Shadowflame - ghostesez - Marvel Cinematic Universe [Archive of Our Own] (2024)

Chapter Text

The great hall was abuzz with life and joy and excitement. Aspirants gathered together, lining the walls and perching on stairs and tables and chairs, hoping to catch a glimpse of the wrought iron box as it was carried in. Lady Yao preceded it, stoping only briefly to give a small wave of her wrist, bringing forth the ceremonial altar in the very center of the large hall with a burst of magic. She rounded the altar, watching as the servants placed the box upon the floor and began to unload the eggs.

She began to speak, a speech that she gave at every single bonding ceremony that Stephen could remember. He had had quite the habit of sneaking onto one of the viewing balconies above to watch in years past. Even now, he tuned out the lady’s words, watching as two young servants poorly hid behind riders from previous years in the balcony opposite and above him from where he stood with the other aspirants. They were the little brown-eyed twins that worked in the kitchens. They caught Stephen’s eyes and he gave them a small smile before turning his attention back to Lady Yao.

“-my sincere wish that we could elevate every last one of you to the position of dragon rider. Alas, it is not my decision. Dragons are gifts from the gods themselves, and thus a dragon choosing you as its rider is in turn the gods choosing to elevate you beyond what you are now. There is no greater honor in this life or the next,” Lady Yao continued. She took a small bowl from its place at the altar and dipped her fingers into it, flicking ceremonial draught over the quivering, quaking eggs. “These eggs will begin to hatch soon, with each following suit soon after. Please stay calm and respectful as the hatchlings choose their rider. Even at only moments old, they can, and will, burn anyone that they perceive to be a threat. The cemetery here on the island is the final resting place for hundreds of would-be aspirants, just like you. Please don’t be the reason we have another grave dug.”

Stephen turned his attention from Lady Yao, watching the eggs intently. He had seen the eggs nearly every day for the last year. He had them memorized by the end of week two: three greens, two blues, one pink, two reds, two blacks, one white, and a silver. They were just big enough to be comfortably held in two hands - were they not so hot - yet surprisingly lightweight. Stephen had slept on pillows that weighed more. The scales that covered them were thicker and more rough than that of the hatchlings slumbering within. A gift of protection from their mother, Lady Yao would say. Stephen always found this amusing - for who would dare harm a dragon’s eggs?

A hush came over the room as one of the eggs began to crack and shutter violently. Even Lady Yao took a step back as the egg seemed to explode, sending shards of shell flying in every direction. Some of the aspirants had to duck or sidestep to avoid being hit by the flying debris. Where an egg stood only moments ago, a small forest-green hatchling now lay on its back, four legs flailing, squirming and twisting as it righted itself onto its belly. Its legs struggled for purchase on the marble altar while its wings quickly flapped about, attempting not to lose its balance. They couldn’t fly at this age, after all.

The hatchling had bright, yellow eyes and Stephen could tell even from this distance that its accent color was copper. A beautiful little life, that was for sure. The hatchling steadied itself on its legs finally, its wings twitching slightly as they folded in flush with its midsection. Dragons were always a tad more clumsy on the ground than in the air. Stephen had always assumed if he walked on four legs, but had two big wings in the way, he’d be a bit clumsy too.

The hatchling lifted its head and began to survey the room with its large, yellow eyes. The aspirants were all quiet as could be - you could probably hear a mouse scurrying by. That is, until the tell-tale crunch of boots could be heard. Stephen, and all the other aspirants for that matter, looked quickly towards the sound. A small man with a boyish face took another step forward. At any other time, Stephen would be sure that he had only seen his fourteenth or fifteenth summer by how young he looked.

Stephen spared a glance to Lady Yao, who was watching the events unfold intently. The young man approached the altar slowly, eyes locked with the hatchling. Gingerly, the hatchling leapt down from the altar and scurried toward the human. As they approached each other, the hatchling let out a delighted chirp and jumped right into the man’s arms. Stephen saw the faintest of tears gathering in his eyes as he held, rocked, and snuggled his new best friend.

The next five eggs went much the same. Second was the pink egg, who went to a red-headed noble’s daughter from the capital of Ferrum. Stephen had seen her conversing with the prince Stark the night before. Then went another green, both the blues, and a black. Funny enough, a blue and the other green went to a pair of twins, a man and a woman from the kingdom of Wakanda. Their parents would surely be so proud of them.

Only when Stephen felt the sensation of someone looking at him did he raise his gaze. Lady Yao was giving him a subtle smile and a little wink. She looked away from Stephen and towards the altar. Stephen followed her gaze to see one of the red eggs - the darker one - shaking violently. Cracks began to form along the shell scales and soon enough, the egg erupted just like its predecessors. There, a little red hatchling squirmed away, lifting its head and opening its eyes. Originally, it had been facing Lady Yao, but quickly turned its head to lock golden eyes with Stephen.

Stephen felt his body immediately freeze, the only thing he felt was his heart thumping erratically in his chest. Slowly, and as if by their own volition, his feet began to move forward. Distantly, he saw some of the aspirants move aside to let him pass. He heard faint chatter from the crowd as he moved forward, the little hatchling jumping down off the altar and slowly creeping towards him. The hatchling was beautiful: its scales were a deep crimson color accented with a rich, chocolate brown and eyes the color of molten gold.

The hatchling stopped only an arm’s length away from Stephen, staring at him with those large, golden eyes. The hatchling trilled happily, jumping with all her might and a little flap of her still-wet wings right into Stephen’s waiting arms. He felt his heart nearly burst with joy as the hatchling rubbed the top of her head under Stephen’s chin and began to purr and squeak happily. Stephen gasped, throat tight and tears flowing.

“Hello, baby girl,” he squeaked, rubbing his thumb along her jaw as she trilled back at him. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

In response, Stephen heard not words, but felt a feeling of happiness and excitement wash over him. They were not his own, despite his having the same emotions, but instead the hatchling’s. He could feel her emotions as his own, and in that moment, he was never more sure of anything that she could feel his in turn.

As she cooed and snuggled further into Stephen’s neck, he caught the sight of Lady Yao, who was extending her hand to him, wide smile on her face. Stephen approached, almost as if still in a trance, and grabbed her hand. She pulled him closer, whispering, “I knew you were destined to be a rider, Stephen. There have to be some benefits to being as old as me.”

Stephen looked into her eyes in wonder, deep brown and soft with age, crows’ feet inching from the corners. He smiled at her as wide as could be, allowing her to place a hand on his back and guide him to the antechamber off the great hall. Stephen walked past the aspirants that were gathered near the door to the antechamber, each one wide-eyed with wonder at the little hatchling in Stephen’s arms, as if they hadn’t seen six prior.

Stephen ceased his petting of the hatchling as he reached out to grab the large handle and tugged, the grand door opening enough for the new rider and his baby dragon to slip inside. The room was smaller than the great hall, of course, but no less lavish. A fire pit lay in the center, depressed into the stone. Cushions and rugs and ornate chairs decorated the floor around the pit, with tapestries and hanging plants on the walls. Above them, windows opened, letting in lots of natural light.

The six previous riders were sitting in the room, chatting amongst themselves. The pink hatchling and one of the blues were playing together on a rug nearby. The riders looked up to greet Stephen and his hatchling as they entered. The rider of the pale pink hatchling spoke up first.

“Hello!” She exclaimed jubilantly, standing as she did so. “Come, come, we were just chatting, waiting for the ceremony to finish.” She waved over Stephen with a smile. Stephen walked towards where the riders were gathered and sat down in the circle that had formed.

“Hello,” Stephen greeted sheepishly, his hatchling maneuvering herself to lay comfortably in his lap. “I’m Stephen.”

“Hi, Stephen. I’m Pepper,” the rider of the pale pink hatchling said. Stephen took in her friendly face, all smiles and freckles, face framed by long, copper hair. “Well, my name is actually Virginia Potts, but everyone calls me Pepper.”

“Potts, I know that name. Isn’t House Potts one of the vassals of House Stark out in the Ferrian capital?”

“Sure is. I was practically raised in the palace with Tony.”

“Tony?”

“Oh my apologies, Prince Stark is what you would know him as,” Pepper smiled. “We’ve been friends since the cradle.”

“Oh,” Stephen said quietly. He kept his mount shut at that. His experience with the prince on the ramparts that morning still had left Stephen with a sour taste in the back of his mouth.

“Well, no mind that,” Pepper brushed off. She gestured to the hatchling in Stephen’s lap. “Congratulations on your little one!”

“Thank you,” Stephen replied. He looked down to meet the hatchling’s eyes. They were so warm and full of life already. He scratched gently behind her ear and she trilled in reply before Stephen turned his attention back to Pepper. “You as well.”

Pepper beamed. “Does your hatchling have a name yet? None of ours do.”

“No, not yet. I never really thought about what I would name a dragon, truth be told,” Stephen chuckled.

“Honestly, me either,” Pepper replied, attention turning to the door as it groaned with movement once again.

Stephen looked up to see a tall, burly, blond man enter, a silver hatchling perched on his shoulder. He gave a bellowed laugh in greeting and quickly joined the group. Thor was his name, as they quickly learned. He was the eldest prince of Asgard, the kingdom on the northern shores of the great Sparkling Sea. And unlike everyone else, he had already named his hatchling. Mjølnir was the color of pure molten silver, whose markings and accents and eyes were all a brilliant cyan. He was already a bit larger than the other hatchlings.

By the time that eleven of the eggs had hatched, Stephen was fairly well acquainted with everyone. He discovered that he shared a name with the young man who bonded with one of the blues, luckily he went by Steve instead of Steven. His childhood friend, Bucky, had bonded with the white. The other blue had bonded with a man named T’Challa, Prince of Wakanda. His twin sister, Shuri, had bonded with one of the greens, hers a grass green with caramel accents. The first one bonded, his the forest green and copper hatchling, was named Scott. The third green, accented with a deep purple, bonded with a quiet man named Bruce. A woman named Natasha bonded with the black and red hatchling and a man named Clint bonded with the black and purple hatchling.

“We’re just waiting on one more, right?” Scott asked, letting his little green gnaw gingerly in his finger.

“Yes, the last red egg,” Stephen said, petting along his hatchling’s back as she purred. He could feel her fins and frills sway in contentment as her tail lazily swished on the floor. She was warm, hot even, her inner fire surely burning as bright as the midsummer sun. Stephen found it soothing, instead of the near unbearable heat that radiated off the other dragons that he had touched in his life.

Soon enough, all eleven chosen riders turned their heads at attention as the great oak door opened once more, the very last rider of the year entering. A young man clad in expensive robes of purple and golden jewelry bounded in, head held high. Curled around his arm, a bright, cherry red hatchling with golden accents and golden eyes. The man had a wide, co*cky grin on his face.

Prince Anthony Stark.

“Tony! Oh I’m so glad you were chosen!” Pepper exclaimed, nearly jumping to stand. Most of the others in the room bowed their heads as the prince entered. Stephen and Natasha did not. He briefly met her gaze and she shrugged, going back to feeding her little hatchling from the pile of meat that had been set out for them.

“Honestly, I’m surprised that it took until the last egg,” the prince smirked. “Who wouldn’t want a prince as their rider? I was the last one out there after all.”

Stephen tried hard to keep the sneer that he felt building from washing across his face. Here, in the bright sunlight streaming through the windows, he couldn’t blame anything on being a trick of the shadows like he could have that very morning. Had he been born a dragon, he was quite sure that this spoiled prince would be his very last choice as a rider.

“You may be a prince out on the mainland, but here, on this island, you are but one more trainee, young Stark,” came the voice of Lady Yao as she entered through the large door. Stephen could vaguely see the outlines of the aspirants who were not chosen filing out of the great hall, surely to pack up their belongings from the camps outside for their journeys home. “I will send word to your father, Anthony, that you were chosen. Lady Potts, Prince Thor, Prince T’Challa, and Princess Shuri,” Lady Yao said, turning to each as she said their names. “I will send word to your families as well. As for the rest of you, I will need to know where exactly to have a message delivered.”

While the other spoke up, giving instructions on where to send messages to their families, Stephen and Natasha stayed silent. Evidently, she had no family to speak of either. It was almost comforting in a deranged sort of way, to have someone who understood what it was like to be alone in the world. Sure, he had the other residents of Kamar Taj, but living in a place that you’d been working in for the past sixteen years was significantly different that growing up in a home with loving parents and siblings.

“It is going to be extremely important for you all to remember that Kamar Taj resides within the borders of no empire nor kingdom; we swear fealty to no ruler. We, this island, this castle, and now you - for the next two years at least - hold no oaths of loyalty. The gods themselves bestowed dragons upon this world with the condition that the Order of Kamar Taj maintain their eggs and upbringing. I will tolerate NOTHING that defies this most sacred of duties. Do you all understand?” Lady Yao said, clasping her hands behind her back.

There was a round of agreements from the novice riders, each looking up at their new teacher with wide-eyed wonder.

“Good,” she continued. “Each one of you will be shown to your quarters now. This island will be your home for the next two years, so I do suggest you take this night to get comfortable. The gods chose you from amongst the hundreds of aspirants that crowded the great hall only moments ago, I do hope you do them proud.” As Lady Yao finished, she waved for the trainees to follow with the wave of a hand and flick of a wrist.