XII
Healing Peak

It had been two weeks. Two weeks since I learned the truth of my family's past, one week since I started to get closer to my siblings, and yesterday, my father finally gave my parents their own room in the castle. They weren't far from my room which made me feel grateful, that way I could just sneak in when I felt the need. Nova didn't forget to remind me that today was my checkup at the doctor to see if I was ready for training on the mountain peak.

"Alrighty! Up and at 'em! We got shit to do, Pluto!" My sister barged in through the door as if she had the money to replace it. She probably did on second thought. She commanded my father's armies, something not to be taken lightly. She brought me my morning white tea that I drank everyday when she came to eat breakfast with me.

"No breakfast today?" I asked her as I took in mouthful sips of my warm tea. The thing I loved about my tea in the morning was the way it woke me up gently unlike coffee; the way it warmed my mouth and my body, it had caffeine but not as much so it slowly woke me for the day.

"Not today, bubs," Bubs was also a new nickname that Nova gave me, I think she took her role as my older sister pretty seriously, "We gotta get you to the doctor then up to the mountain. Aren't you excited?" She asked as she drank her coffee, she was crazy, she drank her coffee black, no milk or any sugar. I called her a lunatic.

"Excited to get my ass beat from my older sister? Yeah sure, what's not exciting about that, Nova?" I asked and she punched my shoulder, playfully, thank god, and I laughed. "Sure, I'm excited. I get to see Eclia and the Kingdom of Red Blaze through your eyes now." I say with a genuine smile because it's the truth. I was excited to see how people respect a woman in power, if she takes any shit from anybody, and how she treats her warriors.

"Good. Get dressed for the doctor and then depending on what he says, we can come back and get dressed or we are spending another day in the library." Nova says with stars in her blue eyes. She walks out of the room, closing it behind her and I deeply sigh. I get out of the bed, pulling a black tunic shirt on with green sweatpants, pulling on my black socks and slipping my feet into the slippers my mother found for me at the market. I fix my hair, brush my teeth, and clean my face before I walk out of my bedroom. My sister is waiting for me, a red crop top, black joggers and her running shoes. She looks like she's about to go run a mile.

"Are you going to run for the country or something? Why are you wearing that?" I tease and she rolls her eyes at me.

"Because the doctor is gonna run tests and I want to run while we wait to see if you are clear, smart ass." She flicks my head and I growl at her, which just makes her smile. She dropped me off at the doctor's office and she was right, damn it. We ran tests on my thigh, he checked the wound and of course it was fully healed. He did a routine physical just to make sure I was in good health and when he was done, he smiled at me.

"Good news, I guess." I said and he nodded before speaking.

"Yes, the poison from your thigh is officially gone and it looks like your muscle is doing great in that area. Overall, you're a healthy boy. Your sister will be glad to hear of this news, the gods know she's been bothering me enough about it- ah, just who we were talking about." My sister had walked in, her blonde hair in a high ponytail, sweat trails down the side of her cheeks, down her neck and she licked her lips. For going on a run, she doesn't look all that tired.

"Hi, Dr. Szala, so what's the news?" She asked and he smiled at her.

"He's all good to go, Princess. He's all yours but any sign of muscle weakness, you'll let me know?" He asks as he writes on his clipboard, and she lets out the most annoying squeal.

"Ears! Half-Fae ears, Nova!" I groan as I rub the small arch in my ear and she shakes my shoulders.

"We get to go now! Stop being such an old man, Pluto! Let's get your butt up to see what clothes you've got." She says and is practically pushing me up the stairs to my bedroom. She digs through my clothing, pulling out my fur lined riding clothes. "Put this on. We have to fly and half of the mountain is cold as hell. Meet me at the stables." She leaves my room before I can ask if Kígyó is stable, if she's strong enough to ride, I didn't even bother to ask when I first woke up. From the moment you go to school, a country of dragon riders, you learn about the bond you share with your dragon. You learn of how this dragon is more than an animal, more than a pet, and how the dragon will always choose the rider, no matter what. Riders can survive without their dragons and dragons can do the same. You usually see faded scars of past dragon riders especially after a war. Eggs will hatch, no matter what, they are eggs. Dragons can go unclaimed for years, but once claimed, it's like a sudden confidence boost for the said dragon. Not only can you hear every thought and feeling of your dragon through said bond, you can also tap into the magic that dragons hold in their blood, which being half-fae lets the magic flow through us like it's as easy as breathing.

When I got dressed, I went down to the stables where the dragons were being held. I walked into the stables and saw my sister with the biggest grin on her face. "Ready to see Kígyó?" My sister asked me and I smiled back at her.

"Is she healthy enough to ride?" I asked and she nodded.

"She is. The poison barely nicked her but then you were out in a medical coma, so she slipped into one-"

"Is the bond with her already that strong?" I asked my sister.

"It is. That first flight always seals in that bond really tight, not to mention the training we are about to do on the mountain." My sister told me with a broad grin, a genuine, and happy smile. We walked past my father's sleeping dragon and as we were about to turn around for Kígyó's stall, she grabbed my hand and walked me further down the walkway.

"I want you to meet Charys, she hasn't seen you in years." She said and we stopped in front of the stall. Words on paper of how majestic Silver Dragon's are don't do them any justice. The way Charys holds herself is regal-like, her long neck straightened and her head held high like the Queen she once was in the Eclia skies. Her two talons on its wings compared to the one talon that every other dragon had, made her seem like a beautiful death on those swift wings. Her majestic frill went from the top of her head that traveled down her back to the tip of her tail. What they said was true, Charys smelt like morning rain on a cool, autumn sunrise.

"Sh-"

"Breathtaking? She is. She's 60 years old, just like-"

"Kos? Dad's red?" I asked her and she nodded with a smile.

"Fully grown. Let's go see Kígyó, shall we?" I nodded and before we left, Charys blew a breath of her freezing cold air with a chuff. I laughed at her. As we walked down the walkway once more, we stopped in front of my dragon's stall. That was still weird to really think about. On the silver plaque, it read, "Kígyó. Claimed." That still made my head spin. She came up right to peek her head out, she had two red horns that sat on the top of her head, pointing backwards. Like Charys, she has a frill that starts behind her horns to the tip of her tail. She has a horn on the top of her snout, three spikes under her chin. She smelt of burning wood, like campfire smoke.

'Prince Pluto,' She purred and was fluent draconic, 'I am glad to see my rider is doing well.' My brain would just automatically translate the words for me and I realized that Kígyó was talking to me inside of my head. I took a step back in surprise and my sister laughed at me. Even Kígyó had a dragon smile.

"It doesn't get any scarier. I nearly shit myself too. It's okay. This is normal, Pluto. That's how they speak to us." She said and I nodded.

'I'm sorry,' I responded, 'This is new, all new. Nobody ever told me how scary it is the first time.' I laughed and she gave me a curt nod. My sister put her saddle in my hands and I huffed loudly, why was this shit so heavy? I opened her stall and watched my sister walk down to her dragon's stall, as I walked in. I watched Kígyó bend down for me and let me put the saddle on her, the harness going under her chest, her strong legs stepping into it, and I clasped it to make sure it would stay on. I fixed the saddle that sat on her back and made sure it was connected to the harness, so that I wouldn't be flying off if the saddle decided it wasn't on completely. I opened the stall to walk out first, and watched Kígyó walk out behind me. I got us out of the stables and into the open field.

"Follow me and Charys. I don't think Kígyó has been up there before." Nova said to me as she mounted Charys, I watched her pull on her riding helmet, a helmet made of silver scales, a long rectangle across the helmet that gave enough for her to see but enough to protect her at the same time. Her whole rider outfit was made of silver scales, just like how my rider outfit was made of red dragon scales, Kígyó's scales at that. I mounted on top of her, sitting into the saddle. I pulled on my helmet and I adjusted to holding onto the horn of the saddle.

"Hegan." I announced as I saw my sister fly off, and we followed my sister up in the sky. I couldn't help the excited laugh that left my lips as my dragon flapped her large wings and showed me what it was really like to ride a red dragon.

When we got to the mountaintop, Nova was the first one landing and hopping off Charys. Words couldn't describe the actual beauty that was in front of my eyes. My brain was scrambled, with all my senses being on overdrive. There were hundreds of warriors on the mountain, but some of them had rounded ears, while others had the slight arch that I had. The mountain which I find out is named, "Hegytetȍ", it means mountaintop in the language of Embery, a language that is spoken in the Kingdom of Red Blaze, which I have to touch base with. As my memory still comes back in waves, I remember most words but I still have to teach myself.

Half of this mountain top is in eternal spring, beautiful red flowers and a beautiful waterfall on this side of the mountain. Fruits, vegetables, and flourishing green grass are underneath Kígyó. I can't help the broad smile that comes across my face, the smell of citrus, and fresh air. The way a small breeze helps cool me down in this fur-lined clothing I am in. I hop off Kígyó and she shakes out her wings, tucking them in tight. A group of warriors eye me and that's when I feel Kígyó's head right next to my head, barring her majestic fangs at them.

'Down girl, I'm okay. They mean no harm.' I soothe her as I turn my head, my head inches from her snout and she lets out a huff of white smoke.

'They better mean no harm. Let's follow your sister.' She speaks and I couldn't help the laugh that left me. Kígyó doesn't scare me but I guess when she's on the receiving end I might be scared of her. I look over to Nova and she's speaking with a group of women, I walk up behind my sister, putting a hand on her shoulder. She smiles as she feels me and Kígyó is still right up behind me, standing next to Charys. Charys is looking over Nova like a hawk, and so is Kígyó but with me. She sniffs the air, her yellow eyes assessing for any threats. She must blame herself for what happened when we got shot down. That's when I place my hand on her long front legs, brushing my hand over the scales and rubbing my hand on her scales. She looks down at me and decides to lay down behind me, I then rub her neck which she greatly appreciates.

"Pluto, I want you to meet the other General's of this mountaintop." My sister announces and I look at all of them, "They are fluent in Draconic. You can speak to them like that, I know you are still studying Embery." She smiles and I nod.

"Prince Pluto," One of them speaks up, her ears are slightly arched, she has rosy-pale skin, deep set cyan eyes, and jet black hair. She has tattoos on her shoulders and the top of her hands. She reaches her hand out and I shake it, "I am General Krizta Nagy. I was born and raised here with your sister." She says with a smile and I nod, and Nova was right, it was fluent draconic.

"Not to be rude, but I thought only the Royals knew the language." I say and Krizta laughs at me.

"One of the requirements to be considered a General for King Kardos is that you have to learn Draconic and be fluent when the test comes up. You must be the Lost Prince everybody keeps talking about." She says and I laugh.

"I am. The one and only." I meet the other General's, and they are all women. Including my sister, there are 4 women in total.

"Although I would love to stay and get updates. I have to train the Lost Prince," My sister teases and I roll my eyes. "Take Charys to the Stables. We are going to take Pluto's Red with us." My sister says and Krizta whistles at Charys, Charys huffs and gets up, following the small woman. That's when I see it, Krizta watches Nova and Nova is definitely having eye-sex with her. The sexual tension is actually gag worthy. "Casanova, let's go." I say and Nova whips her head at me, glaring and starts to walk to the other side of the mountaintop. I whistle at Kígyó and she stands up to follow after us. The other half of the mountaintop is in eternal winter which is why I am guessing she put me in fur lined clothing. The wind is biting at my skin but its bearable with the clothing.

"So the mountain is half winter, half spring?" I ask her, looking around at the snow capped mountain, half of the waterfall frozen in thick ice. Snow blankets the ground, not enough to sink in but it does crunch underneath my boots.

"It is. There's an old Warrior saying, it goes back hundreds of years, whenever they started to use this mountain to train their warriors and their armies. It goes, through the storm, we blossom. Roughly translated over the years but all warriors train in the snowy part of the mountain and when they graduate, they are able to train in the spring side. It's supposed to make you stronger, it's how I trained. It's how I will train you." She smiles and hands me a beanie, to help keep my sensitive ears warm and to protect them from the bitter temperature. I put it over my head and relish in the new warmth it brings me. My sister whistles and I turn around to face her, only for her to put a sword to my neck with a feline smile, "You ready, baby brother?"