The Dragons Blood Key: Legend of the Dragon's Blood Key - Book 1 (17 page)

Realizing that he had no choice, Roupert
pulled his chair closer to Abigail.

“There that’s better, isn’t it? You saved me
from the storm, so there is no need for us to feel uncomfortable
with each other.” Abigail sensed kindness in this man who opened
his home to her, and she found herself drawn to him.

Roupert glanced up at her and found himself
lost in her eyes again. He had never felt this way before, and he
wondered why he did now. “You were raised by your Grandfather, what
happened to your parents?”

Abigail’s eyes filled with tears as she told
him of her parents, and the tragic way they had died.

“Where is this? I know I’m not in Maine
anymore,” Abigail said with a hint of confusion in her voice.

“Maine, no, I do not know of that place. You
are in the Kingdom of Walandra.”

Abigail was at a loss
for
words. “I don’t understand. How did I get
here?”

Roupert reached out and gently touched the
stone attached to the breastplate covering her chest. “The Blood
Key brought you here.”

“But that makes no sense. How can a red
stone do that? It was on an old worn out book that my grandfather
brought home from a far away land. This is all insane,” Abigail
covered her face with her hands as frustration consumed her entire
being.

Roupert felt troubled for Abigail. He knew
she was scared, as anyone who were suddenly transported to a
strange land away from everything they knew. Nonetheless, the Blood
Key chose her as the Champion, and until she fulfilled her destiny,
she will not return to her home.

He reached out and took her hand in his,
trying to console her fears. Their eyes met again, and the same
feeling overcame him, making him pull his hand away.

“I’m sorry… The water is warm,” he jumped up
and carried the kettle to the table to prepare the tea.

Abigail watched Roupert as he poured the hot
water into the cups, and then stirred in an
amber-colored
substance into the tea.

“I hope you do not mind, but I added some
sweet sap to the tea,” Roupert said nervously as he carried the
cups with him to the where they were sitting by the fire.

“No, not at all; I like my tea sweet.”
Abigail took the offered cup, “Thank you.”

Roupert nodded then he returned to his chair
without saying a word.

Several
tense-filled
moments passed as both
struggled with
what to say. It was Abigail, who
finally broke the silence.

“Roupert, why did you call me the Champion?
What did you mean by that?”

Roupert gazed upon the beautiful young
maiden and wondered how he could tell her the truth. She seemed to
be such a delicate being, not one to challenge the Evil Queen
Alona. He prepared himself to
tell
her when a sense of panic overtook him.

“The fire grows weak. I’ll go get some more
wood,” he quickly jumped to his feet and headed
for
the door.

Before Abigail could respond, Roupert had
vanished through the door, closing it behind him.

“My, that was strange,” she thought
aloud.

No sure, of how long he would be gone,
Abigail decided to use this time to explore the hut. “This
shouldn’t take long.”

Abigail was amazed at how organized he had
the small hut, as everything seemed to be in its proper place. She
noticed the shelves with jars and pouches, as well as plates,
bowls, and cups. She walked over to the table and ran her hand
along the top, noticing the smoothness of the wood.

“Very
nice
,” she said as she turned to walk back to her chair
by the fire.

“Oh, what was that?” She stopped, and looked
down at the object she had just kicked with her foot.

“Oh my, what is this?” Abigail gasped as she
looked into the basket on the floor tucked under the table.

Abigail had never seen such a thing.
Nestled
in the basket on a bed of
straw was a large golden egg. She reached out to touch the egg
when… “Stop, do not
touch
that!” a
voice shouted, startling Abigail.

She quickly pulled her hand away then ran
back to her chair and sat with her hands folded
in
her lap. “I’m sorry, I meant no harm,” she
cried, looking around for who had scolded her.

At that moment, Roupert came through the
door and saw Abigail crying.

“What happened here?” He looked around the
room.

“She nearly touched the Royal Egg,” the
voice said.

Roupert looked at Abigail and saw the fear
in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I meant no harm. It’s just that
I’ve never seen anything like that before. So that’s what it is; A
Royal Egg? How interesting.” Abigail glanced around the hut, trying
to find the source of the strange voice.

“Come out, Brianna and introduce yourself,”
Roupert said, trying not to laugh. “You nearly scared Abigail to
death.”

“I would not have scared her, had she not
tried to touch the Royal Egg,” Brianna said
defensively
.

“Well, I do not believe that the Champion
would come all this way to harm the Prince, do you?” Roupert said
playfully.

Abigail gasped as the small creature with
delicate wings flew towards her from the shadows, and she marveled
how beautiful it was.

“What do you mean the Champion? This is
not…” Brianna placed her hand over her heart then began to cry with
joy. “It is you. Please forgive me; I did not see the sacred Breast
Place and Blood Key. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am
that you are here. My name is Brianna of the Lillients. We are
guardians of the Royal Eggs.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Brianna. My name is
Abigail. None of this makes any sense to me, but I’m sure that you
and Roupert will explain it all to me in due time.”

“Yes, dear Abigail. You are very special,
and it is an honor to be in your service. I have a feeling that the
Blood Key has chosen well,” Brianna bowed her head.

Abigail placed her hand over the Blood
Key
and felt a strange vibration
and warmth go into her hand then through her entire being. “Oh my,”
she said with surprise.

“This is truly a joyous day, Roupert; one
that we have long awaited. My sisters must know,” Brianna closed
her eyes then two other Lillients appeared.

“See my sisters; the Champion is here,”
Brianna said excitedly.

Brianna turned to the two Lillients and
said, “This is Syrea and Arianna.”

Syrea and Arianna bowed their heads then
looked at Abigail with smiles on their faces.

“She is quite lovely,” Syrea observed as the
others nodded their heads in agreement.

“Do you not think that she is lovely,
Roupert,” Syrea said with a playful smile on her face.

“Ah, yes, she is,” his cheeks grew warm and
flushed as he realized what he had said.

“Stop teasing him. Can you not see that he
is taken with her?” Arianna chided Syrea then winked at
Abigail.

Hoping to end this line of discussion,
Roupert walked over and put some more wood on the fire.

“May I ask a question?” Abigail addressed
the Lillients.

“Of course, what do you want to know?” Syrea
answered.

“Why does Roupert have the egg here? If it’s
a Royal Egg, why isn’t it in a castle instead of sitting in a
basket here in this simple hut?” She hoped that she had not
offended him.

“That is why you are here, dear child,”
Arianna answered with compassion in her eyes.

Abigail sat transfixed as the Lillients told
her the tale of how Alona tricked King Ashlym and Queen
Privlana
and took control of the Kingdom of
Walandra. As they shared the story, Abigail rested her hand over
the Blood Key, feeling the strange vibration moving through her.
Once the Lillients had completed the tale, Abigail understood her
destiny and through the power
of
the Blood Key, she had a clear understanding of how to accomplish
it.

“May I see the Royal Egg again?” Abigail
asked in a firm voice.

The Lillients exchanged concerned looks then
nodded.

Abigail stood and walked over to the basket
then carefully set it on the table A rush of emotions overtook her
as she gazed down at the Golden Egg nestled safely in the
straw.

“He’s lonely,” Abigail said flatly.

“He’s what?” Roupert asked with surprise,
unsure if he had heard her correctly.

Abigail turned toward Roupert. “I said; he’s
lonely. Prince Frier feels alone. He told me,” she reached out and
gently touched the egg.

“I don’t understand. Why didn’t he let me
know,” Roupert said as he walked over to the basket.

“It’s because she wears the Blood Key,”
Syrea explained as the other Lillients nodded their heads in
agreement.

“Yes, the King’s blood calls out to his
son,” Brianna said with tears of joy forming in the corners of her
eyes.

“What else does he tell you?” Arianna said
excitedly.

With her hand resting on the egg, Abigail
closed her eyes and opened her mind to the thoughts of the young
Prince.

“He says that he has waited long to come
forth into the world, and he is thankful to Roupert for caring for
him all these long years.
He says the
spirit of his father has come to him and told him of a Champion
that would restore the Kingdom and free its people from the reign
of the Evil Queen, but that he was to stay inside the egg until the
Champion made themself known.
He wants you to know that this
knowledge has given him peace all these long years.”

Roupert reached out and touched the egg as
tears streamed down his cheeks. “I’m sorry; I did not know that you
were lonely all this time. I wish I would have known for so was
I.”

Abigail took Roupert’s hand in hers, and
suddenly he could hear the young Prince’s thoughts. He opened his
eyes wide with surprise then laughed as the thoughts of the Prince
filled his mind.

After several moments, he released her hand
and stepped away from the basket with tears of joy wetting his
cheeks.

Abigail turned to face Roupert, her face
aglow with joy. “He loves you, you know and he’s thankful for
everything you’ve done to keep him safe all these years.”

Overtaken with joy, Roupert took Abigail in
his arms and held her tightly. “Thank you; thank you for allowing
me to know he’s alright. I have worried all these years that
something was wrong since he had remained in the egg.”

Abigail glanced at the Lillients and
realized they were
also crying
.
“Oh my, we are quite a bunch tonight, aren’t we?”

“He likes you as well,
Abigail
and Prince Frier thinks you are
beautiful. He does
say
that he is
surprised that the Champion would be so young,” Roupert saw a look
of concern cross Abigail’s face.

Abigail felt all eyes upon her, and
honestly, she had wondered the same thing. “I don’t know why it
chose me. I’m a seventeen-year-old girl from Maine. I have lived
most of my life on an island in a huge mansion, reading books and
playing chess with my grandfather whenever he would return from his
travels. I wish I knew the answer to his question, but I
don’t.”

“It does not matter why it chose you,
Abigail. All that matters is you are here now,” the words left
Roupert’s mouth before he realized what he had said.

“See, it is true, he is taken with her,”
Arianna teased, as joyous laughter filled the room.

Cassy sat mesmerized by the tale of how her
great-grandmother Abigail came to be the Champion. She looked over
at Roupert and could see the sadness in his eyes as he spoke of
Abigail, and wondered if she had returned his feelings.

“I don’t understand something. If Frier knew
of his father and mother while he was still in the egg, why doesn’t
he know any of that now?”

“
You see, when
Queen Privlana cast her protection spell over the Dragon clan, she
also cast a spell that would prevent Frier from remembering once he
came forth from the egg.”

Cassy’s eyes lit up with excitement. “You
were forbidden to tell him, weren’t you?”

“
Yes, I was
forbidden to tell him the truth, and all memory of his true
identity was stricken from the minds of the subjects of the Kingdom
until Alona’s curse is lifted.” Roupert looked at her with sadness
clearly showing on his face.

Cassy shook her head, amazed at how
everything fell into place. “So tell me, what happened? Why wasn’t
Abigail able to lift the curse and restore the Kingdom?”

Roupert hung his head, as tears filled his
eyes.
“We were able to get Abigail into
the dungeon and were about to reunite the sacred Breast Plate with
Queen Privlana, but something happened that none of us expected,”
his voice cracked as his emotions overwhelmed him.

Cassy held her breath, waiting for him to
continue.

“
I don’t know how
it happened, but Alona had somehow set a trap for us. Once Abigail
was only mere feet away from Queen Privlana and powerful force
wrapped around Abigail and held her in place.
I tried to
free her, but I was unsuccessful. I could see the fear in Abigail’s
eyes as the force darkened and began to crush her.”

Cassy’s eyes were wide with fear, as Roupert
told the tale, and she wondered if she would meet the same
fate.

“Abigail cried out for me to save her, but I
couldn’t move; for my feet were held fast to the floor by some
magical power. Alona laughed a wicked
laugh
and slowly walked toward Abigail with her hands
outstretched.
It was then when Queen
Privlana cried out for the power of the Blood Key to save Abigail.
Just as Alona was about to rip the Blood Key from the Breast Plate
on Abigail’s chest; she vanished, and then I awoke in my
hut.”