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CHAPTER TWENTY

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Cantrell looked at Ardwella's blue eyes.

"What did you do to Zinariya? She had better be ok."

”My, my. Such concern. Zinariya must have made quite an impression on you. Even when just wearing my sister.”

”Wearing her?” Cantrell said, taken aback. “That’s a strange way to say it.”

“Inhabiting, possessing, sheltering within, being inside. Any of these terms could work, and they are more or less accurate. Although it occurs to me that 'being inside' has strange sexual overtones that you, as a male, might find confusing and overstimulating.

Cantrell frowned.

”Why do you always try to do that?” He asked.

“Do what?” She asked raising a beautiful eyebrow.

”Make everything about sex.”

”I don’t.” I have plenty of conversations where it doesn’t come up at all.”

”So, it’s just me then.”

Ardwella laughed. She stepped delicately around Mavis and stood directly in front of Cantrell. She was just inches away. So close, that he could feel her breath on his face as she continued. Her voice was low and husky.

" Zinariya’s fine, don't worry. I wouldn't do anything bad to Candasar's daughter. Lothinar would never forgive me. I'm just teaching her some manners right now. All these metallic dragons think they can do whatever they want. I'd forgotten how strong they are. But, I am back in control, at least for now, she is still very young.”

”So you are dominating her?”

Esmarilla rumbled menacingly.

"Don't underestimate her Cantrell. She actually is quite powerful. Even without my bond."

”Let’s just say that we have reached an understanding.” Said the raven haired beauty.

Cantrell wasn’t sure but Ardwella’s eyes appeared to briefly glimmer of gold.

"Why are you here?" demanded Mavis. She elbowed her way back to Cantrell's side and stood glaring at her aunt.

"I'm here to finish this. To do what you and my spineless nephew couldn’t do. I'm going to kill the rest of Argent's foul offspring."

Cantrell thought about the attack and attempted egg theft that he had seen perpetrated upon Zinariya. He had to concede that no dragon egg would really be safe as long as elves existed that coveted their magical power.

“Zinariya, the platinum dragon version, teleported me here. I assume that she wanted me to help her with this,”

Ardwella smiled at him condescendingly.

“You do know that she asked me first. Not that your willingness to help isn’t admirable, but you aren’t really trained for something of this nature, are you Cantrell?

”No,” he admitted. “But I understand that her sense of urgency about this sprang from the attack that she barely survived. Zinariya is still fundamentally a child. She needs someone to guide her.”

””Yes she is young, but she has powerful tools at her disposal. Tools that will work exceptionally well with my skills. It actually presents a rare opportunity to actually solve this problem quickly and permanently.”

”And yet you initially turned her down, forcing her to settle for me.”

”Are you complaining like a jilted lover Cantrell? You can’t have been looking forward, that much, to murder and mayhem. That’s my area of expertise.”

"But why now?" asked Cantrell. “Why did you suddenly change your mind?”

"I've been busy!" she snapped. Then her expression softened. "I had hoped, actually, that I wouldn't have to do - every - single - thing - to end this war by myself. But nonetheless, here I am."

”It seems very suspicious to me that you were a lot more willing to help once you realized Cantrell was involved, ” interrupted Mavis. “Would you care to explain that?”

”Well, It would be sad to see your husband unnecessarily killed in trying to help Zinariya solve this problem, don’t you agree?”

Mavis could only nod. She suddenly looked up at the sound of rushing boots.

Mandel came running into the stable. His face was flushed.

"We've got a situation!" he shouted. "Vanador is finally here. He's somewhere in the city! But there's a problem. They shot him down! It was a ballistae! One of my men saw it from the walls!"

Esmarilla bellowed incoherently.

"Cantrell! I need you. Get on!"

This was one of those moments where Cantrell acted instinctively. He and his bond acted as one. He leapt up and swung his leg over Esmarilla's neck. Within seconds the black dragon was in the air. The thunder of her wings blew straw everywhere. His last look back at the stable saw Mavis staring up at him. She had a very surprised look on her face. Part of the surprise, was, that seated directly behind him on Esmarilla, Ardwella suddenly appeared. He hadn't seen her move. She was just there!

"Damned teleportation!" he thought to himself. "This looks bad. Mavis really isn't going to like this."

"You don't mind me tagging along do you?" the beautiful elf whispered in his ear. "It's obviously a pretty serious emergency."

Cantrell could feel Ardwella's substantial female assets pressing firmly into his back as she securely grabbed his waist.

"We'll talk about this later!" he shouted over the wind.

Esmarilla must have had some sort of connection to her brother because once they flew out past the palace's walls, it didn't take long for her to find the downed white dragon. He had landed hard, taking out part of a building. It looked like a shoe store. Footwear was scattered all over the sidewalk. At least the store seemed to have been unoccupied. The white dragon was rolling around in obvious agony. A huge arrow longer than a spear was sticking out of his torso. Esmarilla had touched down for only a few seconds before her two elven passengers jumped off. Ardwella drew her sword and began looking for threats on the ground. Cantrell approached the white dragon.

"I can't believe they actually hit me with that thing!" Vanador groaned. "Lots of internal damage. I've healed myself of the worst of it, but my magic is used up. Thanks for coming sister!"

"You were coming to help me, not the other way around." she chastised him.

"Do you mind. We can discuss this later" yelled Ardwella. Someone is coming. Many someones....."

Cantrell felt Esmarilla lean in with her power. Magic began flowing into the white dragon. Vanador swallowed it up turning back on his substantial healing abilities.

"Cantrell? Would you mind?" asked Vanador, chin gesturing toward the haft of the ballistae bolt.

Cantrell grabbed the shaft. It was slick with dragon blood. He pulled hard. The dragon made a surprisingly childlike whimpering sound as the bolt slid clear of the wound. Cantrell watched in amazement as the flesh knit itself back together. Within a few seconds, except for the blood still on the dragon's hide, he couldn't even tell where the wound had been.

He heard a scuffling sound and then a cry of pain. He looked up to see a burly elf in leather armor circling with Ardwella in a dance of swords. A second later the elven warrior had just lost his sword hand. A moment after that, his head followed the sword to the ground. His empty eyes stared up in surprise.

"We need to leave!" More are coming." she shouted.

Suddenly she just wasn't there. There was an audible pop and Ardwella was seated on Vanador. She grinned at him.

"That certainly is a handy trick!" she said.

When he just stood there staring up at her she frowned.

"Get on your dragon! Didn't you hear me? More are coming!"

Cantrell complied. Together the large white and black dragons jumped into the sky.

Once in the air the dragons flew close together. Close enough that Cantrell could hear Ardwella mumbling.

"And you thought he was going to be able to take care of this Zinariya? It's a good thing I came. He'd be dead already."

Cantrell tried not to take that personally. He had other problems far more important to solve. Problems like trying not to notice how amazingly beautiful Ardwella looked, flying on Vanador with her long dark hair flying out behind her.

Back at the stable, both dragons quickly landed. Mavis immediately ran up to Esmarilla. Once he jumped down, she grabbed him and held him tightly.

"I was so worried!" she said at last, releasing him and looking into his eyes.

Ardwella slipped off Vanador and walked up behind Mavis. She looked at the two of them.

"You had every reason to worry." Ardwella said. "Cantrell just isn't cut out for this kind of thing. You're lucky I am here."

Mavis whirled on her. Cantrell saw her starting to open her mouth to yell but she suddenly closed it."

"Thank you, Ardwella. I appreciate you keeping him safe." she said. Then to Cantrell’s surprise, she turned and walked out of the stables.

Cantrell looked Ardwella in the eyes. She seemed to be reading his face.

"Yes, I should thank you too Ardwella." he said.

Then he ran after his wife. He found her in a passageway. She was crying. Sobbing actually.

When she saw him, her knees seemed to buckle in relief. Cantrell grabbed her and steadied her. She melted into him.

"You passed the test." she said, hiccoughing "You followed me out."

He wiped her tears and smiled at her.

"It would take a lot more than some fancy swordplay to take me away from you." he said.

"Is her swordplay fancy?" Mavis asked. Then she laughed. "No, don't answer that. I'm just jealous. Of course her sword work is fancy. Everything else about her obviously is as well."

"None of that matters!" he insisted.

"All of that matters!" she said angrily. "And it's not fair! She has so much more experience. She's so powerful. So beautiful."

"Didn't I tell you that I like my females weak and controllable?" he asked.

She hit him in the arm.

"Seriously, Cantrell! What are we going to do about her? What if what Esmarilla says is true. What if she came here just for you and the 'daughters of Argent' thing is just her excuse."

"Then she is going to be very disappointed." said Cantrell.

Mavis looked deep into his eyes. She was searching for something. She seemed to find it.

"I've got an idea" she said.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Let's go break the bed."

How could he argue with that?

In the stable Mandel was talking to Vanador.

"Thanks for coming" said the elf. "I'm sorry that you got shot at on the way in. We tried to send sufficient warning."

"I got the warning. It's my own fault." said the dragon. "I underestimated the range of that thing. I don't know if it's really safe to fly around here anymore."

"That's why we have Esmarilla grounded for now." said Mandel.

"What are you going to do now then?" asked Vanador. "I'm here to help."

Mandel looked at Ardwella.

"I guess that's where you come in Auntie." he said.

"Your a nice boy Mandel" said Ardwella, "But you should have burned them out when you had the chance."

"That's what I've been saying all along" said Esmarilla. "But no! Nobody ever listens to me."

"It's fine." said Ardwella. "Now that I have these new tools at my disposal, this won't take that long at all. I'll have you crowned as the legitimate emperor in no time."

"Well, that's good news" said Mandel. "I've really messed this up. I appreciate you helping me out."

"Yes you did, but I'll solve your problem for you." she said. "There's just one thing I want in exchange."

Mandel looked uncomfortable.

"You have conditions?" He asked cautiously.

“It’s nothing much," said Ardwella. "I just need Cantrell to come with me on every mission. I'm going to need someone to watch my back."

"And your front" coughed Esmarilla.

Ardwella stared daggers at her.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Can someone else do it?" asked Mandel. "I've got many fine soldiers who would volunteer."

"I want Cantrell." she said. "I've grown rather fond of him."

Mandel looked uncomfortable.

"I'll see what I can do." he said.

"Are you the emperor or not?" Ardwella asked. "Or should you go back to waiting on tables?"

Mandel got red in the face.

"Fine, I will talk to him, but you had had better not do anything to hurt my sister."

"I am not going to make him do anything that he doesn't want to do." said Ardwella.

"That's what you always used to say about Albarad." said Esmarilla.

Ardwella pointedly ignored her.

"Oh I forgot to tell you, nephew." said Ardwella. "You have a new brother or sister on the way! Albarad is the father."

Mandel looked slightly perturbed.

"Don't give me that look" said Ardwella. "It's not his fault that you were raised by wolves. Your father is a sweet man. You really should get to know him."

"He's a long way away." said Mandel.

”But part of him, is right here." She said, looking at the young Emperor as she poked him in the chest with her finger. Unfortunately, it’s his temperament displayed in you, that makes it hard for you to take the definitive and necessary action to secure your throne.”

Mandel opened his mouth to speak but Ardwella actually reached out her hand and pushed his jaw closed.

”Don’t say anything that you are going to regret nephew. I still have high hopes for you. You are half my sister’s child after all. You should probably start thinking about your future actions in those terms. She’s not afraid of bearing the consequences for hard decisions.”

Mandel clenched his fists. He was angry but something deep inside him knew that she was right.

"I think both of your parents will be coming back here after I make it safe to do so again. Also, they have someone with them that you are going to want to meet."

"Who is it?" Mandel asked.

"Two someones actually. I'll leave that for a bit of surprise. I think you'll be pleased."

"If you say so." said Mandel. He still looked annoyed.

"I do."

----------------------------

Crimson flashed and lighting arced out of the sword, hitting one of the huge birds. It squawked and went rigid. It began falling toward the sea. Just before it hit the water it pulled flight shape back together and caught itself. One of its wings wasn't working right, however. It flapped furiously but the damage was too great. It couldn't gain altitude.

Firestorm was jut a few feet over the waves herself so I saw the fall and attempted recovery of the first and largest bird clearly. Smoke was coming off its feathers. In mere seconds it hit the water.

Looking up, I watched as Lothinar pointed his sword again at a second bird that was coming in fast. Another bolt shot out, but this one looked weaker. It hit the bird but didn't lock it up solid. It still called out. It was a harsh piercing cry. The enormous bird moved away but didn't leave. It circled menacingly.

"We need to get back up there, Firestorm! Lothinar is low on magic" I said.

"You expect me to get close to those things?" Firestorm asked incredulously. "They could gobble me up!"

"How do you think I feel?" I asked. "I've never been this small! But Lothinar needs us! We need to get close enough to transfer some of my magic!"

Firestorm began pumping her wings much faster. I can't say that it was welcome, but I endured it. The bird that had only been wounded by the second lightning blast returned and came closer. Then Firestorm surprised me. On the climb, she blasted out fire, partially igniting the bird's wing. The bird flapped and the flames went out, but it had finally had enough. It moved away in retreat. I looked at my hair. The tips were singed.

"Whoohoo!" I yelled pumping my fist. Michelle was very exited. I couldn't blame her. I was too.

"Good job Firestorm!" I shouted.

Candasar was maneuvering for position. Another gout of flame burst out of her. This time it fully caught the third bird with as it closed with her. She covered it in fire. Dry feather's ignited. There was a shrieking cry. It quickly stopped as the fireball that had been the Roc plunged into the sea. It floated there on water. It wasn't moving but it didn't instantly sink.

The fourth bird hadn't been idle. It screamed a cry of challenge and extended its talons. It was going to pass over the two elves on dragon back. At the last second before contact Lothinar jumped. He allowed himself to be caught by the outstretched claw swinging his sword and cutting off the other one cleanly. The bird screeched in agony. It began squeezing Lothinar. It's sharp claw piercing his skin in several places. Blood welled. If he had been fully elf, it would probably been enough to kill him, but he wasn't just an elf. He was dragon hardened. He swung the sword around and behind him severing the claw that held him. He and the claw separated and fell downward into the sea. Ardwynn screamed. The fourth bird obviously was in trouble. Blood was gushing out of its amputated extremities. It tried to fly away but soon lost altitude and dropped into the water. In the distance I saw a large dorsal fin rise. Then another. The water frothed and the bird disappeared.

Firestorm closed with Candasar. The larger dragon looked lost. She was starting to panic. We were close enough for me to shout to her.

"Quickly Candasar!" I yelled. "You've got to pick him up before he sinks or something else grabs him!"

She looked at me in confusion. Then she seemed to understand.

"Like fishing!" she said. "He can swim!" She immediately started her dive. Ardwynn screamed again.

Firestorm followed her down, staying as close as she could.

"He might not be able to swim!" I shouted. "He could have broken bones, or be unconscious. That was a long fall!"

The blue dragon made a beeline for the elf, who wasn't unconscious, but was flailing wildly in the water. She passed over him grabbing him as gently as possible in her claws. Her wings beat in furious tempo as she climbed away from the surface. He just hung there. His face was furious.

"Are you alright? Ardwynn shouted down at him.

He didn't immediately answer. Then he let out a string of very un-Lothinar like curses.

"I broke my arm when I hit the water. I lost the sword!"

I looked, and sure enough. No sword.

Candasar had finished her climb and was circling around, she was keeping a wary eye on the remaining Rok. It didn't seem nearly as brave as it did when there were four of them. I transferred her some magic. Enough, I believed for another flame breath. I sent some magic to Lothinar too.

"Heal your arm." I yelled. "You are going to need it to climb up."

A few minutes passed. Nobody said anything. Finally Candasar slowly began opening her claw as Lothinar scrambled up her outstretched leg. He finally found his place on her back. Ardwynn hugged him furiously. Her face had looked terrified the entire time.

"The rocs. Where did they come from?" I asked. "I was taking a nap. I only woke up when Firestorm began to dive."

"We are only a couple of hours out of Sivantra. I think that these are their fishing grounds." said Candasar. "That's my guess. There are lots of really big fish down there."

"They must have wanted to try something new!" said Firestorm cockily. "We showed them! I guess they won't be having a taste of elf or dragon today!"

"Didn't you all hear me?" asked Lothinar angrily. "I said I lost the sword!"

Firestorm looked chastised. I patted her sympathetically. "You did great Firestorm. I'm proud of you!"

I looked at Lothinar.

"Don't worry about it" I said. "I've been threatening to drop that complaining sword into the sea for hundreds of years. It's really too dangerous to have around. It's power to influence dragons is what got us into all this trouble in the first place"

"I wonder how deep the water is around here?" Lothinar suddenly asked.

"Don't be ridiculous! It's gone. The only way you could probably find it is if you somehow bonded with a sea serpent."

"Is that a thing?" asked Lothinar.

"Forget I mentioned it" I said.

"Where would I find one?" he asked.

"Uh, I hate to be a problem" said Ardwynn.

"What is it? I asked.

"I've never been pregnant before, so I'm not exactly sure." she said. "But I think my water just broke."

"Is that what that was?" asked Candasar. "I thought in all the excitement... you know. It happened to Albarad. At least you weren't in my mouth."

"I thought we were going to forget about that." said Lothinar.

"I don't want to have a baby on the back of a dragon!" Ardwynn said loudly.

"I'm not a big fan of that plan either" said Candasar. "But I really hate to turn back."

"I think that I just had a contraction!" she yelled.

At least that got Lothinar's attention off moping over the sword.

He seemed to be thinking furiously.

"Look, there is another way" I said. "We can freeze her."

"You mean like the dragon eggs that were hidden in the tunnel that Ardwella and I found?" asked Firestorm.

"Yes, Lothinar and I would cast a spell that puts her in suspension. When we get back, We release it. Then she can have the baby after we land."

"Is it safe?" asked Ardwynn. "I'm concerned about the baby."

"I've actually used that spell before" said Lothinar considering it. "It seems quite safe."

"Ouch" said Ardwynn, obviously feeling another contraction.

"We had better do this Lothinar" I said. "At the rate she's going she won't even make it back to Sivantra, even if we turn around right now."

"Just do it." said Ardwynn. She looked into Lothinar's eyes. "Don't you dare forget to wake me up!"

Lothinar shifted a bit to get into a more comfortable position.

"I need to keep a good hold on you. I wouldn't want you to slip off. Then I really would need to find a sea serpent."

"That's not funny, husband." she said. "Ouch!"

Lothinar looked at me. I transferred a considerable amount of power to him. I was rather surprised to find my reserves very low. This body definitely had some limitations with regard to magical energy storage.

He cast the spell. Ardwynn became a frozen statue sitting on a dragon. Lothinar was holding her carefully. A few minutes passed. Finally he spoke.

"Thanks for that Vanquish. You always seem to know just what to do."

"I really do like you Lothinar. I want to help you. I want you to survive. I always have." I said.

He nodded.

"You know, I believe you." he said.

"So, it's a long flight" I said. "Do you want to talk?"

"Yes, I'd like that." he said. "I'd like to get to know both of you a lot better."

Michelle insisted that I respond to that with a dazzling smile. I let her control our face. She pulled it off beautifully. I was happy for her. Lothinar's recent vigorous heroics had really impressed her. She wanted even more than before to bear his children. If that was even possible.

All her thoughts of mating were very troubling. I just couldn't stop thinking about what I was going to say to Vanador when I finally saw him again.

Suddenly I was exhausted. The dragon part of me anyway. I had used a lot of magic and since that was primarily what I was made of, I considered trying to go back to sleep. Rest would help me regenerate faster. Surprisingly, Firestorm's rhythmic and steady wing movements were actually not helping me stay awake at this point.

"Hey Lothinar! I'm going to try and finish that nap. I'm really tired. "

Separated as we were on two different dragons, I thought that I could trust my other half to be on reasonably good behavior and not try anything too aggressive. Plus Lothinar definitely had his hands full. Ardwynn's face was still scrunched up in pain from her last contraction. He still held her tightly. What could Michelle-me possibly do?

"Don't worry, Michelle will want to stay awake to talk to you."

"Somebody had better stay awake" Firestorm said. "Holding on is highly suggested."

I chuckled at that and let my spirit rest.

Lothinar watched the human girl Michelle as her eyes turned from blue back to green.

"Wow! That was something. I have heard stories about Roc's but never expected to see one, let alone four!"

Candasar grunted. "You might say that situation put us between a Roc and a hard place."

Lothinar groaned, but then he smiled.

"I couldn't be more proud of you my bonds!" he said. "You fought bravely."

"Vanquish and I discussed them on the way over here. " said Candasar. "The Cosmos must have been listening."

"That was definitely tempting fate." said Lothinar.

"Do you believe in fate?" I asked.

"No. actually not" he said. "Well, Obviously I understand that random things happen. When you look back on them, you call them fate."

I was intrigued.

"What's the difference?"

"Fate is just circumstance. Nobody can control it. Stuff happens. You dance with a random girl at a party."

I felt crushed.

"Am I still just a random girl to you Lothinar? Is that what you are trying to tell me?"

"Not at all. Destiny shows up when that girl makes a decision. She follows me home. An immense blue dragon carriers her away, which really, should terrify anyone. She comes back again. We send her off with her father. Then she runs away from home and comes back again. Another blue dragon drags her off.

Candasar chuckled.

"Anyway, you get the point. She's relentless.

"You make me sound so ridiculously stubborn!"

"Aren't' you though?"

I blushed.

"I suppose I probably am."

"When agency like that is involved, you can call that destiny."

"The point is that you did this yourself. It wasn't luck. It was agency. You became an unstoppable force."

"I know you think that it's stupid. That I'm an infatuated girl."

He shook his head.

"I used to think that."

"But you don't anymore?"

"Is Vanquish asleep?" he asked me.

"Yes, it's just me right now." I said.

"I believe you were here for a reason." he said.

He gestured at the strangely still elven woman in his arms.

"Ardwynn should have been extremely jealous and helped me resist you, but she didn't."

"Yes, that actually surprised me."

"Me too!" he said.

"Then through a set of completely improbable circumstances, you joined with Vanquish, who is arguably the most powerful magical being in the world."

"But I didn't have anything to do with that. It could have been anyone!"

"But nobody else fought so hard, just to be there. To be present at that moment when Vanquish's spirit was reborn."

He looked at me.

"I did dance with other girls at that party."

I thought back on that night. Who I had been when I arrived at the party. Where I was now. All of the obstacles. It had been an almost insurmountable path.

"What you have managed to do.... I think it means something. " He said. "Someone, or something wants you with us. With me."

"It does seem like there is no way I could possibly be here, flying on your dragon right now." I said.

"And yet, here you are. I think I'm going to have to finally accept it."

"Are you finally admitting that I'm your destiny Lothinar?" I asked with a smile.

"Yes." he said. "Now I'm just going to have to figure out what that means."

"You're lucky you are on another dragon right now" I said. "Because as soon as we get back on the ground, I'm going to show you what that means!"

-----------------------

Enderline and Pricilla walked around to the backside of the dairy. The cows were all gone from this section and some of his men had put up small covered shelters to house their dragons and themselves. They had taken to sleeping out in the yard with them. They just seemed to prefer being close to their bonds. Enderline was a little jealous of that. Night-sky had been largely ignoring him since Snow had bonded with Heirwynn and moved to Albarad's house with her. He had finally accepted the black dragon's request to dissolve his bond with him. They hadn't even done it in person. They hadn't really even used telepathy, like the elves did to communicate with their bonds. He had sent his feelings to Night-Sky. Feelings of wanting to dissolve their relationship. A sort of resignation to the fact and a willingness. Night-Sky had understood without words. He had acted. The bond was now gone. Enderline looked down at Ivy, his wife's dragon who had accompanied them to this back lot of the dairy.

"They are usually around here somewhere." Ivy said. "Pepper is very pretty. You are going to love her!"

Enderline spotted a couple of dragons near the edge of the yard. They were both a little larger than the usual size of the hatchlings that Ardwella had found. That made sense. They were quite a bit older. They had also spent some time out living in the wild with the grey dragons. They seemed healthy and strong.

Enderline's only concern was the two elves smiling and talking to them. They looked like a couple of Cantrell's wardens. He had seen them both before. They seemed a little too familiar with the two dragons. Perhaps they had first met out in the mountains somewhere.

"Hello gents" Enderline said. "Do you mind if I talk with that black dragon?"

The elves got a funny look but nodded.

"Sure your majesty" they said. "Of course."

"We will be back later Salt. "One of them said to the white dragon."

They stepped away and began talking to one of his soldiers. They were pointing at his dragon and asking him questions.

"Hello Pepper!" said Ivy.

"Hi Ivy. What's going on?"

"I'd like. you to meet the King. He's married to my bond Pricilla. He's really nice."

"I'm sure he is" said the black female dragon. "I've heard good things."

Enderline squared his shoulders.

"I'm looking for a bond" he said.

"Oh, said Pepper." I thought that you already had one. What about Night-Sky?"

"It didn't really work out." said Ivy. "It's not Enderline's fault at all."

The black dragon laughed.

"I've met Night-Sky." she said. "I believe you. He can be a real pain."

"So what about you?" Enderline asked. His face was hopeful.

"I'm sorry," said Pepper. "Really I am, but I just bonded with that elf over there this morning."

She gestured toward one of the handsome elves talking to his soldier.

"What about your brother?" Enderline said hopefully. "White is nice."

"Sorry" said Salt. "It's the same for me. Just this morning in fact."

"Nobody tells me these things!" said Ivy. "They need to make a list! Can we do that? A list would be very helpful!"

Enderline was embarrassed. He looked at the dragons. He forced out a smile.

"Well, I'm sorry to bother you." he said. Thanks for speaking with me."

He turned on his heel and walked quickly away. The two elves had been watching and they began sauntering back over to the black and white dragons. Enderline switched places with them, stopping by his soldier. He recognized him. He was the one that won his dragon by giving it a drink of water, but he couldn't remember his name.

Seeming to sense this, the soldier saluted.

"Roth at your service your majesty"

"Ah yes, thank you. I think your dragon was..."

"Ember sire. She's red. I really am enjoying being bonded with her. She's just great! Thank you for the opportunity!"

"Ah. yes, think nothing of it. Roth?"

Yes my King?

"I was wondering if you could tell me the name of that elf over there. The one speaking with the slightly larger black dragon."

"Oh, yes. That's Cenderick. I'm surprised you don't know him already. He's in a relationship with. Queen Pricilla's sister."

The Queen squeaked a little.

"Ah. Of course. I've yet to actually meet him, but I shall have to remedy that shortly." said Enderline.

"I told you we needed to hurry" said Pricilla

"That's not what you said after I got started." said Enderline with a strange grimace.

The Queen blushed.

"Well, this is awkward." said Enderline. "The King doesn't have his own dragon. What will people think?"

"It sounds rather like a sad story that I heard about the Elvish Emperor Argent. Have you heard that one?" asked Ivy.

"It's not the same at all" said Pricilla. "Argent was a king that no dragon would bond with!"

Enderline just looked at her. He turned and walked away. He had a lot of thinking to do.

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