Afezaria: The Tale of the Dragon Speaker - Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE: THE DRAGON SPEAKER

Lanterns lit up the grand city of Ala as if the entire city were a live coal, or a lit beacon in the night. The lanterns were each wrapped in a coloured shade that altered the glow that each cast. Most of the lanterns were red, though some were yellow or orange. The colour depended on where the lanterns were in the city. If the lantern happened to be near the centre of the city, near the great alabaster palace, then the lantern would be red. If the lantern were far off, nearing the edge of the city, then it would be shaded yellow and the paper was thick so that most of the light didn’t escape.

The city square was alive with music as well. In the centre of the square, the people had placed down wooden floors so that they wouldn’t damage the street or their shoes by dancing. The adults danced on the middlemost slip of wood in two lines. The people that were in each line had their arms wrapped around each others’ shoulders and they tapped their feet heavily to create a strong beat on the wood. They moved to the side with each couple that danced down the aisle of people, dancing to the music of fiddles and a bandoneon. As they danced, they sang a gay melody:

The Dragon Speaker has been born

The Dragon Wars are at their end

The Dragons all are forlorn

For the Dragon Slayer we will send

Your days are numbered, mighty drake!

The tide is quickly coming in

For action she will soon undertake

Our Dragon Speaker is sure to win

The children danced in circles around the adult’s feet, imitating the song that they sang with horrendous fault. They sang what they heard and they heard what was incorrect, but they didn’t care as the song had no meaning. It was simply a melody to them.

The city was full of smiles and laughter. Every giggle, chortle or chuckle rose into the sky like every size of bell imaginable. Every single smile seemed to shine like a star. The city of Ala was in bliss, wallowing in the anniversary of the birth of their Dragon Speaker. However, there was one person in this city who was nearly entirely unhappy. This one person was the Dragon Speaker herself: Inara.

She was rueful as she gripped onto the marble railing of her balcony. Her icy blue eyes gazed out at the people who were so enjoying her day. No. This is the people’s day. It has always been their day. It has never been the birthday of Inara. It’s always been the coming of the Dragon Speaker, the one who will end the War... She was rueful, if there were one word to describe her complex feeling for the holiday.

“I hate my birthday.” Inara said, digging her fingernails into the marble, coming off with dust beneath her fingernails. Her thin, red dress swept over her thighs in the wind, the golden cord that wrapped around her waist flowing and ebbing like the surface of a white river. She looked so majestic, with her soft brown hair billowing behind her like a cape in a strong mountain breeze. It was so hard to imagine that she had the capacity to hate with how divine she was. She was divine from her hairless legs to her silky hair covered head.

“Why is that?” His voice came from the darkness of her room. He stepped forward, green orbs piercing through the darkness and waterfall red hair catching the light of the city, making him seem to glow. “I, for one, love your birthday.”

“Be quiet, Flaré.” Inara ordered. The man in subject knew that she was very much vexed by the kingdom. She only ever became aggressive with him when she was very dramatically unhappy.

Flaré stepped out from her room, passed the fluttering white curtains and onto the balcony, standing beside Inara. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her torso, curling around her and fitting to her body. He leaned down and kissed her bare shoulder delicately, seven times.

“My sweet Goddess,” He whispered in her ear and kissed its shell in a most pleasurable manner, “do not let the people make you upset. Remember that I still care for your birthday.” He continued to kiss over her ear before he pulled back and turned her to face him. “Your special day will always be my special day for it was the day that you, my wonderful and beautiful Inara, was found. We saved you on this day. It’s as close as we have to your birthday.”

“Don’t say that, Flaré.” Inara scoffed, gripping onto his leanly built forearms. “How long did it take you to come up with that? Did it take as long as your battle strategy had?”

“No.” Flaré frowned and gripped onto her waist tighter, to show her that he was not happy with her bringing that up once more. He was horrible with not only patience, but strategizing as well. The last instance of this, he had gone head on into a battle that he was clearly unqualified for. He didn’t plan, nor did he take advantage of his surroundings. He was quick to fall to his opponent and this took his pride from him. “I don’t want to hear about that.” He said in retort to Inara’s comment. She was clearly angry if she brought that up.

She took in a deep breath before she leaned back against Flaré. “All right. I won’t speak about it. I only want tonight to be a night for me. Everything always surrounds me, but none of it is ever about me. It’s always about the Dragon Speaker and never about Inara. I want a night for me.”

“I’m sure that after I’ve said what I have, no one will be thinking about the Dragon Speaker.” Flaré told her with a small smirk upon his soft lips, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

“What do you have up your sleeve?” Inara asked before the answer was whispered in her ear. Her face lit up as red as the lanterns that illuminated the city. “You would really have the audacity to pull a stunt like that in front of your father? You know that he would be unhappy with that.” She said, to which she received a curt nod. “You really are serious about it. I almost believed that you were joking...”

“I wouldn’t ever joke about something so serious, my Inara.” Flaré said, taking her hand and drawing in the attention of the crowd with a loud whistle. “I have something to announce!

“To you, she is known as the Dragon Speaker,”- there was loud applause to this, but it died down quickly as the prince was not yet finished with his speech, which he showed by raising his hand high in the air, palm facing the audience- “but I know her as Inara. Inara has spent her entire life of eighteen years in this castle, under my protection and I’ve grown very affectionate toward her. I feel that, since it is her birthday this evening, I should share a special secret with you all.” He said, gently kissing the blushing girl’s cheek. His eyes cast down into the crowd and to the private booth for the King to make his announcements. The King was standing down there, glaring up at his son with a hateful look. How dare his son make an announcement without permission! “Inara and I are due to be married sometime this autumn.”

Flaré’s eyes moved to his father once more and he could see his father turn into a ravenous hound in the second that followed. His eyes seemed to catch fire and his face turned beet red in rage. The King stormed from his booth and into the castle, most certainly headed for Inara’s room.

Flaré quickly turned to Inara. “We need to run.” He told her and took her hand. “Come on.” He urged before he absconded with her, hurrying down the halls and stairways of the maze-like palace. It took them a good five minutes before they were able to escape the capture of the King. There was barely enough time for Inara to kick off her debilitating shoes as they quickly came to the forest that lingered behind the castle. The forest was very large and stretched for miles upon miles, dark green and alive with endless rippling waves. It was like a sea of flickering green, speckled with white eyes that would blink in the night. The branches of the trees seemed to reach out to the couple, beckoning for them to embrace the warmth of the twisting, winding, dirt path that led them into the heart of the forest, away from the pursuing guards. The hand that clasped onto Inara’s was so warm an inviting, guiding the couple into the forest. “Come on.” The words repeated, falling away from Flaré’s lips like the smell of freshly baked bread from a bakery. The Dragon Speaker couldn’t help but follow.

Down the winding path they went, delving deeper into the comforting darkness; the darkness was hiding them from their pursuers. It was their refuge and it was their ally.

“Hold on, Flaré.” Inara whispered in a harsh tone. She knew that this was the only way to get his attention. The tall, redheaded prince halted in the middle of the road and whirled around to face her. His eyes looked wild and free; he was enjoying this chase. It made him feel alive.

“What is it? Are you tired?” Flaré asked quickly. He didn’t want to stop. He didn’t want them to be caught and, even though he knew that they were already out of danger, he could feel the breath of the guards running down his neck. He looked like a very handsome wild animal, red hair surrounding his head like tendrils of fire and blue eyes glazed like the glowing eyes of a wild cat.

“What if they catch us?” Inara asked, ignoring the latter question. She knew the king quite well. She had sat in the courtrooms far too many times to miss any of his red faced tantrums. She knew what he would do to his son if they were taken in by the guards. Those large hands would easily showering Flaré’s youthful skin with purple, blue and black bruises and Flaré’s screams would haunt Inara through the night.

“They won’t. I can assure you that, but only if we get moving. I can almost hear the guards trampling down the path now.” Flaré whispered to her in a low, throaty tone. His voice sounded raw, almost as if it were a strain for him to whisper so quietly. The wait for her became too much for him and he simply scooped her into his arms and continued on, letting the wind lead him through the forest.

The trees groaned and rocked, seeming to bend in the direction that they were going. The red glow of the city became less and less as they hurried along on the wind. Soon, their only light was that of the moon, shining down upon them with benevolent approval. The birds seemed to rouse from their slumbers to guide the couple as they ran and the bats flitted and swarmed, ready to guard them from any oncoming threat. Nature was aiding them. It was willing them to succeed in absconding from the royal guard.

The clattering sound of metal slamming against metal filled their ears. It seemed that their brief conversation had proved Flaré’s hunch valid. The guards had been at their tail, even as the couple had been aided by the wind. Flaré’s hand tightened around Inara’s.

“Hurry. This way.” He ordered, pulling her from the path, through a break in the trees. He hurried over twigs and acorns, careful to avoid them as to keep as quiet as possible. He quickly doubled back as he had seen a very cozy looking spot within a cluster of blueberry bushes that was just big enough for the two of them to stow away in without being seen. The fiery haired prince set his lover down gently and crawled into the crevice in the bushes, then parted his legs and opened his arms for her to fit into him. Inara knelt down on her hands and knees and crawled into the safe pocket, turning onto her bum. She plopped down in the dirt forest floor that had never been allowed grass growth and felt the cool dampness of the soil sink into her dress bottom. However, this thought was stolen from her when Flaré’s arms came to wrap around her body.

His body was so warm; it was almost as if she were being wrapped in a blanket of sunshine. Suddenly all her worries were swept away, and all she could think about was Flaré. She could only close her eyes and breathe in his warmth. His warmth felt so comforting; it was the smell of freshly baked bread; it was the smell of sun ripened fruit; it was the heat of the sun on your skin after you had sunk into the salty sea water of the Gulf of Mofar or the murkier river water of the stream that passed through this very forest. The clattering guards soon faded away from them and only remained for them as the ghostly sounds of wind chimes.

Once the coast was clear and they were able to leave the bush, Flaré regained his grip on Inara’s hands. He led her from the bushes, watching as blueberries dropped from the branches and broke all over her delicate bum. He lifted her from the ground once she was far enough from the bush and he let the momentum carry through so that she landed against his chest.

“Hmm...” He hummed, leaning forward and bringing his lips to her chestnut hair. “While we’re here, I may as well treat my princess to a nice evening.” He said this in a low, chesty tone that sounded about as rich as chocolate and just as smooth. Inara’s hands found their way into his silky, flamelike hair and her eyes rolled shut. She soon found that a breath had left her lips, bearing words upon them.

“What are you suggesting, my fiery prince?” She asked him, bare feet perching on their toes and lifting her higher on him. She now reached his forehead in height and her smiling lips seemed to glow as they neared his own. “Hmm?”

“I will have to show you, now won’t I?” A pair of hands found their way beneath her cute, round bottom and they lifted her onto Flaré’s hips. Inara’s legs wrapped around him tightly, clinging to him with a grip that cried out her desires. She never wanted to let go. He was her one and only. He was the only thing that she had to hold onto in this world. Flaré began walking with her, thumbs drawing slow circles on her thighs as they went along. Inara was aware of nothing but the rhythmic inhalation and exhalation of Flaré; of the heat he gave off; of the cool breeze that swept through the forest, beckoning them to come deeper. She had no idea why she hadn’t done this with Flaré sooner.

Soon, the couple reached a clearing. Flaré squatted down, taking Inara from his hips, and laying her down in a bed of grass. Her eyes were allowed to gaze up at the stars, all of whom blinked back at her with the same eager, fresh twinkle. The corners over her eyes caught the tops of the tree surrounding them. The trees were tall oaks, looming and swaying in the breeze. They looked almost as if they were dancing.

“Are you ready to dance, Inara?” Flaré asked as he straddled her waist and leaned down to her, letting his soft, gentle lips pepper her neck with sweet kisses. She had been too consumed with her surroundings to notice him removing his clothing, but here he was, his pale, smooth skin within finger’s reach. Inara immediately melted into him, losing all concept of reality. Time lost meaning; safety lost meaning. The only thing that dwelled within her consciousness was the heat of Flaré, the smell of his skin, the sound that she made when he kissed her like he was...

Soon, she found herself without her dress and underwear, out in the open with no restraint. She only noticed this because of the faint breeze that she felt over her shoulders and her shins. It wasn’t long until Flaré’s heat wasn’t only around her and consuming her, but within her as well. He rocked heat into her, careful not to hurt her so badly, though tears rolled down her beautiful features. In those moments, few words were muttered to keep her comforted. They were picked up into a whirlwind of feeling, each consumed by a heat unlike anything they had felt before. Soon, they had both been exhausted and they collapsed on the soft, slick grass beneath them. Inara never left Flaré’s arms. They cooled there and relaxed.

“Some days, I’d like to do just this.” Inara mused, eyes rolled toward the blinking stars. “I’d like to forget about the prophecy and to pretend that I’m just a normal woman. I... I wish that I wasn’t the Dragon Speaker.” She said, her heart aching with that wish.

“Everyone looks up to you, Inara. You are a beacon of home to the people. Aren’t you honoured by that?” Flaré asked her, leaning his damp, red head against her own brunette one. “You’re more powerful than I am. Don’t you feel special?”

“I feel like a slave. I am not a person to the people of Ala or the people of Afezeria.” She said, a scowl slowly taking over her beautiful features. “I serve no purpose to them but to end the war. I don’t even have a real name. I named myself Inara.”

“Hush now.” Flaré’s fingers came to her lips before caressing her cheek slowly. “Just relax and go to sleep. Everything will be all right.” He told her, watching as her scowl faded and her eyelids covered her beautiful blue eyes. Soon, he joined her in sleep as well.