Chapter 1: Lady Nithe
~Queen Regina's P. O. V.~
The Queen's Journal
How shall I start my story? I suppose the best place would be is when I got my very own dragon egg. I was barely a woman at the time of The Great Choosing. A celebration for all children becoming young men and women to pick their own dragon to raise. I was among the ones turning 12 years of age. It didn't matter if you were royalty or commoner. Everyone had to have a dragon. It was a custom in my kingdom. A requirement if you will. The group of us numbered 10. We all had to see what egg drew us. The eldest of us had already picked hers. A red and silver egg. It was very pretty but not mine. Claira, the eldest of us, swooned over her egg and decided to name it before it hatched. She gave it the name Comet. I supposed at the time it was a very fitting name. The next was a boy slightly younger than me. His eyes stared at a gold and black egg. He picked it up and ran his fingers across the glass-like shell. Beau, that was his name, decided to follow Claira's example. He named his future dragon Orin.
One by one, the others found their eggs. Katrina named her blue and black egg Trench. Holly named her orange and green egg Tangerine. Garrick named his white and yellow egg Serpent. Ingrid named her red and white egg Strawberry. Jack named his blue and green egg Kelp. I thought it strange, but we are able to name them what we want. This left myself, Charles and Aidan. Charles, a boy that was 3 months younger than I, picked out his egg next. It was light blue and dark blue. He named it River. I was happy for my people. And then, there was Aidan. He saw this beautiful black and purple egg. It was rough looking, like a stone. He named the egg Nebula.
They all stood at the entrance of the hatchery smiling at me while holding their eggs. I kept looking for mine. I was a princess back then, I should have found my egg first. Yet, fate would have it, that I would be last. Towards the very back of the hatchery, I finally found mine. It was blue and white. What made this egg stand out more than the others was its shell's surface. Unlike the others, which were rough like rocks or smooth like glass, this egg had scales that rippled everywhere. I turned it in my hands and noticed another marking on it. The mark was a gold emblem. It had no real form like a crest, but it was very alluring. This was my egg. I could feel her inside there. Ready to hatch soon.
I looked at my future subjects and my friends. Smiling as I held my very own egg. "The next queen of the dragon isles. Lady Nithe." I named her after the goddess Nithe because that is who she will be. My father, King Gerold X, came to my side and took Lady Nithe from me and held her egg up high.
He smiled at everyone. "My daughter has chosen her dragon!" The crowd cheered and congratulated me.
My mother, Queen Cora, stood by my other side and held me. "I am filled with much joy, daughter." I loved my mother. She didn't treat me like some glass doll. She taught me how to use a pike and a crossbow. My father taught me how to ride his silver dragon named Mercury. And how to use a long blade. I was not your average princess. My mother would even take me on her dragon Nymph for political talks. Nymph was a beautiful pink and green dragon. She had wings like a butterfly instead of a bat. She was the sweetest dragon anyone could meet.
The 10 of us were ushered out of the hatchery with our eggs and were led to a giant fire in the center of the kingdom. At the edge of the fire were 10 wooden pillars with coal at the top. This was the main celebration for The Great Choosing. The hatching of our dragons. One would wonder how we choose the egg and hatch it on the same day. It's simple. The ones that are freshly laid are kept in another part of the hatchery for many months, sometimes years. How do our keepers know when eggs are ready to hatch? They pick them up and weigh them. New eggs are light and nearly weightless. When an egg is ready, it becomes heavy. Large rocks or stones weigh less than an egg that is about to hatch. Each 7 sun cycles, the keepers weigh the eggs. Once they determine that an egg is ready, that egg gets moved to the side of the hatchery where we were.
My father stood in the front of the large fire and addressed the citizens. "My good people of Shora! Tonight we celebrate 10 newborn dragons and their riders-to-be!" The folk went silent as they listened to their king. He looked at the 10 of us. "Come. Place your eggs on the pillars of coal." Before I could take a step, my father held up a hand. "I am sorry, daughter. We must do this from oldest to youngest." I nodded. Claira went first. Followed by Aiden. Next was Katrina, then Jack. Beau and Garrick followed them. Behind them was me and Ingrid. Lastly, it was Holly and Charles. We all stepped away from the pillars. "As we wait for the births of the dragons, we have prepared a large meal for everyone to enjoy!"
My mother stepped forward and pulled the drapery off the tables. "Let the feast begin!" Her voice rang throughout the area. The people cheered and started to make merry. My friends and I sat near the eggs and talked.
Claira, a sweet baker's daughter, started the conversation. "I wonder what our dragons will look like."
Aiden was next. "I do not know. Your mum has a rare dragon, right, Princess?"
I merely giggled. "I do not know about rare. Nymph is different, though. Her egg was pink and green. And smooth like glass. Mother says that she did not expect her dragon to have the wings of a beautiful butterfly."
Jack sat next to me and blushed a little. "Princess. May I confess something?" Jack was an orphan from a long way away. He was found by our captain barely alive in a small boat. He was rather attractive. I gave my nod of approval. "Princess. I am leaving the Isles soon. And I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed your company. I feel saddened that we will be apart soon. I know a commoner and a princess cannot have relations but I fell in love with you."
Holly and Katrina gave their coos. I took Jack's hand in mine. "If only I were a commoner, Jack. I hope you and Kelp are at least able to visit. I love you too, Jack." He kissed the back of my hand and smiled.
Ingrid made a noise that sounded like a pig squealing. "Couldn't you convince your father to change that law?"
I shook my head. "Laws are there for a reason, everyone. However, let's not concentrate on that. We have dragons that are hatching." Looking at my pillar, I saw the cracks of the egg starting to break the egg. We all jumped from our spot and watched our eggs begin to hatch. The first dragon to emerge was Nebula. Her main color was black but she had a purple underbelly and her claws matched her belly. She had deep blue eyes, though. Small bat-like wings. A pointed nose and several horns on her head. Then, it was Nithe's turn.
I smiled and was in awe of my dragon. Her main color was the color of a cloudless sky. Her underbelly was white like snow. She had a rounded nose with 4 horns on her head. Her wings were also bat-like. But at the ends of the membranes, there were jewel-like crystals dangling from them. I noticed more and more crystals adorning her body. Her claws were even crystal-like. When she shook her body, those crystals emerged on her head to make a crown. She was the Dragon princess. Even the adult dragons that gathered bowed to her.
After Lady Nithe was born, the others followed. Tangerine was a gorgeous golden orange color with a soft green underbelly. Feathered wings but no horns and a pointed nose. Comet was as red as a rose with a pearl underbelly. He had bat wings too and a rounded nose. Orin was another black main colored dragon with a golden underbelly. He had a sharper nose. His wings were both feathered and bat-like. Trench and Strawberry emerged at the same time. Trench had a blue main color with a black underbelly. He had no horns but his wings were incredible. Large feathered wings that looked like he could go longer distances than a normal dragon. Strawberry was this adorable white dragon with a red underbelly. She had 3 horns on her head. But smaller bat-like wings. She was meant for speed more than distance. Kelp was the next to hatch. Kelp was mainly green but with a blue underbelly, 2 horns and feathered wings. River hatched second to last. Her main color was a light blue, while her underbelly was a dark blue. She had no horns, instead, she had 2 sapphire stones on her head. What really impressed me were her wings. They were not feathered or bat-like. They resembled a dragonfly's wings. Now, lastly, it was Serpent's time to hatch. Serpent was a dark yellow dragon with a creamy white underbelly. He had topaz jewels dotting his chest. And his feathered wings were glistening like the sun.
Lady Nithe came to me and sat on my shoulder. My mother and father stood next to me. Nymph and Mercury stood behind them. My father ordered the kingdom's best painter to do a portrait of the family and their dragons. "Get comfortable, my queen and daughter. We will be here for a while." My father jested.
We stood there with pride and joy on our faces. The hours went by. Jack and Kelp came with food for my family and dragons. "Thank you, Jack." My mother said. Petting Kelp. "And thank you too, Kelp." And that is how I got my dragon.
