Stargazer: Chapter 1

Chapter One

Serena lay motionless on the ground, allowing her eyes to adjust to the blinding light of the sun filtering through the window above her. Once she could see, she realized she was on the dirty floor of the servants’ room. Slowly, she turned her head and looked around. Many of the servants were already gone, and the ones that remained were staring at her with shocked expressions.

Her back ached as she stood up. Why is everyone staring at me? Then she began to recall the events from the night before.

She had been preparing to sleep when she gazed out of the window above her straw mattress. The stars had been so bright; they had seemed to be moving, creating patterns. She had thought she could even see pictures in the stars.

Then it was blank. It was as if she had fallen into unconsciousness or a trance. That was when she had the strange dream about the King unleashing dragons.

Imagine that! Serena thought. Nearly everyone living on Tyrylia knew of the war between the dragons and the humans. In the end the dragons had decided to flee the island continent. There were none left, and nobody knew where they had gone.

Serena didn’t give her dream a second thought. After all, it was only a dream. She got dressed in her servant clothes and after a quick breakfast she ran into the hallway.

This morning was the same as all of the others before it. Servants, soldiers and people of importance lined the halls, talking amongst themselves. Serena looked up at the black and gold tapestries that hung on the walls, recognizing the images of heroes and heroines from legends. Soon conversations filled the air, and as Serena walked she tried not to listen in. She nearly paused to listen to a soldier tell tales of the battles he had lived through, but instead she took a deep breath and continued down the path she walked nearly every day.

Serena was a servant who worked for the King. Her mother had also been a servant who had died of a sickness eight years ago when Serena was only seven years old.

Her father worked on board a ship, and because of that, he was always travelling. Serena had never met her father, and if she had, she didn’t remember. She always imagined him to be tall, with the same blonde hair she and her mother shared. The way she pictured him in her mind he was always smiling, even when his eyes showed signs of tiredness.

But she knew she had no hope of seeing him. Servants were never allowed out of the palace. As much as Serena longed to see the outside world, she knew it was a wish that would never come true. She was forced to live within the same boundaries her whole life, never knowing what lay beyond the forbidden border. There was always a servant or two who tried to escape, but they were usually caught and punished - otherwise Serena might have tried to escape herself.

Although she had not been past the outer walls, she roughly knew what lay beyond. In the King’s throne room there was a map of the whole island continent of Tyrylia, and even though Serena had only seen it a few times, she still remembered every detail of the map.

There were thick forests that covered most of the southern and southeastern part of the continent, which was where the fairies, nymphs and druids were said to live. In the north were vast mountains, standing dark and tall. Serena didn't doubt that a rogue dragon could be living there, away from human eyes. The southeastern side of the continent was mainly fishing villages and ports on the edge near the ocean, and the north was a dry desert which no creature dared to inhabit. The capital, Trilia – derived from the name of the continent - was in the center of everything. The palace sat upon a large hill, overlooking the populated city of Trilia.

Serena turned a sharp left and quickened her pace. She was afraid she might be late to begin her work. If she was, there was a possibility she would receive a beating. She had been instructed to meet her friend at the palace stables in the inner gardens. She would receive further instructions from there.

Serena came to the end of the hall and pushed open the wooden doors to the garden. The sun’s rays warmed her face as the birds fluttered around, singing their sweet melodies. All around her, the servants were rushing through the gardens, getting work done. She greeted a few of her friends and then continued on her way.

Serena took a shortcut through the rows of various flowers and arrived at the stables. She was relieved to find she was just on time, as Madison was just arriving as well.

Serena and Madison had been friends for as long as they could remember. Their mothers had also been friends since before they were even born. To Serena, Madison was like a sister. Even though they could never be more opposite.

Madison was a typical girl for her age. She was always talking to Serena about how she was to find a groom and marry him someday soon. Then she would go on about how they would have children and she wouldn’t have to do as much servant work. Madison despised servant work.

Serena didn’t want children. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to be married. The whole thought scared her. She had only lived for fifteen years, and she still felt very young. Her mind was always focused on adventure, not marriage, she wanted to explore the world and know what it was like.

They quickly greeted each other with a hug. Madison then went over the list of things to do while Serena tied her long blonde hair back into a neat bun.

“Our first thing on the list today is to clean the stables. Yuck," Madison announced, scrunching up her nose in disgust. Serena couldn’t help but laugh a little.

"It was going to be our turn eventually," she told her friend. "Anything else?"

Madison looked over the paper. "When the stables are clean, we have to change the hay and feed the animals. That's not so bad." She tossed Serena a broom from off the wall and they began.

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours as they day went on. Madison and Serena went from one job to the next, with little time for rest in between. It was quiet work, as no one wanted to waste energy speaking.

The stables were not as dirty as Serena had thought they would be, so they were finished quicker than usual. Serena put down her broom and wiped the sweat from her brow, knowing she had to face more work the next day. Every day was the same.

“I was afraid you wouldn’t come today,” Madison said as she put her broom away. Serena leaned against the wall.

“Why not?” she asked. She was not sick or hurt, why wouldn’t she be working?

Madison yawned and stretched her arms. “You were thrashing about on your mattress last night saying stuff about the King and dragons. A few of the others couldn’t sleep because of you. When I woke up, you were on the floor asleep.”

“Oh,” Serena said. She didn’t remember thrashing, or falling off her mattress. Quickly searching her mind for an excuse, she told Madison it was just a bad dream. Which it was, wasn't it?

The two talked for a while longer, but it soon became late. Serena wished Madison a good night and began her walk back to her room. Madison went the opposite way, probably to meet another servant for tea. The moon was getting high and the last of the sun’s rays were fading in the distance. She shivered, the temperature had already dropped. Serena had to hurry, servants weren’t allowed out after dark.

As she rushed down the empty hallway, she heard the unmistakable sound of soldiers’ footsteps. Knowing she probably shouldn’t be seen, Serena hid behind one of the many large statues of past Kings along the wall.

The footsteps came closer and closer and the soldiers came into view. Serena had underestimated how many soldiers there would be. She had expected four or five patrolling the area, but there were twenty or more clothed in full armor. Serena wondered why.

Then she caught sight of something moving in the middle of the group. As they passed, she saw what was between the soldiers. Serena almost screamed, but stopped herself for fear of being caught.

It was a dragon!

The dragon had chains wrapped around its neck, although it was no bigger than a large dog. Its scales were blue-green and it had small horns growing out from behind its eyes. Its long body stayed low to the floor as it tugged against the chains around its neck and legs. Small puffs of smoke were coming from its nostrils as it squeaked loudly.

“Help! Help!” Serena looked around. She could have sworn she had heard someone calling out for help. The soldiers didn’t seem to hear it though, as they continued dragging the dragon down the hall. Maybe she was just imagining things.

Serena looked back at the dragon. For a moment it stopped struggling and rested its turquoise eyes right at the statue where Serena was hiding. Serena shrank back deeper into the shadows behind the stone statue. Then a soldier pulled on the chain. The little dragon raised its feathered wings in protest, but followed the soldier anyway.

Serena waited until the soldiers were long gone before coming out of her hiding place. Her hands were trembling and she could hardly breathe as she dusted off her dress. A dragon! What was one doing here, in the palace? They were bloodthirsty creatures that could tear a human apart in seconds. Did the King know?

Suddenly Serena thought back to her dream, where the King had unleashed dragons. For a second she believed her dream was true. But if it was, what did the King want with the dragons? Serena leaned against the wall for a while, too shocked to move.

She got up only when she heard the sound of soldiers’ footsteps. It didn’t sound like as many soldiers as before, but she didn’t want to take any chances. As she turned the corner, she heard a voice.

"Hey, you, servant girl!" She spun around to see the soldiers standing behind her. Her eyes widened with fear, but she was relieved to see it wasn't any of the soldiers from before. "What are you doing out so late?" One asked.

"I ... I was just going back to my room now. My chores took longer than was expected." Please don't hurt me, she added in her mind. The soldiers looked at her curiously, then they began speaking quietly to each other. Serena waited patiently for one to speak, her heart beat faster inside her chest. She hoped with all her might that she would not receive a punishment. Once before she had been punished for doing something incorrectly. It was an experience she was likely to never forget, and she didn’t want to repeat.

Finally, one of the soliders spoke. "We will let you go today, but next time I suggest finishing your chores sooner so this doesn't happen again. If we see you again, we will not be so friendly."

"Thank you," Serena told them, breathing a sigh of relief. She was accompanied back to her room by one of the soldiers, who was making sure she had not lied and was indeed going back to her room.

Once Serena arrived at the room, the soldier left and she took a long moment to ponder the events. Somehow, she couldn’t help but think her dream and the dragon were linked. But how? There were so many questions she wanted answers for, but she had the feeling she would never find out.

She found a meal on her stool and picked it up. It was cold from being out for so long, but she ate it quickly. After seeing the dragon she had forgotten how hungry she was until she smelled the sweet aromas drifting through the air.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” a voice said. Serena looked up to see another of the servants looking at her curiously.

“I was stopped by the soldiers, Elizabeth,” Serena muttered, looking down to avoid Elizabeth’s know-it-all gaze. Elizabeth was also Madison’s friend, but she would never be Serena’s. The two failed to get along. Elizabeth was constantly looking for ways to put Serena in a bad mood, although Serena could never understand why. She had done nothing to Elizabeth.

“What did you do this time?” Elizabeth asked in a bored tone, as if Serena getting stopped by the soldiers was a daily occurrence.

“My chores took longer than I had expected. They let me go.” Serena opted not to tell her about the dragon, she probably wouldn’t believe the story. However, if she did, the whole castle would know in a matter of hours. Obviously the dragon was meant to be a secret.

“Well maybe next time you should finish sooner.” Elizabeth stood up and went to the other side of the room. Serena shot her a nasty look, but she didn’t notice.

Serena walked over to her part of the room, deciding that if she got a good night sleep she might forget about the day’s events. She hoped tomorrow would be the same as every other day, and the day after that, too. She convinced herself that the repetitive days would make her forget.

After changing into her nightgown, Serena climbed onto the straw mattress and looked out the window. Clouds covered the skies tonight, and there were no visible stars. She did not fall asleep for a while. There were still so many things buzzing around in her head.

Finally, somehow, she managed to close her eyes and calm herself enough to fall asleep.