Page 13 of Kingdom of Flames & Flowers
“Where did the dragon come from?” I asked. “Why has it claimed our city as its home? Will it eventually die?”
Azalea sighed. “Dragons live hundreds of years. We don’t know why this one came, or chose us … but … there are rumors.” Her voice lowered as we all imperceptibly leaned toward her. “Rumors about a judgment passed on the city, and that the dragon is our punishment.”
I leaned back, my hands on my knees. “Until when? For what?”
Freesia snorted, and I ignored her. Azalea blinked. “What do you mean?”
I huffed. “Well, is it an unending punishment until the end of time? That seems unfair. The people who did the bad thing are likely dead. Why punish all of us forever?”
Freesia picked a piece of imaginary lint off her white shift. “If it’s a curse, most curses have ways to break it.”
For once, I agreed with her. “Right. So what’s the bad thing, and how do we make up for it?” I turned toward Azalea. “Do your fireguard records say anything about that?”
She thought hard. “I don’t think so.…”
Freesia scoffed and swiped a pillow from Wisteria. The smaller girl made a small noise of protest but found another one rather than fight the larger girl. “If something bad happened, the royal family would hardly want anyone to know about it, would they? They wouldn’t just hand that information out. Knowledge is power,” she finished succinctly like it was a stone tenet that every child learned at the knee of their mother. Or father, in her case.
Privately, I agreed. Knowledge of the fireguards and their habits could mean the difference between an entire loaf of bread or crumbs, or clean drinking water versus whatever dirty swills were left. It was critical to know which mothers would share leftovers and which would give you a smack for asking.
Yes, knowledge was indeed power.
“Enough talk about dark deeds. If there was anything to be done about it, don’t you think the royal family would?” Freesia shook her long hair over her shoulder. “I mean, it isn’t like they want the dragon to be here.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. The queen looked like someone who would delight in having one as a pet if she could manage it.
“So, it’s been here at least a hundred years?” I asked for clarification. No one in the mud quarter could read, let alone know the history of our city.
Azalea shrugged. “I guess. We’re only allowed to look at the parts of the records that mention the dragon. My father remembers it, and his father remembered it. From there? Who can say?”
The king and queen, apparently,I thought with bad grace. Why keep information like that hidden? What was the point? Unless it was like Azalea said, and everyone was trying to hide something: something big, something like the reason the dragon was here in the first place, and how to kill it or make it go away.
I decided that would be my mission. I was in the best position of anyone in the city to figure out this mystery. I’d find out the reason the dragon was here, and fight to expose it and have the city work together to get rid of it, or, barring that, kill it.
Marigold Mudthrice: the dragon killer.
I liked the sound of that.
“Enough about dragons. What’s going to happen to us?” Wisteria hugged herself with her arms, her chin tucked into her knees.
Freesia looked ready to burst, so I leaped in right away to goad her into giving up her information.
“I’ve heard nothing about it in the mud quarter,” I admitted, knowing there was no way she’d miss a chance to lord her knowledge over me. Manipulation was my second name. After all, the fireguards who distributed food sometimes gave you more if you did it justright. “We only know they took the girls away, and no one heard from them again,” I finished dramatically, making my eyes wide with fear.
Hyacinth and Heather clutched each other, but Freesia snorted. “It’s not that big of a deal. The girls are first sorted and cleaned, then comes our physical examination.” She paused, frowning. “That will probably happen first. After that, the girls may show any talents they have for their prospective husbands since certain men want certain traits. There are tests of physicality, wits, learning, etc.…” she trailed off, waving her fingers in the air dismissively.
The girls seemed less alarmed at the news that we would simply be on display like prized peacocks, but I hadn’t forgotten the deaths.
My eyes narrowed. These ‘trials’ set the girls from my quarter up to fail. We had none of those things available to us. Why even bother bringing us? It made little sense.
“Don’t look so upset, Muddy. I mean, Mari,” Freesia cooed, giving me a wicked smile. “I’m sure there’s something you’re good at. Father said mud girls are good for one thing, after all. Is it true they brand you like cattle?”
Azalea blushed, but a few of the girls’ eyes were wide with innocence.
“What’s that?” Wisteria asked, her voice hushed. “What’s the one thing they’re good for?”
Freesia halted, her barb not having nearly the damage she wanted if half of them didn’t even understand it. The other girls shook their heads, uncomprehending as well.
But I knew what she meant, and I was furious.
