assigned to clean the common areas, before the King and Queen were killed by a rival group of dragons, while on a diplomatic mission, I was promoted to be the Royal Concierge.

"Avery! Why isn't my shirt pressed?" Clint roared.

"Where is my phone? Avery, get in here now," Conner bellowed from his room.

Shaking my few pictures on my wall, a loud banging interrupted my solitude, "Avery, get your pathetic ass out of your room and make my fucking breakfast. You had better not make me late, either. You know how angry Asher gets," Cassius threatened.

I often regret accepting my newest position as a personal servant in the palace, but it pays better and allows me more places to hide than at my old home with my adoptive parents. Unfortunately, it means that I am in contact with the Royal Trio of Clint, Conner, and Cassius Draco, all the more. They have always made my life difficult, but now even more so, as graduation approaches and their Grand Ceremony along with it.

From what I have learned, all young dragons fantasize about their Grand Ceremony. The ceremony is the gateway to a dragon's destiny, whether it is to ascend to the throne or find their fated mate. I have no dragon, so I have no delusions that some ceremony will determine my destiny. I am just a poor, pathetic human, counting down the days until I graduate, and then I can run away forever. I don't belong in this land of dragons. Maybe I don't belong anywhere. There have been many times that I thought about giving up and taking my own life since I came here, but something always happened to prevent me from succeeding. Maybe it is the spirits of my parents looking out for me, or I am just too inept to kill myself.

I sigh as I drag myself out of bed. I don't bother fixing my sheets. Instead, I pull the comforter over the crumpled mess. I rarely get a good night's sleep because I always seem to wake up in a cold sweat, entangled in my sheets. I never fully remember what I dream of, though, but I assume it is my past and my parents' deaths. Perhaps, it's a good thing I don't remember the details. I quickly pull on a plain white dress and my tattered flats before I try to brush my knotted, brown hair. I don't bother with makeup because nothing could change my porcelain, paper-thin skin, just as nothing could enhance my flat chest. I look like a living skeleton because I can never gain weight, despite how much I eat. My skin never tans, no matter how much sunlight I expose myself to, either. Over the years, I have given up trying to blend in. I have been accepted in this world, and perhaps I never will.

Conner Draco is the most docile of the triplets, so I decided to tackle his request first. As I suspected, his phone is on the charger and not on his bedside table. Without a word, I approached him with the phone in my hand. I keep my eyes down as I extend my hand out to him. He snatches it up before he shoves me out of the door. At least he didn't ridicule me as he has done since the day I was brought into the palace.

I decided to accomplish Clint's and Cassius's requests simultaneously. I might be weak and pathetic without a dragon, but I have learned to multitask and be resourceful. When you are a lamb among wolves, you quickly learn to survive. I just need to hold out until the end of my senior year and my eighteenth birthday. Then I can leave Momma June and Papa Anton with a nice nest egg, and I can retreat far from here and never see a dragon again. I just have to endure one hundred and eighty more days of school, which means twenty-five more Mondays of hell. I roll my eyes as I let out a sigh. I hate Mondays.

As I am awaiting Cassius's toast to pop up out of the toaster, to accompany his huge breakfast of five poached eggs, three sausages, and a pile of bacon, I iron an identical shirt to the one Clint had complained about. I know I ironed his other shirt, but I will not go into his room until I have to. The triplet's respective dragons have also become more irritable as of late. It still freaks me out to see a human and his dragon standing side by side; as a dragon, itself, wasn't scary enough, now you must contend with his human, as well.

That is why I keep my head down and pray to any god who listens, that I can become invisible long enough to escape this hell.

I remember when I wanted to believe that only humans existed. I was around six years old, living at the orphanage. My teacher would read us stories on all sorts of fantastical things, from witches to vampires and dragons, and she would tell us about the brave souls who would slay them. This one boy, named Tim, and I would often exclude ourselves from the group and fantasize that we were the valiant slayers. On one such day, I was hiding in the woods waiting for Tim to come slay me. I tripped over my shoelace, but when I tried to stand, I felt claws tearing at my shirt, as a huge paw pressed down on my back, leaving thin, bloody lines. I screamed and threw dirt at the creature. As I stood, I saw glowing silver eyes staring at me from a dark green dragon with dark purple, almost black, horns. It was the size of a small horse, but to the child in me, it was the size of a house. That was the day I learned that dragons exist, and my fear of them began. I never told anyone that a dragon attacked me, only that I fell into a patch of bayberry bushes. Now I work on the things I fear the most.

Just my luck, the stupid toast sticks to the side of the toaster and begins to burn. I turn off the iron and hang up Clint's shirt before I remake Cassius's toast. Once I get everything ready, I go back up the five flights of stairs. This palace is a massive labyrinth and far too extravagant for just the few that dwell here. This is yet another dragon trait that I will never understand. They attribute success to opulence and quantity of possessions, nd, yes, servants like myself are considered one of those many possessions. I hate feeling like a thing. The servants are kind to me, and they respect my devotion to duty. At least I am wanted. Just no by the Trio; that's what I call them.

After using my foot to knock, Clint opens his door. I hold up his freshly ironed shirt. Inspecting every inch, he looks it over. "This will do, but do it right the first time," he grumbles. I bow and quickly leave as he slams the door closed. I know that I did it right the first time, but I also know not to talk back to the Trio.

I tried once a few years ago...

***Flashback***

I had just left my adoptive parents' home as I was headed to the palace. It was a nice day until I literally ran into the Trio. "Look who we have here, guys. It's a field mouse," Clint mocked. He spoke in a combination of his voice and Carter's, his dragon. I knew that my day had just gone to shit because I feared that their verbal tirades would turn violent.

"Looks more like a bug to me," Cassius sneered.

I tried to get around the m, but it was no use. They shoved me around them like they were playing Hot Potato. I am not sure what came over me, but I raised my hand and slapped Cassius. He threw me to the ground as he commanded his brothers, "Hold her, this bitch needs to be reminded of her place." After he said that, he opened the fly of his pants and proceeded to urinate on me. I screamed for help that never arrived. Cassius had each of his brothers urinate on me as well. However, he was far from satisfied.

Cassius ordered Clint to grab me. I was carried into the barn where I was coated in excrement and pigs' blood. Then Cassius had Conner and his dragon, Caleb, fly me into the woods a few miles from the palace. Conner's eyes had a glimpse of remorse before he abandoned me. I had no choice but to try to hurry back to Naga before I became dinner to one of the beasts that inhabit these woods.

****End Flashback***

Out of all of the brothers, Cassius has always treated me the worst. I might never figure out why, because I try to avoid him, just as I do the rest of The Trio. I know that he hates that his parents chose me, but I had no control over their decision. The brothers view me as their nanny, not as their assistant. I am mature for my age, but that can't be why I was chosen. I am thankful for the pay, but not the duties. I wish that the King and Queen had chosen someone else.

I bite my lip before I knock on Cassius's door. As I lower my chin to my chest, I raise the loaded breakfast tray. I hear his dragon, Asher, growl, and I immediately know that something must not be to his liking. A Aclawede, deep red hand knocks the tray and its contents to the floor. "Clean it up," he commanded, as he moved quickly so that he could lift his right foot and kick me into his room. This is the last place that I wanted to be today, alone with Cassius and his pissy dragon. Fuck my luck! Will I ever catch a break?

All dragons are moody, even the ones that adopted me. My adoptive parents, unlike many others in the tribe, rarely let their dragons out or even shift, because they know that it terrifies me. The Trio simply don't care, and I am certain that they do it on purpose to frighten me. They want me to run and abandon my duties, but even if I did, I would be dragged back here. I have to stay until I graduate, and then I can give my adoptive parents a portion of my earnings and flee this place forever and go back to live among humans. Now I need to focus and avoid Cassius's and Asher's wrath.