“And face Jenna’s wrath?” he asked with a chuckle. “Sorry, you’re stuck with broth until she decides otherwise.”
Kathryn grimaced and sipped at the water. “Why are you looking at me like that?” She asked David.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re studying me like I’m a creature from the stars, is something wrong?”
David shook his head quickly. “Nothing’s wrong,” he assured her. “I’m just trying to figure out what has caused this change in you. You just took a blade to the stomach in the worst way possible. I was ready to forgive you any grouchiness or irritability since you almost died on us. Instead, you’re happier…less guarded.”
She looked down at her glass for a moment, but then she looked up and spoke. “While I was locked away here, I had a lot of time to think,” she said slowly. “I came to the conclusion that while I may not have had a family when I was younger, I wanted one now. I often watched the rest of the Dragons laugh and talk amongst each other like family members, but I felt at odds, like I didn’t belong. Spending time here made me realize how much I really want to belong. How much I was missing.”
David couldn’t stop the smile that covered his face. “We’ve been waiting for you to say those words.”
“Mind you,” Kathryn warned. “I won’t change overnight. Silence is a hard habit to break. You’ll need to keep reminding me.”
“I’ll keep reminding you if you give me sparring lessons.”
She laughed. “Deal.”
Then the rest of the Dragons then flooded the room, ending the moment. Amy practically threw herself onto her friend, crying with relief. Destiny squawked in irritation, but refused to move even as Amy’s bulk threatened to squish her. They shared an embrace before the rest of the family pushed forward. Natalie and Lindsey were teary eyed as they congratulated Kathryn on being stubborn enough to beat death back. Kathryn actually laughed at their words.
The rest of the boys hugged her without shame, welcoming her back. Cass and Elizabeth couldn’t stop crying, while Leia, Rachel, and Jenna couldn’t stop smiling. Destiny remained on the bed beside Kathryn and let out a victory call. After everyone had hugged Kathryn once, the eagle became protective, nipping at people who got too close to her human until Kathryn repositioned Destiny near her head so Amy and Natalie could curl up on the bed without needing a healer’s attention.
Lindsey stepped forward and handed Kathryn a small wrapped package.
“What is it?” Kathryn asked.
“Open it and see,” Lindsey said, blushing. “I wanted something to remember you by in case you didn’t make it. But since you did, I want you to have them.”
When she tore the paper away, Kathryn found herself looking at two elegantly drawn pictures. The first was a portrait of herself in the white dress she had worn to the final ball at the Queen’s birthday celebration. The second was a group portrait of all the dragons, each focusing on their own projects. Lindsey had drawn her sitting on Lerina with Destiny swooping over her shoulder. Beneath all the portraits Lindsey had written,
Family
.
Kathryn turned to look at David, who winked at her, “Welcome to the family.”
Several days later the castle received some visitors. Dowager Princess Jasmine arrived with all the fanfare due to her station and her worry. Trailed by Lord Jasse and the faithful Arianna, she marched straight into the castle, bypassing the servants who attempted to take cloaks and offer refreshments, and made her way to Kathryn’s room immediately. Her own guards and retinue made themselves comfortable as they scattered discreetly throughout the castle.
David wanted to chuckle at the disaster his aunt had left in her wake. The servants were racing around the castle, preparing meals and rooms and generally acting as if the king himself had stopped in for a visit.
Lord Jasse shooed the Dragons out of the room so that Jasmine and Kathryn could have a few moments alone. “Well done, David,” he said quietly as they stood guard outside the room.
“Thank you, sir.”
The door opened and Jasmine stepped out into the hallway. Both men came to attention and David could see the worry in the older man’s face. “She’ll make it,” Jasmine reassured Jasse who then quickly slipped inside the room to see for himself.
And no doubt deliver a lecture.
The dowager turned to her nephew. “As soon as she’s strong enough, I’m relocating her to my palace where she can rest and heal. I’d also like to bring your healer with me.” Her tone abided absolutely no argument and David agreed with her. If Kathryn went back to the Dragon’s glade to heal, he had a nagging suspicion that she’d try to get herself back onto patrols before she was ready.
He bowed. “As you wish, Your Highness.”
His aunt glanced up and down the hallway before pulling him into a quick hug. “Feel free to visit,” she whispered in his ear. “I never get to see you enough.”
Two days later, despite Kathryn’s protest that she was perfectly fit and ready to return to her duties, David saw Kathryn and Jenna tucked into the Dowager Princess’s carriage. Lord Jasse promised to send daily updates and even suggested that the Dragons take turns visiting so that Kathryn didn’t feel left out of their day to day lives.
David promised to send the others regularly, already reworking some of the patrols in his mind to make it work. After the progress Kathryn had made in becoming one of the family, he wasn’t about to give her time to rethink and regret that decision.
David stepped out onto the back porch, watching the early fall morning mist rise from the smooth, gently flowing river before him. His cup of hot tea defended his hands against the morning chill. Letting out a contented sigh he leaned against the railing, enjoying the quiet and peace. It felt strange to be up before Kathryn and Destiny, but in the week that they’d been home and back on duty neither had been as early of risers as before. The stillness of the morning and the fact that he had no pressing duties allowed his mind to wander.
It was hard to believe, but in a few short weeks, the Dragons would complete a full year of patrols. Their accomplishments weren’t exactly worthy of the song writers at the Royal Court, but all else considered, he believed that they had done an excellent job. They had caught a band of roving thieves and returned their plunder back to the rightful owners, hunted down several outlaw bands, restored several farms that were salted, rescued the Princess Roseanna and Kathryn, and had managed to scare off the troublemakers who had been plaguing their region when the Dragons had first arrived.
But more importantly, at least in David’s mind, they had become a family. Fourteen strangers had learned to live, work, and fight alongside each other. Kathryn had been spending much of her time of late getting to know the rest of them, even opening up a little about her own experiences and past. Natalie had even stopped pestering Matt about Lacey. A year ago he hadn’t believed it possible, but Kathryn’s brush with death had pulled the family together in a way that not even six decades of close quarter living could have.
His second in command had made a full recovery in just days, surprising Jenna with the speed of her recovery and eventually prompting the healer to quietly ask him during one of his visits if there was anything special about her.
Wide eyed she proclaimed. “There isn’t even a scar, it’s amazing, it’s…it’s impossible.”
David had been honest, saying that there was speculation but nothing solid, and that even after all the time spent together in the same family, David still couldn’t confirm or deny any of the theories regarding her…abilities. Then he’d confided to her just how Kathryn had made such a speedy recovery. The healer had been horrified at the idea of him allowing a stranger to “heal” one of their family, but even she couldn’t deny the results. Whatever Elyon had done, David would always consider it a miracle. So far, Kathryn hadn’t asked about her speedy recovery and he sure wasn’t going to volunteer that information. Until Elyon mentioned it to her or she asked him, it would remain his secret.
Jasmine however hadn’t been as convinced of her ward’s recovery and had kept Kathryn at her palace for an extra three weeks, just to reassure herself that Kathryn wouldn’t suffer a relapse upon her return to duty. The inactivity had driven Kathryn insane, and she had appealed to him several times by message bird to bring her back to the glade.
“What can I do?” he’d asked her during one of his visits. “She’s the Dowager Princess. She outranks me. Hey,” he’d added as Kathryn had begun to get exasperated with him. “You’re the closest thing to a daughter that she has and you almost died. Let her process what happened and move past that in her own way.” Reluctantly Kathryn had agreed and resigned herself to a few more weeks of boredom.
Overall he was pleased, and apparently so was the Guardian Council for just two weeks after their successful return to their glade he had received a very heartening letter of commendation. Their consent to his request that had followed had been received with less enthusiasm.
Upon returning home, he had spoken privately with each of the Dragons, receiving their honest opinions about the siege of Lord Tanner’s castle. Most of the feedback had been positive, bolstering David’s wavering confidence as their leader, but many had said that it was hard to work together with someone other than their shift teammates. Living and completing chores with friends was easy, learning to fight alongside one another was much more difficult. Kathryn’s training sessions had helped, but not enough.
As such, David had written to the Council informing them of his decision to withhold his team from day to day patrols for one week to allow for team training sessions. After reviewing his very logical arguments, expertly prepared by Rachel, the council had granted his request with their blessing. Even if they hadn’t given their approval, David had been prepared to go ahead with his plan and risk their anger. It was more important that his family was able to comfortably fight beside each other than bow to the wishes of the council for fear of their reprisals. Thankfully they had agreed with his assessment, even if it was a bit grudgingly. Lord Jasse had even included his own sealed letter with combat situation suggestions, suggestions that David fully planned on using…starting today.
The high-pitched creak behind him alerted him to another’s presence. Was it Luke or Amy? Over the last two months, they had risen to the challenge of easing the burdens of Kathryn’s duties so that her return to patrol was easier. She complained and griped about it, but not hard enough to convince anyone that she was really that upset about it. Today, she was the only one who knew what was really going on. The rest of the family believed it was simply a one day group training session.
“You’re up awfully early.”
He turned, surprised to find the object of his thoughts standing behind him, her own cup of tea warming her hands. “It’s not that early.” He nodded towards the already rising sun.
She joined him at the railing and cocked an eyebrow at him. “You only rise this early when something’s bothering you.”
“No I don’t.”
She eyed him carefully. “Seeing as you are the leader and are in a particularly stubborn mood I won’t argue the point, but yes, you do.”
David opened his mouth to retaliate but the sudden flutter of wings announcing Destiny’s arrival saved him from having to come up with something.
Reaching into her sleeve, Kathryn pulled out a piece of oven dried jerky and tossed it to the bird.
“Matt won’t be thrilled to know that his dinner is being used as a treat to tempt birds,” David said wryly.
“She deserves it,” his companion replied quietly.
David silently agreed as he reached up his own sleeve and pulled out a slightly larger piece of jerky and tossed it to Destiny.
Kathryn tossed him an amused look. “You’re going to spoil her worse than I do, aren’t you?”
“Like you said,” he replied calmly. “She deserves it.”
Destiny let out a squawk and flew across to the training wall and barreled back at them. She landed on the railing, looked at Kathryn, and let out another squawk.
“Do you understand her?” David asked laughing. For as long as he lived, he doubted he would ever truly understand the eccentric bird.
“She wants to climb.”
David looked up at the one hundred foot wall standing firm against the swirling mists at its base and the swiftly moving clouds above. “Well, who are we to disappoint her?” he asked.
Kathryn’s right eyebrow jerked upward. “We?”
“Sure. You climb and I’ll watch safely from the ground to make sure you don’t kill yourself.”
She rolled her eyes at him, but began walking toward the stone barrier, David followed.
As they walked the path that paralleled the river he asked “Have you ever climbed this before?”
“A few times.”
“Will you go blindfolded?” he asked, slightly hopeful to see that particularly impressive feat demonstrated once more.
They were on the bridge now and she paused, studying the structure. “Not this time.”
“Any particular reason?” He asked, squelching the disappointment he suddenly felt.
“I train blindfolded to prepare myself for missions at night,” she explained as they reached the wall. “Today I simply want to climb. Destiny still guides me; it’s just that I can pick my own handholds as well.”
Before he could reply she reached upward and pulled herself up, her feet seemingly able to find a steady foothold without fail on the first try.
Up.
Up.
And Up.
David shook his head in bewilderment and wonder as Kathryn scaled the thirty meter wall in just a few minutes. She waved from high above him and Destiny swooped down with a loud call.
Summoning up his courage, David began to attempt to climb the wall freestyle, something he had never done before. He’d climbed at the school, but as a student he’d been taught to use his two daggers and to dig them into the wall or rock. For those students who had wished to learn to scale a wall without any assistance there had been freestyle climbing lessons, but David had preferred to climb with something solid to hang onto.
His lack of experience and skill was showing now as he was barely eight meters up and already stuck. Hesitant to let go of the solid wall, he was unable to find a crevice to dig his toe into and push himself further up. Something prickly brushed against his cheek and he jerked, one of his feet slipping out of the crag it had lodged itself in.
Calming his startled heart, David relocated his foothold and glanced at what had startled him. A vine as thick around as his upper arm dangled next to his head. He grabbed it and began to pull himself up the rest of the way, as he did the vine seemed to grow shorter with him almost as if not wanting to leave a path for anyone else to follow.
When he finally reached the top, he gingerly made himself comfortable. The full meter thickness at the apex that had seemed so substantial from the ground suddenly seemed paper thin thirty meters up in the air.
“Nice view.”
And a nice view it was. Rising behind them, the sun cast its warm rays across the drowsy landscape, slowly awakening the creatures and brightening the colors for the new day. Looking down, David felt his stomach suddenly drop and he grasped the wall for support.
“You know,” Kathryn commented casually beside him, Destiny perched beside her. “I would have never pegged you as someone who couldn’t handle heights.”
“It’s not the heights I’m worried about…or the falling from the heights,” he told her.
“What is it then?”
“It’s the sudden stop at the end that has me worried.”
She laughed.
They both went quiet as lights began to appear in their house. Two figures appeared on the porch, but quickly went back inside.
“Think they’re looking for us?” David asked.
“Probably.”
“Should we go back down?”
“And miss this sunrise?” Kathryn asked indigently. “No way. They can come to us.” She stroked Destiny and said, “Show Amy.”
Destiny leapt off her perch and took off like a shot towards the house.
They didn’t have to wait long. After about a minute, figures began pouring from the house. Destiny circled them once and returned to her perch on the top of the wall. Kathryn and David waved.
The Dragons below congregated and one broke from the party and ran back into the house.
“Matt must have left some biscuits on the stove,” Kathryn laughed.
“You know who that was?” He asked in astonishment.
“Of course, can’t you tell?”
“My eyesight’s good, but not that good.” He looked at her for a moment. “Are you sure you aren’t part hawk or something?”
“Well since I’m not sporting any feathers or a beak...” She let the sentence hang, eliciting a chuckle from him. He was impressed with the strides Kathryn had made in becoming one of the family. Two months ago she’d never smiled and rarely laughed. Now she’d developed a familiarity around them that gave her the ease to crack jokes.
Matt, if Kathryn’s eyesight was to believed, returned from the house carrying a bow, even David could recognize the distinctive shape.
“Think he’s going to try and shoot us off,” he asked.
“He could try,” she replied with a sniff.
They waited, both interested to see what Matt was doing. Their companion took aim and shot an arrow into the wall, then another, and another.
“Ah,” Kathryn said with a smile. “Very smart. I honestly didn’t think anyone would think of it that soon.”
“If I ask what, will that make me look stupid?” David asked in mock seriousness.
“Not really—
“Good to hear—
“Especially since I’ve already made up my mind on that point.”
“Nice to know you have such a high opinion of me,” he replied sardonically.
She turned to look at him, “I never said what my opinion was, you rockhead.”
He blinked. Rockhead? Where in the kingdom had she gotten that particular…Luke, it could only be Luke.
Glancing down again he saw what she had already seen. Matt was climbing up the arrows while somebody, probably Leia, continued to shoot bolts all the way up the wall. Matt reached the top just as the last arrow dug itself solidly into the stone.
“Good morning!” The cook’s bright red hair was made even more eye stunning with the sun glistening off the water droplets still in his hair from his morning wash.
“That’s cheating,” Kathryn protested, even as she scooted over to make room for Matt.