Ember of Hope
Chapter 10

Her heart was beating so wildly she wasn’t sure how it still stayed inside her ribcage. It was equal parts the fear of falling from the sky and the thrill of soaring in the air that wasn’t as warm up here as it were down below in the town of Ilya. It was still midsummer in this dimension unlike the early winters in her own world. It still felt like a very elaborate dream her weird brain had knitted together. Who could’ve thought that one day she’d end up flying in the sky on the back of a huge, beautiful black dragon?

True to his word, Valiance was very careful and flying really slow so she didn’t end up falling and getting splattered on the roads below. She suddenly felt a wave of bravery and decided to let go of her death grip on his horn. She spread her arms to feel the air on her body and closed her eyes.

“Are you enjoying it now?” Valiance asked her.

“Yes”. She laughed. Damien flew closer and there was an air of smugness about him that made her laugh even more. “Yeah, yeah I know you told me so”.

“Why do you always have to steal my thunder Ray?” Damien appeared wounded.

“Why do you always have to be such a drama queen Dimi?” Raegan deadpanned making them both laugh.

“I like this one”. Dimi said to Valiance.

“Why thank you for your approval my liege”. She bowed her head dramatically.

A gargantuan medieval looking building rose ahead. Perched on top of a mountain the fortress was breath taking in its raw splendor. “Welcome home”, whispered Valiance and she felt a huge wave of gratitude towards him for acknowledging her as one of their own. Welcome home he’d said, as if it was hers as well.

“Thank you”, she said, laying a soft hand on his neck near his face in appreciation of his words.

“This is your room. You should rest a bit now and I’ll ask someone to bring you some food. In the evening when my father returns, I’ll come by to get you to meet him”. Valiance said when they approached outside a closed door. “There are clean clothes too on the bed. I’ll take my leave now”.

She stood there until he turned a corner, then turned the handle on the door to the room that was going to be her home for the days she spent in this land of dreams. As soon as she lay down on the bed, the events of the day caught up to her. She let out a little excited laugh and tried to keep her eyes open… afraid it was all a dream and it would end as soon as she woke up next. But at the same time, somewhere in her giddy heart, she knew she was exactly where she was meant to be. Welcome home Valiance’s words rang in her ears again and she thought about the possibility of some truth in them. Only if she could stay here forever. And with that thought sleep took her under.

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When she woke up, it was almost dark outside her window. She’d slept the day away. She was about to roll out of bed to freshen up when her gaze landed on the clothes that were awaiting her on the foot of her bed. It was a black jumpsuit style dress with long flowy gossamer sleeves and loose pant legs. The off-shoulder neck had delicate golden embroidery with little beads sewn in the stitches… along with it was a golden cloak like fabric with the same embroidery in black, on the hood and lapels. The fabric was so soft it felt like water flowing through her fingers. She, for some reason, had an image of Harry potter’s invisibility cloak emerge in her mind. She immediately liked it.

When Raegan entered the bathroom, she was surprised to see a proper shower and a bath tub in there. She, for some reason, thought that there’d be buckets of water and a huge copper tub for bathing like olden times. But a shower was obviously so much more easy to use, instead of buckets and for that she was relieved. It appeared that this land wasn’t all that backward in technology as the healers’ town had her imagining. Maybe they wanted to keep technology at bay to keep their underground town as much pure as possible. Makes sense she thought.

After her bath, she dressed in the pretty dress that was waiting for her and did a little twirling session in front of the mirror. It was indeed the prettiest thing she’d ever worn. AND it was black. A light knock sounded on her door. It appeared like Valiance was here to escort her to meet the king. But when she opened the door, there stood a pretty young girl of about 18 with a sweet smile on her face.

As soon as she saw Raegan, her smile grew wide, “You look really pretty in that dress” the girl said. Entering her room, she extended her hand towards Raegan, “I’m Nina. I’ll be your personal helper, tour guide, story teller, gossip girl, and whatever you want me to become”, she informed pleasantly. Raegan couldn’t help the broad smile that appeared on her face as a result of Nina’s enthusiasm.

“And I’ll also braid your hair to go with the dress. You have really pretty hair”.

“Thank you. And a braid would be best. I don’t know how to do it. My mother used to do it for me and after her; my best friend”.

“Your mother…” Nina left the sentence incomplete, unsure of how to end it so Raegan told her softly, “Both my parents and my little brother died in an accident”.

Nina gasped, “I’m so sorry to hear that”, and there were true tears now glistening in her eyes. She seemed very sweet, Raegan instantly liked her. She took the younger girl’s hands in hers and squeezed lightly. “Come on, let’s braid this unruly mess on my head” she smiled.

She inquired about her escort; “Where’s Valiance?”

“Oh Master Valiance won’t be joining you tonight, I’m afraid. The king sent him to the border patrol with some commands, so he won’t be back before morning. He asked me to escort you to meet the king and here I am”.

“Oh” her heart sank. Valiance and Damien had become her friends and she wasn’t feeling very nervous about meeting the king in their presence. But now Valiance wasn’t here. But what about Damien? “And where’s Damien?”

Nina grinned mischievously, “Spend a few days here and you’ll know that those two are always joined at the hip. Where one goes, the other follows. They never leave each other alone”.

She must have looked freaked out because Nina squeezed her hand in reassurance, “Don’t worry, King Dragomir is a very nice and humble man. You’ll be alright. Besides, he probably just wants to ask how you are. And what do you think about Evreux so far”.

She simply nodded her head but she had no idea how to meet a king of Dragons. The books she’d read were not real, but this was. Oh this was very real. “Uh Nina?”

“Yes Mistress?”

“Oh please call me Raegan. Uh… um… how do I greet the king? I’ve never met any kings before in my life”.

Nina grinned. “Oh don’t worry at all. Just meet him like you would meet anyone – with respect and a simple greeting. Oh and whatever happens DO NOT call him by the K title. He hates it when somebody calls him king. And also; don’t curtsy in front of him”.

“Uhm okay” replied Raegan, twisted her fingers in nervousness. Being nervous wasn’t something she was very familiar with, it was uncharted territory for her and it was making her very uncomfortable. “Let’s get this over with”. She said to Nina with a resolve she wasn’t feeling at all.

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