PhoenixSong.net :: A Harry/Ginny Fanfic and Fanart Archive

Author: Sassenach

Story: Dragon Riders

Part: 8. Royalty Among the Ranks

Rating: Teens

Setting: AU

Status: WIP

Reviews: 5

Words: 3,153

Updated: October 22, 2005, 11:21am

Printer Friendly Format

Chapter Navigation:

8. Royalty Among the Ranks

Jade struggled to concentrate as she side stepped a head on attack. She parried off Alex's thrust toward her chest and swung her blade around, catching him on his right thigh. He winced in response and pulled back a step. They circled each other for a few moments before Jade spun and slashed her blade across Alex's chest. He'd barely been able to raise his own weapon in defense. The heavy ring of metal clashing resonated as the two blades met.

Alex grinned as he forced the length of his blade up hers and she struggled to hold her ground. Pushing his weight against hers, he pressed her back several feet. She stumbled backwards before regaining her stance, scowling wickedly at him.

"Don't try to be funny," she hissed.

"Never that," Alex replied with a grin.

Crying out as she lunged toward him, Jade swung her blade swiftly down at his head. Alex spun out of the way narrowly avoiding being cleaved in half. Their swords met again with a shower of sparks, this time Jade was pushing Alex. Flicking her wrist, she twirled her sword along the length of Alex's blade before swiping it aside. The sword flew out of his hands and landed blade-down in the ground.

Pointing the tip of her blade at his throat, Jade murmured with an intense look in her eyes, "Dead."

"Well met, Jade," Alex said before stepping back and bowing to her.

As she lowered her sword to her side, Jade heard Brendan and Mac cheering for her. She turned then and smiled over at them.

"You were great," Brendan complimented as they approached. "I've never seen you so determined."

"He was goading me," Jade replied tossing a scathing look over at Alex.

He shrugged saying, "You needed the encouragement."

"I still don't see the point of swords," Mac grumbled. "In a wizard's duel you'd be dead if you put your wand down for one of those knives."

"It's for recreation," Jade stated, "not for protection."

"You've improved greatly since we began a month ago," Alex informed her as he pulled his sword out of the mud.

Jade sheathed her sword in its scabbard and waited for Alex to do the same. Standing face to face they each bowed to each other as it was tradition to end each of their duels with this courtesy.

"Tell me something sword master," Mac said teasingly. "Why is it that you know how to wield a sword?"

"He's royalty in England," Jade snickered jokingly.

Brendan and Mac exchanged curious looks. "Really?" Brendan asked.

"Not quite," Alex replied narrowing his eyes at Jade. "Officially, I am Alexander Patrick Gregers Richard Windsor, Earl of Ulster. I am a cousin once removed of her majesty Queen Elizabeth II." He sighed as he rubbed his dirty knuckles against his forehead saying, "That makes me the nineteenth in the line of succession." Shaking his head in frustration he began to pace. "None of that matters, really. I don't want to be treated as if I'm royalty. I'm here to do a specific job."

"And what job is that?" Jade asked becoming defensive.

"Wizard, I may be, but I have a duty to her majesty and our country. If it weren't for that madman, I'd be home worrying about more trivial things. As it is, I'm here and that's not going to change just yet."

"Does Charlie know all of this?" Jade asked trying to conceal her pain. She hadn't anticipated such a revelation from Alex. The news was both startling and hurtful.

"Yes, I do," Charlie announced from behind them. "Alex was transferred here a month ago not only to fill your position, Jade, but to observe our preparations for a second war."

Alex sighed deeply. "Unfortunately, the Prime Minister is unaware as to the severity of the situation. I was appointed to the head of Muggle Relations Department recently, seeing as to how I'm a wizard and yet I live among Muggles."

"Why?" Jade mumbled. "Why would you choose to be a dragon rider of all things?"

Smiling, Alex replied, "I was a rider in Wales before I was appointed."

"Alex, I have a missive for you in my tent. We need to speak as well," Charlie stated.

"Very well, then." Alex nodded before following Charlie.

Jade stood rigidly, watching the pair walk away. She felt a hand come down on her shoulder in what she assumed was comfort and she shook it off murmuring, "Don't."

Twenty minutes later, Jade was at the top of the mountain path venting her frustration on a fallen tree trunk. She hacked away at it until her arms screamed in protest. Her back ached and her hands were blistered, but she wouldn't stop.

How could she be so stupid? Why didn't she see it before? He was royalty and she was…just an orphan. For the first time in her life, Jade felt as if she was insignificant.

"Finished?" Alex questioned from behind her.

Jade yanked her sword out of the trunk and spun around. In one swift motion, she sent the sword hurtling across the dark spans. It struck home in a tree beside Alex.

Barely flinching, Alex observed the sword and with a shake of his head, pulled it out. "If you'll let me explain," he began.

"Explain what, Alex? You've done enough explaining. You're an Earl, a son of a Duke. For Merlin's sake, Alex, you're related to the Queen!"

"What will you have me say to that?" he questioned.

With a howl of frustration she asked, "Why didn't you tell me? All this time and you never once thought to mention, 'Jade, there's something I ought to tell you…I'm in line for the crown'!"

"Why does that matter?"

"Because it matters to me!" she cried out waving a fist in the air. "Bloody hell, Alex, all this time I…well, I…it doesn't matter! None of it matters now, because I'm no one." Her hands fell slack at her sides as she contended with the emotions that were swirling around inside of her.

"That's not true, Jade," Alex argued. "Why does it matter if I have a title and how does that make you no one?"

Jade shook her head in dejection. "Just go away, Alex. Spare me the added humiliation."

"Humiliation?" he echoed.

"Bugger it all! I've spent nearly a month with you and I've embarrassed myself countless times in front of Mac and Brendan. I was fond of you, Alex. I am fond of you." She leaned against a tree needing the support because she felt as if she would fall without it.

Alex remained silent for a moment. "Jade, I'm sorry."

She laughed, because if she didn't she might cry. "You're sorry, that's rich. Didn't you see, couldn't you see it?"

"You're right, I did see it. I enjoy our time together, Jade. I shouldn't have led you on so."

"Great, now that that is settled," Jade murmured drawing on her anger to strengthen her reserve. She pushed away from the tree and took her sword from him.

Alex grabbed her arm and held her. "Wait, Jade."

"Wait for what, Alex?" Her face hardened as she stared him straight in the eyes. "You've made it quite clear where your intent lies…with the crown and we're just friends." It felt so cold, so rigid and yet it was true. "We're just friends," she repeated more softly, because she couldn't bring herself to cut him off completely.

He nodded his head in quiet acceptance, letting her arm go. This time, as she walked down the mountain she couldn't stop the tears. She wasn't heartbroken, she knew that. She was just hurt and embarrassed. As she wiped at her face before reaching the camp, she promised herself that she would never make the mistake of opening herself to someone again.

~@~

Charlie stared into the incubators intently watching the development of future dragons. He waved his wand over a green egg inspecting the embryo within. The egg was immersed in leaves that were moistened with rain water.

"Jared, make sure this egg's nest is refreshed tonight," Charlie ordered before turning to the next egg which was black.

Charlie watched as steam dripped onto the egg from the glass top of the incubator the egg was kept in. "Hey, Jared, come over and look at this," he said after a moment of studying the strange forms appearing on the shell.

Jared moved from behind his desk and joined Charlie beside the incubator. After staring at the forms Charlie was pointing out he asked, "That's not supposed to happen, is it?"

"Not that I know of, but you're supposed to be the expert," Charlie said smirking.

Jared pushed his hair away from his brow frowning. "I'm going to pull it out. I'll immerse it in a vat of marsh water."

"Make sure that one doesn't die, Jared. Norwegian Ridgeback numbers are dwindling as it is," Charlie stated as he moved onto the next incubator.

Jared waved off the comment as he arranged a new incubator for the egg. "I'm sure it will be fine once I put it in this. The acidity must be too high in that tank," Jared mumbled as he set up the filtering tubes.

Charlie touched the glass of the incubator he stood in front of and hissed as his fingertips nearly froze at the touch. "Merlin, Jared, it's like touching a glacier," he commented as he blew on his fingers to warm them.

Jared snickered, "Charlie, it's sub-zero in that incubator. Read the labels, you dolt."

Charlie read the label and murmured, "How did you get your hands on a Swedish Short-Snout?"

"Illegal means," Jared replied with a frown as he extracted the Norwegian Ridgeback egg from it's incubator with his wand. He concentrated as he levitated it into its new home.

Charlie shook his head as he watched Jared close the incubator after placing the egg into it. "How am I supposed to explain that to the ministry?" he questioned.

Jared shrugged. "Tell them we found it."

"In Romania?" Charlie rolled his eyes as Jared walked back over to his desk seemingly unconcerned. "I'm sure they'll believe that."

"What do you want me to tell you, Charlie? I bought it off the black market." Jared pointed at the egg with a quill. "I saved that egg from becoming a potion or worse yet, someone's pet. Do you want me to give it back?"

Charlie sighed as he ran his hands through his hair in thought. "I'll figure something out. In the meantime, if a ministry official comes you have to hide it. I'm not about to tell them that an official dragon reserve deals with the black market for the acquisition of rare dragon eggs."

"You've got it boss," Jared replied as he sat in his chair. "Anything else?"

"Yeah," Charlie said as he sat on the edge of Jared's desk. "Word in the camp is there was some friction between Jade and Alex."

Jared grinned as he scoffed, "Why, I didn't know you were interested in other people's affairs."

Charlie grumbled as he plucked Jared's quill away. "I just want to know what's going on. I don't want any fights again."

"Sure," Jared snickered. When he received a warning glance from Charlie he shrugged. "I was told that they had a row at the top of the mountain. I'm pretty sure she's miffed about him hiding his status from her. Either way, they've been pretty distant lately."

"Interesting," Charlie murmured as he fingered the feather end of Jared's quill.

Shaking his head, Jared snatched his quill back saying, "If you're so concerned, go ask her yourself."

"I might just do that," Charlie replied rising from Jared's desk.

Jared's mouth opened wordlessly. "I…Charlie, I don't think Jade would appreciate that. She might throttle you."

"I'm not stupid, Jared," Charlie snapped.

Sighing in relief, Jared sat back in his chair. "Good."

"Take care of those eggs," Charlie said tapping an incubator on his way out. "I have some business to attend to."

~@~

The business Charlie had to attend to was standing outside the dragon paddock immersed in a conversation with another rider. Charlie approached the pair and joined the conversation before saying, "Listen Alex, I need to have a word with you about some things."

"Alright, Charlie, I'll be over by your tent in a bit," Alex replied with a nod.

Minutes later, Charlie sat at his desk going through his papers. There was a knock at the door before Alex peered inside. "You said you needed to speak to me?" he questioned as he walked in and took a seat opposite of Charlie.

"Yeah," Charlie murmured as he got comfortable in his chair. "I've spoken with the ministry again and they are a complete mess."

"I noticed," Alex replied with a frown. "I'm not sure what to do, really."

"Yes, well the time has come to start doing something. Cornelius Fudge is refusing to see the truth about the matter and things are just increasingly becoming worse. Who knows what will happen next."

Alex nodded his head in agreement. "I've received several letters from the man and he's done nothing but given me the run-around. I think it may be time for me to depart for the ministry and get to the bottom of things." He leaned back in his chair contemplatively sighing.

"Something wrong?" Charlie asked.

Alex slowly shook his head. "No, it's nothing."

Charlie pulled a face before saying, "I heard that Jade is upset with you."

Laughing, Alex said, "If this is upset, I'd like to see her scorching mad."

The room fell into an awkward silence as the two men thought about Jade. Finally, Charlie couldn't hold it back. "You hurt her, Alex."

Alex met Charlie's eyes and gravely said, "It's not as if I tried to."

"You should have been forthright with her, instead of hiding the truth. She deserves better than an illusion," Charlie stated.

Alex frowned. "I know that." He shook his head in confusion. "Why are you telling me this anyway, Charlie?"

"Because," Charlie answered trailing off.

Realization dawned upon Alex. "You care for her, don't you?"

Charlie stood from his chair abruptly, avoiding the question. "You should talk to her before you go. Make amends or she'll never forgive you."

"Answer my question, Charlie. Do you care for her?" Alex demanded as he, too, stood.

"What does that matter? Of course, I care about Jade." Charlie snapped in return.

Shaking his head, Alex said, "You should tell her."

"Lunacy," Charlie spat out. "She'd laugh in my face and besides, it's against policy."

"Well, that's your business," Alex stated. "I'll speak to her before I go." He moved toward the door and stopped suddenly. He turned back to Charlie and said, "You know, Charlie, if I was you and didn't have the responsibility of an entire population on my shoulders I'd do anything to be with a girl like Jade. Fear of rejection wouldn't stop me, and it shouldn't stop you." He then turned and went through the door, closing it quietly behind him.

~@~

Alex found Jade sitting in front of a fire by herself. The flickering light from the flames danced across her face. She looked up and met eyes with him as he approached.

"Hey," he murmured as he sat down next to her.

"Hi," she replied.

"I need to speak to you," Alex stated. "I don't want you to be angry with me. I know what I did was just as bad as lying to your face. It was never my intent to hurt you, but I couldn't help how I felt around you."

Jade inclined her face toward him listening intently.

"You're amazing and when I'm around you I feel alive. I didn't want to ruin what we had by saying who I truly was and that in itself is wrong," he said.

"What do we have, Alex? Because I'm trying to figure that out myself," she retorted.

He reached over and took his hand in hers, brushing his fingers over her knuckles. "We had something special, and I don't even know what it was. All I know is that it made me feel great."

Her eyes widened and watered with unshed tears. "You're leaving," she whispered knowingly.

He nodded his head as he ran his thumb across her cheekbone. "Yes, tomorrow," he answered.

"You don't have to go, Alex," she implored.

"Yes, I do," he replied with a smile. "I'll write to you though."

She sighed, looking down at their entwined hands. "You won't be coming back, will you?" she questioned.

"No," he answered. "I don't belong here, but you do."

She opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off. "Yes, you do belong here with the dragons and with Mac and Brendan." Almost bitterly he added, "Charlie too."

"Then if you're going, what about us?"

He grinned widely. "We're friends."

"Friends," she echoed.

He squeezed her hands in confirmation before saying, "I should go start packing. I leave first thing in the morning."

"Oh," Jade murmured.

"But there's just one thing before I go," he said. "I have to do this one thing."

"What is that?" she asked with a quirk of her eyebrow.

"This," he whispered as he lowered his mouth to hers and softly pressed his lips against hers. Slowly he drew away from her and smiled. "I won't forget you."

Returning from her shock she laughed, "You'd better not or I'll send you a Howler."

"Oi, I hated when my mum sent me one of those," he chuckled. "Take care, Jade," he said as he stood up and ruffled her hair.

"You, too," she called out to him as he walked away.

Jade turned toward the fire once again, this time with her knuckles pressed against her mouth. She'd never imagined kissing Alex. It was surprisingly familiar, like kissing a brother but different. She couldn't quite describe it. All she knew was that Alex would only be a friend to her.

Author's Notes: Hey everyone, I just wanted to say thanks for reading thus far and I'm glad you are all enjoying the story.

I have written a scene involving the dragon eggs in incubators into this chapter. It was inspired by this webpage I came across for Dungeons and Dragons:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20031107a

I realize that this is considered "cross-over" material and that some of you might find fault in my using some of the ideas for egg laying, incubating and hatching. However, in regard to the Norwegian Ridgeback egg, I have applied the information found in Sorcerer's Stone as much as possible. My beta assures me that what Charlie and Jared do to this egg follows Hagrid's method of dragon husbandry found in Chapter Fourteen, Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback, even though the two have brought their methods into the 20th Century.

Chapter Navigation: Previous Next