Chapter Fifteen

Arabella got little sleep that night. She had lain in her bed holding the crystal ball hoping to hear even a whisper from Denrisi. She did not need words. She just needed to sense that he was still with her. Nothing caressed her mind. He was not there; he would never be there again. She slept in restless spurts. She would toss and turn, waking herself up. She would fix the covers and try to sleep again. She was glad to get up when morning arrived. The sun streamed into her room.

The blue dress lay over the back of a chair. It was cleaned and beautiful again. She did not put it on. She went to the closet and pulled out a light weight black lace dress. The sun was already heating up the desert outside. She brushed out her hair. She left it loose about her shoulders. The shoes she chose were black slippers. They were so thin that she thought that she might as well go barefoot as to be wearing the slippers, but she left them on anyway. It was less than a week since she left Cardew, but it felt more like a lifetime. Everything looked strange and harsh in the light.

Her ankle still hurt. She limped downstairs. She had to know what was happening. Things were going on here that involved her and she needed to find out what they were. She lingered at the doorway to the dining room. Her mother was sitting across the table from Koaner. She was smiling and laughing at him. They were talking quietly to each other. Koaner ripped a piece of sweet bread and dipped it in honey. He feed the morsel to Orinda. Arabella’s stomach heaved. She wondered if Orinda knew that Koaner was her father.

“Oh Arabella, come join us dear,” her mother called to her.

Arabella slowly came in and sat across the table from the dragon. He smiled up at her. It looked insincere. It did not reach his eyes. It was just a show of teeth and nothing more. Arabella just frowned back at him.

“You look tired,” he said. Arabella snatched the last sweet bun from the basket in the center of the table as Koaner reached for it. Arabella took a big bite of it. He just shrugged showing that it did not matter one way or another. Irritated, Arabella slammed the bun down on her plate. She leaned back in her chair and sipped at her hot tea.

“So when do you think that you will have Prince Lann tracked down?” her mother asked Koaner.

“Soon,” said the dragon. “I would already have captured him except the fool must have wandered off course.”

“Lann is lost in the desert?” Arabella asked her mother.

“No,” Koaner replied. “He walked straight out of the desert. He lost his way in the woods between the desert and King Waldemarr’s castle. Stupid fool.” He snorted.

Arabella just looked at him. So neither her mother nor the dragon knew for sure where he went. This made her feel better. She closed her eyes in relief.

“Arabella,” her mother looked at her critically. “While your father is tracking down Lann you need to take care of yourself.” Arabella looked resentfully at her mother. “You are too young to let your looks go like this. Something must be done with your hair and your complexion is all rosy.” Orinda said wrinkling her nose. “I will give you a cream that will take the redness away, but you have gotten too much sun. Only time will take that awful tan from you.”

“You could always dye her hair blond,” Koaner said. “She would look very like her cousin then.”

“Yes, she would,” Orinda said. “The prince would possibly find her attractive then.” Her mother nodded thoughtfully.

“No,” Arabella shouted. “Prince Lann is in love with Rosalina.”

“That could be a problem,” Orinda looked at Koaner.

“No my dear,” he replied. “It just makes it easier. A dragon-glamour is all it takes. Make her look like the princess,” he pointed at Arabella. “Then we cast a spell on the prince so that he thinks that she is really princess Rosalina.”

“I see,” her mother smiled happily. “Then she acts like the princess and the prince is trapped. Perfect.”

“Not perfect,” Arabella said loudly. “I will not do this. I do not know how a princess acts.”

“I will teach you,” her mother said.

“No. I do not want Lann. Why are you interfering with him? Just let him be the hero and wake up Rosalina,” Arabella said. “Let them live happily ever after.”

Orinda’s expression changed. Anger filled her voice.

“Are you thinking of rebelling again? Didn’t you learn your lesson from running away?” she shouted at Arabella. “You will do as I say. I have laid this plan out since you were born.”

“And just what is this plan, mother?” Arabella asked quietly.

“It is really very simple. Once the prince is recaptured, you will get yourself with child from him.” Orinda ignored Arabella’s shocked expression. “Once the child is born, we will have no need for the Prince any more. He will be killed. The baby will be everything. She will have the blood of royalty from both sides of her lineage. She will be heir to Waldemarr’s kingdom and Prince Lann’s kingdom.”

She took a long drink of her tea.

“I will rule both kingdoms through your child,” she pointed to Arabella. “Both kingdoms will do my bidding. I will have my revenge and the power I deserve.”

“And what of me?” Arabella asked.

“Once you have produced the child you can go and do whatever you like,” Orinda waved Arabella’s question away like it was a gnat.

Arabella felt a great wave of depression hit her. She was just a tool to be used by her mother. Did she even really love her? She glance at her mother finishing her tea.

“I must rest before we go searching for Prince Lann. Perhaps we will have him by tonight,” she rose and kissed Koaner on the cheek. He watched her leave the room. Once she shut the door behind her he turned to Arabella.

“That was foolish,” he looked at her over the top of his cup. “You should not let her know your true feelings about her plan. She is obsessed and will not see anyone else’s view on it. It will just anger her.”

Arabella looked at him. What he said made sense to her. So did not want to listen, but found that she agreed with his statements. He got up and went to sit beside her.

“She does not realize that others have plans for the future that are just as important as hers,” he reached out and covered Arabella’s hand gently. She felt confusion course through her. She viewed him as an enemy, but right now he was acting like an alley. “If you rebel against your mother now, she will see you as a threat and take steps to ensure your obedience.”

He leaned close to her.

“I could not bear to see you hurt,” he said softly. “Once the prince is here, we will be free to act. The child that will be produced will be ours; conceived in passion and love.”

“No,” Arabella jerked away from him. “Do not touch me.” She pulled her hand away. He looked at her for a moment seemingly dumbfounded.

“Very well,” he leaned back in the chair. “I was willing to woo you and to treat you as a lover, but since you object, it will just be more difficult for you. One way or another, you will bear my child, not some dimwitted prince.”

“But why?” she wailed. “You are my blood relative. My mother says you are my father; Denrisi said that you were my grandfather. Why are you doing this?”

“That is one thing that dense dragon had right. I am your grandfather,” Koaner leaned close to her face. “You are my blood descendant. You have the blood of a great fire dragon running through your veins.”

Arabella pulled away and he just leaned even closer.

“I intend to bring my blood line back into this world. In order to do this I will mate with each of my descendants. The more I do this the stronger the dragon blood will become. My children will take over this world. We will burn the world and make it a paradise for dragons once again.”

“You are insane,” Arabella stammered. “The age of dragons is past. It is dead and you can not bring it back.”

Koaner’s face twisted with rage. He slapped her. She fell out of the chair. She raised her hand to her face. She drew it back covered in blood. She pressed her hand against the wound on her cheek. Koaner grabbed a hand full of Arabella’s hair and pulled her up to stand before him. With his out hand he forced her hand away from her face. He looked at the blood streaming down her cheek. He leaned close and slowly licked the blood from her face. The scratch burned even worse at his touch.

“I told you that I did not want to see you hurt,” he said hoarsely. “I forgive you this time, but don’t force my hand again. I would rather treat you as a lover than as an enemy. Make it easier on yourself.” He let go and Arabella fell to her knees.

She did not cry; she just stayed very still. Koaner left the room. She heard the doors to the main hall slam as he left the castle. Arabella started at the floor. She felt cold deep inside. She heard the door handle to her mother’s room jiggle and ran for the stairs. There was no way she could talk to her mother right now about Koaner. She did not want to talk to no one but Denrisi right now, and that was impossible.

That evening, Arabella felt even more tired than before. She had napped on and off all day. She did not really rest. When she slept she suffered from horrible nightmares. Koaner, in his dragon form, was in each of them. They all ended the same way, Koaner burned Cardew. The world was ruined in a sheet of flames.

Feeling defiant, Arabella changed into the blue dress. She found a pair of soft brown leather boots that were trimmed in fur. She put them on. She braided her hair with the Denrisi’s blue ribbon. Looking in the mirror, she noticed that the crystal ball was sparkling. It was as if it sensed her mood and shone with her new found boldness. She went down to dinner.

She found Koaner and her mother sitting at the table. They were not speaking when she approached. Koaner eyed her outfit and gave her a wicked grin. He knew who had given her the clothes. He resumed eating as she sat down.

“You look pretty tonight,” her mother commented. “Don’t you think so, Koaner?”

“I think she would look even prettier in red,” he growled. “A flame color.” Her mother agreed and everyone continued to eat in silence. Arabella ate little. Her stomach was knotted up. She thought it was fear at first, and then realized that it was anger. Anger at her mother. Anger at Koaner. Inwardly she railed against her fate.

When dinner was over, she smiled at her mother and Koaner as they left. They went into her mother’s room and shut the door. Arabella just sat there. She heard her mother giggle like a small girl from behind the door. Koaner’s deep laughter rumbled from behind the door. There was a loud thump on the door and her mother laughed again. Arabella stared at the door in disgust.

She could not stay here any more. Her home was not a safe haven any more. It felt more like a prison. She walked out of the hall. The stag skull watched her leave Cardew again. She just walked down the slope and kept walking north. The empty eyes followed her passage across the desert until she disappeared from sight when the full moon rose in the sky.