Dayerin of Spindewas's Story

Matakin was a dry, craggy place. And there were no trees, or at least, no trees that he had seen. Only scrub. Dayerin of Spindewas coughed on the light purple dust that seemed to perpetually rise out of the canyons. He looked down at his rough clothing, still a little damp from a river crossing. They were caked in the purple chalk. And when he looked up at the stone sign he was standing near, it too was blank and purple. He wiped away the inch-layer of dust so he could make out what it said.

“Er- Erlin... Ermin... Sporsbort...spurtlebort?” He struggled to read the Dwarf writing. He wished he had been a better student when he was a princeling and was surrounded by private tutors. But he never had a knack for languages. His sister was always better at that. “Hey Morn...” He was about to call her over, but he caught himself. She was not with him. They had parted ways after crossing the Rudin River, where he lost his horse. Tensions were high and it had been a really bad argument. He regretted storming away like that, but he was still a little sore and had not begun to miss her until now.

He gave up trying to read the sign, and entered the village now knowing what it was called. He knew what he was looking for and thankfully, found it. It was a messenger office, and its sign was emblazoned with a pigeon carrying a letter.

“Do you have anything faster than pigeon?” he asked the bookish-looking dwarf at the front desk.

“We have messenger foxes, they are quite fast if you need an overland delivery,” the dwarf offered. In the background, Dayerin could hear faint yipping noises. They were not ordinary foxes, and their noises sounded intelligent, almost like they were speaking in human tongue.

“I need an overseas delivery,” Day replied impatiently.

The dwarf nodded and his head, as if he knew just the answer. He disappeared for a moment as he brought something out from his desk. It was a wooden box and it was filled with tiny bottles. Dayerin had to bend his tall head down to get a good look at the objects. They were not bottles made from glass, but appeared to shimmer like a bubble. And within each one was a tiny flitting form. A little person.

This was what Day had been searching for: pixie post. He had never used it before, but he remembered that his father used to bark orders like, “Send it by pixie!” if he wanted an important message to be delivered by the next morning.

“I’ll take one,” Day said, reaching impulsively into the box. The dwarf slapped his hand away in a panic. Perhaps the little bottle would pop if he touched it. “It is an expensive way to send a message, lad.” The dwarf warily cast his eyes at Day’s humble trappings.

“Right. But I happened to bring the last of my savings,” Day said. Which was true, although the Dwarf would never believe how much money he had hidden on him. He reached onto his belt and brought out the smallest of his seven money pouches. He paid what the dwarf asked for, though he pretended that it seemed really expensive.

Day was shown to a private room where he was to give the pixie his message. Talking to a little elf in a bottle seemed really strange, but he went along with it out of desperation. 



“I need you to deliver this message to the Towerlot twins. Nanji and Ainra, they’ll be found together,” he began, sitting at a table and looking down at the ethereal bottle. The glowing pixie nodded her head, listening, recording. The dwarf told him that the pixie did not need an exact address, but could track the recipients by their names alone. But Day wanted to help her at least a little. “They’re probably down south in Dafarzi, in the Capital. But they could also be in Towerlot. It’s hard to keep track of those two.”

Day cleared his throat and continued. He knew that this part is what the twins would hear, word for word. It was a hard message to relay. “Here’s my message: Nanji, Ainra, this is Dayerin of Spindewas. My kingdom has fallen to Contalabutte. I’m exiled..... I’m warning you to look out for Dafarzi and Towerlot, but I’m also telling you... I’m holding out in Matakin, in foothills of The Hatchen. But I can’t wage war single-handedly with Contalabutte. I can use all the help I can get.”

He stopped talking, nodding to the pixie to let her know that that was the end of his message. “I really hope that they’re in Towerlot,” he said, mostly to himself. Towerlot was so close, and Dafarzi so far. Unless the Twins could fly by dragon, which maybe they could.

Dayerin walked out of the messenger office, drawing his hood over his head. He saw the pixie zoom by overhead, still contained within her bubble capsule. The dwarf had assured him that pixie mail was never intercepted, because nothing could catch them. Day breathed a sigh of relief to have finished this business, and found himself choking on dust again.

Dayerin now knew why all the dust was being unsettled, as a great shadow of wings fell over him. He drew near the outside wall of the Messenger office, to avoid being squished by the massive dragon that landed nearby. There was a large empty lot near the office, which he had assumed was meant to park horse-drawn chariots and wagons. He should have known that it was actually where people parked their dragons.

“Damn,” he breathed, impressed by the green and gold dragon. He had seen them from a distance flying around Matakin’s skies, but this was the first time he was really close to one. He could not peel his eyes away from it. Once upon a time when he was fifteen, he had taken a joy ride in a good fairy’s dragon-drawn chariot. But he now realized just how puny those dragons had been. This thing was just... colossal.

Then he saw the rider. She was attractive, to say the least. The fact the she was riding such a beast made her even more attractive. It also didn’t hurt that she was the first human-sized female he had seen in Matakin. He had to get to know this one.

He approached the young woman and saw that she was talking to a few dwarves. This girl had an edge to her-- he could already tell that from the horns on her head, her silver spike ornaments, and the scars on her skin. He listened a moment to her conversation and overheard her asking about the larger kingdoms.

“I could tell you something about the other kingdoms,” he butted in, his voice made rough by the dust in his throat. “I’m from Spindewas. By the way, nice ride.” He grinned jauntily at her and her dragon.

With a hand resting on Qing Jin's forearm, she looked at one of the Dwarves. "I need to know what has happened out there."

"No one knows yet. No one really bothers with Matakin, unless they need dragons, or metalwork. You know this, Goldie." The older Dwarf said, grinning. She grinned back. Most of the Dwarves knew about her, from her powers and her being one of the only humans in Matakin.

“I could tell you something about the other kingdoms,” he butted in, his voice made rough by the dust in his throat. “I’m from Spindewas. By the way, nice ride.” He grinned jauntily at her and her dragon.

Oriana had to stop and look at the human. It had been long since she had seen another one of her kind, years. "Spindewas..." She muttered, her eyes narrowed. She couldn't remember if her mother was allies with them. But he was offering information. "Yes... Thank you... " She brushed a bit of her bangs from her face some, her brown eyes appearing for a second. Qing Jin purred at the praise but growled at the unknown human. He couldn't trust him. Though, Oriana saw no need for her not to. "Come, human." She led them to a small outcrop on the mountain and stood.

"My papa says that I am needed by the other kingdoms, so tell me. What has happened that I am needed? Has something happened? I must know now." She said, pacing the outcrop's edge. Qing Jin sat and watched the human girl, amused. She had no fear of heights or falling.

“Come, human.”

“Human?” Dayerin laughed when the dark-haired girl bid him to follow her, like someone calling to a dog. “Look who’s talking. I could be part ogre for all you know.” He wondered about this girl. She was a weird one. Perhaps she was confused and thought she was a dwarf. But he still followed her to the outcropping, intrigued.

Day did not go as far to the edge as the girl did. As she asked her questions, he watched the lively dance of her pacing feet, so close to falling off, yet very sure that she wouldn’t. He glanced at the dragon and saw that he was probably thinking the same thing.

“You bet your dragon something has happened. My home is gone,” Day set off, now sounding a little irritated, although he still kept the humor in his voice, which prevented him from breaking down into sobs. “Spindewas has been conquered. My kingdom is a down dog with its tail between its legs. Now the wolf is top dog. Emperor Contalabutte. He’s made Briarose his fourth wife. And guess what? He’s coming for Matakin next, and he might make you his fifth wife. War... that’s what’s happened, and it still is happening! Where have you been, under a rock?”

His face was now red from making this little speech, and he felt his hands closing into fists. His anger made him now regard the girl with suspicion. What if she was a spy for Contalabutte, a beautiful assassin, and that was why she was asking him a question that she knew would get him going?

“Who are you, anyway? Who’s this ‘Papa’ of yours?” he asked, hostility creeping into his voice and demeanor. Was Papa a codename for the Emperor?

“You bet your dragon something has happened. My home is gone,” Day set off, now sounding a little irritated, although he still kept the humor in his voice, which prevented him from breaking down into sobs. “Spindewas has been conquered. My kingdom is a down dog with its tail between its legs. Now the wolf is top dog. Emperor Contalabutte. He’s made Briarose his fourth wife. And guess what? He’s coming for Matakin next, and he might make you his fifth wife. War... that’s what’s happened, and it still is happening! Where have you been, under a rock?” “Who are you, anyway? Who’s this ‘Papa’ of yours?” he asked, hostility creeping into his voice and demeanor.

Something about the way he said that made her incredibly mad. She stomped over to him and pointed her thumb at herself "I am Oriana, the first born daughter of the queen of Rumpleir! I was locked under the castle because of something I can't control and I never saw the sun until I was 10! I ran away and you have no right to question me! I've lived here where I'm wanted and no man, beast or even god will take this place away from me!" She yelled, her face getting closer to his as the seconds went by. She snarled and turned going back to the cliff edge.

"No one bothers with a small kingdom. We wouldn't offer much land anyways." She muttered the last bit before she kicked a stone off the cliff. "And no man will ever make me his wife. I do not submit to anyone, ever." She said, looking at him. Her hair was blown out of her face and her usually kind brown eyes were hard, determined and powerful. The wind began to pick up more.

Dayerin wasn’t prepared for who the girl revealed herself to be. His jaw slacked and the anger blew out of him like a deflated balloon, as hers grew with an intense ferocity. She was Queen Sarayn’s daughter, the child Rumpelstiltskin had wanted! The poor tortured Princess that no one had seen into adulthood, who had inexplicably vanished. Day must have heard a dozen rumours about what happened to her. Some had said that Rumpelstiltskin had survived and had gotten a hold of her after all and turned her into his slave. Others said she was cursed so that her skin would burn if the sun touched it. And still others said that she was discovered practicing witchcraft and was locked away in a nunnery. He had always favored the tale that said she ran away and joined a pack of wolves and developed an appetite for humans.

And as she got in his face and yelled at him, it did cross his mind that she might rip his throat out. But he was too stunned to do anything about it and just gaped in awe at her. When she snarled and turned away, he had a moment to catch his breath. He realized that his heart was pounding.

Now he knew why she kept her eyes covered. When they flashed at him, they were like daggers through the heart. That is, beautiful, glinting daggers with jeweled hilts. And he hated to admit it, but she was really gorgeous when she was huffing and puffing in his face and kicking stones off the cliff.

How best to mend this situation? She was an Ever After child, and he definitely needed her help, and her dragon. He would have to do something to calm her, to make up for the way he had insulted her.

“I believe you,” he said after a tense moment of silence. “I believe you’re the long lost Firstborn, and that you don’t submit to anyone. But I wonder if you will believe me, when I tell you that I am the son of Queen Briarose. Dayerin.” The strengthening wind blowed his hood down and ruffled his unkempt hair. “Though you can call me Day. And would it help if I said I was sorry?”

“I believe you,” he said after a tense moment of silence. “I believe you’re the long lost Firstborn, and that you don’t submit to anyone. But I wonder if you will believe me, when I tell you that I am the son of Queen Briarose. Dayerin.” The strengthening wind blowed his hood down and ruffled his unkempt hair. “Though you can call me Day. And would it help if I said I was sorry?”

The wind calmed and her bangs went back to their original position. Qing Jin had trotted over and had buried his snout in her neck, huffing. "Child of the Day." The large dragon murmured, his dark eyes pinning the boy. He raised his head and moved to the supposed prince. The dragon took in the scent lingering on the boy and nodded. Oriana's stance relaxed.

"It would... I know you meant no harm. It's just..." Her lips contorted into a snarl and with a violent wave of her hand, a boulder was flung off the cliff edge. "Any thought of my horrid mother angers me beyond comprehension. She had me caged, locked up. I refuse to allow that to happen again." Qing Jin had relaxed and in a dragon's greeting, nudged his snout against Day's head. "I'm sorry for my outburst..." She lifted her hand and a faint glow covered it. "Do forgive me..." Her hand slowly lost its color and she held it out.

"Shall we try it again? Hi, I'm Oriana. This is Qing Jin."

Day was grateful that the dragon was around, because he feared it would be hard convincing Oriana that he was the Prince of Spindewas. But apparently, the dragon could smell his parentage, and the girl believed the dragon.

Then Oriana tossed a boulder off the cliff with a wave of her hand. Day was not expecting that, and he flinched. He stared at her, his mind broadening with the possibilities. If she could do that, they might actually when this war with Contalabutte. Could she topple a castle without lifting a finger, he wondered?

“I’m sorry you had such a deranged mother,” Day commiserated. “I always thought she sounded crazy. I mean, who would agree to give their unborn kid to a shriveled little man? There had to be a better way out of that situation. Didn’t she have a fairy godmother? And if it makes you feel better, my grandmother tried to eat me when I was little.”

He looked up as the dragon nudged his head. It was a little startling having a dragon’s teeth so close to one’s skull, but Day didn’t mind. He knew that this was a greeting. It was where the expression of ‘dragonlick’ came from anyway, when you had locks of hair that grew out of place. Dayerin’s whole head was basically covered with dragonlicks.

Day was intrigued by Oriana’s glowing hand, but he didn’t question it. He accepted her offered hand and shook it.

“Of course,” he said when she asked if he would forgive her. He looked amused as they re-tried their introduction. “Nice to meet you, Oriana. Qing Jin. I’m Day.”

At that moment, he saw two glowing lights speeding towards them. He figured out soon enough that it was pixie messengers. One was in front, and the other was trailing after a little. The first one came to him, and he held out his hand for it to land. The other went to Oriana.

“Holy pied piper, those pixies are fast,” Day marveled. He had trouble believing that this was a reply from the Towerlot twins. After all, he had only sent that message about half an hour ago. And why would Oriana also be getting a message? This had to be from someone else.

His pixie said: “I was instructed to find the Prince of Spindewas. The King of Effledus wants information about the ruler, and I am to stay until I get a response.”

He overheard what Oriana’s pixie said as well: “I was instructed to find the first person next to a dragon. The King of Effledus wants to know what will be your position in the conflict.”

Before answering his pixie, Dayerin looked over at Oriana and her dragon with mischievous eyes. “Hey Oriana, Qing Jin, I have a proposition for you. What do you say we take a little ride to Effledus and deliver our replies personally? I’ve always wanted to see what its like, you know, in that kingdom none of us humans are allowed to go.”

Anything forbidden was tantalizing to Day. Ever since he was a wee princeling, he had dreams of sneaking into Effledus and pulling the Beast King’s tail. There was a little rumor that if you did so, the King had to grant you a wish. If he had an opportunity to meet the Beast King face to face, he sure was going to take it. He also heard that the Beast King’s wife was the most beautiful woman alive, and of course he wasn’t going to pass up seeing her, either.

Oriana looked at the pixie in surprise. The king of Effledus. She had heard the man was as fierce as the dragons she raised. She went to tell the little thing her answer when Day spoke. She felt the grin creeping up on her face and she turned to Day, her face alight with promises of pranks.

"I believe we should. But I need to talk to the King and Queen of Matakin. I must know their stance on the issue." Right as she said this, another pixie whizzed up to her, startling Qing Jin. The little pixie looked tired and Oriana, sensing its blight, gave it a grape. It quickly scarfed the thing before looking at her.

"I was instructed to find Oriana, the Golden Child of Hatchen. The Dwarven King asks you to go to the other kingdoms as his voice. This Contalabutte will be stopped at all cost!" The pixie recited and Oriana nodded.

"Of course. I will not fail my King nor my Kingdom." She said, without even the slight hesitation. The pixie nodded and flew off. She turned to Qing Jin, who was giving the dragon equivalent of a grin. "Well then, Day." She purred, walking over to her dragon and running a hand over his scales. "Shall we pay the dear beast a visit? I've been itching to joyride Qing Jin and by the gods, you just gave me one."

"I have to disagree slightly, Golden Child. I was ordered to protect you. So allowing you to go somewhere where you might be killed for just your race... I will not let you." Qing Jin said, looking his partner in the eyes. She frowned.

"I have my magic, Qing Jin. I will be fine. And you will be there to ward off the worse." She said, glaring back at him. The dragon and girl had a staredown until the dragon sighed.

"Fine. I will concede." Oriana looked victorious, but the dragon continued. "But under no circumstances, are you to use your magic. You will be a simple dragon rider from Matakin, no more." She sighed but nodded. The dragon lowered himself and with ease, Oriana jumped onto his back. She reached down and held a hand out for Day.

"Come on, Day. Or we'll leave ya with the hatchlins!" She said, her Dwarven upbringing finally coming into her speech. She had a confident grin on her face.

Dayerin’s head spun a little with the influx of pixie mail. Oriana received her message from the Dwarven King just in the nick of time. He wondered why it was that they called Oriana ‘the Golden Child.’ But he shrugged it off and figured that he would find out about it later. The sound of her purr brought a nice little shiver down his spine.

He was about to walk towards Oriana and Qing Jin, when he felt a sharp pain in his hand. He looked down and saw that the pixie had sunk his pinprick teeth in his palm.

“I still need an answer to bring back to the King!” the pixie insisted in his tiny angry chirp.

“Alright. Tell him to open his border for two humans and a dragon. You little pain, why’d you have to bite me?” Day said, and then he shook the pixie off his hand and sent the little creature flying.

The pixie made an annoyed buzz as he prepared his message back to the King: “Tell him to open his border for two humans and a dragon. You have to bite us and give us a little pain.”

When Day turned his attention back to his new companions, he saw that they were having something like a staring contest. It looked like Oriana won, which was quite impressive when playing against a dragon.

Day approached them excitedly when Oriana held out a hand for him. He had never actually ridden on a dragon’s back before, so this ought to be fun. Oriana made it look easy, jumping up. Day grasped her hand and hauled himself up, pretending that he was mounting a really, really big horse. Being tall seemed to help.

Sitting behind Oriana, he was not really sure where to put his hands, so he rested them on the dragon’s scales. He leaned over her shoulder and asked her, “So, Oriana... can you actually see with your hair covering your eyes? I mean, it’s beautiful and all, but you’re not going to crash into a mountain or anything, right?” He snickered teasingly.

Oriana laughed and with a flick of her wrist, the reins snapped and the dragon surged forward, his powerful legs striding towards the edge of the cliff.. "Two things, grab my waist, less you fall off and I can see just fine! Now hold on tight!" She said, the initial takeoff making her laugh. The dragon's wing beats were large and graceful as they rose into the air. The dragon roared, flames shooting out of his mouth. Oriana gave a whoop and the dragon turned, avoiding the rocks.

She held the reins in on hand and with the other grabbed the connective straps, that hold riders to the seat. She looped the first one that was attached to the pommel to around their waists, pulling him closer. It clicked back onto the pommel and had smaller chains that connected to the saddle's base.

When Day was secured to her and the saddle, she twisted the dragon into insane tricks, flips and dives. It was natural for her and Qing Jin, seeing as they are partners. "Faster!" She cried and the golden beast complied, flapping his wings harder. She laughed, both hand off the reins and out like she was soaring. "True freedom comes from doing somethin' ya love, remember that!"

Since she insisted, Dayerin put his hands on Oriana’s waist and felt the dragon begin to rise. He didn’t want to get too snuggly with her--after all, they had just met and he didn’t want to get slapped in the face--but that was for naught when she strapped them in to the saddle seat. After that, they were as snug as two peas in a pod. And then he understood why...

Oriana flew her dragon like a maniac. Day thought it was exciting when Qing Jin began to lift in the air and breathe fire. But that was soon surpassed as Oriana goaded Qing Jin into showing off a repertoire of air stunts. Day found himself screaming and hooting in glee as Oriana’s braided hair flew in his face. His arms automatically latched tightly around her middle as he was sitting upside down during a loop. He looked down at the looming canyons and had the most amazing rush of blood to his head and feeling his stomach in his throat. The colors were more vibrant than he had ever seen, his vision sharper, and oxygen felt like a magic substance as his lungs took great, rapid breaths.

Day caught Oriana’s contagious laughter as they spiraled through the air. This was the most amazing ride he had ever had in his life. Driving a fairy’s chariot that one time... that was nothing! They rode at an incredible speed, yet he found himself joining in with Oriana when she shouted “Faster! Faster!” His appetite for speed, for the swiftest turns and most sudden drops, seemed insatiable. He saw Oriana take her hands off the reins and spread them out. As much as he was enjoying the ride, he didn’t feel like he had the experience to do that yet. And he couldn’t quite get his arms out of their iron lock around her waist.

He felt that her shouted words about true freedom was the perfect summation of flying on Qing Jin. “This is true freedom! I don’t want to stop!” he hollered, his eyes filling with water as the wind whipped past his smiling face.

The wind whipped at their faces and Qing Jin pitched upward, breaking the cloudcover that rested over the seas between Matakin and Effldus. The sun hit Oriana's face and she smiled. She tilted her face up and let the light warm her small frame. She tapped Qing Jin's shoulder blades and they began to free fall. She loved the feeling ovf her stomach rising into her throat. The three had begun to death spiral down towards the treetops of Effldus and she knew it was time to fly serious again. She took the reins again and pulled lightly. They pulled out of the nose dive with ease and skimmed the tree leaves.

They landed in an, luckily, empty clearing near the castle. She undid the straps and slid down Qing Jin's back. She looked up at Qing Jin. "Well, shall we start heading to that castle..?"

After the pixie directed to the family of his wife leave the room were both silent, a peaceful silence quite different from the tense silence that reigned before his wife tell him her concerns, but something disturbed the tranquility, something landed near the castle.
"My wife, there's something I should take care now, if you please to wait me in the throne room" and left his chambers, a servant came quickly to inform "Your majesty, a dragon..." was interrupted by Lufgaw "I know, I shall see it personally, tell to the guards to be ready for troubles"
"A woman and a cat are approaching the castle" the King stopped and looked at the servant "T-the border didn't report anything but there are several who have seen her"

"Tell one of my advisors, Aquila could deal with it" he didn't have time to waste with a cat when was a dragon in the backyard, the servant quickly went to fulfill his orders, Lufgaw had no intention of letting the dragon to get closer to the castle so he ran to meet him, it been a long time since he anticipated to face a powerful being, luckily wore a simple tunic which made it easier to move, thanks to that he reach the clear soon.

It was a imposing sight, a large green and gold dragon, had seen the ones who fly in the sky of the Kingdom he never has been near one, the dragons were well respected in all Effledus so his presence would be welcomed, the humans he brought wouldn't be so welcomed, the King walked firmly and said loudly and threatening "Dragon, What made you think you could bring humans to my castle? What made you think that they would be welcome?" stopped a few meters away from the group, his eyes began to glow and his hands became claws, he adopted a partial beast form, was faster and less painful than his complete form but less powerful.
He released a slight killing intent, didn't want to alter the dragon just wanted to warn him that he was serious, "What prevents me from dispose of you all now?"

Dayerin thoroughly enjoyed the final spiral into Effledus. He leered down at the misty forested landscape. This was Effledus! Finally, he had an opportunity to step into that kingdom forbidden to humans. And from the bird’s eye view, he could already see that it was living up to its reputation. The place seemed to emanate a warning... humans stay away... we hate you here... It made him shudder in his seat, but it was a good sort of shudder. Like the way he felt when he was a kid and he snuck into his grandmother’s private chambers.

They landed, and Oriana released the straps that bound them in the saddle. He looked at her and wanted to thank her for the ride, but she seemed very much down to business as she addressed her dragon. He slid down after her, and the back of his legs burned with the friction. “Dragon burn... ouch,” he murmured. His boots sank a little into the moist, loamy soil of Effledus. It made him giddy.

He saw the man approaching them, but he hardly guessed that it was King Lufgaw himself. He was way different than how Day imagined him. For one, he was dressed so simply. Once he opened his mouth, though, his authority came through. And then his eyes glowed and he showed his claws, which made Day’s insides squirm in fearful delight.

"What prevents me from dispose of you all now?"

“Your majesty,” Day bowed deeply, wearing a starstruck grin. He turned on the charm. “I hope you received our pixie replies. I would hate for you to think that we were barging in on you. I’m Dayerin, son of Queen Briarose.” He glanced at Oriana and figured she might not want to say who she really was. “And this is the dragon and rider you sent for. We came to deliver our messages personally. You wouldn’t want to dispose of us before you heard our messages, right?”

"What prevents me from dispose of you all now?"

Qing Jin bowed his head at the king and touched the tip of his snout to the ground, a sign of respect in Dragon. Oriana did the same, bowing low enough for her face to look right at the ground. "As The Time With Sun said, I doubt you'd want to dispose of powerful allies." Oriana straightened herself as the dragon talked. She knew when it was right for her to speak. She was suppose to be a peasant. Or at least she thought she would be.

"I am Qing Jin, the newest guardian dragon of Matakin's Hatchen. This is my rider, partner and ward, Oriana, daughter of Sarayn, the queen of Rumpleir. Though such a title is quite large for a small girl..." He muttered the last part before nosing Oriana's hair, making her smile softly. "We come representing Matakin and the Dwarven royalty's answer." Oriana nodded and looked at the Beastly King, intimidated by him

Traditionally, glamour was an illusion magic that was exclusive to fae, though it was not completely unheard of for certain skilled sorcerers to learn how do use it under a fae’s tutelage. Bettina herself was not fae, nor did she claim to be particularly good at magic, much less skilled, but she had always had a talent for glamour. It didn’t take a genius to figure out she’d been touched by a fae, or infected by one’s magic, the feel of fae magic on her had always been potent. She could only assume of course that it had been Rumplestiltskin’s doing, after all it had been he who taught her how to use glamour in the first place, but there was no real way in her power of knowing for sure. Glamour had always been useful to Bettina, even as a little girl. In the orphanage, she’d make images of woodland creatures dance on the wall for their amusement, or whenever they were cold she’d conjure an image of a fire place to give them comfort, even if it didn’t actually make the room any warmer. As an adult however, Bettina had found a far more practical use for her talents; disguise.

With a travelers cloak, and naturally small stature already lending credence to her role, it was a small thing to place a glamour upon herself to make her look like a fae. Bettina gave herself a nice olive green tone to her skin, round chocolate colored eyes, pointed ears, and wavy black hair, all pretty, all obviously a glamour. It was actually rather common for older fae to place glamour upon themselves to make themselves appear younger or more beautiful. Bettina couldn’t hide from a fae she was under glamour, the trick was to make them think she was a crone. And as glamour was a magic almost exclusively fae, well who would logically think she was human? Luckily as ‘Enry was a talking cat, and such animals were welcomed in Effledus, he both lent credence to her disguise and required none himself. It really did work quite nicely.

The market place in the capital of Effledus was really not that expensive. Pixie dust and Rowan fruit (both common and necessary ingredients in many potions brewed by witches or wizards alike) were almost comically cheap here, and there was a supplier at almost every corner. Outside of Effledus however, those products were both hard to come by, and outrageously overpriced. Most people were forced to put up with it however, as the only legitimate merchants in the game were fae, and they knew quite well they controlled the supply. That’s what made Bettina’s smuggling business so successful; she could sell her stock at half price and still make a tidy profit. She and ‘Enry had already purchased a few pouches of Pixie Dust, from different venders of course as they were being discrete, when there came a great commotion from above.

“It’s a dragon!” Someone screamed, and suddenly people were scrambling about, as the beast descended and landed its monstrous backend next to the castle. It did not take long for the beast king of Effledus to come barreling out after that, and Bettina was forced to pick up ‘Enry so he wouldn’t be trampled as the mob swept them up in an attempt to get closer and see their king speak to the dragon. From her forced position in the front, it became clear to Bettina that the dragon and the two riders were not looking for a fight, in fact were royalty.

“Oooh oui oui! Zat iz ze Prince, of Spindlewas I remember!” ‘Enry exclaimed excitedly as Bettina brooded. The prince of Spindlewas could go choke on his silver spoon for all she cared. Bad timing was all he brought to her. She’d never found it wise to linger overly long in populated areas of Effledus when she was here, but with the market place as riled up as it was by the appearance of a dragon, she was stuck here for a while until things calmed down.

Lufgaw was in a good mood, good enough made him ignore the fact that the human I spoke without authorization, on the contrary Qing Jin and his rider understood quite well the situation in which they were, also if the dragon was talking the truth, that considering his species was most likely, the girl is Matakin spokeswoman.

Without realizing it had a crowd surrounding them nullifying any possibility of combat, the King wasn't going to risk his citizens in a battle with a dragon, no, diplomacy is the only option, Lufgaw was good at it but never with humans, he didn't even met the Queen of Towerlot his wife and advisors took care of those matters.

The first thing to do was to confirm the identity of humans, his nose was the means to do it since he had the best of all the kingdom, the man had a slight ogre's smell as the stories tell that childrens of Biarose were descendants of ogres so he passed.

However the girl was an amalgam of smells, predominated the human scent but that wasn't all, she had a residual smell of sulfur and dwarf corresponded with someone of Matakin, but what caught the attention of the King was the faint Fae scent, how a human would have that smell? her introduction gave the answer, Rumplestiltkin you old fool, how many humans able to use fae magic bore your pathetic revenge?, had at least one confirmed and one to be confirmed.
When the cat exclaimed further confirming the identity of the prince of the fallen kingdom, Lufgaw noticed the person who was with him, his eyes told him Fae but his nose screamed human, that explained the why the border never said anything, he should ask her how is able to do something like that.

There was also the matter of tonight's celebration, the King finally reached a decision "I shall know if what you have to say will help my kingdom or not tomorrow," began to speak facing the dragon "Until then may remain in the castle where I'll uncover your true nature, I will only say two things "look at the one called Dayerin "When a man loses everything he only has two things: his words and his life, if you want to keep the latter choose well the first" then set his eyes on the girl "When you're the spokesperson of a king your words and actions are of this, if you don't wish to bring him shame or something worse choose wisely your behavior," he turned to see the crowd and shout "Preparations for tonight will continue without change!" walked ignoring his guests and approached the talking cat "Cat, you and your partner are welcome in the palace", with that he have the three suspects under surveillance, "Qing Jin, if you need something just ask, the others follow me" it was rather obvious the difference in treatment between the dragon and humans but he didn't care, and walked to the castle thinking that Aquila could accommodate those humans.

Qing Jin looked at the crowd, which had honestly frightened Oriana to hide herself in his large wing. The poor girl hated crowds of any kind and this was not helping her. He nosed her again and almost froze. They had forgotten the Dragon magic that hid her Fae. He snorted twice, making her look up at him. "Do no panic, Golden Child. but your magic is leaking ever so slightly. I wouldn't be surprised if the King picked up on it..." Oriana stiffened and turned to see the King smelling the air. She relaxed some when he didn't comment on it.

Both nodded at the king's first words, though they were both puzzled and curious. What could be so important that war was second? The dragon could smell the excitement coming off some of the crowd. It was light but pungent. He wondered what had them so eager. He decided to wait until the clue was opened up to him then comment.

"When you're the spokesperson of a king your words and actions are of this, if you don't wish to bring him shame or something worse choose wisely your behavior,"

"Of course, King Lufgaw." She said, confident in her words. She didn't want to let down her kingdom after all. She bowed as the king left and looked up at Qing Jin. The dragon began to follow the beast king and Oriana, though nervous, trotted along side him. She didn't want to be left alone with all those... Citizens.

Day didn’t understand why Oriana seemed ill at ease, as a sudden crowd descended upon them. For one, he loved crowds. He tended to gravitate towards them... they were exciting and chaotic. It brought him back to his fondest memories as a small boy, marching through a crowd on his father’s horse, the gleeful citizens of Old Spindewas throwing roses in the air and shouting his name.

When the crowd came, Day took a moment to pan his eyes over them. Of course, a crowd in Effledus looked much different than a crowd in Old Spindewas. For one, there was no one elderly here. And all the Fae folk were gorgeous and exotic-looking. There was a sprinkling of talking animals in the crowd, too, but one in particular caught his ear.

“Oooh oui oui! Zat iz ze Prince, of Spindlewas I remember!”

It was a cat that spoke his name in the funny accent--he saw his tiny mouth move. He was a cute little black cat and Day couldn’t help but smile at a cat wearing spectacles. Day then noticed the Fae holding the cat. She was a pretty one, as they all were very pretty... but for some reason she was sending him a nasty look. This intrigued him, and he cracked a small smile at her.

Day turned his attention back to King Lufgaw as he made his decision known. It was actually better than he had hoped for. They wouldn’t have to sneak in to see the kingdom... Lufgaw was inviting them inside! And then the Beast King doled out some words of wisdom:

"When a man loses everything he only has two things: his words and his life, if you want to keep the latter choose well the first.”

Day bit his tongue, to keep himself from saying the first thing that came to him, which was full of impertinence. The Beast King’s words made him sore. For one, it reminded him of the invasion, and for another, it was a thinly veiled threat on his life. “Thanks for the advice, Your Majesty,” Day replied stiffly, and gave a short bow as the King turned away.

Lufgaw said to follow him, and Day watched as Qing Jin and Oriana went along. But he lingered where he was. He stepped towards the brooding Fae with the cat. He had noticed how Lufgaw had singled them out, and wondered why.

“Hello, may I speak to your cat?” Dayerin asked her, recalling how the creature had called out his name. The Fae was even more gorgeous up close. Looking down at the cat gave him an excuse to check her out. “Nice boots, kitty,” he complimented her pet when he noticed his footwear. Even in Spindewas, most people had heard of Puss in Boots. Although they didn’t know that he had essentially created the Marquis of Carabas, he was celebrated as a folk hero that outwitted ogres, rescued maidens from towers and was the best mouser in Mewhaven. Day had traveled twice to Mewhaven, and longed to go back again. Talking cats were one of his very favorite things.