Chapter 1: A Child's Naivety
The country of Daijaya is a prosperous kingdom that lies on the east coast of the Ithamya continent. Legends say that the originator started the creation of the world from this very soil. The almighty All Spirit descended to spread life on land and into the ocean that cups the island. The All Spirit created humans and bestowed them with the gift of compassion, knowledge, and wisdom. To protect them until they were strong enough to stand on their own, the All Spirit created dragons.
Dragons were immortal, mighty and loyal creatures. They tamed the storms and controlled the waves. They scared away the beasts and demons. Powerful dragons controlled the very seasons themselves, with summer dragons bringing forth the summer and winter dragons cultivating the snow. Every continent has their own belief on the matter though. One true fact remained that dragons were intelligent, self-serving creatures that have an undying bond with gold.
Every dragon has a hoard. The bigger the hoard, the mightier the dragon. To steal a hoard is a harbinger of death and destruction, for dragons are merciless to thieves. Only a minority of humans have ever committed this offence. Others knew they could not defeat dragons, hence, they automatically respected them at the top of the hierarchy. It is common for the upper class, or the ruling class of a country to be dominated by dragons for they are the epitome of power and wealth.
Dragons are treated like deities in the living world. Humans provided them with riches, palaces and offerings so the dragons continue to protect them. Daijaya worships the Azure dragon clan. Azure dragons were commonly part of the water dragon breed that migrated to land. The head of the clan maintains the stability of the oceans and keeps their traders and fishermen safe. Their kinship with sea dragons also allows the fishermen to fish safely without accidentally intruding on their territories.
Thus, Daijaya remained prosperous under the rulership of King Jouhtan Azule III and Queen Masson Azule, who are the 50th ruler of the nation. While King All-Jouhtan Azule is a pure-bred water dragon, Queen All-Masson Azule was a land dragon that had an affinity to water. Both of them got on harmoniously and had a daughter, Princess Ayu Azule. The family was well-respected among aristocrats and ruled the country with a fair hand. They encouraged the mingling of humans and dragons. For instance, the royal guard had a respectable number of humans and several distinguished families serving in line.
"Which I want to be a part of!"
In kindergarten, a particular child raised her voice in answer. The teacher raised his eyes from the history book that he'd been reciting. He humoured her with a smile, "Sorry, what was that?"
"I want to be part of the royal guard!"
The girl was a cheery child with a voice of a flute. She had hair of spun gold cascading down her shoulders and a pair of silver eyes. As she spoke, the excitement made her cheeks flush an adorable cherry red. Her classmates turned to peer at her, but she appeared lost in her mind. She was having a vision of working in the palace where she'd become a strong and respected warrior, a lovely batch of comrades and if, she was exemplary enough, perhaps guard the royal majesties!
Her teacher brushed it off with a soft, "Ah, that's interesting," before carrying on with the lesson.
"Why did you say that just now?" A little girl tugged her friend's arm. She had a pair of beautiful navy-blue eyes framed by thick brown lashes. Her hair that was tied into pigtails swayed as she hastily looked around before leaning forwards. "You can't be a knight," She whispered into her friend's ear.
Her friend puffed her chest up. "I don't care, Paulie, being a guard is my dream!"
"Miss Wincott and Miss Kinstone, please refrain from talking during class," The teacher chided from the front. His eyes were stern on them both, causing the brown-haired girl to retract her arm and perk up on her seat while her friend simply gave the teacher a sheepish smile.
After school, the children went home separately. The school had a mix of children with diverse backgrounds. The girl who wished to be a knight was in fact, Irene Wincott, the heir of an Earl. Her seatmate was Pauline Kinstone who came from a family of merchants. They were close friends that utterly adore the tales of legends. To them, dragons were amazing creatures that could swim, fly and breathe fire. Dragons were the definition of the impossible, they were living miracles.
As an Earl, it was inevitable for Eric Wincott to meet with dragons. Among the 13 aristocratic families, he was one of the three that descended from a fully human bloodline. He answered directly to the king and occupies a minor position in the ministry. He was more than happy to share his stories with Irene, as a natural dragon enthusiast, who was always eager to listen. It was a running joke in the family that Irene had been fed too many legends when she was an infant, now she thinks she's a dragon.
Frieda was pleased with the intimate bond between her husband and her daughter, but like every family, she was there to set a balance. Where Irene's father indulged in her fantasies, Frieda would curb them and anchor her to reality. Fantasies are great, they make one creative and life would never be boring. However, the line between fantasies and real life should be drawn, otherwise, people would end up getting hurt.
While her father paints flawless pictures of dragons controlling the skies, Frieda filled in the inaccuracies and points out the splotches of dark history to emphasize that not even dragons are all mighty. She sought to prepare her daughter to be the heir of the family's fortune and hadn't much time to prepare her for her debut, but Irene refused to cooperate.
In modern days, we'd describe Irene as a free spirit who runs along with the wind. She has no patience for cautiously treading the waters, she would dive headfirst with what feels right. She sees the beauty in dresses but would rather don garments that allow her legs to kick freely as she climbs over walls and hops over boulders. Hence, it was common practice for her to bat away tasks by sneaking to peer at the guard's training.
Being noble, they had guards stationed within the compound of the mansion. The guards were all humans, but the commander of the guards was a former royal knight in the palace who had seen a fair amount of dragons in his life. She'd relentlessly seek him out whenever he was free because she wanted to train herself.
The commander would try to avoid her requests because madam was adamant that she won't allow Irene near such dangerous objects, but he was glad to answer any of her inquiries when it came to the palace itself. At only five years old, she already had a better understanding of the country's security system than most adults.
Her days of loitering appeared to be endless as she kept up with her schedule between avoiding her training and going to school.
Until something happened.
"The king has fallen deadly ill, he didn't see through the meeting today," Eric announced with a grave tone when he returned. In the hallway, there was no cheery reunion between Irene and Eric.
Frieda ushered her husband to the office where they would talk more about what happened, all while Irene's world was swamped in confusion. Her tiny feet guided her to the north garden, where she could see the royal palace. As she sat on the edge of the well, her silver eyes gazing longingly towards it.
Dragons don't get sick. They are known as immortal creatures that are immune to illnesses or mortal injuries. Only a fatal strike to the heart or the complete thievery of a treasure could kill a dragon. To Irene, such a thing as a dragon falling sick is impossible, unless they are going to die.
At the sudden realization, Irene hopped off the well. Her periwinkle dress was a flutter behind her as she ran towards the mansion, struck with a sudden urge to discover.