Books in Progress by Carol Dennis...

GUNNORA'S DRAGON

PROLOGUE

Aliana’s silvery laughter broke the silence as she located her daughter, Gunnora, hiding behind a goldenbell bush.  The edges of the clearing had many such plants.  They were rare in human lands, but flourished near the heart of the Enchanted Forest.

“You found me again, Mommy, “Gunnora shrilled, flinging her arms around her mother’s legs.

“Of course, silly.  You can’t hide if the elementals are with you.  They emit a glow that marks you.”

“Bad!  Bad Jilly and Firelight and Emberglow.”  The three faeries danced around Gunnora’s head.  Gunnora waved her little hands in shooing motions, which scattered the tiny creatures like motes of dust in the sunshine.  Little giggles, filled the hidden garden as the sprites dashed away, only to hover in the air several feet from the bright head of Gunnora Silverhair.

“They love you, child.  That’s why they join you every time you are outside.  Come with me to the table under the oak.  I have something for you.”

“A present, Mommy?  It’s not my birthday yet.”  Gunnora clasped Aliana’s hand as they walked to the tree.

“Yes, a gift, little one.  It is a special, secret thing I have made for you.”

“Where is it?”  Gunnora jumped up and down with excitement.

“Here, child.”  Aliana held out her closed hand.  When she opened it, Gunnora could see the glow of a small, star-shaped diamond on a chain.

“For me?”  Gunnora’s awed whisper danced on the breeze.  The sprites darted in for a closer look.

Aliana placed the jewelry around her daughter’s neck.  “Yes, for you.  You are getting to be a big girl.  Every one of the Eldil has a talisman.  This one will protect you from evil magic.  I want you to promise never to take it off.”

“Never?”

“That’s right, dear.  Never.  Any one who means evil or who doesn’t love you will be unable to see the star, but it will always allow the sprites to find you no matter how far from home you may be.”  Aliana’s eyes filled with sadness.  She foresaw a time when Gunnora would be in danger, and alone.  The necklace would not only protect her, but also allow her to access the magic of the Eldil.  For the thousandth time, Aliana cursed the day she had promised Baldor she would never tell Gunnora she was an Eldil princess.  In spite of the changes that time had wrought, Aliana still loved her mortal husband.  She sensed that evil days were coming, but the future was shrouded from her sight.

“Look, Mother!  It is a dragon.”  Gunnora pointed to the huge shape casting a shadow over the ground as it flew high overhead.

“Yes, child.  It is Agrondil, long a friend of our family.  I would have you meet him.”

“Now?” Gunnora smiled her joy.  She loved meeting all the magical creatures and forest animals that visited her mother.  She had no fear of the huge dragon who landed in this courtyard so far from the palace.  The whole area was a secret place where mere mortals did not come.  Indeed, Gunnora knew her mother had placed an avoidance spell over the site.  Neither her father nor any of his courtiers or servants came here.

Aliana strode closer to the great dragon.  “Agrondil, my friend,” she said, hand raised in greeting.

The immense dragon barely fit into the small clearing.  He draped his tail over a nearby rowan tree to make more space.  Raising his head, he emitted a gout of fire into the air.  He lowered his head to the ground and mentally spoke.  Greetings to you.

“This is my daughter, Gunnora Silverhair.”  Aliana presented the child to the dragon.

As the royal princess of Carvaldor, though young, Gunnora had been thoroughly drilled in protocol.  Her mother had taught her well.  She skipped closer to the dragon’s great eye, which was several feet above ground level, although his chin rested on the ground.  She curtsied and bowed her head, not speaking until she was spoken to.

May the sun shine upon you this day and all the days that follow.  Agrondil hissed, speaking mentally to the child, knowing as her mother’s daughter she would be able to hear him mind-to-mind.

May your scales be burnished by the wind and your flight be high and safe from all danger,” Gunnora replied with the formula she had been taught.  She knew how to address all the magical creatures and the animals of the forest.

A fine hatchling, worthy of her mother.  Agrondil complimented Aliana.

“May I touch you?” Gunnora piped aloud, manners temporarily forgotten as she approached the awesome dragon.  “You are so beautiful,” she breathed.

The dragon’s great eyes whirled in pleasure at the child’s sincere compliment.  Dragons could always tell truth from falsehood, a skill that protected them from humans who often treated dragons as simple, dangerous beasts.

Surely, Gunnora, daughter of Aliana.

Gunnora’s hand went unerringly to the exact spot on Agrondil’s hide, which itched.  Her gentle touch soothed his skin.

A worthy inheritor of your magic, my dear, he told Aliana.  His eyes half-closed in pleasure.

Gunnora smoothed her hands against his golden scales as she gently rested her cheek against him.

You have her well warded against danger? Agrondil asked Aliana, showing his fondness for the human child by his query.

“Of course, dear friend.”

Her father does not know of her powers?

“You know how he feels about magic,” Aliana answered.  “I have sworn Gunnora to secrecy.  The many spells she has learned, she only works here in my garden where it is safe for her to do so.  Baldor says his human subjects would reject her if she displayed Eldil traits.”

Why did you summon me? Agrondil asked.

“To meet my daughter,” Aliana said.  She turned to her and spoke.  “Go play with the sprites while I talk with my friend.  Soon we will have to return to the castle.”

“Must we, Mother?”  Gunnora much preferred the garden with its rustic hut to the great, gloomy pile where they lived.  She couldn’t understand the uneasiness her father and other humans displayed while in the magical confines of the forest.  She liked being outside the castle walls.

Her mother looked at her and raised her eyebrows.  Gunnora knew she had pained her mother.  That idea was enough to send her scampering away.  Within moments she was seated at the table with the sprites, enjoying a feast of fruit and cookies that Agrondil had provided.

“You spoil her, my friend.”  Aliana could not help but be pleased at this sign of the dragon’s favor.

Of what use is it to be a mage, if one does not use his powers?

“Still, I thank you for the kindness,” Aliana told him with a smile.  She sighed.  “Some great change is coming and I would have you know of my foreboding in case anything should happen to me.”

           Does your father remain angry with you for marrying a mortal?

Aliana nodded.  “Evil days wait some time in the future, but I cannot tell how far.

Rest assured, I will keep you and Gunnora as well in my thoughts.  If anything should happen to you, I will watch over her as you would yourself, he promised.

“Evil comes on tiny cat feet, silent, unnoticed until it is ready to pounce,” Aliana said, somewhat abstractedly.  “Nothing can avert it from me, but Gunnora can yet be spared.”

Do you want me to speak with Baldor? Agrondil offered.

“Oh, no.  You know how much it upsets him to have to converse with magical beings.”

A low rumble sounded from the dragon.  It was not a purr.  How, then, did he fall in love with you? 

“I never knew. The Eldil bear no outward sign of their faery nature.  I was young and romantic.  He was attentive and handsome….” Aliana’s voice trailed off as she lost herself in remembrance.  With a start, she returned to the present.  “He is still a handsome man.”

Do not the humans say ‘Pretty is as pretty does’? Agrondil’s nostrils swelled, preparatory to emitting a stream of fire.

Aliana patted him gently on the nose, breaking his train of thought.

“He is my husband and Gunnora’s father,” she said, as much to remind herself as to remind the dragon.

What man would demand his mate to be less than what she is?  To love an Eldil means to accept the magical powers that the whole race has in such abundance.  Demanding you hide what you are and the good work you could do for sick beasts is cruel.  Ignoring your origins means you are unable to help the people of the kingdom as well.

“Not entirely,” she said, thinking of the spell that turned her into an old wise woman.  She often went to her cottage on the edge of the Enchanted Forest to cure the sick with magical potions.  What Baldor didn’t know would not hurt him – or her, she thought.

“Humph,” the dragon snorted. His gold scales glinted in the bright sunshine.

“Baldor is very busy seeing petitioners and foreign dignitaries and running the affairs of the kingdom.  He seldom needs me any more unless he is holding some state function or other.  Then my ladies-in-waiting dress me in my finest robes and I take my rightful place beside Baldor as his Queen.”

Agrondil raised his lips in what he meant to be a charming smile, but which rather reminded Aliana how fierce he could be in battle.  How mahvelous, dahling.  His thought reminded Aliana of a simpering dowager.  He had a real gift for theatrics.  A great talent was lost to the stage when the fates had seen fit to create Agrondil as a dragon rather than a human, Aliana thought to herself, not for the first time.

If I changed myself into human form and arrived at court as a traveling magician, do you suppose he would listen to me?

Aliana realized how great Agrondil’s concern for her must be if he were willing to volunteer to take human shape.  It was a great concession for a dragon to adopt the form, even briefly, of what they considered to be a lower species.  “No, that will not be necessary.  Since my husband has gotten older, he has developed a stubborn streak.  I doubt he will listen to anyone now, except perhaps his council.  He has disliked magic since his sister disappeared into the Enchanted Forest and never returned.  All the family’s searching was in vain.”

Tiny spirals of smoke drifted from Agrondil’s nostrils, showing plainly how he felt about the all-too-human king Aliana had married.

“She was his favorite sister,” she said.

After all these years, your family has forgiven you.  Why do you not take Gunnora and return to them?

“I promised to give Baldor a son.”

What of his promise to love and cherish you? High in the branches where he had draped it, the tip of Agrondil’s tail twitched like a cat’s.

“I had many happy years with Baldor before I bore him Gunnora.”

He knows, then, how rare it is for an Eldil maiden to give birth?

“Yes,” Aliana admitted.

Agrondil moved his head to the side, and allowed his great tongue to stir the water of the small pool that nestled there among the trees.  His breath blew over the water, creating ripples in which a picture formed.  “Hmmm,” he murmured.

Aliana realized how greatly she was favored to see a dragon mage scrying for a human future.  She waited quietly.  Gunnora ran to her mother’s side, sensing something important was happening.  Her mother took her hand and placed a finger over her lips to silence her.

The dragon turned from the pool to face Aliana.  In eight months, you will bear Baldor a son, he said.

Aliana smiled while Gunnora beamed.  “I’ll have a brother,” she said, filled with delight.

Indeed you will,” Agrondil promised.  He did not tell Aliana how short a time she would have with her son or how Gunnora would fare without her.