Dragon Days

Dragon Days Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I say the name.

"Ouroboros."

That's when it comes down from the sky.  The huge dragon is a titan.  It's a mountain.  It's fearsome in its form and when it descends there are those in the crowd that have completely gone into hiding.  It rages even in it's landing.  Not anywhere near as elegant as the dragon from the representatives of the Dragonov Empire.  This dragon was wild and unkempt.  Strange and dangerous.

"It's OK," the stranger tells me, "Go ahead, touch me.  I want you to."

I am the only one who can hear the voice.  I am the only one who can see the man.  But just when I look at the man, he gets up.  He walks forward and he walks right up to the dragon that has landed in the middle of the city.  Then he disappears!  He disappears as though entering inside of the dragon and becoming one with the dragon.

The Black Dread and the stranger were one in the same!

"This is really happening..." I hear Castor say from the tavern.

He isn't the only one.  Castor and Tuti are both looking at me as though they don't even recognize who I am.  Maybe it's because at this moment all eyes in the city are on me and my interaction with this dragon.  My legs feel weak but I manage to stand.  The creature in front of me is so terrifying.  Just approaching it I can feel the heat coming off of it.  It seems to be permeating from its pores.  I shouldn't be surprised.  This creature was capable of shooting fire.  Of course, it would be hot.   Of course, this would be happening.

I am only as tall as a portion of it's lower leg.  As I approach I expect the worse.  I expect to be burned alive or even worse eaten whole.  That is the normal reaction to a dragon.  What I don't expect is what happens.  The dragon leans forward, nodding down its long reptilian neck and letting me touch its large supple scales that are just as hard as a rock.  I rub my hands on the scales and this creature that was large and devastating seems to almost purr in my hands.

It becomes docile.

Even more domestic than a house dog.  This was a different sort of reaction.  Not the interaction between master and pet but when it turns and looks at me with those glowing grey eyes I can tell that this dragon is looking at me more like...well, like a lover.

~

"Let me get you something to drink.  I always knew you were special," Castor states.

The tavern has been shut down by Castor.  No one is allowed in save Castor and the Dragonriders.  Maxim walks over to me offering me his cloak.  He literally throws it over me.  It's good because regardless of how hot the dragon was when I got close, I was still shivering.  Regardless of how calm and collected it was with me, I was still afraid.

"Get away from us," Mistress Raisa threatens him with glaive in hand.

I'm kind of glad she says it but not because I felt like I was too good to really enjoy the tables turning and Castor kissing my ass, but it was because right outside there was a fucking dragon just in the middle of the city waiting for me like I was some long lost lover.

"Can you all see dragon souls as well?" I ask.

It's Maxim who nods, "That's how it works.  Only you can see the soul of your dragon.  The soul comes and goes freely on the physical plane.  The dragon soul is as real as you or I to it's mate."

"Is he here with you now?  The black dread?" Paramour Pike asks.

I don't think he is talking about the huge dragon outside.  He's talking about the Dragon's soul.  I look around the room and see the shadow in the corner of the room appear.  Calmly I see him walk out.  He's still as sexy as ever but now I'm paying more attention to what he's wearing.  These robes that he was wearing seemed to cover an outfit almost like scales.  He walks out of the shadows and stands over me.  He's so tall and so handsome that it's a shame that I am the only one who can see him.

"What's he want?" The Black Dread asks, dark and unbothered.

I turn to Pike.

"He wants to know what you want."

"Answers," Pike states, "Black dragons are supposed to choose lovers in House Rurik.  They are the lovers of the Emperor's family.  It's been that way for thousands of years.  Why did he choose you?"

I turn back to the dragon's soul, "The Paramour wants to know----"

"I heard him, love," the Black Dread cuts me off, "Tell Paramour Pike that he knows why I chose you."

"He says that you know," I respond to Pike.

Paramour Pike stares at the ground.  I look over at the other three dragon riders.  If Pike knew then it seemed like the others were out of the loop.

"What's the reason?" Raisa asks Pike.

Pike has a look on his face.  It's a strange look.  It's as though he has something to hide.  I look back over at the Black Dread.  He's laughing seeing Pike's face swell up the way that it was.  Something was definitely being hidden here and I didn't like it.

"I have no idea what the Dread dragon is talking about," Pike responds.

I look over at the Black Dread trying to get answers but all I get is laughing.  He shrugs it off.

"He can play dumb if he wants to," the Black Dread states, "I have no interest in human politics.  It's done.  I chose you as my lover.  Tell them to put up one of their dragons against me if they have a problem with it.  Until then I'll let you humans deal with your human issues.  My only concern is you.   I'm going hunting.  Would you like some meat, my love?"

My love?

What the fuck.

"No," I respond, my voice still sounding uneasy about the idea that it seems like I'm talking to myself.

With that, the Black Dread is gone.  No poof of smoke.  No grand exit.  Nothing of that nature.  Just one minute he's there and with the blink of an eye, he's gone as though he was never there at all.

"Is he gone?" Raisa asks.

I nod, "Yes.  I don't know what's going on."

Raisa looks over at Natasha, "Explain to him the situation."

I'd not heard Natasha speak this entire time.  Mistress Raisa's squire was definitely disciplined, to say the least.  She steps forward like this is some sort of military drill when Mistress Raisa asks her.  Her voice is deep when she starts talking and almost startles me.

Natasha looks at me and starts talking in a tone that makes me think she almost has rehearsed for this moment, "Thousands of years ago dragons ruled the world.  The Great Immortal Dragon reigned supreme over the Earth.  Those were called the dark days when all humanity were slaves.  Humans attempted to fight the dragons five times and lost all five times.  That is until a boy named Peter, the Trickster, Rurik convinced the Immortal Dragon that humans will stop fighting the dragons if she provided him and his best friends with her eggs as a peace offer.  The Great Immortal Dragon agreed.  The wars stopped but the Immortal dragon did not realize that Peter found a way to coerce the souls of the dragons that hatched.  They became attached to the humans who raised them and fell in love.  The first dragon riders were born.   The tamed dragons were able to subdue and lock the Great Immortal Dragon away.  Since then the friends of Peter Rurik have guarded mankind.  Their dragons took lovers of the descendants of those families.   One of those families was Gabber.  You've been chosen by the Black Dread dragon as his lover.  The Black Dread has been one of the most difficult untamed dragons in history.  It is the role of the Dragonov empire to not only maintain peace in all the lands we've conquered but also assure that Untamed dragons are not a threat to mankind."

"There are more?" I ask.

"Untamed dragons?" Maxim asks, "There are many more.  And for some reason, they are all awakening at the same time.  There are not enough people with dragon blood in them to tame them all...so we are tasked with capturing the dragons and taking them to the dragon pit in the capital."

"Lucky for us that the Black Dread didn't have to be captured.  That would have been a struggle for the ages," Paramour Pike grunts.

"Lucky you had dragon blood," Maxim added.

"I don't have dragon blood.  I don't even know what that means."

"Your house is one of the original families who had dragon blood.  We thought House Glabber was destroyed when the Nightmare dragon burnt down the Glabber Wilds."

There it was again.  A mention of the Wilds not only as the Wilds but the Glabber Wilds.  Were they truly named after my last name?  I didn't have any memory of being of any importance since my childhood.  I remembered living in a small home with my family.  It wasn't anything grand to think of.   Of course, I was too young to really know what was going on but I would have thought I would have felt regal if my family were some dragon lord rulers.

"What do we do with them?" Raisa asks Pike.

Pike looks back at her, "I assume it's up to the Round Table to decide.  We best return to the capital."

"I can't go to the capital..." I state.

"Why not?"

"I have a job."

Paramour Pike gives me a hard look, "Nikolai.  Son.  Do you realize what you are?  Do you have any idea what you are capable of now that you've tamed one of the oldest and most feared dragons in existence?

That was the problem.

"No.  No, I don't. I still have to finish shoveling shit.."

Mistress Raisa and her squire Natasha exchange glances.   For some reason, I feel intimidated by them.  Pike was nice and almost sweet in his conversation.   He reminded me a regular Nair man even with his noble title.  Then there was innocent looking Maxim who clearly seemed to have a bit of a crush on me.  But Raisa didn't seem the least bit happy around me.

"More reason why we need to take him to the capital."

"Do we send him by a horse?" Maxim asks, "It'll take half a year if we travel that way and he has no idea how to ride a dragon."

"You'll take him," Pike states, "On your dragon.  The Black Dread will follow..."

I raise my hand.

"Do you guys think that's a good idea?" I interrupt, "He's not really too, uh...keen...on Maxim."

"It's not like you guys are going fuck," Pike laughs seeming amused by all of this.

I wasn't the slightest bit amused.  He hadn't spoken to the Black Dread.  There were rage and jealousy behind those eyes and I was scared to death.

~

"Did I mention I'm scared of heights," I state.

There is no saddle on the dragon.

"Her name is Skyscreamer and she won't let you fall."

I look at the dragon and notice on command it bends down.  It's completely different from the Black Dread but just as terrifying.  It's blue and white in color.  Maxim takes my hand and leads me up the bridge of the nose.  From it's back I can see a seemingly endless serpentine beast covered with crystalline scales of the purest azure. The wings, looking too small to carry such a massive creature, are slick, and they shimmer as they reflect the light.

He seems used to it.  He's showing off a little bit, I can tell plopping down hard on the dragon as though he's jumping on a pile of hay.

"Would it be odd to tell you I'm scared of heights now."

He laughs, "A dragon rider, afraid of heights."

"I'm not a dragon-rider, I work at a tavern," I let him know.

"Come, sit with me.  I'll show you exactly who you are?" he states, "Hold on tight.  Don't be afraid.  I won't bite..."

He smiles over at me as I sit behind him and circle my arms around his waist.  He smells good, not like the mercenaries from Nair.  I rest my face up against his neck.  I don't mean to do it.   Maybe it's my fear of heights or maybe it's the fact that he smells good.  That's when I see in the distance the black dread.  Not the soul of the black dread but the actual dragon.  It's bigger than Maxim's dragon.  The black dragon breaths smoke in the air glaring at us.

I lean back a little away from him.

"Maybe we should take off now..."

"Good idea."

~

There's something about flight.  The wind beating up against my face or the smell of Maxim as he holds onto the scales of his dragon going up in the air.  I feel the power stream through me.  I've never felt so alive.  It seemed as though my entire life I'd just been asleep.  I'd been in a dream and finally lifting up into the sky was when I was being awoken to a reality that I always knew was real in the back of my head.

He flies high into the clouds until all we can see is white and nothing more.  The air is different up here.  It's harder to breathe and Maxim seems to know it because he takes off his helmet and hands it to me.  He's considerate in a way.  Almost cute as he keeps looking back every few minutes asking me if I'm OK as though I'm made of glass.  It doesn't get annoying though.  The concern is something I wasn't used to.  And honestly, it's something I like coming from someone as attractive as Maxim.

The Thunder comes when we leave the clouds.  I realize we are surrounded by the other dragons.  The large bronze dragon of Paramour Pike with its' colloquial expressions or the red dragons of the Mistress and her young strict squire.  There is one thing close to us though.

It's the Black Dread Dragon.

It stays close, flying dangerously close to us and not letting me out of its sight even for a minute.

"We're coming up on it now..."

Half a day has passed in travel.  I'd literally waken up to realize that I've somehow found my way in the front of Maxim.  I'm laid back on his chest.  He has his arms around me probably in order to make sure I'm secure.  I don't remember falling asleep but I realize how comfortable I've already become up here in the sky on this large beast.  His dragon soars through the sky with such ease and I've gotten used to the sound of the battering wings.   When I look up at him he has this dazzling smile.  All white teeth.  Even though I'm up he doesn't stop holding me.

"You should have woken me earlier," I state, "Didn't realize I'd fallen asleep."

"You look so peaceful and..." he starts leaning in just to whisper, "Cute..."

He bites down on his lip a little bit in a way that drives me crazy.  I take a deep breath realizing his flirting is really getting to me.  This guy was attractive in a way that drove me nuts.  But I can't get comfortable.  Maybe it's because I can still see the Black dread behind us.  I can still hear it ravaging so close as though it's some sort of warning.   It has to be the reason that Maxim is whispering in the way that he does.

"This is it?  This is the Capital of the Dragonov Empire."

"Home," he states, "Your new home as well."

It was everything that I imagined.  Tall pillars reach up to the sky.  It seemed the buildings here in the capital seemed to defy the laws of gravity.  They were buildings made gothic architecture that focused on height and light.  Not too far from where we are flying, I see another dragon and another dragon rider.  Soon after that, I see two others.  The people down below are like ants in the city but they don't gather in the maze-like streets to see the dragons in the sky.  They seem accustomed to it.  They seem more interested in navigating through this strange city.  I look around for commonalities.  The common traits include pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses, all of which enabled the structures to be built taller and stronger. They were all stone structures.  I guess stone didn't burn.  The large expanses of glass, clustered columns, sharply pointed spires and intricate sculptures made this place seem like a piece of art.

Maxim points, "Over there is the Emperor's palace and not too far away is the lair of the dragons, where the dragon riders live."

The landing area is surrounded by forrest,  I can tell that must be nice to enjoy the natural landscape, and the lack of people, unlike the main city.  There are large empty courtyards that seem large enough specifically for things like dragons to comfortably land.

I notice however where we are landing there seem to be men coming out.  Men in white with golden helmets.

"Welcoming committee?" I ask.

Maxim looks somewhat concerned, "Not quite."

"Who are they?"

"The Emperor's sons.  Rurik Princes."

Landing and getting helped down by Maxim are pleasant enough but the looks on the faces of the people who are there to greet us aren't nearly as pleasant.  I can almost immediately tell who the princes are.  It's not like you can miss them.  I'd never met a prince before but I'd met a lot of people who thought they might as well be in Nair.

These guys were the real deal.  Three tall, young strapping red-haired men are out there with blue eyes and chiseled chins.  The tallest has a trimmed goatee with eyes that sparkle like ice.  He stands out in front of the other two.

"So the rumors are true," he states.

It's only a matter of time before the others land.  I feel a level of awkwardness at this moment.  Maybe it has to do with the fact that I am the stranger to these lands and I don't know the full dynamic of what's going on.  What I do know however is that this boy is ridiculously blunt.  He looks at me then looks at the Black Dread and then looks back at me again.

I can almost smell the hostility and I'm confused by it until I remember how Paramour Pike let me know that black dragons usually chose members of the Rurik family.

"Prince Alexander, I'd like to introduce you to---" Maxim starts.

"I don't give a damn what his name is Maxim.  I want to know why MY dragon chose to mate with a tar baby from an extinct house."

I'm shocked honestly.  I mean I'd assumed Raisa was rude but this was a whole different level.  My heart is beating out of my chest when I hear him call me a tar baby.  It's obviously racial.  He's obviously offended by my dark skin.  This Prince Alexander has fair skin and red hair the color of a sunrise.  I wonder if he'd ever seen someone as dark as me.  Hell, the darkest he'd probably seen cooped up behind his royal walls was Maxim.

"Have him apologize or I'm going to burn him," a voice whispers in my ear.

I turn at that moment and see him.  The soul of Dread.  He is standing next to me but it's sort of hard not to notice the huge black dragon in the midst of the courtyard.  Other dragons are there as well.  Raisa and Natasha are landing at this moment.  Pike is still circling the sky for a good spot.  The Black Dread isn't intimidated by the Prince or the heavily armed entourage that has escorted him to this area.

"Excuse me..." I start.

"Did anyone speak to you, tar baby?" the Rurik Prince asks.

His brothers laugh.  Misha seeming more uncomfortable than Sasha when it happens. They find this hilarious.  My heart is racing.

I look over at Maxim, "Max..."

Maxim grabs me and pulls me close with harsh whispers, "Not now.  The Emperor's sons are not the ones you want to offend the first day you come to the city.  Just be quiet and let me handle this."

"But..." I start off.

Too late.

The Black dragon spits.  Just a tiny spit. The flame is nothing more than a spark to the dragon but I watch as the Rurik Prince has his cape engulfed in flames.  I watch as his two brothers who seem just as pompous and brash as he is attempt desperately to help him put out the flames.  My mouth drops in agony as I see what just happened.

As soon as the flames are out it seems like the Rurik Prince is outraged, "Kill it!  Kill it!  I want its head!"

Just at that moment, the countless guards block off the Rurik Prince from the Black Dread dragon.  I watch in horror at what's happening.  It's not just people that turn aggressive towards the dragon though.  The other dragons do as well in the courtyard.  Dragons appear that I'd not seen before.  They have their dragon riders.  The call of the prince seems to startle everyone.

Pure chaos breaks out!

"Wait!" I'm screaming.

My screams go on deaf ears.  I run to the feet of the Black Dread.  I'm pleading that it was a mistake but I don't think anyone hears me at that moment.

They were going to kill him!

Knights raise crossbows, bows, and spears.  I watch the Black Dread Dragon roar something desperate sending out a fiery shriek throughout the courtyard.  It's angry and it has violence in its eyes.  My heart is beating fast.  I'd been here for a matter of minutes and already I'd managed to get into some huge altercation.

Luckily there is another presence.  Another escort enters the area, just as big and demanding just as much attention as the Prince's escorts.

"Enough."

"Grandmother..." the Prince states.

"This isn't how we treat our own," an elderly woman states.

She has red hair like her grandson.  Her face, however, is not nearly as attractive as he is.  It's wrinkled up and old.  She does have that look that makes you think maybe in her prime day she was a beauty but that has faded over time.  The large bags hang underneath her eyes and drown her face.  Still, she moves with an unusual delicacy wearing a white gown.   The ladies waiting on her wore similarly.   The basic garments for these Dragonov Empire women consisted of the smock, hose, kirtle, gown, belt, surcoat, girdle, cape, and some wore hoods.  There had to be almost half a dozen just for this woman.  She had to have been a big deal.

"The Black Dread disrespected our family by not choosing one of us grandmother," the Rurik Prince Alexander says with anger building up in his voice.

"Another day," she states.

The boys give me a look. They have a look that is all too familiar.  Boys who felt they were better than me.  I'd seen them come through the tavern in Nair a million times.  Everyone was better than me.  So when you grow up with that expectation this sort of look becomes commonplace.  I get quiet at that point.  No need to respond.

"Thank you," I state.

"Nonsense.  Walk with me.  Let me show you real Dragonov hospitality," she explains with a smile on her face.

It's Maxim who smiles, "Nikolai.  I have the pleasure of introducing you to the Empress Dowager Dominika Rurik."

~

Her handmaidens stay half a field away from us and her guards another half a field away.  It gives us a sense of privacy.  We walk through what looks like gardens as she takes us to the huge towers.  They consider this area the Lair.

I keep looking back.

"Don't worry yourself about your dragon," the Empress Dowager lets me know, "It will be placed in the dragon pit where it will be safe."

The idea of a dragon pit scares me.  The Black Dread didn't seem like the type of dragon who would be OK with it.

"I don't know why I care. I barely know him or it or..."

I don't know how to refer to the dragon.

"The bond between a dragon and his rider is strong."

I felt uneasy.  The dragon burning the Rurik prince made me feel safe. He didn't care what it took to defend me.

"I can get used to it," I admit, blushing.

I felt...powerful with the Dread around.

"He will do well here if he is tamed correctly."

"I'm more concerned about your grandsons at this point," I state with a teasing smirk.

"Alexander, Misha, and Sasha are all useless.  The two younger ones do whatever the oldest says and the oldest is...bless his soul, a, uh...what do you kids say nowadays.  He's a dick."

I laugh, "Oh...'

"He's harmless now.  Alexander Cicero Rurik doesn't even have his own dragon and he's almost 20.  Seems like no dragons want him. Maybe if he changed his vile attitude."

"It's a shame," I state.

"Not quite.  Being a dragon-rider is a curse in my opinion.  I'm sure you've experienced it already...the jealousy of the dragon."

I sigh, "Something like that."

"Dragons must approve the marriages of their riders.  And most only allow their riders to have sex, even in marriage for procreation purposes."

My heart drops, "They own us."

She nods, "Something like that.  It's a curse, unfortunately.  My stupid grandson couldn't even manage to get cursed the right way. Oh, don't look at me like that.  I know what you're thinking.  He's my grandson and I love him to death but I'm not going to enable him like that idiot mother of his.  I know what my grandson is and you'll be careful while you're in the capital to watch your back around him.  If you want to keep a knife out of it.  Until then, however, you need to focus on your front."

"My front."

"My son, Emperor Cicero is seeking an audience with you.   It might not go well."

The way she's looking at me now gives me a reason to be concerned.   I'd heard these people from the North were calculating and when I look back I see that she is making sure no one is listening to our conversations.

"Is this a welcome party...or a warning party?" I ask.

I laugh uneasily but I feel the Empress Dowager fasten her grip on me, "This is no joke boy.  You're in the capital now.  You won't last a week if you aren't careful here."

"Why are you helping me?"

I'm assuming that's what she was doing.  With the way her soft smile fades into an angry glare at that moment, I can't completely be sure.  All of a sudden I'm desperate for Maxim or hell even the Black Dread near me.  All of a sudden I'm regretting coming here.  There is something frightening behind her eyes and the way she's talking.

"I knew your mother."

My heart drops, "My mother?"

She nods, "Nicoletta Gabber.  You've inherited her surname.  Your father----a Wildman, didn't have a surname. It's a shame what happened to Nicoletta, but she was a friend of mine.  But she didn't have many friends here at the capital."

"Why not?"

"She betrayed us.  Nicoletta the Nefarious. That's what we call her."

"She has a nickname?"

"You aren't worth a pot to piss in unless you've got a nickname in the Capital. Nicoletta's reputation has brought her enemies."

My stomach turns. Great. Now it made sense why they were so weary when they heard the name Gabber.

"What'd she do?"

"More like what she didn't do.  She was to marry my son, Emperor Cicero.  Dragons are jealous creatures but usually give exceptions for breeding purposes.  Nicoletta was to become the Empress. It was arranged by her dragon.  Instead, she abandoned her dragon and the Emperor to go South of Nair to the Gabber Wilds where she met your father...a poor nameless goat herder in the Gabber Wilds."

I'm shocked.

"THAT makes her a traitor?"

The Empress dowager nods, "Nicoletta spent her years in the Wilds refusing requests to return from her dragon and Emperor Cicero until her jealous dragon came to take vengeance on her for abandoning him."

"The Nightmare dragon."

"That's what he called himself back then."

I remember the Nightmare dragon.  I remember it destroyed my entire family.  I remember it meant nothing to destroy my entire family.

"What does it call itself now."

"You should know," she states.

"I don't..."

"Oh, you do. There's only one reason he would turn down choosing a Rurik...." she shakes her head, "He's attracted to the same bloodline of his past love."

My heart stops.

This can't be.

"The dragon who killed your family is known as the Black Dread.  You've inherited your mother's dragon.  You've inherited her curse.  The Nightmare dragon is YOUR dragon."

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