by Jada Fisher
“I see,” Mirabelle said calmly, as if he had just told her the weather. “Now, Lady Wallenhaus, I’d like to hear from you.”
“Ain is correct that it started in the library, but that’s about it. He and his minion both interrupted my studies and Ain started to insult me, as he often likes to do. I tried to leave the situation, but he blocked my path.
“When it became clear that he was intent on keeping me there as long as he desired, I returned his insults just as scathingly as he issued them. Clearly, he is able to dole out cruelty, but unable to receive it in kind, because he struck me across the face.”
“That is a lie!” Ain objected vehemently. “You can’t—”
“Now, now. Eist was kind enough to let you speak. You will now do her the same courtesy.”
Ain quieted ruefully and Eist continued. “I would be lying if I said that it hurt me terribly. It was a slap, not a punch, but my pride was hurt. I meant to read him a real diatribe, but then Fior came to my defense. He thought I was in danger, and he set on Ain like a dog protecting his companion.”
She left out the part about the strange sound he had made that caused Ain and Athar so much pain but left her unaffected. She figured that, since the blond boy hadn’t mentioned it, she didn’t need to bring it up either.
“That’s absurd,” Ain said, seething. “If dragons went crazy every time their companions got into a verbal altercation then we’d all be dead.”
“It wasn’t verbal. It was physical. He was only watching until you struck me.”
“I would never lay my hands on a woman!”
“No,” Mirabelle said slowly, calmly. “But you would interrupt a meeting with a gong to try to expose Eist and have her removed from our classes.”
He flushed again at that, but rather than being speechless, he went right on smoothing his honeyed lies. Eist had to hand it to the boy for his smoothness. No doubt he could sell sand to desert folk and water to a nymph. “I know that I did wrong there, and I have repeatedly tried to apologize for my error. I know she does not owe me her forgiveness, as that is for her to dole out at her discretion, but I think we can agree that attacking me is over the line!
“Besides…” Suddenly, his voice grew as measured as Mirabelle’s and the shift made the hair on the back of Eist’s neck rise. What was he planning? “I have a witness.”
“Ah, yes, Athar of Radach. The giant, quiet fellow. I have already sent for him.”
Eist’s stomach fell at that. Somehow, she had forgotten that the mountain of a young man was there and would obviously be on Ain’s side. Now she would have to face off against two liars instead of one. Things weren’t looking good for her.
What would they do? Remove her from the program? She’d never heard of a dragon being separated from its human companion in the academy. Even those who completely failed and showed true incompetence were able to keep their beasts and instead just worked around the academy doing various things but spending most of their time with their charges. The bond between a dragon and human was borderline unshakable, only to be severed in the case of extreme crimes.
“I believe the other boy is no doubt waiting in the hall. Go fetch him, if you would.” At first, Eist wasn’t clear on who she was talking to, but it was the large man, Mirabelle’s replacement, who moved.
A few moments later, the door opened and Eist could feel Athar’s presence behind her. That intimidating sort of quiet power he had that always warned her to be careful around him.
“Ah, young sir,” Mirabelle said, smiling lightly. The grin didn’t reach her eyes, and Eist wondered if the woman had already decided how she felt about everything and was just feigning at impartiality for appearance’s sake. “Seeing the two individuals before you, I’m sure you know why you were called here, but I shall recap.
“Ain here says that Eist accosted him while in the library. Eist says it was quite the opposite. You were apparently witness to this, so I would like to hear your perspective.”
Athar looked between the two of them, and Eist was acutely aware of everything about him as she studied him, trying to see if he would have any mercy on her. Hazel eyes, bronze hair, heavy brows that were very much knit into a heavy expression. She’d never really bothered to look at his face before, as he rarely spoke.
“A-a-ain was ins-sulting Eist and she s-stood up for hers-s-self.” It took quite a bit of Eist’s willpower not to have a surprised expression when he finally did speak. Laced throughout his words, so apparent that even she could hear it, was an intense stutter. He tripped over words, getting stuck on others for several attempts before replacing it with another, but bit by bit, the story came out.
So that was why he was so silent. Eist felt like she suddenly understood the boy ten times better now. Of course he would attach himself to someone like Ain. Someone who was charismatic and glib with a silver tongue. Someone like Ain could speak for him, allowing him to just hover in the background without revealing him impediment.
Honestly, it was a page right out of Eist’s book of survival, and she found herself admiring the young man for a moment.
“Then Ain s-struck her. Her dragon de-defended her. That’s, that’s, that’s, it.”
“After everything I’ve done for you, you’re really going to betray me now!?” Ain snapped, whirling on his once-ally. “He’s obviously in cahoots with her! He practically drools over her footsteps every day. It’s no wonder he would try to get into her good graces now that he has a chance!”
“That’s, that’s, not t-true!” Athar objected intensely.
Eist said nothing, however, noticing how Ain’s face was colored scarlet in rage while Athar seemed to be blushing for an entirely different reason.
Interesting.
“I’ve heard enough,” Mirabelle raised her hand and the turmoil in front of her cut itself short. “Ain, it is very clear what happened here, and perhaps a little ironic. If you were not so set on tearing down Eist, I never would have known of the incident. However, you’ve brought it to my attention in the hopes of discrediting her, and have become the creator of your own demise.”
“But—”
“Do not interrupt me. You have wasted enough of my time with your lies, which I told you were unforgivable to me.
“Now, while it is true that we cannot take away your dragon unless you commit a crime against the crown, that does not mean you are above reproach. You are now on academic probation. Any more infractions and you will be removed from the dragon rider program and perhaps be sent to our farm just beyond the city limits, where both you and your dragon will be given an appropriate amount of responsibility.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Ain shouted. “I am the victim here! She attacked me!”
“I very much doubt that is the case,” Mirabelle said flatly, as if she was doing something as simple as telling him the weather. “In addition, you are to leave Eist alone completely. You do not talk to her and you do not talk about her. You do not put yourself in her way or try to subvert her success. It will be as if she doesn’t even exist for you, and should I hear of you so much as even sneering in her direction, you will be removed from the premises.” He sounded as if he wanted to interrupt again, but she kept right on going. “Now you have two options. You can either leave my office quietly and accept my verdict, or you can complain a bit more and I will simply expedite your assignment to the farms—for the rest of your life.”
Ain took a shaky breath, like he really was considering both options, then stalked out. Eist didn’t miss how he tried to shoulder-check Athar, only to end up bouncing off him.
“Thank you, the two of you, for offering up your time. I apologize for the inconvenience of this all. You are both dismissed.”
And that was that.
Eist walked out, a bit numb from the emotional whiplash. She had been so sure that she was done for, that she hadn’t gotten to savor the sweet satisfaction of someone putting Ain in his place. It happened so rarely, she hoped that she would
be able to recall the moment later and treasure it as it deserved.
The door shut behind them and Athar seemed to take that as his cue to walk off. Eist watched him for several moments, bizarrely grateful that he had decided to tell the truth. She didn’t know what had made him make that decision, or if there was truth to anything Ain said, but she was pleased that he decided to go in that direction.
She took a single step towards him, thinking of extending the olive branch and seeing exactly why he did what he did. However, she only took a single step before something in her mind stopped her.
To be quite honest, she didn’t have the time or the energy to figure out why a teenaged boy decided to do the right thing. He had done what he had done for his own reasons and that was set. The past was done, and she didn’t know what she wanted to hear from him.
Besides, she wanted to get back to Fior, who was still no doubt playing in the yard while the rest of her class was running laps. There were just some things she didn’t have to worry about and considering how crowded her head was with her grandfather and the green gas, classes, and Fior’s little stealing problem, it was fine to let this go.
She was sure tomorrow would present another problem to occupy her time anyway.
8
Breaking the Pattern
“Are you ready?”
“Almost,” Eist answered, hurrying to finish copying the notes that had been given to her. Normally she always handled that the night after a class, but between her library trips and keeping Fior fed, she had fallen asleep at her work station again.
“If we don’t leave soon, we’ll miss all the best deals, won’t we?”
Eist looked up to Yacrist, who was standing in the doorway, his dragon pacing around him. It seemed that they had finally gotten the hang of not strangling themselves with their own necks and had moved on to tripping over themselves. From what Eist knew about dragons, one of them controlled one side of their body while the other controlled the opposite, so she couldn’t quite blame them for being a bit mixed up.
“What are you in such a hurry for? Even Fior is more patient than you.” She pointed to her young charge, who was sitting in his bed, mashing a whole apple around in his mouth like it was some sort of challenge that he could conquer. Sure, it made a mess, but it helped keep him occupied.
“I’ve just been looking forward to getting out of here, that’s all. You can’t blame me, can you?”
No, she supposed she couldn’t. With the way things had been going lately, it would definitely be nice to be outside of the academy walls and do something just for themselves. Lately, everyone was so exhausted that no one even had the energy to sneak out and watch the nearly graduated class train with their dragons.
“There,” she said, finishing the last word. “I’m done. We can go now.”
“Finally,” Yacrist said with that flare for drama he always had. “I thought I might burst from the anticipation.”
“What a way to go,” Eist remarked, whistling for Fior to follow, which he happily did. He was getting much better at commands, even if he didn’t seem to be growing physically. “Could you imagine that epitaph on your family’s mausoleum?”
“I find it striking that you go straight to humor instead of mourning the death of your very best friend.”
“Um, my very best friend is definitely Dille.”
He let out a shocked noise and pretended to be wounded. “How cruel! She toys with me like a cat does a mouse.”
Eist shook her head. Yacrist was always bordering the line between funniness and bizarre jokes that she didn’t understand, but he made her laugh anyway. That was what she liked about him. While dozens of girls—and no doubt some of the boys—fawned over his handsomeness, pleasant voice, and/or riches, he didn’t quite seem to care. He took himself about as seriously as a jester most of the time, rather than some heartthrob of the academy.
“So, where are we going first?” Yacrist asked excitedly as they strolled along. It was a beautiful day, with the sun above but a gentle breeze keeping everything from being stagnant. Clouds passed at a leisurely pace, providing a drifting sort of shade that undercut the blaze of summer that would no doubt be rolling in after a moon or so.
“The entrance, I suppose.”
“Hah, hah. You’re so terribly clever.”
“I know, thank you.”
He tilted his head back and laughed, a deep hearty sound that made Eist’s stomach flip. She didn’t know why it did that occasionally around this boy. If she didn’t know better, she would think she was attracted to him.
But that was silly. Yacrist was her friend, and she didn’t really do the whole love thing. While some girls her age were already betrothed or getting married, Eist found the whole situation wholly bizarre.
Why did two people lock their lives together, swearing it to no one else? Although Dille and Yacrist were her closest friends, she was sure that she would eventually make others in her life. And they wouldn’t resent that. Who knew, they might even all become friends. But for some reason with romance, it was locked down to two people and two people only.
Also, having children and having to cook and clean every day seemed like a fate worse than death. And while there were plenty of female dragon riders, none of them were ever married before they completed schooling. Anything like that almost always happened at least a couple of decades after they got to experience their graduation, and then usually to another dragon rider or someone involved at the academy.
But still…sometimes, when the light hit him just right and she was feeling well rested and unstressed, Eist would notice something strange about the boy. Like how nice his lips looked, or the strong cut of his cheeks, or the way his eyes would meet her and make her feel a bit warm. Those moments were always so fleeting, though, and she would often forget about it until the next one happened.
Peculiar. All of it was peculiar. She wished her grandfather was awake to explain more of it to her. He would understand what was going on.
They reached the beginning of the market and many people stopped to turn. While dragon riders were a fairly common site around the city, younglings rarely went outside of the academy walls. It was sort of a security risk. Despite the intense bond that dragons had with the companions they chose, there were some unscrupulous people who would still try to kidnap the beasts while they were young, selling them off as curiosities or dismembering them for parts. It was awful and disgusting and exactly why Eist always kept two knives on her person whenever she visited.
Fior climbed up onto her shoulder, sniffing happily, however, blissfully unaware that there was any danger. Alynbach did the same, and soon they were wandering around.
“I think I’m hungry. There should be food vendors here, yes?” Yacrist asked.
Eist nodded and took off toward one of her favorite stalls that sold a considerably seasoned meat on a warm, flat piece of bread with a yummy sauce on top. It was a bit messy, but she really enjoyed the flavor and treated both herself and Fior to it on their weekly trips.
“Eist! Eist, wait!”
She only faintly heard her name and turned to see that her and Yacrist had been separated. He was several people behind her, with a line of people carrying crates between them. Eist waited as he looked for an opportunity to duck between them, and he looked frazzled as he reached her.
“You can’t just leave me behind like that,” he said with a wry grin. “Who knows what kind of a trouble a lady could get to alone out here.”
“… I come out here alone every week.”
“Fine. Who knows what trouble I could get to alone out here.” His hand came up to gently grip hers. “Here, so we don’t get separated again.”
But Eist jerked her hand away as if he had bit it, and the young man looked at her curiously. “Sorry,” she murmured, trying to think of an excuse. The truth was that she just didn’t like to be touched like that. Something about it was far too intimate for her tastes, and made her stomach do weird things
. “But we should have our hands relatively free in case something happens.”
He smiled slightly, shaking his head. “Eist, always thinking like a fighter. That’ll save us from a lot of trouble one day.” He instead offered his arm. “How about we just link up instead? Unless you just can’t bear the thought of actually touching me.”
Oh goodness, why did he have to phrase it like that? Reluctantly, Eist wound her arm through his and they navigated through the dense crowd.
Thankfully, they reached the food stall without any incident, and Eist ordered up four of the little dishes. It took up most of her spending money for the week, but she felt a bit like she was a host for Yacrist and it would be polite to take care of his food.
“Hey, I should have bought that,” he objected as she handed the man his coin.
“Why?”
“Well…because I’m the man. That’s what men do—provide for a beautiful lady as a thank you for the privilege of their company…or something.”
Eist raised her eyebrow. “Where in the months that you’ve known me have I ever given even the slightest indication that I need to be provided for?”
He didn’t look angry, just more confused as he answered. “Fair point. But still…I should have bought it.”
“I disagree.”
“But I have more money than you. I know this took up most, or all, of your money.”
“Then you know it has that much more weight coming from me. If you bought this for me, you wouldn’t even notice a weight difference in your purse. But I bought it for you because your friendship means more to me than a week’s allowance.”
“…well, when you put it like that…”
A funny expression crossed his face and he was looking at her far too intently. Thankfully, the man finished fixing their food in his little, horse-drawn wagon, saving Eist from any more of that awkward talk.
They haphazardly made their way through a bit more crowd to get to a sitting area. It was mostly just plain benches and tables, but that worked well enough for Eist.