Page 44 of The Dragon Maiden

“Will your other duties be fine in the meantime?” I asked as I watched him.

“I’m organizing papers for Lord Hiram and you to take care of while I’m gone,” he said, looking to me and smiling. “This pile is for him to take care of, and this pile is for you.” He pointed to two of the piles, leaving a third one unassigned. “The last one can wait until I get back.”

I walked to stand next to him, taking the top sheet of parchment on my pile and looking at it. From what I could tell, it looked like a sort of staff assignment sheet. “What’s this?” I asked.

“You’ll be in charge of scheduling different servants for specific days,” he said. “Creating the schedule of when they’ll work. Everybody gets two days off every fortnight.”

“You’ve been handling this all this time?” I asked, aghast. “I thought Lord Verhorn would cover this task.”

Dracul chuckled. “He usually does,” he said. “But he’ll also be going to with me on this trip, so I’m passing it along to you. Lord Hiram can help you if you get stuck on anything. I trust you can handle it.” He stood and yawned. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get some sleep before the trip tomorrow.”

“Do you need me to pack anything for you?” I asked, suddenly not wanting to leave him. The knot deep in my stomach pulled me towards him.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, leaning forward and absentmindedly kissing my forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow before I leave.”

He turned and walked back to his bedroom, not seeming to realize what he had just done. But the spot where he kissed me burned and I knew my face was bright red, a heat pooling in my core. Unbidden, the thought that I wished he had kissed my lips instead flashed through my mind and I gasped in shock. I took several minutes to slow my breathing and clear my thoughts before heading back to the Dragon Maiden cavern.

Worry gnawed at me all throughout the night.

* * *

The next day, I awoke bright and early, preparing to bid farewell to Lord Dracul. Vimery and Bethany got ready as well, as they were to join me in saying goodbye to their respective Lords, Lord Firenze and Lord Verhorn. The three Dragon Lords waited for us in their dragon forms, at the entrance I had originally arrived through, almost a year ago. Vimery and Bethany went up to their Lords, wishing them goodbye, and I approached Dracul, suddenly feel self-conscious.

“It’ll be only a short while,” he said, smiling softly. “I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

I gulped past the lump in my throat and forced a smile on my face. “I know you’ll do great,” I said, trying to keep the tears from my voice. This was the first time we would to be apart since I had arrived. Already, I could feel an emptiness growing within me.

Dracul leaned forward and nuzzled my hair with his snout. “As will you,” he said. “Don’t worry. All will be well.”

“Good luck,” I said as he walked to the entrance, his wings spread, ready to take off. Lord Verhorn and Lord Firenze quickly followed, and us three Maidens watched until they disappeared on the horizon.

“What are you two up to for the rest of the day?” Bethany asked, turning to Vimery and I.

“I have cleaning to do,” Vimery said, marching off towards Lord Firenze’s cave. Since the ceremony, her patience for my presence had dwindled to be nonexistent.

Bethany watched her go before turning to me, waiting for my answer.

“I have paperwork to focus on,” I said. “What about you?”

“Lord Verhorn wants me to clean his hoard,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “Usually he has other tasks for me to do so I don’t have time. It’ll be nice to have it all perfect and polished when he returns.”

“Have fun,” I said as she ran off. Her enthusiasm made me chuckle slightly. I had not seen her so animated about her duties before.

With both Vimery and Bethany gone, I walked to Lord Dracul’s quarters, to the paperwork that awaited me.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Valora

I did my best to follow Dracul’s instructions, trying not to worry and quell the rising ball of nerves that had taken up residence in my stomach. Each day that passed, each hour that ticked by, my anxiety only grew, the feeling of unease becoming unbearable. Even the paperwork he had left behind did little to distract me from my concern. I had finished it all by the end of the second day, delivering the applicable papers to each of the remaining Lords.

Multiple times, I stopped by the entrance where Dracul and the other Lords had departed, watching for any sign of their return, to no avail. The remaining time, I tried to keep myself busy, making Dracul’s quarters spotless and from time to time, I would try to struggle through the books I had been eagerly waiting to read. But my focus was gone, my thoughts always turning to Dracul. I had not expected to miss him as much as I did, his absence gnawing at me. I felt a coldness with him gone. I had grown to rely on his warm presence more than I had realized. Each day, I prayed for his safe return, that everything would turn out fine, but deep down, I had a fear that something was wrong.

At the end of the week, I finally acknowledged my worry, allowing it to overtake me. I sought out Lord Hiram for his advice. If the Dragon Lords could go to him for counsel, could I not as well? Dracul seemed to trust him, so I should be able to as well. My feet swiftly took me to his chambers. I knocked on the door and entered without waiting for Alonsa to answer. Both were in his office, Alonsa looking shocked to see me.

“What may I do for you?” Lord Hiram asked as he looked up at me over a pair of glasses hanging at the end of his nose. Both of us knew that what I did was against protocol, but I could think of no other alternative, I could not wait. He motioned to Alonsa, and she bowed before leaving us alone.

“Lord Dracul left over a week ago and he has not returned,” I said, kneading my hands in worry. Once I realized what I was doing, I forced them to my sides, where they instead fiddled with the fabric of my dress. “Shouldn’t we be worried? Is something amiss?”

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