Princess Moments

Zephyrion’s Redemption

By Mishael Witty

“The Dragon Reader is dead.” Liora’s oldest sister, Delphine, plunked the basket of molding onions, potatoes, and turnips onto the table.

Liora’s nose wrinkled at yet another basket of Fairy King Eldwin’s castoffs her family would have to eat for their supper tonight. “That means—”

“That means the king will hold another lottery tomorrow morning. Before the sun rises to its fullest.” Her sister settled into a wobbly chair at the end of the long wooden table where they dined. She picked up a potato and rubbed it between the folds of her gray woolen skirt before handing it to Liora. As princess of Helordia, Delphine had worn only the finest silks. All Good King Humphrey’s daughters had. Here in Aronia, they were reduced to taking the literal scraps of whatever they could get.

Worse yet, their father rotted away in the Fairy King’s dungeon as a prisoner of war, and there was no one left to protect his daughters. To keep them from being put up on the selection block with the rest of the captive maidens.

Liora grabbed a knife from the block next to the wood-burning stove and began scraping away at the potato’s skin, careful not to scrape her knuckles in the process. “Did they say how the Dragon Reader died?”

Delphine rolled her eyes. “How do any of the Dragon Readers die? The dragon got annoyed and burned the poor girl to a crisp.”

Liora winced and lowered her gaze so Delphine couldn’t see the tears that threatened to spill out. “The poor girl” was Evaline, a captive princess from another nearby human kingdom who had become Liora’s closest friend over the years they’d lived under the Fairy King’s terrible reign.

She had been selected in the lottery just one month before. Liora hadn’t seen or spoken to her in all that time. Now she would never have the chance again. “What do you think angers the dragon so?”

“How should I know? He’s a dangerous beast. Why shouldn’t he be irritable, as well?”

Liora tilted her head. “If the next Dragon Reader could find a way to appease the dragon, perhaps the killings would stop. Maybe even the lottery, so that no more girls would have to suffer.”

Her sister set down the onion she was peeling and wiped a tear stream off her cheek. “How would the Dragon Reader appease the dragon? The whole purpose of the position is to appease the dragon, and yet no one has been successful since the Fairy King instituted the lottery.”

Liora bit her lip. “There must be some way to stop all this.”

“Would you be the one to come up with it, then? Perhaps you should be the next lottery pick.”

An involuntary shudder shook Liora’s entire body, but the more she thought about her sister’s harshly spoken words, the more she began to agree with them. What if she was chosen by the lottery and sent to live with the dragon? She could find a way to ensure she would be the last Dragon Reader. It was too late to save Evaline, but there were many other human girls just like her living in the camps surrounding the Fairy King’s palace, including Liora’s own sisters.

But how could Liora be sure the lottery would select her, and not some other poor girl?

She picked another potato from the pile and turned it over in her hand. A sudden flash of inspiration struck her. “Yes, I will be the next Dragon Reader.”

            The silvery moon shone full and bright in the hours just before dawn, and Liora was glad. It was easier for her to see the clear glass tube sticking up out of the podium. Even though the Fairy King wanted to give the appearance that magic was at work in the lottery selection, Liora had figured out his secret years before. The losers’ names didn’t float magically into thin air. They were carried up by a carefully directed wind current inside the see-through tube. Science, not magic. Maybe a little luck was involved, but she was prepared to see that luck didn’t have its way this day.

            She fumbled inside her waist pouch until she’d collected all the pieces of potato she’d cut up and hidden inside. Carefully, she shoved them, one by one, inside the tube. Then she took the long stick she’d found outside their makeshift cabin—as if the trees knew of her plan and were trying to help her—out from her dirt-brown cloak. She stuck the end of the stick inside the tube and poked and prodded until no more pieces of potato were left in view. At least, she couldn’t see them anymore, and she prayed that no one else would after the sun came up.

            The carefully folded paper was the next thing to go inside the tube. Liora knew it was a risk. All the other girls’ names were written by the king’s scribe. But she’d taken the paper with Evaline’s name on it and kept it this past month, tracing the swooping letters repeatedly in her mind. Last night, she traced the letters until her writing perfectly mimicked the scribe’s handwriting, at least to her eyes. It was simple enough to imagine what her name would look like in that script.

            So she wrote her full name, as she knew it must appear to whomever was tasked with drawing forth the selected name:

Liora, daughter of Humphrey of Helordia.

            A rustle of movement behind her alerted Liora to the fact that she was no longer alone. She whirled around, face to beard with one of King Eldwin’s dwarf guards.

            “What’s this, girl? You wouldn’t be trying to tamper with the lottery, to ensure that your name won’t be drawn as the next Dragon Reader?”

            Liora’s umber cheeks heated, and she was grateful there was still enough cover of night that her facial expressions wouldn’t be clearly visible to the dwarf. “No, sir. I wouldn’t dream of doing anything to keep my name from being called.” The statement was at least half true, and she prayed that was good enough in this situation. She was lying to protect her part in what she believed to be the greater good. “I want to be of service to my king. And to his kingdom.” Again, another half-truth.

            Enough to satisfy the dwarf.

He put a hand on her back, in the midpoint between her shoulder blades, as he guided her from the dais to the ground. “There will be time enough for you to serve your king and kingdom.” The corners of his mouth turned downward, directing the hairs of his beard into a gloomy dance. “And that may yet be all the time you have left. Best to enjoy the last few hours of comparative freedom while you can.”

            Those last few hours were some of the slowest Liora had ever endured, and they weren’t at all enjoyable. She tried to tune out her sisters’ whines, tears, and complaints, but it was all she could do to keep from shouting at them that there was no need for them to worry. She would be sacrificing herself for their benefit, as well as the benefit of all the other girls in the kingdom. She bit her bottom lip to keep her secret inside. Her jaw ached from the effort.

Her mother asked a question with her eyes, but Liora shook her head to try to shrug it off. It would be devastating enough to hear Liora’s name called at the lottery podium. No sense in adding to her mother’s pain by admitting what she’d done.

To her credit, the former Queen of Helordia voiced no question or protest, but her eyes never left Liora’s face for more than a few seconds at a time, even as distracted as she was with her other daughters’ cries of distress.

The women and girls were all assembled dutifully at the base of the dais. The crowd spread several lines wide and back. Liora stepped to the side to establish some distance between herself and Delphine, even as the older girl clung to the white linen sleeve of the gown Liora had donned for the occasion. The finest she had. A reminder of Helordia and her family’s former glory. Possibly impractical for spending the rest of her life in a dragon’s lair, but the finery bolstered her courage and her resolve.

King Eldwin lounged on his throne next to the selection podium, one silvery blue leg crossed over the other. His white fur robe draped over the crossed kneecap and puddled on the dais floor. A hint of a smile touched his lips as the dwarf guard Liora had met earlier that morning moved toward the podium.

The Fairy King rapped his long golden staff on the dais three times and shifted to stand. “My loyal ladies, I thank you for your attendance. I’m sure you are all in a hurry to discover who the next Dragon Reader will be. Guelph, I don’t think we want to delay the selection any longer.”

Without a word, the kind dwarf stepped up to the podium and motioned with his right hand. The wind current swirled the paper with Liora’s name higher and higher.

She heaved a sigh of relief. She’d wondered if maybe the bits of potato in the tube would block the airflow completely, but she needn’t have worried. Everything was turning out just the way she’d planned it.

The dwarf grasped the slip of paper in his hand and stared at it for a moment. “Liora, daughter of Humphrey of Helordia.”

Liora’s mother gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

Delphine gripped the sleeve of Liora’s gown tighter.

Her younger sisters wailed louder than ever.

Everyone else in the crowd exhaled in unison. They and their loved ones were safe. Just as Liora had wanted it to be.

She pried Delphine’s fingers from her sleeve and slowly made her way up to the dais.

The dwarf raised his eyebrows in recognition as she approached. He bent his head, and the volume of his voice lowered. “I am sorry the lottery did not go in your favor.”

She would have told him that the lottery had gone exactly how she wanted it to, but King Eldwin was standing with one hand stretched in her direction. There was no time for revealing secrets. Instead, she reiterated the sentiment she’d shared with him earlier that morning. “I am ready to do what I can for my king and his kingdom.” She placed her brown hand inside the king’s silver-blue one.

He clamped a shackle around her wrist. It was attached to a chain that was secured on one end to the cart that would carry her to the dragon’s cave. The shackle was to prevent her from running, although there was no danger of that. But Eldwin and his guards had no idea Liora had made a conscious decision to save her human community. Just as well to let him think she was one of the many distraught maidens who would give anything for their freedom.

She looked out into the sea of female faces and caught her mother’s wet gaze. Genuine tears sprang to her own eyes in response. She withheld a smile. Good. She would at least look the part, even though she didn’t feel it. “Mother, do not weep for me. I will return.”

Her words were soft, but loud enough that Guelph caught them. He shook his head sadly as he closed the back door of the transport cart.

            The cave was darker than she’d imagined it would be after Guelph used the pulley to secure the stone over the entrance. Half-burnt candles set into wall sconces illuminated portions of the cave at regular intervals. There was no sign of the dragon. Where was he? And how was she supposed to be able to read in this dim lighting? Had Evaline complained about the poor lighting and reading conditions? Was that why she was killed?

            Liora pursed her lips. “Well, I will not make that mistake.”

            “What mistake is that, then?” The reply came low and rumbling, like the echo of thunder on a humid summer evening.

            She jumped and whirled in the direction of the sound.

            The dragon wasn’t at all what she had expected. She’d thought he’d be some great hulking fiery-looking thing. Instead, he was scaly and dark green, just like the lizards that climbed along her garden walls.

            Except he was the biggest lizard she had ever seen. And his wings were each as big as she was.

            Liora shifted an inch or two away to escape the heat of the dragon’s breath. “I was just wondering if the reason the last Dragon Reader died was because she complained of the poor lighting conditions in this cave.”

            “That was not the reason she died. You are bold, Dragon Reader, to ask after it.” He moved ahead of her, so that she stood just behind his massive left wing. A thick chain dragged along after him. The dragon was shackled to the cave wall, just as she had been to the side of the cart. “As for the lighting conditions—” He exhaled fire, and the dark spaces between the candles lit up. The effect was blinding.

            Liora had to blink several times before her eyes adjusted to the change. “What is your name? I would like to call you something other than Master Dragon.”

            “Would you?” The sound that emanated from his throat resembled a human chuckle. “They call me Zephyrion.”

            “They? You mean the Fairy King and his court? Is that who chained you up?”

            He raised one wing in a gesture that reminded Liora of a shrug. “Who else?”

            “What was your name before they said you would be Zephyrion?”

            “You ask too many questions, Dragon Reader.” He spread his right wing to indicate the massive stone bookshelf that had been carved into the cave wall. “You are not here to ask questions. You are here to read. No doubt, you see that I am unable to even hold a book with these cursed wings.”

            Liora gasped at the intricacy of the bookshelf’s carving, but also at the selection of books housed on its shelves. Rather, it was the lack of selection that surprised her. One book rested, lengthwise, on the middle shelf. She picked it up and read the title. “The Legend of Elara and the Phoenix.”

            “Yes. Read.” The dragon settled on his haunches and folded his wings around his breast.

            A cushioned loveseat was set up against the cave wall next to the bookshelf, and Liora settled onto it before opening the cover to the first page. “Elara was a brave and kind-hearted princess who lived in a kingdom oppressed by a cruel ruler.” The words of the story mimicked the truth of Liora’s own situation, and she paused as the realization struck her.

            Zephyrion grumbled and growled. “Read.”

            She inhaled and exhaled deeply before continuing. “One night before bed, Elara’s grandmother told her a story about a magical phoenix, a creature known for its ability to rise out of its own ashes. A symbol of rebirth and renewal. Elara began to believe that if she could find the phoenix, he would help her free her people.” Liora set the book down in her lap. “But phoenixes aren’t real. Everyone knows that. Why did this princess think she should waste time trying to find one?”

            Zephyrion exhaled a smoke ring. “Read.”

            Liora narrowed her eyes at the dragon but continued. She read about how Elara faced various trials and tests in her quest to find the phoenix, but she came out stronger through each of them. That, Liora thought, at least was believable. And relatable. Throughout the story, Elara never failed to demonstrate bravery, intelligence, and determination. But also compassion. “When, at last, she found the phoenix, who had been imprisoned by the evil king Elara despised—” Liora let the book drop to her lap as she studied Zephyrion’s almost-human golden-brown eyes. She wasn’t just reading her own story. She was reading his story too.

            “Read.” The command was softer this time, and no longer accompanied by either smoke or fire, as if Zephyrion could read her thoughts.

            “The phoenix was physically weak from all his time spent in chains. He was no longer able to complete the cycle of fire and rebirth.” The story went on to tell how Elara, through her wit and determination, was able to free the phoenix and help him regain his strength. In return, he helped her overthrow the evil king and restore peace and freedom to her kingdom. “Then, together, Elara and the phoenix soared over their kingdom and others for miles around them, spreading hope and inspiring others to stand up against oppression.”

            Having read the last word of the story, Liora closed the book and laid a hand on it.

            Zephyrion rested his head on the floor of the cave and sighed. “Read.”

            “I’m sorry, Master Zephyrion. There is only one book on the shelf, and you have just listened to it.”

            The dragon raised his head and studied her with his piercing golden eyes. “Then I will listen to it again, if you should so deign to read it. If not—”

            He left the statement unfinished, but Liora caught hold of his meaning. She began to suspect this was the reason all the other Dragon Readers had died so soon after going into service. By the time she’d finished her twentieth reading that day before the dragon finally tired of listening and lay snoring on the cave floor, she was sure of it.

            But there was one other thing she was sure of. Like Elara, she could use her wit and determination to release herself and Zephyrion from their cave prison and free the entire kingdom of Aronia from the Fairy King’s evil grasp.

            On the seventh morning of her captivity—or, at least, what seemed like the seventh morning of her captivity because she had no calendar or timepiece in the cave with which to mark the hours and days—Guelph brought in a food tray and a bucket of water like he did every day.

            He set them down at her feet and glanced over his shoulder to ensure Zephyrion wasn’t listening. In fact, he wasn’t in the reading area. He’d retreated to the back chamber he used as a bedroom. “I hear your service may be coming to an end soon.”

            Liora frowned. “Have I angered the dragon, then, with him showing no sign of it?”

These past days, she’d thought they’d developed a bond over the monotonous repetition of the tale of Elara and the phoenix. In truth, Liora no longer read the story. She recited it from memory. But she did so every day without fail because she found that she did not want to displease Zephyrion. Not only because she wanted to save her own life, but also because she’d grown to care for him despite his infuriating demands and his almost-constant ill temper. Besides Guelph, Zephyrion was the closest thing she had to a friend, and she didn’t take that lightly.

Guelph placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “No, not that way, my girl. The Fairy King has decided it is past time he had another dragon head with which to decorate his chamber wall.”

Liora’s blood turned to ice water in her veins, and she shivered. “They will behead him?”

The dwarf nodded.

“When?”

He shrugged. “It usually takes but a fortnight for the king’s wishes to come to pass after he once expresses them. He turns them over in his own head that long to ensure it is the proper course of action.”

“A fortnight.” Two weeks. Not a long time to arrange an escape for Zephyrion, but long enough. A plan had been forming in her mind for the past few days as she thought back to the time in her father’s palace. Watching the blacksmiths work shoes for the royal horses and forge weapons for the royal army, she learned that fire both strengthened and weakened metal with just the right temperature and timing.

Zephyrion had everything he needed to break free from his cave prison. He had the fire and the stubbornness. She had the knowledge and determination.

“It will not be long, and you will be free.” Guelph stood on the outside of the cave entrance, slowly working the pulley to move the stone in place.

“That’s right, Guelph. It will not be long.” A pang struck Liora’s heart as she told another half-true statement to the man who had been so kind to her.

Minutes after Guelph closed up the cave, Zephyrion lumbered into the reading chamber. “Read.”

Liora set the water dipper back in the bucket and turned to face him, straight and tall and with no hint of fear. “I think we have something more important to do than read a story you’ve heard likely over a thousand times.”

Zephyrion hissed, but he held back his fire. “And what is that, princess?”

“We are going to live it.”

            After a few days of practicing on his own chains, Liora was satisfied Zephyrion had mastered his fire to the point where he could not only free himself but also every human king imprisoned in Eldwin’s dungeon, if the men stayed well away from the bars when his fire blasted.

            On the morning of the appointed day of escape, Guelph brought in Liora’s food and water, just as he always did.

            She tilted her head slightly to the right. “Is there more than one entrance to the dungeon, or can you only get to it by going through the palace?”

            Guelph’s forehead creased as his eyes narrowed. “Surely you wouldn’t be wanting to go visit the dungeon.”

            She tapped her index finger against her cheek. “When I am free, I will want to visit my father, who is still imprisoned in the Fairy King’s dungeon. I’d like to find a way in that will escape the king’s notice.”

            Guelph nodded. Of course, this would sound reasonable to him. Poor Guelph. He didn’t deserve what would come after this conversation was over. He’d been nothing but helpful to Liora ever since he’d caught her that morning up on the dais. But this was the way things had to be. For Aronia. For Helordia.

            For Zephyrion.

            “There is an entrance on the far side, below ground. Supply wagons use it to bring food and medical needs without having to go through the main portion of the palace.”

            “An entrance big enough for supply wagons? Yes, I think that will do very nicely.” She raised the volume of her voice on the last statement. A signal to the one who listened in the back of the cave.

            In a flash, Zephyrion toppled Guelph onto the ground and pinned the dwarf between his massive wings. The bearded guard squeaked in alarm and protest.

            Liora grabbed Zephyrion’s loosened chains off the floor and wrapped them around the dwarf’s quivering body, carefully avoiding looking into his eyes. “I am sorry. We had to do this. You will soon understand why. I hope.” She placed a kiss on the dwarf’s scratchy cheek before pulling his chains tightly behind him.

            Zephyrion let out a burst of flame that secured the metal chains in place without harming the dwarf, who made no further sound. His eyes were closed and his breathing heavy. He had passed out.

            Wrapping the folds of the white linen around her body, Liora dashed out the door.

            Zephyrion almost bumped into her on his way out. His speed and agility were far superior to her own. With a great heft of one wing, he slung the stone in place in front of the cave entrance. “When we first met, you asked me my name. My given name.”

            “Are you ready to tell me now?”

            He dipped his great scaled head. “I was once known as Crown Prince Thalor of Aronia. I will tell you more of my story when we have more time. Right now, we must head to the dungeon to free the human kings so they can defeat King Eldwin once and for all.”

            Liora nodded. “I will call you Thalor from now on, since that is your true name.”

            The dragon coughed, and a plume of smoke drifted into the air. He covered his face with one wing. “We will get there faster if you ride on my back. Do you trust me, Princess Liora of Helordia? Will you ride with me?”

            Liora studied his gleaming golden eyes. No wonder they had seemed so human before. Thalor had begun his life as a human. “I will ride with you, if on the way you tell me more of your story. Especially how you became a dragon.”

            “Agreed.” He lowered himself to the ground as much as he could.

            Liora climbed on and gripped the scales on Thalor’s back to steady herself. She leaned forward toward one pointed ear. “Does this hurt?”

            He chuckled, and the action set loose a small flame. “No more than being turned into a dragon and imprisoned by the Fairy King for the past decade of my life. Compared to that, your small hands on my scales feel like nothing. Actually, they feel rather nice. It has been a long time since I was touched with anything approaching tenderness.”

            Her cheeks heated. Good thing Thalor couldn’t see her face right now. “I knew you must have been turned into a dragon.”

            “And when did you guess that?”

            She bit her lip. “Just now, when you told me your real name. But I suspected it earlier. The day we met. Who did this to you? The Fairy King?”

            Thalor heaved a flameless sigh, and his body dipped closer to the earth. “He played a part in it, but the real culprit was a sorceress named Morgatha. When I was quite young, I made the mistake of falling in love with her. Then, I realized what she was, and I tried to break off our engagement.” He swallowed, and Liora felt the ripple underneath her on its way down to his tail. “As you can see, she didn’t take the news very well.”

            “I should say not.”

            “The Fairy King, for his part, used her bitterness to his advantage. With me a mere dragon confined to a cage, he could claim reign over the throne of Aronia. So, he has.”

            “And he’s destroyed as many of the kingdoms around him as possible.”

            “But we will soon set that to rights.”

            Liora peered over the dragon’s shoulder to the ground below her. The Fairy King’s palace was in full view. She held tighter to his scales as Thalor descended. “We must hurry. A dragon landing on the ground near the palace entrance won’t go unnoticed for long.”

            He flicked his tail, and the generated wind rustled her tightly wound curls. “No, I certainly won’t. Let’s go.”

            “Liora, my daughter!” King Humphrey reached through the bars surrounding his cell to touch her. “We’d heard you’d been selected as the next Dragon Reader.”

            “I was.” She glanced over her shoulder, where Thalor breathed heavily from the exertion of flying. Apparently, it wasn’t as easy as it looked. But he had been chained up in the cave for over a decade with no exercise. Understandable that he would be out of shape. “Maybe you’ve noticed the giant dragon lying in the corridor behind me.”

            Her father’s smile was wide. “I did notice, now that you mention it. May I ask what he is doing here?”

            She shook her head. “There’s not much time. I can’t explain it all. I just need you to step back away from the cell lock.”

            King Humphrey frowned. “Why?”

            “Please, Father, trust me. Trust Thalor. We have come to free you from King Eldwin’s clutches. You and the other human kings occupying this dungeon.” She leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “You must all band together to defeat Eldwin. He bested you because you were on your own against him. If you all work together, he won’t be able to overcome you. There are swords and bows and arrows in the guard shack. It’s outside. Just go down the long corridor to the right and out the door. You can’t miss it.” She reached a hand in between the bars. “But right now you must step back.”

            Her father took her hand and squeezed it. Then, he did as she instructed.

            Thalor inhaled deeply and exhaled a highly concentrated blast right at the cell lock. It melted away in an instant. All those hours and days of training had paid off.

            Liora stepped into the cell behind her father and pushed him toward the door. “Go now. Don’t delay. The Fairy King’s army will surely start forming soon. You must be ready to meet them. Thalor and I will free the other kings. They will join you as soon as they are able to.”

            King Humphrey wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a quick hug and kissed her forehead. “This is a brave thing you are doing.”

            “It is the only thing that can be done. There is no other choice.”

            Her heart broke a little as her father walked the opposite direction down the corridor. Liora prayed that he would stay safe, just as she prayed for the safety of the kings they had yet to free.

            Thalor nudged her with his snout. “There are others to release from prison. There is much work yet to be done.”

            She nodded and blinked back tears as she set off down the corridor to the next king’s cell.

            Back in the air, Liora and Thalor watched the battle they had set into motion. The human kings ambushed Eldwin and his army, and they were soon able to lay siege to the palace that should rightly be Thalor’s home. All with very little blood being spilt.

            Liora leaned forward and nuzzled the dragon’s head. The scales up there were softer than the ones on the rest of his body. Almost like birds’ feathers. “Do you think you’ll ever go back to the castle as the human Crown Prince Thalor? Or maybe you would be King Thalor by now.”

            “I would have to regain my humanity, and I don’t know if that is possible.”

            She squinted against the glaring sun. “Can I ask you a question?”

            Thalor chuckled. “After all we’ve been through together, I think you’ve earned that right.”

            “Why did you kill those girls? All those Dragon Readers before me. Some of them were my friends.”

             With his sigh, he exhaled smoke and a few residual noxious gases. “It’s not something I’m proud of. After a while, they got tired of reading and refused to do it anymore. I’d lost control of the situation, and it made me feel like I did when Morgatha changed me into this form. I had to do something to feel like I was getting some control back.”

            Liora pinched her nostrils closed and breathed through her mouth. “I refused to read anymore after about a week.”

             “You did, but you gave me something else to do. You gave me purpose I’d never had before. For that, I will always be grateful.” He turned his head in her direction, and his golden eyes flashed. “You, Princess Liora of Helordia, are something entirely different.”

            Liora lowered her gaze and smiled. “And you, Dragon Prince Thalor, have certainly redeemed yourself. You saved many lives today by freeing those human kings, even while you are still imprisoned in this strange skin. What do you think we should do next?”

            “What would you wish to do, princess?”

            “I would like to pay a visit to this Morgatha person. Maybe we could persuade her to turn you back into your original form. You don’t have any favorite books about a prince and a princess who work together to outwit a sorceress, do you?”

            Thalor’s laughter echoed through the valley below them. “I do not. But that sounds like an excellent story we could live out together and perhaps write down later to read to the generations who come after us. What do you say?”

            Liora snuggled deeper into his feathery head scales. “I say I don’t think there are any challenges or trials we cannot overcome together.” She sat up straighter and thrust a fist into the air. “Onward to our next grand adventure.”