The Restricted Books Chapter 3

Chapter 3-
The Restricted Books: Kurnoya

Once Kukaye left Princess Neveko's room, he stood outside the door and sighed. "Well, I should work on--" but Kukaye was stopped mid sentence as he was grabbed by the arm by a servant who appeared from around the corner. "Hey!" he exclaimed as he was dragged past Blaine, who was standing at the top of the stairs. With a jerk from the female servant clutching his arm, he was pulled down the stairs.
"Now, what does Trotan want that makes you handle me as such?" he growled, pulling his arm free, but still rushing down the stairs with the servant.
"A great king has suddenly appeared on the road toward the castle. His Mightiness wishes for you in his presence," the servant said.
"Fine. Next occasion, I'd like an explanation before being thrown down the stairs," Kukaye sniffed. He continued following the female servant toward wherever King Verane was.

At the top of this stairs still stood Blaine. He stared, wondering at all the commotion beneath him. All the servants had clamored toward the main door of the castle. He listened to all the excited mutters of a visiting king of a faraway land.
Several servants brushed past Blaine down the stairs, all carrying cleaning supplies, or things to be cleaned. The others below in the entryway were ruthlessly scrubbing the already sparkling marble floor.
Soon, Blaine tired of standing in his own confusion. He reached out and grabbed a passing servant that was carrying a bucket of dust. "What's this all this commotion for?" he pressed.
The girl servant, apparently taken aback from being kept from her job, ignored him and said in a very strong accent, "You let go. Dust goes to outside." And she pulled against his grip.
Blaine tightened his hold and demanded, "Who's coming here?"
The servant rolled her eyes and said, "Great king of--of--what's this word? You call it different, but from my place of coming it is called Durak-Mikitza."
"This is all you know?" Blaine asked.
She nodded and Blaine released her arm.
"Dust goes to outside now," she repeated and headed down the stairs. "Garantank!"
As Blaine watched the girl go downstairs he said to himself, " 'Garantank'? Isn't that Old Kurnesian? Where in Nekonria would they still speak such an old language?" He then proceeded down the stairs, continuing, "More importantly, what is Durak-Mikitza?"
Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, he noticed that the servants had formed lines on either side of the great door. King Verane stood between the two lines and seemed to have his eyes fixed upon the huge wooden door.
Blaine approached his king slowly. A tiny "Sir?" was all that could escape his lips.
"A very important visitor has shown up unexpectedly," Verane said, and he pulled out an ornate watch.
The watch was silver. It showed not only the time, but the season, moon phase, and even the outdoor weather.
"We weren't supposed to meet until the moon Trontia has reached its new phase. It is still waxing yet," Verane puzzled into his watch. "He sent a messenger ahead to announce his coming. I am very glad."
"He's crossing the courtyard!" screamed a servant from upstairs.
"Stand tall, tails straight, ears upright!" Verane commanded to all in the room.
A large male servant opened the main door, which they stood in front of. Once the door was opened, a small procession of dragons marched in; all of them were colored with shades of blues, purples, and whites. They all wore crisp uniforms of blue and white, and it was obvious that they were elite soldiers.
A young, light-blue dragon stood in front of the procession and announced, "His royal highness of ice and water; commander of southwestern sky and sea; protector, lord, and king of Himazi, King Malkazar!"
The procession split to reveal a silver-scaled dragon. He wore a cape of fur and a crown of sapphires. He had large horns on his head that resembled that of a ram's. He was Malkazar, and there was no questioning that he was of high nobility.
The servants of Nekonria's castle knelt as Malkazar walked past them. The king of Himazi approached King Verane.
"Verane, my dear friend," Malkazar smiled, taking Verane's hand in his own clawed and scaled hand and shook it. "My, the time has not been kind. Your hair is whiter than my shining scales!"
"Such a joker," Verane smiled and chuckled heartily. "My hair has stayed the same. Perhaps your memory has been lost to age?"
Malkazar boomed in laughter and slapped Verane on the shoulder, knocking the king of Nekonria a little off balance. "Ah, I've missed your wit, not to mention the Nekonrian form of language." Malkazar stopped laughing and smiled upon seeing Blaine standing next to Verane. "Oh, you must be the young general who commanded the defeat of the Kensus during the Raid of Summer."
Blaine said nothing in response and blushed to his feet.
"Yes, King Malkazar," said Verane with pride. "This is Blaine Turnette of Kuronking. He shall be joining us for our meeting."
"I--I will?" Blaine stammered, suddenly recovering his tongue. "But I didn't even know ab--"
"I look forward to witnessing your mind this meeting, General. Your strategies have been heard of all the way to my kingdom. You understand?" King Malkazar said. Blaine nodded. "Wow! Then I must be getting much better at speaking Nekonrian!" Upon saying this, he roared into laughter again. He was obviously oblivious to Blaine's shock at the knowledge of his attendance to the meeting, not to mention the lack of anyone else laughing along.
"Of course, but that shall be after you and your men have been fed," Verane said over Malkazar's laughter. "I'm sure you all are quite famished."
Malkazar quickly ceased laughing. His golden eyes turned dull. "No, I'm afraid that won't be happening. I want this matter to be settled within the hour," he said with a sudden coldness comparable to his homeland tundra. "I'm afraid time can't be wasted on relaxation."
Verane was taken aback by Malkazar's sudden seriousness. "Matters have changed for the worse, then, have they?" he said.
"The utmost worst," Malkazar frowned.
Verane stared into the golden eyes of his royal friend and said, "We are to speak now, in private, then?" Malkazar nodded in response. "Your men may camp in the courtyard for this hour. My castle servants will do their best to suit any immediate needs of your men."
Verane turned his bright blue eyes to Blaine. "You shall get the summary of this meeting. General Blaine, I need you to get my daughter. Tell her to wear her traveling clothes and to bring her sword. Bring her to this entry chamber. After, you shall wait for further instruction."
"O--of course, sir," Blaine nodded, thoroughly confused. He rushed from his king and back up the stairs.
"I'm sure a servant could have--" Malkazar started.
"No," Verane said simply. "Settle your men and bring General Sen-kel and we shall begin the meeting. I shall wait in the War Room for you. One of my servants will lead you there once you are ready."
Verane turned from Malkazar with a grim look upon his face and headed deeper into the castle.
"General Sen-kel," Malkazar called as he turned to face his group of cool-colored dragons.
"Yes, sir?" came the light-blue dragon that had announced Malkazar's arrival.
"Take the men out to the courtyard. Make sure they ask the servants to only bring them drinks and possibly some bread. Our arrival in Nekonria needs to be kept as low-key as possible, so don't let them cause any commotion," said Malkazar. "And once you're done with that, come back here and we'll head to meet with King Verane."
"This means we'll be gone before sunset, of course," Sen-kel sighed. "Then we can rest."
"We'll rest as well as we can," Malkazar smiled. "Now, get the soldiers to the courtyard."
"Yes, sir," Sen-kel nodded and began ordering the soldiers out of the castle.
The servants of the castle, assuming that the absence of their master meant they were dismissed, stood and left to aid the Himazan soldiers.
Malkazar took off his fur cape and folded it in his arms. Without the heavy cape, the full view of his mighty silver wings could be seen. He stretched them and said to himself, "My wings are stiff from the flight here, but our exit from Nekonria back to Himazi will still have to be swift. I'm afraid that dire times have shown their face on Kurnoya."