Page 8 of Hidden Dragons

“He has many skills,” Robert agreed as he stood next to her near the barn. “As for the proposition he mentioned…” The knight seemed to hesitate before turning to meet her gaze. “We all talked this over last night and we would like to ask if we could remain here, in your barn, for a few days. It would make a good base of operations for us while we pursue our mission, and we would pay you for putting us up, of course, but there is one catch.”

She was very interested to hear the catch, but she’d had some inkling that they wanted to stay by the way Robert hung around and fixed the place up. If they were moving on, they likely wouldn’t have spent any time on her dilapidated barn, and Robert and Growloranth would have been long gone, following in the path of their two companions.

“So what’s the catch?” she asked, gazing up into his charming brown eyes.

He really was a handsome devil. If she wasn’t careful, she could spend quite a bit of her time fantasizing about what it would be like to have a man like him in her life. What would it be like, she wondered idly, to be the wife of a knight? To be a true lady? With all that entailed…

She dismissed the thought with a little pang of regret. She was no lady. She might have been taught the manners of a more gently-bred girl, but in truth, Isabelle was nothing and no one. She lived on the edge of survival in a hut on the edge of the forest, near a village full of people who wouldn’t spit on her if she were on fire. Her existence was tenuous, at best. Right now, she could only live day to day, never certain of how she would get through the next day, the next week, the next month. She had no business dreaming of being this knight’s lady.

“You may have noticed that we’ve been trying to keep our presence here unnoticed,” Robert went on, oblivious to her inner conjecture. “We would like you to keep it to yourself, should any of the villagers come here, or you go there. We don’t want anyone to know we’re in the area. Your barn provides a good vantage point and base for our work on the border, but we need to keep it secret.”

“I have little contact with the villagers at this time of year. And I see no reason why I would tell anyone of your presence here. No matter my mother’s origins, I am a loyal citizen of Draconia, and I know the dragons and knights that protect the border are to be trusted. I have trust in you and your dragon partners—that you’re doing good work here, and I won’t interfere. I will not tell anyone you’re here. I swear it.” She spoke the last words like a vow and he seemed to take her at her word.

“Thank you, milady,” Robert said formally. “We will only be here for a few days at most, but we will try not to be a burden. And we can perhaps make your life a bit easier by doing as I have done today—fixing things and providing supplies. We will also leave you with a purse of coins and whatever else we can spare from our supplies when we go. And you will have the thanks of ourselves and our Lair. If you ever need anything, you can always go to the Border Lair for help. Anyone who can commune with dragons is welcome there.”

This was more than she expected and his words touched her deeply. She felt a little choked up but strove for calm as she thanked him again and turned back to her home. If Growloranth was bringing meat for dinner, she was going to be ready to cook it into something delectable, if at all possible.

Chapter Three

Growloranth provided a side of venison later that afternoon that he had already butchered and dressed. The dragon’s sharp claws made short work of such things, and were even delicate enough to skin the beast so the hide could be cured.

The dragon and his knight must have been busy retrieving the previous day’s skin from the forest as well, because when she looked in the back of the barn, there were two deer hides stretched on newly constructed frames, drying. Those hides, if she worked them a bit more, could be fashioned into winter clothing or even a blanket to keep her warm this winter. She might also be able to trade them in the village for food or other supplies.

The thoughtfulness of the knight and his dragon was beyond measure. Not only were they making sure the roof of her barn wouldn’t fall in this winter, they were also providing a means for her survival beyond their departure from her home. Tears filled her eyes when she saw the evidence of their kindness.

“I can smoke this for you, so it will stay good for quite a while,”Growloranth offered, holding up a large cut of the meat.

“Are you sure? Doesn’t that take a long time?” Isabelle asked, concerned that the dragon not put himself out too much on her behalf.

“Since Robert tells me we’re staying overnight, it actually is a simple process,”Growloranth told her.“We tie the meat to the rafters of the barn directly over my head, with a wrap to catch the juices so I don’t end up wearing them.”He paused to send up a smoky, dragonish chuckle.“In the night as I breath, the smoke will cook and cure the meat over several hours. By morning, you should have a number of well-smoked cuts that will last a long time, if you take care with them.”

“That’s ingenious,” she marveled at the dragon’s ingenuity. “I would love that, if you truly don’t mind.”

“It would be my pleasure,”Growloranth stated.“We will do this every night we’re here so that when we go, you will be well-stocked with meat for the coming cold. It is the least we can do to help repay your generosity.”

Moved to tears again, Isabelle could only try to smile her thanks as she took the bits of meat she was going to use tonight, and made a run for the house. She hoped the dragon understood and realized she could send him her thoughts without the risk of tears.

“I cannot thank you enough, Sir Growloranth,”she told him mind-to-mind.“It has been so long since anyone thought of my welfare, I’m afraid my emotions are getting the better of me. Please excuse my flight. It’s silly to weep over such kindness.”

“I weep for the thoughtlessness of your neighbors that has brought you to such a crossroads, my dear,”Growloranth answered in a kindly rumble in her mind.“You should not live in such a place with such mean people. If Robert has not made it clear, you will always be welcome at the Lair. I would take you there myself, if you but say the word. We would love to have you become part of our little community.”

“Thank you, truly, Sir Growloranth, but I’m afraid I cannot bring myself to leave here just yet. You see, my mother is buried here. And this house reminds me of all the good times she and I shared. All of her belongings are still here, and I sense her presence in every room. In every whisper of the wind against these walls. It’s too soon for me to give her up.”

“I do understand, milady,”Growloranth said quietly.“Losing someone you love is not an easy thing. When I lost my first knight, Kinneth, I went into mourning for two decades. He was such a good man. So decent and strong of mind and limb. He was the companion of my youth and I will always miss his presence in my life. It was a long time before I could even think about joining my life to another knight. Finally, it was Tildeth who talked me around to trying again.”He paused, seeming to consider his words.“You see, we dragons live much longer than our knights and it is a serious matter to put ourselves into a situation where we will, in all likelihood, outlive the man we choose to bond with—over and over again. But in the end, there is much to be gained from the risk. We protect our land and peoples, and we have the chance to live a life that’s full of love and laughter, pain, yes, and triumph at times. We share in our knights’ lives and are better for it. Without the risk, there is no reward. And without the pain of loss, we would never have loved. It is a double-edged sword, but one we all must take up at some point, to truly live.”

Isabelle thought about his words for a long moment as she sat at her kitchen table, wiping her teary eyes.“You are a wise being, Sir Growloranth.”

Isabelle cooked a savory stew that night, using a few of the onions she had grown in her garden that year and stored in the cold storage bin dug into the floor of the house. She also used some of the herbs and tubers she had gathered from the forest earlier in the year.

Sir Bernard and Tildeth came back as the sun went down, walking in from the forest instead of landing in full sight of the village. Isabelle understood how easily the dragon would be seen if they had chosen to land out in the open. She was too light in color, too sparkly. To avoid being seen, they had landed in the forest and walked to Isabelle’s place under cover of the trees.

Tildeth and Growloranth twined their long necks in greeting and disappeared within the dark barn. Isabelle had seen Growloranth return from another foray into the forest with another deer while she was cooking dinner and she expected that one was meant for the dragons. But sure enough, when she went outside to fetch a small piece of wood from the barn a while later, Robert was working on another deer hide, attaching it to another newly-made frame.

Bernard and Robert spent a short while talking quietly and cleaning up from their labors. As night fell in earnest, a knock sounded on her door and she let them into her small house. Both sported wet hair and fresh clothing. They wore dark colors in well-worn fabrics that allowed them to move even more silently than before. They also looked neat and comfortable. And incredibly handsome.

Bernard had shed his bulky leather armor and she could see now that he was built of solid muscle. Leaner than she had expected for such a big man, she could see the muscles of his arms rippling as he moved. Her mouth watered at the sight. Never had she been so close to two such handsome men.

Of the two, Robert had the more perfectly formed face. His hair was slightly longer than Bear’s, and he was a tiny bit smaller in stature than his fighting partner. Bear was a mountain of a man who spoke little, but watched all. He had a penetrating gaze, and if his face wasn’t quite as perfect as Robert’s, he was still just as attractive, just in a different way.

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