dragon archives 04 - dance with a dragon (8 page)

One dance led to another, sometimes carols, which were danced in circles or long lines between the trees, other times the line dances, where couples danced in pairs. Anna danced with Aaron and Favian, admiring the lightness of foot exhibited by the dragons, and allowed the mathematician who sat next to her at supper to escort her into one of the formations. He was quite a nice young man, Anna thought, as long as he didn’t speak. When no men offered themselves, Anna danced with Kathleen, who remained in the shadows except when Anna pulled her onto the lawn.

It was close to midnight when Anna went in search of refreshment. She had not seen Kathleen for a while, but as she headed towards the table with jugs of wine and ale, she heard her name being called, and turned to see Kathleen hurrying towards her.

“My father says it is time for us to go, but I wouldn’t leave until I had a chance to bid you goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Kathleen,” Anna said with a smile. “It was most fortuitous that you bumped into me this evening.”

“Oh, yes! I would have been quite miserable, otherwise.” Kathleen paused, dropping her gaze to the ground. “Will you call on me when you come into the city?”

“Of course I will,” Anna said. Kathleen looked up with a smile of relief.

“Goodnight.”

Turning back to the table, Anna poured herself a cup of wine. The crowds had become loud and rowdy, and more than once Anna’d had to fend off the attentions of an overeager dance partner. Beyond the crowds she could see the river, shimmering in the lamp light. As she watched, a slight breeze stirred the water, making the light dance over the uneven surface. It looked peaceful, a far cry from the unruly crowds. Replacing her cup on the table, she headed towards the banks, away from the jostling masses. She was eager to put a little distance between herself and the crowds, but she stopped before she went too far, unwilling to move beyond calling distance. It had grown a little quieter, and the occasional plop marked the entry of a frog into the water, while crickets chirped, their quick, shrill sounds repeating each time they leaped. A weeping willow hung over the water and she headed towards it, watching the faint ripples made by the branches dangling over the water. An owl flew low over the river, then swerved towards some unseen target. She watched for a moment before turning around, startled to see someone watching her from beneath the tree. She took a step back, suddenly nervous, but when the figure moved from the shadows into the soft moonlight, she saw who it was and paused.

“My apologies, Your Highness. I didn’t realize anyone else was here. I didn’t mean to intrude.”

Prince Rupert waved his hand, dismissing her apology. “I hate these events. Low, common people fawning over me, paying compliments they don’t mean in order to win my favor.” He took a step closer. “I suppose you’re just the same.”

“That,” Anna said with an indignant tilt of her chin, “is quite unjust. You know nothing about me to pass such a judgment.” She stopped, suddenly remembering to whom she spoke. “Your Highness,” she added, dropping her gaze to the ground. Why could she not hold her tongue? He barked out a short, dry laugh.

“Clearly I have misjudged you. You certainly are not like any of the other guests here this evening.” He walked around her, and she could feel the weight of his gaze as he looked her over, before stopping before her. “You have the benefit of knowing who I am, while I don’t know who you are.”

“Anna Carver, Your Highness.”

“Anna Carver? I don’t know that name. Do I know your family?”

“My sister is married to Aaron Drake.”

“Aaron Drake. Our slayer of dragons.” Anna nodded. In the distance she could hear the musicians start another tune, the music for a popular line dance.

“I should be getting back, Your Highness,” she said. “My sister will be wondering where I am.”

“No. You should dance with me,” he said. Anna gave him a startled look, then glanced over her shoulder to where the guests were forming the lines. She had walked further away from the crowds than she realized.

“I think I should …” she started.

“I insist,” he said, his lips thinning slightly while his voice took on a harder undertone. Anna nodded and placed her hand on the one he held outstretched. “How long do you remain in the city?” the prince asked as they danced.

“We leave tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? That’s unfortunate. I think I would enjoy getting to know you more.”

Anna remained silent. Rupert was taller than Anna by a few inches, and despite his aversion to society, danced very well. His hand touched hers lightly and when Anna took a misstep, he easily covered the mistake. He did not smile, although he watched her closely as they danced, until she could bear the scrutiny no longer.

“Do I have a spot on my nose, Your Highness?” she said.

“No,” he said. “Why?”

“You keep staring at me.” His eyebrows rose slightly.

“I’m just curious about the kind of woman you are.”

“And staring at me will reveal who I am?”

He gave a short snort. “Perhaps.” In the distance the strains of music started fading away, and he released her hand and took a step back.

“I trust our paths will cross again, Mistress,” he said.

Anna smiled politely. She had no doubt he would have long forgotten her by the time the evening drew to a close. “Goodnight,” she said, then turning away, hurried back to the crowds in relief, glad to be away from his presence. She wondered why he had insisted she dance with him, when he disliked the pastime so much. Was it because she had spoken so impertinently? She saw Aaron and Keira standing with Cathryn and Favian and hastened towards them.

“Ready to leave?” Keira asked.

Anna nodded. “Yes.”

Chapter 11

Anna was awoken the next morning by a loud knocking, followed by the door being pushed open. “Come along, sleepy head,” Keira said, walking into the room and flinging open the shutters. “Aaron wishes to leave within an hour.”

“Go away,” Anna mumbled, but instead Keira pulled the covers off the bed.

“Come on, up you get,” she said. “Everyone else is already up and dressed.” Anna groaned and pushed herself into a sitting position. “Aaron wants a few hours to spend with Owain this afternoon,” Keira continued, “and then our plan is to start our return to Storbrook tomorrow.”

“So soon?”

Keira nodded. “I want to get the children home. We will travel through the night, since the days are already so hot. Not that it matters to Aaron,” she added, “but the horses suffer with the heat.”

Anna took the gown Keira held out and pulled it over her head, before turning to the mirror to consider her reflection. Her eyes looked back blearily, and she dipped a linen in the basin of water placed on the table.

“I’ll send a maid to do your packing,” Keira said. “Meet us in the hall.” Anna nodded as Keira left the room.

It was early afternoon by the time they arrived back at Drake Manor. Owain and Margaret were waiting outside, but there was no sign of Will.

“I called him as soon as we saw you coming, but the young whelp needs a lesson in obedience,” Owain said as Aaron and Favian landed on the ground beside him.

Aaron raised his bony eyebrows but said nothing as Favian let out a frustrated growl. “Perhaps you would like to take him back to Storbrook with you?” he said to Aaron.

Aaron laughed. “I’ll have a word with him before I leave.” He lifted his head and sniffed the air. “He’s not far away. I’ll go talk to him now,” and spreading his massive wings, he launched himself back into the air.

The rest of the party entered the house, joining Owain and Margaret in the parlor, where they talked about the funeral and coronation. When Aaron returned sometime later, it was with a quiet Will, who trailed behind his Master, his eyes on the ground.

Lydia clung to Anna before she went to bed that night, her arms wrapped around Anna’s neck. “See you again soon?” she said.

Anna blinked away the tears before replying. “Soon, baby girl,” she whispered.

“Lydia sad,” sniffed the girl.

“I’m sad, too,” Anna said, “and I’ll miss you terribly. “But I’ll be thinking of you every day.”

Lydia nodded. “Me too,” she said.

That evening, after the others had retired, Keira sat with Anna in her chambers. “Are you sure you want to stay?” Keira asked.

Anna nodded. “Yes. If I don’t, I will always wonder what might have happened.” She paused. “Tell Garrick I’m sorry,” she added softly.

“I will,” Keira said.

Anna was quickly absorbed into the routine of Drake Manor. Each day she helped Cathryn with the children’s lessons. Will complained that at the age of fifteen, he had no further use for learning, but a stern lecture from his father made him reconsider. A dragon he might be, but with a life expectancy of three to four hundred years, it would behoove him well to gain whatever knowledge he could. Will was quick to point out that he had plenty of time to gain all the learning he could ever need, but when his grandfather joined the conversation, the argument died on his lips. Of course, there was dragon training, too, and every afternoon Favian or Owain took Will out for a few hours.

Lessons with Bronwyn were far easier. Already, at the age of thirteen, she knew about the four humors of the human body, and understood that as a dragon, she tended more towards yellow bile and blood. Of course, a dragon’s make-up was somewhat different from a human’s, since a dragon is almost exclusively fire, fueled by flesh; and once she started changing into her dragon form, her inner workings would bear little resemblance to those of a human.

Bronwyn spent the afternoon hours with her grandmother, learning needlecraft and music, unless Margaret was called away to tend to one the tenants. Margaret was well-known in the area as a healer, and would be sent for whenever someone was injured or ill. It had been under her ministrations that Keira was nursed back to health after she was injured by a dragon. Sometimes Cathryn would accompany her as a helper, and it was on one such afternoon that Anna suggested to Bronwyn that they saddle up the horses and ride through the estate. Anna had been at Drake Manor for nearly four weeks, and had spent many hours exploring the grounds around the house, but the hills that lay in the distance, beyond the river, were new territory that she was eager to discover. The stables lay beyond the courtyard, and it did not take long for the horses to be saddled and Anna and Bronwyn to be on their way.

It was a fine day in late summer. The air was heavy with summer heat, and bees flew around lethargically between the flowers, while butterflies flittered gently about. The scent of lemon from the formal gardens hung in the air, and Anna could taste it on her tongue. They turned their horses towards the woods, which lay a fair distance from the house, beyond the wilderness where wild flowers and grasses grew without check. In the distance Favian and Will circled around the hills, moving lazily through the hot air. It was a relief to reach the shade of the trees, and Anna pulled the neck of her gown away from her skin in an effort to cool herself down.

The path through the woods was narrow, and the women rode single-file. The moist, earthy smell of mulch and decaying matter had replaced the dry scents of the gardens, and Anna breathed in the cool fragrance deeply. Under the canopy of trees, the birds chirped as they flitted from one branch to another. Squirrels jumped above their heads, and between the trees, light caught the delicate threads of a spider’s web. In the distance Anna could hear the burbling sound of water rushing over rocks. It grew louder as they continued on the path, and then the river was before them, cool and inviting. Without a moment’s hesitation, Anna slid off her horse, and slipping off her boots, walked into the water, Bronwyn a step behind.

“Ah,” Bronwyn said, “that feels so good.” Stepping back onto the bank, she shrugged out of her kirtle, and with just her chemise covering her body, stepped back into the water, sinking down to her knees. At its deepest point, the water reached her chest, and she dropped her body lower, letting the coolness wash around her.

“I thought you didn’t feel the heat,” Anna said with a laugh.

“I don’t really,” Bronwyn said, dropping her head back in the water. “It’s just that my skin is so itchy.”

“Do you have a rash? You should ask your grandmother for a balm.”

“There isn’t much Grandmother can do for me.” She moved closer to Anna and held out her hand. “Look.”

Just beneath the surface of Bronwyn’s skin Anna could see faint circles swooping around her hand and up her arm. Reaching out a finger, she touched Bronwyn’s skin, drawing back in surprise when she felt how hot it was. She glanced up at the girl, startled.

“What’s it caused by?” Anna said.

“Scales.”

“Scales?”

Bronwyn’s eyes were closed as she held her head back. “Mmm hmm.”

“Then … you’re already … you’ve already started changing.” Bronwyn opened her eyes and turned to look at Anna. Faint specks of yellow showed against the blue. How had Anna not noticed that before?

“Yes,” Bronwyn said. “It won’t be long before I will be flying like Will.” She pulled herself out of the water, the thin fabric of her chemise steaming. “But I will be a much better dragon than him.”

“Oh, uh, I’m sure you will,” Anna said. Although only thirteen, Bronwyn was moving into a world in which Anna had no part – she would be nothing but an outsider looking in, and she felt a moment of sadness. “Are you ready to carry on riding?” Anna asked.

“Yes,” Bronwyn said, pulling on her kirtle.

They mounted their horses and nudged them into the river. The splashing water wet the hem of Anna’s gown but she scarcely noticed. She rode ahead of Bronwyn, leading her horse towards the shallow rocks on the other bank and onto the deep path that cut through a steep cliff rising above the river on the other side.

Anna felt her horse’s hooves slip slightly in the loose sand, and then they were moving, quickly climbing the ridge.

She gained the height and paused, turning to watch as Bronwyn nudged her horse forward. Water from Anna’s horse had made the path slicker, and Bronwyn’s horse struggled for a moment to find a firm footing.