The Centenary Dragon Hunt

Dining with Dragons

Raynes' dress was sparkling gold with long sleeves, a plunging neckline that was formfitting down to her hips where it flared out and hung loose all the way to her ankles. She was wearing gold heels that looked like they were from the 1700s.

Rayne stopped as she was stepping out of the dressing room, almost causing Mouse to run into her back. She had never seen Lightning look so good. He was wearing gold pants that matched her dress and was shirtless. She followed his abs as they disappeared under his pants. His golden hair, combed over, was the most tamed she had ever seen.

“You look perfectly golden” Lightning said with a smile.

She took it as a high complement, considering he was the golden dragon king.

“I have a few things for you.”

He was standing next to the bed with two gold boxes and one green box. “First” he said as he picked up the green box, “When Ashland heard I found you he had this made.” he pulled out a beautiful, detailed gold necklace. As he put it around her neck, he told her a little about the Earth Kingdom. “Although the Earth Kingdom is mostly underground, they are very rich in the way of gold and gewels. You can always spot an Earth dragon because they always have the most jewels on.”

“It’s beautiful. I’ll have to tell him thank you.” she said, as she touched the necklace that now hung around her neck. “Wait, if the Earth kingdom lives underground then they could find the Hord, right?”

Lightning kissed the top of her head. “I see Mouse gave you a good history lesson. It’s not as easy as it sounds and it’s a sore spot for Ashland. Please don’t bring it up at dinner.”

Rayne made a mental note to keep her curiosity in check.

“The next two have been in the family for generations.” He opened the first gold box. It was a bracelet of a gold dragon. The next box he opened was the biggest box of the three. “This was my grandmother's. She never liked my mother. She kept it from her and gave it to me on her deathbed. She told me to give it to you.”

“You don’t mean me. She meant the woman you pick as your true mate. Right?” She looked at the beautiful golden crown with jewels that reminded her of lightning in a storm. They were a mixture of dark blue and gray with what looked like a lightning bolt going down the middle.

“First off, I didn’t pick you, fate did, or my dragon did if you don’t believe in fate. I'm sure I'd mess it up if it was left to me alone. Second, my grandmother was a seer. She could see the future. She saw you and liked you enough to keep this crown away from my mother.” he smiled. “If only she gave me some clue about who you were. Maybe I would have realized you were my mate sooner, but grandmother always liked to see how things played out. I bet she's smiling down at us right now.”

The dining room was grand. The room had to be at least three stories high. The walls were covered in paintings of what Rayne could only guess as the dragon's history. She could spend a day just looking at the walls. The table looked like it was freshly cut from a very large tree. With chairs that were so big, her feet did not touch the ground.

As Rayne looked around at the other guests, she noticed all the males looked miserable and even one of the females looked miserable. The other females seemed oblivious to their males' mood and smiled and talked happily. She also noticed she was the only one wearing a crown. “Um, Lightning.” She tugged his hand as they walked toward the table. He bent down some so she could better whisper in his ear. “I'm the only one wearing a crown. Maybe this is the wrong occasion to be wearing one.”

“You are the only one becoming queen here. All the others will be running in the next hunt,” he said.

“Right, but none of the Kings are wearing crowns either.” she said, just noticing that Lightning wasn’t wearing a crown, and feeling overdressed.

“Thats a funny story.” before he could go on, one of the girls with very large breasts and doe eyes asked sweetly. “What's a funny story. I love funny stories. The male beside her just rolled his eyes and whispered something into her ear.

Rayne instantly didn’t like her. Lightning led her to the chair next to Embers, and he sat between her and another king, which she was grateful for.

“Right,” the male beside the Fire King said. “Now that everyone is here, I'll make introductions, then tell the females why none of the Kings wear crowns. First, my name is Blaze, I’m second in command of the Fire Kingdom and Fires Brother.” he pointed to his brother who was sitting at the head of the table. “As you all know, this is Fire, the king of kings. Next to him is his potential, Luzmil from the River village in the Lightning kingdom. Next to her is my sister Embers, who you’ve all met.” He smiled when he pointed at Rayne, her face went red. “This is our first true mate found, Raynebow, the mate of Lightning.”

“Everyone can call me Rayne” she said in a small voice not used to being the center of attention.

“Right, Rayne, it is an honor to meet you” he said with a small head tilt.

She didn’t know how to respond to the head tilt. Luckly for her, he didn’t wait for a response.

“This is our lucky dragon who found his mate on the first hunt, Lightning, the king of the Lightning Kingdom. Next to him is Prince Ashland, next in line to the Earth Kingdom and his potential, Cecelia from the Earth Realm.” Cecelia was the girl Rayne didn’t like and it seemed that Ashland could care less about her as well. She was covered in every type of jewel imaginable and was overly friendly towards all the males. Surprisingly, they didn’t take much notice. Ashland had two large emerald rings on each hand and earrings under his shaggy hair that was an ashy color. With piercing emerald eyes.

“At the end of the table we have Frost, the king of the Frost Kingdom and his cousin, third in line, Ice.” Both Frost and Ice had the whitest hair she had ever seen. Frost's hair was long and pulled back in contrast to Ices’ hair. Who's was shaved on the sides with a bun on top. They reminded her of Vikings. She also noticed that neither of them had a female. She wondered why.

“And next to me is Ocean, the king of the Ocean kingdom and his potential, Kairi, from the Earth realm.” Kairi kept her head on her plate while Ocean tried to talk to her. Oceans’ hair was a surprising color. It was black but not the same color as the Fire king. Ocean's hair was a shiny blueish black that hung loose past his shoulders. Rayne was curious of both Ocean and Kairis’ story but didn’t want to be nosey.

“And as for why none of the kings wear crowns,” Blaze smiled at his brother, Fire, who just rolled his eyes. “As the king of kings, Fire's crown is bigger than the other kings. Because it's so big, it's quite heavy and he refuses to wear it unless it's an official ceremony.”

“Why don’t the other kings wear crowns? I think Ashland would look handsome with a crown.” Cecelia said, while she smiled at Ashland.

“Oh, well, it would be quite rude for the other kings to wear their crowns at Fires table if he did not. After all, he is King of kings and sets the example.” Blaze said, as if it was obvious.

“I don’t care for wearing my crown to dinner either and I don’t make a habit of it in my own kingdom”, Lightning said. All the other kings nodded their heads, agreeing with him.

“I can’t remember the last time I wore mine. It's probably covered in dust,” Ashland said.

That wasn’t true. Of course, every kingdom had maids to make sure things like dusty crowns never happened.

“Why does she get to wear a crown then, if no one else does?” Luzmil said, in an accusing tone, while she pointed at Rayne with a look of disgust.

Before Lightning could say anything, Fire spoke up for the first time. His voice was deep and commanding. “She is to be the new Queen of the Lightning Kingdom. The kingdom you live in. She is your new Queen. If you get banned from the Lightning kingdom because you’re disrespectful to your new queen, don’t expect refuge in my kingdom.”

Luzmil stood and gave Rayne a deep curtsy “Please forgive me, my queen. I don’t know what I was thinking. I'm sure we’ll be best friends.” she said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

Rayne didn’t know what to say to that. She didn’t believe Luzmil was sorry in the least bit and she had no plans of becoming friends with her. “Thank you” was all she could bring herself to say.

Lightning gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and Embers gave her an approving nod. For the second time that night she was grateful to be sitting between Lightning and Embers.

After Luzmil took her seat again, the first course was served. It was a salad that most of the dragons either didn’t touch or ate in two bites. The second course was a whole chicken with a red sauce she couldn't identify, and the side was what tasted like a sweet potato but instead of an orange, it was a deep red. Everyone, including Rayne, enjoyed it.

“So, Frost, why don't you have a female? Did you not go to the hunt?” Luzmil asked in a sweet, innocent voice that didn’t seem to be a match for her.

One of Frost's eyes changed from an ice blue to black. It was as if his dragon was peeking out and he didn’t look happy. “I hunted. I just didn’t find what I was looking for.” Frost said in a deep icy voice.

Both Cecelia and Luzmil exchanged a look that Rayne couldn't interpret. “How do you know unless, you know... with her.” Cecelia asked.

“We don’t need to f**k someone to find our mate, we simply must listen to our dragons.” Frost said, as if he was insulted by such a question.

Before Luzmil and Cecelia could ask another question, Blaze asked. “Rayne, my dear sister, told me that she was godmother to your daughter. Can you tell me what that means? I don’t believe I've ever heard of godmother before.”

“Oh, well. It just means if something were to happen to me”

“and me”, Lightning chimed in.

“Right, if something were to happen to me and Lightning. Embers would care for my daughter.” Rayne said, grateful for the change of topic. Things were starting to feel uncomfortable with the line of questioning.

Blaze looked at her confused. “Normally, when the parent of a child dies. The child goes to the next family member. Lightnings brother, Thunder would get the child, not my sister.”

“Well, in the human realm there is usually a godmother and a godfather.” Rayne looked at Lightning, “and they don’t have to be married or mated. So, we could make Thunder the godfather. Both he and Embers would be responsible for bringing her up.” She said, hoping that would make everyone happy.

“That won’t work. Embers is here in Fire kingdom and Thunder is in the Lightning Kingdom. How would they both bring up a child?” he asked.

“Don't you dare try to take this away from me.” Embers said, pointing at Blaze.

Rayne patted Embers' hand to try and calm her. “My daughter could stay with Embers most of the time, with visits to the Lightning kingdom.”

“You would let a daughter of the Lightning kingdom be brought up in the Fire Kingdom?” Blaze asked. Looking at both, Rayne and Lightning.

“Yes, I would. I believe Embers would make a good mother. She is strong, smart, kind and loving. Those qualities are more important than what kingdom she is brought up in.” Rayne said, getting a little frustrated at the line of questioning.

“I support my mate's decision to make Embers our daughter's godmother. Now stop interrogating her, Blaze.” Lightning growled; he could feel Rayne was starting to get upset from the line of questioning.

Embers squeezed her hand “Thank you, I hope nothing ever happens to either of you, but if it does, I promise to love her as if she was my own and tell her how kind and beautiful her mother was. Until then, I plan on spoiling her as only the best aunt can.” she said, with a tear in her eye.

Blazes' face softened. “I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable with my questioning, Rayne, it’s just unusual. I’m proud that you would not only pick my sister but a member of the Fire court to be your daughter's godmother. I'm sure this will only strengthen our kingdom's bond. You, Rayne, are truly a wise woman.”

Both Lightning and Blaze looked at Fire, who nodded his head. “I agree with my brother,” Fire declared.

“I’m excited all over again. I can't wait to hold her.” Embers stood up “Is she with Mouse in your room or her room.” before Rayne could answer. Embers walked away, too excited for an answer. Rayne was sure she would find her with no problem.

Before Embers was out the door. Dessert was served a white looking volcano cake with dark red sauce oozing out of the top. Rayne was not only excited because dessert was her favorite, but because dessert meant that this exhausting dinner was almost over.

Before she could take her first bite, Luzmil asked “Did she say Mouse?”

“Yes,” Rayne said as she took her first bite.

“ That's my stepsister. I'm sorry to say she isn't the smartest. Which is why we had to send her to the castle to work.” Luzmil gave a sad, faraway look. “She just isn't good at anything but scrubbing floors, I'm afraid. I hope she hasn't given you any trouble”, Luzmil said.

Now Rayne was mad. How dare this woman speak ill of Mouse. She put her fork down to give Luzmil her full attention. “How can you sit there and lie like that at a table full of kings?” Rayne said, looking Luzmil in the eye.

Luzmil put her hand on her heart. “I would never lie, especially about my own sister.”

“Oh, well, if Mouse isn't smart. Then why was she studying to become a historian? And if you think you're so much better than her, why did she have to give up her dream and work at the castle as a maid to help your mother and sister pay the bills. Why couldn’t you get a job and help pay for the bills?”

“I..I..I was busy training. Someone like me can't be seen working. Not if I'm going to be queen someday.” Luzmil said, digging her own hole.

The Fire king put his fork down. He was tired of this entitled woman he had caught. He picked her because she was the fastest woman. But it was clear a queen needed to be more than fast. She needed to be strong, smart, have grace, and be thoughtful of others. It was clear the only thing Luzmil could do was run fast and order people around for no reason. He would have to think of a different strategy when picking the next female at the hunt. “You are dismissed Luzmil. You will go home in the morning. With your open disrespect towards the new Lightning queen and you disrespected everyone at this table with your lies just to make yourself look better. I'm sure the other kings will agree. That you will never be a queen in any kingdom.”

Before an anger, Luzmil got out of the room. “If you decide to ban her from your kingdom, I'll take her. I could use another maid.” Frost said to Lightning. With a look that meant more than he said.

“Now, now, if anyone needs a new maid, it's me. I'm the Earth Prince after all. I've got a lot of dirt that needs to be cleaned. Ashland said, with a smile.

Ocean said nothing, he didn’t want a girl like that around. He was sure she didn’t even know how to tie her own shoes, much less sweep. She would be more trouble than she was worth.

Luxmil left the room angry at her sister, Mouse, for taking away her chance at being queen. She would tell her mother all about it when she got home. She was sure she would deal with Mouse.

“ That's a shame,” said Blaze “We could have used more historians. It’s important for us to remember our history and there are so few of them right now.”

Lightning waited patiently for Rayen to finish her dessert. He noticed it was her favorite part of any meal and he didn’t want to mess that up for her. He and the kings are planing on attacking the Hord in three days' time. Before they move again. He wanted to officially claim Rayne before he left, so there wouldn’t be any doubt to his people that she was their queen. But there won't be time with so much to do before he leaves in three days and the official ceremony will take longer to plan. That would have to wait. He was proud of how she handled herself today at dinner, especially when taking up for Mouse not many people would take up for a maid. That was the difference between his mother and her. Rayne cared about everyone, no matter their station in life. Lightning was afraid he would have to ban Luzmil from his kingdom. If she continues to act this way. He couldn't have her poisoning the minds of his people against their own Queen. He had a feeling that the Frost Kingdom would be a better place for her.

“Are you ready to return to the room” he asked after Rayne took her last bite. She smiled with happiness and relief as she stood up, giving him a silent yes.