Here There be Dragons: Testing the Waters

Aella did not enjoy feeling like a fish out of water. Her legs ached on land, as she had to constantly remind herself that the ground was not shifting. Damara was draining her magic nearly constantly as the infant sought comfort amidst the strange sounds. Every last nerve was frayed after their walk through the crowd. Aella’s jaw ached from how much she had been clenching it. And now, despite the very early morning hours, they were being escorted to a sitting room to have tea and biscuits with the King and Queen of Lagrias. There were armed guards everywhere, all with pikes, silver swords hanging from their belts. She had never felt more trapped. Tapestries and portraits lined the walls, showing the impressive history of Nereida’s family, but all the portraits seemed to be judging her, staring down with harsh expressions.

Basiano slowed his pace. He called out that his daughter needed a nappy change, and suggested that he and Aella would catch up to the rest of them once their daughters were clean. No one wanted to argue with him on that point, though the King looked slightly redder than he had only moments before. Aella made a silent wish that the old bastard’s heart would give out, but she followed Basiano into another room. Basiano called out for a servant, using her name, speaking quietly as the girl nodded. She fled, to get the baby supplies necessary from storage.

“And now,” the dragon inside Basiano rumbled, “we are alone.” He looked down at her, crinkling his nose. “You, Moonlet, have not said much.”

“It’s not my place,” she replied. “Though I would enquire what you need, to rebuild your body, your Grace.” She bowed her head a little, mostly to gain space to think. Let the dragon think he was in charge.

“I am disinclined to tell you.” She looked up at that, unable to keep the shock from her face. “Oh do not play dumb, child. It is ill done. You, Scion, will not bind me in a body until I have what I wish.” He patted her on the head. “And this one suits. My descendants are kings and queens, and this one will make a fine king.” He grinned, his expression feral and hungry. “But in the meanwhile, I do have a small gift for you. I do not wish to be found out, nor do I wish my little cousin here to draw suspicion.” He held out his hand. “Give me your daughter, Moonlet. I won’t harm the sprout.”

Aella swallowed her fear, and let the dragon hold her little baby. He passed Basiano’s child to her, to free up his hand, and then he began to wiggle his fingers above Damara while humming and chanting softly. Aella had to sit as the dragon’s magic filled the air, burning along her skin and inside her lungs. Whatever enchantment or spell he was casting on her child was powerful indeed, and the magic stole the air from her lungs until it settled.

“There,” he said, sounding pleased. “The little ones share their hungers now. Iria will drink of magic and milk, as will Damara. They will, eventually, grow out of the enchantment, in five years or so, when they are… more mature.”

“A five year old isn’t exactly mature,” Aella grumbled, taking her daughter back. The dragon laughed, a terrible, rumbling noise that made the inside of her bones feel too hot.

They did stay long enough to change both infants into clean nappies and clothing, before Basiano blinked.

“Admiral?” his voice was hoarse, as if he had not been using it.

“Basiano?” When he nodded, she slumped in relief. “He enchanted our girls.”

“I saw, I heard. But he wants me running things for a while, so that he can see…. See how my spouses and I get along….” He made a face. “Come, I have a child to present… and you should meet your in-laws.” He gave her a smile, but it was half-hearted at best.

They headed through the opulent halls, their boots loud in the stillness. Guards watched them pass, but none of them spoke or even moved. Aella's stomach roiled. Something amiss, something she couldn’t put her finger on. Damara fussed slightly in her mother’s arms. The worry that they were prisoners crashed into her, nearly drowning her. She knew Basiano would never allow such a thing… but… would the Dragon?

They arrived to an argument. Nereida was standing, holding a chair to stay up.

“You cannot deny my wife her place by my side,” Nereida was saying. Her children had gathered around her, and Epelda, wearing a heavy cloak that hid her wings, was fidgeting with the tassels on a pillow, not looking at her mother.

“You were not married by any court, there is no record. Your children are bastards.” The king’s voice was calm, almost apologetic, but even the children did not miss the words.

“All of my children were conceived in wedlock,” Nereida’s voice was low and dangerous. “Do not disparage my children, father.” Aella stepped in and moved toward her wife, only to be blocked by a pair of guards. Basiano growled low.

“Father! What is the meaning of this!” He stormed past the guards, who made no move to block the prince.

“I am protecting her virtue. She must have a chaperon at all times.”

“I am not sixteen!”

“You are an unwed princess.” There was no room for argument in his tone. “But,” he continued, glancing at his wife. The Queen was glaring daggers at him, an expression that Aella had seen on her wife. “I will make allowances for you, if you consent to a wedding. A proper, societal wedding. We will invite the nobles, the Queen of Seliniakos herself even, so that you and your… beloved,” he glanced at Aella, looking like she was worth no more than the dirt on his boot, “will be properly recognized. I will not have you dishonoured.”

Aella reached into her pouch.

“Documentation,” she proclaimed. “With the right to court, as well as Nereida’s adoption of Epelda.”

“Ah, see, your wife knows that paperwork cannot be overlooked.” The King gave her a smile, but it was predatory. “Though why you’d adopt a damaged child is beyond me.” Epelda ignored the slight, and was still fidgeting with the tassel. “I will send word at dawn. There are three Sylph ships in port at the moment, one may be willing to play messenger.”

“Father, if we wait for the Queen, it will be months!”

“Closer to a year, I should think,” he agreed cheerfully. Aella felt her blood run cold. “And of course, you and your beloved and your little family would have to stay here. I would need to make sure your children can respect our traditions, even if they are sirens.” Both boys flinched at his words, and Egaz buried his face in his mother’s side. Aella felt anger well up in her chest, and she longed to scream and yell at the old coot. But she saw that Epelda’s hands had stilled. She watched as Epelda slowly shaped her fingers into a fist, that she placed in her open palm. Help? The Sylph countess looked up at Aella and smiled brightly, like a child seeing her mother for the first time in a long time. Aella felt her heart surge with pride. Epelda was playing leagues above the King and his assumptions. Served the old bastard right. She gave a quick little nod, and Epelda returned to fidgeting.

“I will not agree,” Nereida said, squaring her shoulders and crossing her arms. “I will not be denied my wife for a year!”

“A compromise?” suggested Basiano. Aella flinched, feeling the magic of the dragon reassert itself as the Crown Prince moved forward. When his father begrudgingly nodded, the dragon-infested man continued. “In public, they are chaperoned. It is proper etiquette. But they should be given a wing, just as my wives and I were, where they do not require a chaperone. The servants know better than to gossip, father. That way, Mother can see her daughter get married.” He flashed a charming smile at Nereida, who stared at him with betrayal and horror on her face. “It will give us time to make proper arrangements. But father, please, she is wed, her children, while the boys were conceived during her first marriage, are not bastards. They are family. And we must not turn our backs on family.” The old man nodded, as if Basiano spoke a deep wisdom. Aella wanted to punch him, but knew that would not result in anything good. She met Epelda’s eyes, and signed a singular word.

“Go.” She hoped her daughter understood. She desperately did not want Epelda gone for a year, but the crew needed to get out.

The King and Basiano began to chat about that very crew. The king wanted to take Aella’s ship, repaint her, rename her and make her a tool of their nation. Aella choked on her anger, unable to articulate even a single word against their nonsense. The bloody dragon AGREED with the king, telling him about their sirens on board, that they could bring the war back to the Demons, help their new allies the Selianaks, and end the threat forever. Epelda, meanwhile, made a noise as if she was a child who needed to relieve themselves. The guards let her pass, thinking she was not a threat. He even gave her directions. Aella steeled her heart, and hoped that Nerieda would forgive them.

“My children are exhausted,” Nereida interrupted, as the King and the Dragon made quiet plans to invade the demons’ lands. “May we be shown to our quarters?”

“Only once you present them,” the King replied. And so, Nereida made a show of each, starting with Alejo, then moving on to Egaz, and finally to baby Damara. The King looked down at the infant as his wife made sweet faces.

“When was she conceived?” His words were quiet, almost deadly, as he held the scroll with the Queen’s blessing from only four months ago.

“On our wedding night,” Nereida replied. “Conceived with siren magic that I could not hope to reproduce. She grew quickly, too quickly. Three months, not nine.”

“You expect me to believe that hogwash?”

“It is true, Father,” Basiano interrupted. “They were tricked into some kind of ceremony, married by those barbaric sirens with magic and saddled with a child.” Nereida’s eyes flashed with anger, and Aella could feel her wife’s magic in the room.

“We were tricked,” Aella confirmed, speaking up to distract her wife. At her words, Nerieda’s magic sputtered and ebbed away. “But I had proposed already, and neither of us were forced.” The King nodded, though his face wrinkled in disgust. But he stood.

“I welcome your children, Alejo, Egaz and Damara. I recognize them as of my line, royal and true so long as they produce magic before they reach adulthood.”

Aella made eye contact with the boys, shaking her head. Both were eying the pitcher of water that sat on the table before the king. They pouted, clearly annoyed that she had puzzled out their intentions.

“Now, Father, may my family and I go to bed?” Nereida glanced back at Caleb, who stood near the guards. “Someone slipped me poison today.” Caleb went white and took a step behind a guard.

“See it done,” the king commanded, motioning at a nearby servant. “East Wing is empty, they may have that. But, Daughter, if you so much as step a foot beyond the wing without a chaperone, we will separate you. And you will present your eldest to me tomorrow. Even if she is simple, I must demand it.”

“Yes, sire,” she replied, anger in her tone. She bowed, but not nearly as much as she should have.

Their prison was at least a gilded one; beautiful, soft cushions on all the furniture, carpet, painted walls with goldleaf patterns around the doorframes. There was a small private courtyard with a garden and room for the boys to run. There were servants for them, and a nursemaid for Damara. They would want for nothing… except their freedom. Nereida looked back at Aella, worry on her face. She started to say something, but Aella shook her head, knowing the walls would have ears. Instead, she walked with Nereida to one of the windows, where they had a lovely view of the sea. The window opened wide, for the palace was designed with beauty in mind, not protection. In the distance, they could see ships floating idly, their anchors dropped as they waited for orders and kept watch over their waters. Aella slipped her hand into her wife’s. The boys, taken by the opulence and the soft cushions, ran off to touch absolutely everything. Aella snickered, watching them. She hoped they ruined some expensive furniture.

“I love you,” she whispered, trying to keep the catch from her voice.

“I’m sorry,” Nereida managed. “I didn’t mean for this…”

“I know, love.” Aella kissed her cheek. She looked out over the horizon, but could not make out the Tooth. It would be gone soon regardless, as long as Epelda and Evander followed her wishes.

“We have to save Bassi.”

“We will, love.”

“And the Tooth,” Nereida added. She began pacing about. “I won’t let father take the ship! I will… I will get mother on my side, I….” she looked at Aella, and stopped speaking. “Oh.”

“Oh,” Aella echoed, smiling a little. “I told you I’d give up the sea for you, my love. I just never expected I’d have to give up the sea for The Tooth.” Nereida hobbled over to her, clearly exhausted, her lizard-leg paining her somehow. She nearly fell into Aella’s arms, and quietly began to cry.