Dragons Fly

Ursula stood on the precipice, looking toward the distant castle. She pulled her hood close. Tethered nearby, her horse grumbled as it ate from a hay bale.

“Why am I here? I should be attending Queen Hannah… not tending livestock.”

She looked into the cave at the she dragon. Brooding, Safire rested in her nest. Sunlight from the cave entrance shone off its scales, warming the cave with a rosy glow. Ursula had never seen anything alive so huge. Stepping up to Safire’s eye, she smoothed her hair in the reflection. Safire watched impassively.

Hannah told Ursula this was the most important service she could provide. Ursula didn’t get it. ‘How demeaning… It’s a dragon.’

Yearning for the castle’s warmth, she tossed a stick onto the campfire hissing at the cave entrance. Ursula poured herself a tea from the pot resting by the fire.

With her little finger extended, she sipped. Ursula curtsied to the creature watching from the shadows.

“Some tea, Miss Saffy…?” She pouted. “Oh… Not thirsty? Too bad.” She emptied the cup and looked for relief from her boredom.

“I’m told you lay eggs. Are you second cousin to a chicken?”

Thinking of omelets, Ursula wished she were by a real fire in the castle.

The cave floor vibrated as Safire stirred and groaned deeply. It twitched its tail.

Ursula hadn’t seen the dragon this active. She stood clear of the tail’s sweep.

The dragon snorted a plume of smoke and turned like a cat seeking comfort. It looked back into its nest to see three fresh eggs nestled together. The size of a helmet, they shined like polished marble.

Thrilled at the sight, Ursula gasped and ran outside. “At last! The dragon has borne hatchlings. The Queen must know at once.”

She mounted her horse and rode to the castle.

A butterfly flitted about the cave entrance, ventured in and settled on Safire’s left horn. Its wings fanned the tendrils of smoke drifting from Safire’s nostrils. Eddies and whorls of smoke twirled into a haze.

Safire’s eyes flared for a moment and with a quiet groan, she laid a fourth egg. The butterfly went aloft and flew out of the cave.

Turning again, Safire accidentally nudged the new egg with her tail. It rolled from the nest into a dark corner. The dragon grunted and sent warm breath toward the lone egg. Safire kept vigil on each.

Galloping into the courtyard, Ursula dismounted and breathlessly passed the reins to an attendant. She ran into the castle, not stopping until she’d reached her Queen’s chambers.

She told everyone, “News for the Queen!”

She was known. All let her pass.

Gasping, Ursula ran into the Queen’s bedchamber and curtsied to Hannah.

Hannah nodded. “Yes, Ursula. You have news?”

“Your Highness…!”

Hannah looked about. No one else stood in attendance.

“Please cease these tedious formalities, Ursula. Do you think I fancy being regarded like a jewel? We’re alone…”

“Yes, your Highness. It’s a habit discarded at my peril. I dread others thinking you spend time with riffraff.”

“Yes. Of course. But get on. Why scurry so?” Hannah’s face changed. “You were with the dragon, Safire… Did she…?”

Grinning, Ursula nodded.

Hannah clapped her hands. “How wonderful!”

A footman entered and bowed. “Your clap summoned me, your Highness?”

Hannah waved him off. She whispered, “One…? Two…?”

“Three! Miss Hannah. They’re like jewels.”

Smiling, Hanna settled back. “Noggin will be so pleased.”

Ursula curtsied.

Hannah said, “We must plan a party!”

~

Scathingwell, Captain of the Guards, noted Ursula’s arrival and reported directly to Prince Blister. No secrets, however dark the castle.

“Well done, Scathingwell. This is long awaited news. I’ll tell the King. Carry on but stay close. We’ll be getting busy.”

Scathingwell bowed and withdrew.

Prince Blister had lunch with King Gravel, his uncle. On hearing the news, the king tapped his flagon to his nephew’s and downed it. The waiter refilled the flagons as they touched the table.

“Very good. This will change everything, boy.”

Prince Blister smiled. Greedy for affirmations, he especially craved his uncle’s. King Gravel’s crown came to him by marrying Queen Hannah, a political union. But he wore it as a birthright.

The king continued. “That dragon may be Hannah’s, but its progeny are mine. Breed, they may, like rabbits… I own the hutch.”

They laughed and drank.

“We’ll raise the trio as secret weapon, boy. Train them straight from their shells. No army can withstand three dragons. Hah!”

He slammed his flagon down and snapped his fingers.

Prince Blister said, “And by ‘no army,’ you mean…?”

King Gravel chuckled. “That blackguard Boscoe, of course. That pretender’ll ne’er contrive our plans… But yes, any army... Can’t you see their coattails flaming? Hah! Even Satan’s legions would scatter… Keep me apprised of their progress, pup. May you soon have your own dominion.”

Drinking nonstop, they joked into the evening. Hannah joined them for dinner. She found their in-joke giggles curious but dismissed them. Their habitual consumption of grog established their puffy demeanor. She had an acute sense of smell.

~

The first three hatchlings, Drake, Ormar, and Cadmus, emerged from their shells ready for action. Though not yet able to fly, they roughhoused about the cave as young dragons are wont.

The youngest, Serafina hatched the next day. Mild in temperament, she kept to the periphery. Welcomed to the fray, their rambunctiousness left her behind.

Noggin, their father, flew them to the meadow on his back. There, he taught them dragonish skills – fire breathing, roaring, flying and maneuvering.

Appearing excluded, Serafina didn’t lag behind. Rather, she set her pace and amused herself. While the brothers staged an aerial show, Serafina sniffed flowers.

Noggin doted on her. He urged her to surpass the others. But Serafina had her own ways and time.  

When Noggin roared, the brothers caught on immediately. They competed for the loudest roar and which could breathe their flames the furthest.

Serafina tried. But instead of a roar, the squeak she produced brought laughter and derision. Even Noggin struggled to suppress a dragonish chuckle. He knew she would never be scary.

Ursula’s sole responsibility was to report on Safire’s eggs to Hanna. She told the Queen exactly one week after they hatched.  

Fulfilling the king’s wishes, Prince Blister sent Scathingwell and his guards to capture the three hatchlings. Under cover of night, they subdued Safire and captured the hatchlings while Noggin was away.  Drake, Ormar, and Cadmus were collared, chained to a wagon bed, and confined in the castle’s dungeon.  Their military training began the next morning.

Knowing only of the three, they overlooked Serafina.

Scathingwell and Prince Blister brought King Gravel to the jousting grounds for a demonstration of their captives’ skills.

Tethered with ropes held by guards, Drake, Ormar, and Cadmus soared and dove. Failing to free themselves, they did their best to enjoy captivity. The guards dodged about, to avoid entangling their ropes. Colliding and nearly losing control brought laughter, but not from the king.

King Gravel said, “Acrobats don’t win wars. Dish me out terror.”

Prince Blister said, “But this is what they do.”

“Train them to exceed their nature. These dragons are dumb beasts. I want killing machines. The enemy must fear us.”

They bowed. “Yes, my liege.”

“Tell me when they are ready. We have a war to win.”

“We do? What war is that?”

“I told you. The one with that hag borne whelp, Boscoe.”

Scathingwell trained Drake, Ormar, and Cadmus to the most elite military standards. They marched, crawled, and scaled walls, everything a human soldier must do. Scathingwell knew nothing of a dragons’ abilities. This was torture.

King Gravel summoned the prince.

Blister bowed deeply. “Yes, Sire?”

“The hatchlings must be ready a week hence. Minstrels sing my praises to the world. And thanks to them, it laughs at that ass, Boscoe.”

“But…”

“You have doubts?”

“No, Sire.”

~

With her brothers absent, Serafina found ways to entertain herself. She taught herself to fly by chasing butterflies. And how to maneuver when they chased her. Doomed to disappointment, she practiced her ‘roar’ for hours. Serafina felt a failure. She knew she’d never match her brothers.

She didn’t envy Drake, Ormar, and Cadmus living in the luxurious castle. She wished them well.

Serafina kept practicing her roar, trying to measure up. One morning, she stood atop a hill and let out her best roar. It wasn’t scary. She was shocked to see the fields bloom in a profusion of flowers. A cloud of butterflies rose and fluttered about her head.

Clouds darkened the horizon. It rained that night.

~

“We’re done in! Finished! Enemies at the gate!” Guards ran through the castle halls calling warnings.

Queen Hannah peered over the parapet. Enemy forces approached, with battle flags unfurled.

Prince Blister offered, “’Tis King Boscoe, our pestilent neighbor, your Highness. He calls for the King’s head on a pike.”

“Then he holds Gravel in higher esteem than I do.”

Several suppressed chuckles. Everyone knew Queen Hannah and King Gravel were barely cordial.

Hannah said, “Tell Boscoe to depart. We have no quarrel.”

“Message for the Queen!” A page ran up with a sealed parchment for Hannah. “From the enemy camp, your Highness.”

She examined the seal, opened it and having read, looked up. “Gravel provoked this attack? Are our citizens but refuse to be picked at by vultures?”

The prince whispered in her ear. “We devised a sure road to victory. We await your assent.”

“And what thorny path will fend off this attack? Boscoe’s army doubles our own.”

“Come hither…”

Blister led Hannah down to the dungeon. The cold walls seeped from the moat. She held her nose.

Blister pointed, “Our secret weapons…”

In horror, Hannah saw the hatchlings, Drake, Ormar, and Cadmus. They lay chained to the walls with iron collars, looking like drowned bats.

“Do they live?”

Blister said, “Of course. Saving energy for the battle!”

“Who did this?” she demanded.

Blister puffed up and declared. “I did, your Highness. I designed all their training.”

“They’re ill.”

“Perhaps the rain…”

Hannah directed the guard. “Release their chains. Get them into the sun…”

Blister took charge. He stood in the cell directing the guards. Three guards carried them out.

She said, “Let them mend. Set them free.”

Hannah slammed the cell door with Blister still inside. He tried the door. It held fast. His eyes bugged.

She said, “Pray they recover, varlet. I’ll deal with you anon.”

“But the battle!”

Hannah left without answering.

On the parapet, a crowd watched the invaders prepare their attack.

Hannah returned to hear King Gravel say, “Why the delay? Where’s Blister? Attack! Damn it…”

Scathingwell said, “We’re out numbered, Sire.”

“That’s what secret weapons are for, dolt! Set them on the vermin!”

Hannah confronted him. “You did this?”

“Whoa! Have you slept in the gutter? Bathe while you can. We’re under attack.” He called out, “Where are my dragons?”

“Your dragons? My Noggin’s hatchlings!”

Gravel waved her off. “Not now. The battle’s nigh… Oh!”

The crowd shouted. The invaders were moving. Arrows rained down on them. They dragged a catapult into position. Teams carried assault ladders for scaling castle walls.

“Release the dragons! Dammit! Where’s Blister?”

“He’s gone…” Hannah tugged at him. “Sue for peace. Don’t sacrifice my people for silly games.”

Gravel turned. “You won’t think me silly when your head’s on the block… Blister!”

“The knave is gone.”

“Your wit is in deficit, Hannah. What scurvy tune do you sing?”

“The hatchlings won’t aid you. They’re freed. Blister’s in the dungeon.”

Gravel stopped and stared.

“Then we’re lost. Undone.”

Neither moved. Hannah said, “Fix it.”

“After you dashed my plan?”

Hannah walked away. Gravel returned to the parapet.

People began to point and shout. A cloud like formation loomed on the horizon. Moving fast and growing larger, fluttering wings became visible.  

It was Serafina accompanied by thousands of butterflies.

The invaders turned and stopped awestruck. Thousands of butterflies swirled about.

Hovering overhead, the hatchling dragon sang out in a voice pure, sweet, and heavenly. Weeping with joy, the invaders lay down their arms in supplication. Serafina sang again. They rose to dance.

King Gravel called out.  “Attack! Lay them waste! Attack!”

The drawbridge chains rattled as it descended. Savagely screaming soldiers poured into the field to counter the invaders. As they closed on their foes, Serafina sang. Gravel’s men stopped, stunned. Responding to her song, they too dropped their weapons and danced. Both armies sang with Serafina’s ethereal song.

What would have been a killing field had transformed into a party. No one thought of fighting or lifting a weapon. They had Serafina’s song in common. And needed nothing else.

Footmen served food and raised tents.

Serafina landed and was greeted by cheers. Noggin arrived and claimed his daughter. They were guests of honor.

Drake, Ormar, and Cadmus were brought into the party, weary and sniffling, but improving. Serafina curtsied to them. She sang and they perked up. Noggin warmed them with his breath.

When recovered sufficiently, they all took flight. Cheers arose when the five dragons went aloft. Noggin took them to their cave to visit Safire.

King Gravel hesitated to join the throng. He only responded to Boscoe hailing him as a friend.

Instruments were brought. The dancing and singing lasted until moon rise.

The next day, Hannah banished Blister from her kingdom. She had him carried off, not by the dragons, but by butterflies. She wouldn’t deign to waste the dragon’s time on such a lowly task.

Noggin, Safire and their four hatchlings lived happily ever after.