Page 15 of The Dragon Maiden

I bit my lip before nodding. “You’re right,” I admitted, figuring it was better to be honest up front. “I do want something from you. But I need information first.”

“What’s in it for me?” he asked, crossing his arms.

I had been expecting this, and took out a pearl necklace I had taken from the Dragon Maidens’ clothing stash. “How about this?” I asked. “I can give you more once you help me.”

Henrick’s eyes widened at the sight of the necklace before he snatched it from me and stuffed it in his pocket. “Deal,” he said, his eyes brightening. “What do you want to know?”

“Is there a village nearby?” I asked. “Where do all these servants live? Where are you from?”

“Those of us who work in the fields are from Yarstaff,” he said. “It’s a little further down the mountain, but not that far.”

“Does everyone in Yarstaff work here?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No, but most of us do. We have people who run shops and stuff in the town.”

“Do you all go back to Yarstaff every night? Do you ever get mail delivered?” Questions poured out of me, my mind whirring with possibilities. Henrick may be able to help me escape.

“Yeah, it’s close enough that we go home each night,” he said. He frowned slightly. “Doesn’t everyone get mail delivered to their town?”

“How often?” I asked. “How often does the mail caravan stop by? And how do you leave the caves?”

He squinted his eyes at me, a frown beginning to cover his face. “You’re up to something,” he said. “Dragon Maidens aren’t supposed to leave.”

“Please, Henrick. Tell me,” I begged.

“It stops by about once a month. It should be returning in three weeks,” he said. “And we have special hallways we go through that lead outside. But they are closely monitored all the time by dragons.”

I quietly cursed. Escaping was not going to be as easy as I thought. But I would have time to figure that out later. “Do you think I can stop by in two weeks?” I asked. “Around lunchtime? I have something that I would like to give you to pass on to the mail caravan.”

He fiddled with his hands, looking at the ground now. “I guess you could,” he said.

“I’ll bring you something else for your trouble. And I’ll have another request for you at that time.” I felt bad about involving him in something like this, but I had no choice. “And you can’t tell anyone about this, do you understand? It needs to remain a secret between us.”

Henrick nodded. “I understand.”

“Thank you, Henrick,” I said, relief flooding my voice. “I will come back in two weeks at lunchtime. Don’t forget!” I gave him a pat on the head before heading back through the garden, making my way to the Dragon Maiden cavern.

Chapter Eleven

Valora

The day after talking to Henrick, when I went to Lord Dracul’s quarters, he was not in his usual spot at the desk. Instead, he sat on one of the couches near the bookshelves, reading a large leather-bound book. I could tell based on the cover that it was one about tonics, I recognized it from when I had dusted the books a few weeks ago.

He glanced towards me briefly when I entered, but went right back to reading.

“Good morning,” I said when he did not say anything.

He continued reading for a couple moments before shutting the book. “Good morning, Valora,” he said, standing with a swish of his velvet robes. “Today, I will be working on a few things,” he said, tapping the book with his forefinger, his ring glittering in the light. “I will need you to go to Lord Lorka to get ingredients for me.” He walked over to his desk and grabbed a small piece of parchment, completely filled with looping handwriting.

“Yes, my Lord,” I said, taking the list from him.

Our hands briefly touched and I gasped at the spark that I felt in my stomach at the contact. Lord Dracul must have felt something, too, as he raised an eyebrow.

“I will be back soon,” I said, turning to go and trying to not focus on what had just happened.

A couple minutes later, I was at the entrance of Lord Lorka’s cave. There was a bell outside and I rang it gently, waiting for a response. Hyacinth came to meet me, rushing from deep inside the cave. She came to a stop and stared at me, a quizzical look on her face.

“Lord Dracul needs ingredients,” I said, holding out the piece of paper.