The Call of Dragons

3

Raiya

If Raiya thought that preparing Lady Denali for the feast last night was hard, this morning was an absolute nightmare. Nothing was perfect for her and everything the girls tried failed to impress her. Whatever Raiya did with her hair, she hated it. Up, down, half-up, curls, or straightened. It made no difference; Denali hated every single hairstyle. She had done her makeup twice already, once with a dark palette and once with a lighter and hated both looks. Marigold, the one that had done her makeup last night, was noticeably flustered as she tried to come up with something that would please the woman. Gina, who was tasked with helping her dress, didn’t know how to handle the intricate, foreign gown composed of two pieces, three if you counted the draping fabric across the body. Ioyari fashion, notorious for its beautiful clothing designs, was equally notorious for the difficulty in getting into and moving in them.

Despite her struggles, Gina was on the more favorable end of the stick when it came to Denali’s agitated vocalizations. Having won her favor yesterday, she was given a bit more leeway than the rest of the girls when she made mistakes but only by a little. There were times where even she was the occasional receiver of the snaps and “bekaars” flying out of Denali’s mouth.

“How can you call yourselves servants when you are so unfamiliar with the customs of others! How do you expect to serve foreign guests?” Denali yelled at them, throwing herself back down into her vanity chair.

Raiya reached for the brush on the table to begin anew but Denali beat her to it, throwing it across the room and nearly smacking Eri who had been the main source of Denali’s frustrations this time. Eri let out a squeal and dropped to the ground, hands covering her head in fear of another object flying in her direction. Eri was a quiet thing, small with mouse-like features and behaviors. She had come from Yarswell, one of the largest capital villages located towards the southwest. Raiya had instantly formed an attachment to her for their shared background with Raiya herself coming from Siramar, a smaller capital village located near the southeast of the continent.

“If they had let me bring my own servants, I wouldn’t have to deal with these bekaar naukars!” Denali didn’t stop there but rather breathed in deeply before launching into a rant switching between languages and preventing any of the girls from getting anything done with her flailing. At the rate she was going, Raiya was sure she would end up missing the Hatching Ceremony and unfortunately lose the opportunity to Bond with the Queen. That didn’t seem like a bad idea at all to her.

A knock interrupted her tirade and Eri could not have hustled faster to that door than if she had found out that she no longer had to serve under Denali. She probably hoped whoever was on the other side would save her from being whacked in the head by any more flying objects. The verbal abuse, Eri could handle that. The physical? Not so much.

“Chieftess Sibilla!” Eri cried out in surprise and relief, her prayers having been answered. She quickly bowed and stepped aside, allowing the woman to enter. Sibilla had pulled her dark hair streaked with gray up into a tight bun to better show off her gold dragon circlet that marked her position. She was wearing the traditional robe of the Chieftess, blood red trimmed in burnt gold with a golden dragon broach that matched the circlet pinned on the top right. Her once bright blue eyes had dulled with age, more gray than blue now, but they were still beautiful, especially when they flitted about the room sharply.

As she stepped into the room, Sibilla calmly analyzed the wreck Denali was making before landing on Raiya briefly, a smile immediately blooming across her face full of warmth and affection.

“The ceremony is to begin shortly, are you ready Lady Denali?” she asked pleasantly, pinning Denali with her gaze as she raised her eyebrows slightly. Denali at least had the dignity to look embarrassed at being caught behaving in such an undignified way and kept her head lowered in acknowledgement and respect.

“I apologize for the mess, Chieftess. I am not accustomed to your naukars, so I find that I am often displeased by their performance. I’m running a little behind because of this.”

The blazing anger that had accompanied her tirade shortly before was completely extinguished. Instead, she presented a sorrowful front to curry favor with the highest-ranking lady in the fortress. Raiya’s eyes narrowed and her hands clenched into fists at her sides as she listened to Denali shove all the blame onto the serving girls. They had tried their best while she had completely rejected everything and even almost knocked out Eri in her craze.

“Then I must apologize on behalf of my servants. I’ve yet to receive word of someone being so dissatisfied with their service that they would wreck an entire room, but I’m sure that their ineptitude and childishness must have been on a magnitude of similarity.” The mildness of Sibilla’s tone did little to hide the rebuke. Raiya was immensely grateful to her for standing up for them even though she knew it was partly because the servants were under her authority and therefore her responsibility to take care of them. It wouldn’t bode well for her reputation if complaints were made.

Denali clenched her fists but said nothing in response. How wise of her Raiya thought dryly. The silence trailed on between the two, one waiting patiently for any sort of response and the other refusing to give in.

“Do hurry then if there’s no other pressing matter delaying you, we won’t wait too long,” Sibilla finally said before walking back out the door. “Oh,” she paused midway through the door, preventing it from swinging close with one hand, “and, if I hear word of you abusing the servants, we will have problems Lady Denali. Problems that not even your father can save you from.” She left, allowing the door to shut behind her with a solid thud. The noise seemed to emphasize the threat she had just left hanging in the air. The other girls dared not move as Denali remained still. Whether from shock or anger they would shortly find out which.

“I can’t wait to be Chieftess,” Denali finally snarled out as she glared at the door. She was trembling in rage as a murderous expression grew on her face, the words of that old woman echoing in her head. “Who does she think she is? That hoary bitch is way past her expiration date, her presence leaves a sour taste in my mouth. She dares to threaten me, a Khan when she is from an insignificant, branching bloodline herself!” The girls were too terrified to move let alone approach her for fear of being on the receiving end of the inevitable explosion of wrath.

Gina braved it first; the dragon gods blessings be upon her, as she gingerly made her way over to the shaking woman. They blanched for her as Denali’s eyes fell upon her with glittering malice, but she didn’t say anything to Gina nor stop her when Gina attempted to dress her again. Barely daring to breathe, the rest slowly resumed their positions and began their tasks again. None wanted to disturb her as she gazed off into the distance with fire in her eyes, her mouth tight and her hands clenched into fists by her side.

*~*

The hatching grounds were set deep into the mountain underneath the fortress. Dragons could only enter from the large opening at the base of the mountain, but those who lived in the fortress could enter the seating stands through tunnels carved into the walls surrounding the grounds in a half circle. The grounds themself were covered in hot, soft white sand that seemed to shimmer and glow.

In the middle was a giant sunken circle with twenty-two eggs nestled in it, most buried in the sand. The Queen egg lay in the middle, huge and golden. Raiya had learned that the color of the egg often foretold the color of a dragon and that some colors were more common than others. Gold was a common Queen color, red and blue for the males, and green for the females. She could see why when, staring at the eggs, she could pick out the varying shades of five reds, seven blues, six greens, and three purples surrounding the gold ones.

Shegil was a little way off from them, not yet allowed to get too close to the eggs now that they were going to hatch but refusing to be too far away from them. Raiya could feel her maternal instinct whenever she reached out gently to Shegil. Underneath it was fear and worry for the potential loss of one of her eggs. She would be helpless to do anything for them, confined by both Sibilla and the other dragons should things go awry. For now, she could only hang back and wait for the hatching to start before she would be allowed to move forward and help them break free of their shells.

Towards the back of the cave were two large carved stone doors that served as an entryway for the tributes and servants who would be standing off to the side, in case of an emergency. Only a handful of specially selected servants, usually by Ashari, were allowed to stand here.

Raiya was one such servant that had been selected, standing in the line of others at the bottom of the right-most stands. As she glanced at her fellow companions, she could see that the majority were suffering from the heat, dripping sweat as they continued to stand still like a statue. For her, and some others like Marigold who stood next to her, they seemed to handle the heat far better. Though it was uncomfortable, she didn’t sweat nor join in the complaints she heard around her. She rolled her eyes at their complaints, not understanding the problem. While uncomfortable for humans, it was ideal for dragons, especially hatchlings. They had little choice anyways if they wanted the promotion. The new Queen flyer would get an assortment of ladies-in-waiting to take care of her and help her take care of the Queen. The other servants would be promoted to squires or work in the barracks, affording more pay and an elevation in title. Thus, it was a high honor for a servant to be selected and many competed for the opportunity.

She sighed, shifting back and forth to ease the burn she could feel in the soles of her feet. Raiya knew it was Sibilla, with the help of Ashari no doubt, who had pulled the strings and landed her here. It seemed Sibilla had a similar goal as Ashari, and neither were joking about helping her rise up. But if truth be told, she did not like the idea of becoming someone’s personal attendant, especially if it was someone like Denali. She rather enjoyed the freedom of being a jack-of-all servant, doing miscellaneous tasks around the fortress and learning interesting things in the process.

Raiya listened as the sound grew in the cave, the stands beginning to fill up completely. From the corner of her eye, she could see dragons enter, finding perches at the top of the cavern, clinging to ledges and grooves on the walls, or wrapping themselves around the huge rock-like stalactites that hung from the cavern ceiling.

Seeing how many dragons were there, she felt her nerves tingle in both fear and excitement. She was used to the presence of dragons, but rarely was she around them physically, especially this many at once. None of her duties really pertained to the barracks and the dragon-flyers. They stayed outside and she in. Besides, Godrick and Sibilla were careful to keep her away for fear of her getting injured in an accident. She was still a child at the end of the day and the work required to aid and take care of dragons was enormous. Children could not handle it and rarely were they allowed to learn until they were much older. Yet here they were, tossing her in without a warning. The one thing that most likely persuaded them she’d be okay was her gift. No doubt her many interactions with Godrick’s precious Nythointan and Sibilla’s beloved Shegil helped cement that.

While Sibilla, Godrick, and Ashari were aware and understanding of her talents, the rest of the fortress did not know. Her parents were the only other ones who knew, and they had sold her soon after finding out. The boy that she had no name for had considered it a talent, a gift. Raiya had always seen it as a curse. She didn’t want to hear the voices of dragons, listen to their calls. She took every chance to block them out, putting as much distance between her and them. If they were farther away and she did not know where, the connection was weakest and easily avoided. If they were closer and tried to speak to her, it was stronger and harder to block.

When she was but five years old, she had thought the voices she had been hearing were simply a result of her imagination conjuring up fantastic imaginary friends to talk with. It was only after she told her mother some of the interesting conversations she had had with the voices that she realized that perhaps what she was doing wasn’t normal. Her mother had at first simply stared in indulgence, listening to her child prattle on innocently as any child normally would. Then her expression changed to shock as the little girl continued, oblivious to the change in her mother’s expression. Then absolute horror as she finished her recount, finally noticing something was wrong as her mother’s horror-filled pale face stared back at her. When the girl’s father had returned home that day after working in the fields, they had a long argument that night that bled into the morning. That very same day, she was sold off to the fortress.

“You’re not meant to be with us,” were his final words to her.

Well, those words were not very comforting to a crying child left in an unfamiliar environment surrounded by emotionless strangers. Thus the whole fortress did not know, except for Sibilla and Godrick who had handled the situation. Her father’s main concern in telling them had been upping her value, but he also wanted to make sure that she might have a better life if they were aware of her gift. Ralph, who had been Chief for only a year at that point, had been away at the time on a visit to Ioyari So, it was very easy for Sibilla and Godrick to keep her gift a secret. Ashari had learned from Sibilla after she had encountered the girl one night talking aloud to herself in her room. Upon reporting this to Sibilla for fear that she might not be mentally sound, she was let in on the secret.

But despite this, none of them had ever mentioned to the girl anything about Speakers and that they possessed the same ability as her. They hadn’t even properly introduced her to the resident Speaker living in the fortress. In fact, as she recalled further back, they did their utmost to prevent her from even spending any amount of unsupervised time near Speaker Julian. Raiya’s brows furrowed as she wondered why they went through such great lengths to hide this from her. Wouldn’t they want her to feel at ease knowing there were others in the world like her? That she wasn’t this freak of nature but someone that could finally belong somewhere? If they wanted her to have a better position in life, wouldn’t they have wanted her to become a Speaker?

Just then, she felt the softest brush against her mind as a voice came into focus. Every dragon had a unique mental voice making it easy to identify which she was speaking to. As flyers could only communicate with their own dragons, they probably did not think much about the differences, but she had needed to learn to do so. She always wanted to be sure of who she was speaking to because she was worried that if she didn’t politely address them properly, they would become offended and eat her. She very much did not want to be eaten.

She recognized the familiar youthfulness of the tone, lacking the deep tenor or rich tones of the grown, male dragons as Nymerik’s.

He seemed to express a gleeful interest at the girl’s recollection of her painful past and tumultuous thoughts. He derived further pleasure as he sensed her annoyance at his intrusiveness. She casually blocked out his voice, ignoring him as he relayed his sadness of failing to sample her delectable flesh. She shivered, glancing around to see if she could find where he might be lurking or where his flyer was. Whoever she found first; she would give them a sound piece of her mind later! This kind of teasing was unacceptable, did they want her to die of fright? So much for being a noble, exalted dragon.

Her searching gaze was brought back to the middle as a large horn sounded, signaling the start of the ceremony. The female tributes began to emerge from the doors at the bottom near Shegil, walking in a single file line to the nest and surrounding it slowly. The majority wore the traditional ceremonial robes of the Bonding Ceremony, white. But there were a few who wore other things, usually personal garments reflecting their background like the eastern tributes. For some, they did it as a matter of pride and representation of their home, for others Raiya wondered if it was a tactic to attract the dragons to them since they easily stood out amongst the crowd.

Denali’s clothes were the most stunning and elaborate of them all. The top was a deep emerald green and the skirts a bold blood red. Intricate gold embroidery lined the fabrics and formed decorative patterns that surrounded the little mirrors sewn onto the skirt. Whenever the light hit the mirrors, they glittered and sparkled beautifully. While others wore boots, her feet were donned in beautiful green slippers lined with golden thread and red tassels attached on top. The green and red silk that draped over her shoulder and tucked into her skirt’s waistband was sheer, doing little to cover the girl’s bare mid riff. When she walked, even from here, Raiya could hear the tinkling sound of bells that emanated from the anklets and bracelets she wore. This was the eye-catcher of the crowd, the talk of the fortress, and the favorite to Bond with the Queen. Perhaps she would remain the talk of the fortress should she fail to run away due to her impractical attire, tripping over her heavy skirts and failing to find purchase in the sand with her slippers as the golden hatchling descended upon her with its teeth and talons. Raiya felt herself grow slightly sick with the morbid thoughts and images she was conjuring up in her head.

When the tributes were all in position standing in a circle around the rim of the sunken hole, everyone waited for the hatching to commence. There was no speeding up the process, they would have to be patient until the Queen decided to come out of her egg. It could take minutes, it could take hours, or it could even take days. Every Queen was different, but the average time was between half an hour to two hours. They say the amount of time it takes represents the difficulty and stubbornness of the Queen. Many prayed for an easy one, but no one could influence it. And until the Queen hatched, the other eggs would have to wait for they could not hatch until the Queen was gone. Thus, the other tributes for the other eggs remained behind the giant stone door, waiting for their chance.

As fifteen minutes passed, it was no surprise that there was a lot of movement on the stands as people got up to move and stretch or talk to those they knew. Even the servants lined up at the bottom were fidgeting about, not moving too much, but at least shifting back and forth to relieve the pain of standing for so long. Raiya’s feet had long since adjusted to the heat of the sands underneath her shoes, so she stood comfortably as she watched the others mop the sweat from their forehead as they talked. Her only form of discomfort was how the heat caused her clothes to cling to her body, irritating her skin. She shifted slightly, positioning herself to peek at Shegil.

Shegil hadn’t moved a single muscle the entire time, her glowing golden eyes remaining fixated on her clutch. Raiya distracted herself from the boredom of waiting by gently reaching out to the dragon, touching her mind briefly. Warmth and maturity enveloped her mind as Shegil acknowledged her presence, relaying her anxiousness for the eggs to begin hatching. She could feel Sibilla’s hold on Shegil as well, an anchor of calmness that served as the only thing keeping her rooted to her spot. Raiya provided as much positive encouragement as she could muster before leaving the connection. She could understand Shegil’s anxiety. Though rare, there were times where an egg might fail to hatch or, even worse, die within six hours if it could not form a Bond. Either way, it was a horrible loss, both unpredictable and unavoidable.

“I believe your name was Raiya, right? It’s your first time watching, isn’t it?” asked Marigold casually, striking up a conversation with the unsuspecting little girl standing beside her.

Raiya, surprised, glanced to her right, seeing the older woman smiling down at her. She had occasionally seen her around the fortress, but had never spoken to her, not even when they had both come together to serve Denali.

“Yes,” she replied, tilting her head. “How much longer do you think it’ll be?”

The other shrugged, looking back at the eggs. “We never know. Though personally I think it’ll be at least another fifteen. The egg hasn’t twitched even a little.”

“Oh.”

Raiya didn’t really know what else to say that wouldn’t convey her disappointment in a better way. Another fifteen minutes of just standing around? How boring this Hatching Ceremony was! When she had imagined it, she had thought it to be exciting and full of wonder, but never would she have envisioned everyone standing around waiting for an egg to hatch. Her disappointment was so plainly written across her face in the form of a childish pout that Marigold couldn’t help but laugh at the endearing child.

Her outburst of laughter drew the curious stares of several onlookers, but she ignored them, saying, “This is my second time watching one, so I know all the details. You can ask me anything and I’ll answer it as best I can.”

“Wait, shouldn’t you already be attending to someone then?” Raiya asked, surprised.

“I wasn’t a servant down here, but one of the ones serving those in the stands with refreshments. Ashari made sure I got a spot here though this time. Reward for my amazing service!”

Her grin was infectious, and Raiya found herself smiling as well, feeling at ease with the woman.

“Oh, I wasn’t even serving the stands. I’m seeing all of this for the first time, which you could tell.” She laughed awkwardly, feeling self-conscious in front of her. Perhaps it was the way those brown eyes peered inquisitively down at her.

“That’s no surprise, how old are you? Fourteen? Fifteen? Normally servants that are eighteen and older are allowed to be down here or serving on the stands. And for the ones down here, well, they must have done something deserving to be selected.” At her lack of an immediate response, Marigold put a hand to her mouth. “You are close to sixteen, right?” When Raiya failed to respond again, her eyes grew wide. “Surely not younger?”

Raiya shifted uncomfortably under Marigold’s examining stare, understanding some of the confusion. She was tall for her age, but even so, she still had baby fat clinging to her, and her voice was still childish. It was even more so when she sullenly admitted that she was only ten. “But I will be eleven soon!” she added defensively as the other stared at her with even wider eyes, her hand still covering her mouth.

“You’re ten and you’re down here? That’s extremely unusual,” she murmured and frowned. “How did you even get a position down here? What did you do that attracted their attention?”

Raiya hesitated. She didn’t know if she should let her know that Sibilla and Ashari’s favoritism were the most likely reason she was allowed to be down here. “I was just sent here by Mistress Ashari,” she finally answered. “She told me to just stand here with the others, that’s all.”

“Oh, so you are also a favorite of Mistress Ashari?” Marigold gently clasped her hands together, a small smile spreading across her face as she tilted her head to study the other girl. “Are you her…child?”

Raiya’s mouth dropped open in surprise. She supposed the conclusion wasn’t too far out of the realm, but still!

“No!” she shouted out a bit too quickly, drawing the attention of their nearby neighbors but she didn’t pay them any attention. “No, I’m not her daughter. I came to Dragonspire five years ago. My parents live in one of the villages near the fortress. Siramar if you know of it.”

“Oh, I see!” she exclaimed. She seemed even more surprised at this revelation. “Sorry, I know I must sound so nosy, but I can’t help it. You caught my attention the night we were all assigned to Lady Denali, and I just wondered because you looked so young…” Marigold quickly trailed off, realizing she had been babbling endlessly and feeling embarrassed over it. “Well, I just want to say that you’re very mature for your age!” she finally ended, giving Raiya a wide smile.

Raiya found herself liking this rather cheerful woman who spoke her thoughts without a care in the world and returned her smile. “Thank you,” she paused before adding, “I like your personality. It’s very warm and bubbly. You remind me of my older sister.”

Before Marigold could respond, the noise of the crowd grew louder, tinged with excitement as the dragons began to hum in anticipation. Both pairs of eyes immediately went to the golden egg that had slowly begun to rock and shake.

It was time.

For the first time in a long time, Raiya began to feel childish wonder bubble up in her. The hushed silence of the crowd, the hum of the dragons, and the golden egg shaking created a spell-like trance on her as she watched eagerly for the Queen to make her escape. No one paid any mind to the tributes who had begun trembling, most with fear and some with excitement.

Suddenly, the humming gave way to a high-pitched keening and that is when Shegil made her move. Some of the tributes immediately moved back away from the clutch of eggs, anticipating what was to come while others stayed rooted to the spot in fear.

“What’s going on?” Raiya whispered in confusion. Since she had never seen a hatching before, she did not know what was happening. Why was Shegil now allowed to approach the eggs?

Marigold glanced down at her distractedly. “Oh, right you don’t know. She’s going to help them hatch now,” she whispered back. “First the Queen and after the Queen is removed the rest.”

Some of the tributes that had wisely backed up had quickly run back to pull their other fellow tributes away, putting as much distance as possible between them and Shegil who now sat by the eggs. She gently picked out the golden egg in the middle with her talons, placing it in the sand away from the others. She lowered her face, her snout nudging the shaking egg gently before raising her head. Raiya saw Sibilla approaching with a bucket filled with recognizable blue crystals in hand quickly and became worried.

“What’s going on?” she repeated, alarmed.

“Calm down,” Marigold said, placing a hand gently on the girl’s shoulder. “Sibilla is simply bringing her the piezoelectric crystals that allows her to breathe fire.”

“’Allows her to breathe fire,’” Raiya repeated, suddenly feeling lightheaded. “She’s going to breathe fire on the eggs?!”

Marigold had a slightly amused smile spread across her face. “That’s how they hatch, silly. The mother breathes a gentle fire over the eggs, warming the area and helping to soften the hard shell. It makes it easier for the hatchlings to escape.” She spoke with a confidence that clearly showed the experience of a person who had witnessed a hatching before. Or maybe common sense. Or maybe even just grown-up things. Raiya wasn’t quite sure which it was, but she had already taken a few steps back, feeling the warm cavern walls pressing against her back. Regardless of what would happen to the eggs, she did not want to be anywhere near a fire-breathing dragon. She liked to believe that despite her age she had a healthy dose of fear and common sense that most others around her seemingly failed to possess. She ignored the heads of those who swung to look at her in confusion and irritation, obviously not appreciating her periodic outbursts nor childish behaviors.

If they want to be roasted by Shegil, fine by me! I certainly don’t want to be part of this!

A part of her knew Shegil would never harm her, mostly because of Sibilla. Another part of her just seemed to instinctively react to and understand the nature of the dragon, enhanced by her psychic abilities, knowing this dragon had no reason to harm her.

Shegil’s head lowered towards her rider, her jaws opening enough to swallow the woman whole. But she did not move as Sibilla tossed the glittering contents of the bucket into the dragon’s mouth before quickly moving away.

A few seconds later, everyone watched as Shegil did indeed breathe a great gout of fire over the egg. The heat of the cavern was already unbearable for most, and the temperature rose even more with the heat of the flames. Raiya could feel the waves of heat rolling around her as if she had been shoved into an oven with a raging fire as its fuel. The heat had been bearable to her before, but now, even for her, it had become overwhelming. She began to feel light-headed, her throat becoming dry, and her skin felt as if it was burning as the sweat that tried to escape evaporated quickly. She slid down the wall, landing on her butt with a thump and stirring the sand around her as she began to pant heavily from heat exhaustion. Her eyes never left the fiery display, however.

“Drink this,” Marigold told her, approaching the girl with a water-skin in hand. Raiya tilted her head up, staring at the water-skin proffered to her. How did she get this? Raiya didn’t know nor did she protest when the woman opened it and urged her to drink again. As she took great gulps of water, the refreshingly cool liquid slipped down her throat, temporarily alleviating the discomfort of the heat.

Shegil at this point had stopped and Raiya could see Sibilla forcing her away from the egg, to stand closer to the other ones that had begun to slowly rock and shake. Shegil let out a small keen but followed the orders, standing near the dip in the sands. Shegil understood that if there was a failure to form a Bond, the hatchling Queen would be lost completely. Her very life depended on forming this important connection and she must not intrude, must not become the focus of the hatchling.

Together, Marigold and Raiya watched the egg begin to dimple and then collapse, a slit appearing on the surface of the softened, golden shell. From the slit emerged the wet, golden head that stayed like that for a second, blearily taking in her surroundings.

“Taking her first breaths of fresh air,” Marigold answered Raiya’s unspoken question. She could see the wetness on the head, even from her distance. “That wetness is the amniotic fluid,” Marigold murmured to her. “What nurtures and protects them in their shell.”

After a few more minutes, with the other eggs beginning to rock more quickly, Raiya finally asked, “Why isn’t she trying to get out of her egg?” The Queen hatchling had remained in her shell, not moving any further as she continued to gaze around, chirping occasionally.

Marigold frowned, not responding. Raiya could tell from her tense expression that this was unusual. Denali, who had been patiently waiting on the outskirts of the activity with her eyes fixated on the golden egg had finally begun to move towards it. Everyone watched with bated breath as she treaded carefully on the slippery sand, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible. The golden egg began to rock and shake as she got closer and closer with the other female tributes also moving towards the middle in a bid to claim the Queen. Raiya could make out the blue form of Su-Ya, the flash of purple silks and red hair that was Meryem, the green shimmer of Ruka’s form walking leisurely, and even the small form of Linh, clad in her pink, running after them. These easily distinguishable ladies were watched with bated breath, Raiya hoping that the kind Su-ya would be the one to form the Bond. Though they all bore expressions of fear, they moved with determination and Raiya dared to hope that nothing was ordained yet.

As Denali was the first to move, she was the first to reach the egg, watching as another slit appeared on its golden shell with a leg popping through this time. Before the hatchling could do anything more except chirp in distress, Denali dropped to her knees with her hands extended, tearing apart the golden shell with her bare hands, ignoring the small, bleeding cuts she received on the sharper, jagged edges of the shell. Despite the struggling Queen and cuts, there was no fear in her expression. There was instead a sense of purpose about her movements, one that kept the other female tributes from interfering as they surrounded the pair. Ruka looked as if she wanted to shove Denali aside, but decorum prevented her from doing so. It was Su-Ya though that Raiya continued to watch, her heart sinking as she saw the woman smile softly, bowing her head in graceful defeat. When the last of the eggshells fell away, Denali quickly grabbed the golden triangular head before it could even look at the other tributes and forced the newly hatched Queen to stare into her eyes. There was no further struggle after that as the hatchling stared at Denali with what could only be described as adoration, a look full of devotion and love. The male dragons roared in ceremonious triumph.

The new Queen was Bonded.