Chapter 4
Chapter 4
The doors opened to a living room, with a double curved grand staircase with black and gold balustrades, for a cave in a volcanic mountain it was light and spacious, not to mention the cool breeze that flowed to keep cool. Bolts of lightning in what Alec assumed was lightning proof container lit up the interior of the beautiful cave mansion, the couches were a cream leather like material, the coffee table had a glass top with gold legs… a fireplace that was lit with a low burning fire, a regal painting of a huge fire dragon hung above the mantle… it was the fire dragon that ruled before Queen Nuri; he was fierce, red with gold edged scales and black edged wings with golden tips… he was magnificent and so majestic.
Alec was so enthralled by how everything was set up, he didn’t even understand why such a large beast would need human sized furniture or furniture of any kind… all the questions flowed through his mind, that he did not notice the woman that now stood on the final step of the staircase until she spoke,
“Have we had a good look?”
The woman’s voice came like the call of a sweet siren, Alec whirled around and his eyes locked with a red eyed, long wavy haired brunette, her face oval and lips full… Alec’s eyes traveled over her figure, she looked like she was an easy five foot two, well toned curvy figure all classy and tucked away under a long flowing dress, her presence demanded attention… Alec looked straight into her eyes and he felt a strange familiarity. He was awestruck by the this mesmerizing beauty that stood before him.
“I asked you a question”
This time her voice boomed brining Alec back to reality, he bowed before the lady that stood in front of him.
“Sincerest apologies my lady, I seek an audience with the great dragon queen, Nuri”
The lady curtsied before Alec and walked towards him, she motioned for him to take a seat as she sat down, one leg tucked neatly behind the other,
“Why do you want an audience with her majesty?”
“I wish to address the growing attacks on the human villages by the feral dragons”
“I see, but her majesty was not informed of any meeting with you”
“Yes, the meeting was brought up rather spontaneously because of such rising tensions. My sincerest apologies for the inconvenience it might cause her majesty”
The woman nodded and then looked at the painting that was hung up on the mantle. Alec stood up, keep a distance from her… she seemed and felt so familiar to him, a bizarre thought crossed his mind but he shook his head; it couldn’t be,
“My lady, please forgive me for any intrusion of your privacy; but how is a human a servant to the dragon queen”
She laughed and shook her head, she partially turned and a smirk crossed her face.
“I’m surprised you have not figured it out yet, Alec”
“Figure what out?” Alec paused for a second “hang on, I never introduced myself to you… how do you know my name?”
She sat back down, the mischievous smirk on her face growing, she was enjoying the mental torture that she was inflicting on Alec, who looked very confused; she watched as he rubbed his forehead, she could almost see the wheels in his head turning. While Alec continued to try and make sense of everything that was going on the lady took a good look at Alec, his lean toned form, his gorgeous tanned skin, he was the perfect height for a human male… his thick, black wavy hair… he was an absolute sight. She looked into his hazel colored eyes and couldn’t help but notice the fire that danced in his soul… he was not like the other humans, there was something mysteriously magical about him, she was on the verge of figuring it out when Alec shouted out,
“No way!”
She jumped back in her seat, holding her chest..
“What?”
“It cannot be”
“What cannot be?”
“You’re Queen Nuri”
The lady nodded,
“But how?”
“Is that really important”
“No”
“It’s been a long few days for you, I’m sure… we can discuss this in the morning and come up with a solution”
“Yes your majesty”
“Follow me, I’ll show you to your room… I’ll also get you some fresh clothes for the night and tomorrow”
Queen Nuri showed Alec to his room, it was as large as his entire house, their was a bed king sized, with black bed sheets, the floor had beige marble flooring with black fur rugs, there was a mountain that overlooked a nearby meadow; this allowed for a cool breeze to pass through the room, a long mirror and a brush for his hair, there was a closet but of course no clothing. He opened the bathroom door, to find a large ground dug tub with water already in it, Alec dipped his finger in and the temperature was delightful, the water had a bubbling effect, Alec was taken aback by everything he saw, it was truly magnificent. There was a knock on the room door and Alec popped his head out and saw Queen Nuri standing a little in his room, she smiled at him and Alec felt his heart feel warm and slightly skip a beat, it was something he had never experienced before,
“Is this room to your liking?”
“Yes your majesty”
“Excellent, I’ve brought you some fresh clothes for the night and tomorrow”
She placed them on the bed, along with some amenities that he would need and closed the door behind her, Alec was left with so many thoughts running through his mind. After a long soak in the warm bubbling pool of water, he slipped on the comfy nightwear. Finally a comfortable bed to sleep on, come morning Alec knew that he and Queen Nuri would find a solution to combat the growing danger of the feral dragons.
In the morning, Alec made his way down to the kitchen, Queen Nuri had shown him the night before where to go. As he neared the kitchen and got the most wonderful smell of maple syrup over warm pancakes, bacon and eggs; he walked into the kitchen and found the queen cooking up a devious breakfast for them… wait, THE QUEEN OF DRAGONS WAS COOKING BREAKFAST FOR HIM! Alec ran his fingers through his hair, wide eyed at the thought. Nuri cleared her throat and brought Alec back to reality,
“Good morning Alec, did you sleep well”
“Yes, your majesty. Thank you”
He bowed slightly and Nuri’s facial expression changed into a friwn, Alec found it extremely cute the way she scrunched up her nose when she was annoyed,
“Please call me Nuri, you don’t have to be formal with me all the time; you are a guest in my house”
She placed everything down on the large dining table, it was large enough for ten people to sit, Alec added this to his list of questions to ask her if she allowed. Alec pulled out the chair for Nuri and once she was seated, he began to walk to the furthest end of the table, Nuri watched him and then spoke,
“Why are you going to be seated so far from me and the food, please be seated closer”
She motioned to a chair that was next to her, Alec gulped visibly; his nervousness made Nuri giggle lightly, she found him handsome and his mannerisms adorable.
“Shall we get down to business”
As they discussed and ate breakfast the two were in perfect sync, you would never know who is the beast and who is the human. Alec brought up the points about the feral dragons were now killing for sport, that they were looting and creating chaos in the various villages and this was only adding more pressure on the already strained relationship between the dragons and humans. Nuri agreed that the situation was out of control and that a meeting would be held in three days and that word would be sent to the concerned village chiefs and head sorcerer’s to attend the meeting, along with the other element archdragons, until then no further meetings would be required, this matter was already discussed among the archdragons already.
After breakfast, Nuri turned to Alec,
“Would you like to go for a stroll in the meadow… with me”
Alec nearly choking on the sip of tea he had taken, the queen was asking him to go for a stroll with her…
“Yes, that would be lovely”
“Wonderful, I’ll just go freshen up and we will be on our way”
The queen was such a hospitable host and was so endearing towards him, he wanted to do something to show his appreciation… he looked at the table and decided that he would pack up some of the fruits, rushing to the kitchen he found some sandwich stuff and put together ham and cheese sandwiches, packed up some water and a variety of fruits in a basket that he found in one of the cupboards. He put a damp cloth over the basket to keep the food moist and cool. He had also cleared up the table and washed the dishes. He stood back making sure all was perfect and smiled to himself.
“Shall we leave?”
Her voice felt like music to his ear, he picked up the basket and faced her,
“Yes”
Nuri looked around the dining hall was neat, they walked past the kitchen and everything was cleared up, washed and packed away; she looked at Alec and noticed the basket he was carrying. A smile crossed her lips and a tear threatened to fall from her eye,
“Did you do all of this?”
Alec looked down at the women beside him, the smile on her face warmed his heart…
“Yes, I hope you don’t mind”
Nuri shook her head
“Not at all”
The two walked in silence for a few minutes, taking notice of the autumn leaves that flew by, the crisp breeze. Most of the animals were stoking up to go into hibernation, birds were migrating. Alec was trying to find a way to ask Nuri about her human form. They came to a lake that had a beautiful cascading waterfall. They sat on the grass and unpacked their little picnic lunch, Nuri could feel that something was on Alec’s mind
“You can ask me whatever it is”
Alec looked up at her,
“Can you read minds to?”
Nuri laughed, the sound was beautiful, Alec was enchanted by this beautiful woman.. dragon… whatever she was… it was enchanting to him
“No, I cannot, but I am not stupid… ask me”
“Okay… how are you human… I mean every time we have met, I have always seen you in your beautiful dragon form”
“You think my dragon form is… beautiful”
A slight blush crept on their cheeks… Nuri then answered his question
“It is only an ability that the archdragons possess, it is a secret that we protect.”
“So then why trust me with your human form”
“I don’t know… there’s something about you, I just haven’t figured it out yet”
“So how long have you been around?”
“A couple hundred years”
“Was your mate killed or have you not found your mate”
“You certainly do not waste time in getting straight to the point”
“Forgive me your grace, I did not mean to cross a line… I am merely curious”
Nuri saw how sorry Alec was, it she was not offended in any way; she was actually trying to figure out a way to ask Alec some personal questions about him, but now that he had broken the ice she would use it to her ad advantage,
“Alec, I am not offended in any way, yes normal dragons have mates… but for some reason our dragon goddess did not bless Archdragons with mates, we are the only of our kind”
“So then…”
“How was I born?”
“Yes and how…”
“How am I the only female archdragon?”
Alec nodded and laid on the ground facing Nuri, he noticed that she was remembering the pain of her birth story… he wanted to reach out and hold her, to comfort her…instead he just said
“I have nothing but time”
With a deep, long sigh;Nuri began to tell Alec how she came to be.