Prologue

“No race is to be more pitied than the drakoon.”
International Secretary of State Kay Calm


Prologue
Hunter Frederick Chard wasn’t born silently. He screamed when he abruptly noticed that he was no longer in the safety of his mother’s womb. Hunter F. Chard yowled so loudly that he scared daylights out of the neighbor’s hunting tabby cat Bird. The tiny, red, ugly thing that would become something of great import in the future did not look like much now. His eyes were squeezed shut and his toothless mouth wide as he wailed at the top of his apparently very well developed lungs. The midwife didn’t even have to whack his bottom to get him to breath like she normally did.

While he was in a royally foul temper from being to forced to leave the place he so loved, his mother was overjoyed. Finally her extreme agony would be over and she could stop looking like she’d swallowed a watermelon. Elated the mother sunk back into her pillows, relief washing through her. It was over. The long hell of pregnancy was over at last and she was never going to revisit the experience if she could help it.

“What is it Evangeline? Is it a boy or a girl?” she panted.

Eva, the mother’s scrawny, older and unfertile sister wasn’t in the best of moods. Her entire life she’d wanted to have a little son or daughter, to teach all about the world and how things worked. She’d wanted it since she was four. Yet she had been cursed with being unfertile, while her sister had gotten drunk one night and the squalling pink thing in the midwife’s strong arms was the result. Her sister Matilda had never wanted children, yet here she was with a tiny baby boy.

“Boy.” she grunted.

“Then he’ll be named Hunter. Hunter Frederick Chard.” said Mattie, still panting. “Frederick after his father.”

Eva scowled. Mattie didn’t even know for certain that ‘Fred’ was the name of the guy. She was guessing only on the basis that he had been the man she had spent the most time with that night before her memory of that night faded out from too much ale and vodka consumption. Eva didn’t actually have any idea why her sister had picked ‘Hunter’ as the boy’s first name. They certainly didn’t know anyone with that name.

The smiling midwife put the child in Mattie’s arms while exclaiming over how Hunter was such a brilliant name for him. Eva couldn’t see how, as Hunter was currently making enough noise to wake a deaf man. A hunter should be silent. She would have named him something much, much different. If Hunter had been female he would have been called Jessica Marina Chard, a name Eva far preferred to the one he was now stuck with.

“Isn’t he just gorgeous?” asked Mattie, gazing down adoringly down at Hunter, who had finally had to stop for a breather from crying and was now staring at his mother, perhaps wondering who or what the heck this woman was. Eva thought that her sister’s statement was a matter of personal opinion. His blue eyes were the smoky colour of a baby kitten’s and a light frosting of peach fuzz covered his rather over sized bald skull, but he was also wrinkly, scrawny and red. Hunter perhaps then decided that he wanted to start making noise again and promptly started bawling his head off some more.

“I guess.” said Eva, her mouth a thin line. It should be her there now, lying in the bed, exhausted and in pain, holding a baby. She felt as if she had been slighted by fate and the goddess Spiira, who supposedly governed this sort of thing.

“Oh Eva, you can’t still be unhappy about not being able to have a baby! We can raise him together; we can both be his parents!” said Mattie, looking at her worriedly.

“I guess.” she said again stiffly. But she didn’t want to mar the day for her sister so she took a step closer.

“He has your nose.” she lied; she actually couldn’t tell either way. To her all babies had noses with the same sort of button shape.

Her sister’s tired face broke into a smile. “He has my eyes too, see?” she said, pointing them out.

“He’s very nice.” said Eva.

Hunter stopped crying, having finally tired himself out. The midwife came back with a soft blanket and wrapped him in it.

“I should go tell the family I guess.” said Eva, watching as her sister slowly started to doze off.

“Yes… that would be… nice.” said her sister, closing her eyes and smiling.

“See you later.” said Eva, glad to be leaving. In the stable she went and took her sorrel gelding Snip from his stall and saddled him swiftly. She swung onto his back and rode him out into the sunny day outside.

For a while she just let him walk along the road, then she kicked him hard and made him gallop. It was a long time before she let him slow and she felt a tear trickle down her face. It should have been her! She clung to Snip’s neck and let it all out, sobbing into the gelding’s flaxen mane. He snorted, eyeing her nervously and wondering what possibly could be wrong. He picked up his feet into a trot and when she didn’t do anything he gave a kick of his heels and broke into a run again.

The lurid sunshine seemed over bright in her eyes as she let her horse take her swiftly down the busy sea side Escavian road. Farmers and people and carts shouted after her but she didn’t answer, clinging as she was to her horse in her sorrow. A police officer called to her and when she didn’t stop he put his heels to his black police mount and took chase after her. The green leaves of the trees on either side of the road rustled as Snip thundered beneath their leafy bows, kicking up clods of hard packed dirt.

Beneath the trees the officer caught Snip’s bridal, slowing his horse as he got a firm grip. Snip tossed his head but obeyed and the officer steered them off the road. Eva blinked at him, shocked to find herself being pulled over for speeding.

“Miss, are you aware that you were galloping in a trot-only strip of road?” he demanded, the words obviously practiced.

“S-sorry officer. I f-forgot to r-reign in m-my h-horse when he b-bolted.” she sobbed.

“Are you alright?” the officer asked, abruptly concerned.

“I d-don’t really know.” she admitted, staring at Snip’s ears.

“Why don’t you come with me to the station and calm down.” suggested the officer. “When you aren’t in full control of your mount you are endangering both you and others around you.” he recited.

“I’m sorry.” she said again in a small voice.

“I’m sure whatever it is that has you upset isn’t quite as bad as you think it is.” said the officer as he led her along.

“No. It is.” she said, slumping in her saddle. “My sister just had a baby.”

The officer blinked. “And that is bad how?”

“She didn’t want one and I did!” she snapped. “How come she gets the baby? I’m the one who wanted one!”

The policeman didn’t say a word as she raged and ranted. When they got to the police station in Seamist he helped her dismount and gave Snip to a groom to take care of before ushering her inside the building. He made sure she had a hot cup of tea and a quilt before he left back on duty. She had long stopped ranting and sat there stonily, watching the pair of off-duty German Shepherd police dogs who were sleeping on the empty hearth.

She wasn’t sure how long she did nothing. Eva examined the room, which was painted in a calming cream. Paintings of famous police officers, horses and dogs adorned the walls, as well as a large painting of a fierce looking female falcolf behind the clerk’s desk. The falcolf had greeny-blue eyes and a hassled expression. She was standing in the grounds of the International Parliament Buildings in Serenity. The clerk’s dented and well loved desk was a made of a burnished dark wood and a vase of flowers took up the only space not crowded by quills, paper, ink and books. The clerk was a balding man who was asleep with a loaded crossbow across his lap and a trickle of drool coming from his lip.

The hearth was covered almost completely by the two dogs who lay on a rug made out of braided fabric in the patriotic colours of red, white, black and green. The Escavian coat of arms graced the mantle. One of the police dogs lifted his head and curled his lip in a growl as a man entered the station. The clerk awoke with a cough and blinked at the stranger and at Eva.

“Eh when did you get here?” he asked her.

“Couple of hours ago.” she told him.

“Really? I must work on my alertness. Easy Sarge.” he said. The big growling German shepherd quieted, though he didn’t lay back down. His companion was sitting up now and her eyes were following the stranger’s every move.

“Sarge! Major! Sit!” barked the clerk as he put down his crossbow and stood.

“Sir, are you alright?” he asked the newcomer. Eva turned her gaze on the man and for the first time she really looked at him. The man wore a ragged cloak and beneath it she could see the glint of armour. There was so much blood matted in his hair that she couldn’t tell what colour it had originally been. A smear of crimson covered his right cheek and his nose looked broken. The man took a hesitant step further into the room and with a shock Eva realized that he had a rather bad limp.

Blood stained his torn cloak so badly she couldn’t tell its original colour and the man was holding something wrapped in dark blue linen. The man wore a cloth around his ears that had once been white but was now brownish red with dried blood. His left wrist was wrapped in more crimson clotted fabric and he looked like he had been wounded badly in the ribs by the way he moved. Something long and suspicious with navy blue fletching was protruding from his back. The strange man turned his head towards the officer and Eva got the impression that he was mortally tired, ranging on fatally.

“I rescued this infant from a dragon that had killed its mother.” stated the man slowly and carefully. His voice had an odd accent to it. “I am dying. Take him now.”

“Dragon? Dying?” squeaked the clerk. The strange man seemed to regard the clerk disgustedly for a moment then limped towards Eva, his feet clunking oddly against the wood. His injured leg’s foot left scarlet prints on the floor.

The two police dogs were barely able to stand still as they watched the injured man close in on Eva. A growl erupted from Sarge’s throat and Major’s hackles went up. The man ignored them and stopped before Eva, who stared at him nervously.

“Here.” said the man, his voice barely a whisper. “You take him. He’s yours now.”

Before she could protest the man had placed the bundle in her arms. “Guard him well.” said the man, turning to go. But he stopped, cocking his head towards the dusty window. “Farewell.” Then with remarkable speed he left the building, dragging his limb after him. Eva and the clerk ran after him to the door and looked around for him, but he had vanished.

“Weird bloke. He needs a hospital.” said the clerk, his face white.

“He said he fought a dragon.” said Eva breathlessly, still a little shocked and still holding the bundle.

“I’ve never heard a dragon on the Sapphire coast. He looks more like he fought an army!” gulped the clerk. Then he looked at her. “So what’s in the bundle?”

Eva looked at the bundle for the first time and with a shock realized that in it was a sleeping baby. A tiny boy was huddled in the blue cloth, his face absolutely perfect and a far nicer sight than her sister’s Hunter. The boy had a small, perfect nose and mouth. He already had vague eyebrows and short hair, which looked to be black. A tiny smear of dark crimson was streaked across his cheeks and around his neck was a silver chain. He looked a bit older than Hunter, judging by how his head didn’t look as big as Hunter’s in comparison to his body.

She gazed down at him and wondered if this is what her sister must of thought when she had first seen her son.

“Well, what are you going to call him?” asked the clerk, breaking her out of her reverie.

“Huh?”

“The bloke gave him to you so he’s yours unless of course you’d rather give him to the orphanage.” said the clerk.

“Of course not!” said Eva, astounded that the man could even suggest such a thing. “I’ll raise him!”

“Good, so what’s his name?” asked the clerk, sitting down and grabbing a ledger and a quill.

“Um, give me a moment!” she said. She thought for quite a long time while the clerk and the two police dogs stared at her.

“Ki. I’ll name him that.” she decided.

“Awfully short name.” said the clerk, raising an eyebrow.

“Ki Chard.” she said stubbornly. “It’s spelled K-i. As in Kyle but without the ‘l‘ sound.”

“And how do you spell your surname? S-h-a-r-d? Like a crystal?” asked the man.

“No, but close; C-h-a-r-d. Pronunciation was right.” she said, amazed and shocked at the fact that she was adopting a child on whim.

“No middle name?” asked the man.

“No, he’s too special to have a middle name.” she proclaimed.

“You do know that we will have to investigate?” asked the man.

“Yes.” she’d expected as much, but somehow she doubted that they’d ever find out the truth of what had happened. “It is rather questionable, isn’t it?”

“And your name?” asked the man promptly.

“Evangeline Wila Chard.” she supplied.

“Thank you miss. And where do you live?” asked the clerk. She gave him the information and then she begged leave to go.

The stable groom saddled Snip for her and she mounted up and had already rode halfway back home before she’d realized that she’d forgotten to notify their relatives of Hunter’s existence. She’d been a wreck when she’d left and had completely forgotten. But it was too late to go back and she had Ki so she rode on.

She needn’t of worried. When she entered the house with Ki still sleeping in her arms she could hear the dulcet tones of her mother, father, brother and stepsister appraising Matilda’s new baby upstairs. She had wanted to show Ki to just her sister today, but now she had no choice. Grumbling to the little orphan in her arms she strode up the stairs and into her sister’s bedroom.

“Eva!” said her mother sternly as way of greeting. “Where have you been?!”

“I’m sorry I didn’t come and tell you guys like I was supposed to but something happened.” she said bracingly, glad her cloak concealed Ki. She told them the entire story, even the embarrassing parts at the start. Her father and Matilda were the first to say anything.

“Well, it looks like instead of one new grandson I get two!” he said, laughing jovially and then demanding that she show him Ki.

“I’m so happy for you Eva!” said Matilda. “Now Hunter has a brother!”

“Indeed.” said their mother, sniffing disdainfully.

“You named him Ki?” asked her brother Cen. “Why that?”

“I’m not sure. It just fits.” said Eva proudly while her father held Ki and introduced him to Hunter who eyed the other infant with huge innocent eyes. Ki opened his eyes for the first time then. His eyes were not blue, nor were they brown. They looked amber.

“Strange blinkers he’s got eh?” asked her happy father, who now had not one, but two children added to his harem.

“He and Hunter will be quite the pair when they’re older.” said Matilda, smiling as she watched the two babies looking at each other.

(c) Rosanna P. Brost
Do NOT copy, reuse, alter or redistribute.