The Dragon’s Throne 1

Chapter 15

“What are you working on?” Eli asked, walking into the once empty room that had been turned into a sewing room for Anna.

“You’ll see,” she said, looking up from her sewing machine and smiling before going back to her work.

“You’ve been working non-stop since I left this morning.  You should take a break.”

“I’m almost done, and I want to finish this now so we can try it out.”

“We?” he asked.  “I guess I’m confused.”

“You’ll see when I’m done.  If it works out the way I think it will, I’m going to make a bunch of them.  It shouldn’t take me long with this machine.”

“Is it that much faster than the foot-powered ones?”

“So much faster.  I wish I would have had one of these in the village.  I’ve made more dresses in a week than I usually can in a month or two.”

“I guess I’ll bring the surprise to you then,” he said, disappearing into the hall and returning a moment later.

She looked up, the stopped the sewing machine and stood up, rushing to where he was.

“Is this?” she said, afraid to hope.

“It is the trunk from your house.  You wouldn’t believe how heavy it gets flying this far.”

“You went and got it?  How long have you been gone?”

“Half the day,” he laughed.  “I guess you were really engrossed in your project.”

He stepped away from the trunk as she threw the lid open and a joyous cry escaped her lips.

“They’re all here,” she said, pulling the dresses her mother had made out one by one and hugging them close.  “They’re all still here.”

She was crying when she set the dresses back in the trunk and threw herself into his arms.

“Thank you, Eli,” she said when she could finally speak.  “This is the best birthday present I could have hoped for.”

“Your birthday isn’t for another month,” he said, laughing softly as he kissed her.

“It doesn’t matter.  This is perfect and I can’t believe you went all the way to the village to sneak these out of my house.”

“Now that it’s well into November and the snow is falling everywhere, I figured it was a good time to go.  The village is busy doing all their chores when the sun is up, then rushing home before the temperature plummets.  It’s been almost two months since you came here, and the men who were guarding the house have given up on you returning.”

“And Eleanor?” she asked hopefully.

“I didn’t see her, but I didn’t stay long.”

“It’s not like you can go into town and ask about her.”

“Exactly, so I just grabbed the dresses and left.”

Anna nodded, biting back tears and going back to the sewing machine.  She put the finishing touches on the piece she was working on quickly, then held it up for Eli to look at.

“Is that a bodysuit?” he asked, confused.

“It is.  Go try it on.”

“Alright,” he said, taking it from her and stripping down where he stood. 

He slipped his legs in through the neck, pulling the black fabric up and putting his arms through.  Anna helped him, closing the snap that was the same shade of flat black as the rest of the suit.

He moved around, smiling at the freedom of motion and admiring the single piece suit.

“This is comfortable,” he said.  “What’s it for?”

“Come outside.  I’ll show you.”

He followed her outside, waiting while she grabbed her coat and put it on against the chill of the afternoon.  It was a warm day for winter, but the temperature still hovered just above freezing, and unlike dragons, Anna’s body didn’t run hot.

She took a few steps out into the yard, then stopped.

“Shift,” she said, standing there waiting.

“I don’t want to rip it,” he said, looking down at the black suit.

“You won’t,” she said.  “Trust me.”

“Okay,” he said.  “But if I do, don’t get mad.”

“It won’t rip.”

She crossed her arms, watching him as he began to shift.  He took his time at first, clearly convinced that the fabric would indeed rip despite her insistence.  But as each cell stretched and formed beneath the body suit and didn’t tear the fabric to shreds, he moved faster.  Minutes later, he was standing before her in full dragon form, towering over her.

She motioned to him to lower himself, climbing onto his back and inspecting her work from several angles before sliding off his tail like a small child and standing in front of him again.

“Alright, back to human,” she said, laughing at the annoyed look that was clear on reptilian face.

He shifted back, this time moving faster, then looking down at his human body and back at her in shock.

“How did you do that?” he asked.

“I added elastic in some places, and the rest is a visual trick.  The bodysuit has several places where it overlaps but doesn’t have a seam.  When you shift, the fabric moves with your body, and those open spaces create a place for your wings, hips and tail.  The fabric matches your scales, so no one can see you’re wearing it, but when you go back to human form, you’re still fully clothed.”

“This is brilliant, and I mean that.”

“Do you think the others will wear something like this?”

“I do.  There are plenty of situations where we avoid the ease of flying because we don’t have a way of getting dressed when we reach our destination.  This is a game changer.”

She smiled, delighted.

“I’m so happy this worked the way I thought it would.  I’ll have to make more and you can give one to the queen.”

He stepped closer, smiling at her as he hugged her close.

“There is no queen,” he said.

“I forgot that when your father stepped down for you to take his place that your mother is also no longer queen.  Who is the queen now?  Or do you just not have one?”

He looked at her without saying a word, but it suddenly dawned on her.

“Me?” Anna asked, shocked.  “I can’t be queen.  I’m not even a dragon.”

“That’s part of the prophecy.  You will be queen and that’s the event that precipitates the shift in the world.”