It was the middle of the night when Ahnu’ur could feel repeated, hasty pushing on his
side, stealing him from the sleep’s embrace. “What’s going on?” He asked with a tired voice,
noticing the distinctive shape that was pushing at him, instantly jolting him awake. “Is
something wrong, love?”
“No- Yes… it’s complicated,” Sannathria answered, moving back a step to give the
other dragon some room
“Explain please, take a moment if you need to,” he replied, thinking that he has never
seen his mate act like this.
“Well you know how we… how I’ve had this…” Instead of finding the words to continue,
the dragoness turned around and simply uttered. “Just see for yourself.”
Just as curious as he was confused, Ahnu’ur followed her into an adjacent room. There,
on a small oval carpet laid a small object, its shape unmistakable even in the darkness that
encapsulated the room.
“You’ve laid an egg?! I thought you said you didn’t have a need for kids?”
“I don’t…” she answered, staying by the entrance instead of following Ahnu’ur into the
room.
“I guess it was an accident then?” He asked, watching the egg. It didn’t look anything
out of the ordinary, perhaps a little smaller than he’d expect from any red dragon, but
Sannathria herself wasn’t particularly big for her age. “You could’ve set something up
beforehand though, it’ll be quite an issue now to cover up your affair.” He said with stoic
calmness, knowing this would’ve happened sooner or later. As a Sard there was no chance
for him to satisfy the needs of a Ruby in the long run, but at least he-“
I’m not having an affair,” she broke his stream of thought before it could take off. “In
fact, I don’t know if I’ll ever want to make out with a Ruby. They’re so arrogant, they probably
think they’re the absolute best.”
“But you think exactly that, don’t you?”
“But unlike them, I’m able to satisfy more than one race of dragons, and you cannot
deny that,” she finished with a short victorious laughter, and he couldn’t help a grin, which was
lost in the unlit room. Then, a small realization crept up.
“Wait, then that means that this is mine?”
“It would seem so, yes, as impossible as it is.”
“It can’t be…” He paused to gather his thoughts before continuing. “Maybe it’s empty?
Chickens lay empty eggs, don’t they?” He looked over at Sannathria only to see her looking at
him as if he purposefully stepped on her tail.
“You never were to bright with biology were you? That’s not how this works,” she said
with a sigh as her tone changed from tired to slightly angry. “And did you really just compare
me to a chicken?! How did that even come to your head?!”
Ahnu’ur took a step back, knowing it’s never a good thing when Sannathria got into one
of her moods. “I… umm… I’m sorry?” He said quietly, knowing she’d still hear it well.
“Your stupidity can be astonishing,” she said as she turned towards the exit. “Although
it can also be adorable,” she said, grabbing Ahnu’ur’s front leg with her tail, pulling him with
her.
“Where are we going? What about the-” he paused as Sannathria opened the door. He
did not want to spread the news further than necessary. Even though it was the middle of the
night, it was not uncommon to find a servant loitering about, and having gossip of a mixed
baby was the last thing they’d want.
She lead him through the corridors, stopping at a door to the messengers quarters.
They entered and headed deep into the opened corridor, before pausing at a door that had
nothing special to its appearance. She knocked on the door once, then twice, then twice
again, and instantly hasty movements could be heard from the inside. In under five seconds,
the door opened, revealing a small dragon behind it.
“Ma’am, Sir, it’s an honor, would you like to come in?” The dragon spoke, her voice still
holding a hint of sleepiness, that her eyes did not show in the slightest. The trio walked into
the room, with the small dragon closing the door behind them. “How may I be of service?”
“We need an orange cloak,” Sannathria said as she breathed some fire into the
fireplace. The room lit up, revealing how little it had over the bare necessities. A bed, a
cabinet with a few books and a chest, as well as the wardrobe that held the aforementioned
cloak, as well as many others. During his time with Sannathria, Ahnu’ur has learned that both
Reds and Ruby’s expanded on their messaging system with clothes, so that outsiders knew
whether they can interrupt the messenger by simply looking at them. Red cloak or lack of one
was the base wear, used by any common folk that could afford it. Black, lime and purple were
used for merchant pacts, auditions to the king, and various religious purposes respectively,
along many other cloaks, each of which had its specific meaning, taught from hatching.
An orange cloak, even thought Ahnu’ur considered it closer to a yellow than an orange,
meant that the messenger is top-class – not only one of the fastest, but also one to not be
stopped under no circumstances. They weren’t uncommon, as nobles often abused them to
send messages to one another, which meant that them sending one on an errand wouldn’t be
seen as too out of the ordinary, if not for the hour.
“I want you to get to my father, tell him to come here. Say it’s urgent.”
The small dragon looked up at Sannathria, clearly wanting to know what’s the rush, but
her training made her keep her tongue shut. “Of course, my lady. Are you aware of his
location?”
“Last I heard he was visiting Lartoon on some business, if he’s not there then that is
where you’ll get most up-to-date information,” she paused, looking over at Ahnu’ur. “You do
travel into the brown territory, right? We’ll need one to-”
“No need,” Ahnu’ur interrupted, seeing where this was going. “He’s already in town or
at least close by. I’ll get him myself once your father gets here.”
“Lucky us,” Sannathria said, turning back towards the messenger. “Then that’s all that
we’ll need from you…” she paused, and the small dragon came to aid.
“M’rel, my lady,” she said as she dashed into the wardrobe, taking out the proper cloak
before reciting: “Locate Kersoth, last seen in Lartoon. Inform him his daughter urgently
requires his presence. Is that all?” She threw the cloak onto herself, sliding the wings into the
open slots in the back and her legs into the four sleeves. Ahnu’ur noticed that the cloak’s
yellow color was slightly transparent, and in combination with the red scales underneath
indeed formed an orange color.
“Yes, that is your errand, now fly with the wind,” Sannathria recited in turn, the
traditional phrase used when sending off a messenger. The girl put the hood on her head,
stripping it down underneath her snout before putting out the fire and stopping by the
entrance, patiently waiting for the royal couple to leave.
As soon as both Ahnu’ur and Sannathria left the room, M’rel locked the door and
scurried away at incredible speeds. “How long do you think it’ll take her?” Ahnu’ur asked as
he watched the small dragon disappear into the darkness.
“She’ll reach Lartoon before dawn, this room holds the best of the best,” she
responded, pointing at the barely visible royal crest on the door, one he missed in the
darkness earlier – a sign of appreciation of ones dedication.
“Before dawn?! It’s well past midnight, the sun will be up before long!”
“As I said, best of the best. Now all we can do is wait.”
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