Chapter Twenty Five: Marta's Revenge

Dear Mother.

 

          By the time you read this, it will be too late.  Because of you, I am forever damned.  My children will haunt you every day for the rest of your misbegotten life.  You, who are so powerful, will never escape from the atrocities you committed to your own flesh and blood.  You will dream of my children laughing and playing, then cold and dead.  This I promise to you.  My children will slowly eat away at your consciences, and have you on your knees, begging for them to stop.  They never will.  You will hear their cries every day, until you too go mad.  The Queen will lock you away in her deepest dungeon and throw away the key.  On rats and water, you will live until the day of your execution.  Only with death is there an end to your madness, you will beg them to kill you, but the Queen knows and will not make it easy for you.  You will suffer unimaginable pain before your life is extinguished.  You will never have one of my children to torture and discard as you have done to me, your own daughter.  These five perfect and beautiful hatchlings will never have done to them what you have done to me.  I am so very weary of killing my own children at your command.  Do you hear them?  Their cries swirl around your head, pleading, begging for life.  They speak to me offering forgiveness, but I will never forgive myself.  I know now that I am mad, insane.  You have done this to me.

As you read this letter, I too am set free, never to be your slave again. My hatchlings and I shared a meal last night.  Thank the Gods a penitent soldier gave me the elixir.  “To help you sleep on the trip.”  He offered with sorrow in his eyes.  Yes, it will help us all sleep.

I have named them.  No one should die without a name.  There is Michael the strong; Lacy, the beauty; Jacob, the wise; Star, the playful and Silvy, the quite.  My children have names, they are someone. You are the Creator and Taker of life in my world, but not this time.  This time, I win.  You will never have a Pure Red Dragon, not from me nor my children.  Run now, Mother, search in disbelief as all your hoped for a Red Dragon Clan are disappearing.  Your Clan, not your family that is all we ever were to you.  A supply of Red Dragon blood to mate and grow, each two years a new supply would enter the Clan.  Ha!  I’m afraid I have a change in plans.  Sleep my babies, sleep.  Never to wake again to suffer in shame as I have.  They are so precious in sleep.  Little thumbs being sucked.  Yes, I am mad, because only a mad dragon would do such a thing.  I have just beat you to it Mother.  You would do the same if they weren’t any good to you.  In fact, you already have done the same to my half-breeds.  We were your only supply of Red Dragon blood, and now you have none.  As I fade, I vow to keep you company.  I will drag you to hell with me, as we both are damned. 

Good bye.....for now.                                                            Marta

 

           

            Lea dropped the letter in the mud and ran to the caravan containing Marta and the hatchlings.  She flung the door wide and collapsed in shock.  Marta was dead with a smile on her face.  The hatchlings were dead as well, even though they just looked to be asleep.

            Lea’s cries were heard all around the campsite.  The first Captain on the scene looked into the caravan and swore.  The army had been returning to the Red Dragon Territory to bring the hatchlings and Marta to live.   She had planned on her half-breed soldiers to mate with the hatchlings as soon as possible.  Her men were against mating with their own young, so Lea agreed to find female half-breeds to mate with the male Pure Reds.  Then her clan would come alive with  Pure Red Hatchlings.  Lea had big plans.  Now she had none.