In which I show off

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"You cannot die here, daughter." The voice of Maegrythe said. 

I looked up weakly. The pain in my side was still there, but there was no blood.

Around me was fire, but it didn't take me long to recognize the situation.

Strong soldiers in red marching through the village. Strong soldiers in black marching towards the soldiers in red. Fighting broke out, and fires began. The small village erupted with crying and screams. I looked to my left. My house. Burning in the fire was my house. My mother, Maybelle was dressed in her soft violet nightgown. She stared out at the chaos.

A volley of arrows flew in her direction, then she vanished in dust.

The sound of screaming and crying faded away.

"Maegrythe..." I said. Was she really here? "Are you real?"

Sitting in front of me was the dragoness from all those years ago. The same piercing eyes.

The dragoness smiled, then touched her snout to me.

"Yes, daughter." Maegrythe said.

I smiled widely.

"How?" I said, "how are you here?"

"I am not here." Maegrythe said. "You are with me."

"What?" I said, unsure of what was happening.

Maegrythe had vanished so long ago. Did that mean I was dead?

"No, daughter." Maegrythe said. "You are still alive. But barely. I need you to make me a promise."

"Anything." I said.

"You must find the one with the blessing, daughter." She said. "You must keep your new friend close to you."

"New friend?" I echoed.

"The boy Daniel." Maegrythe said. "He is key to restoring the world's hope."

"What do you mean?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't have much time with you." Maegrythe said. "Your trials will be hard, but you must never lose hope. You must never lose sight of your goal, daughter."

"My goal?" I said. "What do you mean?"

"As we speak, he is rising." Maegrythe said gravely. "Do not let him taint you."

And then everything went dark.

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When I woke up again, I was lying in an unfamiliar bed.

The sheets were fluffy and warm and the frame was strong like an oak. Through a window, the sun's bright rays were almost blinding.

I sat up weakly and noticed bandages wrapped around my side where my wound was. My hair was still in a braid, but it was brushed and cleaned. I also noticed I was wearing new clothes.

Now, I was wearing the same clothes as before, but they were clean. I've never felt so cleansed in my life!

I heard a soft clicking sound, then the door to the room opened. Standing there was Caasi. When she saw me awake, she sighed in relief.

"Thank the Gods!" She cried, running over to me and hugging me.

"Umm... Hello?" I said, unsure of what to say or do.

"You've been out for days!" Caasi said. "Six days, to be exact."

6 days?

"Oh! And Naji, you're dragon, he's all better!"

I sighed in relief, all worries of being out for 6 days seeming to fade.

"Everyone was so worried about you." Caasi said. "They all say you're their savior! Oh, and Daniel told me your name. Ayla, right?"

"Yeah..." I said, nodding half-heartedly.

I thought about my conversation with Maegrythe. Who was the one with the blessing she was talking about?

"Caasi," I said, "Where is it?"

"What do you mean?" Caasi said, tilting her head.

"The Kingdom of Terria." I said. "I need to go there."

"Oh." Caasi said. "It's not to far from here."

I smiled. "Thank you." I said.

"This village." Caasi said, "it's pretty close to the borders. The castle isn't too far away from there. Why?"

"I need an audience with the Queen." I replied, brightening a bit.

Caasi's face brightened. "Oh!" She said, "if you're going to get an audience with the Queen, can I come with you?"

I was silent for a moment.

"I don't see why not." I said. Caasi smiled, then opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced by a knock on the door.

Caasi smiled widely at me, then turned around and got the door.

"Is she ok?" A familiar voice asked.

"Yeah." Caasi said, excitement rining in her voice.

There was a sigh in relief, then a figure appeared.

"Hi." Daniel said.

I thanked the Gods that he wasn't dead.

He wore a cream tunic with a leather vest and grey trousers.

"We're going to go to the Kingdom!" Caasi squealed.

Daniel stepped back. "What?" He said, trying to process what he just heard.

"Ayla needs an audience with the Queen." Caasi said. "She said I could come with her."

Daniel laughed dryly. "No." He said. "It's too dangerous for you."

"Too dangerous?" Caasi echoed. "It's safer than here! And if something happens, I'll be able to heal."

"Yes, but you don't know how to fight." Daniel said.

"Ayla can fight!"

"Well she got stabbed."

"And I healed her!"

"But you would have died."

"I said no, Caasi." Daniel said, putting his foot down.

She looked at him, opened her mouth to speak, closed it, then stormed out of the room.

"I'm sorry." Daniel said after an awkward silence.

"It's fine." I said. "I think she should come. She is a healer. It would just be safer and-"

"No." Daniel said. "I'm not going to let my sister get hurt."

He paused. "For almost two years now," he said. "The same people from before have been... terrorizing this village. If I can get an audience with the Queen to send some soldiers to stop it..." He trailed off.

"So you want to come?" I said, trying to process what was happening.

"Yes." He said with a nod. "I'm the one who taught her how to heal. And I know how to hold a sword, unlike her."

"So you'd want to come?" I asked, remembering Maegrythe's words.

"Yes." Daniel said. "I just want to protect her. And when the fight comes--"

"You're thinking there would be a fight?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah." Daniel said, "just to get into the Kingdom is hard. And to get into the castle?" He laughed, "There are many trials."

"What do you mean?" I asked slowly.

"You don't know?" Daniel asked.

"Don't know... what?" I said.

Daniel was silent for a minute. "To talk with the Queen, you'd need to enter the Trials of the Throne."

"What's that?" I was beginning to grow weary.

"It's a test to see if you're worthy to have the throne." Daniel said.

"What if I fail?" I asked.

Daniel's silence was all the answer I needed. The results would not be very well.

I nodded gravely. 

"You know why I want to go to the Kingdom," Daniel said, "but why do you want to go?"

I couldn't say Queen Calysta is my sister. He would think I was crazy.

"I want to find a home in the Kingdom and settle down." I lied.

He nodded in acknowledgment, obviously buying it. 

I tried to stand up, but my wound stung. I pushed away the pain. I couldn't waste any more time. 

"We leave at sunrise." I said, looking out the window to see the sun setting already. We'd have time to pack.

Daniel nodded, then walked out of the room to pack his belongings. I stood up, then walked out of the room. It took me a few minutes to find my way around the village, but I soon found him. 

Sitting elegantly with his tail wrapped around his him was Naji. But his saddle was no longer on him. There were kids climbing all over him. I looked past them and caught the eyes of anxious mothers and fathers, reaching out their hands and jumping every time a child lost his or her grip.

"I'm the King!" A little boy hollered, sitting on Naji's back. I smiled at the children. Once Naji saw me, he hopped to me, almost knocking the kids off of him. Naji brushed his head on me as a hug. 

"I know." I said, "I'm alive."

Then a man approached me. He wore a pale yellow shirt and a brown apron that was stained and burnt. His eyes were a kind shade of brown and his hair was dark brown. There were black smudges on his face that appeared to be soot or ash.

"Hello, Lady Ayla." The man said. 

"Just Ayla is fine." I said, feeling a bit uncomfortable at the formality of 'Lady'.

"Oh," He said. "Well, Ayla, as a thank you for bring back Daniel and Caasi, I made your dragon, Naji, a new saddle."

 I was speechless. I was never given anything like this. Now that I thought about it, I never had anyone to talk to. Some would call me culturally deprived...I didn't know how to thank him, so I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him. It was a quick awkward hug. 

"Thank you so much." I said, looking at Naji. The old saddle I had for before was, well, old. It was a bit torn, worn, and shredded. 

"You're getting a new saddle!" I squealed. Naji, not really knowing what a saddle was, did not really react. 

"It's right over there." The man said, pointing to a giant leather saddle on some sort of stand. 

I walked to the saddle. Naji bounded after me, children clinging onto him. I ran my hand across the soft leather of the saddle. There were two large leather pouches on each side of the saddle and room for at least three people.

"Thanks again." I said to the man.

He smiled. "Anything for the village's savior."

I smiled, then took it off of it's stand. It was much heavier than I expected. I put it onto Naji, then buckled the straps. It seemed pretty sturdy.

I swung myself onto Naji, avoiding the aweing children.

"Let's give them a real show." I whispered in Naji's ear.

Once I made sure all the children were off of Naji, he spiraled into the air, twisting and turning in the air.

A crowd began to form. There was cheering and clapping. I laughed in delight, despite the fact that I was gripping the reins so hard my knuckles were turning white.

After another minute of flying, we landed. My hair was windblown and knotty. To avoid more conflicts with my hair, I braided it.

People ran to Naji and I, cheering and laughing. I smiled, thinking about how impressed Calysta would be.

Soon the morning would come, and then I would leave. The thought of leaving here made me a bit sad. It was really homey here. I felt accepted and loved. Even though I just met these people, I felt pretty close with them.

I went to the room I was staying in, then fell asleep. I needed all the energy I could get. I would have an early morning tomorrow.