[rework] Minglings - Book 3 chapter 4: The kingdom of Lauruna

A fuzzy warmth surrounded Jake as he woke up, and a distant roaring slowly came closer until it turned into voices.

"You are sure it's him?" a deep, feminine voice asked with evident curiosity.

"Yes, it's Jake. I know it is! See, Tir is nodding! I told you I was speaking the truth!" a girl screamed in a high-pitched voice, a strangely familiar voice.

Tir is nodding? he thought, trying to remember what had happened. He ate that horrible fish, and then... He couldn't remember! Wait, why wasn't he in the water anymore?

Focus! He tried to force the rampant worry and confusion away. Why did he know this voice? It was important!

He tried to remember, willing the foggy clouds clogging his mind to dissipate. It was clearing up quickly, and the knowledge of who the voice belonged to inched closer every moment.

Just as it was at the tip of his tongue, his stomach rumbled with a sudden complaint, silencing the voices.

"I think he is awake," the first voice said.

Let's just look, Jake thought. If they had wanted to harm him, they had every chance already.

He opened his eyes and stared at a smooth, purple-tinged white ceiling hanging far above him, blue-energy particles swirling below it like a small angry thundercloud.

He stared at it stupidly.

Where am I? he thought as he looked around.

He was in a large chamber lying on a gleaming white stone slab. Next to the slab stood a small, dark-blue dragon with purplish highlights. Two clear, azure eyes stared at him while a wide smile spread across the small snout. Tir nestled in the dragon's arms, crooning softly as she nuzzled her.

"Jake!"

The happiness in the familiar voice joined with the azure eyes, ripped the final confusion from Jake's mind. He shot up on his haunches and stared at her in disbelief.

"Emma!"

It was as if a dam broke. The smaller dragon jumped forward, winding her neck around his as she began talking and crying simultaneously. Tir barely managed to scamper aside and sat down on the edge of the bed with her head tilted as she watched what had happened.

"I am so glad you're here. Nobody believed me! They said I was crazy, that something went wrong with my awakening. Some of them were really mean! How is Mason? Is Ter with him? Where are the others? What-"

A long litany of questions followed as Jake tried to make sense of what was happening. Finally, he pushed the smaller dragon away and stared at her until she quieted down before asking the one question that had plagued him.

"Emma… They said you were eaten! How did you survive?"

The small dragon shrugged and grinned.

"Just when that stupid crocodile thing bit off my leg, my merging began. I blacked out and woke up here, all fine." She stared at Jake proudly before a soft laugh caused her to blink.

Jake looked to the side and finally noticed a tall Kobold standing a few steps away. She had beautiful teal and blue scales and thick, darker teal frills that dangled from her head like dreadlocks. A simple white gown hugged her slender frame while beautiful white gleaming bracelets adorned her teal-scaled arms.

She was staring at him with eyes so green and clear that Jake could see part of the room reflected in them.

Between her gown, the bracelets, and the room, Jake instantly knew she wasn't an Antarii. Everything oozed with the well-maintained craftsmanship and quality of a large society.

"Don't be afraid. You are safe now. I have cleared the Shadsir fish's poison from your blood, and you shouldn't experience any ill effects. I am Lady Talia Firstborn, and I welcome all the new dragons who find their way to us," she said.

Her voice was deep and hazy, and it held a songlike quality.

The undeniable regality she had made Jake nod dumbly. He took a quick look at Emma, who smiled at him.

"Thank you. I feel a lot better," he said, unsure what to think of her. Lady meant she was nobility, and firstborn sounded like a title. The way she acted was like he imagined a queen might.

The Kobold smiled before continuing. "I am glad you are awake. Emma has been telling us some odd stories, and we've all been waiting with bated breath for you to wake and help us make sense of them!"

"That's not fair, Lady Talia! I've only told you the tru-"

Talia raised her hand, silencing Emma with practiced ease before shaking her head. She smiled as she shook her head. "Yes, so you say. But all of it is utterly strange and foreign, and all we have is your word."

Emma hung her blue-scaled head, a disgruntled look on her sharp dragon face.

Confused and wondering what the hell was going on here, Jake examined the Kobold. What exactly had Emma told them? Things about Earth?

"I don't know what she has told you, but could you tell me where I-" he began when he felt a sudden overwhelming pull from his instinct. It seemed to point directly below the room. His gaze snapped down as he stopped mid-question.

"Where you are? As you are sensing, you are where you should be. The place where all those with Lauruna's blood belong and thus are drawn to after awakening. You are home." Talia said as she smiled.

Home?

An image of a small stone house in an urban area, a bus ride from the downtime skyline visible from the attic windows, popped into Jake's mind, and he shook his head. Wherever he was, he wasn't home. And he probably never would be again.

The realization came fast and with such undeniable surety that it felt like someone had hit him in the gut. His draconic instincts barely managed to dull the blow, and without thinking, he pulled in the energy floating in the room. As the mental anguish of all he had lost became distant, a sheen of ice covered him.

Emma drew back in surprise, but her reaction was nothing compared to Talia's.

The Kobold let out a startled cry and jumped to the other side of the room. A shimmer appeared around her, and her entire figure bulged outward as she grew. Within the blink of an eye, her head brushed the ceiling while her features grew rougher and more elongated. The gown stretched and pulled oddly but somehow remained intact.

A soft scream came from Tir, and she bolted across the room to hide below a table in a corner.

Jake gaped at the massive Kobold, only the icy energy keeping him from a sudden action. Still, a tiny part of him held onto the energy and readied it to act if needed.

Talia stopped growing when her head thudded against the ceiling. She didn't seem to notice as she extended her shaking hand to him.

"Frost dragon! Impossible, those are extinct!" she shouted, not taking her eyes away from the ice on his scales.

Seeing that she didn't seem ready to attack, Jake calmed even more. As she inspected him, he stared at the glimmer surrounding her. She looked like some Kobold dragon hybrid. How had she done that?

Talia took a few shuddering breaths, and the glimmer disappeared. Even faster than when she had grown, her body shrank down to its previous size.

Jake's scaly eyebrows rose as an idea surfaced in his mind.

"You're a dragon!" he yelled, staring at her in wonder.

Emma let out a loud, forced laugh, staring between them. "Of course she is!"

What do you mean, of course, Jake thought as he stared at the shrinking Kobold. How was that normal?

Talia was calming so fast, Jake could barely believe it, and within moments it was as if nothing had happened. Returned to a normal Kobold size, her dress appearing unharmed, she stared at him with a calculating look in her eyes that reminded him of one of the teachers at the university.

"I am sorry if I scared you," she said as she took a deep breath.

An air of power and surety came across her as she stared at him along the sides of her reptilian nose. Something was different, though, her back a bit straighter, her head a bit higher.

"Last of the Frost Dragons, I welcome you to the city of Azurill, the crowning jewel of the kingdom of Lauruna," she said, her voice vibrating with something Jake could only call regality.

"I wish for nothing more than to know where you are from, but I hope you will excuse me. Your appearance here is unprecedented, and I need to speak with the others. However, with what you have just shown me, it seems far more likely that Emma spoke the truth all along."

"But-"

Talia stopped Emma's protests with a single gaze before looking around the room for a moment.

"Please stay here for now. I will have food brought to you, and if you have any needs, tell them to those who bring the food. After you have rested and eaten, Emma may show you around. I will need some time to discuss with the others."

She gazed at him for a few moments, then nodded curtly before leaving through the arched entrance, closing the door behind her.

Jake stared at the closed door, not sure what he'd just witnessed. Then he turned to Emma.

A big smile spread across the small dragon's face, and she jumped forward to curl her neck around his again. She was so much smaller than him that she barely reached the base of his neck, and her head rested atop his shoulder. He wasn't even surprised that the odd way of hugging felt perfectly normal.

"I am so glad you found me! I was afraid I would have to wait for years before I could go and search for you. They wouldn't let me leave, said it was too dangerous, and I was too young and immature, and, and-" Emma continued rambling, almost incoherently, for minutes before falling quiet.

As she backed up, finally seeming to realize she hadn't given him a moment to respond, Jake grinned at her.

She had changed a lot from the insecure, quiet little girl he remembered. He wasn't sure how, but if he had to guess, she had changed more from the awakening than he had. At least on a mental level.

"Why are you looking at me like that!" Emma snorted, averting her eyes as she looked at everything but him.

"Oh, no reason. Just wondering what happened to the quiet little Emma I knew," Jake said his grin widening.

"I am still quiet! Just... just not right now!" Emma blurted out, and Jake grinned again.

He felt a knot unwind in his belly, which he hadn't realized was there. It had probably been there since he had heard she had died. Somehow, everything seemed right again, things less urgent.

Although he still felt a deep, simmering need to search for Mason, it was dulled by trust in his friends' abilities. Mason was strong and quick-witted. He could take care of himself. Emma, on the other hand, probably needed his help a lot more.

Although, Jake thought as he examined Emma's muscular dragon physique. Long muscles ran below her flanks and along her legs.

"How did you get so buff?" he asked, scrunching his eyebrows and trying to recall if he had been like that directly after waking up. He didn't think so. That had only come after long weeks and months of hunting.

Emma raised one of her arms, flexing it with such a serious look that Jake snorted before bursting out laughing. She glowered at him, but it only made it worse, and suddenly, he couldn't hold it back. His shoulders began heaving as he laughed so loudly he didn't even notice when the door opened.

Only when he saw Emma's worried look did he manage to calm down, wiping his eyes with his arm.

"Sorry," he said before turning to follow her pointed look.

Three Kobold women stood in the door opening, blue and purple scaled, all with their frills adorned with shiny white beads. They carried enormous plates filled with what looked like fish and vegetables and stared at him with puzzled looks. Jake felt blood rush to his face and put a quick smile on his lips.

"Thank you for the food. We will be fine now!"

More purple-scaled than blue, the lead woman frowned before walking into the room and placing her plate on a table near the wall. She stepped back, and the others copied her while she continued looking at Jake. When all the plates were put down, they left without as much as a word, though Jake saw the one closing the door look at him until the door closed.

The last hilarity washed away as he thought about their cold, inquisitive looks. A soft tapping drew his attention, and he saw Tir scuttle toward the food-laden table. She scrambled up the wall, and Jake cringed when he saw that her nails made puncture marks. Still, he smiled when Tir reached the plate, cried happily, grabbed the nearest fish meat, and began stuffing it in her mouth. As she ate, more and more blue energy particles drifted towards her, fusing with her scales.

Jake looked at her for a moment. He was hungry, but after a moment's hesitation, he sat down and examined Emma.

"Perhaps you better tell me everything that has happened since you got here. Wait, how long have you been here?" he asked.

Emma's smile faded, and she shrugged. "I don't know for sure, a month? Time went really fast after they sent me to the school."

A momentary silence reigned in the room as Jake gaped at her.

"School?" he blurted.

Emma fidgeted, staring at the ground before glaring at him. "What? I had lots to learn, and I am still a child!" she huffed.

Jake grinned. "I'm just surprised they have schools," he said.

"Why? There are lots of children in Azurill. There are like dozens of schools!" Emma asked, confused.

Jake just nodded as he looked through the room again. He didn't feel like telling her that he had never expected to see something like a school again.

Still, it makes sense, he thought as he ones again appreciated the fine craftsmanship of the furniture before staring at a stunning wall painting.

It depicted a curled-up blue dragon that snarled at a shadow. In the curls of her tail sat five blue and silvery eggs with different markings. A bunch of savages couldn't have created this.

He thought back to the town of the Antracii, all wood and rope. Compared to that, this was light years ahead. Probably comparable to Europe in the middle ages.

"So what do they teach you at that school?" he asked.

Emma sighed and lay down on the stone Jake had woken on.

"Mostly fighting, how to defeat the Skrill and Hydra, and stories about how it used to be." As she spoke, her eyes got a sheen, and her head perked up. "You don't know yet!"

Grinning, Jake shook his head, wondering what Skrill were.

"I don't know a lot of things! Why don't you tell me?" he asked.

Just seeing Emma being happy and carefree -and alive- made him feel great. Since he had known her, she had never shown this side of herself except when playing with the other kobold children in the sea.

Emma inched closer and began speaking in a hushed tone. "That thing you are sensing? It's a dragon!"

Jake looked at her, expecting her to elaborate, but she kept silent.

"So? I see a dragon right now!" he said as he pointed at her with his tail.

A soft giggle filled the room, and Emma shook her head. "No! We aren't real dragons! Don't you remember what those Kobolds told us?"

Jake frowned. He did remember, but he had never really thought much of it. It sounded too much like some fairy tale, even to him, who had changed from a human into a dragon. Realizing the oddity of those thoughts, he blinked. Since when did changing into a dragon become normal?

"I remember. So you're telling me we are not real dragons yet, but there is one here?"

"Not just a real dragon, but the dragon! Lauruna herself!" Emma said loudly, her tail swinging around while her eyes gleamed as she looked at him.

"She is always sleeping, but even then, she is magnificent! Compared to her, you are just a mouse!"

Jake blinked at the thought that he was a mouse but was distracted by the name. It sounded familiar, and something was nagging him in the back of his mind. He had heard that name before…

It took him a few moments to dig it up, but then he remembered he snapped upright. It had been the first time he'd been in the sea after he'd changed into a dragon! Swimming back to where Mason and the others were, he had met that giant thing in the sea! It had said something about him being Lauruna's brood!

"Have you talked with her?" Jake asked curiously.

Emma laughed, staring at him with glittering eyes. "No! I told you, she is asleep. She hasn't woken up in hundreds of years."

A soft tap came from the other side of the room as Tir jumped down the table, her belly so stuffed she could barely walk straight. She waggled towards Emma and crawled beside her.

Emma stroked the lizard for a while and then turned to him with a more serious look in her eyes this time. "Why doesn't she talk anymore? And where is Ter? Did Mason come back?"

The happy glow he had felt whittled away at her words, and Jake sighed. Lying down on the ground, he stared at Emma, wondering what to tell her.