Page 8 of The Dragon Maiden

“Very well,” he said, pursing his lips. “That is all I require of you. You are dismissed.” He waved me off, turning back to his work.

Lord Verhorn’s caves were close enough to the Maidens’ cavern that I was able to find my way back easily. Dinner had been delivered while I was away and the others had already grabbed their portions. I took the last remaining plate and silently ate my meal—beef and potatoes with roasted vegetables—while thinking over my conversation with Lord Verhorn. He had certainly given me a lot to think about.

Chapter Seven

Valora

Once more, I awakened from my nightmares, unable to contain the cry that escaped. I could feel the gazes of the others piercing me like a knife and turned so my back was to them. Tears escaped again at the horrific memories. Everyone ignored me, eventually falling back asleep, but I was wide awake, knowing that I would not sleep for the rest of the night.

Soundlessly, I slipped out of bed, and before I knew it, found myself back in the cave where Lord Dracul’s golden hoard was kept. I grabbed my discarded polishing cloth and got back to work. If I could not sleep, I might as well do something useful. My mind was busy as I polished, thinking about the other Maidens. Vimery was the only one that openly antagonized me, but the rest had not talked to me after I returned from seeing Lord Verhorn. They clearly did not think too highly of me either. I was sure that if the nightmares continued, they would continue to ice me out.

I had to acknowledge that I had hoped the others would help me stand up against Vimery’s actions, but right now, as things were, I could expect no support. And while it was clear that Alonsa was the de facto leader of the group, it was obvious that Vimery would not follow Alonsa’s instructions if they did not suit her. Based on how Vimery had acted over the past couple of days, it seemed that when it came to me, she would do what she wanted.

My hands stilled over the plate I was polishing and a tear fell. “I just want to go home,” I whispered quietly, wishing not for the first time that I was back home with my parents and Ronan. I sniffed, wiping away the tear and continuing with my work, pushing down the despair as far as I could. Right now, I just had to survive.

Before the others awoke, I returned to the cavern, pretending to wake up with them. Vimery did not get a chance to push me out of bed again and she seemed almost disappointed by this. I paid her no mind and got ready with everyone else.

I was surprised that I was not exhausted as I continued to polish throughout the day. My arms were sore, but it was a kind of pain that I could deal with. I focused on it, using it as a distraction from my depressing thoughts.

Each night for the rest of the week, when the nightmares woke me, I snuck back out to the hoard to polish. I painstakingly worked piece by piece, bit by bit to finish this task that I had been assigned. Seeing the progress did give me a bit of satisfaction.

Finally, on the last night of the week, I only had a little bit left. I got to the final piece of Lord Dracul’s hoard, a golden chalice, and polished it. This past week, I had gotten more done than I had thought possible, my nighttime escapades helping. I placed the chalice down and surveyed my work: a glittering, gleaming room of gold. The weight of the task lifted from my shoulders and I could feel the tension immediately draining away. I sat on the ground to rest, feeling my eyelids grow heavier and heavier. My last thought before they closed completely was that I should probably head back to the cavern.

* * *

“My Lord, she is completely out of line. She should not be here unsupervised.” I could hear one voice above me, angrily growling.

Lord Dracul’s voice came next. “She finished polishing my hoard in less than a week. No other Maiden has finished such a feat.” Even in my bleary state, I could tell that he did not sound upset. Almost… proud?

I blinked my eyes and looked up from where I laid on the floor. Two dragons—Lord Dracul and a dark-green one matching Lord Verhorn’s hair color—stood above me. The green one’s nostrils were smoking while Lord Dracul looked completely unbothered.

“She has shown complete disregard for our rules,” the other dragon insisted. He definitely sounded like Lord Verhorn. “She isnotfit to be a Maiden.”

At his words, steam began to escape from Lord Dracul’s nostrils. “I will decide whether or not she is fit to be a Maiden,” he said, his voice dangerously low. “And if she’s to bemyMaiden, what difference does it make to you? She won’t be touching any of your hoard; you have nothing to fear.”

“But if she is so blatant about breaking this rule, how do we know how she will treat the other, more important ones?” Lord Verhorn’s voice began to rise further in volume. I had not noticed it earlier, but he had a small tufted beard sprouting from his chin. It waggled with his anger.

“I didn’t know about the rule.” The words quietly escaped before I could think about them.

The two did not react at first, and I thought they had not heard me until both their heads tilted in unison towards me.

“What do you mean you didn’t know? How could you not know that you aren’t allowed to be in the hoard after curfew? Wasn’t it explained to you?” Lord Verhorn’s voice dripped with scorn as he looked at me.

I shrunk away from him, backing up until I brushed up against Lord Dracul’s leg. I flinched as I looked up towards my Lord, afraid of his reaction. He was not even looking at me, his attention fixed on Lord Verhorn.

“Verhorn, just let it go,” he said tiredly. “I’m sure the rule slipped the other Maidens’ minds to explain. If I’m fine with this, you should be too.”

“But, my Lord—” Verhorn began to protest.

“I will hear no more of this. Go eat your breakfast,” Lord Dracul growled.

At his words, Lord Verhorn bowed before strutting out of the cave. After he left, I looked to Lord Dracul, trying to judge his unreadable expression.

Slowly, I shifted away from him and knelt in contrition. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t know,” I said softly.

“You should go back to the others to get your breakfast. Come back here afterwards.” He turned to leave the cavern.

The pit that had been in my stomach when I awoke grew, and I bit my lip, afraid that he was angry. What would happen to me now? As if sensing my fear, he turned back and flashed a smile before disappearing, the knot in my stomach lessening slightly.