Eridanus Réalta

Eridanus’ head hurt. Maybe that’s why they call it a headache, she thought wryly, reverting to terrible puns to keep her sanity intact like she did every morning. What had happened last night? Her headache had just developed a few minutes ago when one of her more nervous attendants had busted into the room. Eridanus managed to snag a few words out of their conversation as he jabbered to Lasair.

She couldn’t remember much of what had happened the previous night. The last thing she remembered was a cruel snarl twisting someone’s snout. Blue scales, maybe? And light– she remembered the gruesome blue light that stabbed her eyeballs. After that, she couldn't remember what happened. 

“Eri, time for breakfast!” Lasair called, pushing away the nervous IceWing, Isolde, who was practically clinging to her tail. “Did you sleep well?” 

“Not really,” Eridanus mumbled. Which was true. She’d felt like someone had been holding her eyelids shut all night, and although she had slept, it was a tight, shallow sleep. She barely knew what had happened. She’d felt FlameWing scales, whether Adan or Lasair she didn’t know. Then, she’d felt several sharp things slashing her scales all night, and whispery noises shredding her ears.

“Well come on, you have a royal breakfast to attend,” Lasair said. “We can get you some esirnus to help you stay awake.”

“Okay,” Eridanus said with a colossal yawn, stretching her wings. Dull pain popped along her shoulders. “My muscles hurt,” she complained in surprise, trying to reach her back with an awkward talon.

“Well, you did get-uh,” Lasair said, stumbling over her words. “You… were sleeping with your wings all messed up. Yes. That. You can go to Kisti and she’ll fix you up.”

Eridanus grinned, missing Lasair’s trip. “Why are you getting me out of bed? Your job is to make me look horrible.” She clicked her front talons together and fell off the bed, blankets flying everywhere.

“You know I can always take away your Samanos privileges.” Lasair countered, flicking Eridanus’ snout.

After much grumbling and a few very specific, disturbing threats to Lasair, Eridanus made it down to breakfast. “How did you sleep?” Sundancer asked, stabbing a piece of hawk sausage in a manner that suggested it had mortally offended her.

“Why do people keep asking me this?” Eridanus grumbled to herself, “Not very well. It could be because of something that happened last night, but I can’t remember what happened…” 

Eridanus said the last part so that only Sundancer and Lasair could hear her. “Also, where is Adan?” Eridanus added almost immediately after her previous statement.

“He. . . had to go home,” Sundancer said after a moment. 

“I thought that Adan lived at the castle.” Eridanus pressed grumpily. “He told me that his house was demolished after his father was banished.”

“He’s staying with his friends!” Lasair supplied quickly. She looked like a cornered bullfrog. Shocked, nervous, and puffy. She was puffy because of several feathery scarves wrapped around her neck. Eridanus wondered why she let this dragon even touch her scales with makeup.

“Oh,” Eridanus said, saddened that Adan hadn’t told her that he was staying elsewhere. “Isn’t he working today?” Eridanus asked, still curious. 

“He had an important matter so he had to swap his phase to the TideMover Moon.” Sundancer conveyed. 

“Do you know what friend’s house he’s at?” Eridanus pressed. 

“I think he said last night that he was going to Zeus Cielo’s house.” Lasair supplied, more froggish than ever. 

That makes finding Adan easier for me, Eridanus thought. “Oh, I just remembered that I have a meeting today. With… umm, a lyoboken peacemaker committee,” Eridanus said, hoping that her companions wouldn’t see through her astronomical lie. “It’s really important, and I need to get going so I won’t be late,” Eridanus said, placing her napkin down. It fell off the table like a real lyoboken. She cursed herself. Lyoboken? BAD brain! Bad, bad, BAD brain!

Lyobokens were tiny slug-like creatures, only they were purple and loved to latch onto humans and dragons to make them do crazy things. Some people say that Shaddowwalker could control people because of eating lyobokens. That idea though had always made Eridaanus shudder with disgust. Thankfully, Sundancer had provided her with information that wasn’t true

“Oh,” Sundancer said. “Don’t forget to take a guard with you when you go out. I think that you should take Bylur with you. He seems like a nice dragon, don’t you think?” Sundancer asked the last statement of Lasair and Eridanus. 

“Okay. . .” Eridanus said slowly. “Well, can you tell me where he is so I won’t be late for my meeting?”

Sundancer nodded. “Alright, love. He’s in the –” she grimaced “–lounge.”

Eridanus rolled her eyes so hard, she was surprised they didn’t pop out of her head. She had no intention of finding Bylur, but she knew that if she didn’t take him, her mother would find out, and by the look on her face, she currently meant business. She hoped Bylur was prone to bribery.

Racing past her room, she stopped to grab a handful of gems. Not the really valuable ones, but she did need them. She stuffed them in her pouch and went to find Bylur.

He was not in the lounge when she went to find him but in the exertion room. She hated the exertion room because basically, it was where you went when you wanted to die. There were heavy weights you could tie to your wings, giant pits of water for hovering over until your wings gave out, and bars attached to the ceiling so you could hang off them like a monkey. Inside, it smelled like taut scales and rubber, and the only time she’d ever gone in there was when she was hiding from one of Sundancer’s noisier guests.

Bylur was smugly hanging off the wall by his hind legs when she walked in, and, much to her amusement, the moment he spotted her he lost his concentration and fell heavily into the pristine pool below. He scrambled out of the pool and bowed deeply in Eridanus’ direction, sending water droplets everywhere.

Looking at Bylur with disdain, Eridanus said, “Evidently, you need to go with me when I leave the castle.” 

Quickly standing straight up, he said, “Yes, your Highness!” and bowed again. Eridanus rolled her eyes. 

“This’ll be a fun day,” she muttered and stomped out the door, her wings flared in irritation. Bylur stumbled over his claws and chased after her retreating tail.

================================

Eridanus flew to the city of Avior, her tail fluttering dangerously behind her. The last night, formerly blurry, had been slowly returning to her in tight, sharp bursts. Adan’s face kept prickling at the corners of her mind, and she could remember a blue-brown snout twisted in rage. Pain thundered through her head as the memory of vicious talons returned, reaching for her wings to rip and shred them to tatters. She shuddered and swooped down to Zeus’s distinctive SkyWing tower house. Blue light shone through one windowpane, and she guessed that would be Zeus’s room.

Even though Eridanus wanted to swoop into the room, she had to be professional, so she moved down to the grand entrance of the Cielo’s tower. The Cielo family name was well respected on Mount Naga’s slopes and very wealthy, the reason for their large, extravagant tower.

As she knocked on the opal-sheened door reading Cielo in silver letters, she heard a loud rustling noise on the other side. “Hello?” Eridanus inquired skeptically, wondering how expensive the door must have been. A wild flapping of wings and rustling of tails ensued. 

Finally, the door scraped aside, revealing three young SkyWings, all fluttering their spines and frills frantically. “Ooh!” one blurted, feigning shock. “Hello… Princess Vesper! I mean Princess Eridanus! Is there anything I can do for you?” 

“Can you please tell me where the Urubyaro Rukomeye is?” Eridanus asked in a sweet voice, speculating that this dragonell’s voice was either severely damaged or not usually this high. “I need to meet with him as soon as possible, please.”

“A-alright then. Come with me,” the dragonell said, twisting her talons. 

“Hold on, Princess! Where are you going?” Bylur yelped, extremely far behind her.

“To see two dragons, as I said before,” Eridanus said, aiming her best glare at Bylur, whose white wings looked ghostly as he fluttered them.

“Who?” Bylur asked nosily. Eridanus wondered if he would mind if she set his head on fire.

“Adan Lie-'' Eridanus started, yelling behind her. “You mean the traitor’s son. He’s only using you to retrieve information for Shadowwalker.” Bylur interrupted matter-of-factly. Eridanus began calling up her fire breath, hoping she could get in a few blasts before he ducked.

Quickly Eridanus was able to catch up with the guide. When she finally reached Zeus’ door the guide dragon turned and said, “Here you are, ma’am. I hope you will come to see me if you need anything,” the dragonell said, her wings quivering. “Thank you!” Eridanus replied, swallowing her fire burst.

As the dragon left, Eridanus lightly knocked on the wall, searching for a hollow sound. Quickly finding what she was looking for, Eridanus put her ear up to the wall and began eavesdropping on the conversation going on in Zeus Cielo's room.

“-It’s not good for her, or you to ‘let her go’. You know that,” came a high-pitched voice that was probably Zeus. 

“You know I have to. It’s not easy for me to be called ‘the traitor's son’. If I’m being ridiculed like that, imagine what will happen to her,” came Adan’s softer voice.“People already think that she is plotting against the queen.” 

After the last statement, Eridanus heard a small muffled thump.

“Your Highness! Princess Eridanus! Where’d you go!?” Bylur’s loud voice rang throughout the pristine hallways, making Eridanus jump. Quickly, she tried to discreetly lift off the ground, and use the constant air currents to float to the top of the soaring ceiling.

Blur made it into the hallway just after Eridanus had made it to the top of the eggshell-colored ceiling. Her plan to hide from her bodyguard hadn’t gone quite to plan, as Bylur had decided to bang on the door harshly, revealing two dragons.