by Sher Dillard
Elsbeth inspected her room. Drake lived here. He had grown up here. He wasn’t a backwoods savage. No one having grown up in such splendor could be. Again, why the falseness? What was it about the man that wouldn’t let anyone see the true person?
The dragon, she realized. With a secret like that, maybe a person just naturally became hesitant about sharing.
She shook off the thoughts about Drake. She needed to get ready for dinner. For some reason, she felt as if she was walking into a wild animal’s den.
Only these beasts were dragons.
Mary returned a few minutes later with a sky blue dress that made Elsbeth melt. It was beautiful. Soft velvet with fine lace. As good as anything she could have obtained at home.
No, these people were not savages.
“Have you lived here long?” Elsbeth asked as she stepped behind a screen to change. Her curiosity was burning a hole inside of her. She needed more information if she was going to deal with these people as an equal.
“I was born here, Princess,” the young girl said as she retrieved her old dress. “My mother was a cook in the kitchens.”
Elsbeth caught a glance of disdain cross the girl’s face as she held the trail worn dress up for inspection. She wanted to tell her about three days on the trail and her hasty departure. But one didn’t explain to servants. It was one of the first lessons her mother had taught her.
“So, you’ve known Prince Drake for a long time?”
“Just Drake, Princess. He doesn’t like the title.”
Elsbeth’s heart fell, the girl must know him well.
“Yes, I’ve known him forever,” the young woman continued, “he saved my life when I was eight.”
“Really?” Elsbeth said, praying the girl would continue.
The young servant began removing the other clothes from Elsbeth’s pack, again shaking her head at their poor condition. Her eyes looked off into the distance.
“Yes, my mother had taken me to the forest to gather berries. She was going to teach me how to make jam. Somehow, we became separated. I was alone, lost. I didn’t know the forest. We never ventured there.
I remember the fear that took ahold of me. Lost, confused. Then, from the trees, a wolf began to walk towards me. Large, a blackish gray, big yellow teeth that looked like they could rip a little girl to shreds. I thought for sure I would be killed and eaten on the spot.”
Elsbeth stopped dressing so she could hear the story.
“I don’t know where he came from. I don’t know what he was doing in the forest. But, just as the wolf sprang towards me, Drake rushed in from the side, tackling him in midair. I don’t know how he did it. He was only a few years older than me.
But, he hit the wolf and they rolled across the pine needles and into the trees. They turned and fought. I remember screaming. But, I needn’t have worried. Even at that age, nothing could defeat Drake.
That was when he received his scar, the one across his eyebrow.” Mary indicated the damage to Drake’s eyebrow.
“He killed the wolf with his bare hands. I don’t know how. But, after you get to know him, you won’t be surprised.”
“I’m not,” Elsbeth said as she remembered the Guardsmen on the road and the giant Gray Dragon.
“Yes, so you can say, I’ve known Drake forever. He is sort of special to me.”
Elsbeth studied the young girl. Her eyes were clouded in memory, and a bitter sweet smile rested on her lips.
“After that,” the girl continued, “I sort of became infatuated about everything Drake.”
“I can well imagine,” Elsbeth said.
The girl laughed. “Yes, well, when I grew older, I thought I might be his mate. Oh how I prayed. Even Drake thought there might be a chance. So we tried, believe me, we tried. But it wasn’t so.”
“His mate?” Elsbeth asked as her brow narrowed in confusion.
The young girl saw her confusion. “Yes, Princess. A dragon’s mate is unique. She calls to his soul. Once he finds her, he can love no other. Oh, how I wanted it to be me. But, it seems, I didn’t call to his soul. So, instead, we are friends. Special friends. But, only friends.”
Elsbeth released a long held breath. Oh such a sad story. Yet, a part of her was pleased with the way it had ended.
The servants knew that Drake was a dragon. So his secret wasn’t completely unknown. Maybe, it was just her he didn’t want to know.
“You should hurry, Princess,” Mary said, interrupting Elsbeth’s wool gathering. “Her majesty does not like to be kept waiting.”
The thought of upsetting Queen Matilda sent a cold shiver down Elsbeth’s back.
Once she was dressed, her hair repaired, and some confidence restored, she followed Mary to the main dining room.
“Here it is, Princess,” she said indicating a heavy wooden door, then, stepped back.
Elsbeth thanked Mary, took a deep breath, and stepped into the room.
A long wooden table, polished to a high gleam dominated the room. Doors at the far end had been opened, leading to a veranda that overlooked the valley. Queen Matilda stood on the veranda with three others.
They each looked up as Elsbeth entered. She wondered if she was interrupting something. The unusual feeling of being an outsider. Of being less than what was expected passed through her.
Screwing up her courage, she gracefully approached, then dropped into a curtsy.
“Ah, there you are,” Queen Matilda said. “Here, let me introduce my children.”
Elsbeth rose to greet the others. She almost gasped. They were beautiful. Each in their own way, remarkable.
“My son, Flint,” the Queen said, indicating the man next to her. He is gorgeous, Elsbeth thought. Dressed in golden leather, that sparkled in the setting sun. Almost as tall as Drake, but where Drake was dark and foreboding, this man was gold and sunshine. His yellow hair seemed to hint at lightness and all that was good with the world. His deep amber eyes sparkled with laughter as he bent and took her hand for a gallant kiss.
“Welcome, Princess,” he said. “If I knew Drake was going to return with someone so beautiful, I would have accompanied him on his journey.”
Elsbeth had learned long ago how not to blush at frivolous compliments. Oh, this one was a smooth one, she thought to herself. He must have the ladies of court lined up waiting for an opportunity. Ruggedly handsome, charming, with a laughing twinkle in his eye. Yes, a smooth one.
She couldn’t help but compare him to Drake. Yes, there was a resemblance in structure, but there, the similarity ended. Drake looked at the world through guarded eyes. This man looked at the world with pure pleasure.
“And this,” Queen Matilda, continued, “is my youngest, Thaddeus.”
The young man appeared to be a few years younger than herself. Rich brown hair parted in the middle. His eyes squinted a little, it reminded her of what the scribes looked like in the scriptorium at home. Men who had spent too much time with their noses buried in books.
But, there was an intelligent, kind look, about him. While not yet fully grown, Elsbeth could tell that, like his older brothers, he would be a large, powerful man.
“Please call me Thad, Princess,” he said as he quickly kissed the air above her hand. He looked at her for a moment with honest appraisal and then smiled, his eyes welcoming her.
She liked him, she realized. He was so unlike either of his brothers. She could trust him, she could be friends with this man and need not worry about being stabbed in the back or pulled into the corner for stolen kisses.
Elsbeth returned his smile and tried to send a message with her eyes that she appreciated it. “Thank you, Thad,” she said.
“And finally,” Queen Matilda said, “my daughter, Gwynevere.”
A strikingly beautiful woman her own age smiled hesitantly at her. “Please call me Gwyn,” she said.
Dressed in a rich forest green gown, the woman could have held her head high at any court in the known kingdoms. Long red hair, and green eye
s, like her brother’s. They held back, unsure of her.
Elsbeth took a deep breath, she didn’t blame the woman. She, too, would have reacted the same way. A stranger who claimed to be a princess. Arriving with her injured brother.
Smiling, Elsbeth said, “Thank you, Princess, for the use of your dress, it is so beautiful. Unfortunately, when I departed my home, I was unable to take what I needed.
The memory of Drake throwing her things across the barn flashed into her mind. A fact that she was going to address with him at some time in the future.
“It looks wonderful on you,” Gwyn said. “Welcome.”
Elsbeth smiled to the group and thanked them for their welcome.
“Here he is, at last,” Queen Matilda said as she looked towards the door.
Drake had stepped into the room. Dressed in a simple white cotton shirt and black broad cloth pants. He wasn’t wearing his sling. What were the healers thinking, letting him walk around without it?
He looked out of place in the fine setting. Like a wolf in the kitchen. No, like a dragon in a dining room. His eyes studied his mother for a moment, then came to rest on Elsbeth.
Butterflies erupted in her stomach. What was it about this man that could set her on edge simply with his presence? She flashed back to their night in the huntsman’s cottage. The feel of his hands on her skin, the taste of his lips.
She swallowed hard and fought to stop a blush from betraying her thoughts.
“Let us be seated,” the Queen said, as she indicated Elsbeth should sit to her right. Drake immediately sat across from her on the Queen’s left. Then Gwyn, and finally Thaddeus. Flint pulled out her chair, holding it for her. Once she was seated, he joined her at the table, shooting her a flirting grin.
The Queen nodded to a tall butler in the corner who immediately sent two other servants to retrieve the food.
A gentle breeze flowed in from the veranda. Elsbeth looked around the room. Anywhere, except the man across from her. He continued to stare at her like she were his property. As if he had some claim.
No, she thought, he lost any chance at a claim the moment she had discovered he had lied to her.
It was typical of a castle dining room. Long table, tapestries on the wall to soften the sound. A candelabra in the center of the table. Candles in sconces on the wall.
Her eyes continued to wander when she gasped. A large red shield graced the far wall over the door through which she had entered. The family coat of arms obviously.
A two-headed dragon. Just like her mother’s medallion. Her stomach clenched up into a ball. Why? How? What did this mean?
She quickly glanced at Drake. He saw what she had seen. A guilty look crossed over his face. One more fact he had forgotten to mention. Would the man ever tell her the truth? Her heart broke. No, probably not.
“So, Drake,” the Queen said, as she gently placed a cloth napkin on her lap. “To what do we owe this pleasure? I didn’t expect you until the winter after next.”
“I assure you mother. It was necessary,” he said.
“Drake is helping me,” Elsbeth interrupted. Obviously, his mother was not pleased with him being here. It wasn’t fair that he get in trouble with his family because of her.
“I needed to reach Sinstra so that I might obtain Prince Julian’s assistance in retaking my lands.”
The Queen’s eyes narrowed, “I understand,” she said, “but, the problems of your land are not supposed to be brought into our forest. Nothing good ever happens when they are.”
Elsbeth’s heart fell. How could the woman be so cold? What would she have done if she had been in Elsbeth’s place?
“She has a medallion,” Drake said, his voice sounding calm and resolute. Four little words that answered everything.
The Queen gasped, her eyes opening wide in surprise. Elsbeth marveled, she didn’t know that Queen Matilda held that much emotion. “That is impossible,” the Queen exclaimed.
“Show her,” Drake said to Elsbeth.
Elsbeth glanced at the family crest on the shield, then removed the medallion from inside her dress. Slipping the silver chain over her head, she placed it on the table and pushed it towards Drake’s mother.
The woman didn’t touch it, simply stared down at it. Her eyes almost caressing it. Elsbeth noticed that Drake’s siblings were also staring at the medallion in disbelief.
“It is authentic,” Drake said as he took a bite of his food. “I am escorting her to Sinstra in exchange for the medallion.”
“But, how did you get this?” Queen Matilda asked, her eyes refusing to leave the gold disc laying before her.
“It has always been in my family, passed down from mother to daughter. I was told to wear it always. That it would protect me.”
The Queen continued to ponder what lay before her. Occasionally looking up at Elsbeth, then back at the medallion. At last, she nodded her head and turned to her son.
“Amazingly, you were correct. You did the right thing.”
A small smirk appeared on Drake’s lips. Elsbeth wondered if he was glad to be proven right, or if he had simply liked to see his mother admit a mistake.
“Why is it so important?” Elsbeth asked. Her curiosity was killing her. Drake had only agreed to help her because of this medallion. Now, his mother had agreed with him. A fact she was sure did not happen very often.
“It is one of the five,” Thaddeus said from across the table. She looked back at him with a narrowed brow, silently asking for more.
“At one time, it belonged to my ancestor,” the Queen said as her eyes looked off into the distance, then back at her guest. Seeing that Elsbeth wanted more, she continued.
“Over six generations ago, a young man was found severely wounded here in the valley. No one knew how he got into the valley without being seen. An even younger maid discovered him by the side of the stream. She called to four men to help her. A huntsman, a woodsman, a farmer, and the mayor of the village. They carried this wounded man back to her cottage where she proceeded to nurse him back to health.
“The men continued to provide support. The huntsman and farmer provided food, the woodsman, wood for the fire, the mayor kept the curious neighbors from expelling the stranger from their valley, less the dragon discover him and become angry.”
Queen Matilda hesitated for a moment, as if recalling a distant memory. “Eventually, the young man recovered. Only to discover that the valley was being terrorized by a dragon. A giant Red. It would "swoop down from the high mountains and take livestock, even occasionally young maids. It especially despised strangers.
“The maid feared for him. The men warned him to flee. Instead, the man only smiled.
“Then, one night, he disappeared. The maid was heartbroken. The men sad, but happy that their friend had taken their advice and escaped.
“The story might have ended there. But, a few days later, the old Red returned to take what it wanted. Only this time, a new dragon charged him. A young Green, at the height of his powers.
“The dragons fought, for hours, they tumbled through the sky, until at last, the Green killed the Red.
“The village was in shock, as you can well imagine. At least with the Red, they knew their enemy. What of this young Green? What would he demand? What new terrors would he visit on them?
“Instead, the Green landed by the maid’s cottage, then in a burst of flame, he changed back to the young man who had fled only a few nights prior.
“At that point, he assured the villagers that they never fear again. He promised to take no animals from their fields and no maids from their homes. He would protect the valley, and they could live in peace.
“Furthermore, he gave each of his special benefactors a gold coin, five of them. The five gold coins. All that he had rescued from his treasure before being set upon by his younger brothers.
“By these coins, will I and my descendants know you,” he told them. “Present them, and ask for your greatest desire, my descendants and I w
ill always provide.”
Elsbeth closed her mouth, she couldn’t believe the story she was hearing. Was her mother’s medallion really a former dragon’s treasure?
“You see, Elsbeth, I couldn’t say no,” Drake said. “I am bound by family honor to provide you whatever you wish in exchange for the coin.”
Elsbeth studied him for a moment, trying desperately to wrap her mind around what she had just heard. She looked at each of the other members around the table. They each nodded in support of what Drake said.
“Five coins?” she said. “Does that mean this might be the coin given to the maid? Handed down from mother to daughter?” Her eyes looked at the coin with a new reverence.
“No,” Queen Matilda said with a sad shake of her head. “It was not given to the maid.”
“How do you know?” Elsbeth asked. “If each is identical, how can you tell?”
“Because, this is the coin given to the maid,” Queen Matilda said, as she removed a medallion from around her neck and placed it next to the one already on the table.
Elsbeth gasped. “But how?” she asked.
“The maid married the dragon, of course,” the Queen said. “Like yours, it is passed from mother to daughter. Gwyn will receive it in the future.”
“What of the others?” Elsbeth asked.
“They disappeared into history,” Gwyn said. “This is the first one we have seen.”
“Do you think the Gray was after this?” Flint asked Drake.
“I don’t know. How could he have known that Elsbeth had it?” Drake replied.
“I don’t know,” Thaddeus said. “There are many books with the story. The Oltecs might know that her family possessed one. When she entered the forest, she became vulnerable. They could attack in dragon form.”
“The Oltecs?” Elsbeth asked as her mind whirled with all the information revolving around her. It had always just been her mother’s medallion.
“Our rivals from the other side of the mountains,” the Queen said. “The descendants of the original Red Dragon that controlled this valley. They have long harbored a desire to regain control. If they had a medallion, they could simply demand that we return the valley. Honor would require us to do so.”