Page 26 of An Unlikely Knight

Servants entered and quietly placed a tray before them which held what looked to be a tea pot along with two empty cups and a pair of plates with a baked pastry.

A women poured the dark liquid, while the other, a man lifted the plates and placed them in front of the prince and then Padriag.

Sterling waved them away wordlessly. Both ignored the offerings.

“I appreciate your hospitality If we’d understood your laws, we would have declined the offer.”

“You speak for Liam Murray. How do you know he agrees?”

It seemed that Prince Sterling had never been part of a team but had a solitary life. Those surrounding him were there because he was ruler. His only family, the ruling sisters of Atlandia, lived in another realm. From what Padriag had seen over the years, the siblings rarely communicated.

“Liam has ties to our homeland, Scotland. He is in a relationship, tied to another and will never agree to the prohibition of travel between the realms. Despite the fact that he can remain there, he chooses to travel back here to ensure my well-being.”

“As I said. You are welcome to remain here as long as you wish. If it is to be the rest of your life, so be it. This can be your home.” The Prince leaned back and looked out to the view.

Admittedly, Esland was wild and beautiful. The pleasing sounds of the waterfalls, the misting water and rainbows reminded Padriag of kingdoms described in fairytales.

“For centuries, I have fought for my people’s safety,” the prince said, breaking Padriag away from studying the landscape. The prince’s attention remained directed past him toward the village.

“When I was a young boy, Esland was a huge realm, many times the size of the land now with a far larger amount of people.”

“What happened?” Padriag asked.

Keeping his face turned away, Sterling continued. “Our borders were not protected then. A people of peace, there never was a need for any army. My parents, they never got along. Father ruled over Esland and Mother over Atlandia. It was that way for many centuries.”

He was silent for a moment, as if assessing how to proceed. When he spoke again, his tone was grave. “Meliot’s father was killed. Many say it was the dark wizard himself who killed him in order to absorb his sire’s powers. In Meliot’s bloodline, the powers pass to whomever kills them. I am not sure of all the intricacies of the Dark Realm. One thing I do know is that after his sire’s death, Meliot became powerful, able to create an army of virtually indestructible warriors. Attacks on Atlandia and Esland decimated our people and our resources.”

“How did you survive?” Padriag was truly intrigued about how the kingdoms survived the wars.

“Dragons,” Sterling replied. “During my wanderings, I went into a cave where I had found a dying dragon with two hatchlings. I brought the mother and hatchlings fruit and small beasts, doing my best to help. She recovered and was able to keep watch over her young. I didn’t see them again for years. I was afraid they’d see me as a meal.”

The prince smiled while speaking, seeming fond of those moments. “When I was a very young warrior, a boy still really, the mother dragon often flew over where I rode. After a while, the other warriors became accustomed to her presence. She defended me from death many times.

“Then one day, she landed and waited for me to come near. I understood I was to ride her. From then on, we have become inseparable.”

The story wasn’t at all what Padriag had thought when first seeing Sterling with his dragon. “Is she still alive?”

“Yes, she is Amai, my dragon. The one who saved you from Meliot’s castle,” Sterling replied, referring to when Meliot had taken Tammie and Erin captive just before Niall was rescued.

“So the others, the ones flying around here are all her children?”

Sterling nodded. “They are.”

Dragons took at least ten years to reach maturity, which meant the war waged on until the prince was a full-grown man. Strange that Sterling was a warrior, from Padriag’s experience, royalty was usually shielded from true danger.

Padriag was enthralled.

Sterling shook his head. “The dragons defended both Esland and Atlandia, they killed many of the dark forces, but in the end, we lost huge portions of our lands to the dark mists.”

“Why is Esland still separate from Atlandia?” Padriag asked since the prince seemed in a mood to share.

“When the war ended things changed. My sisters were resentful that I didn’t give their realm dragons. As much as I tried to explain that dragons are territorial and would always return to Esland, they didn’t understand, insisting it was my choice.”

“So the dark mists belong to Meliot?” Padriag inquired.

Prince Sterling shook his head. “Once dark mists took over an area, it became uninhabitable to anyone, including Meliot’s dark forces.

“Look.” Sterling pointed to the distance. “From here you can see where Esland ends.”