*Author's Note*
I know it's been a while since I've posted anything. Life had other things in mind for me. But now that things are going very well for me, I've been able to get back to writing. I plan to finish up on Paradise Threatened, and I'm also working on a few other projects that will be gracing this site soon, hopefully. For now, here's the first chapter of a new series, set in the same universe as my first story posted here, 'Red Hot Love'. I hope you enjoy.
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"Niri! Supper time!" she heard her younger sister call from the back door.
"Coming, Anna!" Niri shouted back, plucking the last bunch of snowberries.
She hefted the heavy basket into her arms and carried it back to the modest one story farmhouse she lived in with her parents, grandfather and three younger siblings.
"Thank you, darling," her mother said as she came inside, handing off the basket to her mother to put into the cold pantry. Shutting the door behind her, Niri stomped her feet on the thick mat, dislodging the packed snow before taking them off and setting them aside. "Oh, and Xander is joining us for dinner. Such a charming young man...I'm surprised he hasn't asked to marry you."
"Xander's a good friend, nothing more," she told her mother as she helped set the table. "Besides, he's the son of a Lord. Lord of Berias, to be exact. I'm just a simple girl, the daughter of a farmer. He can have any lady he wants, one people will respect. Can we not talk about this now?"
"Of course," her mother said.
Hearing laughter from the living room, she walked in to see Xander come inside, grabbing up Anna and her little brother, Billy, before sitting on the couch, right beside her papa and grandpapa. She sat beside him, giving him a smile.
For being the son of a Lord, he was down to earth and humble. He was quite muscular and had the face of an angel, straw blonde hair falling to his shoulders. Xander had told them that his father had thought it would be good for Xander to come live with his aunt and uncle and help out on their farm. They'd met as kids and had been friends ever since. Though, Niri kind of wanted him to notice her as something other than a friend.
She didn't have much to offer in looks; she was fit and healthy, but in spite of the many diets and home concoctions, she couldn't slim down past a size 16. Her butt stuck out like a sore thumb because of her wide hips. Her face was well proportioned, but very plain, her dry, dull brown hair pulled back into a ponytail every day. She was nothing like the girls Xander courted; thin, elegant...beautiful.
There wasn't a single guy in the village that was even interested in courting her. Her dad had tried setting her up with sons of family friends, but none of them came back after the first date or declined because they had found fiancés. Sometimes she wished she lived across the ocean in Domacra, where the old traditions weren't so heavily enforced.
Because of the constant wars between the southernmost nations of Tetramia, many towns and cities were unable to keep electricity for more than a month or two at a time. And with the dragon flights owning most of the land, they were under their fairly strict rule. So many were killed in battle, arranged marriages were still very commonplace, couples her age starting families to keep their lines alive. There weren't many girls that complained about it, though.
The Sapphire dragon flight ruled these lands and their king had a law concerning unwed girls. Any who turned 20 and was neither promised to a man or married, would be summoned to the Great Dragon Shrine overlooking the town. There, a representative of the flight chosen by the king would look over each girl, and those chosen would be taken back to the Flight's keep and presented to the mighty dragon king. Those that were not chosen were considered cursed and banished from the village. So far, it had been nearly two months since her 20th birthday and no summons.
"Dinner's on the table," her mother called, pulling her from her thoughts.
Xander sat between her and her dad. Whenever he passed a dish to her, his hand would brush hers briefly. She couldn't stop blushing each time it happened, heat flooding her upon contact.
"You look great," Xander murmured to her, giving her a brief smile.
"Thank you," she replied politely, her face growing redder.
Nothing else was said during dinner and not long afterwards, Xander headed home. Barely ten minutes went by after he left when there was a knock at the door. A young courier was on the porch. He handed her a thick envelope and disappeared. Shutting the door, she opened it to find the one thing she was dreading; summons to the Dragon Shrine. She walked into the living room and handed her dad the letter. After looking it over, he stood up and hugged her tight.
"I'm sorry, dearest," he whispered to her. "I tried..."
"I know you did, dad," she told him. "I better get some sleep."
"Your mother and I will pray for you," he said as she pulled away from him to go upstairs.
Niri managed to get a couple hours of sleep, but she still felt exhausted. Her mother helped her get ready to be presented to the king's representative. She'd tried to talk her mother out of it, that there was no way she'd be chosen. Her mom ignored her pleas and continued to fuss over her. They finished just before sunrise. Her father took her into the village, ending up in a long train of vehicles heading for the shrine. Two priests led everyone in as they arrived, fathers standing behind their daughters in the gigantic main hall of the temple.
Statues of dragons from each flight stood watch over the space, circling them all. There were twenty-five girls including Niri. As they got in line, the king's representative entered, in human form, wearing shimmering blue dragon scale armor, no doubt made from his own shed dragon skin. He and another, smaller male looked over each of them carefully. They whispered to one another for nearly twenty minutes, constantly looking at her. Everyone tensed when the representative cleared his throat.
"We've decided to take all of you," he said. "Take time to say goodbye. When you're done, please go through here."
He gestured to a door, taking up watch beside it. Niri was first through, having already said goodbye enough. The two males stared at her as she exited out onto a large terrace. It was shielded for the most part from the wind, but it was still quite cold. Ten minutes went by before the rest of the girls came out. When the last one came out onto the terrace, the representatives followed, shutting the door behind them.
As everyone turned to face them, they shifted into their dragon forms, the smaller of the two was maybe fifteen, sixteen feet tall when sitting and at least twice as long, the other was double that. The large dragon conjured up a large basket, setting it down in front of him. Everyone filed in, huddling together in the bottom of the container as the dragon picked them up in his forepaws as he slowly rose up into the air, the smaller male following.
