Reincarnated as a Dark Elf

  Chapter 4

  Chapter title: Surprise Discoveries

  Princess Hilda at the edge of the Dark Forest. It was a lovely day that was bright and sunny. Tents were up and all around, makeshift pens for the dragons had been erected, male and female dragon knights and their servants were going around cleaning or cooking or preparing weapons or dragon nets to find the missing Gold Red dragon. About Twenty Dragon Knights and Royal Guardsmen were present both male and female. Fierce fighters, all of them. And at least forty or fifty servants were scattered around doing chores.

  Princess Hilda was an 8ft tall Barbarian woman with jet black hair going down in a braid behind her back. She was nineteen years old. Very Large n Muscular even by the standards of Carrahe Barbarian Women. She had on silver colored armor on and carried a helmet all with dragon wing motifs on it. The armor was some of the best in the kingdom, only the best for its heir and crown princess. A sword was on her hip and a large round shield was on her back with a red cape also on her back.

  She was greeted in a friendly manner by all in the camp, Dragon Knights and Servants alike were very polite. She was treated with all due reverence.

  Although the day was nice. Princess Hilda couldn’t bring herself to enjoy it. She looked at her Golden Dragon. Her beloved Golden Partner that she rode everywhere on when going long distance. She patted Korra’s Golden nose.

  Korra was Princess Hilda’s beloved Dragon Mount as a female dragon. She was bigger than a town house with a triceratops head and red eyes. She was a most powerful war-machine much like the other Golden Dragons like her.

  Right now Korra was very worried and looked like it. She made noises that said she was very sad.

  “I know you're concerned for your daughter” Hilda began “I am too” she said looking at her in the eye “I’m only sorry we can’t speak more directly to each other we have to convey our emotions to each other. We will have to accept it” she said.

  “Was I wrong to allow Korra to mate with the Red Dragon the Captain of the Royal Guard rides” Hilda thought “When it occurred I wanted to find out how far it would go then Korra produces an egg and that hatched into a fearsome dragon that attacked and scared away all potential Dragon Riders. Korra’s daughter became infamous all over the kingdom for being untamable and was nicknamed the “Scaly Demon Dragon.” Then our latest attempt to tame it caused it to go on a rampage and here we are trying to find and kill her” She inner monologued.

  Korra gave out a small cry of lament in that moment and Hilda patted her golden partner’s nose again which she seemed to appreciate. “I know, I don’t like this either,” Hilda lamented. Much like the dragon knight she was.

  “Your Highness” came from a familiar male voice. And flew down the Captain of the Royal Guard of Carrahe. Captain Eric Thane riding his Red Dragon which he named Red Horn. Who was also Korra's mate and the father of their daughter whom they were now hunting down.

  Eric Thane was very large and muscular at about 9ft tall with short Red Hair and a Red Beard and was considered the very epitome of what a Barbarian Dragon Knight of Carrahe should become. He had on armor that was similar to the Princesses, just slightly larger. He wore a sword at his back and a round shield on his arm. He carried himself much like a loyal knight would. He was twenty-one years old.

  The Kingdom of Carrahe looked up to both of them as the epitome of what a Male and Female Dragon knight should be.

  Red Horn was a few feet smaller than Korra with a smaller head. Like all red dragons he was a fierce creature with a fearsome disposition. But around Korra it softened a bit. He was very much a dragon in love.

  Thane hopped off his red partner and reported to Princess Hilda “I’ve completed my patrol and there is nothing of note to report.”

  “Yes thank you Captain” Hilda replied. Hilda had to suppress her feelings of joy at seeing Thane. They both had to act professionally since then. “It’s time for lunch,” she added stiffly.

  “Yes of course” Thane said a little awkwardly.

  The two of them walked silently towards the table where lunch was being served. It was being served by one of the maids named Rowena who was the wife of the chief palace chief who was a decent cook in her own right. Her young daughter Lenny helped her mother.

  They walked away with bowls of stew and some vegetables. And both were very aware of each other “It’s just a typical day” they both thought fiercely.

  Hilda however was very unhappy. Which Thane noticed. “What’s wrong, your highness?” he asked after they realized that they were both not eating. He seemed very concerned for her.

  “I can’t believe my parents council gave the order to kill the Gold Red Dragon, she’s the only child of our two dragons and is a magnificent looking creature” Hilda said looking and sounding upset.

  “Yes I know” Thane tried to reassure the princess. “But the dragon went on a rampage in the capital city. We were lucky no one died” he pointed out. “And we both know what would cause the Dragon Council to reverse their decision” he added in.

  “Find someone that would tame that dragon,” Hilda remarked with resignation.

  “Or someone to kill it” Thane also added.

  “I hope we can avoid that option” Hilda remarked.

  The two of them suddenly had their hands brush against each other as they reached for something and stopped. They both blushed heavily. They looked at each other. Both attempted to say something only to stutter. Then looked away like a pair of juveniles as if they had done something wrong.

  Then a loud cry went through the air causing everyone to drop what they were doing. Clanking sounds were heard. Other sounds of something being launched were heard. Many things are being launched.

  Suddenly Dragon’s Bane nets were thrown over all the dragons before anyone could react. Hooded attackers quickly came out of the forest and attacked the royal guardsmen. Dismounted Dragon Knights also tried to grab their weapons to defend themselves.

  Hilda and Thane drew their swords and tried to fight the attackers back to back. Sounds of metal clashing against metal were soon heard. Battle cries were heard going up in the air. Chaos was quickly breaking out. But soon both Hilda and Thane noticed bolas bolas launchers being set up. A lot of them.

  “Are they doing what I think they’re doing?” Hilda asked.

  “Yes” was the only answer Thane gave.

  The sounds of bolas being launched were quickly heard. Bolas are ropes with a stone attached at each end. They performed their intended purposes in tying up the Dragon Knights and Royal Guardsmen.

  They were tying up everyone in the base camp. Hilda and Thane noticed the attackers weren’t killing anyone. Hilda and Thane both noted one by one the guardsmen, knights, and servants were all being captured not killed.

  Soon over time Princess Hilda and Captain Thane were the only ones who had remained uncaptured. Chaos was still going on around them. They noticed other dragons flying around being ridden by people wearing the same hoods as the attackers. And in all of this both Hilda and Thane were oddly enjoying themselves.

  That was until—-”Surrender now, or they will die” came the voice of a hooded man wearing a mask with a Frog motif on it. A green dragon was just behind him that was bigger than two wagons stacked on top of each other. And this person was holding both Korra and Red Horn with two hooded people holding up large axes waiting to chop off the heads of both dragons.

  Both Princess Hilda and Captain Thane saw the writing on the walls and they dropped their swords. Bolas instantly captured them. Hooded people quickly removed their swords. Then the man with the Frog motif approached.

  “I am Princess Hilda of Carrahe and you won’t get away with this” Hilda said to the man.

  “Do you think that was wise?” Thane asked in a whisper.

  “And you may call me the Frog” the man with the Frog Motif began as he approached them. He was speaking in a manner so no one would recognize Hilda perceived “And yes, we know who you are, your highness. He finished approaching them. “You’ve been getting in the way of the wrong people for too long your highness and it’s time for you to pay” the Frog announced with no small condemnation in his voice.

  Hilda and Thane both had a great idea who the Frog was talking about. They both quickly saw Dragon’s come to the ground. No more than probably a dozen of them all ridden by hooded individuals. The Dragon’s had large slave collars around their necks.

  “Enslaved Dragon’s, have you no shame,” Hilda criticized.

  This caused the Frog to slap the Princess very hard. In which her head was turned away briefly. A bruise was seen on her cheek.

  “No different than what you advocate with your dragon’s” the Frog replied vehemently.

  “You’ve got that wrong. I don’t enslave Dragon’s” Hilda said in response. She would’ve spoken further only for a familiar Dragon roar to go through the air.

  And suddenly to their collective horror the child of Korra and Red Horn came to the ground ridden by another hooded and masked individual in a loud crash.

  “It seems Red Horn and Korra’s little girl has grown,” Thane joked Darkly.

  “What have they been feeding her, so young and yet she’s almost the size of Korra, if this keeps up she’ll be the biggest dragon in the kingdom” Hilda thought as she fought her shock and surprise at the sight of the Gold Red Dragon. It felt so unusual to her. “I wonder if allowing Gold and Red dragons to breed together was such a good idea” she also thought.

  “Ah the weapon of your ultimate destruction” the Frog pointed out with glee. He looked at the hooded and masked individual and said “Great timing” he congratulated “I see you enslaved the Gold Red Dragon good work” the Hooded individual only nodded “Good, Now I want you to annihilate the princess and her retinue now, we must make it look as if it had destroyed them all before we kill the dragon and get the credit for it” the Frog ordered.

  At its rider’s prompting the Gold Red Dragon jumped into the air and then let out several fire blasts from its mouth. They came down like bombs raining onto the ground. But none of them hit the princess or any of her retinue. They all hit the attackers causing mass confusion. Sparks from the crashing blasts set the ropes of the bolas on fire freeing many of the Dragon Knights and Royal Guardsmen. While that happened something had cut the ropes of the Dragon's bane nets which freed many of the Dragons from their imprisonment.

  “What are you doing?” The Frog demanded when he saw what was going on.

  “April Fool’s” came with a playful voice. The phrase caused more confusion to those who heard it.

  “Wait, that sounded like a child’s voice” Hilda remarked.

  Everyone looked to see the rider of the Gold Red dragon shed their disguise to reveal a child riding the creature. They had a white pod attached to their back.

  Hilda was totally amazed at the sight “How in the world did a child achieve what fully grown men and women failed to do” she thought. She nearly said it out loud.

  But then she and Thane got their hands on their swords again and decided to fight the attackers. They would question the child later.

  The Frog couldn’t believe what was happening. The plan he and his parents the Golem and the Swallow had come up with was now spoiled by a child. He got on his Green Dragon that he named Kres and took off.

  “Sorry, I’m cutting my losses” The Frog Thought. Unlike the other Dragon’s Kres had been tamed like Carrahe tradition dictated. He had been tamed for many years.

  The Frog rode Kres up and up while battle was going on the ground. And while battle was being joined by many of the Dragon Knights and Hooded Riders in the air. All rode various different dragons. It was a large scaly furball. Total chaos in the sky. The Frog and Kres ignored it all.

  Another Dragon cry was heard and to the Frog’s misfortune he discovered that the Gold Red Dragon and its rider had cut off his line of retreat.

  “This is bad” the Frog thought. “I’m not sure who I should be afraid of more, the dragon or the murderous unsettling aura its young rider is giving off” he also thought. It was like an ultra black aura was coming off the child and their eyes looked cold and merciless. Both Rider and Dragon looked as if they were giving off that black aura. The Frog wanted nothing to do with either of them.

  “Fight me,” the child demanded with a quiet menace. The Frog tried to fly off in another direction only to discover that as big as the Gold Red dragon had become it was shockingly swift and maneuverable. “Fight me,” the child demanded. The Frog had to fight.

  The Gold Red Dragon had Kres when it came to power and ferocity but Kres being a green dragon was smaller and more maneuverable in battle.

  Superior maneuverability was something The Frog and Kres tried to take advantage of during the following battle to make the Gold Red Dragon expend more energy and wear itself out countering them. But it seemed things weren’t going to plan.

  Kres tried to strike like lightning at his opponent's vulnerable areas only to be just barely blocked. The Gold Red Dragon was being careful about how much energy was being expended. They blocked with their legs or tail. This went on for a while with neither side gaining an advantage.

  Then Kres suddenly received a swipe from the Gold Red Dragon’s tail that made the Green Dragon hurt an unusually large amount. The Frog noticed that the Gold Red Dragon’s tail had a large artificial spike attached to it.

  “Oh that’s not fair” The Frog remarked.

  Kres was in a lot of pain and even bleeding a little bit. The Green Dragon was good about avoiding tail swipes from the enemy dragon from here on. But it had done its job. Kres was bleeding a lot.

  Then disaster struck. While avoiding another swipe from the enemy Dragon’s tail, its fangs found their way into Kres’s neck. All it had to do was bite down and Kres would die.

  The Frog tried his best to remedy the situation but had very limited options. He tried to take out his bow and arrow to try and shoot the enemy dragon at close range and at its eye. But then he was hit by a large silver colored sphere from behind so hard and this caused the Frog to fall off his dragon.

  The Frog plummeted straight to the ground and he landed on his back. This caused him to howl in pain. It was excruciating.

  After a long moment the Frog stopped howling in pain and tried to get up only to discover “I can’t get up, I’m paralyzed from the waist down” he said in anxious frustration “Of course I was lucky just to survive the fall” he remarked. Then he realized with horror “I lost my mask, it must have come off during the fall. It's the worst sin I can commit in the order” he also remarked. He was very fearful. He decided to try to escape again.

  But before he could begin a great crash was heard behind him. The Frog looked behind him and spotted Kres. The Green Dragon was dead. Likely the Gold Red Dragon bit down onto his spine after the Frog fell to earth.

  Now the Frog really tried to escape with the dead face of his dragon watching him. He got only a few inches away by crawling when he heard something dreadful.

  “Oh Mr. Frog, me and my baby sister would like a few minutes of your time” came a familiar voice pretending to ask in a cheery voice that somehow sent severe chills down the Frog’s spine.

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  And then came down the child that had rode the Gold Red dragon carrying a strange looking white bod. She was smiling but the Frog could just tell that she oozed menace and wrath against him for some reason.

  “Please don’t go, we have a lot to discuss” the little girl asked casually.

  The Frog still tried to desperately crawl away and escape only for a large sphere to quickly come down in front of him and another to come down on another side of him keeping from escaping.

  The Frog was trapped. Running away was now pointless.

  “Look at me” came the little girl’s command.

  He reluctantly did so. The Little Girl who had been keeping her hood up during the fight now had it down.

  “Do you remember me? Do you recognize me?” the little girl asked with malevolence in her voice.

  The Frog was fearful and starting to panic, then some image came into mind. Some recognition dawned on his face “Oh you're that little bitch’s child that I screwed over weeks ago” he remarked.

  “Eh, wrong, try again” the little girl said and a sphere quickly slapped the Frog in the face.

  Then he finally noticed the little girl's long ears and her dark skin. Then true recognition dawned on him “Oh your Haakon von Kurtz’s brat” he remarked.

  “No, I’m Haakon Von Kurtz’s daughter, you piece of filth” the little Dark Elf girl admonished and the Frog was hit with another sphere.

  He guessed that she could control them. The Frog laughed “Hey sweet heart I killed so many people for my order I’ve lost track of how many” the Frog mocked casually.

  “Do you have a death wish scum” the little Dark Elf Girl asked angrily then something dawned on her “Of course your with them aren’t you” she remarked.

  The Frog then realized he just made a mistake by mentioning his order. And it showed on his face. Then he recognized something. “You actually know,” he asked.

  “Of course I do, My parents told me eventually” the little Dark Elf girl replied.

  “Oh you have no idea what they just put you into” the Frog remarked in a knowing voice.

  “Enough” the little Dark Elf Girl said commandingly then she changed the subject “Why did your mother and father kill my parents” she asked in a deadly serious voice.

  The Frog was surprisingly honest in his answer “They were members of another order and our greatest enemies. Your mother cut off my father’s arm and nearly killed him. He wanted revenge on her. Also the order wanted your Father’s secrets. Both objectives were achieved.”

  For that he was met with floating blades that suddenly appeared in the sky. The Frog couldn’t comprehend it briefly. And the little Dark Elf girl looked really pissed.

  “That’s only part of the reason. You people always need another reason to kill an enemy. Were you going to send a message to someone or something? It’s always something. And I know that you know, so you're going to tell me what it is” the little Dark Elf Girl said firmly. She looked as if there was no fooling her.

  The Frog knew she was right. But he wasn’t going to reveal what that reason was. In a panic he drew a poison dagger with purple spots on it. He in vain tried to attack the little Dark Elf Girl.

  But the Gold Red Dragon came down and landed behind the child and roared loudly at the Frog. He felt deep fear.

  “It’s time to admit it, there's no escaping this child or her scaly monster or the Princess and her forces when they destroy the forces I brought here, only one way out now” he finally acknowledged in his head.

  “I would rather die than tell you little bitch” the Frog said scornfully. “Long Live the Spider Temple Order” he declared.

  Then he stabbed himself in the throat. Blood flowed out. His life flowed away with every drop as the poison went through his body.

  The Frog Quickly died.

  Grace looked at the Frog’s exposed and maskless face.

  The Frog had blond hair and blue eyes. He was very large and muscular like many she had encountered in the world of Argea. She committed herself to memorizing every feature of his face.

  “He looks so ordinary just like a regular person on the street, not some nefarious villain” Grace remarked “Maybe—” but she was interrupted.

  She began to throw up. After a moment of puking her guts out Grace turned back to the dead body. Only to notice that it was disintegrating. The Frog’s body, clothes and all of it was disintegrating into ash. It was like he had never been there. Even the dagger he used dissolved into nothingness.

  “Well so much for having someone identify you” Grace remarked. She felt and looked a bit disappointed.

  Then Genja made some baby cooing noises as if she were trying to encourage her older sister. “Your right little sister, this world is better off without that guy” Grace said as if that was her interpretation of what her little sister might’ve meant.

  Then she looked where the Frog’s body had been and noticed that even his Green Dragon was dissolving into ash. “I will remember your face, I will remember your face” she said several times and quietly. “I’m pretty sure that will help me to find your parents too” he also said.

  Dragon roars were quickly heard and Grace realized that the sounds of battle had died down all around her. Then she heard Leah shout fearfully “Stay Away from me.” Through her connection to her Dragon Grace felt rising panic well up in her dragon friend. “Stay Away from me” Leah repeated fearfully.

  “Wow the Dragon is speaking to us” Someone remarked.

  “That’s new to me” Someone else remarked.

  Grace looked up and around and spotted a large group of Dragon Knights, Royal Guardsmen, and Dragon’s all approaching Leah. They looked as if they were about to attack her. And Leah looked as if she was about to use her Fire Breath on those approaching. Her rider and best friend rushed to stop her.

  She got to Leah just in time “I’ll take care of this now stand down” Grace said to Leah before the latter could reply. She kept the Dragon’s mouth shut.

  “A little girl,” someone remarked in surprise.

  “Careful she could be in danger” someone else cautioned.

  Grace frowned and instinctively declared for all to hear “Leah is my dragon. I’ve become her rider and she won’t rampage on anyone ever again I promise.”

  This caused confusion and doubt among all those who heard.

  “Damn it, of course they don’t believe me. Who would believe that a little girl tamed or befriended a dragon. If only I was a little older in this world” Grace thought desperately. She was now very, very worried about Leah. She also tried to think of some way to convince them.

  Then stepped forward two dragons. One was a huge Golden Dragon a few feet bigger than Leah with a triceratops head and the other was a much shorter Red Dragon that had a head similar to the Golden Dragon’s head. But it had a fierce expression on their face. They both came forward with authority and also as if they had understood Grace’s declaration.

  Grace seemed to feel trepidation at first sight. And she could tell that Leah felt the same way. The two Dragons lowered their heads to where they could more easily see Grace eye to eye.

  Everyone present looked on in surprise as if they could believe what they were seeing.

  “Hello” Grace said to them politely.

  “I am Red Horn,” the Red Dragon introduced.

  “And I am Korra” the Golden Dragon introduced.

  “Nice to meet you, I’m Grace Von Kurtz” Grace introduced politely “What are the two of you to Leah” she asked.

  “WE’RE HER PARENTS” they said in unison.

  “And we would like to speak to our daughter,” Red Horn said.

  Grace understood what this meant and removed her hands from covering Leah’s mouth. Then she stepped aside. But stayed close and listened.

  “You have grown my child,” Korra said to Leah.

  “Yes mother, I have grown in size and power since last I have seen you” Leah began “I do not know how it has occurred but I know it’s somehow connected to the little girl and so I choose to follow her. She is special” Leah declared.

  “I think it’s likely one of Amplify’s special effects all thanks to the Goddess Aries” Grace thought.

  Red Horn turned his large scaly head to Grace “What did you do to get her to follow you” he asked her.

  Grace smiled because the answer was simple “I befriended her after we both had been captured by bandits from Carrahe. We decided to escape together. She and I also with my baby sister in tow” she said and pointed to the white pod she was carrying.

  “Bandits,” Red Horn said with anger.

  “Yes but they’re gone now. Leah got them all” Grace said quickly.

  “I have come to think very well of this child and I wish to stay with her” Leah asked.

  “It seems you have found someone worthy of you at long last” Red Horn pointed out.

  “Very well we deem you worthy to be the rider of—Leah” Korra announced. Then she and Red Horn both licked Grace with their tongues.

  “Whoa, they approve of the child, this is unprecedented” someone remarked.

  “But how did she talk to the dragons?” someone else asked.

  “I know how, it’s the pendant my dad gave me before he died. It allows me to understand any language and speak it to them too. Apparently that even includes Dragon speak. Thanks Dad. I really owe you” Grace thought with images of her dad going through her head.

  Red Horn and Korra then backed away and all the dragons present made no further attempt to approach. This caused confusion among the Dragon Knights and Royal Guardsmen present. They began chattering to themselves.

  Then a woman came forward that was a cross between a beautiful n muscular Valkyrie. To Grace she looked like someone straight out of Norse mythology with her silver armor and jet black hair. She was 8ft tall. Those around her deferred to her. So she was someone in authority.

  Next to her was a man taller than the Valkyrie woman. He had red hair and a beard. He wore armor too. He looked like someone who was also out of Norse mythology.

  Grace felt faint “Am I swooning over that man who looks like a legend. No it’s probably the woman I might have a crush on. Don’t be silly. I haven’t slept in awhile, yes that’s what the problem is” she said to herself internally.

  The Valkyrie Woman and the Norse Legend approached Grace and Leah. Grace looked at them and briefly behind at the others “Yep all Carrahe people are much bigger and more muscular than regular humans in this world, and I will likely be much the same way, one day” Grace thought.

  “Child, I thank you for helping us when you did” The Valkyrie woman began but then reversed herself “Forgive me I am Hilda Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Carrahe and this Gentleman next to me is Captain Thane the commander of the Palace Dragon Knights” The Valkyrie woman introduced. Captain Thane bowed his head slightly when he was introduced.

  “And I am Grace Von Kurtz the daughter of Haakon and Kerone Von Kurtz but I don’t know if they had any titles to speak of” Grace introduced and remarked.

  This produced laughter from many of those present. But the Princess and the Captain stayed silent.

  This produced a frown on Grace’s face “I’m not joking. I really am Grace Von Kurtz and me and my sister spent a very difficult time traversing the Dark Forest only to be captured by bandits before escaping on Leah’s back” she said looking flustered.

  This only produced more laughter. But the Princess and the Captain showed visible confusion as if they didn’t believe what they had heard.

  “My dad was a brilliant alchemist and he made this pod that my sister is lying inside,” Grace said, showing them the white pod.

  “Yes child but do you have proof of what you're saying” Captain Thane asked.

  “I do,” Grace replied.

  She made it a point to reach into a bag on her belt behind her bag. She didn’t want anyone to know about her dad’s magical storage space that she’d been using for weeks. She soon took out her dad’s letter and even the family photo taken just before the Golem attacked. Her last happy memory with her parents. She handed them over to the Princess and Captain.

  The Princess gasped in surprise at the Family Photo “Uncle Haakon” she remarked in surprise.

  “Uncle” Grace remarked looking completely lost.

  Princess Hilda opened up the letter undoing the seal and out fell a signet ring with the symbol of a dragon sticking out its tongue to mock its enemy.

  Captain Thane reached down and picked up the signet ring “This does look like a royal ring” he remarked.

  Princess Hild then took out the letter, opened it and saw the same symbol on the ring on the paper itself. She read the letter out loud “To whomever reads this letter” she began “Know that the Dark Elf girls before you are my beloved daughters and if you aid them in getting to the Royal Family of Carrahe you will be well-rewarded for your efforts, signed Prince Haakon Von Kurtz—PS please insure this letter is placed in the hands of the Queen of Carrahe” she finished.

  Grace seemed shocked and surprised “Dad never told me he was a prince” she remarked sounding shocking.

  “How strange, but from what I’ve heard about the prince he was unusually humble for royalty” Thane remarked.

  “It makes sense,” Princess Hilda agreed.

  “The Lost Prince had children,” someone remarked.

  “Lost Prince” Grace mimicked, still feeling a bit lost.

  Princess Hilda realized that this situation needed to be addressed immediately. She took a moment to address her followers “Everyone here me now” she paused for a brief moment to allow everyone to look at her “I’m instituting a gag order, none of you are allowed to speak of today’s events with anyone not friends or family or face severe punishment on pain of death. Do I make myself clear” she said, sounding like the leader she was.

  “YES MA’AM” all of her followers replied in unison. And they saluted her.

  “If my Dad was your uncle does that mean—” Grace said but then tapered off and looked hopeful in the process.

  “If the letter and the other evidence is to be believed it means were cousins” Princess Hilda finished for her “For my family name is also Von Kurtz” she added.

  “Perhaps we should prepare to return home. The King and Queen are going to want to know what has occurred” Captain Thane suggested.

  “An excellent idea, give the orders” Princess Hilda agreed.

  Grace started to feel tired, her adrenaline began to fade away. She felt like falling asleep. She was close to collapse.

  Princess Hilda seemed to recognize this just in time and like a caring person would “Oh no, you need to stay awake sweety, you're the only one who can fly your Dragon home. She won’t trust anyone else” she said looking very concerned.

  “I’ll be back after I give the order,” Captain Thane said. And he was off.

  Meanwhile Hilda picked up Grace who was starting to feel really out of it and tried to take her to Leah.

  Leah looked upon the Carrahe Princess with hostility “Stay away from me you monster” she shouted.

  “Monster” Hilda seemed confused.

  “Leah is afraid of even her own shadow and your attempts to tame her only made it worse overall she thinks very badly of all of you. It took a lot of persuading for me to put Dad’s old Dragon Saddle on her” Grace explained.

  Seeing the situation for what it was, “Will you please let me strap on your rider to your back? It's very important this happens now” Hilda asked politely.

  Leah only shrugged and stopped resisting. Grace was strapped onto her Dad’s old Dragon Saddle by Princess Hilda that was itself attached to Leah’s back. Hilda looked at the symbol on the Dragon Saddle “This is Uncle Haakon’s” Hilda asked, trying to keep Grace awake.

  “Yes it has a device that he invented that helps Leah speak to anyone who isn’t a dragon” Grace explained.

  “That explains why I can understand her” Hilda remarked “Did you tame her using a similar device” she asked.

  “I didn’t tame Leah, I befriended her,” Grace pointed out defensively.

  “Of course,” Hilda said, playing along.

  Captain Thane came back carrying a cup with a dark liquid inside. Leah watched him closely.

  “Here, get the little princess to drink this,” Captain Thane suggested.

  “Good thinking” Hilda complemented. “Drink this” she told Grace.

  Grace drank the liquid. It was incredibly bitter. “This tastes like really bitter coffee” she thought.

  Somehow she gulped it down “”What was that” she asked.

  “It’s a concoction meant to help Dragon Riders stay awake in the saddle,” Hilda explained.

  Soon enough all of the Dragon Riders were saddled up and flying in the air. Grace, Genja, Princess Hilda, and Captain Thane among them. Twenty-three people in all along with one infant in tow. And soon they were all flying in the direction of the Carrahe royal capital.

  They didn’t fly high in the air. They were just above the tree top. They were also dressed warmly in furs for the high altitude. Princess Hilda and Captain Thane flew side by side with each other. Grace flew just behind them. Followed by the rest of the Dragon Knights closely behind them flying in an arrow formation. All of them were pretty fast in the air.

  The world seemed smaller in the sky. Grace was just barely staying awake despite the concoction she had consumed.

  The Princess seemed to again realize what the situation was with Grace and partly asked this question to keep her awake and partly out of curiosity: “What happened to Uncle Haakon?”

  “He’s dead,” Grace replied as the air rushed all around them.

  Princess Hilda looked sad as did Captain Thane.

  “That’s interesting, did you two know him?” Grace thought, looking at the two of them.

  “What happened to the Prince?” Thane asked Grace.

  “I think it would be better if she related her tale to us later” Hilda interjected.

  “Yes, apologies your highness” Thane deferred.

  “Why don’t you tell us about yourself, it might help keep you awake” Princess Hilda asked.

  “I get what you're talking about Cousin” Grace thought “So for what seemed an eternity I told them where I lived in the Dark Forest, about my parents and even touched on my captivity with the bandits and even spoke about my escape from them” Grace inner monologued.

  Then all of them came to the capital city of the kingdom of Carrahe, the city of Johannesheim. The city looked as if it housed many hundreds of thousands of people. The houses and homes looked like the kind seen in Northern Europe at the tail end of the Medieval Era. Except its roofs were titled like the type you would see in Italy during the Renaissance. Some of the upper-crust homes were made out of stone with cement holding them together. The City walls were made of white stone that rose dozens of feet in the air, all well equipped with balistae in towers and the walls at regular intervals. Likely meant to deal with aerial enemies.

  They would soon come to the Carrahe Royal Palace. It was made of white bricks with glass paned windows that rose two stories off the ground. It had green well-maintained gardens with flowers and a nice fountain at the center. Statues of well-known warriors dotted the area. What looked like a small zoo was seen at the corner of the royal palace complex. Dragon stables and areas meant to handle landing dragons were clearly seen coming up to them all.

  “Oh this is cool” Grace thought “I would love to study the history of this place. The Historian in me is running rampant” she also thought.

  All the Dragons landed in the center of the area meant to handle them. They all landed at relatively the same time. Princess Hilda was the first to dismount followed by everyone else. Grace stayed on Leah as she undid the straps that had kept her in the saddle.

  A female servant dressed as a maid quickly came up to Princess Hilda as she and Thane helped Grace out of her straps. “Your highness the Dragon God Graal has seen fit to bless your mother the Queen with a daughter” the female servant proudly announced.

  Sounds of approval came up from the assembled Dragon Knights “That’s great to hear” Hilda said approvingly after making her own sound of approval. “I need to visit my mother at once,” she remarked.

  “Who is that?” the female servant asked when she spotted Grace.

  Grace’s body suddenly gave out and she suddenly fell off her Dragon. Only for both Princess Hilda and Captain Thane to catch her mid-fall and the white pod too.

  “It seems that Graal has also blessed the royal family with a couple of anomalies” Princess Hilda replied to the female servant.