The War of the Isles

21. Ursula

I opened my eyes to find myself in Dhara's bed. Dhara lay on the other side of the bed facing me. She smiled in her sleep. She had removed her eyepatch before sleeping for both her eyes lay closed, with large eyelashes gently resting on her cheeks. With the early rays of the sun falling on her through the window, I could make out a light scar on her left eyelid. It twitched unnaturally from time to time, indicating that there was indeed some injury that lay beneath it. 

Oh, how I loved to see her like that. 

I heard a sudden knock at the door. I stood up, walked towards the door and opened it. Egon stood there, uneasy and unhappy. 

"What are you doing here?" he asked in disgust.

"How does it matter?" I replied. "Dhara is asleep. Do you have a message?"

"Two as a matter of fact. The first being, that a dragon from Lady Hannah has just flown, stating that they are arriving in a day or two."

"In a day?" I replied. "I thought that they would take about a week."

"Whilst Lady Hannah and Brigadier Meyer have taken the faster ship. An additional fleet of Eight ships and Four Dragons follow. Apparently, the Fourteenth Unit Suffered major losses on the Western Front. Lady Hannah Wishes to Merge them with the Forty Second. Their leader, Major Eva Kuhn is also with them."

"And what is the second news?" I asked.

"The crack in the town side is acting strange. The birds that fly through it, come out differently and spit some kind of fire on people. Franz, Benjy and Wilson are taking turns to kill these birds, but they grow weaker as they continue to use their power. The crack must be closed. Dhara needs to do something about it."

"Alright. I will let Dhara know," I said. 

Egon glared at me in anger. He had clearly not forgotten about yesterday.

"I still don't trust you," he muttered as he walked away. "There are strange things going on around us, ever since you and your little friend showed up. I did not get my revenge yesterday, but just you wait until I am made the new Captain of the Dragon Fleet."

He scowled at me and walked away.

I closed the door unsure as to what to think. To be a Captain of a Dragon Fleet was everything that I had aimed for within my military career. It was by pure misfortune, that the Seventy-Sixth had no dragon fleet. This was my chance. 

I was not going to be apologetic for being ambitious. But I did begin to feel the weight of who I was replacing. I had first heard of the exploits of the dragon wunderkind that was Charlie Moller only a few months into my stint at the Seventy-Sixth. They spoke of him like gospel. A boy who could effectively communicate with dragons and command them to his will. I would have some large shoes to fill indeed. 

Dhara was beginning to stir in her bed. She reached for her side of the shelf, eyes still closed and felt for her diamond eyepatch and fixed it between her socket. Her good eye fluttered open upon that act. 

"Good Morning Baumer! Feeling like a captain today?"

I glanced over at my coat which hung by the dresser. The inner pockets still had the dragon eggs. 

Perhaps it was the dubious look that rested on my face that made Dhara sit up.

"What is the matter, Ursula?"

I told her about my encounter with Egon.

"Aah, of course," replied Dhara. "Egon would be an excellent contender to become captain. Why didn't I think of that before?"