Lila of the Reptilydes Part 1
This is my first time trying to write something worth someone else seeing. Figured since no one knows me it would be good to get some honest feedback.
Dyremus, King of the Reptilydes and Nagas, looked out at his kingdom in despair. He had just been informed that his younger sister, Ina, along with her husband, had been murdered, leaving behind 5 little eggs that had yet to hatch.
Dyremus himself had yet to find his lifemate and had no idea how he was going to raise the little hatchlings all on his own. He knew how he was going to hatch them, hire a naga maiden from the nearby village to keep them warm, care for them, protect them, until their time to hatch and join the world.
He sighed in frustration and anguish. This was not what he had planned for. He had told his soldiers just that morning to prepare for war; it was long past the time for them to invade their enemy. Dyremus suspected that it had been a Hooded Reptilyde or Naga that had decided to start the war on his own by assassinating that crown princess.
Dyremus slammed his fist into the wall nearest to him. Killing his precious younger sister had the desired effect. Apparently he hadn't acted fast enough to suit the Hooded Reptilyde's needs. Now he was infuriated; wholly and entirely, ROYALLY pissed off.
He stretched out to his full 25 feet, unclenching his back, his rainbow colored tail stretching out long behind him. He looked back at his tail, sometimes hating the color, but then, he would have to hate himself, because the rainbow coloring marked him as a royal.
His amber eyes glinted as he stared out at his kingdom, anger flashing through his eyes. He leaned his head forward to rest against the cool rock of the castle, his silvery white hair falling over his shoulders to hide his face. He had been born with the color, it also marked him; it marked him as a "wise, strong, skilled fighter".
He sighed once more and turned to go look in on the eggs. Spying a female naga curled up around the eggs he drew his sword from its sheath that was belted around his waist, ready for a fight. Hearing the slide of metal against leather, the woman turned to look at him, pinning him with the most brilliant green eyes he had ever seen.
Her hair was strawberry red, hanging straight down, falling gracefully around her creamy shoulders, reaching all the way down her back and only ending where her tail started at her hips. And her tail... it was the most beautiful tail he had ever seen outside the royal family's rainbow ones. It was as green as her eyes and shown with so much brilliance, that he knew she cleaned out her scales every day. She wore a purple halter top, and right then and there Dyremus wanted to make a law stating that all tops were forbidden on women.
She blinked; breaking eye contact for only a moment, but that was enough for the spell to be broken and for Dyremus to come to his senses. He blinked several times, ridding his mind of the desire filled spell that she had somehow cast upon him.
"Who are you and what are you doing so close to the royal eggs?" Dyremus asked the woman, gliding closer to her.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "You honestly don't know your majesty?" she asked.
Dyremus scowled at her. "If I truly knew, would I be asking?" he asked right back.
She shrugged her dainty shoulders and said, "I guess not. The former queen herself hired me just this afternoon. She said she needed a female to watch over the royal eggs. She said the task would only take about a month or so and then I could choose to leave or stay to keep helping. Being the only unattached of age female in town, the task fell to me," she paused, then said, "not that the task will be much of a hardship." She smiled at him then and he knew he could trust her; it was just something about her eyes that told him she wouldn't lie and deceive him like some would.
Dyremus nodded slightly in assent and glided over to get a closer look at the eggs, really seeing them for the first time since his sister had showed them to him, right after she had laid them.
The rainbow colored eggs looked small snuggled up inside the ring of female's tail, right where Dyremus himself wanted to be...needed to be...for the rest of their life's...but that couldn't happen, not right now anyway.
He shook those thoughts away, trying and almost failing to concentrate on the task at hand. He looked up at her and asked, "What is your name?"
She looked at him quizzically. "Does it really matter, sir? I won't be a permanent part of this castle, only temporary. Learning my name seems pointless." She commented.
He glared at her, growling, "Yes it most definitely matters. Whether you are here 5 minutes or 5 decades matters not. Knowing your name gives me an insight as to which female naga you are, therefore giving me insight as to how you will react and behave in this castle for the duration of your stay."
She shrugged and replied, "Alright. My name is Emma Eoal."
Dyremus kept his reaction inward. She was an Eoal Naga, the rarest of all naga's. The Eoal naga had their lower feminine parts hidden by a large scale right under their stomach. They were the shyest of the female naga's, mostly water dwelling naga's.
He nodded again, showing he understood. He turned his back toward her, gliding silently away, assuming she would know what to do with the eggs; or the hatchlings should they chose to be born tonight, whichever they should be.
Emma watched the King leave the room, shaking her head in sadness; the poor reptilyde. She turned back to the eggs, curling up close again.
"Don't worry little ones, I'm sure your uncle is a wonderful man that will love you and protect you from any trouble that may come to pass," she smiled, "Until that time, I'll be watching over you all."
She uncoiled just for a moment to go start a small fire so the room would warm up a little bit more and the eggs would be warmer. As she turned her back on the eggs she heard a crack. She spun around quickly, examining each egg very carefully to see which one was hatching. Noticing that it was the one farthest one from her that had the crack, she quickly glided to the door, yelling down the hall for a servant to get the queen and bring the King back for the hatching.
Five minutes later the queen, in all her glory, went gliding into the room, her son close behind. The egg had been cracking regularly, the little creature inside doing its best to get out. Emma smiled happily, knowing she had helped to keep these little ones alive long enough for them to hatch.
Twenty suspenseful filled minutes later a little hand popped through the shell. They all heard the little one take its first breath of air before it let out a little cry. They all gathered around the egg, looking in, showing the little one he was almost there.
One little red eye looked out at the group gathered around. The little naga unfurled inside the egg, trying its best to break the shell that way, succeeding in making tiny cracks all over the shell. It flailed its arms in frustration, managing to give the shell that extra push it needed to break open all around it.
The group laughed at its antics, knowing this one would be a handful. The little one looked up in the direction of the noise, one large piece of shell still perched atop its red haired little head. The queen, neither Dyremus, nor Emma knew which one should pick it up. Each had their reasons to, and not to pick it up.
The little one opened its mouth and emitted a cry, demanding to be picked up and coddled right that moment. Emma answered its call, cradling it close to her, letting it soak up her warmth.
Dyremus took the opportunity to glance at its sex determining organ. "It's a boy," he announced, "next in line for the thrown for the moment." He smiled happily, taking the little one from Emma, holding him as close as he could.
The queen, Tanya, looked from the little one, to her son and back again. "What do you think Ina would want to name him?" she asked finally.
Dyremus was at a loss for words; ever since he had been crowned king he hadn't spent that much time with his sister. He had no clue what she had planned on naming her little hatchlings.
"What about Ian?" Emma suggested, "It's close to her name in spelling, paying tribute to her memory since he was born on the day of her death."
Two pairs of eyes, one amber, the other a light pink, gazed upon her. Nothing was said and Emma started to squirm under the scrutiny.
"I believe that is a fine idea," Dyremus said, his heart feeling a little lighter since he had heard the horrible news that morning. He looked at the little naga in his hands, who by that time was almost asleep, tuckered out by the day filled with a great challenge.
Strangely, Dyremus could see some of his younger sister in the lines of the little naga's face. He stroked Ian's cheek, noticing how soft the skin was. He took Ian's hand and put it next to his.
"So small," he whispered to himself.
"Alright, it's been a long day and I think we're all pretty tired. I believe it's time for all of us to get to bed, especially little Ian here," Emma said, gently taking the baby naga from Dyremus' hands.
Strangely, Dyremus felt bereft without the little one in his hands. He closed his fists and dropped them to his sides to conceal what he was feeling, knowing Emma was right and that he would be able to hold the little one again at a later time.
He said goodnight to Emma and his mother and left the room. The queen watched her son leave, head hanging low, and knew she had to do something. Of course she missed her daughter, but now was not the time to grieve for an extended period of time.
Everything that was born in the world eventually died, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Nobody actually went before their time; they all went exactly how they were supposed to, when they were supposed to.
The queen sighed and turned to the young naga maiden, Emma, and took stock of her. Nice facial features and a well proportioned body, she would actually make a nice wife for her son. The queen was a natural matchmaker, but then again, weren't all mothers that had single children?
Tanya shook her head once and turned to follow her son out of the room, taking one last look at Emma, watching the her rock little Ian to sleep. She might actually be the one for her son.
Emma looked up from little Ian's sleeping face to watch the queen glide out of the room. Emma smiled back down at Ian and whispered, "Welcome to the world, little one, welcome to the world."