Dying Embers

After his talk with Carissa and Tholm, they walked through the estate’s garden. The garden was lavish and beautiful. Red roses and well trimmed bushes were lined against marble balustrades.

Beyond it was a sprawling green field that was bordered by trees.

In direct sunlight it might have been made for a serene sight.  However, the clouds were gray and abundant. Though it didn’t rain, they were thick enough to block most of the sunlight.

The beautiful scenery with the gloomy weather made the atmosphere profoundly somber.

Standing with Carissa and Tholm, Victor saw the three other children.

In the open grass field, servants watched over two children who were chasing each other around. They were two copper haired youths. Sometimes their bronze scales caught the sparse sunlight. Felis and Felisha were twins. They were the son and daughter of two cursed children. The parents had turned into dragons only a day apart from each other, leaving their kids behind.

A youth with long, dark hair curtaining his face sat at a round patio table, reading a book. Sitting by his side was a beautiful maid his age, knitting.

Victor approached the table causing the youth to stop his reading. He looked up, and as his hair parted, his gaze fixed intently on Victor's face.

The skin surrounding his eyes were covered with scales, leaving no room for eyebrows. His scales were dark blue, and it became sapphire when the light hit it. Victor was captivated by Revian’s eyes. Bloodred and orange with a rift of black down the center. They were the eyes of a divine apex predator, unsettlingly reptilian.

“Hello darling,” Carissa stepped up and gestured next to her. “This is Victor Troika, a guest. He’s a scholar and arcanist researching curses.”

“Greetings,” Revian said, his voice coarse. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a visitor like you. I assume you would like to learn about Elori’sha’s curse?” His voice was prim and proper, however his anatomy betrayed him. The tip of his tongue was begging to split down the middle and rows of sharp teeth replaced all that was human.

“We could wait till later for that, for now I simply want to get to know you. Oh, and we have something to give you.”

Revian didn’t have eyebrows, but it was apparent that the muscles above his left eye moved. “Isn’t it supposed to be Enderan’s birthday?”

“It’s actually a gift from him,” Carissa said, holding out the necklace. “It’s enchanted to slow down the progression of the curse.”

The maid next to Revian gasped and looked hopefully at him.

He looked down at it with wonder, which was then smothered by a confused frown. “Why?! Is he an idiot?!”

“Darling please just wear it. Every second is precious.”

“So why is he wasting precious time on me?!” He shot up from his chair, but before he could storm away, his mother stepped into his path.

“It was his wish!” Her voice broke. “Please, do it for me at least. Do it for Rose.”

Rose, the maid, was now standing and by his side.

Victor saw in the distance the two children stopped chasing each other to stare over at them.

After a moment passed, he sat back down and put on the necklace.

“It’s a waste on me. I don’t have even a year left.”

“Perhaps it bought you another one,” Rose said.

Victor knew he only had about five months with the necklace on.

“Do you feel any different with the amulet on?” Victor asked.

“I felt a change only right when I put it on, like my heart thumped very hard. But that’s about it.”

“Then it should be working its magic.” Victor smiled. “Mind if I sit with you.”

“If you overlook my outburst just now…” He chuckled to himself. “Then by all means, I need the company.”

Both Carissa and Thomal went to check on the other children and get refreshments, while they began their talk.

Victor felt an odd sensation, listening to one of his characters recite their history to him.

Revian Malta, was the child of Daniel and Carissa Malta. Daniel was a child of one of the cursed dragon slayers. He set out on a quest with his mother to break his curse. Along the way, they met Carissa and the two fell in love. Three months after Daniel became a dragon, she gave birth to Revian. As a young lady of seventeen, she became a maid for the Ember Estate then eventually took on the role of mistress after the last one passed away. 

Revian had lived in Amberill all his life. Rose was the last hire on the estate, a daughter of a woman from the village. Being of the same age, they gravitated towards one another and fell in love.

“How’s your relationship with the three other children here?” Victor asked.

He frowned, then waved it off. “It’s… good. I love them all like they were my own family. Felis and Felisha become a living hurricane when they are together, which drives me crazy when they set their sights on me. While they make me feel much older than I am, they make me feel younger as well. I tell them stories and I used to play with them a lot.”

Victor wanted to talk about Enderan, but he had to act the part of the scholar.

“Does the curse change your strength or energy at all?”

“By leaps and bounds. Do you know how the curse affects us?”

“From the books I’ve read about the Dragon Queen’s curse, I’ve learned quite a bit. The books are often filled with speculation. I’d rather hear the truth from someone who lives with it every day.”

“Well, despite me sitting here reading most of the day, I’d rather be running around and throwing the twins around.” He laughed. “When I was much younger I preferred to read and learn new things. I pestered my mother to let me go to school in the village, but that was unreasonable for obvious reasons. Like most children with the curse, the farther along we are, the more unruly and energetic we become. At first, I thought I’d become more wild and mindless, but it’s important to remember that dragons are intelligent beings rather than ravenous beasts.”

As he wrote in his journal, Victor nodded. He wasn’t using any tricks or spells, he was writing legitimate notes, clear to read when he rested it on the table.

“I was very kept to myself at first. I could barely speak a word to anyone back then, especially not to Rose.”

The maid grinned at Revian. “That’s an understatement. Your mind would shut down and turn bright red when I locked eyes with you.”

As the couple teased each other, Victor couldn’t help but smile at the display of affection.

“It was around the time I turned eleven that I really felt the need to move around. I began running laps around the back with the older kids and sometimes fought with them. The burnt orchard over there is where many of us gathered.”

“Were you allowed to breathe fire?” Victor asked.

“No, it was discouraged. But as you can guess, it’s an inevitability that we would breathe fire at least once before the transformation is complete.” He sighed. “The more we gave into our dragon like urges, the faster the transformation takes us. So we are taught to sit still, distract ourselves, and manage our temper. We were only allowed to be outside for two hours a day and have to be supervised the entire time.”

Victor spun his pen. “I noticed that Enderan isn’t out here with us. Is there a reason he is still indoors?”

“Enderan? He prefers to be alone at the moment.” Revian sat back and Rose looked over at him.

It was a sore spot, but Victor knew he needed Revian to open up. “I was just wondering. Part of the reason I came here was to deliver that amulet to him.”

Revian looked down at it. “I meant to ask more about this.”

Victor proceeded to tell Revian about Baylor and his request.

Revian was now holding the amulet in his scaled hand.

“Then, I’m not sure that I should be wearing this.”

“Baylor believed putting others before himself. I have to believe he’d approve of Enderan’s choice.”

“I hope so.” He grimaced before looking at Victor. “Please, for my sake, convince him to take back the amulet.”

“Revian!” Rose exclaimed. “Let him do this for you. It’s what he wants.”

“I would be fine with it if he gave it to me himself!” he retorted. “But even then I probably would have strangled him with it! By doing this, it only tells me that he doesn’t appreciate life!”

“Isn’t it because he values you deeply?” Victor asked.

“He can’t!” Revian slumped into himself. “Because I was the one who ruined what little hope he had left.” He clutched at the amulet. “I was the one who burnt him. Because of me, he lost his arm.” He looked up at Victor with tears in his eyes. “Enderan wanted to learn how to fight! He had plans to be a slayer or a knight, it didn’t matter. His dream was to see the world and help people!” Revian’s eyes closed as the tears got lost in his dark scales. “I called his dream delusional… I told him he didn’t have the time, that the curse would take him before he could attain enough skill to be helpful.” He looked at Victor pleadingly. “Please tell me. Did the gift giver know about Enderan’s missing arm already? If he was meant to have this before… before I… then he had a chance. A real chance. And I didn’t just diminish his dream, I burned it away!” He began to tremble. “Every time I see him, I tell myself, that my biggest impact on the world will be ruining the life of a boy who I saw as my little brother! And when my time comes, all I’ll be leaving him with is pain!” Revian began to sob and Rose got up to comfort him.

Victor stared at his notes. Listening to Revian's guilt ridden cries, he weighed a decision in his head. He sighed inwardly. “The man who sent it heard what happened. It was meant to be a message—that his dream isn’t over.”

Revian and Rose looked at Victor.

“The man who sent it was Captain Nemo. The Dream Knight.”

At the knight’s name, their eyes widened and their breaths caught.

“He wanted Enderan to not give up hope after losing his arm. And to let him know that he can still achieve great things. I’m sure that was explained in the letter.”

Revian wiped away his tears, processing the revelation of the sender’s identity. He grimaced as he looked at the amulet then took it off. He placed it before Victor. “I won’t wear it. Enderan would be an idiot for wasting any more time. No matter what I hear from him, I won’t take it.”

Rose seemed dismayed but eventually accepted his decision.

Victor sat up straighter. “Then would you mind if I take this right now and try to convince him?”