Chapter 107

107 Chapter 10For someone as fierce and as well informed like Daella, it only took five days for her to get to Raven. She disguised herself as a boy and even though she was eighteen, Daella had tiny breasts and her tallness made people not suspect that she was a girl. She had cut her long hair too and reduced them to short curls, like a boy and she always carried a sword round her waist.

The roads were rough from Green Town to Raven, her horse was fast but the cold is what slowed her down, if it were summer it would have taken her just three days with short rest between each station. But she finally made it to Raven by passing through King’s City since it was the easiest route.

Lady Aryan’s school for training girls was famous in Raven, hence Daella only had to ask where it was and she was instructed of it’s direction. Lady Aryan herself wasn’t present in the school, she had other important matters as the Hand of the King. The four lions remaining after Battle of Stonedance needed to mate so that to increase their number.

There was only one male lion and three female lions, some people said the female ones were fiercer and stronger than the male one. Aryan knew that too and that’s why she was present in each mating session to avoid the females from ripping the male apart, but lions are wild creatures and cannot be contained.

They may respect and bow to their riders but the same respect didn’t exist between themselves, and most importantly the females never respected the males and by that time, the male lion was overwhelmed. “We must put him in a different cage” Aryan told her brother, Gandalf was accompanied with Haniwa while they visited the stables where not only lions were housed but also horses and hounds.

“Shouldn’t he be with the ladies if they were to reproduce?” asked Haniwa in her seemingly soft and innocent voice.

“I would love that Your Grace, but the ladies don’t like him. After mating they scratch his skin, if I hadn’t pulled them off today, this boy’s throat would have been slit”

Gandalf sighed “Good gods, we need more lions. Shouldn’t I summon our lion keepers?”

“That will be helpful, these Prophisian keepers know nothing about lions. Just bunch of idiots” Aryan chuckled softly, but then she immediately noticed how offensive that was to Haniwa who apparently was Prophisian. “I meant no offense Your Grace” Aryan said, and not because she was scared of Haniwa, or she felt perhaps she outranked her, but she did that out of kind gesture.

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“You have given none Lady Aryan” Haniwa smiled back and then she excused herself “I must have my evening bath my King, I’ll see you back at the palace” Gandalf kissed Haniwa’s forehead and then he allowed her to leave the stables. After all the smell alone in such places was horrible and Gandalf thought perhaps Haniwa felt unpleasant to be there.

As she was walking away, Gandalf turned to look and he had that appreciation look on his face. So much has changed ever since Haniwa came to his life, it’s like he was a complete different person. “She brings out the best in you” Aryan admitted.

“Does she?” Gandalf turned back to his sister.

“You don’t whore yourself anymore in the brothels and have grown to become a man. For the first time in a long time you are sober every day, I get to be in the stables because now you take your role as King serious and attend council meetings. This is what I wanted for you” Aryan finished collecting dung and went on to wash herself.

Then she reached out for a towel and dried herself. Gandalf looked around the scratched and wounded lion, it was the same lion who he rode the day of his coronation. It’s such a strong lion but somehow it was overpowered by three females.

Aryan looked upon Gandalf as he inspected the lion and the wounds, but she had a huge news she needed to put before Gandalf. “Brother...” Aryan demanded Gandalf’s attention. “I have received shocking news this morning and I wonder if they are true” she said.

By hearing the word “shocking news” Gandalf quickly stopped inspecting the lion and turned to his sister. “What is it?” he asked.

“It is believed or rumored that Queen Aurora has five dragons, they hatched three days ago when she gave birth to a son. My source is one of the washerwoman in Aurora’s Hill, and she claims she once saw the eggs warmed up and now she has seen five tiny dragons”

Gandalf’s eyes widened with amazement “Dragons?” he asked as if to make his sister sound mad. “Is your spy either a blind woman or rather a dork?”

“She’s neither and she has never brought false news”

“Well this makes it a first. She must have seeing bats with wings and thought they were dragons” said Gandalf and then he laughed. “Dragons... sister, I thought you were the smartest of the Squires”

“We shouldn’t disclose this news brother; we both know Aurora has been rumored to be a witch for some time now”

“And that’s the very reason I’m telling you sister, she must be sleeping with bats and your washerwoman thought they were dragons. I haven’t heard a tale about a dragon ever since I was born, our ancestors never spoke of them either. This is a lie and you need a better spy sister, and not a washerwoman”

This time Aryan felt like a failure in trusting the washerwoman with her news, and most importantly when Gandalf proved her to be a fool. She finished with the stables and went straight to Olivia. Aryan told Olivia the same tale about the dragons, Olivia didn’t judge but she listened attentively.

“You think this could be true?” asked Olivia.

“Let’s hope not my love, or we will all be doomed”

“I could send one of my friend a letter, she is in Blackmount, she runs a brothel. Perhaps she may have ways to sneak inside the palace and get the information, or she could ask Lord Balrus”

“Lord Barlus, the master of spies?”

“She and Lord Barlus are good friends”

“A man without a cock makes a pact with a courtesan, that’s new” Aryan chuckled, Olivia told her that Lord Barlus actually goes to the brothels to seek men and not women. “He’s rather known of his taste for young men...”

“If your friend will be helpful then send her the letter, but she must never collude with Lord Balrus. This is her task to fulfil, on her own”

“Alright, I’ll write to her” Olivia agreed.

Three days past and still Aurora remained at Aurora’s Hill because that’s where she felt safe and not being looked at. The washerwoman who sent news to Aryan was caught by Lord Balrus and even though she had already sent the letter, Lord Balrus had her and other spies executed by the order of the King.

Artemis himself ordered the spies execution without anyone’s consent not even Aurora’s, and then he installed his own five kingsguard to guard the Queen while he attends to matters at the main palace. Lord Balrus called upon ten of his female rodents loyal to him to be the new servants, and twenty slaves led by Selma to act as washerwoman, scullions and overall servants of the castle.

Hence from then, thirty servants to be trusted were the ones allowed inside the gates of Aurora’s Hill and that was because they needed to protect the secret of the dragons at all cost. King Artemis remained at the main palace during the day and rode to Aurora’s Hill during the night to be with his queen and son.

The capital was informed of Queen Aurora’s successful labor and the good folks celebrated with drums and a feast in the Queen’s name. Aurora was loved by everyone from the high born to the low born, she was the queen of the people. Almost every day thousands of people gathered outside the main gates of Aurora’s Hill cheering for her and the new heir to the throne.

Amongst those who cheered was Isabella, the famous courtesan who owned a brothel in the market square of the capital. She was an old woman of approximately thirty-five years of age. Olivia befriended her when she visited Old City once and as soon as she received Olivia’s letter, Isabella was set to spy on Aurora.

However, the security was tight and no one was allowed inside Aurora’s Hill, after all even during the past no one surpassed the gates of Queen’s castle. It was easy getting inside the main palace as Isabella had access to the passage through Lord Balrus, but Aurora’s Hill was impregnable.

Hence, she sought out Lord Balrus inside the gates of the main palace. The guards of the palace were used to Isabella, not only because they were frequent visitors to her brothel which was famous for young girls who were yet to be deflowered from different parts of the world, but also because she always go in and outside the palace as she seeks.