Tate woke to sounds that were so mundane he forgot for a moment where he was. A bird sang outside the open window and a pleasant breeze brushed over his face and chest as he lay on the very comfortable bed.
When his eyes fully opened he was looking at a ceiling made of stone. Everything from the day before came flooding back.
He lay as still as possible and tried not to think of anything.
Thoughts intruded on his attempt at momentary peace. Thoughts of his family, of Aliya, and of the Emperor. He hadn't had time to think much about it. Even when he'd entered the veil he'd only considered them for a moment. At that time he'd thought it more likely that the Emperor was suspicious of him and knowing what a merciless man he was he assumed that the Shadows had come to kill him, or at the very least take him home to an execution. He'd had the fleeting thought that he didn't want his mother or Aliya to have to see such a thing. His decision had seemed obvious, he would try to fade into oblivion in the only place he'd felt life in the last eight years.
Now laying here in a guest chamber in what equated to the guest rooms in the Imperial Palace of Lya he wondered if he'd done something wrong. He turned those strange events over and over again in his mind and he was having a hard time piecing them together. Why had those nobles kidnapped him in the first place, he knew he wasn't popular with those in opposition to the Emperor but he'd never considered that turning into such a ridiculous circumstance.
He could easily guess what their goal may have been. No matter how much he thought about it the answer could be only one of two things. One, they were attempting to discredit his family with the Emperor. They could frame him as having "run away" if they played their cards right. The desired effect would probably be to drive a wedge between his father and the Emperor. Tate was known to be such a loyal dog to the crown that it would be quite a blow for that dog to run wild.
Two, they were hoping to just flat out humiliate the Emperor. They wanted to use his "kidnapping or running away," in this case it wouldn't matter how they framed it, to create public unrest. They could paint a picture that the Emperor is unable to keep order in his own country, and that even the most high-profile citizens could be taken or go missing. They could even twist public opinion that he had run away from the Emperor out of fear. There were many ways Tate could see them using the situation but at the end of every possibility was one thought.
How stupid.
Everything seemed far-fetched and filled with potential plan pitfalls. It felt half-baked and like something a kid would come up with. He couldn't help but be filled with wonder that such ridiculous circumstances were what had led him to this current situation.
There was no going back now no matter what he may have wished, or what that group of people's original intentions may have been.
Well, maybe there was a way to get back. Something he was going to have to find out more information on. He owed it to Lou to do everything he could to get them home. He knew that Lou was already suffering from his separation from Lancec. Tate knew just how painful that feeling was. Top it off with the stress of being surrounded by wild dragons who had attempted to kill you once already and he suspected Lou was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
He sat up and moved the covers aside to get out of bed. He thought that he had better go check on the younger man. Then he needed to find the Elder to get more information on what was going to be required of him to meet this "great mage."
A mirror on top of a wash table was directly across from where he lay. When he sat up he saw his reflection and froze. In the mirror he watched his hand rise to the black marks on his neck, he wasn't sure where the black had started but now the black had spread up to the marking by his eye and were almost a quarter of the way down his shoulder. He halted his hand before it touched them.
He felt odd looking at them. For almost his entire life they'd just been a part of him. It was so much so that no one really noticed their presence anymore, least of all him. The last time he'd taken such note of them was right after Aquana died. He remembered stroking his fingers over them obsessively one night after he'd returned home but was still confined to bed. Just like now he'd sat in his bed at home and looked into a mirror. At that time they felt like the very last tie he had to her. He'd cried that night, no one in the house had heard him or knew, because those tears had been silent but he'd cried until he felt exhausted. He'd rubbed the marks from eye to fingertips until his skin was red.
Now, they really were hideous. It hurt him to have that thought. He'd been given these marks by his best friend, by his Aquana. She'd given him so many things in his life, companionship, power, wings. He felt like he'd never really been able to return the favor. What had he added to her life? He could think of a few answers she might have given him when she'd been alive but they still didn't make him feel worthy of the honor she'd given him by choosing him.
He felt it even more acutely now that he'd met wild dragons. Dragons who considered the idea of partnering with humans, or humans riding them disgusting. Aqua had given him so much and in return, all she'd received was an early death.
He wondered what was happening to his marks now. According to Wyla and some things the Elder and the council had said the marks were rotting, he understood it as his body where marked was literally rotting. Apparently, it smelled, he knew it burned if touched, and he'd gotten the impression that it needed some kind of treatment but he didn't know what that might be.
He wanted to know more about why all the dragons here hated the marks so much. Why did they always refer to cultists? Who were these cultists and what did they have to do with the dragons of his realm? He was also growing increasingly curious about why humans had been sealed off in the first place.
There was so much he wanted to know and learn. He could not lie to himself that the desire for this knowledge and his interest in this world before him was a little greater than his desire to go home. This was a fact he was hesitant to admit to himself, it felt like a betrayal to those that loved him.
Above all his own wants and curiosities didn't matter, what mattered now was getting Lou back home. He had not chosen to throw himself back into the veil. He'd been trying to save Tate. He owed it to Lou to figure out how to meet this "mage" and return them to their homeland.
A little part of him also felt that he owed it to his mother, father, Dian, Aliya, and even the Emperor to return to that life. It may have been a life that was driving him into insanity but maybe if he'd been stronger or better he would have been able to face it head on instead of giving in to the temptation to drink his emotions away. He was once a great dragon rider so why was he so weak? He felt himself slipping back into that darkness that had been pulling him down recently.
He shook his head trying to dispel those thoughts. He hadn't realized it until that moment but since coming through the veil he hadn't had time to feel sorry for himself or think of all the things that had been weighing him down. All he'd been able to see was the wonder of it all. He'd fallen into another world, a world that had so much to discover. He'd become excited and all those dreary thoughts and feelings of the past months had slipped away.
He lightly slapped himself and sternly scolded himself to get it together. He then quickly dressed in a simple outfit that had been left out for him. Thankfully, he'd yet to see any attire worn by these dragons that needed the assistance of another person to put on. The shirt was a soft white material that crossed over his chest and middle to tie on the side. The sleeves were long and loose but not too long or flowy that they would get in the way if you needed to fight or defend yourself. The trousers were made of the same material but were black. They had a tie that crossed over his crotch and then went through a loop before tying closed on his side. He wasn't sure what knot was used to secure such a vital tie but he did the best he could and hoped it wouldn't come undone. Lastly, there were a pair of socks and some black boots that came up to mid-calf.
Once he was dressed he opened the door and was a little taken aback to see two dragons in their human forms guarding the door.
They looked at him stonily. "What do you need, human?"
"You are not permitted to leave this room. I suggest you go back in."