[Ona]
Part of me feels guilty. Primus did need my help last night, desperately, and I was so wrapped up in my sorrow that I couldn't bring myself to even open my eyes all the way and see his distress. Instead, I told him to go find Mother. She had been impossible to find because she had been on a quick trip to gather medical supplies to assist Carnelia.
She knew. Some part of her sensed this was coming.
But part of me also does not feel guilty. Because I didn't interfere, Primus ended up listening to his instincts and giving his mate exactly what she needed.
Him. She just needed him.
[Carnelia] I am twisted in a sheet, still feverish, unable to bear the touch of the blankets on my skin. Everything itches, and the desire to jump out of my flesh if possible is intense. I do not want to be in this body anymore, it is so miserable. Sitting up I look around as I try to find a comfortable position. My head feels heavy, so I lean over but find it isn’t quite meeting the wall as I expect it to, as if something were blocking me. Absently I scratch my arms, which continue to itch incessantly. Rather than feel expected relief, I feel a sharp pain as my nails scrape and cut. Looking over, I see four long gouge marks. Blood is slowly oozing from the wounds, rolling down my arm and dripping onto the bed. It doesn't alarm me, the blood, although part of me passively find
[Primus] Eight. Eight precious little lights glowing within my mate, sparkling like a small constellation. Each one is a perfect gem of light, a uniquely special spark swirling with a blend of a small part of my mate mixed with a little part of myself. The day I realized and accepted that Carnelia was my mate, I gave up on the idea of being a father. If it could not be with my mate, I didn't want a child with anyone else. Seeing our little miracles curled warm and secure within eggs snuggled just below her heart, I have a vision of their childhood dancing around in my head, filling the halls of Ridgewood, making mischief of one sort or another. It would be like Ona, Segundus, and I all over again,
[Carnelia] I wake up from another nap to feel Primus curled up against my back, his arms protectively wrapped around my middle, shielding our babies. I smile as I feel his hand warming us all, keeping us all safe. I close my eyes, trying to capture this feeling, and burn it into my mind as a new memory to keep with me forever. He feels me stir and scoots closer, his body lining up with my own as he nuzzles my hair and pulls me in tighter. His face is more like that of a dragon, less soft, his horns longer and curved. His tail wraps around the two of us and I wonder if he is modifying himself to match me, my new tail waving from side to side in pleasure from the feeling of my mate's warmth.
[Carnelia] “Primus,” I rolled over, rubbing my hand against my face. “I had the strangest dream. We made love and I turned into a dragon, and then we did it again and I was a human again, and then…” I reach over and find that the bed is empty and cold. My eyes blink open and I sit up. “Primus!” Looking around, I can see the whole room is a disaster. It wasn’t a dream. We did all of those things. All of them. We made love as dragons. Blushing at the memories of the night befor
[Ona] “So there is nothing wrong with me?” Carnelia asks for at least the dozenth time. She is sitting across from me, a fan of cards covering half of her face as she drinks another cup of fruit juice. “Absolutely nothing,” I assure her. “You are perfectly healthy. The babies are healthy. Nothing bad has happened and nothing bad will happen today,” I pat her on the back as I shuffle the cards again. The game Wishes and Fishes isn’t nearly as distracting as it used to be, now that she has so much more on her mind than whether or not my idiot brother likes her. We have been stuck on this island for 2 weeks since Primus left, and I have been tasked with teaching her how to be a dragon all while preparing her to be a mother. "You simply fainted
[Primus] The dust on the southern plains swirls in the noonday sun. This is the third dust storm this week, and the people of Solace are desperately needing relief. Dragons are not well-liked in this part of the western shore. They are too close to the original territory of the Sun Dragon Kingdom and remember the wars too well. Many of their families were sacrificed in that war, casualties in a battle that wasn't theirs, convinced that they were fighting against a common enemy because they were fed the propaganda that "sun dragons are too dangerous to live."The more I learn about the world outside of court, the more I realize how much we dragons lie to ourselves and others to justify our greed and selfishness.
[Carnelia] A small flutter of love shining through my ring reminds me that Primus is still with me, even if he is far away. Stroking my belly, which has grown hard and round as it stretches to protect my babies and keep them warm. I wish I could tell him how big our eggs are growing, or how close I am to "going broody." We are preparing a nest for me in the bedroom, and I'm learning to sleep in dragon form, something I will need to do as a new mother protecting her clutch. I want to tell him everything Ona and I have learned this week, about how I can control my shift, and how she even thinks that I might be able to take the form of other dragon types. I am excited to show off our babies and my new abilities, and excited to show him how much we are all changing.
[Segundus] When Primus didn’t return at the end of the season as expected, Father sent me out in search of him. He is needed at court immediately to fulfill his duties and represent our fine nation. We have guests coming. And Father was expecting him last week. But of course, Primus was far too busy breaking tradition to be bothered with following the request of his father and king. Based on recent reports, he and his pet have gotten married, and then he made it worse by declaring her a princess. Livestock cannot rule by your side. You wouldn't crown a pig. Why on earth would you crown a human? And Father kn
[Carnelia] When I sat there, tied to that wagon almost a year ago, I had no idea how my life led me to that place. I couldn't even remember who I was or where I came from. It is amazing how much can change in such a short amount of time. When I was a hurt, angry girl, I had no idea that one day I'd wake up and be seen as the mother of a kingdom, or that my children would not only be heirs to all of Luxandra, but to the Solar Throne of the Southern Continent, a rebirth for a royal line thought long dead. Nor did I understand that my old life, and everyone who existed within it, would be nothing but ash and sour memories before the next summer blossomed. All I knew as I fought against my bindings was that in the next few minutes, my life would either end drastically or it would be changed forever. Because even if my body were not destined to die as a dragon’s meal that evening, something in me realized that the girl I had been up until that moment would die that day. There was n
[Eleanora] “Your Majesty, you shouldn’t be down here,” the small man sniveled as I entered the new lab. "This is no place for a lady." “Where else would I be?” I demand, cracking my knuckles as I stare down my nose at the human technician in charge of keeping my husband’s body from dying. “My husband is here, so I am here. I wanted an update on his condition.” “We could have written a report and sent it…” he begins to sniffle but I raise my hand and he bows low before me, his back deeply bowed as is proper. “I wanted to SEE him, you dolt,” I correct the fool shaking before me. Humans are so weak-willed and this one is weaker than most. I brought him from my family home because I can trust he will be loyal. He'd sooner tattle on himself for a perceived mistake than risk being accused by someone else. Similarly, he's the first to report when anything seems amiss. The perfect little worm to place in any apple. Because while he is telling on everyone else, he is also spying for
[Segundus] “Greetings citizens of Imperial City,” My queen and I shine brightly as the sun begins to set, our white clothes studded with diamonds so that when the spotlights shine on us, we gleam like fallen stars, fitting since our intention tonight is to make celestials fall from the heavens. “The Celestials have lorded over us for several millennia. Living in their sky throne, they control our resources, taking what they want and leaving nothing behind. Their children, the Sun Dragons, were especially notorious. They controlled the power that fueled our cities, and if we didn’t make proper payment, they would burn our cities, raid our farms, and send their blight to wipe all life from our land.” I pause to let my words settle into the hearts and minds of those gathered. A gentle hissing roar throughout the crowd assembled. My wife, Queen Eleanora, squeezes my hand in encouragement, smiling sweetly, projecting her confidence and trust. “My brother, Segundus, sought to alig
[Carnelia] There is a bright glow as I close my eyes and I know that it is the last time I will ever see Cressida, that she sacrificed her spark to save me. My screams turn into howls of pain and sorrow. Cressida, the kind mother who nursed me through the birth of my babies, and accepted me into her family even when she thought I was a human. I didn’t even really get a chance to know her, and now I am mourning her, along with the loss of my mate, trapped on the other side of a gate I cannot cross. “CLOSE THE GATE!” one of my captors bellows through the entry gate as we arrive at the Northern Sky Portal, “By order of Queen Cressida. This is her final command!” The drakes at the gate go immediately to work, tapping buttons on clear surfaces lit from within with swirling and changing images of blue, red, and green. The surface beneath our feet shifts and shakes and I scream in fury as I watch the large metal iris of the portal snap shut. “How could you,” I pound the chest of m
[Segundus] “Sir,” one of my aerial knights bows before me as I ready myself for the next phase of the war. I had just sent my generals from the room and was looking over a map of Luxandra. I already have an idea of what this knight is going to say before he opens his mouth. Looking at the map, I have marked several cities that have recently been destroyed, each one a hub for an energy hub. I had them each commit to continuing the story of Skyfell, telling the untruths of how the treacherous Celestials came down to Terra, burned our cities, and stole our light. In many ways, these new attacks on major city hubs are feeding into our story, except for the unpredictable element of them being completely untrue. “Report,” I am getting irritated by all the bad news I have been receiving. My generals didn't have anything good to report from their respective lands, and the lack of resources coming into the capital was starting to make me anxious. It has become harder and harder to hide the
[Primus] Ever since I first saw her tied to that cart, there was something about her, something that captured my heart. Seeing her taken from me, held roughly by the hands of those trying to save her as she is taken away, screaming my name--that broke my heart. So much has happened since that fateful evening when she was left as a sacrifice at the foot of my mountain. She had fire in her then too, but it was buried deep within her, almost smothered by a lifetime of hate and abuse. Once I started to brush away the ash and soot of her previous life, she began to glow, her fire mostly directed at me, but fire nonetheless. Even when she tried to extinguish it, when the weight of the world and her sadness threatened to crush her spirit, she came back to me, her fire bright and true. Loving her has been hot and pure and never boring, never predictable, almost like flame itself. Right now, burning with rage, with righteous indignation, she is the brightest I’ve ever seen her.
[Carnelia] The still of the morning is shattered as everyone moves into position to protect Primus, Cressida, and myself. We all drop to the ground as another beam of light shoots over our heads. “How many do we have below,” the queen bellows, commanding her men, her body rigid with fear and power. If she is afraid, it is impossible to see, her movements sure and precise. “At least a full platoon of air drakes with another half platoon of fire, My Queen.” One of the guards answers back as another shot zooms overhead. “Possibly more hidden beyond the ridge.” “Un
[Segundus] My back aches as I land near Hatchery L11. It is early morning, just after dawn. Eleanora was still sleeping when I left. I have a feeling the doctor will give us auspicious news today about her health. Based on the color of her cheeks and her increased appetite, I am certain she is carrying our first clutch. I leave my small group of guards behind in a nearby town. I cannot have anyone who enters these facilities other than myself cannot leave once they enter. We cannot risk trade secrets leaking out to our competitors. I know that Elfholm is considering creating its own factories using a different breed, but as it is now with energy being one of our main exports, I do not want to give away anything that will lessen their dependency on our sources.
[Ona] The fighting has stopped. We are vastly outnumbered. Thankfully, the Imperium soldiers on board were given orders to stun and contain us, not shoot to kill. Even so, we lost more than a handful of sun dragons to the battle that ensued. Including Daax and myself, the number of resistance fighters on the boat is down to 36. Four days ago, at the start of this adventure, we had more than 60. By the time we reached the end of the tunnel, we numbered 42. I try not to think of all the bodies we lost during the evacuation of Segundus’ lab. So many had never awakened when released from the pods--and there had been hundreds of them. Drakes, drakaina, and some little more than hatchlings. Watching them die as they took their first free breaths in decades is a memory I will torment me for all the remaining moments of my life. There were more bodies on the ground than walked out of that room. I have been fighting this battle against the Imperium for the last four decades but on