The Dragons Blood Key: Legend of the Dragon's Blood Key - Book 1 (24 page)

Roupert stepped up next to Frier and smiled.
“That is the spirit of your father, King Ashlym. He has been with
Cassandra from the moment she wore the Blood Key.”

“I don’t understand. How is that possible?”
Frier shook his head finding it difficult to believe this news.

Cassy placed her hand on the Breast Plate.
“Son, there is much you do not know about the Power of the Dragon.
You see, your mother will not die today.”

Cassy grasped the Breast Plate and the
straps holding it in place disappeared. She then held it out, and
to Roupert’s and Frier’s surprise it transformed from the Stone
like plate into a Dragon breast scale with the Blood Key still
attached
to the center.

“Step back,” Cassy said with a glint in her
eyes. She then positioned Privlana on her back then gently laid the
scale on Privlana’s chest.

A strange vibration filled the room, making
Roupert and Frier take several stepped back.

“What is going on?” Frier asked as he
watched the breast scale shimmer a bright green with bursts of
flames shooting from the Blood Key.

The magic of the Blood Key filled the room,
making everyone feel its power surge through them like bolts of
lightning. Several of the guards dropped to their knees in fear,
while Roupert and Dalmen bowed with reverence.

Suddenly, a green fog surrounded Privlana,
lifting her from the floor. Her long red hair fluttered in the air,
as she spun slowly with beams of bright light emanating from her
fingertips and toes.

Time stood still, as Frier watched the
transformation of his mother from her human form into the beautiful
image of the Dragon now standing before him.

Frier, my beloved son,” she cried out to
him.

Joy filled Frier’s heart, as it seemed to
soar among the clouds. “Mother,” he cried, as he felt tears wetting
his cheeks.

Privlana reached up and touched the
breastplate once again covering her chest above her powerful
Dragon’s heart. “It is over. The curse is broken,” she cried,
feeling joy and peace overtake her.

Cassy stepped forward and looked up at
Privlana. “It’s not over. There is one more thing you must do, but
it will take the love you and Frier share to complete this
task.”

Cassy held out her hand. When she opened her
fingers, everyone in the room gasped when they saw the Blood Stone
resting in the palm of her hand. “Your Majesty, Frier, you both
must close your eyes and visualize King Ashlym in your minds. You
must harness all of your love and power
to
complete this last task.”

Cassy stood between Privlana and Frier and
held out the Blood Stone. The guards were huddled together, unsure
of what was about to happen and Roupert eyes were wide with
anticipation as he held his breath.

The room was
deathly quiet. Cassy lifted the Blood Stone above her head and
shouted in a clear voice, “Come forth, by the Power of the Dragon.
I call ye from the Land of Shadows to the Land of the
Living.”

Roupert stood in stunned amazement, as a
powerful light came forth from the Blood Stone and filled the
entire room. Everything seemed to move as in the rippling
of water
, and Roupert felt his
mind grow faint.

The guards feared for their lives, as the
light seemed to consume
them like
fire in a pit. At the final moment when all hope was lost,
a significant
cracking noise
filled the dungeon and in a large cloud of smoke, the mighty
Dragon, King Ashlym appeared.

“My love,” Queen Privlana cried out with
joy.

“My King,” Roupert and the guards shouted
with glee, as they dropped to one knee, bowing with reverence.

King Ashlym turned and faced Frier. “My son,
it is good to see you,” he smiled when he saw tears fill Frier’s
eyes.

“Oh Father,” Frier cried, his heart filled
with joy.

King Ashlym turned and faced Cassy. “I owe
you a great debt, Cassandra. You have proven that one not need be
a powerful
warrior to conquer the
Evil Queen. I want to thank you for saving my kingdom, and
reuniting my family.”

Overcome with emotion, Cassy dropped to her
knees and cried. She knew the danger was over, but for some reason
she could not seem to shake an uneasy feeling.

“I see you are tormented. What bothers you,
child?” King Ashlym asked.

Cassy shook her head then held out her hand.
“I don’t think the Blood Stone is working anymore. I think all of
its magic is gone.” She looked down at the Stone that now had a
large crack in its center and had lost its deep red glow.

Cassy looked over at Roupert then at the
Queen. “I know it was the Blood Key that brought me here, but now
that Alona’s curse and your spell are broken it’s no longer a key,
right?”

“You are correct. It has returned to being
the Blood Stone. Why do you ask?” Queen Privlana said.

Cassy lowered her head, afraid of the answer
to come. “If it’s no longer a key then how are Aaron and I supposed
to return home?”

King Ashlym tried his best not to laugh,
“You do not fully understand the Power of the Dragon yet, do
you?”

Cassy looked up at him and shook her
head.

“You need not worry how you will return
home. You as the Champion will always have the Power of the Dragon
inside of you. You have shown great courage and defeated the Evil
Queen Alona. Before you
return
to
your home, let us celebrate with a grand feast. Today is a joyous
day. Let us spend time together in celebration before you return to
your realm,” King Ashlym laughed heartily.

Cassy’s mind raced at the activities of the
day. Roupert had taken her to the tower to retrieve the remainder
of the Dragon clan who had spent the many years of Alona’s rule
trapped as stone.

“I didn’t realize there were so many of
them,” Cassy laughed as each took their turn greeting her and
showering her with praise and well wishes.

“
You are quite
famous among the subjects of Walandra,” Roupert laughed. Suddenly a
young dragon transformed into the human form of a little girl, who
ran up to Cassy and hugged her while giggling with tears of
joy.

“Thank you for saving us,” the little girl
said while hugging Cassy tightly. “I did not like being trapped in
stone for all that time.”

Cassy looked up at Roupert with tears in her
eyes. “I had no idea they would know what was happening to them.
How terrible,” she touched the little girl on the cheek, making her
giggle even more.

“Come, we must hurry. We would not want to
miss the feast,” Roupert chuckled when the Dragons all transformed
into their human forms and rushed to the stairway, which led down
to the great hall.

Once Cassy and Roupert entered the Great
Hall, Aaron ran up to Cassy and threw his arms around her neck.

“Hey there, Sis, I sure am glad to see you.
You’re not going to believe this, but the Lillients showed me how
to fly. I flew here from their castle far off to the east. Man, I
heard you beat that evil Alona and sent her packing.”

Cassy held on to Aaron tightly, with joy
filling her heart. “I’m glad to see you too. You bet I did. You
don’t think I let some Evil Queen get the best of me, do you,” she
winked then laughed when Aaron shrugged his shoulders.

Cassy looked around the Great Hall. “Where
are the Lillients? I’d like to thank them for taking such good care
of you.”

“They said something about needing to check
on Frier. I hear that he’s no longer a small dragon and that he
killed Alona. That is so cool,” Aaron clapped his hands together
joyously.

“Yeah, you wouldn’t recognize him at all
now,” Cassy grinned.

A young maiden walked up to Cassy and held
out her hand. “Please come with me, Cassandra, our Champion. The
Queen has requested that you dress for dinner. She said that you
must wash and change your clothes after such a grueling day. As for
you, Sir Aaron, the Queen would like you to go with Cameron. He
will help you prepare for dinner.”

Cassy and Aaron looked at each other
wondering how to respond.

Roupert walked up to
them
and rested his hand on Aaron’s shoulder with a broad
grin on his face. “Do not argue with orders from the Queen. Go with
these servants and they will help you prepare for dinner. I’ll see
you back here once you’re done.”

Realizing there was no sense in arguing, Cassy
and Aaron followed the two servants out of the Hall and down a long
hallway to the private chambers.

Cassy followed the servant girl through the
large wooden door into a massive bedchamber. She looked around the
room and was amazed at how beautifully decorated it was.

“Please remove your clothes and put them in
the basket. I will see that they are cleaned and returned to you
after the feast.”

The handmaiden walked over to a large tub
sitting in the back of the room by a privacy screen. “You may
undress behind there, and I will return with your dining clothes.
The water is hot, and your soap and
towel
for drying are by the bath. If you need anything,
please do not hesitate to ask. Once you have finished bathing, I
will return and help you dress.”

Cassy stepped behind the privacy screen and
took off her clothes then put them in the basket. The handmaiden
then grabbed the basket with Cassy’s dirty clothes and left the
room. “Enjoy your bath and I will return soon.”

Cassy was at a loss
for
what to say, so she merely nodded and smiled. Once
she was alone, she slipped into the warm bath.

As Cassy relaxed in the
warm
water, she thought back to the events of
the past few days. No one would ever believe what she had done. To
be honest, she was not sure if she
believed
it herself.

“Who would
believe
that I was possessed by a Dragon and fought an
Evil Queen using magic?” Cassy chuckled to herself.

She knew her life would never be the same
after she returned home. How does someone experience everything she
did and not be a changed person?

“Miss, it is nearly time to join everyone in
the Great Hall,” the handmaiden said as she walked back into the
room carrying an elegant gown.

“Okay, I’m getting out.” Cassy stood and
reached for the towel. She would have enjoyed more time relaxing in
the enticing water, but the urgent look
on
the handmaiden’s face let her know there was no time
to waste.

“Please come over here. I had laid your
undergarments on the bed earlier, and I hope you find this gown
pleasing. The Queen thought the color would bring out the beautiful
color in your eyes,” the handmaiden blushed and seeing the
surprised look on Cassy’s face.

“Ah, thank you. It’s quite
beautiful
.”

Once Cassy was dressed, the handmaiden had
her sit so that she could do her hair. “You have lovely hair, Miss
Cassandra. I do hope you like what I do for you.”

“I’ve never had anyone do my hair other than
my mom,” Cassy felt sadness tug at her heart.

The handmaiden smiled, “Your mother is a
lucky woman to have such a brave daughter. To have been victorious
over the Evil Queen is a miraculous thing. The subjects of the
kingdom will eternally be in your debt.”

“You don’t owe me anything. I was just doing
what I needed to do.”

“No, you put the needs of others before
those of your own. The children of Walandra will hear the tale of
the young girl from a faraway realm who saved us from the Evil
Queen by casting her into the
realm
of the Land of the Shadows. They will sing praises
to
your name and rejoice in the
freedom you restored.”

Taken aback by the excitement in the
handmaiden’s eyes, Cassy’s cheeks
flushed
a soft shade of red at hearing her words. “Thank
you, that means a lot to me.”

The handmaiden stepped away from Cassy and
smiled. “There, you are ready. You are as beautiful as a Royal
Princess, come, look.” She reached down and took Cassy by the hand
then led her over to the large mirror in the corner of the
room.

Cassy’s breath caught in her throat at the
vision looking back at her in the mirror. She raised her hand to
her mouth, “Oh, my, is that me?”

“Yes, you truly are a vision of beauty,” the
handmaiden nodded.

Cassy stared at the image looking back at
her in the mirror. She noticed that the dress was made of
an amber
shimmering cloth with a
pearl-colored sash wrapped tightly around her waist. She leaned in
closely and
saw
the small jewels,
each carefully
sewn
on the bodice
of the dress, reflecting the flickering torches which hung along
the walls of the room. Next, she realized how her hair was up on
her head in a twisted knot, with delicate wisps gently teasing her
shoulders then atop her head, sat a small crown made of vibrant
flowers.