"Dragon Rose Chapters 1 - 9" by Christina Alisa Estrem

Chapter 1

The sun had no mercy left for them that day. Every second more that they spent in the courtyard, the sun seemed to get hotter and hotter. In the middle of the courtyard there was a circle drawn, in chalk, on the ground. Inside the circle, there were two lads having themselves a good fight. The two were only practicing, yet the sweat kept dripping off their faces. They were using as much force as they would in actual battle; which, to them, it was. Every second more they spent practicing, more sweat dripped off their faces, to a small puddle on the ground.

"Enough!" bellowed Cyrus, the man in charge of training the lads. "Next two."

Shortly after the two lads had moved themselves beyond the circle, another lad had entered.

"Well? What are you waiting for? We don’t have all day!"

"But sir-" the lad was cut off by Cyrus’s attention being turned to where one of the lads was attempting an escape.

"You, there!" he bellowed.

Startled, the lad turned to face all the others. He was dressed from head to toe in black, despite the heat of the day.

"Yes, you," Cryus said, "In the circle."

"If he doesn’t want to fight, don’t make him." The voice came from the lad already standing in the circle.

I knew I shouldn’t have come here today , thought the other lad. "I’ll fight," came his reply.

He made his way to the circle in the applause and cheering of the others. He didn’t want to fight Doda, but knew that there was no way of getting out of it now. Doda was supposed to be the best in this kingdom . . . That was about to be changed.

Minutes had passed. Neither was winning. Neither was loosing. They seemed perfectly matched. Neither missed an opening, but that was only if one was allowed.

Even more minutes had passed, but none of the others seemed to care. They wanted to see who would win.

In the circle, there was a bit more action and a greater desire to see who would win. Neither giving, and both trying to take as much as they could. Back and forth it went. After many more minutes, Doda felt that there was nothing that heÕd be able to change about the winner and the looser.

"Keep going!" shouted Cyrus from the crowd. He could sense Doda’s feelings of defeat. But for Doda, his future had been determined the moment he had stepped into the ring.

Sweat dripped from both their faces; both of them panting, trying to cool off. It was over. The other lad held out his hand in acknowledgment. Doda reached for it, and they shook hands.

"A fine job, lad. A fine job you did." Cyrus was already congratulating the winner, the new champion.

The other lads gathered around to congratulate him, too. But avoiding as many of their congratulations as possible, the lad, that had won, quickly ran off.

What a strange young lad , thought Doda, not even wanting to acknowledge his accomplishment.

Chapter 2

Weeks had passed. Allokohott’ decided that the carnival might be sort of fun. At least, she’d be able to practice with her knives. This time she would be sure to avoid any of the hand-to-hand combat tournaments.

Before, she had always made a point to keep herself hidden, but the last time . . . She probably could have managed to stay away if he hadn’t have been so good looking.

She followed the rest of the trail to the castle courtyard. She knew it well, even though she hadn’t been this way for some weeks now.

This time, though, she had a companion. After she had left the last time, she met a little dog. Happily, the dog followed behind her.

Right before she passed through the last wall, she tied her hair back and placed it under her hat. Now she would be ready to fight.

Most of the events had started, so she cautiously made her way to where the others were practicing with their knives, all the while avoiding the hand-to-hand combat arena.

While waiting in line, she sat down to play with Puppy, the dog she had found. The two of them were caught up in a mock fight all of their own when, suddenly, there was a tapping on her shoulder.

She nearly blew her cover by acting embarrassed when she realized who was standing next to her. Ignoring him wouldnÕt help!

"Knife throwing, huh?"

"One of my favorite," she replied.

"I thought you’d be interested in more hand-to-hand"

"Not today."

"What? Are you scared of defeat?"

"Why? I beat you, didn’t I? Aren’t you the best?"

"I was." He said, as he cast his eyes downward.

"You still are." She got up. "Come Puppy." They walked off. Alloko headed towards her path again. "No tournaments for us today, Puppy." Puppy didnÕt seem to be bothered by the fact.

As she walked towards the trail, Puppy was the only one to notice that someone was following them. Oh well, her master seemed to like the person.

After Alloko decided that she was far enough away from peering eyes, she decided to remove her hat. She ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to straighten out the tangles.

"A lass?"

She turned to see a very dumbfounded Doda standing behind her.

"I was beaten by a lass? I could understand another lad, but a lass?" Doda could hardly believe his misfortune.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Surprised?"

"Very."

"Because I’m a lass, or because I am better than you?"

"Both. Now I see why you left so early that day," he said more to himself.

She could no longer avoid how cute he looked. His curly hair that went a little passed his ears, and she loved the way that it fell in front of his face. She had to admit that it did look a lot better now that it wasnÕt soaked with sweat. And his eyes . . . She definitely needed a distraction!

"All done with the tournaments, then?"

Tournaments . . . ? Thankful for the distraction, she replied, "I never started." She kept walking.

He caught up to her, grabbed her by the shoulders, and turned her to face him. "Tell me, truthfully, why do you fight?"

She had never really asked herself that. She’d never really needed to, either. "It’s fun." was all the reply she gave. She got away from his hold, and kept on walking.

"Fun? You fight for fun?" He couldn’t believe his ears. "You realize that most of us have to fight because one day it will be expected of us."

"Expected?"

"In wars and other such things."

"In tournaments?"

"That, too. But, why do you fight?"

"Survival, but mostly because it gives me something to do in my free time. Practicing, I mean." She was turning defensive. "Why do you believe that only lads are able to fight? I don’t see the difference between you fighting, or me fighting."

"But . . . but . . ." he was searching for the right words to say without offending her. "But most lasses don’t even want to."

"I’m not like most. Besides, don’t you have something better to do than to talk with some lass?"

"You really don’t have any idea as to who I am, do you?"

"Besides the fact that your name is Doda, no."

At least she was honest, he thought. "My father would like you."

She stopped suddenly, turned and looked him straight in the eye. "Do you know what the King would do if he found out?" She looked horrified with only thinking of the possibilities.

"You mustn’t tell anyone!"

"I can assure you that the King will do no such thing."

"How can you be so sure?" she asked with disbelief.

"He’s my father."

Chapter 3

That’s how it came to be. Allokohott’ went with Doda one of the following weeks to visit His Majesty.

The following day came with surprising quickness. She put on her fanciest dress- which was black, of course. It hung tight, yet loose about her waist, and went clear past her anckles. She had a black satin shirt to match. Around her neck, she placed her best necklace, a small silver chain. She tied her hair back with a small ribbon, nothing too fancy, just enough to keep the hair out of her face.

She and Puppy met Doda by the trail where they had parted ways the last time. He was very impressed, she could tell by the look on his face, at least until he saw her feet.

"You look like a gypsy," he told her, "only in black."

She figured that it was because of her bare feet. She didn’t mind, though.

This time as she walked through town there weren’t as many people, because the carnival was over. Doda led her to the Palace, with Puppy right on their heels.

Alloko was practically overwhelmed by the beauty that emanated from the Palace. A huge stairway that led up to the castle that led up to two doors which were both carved of wood. Each had a picture which blended in with the rest of the buildingÕs architecture.

There was a strange grinding sound, and not one but both of the doors opened widely.

As soon as Her Majesty noticed that her son was returning, she rushed to greet him. She was very surprised. Bringing a lass with him wasn’t all that surprising; what was surprising, though, was the lass that he brought with him.

Her Majesty met her son and his companion as they were coming up to the stairs. She greeted her son in the typical way. Kissing each cheek, starting with the right. When she met the lass, she greeted her in a similar fashion, then adding a third kiss for good luck.

"Mother," he said, "I’d like you to meet Allokohott’. She’ll be staying with us for a while, if that’s all right." He cast a hopeful glance in his mother’s direction.

She met it with a smile.

Moments later, Alloko was acknowledged as a member of the royal family. If any of the town’s people had any say about it, they were told that she was one of Her Majesty’s cousin’s children. And that she would be spending some time at the Palace. For how long, no one had any idea.

Chapter 4

Being the fan of history that he was, Doda often spent many hours in his father’s library. It was on one of his early morning visits that he noticed The Book. Strange, he thought, that he didn’t notice it before Alloko came to stay with them. He could have sworn that he knew about every book his father owned, and read all the history books, at least once. More often if it was one of his favorites.

This book, though, was very different!

There was no title on the cover, nor any of the pages thereafter. There was a picture, though. It showed what looked to be a flower (but none he had ever seen before), with a heart in the center of it and two dragons (a male and a female) inside of that.

At breakfast, he showed The Book to his father. His Majesty had never seen it before. His Majesty didn’t even know such a book existed.

Both puzzled and curious, Doda took The Book to his room to read. He placed The Book on his pillow and laid on his bed to read. As soon as he flipped open the cover, The Book seemed to get a life of its own. It kept flipping through the pages.

Then it stopped.

Did he dare look at the page?

He dared.

"Only twenty-one and the people called him the Dragon Master. In the villages for miles and miles around there was talk that he was the best dragon trainer in all the land . . ."

A few more pages turned.

"To them [the people] she was known as Dragon Lady. She was the only one, they say, who has the ability to speak their [the dragon’s] language."

Some more pages turned.

"She had the name of a flower, and very rightly so. Rosy pink with almond eyes, those were the colors of the Dragon Rose."

Interesting, indeed. Too bad he had to get back to the troubles of daily life. He closed The Book, took another glance at its decorative cover, then placed it under his pillow. Hopefully, it would still be there later so he could read some more.

He met Alloko, this time dressed as a lad, and off they went for another hour or two of practice. Later that night, he was finally able to read some more from The Book.

As soon as he picked up The Book from its hiding place, the pages started turning.

They stopped.

He read.

"Even though he was a Guardian of the Old Ways, Kalidor broke his vow not to have a romantic relationship with another dragon. But for her, Dragon Rose, he broke all the rules."

Chapter 5 A few more pages flipped. Instead of there being small passages that talked about the people he had never heard about before, this next passage seemed to be the telling of a story. <p> "She [Dragon Lady] had done this many times before, but what made this time so different from all the others? This time, she was actually going through with her plan. This time, she took one of the hatchlings with her. She couldn’t stand to let this one die just because it was the runt. She knew the punishment would be great, but she also knew that there was something very special about this dragon. She had to do everything she could to save it. <p> "Quietly, she walked up to one of the side doors, she listened to hear if any guards were still on duty. They [the guards] had to be very protective of the hatchlings, especially since most of the other clans were already fighting one another; besides, the use of dragons in combat was becoming more and more popular, and more and more necessary. <p> "Good, she thought, there was no guard at this door. Quietly, she opened the door, snuck through, and closed the door behind her, with the rut still cradled like a babe in her arms. Just as quietly, she headed to her cottage. It wouldn’t last long as a home (how easy is it to hide a six-foot one-year-old?). she had a strange feeling that someone else was about to help her, just as she ran into somebody along the path to her cottage. <p> "’I’m sorry,’ she said as she quickly covered the runt and hurried past. <p> "’You’re Dragon Lady?’ asked the young man who had just run into her. <p> "She paused, waiting. <p> "’I am known as the Dragon Master.’ He held out is hand in greeting. Curiously, she accepted. <p> "’Please, may I?’ He looked at the bundle in her arms. <p> "Something told her to keep the runt and to run as fast as her feet could carry her; yet an even greater part of her knew that he wouldn’t hurt the runt. She handed over the bundle. <p> "Holding the dragon, he spoke, ’You are the Dragon Lady that speaks with the dragons, are you not? You were supposed to get the runt for me so that I might train her. Please, we have very little time. <p> "’Follow me,’ he told her. She obeyed." <p> He didn’t quite like the story telling part, yet it intrigued him just the same. It all seemed to be just a story, yet, at the same time, it seemed to be so much more. He felt as if it were a mystery being unfolded before him, and that he was the only one that could solve it. <p> </fontsize="+2"> <fontsize="+3"> <center> Chapter 6 </center> </fontsize="+3> <fontsize="+2"> <p> In the pages that followed, Doda was taken into the world of Dragon Lady, Dragon Master, and the runt. He learned that the runt ws later named Dragon Rose. He read about how Dragon Rose spent her days training to be the best and not stopping until she was the best. <i>Sounds somewhat like a certain lass,</i> he told himself, but didn’t pay too much attention to it. She was trained for war, but so were all the rest of the dragons. Most of the other clans were jealous that they didn’t have as grand a training center as Dragon Master’s, for his was the best in all the land. <p> In his reading, Doda also noticed that Dragon Rose seemed to like a certain dragon named Kalidor. <p> "As the years went by, Dragon Rose had developed not-so-platonic feelings towards Kalidor. Who could blame her, though? Besides the fact that the two of them were forced into doing almost everything together- well, at least in training. She couldn’t help it that she thought he was the most handsome dragon that there was. Dark green eyes that always held that playful, yet mysterious glow whenever they gazed down upon her. His scaled were always shiny and always clean- except during training sessions. His red scales a contrast to her rosy pink scales that went with her amber colored eyes . . ." <p> <i>What color are Alloko’s eyes? Amber? I think so.</i> Doda was starting to realize some similarities, but were they supposed to be there? <p> Ò . . . some things happened by chance, whereas others seemed to happen for a reason- this was definitely one of those. What that reason was she had yet to know, but she knew that she would soon find out.Ó <p> <i> Ugh, not a love story! Maybe thereÕll be more fighting, </i> he thought. A few more pages flipped. <p> ÒHe [Kalidor] couldnÕt believe his luck! This day there werenÕt any, save a few, humans on the practice fields. He knew the perfect place to go- whether you were a dragon or a human. After all, he could be both since he was one of the few Immortal Dragons that lived. Word had been sent to him that he must find the one which is to be called ÔDragon RoseÕ; so, of course, he knew who she was- he helped name her! The only problem, though, was that the Dragon Rose he knew wasnÕt immortal, or at least he would prove that today. Slowly, he walked up to her. ÒÕCome now, my Rose . . .ÕÓ <p> </fontsize="+2"> <fontsize="+3"> <center> Chapter 7 </center> </fontsize="+3"> <fontsize="+2"> <p> There was a pounding at the door, followed by a female’s voice. "Doda!" the voice shouted. "Wake up!" There was even more pounding. <p> Doda rolled over. Was is morning yet? If it was, it meant that he had spent over half the night reading. It couldn’t be morning yet, could it? There was another knock on the door. <i>And that pounding! Will it never cease?</i> He didn’t even remember falling asleep. <p> "Do I have to come in there and get you myself? You know I will." <p> He didn’t believe her, whoever she was. <p> Seconds later, the door was wide open with Alloko marching up to Doda’s bed, a very annoyed look on her face. <p> His eyes opened wide in disbelief. <p> "Don’t you remember your little promise, or was that more of your talk?" <p> He didn’t remember, she could tell by the look he gave her. <p> "It’s the middle of the night," he protested. <p> She didn’t care. She went to his closet. "Do I have to do everything, including finding your clothes for you?" <p> "What are you talking about?" <p> "The horses are ready, and you were supposed to meet me over an hour ago. All the palace will be waking soon." <p> "So it is the middle of the night." Then he understood what she was talking about. "Horses?" <p> "Yes," she was more than annoyed now. "We were supposed to go for a midnight ride. You said that you knew the best place to watch the stars. We were supposed to go tonight-" <p> His memory was given just enough of a reminder. "There’s still time!" he quickly told her as he jumped out of his bed and grabbed the nearest clothes that he could that would be decent for riding. <p> Alloko was shocked by his sudden burst of energy, but was happy that finally, they’d soon be going. <p> Only moments later he was already out the door, while Alloko was still standing near his closet wondering what just happened. <p> "Well?" <p> She quickly got her senses back, and together, but very quietly, they walked to the stables. <p> The two horses were happy when their riders finally came, they were looking forward to another late night adventure. The horses didn’t need much nudging before they were off loping across the countryside. Both mount and rider enjoyed their adventure the same. <p> Doda led his mount to a clearing and dismounted. Alloko did likewise. They let the horses graze, trusting that the horses wouldn’t get spooked and run away. Shortly after dismounting, Doda stood as if his gaze had been transfixed by one spot in the distant sky. Alloko couldn’t understand why, until she, too, saw. <p> They were staring at three celestial bodies. Two of them Doda and Alloko recognized right away. It was easy enough, they were both moons. But the third? <p> "Do you suppose that the other one might be a planet?" <p> He didn’t think so. <p> "You know what’s funny?" she continued. "I think it is another planet. But you know what’s comical, I think I’ve actually been there before." <p> Doda blinked a few times. He didn’t doubt her, but neither did he believe her. Either way, he didn’t think that what she actually thought was funny, nor did he think that she actually thought it was funny. <p> He continued to stare at the third giant body in the night sky. <p> Alloko didn’t mind that he didn’t reply. She rather enjoyed the peacefulness and the near solitude of the nighttime sky. <p> Awhile after the sun had shown itself above the horizon, they finally decided to go back. <p> At breakfast, Doda asked his father about what he and Alloko had seen. His father didn’t have a straight answer, he could tell, because if he did, he would have told him, instead of directing him to a few books in his library. <p> Astronomy. Planets. Stars. He looked through it all, and still he couldn’t find anything about what they had seen. Shortly after, Doda gave up, labeling it a lost cause. <p> </fontsize="+2"> <fontsize="+3"> <center> Chapter 8 </center> </fontize="+3"> <fontsize="+2"> <p> After another day of hard work, Allokohott’ was hoping to get a good night’s sleep. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She didn’t have a peaceful rest, though, rather, it was more disturbing than anything. <p> She dreamt of war. Many people killing and being killed. And of dragons. As much a part of the war as the humans were. <p> Her eyes quickly opened. <p> She didn’t want to sleep anymore, but she knew she needed the rest. <p> Again and again throughout the night she would fall asleep, dream, quickly wake up, hope she wouldn’t sleep or dream again. That wish wasn’t too ready to come true, at least not this night. <p> She was very glad when morning and daylight finally came. <p> Alloko didn’t feel ready to show herself to the world, but she knew that she needed to do something to keep busy so she wouldn’t have another tortured sleep. And even worse dreams. <p> </fontsize="+2"> <fontsize="+3"> <center> Chapter 9 </center> </fontsize="+3"> <fontsize="+2"> <p> It wasn’t until a few nights after their midnight ride that Doda was finally able to read some more from The Book. <p> When he entered his chamber he noticed that it was already open. Curious, he walked over to where it had been set a few days earlier. He looked down at the open pages, then read. <p> "As a human, he was subject to all human law, therefore, he was also subject to the law of love. As a woman, she knew all the laws, especially the law of love." <p> <i>Ugh! </i>It wasn’t exactly his idea of fun to be reading a love story. There was something inside him, though, that told him to continue reading. He just hoped that nobody saw him. <p> "He knew it wasn’t suppose to happen. That it wasn’t meant to be. Yet, when he took the chance that day to become human, he knew what it would cost him. He didn’t care. <p> "She knew from the moment that she first saw him. She knew that she shouldn’t get involved, that she couldn’t. Yet she would and she did. She knew that he was different. But how? She couldn’t tell. He seemed human in the flesh. Yet, in his heart? She could never really tell. Although, she knew that he loved her. His actions said as much. <p> "Nikolai could remember it completely. He was one of the few that still existed. He was one of the Immortal Dragons, or he belonged to the Dragon Royalty. They were few in number, yet plenty in spirit. He had mastered the art of becoming human, and now he would pay. <p> "He had used up the rest of his powers in allowing her to become Dragon. Little did he know that in doing do it would cost him his immortality, and his life. <p> "After Akakianth‡ realized what Nikolai was offering . . . How could she resist? she thought that the two of them would be perfect. They would live through the centuries and rule all of Dreyverzon as King and Queen. She never would have guessed its ending, their ending. How could any of them? <p> "It was shortly after she had lain her eggs. She never knew what happened to them. She couldn’t. At that moment, after the last had been laid, the Flash came. Then she knew. He knew. They all knew. In two Flashes, they were no more. First it was she, then he. <p> "All that remained of them was their legacy. But did they really live, or was it just some legend? The only one that would know, was yet to be born." <p> Now he was utterly confused. first, he couldn’t figure out who Nikolai and Akakianth‡ were. Second, he didn’t even know that there was such a thing as "Dragon Royalty." And last, who was that last person they were talking about that was the only one who would know? It just didn’t make any sense to him. Just as he was about to close The Book and make a vow to himself that he would never read it again, the pages started turning. <p> The pages stopped. So, of course, he had to read. <p> "Since the beginning of time, they had existed, and they would continue to exist until Time itself past away. They were the Immortal Dragons." <p> <i>Well, at least that was a start,</i> Doda thought. <p> "A few of the more talented were chosen to be the Guardians of the Old Ways, or those who kept the law, and made certain that others did likewise. <p> "The most talented one of all was selected to be King, and the Queen, his lifetime mate. The two of them would rule the Dragons as one. <p> "The first two of the Dragon Royalty were Nikolai and Akakianth‡. Their reign was ended quickly- right after Akakianth‡ laid her eggs. The others made sure that none of them survived. <p> "But they miscounted, leaving one behind, unharmed. And none was the wiser as to what had happened to the last one. One that, when it hatched, was the only runt." <p> Doda couldn’t believe what he had read! He faintly remembered reading something about a runt before. <i>But that runt couldn’t be the same as this one, could it? If what I think is true, then it means that this runt is Dragon Royalty and Immortal, but the other runt wasn’t.</i> Or so he thought . . . ! <p> He just hoped that what he guessed was right. </fontsize="+2">