The Roar of a Dragon (24 page)

I nodded, folded my hands together over the railing. ‘I figured.’

‘You figured I’d fail?’ Timor’s voice held a note of bitter sarcasm that I had never heard before — quite frankly, it scared me.

‘No, no,’ I hastened to reassure him. ‘There were failures all over, Timor.’ I sighed very deeply. ‘I failed to save Garridan — in fact, it could be said that I killed him trying to save him. They may toot me as being the hero, but I hardly feel like one.’

‘You saved your people,’ Timor said quietly.

‘But I failed to save who I wanted to save more than anyone,’ I responded. ‘I’m happy for the people, but still, all I feel is loss.’

Timor looked at me, as if he couldn’t understand (which he probably couldn’t), but then his face cleared. ‘You did the right thing, Aidan,’

‘I know,’ I answered. I hesitated, but then decided that it needed to be asked. ‘What happened?’

Timor looked out over the water, quiet for a long time. Then he answered. ‘I tended to the king as best as I could, but it took longer than I wanted, because he wasn’t in very good shape. Just as I healed him as best as I could, I was hit from behind by some type of magical projectile. I was still conscious — Sirak turned me over, kicked me in the stomach once, then took the Rod of Therl from my robes. Then he disappeared.’

Nothing I could have said would have made him feel better about losing the Rod of Therl. All I could say was, ‘You saved the king — I will always be grateful for that.’

‘I did my best,’ Timor said simply.

‘I mean it, Timor,’ I said sincerely. ‘Before we came here, there was no doubt in my mind that I didn’t want to see King Baladir alive again. But after seeing him on the edge of death…I knew that that wasn’t what I truly felt. I asked you to save him because I knew you could — and you did. You and I don’t always see eye-to-eye, but I will always be grateful for what you did.’

‘I’m glad I could do that for you — and for the king.’ Timor’s expression didn’t change, but the note of bitterness had dropped out of his voice, replaced by a note of sincerity.

I stretched out my hand, and Timor shook it — and then he looked past me. ‘You have a visitor,’ he said softly.

I heaved a sigh of exasperation, thinking that one of the townspeople had followed me up to the walls. But when I turned around, my heart dropped to my stomach.

It was Lady Mirabelle.

‘Don’t look so happy to see her,’ Timor said, and I was too shocked to notice that he had actually made a sarcastic remark. He stayed long enough to bow to Lady Mirabelle, then he walked away silently.

‘Is he alright?’ Mirabelle asked softly, when he was out of hearing range.

‘He will be,’ I answered, watching as he disappeared into another of the towers built into the city walls.

‘I see you’ve been released,’ Mirabelle commented, glancing down at my injured leg.

I nodded. ‘Yeah…I already can’t wait to be rid of these damn crutches.’

Mirabelle stepped a little closer to me, and we both leaned against the stone railing and looked out across the water. ‘Derrick told me about your hiding place,’ she said lightly.

‘I’ve spent many hours here,’ I replied. ‘It’s very peaceful, and gives me a chance to reflect on things.’

Mirabelle smiled. ‘It’s very beautiful.’

I nodded in agreement. It was silent for a few moments, then Mirabelle cleared her throat.

‘Iskandor’s been helping to clear the wreckage from the cathedral. The King’s already planning to have it rebuilt.’

I smiled at the thought of Iskandor, the dragon, helping the people of Delmar — strange irony. Then a sudden thought occurred to me.

‘Did they find the body of Norvin?’

Mirabelle frowned, puzzled. ‘No. There were no other bodies.’

A million thoughts flooded my mind, crashed on the shores of my brain.
He was near death when I saw him in the cathedral…did he get out? If he did, why wasn’t he captured? He couldn’t have gone far, the condition he was in…

‘Aidan?’ Mirabelle was looking me over, concerned. ‘Are you alright? You went pale all of the sudden.’

I snapped out of my clouded thoughts. ‘Yes, I’m fine, thank you…just a bit confused, that’s all.’

Mirabelle nodded, then went back to looking out over the water again. Then she sighed very deeply. ‘I had another reason for following you up here, Aidan.’

I looked at her, not liking the tone of her voice. ‘Is anything the matter?’

She shrugged lightly. ‘There may be. I need to ask you,’ she hesitated, seemingly not sure what words to use. Then she apparently decided to just go on with it. ‘How do you feel about me?’

I froze. That was about the last thing I expected to hear come out of her mouth. I faltered, not sure how to answer, then I stammered, ‘I…love you, Mirabelle.’

Her beautiful purple eyes closed in pain. ‘That’s what I was afraid of.’

Stricken by her expression, I looked away, cursing myself for a fool.
How could I allow myself to believe, that someone as gorgeous as Mirabelle would ever care about a decrepit freak like me?

Mirabelle saw me and seemed to read what was on my mind. ‘No, Aidan…don’t be like that. I…care very deeply about you, too.’

‘Then what’s the matter?’ I asked, sensing that she was still apprehensive.

Mirabelle held up her left hand, showing me the gold ring with the red jewel encrusted on it that she wore on her middle finger. ‘I was walking down the street, and I passed by a man that asked me to stop. He is the proprietor of the biggest wizard shop in the city.’

‘The Mage’s Emporium,’ I commented, knowing the place.

Mirabelle nodded, then continued. ‘He asked, very politely, if he could see my ring. A bit wary, I approached him and showed it to him. “That’s quite amazing,” he said. When I asked what was amazing about it, he asked me to accompany him inside his store. I was a bit hesitant, but the man didn’t seem to be threatening. Once inside the store, he pulled out a large book, and plopped it down on the counter. He turned to a certain page, which showed the exact same ring I was carrying. He told me that the ring is enchanted.’

I glanced down at the ring. ‘Enchanted? With what power?’

Mirabelle paused, and it seemed for a moment that she wasn’t going to answer. Then she said, very tentatively, ‘The ring makes one single man fall in love with me.’

I felt like I had just been punched in the chest; all of the air had been driven from my lungs. On one hand,
the magic of the ring wants me to fall in love with her
. On the other,
my love for her wasn’t real. It’s just magic
.

I was quiet for a moment, my mind desperately trying to process what I’d just been told. I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing.

Mirabelle seemed distraught. ‘I didn’t know the ring had any power. If I had, I would have wanted nothing to do with it.’

I silently conceded this to be true. My eyes were drawn to the ground, then I looked back out over the railing, out across the beautiful day that suddenly didn’t seem so beautiful anymore. It felt like all of the life had been sucked out of the world; to me, it seemed that the birds had stopped chirping, that the sun was not giving off warmth, but a chill that threatened to freeze my heart still. I ignored Mirabelle’s attempts to draw my attention.

Finally, Mirabelle said, ‘I want to try an experiment.’ I didn’t answer, but I could see what she was doing out of the corner of my eye.

She pulled the ring off of her finger, the beautiful red jewel-encrusted gold ring, held it out over the railing, and let the ring slip from her fingers. It seemed like an eternity before I heard the light splash into the water.

‘Why did you do that?’ I asked her, shocked and confused. ‘You didn’t have to…it didn’t matter —’

‘Now kiss me,’ Mirabelle said simply.

Now my whole body was frozen — my heart, my blood, my mind. I wasn’t entirely sure what she had just said.

Mirabelle leaned in slowly, and I could do nothing but watch. But as her tender lips inched closer to mine, my eyes closed, and I felt our lips touch delicately.

My senses were suddenly stampeded as life flowed back into the world. The birds sang loudly, the sun’s warmth was refreshing, and the sound of the water below was soothing. But I only noticed these things numbly — I could almost feel nothing else except for the surge of lighting that crackled through my entire body. I remembered when she had kissed me on the cheek before I left with the others to enter Delmar — the feeling that was so much stronger and more potent than my magic. Now, this feeling I was currently experiencing ran over the previous feeling and stomped it out of existence. If my powers were as strong as this feeling, as Mirabelle and I kissed, I could have blown all of the walls off of the city, and then casually eaten a sandwich afterward.

It seemed like we kissed for an eternity, and truth be told, we could have and I wouldn’t have missed a thing. I didn’t want this feeling to ever end…I wanted this forever.

Finally, our lips parted, and couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed as that amazing, electric feeling receded just a little.

‘How do you feel?’ Mirabelle asked lightly.

I opened my eyes, and saw Mirabelle staring back, a bright smile on her face, her wavy red hair moving lightly in the breeze. I felt a feeling of warmth that came not from the sun, but deep inside, from my soul — and at the same time, I felt a fluttery feeling in my stomach that wasn’t unpleasant at all.

‘I feel like I’ve been flying freely among the clouds, and nothing in the world could bring me down. I feel like I just climbed the highest mountain, and looked out across the all of the beauty in the world. It feels right…I feel whole.’

At that, Mirabelle’s smile grew larger, if possible, her violet eyes shining brightly like the stars on a clear, beautiful night. Mirabelle leaned in, and I held her as we both gazed out across the calm, blue water, out to the horizon.

The next day was a long one. It was to be the day of a mass funeral of all the men and women lost, as well as the funeral of Sir Garridan. After that was the ceremony that was planned by King Baladir to praise myself and all of my companions as the ‘saviors of Delmar.’ I appreciated the gesture, but the whole thought of the ceremony made me sick to my stomach. An eternity ago (actually, in this time, it was only a year, but it was an eternity to me), I had been declared a traitor to Delmar and forbidden from ever seeing my homeland again. Now that my friends and I had saved the city from their horrible existence, suddenly the king wanted to declare us heroes; and while I was happy for the others, namely Iskandor, it irritated me beyond measure. I decided that I didn’t care what anyone thought — I was going to do everything in my power to be absent from the ceremony.

I am happy for my friends and the people, but all I want is to be out of here
.

The funerals, however, were a different story entirely. It was declared that a large portion of the field outside the White Castle would be made into a Garden of Remembrance commemorating the spirits of those lost in the Battle of Delmar. I have to admit, I liked the idea — besides the fact that there was no way the cemetery that existed in the city would have ever held all of the bodies that were to be buried, having them placed to rest in such sacred ground seemed appropriate, given the unnatural nature of the tragedy that had befallen them.

I was proud at how the people of Delmar were handling the disastrous loss of lives. They came together and worked as one on the cemetery, many of them digging the plots where the corpses were to be laid to rest, enabling the creation of the majority of the cemetery in a very short time. Wooden crosses were created with the names of those lost, in lieu of actual gravestones that would be developed at a later time, when there was more time (and stone) available. However, there was one gravestone made, an enormous memorial that was specially created from the rubble of the ruined cathedral, and it was created to immortalize one person only — Sir Garridan. Iskandor, in dragon form, sat respectfully nearby.

The High Priest (still visibly shaken by the fact that the ritual had occurred on sacred ground) led all of the people in a long prayer, asking the gods to take all of the souls of the lives taken into their service and care. There was, as expected, a great deal of crying from children, widows, parents of young men and women, and I grieved along with them. I promised myself privately that the lives of those lost would be avenged.

When it came time to commemorate Sir Garridan’s spirit, King Baladir, very unexpectedly (it was my fault that it was unexpected — I had been doing everything in my power to avoid the king) asked me to come to the front to say some words about Garridan. As I hobbled forward on my crutches, I heard the people whispering, remarks that weren’t exactly malicious, but weren’t exactly pleasant, either.

When I finally reached Garridan’s memorial, I turned and faced the people…and I couldn’t help the disdain that crept up in my heart. But I violently shoved it out of my mind and soul — it wasn’t about me at that point, it was about Garridan. When the anger was — temporarily — gone from my heart, the words came to me, as well as an overwhelming feeling of sorrow.

‘Sir Garridan was many things to me…mentor, father, friend. He may have been many things to all of you too, but primarily, he was the man who defended and fought for this country, through thick and thin. I was little more than a skinny kid who worked on a farm, with a dream of becoming a knight one day. Through a chance encounter, I met Garridan, and he saw something in me — something I didn’t even know I had. He made everything I ever wanted come true, far beyond anything I ever dreamed. He didn’t even have any family to speak of — leading this army was his heart and soul, and in that way, he gave his heart and soul to you people.’

I took a breath, collecting my thoughts, and continued. ‘Everyone, by now, knows several versions of what happened to me. After I was exiled, Sir Garridan stood up for me, and he paid a price for it. That was what Sir Garridan was about: standing up for what he believed in. Whatever story you believe, whether you are angry with me, or forgive me, or believe my side doesn’t matter. I ask all of you now to forgive
him
. Take him into your hearts, absolve him of any animosity you might have, because you all were in his heart. Allow his spirit to roam the mists with no regrets, with the love for him that he had for all of you.’

Tears had dimmed my vision, and I could think of little else to say — I just looked out amongst the people. Suddenly, one person in the front got down on one knee and bowed — and then another, then another. It didn’t take long before all of the people of Delmar were on one knee, heads bowed. All of my companions bowed respectfully, including Iskandor, who lowered his head. Overcome, I followed suit, which was very difficult with my injured leg. Even King Baladir bowed.

I rose painfully from my bowing position. ‘Thank you,’ I said to everybody, and I was sincere, because I hadn’t expected that show of respect for Garridan.

My speech done, I began to stumble away on my crutches, making my way back through the crowd. No one said much, but I wouldn’t have stopped if they had anyway. I could hear King Baladir making an announcement, asking everyone to move to the center of the hill for the ceremony. People began to follow his instructions, but I intended to pass through those gates, and keep right on going.

I succeeded, entering the desolate streets of Delmar. There wasn’t a soul in sight, and it was very strange, like walking through a ghost town. I don’t know how long I stumbled down the streets, but it was quite some time.

‘And where do you think you’re going?’ said a voice from behind me.

My breath stopped short. I fully expected someone to follow me — I wasn’t about to outrun anybody on those crutches — but I suspected that I would hear them coming. I was wrong; I wouldn’t hear them if my pursuer was a thief who was an expert in silence.

I turned to face Kirra. ‘I’m not attending the ceremony.’

‘And you’re leaving, is that it?’

‘I intend to,’ I answered shortly.

Kirra strolled up to me. ‘You may not feel like you owe these people anything — and perhaps you don’t — but you should stand up there and accept their adulation, because you deserve it…we all do. Whatever contempt you’re feeling, you can save it for later. Put it aside and accept their thanks, if only for a few moments.’

‘I don’t want to face them anymore,’ I said with a groan. I could feel myself caving in — Kirra could be very persuasive.

‘Do it anyway,’ Kirra said simply, ‘because if you refuse, you will look funny with the Queen of Thieves carrying you in there.’

I should have been mad, but I smiled. ‘All right, Kirra — no need to hold me hostage.’

She nodded. ‘Good to hear that. I’ll lead the way, they’re waiting for you.’

And so I began my journey back to the ceremony. It was a long way, and I was starting to get tired, but all of my fatigue vanished when I passed back through those gates.

Everyone
was staring at me, awaiting my arrival. And then, the people began to cheer.

It started with a few, then it was many, and then it was all. They were cheering, hollering, whistling — and the sound was
deafening
.

I just stood there, just past the gates, looking out amongst the screaming people of Delmar, who were cheering for me, and felt proud. Everything I had done for the people — no matter what I had been through — had been worth it.

Finally, I made it to the front, where everybody was waiting. The enormous figure of Iskandor loomed in the background. King Baladir stood to the left, and everyone else was on the right — Kirra, Lady Mirabelle, Timor. I made it to the king, and turned to face him.

The people quieted down, and King Baladir began to speak. ‘Aidan, you have done a great service for this country, which cannot be described in words. You were wronged by me, and I cannot apologize enough for that. You saved my life, and the lives of all of the people here. To that end, the kingdom of Delmar should be yours for the taking.’

‘I don’t want the country,’ I said in a low voice.

‘Of course,’ King Baladir said hastily, slightly alarmed by my stoic nature. ‘I want to offer you the chance to return to your country. I absolve you of any alleged crimes that were charged against you, and I want you to be the Knight-General of our military.’

I was in a state of shock, and I admit that I felt justified, as well as a sense of pride — it felt good to be offered to chance to return to my home, and to be absolved of my so-called “crimes”. I felt a small weight leave my soul.

I looked out among the people, all wearing expectant looks, waiting for me to accept and continue their deafening cheer. My dream was right in front of me — and suddenly, I didn’t want it anymore.

I looked back at the king and answered simply, ‘No.’

King Baladir’s brows lowered in dismay. He seemed at a loss for words. I, however, was not.

‘I hope all of you can forgive me,’ I said, looking out at the people. ‘But after what happened, trust is a bit of an issue for me. As of right now, I don’t belong to any country. However,’ I continued with a smile, ‘from time to time, I will pop in when you least expect it. I’ll be keeping an eye on this city, this country, my home.’

The people smiled and clapped. The king’s blood drained from his face, resulting in a very pale complexion. But he recovered himself quickly.

‘Fair enough, Aidan. I understand completely. However, know this: the entire kingdom of Delmar stands in your debt, and you will always have a home here.’

Against my wishes, I felt warmth spread through my body at those words. In spite of what I felt, the king’s words meant a lot to me.

‘Thank you, King Baladir,’ I said respectfully, and I bowed to him. I glanced at all of my friends once, then I stood off to the side, as King Baladir declared that the ceremony was over, and that the people should get back to their lives.