Dark Intent

Ever since leaving my home and journeying to Kopalnia to become a Dragon Rider, I learned a lot of things. But I would probably have to say that the most interesting lesson I ever learned was that watching a purple haired queen attempting to escape her castle through a bathroom window that was six stories up and attempting to drag a spiky haired little girl with her is the single most hilarious thing in the world.

Phaedra and I circled near the castle windows, watching Judith and who I assumed was Cortez’s younger sister trying to climb down the golden ivy that crawled up the palace walls. If it weren’t for the fact that I was such a skilled rider and Phaedra would never allow me to fall, I probably would have tumbled to my death, or at least serious injury, due to how hard I was laughing. Judith let loose with a colorful string of curses as she struggled to climb down the delicate ivy, with the tiny dark-haired girl scrambling after her. To make matters even worse, one of Cortez’s guards started pounding on the door. He started battering his shoulder against it when they didn’t unlock it right away.

“Go away!” the little girl yelled, her face flushed.

“Highnesses! Open this door right now! In the name of the king!”

“Shut up fart face!”

I had tears streaming down my face and my sides ached by the time I finally took pity on them and nudged Phaedra down to where they clung desperately to the castle wall.

“What a sight you two make!” I exclaimed through wild giggles. Judith glared at me.

“Care to lend a hand?” she snapped. I just laughed harder. The little girl was staring at Phaedra and I with huge eyes, her small mouth hanging open.

“Who are you?” she breathed.

“That’s my irritating younger sister, Leila,” Judith muttered. I smiled hesitantly at the awe-struck child. Being the youngest of twelve, I had no experience when it came to dealing with young children.

“I’m Kai,” the girl said. “And you’re a Dragon Rider. That’s so cool!”

My smile was less hesitant after that. At least the girl had good taste.

“All right you two. Since you’re clearly in over your heads here, hop on.” I scooted around in my saddle to make room. Judith climbed on behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist and complaining about how the back of the saddle was poking her in the ass. I tugged Kai on in front of me, my arms supporting her and holding her in place while I gripped the reins that wrapped around Phaedra’s nose. The dragon flapped her wings, pulling away from the palace just as the guard stuck his head through the window. The startled look on his face was absolutely priceless. I thought his eyes would bulge right out of his square-shaped head.

I saluted him cheerfully. “At ease, man,” I said. Kai stuck out her tongue and blew him a raspberry. Then we were airborne and rising fast. Judith let out a sharp breath and Kai whooped. The castle grounds and the forest and city beyond spread out below us like a rainbow tapestry.

Phaedra, how fast can you get us to the ocean?

Leila, is that a serious question? I can get you there faster than even the queen’s car.

I grinned as Phae increased her speed, earning another joyous whoop from Kai. Judith’s grip around me tightened.

“Relax, sis!” I shouted. “You’re not gonna fall! Just enjoy the ride!”

Soon we were sailing among the clouds, and Kai reached out a hand to trail her fingers through the soft fluff. She giggled, and even Judith dared to let go of me to touch the clouds herself. I heard her wonder-filled laughter in my ear. After abut half an hour the landscape below us changed. revealing lush tropical trees and flowers in colors so bright they were almost painful.

“Where are we going?” Judith called to me.

“You’ll see!”

I knew she had figured it out when she let out an excited squeal. We heard the pounding of waves on sand and then we smelled the fresh bite of ocean water. Phaedra swooped over a ridge, and there, spread below us, was the Violet Sea. Its deep turquoise waters splashed up across the pale purple sand, temporarily turning the sand a rich, deep violet that made it almost seem to glow. Phaedra landed delicately on the beach, and we climbed off; and none too gracefully. Kai merely tumbled off, landing in the sand in a heap, then springing to her feet and dashing towards the water. Judith had to stretch out her long, cramped legs, and as she gingerly began to swing her leg over she grabbed my arm. I was in the middle of dismounting myself, and it caused us both to go sprawling in the sand with a thud and a strangled cry. Phaedra snorted and shook her head.

“Nice going there, JuJu,” I said, brushing sand off of my uniform.

“Don’t call me JuJu,” Judith scowled. I had given her the nickname when I was two, and apparently back then it had been cute. Once I grew older, however, and started using it to taunt her, it had lost some of its appeal. I grinned wickedly.

“Oh, sorry. JuJu.”

Judith made a grab for me, which I dodged, and then we were sprinting along the beach; me laughing and Judith cursing. Apparently this was to be the soundtrack of our day. Kai splashed merrily in the warm water, apparently greatly amused by our antics. We built sandcastles, we had a splash fight, and Kai and I ganged up on Judith to dunk her into the waves. Of course, then she had to turn right around and yank me in with her. Kai laughed rather hysterically at this, and so Judith and I traded evil smiles, then seized the pint-sized princess around the waist, tossing her into the next on-coming wave. As the evening wore on, we gathered some wood, and Phaedra put on a big show about lighting a fire for us. We watched the sun finish its graceful descent over the horizon.

“This was probably the best day I’ve had in…well, forever,” Judith sighed.

“Oh, just wait. You still have to get together with the whole gang once Mo, Torren, and Andre are back to full health,” I said. I thought I saw Judith flinch, but in the flickering shadows it was hard to tell.

“We should do this every day!” Kai declared. “I’ve only seen the ocean once before in my whole life!”

“And you’ve lived so long,” I said dramatically. Kai made a face, able to tell that I was teasing her.

“Ten years!” she exclaimed. “That’s like forever.”

“Well then Judith must be ancient, because she’s three times that,” I replied, ducking as Judith tried to throw her shoe at me. I stood, brushing the sand off my rear.

“Come on; we should be getting back to the castle now.”

Judith and Kai both groaned and I smirked, noting how my sister could still sometimes behave like a ten-year-old. The ride home was much quieter; we were all tired from our little adventure. We landed on the now empty training field, and I took off all of Phaedra’s gear, giving her a quick rub-down and settling her into her spacious stall, where she promptly curled up into a ball and went to sleep.

“Finicky little dragon,” I muttered affectionately. The three of us somehow ended up in my room, and I traded my uniform for a tiered golden skirt and a pale pink tank top. I placed my uniform in the laundry chute and programmed it to wash and dry and have the outfit pressed and ready in the morning. As I was running a brush through my tangled curls, Sam walked in. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of us sprawled on my bed.

“Who’s he?” Kai asked, eyeing him curiously.

“He’s my husband,” I told her, flitting across the room to give Sam a kiss. Kai made a pretend gagging noise and Judith shushed her. Sam smiled against my lips.

“So where have you miscreants been all day?” he asked.

“The beach!” Kai said excitedly, bouncing up and down. “It was great!”

“The beach, hmm? Well where’s your sand?”

Kai looked puzzled. “My sand?”

“Well when you go to the beach, you’re supposed to put some sand into a bottle, so you always remember.”

Kai looked crestfallen. “I didn’t get any sand!”

“You didn’t get any sand!” Sam shook his head sadly. “Well, that just means we’ll have to go back soon, so you can get some.”

Kai’s eyes lit up and her smile was so big I thought it would disappear straight into her ears. “You mean it?”

“Of course,” Sam said. “I’m a man of my word.” He made an X over his heart and bowed gallantly. And this is why I fell in love with him, I thought fondly. Suddenly there was a pounding at my door.

“Leila! Er, Captain Leila! Captain Embry! Ah hell, whatever your name is!”

I recognized Maralyn’s voice, and yanked the door open. Her hazel eyes were wide against her tanned skin, and her lips were set into a thin line.

“Maralyn, what’s wrong?” I demanded, already on high alert.

“It’s Mo,” she explained. “He…he’s in a bad way. You need to come talk to him.”

I set off after her, not even bothering to put shoes on. I knew the others were following me, but I didn’t mind. Maralyn led me to Mo’s chambers, and I could hear a great deal of banging and slurred cursing. Sighing, I knocked on the door. No answer. I knocked harder. Still nothing.

“Mo, damn you, it’s Leila! Open this frigging door right now!” There was a moment of silence, followed by a grumble and then I heard him fiddling with the bolt. The door opened a crack and I shoved my way inside. Random objects were scattered throughout the room; mostly things that he had knocked off walls and tables. His eyes were slightly unfocused, and there was a half-drunk bottle of Scotch in the hand that wasn‘t in a cast.

“Mo, what are you doing?” I asked calmly.

‘S’all my fault, you know,” he hiccupped.

“What are you talking about?”

“The captain,” he said miserably. “My fault. Should’ve been inside that blasted fucking garage with him.”

“Mo!” I grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him roughly. “Don’t you ever say anything like that ever again, do you understand me? It was not your fault. I never want to hear that crap again or I’ll flog you myself!”

I hated seeing my friend like this. Mo tried to shrug me off, then promptly collapsed onto the floor, landing hard on his butt and spilling some of his drink on himself. I knelt in front of him.

“Moises Melchiori, you stop this nonsense,” I said, more gently. “That’s an order.”

Laughter bubbled up from him. “Barely captain for two days and already giving orders like a pro,” he snickered. My lips twitched, and soon I was laughing too. Mo and I sat there for several minutes, laughing like a couple of raving lunatics, and then he passed out. Shaking my head, I had Sam help me lift Mo onto his bed, and I tucked him in, having to bite back another round of laughter at the absurdity of the situation. I threw the last of the Scotch into the trash grinder, then ushered everyone out of Mo’s room.

“Well that was interesting,” Judith said. Sam linked his fingers through mine, and we trailed behind Judith and Kai as the little girl skipped ahead, asking if she could stay in Judith’s room that night. Sam squeezed my hand gently, and for the first time in weeks, I had a feeling of peace.