Elodia's Dragon (4 page)

"Can we leave now?"

"Let's just wait, let the fire burn out and the guards to leave. I have better than twenty hours of lamp oil left and food and water. There are bunks over there. Try to get some sleep."

"Aunt Myrtle where will go?"

"Home Dearie, where else?"

Elodia covered herself with a warm blanket, and in spite of her aching feet quickly fell asleep. She had no idea how long she had slept then Elodia woke with a start.

"My dragon, Aunt Myrtle my dragon!"

"You need not worry Dearie, dragons are very intelligent. She will be close by. Oh, by the way, there is a commode over there. I put a small lamp by it," Myrtle said pointing.

They ate two meals and slept a second time, then with the lamp very low on oil they ascended the iron ladder into the burnt house.

"Everything is gone, Aunt Myrtle. My red dress, my sandals." She heard a loud chirrup and Davida landed on her shoulder making a scolding noise. "Davida's scolding me! Well, I'm happy to see you too Davida." The little dragon stopped its chiding and rubbed its face affectionately against Elodia's face. "I love you too!" Elodia laughed.

"We need to be on our way. First, let me see to your feet, then we're off."

Myrtle got a basin of water and Elodia scrubbed and soaked her feet. Myrtle was able to find the stone jar of ointment in the rubble and applied it to Elodia's feet. Then taking her belt knife, she took cloth from the hems of their dresses and petticoats and wrapped Elodia's feet.

"Wearing such a short dress would be a scandal," Elodia laughed.

"In Bountiful just below the knee is the preferred length, unless you're wearing a sari."

"I would love to wear a sari!"

"Well let's be on our way."

"Aunt Myrtle," Elodia said with a forlorn look, "I have nothing, no money nothing."

"I have ample Elody, you needn't worry."

"What about Eli, shouldn’t we wait?"

"He will not be here for two and a half weeks. It will be quite cold by then, we must get supplies and warmer clothes. The fire took everything."

"Except my guild dress," Elodia spotted her dress among the cinders. It was charred and had holes burnt into it. She found a stout long pole and using it as if it were a crutch, as she walked with a slow painful gait to the west.

They stopped after walking over ten hours to rest and ate some of the pressed, dried fruit and nuts Myrtle had taken from the cellar. "We will camp here tonight."

"How far did we come?"

"About five miles."

"Only five miles!" Elodia wailed.

"We're not moving fast," Myrtle laughed. "You're a real trooper, I know you're hurting. Tomorrow we can stop for the day."

Elodia unwrapped her feet and applied the ointment, sighing with relief. "Were will we be tomorrow?"

"A small trading post. It has an inn and we can hire a carriage to take us to the next town. Then it's through the pass and across the mountains."

They reached the inn late the next day and sat for dinner. Elodia loved the thick stew and coarse bread. Her appetite was ravenous, even surprising the innkeeper. She had made quite a scene as she slowly hobbled into the inn with her sore feet and walking stick. Her short skirt serving to emphasize her heavily bandaged feet. Elodia was exhausted but stayed up until dawn to sing and share songs with the inn patrons. Elodia had a lovely voice and loved to sing, however, there was little time for singing with her guild. Many of the patrons danced, but her feet would not cooperate. They finally went to their room, sharing a bed with Myrtle. Elodia awoke about midday.

"Ready for lunch Dearie?"

"What about breakfast?"

"You slept right through it," Myrtle laughed.

After lunch, they walked to the trading post. Myrtle insisted that she purchase a short petticoat and a knee length dress. The shop owner handled alterations and fittings. Her dress was red. Myrtle also insisted she get a corset, one of the under bust types and assisted her to put it on. Elodia looked in the mirror, she liked the way she looked, her nicely rounded hips. She never realized she had curves.

"You look beautiful Elody!" Myrtle whispered. "Eli will love the red dress."

"You think so Aunt Myrtle? I'm not to a ... busty?"

"You look perfect," Myrtle laughed. "Now we need socks, boots, gloves and a hooded coat."

Elodia's boots came up to her knees. They were soft and fit well. She had never owned boots. Her hooded coat was red and came to mid-calf. In all, they spent three days at the inn. Time to rest, time to heal and time to mend the skirts they had cut down. Then hiring a carriage, they traveled to the next trading post and an inn at the opening of the pass.

Elodia no longer needed to bandage her feet. But she had purchased several pairs of socks so she could change them daily. The climate was so warm along the coast and her village that she had never worn socks. She relished the soft warmness of her socks. Her feet still hurt to stand on but they would numb up after several minutes of walking, just enough numbness to walk. Her gait remained slow and she continued to use her walking stick. It was getting cold. Elodia had never seen snow and was looking forward to her first encounter.

T
hey arrived at the post at the opening of the pass. It was an inn with a tavern, a livery stable, and trading post fortress. They arrived late in the day and Elodia managed to hobble to the inn.

"We are now in free territory the frontier. Imperial forces usually keep out. The Republic of Bountiful begins on the other side of the pass. You're safe now Elody."

"Can we wait here for Eli?"

"We need to cross the pass before we get snowed in. We could be stuck here until spring."

"How long is the pass?"

"There are two more inns we can ride to. Each will take a day. Then we cross the narrows. I'll hire pack horses, that ride will take about three days to make. It will be a steep climb. Then it gets wide and we begin our decent."

They went to the fortress as Myrtle needed to report in and notify the guild of the house burning. It was cold so Elodia kept her coat wrapped tight and her hood up. Few people noticed her except for her painful halting gait. Elodia was disappointed to learn that carriages only were available twice a week so they were stuck at the inn for five days.

The inn had heated baths so they both took full advantage of the baths. Elodia loved the feeling of the warm water as she soaked.

"I feel like I've died and gone to heaven," she declared.

"This inn has natural hot springs. Most of the inns in the pass do too. The water is said to have healing salts. If this place were less remote it would be crowded. It will come spring," Myrtle said.

"I was not happy to be stuck here for five days." Elodia said, "But I changed my mind."

"Your dragon, I've not seen of late, any impressions?"

"When I relax and close my eyes I can see her. She has found another hot spring higher up. I can actually feel her soaking. She has a belly full of fish," Elodia laughed.

"That is how she talks. You will feel impressions, emotions from her. Eventually thoughts. She will receive the same from you."

"Yesterday when she tried to land on my shoulder she was really heavy, she knocked me over. She is growing fast."

"Yes, they grow fast. By mid-winter, she will be big enough to fly you."

"I would love to fly, Aunt Myrtle what is it like to fly?"

"Scary, wonderful, thrilling, I love flying. I really miss it."

"We will fly together."

"That needs to be Davida's call Elody."

"I already asked her, she said yes." Elodia turned to her companion, "I've never told you how grateful I am to you, Aunt Myrtle. Between you and Eli, I've never been so happy." Elodia had tears in her eyes as she spoke.

"Thank you Elody. So in spite of running the soles off your feet, nearly dying from an infection and being burnt out of house and home and walking cross country on sore feet you're happy?" Myrtle laughed.

"My life has become a great adventure Aunt, an unbelievable adventure."

"It's only begun, Elody."

It took almost three weeks to reach the inn at the narrows, as the cold weather was approaching and fewer and fewer carriages were available. Elodia kept hoping Eli would catch up as his release day had passed four weeks previously. Every night she wound open her window and Davida would join them. Davida preferred to sleep at the foot of the bed resting her head on Elodia's legs, but now she was getting to big for that. Elodia's feet had progressed well and she was pain-free most of the time. She felt a needle like sensation all over the soles of her feet as she started to walk, but that vanished after walking for a few minutes. The sensation caught her off guard at times, causing some near falls. But the discomfort did little to dampen her happiness.

"We have been advised not to cross the narrows," Myrtle said softly.

"We have come so far, why?"

"A huge snowfall is anticipated and a large pack of wolves have come down from higher elevations, they say it's too dangerous."

"We can't keep Davida hidden all winter can we?"

"No we can't and Davida will have greater difficulty finding food."

"Then I saw we go," Elodia said firmly.

"I thought you would say that," Myrtle laughed. "I already hired four pack mules."

"Why four Aunt?"

One each to ride, and two to carry our clothes, bedding, and food."

They encountered no snow as they climbed through the narrows. The pass had shelters every five miles with a small cabin, firewood and a stable and fodder for the mules. They were tired as they reached the cabin. Elodia took care of the pack mules while Myrtle started a fire in the iron stove. Darkness came early. Davida slept wrapped around the stove her belly bulging from her latest meal.

"Look at her Aunt Myrtle she's already bigger than a mule!"

"They do grow fast," Myrtle replied yawning.

"I have a silly question."

"Ask away Elody."

"When Eli brought me to you I remember you both talking about him making a declaration. Something about us being half married."

"Well, you are," Myrtle answered, her eyes twinkling in amusement.

"What does that mean?"

"In Bountiful, we still follow the ancient tradition of marriage by declaration. You need only declare your marriage before two witnesses for it to be binding."

"So you’re the first witness? Is that all there is to it, no papers from a magistrate?"

"No papers but it's a bit more complicated. In six months you will be allowed to formalize your marriage for time and eternity in the temple."

"How do I do that?"

"It's sacred Elody, Eli will tell you more I'm sure."

"Do you think Eli will still want me? I will face a lot of competition, other girls much prettier than me once I'm in Bountiful?" Elodia asked sounding uncertain and apprehensive.

"Elodia! Eli is head over heels for you. You'll see. I'm sure his sister and little brother will love you too."

"Maryann and Michael, he mentioned them."

"I'm quite tired, no more questions. We sleep now."

"How old are you Aunt Myrtle?"

"Eighty-six, sleep Elodia, that's a command!"

Elodia laughed and wrapping herself in her blanket whispered a prayer for Eli and slept. She was up early and had breakfast ready and the mules packed by the time Myrtle was up.

"I could get used to being waited on," Myrtle laughed.

"My feet don’t hurt and I slept well. Besides, I'm HAPPY!"

"What are you happy about Elody?"

"I never thought I would be happy. Losing my Da, my mom being so sick. I never really had times for friends as I had to work. Then I lost Davey, but Eli found me. I have so much to be happy for and grateful for Aunt Myrtle." Elodia sang as she cleaned up after the meal and finished packing their belongings. Davida took flight, soaring high over the pass as they continued their trek through the narrows.

During their third night in the narrows, the snow started to fall. Elodia stood outside the cabin laughing and running around catching snowflakes with her tongue. "I love the snow," she exclaimed.

"Too much of it will temper your zeal," Myrtle laughed as she stood in the door, her back to the iron stove. "Now come inside."

They closed the door and shuttered the single small window against the cold. Myrtle was sound asleep within minutes of bedding down. Elodia was too tired to sleep. Her mind wandered, thinking about Eli. Trying to imagine her life with him. She had no trouble recalling how it felt when he held her, or when they shared a blanket when they slept. She closed her eyed remembering his kisses. Then she was startled from her reveries.

A single wolf howled, a long lonely cry in the night. Other voices responded, some of the voices very close.

E
li had just finished his dinner at the guild hall. He heard his name called and he stood. Two other apprentices were advancing today. The three of them were loudly cheered as they were called to ‘walk the tables’. They walked around the hall past all the tables then stood before Master Abner.

"Signalman may I present our newest journeymen and journeymen as you all know travel. Journeyman James, your new posting will be Riverdale. Journeyman William Canal City, I'm counting on you to bring order there, they seem to be having difficulty. Journeyman Eli, I am posting you to Novi. Your position there will be as an instructor. I fully anticipate a very marked improvement in our apprentice candidates from Novi."

Eli met later with Master Abner, "Thank you, Master Abner, I didn’t even dream of such a posting."

"You deserve nothing less Eli, your level of patience and skills at teaching are needed. Candidates from the Novi School have been less than acceptable. You will be needed to bring order to the school. You are not expected there until mid-summer."

"Thank you!"

"You have to get that young woman of yours to Novi and settled in. I look forward to meeting her."

"You're coming to Novi too?"