Hail the Dragon Enchantress

Chapter 12: Found

~Queen Regina’s P. O. V.~

Oh, my gods! Oh, my gods! Oh, my gods! Nithe and I were flying around while I was trying to clear my head. 3 days ago, I buried my late husband. 2 days ago, I found out that I wasn’t with a child. And yesterday, I was wondering where I had gone from there. Today, I found a man barely alive on our shores. Nithe was carrying him in her claws. I had to get back to the castle. What would Clint do? What should I do? I need help. We landed in our courtyard. I got off Nithe, who put the man down gently. I checked his heartbeat. I was slow but not life-threatening. Like he was sleeping.

I picked the man up and hobbled him into the castle. He was heavier than he looked. My guards came to me and helped me move him to a guest bedroom. Nithe tried to come inside too, but she was too big. I had to push her head out of the window. But she kept huffing and looking at the man. I don’t know what she was doing. Think, Regina! Think! What would Clint have done? I ran out of the room to get one of my most experienced healers. I was hastening myself to find her. She needed to help this man. I was in a frantic state and I couldn’t help him. It’s not every day that a man washes upon our shores.

Whilst in the midst of looking for her, I noticed that Nithe hadn’t taken her eyes off this man. She was acting strangely and I did not know why. But I couldn’t worry about that. I ran through our roads and headed towards her place of healing. She was the best healer I had. My lungs burned as I continued to run. A lady should never run like this. But what else would our best healer be?

I saw her wooden sign and went straight for her door. I didn’t have time to bother knocking. “Lorena!” I slammed the door open. I regretted that action immediately. “Oh, my…” I quickly averted my eyes.

She and her husband, Franklin, were in the middle of something. “Your highness. Please forgive us.”

It was not her at fault. “No need for an apology. ‘Twas I that came through your door unannounced.” I closed the door and waited outside. I felt horrible about that.

It didn’t take much longer for her to see me. She and Franklin bowed in respect. “My queen, what do I owe the honor?”

I stood up and looked at her. “There is no time. I need you to hurry to the castle.” She nodded and I had both of them follow me. I ran back as quickly as my feet could carry me. I should have used Nithe, but she was preoccupied with our new guest.

We got to the gates and I had her husband stay out in the foyer. I had Lorena follow me to the guest room where he was resting. She and I entered the room where I saw a few other people. And their dragons. All of them were my childhood friends. I stopped and looked at them.

Katrina spoke up first. “Our dragons were acting odd, my lady.”

Claira put her arm around me. “Comet was equally acting odd. Who is this man?”

I went over to the man sleeping in the guest bed. His clothes were tattered. He wore no shoes. His hair was covered in mud and sand. I wish I knew who he was. Holly and Aiden sat in the chairs, while Claira, Ingrid, Garrick, Beau and Charles stood next to the front wall. I sat beside this man. Why would the 9 of us be here? And why would our dragons be behaving this way? Comet and Trench tried to push past the guards while Strawberry and Serpent blockaded the windows. Tangerine, Nebula and Orin were out there keeping the citizens away. River had landed in between Comet and Nithe. This was strange. Did they know who this man was? A little tinge of my heart started to hope that this man was Jack. But that isn’t right. Jack died. Could it be? No. It can’t be. He was confirmed dead by his adopted kingdom. Plus, he had no dragon. Kelp would have stayed with him.

The hours went by and the 9 of us stayed with the man. Nithe found a way to poke her head in and lay it upon the bedside. She had never behaved this way. Hearing her and the others huff and whimper as they looked at him. I can’t help but feel drawn to him too. Clint. What is going on here, my love? In the span of 5 days, I had to mourn the loss of my husband, be heartbroken that I didn’t conceive, ponder what I should do and then find him.

Lorena looked him over again and told us that he was just asleep and would be waking up very soon. She said that for the next few days she would help keep an eye on him. I felt relieved when I heard that. Nithe, on the other hand, was overjoyed. She lifted her head and licked the man's face. Dragon breath stinks and so do their tongues. We all laughed a little at her sudden affection. I wondered who he was and if he was meant to be here. The others and I ate our lunches and dinners here. I offered them rooms to stay in too and helped me watch over this man. It was clear that our dragons didn’t want to leave.

Everyone said their good nights while I stayed there. The dragons were already asleep. I sat in a chair and asked that my journal be brought to me. This was a new entry and I needed fresh pages. My staff were kind enough to give it to me. I wrote about the events of today in the first entry. I wanted to hope that this man would not be frightened by our dragons. I will help him get back on his feet. I made a vow that I would. I looked over at this man and smiled as I saw his chest rise and fall. Thank the gods he’ll live. I had ordered for him to be fed broth and water. He needed to heal and recuperate from his time at sea. I even left the room for them to clean him.

My lady in waiting came out with the dirty water and dirty towels. “He’s freshened up, your highness.” She bowed and left me there. I hope that tomorrow he will wake up. I have many questions for him to answer. Like where he came from. How he got here, aside from the dingy. I went back in and sat in that chair once more. Letting the night creep into my consciousness. I was exhausted. I needed rest too. I closed my journal and closed my eyes. I will be here when he awakes. I hoped I would anyway. If my subjects let me rest tomorrow. With that final thought and a small giggle to myself. I started to drift into a dreamless sleep.