Chapter Three – The Escape
The dragon’s marketplace was unlike anything Willow had seen. Rather than having the stores in stone buildings with windows with steel shutters ready to be bolted shut at any moment, these markets were open to the air. Brightly colored tents covered individual stalls holding the most incredible things: delicious-smelling roasted meats, freshly baked bread, glass jewelry.
Willow couldn’t get enough of it. She marveled that she could just wander around, taking her time. Asa had told her that she didn’t have to be back until dark. He had also told her to get whatever struck her fancy. All she had to do was give the vendor a slip of paper to charge him. When she had asked him how much she was allowed to spend, he told her there was no limit.
Either he’s rich or they work on some sort of barter system, she thought as she stopped at a clothing vendor. Knitted sweaters hung from hangers and she frowned. Was this wool from sheep that the dragons had stolen from her village?
A voice spoke beside her, making her jump. “This a lovely day, fair lady.”
Willow glanced over to see the singer from the feast, Sherwood, smiling at her. When Asa had told her he was a fairy she hadn’t believed it, but now, looking into his eyes, which shifted from green to blue to violet to amber as she gazed into them, she started to wonder if it was true.
“Hello,” she said uncertainly.
“You are Lord Asa’s newly acquired slave, hmm?” Sherwood touched her arm and stepped to one side.
She followed him without even thinking about it. “I don’t think I’m a slave,” she said uncertainly.
“He took you and you are now bound to obey him in all things. Where I come from, that would be slavery.” Sherwood made a humming noise. “It wasn’t until I was a slave myself that I saw it for what it was. I used to think my humans would be grateful for all the things I gave them. But freedom is a sweet taste that is as bitter as night.”
Willow opened her mouth then closed it, confused.
“I saw you the night of the feast.” Sherwood leaned in. “Such a beauty. Such a sad girl. And I thought, her sorrow is as beautiful as the frost on a windowpane. Your tears inspired my songs.”
That was creepy. Willow smiled uncertainly at him and stepped back a little. “Um . . . I should get back to . . . to shopping. I’m supposed to pick out food for supper.”
“Ah. Lord Asa is a lucky man, then, to have these slender fingers preparing his meals.” Sherwood caught her hand and she pulled it back.
“It was nice seeing you again,” she blurted and stepped around him. She walked quickly, hoping that he’d take the hint and stay back.
Apparently, though, that was too much to ask for. He followed her, humming under his breath. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Even though he didn’t look all that dangerous, with his large eyes and cupid-bow smile, there was something very off-putting about him. Maybe it was that otherworldly quality. Somehow, though, he was more frightening than Asa was.
Willow hurried through the market, picking out foods here and there to be sent to Asa’s manor. Sherwood was never far behind. Eventually, he came back up to her and roped a pearl necklace around her neck.
“Its beauty is nothing compared to yours, but your pretty throat deserved adornment.”
Willow took the pearls off and handed them back to him. “Please stop. I don’t know what is normal around here, but you are making me very uncomfortable.”
The fairy blinked at her, then smiled. “Ah, I see. Lord Asa told you that I killed a thousand kings’ sons. That I was given to the royal line in payment for my crimes?”
“I . . . that’s not the point.”
“Tsk, tsk, my lovely little flame. How can you believe the tales told by the dragon that plucked you mercilessly from your home to enslave you? Is he not the thief here? How many of your village’s children will die from cold and hunger because of their thieving ways? I am a slave and prisoner here, too, sweet fire.”
“That’s really beside the—”
Sherwood grasped her elbow. Willow wanted to pull away but didn’t. Part of her wondered why not, but the larger part whispered that she shouldn’t make a fuss. Sherwood belonged to the king. She was just some small shepherdess that a dragon took on a whim. Her word certainly would not be weighed as highly as his. And this place was very different from her village. Who was to say that the rules were even the same?
The fairy took her to a small booth that was currently unoccupied. There, he took both of her hands and stared deeply into her eyes. “Little flame, don’t you think I know what you’re thinking? We are both prisoners and slaves. I am bound to return to my king’s side to play as his pet. But you . . . you have wings to fly away. I know the secret passes through the city’s walls. I can free you from your cage.”
Willow’s heart jumped into her throat. Could he help her out of this place? Where would she go? Back home? No . . . She could go anywhere she wanted. Free. Free from her family’s expectations and limitations. Free from being Asa’s . . . She belonged to him, so that made her his slave, no matter what else he might give her.
Did she want to be a dragon’s property?
No.
“Show me how to get out.”
Sherwood smiled softly, then took her hand and pulled away. His hand was cold in hers, making her shiver, but she didn’t protest. He led her away from the market and into a large square. There, he entered a building and led her into the cellar. From here, he shifted aside a door in the floor and had her moving through a pitch-black corridor.
“You make a wise choice, pretty fire,” he murmured. “I have seen many women come to the city crying in their captor’s arms only to stay once their years of service are up because of the dragons in their bellies or arms. For their children, they stay.”
Willow shivered at the implications. “But they have laws and rules against that, don’t they?”
Sherwood hummed. “So they say.”
Her stomach churned as she considered it. Who was going to enforce that humans were treated well? The king’s mistress? If she had any real power, why wouldn’t she be the queen? That alone should have given her the warning that she needed not to believe them. After all, if the dragons had any respect for women, then their king would show it. Having a mistress certainly showed something – his disregard for the women in his life. The queen hadn’t even been at the feast. Ashamed to show her face, perhaps knowing her husband's utter contempt for her.
But Asa isn’t like that, she thought. Then she snorted. Oh, really? He stole me from my village and made me his slave. He’s used up any goodwill that he might have gotten.
“How much longer?” she asked. The air was frigid and she wasn’t certain how long they had been walking. She realized her breathing was coming in pants and suddenly thought that they could have been in here for hours. Her attention had completely lapsed. “Where are you—”
A door opened. Willow flinched as brilliant light stabbed into her eyes. It blinded her, but Sherwood continued to pull her along. The smooth, cold stone that they had been walking along turned into the rough forest floor. Willow pressed her free hand to her eyes, wincing as the light continued to eat into them.
Sherwood took her to a small car and opened the door for her. “I can drive you to the city at the base of the mountain. The dragons there have strict laws for the proper care of humans and will not enslave you. But you will never be able to go home.”
Willow nodded. “I don’t want to, anyway.”
The fairy hummed. “That makes this far easier . . . ”
He took her hand and pressed a kiss to it. She opened her mouth to tell him that they couldn’t waste any time but closed it again. He knew what he was doing, right? Her mind started to drift away as his lips moved to her wrist. Wait . . . She didn’t want him kissing her . . . She wanted to get away . . . But it did feel good . . .
A screech above them broke through her muddled thoughts. Sherwood glanced up and cursed. There was a great beating of wings and Willow sat, frozen, as something dropped from the sky. Beautiful bronze scales. She reached to brush her fingers against them.
Thick arms wrapped around her. Claws dug into her back. The pain drove away from the fog and she realized what was happening. Another dragon. She screamed as it shot a ball of fire towards Sherwood and leaped into the sky.