The Legend Of

There weren’t always dragons in the valley.

There had been a time, far before Luzmila herself had been born, when dragons had not lived in these lands or even the imaginations of people. She tried to imagine what it would have been like to gaze upon the grand, lush valley below and not see the dozen different kinds of giant dragons in their keep. To not feel their presence, even when they weren’t near.

From the perch of the balcony high up on the side of the mountain she had a near perfect view of it all, save for the thick cover of nature all around it. She huffed a laugh when she saw the white dragon rolling around in the flowery fields, ignoring its keepers trying to get its attention back. That one was her favorite.

She forced herself to focus back on her task, stepping away from the railing and kneeling beside the little fountain that brought fresh water from below. She took the empty blue crystal jug and held it beneath the flow of water. Once full, she carefully set it aside and leaned forward to take a few gulps of water herself. Just a quick one. The cool, refreshing water felt so good she wanted to dump a few handfuls all over herself; instead she was careful not to splash on herself.

She heard a rustling in the plants in front of her and spotted a tiny dragon in one of the leaves, its multicolored scales standing out beautifully against the green.

“Hi there,” she whispered. She wanted to reach out a finger and touch it, but held back knowing that they had a mean bite in them. Its little tail swished back and forth and it launched itself into the air, landing within the blooming petals of a flower. It would stay content there for a while, feeding from its nectar.

She was already taking too long.

Taking the jug, she headed back inside, up the three steps to the left leading to the main sitting room where Lord Marko liked to entertain. The light curtains that gave the impression of seclusion were billowing with the breeze. It was generally always warm in the province, but today was a particularly hot day, and she was grateful they at least got some nice winds flowing.

Soft carpet met her bare feet as she entered the open room and the voices that had been speaking became clear again.

“...We knew this wasn’t going to go smoothly.”

“They ask for far too much,” said Lord Marko in reply to the woman. “It is not a balanced exchange by any means.”

“It is the way of alliances. And you know it is necessary. We only need to find a way.”

Luzmila hurried to cross the room on soft feet, trained not to disturb, and settled near the far wall with the jug perched in her arms. There were a few other servants positioned in different corners of the room, each one similarly fashioned to herself. The men wore nothing more than dark red linen pants that matched with the girls’ underwear visible through their dresses–a cream fabric so light and delicate it was see through. Their jewelry marked their stature as servants of House Alia: gold bands around their biceps with a small blood-red jewel encrusted. But unlike most of them, Luzmila also wore bangles on her wrists and jeweled pins on her long, caramel hair, gifted to her by Lord Marko.

The woman sighed. “The compromise is heavy, but it is worth doing it if successful. And you know they will not budge on this. If not a dragon, then…”

“Yes,” said her master with a steely voice.

Luzmila wasn’t quite sure of the name or position of the dark-haired woman that lounged on the couch, only that she was important and served the Queen.

Important men were usually involved in important business–or at least her Lord was.

Sometimes she liked to pay attention to every word, try and figure out what they were talking about and piece together bits of information she had heard here and there. Sometimes it was fascinating, sometimes it was dull. After years of listening in on conversations that she wasn't really privy to, it became more and more enticing to simply let her mind wander.

The gentle billow of the see-through curtains pulled her thoughts away. This was, arguably, her favorite room in this palace of a house, and the one her mind favored for dreaming. The plush, intricately designed carpets in shades of red and purple; the low-lying crystal tables edged in gold; velvet couches and mountains of embroidered pillows; crystal and jewel-studded decorations. Most of all was the openness. A whole section of the room was completely open to the environment, no wall, just some carved marble columns and railing. The dark green trees burst in through this openness, bathing the room in the richness of their life. The nature all around her Lord’s house (and the kept neatness of it) showed his true wealth.

Most of the house wasn’t too different, but this room had a certain comfort to it. She liked looking out into that open space and to the vastness of the nature beyond–and the valley below. All that it held…

“Water.”

The gentle command effectively snapped her back into attention and she padded over to her Lord’s side, kneeling to pour water into his empty crystal cup that he held out for her. She felt his stare and looked up to see him looking at her very intently. She smiled at him. Yet, even when she finished his cup stayed exactly where it was, and his eyes were roving over her face with a severe frown etched on his own.

“My Lord? Did you need something else?”

More moments passed without an answer, and she grew confused, not knowing what to say.

Finally, he seemed to gather himself and said, “No, dear. Thank you.”

He turned away and she blinked, but took the dismissal and went back to her place.

“What do you suppose that was all about?” Marina–one of the other servants–said while she fluffed up the pillows. “Sounded important.”

“I don’t know, and it’s not for us to know,” said another.

“Luzmila,” called Marina in a deceptively charming voice. “You must know. Come on, tell us!”

His guest had left already and Lord Marko had retired somewhere else, so it was their job now to get the room back to its impeccable state.

“Despite what you all think,” she replied, “...I never know.” Lord Marko may have favored her always, but that didn’t mean he told her the best kept secrets of the kingdom.

“Well, I heard that there’s trouble with the neighboring kingdom,” said Marina.

“And how would you know?” said the other girl.

“I always know.” She usually did. Or some version of the truth. “What do you think it’s about, though?”

“What is it always about?” said Luzmila, like it was obvious.

Marina shrugged in acquiescence.

Dragons. It was always about the dragons.

Kneeling beside the side table she was clearing up, Luzmila looked up at the corner of the room where the skull of what must have been a gigantic beast of a dragon was up on display. The most valuable thing in this whole house… at least in her eyes.

She remembered the time, many years ago when she first came to this house as servant and her Lord told her the story behind those bones. She was but a youngling. Hailing from a far region of the kingdom, she arrived in the province in a caravan of rescued orphan children to one of Lord Marko’s orphanages. It was mere luck that he had been there when the group arrived and he picked her out to train as a servant girl of his House. Lord Marko had brought her to this very room and said:

“Do you know what that is, little Luzmila?” He gestured to the skull, giant and horned, its mouth agape, showcasing the many sharp teeth.

“It’s a dead dragon,” she guessed. Before she arrived to the province, she had never seen a dragon before in her life, but she knew there could be no other animal alive that big and scary.

“Yes. But do you know what it represents?”

She frowned, shaking her head. She didn’t know what he meant.

He sat down on the couch in front of her. “Have you heard of the story of the great adventurers that discovered the first dragon?”

She perked up, but shook her head. She hoped he would tell her the story. She liked how it sounded.

“I’ll tell it to you. Over a hundred years ago some great adventurers decided to sail bravely into the treacherous southern sea towards some little known, forgotten islands of our kingdom.

They discovered many things in the dense, mountainous forests of these islands. I won’t give you the whole history lesson, only the part that matters most. The story goes, they were traveling across a beautiful lake, crystal blue waters so clear you could see all the way to the bottom. And what they saw at the bottom shocked them.”

Luzmila was wide-eyed, riveted to the story. What must those adventurers have lived through! The wonders they must have seen.

Marko–Lord Marko, that is–continued with the story. “Lying in the sand was the skeleton of a gigantic beast, just sitting there in perfect shape. Hidden within this island, yet perfectly visible to those who looked closely. It was like nothing they had ever seen before. It must’ve given them quite a scare, the thought that there were other beasts like that roaming alive on the island.

But there weren’t.

Later they decided to go back and dive in, take a look at the remains more closely.” Lord Marko leaned forward and smiled. “And this is where the magic comes in. Nestled inside the bones of the beast, like a little cave, was an egg.

The egg was brought back here–to my great-great-grandfather, in fact–since he had funded the trip. He didn’t have much money, but he craved to discover the mysteries of the world. We don’t really know just how old this egg was, but it seemed to have been frozen in time. Something about the water. With what we know about the birthing cycles of dragons now, it makes sense, but still… the chances…”

He seemed to be lost in the marvel of such an occurrence, and it was mirrored entirely by Luzmila. He looked up and chuckled, breaking the silence. “Anyway, that egg birthed a new era for this kingdom. And the world.”

He stood up and went to stand in front of the bones again, Luzmila following next to him, looking at them in a whole new light. “Now can you tell me what that skull really is?”

Luzmila thought back to the story and frowned in shock. No way, it couldn’t be.

“Oh yes indeed. The very dragon at the bottom of the lake, fished out to sit proudly in this House.” Whoah.

“I told you this story, Luzmila, because you are a part of this House now. These bones are a great part of history, and so are we. Our House brought the great dragons to this kingdom, and we are still custodians of them.” He knelt down to look into her eyes. “Be proud of this House, and make it proud.”

Luzmila smirked thinking of that moment. It was such a Marko thing to say. She still marveled when she looked upon the remains. They entranced her. Brought her to a different land, far away, full of things unknown. Where she could go on an adventure and discover the next great thing. She often thought about how those explorers must have felt and she imagined it mirrored in her own body: her heart beating, the blood rushing through her veins in excitement–

She was yanked out of daydreams when her name was called out.

Mera, the Head Servant, was standing at the entrance of the room. “Lord Marko is requesting you.” Luzmila put down her cleaning cloth and went to her. “He’s in his main office,” she said when she passed her by.

It only took her a minute to get to his office since it was only a level below. She wasn’t concerned, not when it came to him. Despite being master of the house, he also felt like a father of sorts, ever since he had taken her in. She may have technically been a servant, but she always felt a little bit special in his eyes.

There was a certain openness to the whole house that let air flow freely and green from nature show almost anywhere. It contrasted nicely with the dark reds that decorated this house in the form of carpets and tapestries and decorative cloths. She particularly liked the sound of flowing water from fountains mixed with the rustling of trees. She really loved this house. It was home, and she was blessed for it. She only wished she could see more of the world.

When she arrived at the dark wood double doors she knocked and waited to hear his reply before entering.

First thing she noticed was that he had opened the glass doors of his balcony, thankfully.

“Mila,” he said, not looking up from where he finished writing something on his ornate wooden desk. He gestured for her to sit in the chair opposite him. She did and waited until he finally looked at her. He gestured to the tray with a water jug, silently offering her some. She poured two crystal and gold goblets and pushed one of them to him. “It’s a hot day.”

He rubbed his sweaty forehead and nodded. He really looked quite stressed. “It’s a difficult day. In more ways than one.”

She assumed he was talking about his conversation with one of the Queen’s council, and thought about what Marina had said. “So I heard.”

“Hm. Imagine all of the conversations you must have listened to in a decade.”

She smiled. “If it comforts you, I really have no idea what’s going on most of the time. If I’m even listening.”

He leveled a look. “I’m sure.”

Silence descended as he regarded her, much the same way he had done a few hours ago. It was disconcerting, she had no idea what went on in his mind, but she sat quietly, knowing that he would say what he needed to when he needed to.

He stood up and pulled up a chair next to her. “I look at you today and you are so grown. I still remember when you were only a youngling.” He paused, thinking well about what he wanted to say to her. “I always cared about you Mila. I hope you’ve felt a measure of that in all the years you’ve been here.”

Her brow furrowed. He never usually talked about things like this. “Of course I have.”

He smiled knowingly. Apparently he was well aware of how he sounded. “If there is anything you could have… anything you could do, what would it be?”

That was a difficult question to answer. Despite being fatherly, she was also aware he was her lord. She went with the safe answer. “I am very satisfied with my life here, my Lord.”

“No, really.” He stood up and went beneath the arch of the opened balcony. “What does your heart desire?”

When she looked at him she saw only a stressed father figure, so she answered honestly. “An adventure. I would love to go somewhere different, do something new.” Excitement entered her words. “Like the explorers from the dragon island.” She let out a breath. “I would never do it of course, but I think about it often. What it would feel like.”

He nodded and turned around to look outside instead. “That’s a good answer.”

She waited a few moments before asking, “So why did you ask me here?”

“Tomorrow I’m leaving for the capital. I must visit the Queen. I want you to come with me.”

She didn’t expect that. Not at all.

“But I’ve never gone with you before. It’s always–“

“I’m aware. This time, I want you to come with me.”

She nodded slowly. “If that’s what you want.”

He finally turned back around, a serious look on his face.

“We leave at dawn.”

The journey took the whole day, but Luzmila enjoyed every minute of it.

After boarding the carriage with Marko, they wasted no time in departing. They had to go around the mountain in order to go down to the city of Kurtt, the second biggest city in the province, which lay nestled between a collection of mountains that surrounded it. Luzmila wished they could have gone closer to the dragon keeps but they were the opposite way, to the left of Marko’s house where the valley tapered off.

The journey went by quickly enough, probably due to her staring out the window the entire time, every place they passed by a new one in her eyes. Soon enough, the sun was nearing the horizon and the capital walls appeared in sight.

The capital was a bigger, older version of Kurtt, if a bit messier. It was beautiful, equal parts white stone buildings and lush green trees. There were pops of color everywhere, especially as they passed near the merchant’s market; she was drinking in every detail but before long she had to shut the window for safety.

Once they finally arrived and she was able to get down from the carriage, she had the Queen’s palace right in front. She took a quick look up and down, trying not to look too impressed. She was there as a servant, not a tourist, but she let herself admire it for just a few seconds: the white marble with gold fixtures, the great big domes decorated with colorful tiles that glinted in the sun and looked like priceless gems.

Lord Marko had been talking to a guard and a royal escort who had come out to formally greet him, and when they turned to walk up the palace steps Luzmila made sure to carefully follow a couple of steps behind.

“Come, dear Mila.” Lord Marko had stopped to look back at her.

Her brow furrowed. “I am my Lord.”

“Come next to me,” he clarified, reaching out a hand.

She blinked. His eyes told her to listen to him, so she did; taking his hand and holding onto the arm he offered her, forcing herself to act as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

How strange. She tried to find reason in Marko’s behavior. This morning, when she was instructed to wear finer clothes than her usual attire she thought it was a matter of respect and status; it is not everyday you visit the Queen’s palace, but that didn’t seem quite right, now.

Such thoughts momentarily left her as they entered the palace, equally–if not more so–impressive than its exterior. Intricately painted floors that might as well have been works of art, gold decorations everywhere that magnified the golden glow from the setting sun, and as they walked down a set of hallways she admired the walls and tapestries in shades of blues and reds and greens that all managed to blend together to perfection.

They reached a set of great double doors the size of three men, probably, with guards posted in front. The throne room? She thought so when Marko let go of her and said “Stay here.” One door opened just enough for him to go through, so she wasn’t able to catch a look inside.

She paced in the same place for what felt like an hour but was probably only half that, trying to ignore the guards that stood right there, a multitude of thoughts going through her mind.

When she heard the door open again, she turned to look at Marko come through, but he didn’t come to her, just stood there beside the open door with a very serious look.

“It’s time for you to come, Luzmila.”

Her eyes flitted between him and the door and her brows climbed up. “In there?”

“Yes. The Queen wants to see you.”

She was well and truly baffled now; rooted to the spot, there was not a single good explanation in her mind. But he was waiting for her, and apparently so was the Queen, so she took a breath and jerked herself forward, moving past him and into the room.

Her eyes went straight to the end of the long room where Queen Taslina sat on her throne. Luzmila tried to bring forward all of her training on posture, walking, etiquette… but as graceful as she was, simply no one had taught her what to do when in front of a Queen. She was grateful when Marko put his hand on her shoulder and guided her forward; she took the moment to breathe and remain calm.

When Marko stopped a little ways in front of the Queen, she had no clue what she was supposed to do so she looked at him for guidance.

“It’s alright dear.”

Her eyes jerked to the Queen who had spoken. She was a severe looking woman, with thick, black hair adorned with jewels and matching brows, her face made of sharp lines that casted beautiful shadows against the typical dark caramel skin tone of the province. She was perhaps Marko’s age, some forty-something years of life.

And she was looking at Luzmila very contemplatively.

“Come forward,” she said, sitting forward on her throne. “I want a good look at you.”

Luzmila obeyed, taking a few steps forward, even going up a step. The Queen narrowed her eyes, studying her so closely she felt as if she were looking inside her.

“Yes,” she said slowly. “I see what you meant, Marko.”

Finally, she relaxed back into her throne and Luzmila was able to breathe. “You’re quite beautiful, dear.”

“Thank you, my Queen.”

Taslina shared a long look with Marko, who still stood behind her. Luzmila dared not look back. She hadn’t paid much mind to the woman that had been standing beside the Queen’s throne, but she noticed her crouch down and whisper something in Taslina’s ear.

The Queen sighed. “I’m sure you want to know why you’re here.”

She said nothing.

“Have you heard anything about what’s happening with Psamathy?”

“Not much at all, my Queen.” For some reason, it didn’t seem like a good idea to tell the Queen that one of the servants had been gossiping about the neighboring kingdom just yesterday.

“It’s a very powerful kingdom. Rich, strong… and so is their royal family. A hundred years ago Psamathy reigned supreme over the rest of us–not officially, but they certainly did. None of us could have gone against its power.

Until dragons, of course. The one thing our kingdom has that no other does, no matter how much they desire otherwise; and my family made sure that we harnessed that power for the betterment of our kingdom.”

Her jaw ticked. “Dynasties are pesky things. And I say that being part of one. The Aracelis–the ruling family–want power. They want dragons. But they can’t have them,” the Queen declared. “At least not like this.

Yet, their military power is something to behold, and so is their wealth. And their determination.”

Taslina stared at her once again in contemplation. Luzmila thought perhaps it was time for her to say something. “I see.” Even though not really.

“I’ll spare you more details and get to it. We are in the middle of building… a complicated alliance. But there is one very crucial piece that we don’t have: a bride.”

Luzmila raised her brows. “Oh.” She told herself to calm down, she was just a servant. Of course the Queen wasn’t implying that. She cleared her throat.

“A daughter of this kingdom to marry one of their sons. But like I said, we had no good options. Until you. Marko is my right hand, after all.”

Her heart dropped. It really couldn't be. She was misunderstanding. “You’re saying…”

“I’m saying,” intoned the Queen, “That I, as your Queen, am formally asking you to be this crucial piece in the alliance and marry the prince of Psamathy.”

She couldn’t breathe. She really couldn’t. The Queen was so serious. She whipped her head back to look at Marko, the truth in his eyes. They were serious. “I just…” she tried to keep her composure but an incredulous laugh made it out with her words anyway. “I just don’t understand. I’m just a servant,” she insisted, like it was obvious. It was obvious. Or should have been.

The Queen chuckled. “Oh no, you are far from being a servant. You, my dear, are the treasured, adopted daughter of the most powerful man in the kingdom.”