Page 13 of The Dragon Maiden

“Valora, come with me,” he said quietly. The serious note in his tone sent shivers down my spine.

Silently, I got up and followed him to his chambers, where he transformed into his human form. I waited patiently as he began to pace, seeming to gather his thoughts.

“I heard from the servants in the garden that someone ran into you this morning,” he said, his voice quiet. “Who was it?”

Silence descended on the room, as I was shocked he had heard about the incident already. I had not been planning to tell him anything.

“It was an accident,” I explained at last. “There was no harm done.”

I turned to go, but Lord Dracul grabbed my arm to prevent me from leaving, his ring flashing in the light. It was a light touch, but I could feel the strength he held back.

“Tell me who it was,” he said. “Accident or not, they need to learn to be more careful.”

“Well, I’m not telling you.” I raised my chin, meeting his eyes. They glittered in anger, and I realized something. “Did you say they came and told you what happened? Why would they do that?”

“They know that if the Lords find out from our Maiden first and not them, we are less likely to want to listen to their side of the story. They told Lord Lorka, who reported the incident to me,” he growled, and I was starkly reminded that even if he showed kindness to me, he was still a ferocious dragon that the others all feared. “So who was it?”

I argued back. “I’m not going to give you a name so you can punish them, not when it was an accident. They already know better for next time.”

“Valora, I am going to ask you one more time, and you had better give me a name,” he said impatiently. “Who knocked you over?” Steam began to pour from his nostrils, which almost looked ridiculous in his human form.

Crossing my arms, I said airily, “The name escapes me. I seem to have forgotten it.”

The output of smoke intensified, but I did not allow myself to be cowed by him. Henrick was only a child.

He sighed, and after a couple more moments, shook his head. “Very well,” he said. “You win.”

I felt the corners of my lips curl up and did my best to quickly school my features. By the slight smirk, I could tell he noticed anyway.

“Don’t be so smug,” he said, trying to fight back his own smile.

I laughed, and at my reaction, he let out a chuckle. I paused, not expecting to hear such a sound from him. He was more lenient with me than the other Lords were with their Maidens, but I was still surprised he did not push the point further. I had the thought that maybe staying would not be so bad after all. As soon as the thought flitted through my mind, I squashed it.

“So I’m not in trouble?” I asked.

“No, you are not,” he confirmed. “But for the rest of the day, I would like you to stay in the Dragon Maiden cavern. I don’t want you getting into any more trouble.”

“Yes, my Lord,” I said, bowing before turning to leave, returning to the cavern to have lunch with the other Maidens.

Chapter Ten

Valora

The others heard about the whole accident from Hyacinth, Lord Lorka’s Dragon Maiden, who had talked with several of the workers who were present that day. After that, all except Vimery began to warm up to me a little more. I was invited to eat lunch with them. They actually talked to me. Slowly, the ice that had grown between us began to thaw. I found out more about each of them and their backgrounds. I also learned that once a year, they each were allowed to go home for a week to spend time with their families.

Alonsa came from one of the towns on the mountainside, Hilcrest, and had left behind a husband and son who, for a couple days each month, she was allowed to go see because of the town’s close proximity. I could not imagine the sacrifice she had made to be there, but while she seemed to miss her family, she did not seem to regret the decision to be a Dragon Maiden.

Bethany came from a town to the east, at the furthest distance that the Dragon Lords collected their Maidens from. She was the oldest in her family, with six younger brothers and sisters. Fairly often in the evenings, she would knit some article of clothing and Lord Verhorn would send her finished pieces back with her monthly wages.

Gwen and Hyacinth, who were in fact twins, had lost their parents at a young age and had been raised by an aunt and uncle. Surprisingly, one year, they had both been allowed to be picked as Maidens, and their wages were sent to their surrogate parents. The two had not been back in several years, opting to stay in the mountains, having grown close to several of the servants there.

Vimery, unsurprisingly, remained very tight-lipped about herself, but I came to find out from the others that she had originally been picked to become Lord Dracul’s Dragon Maiden. Due to an unknown incident, she had been swiftly removed from his service and became Lord Firenze’s Dragon Maiden instead. Ever since then, when the other Maidens went to clean Lord Dracul’s caves, she was not included in that monthly rotation. This shed a little light on why she seemed to hate me so much, but it also was not my fault that Lord Dracul had chosen me.

* * *

A week after the incident in the garden, I managed to sneak away and return. This time, when I entered the cavern, everyone stopped their work, watching me carefully as I walked through the rows of crops. If I happened to make eye contact, they quickly looked away. I felt the prickles of their stares on my back as I looked around for the boy.

One bold woman stepped forward. “You should not be here, my lady,” she said. I recognized her voice as the one who had chastised Henrick. “You should leave.”