A New Beginning
Author's Note: This Story takes place fifteen hundred years after Matheau and Beijore's death.
Who was he? Where did he come from? Who were his parents? These questions had nagged at him ever since he hatched fourteen hundred years ago. He was a dragon, he knew that much. His scales were a dark red, with brilliant blue streaks scattered across his body. His eyes were an odd mix of emerald green and crimson red. The two colors intermingled and were very beautiful for any that cared to look at them. When he had first hatched, he was in a large cave, and he was all alone. He had cried and cried, hoping for someone to come to him, for his mother to hold him and comfort him, and his father to make him feel safe. But there was no one, just him. How he had survived was a mystery to him. No one ever came to that cave, and he continued to live there, feeding off rats and bugs and whatever he could catch. None of it tasted very good, but it was the only home that he had known. And he lived there, amoung the dirt, and bones that littered the cave. There were two big piles in the center of the room, and he had to move them when he was old and strong enough, just so he could move about. Then he discovered another room where there was another collection of bones. More than likely the feeding chambers of whoever lived there before. He grew and grew, never knowing who he was, or where his parents were. He hated them, for leaving him all alone. He didnt even have a name. He searched around the cave for anything that may tell him where his parents were. In the very back, scratched into the wall was a faded name. It was just barely legible, but engraved in the stone was the name "Matheau".
Thinking this to be the name that his mother may have left for him, he took it up as his name. So his name was Matheau. He sighed as he moved through the cave that he knew to be his home for so long. He had to leave it today to go to the dragon palace in the mountains to meet the king and pay homage to him. King Jarod had ruled for a countless time. Matheau had very little contact with other dragons, but he did run into a few every once in a while when he hunted, so he learned things from them. He had decided that it was time for him to move out of this cave and try to find a place within the kingdom to live so that he may actually have a life, and maybe find a nice mate to settle down with. He sighed again as he moved outside and looked over his shoulder to the cave he had lived in for so long. He took flight and moved above the clouds, enjoying the sunlight on his body. He closed his eyes as he glided on the air currents, loving the feel of the wind gliding past his body. The flight didnt last long though. The Palace was positioned in the mountains so that it was completely surrounded by the mountains. It couldnt possibly be invaded by humans, nor any other race that walked along the ground. Only winged creatures could get even remotely close to it, and even they would have a hard time of invading.
He set down a small distance from the palace, and two large green dragons stood guard, stepping in front of him to deny him entry. "State your purpose" one of them said loudly, but not unpleasantly. "I....i am new in the kingdom." Matheau said quietly. "I am from the mountains south of here......Dragon's Fall mountains i think their called. I have come to pay respect to the king." The guards eyed him up and down, their eyes falling upon the birth mark over his left breast and widening, and they quickly stepped aside. "Please, dont let us stop you." The guard said. Matheau nodded his thanks and moved into the large, almost cavernous hallway. He wished that they wouldnt stare at his birthmark like that. Everyone did. It looked like a large V with a line right in the middle of it. And everyone always got a look on their face when they saw it like they knew something he didnt, but they never told him anything, and they never admitted knowin anything when he asked. The palace was huge, and he was having a hard time getting around, basically guessing which way to go. As he turned a corner, he almost ran head first into a small white female dragon. Matheau blushed brightly, suddenly glad he had red scales. "Im very sorry, ma'am." Matheau said, bowing his head. "I....i wast really watching where i was going. Ive never been here before, and im kind of lost......" The dragoness was giggling at him. "I can tell." She said, in a soft, sweet tone that rang in his ears. His heart was hammering in his chest as he stared into her matching glacier white eyes. His mouth was suddenly very dry, and his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. "I knew you were lost the second i saw you earlier when you first came in. Basically, you just did a complete circle, Mr......?" She cut off to allow him to awnser with his name. "M....my name is Matheau, please just Matheau. Might i know your name?" He asked shyly. She giggled again. "Of course. My name is Beijara. I just turned seventeen hundred years old. How old are you?" He couldnt believe that she was older than he but so much smaller. But that didnt bother him, not at all. Nor did their obvious age differance. "I...well, im only sixteen hundred years old myself. Could you show me the way to his majesty's throne room?" She was staring at his birthmark, mouth agape. He knew it. No one ever missed that thing. He cleared his throat and she lifted her head to stare at his eyes and gasped.
"You have beautiful eyes!" She said. "Did you get them from your mother or your father?" Of course, he didnt know, and it wasnt in him to lie, so he lowered his eyes and said, "I dont know.....i didnt know my mother or my father.....ive always been alone since i hatched." He felt more than saw the sadness in her heart. "Oh...i...im sorry." She apologized sincerely. "I didnt mean to bring it up.....If you follow me, i can take you to the throne room." He nodded and followed her as she moved sinuosly through the hallway. It didnt take long, and he noticed he had passed by the throne room at least twice while walking through the halls. He shook his head. "Maybe i'll see you around, Matheau." Beijara said. As she walked by him, she brushed his body lightly with her own, and he shivered softly. He didnt know if she was flirting with him or coming on to him or not, but she looked at him one more time, her eyes looking directly into his and a soft smile was on her lips. Matheau's heart almost melted, and he was very sad to see her go. But somehow he knew that he would see her again. Now his heart was hammering again, but it was for a far different reason as he took a deep breath and stepped into the large chamber. Sitting in the throne was a very old looking dragon, his body tattered and lined with scars. His wings were tattered, and he was missing his left eye. His one good eye held Matheau and looked him up and down before a deep rumbling voice came floating to him. "Approach me." King Jarod said.
Matheau came as close as he thought was respectable, and bowed his head. "Rise." came the King's command. Matheau lifted his head. "My guards inform me that you are new to my kingdom, and that you come from the Dragon's Fall mountains. You did well in coming directly to me to pay your respects. I know you are young, but you are obviously wise. State your name."
Matheau saw that the kings gaze was burning into the birthmark on breast. Matheau gathered his courage and stuttered his name out. "M..m...m....my name is M..Matheau, my lord." The king visible started, lifting his gaze to stare at him. "What did you just say your name was, youngling? I apologize, my hearing isn't quite what it used to be." Now Matheau was scared, seeing the King's still obviously strong talons digging into the arm of the throne. "My name is Matheau, my lord." Matheau said softly. The king just nodded. I will have my guards escort you to a proper home given your age and status, Matheau. There is always room here, and i will see that you are taken care of." He waved his claw and dismissed Matheau. Matheau bowed and turned and exited the room. Had he done something wrong? The King had sounded very cold, and his words were filled with malice at the end there. As Matheau exited the Palace, one of the guards nodded to the other, and Matheau was escorted by the large green to a small cave VERY far from the palace. Matheau could barely see the palace from here. Matheau thanked the guard and started to explore his new home.
It was only a single room, and it was really, really small. He sighed. He should have just stayed in his own home. He lay down and curled up to sleep, when suddenly, he heard beating wings outside his cave, and the sound of someone coming in. He lifted his head. It was Beijara! He instantly jumped to his feet. What was she doing here?! And how had she found out where he lived so soon? She was carrying a book with here. "Matheau....." she said softly. "We need to talk. There are some things that you need to know. I could get in big trouble if King Jarod found out that i was telling you this." She moved and sat down next to him, opening the book. She motioned for him to sit down. "Do you know who your parents are, or who you are?" Matheau shook his head. "I've been alone since i hatched. I never even had a name. Matheau is just a name that was scratched into the wall of the cave i lived in." Beijara stared at him, something like disbelief in her eyes. "Matheau......look at this." She showed him a picture with two dragons. One a large, proud looking red male dragon. The other was an equally large blue dragoness. She was very pretty. Upon closer inspection, Matheau saw the same birthmark that he had on the male's forearm. "Hey!" Matheau exclaimed. "He has the same birthmark i do!" Beijara nodded, seeing that he noticed. "Thats because that's your father, Matheau. And thats your mother." Hatred boiled up inside of Matheau then. "Where are they?!" He demanded. "I have a few choice words id like to say to them." Beijara looked at him sadly. "They are dead, Matheau.......they have been dead for fifteen hundred years......they had three know children that died too......they were murdered." Matheau's hatred instantly drained from him, and sorrow filled his heart. "M...murdered? My parents were murdered? But why? And.....if the died fifteen hundred years ago, how was i born?" Beijara shrugged.
"That i cannot explain, Matheau." She said, almost apologetically. "But it is the truth. You are a Stratford.....Matheau Stratford. The very same name your father carried. Your mother was Beijore Stratford. And their known children were Jocylyn, Sasha, and Aurokhan Stratford. You said you grew up alone in a cave.....in the Dragon's Fall mountains, right? That's where they lived......" Suddenly, it all made sense to Matheau. The bones.......the two big piles in the middle of the floor were his parents. And the other bones were his sisters and brother. He suddenly erupted into tears. For the first time since his hatching, he cried and sobbed uncontrollably. Beijara was very upset as well, as she held him against her breasts and rocked him, trying to soothe him as he was hit with so much at once. For an hour, the both of them were like that, until he had no more tears to cry. He sniffed and tried to move away from her, but Beijara held him firm. "I know that this is hard, Matheau. But its very important i tell you everything now." She sat him up to look at her. "The king knows who and what you are.....chances are hes going to try and kill you. Because hes not a real king. Every dragon hates him, but they can do nothing to get him off the throne. You should be there in that throne, Matheau. Your father used to be in that throne. He was a loved and respected king. Jarod is a fraud, a phony. He cares only for himself. He murdered your family those years ago, and since he was thought to be the last Stratford, the throne was his to take. But now that you are here, things are different. Now do you realize why everyone stared at your birthmark? Not because it was ugly, but because they knew that YOU are a Stratford. You can take the throne. Matheau.....you have to kill him." Matheau had already realized that, and his sorrow, fury, and rage were all building up. He couldnt even hear her now, and he stood up and pushed past her and took flight, heading like a bullet to the palace.
The guards saw him coming, and bowed their heads, allowing him to pass without hinderance. They smiled to each other, because they knew that the true king had finally come to rescue them from the imposter. This time Matheau had no trouble finding his way to the throne room as he stormed inside. Jarod was already out of the throne as soon as he saw him coming. "So, the whelp knows who he is? Now i'll have to kill you, and that little Beijara too, for betraying me." Jarod growled. "You'll not lay a dirty finger on her!" Matheau shouted angrily. "The only one who is going to die is you! But i want to know why......Why did you murder my family?!" Jarod took a menacing step foreward. "None of your business, hatchling. But i will say this. This is the SECOND time ive made the mistake of not making sure EVERYONE in the area was dead. You must have been a hidden egg. I knew Beijore was pregnant when i killed her. But i had no idea she laid an early egg. She must have hidden you away, afraid that you would never hatch. But here you are, ready to try and take me down. You are the last." Matheau screamed in rage and launched himself at the red, which obviously took him by surprise, as Matheau landed the first blow and cut a large gash into his side. Jarod roared in pain and was quick to recover, swatting Matheau away with his tail, and Matheau rolled and slid across the floor. Jarod was on him before he could even get up. Jarod struck at him with a blow that may have killed him had Matheau not rolled out of the way. He was not unscathed however, as he took three deep slashes in his right hind leg. Matheau's rage grew more with the pain from the injury, and he lauched himself fearlessly at the larger male, slashing wildly with his talons. Blow after blow landed on the false-king, and his already nearly destroyed body took on more and more punishment, adding to the scars he already had. Jarod kicked Matheau hard in the stomach, doubling him over as he gasped for breath, clutching his stomach. Jarod moved behing the younger dragon and grabbed his tail, jerking it upward. Matheau yelped. "Im going to use your body just like i did that whore of a mother you would have had before i kill you." Jarod proclaimed. Matheau realized there was nothing he could do. He couldnt struggle, and now he was going to be raped and killed, just like his family.
Suddenly, the room faded away. All sound faded away. Jarod faded away, as did all sound and even the pain. Matheau stood up and looked about, completely baffled. Suddenly, his father was there. And his mother, and his sisters and brother. All five of them stood there. Matheau was suddenly horrified. "Have.....have i died?" Matheau asked. His father shook his head. "No, my son. Your not dead. We all brought you here....." His mother came foreward and hugged him. She felt so real, and he got what he wanted from the start of his life. He was in his mother's arms. "I know that you felt we abandoned you, Matheau." Beijore said softly. "But we would never have done that to you.....that Jarod destroyed us all." "And he took more lives than just ours." his sister Jocylyn said, stepping foreward. "Sasha and I were both pregnant when he killed us." "He has to be stopped." His brother Aurokhan spoke up. "Otherwise hes just going to keep hurting dragons." "You are to be king." Sasha said, nuzzling him. "And you will be a great one, as our father was." "You have the strength within you, Son." his father said. "You have all the strength you need. Dont be afraid to let it out. And when you become king, be kind and respectful of your fellow dragons." They all came foreward and hugged him, stepping away. His mother's eyes were full of tears. "Goodbye my son." She said. All of us will always be with you, inside of your heart. Our strength is yours."
"Goodbye everyone." Matheau said softly. "I will avenge you all.....and when i am done, i will give your bones all the proper respects that you all deserve." Slowly, his family faded, and the room came back into focus, and Jarod started to move again, getting ready to penetrate his young, virgin rear. Matheau felt all of his strength well up inside of him, and he unleashed it, yanking his tail out of Jarod's grasp, whirling on him and leaping atop him, his teeth latching onto his throat, and his talons raking at every part of the dragon's body he could. Jarod roared in agony, writhing beneath the young dragon and smacking him off. Matheau rolled and came back up, slashing out at Jarod again. Jarod was already fatally wounded, and he turned just in time to catch Matheau's claw in his good eye. Jarod screamed in pain as he was now completely blind. He swung blindly, his broad tail sweeping across the ground. He felt the younger dragon's claws on his throat, and swiped his talons and heard the satisfying roar of pain from the dragon. But Matheau's claws ripped across his throat, and Jarod started to choke. He collapsed to the ground, choking on his blood. With his last breaths, he cursed Matheau, and his entire line. Matheau panted heavily, calling as loudly as he could for the guards. Jarod's last blind swing had dug deeply into his chest, and it may prove to be a fatal wound. He collapsed over the dead dragon, breathing heavily. He blacked out, a smile on his muzzle, satisfied he had avenged his family.
Several hours later, he regained consciousness. He tried to sit up, but a gentle but firm claw pushed him back down. His eyes opened slowly, and Beijara was looking down at him, smiling softly. "I dont think so, your majesty." She said quietly. "You need to rest. Dont worry though, you wont scar. We got to you fast enough." Matheau stared up at her, and he said the very first thing he felt that came to mind. "I love you." He said softly. Beijara stared at him for a moment. "Matheau, you dont even know me." She said softly. "I loved you from the moment i laid eyes on you, Beijara....Your the most beautiful dragoness i have ever seen....." She smiled more brightly then ever. He loved her smile. She leaned down and kissed his lips gently. His first kiss, and he loved the feel of her lips on his. She pulled away after a moment, and her blush shown clearly on her white scales. "I love you too, Matheau.....but you need to rest now, okay? I'll come check on you in a little while......Then we can go and bury your family in a proper tomb." He nodded, not bothering to ask how she knew that he was going to do that. She left, and he watched her, again sort of sad that she was leaving, but also happy to know that she would be coming back to him. He loved her, and would ask her to be his mate later....But not yet. He had to much to do. He had a coronation soon, and he had to bury his family. He had a lot to do, and alot to prepare for in his new life as King Matheau Stratford.