BOOK ONE
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Valley of the Dragons sits hidden in the center of a dormant volcano aptly called The Great Glass Swell, or Glasswell Mountain, because from each angle it resembles a huge, frozen-in-time tidal wave made of shiny obsidian so slick that hands cannot grip it, and so hard that climbing instruments may not pierce it. These challenges make the space within accessible only by air, and since all dragons can fly and no sword-wielding knights can, it provides an ideal home for dragonkind.
Search as she might, the Queen could not find her son in the Forest of El, and the more she searched, the more violent and destructive her investigative techniques became. After tearing apart almost every village in the area with no success, the Queen decided to aim her caravan toward San Crosette, believing her son would go there eventually. She spent many nights in the company of the Hyena. She found his otherness, his almost complete lack of humanity comforting for some reason. She wondered why he stayed in her service. He had refused a salary, and clearly lacked allegiance to anything or anyone. Whoever managed to injure a man like him, though, is a serious threat. The voice agreed. Her head throbbed. Where was her son?
Search as she might, the Queen could not find her son in the Forest of El, and the more she searched, the more violent and destructive her investigative techniques became. After tearing apart almost every village in the area with no success, the Queen decided to aim her caravan toward San Crosette, believing her son would go there eventually. She spent many nights in the company of the Hyena. She found his otherness, his almost complete lack of humanity comforting for some reason. She wondered why he stayed in her service. He had refused a salary, and clearly lacked allegiance to anything or anyone. Whoever managed to injure a man like him, though, is a serious threat. The voice agreed. Her head throbbed. Where was her son?
Days passed. Sasha and Flori mended. Mo and Cicero reconnected. The dragons grew less hostile. The Prince grew more thoughtful. One day, Sasha encountered the Prince in his reverie. She sat beside him. A pair of dragons passed by. One nodded to the two humans, the other gave them a dirty look, which earned him a slap on the arm from the nice one, who in turn gave an apology look. The size of the dragons still struck Sasha as small. Though larger than most humans by usually a couple feet, she still couldn’t get rid of the image she conjured in her youth of hulking beasts the size of houses. She waved back to the nice dragon, then mentioned to her Prince, “Orion says we’re welcome to stay here forever if we like.”
“Yes, I know,” he responded sadly. “He also says that my mother has no intention of allowing us to marry even if you do complete all three tasks, and that she grows more dangerous and destructive daily, unleashing her wrath on innocent people she suspects of harboring me. He flew me over the forest, every village looks like it just fought a war.”
“We can keep hiding. Paradise could be an okay place to live.”
“Part of me wants that...” He took her hand and met her eye. “A big part. But I can’t let her continue tearing the countryside apart in order to find me.”
“You aren’t thinking of giving yourself up, are you?”
“No! No, I mean, I considered it for a second, but I’m just not that selfless. You would never be safe, anyway, and I’d be miserable again, and she’d still be... If Flori is right, and I think she is, my mother has something in her head that doesn’t belong there, it’s making her crazy, and the answer lies in this diamond and in me, I know it. If I can make her better I have to try, for everyone’s sake. But I’m going to need help.”
When Sasha had fallen in love with the Prince, she partitioned off a part of herself to remain the skeptic, anticipating the moment when her infatuation would come to an end. In this moment, that part of her shriveled up into nothing, and she knew of all the people in all the world, this one was for her. The clarity punched her in the gut, and for a moment she couldn’t breathe, she simply stared.
“What?” the Prince asked, feeling his face for some unsightly foreign object.
“Let’s see who’s coming with us," she wheezed.
Moriandra agreed to come easily. Seeing Cicero whole again made her long to be so as well; the key to that rested in the Queen. Cicero would also be joining them. Flori took issue with this change of goal. She still wanted to go after the necklace. She cursed them for coming into her life, screaming that it was because of them that her friend got killed and her home burned, and now they were no longer going to help her find what she sought?
“We will!” Sasha assured her. “We will. After. I promise. But please, come with us now. You understand the North Star better than anyone. Better than Mo even. We need you.” Flori’s body contorted strangely, then she ran away, a blaze of rage and grief. Everyone pitied the gold girl, but there was nothing for that now. They needed a plan.
“The Queen has gone to San Crosette,” Orion told them when they came to him. “She has conscripted a fair-sized army along the way, and the longer she is separated from her son, the more she takes her anger out on her people. She intends to burn the entire city of San Crosette to the ground in order to find you. You must go to her soon if you are to stop her. Rest here tonight, and tomorrow we dragons will fly you there. You should arrive before she does.”
“And after that, what will you do, Orion?” the Prince asked.
“I am needed here. In this valley, we dragons finally live in peace. I will not abandon that for anyone. Sasha, a word.” Orion took Sasha aside. “I have been monitoring the Queen’s thoughts since you all arrived here. I must warn you, she bears you more than a passing hatred. In her mind, you are an instrument of evil who kidnapped her son in order to corrupt him. She means to kill you no matter what.” Sasha cursed the Queen in her mind. “Be lenient in your judgment Sasha. Everyone, even the Queen, has their pain.” Sasha considered this wisdom, and wondered a silent question. Orion smiled sadly. “That no one will ever know me as I do them,” he answered. Sasha thanked him for the warning, and went off to join her friends as they prepared for the final part of their journey.
After an hour of arguing, the group was no closer to a plan. They had no clue what waited for them in San Crosette, and even if they had, the Prince had no clue how he was going to return the Queen’s mind and Mo’s mind to their original states! He could repair someone injured by the Star, but this was a totally different set of circumstances, and that’s only if Flori’s theory was correct. To top it all off, Cicero’s magical ability to spontaneously grow flowers on any surface was not the most useful. Their two-word plan, Wing it, failed to inspire, as did their eight-word back up plan, Give Up The Prince & Go Into Hiding. They needed Flori.
Just then, Flori walked up, her body agitated but controlled, and she declared her resolution to join them again if they would have her. The ecstatic group welcomed her with open arms.
“I’ve been thinking about the Star,” Flori said. “I have a new theory. I think the Prince should try to use it again. On someone who doesn’t need healing.” Sasha volunteered. She and the Prince took the North Star in their hands nervously. “Now, Prince, this time instead of thinking about restoring your subject’s mind, concentrate on controlling it or manipulating it. Sasha, if a connection is made, try and engage, alright? We need to figure out exactly how the connection works.” Sasha and the Prince closed their eyes and focused, but nothing happened. “Okay, try thinking a little more harshly, think about dominating her.” Sasha and the Prince looked at Flori incredulously. “Try to get her to do something. To say something. Force her.” Again, nothing happened. It went on like this for a while. Flori coached the Prince towards an end only she knew. “Okay, okay…perhaps the action has to be closer to what you do otherwise… Think sharing. Think of sharing something of your mind with Sasha.” Sasha and the Prince tried again, this time the Star began to glow, and their two minds linked with it!
They found themselves standing in a strange field where every blade of grass seemed to have its own internal light source. They stood opposite each other and joined hands. Sasha saw the Prince as a child playing alone, surrounded by imaginary friends whom the Queen could never execute. The Prince saw a joyless, young Sasha covered in blood surrounded by a huge crowd cheering her on for defeating yet another opponent. Sasha saw the lonely, teenage Prince, sitting by his mother’s side as she wailed in her bed, crippled by headaches. The Prince saw a hungry Sasha singing for her supper in one town after another as her music skills improved. They continued to share thoughts and memories each until the connection ended, and the duo came back to reality, exhausted. They tried to explain the experience to their friends, but had trouble – it seemed too personal to share, and a little intangible, like a dream. Then, Sasha lit up.
“I think I gave you something!” she said hopefully, and handed the Prince a drum. He picked it up, and played it expertly.
“Yes, I know,” he responded sadly. “He also says that my mother has no intention of allowing us to marry even if you do complete all three tasks, and that she grows more dangerous and destructive daily, unleashing her wrath on innocent people she suspects of harboring me. He flew me over the forest, every village looks like it just fought a war.”
“We can keep hiding. Paradise could be an okay place to live.”
“Part of me wants that...” He took her hand and met her eye. “A big part. But I can’t let her continue tearing the countryside apart in order to find me.”
“You aren’t thinking of giving yourself up, are you?”
“No! No, I mean, I considered it for a second, but I’m just not that selfless. You would never be safe, anyway, and I’d be miserable again, and she’d still be... If Flori is right, and I think she is, my mother has something in her head that doesn’t belong there, it’s making her crazy, and the answer lies in this diamond and in me, I know it. If I can make her better I have to try, for everyone’s sake. But I’m going to need help.”
When Sasha had fallen in love with the Prince, she partitioned off a part of herself to remain the skeptic, anticipating the moment when her infatuation would come to an end. In this moment, that part of her shriveled up into nothing, and she knew of all the people in all the world, this one was for her. The clarity punched her in the gut, and for a moment she couldn’t breathe, she simply stared.
“What?” the Prince asked, feeling his face for some unsightly foreign object.
“Let’s see who’s coming with us," she wheezed.
Moriandra agreed to come easily. Seeing Cicero whole again made her long to be so as well; the key to that rested in the Queen. Cicero would also be joining them. Flori took issue with this change of goal. She still wanted to go after the necklace. She cursed them for coming into her life, screaming that it was because of them that her friend got killed and her home burned, and now they were no longer going to help her find what she sought?
“We will!” Sasha assured her. “We will. After. I promise. But please, come with us now. You understand the North Star better than anyone. Better than Mo even. We need you.” Flori’s body contorted strangely, then she ran away, a blaze of rage and grief. Everyone pitied the gold girl, but there was nothing for that now. They needed a plan.
“The Queen has gone to San Crosette,” Orion told them when they came to him. “She has conscripted a fair-sized army along the way, and the longer she is separated from her son, the more she takes her anger out on her people. She intends to burn the entire city of San Crosette to the ground in order to find you. You must go to her soon if you are to stop her. Rest here tonight, and tomorrow we dragons will fly you there. You should arrive before she does.”
“And after that, what will you do, Orion?” the Prince asked.
“I am needed here. In this valley, we dragons finally live in peace. I will not abandon that for anyone. Sasha, a word.” Orion took Sasha aside. “I have been monitoring the Queen’s thoughts since you all arrived here. I must warn you, she bears you more than a passing hatred. In her mind, you are an instrument of evil who kidnapped her son in order to corrupt him. She means to kill you no matter what.” Sasha cursed the Queen in her mind. “Be lenient in your judgment Sasha. Everyone, even the Queen, has their pain.” Sasha considered this wisdom, and wondered a silent question. Orion smiled sadly. “That no one will ever know me as I do them,” he answered. Sasha thanked him for the warning, and went off to join her friends as they prepared for the final part of their journey.
After an hour of arguing, the group was no closer to a plan. They had no clue what waited for them in San Crosette, and even if they had, the Prince had no clue how he was going to return the Queen’s mind and Mo’s mind to their original states! He could repair someone injured by the Star, but this was a totally different set of circumstances, and that’s only if Flori’s theory was correct. To top it all off, Cicero’s magical ability to spontaneously grow flowers on any surface was not the most useful. Their two-word plan, Wing it, failed to inspire, as did their eight-word back up plan, Give Up The Prince & Go Into Hiding. They needed Flori.
Just then, Flori walked up, her body agitated but controlled, and she declared her resolution to join them again if they would have her. The ecstatic group welcomed her with open arms.
“I’ve been thinking about the Star,” Flori said. “I have a new theory. I think the Prince should try to use it again. On someone who doesn’t need healing.” Sasha volunteered. She and the Prince took the North Star in their hands nervously. “Now, Prince, this time instead of thinking about restoring your subject’s mind, concentrate on controlling it or manipulating it. Sasha, if a connection is made, try and engage, alright? We need to figure out exactly how the connection works.” Sasha and the Prince closed their eyes and focused, but nothing happened. “Okay, try thinking a little more harshly, think about dominating her.” Sasha and the Prince looked at Flori incredulously. “Try to get her to do something. To say something. Force her.” Again, nothing happened. It went on like this for a while. Flori coached the Prince towards an end only she knew. “Okay, okay…perhaps the action has to be closer to what you do otherwise… Think sharing. Think of sharing something of your mind with Sasha.” Sasha and the Prince tried again, this time the Star began to glow, and their two minds linked with it!
They found themselves standing in a strange field where every blade of grass seemed to have its own internal light source. They stood opposite each other and joined hands. Sasha saw the Prince as a child playing alone, surrounded by imaginary friends whom the Queen could never execute. The Prince saw a joyless, young Sasha covered in blood surrounded by a huge crowd cheering her on for defeating yet another opponent. Sasha saw the lonely, teenage Prince, sitting by his mother’s side as she wailed in her bed, crippled by headaches. The Prince saw a hungry Sasha singing for her supper in one town after another as her music skills improved. They continued to share thoughts and memories each until the connection ended, and the duo came back to reality, exhausted. They tried to explain the experience to their friends, but had trouble – it seemed too personal to share, and a little intangible, like a dream. Then, Sasha lit up.
“I think I gave you something!” she said hopefully, and handed the Prince a drum. He picked it up, and played it expertly.
Onwards to Chapter Nine...