The Awakening (17 page)

Shiroxx was jealous of her. Jahrra nearly dropped to the floor and stopped breathing. Why on earth would such a creature, powerful, intelligent, beautiful even, be jealous of
her
? Jahrra was a weak human and one of plain appearance according to the female dragon, so why should she have such a strong negative feeling towards her? Was it because she was the supposed savior of the world? The one getting all the attention of those around her?

Jahrra had let her gaze falter as she puzzled this all out in her mind but now she decided to look back at where Shiroxx had been standing. She was still there, still staring after Jaax as he slowly made his way back through the crowd.
Goddess above
, Jahrra thought with disturbed wonder,
she’s jealous because of the attention Jaax gives me?!

Her laugh was one of utter disbelief, not one of mirth. It couldn’t be! Did Shiroxx realize what kind of attention Jaax gave his ward? Oh, if she could ever get the female dragon alone and work up the gumption to discuss this with her, she would assure Shiroxx that Jaax disliked spending time with Jahrra as much as she disliked spending time with him. True, he had been a little less gruff of late, but the only reason he kept Jahrra so close was to protect her from the Crimson King and his minions. It was all so absurd but then again, jealousy had a bad habit of twisting even the most obvious of truths.

Jaax stopped his advance when he heard Jahrra’s laugh. He was only fifteen feet away now and he gave her a dark look.

“Is something funny, Jahrra?”

His words were clipped. He was still irritated. Big surprise.

Jahrra sobered up right away. “No,” she said.

Jaax narrowed his eyes and looked back at Shiroxx. Gratefully, she had finally gone to meet whoever it was she was to meet. Jaax turned his head back around and nailed Jahrra with another one of his domineering stares. “Next time I bring Shiroxx to meet with you, you’ll leave your impudence at home.”

Jahrra simply sniffed. “Forgive me. My impudence only comes out to play when invited by its friend, malice.”

“Don’t get smart with me!” he hissed, smoke escaping between his teeth. “Those who I introduce to you aren’t just people gathered off the streets. Everyone plays a part in this Jahrra, and everyone is to be treated with respect.”

“Perhaps you should be having this conversation with your friend,” Jahrra retorted, her arms no longer crossed but instead thrust down by her sides in anger.

How had this happened? How had they reverted back to the attitudes they’d embodied before leaving Oescienne? True, Jaax still held onto his old habits but Jahrra had thought they had come to understand each other better. She pushed past him and started heading towards the entrance herself. She wanted to get back to their shared dwelling and make some tea before starting on her homework. Then maybe lock herself in her room for a few hours where he couldn’t get to her.

Jaax stopped her with his tail. Jahrra froze. He rarely stopped her using force.

He spoke to her back. “Jahrra,” he began, his voice hard and angry before he sighed heavily. “I understand Shiroxx isn’t the most pleasant of company and I know she insulted you. I am sorry for that, it was out of place and sorely immature of her.”

Jahrra was frozen in slight disbelief. Was Jaax truly apologizing for his rude companion?

“But she is a key participant in this game, and has been an advocate for our cause for a very long time. I’ll speak to her later about how she should be treating the most important player we have but from now on I want you to practice a little patience and remember that you are the one everyone will be looking up to.”

Jahrra blanched. Her part in all of this was a big responsibility and she detested it when Jaax reminded her of it. But he was right, as much as she hated to admit it.

She sighed, her back still facing the dragon. “Very well. I’ll try harder next time. May I go? I have a lot of homework and an exam to study for.”

Jaax moved his tail so that Jahrra could continue her escape. She didn’t once turn around as she walked briskly through the crowd, everyone stepping aside to allow her passage. That was another thing that bothered her. She was a normal student, just like them. But perhaps they moved out of her way because of the confrontation she had just had with the leader of the Coalition. She guessed not many people stood up to the dragon Raejaaxorix.

Jaax watched Jahrra as she passed between the columns and stepped into the bright daylight. He didn’t break his gaze until she disappeared into the distance, mingling with the crowd as she headed home for the day.

***

The next morning Jahrra woke to find Jaax in the common room reclining by the empty fireplace. Summer was in full swing now, so a fire was no longer necessary. She sighed as she took the last few steps from the staircase in the hall before stepping through the entry into the great common room. Neira met her halfway, handing her a bowl of thick oatmeal with wild berry preserves. The maid grinned and Jahrra couldn’t help returning her smile.

“Make no plans for the weekend,” Jaax said plainly as he flipped through one of the city’s periodical papers.

Jahrra blinked as the steam from her breakfast curled into the air.

“Pardon?” she said.

Jaax continued to scan the paper, not paying her any heed. “There is a Coalition meeting in the afternoon on the last day of the school week. I want you to attend and I fear it will be a long one.”

He glanced up and gave her a contemplative look. “I wouldn’t want you to miss anything else you might have planned because of this.”

Jahrra sighed and walked over to her table, setting the bowl of oatmeal down a little harder than usual. So, it was back to the old Jaax then? Ordering her around without so much as asking? She briefly recalled her meeting with Shiroxx yesterday and wondered if it was the female dragon that had turned Jaax’s mood like this. Jahrra gritted her teeth and set to work on her oatmeal. He may be reverting back to his barbaric ways but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of a fight this time.

Jaax watched her a bit longer as she ignored him but after a while he got back to reading his paper.

The remainder of the school week dragged on and Jahrra couldn’t even find any joy in her wilderness class. Dathian still avoided her (it wasn’t as if they had been great friends before she questioned him about Dhonoara Canyon, but he hadn’t gone out of his way to keep away from her either). It was as if he feared that if she moved too close she would decipher some dark secret he was hiding.

Jahrra wrinkled her brow and tried to forget about it but it was too unsettling. By the end of class she had somehow convinced herself that he, like many others in Lidien, had gotten wind of who she was and for some reason or another he was disturbed by it. She had even gone as far as to assume he had sympathies with the Crimson King and was at this very moment plotting her demise.

As the day of the Coalition meeting drew nearer Jahrra found herself growing more and more agitated. She’d been overly belligerent on the practice fields in the afternoons and even had Torrell begging for rest. Thankfully, the practice fields had become one of Jahrra’s favorite places to visit when she needed to release some of her pent up irritation.

During the past few weeks, as summer’s warm weather lured more people into enjoying the outdoors, Jahrra had begun to notice several people making a habit of stopping by to watch her and her friends practice and spar. At first it was just regular citizens and University students on their way home from work or school. Soon, athletes proficient in the skills of fighting started offering up challenges to the girls and sometimes to Senton, who had improved drastically since he first started working out with them. After a while, passersby began placing small bets on who would win and shortly after that, Jahrra herself found an easy way to make a little extra spending money. Her guardian gave her an allowance, of course, but what could it hurt to make a little more when people were willing to pay? More often than not she would win a match, for the young men were always certain they could defeat a girl. Jahrra had accumulated a small fortune over the past month and had horded it away like a dragon. But if Jaax ever found out . . .

Jahrra shook away her wandering thoughts as she parried an attack from Senton. The fighting circle was no place to let her mind imagine what Jaax would do to her if he ever found out about her taking wagers for extra money. She had to concentrate on her opponent or she might end up with several stitches, if not worse.

No one was placing bets this afternoon so she, Senton and Torrell could simply enjoy a nice, laid back workout. Jaax had told her that morning that the Coalition meeting wasn’t until later in the evening. She had time for a few hours practice and a bath at home before she had to head into the city again.

Wood cracked against wood as Jahrra lunged for her friend. He blocked her attack then spun and came at her from a different angle. Jahrra easily dispatched him and grinned at the look on his face.

“Where did you learn
that
move?” he breathed as he clutched his side and leaned against his practice sword.

“Secret,” Jahrra replied, casting her own weapon aside.

She shaded her eyes and glanced up at the great clock tower that stood on a nearby hill.

“Time to go?” Torrell asked, uncrossing her arms and pushing away from the fence where she’d watched their fight.

Jahrra nodded, the nervousness welling up inside of her once again.

Torrell’s dark face split into a grin. “You’ll be fine.”

Sighing, Jahrra left her two friends and walked over to Phrym. She would take him straight home today, for she planned on riding him back into town in only a few hours’ time. As she rode through the city streets in the direction of home, Jahrra thought about what Jaax had told her.

“Every member who is currently in Lidien will be present,” he’d said. “Although our congregation consists of people ranging from peasants to the sons and daughters of kings, you’ll treat them all equally.”

Jahrra had swallowed. Royalty? True royalty would be there and Jaax expected her to treat them as equals?

Neira greeted Jahrra at the door with a look of exasperation on her face.

“What’s the matter?” Jahrra asked.

“Oh, nothing much,” she puffed, “only that his lordship insists on me having supper prepared while helping you get ready for the meeting tonight.”

Jahrra laughed. “I’m perfectly capable of drawing my own bath and dressing myself Neira.”

She froze. “But Master Jaax–”

Jahrra brushed her comment aside. “Forget what his
lordship
said and concentrate on dinner. If I somehow manage to put my clothes on backwards you can fix me later.”

Neira puffed out her cheeks but eventually agreed. As she scurried back into the kitchen Jahrra climbed the stairs and stepped into the small, tiled room she and Neira used for bathing. The great copper tub was already partly filled with cold water and Jahrra noticed a large kettle hanging over the fire. It took quite a while to get the water temperature just right, and even then she opted for lukewarm instead of piping hot.

By the time she was done with her bath the sun was down and twilight was creeping in. Jahrra wrapped herself in a great white drying cloth and stepped into the hall. The blue gray light of dusk was pouring through the diamond pane windows on her left but thankfully Neira had taken the time to light the lamps that hung on the walls.

Shivering, Jahrra tiptoed down to her own room, bolting the door shut behind her. She wondered about what she should be expected to wear but apparently that decision had already been made for her. Spread out atop her bed was one of the fine dresses that had been ordered from the seamstress that first week in Lidien. Jahrra cringed at the memory of spending more time than she wished picking out fabrics and returning for fittings. Gratefully, she was allowed several pairs of pants and tunics but the seamstress was also commissioned to make three dresses.

Jahrra had paled at the time. She never liked the garments and as a child she would have rejected the idea on the basis that they were too feminine a thing to wear when what all she wanted to do was traipse around the countryside. Now, however, her worry was how to behave in a dress. She feared that she would trip over the hem or lose her ability to breathe if the bodice was too tight.

Releasing a deep breath, Jahrra picked up the gown in front of her. She wasn’t too proud to admit that the garment was beautiful. A deep red with some gold needlework, the cut elegant but not so much so that it would be too fancy for an important meeting. Jahrra grinned in spite of herself. She had done a good job with picking the colors and pattern of this particular dress. A half hour later she was nearly ready. Neira came up then to check on her and Jahrra breathed a sigh of relief.

“I have no idea how to fasten the back by myself.”

Neira grinned. “That is why Raejaax wanted me to help you.”

Jahrra screwed her mouth up in a frown but sat patiently as Neira fastened the row of tiny hooks running up her back. When she was done she pulled Jahrra in front of the mirror.

“Look at you! A far cry from your usual, ragged self.”

True, Jahrra looked nothing like her usual self, but it was mostly just the dress doing the work.