Hail the Dragon Enchantress

Chapter 13: Healing Flame

~Queen Regina's P. O. V.~

I woke up the next morning hoping to see the man awake. Alas, he was still asleep. Nithe hadn't left his side all night. Thankfully, it was not cold enough at night to warrant the windows being closed. Still, the breeze helped me sleep a little more soundly. Lorane was already there and checking on him. Putting a long tube into his mouth so he could swallow the morning porage. I wanted to use Nithe's fire to heal him, but I didn't know if that would cause him more harm. I had to watch as she did her work. As a queen, I need to attend to my subjects. As a human, I wanted to watch over him. Duty first, I suppose.

I bowed to Lorane and left the room. I respect my people and what they did for our kingdom. It has to go both ways. Otherwise, you're doomed to fail. I went to my room and dressed for the day. My seamstresses made me wear a shining blue dress with long sleeves and a very long cape behind me. I bent down after they did my hair and put the colored oils on my face for my crown. I stood straight and went to my throne room to await the complaints of the day. I loved my subjects with all my heart, I just wished they could resolve their issues on their own.

Complaint after complaint. This day seemed to go on forever. Something had caught my attention of one of our peddlers. "I apologize. May you repeat your words?"

He bowed. "What I said, my queen, was that people are starting to call you The Dragon Enchantress. They see it as a form of honor now after our late king." How did they know of my pet name? Clint only whispered it to me like sweet nothings. "Oh, I am so sorry, your highness. I didn't mean to offend."

My lady-in-waiting came to me and wiped the tears away. I closed my eyes and stood. "You have nothing to apologize for, good sir. It was just something King Clint would offer me every day. You are not at fault." I composed myself. "How did the people come to find his pet name for me?" I wasn't angry, nor was I upset. I wanted to thank them. That was Clint's final gift to me. His given name for his queen.

"The first time he said it to you, your highness. A guard overheard him. Said guard was talking about how sweet it was." He bowed to me. The guard in question came up and took a knee to me. Bowing his head.

I could see the fear in his composure. "'Twas I, my lady. I was merely captivated and in awe of his sincerity."

I walked down to this guard and lifted him up, making him meet my gaze. "Thank you." The room went silent. "Thank you for reminding me of what I am. Of who I am. That was his final gift to me. Sir knight, I want you to spread that name. It would honor not only I, but your late king as well." His face lit up and a smile played on his lips.

He gave me our kingdoms salute. "You have my word, my lady." I saw him sprinting out. I sat back on my throne.

After the little remark of Clint's pet name about me reaching the public ears, I took a brief moment of reprieve to eat and have a cup of tea. Finishing my grapes, mango and strawberries, I went to check the progress of our visitor. Claira was there and she looked deep in thought. I sat next to the man and moved his hair away from his eyes.

"The dragons haven't left, Regina. My heart wants to believe that this is Jack. But my mind is telling me he's gone." Claira and my own hearts are the same in this situation. Soon the others came in.

"Is it wrong to hope?" Katrina asked. I shook my head. It wasn't wrong. It just isn't true. He's dead. I have to keep telling myself.

Beau picked up Claira. "It would make sense, would it not? The dragons know him. They were all there when Kelp and Jack left the kingdom. They know his scent."

"Be that as it may, Kelp isn't here. Wouldn't that prove he is Jack?" Holly countered his statement.

Charles shook his head. "Not necessarily. Remember, they also took Kelp. They could have sold him off separately."

Garrick snapped his fingers. "That's right. The scales. Dragons would go for a much higher price than an adoptive prince."

"And don't forget, they only speculated that he died. It wasn't truly confirmed." Ingrid pointed out to the rest of us. That's true. They were never able to find the bodies.

Aiden left the room for a moment and requested that a map be brought in. What is he thinking? He came back in and pulled one of the small dining tables over. "Look. There wouldn't be a lot of places to go to sell a prince or dragon. Most slavers wouldn't bother with them because they would lose their heads if found out. However." He pointed to a small island. "That is the only island that sells 'Exotic Goods.' Meaning dragons."

I stood and had to halt everyone. "Are we really considering the fact that this man is Jack and Kelp is still alive too? I really hope we are not. That would mean..."

Claira came over to me. "It would mean Jack was held prisoner up until recently and we can save Kelp." After all this time? Has he truly been alive?

"Easy there, my queen..." Charles came up to me and held me. "We keep this to ourselves. If word gets out that Jack is alive and home, the people who kidnapped him might come back to try again and, this time, will try to get Regina."

"We know that, Charles. This news has all of us on edge. We all want it to be true," Gerrick told him. Everyone surrounded me. These were my closest friends. Jack's friends too.

"For 13 years. 13 long years, Jack was alive," Holly stated. "Holy Hannah."

"And for 11 of those years, he was held captive." I saw rage building in Aiden's eyes. "They will pay for what they have done."

A great roar shook the building as Nebula woke up. She bared her teeth. Smoke was coming from her nostrils. "It seems Nebula agrees." Katrina giggled. All of the dragons followed her lead. But the roar that shook the kingdom was Nithe's. She was fuming and her crystals began to glow. Her wings expanded as if she were declaring war on who ever took her mate.

The grunting of the man made us all go silent. "Still as unruly as ever, I hear." He opened his eyes and I was horrified. They were completely white. "If I am feeling correctly, this is your castle bed chamber. Am I right, Queen Regina?"

I slowly went to sit next to him. It was my Jack. "J-Jack?" He turned his head towards my voice. "Is it..."

He smiled at me. "I was hoping you remembered me." Without a thought, I wrapped my arms around my sweet Jack and began crying. He held onto me with a grunt. "My queen. What tears for? Surely, you didn't think I was dead."

"Yes!" The room yelled.

"We got a letter from your adoptive kingdom, Jack. They said that you were most like to be dead." Gerrick scolded him. Holding back his own tears of joy.

Nithe poked her head through and licked Jack's face. "I am betting this monstrosity is Lady Nithe. She has grown." He held out his hand and she touched him and began to trill. "I will find Kelp, Nithe. I promise you that." Nithe opened her mouth and I saw fire begin to form in her mouth. It was the Healing Fire. She blew it on him softly. "That's so warm but not burning me."

"Close your eyes, Jack. Let that flame do its job." I commanded. He did as asked. When she stopped, I smiled in hope. "Open your eyes now."

It took a moment, but when he opened them, I was greeted with his bark tree-colored eyes. The same eyes that I was happy to see when I was 12 years of age. "How did..?" I looked at Nithe. "Thank you, Nithe. You have gifted me my eyesight.' She licked him again. "That is not very lady-like."

I couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. "She missed you. As did I."

He did something that I hoped he would have done when we were younger. He pulled me into him and kissed me. I returned the kiss. "Not as much as I have missed you, Regina." He whispered to me. I wrapped my arms around him and gave him another kiss. My Jack is home. My first love. Home.