Wanderling's Choice

by D C McLaughlin

  It gaped its great mouth to the sky and cried out in a voice she had never heard before. She shuddered and her heart grew cold with fear.

  Falcon startled underneath her and when the dragon cried out he reared. Rhi stuck to him like glue. She felt him trembling in fear beneath her. When his forelegs touched the earth, he danced, wanting to run. Rhi released her tight hold on the reins and let him.

  Dragons eat horses, don't they? she thought to herself. If they did, then she was sure the rider would just be an added seasoning to the dish, just another hors d'oeuvres. She let Falcon run as hard and fast as he wanted and just concentrated on staying with him.

  As his powerful legs churned beneath her, Rhi risked a look back at the dragon perched on the castle top.

  It just sat there watching them. It did not take to the air and pursue them. It just watched. Rhi was certain it could see them. She could feel its fiery eyes boring into her back. But it made no move to give chase. It just sat there staring.

  This only frightened her all the more.

  She let Falcon run. He galloped hard and fast as if the hounds of hell itself were chasing them. Rhi's only move was to guide his terrified charge. If the dragon did chase them it would be harder to pursue them under cover. She guided him onto a woodland trail. Soon the trees hid them from all sight from above. Falcon ran until he was winded and sweat foamed around his tack. Rhi slowly took more and more control back in the reins and rated his speed. She finally had him slowed down to a less panicked gait but he was puffing and blowing from the exertion. She walked him several hours until he had caught his breath and his brain had returned to his head.

  She kept him to woodland trails the rest of the day and rode him well after dusk. Exhaustion finally convinced them both to stop and rest. Here it was the third night and they were still in the dragon's kingdom. All Rhi wanted was to leave this land far behind, no matter how beautiful it was. The dragon could keep it.

  Wearily she made camp next to a large river. She untacked Falcon and walked him into the center of the river to wash the dried sweat off. She swam a little herself because in spite of it being after dark, the weather was still very warm and the ice melted snow water from the mountains felt good.

  She led him out of the river and hobbled him on a thickly grassed embankment where he could graze in peace. After sight of the dragon, she decided against a fire and a hot dinner. Besides it was too warm for a fire or even a blanket to sleep under. All she wanted was cold water and sleep.

  And she wanted to be out of this land!

  She shook out her wet hair and combed it with her fingers.

  "You're still here."

  The voice startled her and she spun about, her hands still tangled in her hair.

  The man from the past two nights stood behind her, scowling at her in the light of the full moon.

  "I have been very lenient with you because you're a beautiful young woman traveling alone in a strange land. But there are limits to my leniency."

  Rhi sighed.

  "Look! I'm trying to be as nice to you as I know how. I've told you I'm leaving and I am. Now if you have any suggestions as to how I can traverse this land quicker, I would be happy to hear them."

  He took a step closer to her.

  "People do not traverse my land. They die when they set foot on my land."

  Rhi sighed in frustration and, untangling her fingers from her hair, she flung the locks behind her and spread her arms wide.

  "Then please tell me how I can get out of here safely and quickly."

  He was silent.

  Rhi looked at him and found he had suddenly gone stiff as a statue. His eyes were locked on her and he seemed to be shocked.

  He slowly pointed at her.

  "Where did you get that medallion?"

  She realized her new summer garb left her throat rather open to view. Her fingers touched the braided, silver chain.

  "It was…a gift," she said quietly.

  His eyes turned back to her face. He seemed less angry and more curious.

  "A gift?" he repeated. "From whom?"

  She swallowed carefully. Why did she suddenly not want to tell him?

  "I command you to tell me who gave you that silver talisman!"

  Oh, this is how it's going to be eh? she thought. He seemed awfully comfortable with barking orders and getting what he wanted. He must be royalty.

  "No one important. Just a simple horse trader."

  The man facing her smiled and squinted one eye. Then he chuckled.

  "Just a simple horse trader, eh?" he said. "Who are you? What is your name?"

  She shrugged.

  "Rhiannon."

  "Rhiannon," he repeated. His smile got bigger. "My dear, we must talk. And I will not take no for an answer. "

  He suddenly began to chant in words she did not understand. Before she could do anything, she felt her vision grow dark and her limbs grow weak.

  Then she fainted dead away.

  THE GILDED CAGE

  She awoke to what she thought was a tapestry hung above her head. When she turned her head to either side she saw instead she was in a spacious room lying on a canopy bed.

  She sat up and took greater interest in her surroundings.

  The room dripped luxury and wealth. It seemed to be decorated for a princess. There was gold trim and lacing around the corners of the room, a wide vanity with a mirror and an enormous wardrobe to one side. There was a fireplace on the other side and the foot of the bed faced a floor to ceiling window through which the morning sun was shining.

  She had a stray thought. She ran to the windows, pushed them open and stepped onto the narrow balcony beyond.

  It was all as she had suspected. She was in the dragon's castle!

  As if she needed more proof of the fact, she felt the wind whoosh over her head. Rhi looked up and stared into the white underbelly of the dragon as it flew overhead her balcony. It banked in its flight, turned itself about and just hovered in midair. Its faceted eyes glittered like jewels and it lolled its tongue out as it laughed at her.

  With a gasp of fright, she fled back indoors and slammed the windows closed. She ran to the farthest corner of the room and huddled against the floor shaking in terror.

  How did she get here?

  The dragon outside her window only laughed harder making the room shudder. She heard the great wings flap as it flew away.

  She buried her head in her arms and whimpered. She just huddled there for a long time. She had no idea how long she sat, trying to convince herself it was all a bad dream. But she finally came back to her senses when she heard a gentle rap on the door.

  It opened and a man dressed like a servant stepped in and proceeded to wait.

  Slowly, cautiously, Rhi stood up and approached him.

  "Hello?" she said.

  The man turned to face her. He seemed utterly human and yet his eyes were blank and devoid of all emotion. Rhi passed a hand in front of his face. He did not react at all. His eyes never followed her hand, he did not smile or acknowledge the motion. He seemed to be both deaf and mute.

  The strange man reached to her but stopped just short of touching her. He then gestured with the other hand she was to come with him. All the time he did not speak nor did his eyes focus on anything.

  Mutely she obeyed.

  He led her to an adjoining room. More people dressed like castle staff were gathered there. They all seemed to have the same affliction as this one man. They never spoke, or showed any emotion or looked at anything. They were just bustling about doing their jobs like automatons.

  This room was obviously a room for bathing. There was a huge deep fireplace with a roaring fire set up and iron spigots with kettles of water hung to heat suspended. The women servants were filling a large bathtub with steaming hot water.

  A large woman with vacant eyes came up to her and motioned she was to strip and bathe. Rhi hesitated but then did as she was bid. As Rhi slid into the hot water another servan
t girl came approached and offered a tray with a pat of lard soap and fragrantly scented oils. The servant girl looked past Rhi to the blank wall. Rhi bathed and scrubbed herself and soaped her long hair. It did feel good to actually have a hot bath and scrub off all the trail grime. When she stepped out of the bath, two more blank faced women descended on her with towels to dry her with and a comb for her hair. She waved them off and relieved them of the towels and comb. She saw no need for someone else to dry her!

  She was accompanied back to her room where a modest woman's dress had been set out for her. She would have preferred a tunic and breeches but she had no idea what they had done with her packs.

  A sumptuous lunch was provided by another soulless servant carrying a silver tray. She spent the rest of a very boring day looking out the window and pacing her room. She wanted to find Falcon and leave but the man servant refused to let her do so.

  About an hour before dusk, she saw the dragon fly back to the castle and take roost on the highest parapet above her window.

  A servant appeared to light her room for the evening. Another appeared and went to the wardrobe. He chose an evening gown of silver and gold and laid it on the great canopy bed. He pointed to the dress and then to her.

  Apparently she was expected to don the dress.

  She grumbled but did as he bid.

  Another servant, a woman this time, entered her room and pointed to the vanity with the mirror. Growling slightly in displeasure, Rhi sat down and allowed her hair to be coiffed by this servant who acted blind. Her hair was brushed and braided, piled and pinned and bejeweled until the vacant faced, blind woman seemed to think her work was done and stepped back.

  Rhi looked at her reflection in the mirror. A truly stunning woman gazed back at her. She saw her reflection and frowned. Yes, beautiful she may be but it didn't feel right to her. She wanted her hair back in a simple braid down her back. She wanted a white tunic and brown breeches and riding boots. That was how Rhi liked to dress. Not like this! Certainly not for….just what was she getting all dressed up for? She looked to the servants and knew they wouldn't tell her anything.

  Another man servant appeared and gestured that she was to come with him. She gathered up her noisy gown and followed.

  The servant led her down a long hallway, down a flight of steps, through a small atrium down another flight of steps into a large dining hall with a long table set for two.

  Her dinner host was already there.

  The man that had appeared to her every night since she had entered the forbidden kingdom stood next to his throne like chair at the head of the table. He was dressed all in gold and saffron and there was a modest circlet of gold set upon his head.

  He smiled when he saw her.

  "Greetings, my lady. I am King Nazar of the province of Guthra. And I am honored you would join me for dinner."

  Rhi raised her chin slightly. So that was it, eh? she thought privately to herself. He wasn't a duke or a mere aristocrat. He was the bloody king! She remembered stories from her family and the people she grew up with about kings and how they treated people of her station. Her kin were cannon fodder to them. She quickly reassessed how she was going to handle the situation. She wanted to be flippant and curt to him but it just might get her killed. Best to play the part to the hilt and secretly find out what his plans were for her. Any hastiness might cost her dearly.

  She took a deep breath. Problem was putting on such an act would be a lot more difficult for her than what she really wanted to do. If she slipped up by saying or doing the wrong thing… She sucked her teeth. Being a mere farm girl was so much easier and less complicated.

  "Much better," King Nazar was saying to her. "The dress flatters you nicely, my dear."

  "I'm glad you like it," she replied because it was the expected response. Then she stumbled into silence. Now what was she supposed to do?

  He pulled out the chair for her and motioned for her to be seated. His manners were impeccable. She had no idea how to act or behave.

  Mutely, she seated herself.

  He returned to his own throne at the head of the table and seated himself.

  She waited until he picked up his knife and fork before she began to eat. When she did eat, she just nibbled although the spread was lavish. Rhi's thoughts were spinning. She had no idea as to the next thing she should do or was supposed to or expected to do. So she simply let him to go first. She allowed him to lead the conversation and interjected only when he asked a question of her directly.

  She found the whole experience maddening! She wanted to jump to her feet, throw the wine glass in his face and demand he return her things and Falcon to her and let her leave. But she couldn't do that. She had to be civil. She had to be proper. She had to be polite. She hated the whole experience and fumed inwardly.

  The dinner progressed quite peacefully until the end. Then Rhi couldn't stand it. She had to ask just one, tiny, question.

  "Sire, am I your prisoner here?"

  King Nazar looked at her, really looked this time. It was as if he suspected that this was all some act of protocol.

  Then the face of royalty returned.

  "My dear, you misunderstand my intentions. It is I who is a prisoner to you and your charms."

  Oh, how she wanted to slap him right then and there! She clenched her fists but restrained herself from doing any more.

  "You may only see me at night. I am busy during the day. But during the day you are free to roam anywhere your heart desires within these castle walls."

  Her heart skipped a beat. She felt the doors of her gilded cage closing all about her.

  "Am I permitted to ride my horse?" she asked as she rose to leave.

  He looked at her narrowly.

  "Rhiannon, you no longer have any need of a horse. You are not permitted to leave the castle at any time day or night. If you do, my servants have orders to kill you. Is that understood?"

  Rhi's heart pounded in her ears. All she could do was nod in acquiescence.

  She felt the doors of her prison clang shut and lock.

  ***

  He had permitted her to explore the castle. So the next day she did go exploring. She noticed wherever she went, there were the same people following her. They may have been dressed like kitchen staff, servants, maids or soldiers but they were all the same. They all had human bodies with blank, staring eyes, soulless and lifeless except for the job they were supposed to do. Whenever she tried to get free and alone she would see one step around the corner and just stand there, observing, watching. She felt like she was being followed by ghosts.

  She first went to see if she could find a stable. Most castles had a courtyard and a barn. Maybe he had hidden Falcon there.

  She found the courtyard easily enough and yes, it had a stable. But there were no horses or any other livestock for that matter that she could see. The hay was musty, the grain moldy and any piles of manure were white and so dried out that they crumbled to dust when kicked.

  There was no sign of Falcon. She even whistled for him but received no answering whinny.

  What had Nazar done to him? Did he hide him or just feed him to the dragon? The not knowing was the worst part.

  She sighed and made her way back up inside the castle. She noticed underneath a lofty archway leading away from the courtyard there was a large pile of stone rubble. She looked up to the keystone of the archway. There was a bright, shiny new shield embossed with the emblem of the castle, a great, red golden dragon. She surmised the pile of stone rubble must be the remains of the last family's symbol who lived in the castle before the dragon took up residence. She knelt down and carefully arranged the pieces of the old plaque back together again like the pieces of a puzzle. When all the broken pieces were assembled together, the picture on the plaque was of a small falcon.

  Rhi began to search throughout the castle for any high vaulted doorway which had the dragon plaque on it. She always found a smashed plaque somewhere around the base and when reas
sembled it always had the picture of a falcon.

  All were like this but one. The last one she assembled held the picture of a feather in silver paint. Rhi gasped and stood up. She looked at the silver medallion she wore around her neck.

  The feathers were identical.

  She stepped into the room it once had guarded. It was a child's play room. Toys were scattered about gathering dust. Along the wall was a small collection of toy horses of all shapes and sizes and colors. There was a large rocking horse there covered in gray. Rhi stepped over to it and quietly, sadly brushed the gray powder off its forehead. She then gasped again and clapped both hands over her mouth in surprise.

  The rocking horse was painted to resemble a coppery, red chestnut with a white star on its forehead like wings.

  "Falcon!" Rhi whispered. She fled back to her room and stayed there the rest of the day.

  That night the same ritual happened. The same servants came into her room and lit the candles and lanterns. Another man servant went to the great wardrobe and picked out another dress, this time one of deep midnight blue trimmed in silver and gestured for her to put it on. The same woman servant styled her hair. And the same butler led her down to dinner with the king, her captor.

  She had a similar sumptuous feast with him, exchanged the same useless but appropriate banter.

  And again at the end of the feast she dared to ask a question.

  "For how long am I to be your guest, my lord?" she asked quietly.

  He looked at her as if it was a strange inquiry. "Forever, of course," was his reply. "Oh my dear, do not look so hopeless! I can provide you with such pleasures that a person of your station could only dream of. You have only to ask and I will furnish you with it. You want gold and jewels I can give you that. Fine dresses and any pretty thing your heart could possibly desire. Your stay here could be as pleasant as you could possibly imagine. Or it could be otherwise."