Sweet Waters Throne

229 Chapter 22Artemis was already on the dragon’s back, soothing her calmly with his right hand. Torgo stood close watching the dragon, then he asked Artemis in Low Moor. “When was the last time she mated with Artodo?” and of course Princess Aeryn didn’t understand a thing. The language was foreign to her and not to mention too hard to understand, it’s like they spoke in tongues and their words came out like names of bad cities or trees.

“Two moons ago” replied Artemis also in Low Moor.

“This one has been heavy, I think she may lay eggs soon”

There was excitement on Artemis’s face, “Really?” he asked, his face lightened up. Torgo nodded his head with a smile.

Princess Aeryn quipped in, “What is he saying?”

“He is saying that this dragon may lay eggs soon... the mating was a success” said Artemis.

“Oh, that means more dragons”

“Yes dear sister, and maybe if you are kind enough to my wife, she may give you one”

“I would fall off a dragon on my first attempt” Princess Aeryn laughed.

.....

“Then let’s see if you’ll fall” Artemis reached out for his sister’s hand.

At first Princess Aeryn hesitated on climbing the purple she-dragon. She heard the tale of the man who was pushed off by a dragon from mid air and broke his skull, the most horrible deaths one could ever die from. What if this dragon doesn’t like her?

Hence she asked, “What if it doesn’t like me?” before taking Artemis’s hand.

“You are not riding it, I am. You are just a passenger”

“So, they don’t kill passengers?”

“Come on, let’s go” Artemis was tired of his sister’s questions, he managed to reach out to her hand and pulled her up.

The saddle was big enough for two, every dragon had a saddle built on them to manage two riders. This was Aurora’s plan, with a war coming up, she needed the dragons to be able to carry two people — the rider at the front and the passenger at the back.

“Oooh, I feel like... I’m taller than everyone else” said Princess Aeryn trying to contain her excitement. She was hanging on to her brother’s waist for dear life.

“That’s the point of being on a dragon’s back, to feel superior to everyone else. Ready?”

Princess Aeryn couldn’t properly understand if she was ready or not, she settled with “Um, I think so...”

Artemis base farewell to Torgo and uttered the word, “Valar” and right there the purple she-dragon battled her wings and flew high above the sky. Aeryn screamed like a toddler but it wasn’t because she was scared, but it was because she was happy.

The dragon flew smoothly above the skies of Blackmount in clear daylight passing the rebels from where they organized themselves outside of the main palace. The thing is when the dragon appeared, everyone started to run. Those who were preaching on taking down the king found themselves to be the first ones to leave the gates of the main palace with haste, they knew what happened in Old City and Artemis wasn’t happy with what they were doing.

If he wanted to burn them, it would only be a matter of minutes. But Artemis wasn’t even thinking about them, he kept flying the dragon and going on with his business. All he wanted was for his sister to experience the same joy of flying as he has for sometime.

However, for that day, the good folks didn’t return to the gates of the palace again. They feared when the dragon comes, they may get burned. Many of them had already lost hope though, it’s been weeks and there was no sign of who they called, “The true King” nor Samwell Marshall who was supposed to liberate all the cities.

Now speaking of Samwell Marshall, the big bad man was leading the army of pirates and sailors to the Mines, or as the chronicles wrote later on — to his death. Along the way, he and Aryan bonded over tales of wars and victories during the night when they camped under open stars with a good fire to keep them warm.

Most of the times these night gatherings involved more than one hundred men sitting in circle listening to the big man, who apparently couldn’t stop talking while eating. Every night, ten goats and chickens in countless numbers would be slaughtered and roasted over an open fire.

These goats were stollen from every village they passed through, they threatened the locals to either give up what they possessed or die. Most of them gave out their food in exchange for their lives, and this favored Samwell who liked to eat almost all the time and drink. He was barely sober throughout the marching to the Mines, this one time he stopped the whole army so he can get some sleep because he fell off his horse.

Aryan pityed him, even if he would have been the true heir to Sweet Waters throne, she would have slit his throat to save the people from an embarrassment of a King.

Samwell spoke of his first war during the night gathering, “I was thirteen, in my small town further West beyond the Black Sea. That’s when I killed my first man, poor guy shit on himself as he struggled to die. I watched the whole thing, and from then I was a changed man” he said and bit his chest. “I was big during that time, stronger for my age and many of them called me an abomination. They said my mother must have laid down with a god to give birth to such devil” Samwell laughed out loud when he said this.

Then he tried to catch his breath, “I single handedly won the war to save our town. They named me King in the West”

“So you are not a Maldonian, I noticed that” said Aryan.

“I have never claimed to be a Maldonian, but I want to fight for Maldonians. I want to press my strong arms on a dragon’s mouth and watch it die before it can pour out it’s flames. I’ll split the dragon into two” Samwell quickly stood up and acted out how he will stop a dragon.

He narrated how he will approach a dragon, hold it’s mouth and tear it’s apart. Perhaps someone should have told him that dragons weren’t horses to play with, or toys to do what he wanted to at anytime he wanted. Aryan watched closely and she tried very hard not to laugh at Samwell and his dreams which it was vivid they wouldn’t survive for long. A dragon will burn him before he could even get close, and eat it afterwards.

The next day they continued with the marching, just one more day and they will be in the gates of the Mines. The city of Mines was located in arid areas, so dry and the winter was harsh in these parts although there was no ice or snow falling.

By this time Lord Leoric was already informed by his spies about the army of pirates and sailors making their way to his city. He also received a letter from Aryan detailing the whole thing, but most important thing which Aryan told Lord Leoric was, “Artemis’s dragon is dead, the black beast. I know how badly you want the dragons dead, kill this big fool of a man named Samwell Marshall and let’s raid city after city until we put Aprophil on the throne. You can either kill the dragons or get the eggs for yourself. I hear once you get attached to the eggs, the dragons may finally be yours. There is only one way for you to get a dragon, and that is to storm the capital. Help us win the war and you can have everything” Aryan wrote to Lord Leoric.

For many a nights Lord Leoric wondered what happened in Old City to make Artemis burn the whole city to the ground. Now he had his answers through Aryan’s letter, it was her men who attacked Artemis’s dragon and in return the dragon burned all of them.

However, Aryan knew something he didn’t, and that is Artemis’s dragon never made it out of Old City. The black terrifying beast was actually dead, he was killed by Aryan’s men, but how? Lord Leoric would have asked Aryan if she stood close to him, but she didn’t. Hence he only had to believe her.

Supporting Aryan and deserting the crown would make Lord Leoric a traitor, and a rebel. All traitors and rebels usually die at the end if the war is lost, but if the war is won — they sit and dine with the King. In this aspect, Lord Leoric wouldn’t only dine with Aprophil, but he would gain dragon eggs.

There is nothing Leoric wanted more in this world than to ride a dragon. He hated them because he didn’t have them but in reality he was jealous of Artemis and Aurora, the way they could just utter a few words and the dragons would do as they command. Leoric wanted that power above everything else, and he was ready to risk it all.