Page 12 of Dragon Chosen
She has to stay.
I stared at my mother as she bustled over, seeing her in a completely different light. A long time ago, a travelling show had rolled into the nearby town and they brought with them this miraculous beast. Brought over from the mainland, they claimed, it was the biggest cat I’d ever seen. But all wonder was driven out of me as I watched it pace back and forth, back and forth in an endless loop, within the confines of its tiny cage. As soon as anyone got close, it snarled and lashed at the bars, trying to work its paws through them to strike out. Right now, that was my mother.
But she couldn’t reach me from her cage.
“Fern, you…” Her officious tone faltered as I brushed past her. “You’re not going to leave on that dragon!”
I walked inside to find I had an audience. Half the manor staff were clustered in the foyer, scattering the minute we walked in. I took the steps two at a time, forcing Mother to trot fast to keep up with me, but when she tried to take my arm, I paused.
“You can’t stop me.” To reinforce my point, I jerked it free. “You know you can’t.”
“Your behaviour is scandalous!” she snapped. “The whole district will hear of it.”
I stepped up to her, smiling when she was forced to move backwards.
“They’ll know that I left my father’s home a queen dragon rider,” I said. “People will tell the story over and over, trying to piece together how I did it, to see if they can replicate the results. Other young women…”
That’s when I stopped, smiled, and then nodded. All women were born into the same cage Mother lived in, but not all remained there, and that’s what really threatened her. If I left, what did that say about her, that she stayed? I knew it meant she was making the best choice she could, but Mother… Seeingme walk out of here had the bars of her cage rattling and she didn’t know what to do with that.
“It won’t matter what people say,” I said. “News will die down, because someone else will do something scandalous. I won’t be back.” As soon as I said the words, I knew them to be true. “Not to remind you of how my choices are different from yours. Not ever.”
At that, I spun on my heel and walked into my old bedroom.
On the trip over, I’d thought about what I’d take. My watercolours, my good sable brushes, my favourite book series. In the end, I just packed what clothes I thought would be suitable for riding on dragon back. For a moment I considered the treasures on my window sill, sure Mother would burn them. I’d find more. Auren and I, we’d scour beaches all across Nevermere, looking for the perfect shell, the perfect feather. That knowledge was what had me nodding, right before I stepped out into the hall, pulling the door shut behind me.
“You’ll regret this,” Mother hissed as I walked past her. “You’ll come crawling back here once that… dragon discovers what you really are.”
“No.” I stopped for just a second, staring down at her. She was so small, so frail. I’d never noticed the grey strands in her hair, the fine lines around her eyes. Mother looked… old. “No matter what happens, no matter what Auren or I decide, I will never, ever subject myself to your petty rule again. Live well, Mother.” I bit that last word off. “Because I intend to.”
Are you ready?Auren asked as I reemerged from the house. She sized up the bag.I thought you had more treasures than that.
I figured we’d find more out in the world, I replied.Together.
Together.
She stretched her neck out, making it easier for me to clamber up on her back. That was the last straw for my suitors. They thought Auren was finally going to swallow them down, so they went bolting off down the road.
“Fly well,” Father said with a wave. “And Dragon? Look after my daughter, you hear?”
Better than he has thus far, she told me drily.
“If you need me,” I called out to Rose. “Send word via the royal keep. I’ll come.”
“Not as a bride, but a rider.” Rose nodded with a smile. “Keep your head in the clouds, little sister.”
With that, Auren’s wings flapped out. Several fast steps and then we were up in the sky, the manor getting smaller and smaller with each sweep of her wings.
So, do you know how to get to the royal keep?I asked my bondmate.I’ve never been.
I was born there. Auren didn’t sound quite as confident as she normally did.It’s… this way.
Whether it was or not, I no longer cared. As long as it wasn’t anywhere near the manor or my suitors, I was happy.
We’ll find it, I assured her,even if we have to stop and ask for directions.
Present ourselves to the royal keep, claim a territory and then live happily ever after, that was the plan, but fate? It had other ideas.
Perhaps we should head down there?I said the next day, pointing to a small town below us.We can ask the villagers if they know where the keep is?
