Raana and Nerie spent the next few hours helping prepare for the feast that would follow the hatching. Nerie was tasked with folding bread while Raana started turning a boar over the fire. Nerie was a little annoyed that Raana hadn’t told her in advance - even with the apron she was getting flour on her new outfit. While the kitchen was crowded and hot, no one was rushing. The way the staff were acting, it seemed like there was a while yet to wait for the hatching to start.
After Nerie finished with the dough, she was dusted off and given a tray to carry to the front of the palace. She had no idea where she was going but was told that she just needed to head down the main corridor and that one of the servants was expecting her. As Nerie stepped out of the kitchen Raana shouted to her she would catch up in just a few minutes, that she was waiting for Zaid.
As she walked, Nerie felt incredibly self-conscious at first but calmed herself down thinking that she was lucky that the outfit her mother had bought was nice enough to pass for a royal servant. She walked slowly but with determination as she tried not to slosh the liquid around.
As Nerie approached a large set of double doors, one of the king’s personal servants came to her aid, taking the refreshments directly to a group of waiting nobles. Out the doors she could see that they had tents erected around the hatching grounds on one side, and the far side had tiered seating where commoners were already funneling in. She walked slowly towards the door, mesmerized by the scene in front of her. Between all the noble’s tents there was one that was clearly for the royal family.
They were sitting on a dais behind where two dragons were curled around an egg. The one that the hatching was all about. The one who would choose the future ruler of Situra. A bright green dragon rested on the roof above the dais, his head drooping down, watching his soon to be hatched sibling with keen interest. Nerie was glad the tray had been taken from her, for if it hadn’t been, she would have dropped it in surprise.
She had never actually seen a dragon before.
The three dragons looked like jewels in firelight, the midday sun causing them to glow as they shifted slightly. Everyone in the kingdom knew that Soros was the dark purple dragon and Eras was the bright fire orange dragon. That meant that the acidic green dragon must be King Soren’s dragon, Ilex.
The egg nestled between Soros and Eras was a pale yellow. Nerie stared at it with interest. She could already imagine the little dragonling clearly. She would be a creamy yellow like fresh turned butter, but as she aged, her scales would darken into the purest gold. Prince Aldis or Princess Astra would be more than lucky, Nerie thought wistfully. Soros looked over at Nerie, her purple eyes calm and deep. She blinked, and Nerie blinked in response.
A servant, rushing to do some unknown errand, collided with her and she was jolted back into reality. She needed to join the waiting crowd. So many people were already cramming themselves into the stands overlooking the dragons that at first Nerie hesitated. Then she thought about how long she had waited to see the little dragon hatch and shoved herself into the crowd. There was a railing surrounding the warm sands that the egg was nestled into, and Nerie shimmied her way around it so that she was directly opposite the royal family, and directly in front of the large egg.
Soros watched her for a moment longer but turned her attention to her bored son who had started huffing smoke rings above the crowded arena. A slight growl from Soros, and he was curled into a tight green ball. Nerie couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Twenty-one years old, and Ilex was still basically a hatchling himself.
Nerie’s eyes were drawn once again to the royal family, waiting on the dais patiently. They were known for keeping to themselves. As far as Nerie knew, they only left the palace for matters of diplomacy. She’d only seen King Soren a few times from afar on crowded streets, and Queen Alaena once when she’d been very small. Looking at them now, she saw that the king and queen were regal and poised, sitting on two thrones and watching the dragons themselves.
Nerie had never seen the prince or princess before. She looked at them while the crowd continued to shuffle in. The egg had begun to wobble slightly in the sand and the prince and princess were standing, waiting to walk forward when it hatched. Princess Astra looked to be nearly twenty, conceived directly after her father ascended to the throne. Her eyes were locked on the slowly rocking egg. Prince Aldis was younger, barely into his teens.
There had been rumors when Nerie was young that Queen Alaena could bear no more children for the king. She could remember the kingdom had celebrated when Aldis was born vaguely. She’d been about four years old and a kind woman had given her a bouquet of yellow roses, telling her that each petal was a year the prince would live.
As the egg rocked a little more fervently, a herald stepped forward, and started to recite the history of the ceremony to the crowd.
“Dragons have been extinct in the wild for generations. Our kingdom of Situra and the royal family of Therius give home to the last mated pair, Soros and Eras. It is clear in our history they first came to Situra during the Great War, and they pledged themselves to General Kyre, who became our first king. Shortly thereafter Soros and Eras laid their first egg, and the dragoness Wyla was hatched.
