MYRLLEN

Myrllen yawned and climbed out of his hammock. As he stood, he glanced out one of the portholes that lined one of the walls. Over the last few days, he had grown accustomed to the sight of the endless ocean.

He whipped his head back to the window as he noticed a dock piling pass the window. After he stood in place for a few moments in shock, then carefully made his way across the room, navigating the maze of hammocks where Stellans slept. He mentally thanked the stars that Paragon's floor never creaked and the door moved silently as he opened it. He carefully shut the door, then bolted down the hall and nosily burst into Paragon's open deck.

He froze as he spotted the tall cliffs that surrounded the port and the castle that grew out of the side of the rock high above them, all bathed in the beautiful golden light of dawn. The massive castle looked half built, half grown out of the rock, and even the aboveground portions were larger than any building he had ever seen.

Movement on one of the balconies caught his eye, but it wasn't humanoid and didn't match any creature he recognized. The serpentine creature moved with grace as its head moved. Their eyes briefly locked, and Myrllen thought he saw it smile.

DING DING DING!

Myrllen jumped out of his trance and glanced up to the empty crows nest and the silver bell at the top of the mast. It swayed gently but produced no further sound. 

"Good morning, Myrllen," The silver Paragon glowed gold in the morning light. "Welcome to Havenous, the capital city of Draconia," she smiled to the young Stellan as she gestured to it with one of her front limbs.

"How did we get here so fast?" Myrllen climbed up the stairs to the foredeck and looked up to the cliffs that held the castle and the city. He had heard stories about Hoshi's ports, and none of them mentioned cliffs, the young Stellan recognized the port as somewhere unfamiliar.

Paragon smiled knowingly. "This is my favorite port, even if I'll never see the city up close myself." She craned her neck as she looked up to the top of the tall cliffs. "The castle is beautiful, and you can see the skyline from the horizon."

"Why can't you go into the city?" Myrllen blinked and looked at the gemstone-eyed figurehead.

"Because of how I was made, I can't leave the ship. I am attached to it, just like any other figurehead." Paragon genuinely smiled to the Stellan. "But Travis has described the city and shown me images from his memories. From what I can see, the city is beautiful, and I think you will love it."

Myrllen blinked in surprise, then jumped as a shadow passed over them and a large shape landed on the wide dock next to the ship.
Myrllen stepped back at the sight of the large yellow and orange dragon and blinked in surprise as it spoke. "Good morning, Madam Paragon," The patterns on his wings reminded Myrllen of the sun, and rippling orange stripes ran down his spine. "Did you bring more refugees today? I can alert the queen and have the empty guest rooms in the castle prepared." He smiles, his long snout and sharp teeth somehow conveying friendliness rather than a terrifying snarl.

"Good morning, General Aelius." Paragon smiled to the dragon. "I have nine families aboard who will all be happy to have individual rooms rather than packed into my small hull."

The golden dragon nods. "I'll also alert the builders to be prepared as well, once the refugees decide where to live, they can start designing their homes."

"And where is the money for this coming from?" Myrllen mustered his bravery and locked eyes with the large creature.

"Queen Horizon funds all refugees until they are integrated into society, no matter how long it takes or what jobs they choose for themselves." The general promised with a caring smile. "That's what she did for all of us."

"All of us?" Myrllen blinked in surprise.

"Yes, almost everyone here is a refugee, even the queen herself. This country is a haven for everyone, many of them brought or lead here by Paragon." General Aelius smiled to the liveship.

"You give me far too much credit." Paragon managed an embarrassed smile. "I haven't brought that many..."

A hearty chuckle from the sunset-colored dragon caused Myrllen to jolt in shock. "As humble as ever, Madam Paragon," General Aelius smiled. "I shall alert Her Majesty, and shortly there will be workers to carry everything and show everyone to their rooms with food and comfortable beds." He turned, jumped onto a large rock, then leaped into the sky and flew towards the castle, the morning light glowing off of his wings like miniature suns. 

Myrllen slowly recovered from shock and faced the grinning figurehead. "That, that was a dragon..... and we're actually going to go meet the queen?! I didn't think you were serious! I thought we were just going to just have her people meet us, like some bureaucratic stand-in."

Paragon musically giggled with a smile as gentle as the sound of soothing ocean waves crashing against the cobble shore. "Of course, she's the best person to help you settle into Draconia."

Myrllen blinked in surprise as a sleek shape passed over his head and landed on the deck.

"Paragon! Welcome back" A graceful figure landed on the deck next to the silver figurehead. The pale blue wingless dragoness smiled to Myrllen. "Are you one of the refugees? Allow me to personally welcome you into Draconia."

"Horizon, it is always good to see you," Paragon smiled to the newly arrived female dragon. "This is one of the refugees."

"Wait wait wait wait, Horizon?" Myrllen looked up to the serpentine dragoness as her mane flowed in the ocean breeze. "As in Queen Horizon?" Myrllen blinked in shock. The being wore only a few pieces of jewelry, nothing like the copious amounts he imagined that royalty wore.

"Yes, and feel free to call me Horizon." The dragoness smiled as her mane flowed in the gentle ocean breeze. "It's nice to meet you." Her smile was as kind as the kiss of the sun.

Myrllen blinked, then slowly nodded with a soft smile on his face. "It's nice to meet you too."

The queen smiled and nodded, then focused on the aftercastle door as it soundlessly opened.

Myrllen followed her gaze, then smiled a bit as he saw more Stellans coming out from below decks and noticing the friendly appearance of the dragoness.

Author Notes!

What do y'all think of Draconia and it's queen?

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!