Ten days after the encounter with Alyse and the Queen’s guards near Dugan Forest, Rick, Neighbor, and the Farhnerians met up with their splinter group, not in City Brandt as they’d expected, but camped out by the mountain meadow lake. With the forest and a mountain range lying between Brandt and them, this appeared to be more a settlement than a temporary camp for the refugees.
“Why have they stopped here?” Rick asked. “Wouldn’t they be safer in City Brandt?”
The group had already constructed a large wooden structure further back from the lake. Smoke drifted up from the chimneys on either end. There were scatterings of lean-tos and temporary huts, with rocks forming cooking areas, some even forming the start of chimneys and hearths.
“Does City Brandt welcome refugees?” King Segan asked.
“Of course,” Rick answered, thinking of not only his own family there, but of the many Spikonians who had blended into their society.
“Three hundred at a time?” Segan asked.
He didn’t have the answer for that. Rick looked back at the new settlement.
Men and boys led horses dragging hewn trees to the area. Chopping sounds were heard in the nearby forest. Next to some of the huts, the ground had been scratched out where Rick assumed individual gardens might go in the spring. Several of the wild mountain sheep now grazed in pens. The rest of the herd had moved on elsewhere. One sheep was tied near a lean-to, being milked by a woman. Two children sang a hand clapping song near her, while other children chased each other in a game of tag.
“From what I’ve seen on the library maps,” Thram said, “this territory is rather a no man’s land, a wilderness between Brandt and Spikonia. Too far away from cities to be desirable, I suppose. A land no one has wanted.”
“Until now,” the general said. “We’ll need some time to rest and make further decisions before going into City Brandt to meet the king.”
“King Perez,” Thram said. “I’ll help with the arrangements.
Rick looked at his friend. Thram looked tired from the travel. Rick was sure he wanted to get back to his village. He was a Brandt duke, after all.
Rick heard his name being called out. On the lake, two men fished from a raft. One had a large red birthmark on his forehead, easily seen even from this distance. It was Gaufrid. He held up a huge trout and waved with it before tossing it into an open topped box built onto the raft where other fish also flopped.
Rick was anxious to move on to City Brandt and see Nomi once again. After all, he had promised her that he’d returned, and now he was so close, just a day away. A part of him dreaded facing his mother and telling her the news of his father and sister, although, he was confident that she would feel peace like he had when he saw them together after death.
Thram, also, was tired of travel and ready to get back to his own land and village down valley from City Brandt.
Although Segan longed to see his daughter living in Thramton, as the king of Farhner, political matters necessitated priority over family. He was the king of a conquered country, camping on the doorstep of a potential ally.
The celebration that night was filled with food and music and laughter. They were free, and together again – all of Farhner. If it wasn’t for the fact that stars were their ceiling and the air just a bit harder to breathe, it seemed to Rick like this was one of the many Farhnerian festivals he’d joined in Nimrock in what seemed a life ago.
The following afternoon, the king’s council met in the wooden community building. They hadn’t constructed the door big enough for a horse, or unicorn, to enter, so Neighbor joined by sticking her head through a window. Rick stood next to her on the inside, his hand lightly resting on her neck and mane. No one expected battles or war. From this point on it was mostly political discussions including the meetings of the two kings. Rick’s eyes became heavy until he heard a name which jerked him to alertness.
“…Alyse, then?”
“I’ll take her with me when I talk with King Perez,” Thram said. “Without the magicians to contain her, and before I lock her in my tower house down valley, she needs to remain with me. She could fool others, but never me.”
“We shall go with you, Duke,” Neighbor said.
“Yes,” Rick confirmed, biting his lower lip, hoping his reply wasn’t spoken too quickly. Although he wasn’t sure what he was agreeing to except to be with Neighbor and Thram and Alyse, and to be on his way to see Nomi.
They took a break for supper.
“I’m going with you,” Hobbie told Rick as he stuffed a chunk of charred trout into his mouth. “You need me, Boss. I know City Brandt far batter than you. Raised there. You just know those main roads Princess Celeste took you down. Besides, you need me as a guard for Alyse, plus an additional Brandt witness for King Perez for what happened and what is to come.” He tried to brush off a leaf which had fallen onto his shoulder, but had obviously forgotten about his metal hand when he thwacked himself in the process.
Rick pulled in his lips. Hobbie had left City Brandt a ragged thief with floppy soled shoes. He now actually looked acceptable. There was that one gloved hand, though, constantly reminding Rick of his failure as a magician.
So it was that Rick, Thram, Hobbie, Neighbor, and securely bound Alyse left the Farhnerian settlement and headed towards City Brandt. Through the forest, over the mountain, past the trolls’ abandoned cottage land, and over another few ridges until at last they crested the mountain top overlooking the open pasture. Beyond the grazing sheep and cows, City Brandt lay spread out in the valley before them. Rick immediately looked at the red palace; in particular, to Nomi’s terrace. They were too far away for him to make out faces, although, he could tell there were two figures on that terrace, certain one had to be Nomi. He wanted to shout out her name, even though he knew she couldn’t hear him.
“There she is,” Ricky said. His heart pounded wildly.
“I see her,” Neighbor replied. Then she blew out between her lips and stomped her feet.
“Dragons, but that dragon carving against the mountain palace looks so life-like,” Hobbie said. “They must have painted it since we left.”
Rick paid more attention to the carving spanning seven stories. He didn’t recall it being quite so bright before. Perhaps they had, as Hobbie suggested, either washed or painted it. The scales glistened in the sun as it moved.
It moved?
It wasn’t the expected carving of a red dragon on the palace. It was the red dragon: Graelle, clinging to the stone wall.
Neighbor reared and whinnied a greeting. Flame hopped beneath Rick He knew the unicorn’s voice could easily carry down the mountainside and reach Graelle as well as the princess. Nomi jumped and waved her arms. She was probably shouting, too, although Rick could only hear the stomping of horse hooves and the singing of mountain birds.
Graelle bent her head to Nomi’s terrace and the princess climbed onto her mama’s neck. The other girl on the terrace—Rick assumed it was Nomi’s lady-in-waiting, Christie—flattened herself below the wall as Graelle flapped her wings, rising from the terrace, rising from the valley, and bringing an enthusiastically waving princess to him.
“Can’t have asked for a better welcome than that,” Thram said, laughing. He grinned at his mother, whose mouth was still gagged. He knew it was Alyse’s first time seeing a dragon. She first looked terrified, and then curious.
Hobbie, who had also never seen a dragon, backed his horse behind Rick and Flame.
As Graelle landed, the horses and Hobbie screamed, but their riders kept them under control.
Nomi tumbled off, picked up her skirts, and ran towards Rick. He slid off Flame and ran to her. They crashed and bounced off each other, falling to the ground, laughing.
“Nice greeting, Boss,” Hobbie said.
“I am so sorry, Nomi,” Rick said, reaching out to take her hand and lift her up. “Are you all right?”
Nomi continued to laugh and threw her arms around Rick, nearly choking him with her grip.
“Look!” she said. “Mama came.”
Rick nodded. “I can see that.”
“And you, too,” she added. “Mama was not so sure. But you promised. You promised me, Aldric.”
“That I did,” he responded with a grin stretching across his face.
Thram was at his side, and together, along with Neighbor, the three of them took a knee, bowing before the dragon.
“We are honored to be in your presence, Madam,” Rick said.
There was a long pause, during which Hobbie behind them either fainted or fell off his horse to the ground. Rick was tempted to turn to see which it was, but heard Nomi hiding a snicker behind her hand.
“Rise,” Graelle said. Then to Thram, “You have done well in teaching my daughter, Duke. I could have only trusted someone with your lineage.” She then turned to Alyse. “Take off her gag and unbind her,” Graelle said.
Rick and Thram exchanged looks.
Rick helped her off her horse, glanced a couple times between the dragon and witch before finally giving in and untying Alyse and removing her gag. He thought for a moment that Alyse was going to bite him. She then grinned and cast Rick a smug look before turning back to the dragon.
“Mother of Thram, great-granddaughter of the mighty wizard Wormage, I greet thee.”
“Oh, great and mighty worm,” Alyse said loudly as she rubbed her wrists and fell to her knees. “You are my rightful king. All my life I have waited just for you. Thank you for freeing me from my wicked son and his bondage.” Alyse cast a vengeful side glance to her son. “I live to serve you and you alone.”
Thram didn’t react to his mother. He kept his eyes on Graelle, as did all the others.
“Then,” breathed the dragon, “I claim you as mine.”
“It is my honor, Madam,” Alyse said, lifting her head and still smirking. Her delight didn’t last long, for suddenly Graelle rose and snatched Alyse within her claws. Alyse screeched as the dragon lifted off the mountain with the witch in her clutches. Her red wings batted, flying northward over the mountain range until she vanished from sight.
“I suppose,” Nomi said,
breaking the silence, “I could ride your mother’s horse
back,
Thram.” Hobbie held out the reigns to the princess. “But really,
may I not ride you home instead, dear Neighbor? My people are weary
of being frightened of my mama.”
Neighbor knelt, and the princess wrapped her arms around the unicorn’s neck and raised a leg over her back as Neighbor rose.
“I’m so glad you three are back at last,” Nomi said, unable to hold back her laughter. “We should have a party. I can do that, you know. I shall declare this day a new festival day, in honor of the return of the Half-Moon Prince Aldric, Neigh-ah-bah-rah-shur-ah-kee-ah, and Duke Thram.”
“Don’t mind me,” Hobbie said. “I’m just their protector. That’s all.”
They all laughed, including the nickering horses and unicorn, as they galloped down the meadow toward the city.
The End