Sweet Waters Throne

227 Chapter 22Visera agreed to help Aurora in summoning Euric Morrow, the last Dragon as he was famously known. His ghost was still right there in Dark Town, or it must be. Aurora asked if ghosts do wander around and Visera said all the time.

“Then how will we get to him?” asked Aurora.

“Unlike us dear child, ghosts can be anywhere at anytime. He’ll come...” replied Visera while arranging some necessary things needed for the ritual.

The things needed in order to summon the dead were candles, white candles to he precise and they were needed twenty of them in order to draw a triangle. Lucky for them, Lord Spider had an enormous amount of candles stashed in his wardrobe. They used the candles to make a triangle, Aurora asked why a triangle and Visera said it was a symbol of a dragon.

Then they surrounded the triangle with white salt, the salt was used for binding Aurora and the one she was summoning. The candles were lit up and Visera asked Lord Spider to shut the windows, and she insisted the room needed to be dark. Ghosts love dark rooms and this was indeed a dark magic.

When everything was set up, Visera and Lord Spider stepped outside. Even though Aurora wanted them to stay, Visera said she couldn’t and this was something Aurora needed to do on her own. After all it was her ritual and hence she was supposed to be doing it without interactions.

“Remember, you must call him in your heart first before you utter the words. Ghosts need to know they are inside someone’s heart, that way they feel alive” advised Visera before she walked outside.

Aurora nodded without saying anything, she was nervous and it was clear for her grandmother to see. Hence Visera reached out for Aurora’s face and cupped her in her hands, “Are you nervous?” she asked her.

“A little, you said it may take all I have, what if it leaves me with nothing?”

“Then before you lose yourself make sure to say the word ‘Hular’, do you know what it means?”

.....

Aurora sighed, “I know what it means Babushka” she said although she didn’t exactly understand what the word meant.

“It means stop” Visera said it anyways.

Then she reached out for Aurora’s forehead and kissed her. That motherly love Aurora missed and desperately needed, she got it from her grandmother and she was fine with that. When her grandmother and Lord Spider left, Aurora exhaled and looked at the triangle of lit up candles with no clue what to do next.

While Aurora was preparing for the ritual, back in Blackmount Artemis was bored from sitting inside the castle all day. He missed flying, he missed the excitement of being on a dragon’s back while battling the air. The lifespan of dragons was well known, most of them live for over five hundred years. The dragon which Alienor Morrow flew, was the same one which Euric Morrow, the last Dragon flew too.

Hence that meant dragons outlived their riders. While their riders eventually die from accident or diseases or simply old age, they continued to live and get claimed by other generations. And that’s why no one prepared Artemis for his dragon’s death, and he was acting out.

Jahery and Haisa were mostly with servants, and the only time Artemis got to play with them was during the evening. Haisa was too young for outdoor activities, hence that left only Jahery who spent most of time with Artemis.

In the dragons’cave, only two dragons remained — the maroon one and the purple one. The maroon dragon who had a touch of red color belonged to Jahery, she was already promised to him and Aurora even introduced the dragon to her son. Hence these two were connected already.

The purple dragon who was supposed to belong to Haisa was the only unclaimed dragon present. She was a beauty, the good folks of Blackmount later wrote in their chronicles, mayhaps the most beautiful dragon amongst the five first generation. People once thought Visera’s blue dragon was the most beautiful one, but it seemed they hadn’t seen the purple dragon yet and when they did, they said she was the most beautiful one.

At this time neither Artemis nor Aurora were aware of the situation of the dragons, if they carried eggs or not. Although they hoped the mating was a success since there was no male dragon at presence, the maroon one mated with Artodo when Artemis made a journey to Raven — the day he visited King Amabel and ruined his coronation. Two moons had passed since then, and the purple dragon mated with Artodo a week before the maroon one did.

Hence both of these dragons mated with Artodo, approximately two moons ago and they still showed no signs of laying eggs. Artemis wanted a dragon so bad, he constantly visited the dragons cave just to check on the dragons. Or sometimes he would visit the three dragons laid by Vizoro just to see if they hatched. These three eggs were put in intensive care with heated coals around them, any day from then they will burst out and in a year they will have three adults dragons.

But what was he supposed to do on the meantime?

It turned out Artemis didn’t have to worry on what will keep him busy anymore. On one particular afternoon, Princess Aeryn arrived in Blackmount. She saw how chaotic the city was, it turned out all that she heard when she was in the Mines was true. Lord Leoric forbade her from taking Jeremiah into the chaos, hence the princess entered inside the city alone and dressed as a washerwoman in order to prevent angering the good folks who were mad with wrath.

The chaos was still going on in Blackmount, a week and three days after Artemis burned Old City and still the good folks hadn’t forgiven him nor forgot about the event. They still surrounded the gates of the main palace and they stayed there from dusk till dawn chanting, “Kill the King!”.

Although the heat wasn’t the same as it was a week and three days ago, some of the people gave up and went back to their normal activities. While others waited for Samwell Marshall to make his way to Blackmount so they can join in the riot an overthrow Artemis. Only if they knew the big man was misled by Aryan and during that time he was making his way towards the Mines, to die.

The front gates of the Blackmount were heavily guarded by Artemis’s men, and this is why Aeryn knew she’ll be safe there. But what comes after that, she was on her own and that’s why she was dressed as a washerwoman — grey rugs from head to toe. As she passed through the streets, no one recognized her as the once princess of Blackmount and she made her way swiftly towards Aurora’s Hill.

The area surrounding Aurora’s Hill was quiet, all the noises and riots existed away from this place. It’s as if once you get to the castle, the chaos cease to exist. The guard noticed her and they bowed softly, without questions they allowed her to get inside the castle. Sir Dante Lucan, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguards escorted her to Artemis.

“Where is the King?” asked Princess Aeryn.

“He is inside his chambers”

“How long has he been here? What happened to everyone else?” Princess Aeryn turned to look around the empty corridors of Aurora’s Hill, this place never seemed to be this quiet before. She remembered the days she spent here, not so many but they were delightful enough for her to say she’s had good days.

“The queen is in Dark Town, Lord Balrus has been exiled and the Hand of the King has taken ill” Sir Dante Lucan filled in the princess on what’s going on.

Only one thing out of those three caught Aeryn’s attention. “Lord Balrus is in exile?” she asked with her eyes wide open. “Well, that’s new” she added.

“Yes my Princess, he must have done something to the King”

“A rather worse thing wouldn’t you agree sir Lucas” Princess Aeryn tried not to laugh, deep down she was happy that Lord Balrus finally got what he deserved.

Dante stopped walking and turned to Aeryn, “It’s sir Dante Lucan, my princess” he said with his eyes fixed on the princess and his right hand on his sword at his waist.

“That’s what I said, dear sir”

“No, you said Lucas”

Princess Aeryn chuckled softly, “Oh! Did I? Do forgive me sir Dante Lucan, I couldn’t help myself”

“Why’s that?”

“I hated the eunuch. He thought he was better than everyone else, with his silks and rodents and high intellectual. I’m glad my brother finally saw him for what he is” said Princess Aeryn, then she returned her gaze to sir Dante Lucan who seemed to be so flattered by her.

The way Dante was looking at the princess, he knew very well he shouldn’t be doing that. His eyes were warm and soft, and it showed he desperately wanted to take Aeryn right then and there and it was something Aeryn hadn’t expected it.