The Birthday Dragon

by Lee Abrey

  “I might be a student,” I said, “maybe there’s a new classification needed.” He laughed.

  “You’d like it if I couldn’t classify you.”

  “Aye,” I said, smiling, “I don’t do well with being fitted into boxes, another reason not to join the army.”

  Ahead of us, Nanny came steaming out of a side corridor, making Azrael and I jump a little and look at each other, startled. I couldn’t help wondering what I’d done. Our guards saw her coming and backed off. Everyone was scared of Nanny Black.

  “Your mother’s out,” she said to Azrael, then turned to me. “I heard you had a run-in with that Cida.” I tried to defend myself. Mostly by edging away before she killed me.

  “Now, Nanny Black,” I said, “that girl-” Nanny waved her hands, shooing my explanations away.

  “It’s alright, I heard. She was being obnoxious, saying the peasants are the poor put-upon slaves of those evil parasites the Blood. Cida Innes should be ashamed. After all your mother’s done for her parents, Azrael.” Azrael shrugged.

  “She’s getting it from her parents, Nanny,” he said. “Cida doesn’t have an original idea in her head.” Nanny looked cranky. I was so glad it wasn’t directed at me. It was like the intense heat from a forge, great for working metal, not so good for humans.

  “She’s not getting this from Miz Innes,” said Nanny, “that woman’s many things but she’s no revolutionary.”

  “Your mother’s employing a revolutionary?” I said.

  “Mother says Master Innes isn’t really anti-monarchy, he’s just unhappily married,” said Azrael, “he doesn’t mean anything by it.” Nanny Black snorted.

  “Your mother’s soft,” she said.

  “What,” said Azrael, “you’d have Great Uncle Nate peel him?” Nanny made the sign of Galaia, hand on her heart. I didn’t know why.

  “Who’s Great Uncle Nate?” I said, before they could go on. I’d heard him mentioned before.

  “The Royal Torturer,” said Azrael, “he’s the king’s youngest brother. My great-uncle. He’s the only cat’s-eyed one aside from Grandpa. Technically, something happens to me and we skip Aunt Kristen, he’s the heir. I heard Uncle Randolph, another of Grandpa’s brothers, but not cat’s-eyed, say he’ll join Innes’s revolution before he lets Nate take the throne.”

  “There’s something wrong with Nate,” said Nanny.

  “Aye,” said Azrael, “after seeing him at work on Father’s assassin, which was all psychology, no blood, he scares me a bit.”

  “You got to see torture?” I said, trying not to sound eager. I was just sixteen, and like any teenage boy, interested in the lurid. Azrael shook his head.

  “No,” he said, “and I’m quite glad. Seeing all the implements was creepy enough. He didn’t even get through his showcase of how they worked, getting us to pick which ones he should use, before the assassin started talking about why he killed Father and how much he loved Aunt Kristen. Everyone was very relieved there wasn’t going to be torture, even Fenric. You could see it in their eyes. Except Grandpa, he was angry.”

  “You need a haircut,” said Nanny. Azrael stuck out his tongue.

  “No,” he said, “I’m growing it.” She snarled at him but didn’t push it.

  “Uncle Nate really has a human peeler?” I said. Azrael pulled a face and nodded. We all shuddered and said how vile. Nanny seemed to have forgiven me my feud with Indigo because she approved of my argument with Cida. I was pleased and resolved to avoid any more disagreements. Nanny veered off, heading for the Servants Hall, and we kept going to the Peacock Dining Room.

  The day was cooling off by the time we remembered our idea to go swimming, but that was alright, we could go tomorrow. It was only the Monday of the first week. The whole holiday was before us, ready to be enjoyed.

  ****

  For the next two weeks life was busy. Aside from formal events like the late Crown Prince Perry’s funeral, I was eating, working out, swimming, riding and spending time with Azrael, though I kept him at arm’s length physically. No sense having sex with someone on the edge of falling in love with me. I made that mistake with Molly back in Lower Beech. In hindsight I could see I’d ignored the signs that Molly was getting too dependent on me.

  I also had my own foibles, liking privacy and my own company too much to want a lover round all the time. Thanks to growing up in the country, with no friends my own age and the peasants standoffish, I was used to being alone. Now, though I had several lovers of various ages, it seemed I didn’t need people. My affairs were as discreet as I could manage, not wanting either my family or the king to think I was promiscuous. Azrael could think what he liked. I didn’t often have lovers in my rooms, wanting more privacy than was there.

  Although I spotted my tails at least some of the time, and was even sure I lost the spies after me more than once, still everyone seemed to know who I was having sex with. My tumbles said they weren’t talking, and I wasn’t, but it was almost impossible to do anything inside the citadel without someone knowing. Outside, well, odds were, when you thought you were alone or unobserved you would give yourselves away, and the gossips would assume the truth.

  Along with being spied on, everything one did was discussed by everyone, there being something in our shared blood that made us slaves to the notion of wanting news of what other people were doing.

  I was fitted for a school uniform, my first ever. I underlined, ‘Do not want to wear uniform’, on my list of reasons not to join the army. I added, ‘Don’t like being told what to wear’. Schoolbooks arrived. I read them cover-to-cover, remembering too late that I really shouldn’t do that, it made term boring.

  The parkland was wonderful to explore. The wildlife fascinated me, especially the abundance of brightly coloured frogs and parrots. I was told the latter were originally a Sriaman import.

  The lakes and waterways around the citadel were still a bit cold that time of year, but the swimming was good. In places one could swim down connecting streams between ponds and lakes. Some were marked ‘No Swimming’, thanks to dams and sluice gates, with lines of floats across and warning signs along the banks.

  Barefoot, dressed only in a pair of shorts, I was wandering down the bank of one such stream when a man surfaced in the middle of it.

  “Hey,” I said loudly, “you’re not supposed to be swimming there. Strong current.” I gestured to a sign as he turned, saw me, nodded and smiled. He swam to my side and walked out towards me. His hair was quite long, to his shoulders, and as he twisted out the water, I began idly wondering what it would be like to have mine longer. It was rather eccentric. Maybe I could grow the top, like Azrael. The man was a little shorter than I was. Slim but not weedy, he looked fit. Brown hair and brown cat’s-eyes, the brown shining with specks of copper glitter.

  “Aye,” he said, “you’re right, it’s not safe, but I’m doing some work here.”

  “Work?” I said. He didn’t look like a servant and was like me only wearing shorts. “What kind of work?”

  “This stream leads to a sluice-gate,” he said, “I’m doing some inspections. If you didn’t know it was there, or even if you did and were careless, you could be stuck against it. But thank you for telling me.” I smiled. “I’m the Royal Keeper of the Plumbing,” he said, and offered his hand. “Rory Keller.”

  “Polo Shawcross, I’m a guest of the king.” I was such a snob. I wasn’t a Hanger On, oh no. Rory wasn’t either. Rory was a Royal Whatsit. We got talking about the citadel’s sewage and water systems, which were connected.

  “The citadel can last any length of siege,” he said, “thanks to the water all being filtered and reused.”

  “You mean we’re drinking recycled water?” I said. Rory looked smug.

  “We are. The citadel area has for nearly three thousand years. We do flush it occasionally and of course, we collect rainwater fresh to add to the cisterns. Peterhaven does the same, but on a different system. The very early Yusaf settlers built this
before the Great Silence began and the worlds fell apart. We’re really just caretakers.”

  I felt very nostalgic, for a time when we built such places and could travel all the way to the Alpha Quadrant. When we came all the way from Home. What were those other planets like now, three thousand years later? Why hadn’t they come for us? Were they trapped on the ground too?

  “I can’t help imagining what it was like,” Rory said, as if he were reading my mind, “when the starships stopped coming. It must have been an awful time to live through.” I nodded. He was saying what I felt.

  “After the starships stopped coming,” I said, “the settlers thought they’d be back, and kept hope for a few hundred years.”

  “A student of history,” said Rory, smiling. “I think for men it wasn’t too bad, especially if you lucked into a place like this.” He gestured at the citadel, somewhere behind us, invisible from this dense patch of woodland. “If you had any kind of skill, could teach or fight, then you had something to sell. Women on the other hand were expected to breed. It didn’t matter what other skills they had, their usefulness was judged by how well they whelped. And to as many different men as possible.” I tried to imagine what that was like. Being young and mostly ignorant, I thought there were worse fates.

  “They didn’t like it?” I said.

  “I think it was more that the law forced it,” he said, “and it destroyed the women’s bodies, aged them before their time. Women died young in those days. It wasn’t until Dragon came that the laws were rescinded, only a thousand years ago. They had already stopped the multiple births and fast breeding by then. Dragon brought in many laws that places like Sendren were already thinking of. Equality for women, that’s another thing Dragon reminded us of. Instead of using them as brood mares.” Finally, with my own experience of being looked at simply as a sire, I understood, and shuddered at the idea of a law that forced you to breed.

  Another item to write on my list of reasons not to join the army. I could be forced to do stupid things by stupid people who could make their word law, which was what an order was in the army. Rory mistook my shudder.

  “We’re all a little bit Dragon,” he said in a kind tone, “you shouldn’t find them reprehensible.” I explained what I was shuddering at and that I knew I was part-Dragon. We talked about all kinds of things, and ended up going to his towel to collect a flask of coffee then to mine to get my smoke.

  Rory was one of several Royal Whatsits I met around the place who became friends. People with a passion for their work are hard to resist.

  ****

  Like me, Azrael kept a list of every woman he bedded, not for boasting purposes but in case any claimed later that we impregnated them. However, his list was Crown property. Mine was to jog my memory, as I had no inheritance for any bastard of mine to claim. I was filling mine in when Azrael dropped in to my quarters.

  “I have to note whether we used birth control,” he said, “what kind, or if we just fooled around. There’s a book for my lists to go into, kept in a locked room in the library.” I laughed. Then I stopped.

  “Weird,” I said, “so there must be lists like this for every king and crown prince, ever?” I was thinking that noting the kind of birth control was a good idea. Some kinds failed more often than others.

  “And every queen, every princess,” he said. I whistled.

  “Anyway, so how’s your intelligence going? Who have I tumbled lately?” He listed the five women who’d kept me busy in the last week or so. And the two couples. I shook my head. I had no idea where his spies were hiding while I was out in the grounds with one of the married couples, but hoped they enjoyed the show. The married couple would be mortified. “Why do you want to know who I’m doing?” I said, and he smiled.

  “In case they’re someone I’m doing,” he said, sounding glib. Liar, I thought, but I let it slide.

  “If I made her a grandmother, Mother would be horrified,” I said. He laughed.

  “I don’t think Mother’s considered that,” he said, “and the king will be a great-grandfather. Maybe I should remind them, see if they back off.” I laughed too. We shook our heads at the silliness of adults.

  “Have you got a list of potential brides?” I said.

  “Aye,” said Azrael, “those not too closely related but at the same time whose families have the reputation for good genes and cat’s-eyes.” I shook my head.

  “Rather you than me, mate.”

  “You’ve been hanging out with Fenric,” he said, “saying mate.” I smiled. I was very proud that when it was just us, sometimes Azrael’s bodyguards called me mate, though more often it was lad.

  “Aye,” I said, “I like your bodyguards, very interesting bunch.”

  “Speaking of hanging out,” he said, “you’re trying to keep me at arm’s length over sex, right? Not over our friendship.” I nodded.

  “That’s all. I don’t want any kind of emotional dependence, Azrael. I don’t want a relationship. Friendship, that’s different. I’m happy to be your friend.” He smiled and changed the subject.

  “Are you looking forward to school?” he said. I laughed.

  “Looking forward isn’t the right word,” I said, “I’ll be alright. I’ll endure it. I don’t expect to enjoy it.”

  ****

  Chapter 17 – Family Matters

  I’d never been to a good school, one where children were encouraged to learn, their gifts noticed and encouraged, where the teachers tried to make the lessons interesting. To my surprise, it was fun. I looked forward to each day. At the end of each week, Azrael and I spent Saturday with a Royal Whatsit, which we both enjoyed.

  For that, a pleasure and a treat, not a chore, I had a weekly allowance of fifteen silvers or half a gold crown, which was as much many people back in the village earned in a month. What I’d thought of as my cushy allowance from Grandma was only ten silvers a month.

  After much soul-searching I queried the amount with the king. Part of me wanted to hold onto the coin, more than I’d ever had that wasn’t a gift. The first time I thought it might be a month in advance, but when we received the same the second week I had to ask.

  “You need to be able to go where Azrael goes,” Theo said, “you’re expected to be able to socialise with your peers, otherwise being at Court would become a dreadful experience. You’re on the same allowance, you see? Now, I know you know the worth of coin. You’ve proved it by coming to me, saying it’s too much. I want him to learn that. You’ve seen what some of these young people are like, don’t know the value of money, and think it’s a question of finding someone to give them more. If Daddy won’t do it then they ask Grandpa.” I nodded, I did know what he meant. He’d also reminded me of something.

  “Uncle Theo, I’ve been meaning to ask, has anyone has heard from my parents?” He frowned.

  “No, lad, not me. Shall I send someone to Lower Beech?” I shook my head, surprised that Mother hadn’t told the king about her plans. I explained about Torc and new starts.

  “I can send a messenger to your grandmother,” the king said, “see if she’s heard from them. A man’s faster than the mail.” That seemed a lot of bother when they were probably fine. It would scare Grandmama Daeva if some messenger arrived and she didn’t know where my parents were.

  “It’s only been a month since they left,” I said, “perhaps leave it? When I first arrived I wrote to Grandmama but haven’t had a reply yet. She may have heard from them. Mother and Father are probably at a hotel, thinking to write the moment they know where they’re living.” Theo and I promised to let each other know if we heard anything.

  Secretly I was imagining some terrible accident. An Unfortunate Accident. Not an accident and rather fortunate for someone. Probably Mother killing Father and then herself. If there was any justice in the world, I was an orphan.

  I was never so free. Nobody really cared what I did, providing I did what I was supposed to, and that last was made clear to me. It was liberating. I did
party hard but was an amateur at revelry compared to most of the Hangers On. Thanks to having school, work, and training, I was in bed early most nights and rarely drank. I wasn’t that pure. I was rarely in bed alone.

  ****

  A week later a letter arrived from Grandmama Daeva. It was mostly platitudes, except down at the end where she asked if I’d heard from my parents.

  I dropped in at the king’s offices. Theo’s secretary told him I was there, and waved me in almost immediately, something that amazed me. There I was, Polo Shawcross, professional nobody, able to see the King of Sendren without even an appointment. I told Uncle Theo about Grandmama’s letter.

  “This was written about a week ago,” I said, “Mother may have written in the meantime and I don’t want to panic Grandmama.” He nodded.

  “How about I make a general enquiry in Torc?” I wasn’t sure what to do and didn’t want to annoy my parents.

  “Maybe,” I said, “but maybe I’m making a fuss for nothing?”

  “My people will be under orders not to contact them,” Theo said. “We’ll just see they’re alright.” That seemed reasonable.

  ****

  Another week passed. Theo told me that Mother and Father were living at the Seahorse Hotel, in downtown Shell Harbour, Kingdom of Torc.

  “They seem fine,” he said, and handed me a report. I wasn’t sure if I should open it and read now but Theo summarised it for me. “However, your father has been seen drinking down by the docks, late at night. He’s a good looking man, I’m told.” He paused, as if wondering how to put it. “I’m afraid he’s visiting the local brothels.”

  “In a harbour town?” I said. All the soldiers told blue jokes about harbour town floozies.

  “Prostitution is regulated in Torc,” said Theo, waving a hand as if to calm me, “the dangers are exaggerated in the tales you hear, but granted, Shell Harbour’s a bit wilder than Peterhaven.” He looked wistful. “They have a wonderful climate and hardly ever get snowed in,” he added. I smiled. I had no fondness for cold. Winter was something I endured.