Dragon’s Breath -
Chapter fourteen
When I open the door I'm greeted with a young short boy, who looks no older than sixteen. His face would have been white if not for all the freckles. There are so many that his face is brown with small pale spaces here and there, like the tips of grass trying to show through the golden-brown leaves of fall. His hair is the perfect mop of brown, it would have been almost lion-like if he was not so skinny. His eyes are green but not the kind that's easy to describe. It was almost like they are both yellow and green at the same time, with blue creeping in around the edges trying to take over.
Flustered the boy quickly shoves a piece a paper into my hands.
"This is from the king your highness, they are the directions you'll be needing." His words come out hastily as his cheeks are suddenly kissed pink as a spring rose, the booming color is almost cute against his freckled skin.
He puts his long slim fingers in front of his face in an attempt to hide his embarrassment, and in a muffled voice he says, "My name is Daniel, I will be accompanying you into the city."
I smile at him gently, "Give me just a moment to compose myself then we may leave," I say.
I go back into my room closing the door behind me. I dress in a black drawstring shirt and matching leather pants, and leather boots that just barely reach my knees. Doing my hair up in two French braids I grab the red cloak and leave the room.
When I open the door I see Daniel waiting for me.
"Follow me, your highness," he says.
I nod in response Silently trailing behind him.
He leads me out of the castle and down a stone path into what looks like a flower garden. There are rows of flowers lining either side of the stone path. I admire how I have never seen flowers that appeared to kiss the sky as boldly as the cobalt cornflowers. They raise themselves from the earth as if they are some magic trick turning the timid earth into steady and brilliant flames. But the blue is abruptly interrupted by the yellow of the dahlia's, they are the sort of yellow that glows from a homely hearth, it warms you inside just to see it, even before the steady flame can bring a glow to your skin.
I pull my gaze away from the flowers when we reach a small carriage sitting at the end of the stone path. Daniel opens the carriage door for me and I climb in.
Inside the carriage, I wrap the red cloak around myself allowing it to hang off my shoulders. Pulling the paper from Gregory out from where I had it tucked in my pants I unfold it reading its contents. There were no words it was just a simple map showing the roads to take in order to replace the blacksmith and the commander's home.
Tucking the paper away, I sit the silent sway of the carriage nearly lulling me to sleep. I'm about to close my eyes, when suddenly Daniel opens the door, popping his head in.
"We've made it to the city gates, your highness, we'll have to travel on foot from here on out," Daniel tells me.
"Alright," I reply, pulling the hood of the cloak over my head I step out into the early morning light.
The gate leading into the city is tall and fierce, the thick iron standing firmly in place. The stone wall on either side of the gate stands protectively around the borders of the castle. There are guards dressed in red and gold planted in front of the gate, faces pointed forward standing completely still. Daniel and I slowly make our way to them.
Without a moment to waste, one of the guards approaches us. He's tall rugged, with sunburnt skin and matted black hair. The closer he gets the stronger the smell of booze becomes, it has me nearly gaging. The guard stops in front of us.
"No one usually leaves the castle until seven o'clock. Do you have authorization or identification I can see?" His voice has a deep roughness to it, and his words come out slurred. Without replying to the man Daniel reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a small golden emblem with silver a Phoenix on it. Examining the golden piece the guard nods his head.
"Follow me," he says.
We follow him over to the gate where he and the other guard begin to unlock it for us.
"Have a good day in the city," He says waving us off. Daniel turns and gives him a slight bow.
"Thank you, sir," he replies says.
Turning curiously towards Daniel I ask, "What was that thing you showed the guard?"
"Oh, the royal seal?" He pauses, "It's a token that gives you access to anything in the kingdom, but only the king himself can give it out," Daniel explains.
"So tell me why is there a Phoenix on the seal," I ask curiously.
"The Phoenix was the symbol the first king of Samirya used. Phoenix's rise from the ashes the same as this kingdom after the Fire of Alira," Daniel tells me.
"So the Phoenix represents the creation of the kingdom. Gregory must trust you a lot to give you something like that," I comment.
If Gregory trusts him then it's safe to say I can put my faith in him as well.
"I'm the personal servant of the king, I'd like to think that he can trust me," Daniel says with a shy smile.
Walking into the city I'm surrounded by dull grey buildings, that are all uneven in height and lined up side by side. Lightly tugging my arm Daniel begins to bring me further into the city.
"The outskirts of the city where we are now is just homes, we have to go further in if we want to replace shops," he tells me.
Seeing Daniels's excitement makes me think of my more youthful years. As a teen, I was rather curious, but also very naïve. I thought life was simple. I saw it almost like a straight line. I never really thought about the things that were holding me back, but as I grew I learned through many hardships that life is never as simple as one might think. Life is like a ball bouncing around, you never know where you may end up next, unexpected things always happen.
All the houses that we pass look relatively the same, it's just that they vary in height. They are all made from the same dull grey stone, that is beginning to crumble from years of weathering. On some of the houses, you can see lines of laundry hanging, with clothes in all different colors.
When we reach the end of the neighborhood I see brightly colored wooden stalls now lining the streets in place of the homes. There are hundreds of people bustling about. The smell of bittersweet perfume and baked goods fills my nostrils. This city is alive and bright like nothing I've seen before, sure there are plenty of people living in the horde but it's nothing like this.
"Incredible isn't it?" Daniel says excitedly.
Daniel looks up at me beaming.
"Indeed. There's never been anything like this back up in the mountain," I reply.
"That's unfortunate, although the city here can get quite chaotic," Daniel laughs.
Pulling the paper from my pocket I unfold it examining the directions.
Walking further into the crowded street I begin my search to replace where the blacksmith's shop is. I look at the different shop names trying to replace the one labeled Phoenix Fire. The streets are filled with people buying and selling things, from fresh fruits to pottery.
As I walk down the street, I catch whiffs of peoples whispers, and eye glints of their fascinated glares. Their judgment and jealousy annoys me.
"Daniel, am I truly this noticeable?" I ask.
He scratches the back of his head thoughtfully, "Well you are quite tall for a girl, not to mention the fine silk like you're wearing is not common in a place like this," he tells me.
"I suppose you're right," I say.
We continue down the street in silence, the only things I hear is the sounds of the city. Wagons thumping against the ground, the neigh of horses and the voices of people talking and laughing.
After walking for a while we finally reach the blacksmith shop Phoenix Fire. It's a little taller than the other stalls and buildings around it. There are dark clouds of smoke pouring from the chimney.
I approach the building eagerly, my cloak flying behind me as I pick up my speed. Reaching the front of the building I peer in.
Flavius is inside the shop facing away from me, his shirt opened and his sleeves rolled up to combat the heat of the furnace. His muscles flex with every lift of his hammer. I watch him as he works completely ignoring his surroundings. Another man suddenly appears from inside the shop. He's tall and broad with a bald head, and a clean-shaven face, he smiles and waves at me.
"Flavius we have a customer," He calls, "And a lady by the looks of it!"
"Hello, Flavius," I greet.
As the words leave my mouth Flavius stops. His hammer drops sideways in a spasm, and he swivels around to look at me. He looks at me with a shock filled face.
I meet his wide-eyed gaze, and I say in a voice of clear-cut composure, "I am here to buy a sword."
I hope you enjoyed the chapter don’t forget to like and comment.- Ray
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