Greetings all. I hope you have all enjoyed the Easter break, whether you celebrate it or not.
I have made a shorter update for today as it hits a natural break in the story. Friday will have a much larger update, so I hope you are all prepared from that.
For today's image, I went looking for the Fell Dragon (not related to the story). I am a fan of Fire Emblem, as previously stated. May keep circulating a few of these for the remainder of the story. I am not the owner of this image.
Please follow the link to its source.
But enough from me, please enjoy the next part of Fell Dragon. Thank you to those who have travelled this far with me. If you want to opt into the reader's list, let me know and I will add you. You are also welcome to chat with me about the story, if you want.
Source
The Queen was alone when the child woke. Her whole body shook violently as she came to consciousness. She sat upright and noted the Queen sitting and viewing her from the end of the bed. She noted the queen touched her feet and held both hands open. The child looked to her feet and saw they were bandaged, and the pain was almost gone.
She reached over and closed the Queen's hands to show she had next to no pain. The woman with the blue eyes smiled and nodded her head. Then she reached for the cup next to her and offered it to her. She grabbed at it greedily and finished it all in one breath.
“Thirsty?” the Queen asked.
Cocking her head to one side, she listened to the word, she did not know it or its meaning, but if it meant that she could get more water she would have to learn it. She opened her mouth, and only air escaped. Surprised, she touched her throat and tried to make a noise. Nothing was coming out. Frustration spread through her, and she mimed drinking to the person before her.
“Here.” the Queen poured her more water from a jug.
Greedily she drank the water again, and this time she was sated. She returned the cup and then took in her surroundings. This was a hospital; she knew what that was. She looked at the pipe in her right forearm and noted it was attached to a bag over her head with some kind of red liquid. Blood? Or a derivative of it
Tenderly she touched where the pipe entered her skin. There was a needle pushed into a vein, it hurt a little but enough to shrug it off. She touched the spot above her ear. What hadn’t been covered by a heavy bandage was bare of any hair. She continued to explore her head finding that the whole thing had been bandaged. She then brought her left hand down to look at it. It was lightly bandaged and smarted a little.
She remembered seeing the white arrow fly at her but had not been fast enough to pull her hand back. She lay down and palpated her stomach over where she felt pain. She could not remember why this hurt. She remembered that she had travelled so far and then the blow to her ear before falling, and that was it. Now she was here. However, she didn’t know where she was, but the one in front of her had been kind to her and continued to be kind. Could she be trusted?
“You must be cold.” The woman patted a blanket.
Again her words held no meaning, but the blanket meant warmth, and she was cold and tired. She pulled the blanket from the foot of the bed and threw it over her shoulders. It felt warm upon her skin.
The Queen watched the child explore the room with her eyes before she tapped the child’s feet which immediately got her attention. With the child looking at her once more she tapped her chest and said. “Myla.”
She then reached over to tap the child on her chest and said nothing. The child viewed her with confusion, and Myla had to repeat the action a few times before the child understood. The child mouthed the woman’s name silently whilst pointing to her, then tapped her chest and mouthed her name. The woman reached forward and tilted her head up. “Again?”
The woman touched her lips and clearly said her name again. With no sound coming from the child she realised that she would have to read her lips. The child once more mouthed her name.
“Zai?” the woman tried the name.
The child shook her head and mouthed her name and tried to add sound but there was only a squeak that sounded. She became frustrated and growled. Where was her voice?
“No, not Zai...Sai...Saida?”
It was close the child tried once more to mouth her name.
“Saita?”
She vigorously nodded her head.
“We are getting somewhere!” The woman clapped her hands. “We were thinking of calling you Mea.”
Some meanings of the words were now clear, as Saita had heard a few before. She reached into her memory but found very little.
“Hungry?” Asked the woman.
This word Saita knew. It had to do with food and somehow needing it. Slowly she nodded her head.
“You are learning quickly. Meedus was right about you.”
Meedus? That was not a word, a name, like Myla. The old man with salt and pepper hair. The one that had tried to stop the others from shooting her. There was Meedus, Karesh and another, the tall, muscular man, the one that had strangled her. She rubbed at her throat, again she had been too slow to stop him.
“Slow,” she whispered under her breath.
The word shocked her, a word had come to her, one that had been thrown at her before. An insult from a time she just could not grasp. The woman before her looked at her with big blue eyes, eyes like hers, she too was shocked.
“Saita? Can you speak?” The woman mimed talking with one hand.
Speak? Does she mean talk?
“Talk?” the child mumbled, a little louder, which was barely above a whisper.
“Yes. Talk.” Myla nodded her head.
Individual words she could understand, but the sentences still confused her. She knew yes was an affirmative and no was the opposite. She nodded her head like Myla and mimed a small space between her fingers.
“A little?” asked Myla.
“A little, yes,” Saita whispered.
“Well that is progress, I could almost hear her that time.”
Saita looked up and saw the tall, muscular man, and she immediately bared her teeth at him. She didn’t know why she felt compelled to do this but she did. It made the fear inside of her lessen.
“Introduce yourself to her.” said the woman.
The man rolled his eyes and set a bowl aside before sitting on a chair and saying. “Doran.”
A word? She looked at him in confusion. The woman sighed and tapped her chest. “Myla.”
She tapped the child’s chest and said. “Saita.”
Then she pointed to the man and said. “Doran.”
A name! Doran. Very strong.
“Dooran…” she muttered slowly.
“Doe-rin.” said the man slowly as he pronounced his name in two easily understandable syllables.
“Doran?” she tried again, adding strength to her words.
He nodded his head and pointed to her. “You?”
“Say-ta.” she said slowly.
“Saita, interesting name. Strength of the wind. It suits you with your manifestation of life force.”
She shook her head, there were too many words for her to understand.
“Doran keep it to one or two words. She only grasps a handful of words now and again,” said Myla.
“Manifestation?” Doran pointed to her hands. “Strong.”
She looked at her hands, she remembered the fire and the wind but not how it had happened. She concentrated on her left hand, and a tiny flame appeared. She dropped it in fright, and it slowly floated down to rest on her naked thigh. It did not burn her. She opened her right hand and put it over the flame, it died instantly. Shocked, she scrambled back, this was too new.
“She clearly has no idea how she can do this.” Doran picked up the bowl and offered it to her. “Food.”
She looked at him in distrust and then at the food. The smell told her it was edible, but it looked terrible.
“What did you even bring? Stew? I wouldn’t trust that myself.” said Myla.
Stew. She knew that word. Meat, vegetables, and water are all cooked together with spices. Good food. Warm. Comfort. She sat forward and held her hands out.
“She is starving,” said Doran as he handed her the bowl.
Saita didn’t even wait for a spoon. She tipped the contents into her mouth and noisily consumed the food. It didn’t take long for her to finish the meal. Finally, warmth returned to her body, and she breathed a sigh of relief at finally having a full belly. She looked at the bowl she had practically licked clean and tried to recall the word she was supposed to use now.
“Ah...ah…” she started, trying her best to recall the word.
“Thank you?” offered Doran.
She nodded her head. “Thank you.”
“Have you gotten anything useful from her?” asked Doran as he took the bowl back.
“Really only a handful of words. It’s like talking to a three-year-old. Single words she seems to have some knowledge of, but once they are in a sentence she gets confused.” the woman looked at her. “But she is definitely learning.”
“I don’t know if that is good or bad,” he admitted.
“Why are you here Doran? I thought Beatrice and Meedus were going to bring food.”
“Father sent me a message that I should do it as he and Beatrice wish to go cuddle. His words, not mine.”
The Queen laughed which seemed to surprise the child who looked at her with a tilted head. Much like a dog who wasn’t sure what its owner wanted from it. She smiled painfully, as if not sure what to do in this situation.
“Why were you running?” asked Doran.
Again the confused face turned to him.
“Single words and miming. You can see that your wife taught your boy how to speak.” the Queen laughed and gently tapped the child’s feet to get her attention.
Once Saita was looking at her she asked whilst pointing at the girl. “Running?”
Saita grunted and crossed her feet under her body as if protecting them. She then shrugged her shoulders. She couldn’t remember why she was running, but she had come so far. She touched her aching head. Remembering and speaking were hurting her head. She knew she couldn’t stay, she needed to keep running. Doran must have suspected what she was thinking as he got up and closed the door behind him.
“No!” he said sharply as he pointed at her. “Stay!”
“Stay…” Saita pointed down as if talking to a dog. “Stay…”
“What have you been through?” asked the Queen. “Underfed, underweight, hurt, scared, what happened?”
Saita shrugged, she couldn’t recall, and her head hurt.
“Oh no.” Doran pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. “There is no need for that.”
He handed her the piece of material, and once more, she was confused about his action. She looked to the woman who had been so kind and she mimed a finger from her eye to her chin.
“Tears,” she said. “You are crying.”
Crying? The child raised a hand to her face. Thin lines of moisture were on her cheeks. What was this? Confusion swamped her, and the overwhelming feeling of dread washed over her.
“Why?” she mumbled. “Why...this?”
“She is learning very quickly,” said Doran as he wiped the tears aside. “You are scared. Frightened. Do you know these words?”
“Scared?” she mumbled the word, not knowing its meaning, so she replaced it with another. “Want...run.”
“Why?”
Saita looked at her hands, they felt hot and itchy, this had not been like it was before. “Not...me…”
Doran caught the eyes of the Queen and finally said. “Father suspects time travel, and Jarah suspects she is a...construct.”
“A construct? A living, breathing construct? Not possible at her age. Six months is the longest a construct has ever lived.”
“If the egg and sperm are manipulated.”
“Doran are you saying that...she has been experimented on?” the Queen looked horrified.
“I don’t know, but her confusion at everything...the butchers say she is different from us but only a little. Genetic mutation perhaps but without an in-depth study we will not know; then there's the problem with the Lizards. She appeared with them. Is she an experiment from them? Did she escape from somewhere on this planet? And if so, from where? I thought you banned research on constructs after all those babies died.”
Myla frowned. “I did ban the research. What was the point of creating a creature to fight in a war if it resulted in the death of babes? No, this did not come from my planet. It is possible she came from the lizards, but...I don’t know.
“I know,” said Doran after some time. “You wanting more children is something many of us know about but are you sure taking this thing in is a good idea when we know nothing about it?”
Saita finally saw the woman get angry as she stared at Doran without hiding her displeasure. She was unable to follow their conversation, but the tone she understood. Doran was a friend, but he had overstepped some kind of boundary with Myla. The child sensed something and looked at the Queen’s hands. They were tightly clenched, which were mirrored by the Queen’s jaw. Were they fighting? She looked to Doran, who refused to look at Myla, but his own hands were clenched, and his lips seemed to be moving, but there was no sound. The air was thick with a heat she had felt before. It felt like when the large creature was racing at her, and the other creatures were attacking it.
“No…” she remembered people used to get angry at her all the time too. “No...fight.”
She hopped off the bed and lay a hand on Myla’s fist before turning and laying another hand on Doran’s fist. She was sure they were fighting over her, and she did not want that.
“No fight. I stay.” she looked from Myla to Doran. “I stay. Not run. Stay.”
The smothering feeling of heat left the room, and Saita breathed a sigh of relief. She scrambled back onto the bed and put the blanket over her shoulders again. “Stay. Good Saita. Stay.”
Doran and Myla looked at her in surprise before both burst out laughing.
“I’m sorry Myla. I overstepped my position. I had no right.” said Doran.
“No...no...you are right. Karesh is right. I long for more children, but...I will keep her tracked and if I must lock her up that is what I will do. I still need to go look at the lizard bodies.” Myla mimed sleep and then pointed to Saita. “Stay. Sleep.”
Then after some thought, she stood up and hugged the child. “Safe.”
Saita did not know this word but if it meant what she felt now then she would stay. She would do anything to feel like this again. “Safe. Saita stay.”
Karesh was pacing around in the morgue. His mind was a flurry of thoughts and feelings. He hadn’t seen Lizards in ten years, not since he was disposed of his throne. Not since Natus’ death. He clenched his teeth and continued to pace back and forth.
Bulaash, it had been years since he had heard that name. The home world of the lizards and their Lizard Lords. It had been one of the higher nobles that had sought his planet and a princeling had secured it by killing Karesh’s only heir and running him off. Karesh clenched his teeth tighter and paced some more. Bulaash was not the only planet the lizards came from, but the main royals had a nest on that planet. If they were still hunting Karesh then the assassins who were lying on the metal slabs in the morgue were likely from Bulaash. Morphologically each lizard planet yielded different lizards, be it in colour or scale shape. It wouldn’t take long to determine the planet of origin and intent.
He had heard from Doran that Myla had gone to the morgue after getting the child settled. Irritation settled on him. She had literally tucked the child into bed as if she were her own before coming down here. She had barely greeted him as he stood waiting down here for her. He sighed as she entered the room with nothing more than a nod. He knew she was angry at him, but why could she not understand! He needed the throne to be protected by one of his choosing. Natus had been his firstborn, so the choice had been obvious, but the boy was no longer with them. He had hoped that Myla would give up her rights to their other son carrying on her work to let him become a prince, but she had refused for seven years.
Though he would never admit it to anyone he was actually glad. As long as Aleux was protected by his mother’s people the lizards wouldn’t try anything against him. They could not risk it, not with this planet being a pure research and healing centre in the middle of the universe. They had too many allies for the lizards to piss them off. Yet...Karesh longed for his dark-haired son with mismatched eyes.
Before he could start reminiscing, the door to the morgue banged open and Myla stepped from the room. She looked pale and a little sick.
“Myla?” he stepped forward to extend a hand to her.
They may have fought like cat and dog constantly, but they were married and still very much in love. She took his hand and squeezed it. “They are from Bulaash. Diamond-shaped, black scales. We found a few unscathed on the undersides of their feet.”
“Aleux?”
“More likely here for your head. As long as you still live, your throne will always be yours, and rebellions will follow. You are the direct male line. If they kill you there will not be any other heirs, and as far as I know, your nephew is not that well-loved by the people.”
“We do not talk about that side of the family Myla.” he frowned. “What else did you learn?”
“Saita roasted them completely. They cooked within their own blackened skin. Organs are cooked right through, skin is blackened and split, I think I will leave the rest of the gruesome details out.”
“Saita? The girl? Her name is Saita? Odd name for a girl.”
“Suits her though.”
“What now?” he asked as he released her hand.
“Now...now you and I go open that bottle of wine by the bed, and we celebrate the life we had to let go of today ten years ago. Then we sleep. Tomorrow is another day.”
And there you have it. The mysterious girl has finally been named! But where did she come from and who made her? That is for further parts.
Reader's List
If you have missed any of the parts, you can find them here:
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| Part 1| Part 2 |
| Part 3| Part 4 - You are Here |
| Part 5 - Updated Friday| Part 6 - Updated Tuesday |
