Samantha Edwhan

End of the Winter Star

Chapter 2

Three years later

Gerold sat at the head table in the Great Hall. On his left sat Griffin, then Markos. On his right, Adelaide was helping now three year old Jakob eat, and Luana sat just beyond her. It was early morning, but the whole family had gathered for breakfast. Rows of tables filled with food stretched across the rest of the room. Only a few of the castle staff were up this early, but Gerold appreciated their presence as much as his own family.

At the end of one of the tables, Gerold saw Griffin’s family. His wife, Misti, had wrapped one wing each around her son and daughter. Clement ate quietly and patiently, looking very much like a noble. Modesty, however, squirmed where she sat and ate rashly. Misti was quietly talking to her. Gerold could only assume about her behaviour. Much like his own wife, Misti cared about how the family looked to others. Misti and Adelaide would spend hours perfecting every detail about their appearance, then adjust their own offsprings’ cloaks. Gerold had even seen Misti adjust Griffin’s crown once.

Gerold turned to Griffin as the thought crossed his mind. Griffin’s eyes were locked on Misti and their fledglings. Since their families had become larger, Griffin was no longer able to sit with his wife. The High Caln and their family were supposed to sit at the head table during meals. But the Prinze was required to sit there too. In an ideal world, there would be enough room for Griffin’s family too, but that wasn’t the case.

“Do you want to sit with your family?” Gerold asked.

Griffin glanced at him. “Are you sure? Would that be alright?”

“It’ll be fine,” Gerold said. “There’s hardly anyone here, and I know you’d rather sit with them.”

Griffin smiled appreciatively. “Thank you, Gerold.”

As Griffin went to sit with his family, Gerold turned his attention to a whine coming from his other side. Adelaide had turned her attention to Luana. She had a small piece of seared elk steak in her grasp and was offering it to Luana. Well, offering was the wrong word. She was trying to feed it to Luana, who wanted no part in it. Luana pulled away and tried to focus on her orange pieces.

“Come on, Luana,” Adelaide cooed. “You need to eat meat to keep up your strength.”

“I already ate all of my meat,” Luana grumbled. “I even ate the extra bird leg you gave me. I just want to eat the rest of my food now.”

“Luana, dear, let me help you.” Adelaide poked her with the steak piece. Luana recoiled away from it with a small hiss.

“Adelaide,” Gerold said, placing a wing on her back. “Don’t push her. Luana can feed herself. And please don’t overfeed her.”

Adelaide sighed and put the steak piece back on her own plate. Jakob happily reached over the edge of the table for it and stuck it in his mouth.

“I suppose you’re right,” Adelaide said. “I just want to make sure she’s looked after.”

“She is looked after, Adelaide,” Gerold told her. “But she’s also eight years old. She can take care of herself for a bit.”

“Alright.” Adelaide looked down at Jakob and smiled. “At least I have this little one to care for.”

Gerold smiled at her. He hoped that she wouldn’t keep making a fuss over their daughter or their youngest forever. All dragons grew up eventually. No one wanted an overbearing parent watching their every move by the time they were adults.

Thankfully, Adelaide stopped nagging Luana for the rest of breakfast. Afterwards, she took Jakob with her for a bath, mostly to clean all the food he had gotten on his face. As Gerold exited the Great Hall, Griffin came up beside him.

“Thank you for letting me eat with my family,” he said. “It was nice.”

Gerold smiled at him. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“I really did. And I want to return the favour,” Griffin told him. “Take your crown and cloak off for the day and go spend time with your family.”

Gerold raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you sure?”

“Of course. You need a break anyway.” Griffin then smiled. “Besides, it’ll be good practice for me to do the duties without you on occasion. I’ll be doing this on my own one day.”

“That’s true,” Gerold agreed. “I suppose I could take Markos and Luana to the Flight Range for the day.”

“Go for it!” Griffin said with a large grin. “Stretch your wings! You can teach them all those cool flying tricks you showed me years ago.”

Gerold smiled at Griffin’s enthusiasm. “Alright, I’ll do that.”

He was quick to find Luana and Markos. Thankfully, they hadn’t gone too far from the Great Hall. Once he’d located them, he removed his golden crown and purple sheer cloak. It was refreshing to have the weight off his head for a change. After convincing Luana and Markos to do the same, Gerold led them out of the castle and towards the Flight Range.

The Flight Range was a large grassy area with strong winds that raced down from the mountains in the east. It was a perfect spot to practise real flying.

The winds were especially strong that day. Gerold led Luana and Markos down to the grass and looked around.

“Let’s see how good your flying has gotten,” he said. “Luana, do you want to go first?”

Luana grinned and spread her wings. Gerold watched as she took to the sky and glided easily in the wind. He nodded approvingly at the slight tilt in her wings, which allowed her to hover above the ground. Then, with a powerful flap. Luana boosted forward and tilted herself upwards until she was upside down.

Gerold grinned. “Impressive! Now see if you can get back down.”

Luana smiled down at him and tucked her wings in. Gerold felt his heart race as she plummeted for a second. But then she stretched her wings back out and was the right way up to make a gentle landing.

“Wow. You’re a little daredevil, aren’t you?” Gerold breathed, trying to calm himself. “Even I wouldn’t try that.”

“Was it alright?” Luana asked.

“Of course. Just remember that such moves are risky- and don’t tell your mother about it,” Gerold said.

Luana grinned at him. Gerold smiled back, then turned to Markos. At his glance, Markos leapt into the air. He beat his wings, rising higher and higher until he was a small dot in the sky. Gerold was about to follow him when he realised Markos was coming back down in a steady dive. It wasn’t quite as impressive as Luana’s little stunt, but Gerold still enjoyed it.

“How’s my flying, Dad?” Markos asked once he was closer to the ground.

“It’s great!” Gerold cheered. “Now show me your landing.”

Markos nodded and titled his wings. He swooped low past Gerold and landed just past his tail. Gerold recognised the distinct thud of a heavy landing.

“Dammit,” Markos muttered. “I screwed up the landing.”

“You did well, Markos,” Gerold told him. “We can practise your landing today.”

After reviewing their flying, Gerold got Markos and Luana lined up for a race.

“Remember, the key to fast flying is learning not to fight the wind,” Gerold told them as they all crouched at the invisible ‘starting line.’ “Let the wind tell you how to fly. If an updraft hits you, go up; if the wind drops, dive; but always stay within the path of the race.”

Luana and Markos nodded with looks of determination.

Gerold turned his attention to the grass and air in front of them. “Ready. Set. Go!”

All three took off at once. Gerold quickly pulled to the front. But it wouldn’t be fair or fun to beat his own offspring in a race. He slowed his wingbeats to allow them time to catch up. Despite his own advice, Gerold fought the wind a little to try and make his loss more believable.

As he rounded a corner, Markos and Luana zipped past him. Gerold smiled as he watched them fight for first place. Markos was a few years older, making him the stronger of the two. But as they neared the end of the race, Luana gained the lead. Gerold watched Markos closely and realised he was intentionally slowing for his sister. Though it was close when they were both seriously fighting for it, Luana ended up the victor by several metres.

Luana hit the ground and jumped around with a big grin on her face. Gerold laughed at her goofiness as he landed beside her.

“Good job, Luana,” he congratulated her. “You flew very well.”

“Thank you.” Luana smiled up at him. “But I think Markos would have won. I felt his wings take the force of the wind at the last second.”

Markos sheepishly ducked his head. “Sorry, sis. It didn’t feel fair to me since my wings are more developed.”

“That’s alright, Markos. You will both learn to give each other different wins as you grow up,” Gerold said. He turned to Luana. “Remember, Luana, you’re just as capable as anyone else. No matter what anyone says, you can and will be independent one day.”

Luana smiled at him. Gerold could see how much she appreciated his words, especially after Adelaide’s fussing from that morning. Gerold knew it wasn’t the first time he’d had to remind her of her capabilities, nor would it be the last. But he would do whatever it took for Luana to feel accomplished, no matter what. She had a bright future ahead of her after all.