Chapter 14: Thirst for Knowledge

Aeris paced in front of the restaurant as she waited for Windor, ignoring the cold winds whipping her face. Passersby ignored her in their rush to get out of the punishing weather. She was unbothered by the harsh weather, unlike the shivering humans who often passed her. The wind was more annoying than anything but only due to it whipping her cloak about and blocking her vision.

Even if she did, there were more pressing things on her mind. Such as telling Windor about her engagement to Reks. She wanted him to hear it from her. Word spreading was inevitable, so it had to be now before someone else beat her to it. She would do it today after lunch, find a nice secluded place and tell him. Upsetting him was her biggest worry. No matter how many times she told herself there was nothing to worry about, the trepidation remained.

Her pace increased with her nervosity. Not only had she snuck out again, but she was out of her room when her master hadn’t given her permission to leave. If she were caught, Master Aaron would be very upset. But she would cross that bridge if or when she reached it.

“Snowflake, what a surprise seeing you here,” came a voice Aeris recognized as Cutter’s.

Aeris spun around to see the Short Snout standing before her. Unlike the other dragons Aeris had seen today, Cutter wore a long evergreen cloak embroidered with gold trim. It made her look regal and important. Aeris made a mental note to ask where Cutter purchased it later. "Hello, Cutter," Aeris said. "I was going to see you today to tell you—"

“We don’t talk business in public,” Cutter interjected. “Too many ways for someone to overhear.” She motioned for Aeris to follow her as she went inside the restaurant. “Besides, it’s windy as fuck out here.”

Aeris followed Cutter inside, a wave of heat washing over her as she crossed the threshold. The place was packed with humans and dragons and buzzed with conversation. The smell of smoked meat and pipe smoke created a unique scent overpowering any other smells. No one appeared to take notice of them, but Aeris tucked her head further into the hood of her cloak and followed Cutter to the only empty table in the center of the room.

Janine hurried over to greet the pair the moment they sat down. “Hey there, Cutter and Aeris. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the two of you here together before.”

“I’m supposed to be meeting Windor here,” Aeris said. He was already late. She hoped nothing had happened to him.

“We just happened to run into each other here,” Cutter said. “Can you bring us some drinks? You know I can’t get enough of the ale of this place.”

“Water for me,” Aeris said.

Janine smiled at the two dragons. “Coming right up. Y’all just wait here.”

Cutter watched Janine head into the kitchens before turning and staring at Aeris. Something in her eyes made Aeris uneasy. It wasn’t the usual look; Cutter was scanning for something. “You look different, Snowflake,” Cutter said. “There’s a fire in your eyes that wasn’t there before.”

“Is there?”

“Yeah, but something’s different,” Cutter said slowly, leaning forward until her snout was inches from Aeris. Only the fear of what would happen should she pull away kept Aeris in place. Cutter’s next words sent a chill down her back. “You had your first kill.”

She figured it out that fast? Aeris thought, her tail wrapping around her body. What if someone else figures it out? There was no proof of anything—she knew that, but she couldn’t stop herself from worrying.

Cutter smiled and returned to her seat. “Not bad, Snowflake, looks like you aren’t as delicate as I thought.” She leaned onto the table, her tail pointed straight into the air and wagging. “So, don’t make me beg. What happened? Don’t tell me you got sick of your master being a cunt and got rid of him?”

"Wh-What? No! I would never harm my master. I—" Aeris froze upon feeling a strange feeling at her back as if someone's hand hovered close to her but not quite touching. Instinct took over and with a loud snarl, she whirled on her would-be attacker.

An Aquarian Short Snout standing behind her cried out and jumped backward, slamming into the nearby table. The cups of ale the two humans at the table were drinking fell over and spilled into their laps. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room as the humans jumped to their feet with a string of curses and glared at the dragon.

“Hey, what do you think you’re—” one of the humans, a rather skinny man with a large beard, said. He stopped short, his face going pale. “O-Oh, Cutter. I didn’t see you there.”

“I’m pretty sure you did, but you were more worried about getting ale all over your dick,” Cutter replied calmly. “Anyway, my friend here is very sorry. How about I buy the next round to make up for it?”

“Y-Yeah, sure. Thank you, Cutter.” He turned to the other human who quickly raised his hands and stepped back, clearly not wanting to weigh in on the situation.

Cutter gave a quick nod in response before leaning toward Aeris and whispering. “By the way, that’s coming out of your pay, Snowflake.”

Aeris was too grateful the situation had been resolved to care much about the docking of her first pay. The Short Snout she had startled remained where he was. He looked almost the exact opposite of Cutter, and not just him lacking her confidence. Instead of the same luminous sea-green scales she had, his body was a much darker shade of green, almost the same dark shade as Cutter's cloak. There was also a lack of scars on his body. Aeris assumed it meant he was a domesticate. Every domesticate she encountered lacked scars.

“I’m sorry for scaring you like that,” Aeris said. She questioned why she reacted that way in the first place. It wasn’t like her to be so jittery. “Was there something you needed?”

The dragon played with his claws. “Um, I’m very sorry to interrupt. I just… Are you Aeris?”

Before Aeris could answer, Cutter cut in with, “Who’s asking?”

“I-I am. My n-name is Lanry,” the dragon said, his voice quavering. “I’m looking for Aeris. I heard she has beautiful light blue scales.”

“Look at you, Snowflake, getting requests from all kinds of males,” Cutter said teasingly.

“It’s not like that at all,” Lanry said, shaking his head firmly. His expression changed to horror. “N-Not that I don’t mean I wouldn’t! You are certainly attractive and all—”

“It was a joke,” Cutter said, annoyed. “But the shit’s not funny anymore, so get back to why you’re bothering us before I beat it out of you.”

Lanry’s scales turned a lighter shade of green. “I’m sorry!” he bowed, his snout touching the floor, and said, “Could you teach me how to r—”

He stopped short and stiffened when Cutter slapped her tail against the table hard enough to silence everyone in the room. Looking around, Aeris noticed everyone wearing the same fearful expression and avoiding looking in their direction.

“Come with me,” Cutter ordered. “You, too, Snowflake.” She walked toward a door at the far end of the room, motioning for them to follow. Lanry didn’t hesitate to obey. Aeris quickly followed as well.

The walk was short, but it felt like an eternity to Aeris. Even without finishing his question, she knew what he wanted to ask her; the drake would've asked her to teach him to read. Her mind raced with questions of how long before word got back to Master Aaron and what he would do if he found out. Should she deny the whole thing? Flat out refuse him? She didn't want to say no but didn't feel saying yes would end much better. They were supposed to be keeping the rumors to a minimum.

Cutter ushered them into a small room. It lacked any furniture or decoration, but flat cushions lay on the floor. With three dragons it was a little cramped, but there was no way Aeris was going to complain. She quietly sat on the cushion though it was so flat it felt like sitting on a piece of cloth. The moment Cutter slammed the door closed, Lanry immediately adopted a submissive position, dropping to the floor, his head bowed, and refusing to make eye-contact. "Please forgive me!" he cried. "I didn't mean to upset you."

“Next time, keep your damn voice down,” Cutter said. She sat on the remaining cushion and looked down at Lanry. Again, Aeris felt a strange pressure pushing down on her, but it didn’t feel as strong this time and she didn’t feel the need to bow in reverence. “What the fuck was going through your head, thinking you could just blurt out a request like that?”

Lanry slowly lifted his head and said to Aeris, “I need to help my family, but in order to do that, I need coin.”

“So get a job working security,” Cutter said. “Or pull carts. Plenty of places like hiring dragons for that sort of work.”

"But so many dragons do that sort of work already," Lanry said. He motioned to his body. "And look at me. No one will want someone like me working security, and I'm not strong enough for hard labor." He threw himself at Aeris's paws. "Please. I'll do whatever you ask. My master won't say it, but he needs help. If things continue, my family may be forced to send me away." He whined as his body trembled. "They're all I have! I can't bring myself to leave them."

Aeris didn’t want to say anything, but the drake did seem a bit on the skinny side. And if he were this jumpy, working security was out of the question. Seeing Lanry beg her like this was such a pitiful sight. “I’ll teach you,” she said.

Lanry lifted his head, his tail wagging slightly. “Y-You will?”

“You sure about that, Snowflake?” Cutter asked. “He can’t exactly use that to get a job.”

“I don’t care,” Aeris said. “I can’t turn my back on him knowing he needs help. Lanry, do you know the Patel family?”

“I’ve heard of them, but I’ve never met them.”

“Well, there is a dragon by the name of Aubrey with them. I want you to go to her mansion a week from today. Tell them I sent you.” Reks was scheduled for another visit that day, so it would be easy to coordinate a meeting. She didn’t like breaking her promise to Aubrey, but she hoped the Ravager would understand. Aubrey often talked about wanting to help other dragons, so Aeris hoped all it would take was an explanation of Lanry’s plight to change her mind.

Lanry bounced in place, a wide grin adorning his face. “Oh, thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me! I’ll see you next week!” He hurried to the door.

Cutter extended her wing into his path, stopping the drake short. “Keep your fucking mouth shut about this or else money troubles will be the least of your family’s problems.” When Lanry nodded, she lowered her wing and let him leave.

Aeris remained in her seat. It was clear from Cutter’s voice and posture she was upset with the outcome. Cutter sighed heavily and headed for the door. “Dammit, Snowflake. You just don’t know how to make things easy, do you? Looks like we need to talk, but not here. If we stay here much longer, people will wonder what we’re up to.”

Aeris followed in silence. Their drinks sat waiting for them on the table, but Cutter continued walking. It wasn’t until seeing the cup of water that Aeris realized how thirsty she was, but she followed Cutter outside. The wind slapped Aeris in the face the moment she left the restaurant. Cutter growled and the gust died almost as if fearing her wrath. Aeris knew the idea of a dragon controlling the weather was silly, but she still shivered at the thought of how furious Cutter was with her. That same fear kept her from stopping at the sight of Windor walking toward them.

“Aeris, there you are,” Windor said. “Sorry I’m late. I had to—”

“Not now,” Cutter said. “Snowflake and I need to have a long chat.”

Windor fell silent. Aeris avoided looking at him and continued following Cutter down the street. Aeris added an apology to the list of things she would need to tell him later. Thinking of a proper apology distracted her from the thoughts of what Cutter planned to say, and also what Aubrey would likely say when Lanry showed up at her door.

Cutter led Aeris back to the brothel. Aeris wondered why they needed to come here but chose to keep her questions to herself and followed Cutter into the back room.

“Sit,” Cutter ordered, jabbing her tail at the cushions lined against the wall. After Aeris sat down, Cutter turned to her and said, “Please explain to me why you want to make yourself a target?”

Aeris knew a lie wasn’t going to work, so she decided to settle for the truth. “I wanted to help him. I know the humans won’t like dragons learning to read, but I don’t care. He needed my help, and I wasn’t going to ignore him.” It filled her with pride to say it out loud. She stared defiantly at Cutter. Regardless of what happened next, Aeris planned to stand her ground.

To Aeris’ surprise, Cutter began laughing. “You went and grew a big pair of balls,” she said. Her smile dropped as quickly as something falling to the floor. “But the real question is, are you ready to deal with the consequences? Listen, Snowflake, if you were any other dragon, I wouldn’t give a damn, but in your case, you need to be careful.”

Aeris tilted her head as she looked at Cutter. “What do you mean? What’s so special about me?”

Cutter’s tail tapped against the floor in a hurried, uneven rhythm as her expression turned grim. “You’re an Ardelle Celestial, but I guess I can’t be too surprised you don’t know that. Your kind supposedly died out centuries ago.”

Aeris felt lightheaded. Her tail began to wag furiously as her mind cleared and her chest tightened. She finally knew what she was, but two questions echoed in her mind: What was an Ardelle Celestial, and what did Cutter mean by they died out centuries ago? At that thought, a third question entered her thoughts. If my kind had gone extinct so long ago, how was I born?

As if reading Aeris's mind, Cutter said, "That's an excellent question. How are you here if your kind is dead? I guess history had it wrong when they said you all died out."

As if snapping out of a trance, Aeris found her voice again. “I don’t understand. I’ve spent weeks going over books and asking anyone I could. No one knew what I was.”

With an annoyed sigh, Cutter stood up and walked over to the window. After looking outside for something, she pulled the curtains closed. “The story is they were killed during the Great Rebellion, but no one was really keeping track of shit back then,” Cutter said. “Obviously, they didn’t all die out, but you definitely don’t see them anymore.” 

“So what happened to them?”

“First I gotta ask you something: Do you know what a celestial is?”

Aeris nodded vigorously. “It’s a heavenly being. It’s also the color of a clear sky like my scales.”

Cutter nodded. "So you can imagine that a lot of them got their heads stuck up their asses thinking they were actual gods or the closest thing to one. They got the idea in their heads they should rule over humans and dragons." A quick growl escaped her. "They came pretty damn close, too."

“They did?”

Cutter nodded again, her expression grim. She retrieved a scroll from the large shelf and flattened it out on the table. Motioning for Aeris to come over, she pointed at a mountain range on the upper half of the map with her claw. “That there is the Ardelle Mountains far to the north of here. That’s where your kind lived, hence the name. Even today, traveling those mountains is dangerous, so most humans avoid it. Of course, that only made your ancestors even more arrogant dumbasses,” she finished, rolling her eyes. 

“How do you know all this?”

Cutter chuckled. “Snowflake, I’ve been in the information game for a long time. It’s my job to know things. And trust me, you’re better off getting as many opinions as possible and figuring shit out on your own.” Her smile dropped but quickly returned, her gaze distant as if recalling a distant memory. “ ‘History is a broken promise borne on the lips of a liar.’ A friend told me that a long time ago. For the longest time, I had no idea what she meant.”

“I don’t get it.”

“One day you will.”

Aeris didn’t care about “one day”. She was focused on right now and learning more about her ancestors and how they nearly died out and why. So many explanations and scenarios flowed through her head, and she needed to learn the truth. “But, Cutter, I still don’t understand why I’m so special. Why did the humans decide to kill my kind?”

“They didn’t. The dragons did.”

Aeris didn’t expect that answer. All the feelings of curiosity rushed out of her. But she still had to know, so she asked, “Did you say the…dragons killed their own kind?”

“You heard me, Snowflake. They thought the Ardelle Celestials were too dangerous and killed them.”

“But why?”

“A couple of reasons. For one, they could breathe ice instead of fire. They’re the only dragons who can. Ice can be used to attack or defend, making it in many ways harder to deal with.” Cutter rolled up the map and returned it to the shelf. “But the main reason is because they wanted to rule over humans and dragons.

"Before you say it, I'm gonna explain. Dragon clans have a Matriarch leading them, but no clan's above another. However, if one clan's Matriarch kills another, that clan gets absorbed into hers. We call it merging. The Icewalkers planned to merge all the clans into one and lead all the dragons."

“ ‘Icewalkers?’ ” Aeris asked.

“That’s what I like to call them,” Cutter explained. She made a face as if tasting something sour. “Calling them ‘Celestials’ makes my skin crawl. But that’s not the point. The point is, if they merged all the clans into one, they would be unstoppable. The humans have guns, but they don’t have the numbers to take on all of us at once.”

Aeris still didn’t understand what this had to do with her. She had no intention of ruling over anyone, and she failed to see how teaching dragons to read caused any sort of problems.

Again, Cutter replied as if reading her mind. “My point is the humans might not remember, but the dragon clans do. If they find out you’re teaching domesticates to read, they might get the wrong idea.” She leaned in close and emphasized every word as she finished with, “You don’t want that kind of attention.”

“The wrong idea about what? They don’t like domesticates anyway, so what do they care if we learn to read?”

Cutter sighed and laid her head on the table. “The naïve thing is cute and all, but that shit gets real tiresome fast. Domesticates are the pets of the rich and powerful. Through them, you could rule this place from the shadows. Before long, the whole human race would be your bitch.”

“Cutter, I don’t want to sound rude, but aren’t you overthinking this a little? One dragon asked me to teach him to read and —”

Cutter slammed her tail against the floor with a resounding crack. Aeris immediately fell silent. “I’m not stupid, Snowflake,” Cutter said. “I know all about the rumors, but I assumed someone was making shit up. Wouldn’t be the first time. There’s already more than one dragon taking interest, and you may not know it, but the humans are getting nervous. So you’ll need to decide to bend or fight back.”

That same thought had crossed Aeris's mind on several occasions. If the humans learned about the reading, she couldn't simply stop and forget everything she learned. And if it were possible, she didn't want to. "I want to help them."

Cutter seemed disappointed, but faint hints of a smile tugged at the corners of her muzzle. “Then I guess I’ll help you. Go home, Snowflake, you have a lot of planning to do.”

“But what about the encryption you wanted?”

"It can wait. For now, you need to get home and think about what you've done."

Aeris nodded and left, heading for home. She felt like she was in the middle of a dream. Today’s events ran through her mind as she tried to convince herself it was real. Did I really just learn my origins? She thought. None of the books she had read mentioned anything about an Ardelle Celestial, but she couldn’t think of any reason why Cutter would lie. A smile spread across her face.

The closer she got to the estate, the more her happy feelings began to fade and the questions surged through her mind. Did Master Aaron know what she was? He did sometimes call her his “little celestial”. Up until now, she assumed it had to do with the color of her scales. She tried to shake the thoughts from her mind, telling herself Master Aaron would never do anything like that. He loved her and had no reason to lie to her.

But a small part of herself didn’t believe it. No matter how many times she pushed the doubting thoughts away, they returned and slithered to the front of her mind. If I want to know the truth, I’ll need to see my papers, she thought before breaking into a run back to the estate.

Aeris went straight to her room upon reaching the estate to remove her cloak. By her estimate, Master Aaron wouldn’t be home yet, and her papers were stored in a box hidden in his bedroom. Her best chance to get the papers would be now before he came home. The moment she entered her room, she saw Maggie sitting on the mattress.

“Hello, Aeris,” Maggie said. Her voice lacked its usual cheerfulness and she looked ragged as if she hadn’t been sleeping. “Out visiting Aubrey again?”

“No,” Aeris replied. She slipped off her cloak and turned to Maggie, her tail wagging furiously at the woman talking to her again. “Maggie, I have something wonderful to tell you!”

"Please, I have something I want to say first." Maggie patted the space next to her. Aeris sat down then laid her head on Maggie's shoulder and wrapped her tail around the woman's waist. Maggie reached up and stroked the side of Aeris' head. They sat that way in silence for several minutes. Aeris didn't mind at all. It had been so long since she heard Maggie's voice, felt her touch. Eventually, Maggie broke the silence. "Aeris, I need to apologize. Over the last few weeks, I have been avoiding you, and that was wrong of me. I just want you to know, you did nothing wrong."

Aeris had no idea why Maggie was bringing this up now, but if it meant the woman would start talking to her, then so be it. Even with Windor and Aubrey keeping her company, the loneliness bothered her.

With a shuddering breath, Maggie continued. “I know it was wrong to distance myself from you like that. And I know you likely blame yourself. But the truth is, I was afraid you would hate me.”

Aeris turned her head so she could look up at Maggie. “What do you mean? I could never hate you.”

Maggie’s hand trembled slightly as she stroked Aeris’ neck. “Those men who tried to kill me and steal you...It was my fault they were there. They had to have been hired by the man I told you about. I was so blind I didn’t realize he couldn’t be trusted.”

Aeris pulled away from Maggie so she could easily look the woman in the eye. “I don’t hate you. What happened wasn’t your fault. If you knew what they were planning, you never would’ve taken me there.”

With a cry of joy, Maggie wrapped her arms tightly around Aeris’ neck. “Oh, Aeris, I’m so happy to hear that!”

Aeris wanted to talk more, but then she remembered what she wanted to talk about. “Oh! Maggie, I know what I am! I’m an Ardelle Celestial!”

Maggie broke the embrace and frowned. “A what? I’ve never heard of that species. Who told you this?”

“Cutter did,” Aeris replied as she bounded for the door. “Come on, Maggie. I need your help.”

“Hold on, who is Cutter? And what do you need my help with?”

“I need to find my papers,” Aeris said impatiently. She didn’t want to be rude, but there wasn’t much time before Master Aaron came home, and she didn’t want to wait until tomorrow. “I know where Master Aaron keeps them. Just meet me in his bedroom.”

“Wait, how do you know that? Aeris, come back!”

Aeris slipped out of her room without answering. After they got her papers, she would explain everything to Maggie. She ran straight for the secret passage and squeezed inside, going to Master Aaron’s bedroom. After making sure he wasn’t inside, she entered the room. It was risky, but she left the entrance to the secret passage ajar since she had no idea where the switch to open it again was located. The last time she had to sneak out through the back was terrifying and she didn’t want to go through something like that again.

She went straight to the corner of the rug covering the compartment and threw it to the side. She couldn't remove the floorboard without damaging the floor so she sat down and waited for Maggie's arrival.

Several minutes later, Maggie came into the room. Out of breath, she carefully closed the door and turned to Aeris, “What on earth has gotten into you? Can you slow down for one moment and explain to me what’s going on and how you know all of this?”

“Not now. Master Aaron could come home any moment.” Aeris patted the floorboard where the box was stored. “It’s in here.”

“You and I need to have a very long talk later,” Maggie said as she crossed the room and removed the floorboard. She stared at the metal box, her eyes wide.

“What are you ladies in here doing?” Charles asked from behind them.