Chapter Nine

Latchkey and Alastrine were training when Talon found them, Bear and Compass trailing him and scrutinizing the training regimen. “They arrived and were looking for you, they tried calling,” Talon greeted. “I figured you were busy training to not answer them.”

“Perhaps you should keep your communicators on you during an alert like this,” Bear chuckled as he swept Latchkey up in a hug and ignored the sweat and grime that caked her skin from the day’s exertion. “Good to see you working hard, kiddo.” He set her down and tousled Alastrine’s hair. “We just arrived.”

“It’s been a while, Latchkey,” Compass greeted, his voice smooth as his eyes roamed over her while Bear wasn’t looking. “I was promoted recently.” Ever the braggart, Latchkey reminded herself. “I’m Commandant Compass, now.” His hand rested on the pommel of his sword, a real blade with a plasmite charge, not some useless training blade. Envy shot through her.

“Congratulations,” she grinned.

“Compass will stay with me tonight and tomorrow. He’ll be acting closer than your regular guards, at least that’s what Lord Bear said on the way over here.” Talon looked to Bear who confirmed it with a nod.

“I’ll be overseeing security tomorrow at the Bank and staying at the palace tonight. The Emperor and I will discuss the coming festivities and make sure everything is in order. He trusts my experience in this matter,” Bear explained. “Compass will help keep track of the itinerary as well. Perhaps I will hire him as a permanent guard for you both.” Latchkey’s smile faltered as her dismay became apparent on her face. Bear dismissed himself.

“Maybe you could show me around?” Compass threw his arm over Latchkey. He leaned into her ear and whispered, “I missed you.” Alastrine gave Latchkey a wary look.
“Perhaps you and Talon should head back, I need to sort a few things out with Compass,” Latchkey suggested to her. Boundaries.

Alastrine and Talon left, while Latchkey and Compass detoured through the gardens. The seasons were cycling, with a chill in the night air. The twin moons peaked over the mountains and illuminated their path. Compass strolled alongside Latchkey with his hands behind his back in perfect posture.

“I know you’re apprehensive. Your father told me you wanted no suitor business while you were here, which is fair enough. A new environment, you have a mission,” Compass started. Latchkey raised her eyebrows.

“Thank you for understanding,” she said, terse. “It’s been two years, I hoped you would have moved on when you left for your tour.”

“I would still—” Footsteps on the gravel nearby drew his attention to their right. They stopped by the pools and Latchkey’s gaze darted to her reflection in the water. She was a mess, her face blotched and smeared with dirt.

“I would still like to court—who goes there?” his voice crescendoed to a firm bark. The tone of a guard, a soldier.

“Well, well, is this the Arcovans’ idea of additional security?” Nicholas scoffed as he emerged from behind a hedge. At the sight of Aris at his side, and her stomach churned. What would he think of Compass? She gulped.

“A single guard, and not even with the future King?”

“Ah, Nicholas, this is Compass,” Latchkey said. “Compass, this is Prince Nicholas of Celeste and his retainer, Lord Aris.”

“A pleasure.” Compass gave a small nod. “Your Highness, I hope I didn’t scare you. I am in a habit of duty.” He tossed his long, blond hair in confidence. He rivaled Aris’s height, a bit taller than Nicholas, still formidable in comparison as he squared his shoulders.

“Comandante Compass will be attending to Alastrine and I during the festivities,” Latchkey continued. “He’s an old friend—”

“Boyfriend,” Compass muttered.
“Ex-boyfriend,” Latchkey corrected as her eyes met Aris’s.

“Pathetic,” Nicholas scoffed in his usual condescending tone.

“Don’t be an ass, Nicholas,” Latchkey snapped. Compass chuckled and puffed out his chest. “He’s more qualified than he looks.”

“Perhaps we could get a drink sometime,” Aris offered.

“It would be an honor, Lord Aris,” Compass replied. “I hate to be rude but I was in the middle of a private conversation with Lord Latchkey. Your highness, would you mind?” Aris smirked and Nicholas sneered.

“How private?” Nicholas hissed, “Is it about that little threat?”

Latchkey’s palm met her face in frustration, “Nicholas you idiot, mind your own business.”

“Well, I was asking Latchkey if I could court her like I did before I left for my tour,” Compass chuckled with more cockiness than Latchkey had ever seen. Aris and Nicholas were at a loss for words.

Latchkey turned her back to Nicholas and Aris, and muttered to Compass, “That’s not really anyone’s business, and I told you I don’t want to think about that sort of thing right now.” She started to walk ahead. Compass stood his ground. “Compass…”

“Well if you aren’t open to courting, would you still mind a little flirtation?” She turned to see him smirking as if to gloat in front of the Celestians.

“Flirtation? Whatever. Just don’t get the wrong idea, I don’t want anything serious.” She threw her hands up and hastened down the path without another backward glance. Knowing Compass, he probably was giving Aris a smug look. Compass caught up to her and placed his hand on her back.

“Flirtation, huh? So you did miss me,” he cooed.

“I missed the feeling, you may or may not be inconsequential,” Latchkey retorted.

“Is that what this is, inconsequential?” He chuckled. His hand slid lower, to her rear. Her face flushed. She glanced over her shoulder to see Aris and Nicholas still standing there. They were whispering to one another, and Aris was staring right at her. She swore.

“It’s late, I need to turn in for the night. Class tomorrow,” she grunted as she stepped away. “Don’t think that we can just pick up where we left off.”

Latchkey and Alastrine dressed in their formal royal garb. Alastrine wore a court coat with gilded fastens, epaulettes and fibulae, the material pressed and light Arcovan blue. From the fibulae hung a white cloak trimmed with silver fur that had the Arcovan sun seal emblazoned in gold on the back. With it she wore white gloves, slacks, and knee-high boots. Her hair was tied up as always to show off the small heart-shaped birthmark that identified all Arcovan royals. With it, a gilded circlet adorned her head.
Latchkey wore an outfit much like hers, but in lieu of the epaulettes, she wore whitesteel pauldrons, bracers, and greaves. Today she was not the bank heir, but Alastrine’s royal guard. Arcova was present on Celeste and that presence needed to be known. Latchkey left her hair down, but at the insistence of Alastrine a few small braids had found their way into her wild mane, simply because the future King was anxious and needed something to do with her idle hands. Nervous herself, because despite the threat made against them, she wasn’t even allowed a decorative sword for her uniform.

Compass sprawled across from them in the cabin of the transport in garb like Latchkey’s, but with full spaulders and a functional, yet decorative plasmite sword glimmering at his hip. Even if plasmite was one of the most sought after and utilized minerals in the galaxy, there still was no excuse for her to not have a chargeless blade just for show. Just so that people would have the impression she was fully armed.

The engine whirred as they descended onto the wall.

“Impressive city,” he murmured. “How about we go explore it after this, maybe make a date of it?” He winked at Latchkey as his umber gaze flitted over her. She glowered at him and turned her attention to Alastrine’s hands as they wrung in her lap.

“Worried about the threat?” she whispered as she reached over and held one of Alastrine’s hands to comfort her.

“No, just nervous. First impressions with an entire planet, let alone an Empire…” Her voice trailed off as the ship landed and the whir of the engine faded. Guards assembled at the door as it hissed open and led them out, with Compass and a few more guards trailing behind them. Latchkey was ever present at Alastrine’s side as they emerged from the vessel to see a crowd of people shouting, cheering, celebrating their arrival. It was as if this welcome obscured the fact that across the galaxy there were still disputes, tensions, contested territories and resources.

Clouds drifted lazily across the azure sky as a cool breeze carrying the hint of autumn greeted them with the roar of the crowd. Ahead Bear and Aris stood next to two open-roofed carriages that awaited them. White with decorative gold filigree Celestian seals adorned the sides of them, while Arcovan banners were mounted overhead like a mast of an ancient seafaring ship. Ships that Arcova used one thousand years ago before the invasion, before they learned of plasmite and harnessing the power from it, and of travel through the skies and space from these strange people.

A thunderous roar reverberated in Latchkey’s chest. The crowd erupted to answer it. Latchkey and Alastrine exchanged a look. Dragons. Another roar came, and they turned to see a glittering red form ascending over the wall, massive but swift. A third cry came as the beast circled overhead and then swooped over the crowd then landed before them. The Emperor perched on a gilded saddle on the dragon’s back and waved to them.

“I suppose this is how the Celestian royals do their parades,” Alastrine murmured. Her eyes only broke from the sight of the dragon when another cry, more treble than the one before, rang through the sky. A smaller form darted overhead and landed alongside the large dragon, Nicholas atop it’s back as the beast folded its wings, like a small mirror of his father. “It’s amazing how they look alike,” Alastrine chuckled.

Compass helped Alastrine and Latchkey into the first carriage as Aris joined Bear in the latter. The Emperor continued his show to the people as he urged his dragon ahead, following a path lined with people all the way to the castle. Nicholas was next in the procession, followed by their carriage, and Bear’s came last. They maintained the usual smiles and waves like many parades before, this one was no different. Latchkey struggled to hide her boredom.

Nicholas glanced over his shoulder at them, his body shifting as the muscles of the red dragon below him rippled with each step. She in turn glanced over her shoulder at Aris who gave her a small nod and smile. She returned it, only to have Compass nudge her shoulder. Her gaze darted to him as he winked. His skin and long hair shone in the sun as if he were made from its rays. She rolled her eyes.

Latchkey was relieved when the procession finally passed through the castle gates. Ahead of them loomed the palace. Much like the main castle of campus, this palace had a similar architectural style of ivory stone and navy rooftops, arching buttresses and columns spreading out before high towers over gravel paths that snaked around an expanse of courtyards, fountains, and manicured gardens.

Nicholas joined his father as they conversed about the parade, still atop their dragons. Latchkey and Alastrine hopped out of their carriage, followed by Compass. Bear and Aris strolled up to the dragons as if they weren’t giant beasts of scale, muscle, and teeth. Bear beckoned them over and the three approached with caution. Nicholas’s mount swung its head over to regard them and Latchkey staggered back as she instinctively threw her arm out before Alastrine as a barrier.

“If she wanted to eat you she would have already done so,” Nicholas chortled. “She probably doesn’t want to go through the trouble of indigestion a wretch like you would give her.” Latchkey curled her lip as she straightened. The young dragon snapped her jaws in a yawn and hummed as they approached. “Her name is Kyssa. Her mother,” he nodded over to the larger dragon, “is Rune.”

“Are all dragons this tame?” Alastrine asked. Nicholas scoffed in response. He slid from his saddle and patted Kyssa’s scaly side. Kyssa hummed. “Is that her way of telling you she’s happy?”

“Yes,” Nicholas replied. Kyssa’s attention turned to her. Latchkey winced as the beast’s snout hovered over her and sniffed before exhaling hot air over her.

“You sure she’s not hungry?” Latchkey squeaked. Nicholas and Aris both chuckled as Kyssa nudged Latchkey’s stomach and hummed.

“She’s behaving today. Go ahead and pet her, she likes you,” Aris replied. “She usually has an attitude problem.”

“Much like her companion, I’m guessing,” Latchkey muttered as she carefully placed her hands on the scaly snout in front of her. Aside from the ridges, her red nose was smooth. Kyssa’s golden eyes shifted over her as her pupils dilated and then retracted, then dilated once more. Studying her. “Can you call her away from me?” she whimpered.

“Kyssa,” Nicholas clicked his tongue. The beast snapped her head to him then plodded off around the side of the castle. The Emperor dismounted Rune who followed her offspring.

“Only royals can have dragons, huh?” Alastrine looked after them.
“Celestian royals,” Nicholas smirked. “Don’t get your hopes up, the priests would throw a fit. Everyone probably would.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t need any reasons to stick around here,” Alastrine laughed.

“I’ll show you to your rooms, your luggage should have already arrived.” Nicholas turned to lead them inside the enormous wooden doors of the palace. Servants greeted them in the foyer as they turned and wandered down a main corridor to a staircase. Another corridor, another staircase, another corridor…

“This will be your wing, you will have a semi-permanent residence here since you will be in Celestivas often for business,” Nicholas started. “Bear and Compass will be staying in some guest rooms on the next floor.” The wing he brought them to opened to a parlor where doors hung on opposite sides: their chambers.

The chambers were impressive, larger than the ones at home on Arcova. Alastrine’s room was sky blue with cream accents, adorned with decor of the sun. Like the Arcovan sun seal. Latchkey picked over the study and its bureau, the bedchamber with the four-poster bed with a canopy that resembled a summer sky with wisping clouds, the marbled bathroom with a generous tub.

Alastrine reveled in her room as Aris led Latchkey to her own chambers. While Alastrine’s rooms befitted the day and sun, her chambers reflected the night. The walls were paneled with navy blue and gold molding, flecked with filigree stars. Her bed’s canopy depicted Celeste’s twin moons. Windows spanned along the outer wall, reaching from the floor to the ceiling. Two doors marked the center that opened to a balcony overlooking a courtyard with a babbling fountain beneath. Across from the balcony was yet another wing of the palace that rose into a high tower. Latchkey flung open the doors to a gentle breeze and inhaled. It smelled of late-blooming flowers that flecked the grounds beneath.

“It’s gorgeous,” she breathed as Aris joined her on the balcony. The night motif of her room brought memories to her. As children, she and Alastrine painted the parlor of her own chambers in their castle in stars and meteors. The servants were furious, as was Bear. Yet the King allowed it. It was the first time she met the King in person, and he only chuckled at the angry clucking of their nanny and dismissed them. He admired their work though it was sloppy as any child’s wall art could be, and instead gave them paints and canvases that occupied most of their summer. In the years since then, neither she nor Alastrine had painted much as their focus shifted to training. Perhaps one day when she moved on from guard duty to owning the bank, she could pursue such a hobby.

“Such low standards,” Nicholas said behind her. “Still, I suppose it’s a good thing you like such modest quarters.” She scowled at him until Aris gave a reassuring brush on her arm.

“You picked these chambers on purpose?” she asked.

“I didn’t,” Nicholas snorted with a bite in his words. “Father did. Arcova has the sun seal, he found the theme perfect for Alastrine.”

“It suits her,” Latchkey commended. Nicholas shrugged.

“It suits you,” Aris murmured as he brushed past her and followed Nicholas out into the parlor. She joined Alastrine behind them.

“Dinner will be late tonight, all the court officials and viseurs will be there. A particularly stuffy lot,” Nicholas yawned. “Dress nicely.”

As they closed the doors behind them Alastrine snickered, “I wonder if he’s mad he’s not the center of attention anymore.”

Latchkey snorted. “Now that we’re here, you think I have a better chance of getting Aris alone?”

Alastrine shrugged. “I’d be careful, no doubt the Celestian court will be breathing down our necks this weekend,” she replied. “Let’s play it safe, lay low, be the perfect Arcovans.”

Dinner was in a ballroom that had been fitted with tables. At least one hundred nobles and officials of Celeste were present, and the conversation was tedious at best. Alastrine sat in the place of honor with Latchkey beside her, next to her father. The Emperor gave a speech welcoming them and she had nibbled through the twelve courses with patience. By the time they finished, they were both exhausted from wearing the masks of feigned interest and courtesy and had returned to their chambers early.

Only Latchkey couldn’t sleep. Whether it was the excitement from a new location or anxiety from the day’s events and the events to come, she paced her room to tire herself but to no avail. She opened her doors to the balcony to allow the cool evening breeze soothe her as she tossed her suit jacket to the side and rolled up the sleeves of her blouse. The courtyard was tranquil below her, only the bubbling of the fountain stirred.

Something shifted in the window of the tower ahead of her. Her attention snapped upward to see a figure. She squinted; it was Aris. He waved, and she smiled and waved back. Another figure joined his side. Nicholas. She retreated into her room, closing the doors to the balcony behind her and shutting the curtains. Minutes later, there was a knock on her chamber door.

Wary, she opened it to see Aris and Nicholas. “Can I help you?” she asked, expectant. “Alastrine’s asleep.”

“Too early for you to turn in?” Aris hissed. Nicholas smirked. “You know, there’s caves underneath the city.”

“I know.” She cocked an eyebrow. “For the dragons, right?”

“We could go down and see them.” Nicholas examined his nails as he leaned against the adjacent wall. She shifted, uneasy. “Unless you’re afraid.”

“Afraid? You said your dragon was tame,” Latchkey breathed.

“I never said that,” Nicholas retorted. “I never said any dragons were.”

“It’ll be cool,” Aris urged.

“Forget it, she’s a coward. All talk and will take on anyone in the ring, but when it comes to something real like dragons...” Nicholas’s gaze met hers with a wild twinkle. She scowled. She looked to Aris for a hint of assurance which came in the form of a sincere smile.

“I’m no coward,” she snarled. “You were the one on your knees sobbing after you lost.” Rage ignited on his face as his lip curled. “What’s the matter, Nicholas, struck a nerve?” she crooned. Aris and Nicholas exchanged a look and shared a smirk.

“Come on then.” Aris nodded towards the corridor.

They slinked down to the foyer before a voice stopped them, “Where are you three going?” Compass brisked up behind them.

“Out,” Latchkey replied, nonchalant.

“To the dragon’s den,” the malice evident in Nicholas’s voice. Compass balked at the comment.

“I must insist on accompanying Lord Latchkey, if you’ll just allow me to get my sword—” he started.

“No swords. You will not raise a blade to a dragon. We leave now. Either you’re coming or not,” Nicholas said. Compass frowned but relented.

“Very well then, but I will not let anything befall sweet Latchkey,” Compass swore. She wanted to gag.

“Chill out, Compass,” she grumbled. Aris gave them a wary look over his shoulder as he and Nicholas led them across the courtyard to a small door in the castle wall. “This is it,” Latchkey scoffed, “This is the entrance to the dragon’s den?” Aris and Nicholas chuckled as they opened the door to a dark corridor that ran along the inside of the wall. Nicholas pulled a bauble from his pocket that illuminated the path ahead. Aris followed with a bauble of his own, whispering to Nicholas so that Latchkey and Compass couldn’t hear.

“Nicholas’s dragon seemed tame enough,” Compass muttered. “Maybe we don’t have anything to worry about.”

“That’s one dragon, and she was a baby. Did you see the size of Rune’s teeth? We probably smell like snacks to them compared to Celestians,” Latchkey hissed. The path ahead of them narrowed and turned to stairs. Down they went into an abyss that only grew darker, kept at bay by the glowing orbs in Nicholas’s and Aris’s hands. Latchkey lost track of time. They reached a dark chamber with a stone door ahead of them.

“Usually the priests tend to the dragons during the day. They’ve left for the evening,” Nicholas stated. He pressed his palm in a hollow in the center of the door and the surface depressed and then slid to the side with a faint scrape of stone on stone.

A rush of warm air greeted them. The den was illuminated by glowing cave formations of stalactites and stalagmites. Some areas of the cave glowed a pale blue while others a deep red, allowing Latchkey to get a sense of the depth and massive size of the chamber ahead of them. Tunnels opened along the walls, all large enough to accommodate dragons. To the side of the entrance were other stone doors which she supposed the priests used for whatever reason. “Normally I would call Kyssa up, but tonight is a special night.” Nicholas smirked as he extinguished the light of his bauble and pocketed it. Aris followed. The glow from the cave made his features look even more menacing than usual.

“Special?” Latchkey tried to sound unimpressed, but her voice cracked.

“Many are nesting,” Nicholas replied. “So they’re particularly…” His voice trailed as he looked to Aris.
“Territorial,” Aris finished. Latchkey shrank back at the word. Her hand brushed against Compass’s.

“Let’s take a walk,” Nicholas chuckled and turned to lead them across the chamber down the darkest tunnel ahead of them. Black like a gaping maw, Latchkey’s hair stood on end as the glowing light from the main cavern chamber faded behind them.

“I can hardly see, can one of you hand over a bauble?” Latchkey whined. “We don’t have eyes like yours.”

“It’s unwise to bring light down here,” Nicholas hissed. “We can guide you.” Ahead of them a beastly groan echoed through the tunnel. Compass’s hand brushed hers and she seized it this time without shame. Ahead of them the two Celestians snickered. She could only see their vague forms ahead, and Compass’s silhouette beside her.
As they progressed, again Latchkey lost her sense of direction. Occasionally, they would pass a glowing column of the cave, which sometimes marked an entrance to another tunnel or winding path further into the depths of the mountain. In the distance a steady sound of wind rose and ebbed. Sounds were becoming more frequent. The shift of a rock. An echo of a growl. A crunch of a bone. A smoky smell filled her nostrils as they continued deeper.

The sound of the shifting wind turned to a steady pattern of breathing. A sleeping beast was somewhere ahead of them in the darkness. Aris drew back and fell in step with Latchkey and Compass.

“Just in case,” he murmured as the glint of his bauble passed to Compass’s hands. “One is just ahead.” Ahead of them, Nicholas’s footsteps stopped, and his shadowed form turned toward the right to an open wall. Something was blocking it. Something that shifted. The heaving side of a slumbering dragon.

“Some of them won’t even notice us because we’re so small in comparison,” Nicholas chuckled as he reached up and slid his hand along the scaly hide. It twitched slightly but the steady pattern of breathing continued. “Go on, touch it.” Aris followed his example.

Compass stepped forward next and ran his hand along the dragon’s side. “What’s the matter, Latchkey? Scared?” Nicholas taunted. Latchkey gulped and pressed her hand with the utmost care against the warm scales. Under her touch the dragon’s side rose and fell with each snoozing breath. She exhaled in relief as she stepped back.

“Let’s move on,” Nicholas chuckled. They followed him further until they entered a dark chamber. A dim glow illuminated the far end, but the source of the glow was obscured by another hulking form, sleeping. Then Latchkey took in the scale of the room and realized there wasn’t one dragon there, but many. She couldn’t count them all, it was too dark, and the symphony of draconic breaths and snores had every one of her muscles tensed and ready to flee.

One of the beasts stirred and Latchkey backed toward the tunnel out of instinct, bumping into Compass. He grunted and rested his hands on her shoulders in assurance, though she could feel him tremble. Nicholas snorted at them, amused by their fear.
“Do you have any beasts like this on Arcova?” He didn’t bother lowering his voice.

“Some, but not nearly as large,” Compass replied. Latchkey remembered the stags they rode and how they were preyed on in the wild by packs of barking and howling canids. Their teeth once like daggers to her, now mere tacks compared to the maw of a dragon. “Perhaps it’s time we go,” Compass sighed. “I do have to be up early to meet with the Celestian guards over security.”

“Scared?” Aris scoffed.

Latchkey could feel Compass frown. “No, like I said─”

“Then you shouldn’t have an issue walking up to any of these dragons and giving them a nice belly rub,” Nicholas said.

“Fine, no problem. I really don’t have the time for this,” Compass muttered. He strode across the cave and drew the bauble from his pocket, “I can’t see a damn thing or make heads or tails of these creatures.”

“Compass, no─” Aris called after him but was cut short. Compass ignited the charge of the bauble to light the cave around him. He raised it to see the slumbering beast before him, blue scales shimmered from the bauble’s light. Latchkey’s heart thundered in her chest. An eye snapped open before him, as big as his head. The pupil of the beast focused on him and he froze. Nicholas swore as the dragon lifted its head and emitted a terrible snarl and then shook its wings.

Compass bolted past them and Aris was close behind. “Wait, Compass!” he shouted. The dragon lurched forward with a fearsome bellow that shook the cave around them. The sound of rocks falling and skittering across the floor had Nicholas slowly backing away. Latchkey never took her eyes off him, following his slow and careful movements.

Yet with his movements so cautious, Nicholas laughed, “What a fool!” The dragon leaned its head over to sniff at Nicholas and snorted over him. Hot air ruffled his hair and hit Latchkey’s face as she stood behind him. “They’d never harm anyone.” He patted the dragon’s snout as it hummed.

“Really?” Latchkey squeaked.
“Come on, me and Aris just wanted to trick you,” Nicholas snorted as he turned and strolled past her. “You were so scared of Kyssa, we couldn’t resist the idea. Terrifying Compass was a bonus, but damn I expected you to scream.” Latchkey kept pace with him. They found Aris and Compass panting further up the tunnel.
“You had me,” Compass laughed upon seeing Nicholas in the dim glow as they turned the corner. “Bastards.” They waited ahead and Latchkey was relieved to see him well. Behind them another roar sounded, and then another. The rest of the dragons were waking up. The sounds of them shifting and moving were followed by the click of talons along the stone floor as they approached through the tunnel. She could hear them plod along chattering to one another as if they had their own language of hisses, grunts, and clicks. As they drew near the cave around them shook and there was another shattering roar.

Then Nicholas swore as the stone cracked beneath them. The cave shook with another roar and the floor gave way. Latchkey yelped as she tumbled with dirt and stone into darkness.

Dragonthief: Chapter Twelve

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