Sitting astride a dragon which was landing on another dragon was an odd experience. Arthur noted how Sams carefully kept his talons lifted and how lightly he landed on Elissa.
There was plenty of room on the giant back. Each one of Elissa's scales was the size of a platter used at a fancy feast. And as she wasn't actively flying — simply floating on a cloud — there wasn't any movement of her beating wings.
Still, Arthur caught Horatio sweating and suspected that Sams would be, too, if he had been capable.
Elissa turned her giant head to watch the process and let out a low rumble of approval.
"You're no youngling, Rare Sams, even though your rider is. It's your second, I assume?"
"Yes, ma’am." Sams bowed his head. "The son of my first rider."
"Ah, excellent," Elissa declared and turned back to watch the sky.
Sams' breath heaved under Arthur as he gave a draconic sigh of relief.
Arthur unbuckled the strap over the saddle and slid off, one hand up to hold Brixaby steady. Once on the ground, he nodded up at Horatio who seemed to be either communicating 'Good luck' or 'Hope you don't die' with his wide-eyed stare.
Then his friend signaled to Sams and the yellow Rare hopped delicately off Elissa's back to the sky.
Arthur turned his head to Brixaby. "Be polite."
"I am always polite!" Brixaby announced, though perhaps not quite as loudly as usual.
Meanwhile, Valentina stood waiting in the middle of the giant throw rug that functioned as Elissa's saddle.
"Come here. Let me take a look at him."
As Arthur walked close, Valentina squinted. Her wrinkly mouth pressed into a line. "Hmm. The size is unusual, though I have seen Purple Commons this small before."
"Four wings," Elissa commented, having turned her head back to look at them. "It is a purple, if an off-colored one."
Brixaby, naturally, puffed up. "Four is the optimal number of wings! You should—"
"Quiet."
Elissa's voice wasn't particularly sharp, but there was a resonance in air followed her command. It was as if the wind trembled.
Brixaby fell silent.
Valentina caught Arthur's look and smiled thinly. "Don't worry, dear. Dragons have a pecking order among themselves, but Elissa is harmless. In fact, why don't you two have a chat."
"I'd be delighted to talk to dear Brixaby," said Elissa, with lots of teeth.
Arthur felt Brixaby stiffen on his shoulder, but his dragon wasn't the cowering type. "Yes, of course. I'd love to have a chat with my elder."
Then, before Arthur could say any more or warn him to be polite, he buzzed from Arthur's shoulder to circle around the old dragon's head. Elissa snorted a puff of fog which flipped Brixaby over in air. Righting himself immediately, he came to rest on the end of Elissa's aged-crooked muzzle.
The elder dragon turned her head away and whatever they were 'chatting' about, Arthur couldn't hear. It may have been a trick of Elissa's wind magic.
"More intelligent than a purple usually is," Valentina commented then shook her head. "I would have dearly liked to know who his sire was."
"You don't keep track of that sort of thing?"
"We do. But the purple who laid him lost her rider, she fell through the cracks, and no male has admitted it. I suspect he, too, is wild."
"Wild?" Arthur asked.
"The term we use for those without a rider. I forget how green you are." She sighed, "And I'm afraid you will have to learn, Arthur Kane."
He felt a familiar unpleasant jolt at that last name.
Then he felt a second jolt as he noticed Valentina watching him closely.
"I'm a quick learner," Arthur said.
"Yes," Valentina said. "So was your mother."
A third unpleasant jot in less than a minute couldn't be good for the heart. Somehow, Arthur forged a smile anyway. He'd have to muddle through this somehow. "Oh, you know Lady Kane?"
"Hardly." Valentina's voice was dry. "But I knew Lottie Rowantree."
His smile froze, then cracked.
How long had it been since he heard that name? His father didn't call her Lottie — didn't speak of her at all except to say 'your mother' — but her name was stamped just as deeply as the cards in his heart deck were burned on his heart.
Hearing her name was such a shock that for a vital moment, Arthur was knocked out of his Acting Skill.
He only gaped at Valentina who watched him, reading him like a book.
"It's rather easy to put together, if one has the pieces," Valentina said. "Your coloring, your estrangement from the Baron, and your card."
"My... card?" Unconsciously, he reached up to touch his chest.
"As I said, she was a quick learner too." Valentina looked away, out to the sky which still shown bright and clear above them with thrashing storm all around. "I assume she's passed?"
"Yes, when I was quite young." Arthur opened his mouth to ask more about the card.
Instead, Valentina turned and spit. It didn't land on her dragon's back but flew out through the air.
New Counterfeit Spell obtained: Ultimate Wind Control
Remaining Time: 9 minutes 59 Seconds
He barely noticed the spell – too shocked by Valentina’s reaction and her next words.
"The baron is a pig."
"I … don't disagree," Arthur said.
She nodded once, sharply, and turned back to Arthur. Her eyes were full of sympathy. "I won't be the only one to put two and two together. The story of bandits stealing a Legendary card was always suspect. Though it makes more sense now I've learned he's given it to an illegitimate child."
Wait.
Did she think...?
Arthur felt the blood drain from his face, and he wasn't sure if he should be insulted on his mother's behalf or not.
Valentina had his mother correct but thought that his blood father was actually Baron Kane.
After a pained moment he decided discretion was the better part of valor and instead asked, "How did you know her?"
"She was a Legendary recruit," Valentina said easily. "Though obviously an unsuccessful one. She conducted herself with grace and honor, and from what I understand, secured a marriage offer from a Duke's heir. The boy got on the king's wrong side a few years later for some matter or another — you know how the crown can be," she added acidly, "and that was the last I heard of her."
"You don't..." Arthur's mouth had gone dry. He licked his lip to moisten it again, "You don't know what happened between the Duke and the King?"
Valentina shook her head sharply. "No, I only take some comfort that a part of Lottie lived on. But," she added, cutting across Arthur's next forming question with a sharp gesture. "That brings me to my next point. The King."
Arthur dearly wanted to ask for more about his mother but set his questions aside for later. Pushing too hard might raise Valentina's suspicions. He got lucky she assumed so wrongly about his father. "What of the King?"
"He requires a meeting with all new Legendary riders shortly after linking, and I dare say he won't be happy to learn you have a pair of cards in your heart."
Once again, Arthur's mouth had gone dry. "How unhappy?"
"That depends on his mood." She looked at him steadily. "I would not say this if we weren't surrounded by wind, and I wasn't confident of our privacy: The king has grown quite unstable over the last decades. I know you must have mixed feelings about your father, but it may be worth it to allow him the traditional Legendary rider boon — the reward that goes to any noble who gives a child to the hive — if the Baron can get you a luck card."
Arthur barked a single laugh, then realized Valentina wasn't joking.
Luck cards, naturally, were some of the rarest and most carefully hoarded. He didn't bother asking if the hive had one.
"What will the King do? No," he said, shaking his head. "Execution, of course. What I mean is if he... takes offense. What will happen to Brixaby?"
He thought he caught a gleam of approval in her eye. "He's still a Legendary dragon and precious to the kingdom. Should that happen, he'll be encouraged to pick another rider," she paused, "Penn Rowantree, perhaps."
Arthur winced. "Ah."
"Card theft is a fine tradition in the hives. But as a Legendary rider you now hold yourself — and your future Rare retinue and their under-riders, to a higher standard. Do not make enemies of the powerful nobles. They may become enemies of the hive."
As consequences went that was... less than a slap on the wrist. Again, Arthur had more questions, but he was still hung up on the fact that the king may execute him for treason against the kingdom.
"What do I do? I can't give up the second card. It's in my heart, yes, but Brix linked both."
Valentina let out a breath and shook her head. "You have a few days until the king calls for you. We all serve at his pleasure, not the other way around. Until then, I highly suggest you wrack your brain and think hard of what to say to convince the king you are no threat. The fact you're a minor noble at best may help." She frowned. "Or it may hurt. Honestly, I wish I could be more comforting, but the man is erratic."
"Why? What's wrong with him?"
"Dementia," she said pitilessly. "It's not a surprise. He was old when I was young."
He wasn't sure what to say to that.
"In any case," Valentina continued, "We will start you on a schedule as if all is well. Starting tomorrow morning, you and Brixaby are to attend beginning rider classes. As you are a Legendary rider, I expect to hear that you are excelling. After lunch, you will attend either myself or Whitaker for leadership training. The evenings after dinner are yours to train with as you wish."
Arthur nodded.
"Good." She returned the nod with a curt one of her own. "One final thing: You are a dragon rider now. While you are too new to attend regular scourge eruptions, if another demi-scourgeling shows its ugly head, it is your duty to help take it down. Rain, shine, on your death bed — it doesn't matter. We had a leader from Corn Moon once help fight one while she was in active labor. All Legendary dragons answer the call. There are too few of us, and the consequences of having a Legendary-level scourgeling run a rampage are too high. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Arthur answered, but couldn't help himself, "I hope the king feels the same way."
"If he's in his right mind that day, and in a good mood," Valentina said dryly, "he just might."
