The Dragon Queen Rises

Chapter One

There weren't always Dragons in the valley until the Saturday I stepped off the Greyhound bus in the town of Clover. The journey had been long, and the odors that leaked from the back row bathroom clung to my clothing.

The town’s Main St. split down the center into half sunlight and half shadows from the mountain ranges that encircled the town. I imagined a battle between good and evil, light and darkness, that raged like the one I had fought for the last three hundred days to right a wrong. The war consumed my life and led me to this new community.

I retrieved my oversized suitcase at the terminal and double-checked the address on the slip of paper in my hand. Without the fanfare, or a grand parade, to which I had grown accustomed, I dragged my luggage down the center of Main Street and stopped with one foot in the darkness and one in the light.

The same voice of the last three hundred days screamed in my mind.

Was it worth it? How do you transition from being Dragon Queen of the Ball to someone hiding as an average black male? These denim jeans and this Nascar T-shirt must go! No makeup? Your skin is going to dry out without sunscreen. Why did you do this? Damn it.

Main St should have been named Only St. because there was one road into the valley, north to south, and one way out. The attorney from the Justice Department's witness protection program had chosen it for its isolation and security. Soon, I would learn there was significant evidence of ignorance in his decision.

Clover's center was a roundabout with a general store, a white clapboard church, a town hall, and a pool hall, each at the four points of the compass. Boutiques and diners filled the gaps in between. A monument to honor a founding father stood tall in the circular center island.

The old adage that someone was staring holes in the back of my head entered my mind, and I didn't think it was a mountain lion. A man in a black shirt with a white collar stood on the church's steps and moved toward me as I passed.

"Good morning," he said, "You're new here, visiting or staying?"

New? I thought. Does the color of my skin qualify as new here? Or does he sense the Dragon Queen has arrived and feels threatened?

"Morning Reverend," I said. "Staying I think, at least for a while. Could you help me with this address?" as I offered the slip of paper to him.

The minister viewed the slip and his eyes expanded in surprise.

"Yes, that's the old Wyatt family's place. Keep walking north and it's the last house on the right. I heard it had sold, so I guess you are staying."

"Looks like it," I said, "Thank you." and walked north.

The minister nodded his head.

"You're welcome," and looked at his watch, "Forgive me, I am late for a meeting at Town Hall." He sped-walked across the circle to the town hall.

The Wyatt house at the edge of town was more of a chalet. The A-frames first floor had a den, a kitchen divided by a breakfast counter, and a laundry room. Open stairs led to a loft bedroom with an attached bath. Inlayed firebricks under the steps housed a woodstove with a flue that exited the wall.

The triangular glass window was the most significant asset at its rear that captured the mountain range to the east. It was a work of art that could not be captured as a realistic painting but constantly changed in its living grandeur.

I shed my rancid clothes, took a shower, and climbed onto the California king, exhausted. I thought about my life and how I had arrived in this place. I felt naked.

Football, basketball, and other contact sports were not my thing in high school. I liked to dance. My stepdad didn't tolerate a boy taking dance lessons, so I watched videos and practiced alone. Dance made me feel alive and connected with my body.

I was different; I knew but not any more different than the skateboarder or the school chess club members. I graduated and entered college and joined a dance club on campus. Greek Week came, and the student council drew lots for the skits each club would have to perform.

The dance club was assigned A womanless wedding skit. The intent of the council, controlled by a fraternity, was to humiliate.

The dance club presented “Dirty Dancing at a Womanless Wedding” and I was chosen for Jennifer Grey's role and the bride. We won First Prize.

I discovered my freedom, passion, and life when I applied the makeup and wig for the first time. The white dress slit up the thigh, the shoes, and the audiences stares empowered me, and I knew I was sexy.

The testosterone-driven fraternity animals became angry when my performance excited them and conflicted with their perceived sexuality. I felt fully alive and wanted more.

My passion to perform led me to learn the art of makeup, and I felt complete when I applied it. My eye for fashion grew, and I bought dresses, scarves, and high heels and secretly went out dancing as a woman.

When I danced, people watched. One morning, I tried a new makeup design and wore the new dress I'd bought; my roommate entered the apartment when I thought he had left for the weekend. He stopped and stared. I prepared myself for an outburst of chastisement and condemnation.

"Wow, you are beautiful, and most likely scared." He said, "I've wondered since Greek week if you knew what I already knew."

"Knew what?" I said.

"That you had found your center of life," he said, "Finish dressing and come with me. I want you to meet someone, a family member who can help you."

I met Paul, his uncle who became my Drag Mother, an hour later. Mitzi, The Queen of the Ball, built me up and taught me the art of Drag. The one person on this earth who understood my potential and proclaimed me Dragon Queen.

Mitzi, the beautiful, bright, and compassionate Queen guided my professional career to the pinnacle of success across the country.

And the one whose brutal murder I witnessed had brought me to Clover to hide my true self from the world.

Three knocks on the door woke me; it could have been more. I pulled on my jeans and went downstairs. I could see a black and white police cruiser parked at the curb through the window and opened the door. An officer in a solid black uniform and strained black leather belt stood on the step.

"Evening, Mr.?......" the officer said.

"Moore," I said, though I felt like I was lying as I thought, Queen.

"First name?" he said.

"Benjamin, I said, and thought Dragon, "Is there a problem, officer?" I said.

He flipped open a black pad and wrote.

"That's up to you I reckon," he said, "I'm Sheriff Robbins and I guess you could call me the welcome wagon in these parts. What brings you to Clover?"

I had been told to lay low and not stir up any resentments.

"Early retirement," I said.

The sheriff looked up from his pad.

"There are some rules you need to hear about our town. One, for you own good, the pool hall is off limits. A militia group that hangs out there from up the mountain and I don't want any trouble.

Two, I'd recommend you stay home after sundown until you're more established here. We don't want any….. accidents. Last, do you own any firearms?" the sheriff said.

"No, I don't. What kind of town is this? Am I still in America?" I said.

"Son, I'm telling you this for your own good. This is a good town. I don't know why someone like you chose here, but we don't take kindly to change," he said, "Have a good night."

I slammed the door shut, found the cell phone provided to me and text the emergency contact number.

Thirty minutes later, the phone rang.

"It has only been a day and you're already calling me. What's going on?" the voice said.

"You've got to get me out of here," I said, "This backwoods town is crazy and still living in the nineteenth century."

"Calm down. You are in the safest place for you on earth. No one there knows your face, name, awards, or your profession. You need to keep it that way."

The phone connection went dead.

Mitzi's murderers and most who conspired to it were serving life sentences for their crimes while I, The Dragon Queen, hid from the world.

My Drag mother stood up and changed the world for Drag queens with boldness. In reward, she paid the ultimate price in death at the hands of lunatics. How can I live like this? The stench on the bus was that of rose compared to this town's vile existence.

I dreamed that night.

I sat in front of the picturesque window and viewed the majestic mountain scene. A red dragon flew from the mountain and approached the house. Though in the dark the red metallic armor shone and its polished gold belly gleamed. Its long neck bore rings of red and black that alternated. The horned head bore silver jagged spikes of a hunter. I left the house and stepped into the backyard as the Dragon landed with a thump.

"Are you the Dragon Queen?" the dragon said.

"I am called that, though I am not worthy of it," I said.

The dragon bowed its head and knelt in submission.

"I bring a message for you from the one named Mitzi," he said.

"You are the Dragon Queen. Be proud of who you are, for from it you will find the power to change the world one city at a time."

For the remainder of the night, Mitzi's words replayed in my head. At dawn, I made dozens of phone calls and received all positive responses. The Dragon Queen's army was coming.

I went upstairs and selected my most colorful dragon outfit of red and black with my bright silver wig and stilettos. It took hours to apply my makeup, and soon I recognized myself again. My dragon clothes fit like armor. I felt whole again and I was on fire.

The decision had been made.

"The Dragon Queen is in the valley, and tomorrow, we are going to town."