I went downstairs and found Queen Maggie nursing a drink as Dad pushed a tin of coke with ice in my hands.
“This place sure is beautiful,” the queen said.
“The buzzing is a bit distracting,” I replied.
“I don’t know. It has some sort of calming effect.”
“More like the calm before the storm.”
Queen Maggie chuckled as we went over to the verandah and sat down in the big chairs.
“Feels like I’m on vacation.”
“The palace feels like a vacation.”
She giggled. “With the monkeys, they don’t know how many creatures make that horrible noise.”
We made small talk until dinner was called, and we got up to go to the dining area.
It was very plain, but beautiful. A long wooden table was in the middle of the dining room. The queen and king didn’t seem to mind. In fact, they seem to love the ordinary.
Fish dishes that smelled great with garlic potatoes and buttered beans clung to the air as the dishes got brought out. They placed it on the big table they had set out for us. More and more dishes with vegetables and salads got placed down. It was more than enough. Dad said grace and then we dug in.
The food here tasted better. It was like my taste buds went into overdrive from all the flavors.
King Helmut asked David and Connie with her family to join us for dinner and the gesture blew them away, but they accepted.
Both of the owners were super interesting as human beings.
“Do you have any family behind the creepers, David?” King Helmut asked.
Connie’s face fell as she tapped her husband’s hand.
“I lost my rider the night of the creepers.”
“You are a dragon?” Dad asked.
“Yes, I fell in love with my human girl here.” He brushed his fingers against her cheeks and her cheeks turned a shade pink, just like her daughter’s this afternoon. “I’m a Silver Annex and my son Charles is the name carrier of my rider, Charles Benson.”
“What happened?” Queen Maggie wanted to know.
“His home was in the wake of the creepers, or what the scientists had verified. There wouldn’t have been much time for him to evacuate.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that?” Queen Maggie said.
“He had a family on the farm, so I can vouch through a letter to his son. If the farms still exist, you can find rest there. They will know that help has come in some sort of way, give them some hope, maybe start something to help you.”
“It will only be Elena, Blake, Sir Robert and Emanual going through,” King Helmut said before he put another helping on his plate.
“My daughter will not leave without me?”
“And Jako.”
Everyone chuckled at King Helmut’s tone as Dad’s lips curved.
“I’ll write that letter tonight.”
“And please, if you can leave dishes out for the three dragons, that would join us later. We don’t know what time.”
“Oh, we prepared for them. I’ve been looking after a dragon for a long time. His appetite is quite healthy, if you know what I mean,” Connie said and elicited more chuckles on behalf of David.
“Thank you so much. I really appreciate that.” Queen Maggie put another fork of salad and fish in her mouth.
The dinner conversation was really interesting, listening to David’s stories about the old world. The map makers have dotted Etan from all the maps, but David had maps that still had Etan on them.
Dad and I looked through them.
“This was your home, Elena.” Dad tapped on an area on the map called Boliva.
“Boliva.”
“The Leafs are from there too. I was born in those mountains, beautiful mountains, and I doubt that they still exist.”
“I’m so sorry. Queen Maggie was right when she said that so many lost that night.”
“They deserve to be free, and the culprits deserve to be locked up for life.”
I kept staring at the area on the map, which was supposed to be my home.
The buzzing coming from the creepers faded. Or maybe my ears got used to them. I didn’t know, but it was true to what David had said earlier. You get used to them fast.
Dad kept pointing out areas and filled it with stories of what had happened there, until Blake, Emanual and Sir Robert walked through the doors with our luggage.
They were all out of breath, wearing robes as they greeted David and Connie.
“You finally arrived. Isn’t this place just marvelous?” Queen Maggie’s voice came from the stairs that led up to the rooms.
“You are too kind,” Connie said as David spoke to Sir Robert.
I left Dad’s side and rushed over to Blake, who had put down my bag among the others.
I picked it up.
“Hello to you too. How was the flight, Blake?” He spoke in a high pitched voice. “Not too bad. I had to slow down for these slow pokes to keep up.”
I giggled with Connie and Queen Maggie. “Hello. I’m with Master Longwei. It’s been a few hours.”
“And before that, an entire week.”
“Okay, fine. Hello, and I don’t have to know about the flight as you would just complain about the slow pokes. I need a shower.” I took my bag and went to my room.
The shower was great, and I towel dried my hair and put it in a messy bun as I rushed back downstairs.
Blake, Emanual and Sir Robert replaced their robes for comfortable jeans and shirts and were busy hoovering down their meals. I grabbed the chair closest to Blake as everyone kept them company while they ate.
“I would like to go to the creepers tonight. Are they far from here?”
Emanual stopped eating as he looked at Blake and Sir Robert had a curve around his lips.
“What?” Blake shrugged his shoulders at Emanual.
“You don’t feel like taking a rest first, Blake.”
“I just want to look. I didn’t say I want to go through.”
“You can have a look tomorrow, too.”
“I want to be prepared.”
“Meaning I have to go with.”
“You don’t have to.”
“The foretelling said both of us, otherwise it would have stated the Rubicon alone.”
“Okay, fine. Please come with me to the creepers tonight so that we can check them out?”
“Aren’t you tired?”
Blake’s lips curved slightly. “No, I’m not.” He placed his napkin down as he finished eating. “Connie, the food was a ten out of ten.”
“Thank you, Blake. I’m so glad that you enjoyed it.”
“I’ll take you to the creepers tonight.”
“I’m coming with you,” Dad said.
“I think we all wanted to go with on this one,” Queen Maggie spoke for all of us and, as one, the rest nodded.
“Charlie?” David looked at his son, sitting next to Shelby. “Please pull out the truck.”
“A queen and a princess on a truck, Dad?”
“Hey, I wasn’t always a queen.”
“I wasn’t always a princess.”
Everyone laughed as Charles got up and went to get the keys. He walked outside as Blake helped with taking the dishes to the kitchen.
He sure came with lots of perks.
We all went outside to where the truck waited and most of us got on the back, including the queen and king. I didn’t see them as royalty anymore. Here they were like normal people and treated others like their equals. That was what I loved about the McKenzie’s. I doubted King Caleb would sit on the back of a truck, or the princess of Areeth. They would probably demand a carriage.
I sat in front of Blake. My heart was slightly pounding, but I knew I would not do this alone and thanked my stars for that prophecy that it included Blake.
The hissing had quieted down completely. There was a tiny hum coming from them now, but you have to listen carefully to hear it.
David stopped the truck, and we all climbed off. We were quite a distance from the creepers, who seemed to sleep.
Dad looked as if he was about to throw up, but I knew he didn’t fear them. He was afraid for me. My stomach twirled too, feeling what Dad probably felt.
“There you have them, Blake.”
“What used to be on the other side, the farms, right?”
“Yes, about a mile that way,” David pointed to the right, “is the start of the farms, if the creepers did not consume them. Who knows how long it would take to walk through them?”
Blake nodded. “I guess this is it.” He walked forward. There wasn’t a trembling scale or hair on that guy as he walked toward them.
“Blake, be careful. They can sneak up on you,” David warned.
He nodded, keeping his eyes on them, and kept moving forward. When he got about ten steps toward them, one lashed out, making all of us jump. My heart pounded inside my chest as a nauseating feeling erupted, releasing a yelp. Queen Maggie and Sir Robert yelled Blake’s name who dodge the creeper and moved fast backward. I cupped my mouth, staring at the scene in front of me in horror.
They hissed like cats at Blake, revealing rows and rows of teeth.
“They have changed little in fifteen years,” Emanual said. “Still as nasty as the day they emerged.”
“The prophecy said both of them. Elena was right, she has to go with him.”
“In that, are you mad,” the queen lashed at her husband.
“I didn’t foresee them going through the creepers, love.”
Blake reached us and I could see the unsettling twitch of his eyes and pump in his jaw muscles.
“You okay?”
“They are sneaky. It’s like they are intelligent or something.”
“Oh, they are very smart. You should see them hunt.”
“Hunt?” Dad and I asked at the same time. I remember the animals who didn’t stand a chance. Some of them really got close. That was meant to be their plan. They hunt.
“David has a thing for herbology. He loves plants,” Connie said.
“I just haven’t figured them out yet. But they are carnivores as much as they are plants.”
My gaze flickered to Dad.
“Bear, if you are not ready—”
“Whether I go in now doesn’t make a difference, Dad. It would be a few hours from now if I didn’t do this tonight.”
“You trust me?” Blake asked, reaching his hand for mine.
I nodded as I walked forward.
“Elena.”
“It wasn’t me that said to claim him. It was you and you, so shh.”
Dad didn’t think any of this was funny. “Blake, be careful.”
“Yeah.” He walked in front of me as I clung to his arm, trying to look past him at the creepers.
They were restless again, and we actually walked a few steps closer before they struck again. Blake punched the one away in time and we moved back so fast.
I was close to tears. How the hell were we going to get through?
My legs trembled and my heart pounded like crazy behind my ribcage as we reached the others.
“How?” Blake looked at his dad as Queen Maggie’s words rang in my mind. It’s me, it’s not Blake. I had to be in front, but I didn’t want to voice it.
Blake and Sir Robert were muttering to each other.
“No,” Blake said.
“Son?”
“Dad, I can’t.”
“What if it’s the only way?”
“It said both of us. She can’t do this by herself.”
“Put her in the front,” King Helmut said.
“Helmut!”
“Love, it’s both of them, but I think Blake’s arrangement was wrong. She needs to be first. Something tells me they would smell her when they get close and ignore whoever is in the back, as her scent would be first.”
“You don’t know that.”
“They got closer that time. Was I the only one that saw that?”
“No, I saw it too,” David said, and my gaze flickered to Blake.
He looked as white as my dad.
“This was your idea.”
“Not with you at the front,” Blake said.
“You are fast. Let’s just see what they are going to do. There might be something to this.”
“Elena.”
“Dad, this was your idea to prove that I’m the princess. You know I am their daughter, so why are you afraid?”
“At the lashing. What if they sunk their teeth into you? What then?”
“She would be out for two weeks,” Emanual said.
“Maybe not. Blake has healing powers.”
Blake bit his lower lip, squinting at the creepers. “That’s still a bit messed up with healing others?”
“Are we going to give it one more try?”
“Yeah, okay?” Blake walked towards me and put me in front of him as we walked closer. He made sure that he protected all my sides.
“Close your eyes, Elena, and trust me.”
I nodded and closed my eyes. He walked us forward.
“Blake,” Dad’s voice came.
“Shh,” someone said as we kept on walking. Hissing came, but no strike. A deep growl vibrated from Blake’s chest as the hissing was really close and I was too scared to open my eyes, but that was all that happened.
“It’s working,” Queen Maggie said as the rest was all quiet. Blake kept walking.
“Blake,” Dad yelled, but he kept walking. He gasped. “Open your eyes, Elena.”
I opened my eyes and saw the most beautiful glow of purple and pink flowers. I looked around us and everyone had disappeared.
“Where are we?”
“Inside the creepers. King Helmut was right.” His lips curved.
“We are inside?”
“It’s you. They came freakishly close, but they didn’t strike. They let us through.”
“Are you serious?” The happiness started to boil inside of me. The ancients couldn’t take them away from me now. I jumped on him and wrapped my legs around his waist as he laughed.
“You are not going anywhere. You are all mine.”
“I’m not a possession, Elena.”
I chuckled.
“Besides, I didn’t care what the old farts were going to say. There was no way that I would leave you.” He planted his lips on me and kissed me.
The kiss broke as he looked at the flowers again. “Outside is monstrous, but inside is pure magic.”
He could say that part again and then he put me down. “Let’s see how far this goes.”
“Blake?”
“We won’t exit. I just want to see how far it goes, Elena.”
I nodded, and we walked.
Through the stalks, we passed houses, or what was left of houses. The creepers destroyed some, where others were still intact. We didn’t dare go near. The only thing that entered my mind was skeletons inside.
Finally, we reached the end. “This is it. It’s not that far.”
“So you think the farms still exist?”
“Definitely,” he whispered.
We didn’t go near the edge again, but Blake plucked a flower from each color as we walked to the other side.
“This is like our only place, Elena. Nobody could follow.”
“My dad is going crazy with worry about now, not to mention your dad, so before you get any ideas, let’s go back before they are going to do something stupid.”
He chuckled. “Party Pooper.”
“Take that back. I actually walked in first.”
“Fine, you are the only one that can get through the creepers.”
“No, you were with me.”
“They didn’t stop for me, Elena, or parted. King Helmut was right.”
We neared the beginning, and I got ready to get in front of Blake when he scooped me up and walked out as if it was nothing. I kept my eyes closed as the creepers hissed again.
“Enough,” Blake yelled at them and everyone blew out air as we walked out.
King Helmut laughed and applauded as we got a safe distance from the creepers and Blake put me down.
“It’s amazing inside,” Blake said and gave David two flowers that were busy losing their glow.
“They glow?”
“Busy fading now, but as bright as a firefly’s butt.”
David looked at it and started speaking herbal jargon that made absolutely no sense, but one thing was for sure, he definitely knew his plants.
“How far in, Blake?” His father stepped closer.
“The farms still exist. It’s about a mile, Dad. Not that big even. The scientists are way off.”
“Do the farms still exist?” Connie asked, and Blake nodded.
The joy they both elicited rolled off them through laughter. “Oh, that is wonderful news. It means Marcus and Gerty might still be alive.”
“I’ll get that letter for you.”
“I need you to take me in, Elena,” Emanual said.
“Emmanuel,” Blake said.
“We all need to go in, Blake. There is a theory that I have. I’m just as fast as you. I won’t let anything happen to her. You have my word, but I need to know if she can take people in without your help.”
Blake growled.
“It’s enough for one night,” Dad said.
“It’s okay, Dad. Just as long as he leads. Hearing the hissing is bad enough.”
Dad grunted, and Emanual waited for me. I stepped in front of him as he held me the same way Blake had. It felt awkward and I could feel Blake’s concern that this might not work at all.
“They are doing it,” Helmut said, and the hissing came again. Emanual didn’t even flinch, but I was sure he stared them in the face.
When he gasped and the black behind my eyes lit up, I knew we were inside.
“It’s you, Elena. Blake has another part to this prophecy.”
“Don’t say that.”
“Well, they said both of you. You are the one that can get us through. He has to do something else on this side. Something you don’t have to be part of.”
“They said both of us.”
“Irene’s foretelling is not always clear. It sometimes comes out muffled and has double meanings. Believe me, your father wouldn’t want to put you in any more danger than you already are.” His gaze flickered toward the glowing flowers again and the color of his bald head glowed in the light. He was quite handsome, but then again, all the dragons’ human figures were beautiful.
“It truly is beautiful inside.” He looked around and saw houses. He walked toward the house.
“Emanual, please.”
“They are dormant inside. I’ll be okay.”
“It’s not that. What if there are bodies in there?”
“Elena, it’s fifteen years. It’s only skeletons.”
“Yeah, I haven’t seen a real one, just an artificial one, and I would like to keep it like that.”
“Then stay, I’ll be fast.”
He climbed through the roots toward the house. I hated waiting alone, and Blake would have a field day for taking this advantage. I kept staring at the beauty of the flowers until Emanual came back through the giant roots.
“And?”
“Nothing for you to know. But David was right. None of these people had time to evacuate.”
“There were people in there.”
“Skeletons, Elena. Relax. Nobody is alive in the core.”
I nodded, and we walked back to the entrance.
“You want to make your dragon crazy?”
“Oh, what are you going to do?”
He scooped me up, and I giggled. “He is going to kill you.”
“I’m not scared of the pup. Even if he is the alpha.”
I closed my eyes as Emanual ran through and laughed when Blake elicited his irritation.
“Relax. David was right, they didn’t get any time to evacuate. There are a couple of houses in the core. I went into one.”
“And.” Queen Maggie wanted to know.
He shook his head.
“Where was Elena when you went on your stroll?” Blake asked, sounding not impressed.
“Relax. The core is dormant. I stayed by the beautiful flowers as I had no interest in seeing dead people.”
“Emanual,” Helmut said.
“It’s dormant inside.”
“We don’t know if it’s just this side blocking anyone from existing. The other side could not be like this side. What if someone entered and saw her?”
“Nobody did, and I doubt that this is the only side that is vicious. The other side isn’t open. It’s closed with creepers too. It only attacks from the outside.”
Blake rubbed my back as his nostrils flared slightly.
“Relax, I’m okay.”
“Still, King Helmut is right.”
“A mile?” Sir Robert asked.
“Yeah, it’s not that wide. There might be more places still existing than we originally thought.”
“Okay, I need to make a few phone calls. Are we calling it a night?”
“Yeah, it was enough excitement for one day,” Blake said.
“You are the princess,” King Helmut said, and all of us voiced our feelings. “What?” He looked at his wife.
“I never doubted her.”
“Oh, me neither, she is Al’s mini-me. I’m just saying, the ancients better relax now. She entered and exited twice. Should we call them too, to come and see? Maybe scare one and take them inside,” King Helmut said, still making jokes.
“No, it’s okay. I might just leave Duclin there.”
That elicited laughter from anyone as we made our way back to the truck.
