Chapter 9

Dining Hall, The Castle, The Gullington, Scotland, United Kingdom

The long table in the dining hall of the Castle was set with plates, cutlery, napkins and goblets for at least two dozen people. However, only Gen, Quiet and Mahkah sat at the far end. There were several covered dishes sitting in the middle of the table, but Gen didn't make for them, even though the savory aromas were very inviting.

Quiet was seated, ironically very silent, simply glaring at his empty plate, like willing food to magically appear. Mahkah seemed nervous, checking over his shoulder at the large double doors of the dining hall, looking for Sophia. She'd had to stay back in Hiker's office to have a meeting with him—apparently about this Commissioner of Los Angeles. The three sat quite awkwardly, none of them very good at small talk.

They were stationed in the huge dining hall which was as grand as every part of the Castle that Gen had seen thus far. The ceiling was over thirty feet high with wrought-iron chandeliers. The old stone walls were adorned with armor and weapons, each with a story to tell from the history books. The room seemed to hold the ghost of festive dinners and parties through the centuries, but currently the huge space was still and mostly unoccupied.

"Oh, good, you're all sitting around in uncomfortable silence. I'm more than happy to join you and make things even more tense. I love a good awkward moment," a woman said, breezing in through the large doors. She had a thick Irish accent and long red hair that flowed down her slender back. Over her bony frame, she wore a beautiful blue dress that brushed the stone floors as she made her way for the far side of the table, where the three sat.

The woman who Gen realized at once was an elf, based on her pointy ears and features, paused beside her, smiling elegantly. "You must be the reason that my husband is stomping around and raving mad. I'm so very happy to make your acquaintance. You've started off on the right note, in my book."

Gen blinked at the strange woman who seemed a little wacky but then also very refined. It was a bizarre combination. "Your husband is Hiker Wallace? And you're glad that I've made him angry?"

"Very much so," the woman said, pulling out the chair next to Gen and taking a seat. "It's not a hard job to make that man mad, but you seem really well equipped for it. I haven't seen him this angry…well, since S. Beaufont showed up." She threw her head back, laughing. "He was expecting a Shawn or a Steven when he heard an S. Beaufont was joining the Dragon Elite. There hadn't been a rider in a century. And in pops this sweet and beautiful woman named Sophia. He nearly lost his mind. It was devilishly brilliant to watch."

Gen glanced across the table at Mahkah and then Quiet, her expression begging the question on her mind, which was, "What the hell is going on here?"

Quiet glanced up from his plate, looking straight at the woman. He muttered something, but again Gen couldn't make it out.

The woman laughed. "Oh, I remember how you rearranged his office, downsizing him due to his bad attitude. That was also incredibly entertaining to watch."

Mahkah cleared his throat, offering Gen a polite smile. "This is Ainsley and as she said, she's Hiker's wife and lives here at the Gullington."

"Oh, are you a dragonrider?" Gen asked.

Ainsley laughed, again seeming amused by all of this. "Heavens no. I was the housekeeper for the Castle for the better part of two hundred years."

Quiet mumbled something, his eyes intently on the covered dish with steam seeping out the side, like begging to be let loose.

Ainsley nodded at him. "I was a great housekeeper because I knew how to handle you and your moods. A bit like how I can handle the angry leader of the Dragon Elite." She glanced at Gen. "And before I lost my memory and my mind and was reduced to menial labor and babysitting a grumpy man and his dirty crew of dragonriders, I was a diplomat for the Elfin Council. I've since returned to that job, but only part time since the Dragon Elite has evolved under the encouragement of S. Beaufont, also known as Sophia. If it were up to my husband, we'd still be living in the dark ages."

Quiet spoke, his mouth moving but no sounds coming out.

Ainsley nodded. "It is because of Soph that we have electricity in the Castle. That woman brought us into the twenty-first century." The elf glanced at Gen. "Speaking of which, I understand you're from the medieval era. When's about?"

"If you can believe it, I left there last week and it was 1426," Gen answered.

"I can believe it," Ainsley sang good naturedly. "Time is a funny, little thing with doors all over the place."

"Right," Gen said, glad that this wasn't confusing to the woman. "Anyway, I was born in 1406."

Ainsley nodded. "A bit before my time. I, like Hiker, was born in the 16th century. I'm from Ireland, of course. He's from, well, the wrong side of the bed." She laughed again.

"Oh, I don't mean to pry, but that makes you both well over five hundred years old?—"

"Five hundred and fifty something to be exact," Ainsley interrupted Gen with a snicker.

"Right," Gen said, drawing out the word, thinking that the housekeeper sniffed too many chemicals during her time cleaning the Castle. She knew about these pungent chemical cleaning aids since her time living in the shiny and squeaky clean Beaufont condominium.

"You're wondering why they look so young for their age," Mahkah offered, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Gen nodded.

"Mahkah Tomahawk, here, is pretty old too. He's pushing up to four hundred," Ainsley said proudly.

Gen couldn't believe that, looking at the man's smooth skin and dark hair, devoid of a single gray. "Wow, give me all your secrets."

"You don't need them," Mahkah stated. "It's mostly the chi of the dragon that keeps riders so young. We are offered a lifespan as long as our dragon's, which can be thousands of years."

"The thing about dragonriders and their steeds is they usually die young from battles," Ainsley offered, a morbid tone in her voice suddenly. "Quiet and I, although not riders, enjoy the chi of the dragon since it lives and breathes in the Gullington. But also, just having magic keeps most young."

Mahkah nodded. "Magicians have double the lifespan of mortals. Elves and fairies live much longer than them due to their relaxed manners. But I realize that although you're new to this world, you aren't new to the world of magic. You were a Founder of the House of Fourteen, meaning you understood the magical world better than most."

"Well, my father and I understood it well enough to know that it needed laws," Gen stated. "He was a visionary and saw that problems were brewing between the magical races. The gnomes and giants were fighting for land and resources. The elves were warring with the fairies for wellsprings. The magicians were stuck in the middle and so, we created the governing body that would be strict yet fair known as the House of Fourteen."

Ainsley nodded. "And it is still going strong, bossing everyone about. It has the structure you created with seven councilors and seven warriors from seven magical families, but now there are also the Mortal Seven to keep things balanced. Great vision you and William had. You did good, Ms. Genevieve Beaufont."

"Just Gen," she said with a smile. "My sister apparently was Genevieve."

Ainsley frowned. "How very confusing for you this must all be. We might have been trapped in the Castle for two centuries but we knew the world for hundreds of years before and then eased back into the modern ages when Sophia unlocked us from our cage. You, on the other hand, have been dropped on this strange playing board with the first egg, a brilliant reputation, a family legacy to uphold and well, a dragon who is making my husband's chest tighten with tension."

Gen leaned forward, hoping to pry some answers from the elf. "Yes, he mentioned that he knew what my dragon was, like he was something different. I know he was the first egg ever spawned and will be the last to ever hatch, but I don't get how he's special otherwise."

Ainsley cut her eyes to Mahkah, a silent message between them seeming to transpire. "And I'm not at liberty to say."

"Right," Gen groaned, sitting back in her seat again.

"You'll know when the time is right," Mahkah stated softly. "We know because Lunis told us, but you must find out because of your connection when you meet your dragon. It will be more impactful that way. And still, there's so much we don't know, like your mission and role with the Dragon Elite. That is something only you two can choose."

"That sounds overwhelming," Gen said, feeling a brand new kind of stress.

"All things happen over time," Ainsley advised in a kind voice. "And therefore, you get a chance to figure things out and adapt and grow. You don't have to eat the dinosaur in one bite."

Quiet grumbled, looking especially grumpy.

Ainsley smiled at him. "S. Beaufont is coming just now. Then we can eat. You know it's not polite to start without everyone here."

Gen turned to find Sophia striding over and although she was grateful to see her familiar face, it was covered in a very stressed expression.