Conjuring Dragons by Chante Francis (surface ebook reader TXT) 📕

A smile unexpectedly found its way onto my face, and I’m sure others as well, it was hard not to enjoy the story the way she told it. “The moon was at its highest in the sky, it was officially Crown Prince Acacius’ birthday, but nothing was happening.” The smile faded off of her face slowly, taking everyone else’s with it as well. “He stood there in front of everyone, the same as always. He was not doubled over on the floor in pain, he was not gasping for air and none of his bones were reforming. Fur did not sprout out of his skin, there was absolutely nothing of the change evident.” She whispered quietly, but it was loud enough that I’m sure even the people sitting furthest away heard her.

“All of the women but his loving mother ran from him as though he were a monster. The men were outraged. The guards seized him, but he didn’t seem to notice what any of it meant. They dragged him down into the dungeons and locked him away while his mother tried to calm everyone down and his father made plans to kill him.”

“Poor thing,” Veronica whispers quietly as her eyes begin to water, gran shoots her a sad little smile as I take one of her hands in mine.

“They decided that he needed to be killed as soon as possible, as with all the other Capti A Animae, but they couldn’t bring themselves to kill him at the moment. They all still loved him you see, they needed some time to take it all in. Eventually his father decided to leave him in a dungeon cell and kill him later that day; when the sun was high in the sky.” A few sniffles from all over the room broke the silence as she took a breath. Mothers began to feel the pain of losing a child that way, knowing that they could do nothing to save them.

“In the time of very little light, before the servants woke to begin their daily tasks, when women and children slept and the world was still covered in darkness, someone packed a traveler’s bag.”

“A traveler’s bag?” Veronica asks.

“A satchel that anyone going on a journey took, it wasn’t that big so you could only take essentials. Most people took a bit of food, some money and other small things that would fit.” She looked at me and I just shrugged, “I did girls scouts, and you did karate.”

Gran continued her story, as though Veronica and I hadn't interrupted at all, “They took the traveler’s bag and moved stealthily through the night to his cell where she found him sitting on the ground just staring at the floor...”

“I don't mean to sound rude,” Silvana said cutting in, “But how do you know so many details?”

Gran ignored her question and kept going, “She immediately unlocked his cell as fast as she could; she ran in and helped him up. He was slouched over, looking broken, so broken. As quietly as she could, she led him out of the dungeon and through the castle grounds into the safety of the great forests. The forests were very dangerous, but he had a better chance of survival in there than he did in the palace." A single tear ran down her cheek, and she stopped for a moment. I put my hand on hers, they were as cold as ice, and she gave me a sad smile before telling us the rest.

"She told him that even though he was cursed, he was still her child, and she could not bear to see him killed. She gave him a cloak for warmth, and a satchel filled with things she believed he would need." Gran wiped the tears from her face, but they were quickly replaced. "She held her first born one more time, whispering her love for him. Pulling away she gave him a sword and watched as he walked off into the shadows of the trees; turning to look back at her every few steps, his loving mother."

"If she saved him, why did he become a hunter?" I had to ask.

She took a moment to wipe her face clean and compose herself, before turning back to me and giving me a small smile. "He survived the forest with hardly a scratch on him, thanks to some of the finest combat teachers the land had ever seen. Clearing the forest he found himself in a small town. He had the markings of a great warrior, and the cloth of someone with a lot of money, he immediately had the village's full attention.  Women came out batting their eyelashes and flaunting their bodies. Men came out to share stories of battle and children simply stared at him, for he had the look of a great fighter with even more amazing tales."

Pride flashed in her eyes, and the smile on her face grew as she spoke about him, "He spent two days being worshipped in that town, thinking of what he was going to do, how he was going to continue his life when all the people he loved and cared about, had turned their backs on him. He could barely eat, and he could not sleep at all, so at night he would wander the village or the forest, just thinking."

She paused for a moment, as if in thought before continuing, "I suppose it was a good thing. For on the third night of his stay, palace guards came riding into town looking for him."

"What?!" Priscilla yells, as outraged as everyone else. “I don’t like this story anymore!”

"How could they have known where he was? I mean, what makes them think he didn’t die in the forest?!"

Another sad smile from gran, "He was in the forest that night, and watched from the shadows as they entered. The captain walked right up to the town leader and they had a brief conversation. He watched as the chief pointed out the home in which he was supposed to be staying. In less than a minute, guards swarmed the place looking for him. He pulled back and turned to run when he heard one of the soldiers yell, 'He's not here captain!' He stayed to hear the captain’s response. At first all he saw was an argument between the captain and the village leader. Angry, the captain threw the chief on the floor and spoke in a loud commanding voice, 'if you are found harboring or aiding the condemned prince Acacius in any way, you will be killed like our late Queen Elizabeth. Without question. Without trial. For all to see. You have until sundown tomorrow to bring him to me.' With that said he turned around and stomped out of town with his soldiers trailing behind."

"Uh oh!" Priscilla and the other children say, sitting right in front of gran. None of us even saw the little ankle biters move, but somehow there they all were.

One of the little boys, with a gleam in his eyes, jumped up and started an epic battle with the air while asking excitedly, "Did he jump out from behind the trees and beat the bad guys up? Did he slay them with his sword like swish? Swish. Boom!" Pandemonium broke out, and soon all the children were up demonstrating what they believed happened next.

With a laugh at their enthusiasm, Gran began again, "Prince Acacius already had his things on him, as he did not feel safe leaving it anywhere. From years of warrior training. It was no problem for him to turn around and venture deeper into the woods. He built a place to live, and a training ground of sorts, with the intent that he would become a better fighter and avenge his mother's death. He trained day and night, for the treacherous battle he believed he would be in. When he wasn't training, he was perfecting his entrance and escape plan."

Somewhere above us, there was a loud crash, and the world Gran had created around us with her story, just seemed to melt away. Reality despairingly made itself known once again, at the front of my mind. The thought of that clattering coming from Jason's dead body hitting the ground had my heart rate picking up. I started imagining the most horrible of situations, all ending in his utter demise. I thought of never being able to gaze into those piercing green eyes, whose mere memory easily had me weak in the knees. I thought of never being able to run my hands through that amazingly soft jet black hair of his that just asked to be played with. The thought of never being able to kiss those delicious pink lips of his again had tears quietly streaming down my face.

"One day, while training he heard a strange sound and decided to investigate. Travelling away from his usual spot in the forest, he came across one of the young women from the village who had waited on him hand and foot. She was running as fast as her legs could carry her away from a large animal with rather sharp tusks and claws, a shadow dweller." Gran said breaking the silence, once again giving us something else to think about other than our possibly dead loved ones. Wait, do I really love him? It’s only been like 2 days.

"Is it going to eat the girl?" One of the little boys asks with wide eyes.

"No dear, he slays the monster and saves the girl--"

"And then they get married and live happily ever after," One of the little girls pipes up next, "Right?"

Gran smiles in her direction, "He questions her until she finally confesses. She tells him that she ran away from the village to find him. She tells him that she cares for him and wanted to make sure he was ok. He allows her to stay and she helps him in any way possible with his training and plan, even though she had no idea what it was for. It was weeks before he let her know of his secrets and intentions. He thought she would run back to her village or try to threaten him after he told her, but she simply started training with him. She told him she would fight with him, against his beliefs that she would get hurt. I suspect that had he been able to shift, and meet her, she probably would have been his soul’s love."

"When does he storm the castle?" I ask rather loudly, over everyone else’s voices as they prepare to ask for details on the odd couple, impatient to get to the action.

"April 29th 1560."

"Why then?" I ask curiously, "I mean exactly what’s so special about April 29th?"

"His entire family, and other supernatural royalties; the important people of the world and everyone who had been there at his birthday celebration, had gathered at the palace to celebrate his younger sister's 5th birthday." A few people in the cellar gasp, already realizing a part of his plan. “Everyone he needed and wanted to kill would show up, so it was the perfect time. At the same time of day as he had stood in the courtyard waiting all those months ago, he snuck back in. Only this time he wasn’t heading to the gallows or even back to