HAPTER SIX
Suddenly I was acutely aware that I could breathe. That was strange, why would I notice that? Wasn’t that supposed to be some parasympathetic something or other?
Memories came slamming back into me as I recalled exactly why that was significant. I had been suffocating.
In the clutches of a dragon.
I sat up sharply, and my head throbbed in protest. I held the sides of my skull and fought off the wave of nausea that threatened to overwhelm me. It took several seconds before I felt capable of opening my eyes, and when I did, everything was blurry.
My heart was pounding again while I waited for my vision to clear. Perhaps the only thing worse than being absconded by a giant lizard beast was not knowing where it had taken me, or what I was surrounded by.
It seemed like an eternity before I could finally see like I was supposed to, and I realized I was huddled in hay. Confusion pricked at me as I shakily stood, and I saw that I was in some sort of pen, with several other battered, sleeping humans around me.
So, I wasn’t dead…that was a start. But what was I doing here? And where was here? This didn’t look particularly dragony. No. In fact, it seemed almost…farmlike?
Very carefully, I struggled to my feet. My balance was still recovering from all that lack of oxygen, and I was more than a little shaky. My vision was still a bit hazy, but I recognized one or two girls from the village. In fact, almost everyone in the pen around me was female, apart from two men. That was decidedly odd.
Finally, I reached the fence, and I was surprised to see it was your stereotypical cattle fence, just like the village had used. It was quite possible to just slip between the horizontal posts, so it didn’t make much sense for it to be used as an actual barrier.
Unless it wasn’t a barrier?
But it seemed like a barrier to me.
I groaned and held my head again. My thoughts were going in circles. I needed to get my head on straight if I was going to make any sense of whatever the hell was going on. I took several deep breaths, trying to quell my nerves and potential brain cell loss.
Once I felt like I had a better grip on myself, I opened my eyes and looked around, this time actively observing my surroundings. To my surprise, despite the breeze I could feel on my face, I was not outside. No, I seemed to be in some sort of massive cave, with no exit anywhere in sight.
And yet…there was light? And not torchlight either, but what felt like the actual sun. How was that possible?
Peering more closely at the stalactite-dotted ceiling so high above my head, I could barely make out glowing stones scattered around the expanse. Recalling back to the book I read, I was fairly sure they were some sort of enchanted gem that only the fey possessed.
But in order to have magical light thingies embedded in the ceiling, that meant the dragons had to be sentient. Beasts didn’t hallow out cities in rock and make them all nice and homey.
As if on cue, wind blasted past me, and the now familiar sound of massive wings flapping filled the area. From a bend that I had not seen in the giant chamber, the black dragon that had captured me came swooping down, landing just a bit away.
Now that I had absolute confirmation that they were not mindless beasts, I felt my temper kick up several notches. How dare they attack the village! They knew better. They had to know about the power structure of the humans and that Leryk and his people had nothing to do with the elder dragon murder.
Hands on my hips, I slid between the slats of the fence and marched straight towards the fanged, mythical beast.
“You!” I shouted, cheeks red and heart thumping. “Hey you!” Its malevolent, emerald eyes moved to me but I didn’t waver. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Its great mouth opened, tongue hyper red against the stained white and yellow of its terrible teeth and it roared at me. My hair flew back, and I tasted…several things I didn’t want to think about, but I didn’t back down.
“Stuff it, you douchebag. Why don’t you shift into your other form so we can have a civil conversation and you can explain to me why the hell you destroyed an innocent village! That goes specifically against the rules your own Queen set up!”
There was silence for several long beats, and despite my pent-up rage, I was starting to feel a bit awkward. It was difficult to stay mad at someone who didn’t react.
But then the great beast let out a huffing sound, and smoke poured from his body. The sound of rending, creaking and breaking filled the air, until the air was so thick with white that I couldn’t see a thing.
It wasn’t until several moments later that the veil cleared and I saw a man standing before me.
A very handsome, very naked man.
“Oh god!” I blurted, turning my head away in surprise. I was certainly not a prude by any means, but I also hadn’t been expecting my first greeting with the dragon shifters to include the full Monty.
“You know of us.”
It wasn’t a question. The smooth, rumbling murmur washed over me in a coaxing hum. I turned my gaze back to the figure, focusing my everything on keeping my eyes in the PG-13 zone. While I liked looking at a handsome man just as much as the next presumably heterosexual woman, this was not the time or place for it.
God, he was striking, though. With raven hair that fell freely to his shoulders, piercing green eyes and sharp, refined features, he was basically a complete dreamboat. And even from where I was standing, I could feel the warning vibes rolling off him. The perfect bad boy.
“Yes,” I murmured belatedly, realizing I should probably reply rather than staring dumbly at his perfect, alabaster skin.
“Tell me.” He continued to approach, and it took everything in me to square my shoulders and not back up in defense. Despite his lithe, sculpted frame, he was quite imposing. He was easily half a foot taller than me, and he exuded power and grace. “How is it a human knows secrets that we have so fiercely guarded?”
He had reached me, and one of his large hands came up to idly curl a lock of my hair around his long, tapered finger. It was such a power play and I couldn’t tell whether I wanted to be annoyed, aroused or frightened by it.
“Secrets?” I repeated carefully. Maybe I had tipped my hand too much. Maybe yelling his name hadn’t been the best idea. But I was alive, and somewhat kicking, instead of being a toasted cinder on the floor of the great hall.
“You know of the Court. Of our forms.” He leaned in, and his incredibly warm breath caressed my face. Normally I would find something like that repugnant, but instead I felt myself start to calm. There was nothing to be stressed out about, after all. I felt like I just wanted to sit down and listen to whatever the dragon man had to say.
Yeah, that was a good idea. “You know my name. And…” He took another deep breath, and I found myself leaning forward, waiting eagerly for his exhale. “You don’t smell like the others. No, you smell like something else entirely.”
I didn’t catch a question anywhere in that, so I just nodded my head dumbly. Before he could actually get to whatever point he was trying to make, the cavern filled with that same flapping sound and he rolled his eyes.
“Such poor timing,” he groused, pulling away just as the great golden dragon I had caught a glimpse of last night rounded the bend.
For a split-second I wanted to protest, but then the haze that had surrounded my mind faded and I felt like I was waking up for a second time.
“What was that?” I whispered, looking over the man again with a horrified expression on my face.
“Nothing too exciting. Just a trick to make you a bit more compliant.”
“Compliant to what?”
He didn’t answer again, but that was most likely because the other dragon was landing, whipping both our hair back with the displaced air from its massive wings.
He truly was even more beautiful up close than I thought. Each and every one of his scales was a glittering gold, occasionally tapered into breathtaking teals or bronzes. White markings followed a pattern not too dissimilar from a bearded dragon, and his horns were almost glistening in the enchanted light of the cavern. His eyes were a deep lavender, and they regarded us for several seconds before disappearing in another cloud of steam.
I was about to meet the Prince of the dragons.
No big deal.
I hugged my arms to myself, feeling my nerves start to spark as I realized the full gravity of my situation. I was kidnapped by a race that I had only ever read about, from a book my grandmother had put together from dreams, of a timeline that had been mysteriously altered, in a world not my own. And the creatures I had been kidnapped by just so happened to be able to tear my body in two with a single, well placed bite.
Great.
The steam finally cleared, and I was greeted by a man even more beautiful than his reptilian form. He was several inches taller than Myrik, forming almost a complete antithesis to the Advisor. His hair was long, white and pulled back from his face by rawhide at the nape of his neck. His features were square, and strong, and his musculature was more Thor or Hercules as opposed to Myrik’s Hermes or Adonis.
But I suppose the greatest difference, was he was fully clothed.
Dressed in a simple, cotton tunic of a faded grey, he still cut an imposing figure. And when he spoke, I felt my body respond to the baritone melody in his words.
“What have I told you about shifting unclothed?”
The darker haired man rolled his eyes then snapped his fingers. To my great shock, smoke swirled around his body once more, and when it cleared he was wearing long robes of purple and slate.
“Yes, I am well aware of all the rules for what you consider proper,” Myrik said drily. “Just as I am sure you are aware of how much easier it is to get information from an unsettled prisoner.”
“Yeah, about that,” I said, finally managing to find my words in the presence of these two all but god-like figures. “I would like to return to the village that you stole me from. I was in the middle of my apprenticeship, and I still have quite a lot more to learn.” I had no idea how I kept my voice steady, but it must have been my years of acting in high school.
“I appreciate that you are most likely confused, and scared,” the Prince continued, bowing to me. “And I would have preferred to bring you here under different circumstances, but I offer my humblest apologies that we cannot return you to your home.”
“What!? Why?”
“I know that it is through no fault of your own, but due to your people’s murderous proclivities, my people have been pushed to the brink of extinction. I’m sure it comes as a great shock to you that we can take on these forms—”
“She knew about the forms,” Myrik interjected flatly.
“But there is much that must be explained to you. We—” The Prince stopped short, like he was just hearing what the Advisor said. “What do you mean she knew about the forms?”
“Exactly what I said. She knew about our forms. The Court. Even my name. Why else do you think I took her? I’m not exactly interested in this breeding scheme our Queen cooked up. A nation of half breeds is but half a nation.”
Now both of the dragon’s eyes were on me, and I felt so incredibly small. How was I going to get my way out of this one? Also, breeding scheme? That did not sound like something I would enjoy being a part of. At all.
“Is this true, human?”
“Mercedes,” I corrected, and stalling for time. “And yeah, it’s true in the sense that I may or may not have had some lucky guesses based on some very old legends that are told on the, uh, Shimmering Isles.” Yeah. That was believable…right?
They exchanged looks, and I had the distinct feeling that they weren’t buying it. That inkling was only reinforced when Myrik looked at me with a wry grin. “Well, if it’s just regurgitated legends, there’s no need to continue this conversation then. We will return you to the breeding pens and you will be well taken care of.”
“Breeding pens?” I squeaked uncertainly.
The Prince grimaced. “It is not…the best situation. But your species’ insistence on murdering us has left our numbers dangerously low. Dragons, by nature, take years to have a single egg, whereas humans are able to sire offspring at a much greater rate.”
“So what?” I blurted, a bit shocked at the point I was pretty sure he was trying to get across. “Are you trying to say we’re just…baby making livestock?”
“I assure you that you will be well taken care of. You will want for nothing.”
“That’s disgusting!” I snapped, feeling my temper ramp up yet again after the short cool down. “You can’t just yank people out of their lives and force them to push out babies for you. Come on Gael, this isn’t like you at all! What in your code of honor would possibly let you allow this?”
The Prince’s brow furrowed, and he seemed more guilty than defensive when he answered. “Desperate times oft’ call for desperate measures. And I must do what my Queen de—”
“I swear, you’re as dense as your scales,” Myrik cut in. “If you listened more, and yammered less, you might observe something once in a while.” I had no idea where a simple advisor had the gall to talk to the Prince of all dragons like that, but he continued. “How did she know your name?”
Dammit. I was terrible at this.
“Mortal, explain.”
“Mercedes,” I insisted again, feeling my stomach start to twist with anxiety. I couldn’t exactly tell them I was hauled here from another world where women wore pants and what they were doing was essentially a war crime. I needed to think fast. And I didn’t want to reveal myself as a lightning rider either.
What if the dragons didn’t like that? I wasn’t exactly one hundred percent knowledgeable about all of the politics of the realm yet. I needed an answer that made sense, or at least made sense to shape shifting mythological monsters. “And the reason I know who you are, and who Myrik is, is because…” They were both staring at me so intently that I averted my gaze to the ground.
Maybe it would benefit me to stop playing my cards so out in the open and start acting like a demure maiden. “I’ve been having dreams lately, dark and looming dreams full of wings and scales. My village sent me here from the islands to understand what message the ancestors are trying to send me. I see now that it was a warning.”
“A seer?” Myrik said, his fingers drumming along his chest. “And a human one at that. Perhaps the only thing more believable than half recollected myths.”
“It’s the truth!” I insisted.
“If we were to believe this,” Prince Gael said slowly, “then this is something that our Queen would have to know.”
“But we can’t exactly present her with such a wild suggestion as a human seer without appropriate proof.”
I looked between the two looming men. They seemed only mildly concerned/intrigued about the situation, but I could feel my heart pounding in my throat. Didn’t they understand what a big deal this was? That they were speaking casually of believing me or not when it was the difference between being shoved in some sort of barbaric breeding pen and possible freedom?
Trying not to sweat, I searched through my mind for a factoid that would get them to believe me. One that would clinch their trust without putting myself in danger. Well…more danger than I already was.
Finally, I landed on something. “Prince Gael, your father was slain long ago, by a royal, correct?” I mentally crossed my fingers that this factoid hadn’t been changed by whatever had altered the timeline.
“That’s fairly common knowledge,” Myrik observed calmly. “Any tool sent by the royals would be informed of that.”
“Yes, but would they know that you, Gael, found the scale that was pierced by the enchanted spear, and you brought it to your home where it still lies, buried under the hall of heroes.”
Both their eyes widened at that and I did an internal cheer.
“What kind of awfully specific dreams are you having?”
I shrugged. “Some details stick with you more than others. Point is, I’m not lying.”
“No,” the Prince said slowly. “It would seem that you are not.” He extended a hand to me, and I hesitated before lowering my tan one into his alabaster palm. I had never thought of myself as a particularly tiny person, but his fingers dwarfed my own like I was a child. “Apologies for your less than comfortable arrival. Please, allow me to find you food and perhaps more refined clothing.”
“Surely this isn’t a matter for the great, warrior prince. Perhaps there’s a battle, or futile raid you should be focusing your energy on.”
“Your input is noted, Myrik, and ignored.” The light-haired man nodded to me. “Unless our guest finds the thought of my company distasteful?”
“No! Not at all!” I answered probably a little too eagerly. It wasn’t that I thought the Prince was a pushover, I had read far too much about him to assume anything of the sort. It was just that sense of danger that rolled from Myrik’s body in waves. Like he was a self-satisfied cat eyeing up a mouse for dinner. Except that mouse was me. I could feel his eyes on my back as I walked with the Prince, so I kept my gaze straight forward, no matter how much I wanted to look back in worry.
We strolled down the hill we were on, following a cobblestone path through what appeared to be open fields. Except it wasn’t open at all. It was a bit disconcerting to be in such a wide, well-lit expanse but still be in a cave. It was my first real experience with anything sort of magical since I had arrived, and it made me wonder what else was in store for me.
“So, Mercedes, was it?”
I nodded, busy taking in everything I could. Who knew what minute detail would be instrumental in my escape. Because even if the Prince seemed polite as he gently held my arm, there was no dodging around the fact that humans were being used for breeding stock by the dragons. That was not a fate I wanted in the least, and was pretty sure not what my Abuela had in mind when she had written her journal for me.
Her journal!
I panicked for a moment, reaching for my side and fearing the worst. Relief flooded me when my fingers brushed against the aged leather and brittle edges. I still had it. I didn’t know when I was going to get a chance to read it now considering I was a dragon prisoner for all intents and purposes, but I was sure I would find a way.
“Something wrong?” the Prince asked, his voice pleasantly laced with concern, the deep baritone of it curling around my head and coaxing me to pay close attention. It was easy to see how he was such a commanding force over the winged army. Even though he was one of the beasts holding me prisoner, I felt drawn to him. Like a naive pray animal being lured in by the beautiful camouflage of a dangerous predator.
“No, just worried I had lost my bag. I have some…mementos in there that would make me quite sad to lose.”
He looked to the now very tattered and dirty messenger bag at my side. I’m sure it seemed quite alien to him considering I had dragged it through from another world. “I will make sure to request you a sturdier way to carry your belongings. I am glad that you were fortunate enough to have them with you when you were—” He cut himself off and I saw the muscles in his jaw tightening as he tried to find a tasteful word. “…Taken.”
“Yes, that’s me. Fortunate.”
“Again, I apologize. If I could have my own way, this terrible idea would have been left dead and buried on the court floor. But extinction makes many of us scared, and you’ll find that scared animals are often the most dangerous.”
I didn’t know quite what to say, so I just stayed quiet. The Prince didn’t seem to mind, falling into silence beside me, only to occasionally point out landmarks that he appeared to think were interesting.
It took a surprising amount of time to exit the meadow area where the humans were being held, but I don’t think anything could have prepared me for the sight of the dragons’ living quarters.
The high, arching ceilings of the fields suddenly lifted upwards, too far above my head to even see. It was like a hive of rock, gems and glow stones, resulting in a beautiful, interconnected tapestry of city life.
My jaw dropped and my eyes grew wide as I took in the sculptures dotting the sitting areas, and the elegant, decorative vegetation that dotted the scape. Once more, I found myself having difficulty grasping that I was encased within solid rock.
“How is this possible,” I whispered, mostly to myself, but the Prince still smiled sweetly at me and answered.
“Long ago, when our people first came to these lands, the mountains were guarded by great and ancient spirits. Our ancestors befriended them, offering their respect and kinship. It is said the spirits opened themselves to us and taught us how to carve shelter deep within their earthen hearts. After so many generations of partnership, we began to take on features of our benefactors, and thus the first scaled dragon was born.”
“What happened to them? The spirits that is? Are they still here?”
He shook his head, and I saw the sadness creep across his face. “They left, long ago. The arrival of the humans and their gods chased much of the fey, and old powers from the land. Perhaps we ourselves are being stubborn in remaining. But if the humans are not stopped here, what is to prevent them from continuing their unending journey to conquer and devour everything?”
He seemed to realize who he was talking to, and his lips tightened in what I guess was mild embarrassment. “Pardon. I realize that you, as a person, are no doubt lovely and just want to live your life.”
I shrugged. “I understand what you meant. A lot of us are just existing, hoping to just be happy at the end of the day. Unfortunately, we aren’t the kind of people who seem to end up in power. Maybe that’s because we don’t feel the need to seek it, or perhaps that’s just what power does to regular, everyday people. Either way, no apology is needed.”
“That’s a particularly…enlightened point of view.”
“Is it? I just like to think of myself as acutely aware of just how awful everyone can be.” I realized how dark that sounded and gave a little bit of an awkward laugh. “Of course, it’s important to remember that people are also capable of great kindness. Many things in life have a very strong duality to them.”
“Is this common teaching on the Shimmering Isles?” I tilted my head, pondering for a moment. “No, not particularly. But the matriarch of my home was very traveled, and very wise. She has taught me much.” I was proud how I was starting to pick up the vernacular. My normal exclamations of ‘gonna,’ ‘dude,’ and ‘totes’ were probably not going to go over well here. And although Leryk and Maryana had been very doting in their treatment of me, I doubted these fanged folks were going to be as forgiving.
I needed to fit in. I was positioning myself as some sort of seer now, so it would be best for me to act like it if I wanted to survive.
It took another good half hour of strolling along, arm in arm, before we reached our destination. We went up intricately carved steps, through sitting areas with crystalline reflection pools, under archways and along meticulously kept paths. When we finally halted, I saw a wall of gleaming gems, each one reflecting prisms from the glow stones tastefully peppered everywhere.
There was a single door at its center, and it looked to be cut from pure marble. I would never have a hope of opening that on my own. But the Prince, he just gripped the gilded knob and swung it open. Disentangling himself from my arm, he bowed and gestured me in.
“After you, Lady Mercedes.”
I felt my face flush at the impressive show of strength, and his charm. It was easy to daydream about what else he could do with those muscled arms of his, but I couldn’t afford myself to get distracted. I wasn’t in my old world, where I could flirt with cute men then return to my bed at night to scroll through dating apps on my phone. I was in a world of swords and sorcery. I needed to keep my wits about me if I was going to survive.
The door closed and suddenly his hand was gently resting at the small of my back. Heat licked up my spine, whispering of all sorts of ideas and fantasies, and it took everything in me to stomp those down.
“I have guest quarters farther in. I will send a hawk to fetch you a wardrobe. But first, are you hungry?”
I was going to say no, but I realized with a low rumble from my stomach, that I was indeed starving. I had no idea how long I had been out, or even what day it was, so who knew when I had eaten last?
“To the kitchen then. I think I should have something suitable for a human’s palate.” He guided me through an ornate hall, lined with both weapons, paintings and other fineries. As best I could tell, his entire home was carved into the rock like much else of this place. No walls, no carpentry. Every bit of infrastructure was hewn into the mountain like some sort of negative space art concept. How did it not collapse on everyone?
The thought made me nervous, but I was soon distracted as we stopped. It wasn’t a kitchen in any sense a modern one, but I could discern where things were cooked, and prepared. Obviously, there was no refrigerator, and I wondered where all the food was, but the Prince crossed to a corner without me and lifted a door from the floor.
I could make out the sound of rushing water, and he reached down to fish around for several moments before pulling out a slightly damp bag. I watched, utterly fascinated as he crossed to the table and unwrapped the thing to reveal a head-sized wheel of cheese. He nodded in satisfaction, before returning to the still open square and pulling out two more smaller bags. Once that was done he lowered the covering then returned to me.
“Please, sit. It’s not often I have guests who are not political in nature.”
“Really?” I murmured. “Because you seem to be quite the host.”
He smiled, and it was kind of adorable how sheepish the large man looked for a moment. “This? This is nothing. You should see what the Queen goes through when she wishes to honor someone. I’ve seen them prepare for a week simply to celebrate a day of birth situation.
“I mean, it’s no longer like that. But when our people return to prosperity again, I think I will look forward to those revelries the most.”
“Yeah, they sound pretty nice.” I sat myself across from him at the wooden table, and he opened the other bags to reveal hard, squared bread and a skin of what I assumed was wine. Right, water was probably not commonly served during meals with the rich. I would need to watch my head and see if I could request the non-alcoholic liquid.
I looked over the delicious treats and wasn’t quite sure what to do, until the Prince pulled a dagger from his belt. I flinched back in surprise, and his brows came together worriedly.
“Apologies, Lady Mercedes. I did not mean to frighten you.” He placed it on the table and carefully slid it to me. “It’s for the food.”
“Oh, of course. Right. What else would it be for?” I breathed, blushing fairly hard myself. What was I thinking? If this Prince wanted me dead, I would be dead. I had nothing to worry about.
“You know that you are now in my care, Lady Mercedes,” he said, voice low and soft. I could tell that he was trying to be comforting, and I felt myself becoming slightly less worried. If this was Stockholm syndrome it was certainly coming on fast. “I will never knowledgeably allow harm to come to you. It is not my way. As long as you are my responsibility, you are safe.”
I was certain that this conversation would be going a lot differently if I had ended up in Myrik’s clutches, so I smiled gratefully. “Thank you. I hope I did not offend. You do not put me ill at ease, but I’m sure you can understand that a woman in a strange land might be somewhat…apprehensive.”
He smiled back, and I would be damned if it wasn’t one of the most charming expressions. This dragon shifter was just plain unfair, point blank. “I do understand, and I will try to be mindful of my actions in the future.”
I decided that was a good place to leave the conversation, and instead busied myself with cutting off some cheese, slapping it onto some bread and voraciously tearing into it. The flavors felt like heaven on my tongue, but also reminded me that I was equally as thirsty. I eyed the wine cautiously, then took a careful sip.
The Prince noticed my trepidation, and sent me another dazzling smile. “Do they not have spirits on the Shimmer Isles?” he teased. “It’s not poisoned, I promise.”
“It’s not that.” I quickly tried to think of a lie. “I just have never been very strong in my stomach. My mother said it was best I only enjoy libations in small quantities.”
“How boring,” he said with a smirk. “But I will fetch you water from the well-stream.”
He stood again, and began to cross back to the corner. “Is that what the thing that keeps your food cold is called?”
“Yes. I suppose this is not something you would be familiar with, given the heated lands you were born in. Snow at the top of the mountain falls to the base, where it melts. From there the ground absorbs the cold, cold water and filters it through the earth into the underground streams that feed the entire land. It is from this water that we drink, store our food, and other necessities of living.
“You need not worry about it being foul, we clean ourselves and take care of our waste in a different way, far from the sources that nourish us.”
“Oh good, so no chamber pots being dumped into the drinking water?”
He shuddered. “I have heard that humans are fond of such measures in their crowded cities. I cannot imagine the filth.”
“Yeah, you don’t want to.”
“I imagine you’re right.” With that, he lowered a tankard into the water, then set the cool, refreshing glass in front of me. “There you are. Let no one say I don’t provide for those at my table. Weak stomachs and all.”
“I can drink to that.” I took a deep swig of the water and it was exactly what I needed. My mouth stopped feeling like sandpaper, I was a little less anxious and my head cleared a bit. I continued to help myself to the fare, and it took everything in me not to gorge myself. I had to pace myself, give my poor stomach time to adjust to eating after depriving it for at least half a day, at worst two days.
After I was sure that I wasn’t about to disintegrate into a skeleton, I started paying more attention to my surroundings. I had already noticed the abode was much more opulent than the already fairly impressive quarters of Leryk. But one thing that was surprising was that actually dragon royalty was serving me himself.
“Where are your servants?”
“Servants?” he asked, sounding confused.
“You know, the people who run your household for you.”
“Why would I need anyone to run my household? I am a grown dragon; I reached maturity far too long ago to need help surviving day to day.”
“So, you don’t have other people who live here? Help you take care of things?”
He laughed heartily at that. “I have citizens that I pay to work for me when needed. A cook comes in when I require a special fare, there’s a housekeeper who comes in once every week or so to keep things in order, and most importantly, a seamstress. But I would not consider them servants. That would imply hierarchy, and I am no greater than them.”
“But you’re a Prince.” Now I was the one who was confused. I tried to think back to the book I read to recall if there had been any mention of royal staff.
“Yes, but I think perhaps the term here might be different from yours.”
“So, you’re not the son of the Queen?”
“What? Of course not. Children of the Queen, while respected, cannot serve in the Court. It would be an egregious conflict of interests and you cannot truly represent the will of the people with one family holding so many stakes.”
“Oh, that is very different from human royalty.”
“I see. It seems we have much to learn from each other. Now, if you would excuse me, I will attend to the matter of your clothes. Please, help yourself to anything in the well-spring, should you desire.”
I nodded agreeably and watched him go.
I knew I probably should have run, or found a way to escape, but instead I just propped my elbows on the table and continued to slowly munch.
I had wound up in a very precarious, dangerous position, but I was curious as to where it could go.