Page 18 of The Dragon Maiden
Smiling, pleased by my reaction, he said, “Yes, everyone except for the Dragon Lords and their Maidens reside in this area of the mountain. Different levels have different purposes. The lower levels are more residential, while the higher levels are used for the shops, workshops, storage, and stuff like that. There are also a few different spots on each level where they can fly outside if they so wish.”
“Why are the Dragon Lords separate from everyone else?”
“Security purposes,” Lord Dracul said. “Those guards we passed earlier? There are always two guarding the entrance to our section of the mountain, every hour of every day. Occasionally, we’ll come out and interact with the rest of the clan, but for the most part, we stick to our area of the mountain. We’re usually too busy for anything else.”
“Are you going to show me more of what’s down here?” I asked. I had spotted a food vendor a couple levels down from us and my mouth watered at the thought of skewers of roasted meat.
Lord Dracul chuckled. “I certainly can,” he said.
He led me down a flight of stone steps, to the level below us. Immediately, the volume increased as we got swept up in the throng of dragons. Quickly, Lord Dracul grabbed my hand, clutching it tightly so we would not be separated.
A stall nearby caught my eye and I tugged him towards it. Willingly, he went along with me and we stopped to look at the wares.
The merchant, a purple dragon based on the color of her hair, eyed me strangely before noticing Lord Dracul. Her eyes widened and her gaze shot between the two of us multiple times before she caught herself and bowed deeply. “I did not realize, my Lord. Please accept my apologies.”
Lord Dracul waved away her apology. “Do not worry,” he said. “I was just showing my Dragon Maiden around the mountain. She took a liking to your stall here.”
The other dragon looked at me once more and her face broke into a smile. “Your Dragon Maiden, of course!” she said, sounding somewhat surprised. “Is there anything that you fancy?”
I looked over her wares, shiny trinkets and silken fabrics. I pointed to a necklace, silver with swirls carved into it. In the center was a blue stone, the color of a clear summer sky. “This one is pretty,” I said. I looked to her. “All of your wares are beautiful.”
“Thank you, my dear,” she said. She turned to Lord Dracul. “Will you be purchasing anything for your Maiden today, my Lord?”
Lord Dracul looked over at the necklace before nodding, taking it and a blue silken wrap. “These two, please,” he said. He passed her a few gold coins and she bowed in gratitude.
“Thank you, my Lord, for your generosity.”
Turning to me, Lord Dracul stepped behind me to fasten the necklace. Once he was done, he draped the wrap over my shoulders. “You seemed a little cold,” he said in response to my questioning look. I realized he was right. It was chilly this deep in the mountain.
“Thank you,” I said softly. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“It’s the least I can do for my Maiden,” he said with a smile.
The two of us set off again, looking into the nearby stalls and admiring their wares. None caught my interest like the first one did and Lord Dracul did not buy anything else. Once we had exhausted looking at all the stalls on this level, we went to one below, where all the food carts were. Stepping onto that floor, my nose was assaulted with all sorts of delicious aromas. My stomach grumbled and Lord Dracul looked at me, a grin splitting his face.
“We should get you some food,” he said. “Is there anything in particular that you want? There’s just about everything you could imagine here.”
“Are there any foods that are dragon specialties?” I asked. I was curious if there was a huge difference in the cuisine. So far, the food served to the Maidens was fancier than anything I had eaten before, but it certainly was not unusual.
Lord Dracul laughed. “There certainly are, but most are known for their spiciness,” he said. “There’s one food in particular, but it might be too spicy for you. It usually is for most humans.”
My curiosity was piqued. “What is it?” I asked.
“It’s a crispy dough ball soaked in a spicy sauce,” he said. “We can get one for you to try, but should probably have something as a backup.”
“There were meat skewers I could see from up above that looked tasty,” I said.
Lord Dracul thought for a moment. “I know where you’re talking about,” he said. “They’re beef skewers, and are actually near the dragori stand as well.”
We walked towards the two food stalls, only stopping once to grab a few sweet cakes for after our meal. Lord Dracul bought the beef skewers first, then the dragori. He handed the skewers for me to try first.
“Give this a taste before you burn off your taste buds,” he said.
I took a bite, the juicy beef melting in my mouth. “It’s delicious!” I exclaimed, quickly taking another bite.
Lord Dracul insisted I finish the entire skewer before trying the dragori. It was bright red and I could smell the spices, causing my nose to itch.
“Having second thoughts?” Lord Dracul asked with a smirk when he saw my hesitation as I picked up one of the fried balls.