The female voice rose from the water to remind me that I was far from home, nothing like the warm bath my mother prepared me for. Swimming held a language of its own, a language that not even the birds could speak. My body was used to it, but I'd never felt so strong or agile before. Not this light on my feet. What if I turned my ankle when the ground crumbled under my feet or a part of the cave I'd never seen before?
''You are to be courteous to the Queen, Siobhan. You understand?'' Her voice was tight, but she kept it controlled, clear. She'd given up on the hopes of my becoming an Earth healer or protecter when I was two, now I really didn't want to disappoint her.
A little green man was standing in front of me holding a spear.
''He can speak,'' I said to the little man.
''I am Lilgi, the Queen's squire. Go no further without an escort, little girl.'' He pulled on a chain around his neck and a silver whistle appeared in his hand. He blew on it and four figures materialized in the dark grey mist.
''If you must, you may use that.'' I nodded and put the whistle to my lips. The wail summoned my childhood dragon. A hulking green creature rose from the depths, black bodies and huge wings. The dragon stretched out before me, wings holding him up in the middle, just like my mother said. His breath was like fire burning my nose as I brushed up against it. He was alive. The fear and hate I'd held for him for so long dissipated, for I knew now I would save him.
My dragon stirred. My mother told me it was curious and intelligent, though why I'd never known. It was a shark's body, but without a dorsal fin. It was more like a shark I'd read about in a hidden section in her library. The book had been forbidden to me for many years. But that seemed like light years ago. My mother was so young, so alive then. Dark hair flowing, always moving, laughing, singing. The kingdom was already boiling over with the threat of war and her duties to the mother were taking a toll on her, but she never let it show in front of me.
But that was a long time ago, long before my father started acting strange, long before our enemies attacked out of nowhere. Long before my mother turned into a murderer. ''We have to leave. We are no longer safe here,'' she told me one morning. My hand was small, but my fingers were wrapped around the wooden handle of my sword. I was ready. Then a crying sound seemed to come out of nowhere. I turned. There was a baby in my mother's arms. The crying was coming close, and I couldn't hear my mother over the sound of it. The next thing I saw was a hoof in the air. The hoof struck my mother down, but I didn't look back, I fled the Queen's Lair to stop the Queen. ''The Queen is...'' Blood splashed on my face. Her heart met my hand. She was dead. Then the baby kicked, and I picked it up, along with my mother's sword. The baby was wrapped in a goat's skin. I'd never seen a baby before, but I always knew she was alive because I always had to keep looking at the four realms. But this time when I looked at my mother, she was dead. I knew she was dead, and I knew war was coming. And I knew if I stayed in this lair, I would die too. I did not want to die.
I felt wiser now. Many times I was tempted to hope the Queen was watching over me. I didn't know what sent her or her child away or, if behind me, but it was all the same. I was alone. I had to save my dragon, and I would save my kingdom, but I would not save my mother.
The little men stood in a line, one carrying a torch, the others armed.
''Come, my queen,'' one said.
''Where is she?'' I asked. They looked at each other and took a few steps towards me. Their spears could go right through my dragon's hide. I didn't have time to fight them, but I needed to free my dragon. I needed to find my fire sword, not the little bench where the Queen kept it when she visited this lair. How did she get here? I shook my head. The answer was irrelevant now. And before I could give another command to the little men, my dragon darted into the water, leaving only the boat. The little men had no time to react, the dragon's jaws were on their necks and their heads torn off in a matter of seconds. I breathed a sigh of relief. With my dragon, I was safe.
''Where are you going?'' the torch man asked, as he put up his torch.
''I'm going to find my dragon and save my kingdom,'' I said and that was the truth. I just couldn't bring myself to tell them the truth, out loud. I didn't want to be alone. Then I heard a sound coming from where my dragon was.
''What was that?'' I asked, my voice shaking.
''It is only your baby dragon,'' the torch man said. ''He is sleeping.''
''He likes sleeping on the water when he's too small!'' I said. ''Do you like sleeping on the water, Lilgi?'' Lilgi was an odd name. And yet, he'd called me by my name. This boat... these men... I thought I'd been alone. What was I doing here? I had to go. There was no water to swim in now, only land, and I couldn't go down a cliff, not because of my dragon but because of my fear.
I pulled on what looked like the rudder and a handle. Then the boat started moving.
''That is not the rudder,'' Lilgi said, ''that is the steering wheel. The rudder is to the right.''
I looked left and right and then followed the torch and steered right. A long corridor lay ahead of me, but it wasn't over yet. Oh no, the men had to inspect the boat.
''It's lovely, my queen,'' the torch man said, after a few minutes.
''You may let her pass,'' Lilgi said, from behind their heads.
The boat went straight through the gate.
