THE DRAGON QUEEN’S LAST STAND

By Catherine Jackson

It was warm summer’s day. The sun had just started to set, as Treguard sat down and wiped his brow. It had been a busy few weeks, but a mate had finally been found for Smirkenorff, with the help of the Dragon Queen. She had  been a constant visitor to Knightmare Castle since her powers had returned to her, and she had spent all her energy on this task; it seemed very important to her to get it done.

Suddenly, the castle door burst open. It was Romahna. Her team of dragon wardens had been kept very busy guarding Smirkenorff and his mate. There had been many attempts to stop the mating by Lord Fear, but thankfully the Brollachan had been returned to his rightful place by Grimaldine, and they were both helping in the effort to guard the dragons. There had been many spells put on the Brollachan to stop anyone tampering with his memory again.

  “Where is the Dragon Queen?” asked Romahna.

  “She is in the other room. Sit here and rest while I get her,” said Treguard.

He went into the other room. The Dragon Queen was sitting in a chair, in a kind of trance. She had done this many times, and had told Treguard that it was a way of improving her powers.

  “Dragon Queen, I’m sorry to disturb…” said Treguard, but before he could finish, the Dragon Queen’s eyes opened.

  “I know there is something wrong,” she told Treguard. “I can feel it. No mater what I say next, you must go along with it. We must put on a good performance.”

Treguard looked at her strangely, but knew better that not to trust what she said. As they entered the other room, Romahna fell onto her knees.

  “Stop!” said the Dragon Queen. “Please get up; there is no need for that. Please, tell us what is wrong.”

  “Lord Fear has been spotted approaching our nest sites, and many of my operatives have been killed or captured. I fear that Lord Fear will soon know where the mating nest is,” said Romahna.

  “Treguard, get the map, if you please,” said the Dragon Queen, and Treguard rolled out a large old parchment. “Show where the attacks have been located,” continued the Dragon Queen.

  “Here, at the start of the nests,” Romahna obliged, pointing at the map. “They seem to be heading towards this area of woodland.”

  “Good,” said the Dragon Queen. “Move all the other dragons to safer nests. Use what guards you have to protect them. We will move Smirkenorff and his mate to this location.” She pointed at a spot near a mountain range. “It won’t be easy for them to reach; I will make sure of it. Go now, you have a lot of work to do.”

Just as Romahna was heading for the door, the Dragon Queen spoke again.

  “Here, use this portal,” she offered. “You will get back faster.”

Romahna nodded, and in a blink she was gone, and so was the portal.

  “Don’t speak yet, Treguard,” said the Dragon Queen. “I just want to be sure we are safe to talk.” She paused for a second. “It is safe; you can speak now.”

Treguard took a breath and spoke: “Just tell me why we gave out our plans to Romahna.”

  “What did I tell you about putting on a good performance?” the Dragon Queen smiled. “That was not Romahna, but it was a very good copy of her. It nearly fooled me; this new techno-magic is very hard to spot. However, I got a telepathic message from Smirkenorff, saying that Romahna had gone missing several days ago, before we first moved  Smirkenorff, so he was under orders to go to the mating nest no mater what. I don’t plan to move Smirkenorff to the mountains that I showed you, but to this volcano here. It’s where he was born, and only he and I know exactly where it is. We will move some dragons to the mountains, yes, but not Smirkenorff. I will use two other dragons as bait. The two I have in mind are almost identical to Smirkenorff and his mate. They are the dragons’ twins.”

Treguard’s mouth dropped open.

  “When Smirkenorff was born,” the Dragon Queen continued, “he had a twin, which was sent to Grimaldine’s land in order to keep it safe, as insurance that Smirkenorff’s line would continue. His mate also has a twin. Now we must go to the mountains to make sure that our fake plan is to go well. Come, we have much to prepare.”

Meanwhile, inside Marblehead, Lord Fear was pacing the room, waiting for the door to open. When it did, in came Romahna.

  “Did our plan work?” asked Lord Fear.

  “Yes, my lord,” said Romahna, as she transformed into Maldame. “Our plan worked perfectly. I now know where the dragon is and to where it is to be moved. The Dragon Queen was fooled; our magic worked to perfection. Here, this is were they are being moved to.”

Maldame showed Lord Fear all that she had been told. Lord Fear smiled.

  “Good,” he approved. “You have done well. I don’t even mind that you told them where we’re going to attack from - it is a small price to pay. Those fools! Well, let’s make sure that the mountains become their graveyard! It should be my red dragon mating, not Smirkenorff!  Come, my dear, let us go and administer our revenge!”

So, will Lord Fear and Maldame succeed in carrying out their evil revenge, or will the Dragon Queen be able to stop them in time? Read the conclusion of Catherine’s story next time to find out.