Chp.10: Rhaegal and the king

Rhaegal felt a slight shiver run down his spine. His instincts warned him that it was time for serious conversation. "Yes, I'd like to have a word with you" he said. "For starters, why this kidnapping? What are you aiming for? I thought we had a deal"

He knew that if he let him lead the conversation, the king might ask him uncomfortable questions or might lead him to give himself away in some way. He had to stay focused and he had to be the one to manage the game; only in this way could he discover as much as possible without risking revealing details that should not be revealed. He knew for sure he was playing a dangerous game and that the slightest mistake could cause great harm to his family or their allies.

"Technically, we didn't have any deals. We were just working together, just aligning our interests. We didn't make any deals, we didn't negotiate, we didn't sign anything, we didn't swear anything, we didn't even the hand. For the moment I have collaborated due to various causes of force majeure, but that does not mean that I will not try to regain control of the situation" the king replied with a smile. "Your brother has gained too much power under my nose and has too much control over me. Therefore I decided to exploit his one weakness to gain control over him in turn. You know, I was very surprised when I learned of your existence... finding a dragon is already a difficult thing in this world, but finding two in the same territory, moreover two brothers, who also collaborate and help each other... is an extremely rare event. I am lucky in a sense. I don't know how deep the bond is between you two, but if you have remained together up to this moment despite the difficulties then I trust it will be strong enough to convince your brother to have a word with yours truly"

Rhaegal grit his teeth. At least, this conversation proved that the king did not know of the existence of their other siblings, and perhaps did not even suspect it ... or perhaps that was what he wanted him to believe. "Is that surprising to you?" he asked him. "Two brothers who love each other, is it really that unusual? You must have had a really sad life"

"Oh, but that IS unusual, my dear. If the two brothers are two dragons, then this event is immensely improbable" the king answered without falling into his provocation. She leaned slightly towards him. "Besides, these two brothers not only work together, but actually love each other... very strange. Tell me, how come it is only between you two that there is such a bond? I know for a fact that the litters of dragons are very numerous. Why do you did you stay together while you abandon all the others?". His eyes narrowed slightly. "Because you abandoned them... am I right?"

Rhaegal didn't move a muscle, but his mind was boiling. So he was right… the king suspected there were other dragons! "Hunger was... very convincing" he said trying to come up with the most believable excuse possible. "Nearly half of our brothers and sisters died before they even left the nest because our mother didn't bring us enough food for everyone. When we finally got out we tried to work together, but it didn't work. When our mother finally gave us kicked out of her territory, we simply split up and never met again Haku and I stayed together because we had a strong friendship ever since we were born, and unlike the others we managed to work together quite well, and since the two of us were easier to survive and neither of us wanted to abandon the other, we continued to travel together"

That was definitely the best version he could come up with. It dovetailed perfectly with what the newcomers knew about dragons and at least partially dispelled suspicions that he and Haku weren't alone. Rhaegal hoped the king would be satisfied with that explanation, but he couldn't read his expression. At least he seemed to have convinced the other people in the room: he could clearly see a look of compassion from Hara, a few looks of disgust from the guards, and he could hear Black Vulture whisper: "Dragons really suck". Which he didn't particularly like, but in that specific moment he could forget about his pride and focus on how to survive and avoid doing too much damage.

The king was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "A real pity... but after all, no one can choose in which conditions to be born. There are things that not even the most intelligent mind can change". His tone sounded strangely rhetorical, as if he didn't really believe what he was saying. "But either way, at least you survived and are important to your brother. That makes you perfect for my purposes"

"You said you wanted to gain control over my brother again. Do you really think Haku will stop just because you captured me?" Rhaegal growled. "And by the way, how did you catch me? I covered my tracks well. How did you find me?"

"Oh, it was very difficult. We had to search for many days... but in the end we found a way" the king answered pointing to the mask that Black Vulture was wearing. "Lady Hara has created a magical device, which is currently implanted in the mask of my faithful servant, which allows you to see the life force of people. Yes, in short, she can sense where a living being is even if it is invisible. In this way we found you"

Rhaegal glanced at Black Vulture, who ignored him. So there was something in the mask… as he'd guessed, it was some magic. He should have told Maldor about it; perhaps she could find a way to block that spell as well and provide further protection than the invisibility rune. As soon as he found a way out of there, of course. "Nice move, I admit it" he said. "Okay, back to the important part. What exactly is your plan? To use me to force Haku to bow to you, like you wanted to do back in the day? Fool. Haku will never bow to anyone. He can have allies, he can have friends, he can have a brother, but he can't and will never can have masters. You can even kill me in front of his eyes if you want, that won't bend him. You'll just get a dragon very angry at you, and trust me, it's not something you can fight"

Another kick landed on his gums, this time even harder than the first. "How dare you speak to his majesty like that, dragon!? Shut up!" Black Vulture exclaimed.

Rhaegal glared at her. "Touch me again and you won't see the sunrise anymore" he said in a very menacing voice, even if in fact he was only bluffing since even if he wanted to he was still tied up and therefore unable to do anything.

Black Vulture clenched his fists even tighter, and Rhaegal was sure it was purple behind the masquerade. "Do you dare..."

"That's enough" the king said, restoring calm. Black Vulture seemed a little more reluctant this time, but returned to his seat nonetheless. She was a really good little dog. "Dragon, please don't threaten my subordinates. Don't forget that you are a guest here, so behave like a good guest"

"Just like you're behaving like a good host, I suppose" Rhaegal replied rhetorically.

The king ignored the provocation. "Anyway, I'm not going to force you or your brother to serve you. I've learned from my mistakes and I know I can't control Haku. However, I don't appreciate him controlling me" he said. "You will be the perfect bargaining chip. Since you, your brother, and all your allies seem intent on leaving, then I'll let you go… but first, Haku will have to dismantle his criminal organization in my kingdom and supply me with some things. Once he does, I'll hand you over to him and we'll all go our separate ways. Haku will never kneel to me, that's for sure... but I doubt he'll mind parting ways with a criminal organization that's in a kingdom he's about to leave, right? In the end, we'll all emerge victorious. The only one that will lose out is your pride... but I assume you can handle this little humiliation, right?"

Rhaegal's eyes narrowed. The king was acting exactly the same way Haku had. If Black Vulture reminded him of his brother when he fought, the king reminded him of Haku when he was trying to convince someone to do as he pleased. "So that's all? Will you hold me prisoner until my brother agrees to your terms?"

"That's the basic idea. However, there are other things you can provide me with during your stay here" the king answered. "For example, could you tell me your brother's plan, the place where you are headed, the names of all your allies, the functioning of the runes, the spells you know, the way you defeated Carrion, and in general all your secrets. I'm sure I'll be able to put this information to good use"

Rhaegal let out a snort. He had imagined that the king would not limit himself to keeping him locked up there, but that he would demand something more. "Do you expect me to reveal everything to you, just because you asked nicely?"

"You can do it because I ask you kindly or because I am forced by force majeure" the ruler replied.

Rhaegal let out a snort. "Are you going to torture me? Go ahead. You won't get anything, and when I'm out of here I'll come looking for you. And you can rest assured that Haku will too"

But the king chuckled. "Oh, I know that. I'm not stupid enough to antagonize a dragon, much less one like Haku. But luckily I have a good alternative here. Hara?"

The mage pulled something from under her dress. It was a small vial of water no more than eight inches high, tightly sealed and clearly protected by numerous spells. "Do you know what it is?" the king asked. Rhaegal shook his head sincerely. "It's Lethe water" the king explained. "The Lethe is a river found in a wasteland in the deep south. It is no different from ordinary rivers, but during its course it can happen that the water flows into very flat areas and therefore forms small ponds. In these ponds it grows a particular species of orchid, so delicate that no one has ever been able to make it grow elsewhere, which emits a particular nectar which, when mixed with water, gives it particular properties. Anyone who drinks even just a sip of this water instantly loses memory of what happened in the last six hours of his life"

Rhaegal felt a slight shiver run down his spine. He understood exactly where the king was going with this. "Magicians think that the nectar of the orchids is their form of defence. Yes, in short, it serves to prevent animals from eating them. After all, to reach them they would have to enter the pond, so they would certainly drink some water, and how would they eat something they no longer remember wanting to eat?" the king continued. "Unfortunately, this precious liquid exists in tiny quantities only in ponds and naturally dilutes as it re-enters the Lethe River. This means that it is extremely rare, also because no one has ever been able to reproduce it artificially. Bottles like this sell for a price that it could buy a small nation, so I can only use it in extreme cases I had thought of using it on your brother while he was my prisoner, to torture him into revealing to me the secrets he knew and then make him forget everything, but I haven't I did this because it seemed to me a waste of this substance since that wasn't a case of national emergency. This one, however, is a case of national emergency. The kingdom is now in danger due to several factors, and it is my duty to do everything to eliminate this danger Therefore I am willing to exploit a part of the contents of this vial to be able to extort information from you without your being able to remember it... unless you prefer to speak now"

Rhaegal understood her intentions very well. Indeed, it was likely that Haku, Sisna, or several of his other sisters, or even himself, would have done the same except inversely. Not being able to remember meant no chance of pursuing revenge. It was a pretty clever plan. "Do as you like. But I think I'll follow your killer's advice to shut up"

"As you wish" the king replied, handing the vial to Black Vulture. "Make sure he drinks it in exactly six hours. He mustn't remember anything you're going to do to him from now on" Black Vulture nodded and took the vial very carefully, as if afraid to break it. The king turned and went out, followed by all his guards; Hara also followed him, even if she turned slightly at the last moment, giving Rhaegal one last look of compassion, before finally exiting. Only Rhaegal and Black Vulture remained in the room.

The woman drew her small knife again. "Do you know what's beautiful about you dragons?" she asked him. "Your regeneration ability. Normally a person after being badly injured would still have some marks. Even the best healing and regeneration potions would leave at least a pale scar. But not you dragons. You dragons can regenerate infinitely. Which means I can play with you as much as I want, and in the end there will be no sign of my actions on you anyway. With a normal person, even with this magic memory erasing water, I should be much more careful, since otherwise I would leave unmistakable signs of I that it happened even if you can't remember it... but with you, I have no reason to hold back!" and having said this he planted the knife in the shoulder of the dragon.

Rhaegal clearly felt the blade cut into his flesh and burn it from within; it was almost certainly enchanted. However, he gave his tormentor no satisfaction and endured in silence. "If that's your method then it really sucks. Haku tortures people way better than you... and so do I" he said defiantly. "You need to be more creative"

Black Vulture twisted the knife inside the wound. "Oh, believe me... I'm very creative" she responded in a malicious tone.