Page 8 of Ava's Love of the Dragons
Hesitantly, she accepted the dishes. "But I can't pay you anything."
He waved it off. "You don't need to. I'm happy to help. You wouldn't believe who you meet as a merchant on your travels. I share my food, and people share their stories with me. A fair trade, as I have plenty to tell when I get home."
She smirked. He had a point...
"Do you have some water for me?"
He pointed to the cart. "Help yourself from the waterskin."
"Thank you." Not wanting to let her guard down completely, she kept glancing at him as she approached the wagon and spotted the waterskin lying on the loading area next to colorfully painted ceramic dishes. She drank and then sat down by the fire with the merchant. "You sell beautiful dishes."
He nodded. "It runs in my wife's family. They're true artists, and I'm a bit of a wanderer. That's why we're a perfect match. But now, tell me, how did you get separated from your friends?" He reached for the pan on the embers, piled a portion of scrambled eggs and bacon onto her plate, and took the other half for himself. Both portions were generous. Just the sight of it made her mouth water.
"Someone tricked me." She took a forkful and suppressed a sigh. Heavens, it tasted good.
"You're not the first that's happened to. Did he have a good reason?"
She snorted. "Supposedly, but I don't know if he's being honest with us. I need to find out."
He looked at her with interest. Not in a way that suggested he was prying, but like an attentive listener. "Is that why you're going back?"
She shook her head and hesitated, but then pulled herself together. She could at least tell him about her experiences in general terms. After all, he was sharing his breakfast with her. "A girl is waiting for me. She's counting on me and shouldn't think I've abandoned her."
He nodded as he savored each bite. He took such small portions on his fork that it took him an eternity to finish the meal. "Are you still far from your friends?"
She pointed to the mountains, where the sun was already high in the sky. "The last time I saw them was there, but I don't know if they waited for me. They probably moved on long ago. Still, the mountain range is my only clue."
"There's only one way to find out. How convenient that I need to go in a similar direction. My next stop is Tulmur." When she frowned in confusion, he eyed her closely.
"You're not from around here, are you?"
She quickly turned her attention to her empty plate and picked up the last bit of bacon with her fork. "I'm from near Talus. We're known for our butter biscuits."
"Admittedly, your pastries are a bit dry." He laughed.
The memory of Lilly trying to make the baked goods appealing to her appeared in her mind's eye, bringing a gentle smile to her lips. "You have to dunk them in cocoa or milk, then they're heavenly."
"Sounds delicious. I'll try that next time. So, what do you say? Want to ride along for a few hours? I can drop you off at the bridge to Siegenthal, then you'll be in the mountains within an hour."
She looked at him sideways. He meant it, and her gut feeling told her she could trust him. "Gladly, thank you. I'll wash the dishes in return."
"You don't have to tell me twice. I'm Toni, by the way."
"Ava." They shook hands, and Ava thanked fate for crossing her path with his.
Chapter 5
Toni had truly heard many stories and possessed a special talent for telling them. Ava let him talk, relieved that her dusty appearance hadn't aroused his suspicion. The ride on his covered wagon gave her a sense of normalcy, even though nothing in her life had been normal for almost a week.
Occasionally, she glanced discreetly towards the border, but there was no troop of soldiers in sight. No wonder, they were making good progress, and on foot, she could never have covered this distance in the same amount of time. The border guards were probably searching for her in Belmonde and the surrounding area, not on a pottery merchant's cart.
An hour later, they reached a narrow wooden bridge where the country road forked in opposite directions. In that time, Ava had learned more about the cities and villages of the Dragon Kingdom than in the past few days combined. Perhaps this knowledge would be useful someday.
"Well, here we are. Take care of yourself, Ava, and the next time I eat butter crackers, I'll dip them in cocoa." The merchant winked at her in a friendly manner.
She smiled. "Thanks, Toni. And the next time I'm in Sanbell, I'll visit you."
"Fantastic. Then we'll go to Siggi's, he makes the best dragon head soup." He laughed while her stomach turned. The name couldn't be meant literally, could it?
