Solomon felt his headache increase in intensity as the voice invaded his mind, almost prohibiting him from the ability to think. Almost. He still managed the wit enough to bow when he was told to, even though his ribs complained. He hated bowing, it was such a stupid and pretentious thing. Just a way for royalty to make you know just how lowly they think of you. It was infuriating really, although he had to admit he had never dealt with royalty. Well, until now apparently. Apparently he was bowing to the Queen of Dragons. That was impossible though! Dragons had been extinct for...well, he didn’t bother with remembering the extinction date, but he knew they were supposed to be extinct!
Skyler was so confused. Dragon? Those didn’t exist? The voice and the pain alone brought him to his knees. What are you puny humans doing in my lair. She asked. Her voice was mournful and she sounded old. Why do you disturb my peace? Ok, thought Skyler. Time to turn on the charm. “Your humble majesty,” He said in a steady voice despite the pain. “We do not seek to harm you. We fell through a hole and came here by mistake.”
It took just about every ounce of strength Solomon had left not to sigh and roll his eyes at this dragon. It infuriated him like no other when something tried to impose its greatness upon him when it had no actual proof of being better! And god damn it Skyler was being a suckup! Ugh. He prefered to let Skyler talk anyways, whatever he would say was bound to get them burnt to a crisp...did dragons actually breath fire? He imagined that part of fantasy was probably right.
Why did you come to the forest in the first place? You seem young for a human, how old are you both? Skyler blanched. Why did she want to know his age? Meekly, he said “17 years old ma’am”
“16.” Solomon replied, although this time his voice did not betray him. He wasn’t going to cower: either he was gonna die or he wasn’t. Either way he knew that he was not going to submit to some being that thought itself better because...well, for no reason. Solomon had broken his mind into two equal but different parts: a way he had discovered that helped him separate from emotions and remain logical.
The dragon hummed, in content. For some reason, Skyler could feel her immense sadness. His hair turned blue and he felt like crying. He sighed and spoke aloud. “I’m sorry about your child” The Dragon blinked suddenly in surprise. And that was when she started to move.
The black mass rose and Skyler’s mouth dropped open. Akila stood on all fours. Her scales as big as Skyler’s head. He flinched thinking that the massive creature was going to kill him.
Solomon looked at Skyler as he stated this, confused as to why he would bring up babies into the conversation. He noted the blue coloration before he saw the dragon start moving. Dang it Skyler you angered her! What was Solomon to do?! Save Skyler, who was clearly in a daze, or run for his own life? Arg! He knew he was being a little bit of a hypocrite but that didn’t matter at the moment. Solomon was about to very heroically save Skyler and not run for his life or anything, when his eyes caught the light reflecting off of some object previously hidden under the dragon. It looked like...and egg? Oh...that child. That was the child that Skyler had been talking about. He took a step forward, to get a better view of it, but the dragon promptly sat back down. He noticed that it did so a bit quickly, and not as gracefully as he would have imagined. Was the dragon hurt somehow? Sick? Dying? He didn’t want to ask for fear of getting killed.
The Dragon’s eyes squinted. Solomon and Skyler, she said, her voice sounding more and more strained. In the past I have foreseen two young men come in here and be the ones to take my child in hopes to nurture it and raise it. Can I trust you with my child? Can you raise it on your own? I cannot for I am dying and I am in need of your help.
Solomon looked on at the dragon, his mind still split in two, and began to think this through. On one hand, what in the world! Two, would that even be allowed in the school? Three, would this be enough to ensure a bright future? A million ideas crossed Solomons mind, but before he could fully find all the pros and cons he decided: yes. He would help. He looked at Skyler, nodding and waiting for his reply.
Skyler couldn’t move. He wasn’t sure what to say. He nodded and gulped trying to get some air. The dragon narrowed its eyes at Skyler. “I would be humbled to take your child,” he whispered. “May I go grab it?” He asked in awe. The dragon nodded her head. But I want the other boy to carry it. He has split his mind so he is more conscious of his actions and won’t drop it. The dragon added looking at Solomon.
Solomon nodded, again feeling a prickle of anger as the dragon made it obvious it knew of Solomon’s actions. The prickle felt far away, however, as he was in the Heart of Stone (name for the mind splitting). Solomon robotically walked over to the dragon, cautiously approaching so as not to startle her, and reached for the egg. He gently took a hold of it, his fingers lightly running along the smooth, warm, surface of it in awe, before returning to stand next to Skyler.
The dragon looked . . . well satisfied and at peace. She layed down and curled up in a ball. Her purple eyes dimmed until they were grey. He entire body crumbled to dust. Skyler’s hair turned blue as he watched the Queen of Dragons wither away and die.
Solomon stared, wide eyed, at the decaying form before him. He watched as the once beautiful scales, the majestic form, and the once deep eyes of the creature all turn to dust. It was a good thing they were underground, however, as he would hate to see the dust get blown away by some stray wind. It would be...just rude. Also, he didn’t want any of it on him. He didn’t want to have to burn these clothes, he liked these clothes. Solomon looked on at the mountain of dust for another minute, silently digesting this scene, before he started for the exit of the cave. Solomon followed the sound of flowing water, eventually coming to the exit of the cave, not bothering to check if Skyler was following or not.
Skyler followed Solomon wanting to touch the egg and feel it but Solomon kept walking, probably not hearing Skyler’s quiet plea to feel it. They got outside walking out of a very obvious large cave. When Skyer turned around the cave entrance was replaced by a large waterfall. “Glamour” Skyler muttered.
Solomon let Skylers comment speak for the both of them, although he was actually in awe of the thing. Waterfalls were always grand for him. He didn’t know why. Solomon looked around, trying to find a way to maneuver around the waterfall without slipping into the body of water it spilled into or getting rained on by the waterfall itself. It took him a few minutes, but eventually he was able to make out a slim piece of land they could use to get around the waterfall and avoid slipping. Solomon pointed it out to Skyler. “Go see if we can cross safely there.” Solomon told Skyler. He didn’t want to think of crossing if it wasn’t safe...the egg didn’t seem very fragile but…
Skyler nodded and ran ahead. The grassy strip of land was not slippery and he waved Solomon over with one hand. He walked across it and waited for Solomon.
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