The Dragon Rider's Chronicles

Kenzo reddened considerably. "Ah...g-glad to hear," he said sheepishly as they resumed walking. He avoided looking at her for a minute; he was trying to cope with how attracted to her he was. Eventually, that which he had pushed to the back of his mind resurfaced, and he had to ask. "Ardra? Your father...he will be here, won't he?" He stared ahead and slightly down, a serious look on his face.
 
"Call it a reward for mastering the inner flame." Iris called after him. "You won't be getting it before you do that." She chuckled; that should have been enough to motivate him. Otherwise, she'd have to motivate him in other ways and she was feeling far too lazy to do that.


-----


"Yes." Ardra's happiness faded. "He will be here. With his personal guard, my siblings, protecting him." She sighed. "I know that you hate him but please don't do anything rash around him. He's not king simply because of birthright; he's king because he was the strongest of his siblings."
 
Sanz shook his head at Neera's comment.


"I'm not much of a cook, by anyone's definition. Unless you want me to go out and find some meat to roast, I wouldn't recommend my help."
 
"O-okay." Neera quickly turned away, facing Kestus. "...could you use some help?"


"Darling, I think that you could use some help right now. You're as red as my fire is normally." Kestus chuckled. "So another claim has been made..."


"Claim? What are you talking about?" Neera was confused thoroughly.


"I do believe you've claimed that one." Kestus indicated Sanz.


"N-no." Neera's blush deepened. "I h-haven't!"


"...looks like someone's in denial." Kestus mused. "Perhaps I'll have to do a bit of match-making...."
 
Kenzo noticed that Ardra's cheeriness had faded; he gave her a warm grin, his eyes burning in a reassuring way. "I am not so foolish that I would threaten him while he is here on official business. Even then, I would stay my tongue - and my blade - for your sake." He hesitantly took her hand in his as they continued to walk. "I already plan to deny association to the Soromines should he question me. As of last night, I am a man with nothing but my name: Kenzo."
 
Kenzo blushed slightly but his grin widened, and his voice had a slightly teasing tone. "Well, if you insist that you are mine, then very well. I accept you."
 
"Good. Because I was hoping that you were mine as well, I just did not want to assume too much." Ardra blushed slightly.
 
"I am indeed yours. Just...go easy on me, please?" he asked, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "I'm still struggling with these alien emotions that have been brought to light because of you."
 
"....what's easy?" Ardra cocked her head to the side. "I mean, we're in the same boat here. I haven't exactly done this before either...." She trailed off into silence.
 
"Fair point. It appears we both have much to learn. Hopefully we'll be teaching each other," he said, oblivious to possible double-meanings.
 
Matthais went to the hanger and called Sikstaxen. Hello, radiant one. I have information for you. He thought of the conversations Iris and he had earlier. Thus giving her all the information he had. I have been tasked with meditation to try and unlock my 'inner flame.' I'd like to be on the edge of the canyon for this. He continued as he mounted his dragon.
 
Ardra blushed slightly. "....hopefully we can teach each other....." Ardra quickly changed the subject. "I think I heard Draconas say something about the Council getting here some time today."


-----


Ah. So you're finally listening to her? Sikstaxen chuckled. Her wings spread and she started to fly to the edge of the canyon wall.
 
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"...The Council?" Kenzo said blankly. He had little knowledge of current politics because of his lifestyle. "Forgive my ignorance but...what is that?"
 
Matthais rode Sekstaxen to the edge of the canyon and dismounted. There he sat on the edge of the precipice looking down into the darkness and danger that dwelt there. Then he closed his eyes.
 
"That is the ruling body of Dracsofar. Though we are ruled by a queen, she is supported by the Council of Lordship, which has representatives from all countries." Ardra explained. "My father is one of them."


----


Iris had watched Matthais and Sikstaxen disappear from the hangar. She sighed and walked up to a wide set of double doors. Pushing them open revealed Merise standing next to the Aquanine dragon.


"....how is Verspab?" Iris asked.


"She seems to be just fine." Merise smiled up at her. "She's a fighter; no way that a shark can bring her down."
 
If you listened closely you could hear the wind whistle as it went in one of Kenzo's ears and out the other. In other words...he was totally lost.


"I...see..." he lied as they reached the gigantic window. "The Soromines never bothered with politics, so forgive me if I fail to understand the governmental dealings going on." He gazed out the window and his mind instantly began to wander. He unconsciously raised hand and touched his lips, recalling the odd feeling when Ardra kissed him.
 
Matthais focused on the darkness behind his eyes and slowly the noise of the wind dissipated and he was truly alone with his thoughts. His back and arms relaxed as he delved into the darkness. He could feel his magic, that he had learned to tap without this level of meditation long ago. The buzz of his thoughts and worries about the day kept him distracted. He slowly put each one away in the back of his mind, Ardra's father, the prophecy, the end of the world, and the lack of ranged weaponry. He put them away and locked them away and the buzz drifted to a silence.


He started focusing on his magic. He felt it with his imagined hands and peered into with his imagined eyes. It was a sphere of energy. He knew it's exterior well he had used it and tapped it for his magical arts, but he had never delved deep into it before. He slowly moved one hand in and as he did so the magic grew hotter and brighter. It got hotter the further he went and the light lit up his eyes. He touched, what he thought was it's core, and he couldn't bare to touch it for very long at all. He pulled back, and unconsciously tilted his head. He shaped his fingers to become long and probed from all sides.


Nothing, he couldn't get in. He probed for awhile but he couldn't find an access point at all...
 
Sanz raised an eyebrow at the young woman yet again as she continued to stutter slightly. He seemed to either not hear or not grasp what Kestus has said to her


"Are you sure you got enough sleep girl? Your speech is broken up."
 
Ardra smiled, understanding of his actions. She took that hand in her own and kissed it gently. "You seem to still be on the edge of disbelief here."


-------


Sikstaxen's voice entered his mind. You're letting your inner flame manipulate you instead of you manipulate it. It appears to hurt, to be bright, and to be warm, because been able to completely focus on it. Block out everything on the outside, all of your senses, so that you can only feel the inner flame. Even block me out in order to do so. Then try again.


-------


Neera snapped out of it; if there was one thing she hated..... "I am no girl, Sanz. I am a woman and don't you dare forget the difference between the two." She marched off angrily towards the hangar.


-------


Iris stroked Verspab's head and neck, wondering if her dragon could even feel her. This dragon was like a gift from the dragons above for faithfully waiting all this time. It made her feel hope for the future, though she also knew that according to the prophecy much would be lost in order to gain peace again. She could only pray that she could protect these new-found companions from harm.
 
Sanz shook his head as Neera stomped off to the hangar, standing up as he did so.


"Perhaps you should act like a woman instead of a child then."


He didn't wait to see whether she'd heard him or his reaction, but just walked into his own room to get ready for the day.
 
Kenzo stared at her in mild amazement. "Almost everything that's happened since I arrived here has been a brand new experience for me, in a multitude of ways. Riding dragons, conversing with others as though equals, falling in l-" he stopped and reddened, but not only out of normal embarrassment; the word he had almost said was completely alien to him. To be more accurate, he had listed ever experiencing it as 'impossible' because of his position, and had never given it thought until now.
 
Kestus watched Neera trudge away, then Sanz walk away. "....I am surrounded by idiots."


-------


"I didn't catch that last part." Ardra teased, a twinkle in her eyes. She put her arms around him from the front, staring up at him. "But, since it made you turn red, I think I want to hear it."
 
Kenzo's eyes suddenly blazed with...fear?


"I'm...not sure if I'M ready to hear it, though. Nothing I have ever dealt with has been as mentally and emotionally taxing as...this..." He was staring straight down; his hand instinctively went to pull down the brim of his hat, which he wasn't wearing, making him look rather foolish and only furthering his embarrassment. "I've spent ten years as a sword, not a person. I...well, to be rather blunt, I just stopped feeling. I thought I had successfully killed my emotions, that which leads to unreasonable and illogical decisions. I was able to think with my head and my blade. Now..." He shivered slightly, "I'm feeling...........fear..." His eyes were wide as he finished, still staring at his feet. His arms hung limp, but his hands were clenched fists. He grit his teeth as he struggled against the return of irrationality. "There has been but one time that I reacted with my heart in these past ten years, and it led to me cutting a man's hand off with a tree branch, earning me jail time for a year. I'd rather not think about what could happen, given current circumstances." He shut his eyes, desperately trying to shut himself off.
 
Sanz took a shower . . . a LONG shower, washing away both the sweat of his exercise last night as well as the demons of his mind as he calmed himself. After about 20 minutes, he was walking outside of his room, in his normal garb. He started to make his way to the hangar as well, the thumping of his blade reassuring him as he walked down the hall.
 
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