Right of Succession
an excerpt

Chantal, inordinately excited by the mention of food, followed Maya through the halls to the kitchens. It’d been so long since she had a decent meal, she could barely remember what it was like to sit at a table and enjoy warm, sand-free food. As they reached the ground floor’s landing, mouth-watering aromas tickled her nose and caused her stomach to grumble loudly.

Maya pushed the kitchen doors open to reveal the activity and noise of Reiont’s kitchens. Chantal followed, watching the cooks as they prepared the midday meal. Maya apologized for interrupting before asking an elderly lady for a basket with enough food for two. The woman, who Maya called Tatia, nodded and waddled toward the huge ovens on legs almost too thin to support a body grown plump from years of taste-testing. A smiling Tatia returned moments later, visibly struggling with the weight of the large basket she carried. Maya thanked her as she took the basket and shook her head good-naturedly.

“You’re trying to make me fat before my wedding,” Maya accused.

“Impossible,” Tatia responded. “You’re too skinny to get fat.”

They chuckled and bid each other good day before Maya led Chantal out of the kitchens. They rounded another corner to find two enormous ridge cedar doors stretching from floor to ceiling. Each was engraved with a snarling dragon, carved into the wood with intricate detail. They reared, poised to defend the orb they perched on; their serpentine tails curled protectively around the precious sphere like a shield. The image was somehow familiar, but Chantal couldn’t remember where she’d seen it before. She thought perhaps her father had mentioned it to her in some story he told her as a child. He grew up in Reiont Castle, so it made sense he would remember the carved doors.

The bubbling base voice of a male dragon began to throb around her as Maya pulled one of the doors open. Chantal saw Maya smile as they stepped out into the humming air. Other powerful voices joined in as the melody spread, and Maya added her soprano to the chorus while they strode across the immense courtyard toward a set of Yekaran apartments.

The complex door and most of the apartment doors inside stood open in the heat of the day. Maya entered with a confidence Chantal found impossible to imitate. She had never been near a dragon, but she remembered seeing her father’s companion, Flangar, from a distance. Could something so powerful, so fearsome, be intelligent and friendly? Still relatively unconvinced but overcome by curiosity, Chantal followed Maya into the gloom and through one of the open doors.

The apartment was little more than one very large, sparsely furnished room. A two-drawer chest stood in the far right corner; a lantern sitting on top provided the only light. The piece of furniture stood as tall as a man and was nearly as wide and deep; however, viewed from the far end of the cavernous room, it appeared no different than any other two-drawer chest. An overstuffed mattress lay along the left side of the apartment with a well-grown Yekaran lounging on it as he watched them.

“Mein, mein Tricon. Mah eh gleo us es no.” Maya teased. Chantal’s eyes grew wide. She could not understand the words, but the language sounded familiar. Was this the Yekaran language? “Micht das mention jiu wo lai shuo’ aber scias ay’h veil trioblóid es statuatis mahti venias se undisonus.”

“Paentieo, Maya,” the dragon answered, exposing a row of glistening white teeth shaped like daggers as he grinned. “Venbat eh wenig vebat inithe.” Chantal gulped when his attention turned toward her and was surprised when he began speaking in Terran. “Who is this?” he asked.

“Tricon, this is Chantal,” Maya introduced as she urged Chantal closer. “She’s Ralic’s daughter. Chantal, this is Tricon, my Yekaran Companion.”

“My greetings to you, Chantal,” Tricon answered with a bow of his immense head before turning his attention back to Maya, or more correctly, the basket she carried. “I’m guessing you’d like to fly out to the beach for your midday meal?”

“How’d you guess?” Maya answered, a smile turning up the corners of her mouth. “Chantal is to be paired with a Yekaran Companion,” she explained. “I thought it would be good for her to learn a bit more about your people before making the choice. Besides, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you turn down the chance for a good hunt.”

“God bless you,” he answered with an exaggerated sigh. “Any excuse to get away from Deligh for a while!” Maya visibly suppressed a fit of good-natured giggles at his reaction as Tricon continued. “I’d love a little trip, but I’m covered in dust after helping the planters this morning. Would you mind if I took a moment to clean up a bit?”

Maya nodded her head and moved out of the dragon’s way. Chantal wasn’t far behind and stood watching in awe as the large reptile rose from the mattress. His grace and the fluidity of his movements amazed her. She had always thought Yekarans would be awkward, lumbering beasts with no more intelligence than a retesh. She’d been so wrong! Tricon’s presence, size, and appearance were intimidating to say the least, but he spoke and behaved almost as if he were human, a very large human. She could feel the ground tremble as he passed. Maya seemed nonplused by her companion’s shear bulk and brute strength. Chantal wasn’t entirely convinced of Maya’s sanity after finding her in the Wastelands – alone - and actually seeking an interview with a certain reclusive count, but she couldn’t believe her grandfather would put her in danger. Besides, humans and dragons worked together all the time, right?