The Dragons Blood Key: Legend of the Dragon's Blood Key - Book 1 (8 page)

“Good day, Sir Roupert, it is a pleasure to
see you again,” the Lillient said in a warm and friendly voice.

“Good day, Arianna, it is a pleasure to see
you as well,” Roupert bowed his head. “What brings you here
today?”

Arianna briefly glanced over at Cassy and
Aaron then back to Roupert. “We heard murmurings from the woodland
creatures that Abigail had returned.”

She turned and looked at Cassy again.
“Nonetheless, this is not Abigail. What is your name child?”

“My name is Cassy.”

Arianna looked closer at Cassy then shook
her head. “I ask again, what is your name child?”

“Cassandra, my name is Cassandra.”

“
Excellent
,
one with such a lovely name should always use it,” Arianna
smiled.

Aaron began to laugh at the stunned looked
on Cassy’s face, but stopped when he saw the look of displeasure
appear on Arianna’s face.

Arianna turned and looked directly at Aaron.
“Why do you laugh, Aaron? It is not polite to find joy in
one’s
embarrassment.”

Cassy looked at
Arianna
and saw the playful wink letting her know that
she was not angry.

“I gather that you are headed to face the
Evil Queen Alona, am I correct?” Arianna said to Roupert.

“Yes, I believe it is time for the curse to
end and free the subjects of Walandra, as well as our Queen.”

“This is the wish of the
Lillients
as well. For far too long we have
lived under the cruel hand of Queen Alona. We have all longed for
the day our Champion would appear and free us from her
control.”

As Roupert and Arianna spoke, Cassy found
herself transfixed
by
the beauty
of the Lillient. She was roughly twelve inches tall, and her
delicate wings shimmered like polished gold and fluttered gently,
keeping her in place. Cassy noticed that her clothing simmered with
a warm glow that seemed to surround her, and she found it to be
quite mesmerizing. Arianna also wore a crown made of small flowers,
which sat atop her
thick
red hair.
She was quite beautiful, and Cassy wondered if she would get to
meet more of her kind.

“Hey, it’s time to go,” Aaron elbowed Cassy,
bringing her out of her trance.

“Okay, sorry,” she said, turning away from
Arianna.

“I will let the others know that you have
the Champion and are headed to the castle. Be safe, my friend.”
Arianna smiled then bowed toward Roupert.

“Thank you and I look forward to our next
meeting,” Roupert bowed as well.

Arianna turned and faced Cassy. “Cassandra,
I want you to know that I have a good feeling about you. I believe
that you will be the one to end the Evil Queen’s
reign
over our Kingdom, but heed my warning.
Always remember that evil will do everything it can to trick you.
You will need to remain
strong
and
have faith in those around you, but above all; remember to have
confidence
in yourself. If you
remember these things, you will be triumphant.”

“Thank you, Arianna, I will remember.” Cassy
bowed her
head
and then gazed at
Arianna with tears forming in her eyes. She had never had anyone
have so much faith in her, and she hoped that she could live up to
the
trust
put in her now.

Arianna turned to Roupert. “I must take my
leave. The Lillients will keep watch over you during your quest
against Queen Alona. Should you need our assistance, you know how
to summon us.”

Arianna quickly glanced at Aaron and Cassy,
and then in a flash of light, she was gone.

“Wow, that was so cool,” Aaron said
excitedly.

Cassy stood transfixed, unsure of what to
say. After a few moments, she turned to Roupert. “Do you believe
that I can really beat the Evil Queen? I’m just a kid. I’ve never
done anything like this before.”

Roupert knew that she was frightened, and
honestly, he understood her fear. Since the Evil Queen took control
of Walandra, he had lived in constant fear that she would discover
the secret he had kept hidden deep in the woods.

“I believe in the power of the Blood Key,
Cassy. If it has faith in you then so do I,” he reached out and
rested his hand on her shoulder.

“Cassandra, please call me Cassandra,” she
said with her cheeks flushing the softest shade of red.

Roupert bowed before her. “As you wish,
Cassandra; come, I would like to make the Falls of Clamore before
nightfall,” Roupert said as he continued along the path.

They had walked for nearly an hour in
complete silence when Cassy finally spoke.

“Roupert, why did Arianna call you, Sir, and
then bow to you?”

Roupert had hoped the children had not
noticed the formality of the greeting between him and Arianna. It
had been many years since anyone had referred to him in such a
manner, and honestly, he did not want to have to explain it to
Frier either.

“I’m not sure this is the proper time to
share that information with you.” He kept his head forward,
unwilling to meet her questioning glance.

“Come on, I thought we were in this thing
together. How are we supposed to beat the Evil Queen if we have
secrets between us?” Cassy reached out and took a hold of Roupert’s
arm.

“Yeah, I thought we were a team,” Aaron said
with a hint of sadness in his voice.

Realizing they would not let the subject go
unanswered, Roupert stopped and looked around for a place for them
to rest. “Fine, why don’t we stop for a rest and have something to
eat. I’m sure Aaron is ready for some food.”

“I thought we’d never stop to eat; I’m
starving,” Aaron grinned as he rubbed his stomach.

“That is no surprise,” Roupert laughed.
“Come let us sit and enjoy a meal then I will tell you of how I
came to know the Lillients.”

Once they had finished their meal, Roupert
returned the pouches of food to his leather pack. Cassy sat across
from Roupert anxiously waiting for him to share the story of the
Lillients, and of the
secret
when
she noticed Aaron lean back against the tree behind him.

“I’m tired; I think I’ll relax for a while,”
Aaron yawned. No sooner had he closed his eyes than he was soundly
asleep.

Cassy shook her head, giggling softly. “I
guess he was tired. Well, I’m not, please continue with your
story.”

“Let me see, where shall I begin. Prior to
the rule of Queen Alona, I was the King’s most trusted guard. Even
though I was younger than many of the King’s guards, I had proven
myself and gained the King’s
confidence
.”

Roupert glanced away, not wanting to meet
Cassy’s gaze. “I will never forgive myself for not protecting him
from
Alona.
If I had only known;
maybe I could have saved him.” His mind flowed back to that
terrible day.

“Roupert, the King, she has killed the
King!”
Dalmen
cried out as he
rushed to Roupert’s side.

“What are you saying? The King is not dead;
I was just with him. He said that he wanted to rest, so he went to
his bedchamber.” Roupert studied the young guard's expression,
trying to understand why he would say such a thing.

“I swear to you, the King is dead, and our
Queen has been taken
hostage
. She
is taken to the dungeon as we speak,” Dalmen said breathlessly with
tears filling his eyes.

“Quick, we must save the Queen,” Roupert
pulled his sword from its sheath and ran toward the stairway, which
led to the underground dungeon.

Both men
ran
as quickly as their feet would carry them, each
saying a silent prayer that Queen Privlana was unharmed. As they
reached the opening to the stairway, three
small,
winged creatures appeared, blocking their entrance
to the stairs.

“Move out of our way,” Roupert demanded.

“No, Sir Roupert. You are not to save the
Queen this day,” one of the creatures held out her hand.

“What are you saying? Why would I not save
the Queen?”

The little creature flew up closer to
Roupert, close to his ear. “My name is Syrea, of the
Lillients
. I have orders from Queen Privlana. I
shall confound this other guard so we may talk.”

Syrea waved her hand at Delman, causing him
to fall into a trance. “You will return to your quarters and not
remember seeing Sir Roupert, nor us.”

Delman nodded his head then blindly turned
and walked toward the guard’s quarters.

Syrea and the other Lillients took off down
the corridor. Their wings seemed to glow brighter the faster they
flew.

“Quick, follow us; we have no time to
waste,” Syrea shouted back over her shoulder.

Roupert followed the three Lillients down
the corridor and in
to
a hidden
passage, which led out of the back of the castle.

“Where are you
taking
me?” Roupert asked as they went through the dark
passageway with only the glow from the Lillients lighting their
way.

“Wait, we will be there soon,” Syrea said as
she exited the passageway out into the forest.

After several minutes, they came to a
clearing and sitting in the center of the clearing was a large
golden egg.

“Is that what I think it is?” Roupert gasped
as he walked toward the egg and kneeled down in front of it.

The three Lillients flew over to the egg and
landed on the soft grass next to it.

“Yes, Sir Roupert, this is the child of King
Ashlym and Queen Privlana. This is Prince Frier.”

Roupert looked at the egg and suddenly
realized what the Lillients expected of him.

“You wish that I protect the young Prince,
don’t you?”

Syrea nodded her head. “Yes, he must be kept
from the Evil Queen. She must not know of his existence. For if she
were
to learn of him, she would
surely
kill him.”

“I don’t understand. How did this all come
to pass?” Roupert asked, feeling as though his entire world was
collapsing around him.

Syrea told Roupert of how Alona had tricked
King Ashlym and had killed him with the Dagger of Destiny. She then
told him how Queen Privlana had come into the bedchamber and caught
Alona about to force a drop of the King’s blood into the Blood
Stone.

“But what of our Queen, should I not try to
save her?” Roupert’s eyes burned with rage.

“No, before Alona was able to cast her
spell, Queen Privlana transformed into her Dragon form and cast a
spell herself.
She cast a spell
protecting the members of the Dragon family from death by turning
them to stone. Then she put a protective spell on the Blood Stone
so that Alona could never use its power, and the power of the
King’s blood as her own.”

Syrea looked at Roupert with sadness in her
eyes. “Queen Privlana is now under the power of Alona. She has our
Queen locked away in the great dungeon, trapped in her human form.
Alona has cast a spell over her so that she may not transform into
her Dragon form, thus stripping her of her powers.” Syrea shook her
head, clearly showing the sadness she felt.

“Then again, Alona does not understand the
true
power of the Dragon. You see,
when Queen Privlana cast the spell on the Blood Stone and Alona
forced the droplet of the King’s blood into the stone with the
Dagger of Destiny, she unleashed an ancient forgotten magic.”

Roupert leaned in closer, not wanting to
miss a word of this grand tale.

“It was the magic of love and
self-sacrifice. There is no stronger magic in any realm.”

While Roupert knew that love and
self-sacrifice were
important
, he
did not understand what they meant as far as magic.

Seeing the confusion on his face, Syrea
continued. “You see, when Queen Privlana cast her spell to prevent
Alona from gaining the power of the Blood Stone, she called forth a
Champion. One who would come to our realm, and through love and
self-sacrifice break the spell cast by Alona over the Kingdom. By
not understanding the Queen’s words, Alona believes that as long as
Queen Privlana remains trapped in her human form, she is safe to
rule over the kingdom forever. You see, our Queen was too smart for
the evil Alona.”