I remembered the robe he was talking about. It was a present from my mother. I'd only worn it one time, on my birthday. Milo must have made this sword recently.
"That's beautiful," I whispered, "but I cannot accept such a gift from you. I don't even know you."
"So let's change that." He took the sword from my hand once again and placed it on the wall. "I'll keep this here until a time you decide you want it." He stepped back and held his hand out for me to shake. "My name is Milo. I've lived in Zhore my whole life. My father worked in the mines, and my mother made jewelry from the metal that came from them."
"Your father worked in the mines?"
He began to laugh. He must have understood my confusion. Only dwarves worked the Fire Mountain mines, and they were fiercely protective of them. Humans were not allowed in there. It was said that they imbued a spell into every piece of metal that no other magical person could break.
"He was an intermediary between the dwarves and the humans and was only allowed in the entrance to the mines, which the dwarves made into a shop. Even after twenty-five years of working there, he never ventured in any further. The dwarves needed food and such to survive, and they only had precious metals and stones. My father was a necessary evil as far as they were concerned, but they treated him well, and as you can see, we were never short of metal to work with. He loved his job. He told me stories of the dwarves all the time, how they used to complain about anything and everything. I think he found them funny, but he did his job well. He was the only human allowed to work in the mines until the day he died. They asked me to take his job, but I'd just been appointed at the castle, and I love my job."
"I'm sorry to hear about your father's death. What about your mother? Where is she?"
"When my father died, my mother realized that life was too short. She'd spent her life working the metals that my father had brought home into beautiful jewelry to sell to people at The Forge and other kingdoms. She'd saved up enough to travel, so she cut out the middleman, loaded up our family carriage with her jewelry and some of the swords I'd made and moved to The Forge. I hear she's living in a massive apartment there now, although some of her letters come from other places so I know she vacations a lot."
"It sounds wonderful," I said, noticing a clear box on a stand. Upon a red velvet cushion lay a beautiful ruby necklace. One of his mother's I assumed.
"She's enjoying life," Milo said, taking my attention from the necklace. "I might do the same thing when I've saved up enough, but there's not as much call for intricate swords here as there is for jewelry. The castle uses another supplier, and the guards use a basic design. It's cheaper that way."
"Yeah, they are nowhere near as pretty as yours, though."
Milo's face dropped. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend the king. I wasn't calling him cheap. Getting the best price for swords in this climate is the better choice. I would have done the same if it were I. We live in peaceful times, and if I'm going to be honest, my swords are purchased more for decoration than for actual use, although you'll not find a stronger sword than the ones I make."
"Actually, my father thinks things are beginning to change," I sighed, sitting down on one of Milo's comfy couches. "He says that there is something in the air. You said yourself that the dragons were circling lower than normal. He thinks it's an omen of how things were before."
"Before he rescued your mother, you mean?" he asked, sitting beside me.
It figured he knew the story. Everyone knew the story. "Yeah. He thinks that he was only able to rescue her because the curse was already broken. I mean, so many other people tried to cut through those brambles before he did. Why did he get through when no one else could?"
Milo shrugged. "I don't know. My father told me that he had a line of people begging for the dwarves' metal every day for years, but when the brambles receded, people stopped coming. My father's workload cut by a half the day your father rescued your mother."
"Wow. I've only ever thought of the positives of that story. Did things get hard for your father then?"
He twisted on the couch, so he was facing more toward me. "Nah, he just tripled the price of the metals. People still came and bought it. It is magical to an extent, but those brambles had a strong curse, and even though swords made with the dwarves metal could cut through, they often grew just as quickly as they were cut, making it a pointless task to even try."
"Oh." Maybe my father was right, and he was lucky. Just what I needed, another thing to worry about. The dragons coming low in the sky was an omen according to my mother, but they'd done no damage, nor hurt anyone.
Milo must have seen the worry on my face because he scooted forward and laid a protective hand on my shoulder. "Listen. Don't worry about such things. I might have been exaggerating about the dragons. I don't really remember if they were lower in the sky than usual. They looked like they were, but it could have been a trick of the light or perspective."
I sighed. "I'm not really too worried about any curse or the dragons. I enjoy watching them. I find them beautiful."
"The queen of the dragons," he said again, smiling.
I laughed, feeling light for the first time since that jerk of a faery had turned up. It was nice to be with someone I could talk to away from the confines of the castle. The weight of the world was not as crippling as it had been just a few hours before.
"Not quite. I enjoy them from a distance...It's...It's my parents. They want me to marry someone I don't want to marry. They sprung it on me last night."
A look of comprehension dawned on him. "Ah, so that's why you are here. You are hiding from your parents."
I shook my head, dreading his reaction when I told him what I was about to tell him. "I wish that were the case. It's much worse than that. I told them I couldn't marry him because I was dating someone else, and in a panic, your name came to me."
Milo's mouth twisted into a grin. "Are you telling me that the king and queen think we are dating?"
He lounged back on his sofa, as my cheeks once again reddened. Dragon's breath, this was embarrassing. I'd been so worried about embarrassing him, that I'd not put any thought into how embarrassing this would be for me. And it was. My cheeks were hotter than a dragon's flame.
"Maybe," I admitted. "Just a little. My mother wants me to break up with you."
"No way!" He clasped his hands to his chest theatrically. "I love you too much. You are my heart, my soul, my one true love." He pulled me from the sofa and spun me around the room as though we were at a royal ball. He was teasing me, of course, using the same line that had become famous when my father kissed my mother, awakening her from her long sleep. She'd said at the time he was her one true love and that it had been love's true kiss that had awakened her.
"Stop it," I admonished, laughing at the moment of silliness. We were no longer princess and guard. We were just two people having fun. It was embarrassing sure, but it was fun too. I'd never done anything like this before. Such behavior was not acceptable at the castle.
"You know, this calls for a drink," He picked up the coat I'd left on the arm of the sofa and threw it at me. "Put your hood back on, we're going out."
I'd barely had time to cover my head when he took my hand and led me outside. It had gotten considerably darker, even though it wasn't even dinnertime yet. The bright skies I'd walked to town in were now filled with ominous dark clouds.
Milo noticed it too. "Looks like a storm is coming, but we have time for one drink. I'll walk you home after that. What do you say?"
Looking at the clouds, I guessed his estimate was wrong. The storm was almost upon us, but I'd rather walk home in the rain with him than through the dark streets without him. That way, if my mother caught me, I could tell her I'd been out on a date with Milo. She'd be more upset that I hadn't broken up with him than me wandering through the streets by myself.
The inside of the Dragon Roost Inn was darker than the thick clouds outside, making it clear that I wouldn't be recogni
zed. I'd be surprised if anyone would see me at all. All I could see were various outlines of the customers.
"What do you want?"
I shrugged. I'd never been in a bar before, and the only alcoholic drink I'd ever partaken in was champagne at royal parties. "I don't even know what to order. You choose for me."
He left me in a booth and headed to the bar. It was quiet enough that he was served right away. The barmaid, a pretty woman with big hair and a slim waist, leaned forward. "Hi, Milo. What can I get you?"
"I'll have two beers, please. One for me and one for my friend."
The barmaid turned toward me, and I smiled, although I wasn't sure she'd even see my smile through the gloom, so I waved. She gave me half a smile back before her expression turned like milk gone sour. "Sure. I'll have to bring a keg up though."
I allowed myself a small grin. The poor barmaid was probably crushing on Milo, and here he was with a girl. I wondered how she'd feel if she recognized me as the princess.
I waited in the booth while Milo stood at the bar. Another man took the seat next to him and began a conversation. He talked much more quietly than the barmaid had, but my ears were keen, and I picked up the gist of the conversation.
"Who's the girl, Milo? I thought you were holding out for the princess?" The old man laughed, and I blushed. Milo was holding out for me? He liked me? No wonder he hadn't been angry when I'd told him what I'd said to my mother. Dragon balls. That complicated matters. I liked Milo. He was fun, and yeah, he was cute, but I didn't need a boyfriend. I didn't want one. I wanted to learn who I was before I even thought of sharing my life with someone else. That was the point of this whole endeavor in the first place.
The old man's words didn't seem to faze Milo, though. "It's my new girlfriend. I'd take you over to introduce you, but I wouldn't want to put her off her beer."
Dragon crap! Now he was introducing me as his girlfriend.
The old man laughed again as a flash of lightning struck, lighting the bar for a brief second. I almost screamed as the face of an old woman was illuminated in front of me. A woman with thick wrinkles and barely any teeth. The pub fell into darkness, but the woman was still there, standing just inches from me.
"You are new here," she cackled. "I've never seen you before."
I tried to catch Milo's attention, but he was deep in conversation with his friend.
"I'm visiting someone," I said, pointing to Milo, hoping she'd get the hint and go away. She was very short, owing probably to the fact that she was hunched right over. There was nothing innately scary about her, but she put me on edge. A shiver ran down my back as she pointed a spindly finger at me.
"You are a woman of great power, but I don't think you know it. You parents. Who are they, Dearie?"
I tried to come up with a lie. She obviously didn't recognize me as the princess any more than Milo's friend or the barmaid had. I was spared having to pull something out of the air as she didn't wait for me to answer.
"Yes. I can see the power in you. It is like nothing I've ever seen before. Those eyes of yours—beautiful, but strange. I wonder if you see the power in yourself? You have a lot of hardship coming up young lady, but I don't doubt you'll fight it. There's something else I see in you, but I can't get a full picture. It's like you are not fully there. There's a lot of you missing. Scattered like leaves in the wind." The crash of thunder shut her up, and then thankfully, Milo returned with two beers in his hands.
He handed one to me. I glanced back up at the old woman, but she was already gone, slipping back into the gloom as quietly as she had appeared.
"Did you see her?" I asked Milo, shivering. He must have walked right past her.
He turned his head to look around the bar. "See who?"
How could he have not seen her? She'd been right next to me when he slipped into the booth opposite me.
"There was an old lady with a hunch back. She said that I'd have a lot of hardship and that part of me was missing."
"You look fully intact to me," he said good-naturedly, taking a sip of his beer. "It sounds like Gladys. She's crazy but harmless. She seems to think she can predict the future and makes a little cash, but she's a phony. Don't worry about her."
I took a sip of the beer. It tasted like nothing I'd ever tasted before. The cold liquid ran down my throat almost making me forget the old woman's words, but part of what she'd said resonated with me. I'd never felt whole. I'd been loved my whole life. By my parents, my siblings. Even the public kinda, sorta loved me when my mother wasn't around to adore, but I'd always felt that there was something missing. It was probably to do with me being adopted. I guessed most adopted kids felt that way at some time or another, but it was more than that. It was like part of my entire being was ripped away from me. The old woman had hit the nail on the head. I didn't feel whole. I'd never felt that way.
Milo placed his beer down on the table and flipped a beer mat, catching it back in his hand. "I don't often come in here, but occasionally, I'll come in for a drink. What do you think of it?" Milo asked me.
"It's very dark," I observed. "And the barmaid has a crush on you." I left out the part where his friend had mentioned him having a crush on me and the part where I'd overheard him calling me his girlfriend. It was a conversation I was going to have to have with him, but now was not the time.
He spluttered a bit then regained his composure. "Lisa doesn't have a crush on me!"
I glanced over at the barmaid who was very plainly staring at us, her elbow on the bar, supporting her head in her hands. When she saw me looking, she stuck her tongue out and moved away to tend the bar at the other side.
"Really?" My mouth curved up to the side.
Milo raised his hands in the air in mock surrender. "What can I say? I'm irresistible."
Lightning flashed again, illuminating his face. He really was cute with his deep brown eyes and curly brown hair. Freckles dotting the bridge of his nose. In another life, he was someone I could consider as a boyfriend. If I wanted a boyfriend, which I didn't.
"So let's talk about this great love affair we are supposedly having?" he said, his head resting on his hands. "Who asked who out? Have we kissed yet? You know I just told my friend you were my girlfriend. I figured we may as well start the ruse now."
"Oh, Dragon's breath! Don't. It's embarrassing. I'm sorry I ever told you." I was glad of the dark covering the grin on my face. At least, he was honest about telling the old guy I was his girlfriend. It had put my hackles up, but he was just having fun with it...hopefully.
"I'm not. This could be fun."
Yep. Fun. That's what it was.
"You know my mother wants me to break up with you," I said, leaning in closer. "She'll come looking for you, and knowing her, she will warn you off."
A mischievous grin appeared on his face, and as he spoke, he raised an eyebrow. "We should have one last torrid night of passion before we break up then."
"You wish!" I grinned back at him, trying not to laugh. I was having so much fun. No one ever spoke to me this way. I was used to decorum and rules. Drinking beer and talking about torrid nights of passion didn't feature heavily in my daily life.
"I'm engaged to another man," I reminded him. "Or at least, I would be if it weren't for you."
He shrugged as if this piece of information was inconsequential. "So what? You aren't married yet. Let's go back to the castle. I'll tell your mother how you broke my heart into a million pieces and that I cannot live without you."
"You should," I agreed. "She'll probably feel so guilty that she'll find a job for you in another house and send you on your way with a lot of money in your pockets."
We both sobered up at my words. My mother would fire him. She'd have to. She couldn't have an old flame of mine working in the castle while I was engaged to someone else.
"I'm sorry," I continued. "I'd not thought of that before. I won't let her fire you. I'll tell her that it was something and nothing and that we are completely over. I won
't give her reason to sack you."
"So you don't want me to tell her about our torrid last night together then?" he asked, picking up his beer again and taking a sip. He left a white mustache of white foam behind on his upper lip.
"Maybe you could keep down the theatrics a little," I grinned at him, moving forward, and wiping the foam off with my thumb. His eyes locked on to mine as I held my thumb up.
"Foam," I explained.
No. I wouldn't let my mother fire him. I'd play down the romance and try to make her see sense about the faery.
I finished my beer, which went right to my head, making me a little woozy. I wasn't used to drinking much at all. The champagne I did get was measured in such small glasses that I usually only got a sip of two. Now, I'd downed a whole pint of the amber stuff.
I opened my mouth to tell him that our romance was only for show and that I didn't want to date him...or anyone else, but a peal of thunder hid my words.
Queen of Dragons Page 5