Page 6 of The Dragon Maiden

She looked to the pile of polished gold as if seeing it for the first time and then at the rest of my hoard, a despondent expression falling over her face. “It’s not enough,” she said dejectedly. “I’ll never finish this all in a week’s time.”

I frowned at her words. “Who says it needs to be done in a week?”

“The others said that once a month, they work on polishing their Lord’s hoard for a week,” she said, fidgeting with her hands and continuing to absentmindedly polish the cup. “I figured I was under the same time constraint.”

A smile crossed my face. While it was true the other Lords placed that stipulation upon their Maidens, they did not have the hoard that I did—one of the perks of being High Dragon Lord. “Well, I have a much bigger hoard than any of the Dragon Lords.” I held out the plate of food towards her. “I brought you lunch.”

Her eyes alighted on the plate, widening in surprise as she had not noticed it before. She glanced up towards me and back down to the plate, her expression slipping into one of detachment. “I’m not that hungry,” she said, turning back to the cup that she polished while we had been talking, stopping suddenly as if realizing what she had been doing. Carefully, she set it down and grabbed another golden object.

I nodded, setting the plate next to her. “I’ll just leave it here then.” I had made sure that the kitchen had included good food, unlike the lumpy porridge that had been sent out this morning. When I had found out what had been served, they had received an earful. No mate of mine was going to eat such tasteless mush. After my scolding, they had prepared cured meats, cheese, bread, and fruit jam for lunch, and I hoped it was to her liking.

I moved closer to her to watch what she did, questions swirling in my mind. Now that I was so close to her, I wanted to know everything about her.

Valora had turned away from me, focusing on polishing, but I could tell that she knew I had not left yet based on how stiffly she sat. Every moment that passed, I inched slightly closer, wanting to be as near to her as possible, to envelop myself in her scent. She smelled of the lavender soap all the Dragon Maidens used, but underneath was an even sweeter scent. Under my scrutiny, she polished five more objects before finally breaking down.

“What is it that you want?” she asked sharply, turning to look at me. She flinched, not having realized how close I had moved towards her during this time. Despite my size, I could be silent when I wanted to be. My face was close to hers; I could feel her breath tickling my nose.

I figured now would be as good a time as any to ask a few of my questions. “If you aren’t from the nearby towns at the base of the mountain, where are you from?”

She sucked in a breath, clearly not expecting the question. After a moment’s pause, she said, “If I’m to accept this place as my home now, I hardly see how that matters.” Her tone was short, letting me know not to broach the topic any further.

Her ferocity surprised and amused me. I began to shake with laughter.

“What’s so funny?” she demanded, placing her hands on her hips, her brilliant azure eyes boring into mine. If I was not careful, I could get lost in them and make a total fool out of myself.

“You can be quite fierce when you feel like it. It’s simply amusing, is all.” Having her as mydragariawas going to be interesting, that was for sure. Though I could admit to myself that she received more leeway than I would give any other Maiden because she was mydragaria. “A word of caution—with the other Lords, it is best if you do not take that attitude with them. They are not as patient or forgiving as I am.”

Biting her lip, she swallowed, realizing her actions. “Thank you for the advice.”

“You’re welcome,” I said. I wanted to push her just a little further. “But you never answered my question.”

Her hands paused in her polishing and I was suddenly worried that I had pushed too far, that I had overstepped. “I… I’d rather not talk about it right now, if you don’t mind.” Her voice was soft as she averted her gaze.

“Very well,” I said. “I won’t bother you further at the moment.”

Her head immediately snapped up to meet my gaze, her eyes searching mine.

“But I would eventually like to know more about you.”

She nodded slowly, acquiescing to my request. Before she could speak further, I left the cavern, leaving her to her work. It was obvious she was uncomfortable around me, a feeling I hoped would disappear in time.

Chapter Six

Valora

When I returned to the cavern, it was empty. Lord Dracul stopped by once more to check on my progress and dismissed me for the day, saying that I would continue with my work tomorrow. The other Dragon Maidens had not returned yet from their daily duties. My arms ached from my work throughout the day and I collapsed onto my bed with a heavy sigh while I waited for the others to arrive. It had been a long day of polishing and I could not imagine making it through the next several days. My eyes slowly pulled closed. I surrendered myself to sleep.

I was jerked awake at the sound of someone running into a piece of furniture and cursing loudly. Looking around, I could see the other four women looking towards Vimery, whose gaze was focused on me. It was obvious the others tried to be quiet, but she had gone out of her way to be noisy. My mouth opened to say something, but knowing how Vimery was, I bit my tongue.

“Were you going to say something?” Vimery asked, a smug smirk on her face.

“Nope, I have nothing to say.” I rose and went over to a basin of water, splashing it onto my face to wake myself up. The cool water felt pleasant and helped distract me from Vimery’s attitude.

Bethany came up behind me. “Valora, Lord Verhorn would like to see you,” she said. “I can take you to him.”

I frowned, confused about the request. “Do you know why he wants to see me?”

She nodded. “He’s in charge of the administrative duties around here,” she explained. “He needs to formally document your arrival and go over a few details with you.” Bethany turned to leave the cavern through the other entrance, and I followed her, going in the opposite direction of where Lord Dracul had led me this morning.

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