The Clutch of Sharys: Chapter Thirteen

Chapter 13: Perils in Presentation

The Second Children of Sharys, who were barely a few years past building their first castles and discovering war, lacked the power to stand before their wrathful kin.

The massive, domed entry hall was abuzz with hundreds of voices, calling out to each other or speaking in hushed whispers, an entire court, and assembled nobility preparing for an eventful night. Keti quickly bade Cara farewell, heading in with the majority of the crowd and leaving her in the experienced hands of the Royal Steward, a woman with a short brown bob and terse manner who gestured for Cara to stand at the back of a line off to the left of the hall. 

Making her way there, Cara eyed the line of people on the opposite side of the room from the new riders, the many heirs of King Marckes getting their own presentation at the banquet as well. While she walked down the line of young people now holding their newborn hatchlings, Cara was struck by how few of them there were left compared to the sizable group that had gone into the Trial. The change from the rowdy crowd they had formed around the portal to the silent queue that now thronged in front of the feast hall doors was like night and day, and she couldn’t help but wonder if anything had changed in her as well.

The twins were towards the back of the line; heads held together in some serious whispered conversation as their small dragons clambered around their feet, chasing one another. Upon Cara's approach, their exchange halted, and they looked up at her with rigid, wary expressions on their faces. It looked like they had hatched somewhere around Rank Nine from their placement in the line and the horns of their hatchlings, which was a respectable outcome. Cara gave them a stiff smile as she walked past, earning a nod of acknowledgment from the female twin, who immediately turned back to her brother to continue their discussion. 

The most significant chunk of the line was where the twins stood; moving past that point only saw the numbers dwindle. Four new baby dragons played on the floor nearby, and Cara kept a tight grip on the baby girl in her arms to keep her from wiggling out to join them while she walked, determined to make it to her spot. At the back of the line, Prince Kimon stood with his back to the group, chatting with the only other person who stood there with him. The woman's voice that replied to his was unfamiliar to Cara, her tone lilting and flirtatious as she conversed. 

Passing by and leaving the two to their conversation, Cara stood at the back of the hall and soothed her excited hatchling, who was attempting to snap up one of the curls that bounced near her head. After a few moments of scratches and readjusting, Cara was able to look up from the little dragon and inspect the raucous line of people that paralleled the one that she now stood in. 

Many people of different ages stood there, loosely sorted into groups according to their families but largely intermixed as they talked among themselves. The oldest person that Cara could make out was a man with a pinched, imperious face, hooked nose, and sharp green eyes dressed in the purple robes of the church. He was sternly addressing a younger woman in a black circlet with short pale blonde hair cut into a fashionable bob that curled up around her cheekbones. She seemed to be egging him on with her words, her lively expression largely unfazed by the lecture she was receiving. As the man continued his pontification, her eyes lazily slid around the room before suddenly snapping to meet Cara's.

Shocked, Cara hurriedly looked away at the other end of the line of heirs, but not before seeing a slow smile spread across the girl's mouth. Something about the expression unsettled Cara, and she tried to wipe the striking young woman from her mind as she watched another woman with a long brown ponytail and a stern face carefully detach one of the younger children from her leg. Though this woman's eyes held a gentle expression, her brow and sharp cheekbones still belied something strangely intense about her face. 

There were quite a few young children now that Cara paid attention to them, darting in and out of their siblings' legs or clutching onto those they felt secure around while watching others with wide eyes. Cara quickly spotted the tousled dark heads near the front of the line, including one belonging to a certain absurdly grumpy prince who was flicking invisible dust off his sleeve. The black steel circlet of a favored prince winked from under the man's hair, because of course, he was one of the favorites, and his face looked as though he was looking for a fight with the offending dirt. 

Glancing back before he found another reason to lash out at her, Cara quickly scanned the line once more, her heart jumping when she caught a flash of bright green eyes still staring at her. Ears flushing red in embarrassment, Cara turned back to pay attention to her hatchling, thankful for the excuse to shield herself from social interaction.

However, Cara’s shield was insufficient because that lilting, unfamiliar voice she had heard earlier called out and addressed her. "Lady...Myzanti, was it?" The girl chatting with the prince earlier walked towards her, a friendly smile on her face and taciturn prince on her heels. Cara noted that Prince Kimon also wore the black band of a favored prince with a white stone in the middle, the metal twisted to look like one long, continuous dragon. 

"Lady Myzanti?" The girl prompted again, leaning sideways so that she was directly in Cara's line of view. She had a pleasant, narrow face with a thin sloping nose and full lips that were painted and curved pleasingly. "I don't believe we've been introduced. I am Lady Loralei of House Aspas." The young woman gracefully inclined her head, buttery waves of blonde hair falling over her shoulders.

 In her arms, an orange hatchling looked at the person in front of it with curiosity, the bright bronze horns of its Jack rank curling sideways off its brow. Cara glanced back over towards the blonde huddle of people in the back of the heir’s line and wondered how they were related, seeing as she shared their pale hair and green eyes. 

"Nice to meet you." Cara said politely, flicking her eyes towards the prince, "Prince Kimon, I'm glad to see you're well." The young man gave her a terse nod in response, eyeing her as though she was a wild animal about to snap and take a chunk out of his arm. 

"I must congratulate you on your dragon; it’s a stunning creature." Loralei said sweetly, crouching down slightly to examine the hatchling in Cara's arms. The little grey dragon preened happily, tilting its head back and forth to present multiple angles for consideration. "Show off." Cara muttered, shaking her head. 

"Thank you, Lady Aspas." Cara said, offering her a smile in return, which she knew still came across as strained. 

"I must say, your name is familiar to me, though I don't believe I've seen you at court before. Perhaps we simply run in different circles." Loralei spoke the words with the express intent of leaving her statement open-ended, though Cara was not eager to fill in the silence with her own response. Luckily for Loralei, the prince was more than happy to oblige. 

"You wouldn't have met her before, my lady. The Myzanti family was banished from court quite a while back for suspected treason." He said smoothly, looking down at Cara with half-lidded eyes. Loralei's mouth formed a small 'O' of surprise as she glanced back and forth between the Prince and Cara, whose free hand was slowly balling into a fist. Kimon's eyes flicked down to Cara’s hands and back up to meet her gaze, eyebrows arched in a silent challenge as a current of intense dislike ran through Cara. 

Breathing deeply and letting her hands relax, Cara straightened her back and tensed her core like Keti had told her to. "An old misunderstanding, perhaps, one that my sister has been working quite hard to overturn." She remarked through gritted teeth.

"Ah yes! Famously young and dashing General Myzanti! I knew I had heard the name before." Loralei said, offering a light laugh that led Cara to disbelieve that she hadn't known about that connection all along. 

She was spared the need to reply when the giant doors that lead to the feast hall swung open, and music, light, and noise poured out to greet them, washing away conversations as those assembled in the hall straightened with anticipation. A herald called out the names of the families present, and the line of heirs off to Cara's right proceeded into the hall. 

The Kastae heirs entered with little ceremony, their rigid and proper posture carried with every step as they descended the stone staircase into the long room. They were soon followed closely by House Kalatis, who boasted the largest number of people in the opposite line, dark hair momentarily blotted out as one of them summoned a cloud of shadow that burst into dark sparks when they walked through. "They never miss a chance to make an entrance." Prince Kimon sighed nearby, shaking his head. 

"And now my cousins are going to feel the need to match them." Loralei replied, sounding resigned and unimpressed. 

Her words came true not moments later when the House of Aspas was announced, and two of the blonde-haired people stepped forward. A younger boy with a determined expression extended his arm outwards, spraying a plume of white mist across the room. The man with the strict face waved a hand towards the water lazily, sending dark sparks through it, the shadow extending into a rainbow of gradient black that arched over the high ceilings of the hall. The woman with short hair followed her siblings, spreading her arms wide and dipping them downwards, scooping her hands upwards, and pushing them outwards from her chest. 

Beneath their feet, the stone shot upwards as though fluid, twisting until it became clear and bright red, the color of House Aspas that twined into crystalline serpents found on their crest. The heirs entered the room down their self-made hall of shadow and ruby, looking quite pleased with the effect they had. 

House Manlis was quickly on its heels, the stern-faced woman with the brown ponytail leading the young girl she had shaken free from her leg by the hand and allowing no additional pomp or ceremony for their entrance. From her rigid posture, the woman made it clear that she was above such theatrics had been displayed before, and she and the younger child marched the length of the room in silence to join her siblings at the long table set directly below the dais that held the King and his mistress. 

Before Cara was ready, the Herald began calling out the names and ranks of those who had taken part in the trial, the line in front of her quickly thinning as they entered the room. The Royal Steward bustled over to where Cara stood with the Prince and Lady Aspas at the back of the line. 

"Remember now, His Highness and Lady Aspas will be introduced first, they will walk to the bottom of the stairs and wait while Lady Myzanti is called, and then the three of you will approach the King together and bow. Is that clear?" The woman asked, prompting Kimon to nod and wave her away, while Loralei pursed her lips and nodded. The four Rank Tens ahead of them in line were currently entering the room, leaving little time to prepare before it was their turn. 

Cara took a deep breath and stared straight ahead, dropping her shoulders down and back while raising her chin. She wouldn't have much of a chance for a second impression, and she did not want the pale, fearful girl she had seen in the mirror earlier to be what they remembered her as. When Kimon's name was called, he raised his hands while entering, boosting his dragon with a small push upwards. The Blue-green creature flapped its wings, gliding down towards the bottom of the stairs as the Prince descended, followed by Lady Loralei. 

The Prince’s hatchling neatly landed nearly the bottom, apparently unable to keep itself aloft for anything other than a glide as of yet. Still, the court gave the Prince a polite round of applause, sparking an idea in Cara's mind as she stepped up to the door. "I would give you a boost, but you've never really needed my help, have you?" She whispered to her little dragon, setting the creature on her bare shoulder. Squeaking in agreement, the dragon opened her wings wide, lavender frills and bright silver horns on full display. 

"Lady Cara of House Myzanti, rider of a Queen Rank dragon, sister of General Keti of House Myzanti, and daughter of Tigon and Isamae." The Herald called out as she strode past, not waiting for him to finish. Before she took her first step down the stairs, her dragon pushed off of her shoulder, tiny claws momentarily digging deep into her skin before the pressure disappeared. Cara didn't need to look up to know that her little girl was swooping overhead; the appreciative and approving murmurs of the onlookers were enough to tell her that. 

Shooting a pleasant smile towards the glare pushed her way by Prince Kimon, she finished her descent and began walking the length of deep blue carpet that led up to the high table, flanked by the other two riders. Her entrance must have left the two Jack riders on their back foot, because it was a moment before she heard their footsteps following her own down the floor. Cara's hatchling soared around them as they walked, excited peeps punctuating their procession as the little dragon turned a wide loop, fumbling slightly on the way down but quickly righting her wings. 

Upon the stone dais ahead, the King waited, seated upon a golden throne behind which waited the hulking mass of his dragon, the great black beast Kaletrael. The feast hall was built exceptionally tall and wide, with the back open and leading to an enormous balcony expressly crafted for the Monarch’s mount. The twirling, upwards spiral of the beasts silver horns winked at Cara as she approached the table full of heirs before the King's stone platform, and she was so fixated on the massive size of the dragon they belonged to that she almost forgot about Kimon and Loralei. 

The two other riders drew up next to her, and Cara remembered she was supposed to bow, quickly bending forward as tiny claws landed, digging into her shoulder once more. Her dragon's neat arrival was ruined promptly by its loud, alarmed squawk, and Cara had to twist midway through her bow to try to grab the tiny creature as she scrabbled her way down Cara's arm. Barely grasping the back of her dragon's rump, Cara awkwardly scooped the little creature into her arms before straightening up and look directly at what had spooked her. 

The large, yellow eye of the king's dragon blinked back at her, its massive black head lowered down over the table at which the heirs sat, looking on with hungry curiosity. Cocked sideways, the eye was taller than Cara, its gaze flicking over her and the struggling baby dragon who attempted to escape. She stood there, glued to the spot in terror as the dragon took in its fill, the image of a different dragon flashing through her mind and setting her skin tingling with the ghost of the burns she had suffered in the vault.

That same appraising stare was the expression the creature that had burned Cara held in its eyes moments before striking, and her feet shifted backward unbidden. Her breathing grew ragged, but despite her fear, Cara kept her chin raised, looking deep into the yellow orb that scrutinized her without blinking. She was shaking from head to toe from the exertion of keeping her body still when the great dragon suddenly raised its silver horned head, snorting once before it withdrew. 

The King clapped his hands together and stood, followed by the rest of the hall as he raised his goblet in a toast. "I welcome you, new riders of Netis." His voice rumbled, thunderous and resounding. "You have taken the risk to pursue power, and through your merit and skill, have triumphed to return with your dragons. Let us celebrate you and remember those who fell in their pursuit of greatness, and raise glory to our beautiful land, ever blessed by Sharys themself." 

Those assembled within the feast hall raised their cups in toast, drinking deep as Cara followed Lady Loralei off to the left, while Prince Kimon went to sit with the rest of the heirs at the head of the hall. The two women circled to sit at the end of one of the several long tables set across the dining hall, taking their seats in the two empty spaces closest to the direction of the dais. Before them lay empty plates of beaten gold, lined by more cutlery than was necessary by any stretch of the imagination and capped by a silver goblet. The King, who had taken his seat after the toast, snapped his fingers thrice, and the two small doors on either side of the hall flew open, a procession of dishes flying forth. 

A mixture of scents, both savory and sweet, assaulted Cara's nose as a spiral cut ham floated past, held aloft on a cushion of air. There were golden ears of corn charred on the stove and brushed with seasoned oil, dishes of potatoes and wheels of cheese, loaves of steaming hot brown crusted bread, and large tureens of a clear broth. So many platters were set on the table that it was hard to keep track of everything in front of Cara that she settled for taking small amounts of the dishes closest to her and cutting them into small pieces. She was still rattled by her earlier encounter with Kalatreal and kept a wary eye on its silvered horns throughout the feast. If the beast moved again, she would be out of that seat quicker than lightning splitting across the sky, but she forced herself to remember that no normal dragon would ever harm without good reason. Or at least she hoped.