The Dragon’s Throne 1

Chapter 2

Eli stood in the living room of his parents’ home, talking quietly to his mother as they finished their wine and the servants cleaned up the formal dining room.  The chandelier above them shone with a soft, white light that filled the entire room.  The dark, hardwood floor beneath his feet was shiny with years of being buffed and cleaned. 

He’d spent his entire childhood in this mansion, and the few times a month he made the short trip into the heart of Aman, he wished for those carefree days where the most pressing thing on the agenda was learning how to fly.  Now, his trips home centered around ruling the land, and ways that he had to fulfill his role as the Dragon Prince.  As hard as he tried, Eli couldn’t convince Silas that he didn’t want to be King someday. 

Today’s visit was no different and he found himself trying once again to convince his father that he wasn’t interested in ruling Aman.  He even went so far as to suggest that his younger brother Daniel would be a better candidate, but Silas had waved off the suggestion.

“You’re the firstborn and the rightful heir to the throne.  Daniel has no interest in ruling.”

“Neither do I,” Eli said for what felt like the millionth time.  “I don’t want to rule.  I want to live my life and travel the world.”

“Son, you know that’s not something that can happen right now.  You have all of Aman to explore.  Our territory is one of the biggest in the country.  I don’t understand this need to see more.  Aman has everything you could ever want.”

“Except adventure,” Eli said, looking at his mother over the wine glass and smiling.  “Father, I’m not like you.  This isn’t enough for me.”

“How could this not be enough?  What about your life is lacking?” Silas shot back.  “Is it your mansion in the hills, complete with electricity and so much that others don’t have?  Is it the servants that fawn over you?  Is it the dozen or so women at your beck and call?  Please, tell me what is making you unhappy?”

“Silas, leave him be,” Lauren said, looking angrily at her husband.

“Why?  This is your fault.  You spoiled him so much and now look at him; all he wants to do is take care of himself.  He doesn’t care about his people, or what’s going on in the world aside from what can serve him.”

“That’s not true.  There are so many things I’m interested in.  I’m just not interested in what you think is important.”

“Both of you, stop.  Please,” Lauren said, but Silas was already gearing himself up for a fight. 

Lauren shook her head and walked out of the room, leaving Eli there with his father.  He couldn’t blame her.  Silas had a temper that was legendary and Lauren didn’t care to find herself on the receiving end of his vitriol.  He always calmed down, but she didn’t care.  Lauren didn’t tolerate Silas’s temper and Eli wished that he could walk away so easily.

“There, you did it.  You’ve upset your mother,” Silas said, shaking his head.

“I’m pretty sure she’s mad at you, but I’ll let her speak for herself.  I’m dealing with what’s between you and I right now.  You’re too controlling, and I’ve no interest in being an extension of your iron fist.  You’ll retire simply to make me your puppet.  I’m not having that, and I won’t let you control me.”

“I’m not controlling,” Silas said, drawing barking laughter from Eli.

“Have you gone mad?  All you do is control me and the people around you.  Not so much Mother, because she didn’t put up with your nonsense.  But even Mother has rules she must follow, like some child.”

“I don’t treat your mother like a child,” Silas retorted, his face coloring with anger.  “Your mother is a goddess and deserves nothing less than the best.”

“You don’t allow her to go to Festival, even though you send servants to buy clothes for her and for me and Daniel.”

“Festival is a pointless way for the humans to attain wealth from us and from each other to buy supplies and services.”

“You don’t seem to mind dressing Mother in their finest dresses.”

“Your mother likes their fashions.  I can’t help it if I have a soft spot for her and want to spoil her.  She’s my wife.  She’s everything to me.”

“Then why not let her go and choose her own gifts.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me.  Festival opens tomorrow and I’m going.  I don’t care if you say I can’t.  You can’t stop me.”

“I forbid you to go.”

“Why?”

“I’m not interested in discussing it.”

“It’s not about what you’re interested in doing.  If you can’t give me a good reason why I shouldn’t go, then why should I-”

“Because they’re afraid of us,” Silas interrupted.  “They’re afraid of me and your mother, and they’re afraid of you.”

“How could they be afraid of any of us?”

“We have humans among the servants.”

“And?”

“They leave to visit their families, and they talk.”

“Then, forbid them to talk.”

“Eli, that’s not how it works.”

“Maybe it should be if the Aldeians are afraid of you and of me, then maybe you should tell the servants not to talk about their life here.”

“They have a good life here.  None of them are speaking ill of us.  But, you have to understand that when they speak of the women that make themselves available to you, or they talk about the fire in the forest that nearly made it to the edge of their village, they aren’t thinking like people who know us.  They’re thinking like humans, and they only see us as dragons.”

“They seem to manage alright at Festival.”

“That’s because of the treaty.”

“What treaty?”

Silas looked around, making sure that no one was just outside the room, eavesdropping in the shadows.  When he was sure that they were alone, he finally spoke.

“Twenty-five years ago, a human gave his life for the safety of the people.”

“You mean like a sacrifice?”

“That’s how the humans see it.  With his death, the humans were guaranteed a generation of protection from us.  In exchange, we keep the peace between our villages, and we do protect the humans when the opportunity arises.”

“So, they shouldn’t be scared.”

“But they are.  Because it’s been awhile, and they know that the death of one man can only protect them for so long.  Over the years, they’ve sent us human servants, but it’s not the same as death.  They fear that their offerings won’t be enough.”

Eli was shocked.

“Are you thinking about taking another human life?”

“Not right now,” Silas said.

“Then what is the plan?”

“There is no plan right now.  But humans are a strange group.  They have superstitions and patterns that they expect things to adhere to.  The tenth anniversary of his death is when I received my first servant, and they’ve sent one every five years since then.”

“I still don’t understand.”

Silas shook his head, and Eli knew that he was not going to answer Eli’s question.

“It is how it has always been, and no one likes change.”

“So, you’re going to accept a sacrifice because that’s how it’s always been?  That’s absurd.”

“You wouldn’t understand.”