The Dragon’s Throne 1

“The Aman territory spans from here to the ocean and takes up four states.  That’s almost three hundred thousand square miles.  His body could be anywhere.  And since most of that is wilderness, there’s no telling what happened to him.  Anna, he could have fallen off a cliff or something else just as innocent.”

“I know.  I just hate that people use his death to caution their children from sneaking into Aman.  We’ve managed to get along with WereDragons at every Festival for decades.  I really think people let fear rule them.”

“Silas is an ass,” Eleanor laughed.  “I mean, he doesn’t seem that bad, but I don’t know if I could handle him being King if I were a dragon.”

“He’s better than your uncle.”

“I think they’re about the same, to be honest.  They’re both self-centered, hot-tempered egomaniacs.”

“Now that, I can agree with.”

“We should probably stop,” Eleanor said, still laughing.  “There are too many people on the road and I don’t want anyone to overhear us.  You never know who is su*king up to my uncle in hopes of a position in the government.”

Anna sighed. 

“All this talk of returning to simpler times to avoid another world war, and we’re just back where we started two hundred years ago.”

“You’re right,” Eleanor agreed. 

They walked the rest of the way in silence, listening to the snippets of conversations that they could hear from the groups making their their way down the road.  Charity and her friends were already out of sight, having turned the corner several hundred yards ahead.  Anna rolled her eyes again, wishing that Charity, of all people, would just leave her alone.  But Charity was a bully, and for whatever reason, she hated Anna.

“Let’s hurry,” Eleanor said.  “The sooner my uncle has his audience, the sooner we can go home and forget everything that he said.”

“You’re horrible,” Anna laughed. 

“I know, but someone has to stay rooted in reality.  Everyone else acts like he’s a god.”

“He did help found the village.”

“He found a deserted horse ranch and moved into the mansion on the hill while the rest of us built cabins on the east side of the river.  He didn’t do anything that anyone else couldn’t have done.”

“True.  I think people are just thankful for what they think he does.  Even if we know that it’s basically nothing, a lot of people feel like he keeps them safe.  After what happened fifty years ago, can you really blame them for just wanting to feel safe?”

“I can’t,” Eleanor admitted.  “I just wish that he wouldn’t boast so much and blow the littlest things out of proportion.  Things aren’t nearly as dramatic as he makes them out to be.”

“We’re here,” Anna said, even though she knew that Eleanor could see just as well as she could.  “There are a lot of people here.”

“It looks like the entire village showed up.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many people at a town meeting.”

“Maybe something is going on,” Anna said, her voice uncertain.  “Why does everyone look alarmed?”

“I don’t know, Anna.  Stay close.  I don’t want to get lost in the shuffle of this crowd.”

Anna grabbed Eleanor’s hand and squeezed it tight. 

“Everything is fine,” Anna said, more to herself than Eleanor.

“Whatever it is, we will fight it together,” Eleanor said.

“Now who’s the dramatic one in your family?” Anna teased, but the words fell flat. 

She could feel the tension in the air, and it was weighing on her.  She looked from face to face, and Eleanor did the same beside her.  The younger woman squeezed Anna’s hand, this time looking for reassurance rather than offering it.

“I see it, too,” Anna said.

“Anna, something horrible is about to happen.  I can feel it.”

“It’s going to be alright, Eleanor.”

“I hope you’re right,” Eleanor said.  “I really hope that you’re right and it’s nothing.”

I hope I’m right, too, Anna thought, but she knew that she was wrong.  Something was up in Aldeia, and Anna was more scared than she’d ever been before.