The Dragon’s Throne 1

“This property is over a thousand acres and the house is in the back behind a wooded area that I planted when I first found this house so far from the village fifty years ago.  The rustic cabin at the front of the property is my house as far as they know, and no one has ever thought to venture further down my private road.”

“Do you think that they would care to find out that you have electricity and running water while they chop wood and live by candlelight?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care to find out.  I think this is something that’s better kept to ourselves.”

“I agree.  I just find myself laughing every time I fly overhead and see how huge your house is compared to the cabin that they believe you live in.  Humans are surprisingly dumb; they’ll believe anything if the right person tells them.”

“I know they will,” the mayor said.  “They’ve never questioned my word once, even when John died saving the queen and I told everyone that he was taken as a sacrifice to spare the lives of others.  And now, they think Anna is dead, and they believe that the new king is breaking old treaties.  They hate him.”

“I bet they’re scared that a dragon is going to come into their homes and steal their children in the night.”

The mayor perked up.

“That’s a good one.  I’ll have to add that one to the list of possibilities that I feed them.”

“Do you think that they’ll ever decide that Aldeia is too dangerous and venture away from the village?”

“No.  I think it’s human nature to trust what you’re used to and fear the unknown.  As far as they know, the only thing east of here is the leftover ruins from the Great War.  If they knew the truth, they would still be afraid.  They are comfortable living this way.”

“Being trapped by fear seems to be a uniquely human desire.”

“They can’t help it.  Better the enemy you know than the one you don’t is such an apt quote on the entirety of human existence.  They’re more afraid of leaving their comfort zone than they are of living and dying here without ever seeing what’s outside the borders of the village.”

“Do you think that will change if they ever find out about you?”

The mayor looked around the room at the opulence that had become so commonplace, and shook his head. 

“They will never find out, and if they do, I’ll find a way to spin it so that they’re grateful that I hid it from them.  They’re content living simply and without all the creature comforts that led to the downfall of humankind.  Tell them that I have all this while they struggle will not help them.  They will understand that it’s in their best interests not to know.”

“You are a master at this,” the visitor said, then he sighed.  “I have to help prepare for the wedding.  It’s supposed to be an extravagant affair that I’m sure will be beyond boring.”

“It’s a necessary evil in our fight.  Without a human as the Dragon Queen, the future will not take shape as it’s supposed to.  We’ve been waiting for decades for the inevitable.  Now that it’s about to happen, we can prepare ourselves for the next step.  Just make sure that your people are ready on your end.”

“They’ve been ready since the girl was born,” the visitor confirmed.  “Many of them have wondered why we didn’t kill her before now.”

The mayor shook his head.

“Killing her would do nothing.  Fate would have found another way, and then we wouldn’t know who it was ahead of time.  With Anna, we have the advantage.  And it’s not just her that we have to worry about; it’s the new king and his Fated Mate that are the catalyst for the big change.  Killing her will only lend strength to his cause.”

“I hope you’re right.  It would have been much easier to dispose of her when she couldn’t defend herself.”

“She’s still vulnerable.”

“Not as vulnerable as she was.  The king has been training her in hand to hand combat for over two months now.  I overheard the talk about how she had pinned him and could have killed him right then.”

“He let her win.”

The visitor shook his head. 

“They were excited, talking about how she had leapt off the side of the cliff and onto Eli’s back as if she knew she could fly and wasn’t afraid of the thousands of feet she would drop.  I don’t think that Anna is the person that she was when she left this village.  I think that she’s becoming exactly who Fate made her to be.”

“She’s still human.”

“She is, but she knows things about dragons that most humans don’t.”

“The prophecy says that the war will be between dragons and evil humans; there’s no mention of dragons fighting amongst each other.  I’m sure she’s learning to fight dragons because it builds confidence for taking down her own kind.  I doubt she’s prepared to actually kill a dragon if it comes down to it.”

“I’m not willing to take that chance,” the visitor said.

“You won’t have to.”

The visitor shook his head, still not convinced. 

“On another subject, I’m here on official duty for the king.  I’m assuming that you’re once again declining the invitation to attend the wedding and the coronation of the new queen as a representative of the human village.”

“I will not be attending,” he said.  “Give the happy couple my best wishes and tell them to enjoy this time, because it goes so fast.”

“I’m sure that they’ll be glad to hear from you,” the visitor sneered.  “I’ll send them your best and your regrets that you will not be traveling during such a rough winter.  Has anyone even mentioned her this entire time?”

The mayor laughed.

“They still believe Anna is a righteous and just sacrifice to the king.  There are some that think that she’s still alive and being held captive, but as long as the king doesn’t unleash the wrath of his dragon clan on the village, they’re content not knowing what happened to her.”

“It’s much easier to be alright with your decision when you pretend it never happened, I guess.”

“I would say that it is.  I don’t know how they sleep at night, knowing that they were willing to drag a woman from her home for a thousand dollars.”

“I’m not surprised.  Isn’t human greed the reason we’re here in the first place?  It makes sense that they would be reduced to a mob mentality, knowing their history.”

“They’re doomed to repeat it, as always happens.  I have to hurry back.  They’re waiting for me to return with your decision.”

“I trust you know the way out,” the mayor said.

The visitor nodded, then left without another word.  He felt the eyes of one of the servants on him as he moved through the house, but he didn’t bother making eye contact.  Humans were beneath him; their servants even further removed from who he was.  He wouldn’t reward the prying eyes with his attention. 

He left through the front door, boldly stepping out into the night and shifting without even trying to conceal who he was.  The suit morphed with him, leaving his movement as unrestricted as it would have been had he shed his clothes as he shifted.

That was one good thing about Anna; she had unknowingly given the Dragon Rebellion a new tool in their arsenal.  The humans would have a hard time distinguishing between friend or foe with this suit. 

With one great idea, Anna had sealed the fate of her entire race, and maybe even signed her own death warrant.