Stephen Deas - The King of the Crags

I am no longer your Silence, Princess Jaslyn. That creature is gone for ever.

Jaslyn sank back to the floor, cradling her head in her hands, rocking back and forth. 'I don't understand.'

You are human. You are small in all ways. The dragon curled up and turned away from her.

'Is there nothing we can do?'

You can let us live as we are supposed to live. We do not breed and multiply as you do. Your kind fill the world now. We could gorge upon you and you would barely notice.

'Could we not live together? Could we not work together?'

The dragon seemed to laugh. Why? What could you possibly offer us?

The war, Almiri, their mother, Zafir, Jehal, even Lystra, they all seemed so far away and unimportant. Jaslyn wiped her eyes. With deliberate care, she got up and walked over to sit next to the dragon. The hatchling, Silence or whatever he was now, was almost the same size as she was. Its long tail and neck and wings made it seem larger, but curled and coiled around itself it was no bigger than her.

What are you doing, Princess Jaslyn? You will not find what you are looking for.

She stroked the dragon's head. 'You're still Silence. You've grown, that's all. Even though you're only three days out of your egg. I know you used to like this.' She kneaded behind the dragon's ears.

The dragon's tail whipped out and wrapped itself around her neck. What are you doing?

'The Silence I remember liked this when he was a hatchling.' The pressure on her neck was firm but not painful. She tried to ignore it.

What are you doing? 'You like this, don't you?'

The grip on her throat tightened. I could kill you with such trivial ease. Why are you doing this?

'Because you like it. Because we could live together. If we could show the rest of the realms that we don't need the alchemists any more… Think! You could all be free!'

The tail let go of her. Your kind would never let that happen. Go away, Princess Jaslyn. I regret speaking with you. I should not have revealed what I am.

'I will have them bring you food. Untouched food.'

They will deceive you.

'You'll know. You'll see it in their minds.'

The one who brings it will not know.

'Then I will have them bring your food alive.'

They will find a way. Go. I tire of your foolishness. Let me die.

'No.'

You cannot stop me, Princess Jaslyn. 'I am Queen Jaslyn now.' I do not see how that matters.

Nor do I. She got up and went to the door. But it should. 'Then I'll feed you myself.'

Outside, Isentine and two of the Scales were waiting for her. Wordlessly she held out her arms while the Scales sprinkled the powder all over her that was supposed to make sure she didn't bring Hatchling Disease back to her palace.

'I touched him, you know,' she said to them when they were done. They looked mortified. Isentine gasped.

'Holiness!'

'So what? I am a dragon-queen. If I cannot wear a few scars, how can I call myself that.' She pointed at the Scales. 'I am hardly likely to die, and I'm sure my king, whoever he is, can live with a little disfigurement.'

Isentine shook his head. 'Have you seen what you came here to see?'

'I have.' She left him behind her and almost ran through the caves and the tunnels and the stairs until she was back outside.

There she waited for him to catch up. By the time he did, she was in control of her emotions again.

'Eyrie-Master, I have made my decision. You will write me a letter. You will write to Rider Hyrkallan on my behalf. You will tell him that I am staying at Outwatch for a while. Most of the dragons are to be transferred to Southwatch. Tell him to come here. I will marry him as soon as possible. If I must, then I will suffer him to my bed on that one night. Then he may return to Sand while I will remain here. He may sit on the throne and call himself king in my absence. He will make peace as best he can with King Sirion and the Syuss. We will not go to war with the speaker. If she chooses to attack my sister, we will offer Almiri and her riders and dragons safe haven at Southwatch and that is all. I will tell Almiri the same.'

'Holiness! You cannot abandon your sister!'

'Why not?'

'Hyrkallan will not stand for that.'

'Then remind him that his foolishness with the Red Riders give Zafir good cause for war against both of us. If Almiri is so concerned to defend her people, let her do so. I will not stop her.'

'Holiness! Zafir will pick us apart one by one.'

'I have spoken. Now go. Have my dragon prepared.' I would always have called Silence by his name,..

'He is not ready.'

'I don't care. Have him brought to me. I will not be needing him for long. I'll bring him right back and then you can see he is properly cared for.'

'Holiness, what-'

She silenced him with a curt finger to his lips. As soon as Morning Sun was brought to her, she mounted him and took to the air, hardly noticing when they left the ground. She knew exactly what she was looking for and it didn't take long to find. Most of Outwatch was surrounded by pasture, hardy desert cattle grazing freely, the herds carefully managed and nurtured to be harvested by the dragons at the eyrie. For all Jaslyn knew, the alchemists put their potions into the very grass here, so she ignored the cattle. She headed for the centre of the oasis, for the little lake at the bottom of the cliff, and landed beside one of the farms. Here there were pigs and chickens too, bred to feed the herdsmen.

She took a brace of chickens. Chickens were small. No one would think to feed a dragon with chickens. She would have paid for them too if she'd had any money, but queens had no need for pockets of gold. She gave up her gauntlets instead, probably worth ten times what she'd taken, and flew back to the eyrie. She went straight to the hatchling. Isentine and the alchemists and the rest of them wouldn't be allowed any time to see what she was doing. They'd only try to stop her, after all.

Silence was waiting for her. He must have sensed her coming. She threw the chickens on the floor beside him.

What have you done, Queen Jaslyn?

'Food. I took it from the land myself. It is bred for humans, not for dragons. I brought it here. I have not touched it and nor has anyone else. It is clean. You may eat.'

And what if I prefer to die again?

She closed her eyes. 'Then I have done everything I can do.'

No. You can unlock these chains and let me fly.

'No, Silence. I will not do that. Not yet. I would like nothing more, but I was there when you tried to kill me. We have to find an arrangement first. Some way to live together.'

A waste of both our time. Let me go.

'If I do, they'll find you. My way is the only way.'

You will fail. I will die or somehow I will escape.

'Then I will not go until you eat.'

Then perhaps we shall both starve.

She waited, watching and hoping, as Silence lay still, turned away from her. She waited there for the rest of the day, well into the night. She must have fallen asleep, for when she opened her eyes again the sky outside the mouth of the hatchling cave was bright again. The chickens were gone. Silence's muzzle was bloody. He gave her a lazy look.

Others of your kjnd have been waiting for you for most of the night. They are terrified. You have scared them very much. Their hearts are filled with horror at what they think you have done, and will be even more so when they learn that they are right. It is delicious. They will not let you feed me again.

'They cannot stop me. I am their queen.'

The dragon seemed to laugh. If that is so, then I am still hungry, Queen Jaslyn.

Lord Meteroa, younger brother of the late King Tyan, once but no longer a prince, sat slumped in a chair in Queen Lystra's bedroom. Draped in sheets and in the darkness of the night he was almost invisible. He sat still and, not wanting to wake her, whispered. It didn't seem fair that she didn't know what was happening. On the other hand, if he simply told her, she probably wouldn't let him watch over her like this any more. My previous instructions regarding Princess Lystra are reversed. No, you wouldn't want to be hearing that. Not if you understood what it meant. 'Jehal suddenly wanting his queen dead? Should I believe it, what with him being half dead himself and locked up in the speaker's palace. But the words were his, the writing was his, no secret messages, no hidden meanings. Such a pity. Do you think he regrets what he wrote? Did Zafir twist his arm, do you think? Or did she twist something else?' Telling her about it in her sleep seemed a reasonable compromise. I did tell you. It's not my fault you're not listening.