Chapter Three: The Choosing

Ember’s head lifted high as he padded out of his room. As the twelve-year old prince made his way through the stone castle, Ember went over what he was supposed to do in the ceremony that was about to take place.

 Several days ago, he’d been informed that the next batch of servants were ready to be brought to the castle. Once again, he’d have first pick of the new recruits, before the dragons in charge of the various commands could choose the most promising for themselves.

Ember had been allowed first choice for the past four years, but none of the dragons he’d picked had lasted. They’d all ended up dead within two months for one reason or another. As such, he didn’t have very high hopes for this batch. 

Honestly, Ember wasn’t sure why they still bothered. Over the past few years, the castle staff had been drastically cut down, due to changes in the laws made by his father and the council. Those laws were probably Ember’s fault, especially in the first year, since he’d had a bit of a hard time keeping his mouth shut.

Pushing open the doors that led to the main courtyard, Ember’s amber eyes scanned the recruits. Two white scaled, three light gray scaled, and a dark gray scaled. Of them, two had purple and blue feathers, one had purple and pink feathers, and the other three all had snowy white feathers. Four of them were female, and the other two males. A switch from the standard, as Selected were typically males. Ember didn't have the census from ten years ago memorized, especially as he'd been only two years old at the time, but from the dragons before him he figured it was safe to assume that fewer males had been born that year.

“Crown Prince Ember are you ready to make your decision?” the vixen who’d spoken had dark orange scales, with golden eyes. She had a simple circlet on her head, which meant she was part of the council, but it lacked the gem in the center. Without the gem, it had to mean she was only a part-time member, and not present for the daily council briefings. All of this told him the amount of respect he needed to give her, and the tone he should use when speaking to her.

Resettling his wings, Ember set his face into an expression of calmness and royalty. “I am.” He replied, gaze flicking over the six Ice dragons again. “Show me the options.” He kept his tone even, as though they were discussing cattle. 

Ever since he was a dragonet, Ember had been trying to find ways to stop the Silencing, but whatever he did seemed to be countered by his Father and the Council adding new laws about what the servants couldn’t do. Better to let them think he’d given up and accepted their way of things.

“Of course.” The vixen purred, spreading one wing. “Ten years ago, these six were chosen for various reasons, the primary being their lineage. Their families have proved to be quite capable servants, and we are optimistic about their offspring.” 

The way she spoke was simply infuriating. Ember had to take a deep breath to calm himself, before he blasted her head with a bolt of flame. Once he was calmed, he turned his gaze towards the group of Ice dragons and began to study each of the dragonets. 

First, he looked over the three pale gray dragonets. Two of them were the vipers, each with blue and purple feathers, and the third was a vixen, her feathers a shimmering white.  Ember had noticed there seemed to be some cultural respect among the Ice dragons for those with the colored feathers. He guessed it was something to do with their history, but thanks to the Silencing and the fact that his father wouldn’t allow him out of the castle he hadn’t been able to learn much about it. 

Moving on to the darker gray dragonet, Ember noted the contrast of her near-black scales to her pure white wings. It was rarer for the darker scaled ones to be Selected, personally Ember thought that the ones who did the selecting tended to avoid them because their darker scales made them blend in more with the Fire Dragons. Especially the ones who worked in the forges, where dust and charcoal covered them horn to talon.

Finally, Ember turned to the two white-scaled dragonets. One had white feathers, blending into her scales, and making it hard to see where her body ended, and her wings began. The other had dark purple feathers with a stripe of vibrant pink towards the bottom. Like all the other servants she had a diamond shaped scar on her neck, but unlike the previous servants Ember had seen, this one kept her head held high. 

Lifting his own head, Ember’s amber eyes bored into her purple orbs. But instead of backing down, or even looking embarrassed, she simply arched an eye-ridge and continued to stare at him. This was what he needed. Not some submissive crawling worm that had been defeated before the adventure had begun, but a fiery fox willing to glare into the crown prince’s gaze without fear of punishment.

“I’ll take this one.” Ember said, nodding at the Ice Dragon before him. She blinked, looking quite startled, and she wasn’t the only one. “Sire are you sure?” the council dragon asked, looking quite concerned. “This one, while she is from a respectable family, her actions in the days leading up to this event well…they can only be described as rebellious.”

Ember nodded briskly “I am quite sure. Have no worries, I’ll break the fire out of her.” He was, of course, planning to do quite the opposite, but it wouldn’t do to have her know that. “What’s her level of Talon-Speak?” Talon-Speak was the term for the signs the dragons of the castle used to communicate with the servants, and sometimes with each other. The Fire Dragons never got above a level of seven or eight when it came to speaking, simply because a lot of the language required the use of the Ice Dragon’s ruff. Some Fire Dragons used their ears like the ruff, but it was difficult and required a lot of time to learn.

“She has a level eight in speaking and a level nine in understanding. Should she live six months, her training will be allowed to continue so she may reach a level ten in both aspects,” came the reply. Ember nodded again, “Understood.” He himself had a level six in speaking, and a level seven in understanding. He’d been working on raising his speaking skill level, but most of his time was spent with royal duties. 

“Have her sent to my quarters.” Ember said, turning back towards the door. As he pulled it open, Ember paused, and turned his head towards the line of Fire Dragons waiting to make their own selections. “You may choose.” Ember said, gaze flicking back to the line of Ice Dragons to make sure the one he’d chosen had been led away. 

As he closed the door, Ember could hear arguments already rising. Briefly he felt sorry for the council dragon, but as he remembered her tone, the pity faded away. She could use a bit of a subtle punishment for her disrespect of the Ice Dragons.