The Dragon' Son (30 page)

“Is he better?” Keegan asked as he looked up at the sky.

Walneff walked up to the next window with his hands behind his back and also looked up at the sky. “Yes, he is better than he was,” he replied, much to Keegan’s relief, “but he still has much recovering to do.”

Keegan nodded. “He took a sound beating that would have killed a lesser man, no doubt.”

Suddenly, a small, happy voice drew Keegan’s eyes down to the garden where he saw Annaka sitting in the low branch of a tree, dangling her feet happily and talking as she looked down at a scroll held by Erewhon, who sat at the foot of the tree. Erewhon wore a green dress similar to the one she had worn when he had first seen her in the forest. Her hair was loose and draped over her shoulder in gentle waves, and she looked up at Annaka with a glowing smile that showed her great love and adoration for her younger sister

Keegan groaned and turned away, leaning his back against the support between his and Walneff’s windows as the extreme feelings of confusion came flooding over him again.

Walneff smiled. “Is something the matter?” he asked with amusement.

Keegan looked at the old man and felt heat rush into his face and ears. With a huff, he pushed himself to his feet and straightened his shirt and vest.

“No. I’m just fine.” And with that, he turned and stomped to the stairwell. “I’m going for breakfast. I’ll bring back something for you and Saul to eat.”

“Very well then,” Walneff said. He looked back down at the two girls under the tree and smiled to himself pleasantly as he listened to Keegan’s footsteps thump angrily down the stairs.

Even after having eaten and taken food up to Walneff and Saul, Keegan was still flustered. He hurried down the hall, feeling the incredible urge to go see Pharrgon. His chest ached as he thought about the dragon, and he realized that it had been over two weeks since he had been with the dragon, only making the ache in his chest worse. He walked down the stone path through the garden, making his way toward the stables. Some of the pink petals in the trees fell from their perches and entangled themselves in Keegan’s hair, tickling his scalp and irritating him all the more.

He reached up and started swatting the petals from his hair, only stopping when he almost smacked into the dark haired woman who was the lady in waiting to the princess. He balanced on his toes, face to face with her, trying not to run into her.

She looked at him with wide eyes and stepped back. “Oh, my. I’m sorry, Sir Keegan,“ she said quietly. “I was not paying attention.”

Keegan stepped back and shrugged, looking at the ground. “Don’t be sorry. I was the one not paying attention.” He looked back at the girl and cocked his head as a feeling came over him that he knew her. “And now it is my turn to apologize. I am sorry, but I do not recall your name,”

The lady blinked her blue eyes and looked down, a wavy strand of her coal black hair falling next to her blushing face. “My name is Thailla, sir,” she replied with a curtsy.

Keegan bowed slightly, staring at her face. He knew he had seen her somewhere, sometime before he met Princess Erewhon. A name came to the tip of his tongue, but the more he tried to recall it, the more flustered he became.

Finally, he gave up and nodded. “Well then, I sincerely apologize for nearly walking into you. Please excuse me.”

The lady curtsied again, and Keegan, with a polite tip of his head, walked around her and picked up his pace toward the stables. The smell of horses and dusty straw tingled in Keegan’s nose, even before he stepped in the door of the stables.

He paused for a moment and let his eyes adjust to the dimmer light and to take a deep breath. The smell of horses had always been familiar to him, and he found the familiarity of the smell to be a small comfort. A whinny in one of the far stalls made a smile come to Keegan’s face, especially when a snort followed and the pounding of an impatient hoof vibrated throughout the stable. Keegan walked down the row of stables to the largest stall at the very end where Ardor stood, impatiently bobbing his head up and down. The golden horse stretched his neck and reached out as far as he could for Keegan, wiggling the end of his nose and nickering wistfully.

Keegan chuckled and stepped up close, wrapping his arms around Ardor’s neck and patting the golden horse reassuringly. “You are a good fellow,” he said to his equestrian companion. “Do you not like your new stall?” He pulled back and stroked the face of his friend.

Ardor rotated one ear and then the other, nuzzling in closer to Keegan’s chest and nibbling fondly on his shirt.

Keegan patted Ardor again. “Ah, I see. You are lonely. You are used to having the open areas to run in with me or other horses, particularly a herd of pretty mares,” he chuckled and leaned his face against Ardor’s, sighing deeply as he thought of the wide open grasslands and the forests that he and Ardor had both galloped through. “I know, my friend. Don’t fret. We won’t stay here forever. Soon, we will be on our way toward the wild lands.” Ardor bobbed his head gently then licked his lips.

After a moment of silence, Keegan had the feeling that someone was watching him. He looked back over his shoulder and saw a flash of auburn hair duck behind a feed barrel, leaving only the hem of a green dress visible. Keegan smiled and crossed his arms, turning his back to Ardor and leaning against the rails of the stall.

“Aha! Becoming a spy now, are you?” he asked.

Annaka stood up from behind the barrel with a gasp. “I would never!” she declared.

Keegan chuckled and tipped his head politely to her. “Good morning.”

She curtsied and came from behind the barrel. “Good morning. How did you know I was watching you?” she asked as she walked up to him.

Keegan shrugged with a sparkle in his eye. “My secret,” he teased.

Annaka came up beside him and stroked Ardor’s smooth nose for a moment before looking at Keegan with a questioning glance. “Why didn’t you dance?” she asked.

Keegan cocked his head, not understanding her question. “Pardon me?”

“Well, you did not dance with anyone last night at the banquet. Why?” she asked.

Keegan shrugged again then reached up and pulled a piece of straw from Ardor’s mane. “I was tired last night,” he replied, hoping that would be a good enough answer

Annaka studied him a moment. “Perhaps that’s part of it, but that’s not all of it,” she said, crossing her arms.

Keegan turned and began to stroke Ardor’s neck again, ignoring the little princess’ stare.

After a moment of staring at Keegan, Annaka gasped and dropped her hands to her side. “You do not know how to dance!” she said. “Is that it?”

Keegan looked sideways at her then rolled his eyes and nodded his head.

Annaka clasped her hands together. “Oh. That is not a problem. I will teach you how.”

Keegan shook his head. “I’ll be a terrible dancer. Besides, I don’t think I want to learn.”

Annaka’s hands dropped to her side again in disappointment. “What? But I was hoping to dance with you this evening,” she said, dropping her head with a pitiful look of a broken heart.

Keegan sighed. “Now then. There is no need to be upset about it,” he said.

Annaka looked up at him with tears brimming in her eyes. “Oh, but I had so hoped that you would dance with…well, I had hoped for at least one dance.” She put her hands together and looked at him pleadingly. “Will you please learn just one dance? For me?”

Keegan held his breath and stared at her for a long moment, then he finally closed his eyes and relinquished to her plea with a nod of his head.

Annaka bounced up and down for joy and clapped her hands. “Oh, good! Oh, thank you, Keegan! That makes me very happy! Thank you! You’ll learn quickly, I know you will!” She wrapped him in a quick hug then pulled back and looked around. “There is no one in the barn right now, so you might as well start learning right here,” she said, looking back at Keegan with a smile.

Keegan gave the Princess an unconvinced look. “I still think I will be terrible,” he said, pushing himself off the rails.

Annaka shook her head stubbornly. “No, you won’t!” she said. “I will teach you an easy dance. Don’t worry, I am convinced that you will do well.” She grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him to a bit of clear floor space. “Now, stand like this.” She showed him by assuming the pose herself then by adjusting his arms and feet into the correct position. “Good! Now the steps are simple.” Annaka took two paces forward, knelt, then took two steps back, knelt, then returned to the starting position. “That is the beginning. Now you try,” she said gently.

Keegan hesitated, feeling like a fool. He looked around the barn until he felt Annaka grasp his hand, then he looked down at her to see a reassuring expression on her gentle face.

“I will help you. Trust me, you will do fine,” she said softly.

Keegan sighed and let the young Princess guide him through the first steps of the dance. She went on to teach him more steps, followed by skips and spins, repeating them all until they were both dancing with graceful, smooth skips and twirls. Keegan lost track of time as he danced with the young girl. He did not know that dancing could be so relaxing and exhilarating. He was really beginning to enjoy it. After learning all the steps, they went through the entire dance while Annaka sang a song to keep them in time.

When they finished, Annaka clapped her hands with a giggle. “You did it, Keegan! You learned how to dance, and you are really quite good at it,” she said.

Keegan chuckled, “Only because you are a good teacher, Princess.”

Annaka waved her hands dismissively. “Oh, not really. You’re quite natural at it,” she said.

“Princess Annaka!” a voice from beyond the stable called. “Where are you, My Lady?”

Annaka stood straight and alert then straightened her dress. “If it’s all the same to you, don’t tell anyone that I taught you how to dance, unless they should ask,” she said, looking at Keegan.

Keegan nodded and put his hands behind his back.

“I’m in the stable, Thailla!” Annaka called as she picked up her skirts and skipped toward the door.

The dark haired woman stepped into the stable and smiled at Annaka. “Your sister is waiting for you to come for lessons,” she said.

Annaka stopped skipping and let her shoulders droop. “Oh. I forgot.” She sighed then straightened her shoulders and smiled brightly. “I’m ready now!” She took Thailla’s hand, and the two of them walked beyond the stable doors. As they walked out of the shadow of the stable, the sunshine bounced off Thailla’s hair creating bright red highlights.

The sight made Keegan recall a girl he once knew with glossy black hair who had the same hidden red highlights. “Eloria…” he whispered as he watched Thailla and Annaka disappear around a bend in the garden.

He remembered that many of the boys, including his own brother, had once been very fond of Eloria. Now that he thought about it, Eloria had been very pretty, but back then he thought she was just a normal girl and all the older boys were crazy.

Ardor reached out and nibbled on Keegan’s shirt, drawing Keegan’s attention back to him. Keegan stroked Ardor’s nose and crawled into the stall with him. He grabbed a brush from the post and began to run its soft bristles down Ardor’s back. He wondered briefly if Braidden and Eloria had survived, like Alia. He wondered if he would someday be united with his brother or if his brother was a pile of rotting bones somewhere.

Ardor lowered his head with a sigh and relaxed as the brush stroked his glossy coat. Keegan shook the gloomy thoughts from his head and turned them to Alia. At least he knew she had survived and that he would soon be reunited with her. With that thought in mind, he could protect himself from the darkest of memories or wonderings of the past.

Chapter 16: Explanations

Keegan huffed as his slipped a bridle over Ardor’s nose and ears, gently pulling the horse’s white bangs out from under the leather.

“Walneff, I am going to visit my friend near Lake Anuran, and that is all there is to it,” he said in a short tone of voice.

Walneff looked solemnly at Keegan. “And I strongly advise against it,” Walneff replied. “You have heard the rumors of more Roshar walking the country.” He dropped his voice to a more quiet tone, “It is not safe to visit Pharrgon at this time.”

Keegan turned sharply to Walneff but remained calm. “Walneff, I must see him. I have not seen him for over two weeks. I have to go.”