"Let us go now," the dragon, now man, said. He matched action to his words and brushed past her, each step surer than the last. He made it several paces before she snapped out of her shock enough to follow.
She had no idea what to say, so they traveled in silence for long minutes before the dragon finally noticed that she was following at a significant distance. He stopped and turned to wait for her, but she slowed to a stop well short of him.
"You are angry," he said it, not as a question, though she heard the query in his tone.
"No," she said. "Confused. I don't know what to think."
The dragon cocked his head to the side and said, "It is not the reaction I expected."
"You thought I would expect you to do this, to even guess that you could?"
"No, that is not what I mean." He looked down and to the side before speaking again. "I expected anger, or—"
"Or what?"
"Or perhaps violence." He looked back at her, catching her eyes with his. "Do you not deny I would have cause?"
"Cause? You hold me captive, as a dragon. You've taken others. You terrorized my village. Why would you ever expect me to want to attack you?" She was angry now. She hadn't been, but his words had enflamed her. Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
The dragon frowned thoughtfully. "You want to attack me. I was correct to suspect it." His eyes seemed to harden, and she saw his hands fist at his sides, his stance shift away from her just slightly.
She stepped away, too, reaching for the pack where she'd strapped the sword, remembering now that he had it. Her eyes shot up at him in alarm. Just how long did the beast need to transform? Long enough for her to rush him and take the sword? Long enough to stop him from completing it?
She stopped moving and allowed her hands to fall non-threateningly to her sides and her chin to fall to her chest and squeezed her eyes closed. "I do not."
Those three words filled the silence, and everything seemed to stop around them, nature pausing at such a revelation. Avalee did not lie. She truly did not want to attack him, not anymore. She wanted to believe that she could if the opportunity presented itself again, a more favorable opportunity than this one, though she knew she'd already failed in that respect. She'd had him, but all she'd done was stare and then hand him the pack, and the sword, without a thought. Perhaps it was the shock. She had to believe it was.
She felt a hot tear escape and trickle down her left cheek, but before it went far, a warm finger caught it and wiped it away. The same finger trailed back down the cheek to her jaw and then tipped her face up. The dragon, so convincing in its disguise, set her heart to racing. She jerked away from it and stepped back. "We should go."
It nodded and waited for her to begin moving before they resumed the journey together. She had a feeling it would have had her lead, to keep an eye on her, had she known the way.
Shame built within her breast, constricting her chest, making each breath harder than the last. Her throat felt full and unable to swallow; she wanted to scream and cry, rage, but she held it all in. And it was torture. She watched the beast—so innocuous seeming, as it picked its way awkwardly in the forest, slowly measuring each step it took—and considered her options. If she could get the sword from it before it changed back, she could end her ordeal. Perhaps it would even hand it over to her. She had no idea. If she could get the sword back, well, she wasn't exactly sure she could use it, not any more.
The thing was that the dragon, despite stealing her and the other girls from her village, had been kind in its way. It hadn't killed them, and it hadn't killed her, and it asked only for time in exchange for an eventual freedom. Only time, but Avalee felt the coming years weigh heavily on her even as she thought of the very real possibility that she could claim that freedom much earlier. She pondered such things and soon forgot to watch the dragon, her eyes falling towards the terrain under foot, absently placing each step as she worked through her dilemma. Kill the dragon and gain freedom now, or wait and claim it with clean hands.
Distracted as she was, Avalee missed the surreptitious looks the dragon sent over his shoulder in her direction from time to time. He had some things to consider as well. The village was nearing, and he could not be sure of Avalee's intentions, even now. The dragon centered himself and brought himself to the edge of transformation. If she made a false move, he would be ready.
~~~
Chapter 13
Avalee heard the village well before she caught her first glimpse of it through the thinning trees. It started as a low murmur, barely distinguishable from the wind jostling the few leaves that still dotted the trees. Then it grew slowly, beneath the notice of conscious thought, at first, and then slowly, ever so slowly, until the murmur clarified into something unmistakable. Conversations, a child's laugh, a hawker calling out, a woman shouting at someone, footsteps and the shuffle of bodies moving among a larger crowd.
Avalee felt her pace quicken, powerless to slow her eager feet, but the dragon's slowed, rather than sped. It was as reluctant as she was eager at their imminent arrival. The result was that she caught up to the dragon even from the rather large lead she'd allowed it to take. Her eyes drank in the welcome sight of whitewash and rain barrels, but the dragon's unfamiliar hand gripping her shoulder and pulling her to a stop beside him startled a cry of dismay out of her.
She didn't want to look away from the town, but the fingers around her arm held her firmly, almost too much so, and she found herself staring into the serious, reptilian eyes that were the only familiar feature in the dragon's temporary face.
Serious, and cautious. Avalee remembered that she should be, too, and the smile that had lit her face melted away, though her lips remained parted to accommodate the rapid breaths fueled by her excitement at finding the village.
The dragon spoke.
"Stay close to me." It stared at Avalee for a long moment until she nodded in response. Then it looked beyond her and strode past, expecting her to follow.
Avalee took a deep breath and let it all out as she set out behind him. Her lips pressed together firmly as she half scowled at its back. The dragon was obviously either angry with her or offended. It was definitely one or the other, no matter that the face was unfamiliar, she'd been around the dragon long enough to recognize its moods. What she couldn't quite understand was why the dragon would be either. Was it because it had somehow guessed her intentions?
She tried not to let that take away from the experience. She caught up to the surly beast quickly, just in time to round the corner with him. There she spotted the first of the villagers. A little boy chased a stray ball into the cramped alley from the other end, caught it and turned back to run back to his playmates, all without noticing Avalee and the dragon.
The two of them stopped and looked at each other, and Avalee caught a hint of a smile, quickly hidden, in the dragon's eyes. She allowed a small one of her own and then followed as he set off again.
It, not he, she reminded herself. Despite the beast's appearance now, Avalee could not forget its true nature, nor could she fit that nature into such a thing as gender. Never mind that it had always been her assumption that the dragon was male. It wasn't something Avalee wanted to think about, and she pushed the notion out of her mind, at least for the moment. Perhaps later she would revisit it.
For now, the call of merchants drew her attention.
"Bread, bread here!" called one, a man who looked more suited to soldiering than baking. The apron barely concealed the bulging muscles on his chest, and by the look of that beard, Avalee guessed the bread probably held a surprise or two.
"Apples, and pears. Get your apples and pears, fresh from the orchard," another intoned. To Avalee, this one seemed bored. He was sitting, hunched, on a low stool, elbows on the table along with several baskets of the proclaimed fruit. His eyes seemed to stare at nothing, even as he called out again to a small crowd that seemed just as disinterested in him as he was in them. Still, his call had her attention. She hadn't
had an apple for months, not even before the dragon took her.
Avalee's village did not have an orchard, so they only got apples when a traveling peddler passed through town. The dragon noted her interest and caught her hand in his, leading her towards the bored peddler.
"How much?" he asked as he slapped his free hand on the table to catch the man's attention.
It worked, and the peddler looked up with half scowl, half surprise written all over his face. "Ten silver for a dozen. Fifteen for twenty. A deal, my good man, a deal. Shall I pack you twenty?"
His apathy completely abandoned in the off chance of a sale, the salesman was now smiling widely, looking between the dragon and Avalee, trying to decide who would be the best target of his sales pitch. He made his choice quickly and focused his eyes on Avalee—not just his eyes, but hands, too. He leaned over the table and caught her free hand, or at least tried to.
"Ah, young lady. Apples! Imagine the pies you could make, the cobblers. No more this season, either, no more until next year. These are my last, and see? Still crisp, still good."
Avalee had to wonder just how fresh these apples really were—his claims seemed to contradict themselves—but she wanted those apples. She caught the eye of the dragon, and it nodded, so Avalee turned back to the peddler to make a deal of her own. "Twenty copper for twenty apples, and you have a deal, good sir."
She reached out her hand, boldly awaiting the same from the man selling the apples, but he seemed aghast in his turn of fortune. "Twenty copper? You wound me. You would have me starve through the coldest months, unable to afford a crust, let alone an entire loaf. Ten silver, my lady. A deal, though it pains me and mine."
This time he reached out to seal the deal, but Avalee withdrew. "Four silver." She cocked her head to the side and perched her hand on her hip, daring the man to argue the price again. She may not have had an apple in recent months, but she'd seen her mother haggle for them plenty of times. She knew what apples were worth.
"Ah, four, four." The man seemed to struggle within himself. He wanted the sale, but he also wanted more than four silver. "Seven, and that's my final offer," he finally blurted, and he seemed to want to bite his tongue afterwards, settling for his lower lip instead.
"Five silver and four coppers." Avalee wasn't done with him. She heard a low chuckle from beside her, but ignored the amused dragon. This peddler was hers, and she knew it.
The peddler wrung his hands together as if squeezing out a wet wash cloth, and he looked about the square at the disinterested passersby, not a one of them paying more than fleeting attention to his apples, and none to his pears. "Seven, and I'll throw in ten pears," he finally managed to get out. Again the hand shot out to make the offer official.
Avalee grinned, pleased with the addition of extra fruit, and reached out and grasped his hand firmly in hers, giving it three solid shakes before releasing it to the sound of silver and copper coins falling to the rough tabletop. The dragon had already counted it out, and he was neither looking at the peddler nor at the coins slipping through his fingers. He was looking at Avalee, and a wide grin lit his face. She wasn't sure if he was laughing at her or cheering her on. She didn't really care.
She was busy picking out the best apples and pears from the lot. She wanted none that were past their prime because she knew they'd have to last winter. None that were ripe, though she remembered liking pears when they were brought just to the brink of overripe. Not that she'd had one in years; they were even rarer than the apples.
The dragon said, "Here, put them in this," and held out an empty sack he'd pulled from the pack.
"Thanks," she murmured as she began placing her selections in it, careful not to damage them in the process.
As Avalee fetched her last two apples from the table, she saw the peddler slide his payment off of it and into a small change purse of his own. He didn't seem so displeased with the deal now that the coins were in hand. Avalee wondered briefly if she'd made as good of a deal as she thought she had, then dismissed the idea. It wasn't her coin, so why should she care.
"Come," the dragon said. "We need to pick up baking supplies, and perhaps some eggs."
"What about vegetables?" Avalee added. "I'm sure I have nothing but potatoes now, and few of those."
It nodded wordlessly and led the way to the bearded baker. The dragon again stood back and allowed Avalee to argue the price. She didn't mind. In fact, she soon discovered that she quite enjoyed it. Her mother had never let her do anything of the sort, never, and Avalee had never had coin of her own to bargain with. When she struck the deal with the baker, scoring two bags of flour, a decent supply of yeast and five long loaves of bread for two silver, she peeked over at the dragon to see his reaction.
The dragon grinned and nodded approvingly as it dropped the two coins directly into the burly man's outstretched hand. The man's fist closed on them, and the coins disappeared into a large pocket on his apron almost quicker than Avalee could follow. He'd made it look as though he'd merely patted his stomach, but it didn't fool Avalee.
And so it went. The dragon led Avalee to each of the local merchants and stood back as she spent its money. Several times she heard an amused chuckle, once she heard a groan. That time her counterpart had talked her in circles until she wasn't quite sure what she was getting for the fifteen silver she'd agreed to pay. But for the most part, she did well, and the dragon paid out whatever sum the various merchants agreed upon.
It also carried everything, which was quite impressive, considering the dragon's comparatively diminutive form at the moment.
At long last, the shopping was done, and the dragon was straining under the weight of enough supplies to last Avalee for quite some time, at least enough of those that weren't perishable.
"Are we ready to go?" she asked the dragon after the last merchant turned away and made his way back to a shady spot well under the canvas overshadowing his stall.
The dragon looked like a pack mule, all loaded down, and Avalee took pity on him. He seemed to be having trouble, despite his efforts to hide that fact. "Here, give a few to me."
The dragon presented his arms to make it easier for Avalee to take some of the sacks and packages, and she tried to choose out enough to relieve the beast without overburdening herself. Then she thought better of it and took a few more. It was quite a lot, and she nearly dropped the bread in the process.
"Hey, careful. Give those back. You took too much, Avalee."
"Shh, you need your strength for later," said Avalee in return. A chuckle from the back of the stall brought heat to her cheeks when she realized what the peddler thought she might have meant. She refused to look in his direction, though, and started to head in the direction she thought they'd come from.
Now that she had all these bundles in hand, she realized she wanted nothing more than to get out of sight of the village and drop them all. That was why she was surprised when the dragon gave her sleeve a tug and caught her eye. "We need a cart, and lunch. Come."
Again she was following him as he wove through the people perusing the stalls. She noted some lingering signs of awkwardness, but the dragon managed to carry himself well for the most part. Avalee had to admit she was impressed. But on the other hand, she wondered how often he took on this form. Perhaps he’d had more practice than he let on.
She realized then that the dragon was leading her not to a tavern, but to a side street, not much wider than the alley they'd followed on the way into the village. They followed it for a while, and then they were out on another street, one much quieter than the square they'd just left. Quieter, though Avalee still heard the calls of peddlers and the low rumble of voices from those gathered to buy from them.
The dragon took them left along the new street, and Avalee struggled with the things she was carrying. It paced ahead of her; though occasionally it looked back to catch her eye, or perhaps just to check that she was still there.
After a few minutes, most of those spent wondering how l
ong her burning muscles could hold out, the dragon stopped. He faced her and then gestured with a tilt of his chin in the direction of a rather nice home, two stories tall, that sat back from the street behind an iron fence. None of the other buildings or homes along the way had fences, and few had any significant yard, most hunching right up to the edge of the road.
Having indicated the way, the dragon followed his own directions and nudged the gate open with his leg. She was surprised he didn't drop anything in the process, but that was nothing to her surprise at the greeting that met them on the other side of the fence.
~~~
Chapter 14
"My Lord," exclaimed a man who ducked out from behind the house. He was surprised, but Avalee realized that he was also pleased to see her companion.
"Rolph, how is she?" the dragon replied.
Avalee followed the dragon a few more steps into the yard before she realized she couldn't hold her share of the packages any longer. She sunk to her knees and began to set them down. At least it was grass and not the dirt of the street.
"Good, my Lord. Shall I announce you? And the young lady, your companion?" The man bowed deeply and waited only for a curt nod from the dragon before hurrying into the house through the front door.
"You know him?" asked Avalee from the ground. She was going through the packs, trying to make sure everything was still intact and nothing not encompassed entirely in cloth, like the bread, was touching the ground. The dragon joined her and began adding his own burdens to the lot. He didn't answer her.
Avalee stopped and looked at him—it, she kept having to remind herself the longer the dragon held this form. Perhaps she would give up and call it him after all. It was beginning to feel foolish trying to hold on to that notion. The dragon finished arranging his things and sat back on his heels, looking right back at her.
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