175 Chapter 17The entrance of Lord Balrus inside the court house alerted everyone, including Artemis. The Lord never visits the court, he thoughts the good folks complaints were dull and untrue. Some cases the good folks should solve themselves instead of putting it to the Master of Laws, Lord Balrus could be heard saying that.
Hence his presence there could only mean one thing, he had something to say. Artemis stood up and everyone who was seated quickly rose up as a sign of respect for the King. Then he led the way and Aurora followed him behind, Lord Angun abandoned the cases and walked outside to hear what Lord Balrus had to say.
When four of them were outside the court standing in the corridor leading to the council chamber, Lord Balrus started to speak: “Lord Leoric has betrayed us Your Grace” and this was his first sentence. The next words that came out of his mouth sounded like treason in Artemis’s ears even though it wasn’t.
But Artemis wanted Leoric to commit something so huge and unforgivable so he has a reason to take his head. This however sounded promising but it wasn’t enough to charge a man for hosting a Prince in his own castle.
“He’s doing this to spat on my face” said Artemis biting his jaws. “Why would he help the Taelins?”
Lord Angun quipped, “He must have been promised something by the Taelins, or maybe he did this to... spat on your face just like you said Your Grace” at the end Lord Angun felt like he shouldn’t have repeated what the King said.
“So what do we do now?” asked Artemis.
“We do nothing” Aurora said this and she clearly meant it. “That’s Prophisians business and it’s none of ours, we go back to our lives and law low as if nothing is happening. May the best kin win” she concluded.
Then it was silent after Aurora finished talking, but that silence awkward moment lasted only for few seconds. There were screams from outside the palace and people were running aimlessly like mad men in the dark, no one inside the palace knew what was going on until they raced outside to see.
.....
Aurora’s eyes widened with amazement and she was struck with wonderment when she saw Toro on a dragon — the blue female dragon and he was hanging out for his dear life as the dragon was desperately trying to throw him off. Just like what Aurora warned him before, dragons are used to their riders touch in such a way a strange touch makes them crazy.
The dragon was screaming, roaring loudly and desperately flattering it’s wings and at the same time pouring out flames out in the air. It was the flames which made people run. Apart from the day where they witnessed Vizoro burning the walls of the arena while Aurora was on her back, the good folks of Blackmount were aware of what Artemis did in Prophis and the number of men he burned.
Although they congratulated him for saving Queen Aryan, as everyone thought but still that didn’t erase the power that dragons have and that’s why they were running.
Toro used the saddle on the dragon to hang on and he was shouting like a mad man. “Obey me! Obey me you beast” in Low Moor but instead of the dragon to calm down and obey him, those words enraged it and made it even hard for him to keep hanging on.
The court was on the third floor of the palace, hence Aurora and everyone else who was in the balcony of that floor had the best view of what was going on. Aurora didn’t say anything, Visenya came to her and stood by her side — they just locked eyes but no one said anything.
“What was he thinking?” Artemis screamed angrily. “The dragon will kill him”
“Should we help him Your Grace?” asked Sir Dante Lucan, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguards.
Aurora quipped in “There’s nothing we can do, the only way he’ll be free of the dragon is once he falls down and die. I warned him, he brought this on himself” she said while holding her belly.
Then Aurora walked away from the balcony and took the stairs down, everyone else followed and now even the good folks who were granted audience in the court followed behind, they were excited to see what will Aurora do. The brown and red silk dress that Aurora wore bounced the lights when it collided with her dazzling silver hairs scented with heavy oils, the way she moved with the frown look on her face just made her way more beautiful.
Servants and Lords alike bowed before Aurora as she passed through — hail the Dragon Queen, they were heard chanting slowly. It was no secret by now that Aurora was the one who owned the dragons and Artemis was just given one out of charity by his wife, however, when people gossiped about it in taverns and brothels alike. Lord Akirbus would always remind them “He was given a dragon by his wife, and what did your wife give you other than her smelly cunt and bunch of rats for children” well this was the only thing which made them stop trolling the King.
On the outside the chaos kept on going, but inside the palace it was calm especially after Aurora came outside and she went on to the gardens while everyone followed her. The blue she-dragon who Aurora hadn’t named her yet saw her mother out in the open and she remained calm — as if she knew now she was safe.
With this calmness Toro finally was able to hang on tight to the saddle on dragon’s back and exhaled. Then his eyes met with Aurora’s who was looking at him from the ground while he was high above the sky. Slow winds passed through and the feeling of calmness engulfed the sky.
Toro patted the dragon’s back, “Good girl, good girl” he said in his thick Low Moor accent. But then just as when he let his guard down and thought he was safe, the dragon twisted itself downwards with quickness and right there Toro lost control of the saddle and fell down from the sky screaming — just like how Aurora predicted.
The good folks who were present that day Toro fell down from a dragon claimed the height was above one hundred feet while others say it was more than one hundred and maybe approximately two hundred feet above the ground. The height was never truly researched or calculated, all we know is Toro fell down screaming when the dragon pushed him over and he hit a rock when he landed — what a horrible way to die.
The rocks were near the palace, hence the gates were opened the moment Artemis ordered the guards and he was the first one to race to towards the place while his Kingsguards followed behind to protect him from the good folks who were coming in numbers to see the dead Toro. “Clear the way for the King! Clear the way” the guards pushed the folks aside and allowed Artemis to pass through.
Aurora was escorted with her own guards and they used the same way which Artemis cleared. This was indeed a chaotic day in Blackmount, some folks used this situation to sneak inside the palace and see how it was like. Some were caught and forced outside the palace, but those who managed to pass through the guards and get inside raced towards the huge building just to see it for themselves.
The huge number of people chose to see for themselves the dead body of Toro who was crushed with the rock and he was hardly recognized. His head was split open and his brain scattered around the rocks, what a horrible way to die.
Now everyone was asking who Toro was and how did he get inside Aurora’s Hill — the impregnable castle. Many people mistook him for a thief or outlaw who wanted to steal a dragon, and in return he showed it to the world that the dragons can’t be stolen: They have to be claimed and only one person had that power, Aurora Kholin, the Queen of Maldonia.
After the catastrophe happened, the she-dragon slowly stretched her wings and prepared herself for swift landing. When she landed, Aurora walked to her and placed her army on the dragon’s back — the dragon closed it’s eyes and seemed calm now that she was in her mother’s arms. What a display of love, songs were sung of that day when Aurora saved her dragon just by touching it and people wept saying it was too emotional.
The dragon bent down and allowed Aurora to climb it. Then Artemis joined in on the climb, the saddle was big enough for two. Together they flew her away, Artemis on the front and Aurora at the back holding on. The same dragon who screamed and growled when Toro took it to the sky, was the same dragon who flew calmly and softly when Artemis and Aurora flew it. This taught the people one important thing — a dragon cannot be stolen, it’s not a horse, you steal it and your head will be cracked open like Toro.
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