by Jerry Skell
"What do you want?" Loki asked.
"Companions and a mate for Davida when she comes of age. We want you, all of you to thrive."
"We could achieve that by eliminating both of you," Loki said. "We will counsel, be our guests for now."
"I will protect you," Davida whispered.
"Thank you, let's hope cooler heads prevail."
Maryann and Elodia walked about the cavern. There was no way out without flight and no where to go. Elodia saw a small female dragon, she was lying in the sand with an egg. "Is she crying?" she asked Davida.
The three of them approached the dragon. "You appear to be crying," Elodia said as she gently touched the dragon. The dragon at first was startled then saw Davida standing with the witches. "Can we help?"
"My egg. It was to hatch today. My baby ... my baby," the dragon wept.
"What happened?" Elodia asked gently.
"The fire went out. My egg chilled and went into torpor. My baby is lost."
Maryann knelt by the egg. She looked at the grieving mother and slowly reached out and touched the egg. The egg glowed and was surrounded by fire as she held it. Elodia realizing what was happening rushed to the saddle bags and grabbed the two fried chicken breasts they had brought for lunch. She thrust the meat into Maryann's hands.
"Feed it!" she said as the egg rocked and began to crack.
The little dragon greedily took the chicken. It ate so fast that Maryann was afraid it would choke. It ate both chicken breasts, Elodia removed two more, their dinner, and handing them to Maryann as she continued to feed the hungry little dragon. Finally sated, the little dragon flew to Maryann's shoulder. It wrapped its tail around her neck, nuzzling her gently.
"It's a boy!" Elodia whispered happily.
All the dragons had been watching silently. Davida stood between the other dragons and the witches protectively.
Loki approached, "You speak truth. You mean us no harm. We lose about a quarter of our eggs. We need the fire but it is fickle."
"What do you do with the lost eggs?" Maryann asked.
"We eat them," Loki said. "But no longer. We will honor the promise forever. May we bring you our eggs if they go into torpor?"
"Yes. We will accept and guard all that you send. We will search for witches to touch that egg and awaken it."
"Then all is well between us witches." Loki then turned to Davida, "I like you little one. When you come of age I will look for you in the sky."
Given permission to leave Elodia and Maryann climbed onto their saddles and Davida flew out of the cavern. The tiny dragon following. They flew through the airless void and found themselves high over their home. The tiny dragon still in pursuit. Maryann laughed overjoyed to see her tiny dragon following.
"Have you picked a name for your dragon?" Elodia asked.
"Oh gosh! I can't decide," Maryann laughed, "I know, Ragnar!"
"That's an excellent name for a dragon," Elodia said, Davida agreed.
Davida cloaked the little dragon, copyied and landed in their yard. The fruit trees easily hid the dragons. Elodia removed the saddle and stored it in the barn as Davida flew off in search of food. They brought the little dragon into the house as it chirruped happily as they fed it again. Walter and Eli were both surprised to see the little dragon perched happily on Maryann's shoulder when they arrived home.
The next day Elodia and Maryann reported to the coven. Ragnar was happy to curl up in a canvas sack, sleeping, until they were at the meeting sight, then he perched on Maryann's shoulder.
"You have more than met our expectations dragon riders," Ruth said smiling warmly. "We are very happy that you have a dragon too Maryann. I have this for you." Ruth took a necklace of a dragon hatching and put it around her neck. "Welcome sister-daughter."
"Thank you, Mother Ruth," Maryann said.
"Your powers have yet to emerge, Maryann, be assured they will. You, Elodia, still have only limited knowledge of your potential. Together you will change the wind, cause storms and control fire. You will find your healing skills greatly increased. The necklace also has power. You will be instructed its use later. You have done well. We are pleased."
Elodia and Maryann returned home. "Thank you Elody, You have given me so much," Maryann whispered.
"You were my very first sister and girlfriend Maryann. You have given me much too."
Chapter 26 Imperial Purple
The summer passed slowly. The schools were in summer recess and Eli and Walter freed from teaching, worked on their homes. Midwife school started in September, freeing Elodia and Maryann so they had a lot of time together. The fruit trees produced a plethora of cherries and plums most of these were dried and stored. The later bearing trees were also doing well. Eli was pleased that his first attempt at pruning had been successful. He had found an old overgrown grape arbor behind the shed and this had been pruned and they were enjoying grapes at the table.
The garden at both homes was thriving with an abundance expected. Elodia and Maryann rode their horses daily, often joined by other young women equestrians. Maryann and Walter were in the great room setting up the clinic. Walter had just finished building an examination table. They had about two hundred remedies on hand. Eli and Elodia were in the kitchen. Eli stood behind Elodia holding her.
"What shall I make for dinner?" Elodia asked.
"I don’t know, why not ask old Walter?" Eli said as he kissed her neck.
"He's the same age as you. He's a very nice man with an excellent bedside manner."
"How's my bedside manner Elodia?"
"Terrible!"
"How?" Eli asked as he kissed Elodia's neck again.
"You’re just plain bad."
He kissed her again a little higher and felt her press tighter against him. "What else?" he asked.
"You're demanding."
"Yes, that's true." He kissed her again, this time just below her earlobe.
"You're incorrigible." Eli began to nibble her ear. She trembled then took in a deep breath. "You give me goose bumps all over!"
"I'd like to see that." Elodia turned to face him. Her face just a little flushed her eyes dark. "Let's eat at the tavern tonight, then we’ll have time for you to show me those goose bumps," Eli said.
"Maryann, we're all eating at the tavern tonight. Eli and I need some alone time," Elodia shouted. Eli smiled at her, then lifting her into his arms carried her to their room.
They walked hand in hand to the tavern. They had not been to the tavern in Old Novi before. Walter and Eli dressed in black pants and vests with white shirts. The women were in their red saris. Both were barefoot. As they passed through a crowded market they got some whistles, both responding by smiling brightly and twirling around.
"Do you always respond to whistles?"
"Not unless you're with us," Elodia said.
They entered the tavern. Being a harbor tavern it specialized in battered fried cod and fried potatoes sliced very thin and then salted. They ordered the fish and ginger beer. They were talking quietly when they were approached by a male student from the school.
"You're the dragon riders?" he asked. Brittany, Leeann and another male from the school also joined them.
"Yes, It's good to see you all again," Maryann said.
"And you're sister?" Elodia and Maryann just looked at each other grinning. "Did you both really marry your brother?"
"Did we marry you Big Brother?" they both purred to Eli. Eli was wordless, not knowing how to respond. Elodia and Maryann were laughing with delight. "Actually, I married her brother. We aren’t really twins and sisters only by marriage."
"Maryann is my wife!" Walter said looking very dangerous."
The two couples quietly sought seats on the other side of the room while Walter continued to glare at them.
"I don’t think we'll ever live that prank down," Maryann sighed.
They were joined by one of the owners of the 'Shaman's Modiste', "I really love your riding uniforms. It was a pleasure to be in on the des
ign."
"We like them too," Elodia responded.
"How's business?" Maryann asked her cousin.
"Fantastic, with you two modeling our designs a lot of women are coming to our shop. You two are good for business. If we could get our hand on some imperial purple cloth we could make a fortune."
"How?" Eli asked.
"The Imperial Government has destroyed its only source of the color. They are offering big money for any cloth. We have some weaver contacts in the delta. It's too bad we can't find any colored wool."
"I think I may have a possible source," Elodia said. "If I can get a few skeins of the color to your friends would they be willing to buy the secret?"
"You know the secret?"
"Let's just say I have access to someone who does." The young woman from the shop was happy and promised to talk to her weaver friends."
"Elody, who is this someone?" Maryann asked,
"Us of course."
Later when dinners were finished the tavern brought out musical instruments and the patrons were encouraged to sing and dance. Elodia and Maryann sang well together and also danced together and with their husbands and other patrons. They returned home very late. Elodia and Maryann still laughing over their infamous hoax.
Chapter 27 Blue Mollusk
"Eli could you make me two wire baskets that would fit in those copper pots."
"Yes."
"I'll also need a chain fall to lift them out and clear of the pots."
"Walter we will need skeins of wool yarn. Worsted or carded, some of both would be best. At least two hundred skeins. All of it undyed,"
"I'll start on it tomorrow."
"Great, we are going to make purple," Elodia said.
"One more thing, we’ll need a large flat surface for drying the skeins. Nothing elaborate."
"What will I do?" Maryann asked.
"First, we fly to the coast to gather mollusks. Then the stinky stuff begins."
It took several days before all the preparations were made. Elodia and Maryann packed a generous lunch and two towels each and a blanket. These filled one saddle bag. Elodia was excited with her plan. If all went well a lot of people would benefit from their little enterprise.
Early in the morning, after dressing in their dragon riding uniforms and saying their goodbyes, they were again flying. In an instant, they were cloaked and they silently landed near Elodia's former village. They had timed their arrival for the slack tide.
"What do we do next?" Maryann asked.
"Get naked and enter the water." They undressed, packing their clothes into the empty saddlebag. They each carried a moderate sized canvas sack as they entered the water. "I forgot to ask, can you swim?" Elodia asked sheepishly.
"Try and keep up with me."
Elodia dove and came up with a large white snail with blue stripes. "This is what we want. About twenty pounds total. Be careful how you handle it, hold it just like you see me doing. It can sting. It's terribly painful."
Maryann nodded and they began to work the bottom. The snails were abundant but not easy to see. Elodia had spent a lifetime gathering the snails, she quickly filled her sack. She then assisted Maryann. They had spent about three hours in the water. They had just crawled carefully over the large rocks and boulders on the shore and come ashore when they saw the six uniformed imperial guards watching them. Both of them dropped their bags and attempted to cover themselves with arms and hands.
"Look what we found," one of the imperial guards said as he leered at them.
"Two naked mermaids perhaps? Or two purple makers?"
They laughed as they seized both women knocking them to the ground, beating them with the butts of their muskets and kicking them. It took three men to hold each of them down. Elodia and Maryann fought back but were simply overpowered as they kicked, scratched, punched and bit their adversaries. The guards were surprised by the ferocity of their defense. Several were bleeding from bites on their arms and hands. In the end, the guards prevailed, planning far greater injury to the women. They were forced to kneel, their hands tied in front of them and a rope tight around their neck. The guards laughed at them and described in detail the treatment they were to receive.
“We will have the secret of purple from you. Your deaths may be swift if you co-operate. It’s your choice,” the leader said as he laughed at their distress and fondled Elodia then Maryanne. Elodia closed her eyes in disgust and turned her face away. The man roughly seized her face and forced her to look at him. “You won’t be so arrogant and pretty when we finish you girl. You will tell us what we want!”
Ragnar appeared overhead harassing and biting at the men holding the rope around Maryann’s neck. They swatted at the little dragon. Then Davida landed before them, she was bright red in color, her wings fully extended in her furry. The six men ran. Davida blew fire, instantly incinerating the fleeing men and causing the gunpowder in their powder flasks to explode.
"We need to move fast, more will come," Elodia said panting. They simply jumped onto the saddle not strapping in, "To the pond, Davida." Davida cloaked and smoothly glided to the pond. "We're safe here for now. Let's wash off the salt water and get out of here."
They spent several minutes soaking and rinsing their hair after they removed the bindings. They left the pond and emptied the saddle bag of their clothes, towels and lunch. Unbinding their hair they dried and wrapped it in a towel then dried the rest with their second towel. Once dry they dressed and sat on the blanket for their lunch.
"That was close!" Maryann whispered. "I've never been so frightened in my life. Did you see my brave little Ragnar?"
"That was close," Elodia replied.
"Is this the pond you and my brother met at?"
"The very one."
"Did you ever swim together?"
"We never did. Thought about it a lot," Elodia laughed.
"Is this the only place with these snails?"
"The only one that I know. But, I doubt it is."
Packing the saddle bags with the snails they took to the air. They flew over the area they had been swimming and it was crawling with at least one hundred imperial guards. Ragnar dove on the men biting and harassing then joined Davida as she entered the void. They spiraled down, landing quietly as Eli and Walter joined them.
"What's next?" Eli asked.
"The stinky stuff," Elodia laughed.
Chapter 28 The Great Stink
"I'm so tired Eli, and I hurt all over."
"I promised you a back rub, I'll be right with you."
"Rub my feet first, please."
Eli sat on the bed and gently rubbed Elodia's right foot. “You have really been busy, I have seen your village making purple. You do it differently. How did you learn the process? I thought it was a guarded secret?”
"Anyone with an ounce of sense would know the secret by simple observation. I’m no genius, but I could see what they were doing.”
“Elody you are much smarter than you give yourself credit for. The process was a guarded secret.”
“I tried to get them to keep the snails in the bag and crush them all at once and put the bag in the kettle. It's so much easier than crushing each one then putting in the kettle and then having to remove them once they rot. And the wire baskets will make it so much easier to put the wool in and take it out. I hated having to reach in that stinky water and pull each one out."
"What did they say about your ideas?"
"Stupid girl, we've ALWAYS done it this way, and your just lazy Elodia, and you just don't want your skin to turn purple."
"I'm sorry Elody."
"It's OK. At the time, it really hurt. Eli don't forget to kiss my foot when you're finished with it," Elodia laughed as she gently caressed his face with her foot.
"You’re a demanding little thing, Odie!" Eli kissed her foot and rubbed the left one kissing it when he finished.
"OK turn over I'm going to rub you back, I got scented oil."
"OOOH, what sce
nt?" Eli opened the bottle and sniffed it.
"Sardine, or maybe anchovy."
"Give me the bottle Eli!" Elodia took the bottle and sniffed. "Liar, liar it's lavender. You're incorrigible!" Eli folded the blanket back exposing Elodia's back and stopped.
"Odie, you're covered with really nasty bruises!"
"I took Arnica when I got home yesterday. They can't be that bad."
"What happened?"
"Maryann and I got in a fight."
"She did this!" Eli was shocked.
"No silly, the Imperial guard did. THEY caught us."
"Why didn’t you tell me?"
"I forgot. I was so excited when I got back."
"If you're bruised this bad after taking arnica and wearing your heavy padded flight jacket it was an awful beating."
"I didn't have my flight jacket on."
"What did you have on?"
"Nuthin'," Elodia laughed. "We had just gotten out of the water from gathering the snails. Davida and Ragnar attacked the guard. Davida burned them up." Eli put the scented oil on his hands to warm it, then gently rubbed Elodia's back and shoulders. "That feels so good, you have nice hands Eli" Eli massaged her back with a very light touch, he continued very slowly until he reached her feet, "The guards blew up when Davida burned them."
"That must have been their powder flasks."
"We were afraid the noise would bring more so we just hopped on Davida butt naked and flew to the pond."
"That would have been a sight to remember Elody."
"You think so?"
"I would have loved to see it!" he teased. "Now I will make all those nasty bruises better!? Eli kissed every bruise from her shoulders to her ankles.
"Did I really have a bruise for those last two kisses?"
"Not really, but I thought you might be saddle sore."
"You're INCORRIGIBLE! I want to cuddle."
"You already said that now turn over please."
"Why?"
"So I can make your other bruises better, then we'll cuddle." Smiling brightly and with a little laugh, Elodia turned over.
It had taken several days to prepare the dye. The snails were allowed to rot in water then removed and the liquid boiled and allowed to cool overnight. The four of them gathered at the shed. The two wire baskets were already filled with the skeins of wool. They also had two white skirts and two white under bust corsets in the basket for themselves. Elodia removed the lids to the deep pots.