Page 12 of The Dragon Maiden
“What’s your name?”
At my question, his face turned even whiter, making his chestnut hair and freckles stand out even more. He began to tremble, and I internally cursed myself. Of course, he thought he would get in trouble.
“Nothing’s going to happen to you,” I said. “It’s okay, really.”
“My name is Henrick,” he said after hesitating for a moment, his eyes darting to someone behind me.
“It was nice to meet you, Henrick,” I said, smiling widely, trying to hide my unease over the way everyone stared. “I hope to see you around. If you will excuse me, I have to go change. Bye.”
As soon as I left, I could hear the cave start buzzing with talk about me.
“What’s the matter with you?” I heard a woman’s voice scolding the boy. “That is to be Lord Dracul’s Maiden, and you just doused her with water! You could be in serious trouble!”
“I didn’t mean to!” Henrick cried. “It was an accident!” I could hear the tears thick in his voice and my heart clenched at his palpable fear.
“You need to be more careful in the future. Now go get more water. Barely any got to the crops. And no running this time!”
After hearing the woman yell after Henrick, based on how her volume increased at the end of her spiel, I could only assume that he would not follow her instructions.
I walked back to the Dragon Maidens’ cavern, my bare, dirt-covered feet feeling cold against the stone floors. Looking behind me, I could see a faint trail of footprints from the dirt and quickened my pace, not wanting to be caught by anyone.
No one was in the cavern when I returned, and I let out a sigh of relief. I stripped down and dropped my wet clothes in a basket to be cleaned later, changing into a purple linen dress that had cornflowers embroidered at the hem. I quickly washed my feet, cleaning them of the dirt before slipping back into my shoes. At last, I took down my braid, combing my hair before tying it back up once more. Then I sat on my bed, relaxing in solitude while I could.
The other Dragon Maidens entered the cavern about half an hour later, stopping when they saw me. The chattering amongst themselves ceased immediately and I could only assume they had been talking about me. If anything, the past couple of weeks had proven that they kept me at arms’ length. Even when I tried to engage them in conversation, they only provided surface level answers to my questions. It seemed that since Lord Dracul had picked me, they all had drawn away. The openness and friendly nature they had shown me when I arrived had quickly disappeared.
“You weren’t wearing that when we all left this morning,” Vimery said, her tone accusatory. “Decided it wasn’t good enough for you?”
The dress I had picked earlier had been a very plain cotton dress, similar to what the other Maidens wore today. I prickled at her accusation, but did not answer her, turning in my bed so my back faced her. Today, I was not in the mood to deal with her antics.
“Valora, what happened to your dress?” Alonsa asked, walking over to the basket where we discarded our clothes for the day. Servants would collect the basket the next morning and take everything to be washed. “Why is your dress soaking wet?”
I bit my lip, knowing that she would chastise me for exploring. No matter what I did, it always seemed to be wrong somehow. Only when I was in Lord Dracul’s chambers did I actually feel peace—he usually complimented my work or offered other words of encouragement. There, with the Dragon Maidens, it seemed I only received comments meant to pick at all my shortcomings. I missed the gentle encouragement Alonsa used to provide.
“Valora?” she prompted once more. “Where did you go? How did this happen?”
“I had the morning off and went exploring,” I admitted with a sigh.
Alonsa let out a sound of frustration, and I flinched, preparing myself for the lecture that always seemed to come.
“You shouldn’t be exploring,” Alonsa said in a tired voice. “The only places you need to know are Lord Dracul’s rooms, his treasure hoard, and where the other Lords reside. You already know how to go to all those places, so why did you go exploring?”
“I’m tired of being cooped up in the same spaces,” I said, turning to look at her. “I wanted something more stimulating to do. Is that so wrong?” When she did not answer, I flopped back on my bed. “I came across the crops and there was a small incident.”
“Andthat’swhy your clothes are wet?” she asked, coming to sit on my bed.
I looked at her and nodded.
Once more, she let out a sigh and pushed a lock of hair out of her face. “I don’t nag you to make you feel bad,” she said, “but because I’m worried that you are going to make so big of a mistake that we can’t help you.” She placed a hand on mine. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, Valora. None of us do.”
I held back a snort at her words. Vimery would probably be happy to see me gone. But looking at the others, they seemed as sincere as Alonsa sounded.
I nodded. “I’m sorry for causing you to worry,” I said softly. “But it can get really boring. I just wanted to find something new.”
“I understand, but give it time. You’ll adjust,” Alonsa said.
Everyone immediately turned to the door as a gentle rustling of scales approached. Lord Dracul appeared in the doorway, his eyes passing over each Dragon Maiden until eventually stopping on me. I was surprised to see him dragon form; usually, in his chambers, he looked like a human, and I felt a strange oddness about seeing him now. From his expression, I gleaned no indication of what he thought. His silver eyes were impassive, and I could not imagine why he would be stopping by at midday. And based on the silence of the other Maidens and their shocked expressions, it was very out of character for him to be there right now. Lately, I had been having lunch with him in his chambers, even though the Maidens usually came to the cavern for meals.
“Lord Dracul!” Alonsa exclaimed. “We weren’t expecting you. How may we serve you?” She and the others fell into belated bows. I remained upright, staring at him.