KAHLUA & KHAN

The queen slept quietly as the dawn trudged closer, her body lying in the grass close to the shattered remnants of the wall. Beside her, in her basket as it had been for the past several weeks, was the egg that had been gifted to her. In the fading moonlight and rising sunlight, it took on an eerie shimmer that only the few awake woodland creatures might appreciate. No, the Sunshower did not awaken from her sleep until the egg was nothing left but collection of shattered shell scattered in her basket and on the ground around it. Her dreams had been quiet for once, no nightmares to plague her, but the sweet serenity had been invaded by the mind of another and it jolted the queen awake.

Lifting her head suddenly, the queen looked about for some sort of intruder or equine that had joined her. She had almost, joyously, come to believe that the egg was not going to hatch, having taken so long to do so; however, when her eyes finally settled back on her basket, she found that her hopes to be shattered. In the place of the egg was an ungainly little creature, blue and feathered, small nubs of horns on his head and the beginnings of sharp claws on his feet. As her blue eyes fell upon his green, he crooned her a reptilian song, demanding her attention. As she rose to her feet, the Sunshower could only stare as she tried to process the sensation of the draconian presence that had invaded her mind.

How long she and the winged beast stared at one another was beyond measure, the queen finally interrupted from her musings as a sound nearby along the wall distracted. Quickly turning her head away, doing her best to ignore the new responsibilities that were now looming over her head (how was she even supposed to take care of a dragon!?!), the queen saw one of her warriors whom she had unfortunately been unable to meet as of yet. “Hello,” she called softly, her voice lackluster and hollow. She was supposed to love this creature, to care for it, to know it intimately and to be as connected to it as she was to her own soul. And she wanted to be happy, she really did, but all she saw as she returned her gaze to the little dragon was chains, cages, responsibilities. She closed her eyes and lifted her head to the heavens. Gods give her strength for this task, she was going to need it.

Lowering her nose, she returned her gaze to Parelia, adding, “What are you doing up so early?” All the while, she was trying so very hard to ignore the insistent press in her mind from the young dragon who was attempting to vie for her attention.

@[Parelia]