The Dragon’s Throne 1

“It fades over time,” Eli whispered before he let her arm go and took her hand instead. 

Anna should have been relieved, but she was disappointed that the patterns wouldn’t last.  The crowd stood and cheered as Eli turned and waved to the guests, giving her a look to indicate that she should wave, too.  She held up her free hand and waved, surprised to see that even those that were previously sour-faced at her entrance were smiling and applauding. 

“Now that it’s done, they know there’s no hope of changing things,” Lauren whispered into her ear from behind her.

Anna shook her head but didn’t respond.  She had encountered human jealousy in her teen years, but just like everything else the WereDragons did, it appeared that they loved harder and hated more fiercely than most humans could muster. 

The crowd stood, filing into a line and walking past the altar stage, each of them wishing the happy couple well as they moved to the next venue.  Anna stood for what seemed a lifetime before the end of the line finally appeared and the last person bid them best wishes.

“Thanks, Theron,” Anna said, recognizing Eli’s best friend on sight.

“You look gorgeous,” he said, hugging her close and clapping Eli on the back before pulling him into a rough hug.

He said goodbye to them, and Anna watched the last of the guests disappear into the castle for the dinner party.  As soon as they were out of sight, Anna let out a huge sigh of relief, drawing laughter from Lauren and Silas.

“You have a break between now and the coronation,” Lauren said.  “It’s going to be a long night.  I suggest you take advantage of this time.”

She kissed Anna on the cheek, then stepped aside for Silas to do the same.

“You are a vision,” Silas said, speaking in her presence for the first time all day.  “Welcome to the family.”

Anna threw herself into his arms, hugging him tight and surprising him.  Silas’s gruff exterior held on for another instant, then she felt him soften, and he pulled her in closer. 

“I’m sorry that I wasn’t there to save Lauren,” he said, his voice catching.  “I should have been there.  I know that your father-”

His voice caught again, but Anna pulled away from him, putting her hand on his face, and smiling sweetly through the tears.

“I forgive you,” she whispered.

Silas nodded, his eyes brimming with tears that he refused to shed, though Anna could tell that years of heartache had been mended by her words.  The weight of his failure and the death on his hands had been eating him up inside for a quarter of a century. 

“I have something I want to show you,” Silas said.

He held out his arm to Anna and she took it, letting him lead her through the courtyard to a quiet area tucked away behind the rose garden.  Anna looked at the low picket fence that surrounded dozens of headstones, then looked to Silas, confused.  Eli and Lauren were behind them, mother and son watching Anna intently with their arms around each other. 

“What is this place?” she asked, afraid that she already knew.

“It’s the family cemetery.  Every member of the Archer family that has passed away, or any member of the clan that died a hero is buried here.  It takes an act of bravery to get in if you aren’t royalty.”

“Will I be buried here when I die?”

“You will, but that’s not why I brought you here.”

He opened the small gate, leading her through it and taking her to one of the taller headstones, stopping in front of it and then stepping back so that she could get a good look at it.  She breathed inwardly sharply, shocked at the name that she read on the top of the stone.

John Greely.

“You buried my father here?” she asked, shocked.

“We did.”

“But why?  He wasn’t a dragon.”

“No, but he was a hero to WereDragons, and to me and my family.  Without your father, Lauren, Eli and Daniel would not be here today.  I wouldn’t be here.”

Anna looked at him, shocked.

“I wouldn’t have been able to go on without my wife, especially knowing that she was pregnant with the child we’d been trying to conceive for years.  She was so ill when I got her home, and we weren’t sure that Eli was going to be alright until he was born.  Your father held on for almost two days before he let go.  He lived just long enough to make sure that Lauren was going to survive, then he let go.”

“I never knew about any of this.  My mother didn’t, either.”

Silas closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“I never understood that,” he finally said.  “I told the mayor what had happened when I called him here the day after your father died.  I offered for him to take the body to his widow and he said that she didn’t want to see it.  So, I buried him here.”

“I don’t think that was true; my mother would have wanted the closure.  I feel like everyone always says that I’m just like her, and that’s what I would do.  I don’t believe the mayor.  Maybe he just didn’t understand or the message got lost in translation somehow.  Did he know that you buried him here?”

“Of course, he did,” Silas said, his voice sounding almost indignant.  “He was here when we buried your father.  He even said a few words about him and helped me bury him.  Without the mayor here, I wouldn’t have known his name.”

“Why would the mayor tell everyone that my father was killed by you?  Why make that up and claim that there was a treaty signed to ensure the safety of the village?”“Some people are mad with power,” Silas said.  “It can happen easily when there’s only one person in power.  There are no checks and balances to keep him honest, so he’s going to say whatever he wants to keep people trapped in their fear.”

Anna shook her head. 

“I can’t believe that all these years, he was nothing but a liar.  He’s using fear to keep his people obedient.”