Chapter 4

Dragon's Kingdom

I feel the whole cave trembling from my father's voices. The ground beneath my feet trembles too. I imagine that everyone who is here now will also feel the earth shake like an earthquake. I look at them with their heads slightly bowed in front of their king, and I feel sorry for them. They are not obliged to endure my father's lousy mood every time.

They have a human form like me. We stuck in this form when the gem was stolen, and we cannot return to our standard form—that of the dragons. Fortunately, the necklace is still hanging around our necks, even though its light has turned off.

There are, of course, other dragons here who were lucky enough to be dragons when the gem was stolen. But they can no longer take the human form. The tragedy, in my opinion, is that all of us who are humans can understand what dragons are saying because we are dragons in essence. But dragons cannot understand us in human form. And here is the big problem. We cannot say anything. We cannot express an opinion or suggest an idea or anything else. The gap between us is big, and the only way to end all this is to put the gem back in place. Sometimes I wish we never found it. Now we would all be together and would reach an understanding.

All of us who have been left as humans are facing more significant and more severe problems.

As dragons, we can live for centuries, and as we discovered the same as humans.

And as humans, we have the age corresponding to the age we have as dragons. I, for example, like a dragon, am one hundred and five years old, at which age you are very young with the facts of dragons, so in my human form, I look like an eighteen-year-old.

So that ordinary people, who live fewer years, do not suspect us, and it appears in their appearance that over time it changes until death occurs, as is normal after all when you are human.

But that does not work for us. We have remained on the same page for many years, which would, of course, raise the concerns and suspicions of ordinary people. For this reason, human- dragons are constantly forced to change their place of residence. It is not easy at all to live in human form in a cave. Whereas, like normal dragons, the cave would be our home.

The tedious thing about being here is that some come from far away, and their journey can take days and days. What our King Ladon and my father tell us every time are the exact words over and over. And, of course, everything is about the gem and how it should finally be found. We have been hearing this for such a long time now, and from inside me, please finish it soon. A little while passes, and suddenly I hear him say something that I listen to him speak for the first time, and it catches my attention.

"So this year, as I have calculated, the anniversary ball will be organized by King Lucius. The same king, who for so many years, pretends to know nothing about the gem. I had a lot of patience. This time will be his last.

And it will be the day of the ball. But first, I need to talk to my queen. Drake?” I hear him call me, and I walk until I am in front of him, and then he continues:

"Take this sealed note." I see Brantley coming towards me, holding a wrapped papyrus in his hand. He has remained as a human too, and I know he does not like it at all. He wishes to have remained in his standard form like a dragon. He extends his hand to me, giving me the papyrus which, as I see it, is sealed with sealing- wax. I understand that my father does not want me to know what he writes, and I will respect it.

"Only the father and I who wrote it know what it contains. He told me what he wanted me to write, and I did. He preferred me to all the other mature dragons-humans. As you can understand, you are excluded because of your age, and after all, he has absolute trust in me".

"Yes. I understand it, and I respect it completely. I'm not going to open it. "

"I know I can trust you."

I felt the papyrus rough as I held it in my hand.

"You have to find a way to enter the castle and give the sealed papyrus to your mother. It is essential to point out that you should not sneak into the castle. If someone sees you, they will suspect, and we do not want that, especially now. Your mission is to find a way to enter the castle without causing suspicion to anyone and deliver the note to your mother as soon as possible, and of course, before the day of the ball." He ends.

I cannot do otherwise. I have to follow my father's instructions. So I nod my head in agreement and return to my seat.

The father continued to speak in a triumphant tone, saying that everything would finally end this year and we would return to our former power. He keeps talking, but I could not hear him anymore. I am absorbed in my thoughts and in the difficult task he has assigned me to accomplish.

The movement of dragons - humans heading towards the exit of the enormous cave take me out of my thoughts. When I was a dragon, it didn't look so huge to me. I follow them and go out into the sun, which hit me hard in the eyes, making me grimace and look elsewhere.

In combination with the mission assigned to me, the papyrus burns my hand, and so with one movement, I hide it in my clothes.

I feel a hand resting on my shoulder, and I turn my head sharply to see who it was.

Brantley. His eyes are looking at me wildly.

"Be sure that you will complete the mission we have entrusted to you successfully," he tells me in a whisper but intensely. He tights his grip on my shoulder until I feel pain, but I say nothing, and he continues in the same aggressive tone. "If something goes wrong, I am even capable of killing you. I will not take into consideration which son you are. I want to be a dragon again. Trapped in this body for so many years, I have hated the human race and myself included. I also have some suspicions about you that if they turn out to be true, I will have one more reason to kill you, and your father will praise me for that. For that reason, choose your course wisely." He tells me and leaves my shoulder. At last, because the pain had begun to become unbearable. I stand and watch him walk away with quick steps.

What exactly does he suspect about me? How is it possible that he suspects me? For which of all?

Is it for any of them or not? Of course, I did not dare to ask him. And now I realize that I may have been wrong. Guilt made me silent, and now he will be sure that I am hiding something.

I feel a knot climbing on my neck. The other humans-dragons who come from behind me drag me in their path, forcing me to move on too.

Brantley meant everything he told me. I heard it in the tone of his voice. I saw it in his eyes. Especially what he said about my father and his praise terrified me.

My steps are heavy, and my heart is pounding in my chest.

All I want is to get home, lie on my straw mattress and sleep for hours. It is a way not to think, not to remember.