Traveler (4 page)

                “What your name?”  She asked softly, gazing up at him with a bright smile.  Her attention was reserved solely for him at the moment, small fingers curiously playing with the pendant he wore.

                “Do you like that pendant, little bird?” he asked, glancing down at the dragon on his neck.  “My name is Rahim, but you can call me Dragon,” he told her, looking down at her.  “And if you like that pendant, I will give it to you as a present.”

                “It’s pretty...” The little girl replied before looking up at him, cerulean eyes meeting his.  “Ooo...my dragon gives me a present?  I like you...”

                He laughed again.  “Your dragon will give you whatever you want, little bird, as long as it keeps a smile on your face.”  He slipped the pendant off his neck and placed it on hers.  The pendant was large on her now, but she’d grow into it.

                “Thank you!” She squealed happily before throwing her tiny arms around his neck and kissing his cheek.  “Bird!” A voice in the distance caught Bri’s attention, a curious frown curving her lips.  She whispered softly.  “Nene...”

                Rahim looked up at the voice, a smile crossing his face.  “Ah, you must be this little one’s nurse,” he murmured.  “She fell, and I found her.  I’ve been looking for you ever since.”  He began walking towards the woman, Bri still in his arms.

                “  My Prince!  Thank the gods...I only looked away for a moment...” The young woman exclaimed, hurrying towards them.  Bri pouted and buried her face in Rahim’s shoulder.  “...want my dragon...not Nene...”

                Rahim looked down at the little one buried in his shoulder in surprise.  “Um...I’m sorry, Nene,” he said sheepishly.  “I...I didn’t mean to steal her from you,” he frowned.  “Are you alright if I carry her inside for you?  Are you both staying at the palace?”

                Nene started in surprise, caught off-guard by her charge’s apparent attachment to the older boy.  She shook herself before responding.  “It’s fine.  You were there to help her when I wasn’t...so it’s understandable.  And yes...Lord and Lady Narelleva are staying in the palace currently.  Since she’s so attached to you, I think it would be alright if you carried her in.  Otherwise we might have a tantrum on our hands.”   The royal family and her employers were so close that they trusted each other to know their true names. The little girl clung tighter to Rahim, determined not to leave his side yet.

                Rahim chuckled at the reaction of the little girl.  "I can't imagine this little bird would throw a tantrum like that," he murmured giving the little girl a pointed look. He set her more comfortably on his chest and walked with the nanny.

                Bri pouted a bit, small hands clutching tightly to him.  She wanted to stay with her dragon, not go with Nene.  Nene would want her to take a nap...and she didn’t want to do that either.  Nene just smiled and shook her head, following the boy and her charge.  “You’d be surprised.  Bird is normally a very sweet little girl...until naptime comes along.”

Rahim pulled her away from his chest looking down at the little girl in his arms. "You'll be good for your Nene....won't you?" He asked her, his dark eyes looking pointedly at her.

                The little girl stared at her dragon for several moments before nodding solemnly.  “ ‘kay, dragon...”  Then she stuck her thumb in her mouth, clutching at his shirt with her other hand.

Rahim smiled at the nurse. "I think she'll behave much better for you now," he murmured. He kissed the top of the little girl’s head, the palace coming into view now.

                The auburn-haired nurse blinked in surprise before laughing softly.  “She must really like you.  She’s usually not so...clingy with strangers.”  Ignoring the conversation going on over her head, Bri closed her eyes and rested her head on Rahim’s chest, listening to his heartbeat as she started to doze.

Rahim smiled down at the sleeping child. "I'm fond of her as well. She has grown on me quickly.  My sisters are all away, and I miss them terribly, so this was an interesting opportunity for me." He grinned at the nurse as the doors to the palace were opened. "Where are the lord and lady staying?"

                “In the northern wing of the palace...although they are meeting with the king today, which is why I brought her out into the gardens.” Nene replied softly.  “I wanted to keep her distracted while they were busy.”

A frown crossed his features. "With my father? I wonder why..." He glanced at Nene. "Should I bring her to them, then?  Or to their quarters?"

                “Their quarters would be best, my prince.  I would hate for her to wake up and cause a scene in front of your father.”  She murmured hastily, giving him a pleading look.  If the truth be known, she just didn’t want to lose her position by letting her employers discover that she had allowed the small child to wander off in the gardens unattended while she had been distracted by a handsome guard.

With an understanding smile, Rahim walked with the nanny down the hall towards their quarters.  Bri was fast asleep on his chest, and he needed to place her comfortably in her bed without waking her.

                Nene quietly lead the young man into the quarters that had been assigned as a makeshift nursery for the young child.  “You can lay her down over here, my Prince.  She seems to be sleeping deeply enough now.”  She murmured softly, drawing back the embroidered blanket the child was so attached to that they had to bring it from their home to keep her satisfied.

He nodded and lay the sleeping child down on the pallet, removing his arms from around her gently. He could only hope she stayed asleep. He tucked the blanket around her, kissing her forehead softly. "Sweet dreams, little bird," he murmured.

                The small child whimpered softly in her sleep before settling back down.  Small fingers clutched tightly to the pendant he had given her, a thumb still in her mouth.  The nurse gave Rahim a grateful smile, gently brushing dark curls away from the child’s forehead.  “Thank you so much, my Prince.”

He smiled at the nurse and stood, backing away.  "You're very welcome, Nene.  I am only glad I could help.  I hope to see you both around the palace again."  He smiled down at the baby. "She sleeps so peacefully."

                “I wouldn’t be surprised if the little monkey finds you first.” Nene commented with a soft laugh.  “She does sleep peacefully...well, now she does.  She had a difficult time last night.  This room is too new and different for her to sleep comfortably.”

Rahim frowned.  "Well if she does have any more issues sleeping, please come and get me."  He glanced down at the child again before turning away.

                “As you wish, my Prince.”  She murmured softly, nodding respectfully before the boy turned to leave.

Rahim closed the door softly as he left, not wanting to wake the little girl at all.  He wanted to spend more time with her, but she was sound asleep.  He had to go see his father too.  He had a lesson in running the kingdom soon.

***

A few hours later, Bri had awakened in her small bed, cerulean eyes darting everywhere in search of her new favorite person.  Not seeing him, she pouted a bit before carefully climbing out of the bed, nearly tumbling onto her bottom.  Clutching a white stuffed rabbit, she headed for the door, intent on finding her dragon...and completely ignoring the lightly dozing form of her nanny nearby.  The door was slightly open still, making it easy for the young child to walk right out of the chambers.

Rahim sat in his rooms, his nose stuck in a book on military tactics.  That had been his father's assignment and Rah did not want to disappoint.  Unfortunately though, it was extremely dry reading.  His thoughts kept drifting fondly to the little girl with the skinned knee.  Maybe they would stay in the palace for a while.

Wide-eyed and more than a bit lost, the little girl wandered through the hallways, clutching her rabbit close.  She wanted to show him to her dragon...but she didn’t know where he was.  She paid no mind to the much taller people she passed, not recognizing anyone.

Rah fingered the pages of his book, a thoughtful expression on his face.  Tactics, military strategies....they still made no sense to him but he knew they'd have to eventually.  Standing, he opened his door and walked the hallways of the palace.  He needed to clear his head.

Finally catching sight of the person she was looking for, Bri suddenly smiled brightly.  Small feet barely made a sound as she ran down the hallway towards him.  “Dragon!”

Rahim spun, hearing his name being called. With a smile he knelt and opened his arms. "Little Bird," he commented. "You’ve come to see me." He opened his arms, beckoning her to run to him.

Giggling softly, the little girl ran into his arms, throwing an arm around his neck. She placed a sloppy kiss on his cheek. “Hi!”

He smiled at her. "Hello there...does your nanny know you've escaped again?" He asked, looking at her skeptically.

“Nene sleeping...” She replied, giving him a solemn nod before grinning brightly and showing him her stuffed bunny.  “Dragon, see baby...”

Rahim laughed and examined the bunny. "And a very handsome baby," he said solemnly. "You take good care of him, hmm?"

Bri nodded slowly before making the bunny give him a kiss on the cheek.  “‘kay, dragon...”  Then she bounced happily on her stocking-covered feet.  “Dragon play with me?”

"Only if your parents say it’s okay," he countered. "Take me to them, Bird.  We’ll ask them, together."

She blinked in confusion before smiling brightly.  “‘kay...”  Then she grabbed his hand and tugged him down the hallway, leading the way even though she had no clue of where she was going.

Rahim walked with her down the hallway, holding her hand.  He trusted her to lead him in the right direction towards of her parents.  All he needed to do was keep her safe.

Bri paused at a crossroads in the hallways, glancing both ways in obvious confusion before looking up at Rahim.  “Dragon?  Can’t ‘member...”  She pouted a bit, beginning to tear up a little.

Rah picked her up."Come on...we'll find them together." He rested her on his hip and walked down the hallways towards his parent's chambers, raising a fist to knock lightly.

Clutching her bunny, she curled her fingers in the fabric of his shirt.  She glanced around curiously, just happy to be with her dragon.

He smiled down at the little girl reassuringly, then knocked twice on the door, quick and loud.

A servant came to the chamber doors, opening them and stepping aside to allow the prince to enter.  Within was the king and queen along with Lord and Lady Naralleva.  Dark-haired and evidently the one from whom the small child gained her pretty features, Lady Dorain Narelleva blinked in surprise to see her daughter being carried into the room, her nurse nowhere in sight.  “Bird, what in the world are you doing here? And without Nene?”  Bri giggled softly, waving to her mommy and daddy.  “Hi, mommy!  Gonna play with dragon!”  The last part was accompanied by many emphatic nods.

Rahim looked sheepish, offering a small bow to Brileia’s parents as he stood in their doorway, and a deeper bow for his.  “Mother, father...Lord and Lady.  I am sorry for the intrusion...but this little Bird showed up in the hallways looking for me, and I needed to bring her back to where she belonged.  I can watch her, though..I know her nanny was tired from pursuing her earlier, and I asked her to rest.  It’s really not her fault this little minx escaped.”  He glanced at the little girl.  “Is it, Bird?”

Bri looked up at Rahim with wide innocent eyes, nodding solemnly.  “Nene was sleepy and Bird wanna play with dragon...”  Dorain suppressed an amused laugh at the way her youngest child interacted with the boy.  “Little bird, you know you’re not supposed to run away from Nene.  That’s not what good little girls do.”

Rahim chuckled at the little girl.  “Like I said...it’s no trouble at all for me to watch her...”

Baneor gave his young daughter an affectionate look before nodding slowly, his blue eyes filled with amusement.  “I do not see a problem with it, as she seems to like you so much.”  The little girl was playing with the ends of Rahim’s hair, no longer paying much attention to the adults.

Rahim smiled, looking at Brileia affectionately.  “Mother...father...are you alright with it?”  

Rahim’s father, Aelnor, looked at his son fondly.  “Of course not, Dragon.  Go have fun with the little girl...and maybe you can convince this little girl to play with your sisters when they return from the south.”   

Rahim glanced at Bri.  “Do you hear that, Bird?  We can go play now.”

Bri blinked in surprise before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek.  “Yay! I gets to play with my dragon!”  Dorain blinked before laughing softly at her daughter’s proclamation.

Rahim chuckled and kissed the little girl’s cheek.  “Dragon, a word, please..” his father said, first.  “Give the girl to her mother for a moment.”  Obediently, Rahim nodded his head, and handed Bri off to her mother.  “Just for a moment, Bird,” he assured her.  With his head held high, he walked over to his father, bowing low.  

Aelnor walked to his son, placing a hand on his shoulder and leaning down to whisper in his ear.  “She’s your betrothed now, Rahim,” he whispered.  “That’s what we have been discussing.  Congratulations.”