Once we were in the air, I noticed Jose's body relaxed, then heard her squeal of excitement. I knew she would love flying. I was worried she wouldn't listen to Einnig, but saw how she changed from fear to curiosity after he said I was a big teddy bear. It wasn't true.
However, I was grateful to my brother now because he had managed to gain some of Jose's trust and got her to enjoy the fly. I didn't dare try anything like dips and circles, afraid of losing her happiness. So, I flew straight and went through clouds a few times, knowing she'd like it. After an hour of heading north, we began west, towards home.
Hours later, we were nearing Korgenyegia when Einnig came up beside me and gave a low growl. I was surprised. He normally roared, but figured Jose was asleep. I nodded to his question, and he went ahead. I fell behind, letting him alert Zargis of our arrival and make sure Jose's rooms were ready.
Finally, I landed in front of the huge castle. Waiting there with my brother we're Zargis, Thelia, Lord Thiebalt, Otreg, and Cam. I gestured your Jose and Einnig ran forward and lifted her off. I became man and bowed to my king and queen. "Welcome home, Kesar."
I give Thelia a smile. "It is good to be home, my queen."
Zargis studied the female in my brother's arms. "Take her to the infirmary, Einnig. Maybe they can do something to speed up the healing."
Einnig bowed his head and hurried passed them.
Zargis turned to me. "Your brother is infatuated with her, Kesar."
"I know. But I have decided to let her decide. While I may feel a pull towards her, I do not know the feelings of Einnig. He may feel the same, or he just feels the urge to protect the innocent."
"You would let her go?"
I shrug. "I won't force her. Never."
"How did she get the broken limbs?" Thelia asked.
"Her mistress had three mutts trained to wound her slaves."
Thelia turned to hide her horrified face in Zargis's chest. The king held her, then sighed. "Why don't you get some rest? Otreg has a room for you."
"I want to be informed if she needs me," I say, if only because I wanted to make sure she was safe but not being hovered over.
Zargis bowed his head. "Cam has been assigned to watch her until she can go about on her own. She will come to you as soon as the girl gives a hint of her wishes."
Thelia brought her head out now to ask, "Has she spoken?"
"Not much, but she knows how to use a pen and paper. She will probably draw."
"She doesn't know how to write?"
"Very little."
Otreg gave a low, menacing growl. Zargis gave him a warning look before saying, "I will warn the nurses of her communication preference. Rest now, Kesar. We will speak more in the morning."
I bow my head and follow them inside the castle.
The next morning, I'm woken up by a knock. I answer it to see Lord Thiebalt. "Sir, there is a problem in the infirmary."
Immediately, I grab my shoes and hurry down the hall, he's right on my heels. "What's going on?"
"Your lady is trying to escape, even though Cam has assured her she is safe."
I nod, go up to the fourth floor and stride into the large infirmary area. On the floor was Jose, crying and holding her bad arm. A few feet away from her was Cam and a couple nurses. Any time they tried to get close, Jose would give a little scream. I cleared my throat and slowly approached the girl.
She blinked up at me and pointed at the others with a shake of her head. I hold out my own arms and she nodded, letting me take her and lift her up. I carry her to the bed and set her down, wiping away her tears. "Jose, they are friends. My friends."
She pointed to herself and shook her head.
"I know you don't know them, but they aren't going to hurt you. They are worried about you."
She gave a dubious look which made me chuckle. Then, Otreg strode in with a huge smile and a tray of food. He set the tray on the table next to the bed and bowed to Jose. "My Lady! Your breakfast is served!"
To my delight, this brought a tiny smile out on Jose's face.
"Otreg, you can make our guest welcome without all the theatrics," Thelia said from the doorway, her smile was soft and not at all admonishing.
"But my Queen! These are not theatrics in the least!"
"You're overdoing it, my friend."
Otreg clapped a hand over his heart and looked wounded. "My Queen!"
From beside me, Jose gave a small laugh and clapped, joy lighting up her whole face. She looked to me and nodded enthusiastically.
I chuckled. "Yes, he is funny."
Otreg bowed again, then produced a daisy and handed it to Jose. "If ever you need a laugh, my fine Lady, just ask for Otreg!"
Cam came up beside him and crossed her arms, shaking her head. "I swear you don't know the meaning of a normal entrance."
Thelia chuckled and grabbed a chair, giving Jose a warm smile. "Hello, Jose. My name is Marythelia, but everyone just calls me Thelia. It is nice to meet you."
Jose shrank into her blankets and gave a small nod. I said, "Thelia was like you, Jose. Before she came here, she was a slave too."
This made Jose sit up a little. She pointed to Thelia with a questioning look.
I nod. "Yes, her."
Thelia said, "I was a slave before Zargis and Otreg saved me. I was as skinny as you are."
Jose looked at Thelia for a long moment then turned to me. She pointed at Cam. I shook my head. "No, Cam was born here, so was not a slave."
Jose looked around the room then asked if anyone else was a dragon.
I pointed to Otreg. "He is and Zargis is one too. Most of the females are human like you."
Thelia leaned forward and handed Jose a pen and a pad of paper. "Jose, if you need anything, I want you to put it on here. Let us help your. Kesar has only friends here. No one will harm you."
The door to the infirmary opened again and we all looked over. Zargis and Einnig walked in, both their eyes landing on Jose in bed. Jose, at seeing them, wrapped her arms around me and shook, terrified.
Thelia jumped up and went to Zargis, hands on his chest, whispering softly. I tapped Jose's shoulder and pointed to the pair to let her see that Zargis was a kind male. Her body relaxed a little, eyes fixed on the pair. Einnig walked over and took the chair Thelia vacated, smiling at Jose. "Good morning, Jose!"
She wasn't listening, focused on the pair still, watching them hug, then kiss. I chuckled and held a hand up to my brother to tell him to wait, let Jose watch.
When the pair finally separated, Zargis stood where he was and let his eyes find Jose, making them soft and kind. "Jose, welcome to my Kingdom. Please don't hesitate to ask for anything."
Jose took that to ask him if he had wings. I interpreted her gestures, and Zargis looked startled for a moment. I said, "She likes to see our wings, likes to touch them."
Zargis raised a brow but took his shirt off and spread his wings. They were the darkest red so they looked black. Jose reached forward, wanting to touch. But Zargis shook his head. "I'm sorry, Jose. Only Thelia can touch."
Jose was disappointed, but continued to look them over with her eyes. While she did so, Zargis turned to me and said, "Do you want to take the day off and help her get settled?"
"No. Give me an hour and I'll be out."
"Thelia frowned. "Are you sure?"
I nod. "I am going to talk to her and let her know where I'll be. Afterwards, I need to get out. I need to train."
"Everyone who is not a nurse, Jose, or Kesar must leave the room!" Zargis announced. Einnig scowled but didn't argue. Otreg went over to Cam who was hidden in the shadows, then proceeded out. Zargis gave Jose a small smile. "I will see you later, Jose."
Jose nodded slowly as Thelia said, "I'll be back in an hour or two, Jose. I want to show you something."
Again, Jose nodded slowly, but watched as the couple left, shutting the door behind them.
"Verah?" I called out.
A nurse came over. She had blonde hair and soft brown eyes. "How can I help, Kesar?"
"Verah, this is Jose. Jose, this is Verah. I'm assigning her to stay with you. She is a very nice nurse and is as soft spoken as you. You can count on her to help you with anything you need while you're here."
Jose pointed at me in question.
"I need to train."
Jose blinked.
"The dragons are fighters for Korgenyegia. They protect us and also get alliances with countries below," Verah explained. "They train to keep their skills sharp."
Jose nodded then pointed to her broken limbs.
Verah smiled. "With the serums Nallu makes, you should be healed within the week!"
This made Jose's mouth drop open in shock. I chuckled. "Nallu is very good at what she does. Maybe after you're healed, you can come see what we do?"
Jose nodded in excitement.
Verah started wheeling the table with the tray of food over. "Don't worry. Kesar and the others usually stop around mid afternoon. Unless he is needed for anything else, he's usually finished for the day."
She slipped the tray over and sat Jose up, using a button. I said, "I will need to talk to Zargis about the army we saw, Jose. So that may take another hour or so. I will return though as soon as I've showered."
Jose frowned deeply.
I smiled. "Trust me, I do not smell good after working hard."
She blushed, nodded, then took the lid off the plate of food. Verah gestured for me to talk in private, letting Jose eat. I followed her to a corner, Jose looking over before continuing her meal. Verah said, "She doesn't talk."
I sighed. "She does, but I don't know how much she knows. She prefers drawing and hand gestures."
"What happened to her, Kesar? She's afraid of even Cam!"
I shake my head. "I don't know her whole story. But how I found her was something I would rather forget." Verah looked ready to kill someone. The nurse was the silent type, but her loyalties went soul deep. She didn't take well to innocents bro g hurt: not that many of us in Korgenyegia do. I put my hands on her shoulders and smiled softly at her. "Just go slow with Jose. She will warm up once she understands you're not a threat."
Verah nodded and we went back to Jose, who had pushed away most of her food. I frowned. She shook her head and held her stomach in answer. "Let's start with smaller portions for now," I say. "We don't want Jose getting sick."
Verah smiled, though I could see how upset she was. She took the tray away and I sat on the bed, taking Jose's good hand. "I have asked Thelia to also keep you company. She can help you write and when you're better, can take you around. She probably knows this castle better than anyone, except Cam."
Jose pouted. She pointed to me then to the floor.
"I'll be back," I say. "Do you want anything from the store? I can bring you back something?"
She thought for a moment. Then she took the pad and pen and began to draw. A minute later she handed her picture to me. I looked and saw two dragons: one big, one small. The smaller one had an arrow pointing to a girl holding it in her arms.
I smiled, looked up at Jose. "I'll see what I can find."
She pointed to the dragon being held then pointed to me.
"You want one like my dragon?"
She nodded.
"Do something for me in return?" Jose tilted her head. "Try to let Thelia and Verah help you. I don't care about anyone else. Just those two."
Jose thought about it then drew something else. I looked at it whe she finished and saw two girls doing something with a body in bed.
I furrowed my brows but said, "You want to help Verah here?"
She nodded.
I smiled. "I think she'd love that. But not until you're better, okay?"
She gave a big smile then hugged me as said nurse returned.
I stood and smiled down at the girl I rescued from being ripped apart. "I'll be back."
She nodded and waved. I also caught her lips move, as if mouthing her goodbye, but I wasn't sure. I smiled at Verah, told her Thelia would be in shortly, then left, feeling good about how Jose was holding up.