A Dragon In the Palace

by William King

  “Yes. I would also suggest that you stop echoing the last word said to you as a question. I appreciate your endless curiosity but it can be wearying.”

  He sounded more tired than I had ever heard him. I was about to apologise but his frown told me it would be a mistake. When he saw I was going to keep my mouth shut, he nodded and walked to the door and stuck his head out.

  Much to my surprise Lady Alysia and one of the girls I had seen her with earlier entered the room. They both looked thoughtful. Alysia brightened immediately when she saw that I was sitting up looking back at her.

  I could not help but smile and she smiled back. Master Lucas coughed tactfully and said, “I can let you speak to my patient for only a few minutes. He is still recovering and tiring him out now would not be a good idea.”

  “Thank you, Master Lucas,” Lady Alysia said. If she was daunted by the fact that the old man was a wizard, she gave no sign of it. She sounded exactly like her father when she used that tone of voice. It was clear who was in charge here and it was not the physician. Master Lucas shrugged and gestured towards the chair beside the bed.

  Lady Alysia walked over with her lady in waiting behind her. She sat down on the chair as if it was a throne. She leaned forward and stretched out and took my hand. It thrilled me. “Look at you, just look at you.”

  I heard her lady in waiting giggle. She was obviously either embarrassed or amused. I was glad that Master Lucas had his back to us. Although he probably had his suspicions about what was happening.

  I almost withdrew my hand from hers before he could see it but I did not. I enjoyed the feel of her hand against mine so much. I squeezed it and she squeezed back, very gently.

  Red flapped over to where she sat and he was not disappointed when Alysia produced some meat for him. He gulped it down quickly and just watching him do so made me feel hungry.

  “We are both pleased to see you,” I said.

  “I’m glad of that. I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened either of you.” She glanced over at Master Lucas as if worried how he would respond to her tone. His face was carefully blank. He studied his nails then walked over towards the door. I doubted he was out of earshot but the gesture was appreciated nonetheless.

  “I’m sorry to have worried you,” I said.

  “What happened?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. I had my suspicions but I was not sure about vocalising them at this point in time. “I just suddenly fell sick. I could not stay on my feet. I could not keep awake. I had strange dreams.”

  “My father says that fevers affect people that way. He has often seen wounded and exhausted men lash out in their sleep, says that fever takes more men than sword wounds.”

  “I have not had much to eat over the past few days,” I said.

  “It’s been a week,” she said.

  I was stunned. “I did not know that.”

  I remembered the feverish dreams and the waking and being hungry and knowing the people were beside me. I remembered the spell being cast and I remember other spells that had put me to sleep. I had not realised I’d been out so long. It certainly explained why I was so thin. Master Lucas was right. I had never been fat to begin with but now I seem to be all skin and bone. No wonder I was weak.

  “I’m sorry you had to see me this way,” I said.

  “I’m glad to see you at all,” she said. She gave my hand a squeeze then seemed to realise what she was doing and dropped it and looked away her face turning pink with embarrassment. I felt embarrassed for her but I was glad that she had done it in any case.

  Red chose this moment to provide a distraction by leaping up and snagging her hair. “Stop that,” I said.

  He kept tugging and tugging as he sat on her shoulder. He was only playing, not trying to hurt her. But suddenly I was there. Sitting on her shoulder. My mouth full of her hair. She smelled differently. Of soap, and light perfume but both of those scents seemed almost overpowering to Red’s nostrils.

  I felt dizzy for a moment as if the potency of the perfume had overwhelmed me. It was like those orchids whose blossoms are said to put people to sleep with their narcotic vapour. I shook. I reeled back.

  Lady Alysia said, “What’s happening?”

  I heard an edge of panic to her voice. Master Lucas turned and stared at us then came striding across the room. Alarmed by the sudden flurry of action Red took to the air and flew to the far corner.

  The old mage looked at Lady Alysia and said, “What did you say?”

  “I don’t know. One second he was smiling at me and then his eyes went out of focus and he slumped back onto the pillow. He looks all right now.”

  “Are you okay, lad?”

  “I feel fine,” I lied. I did not want to alarm Alysia. I felt dizzy and even weaker than I had done an hour ago. Somehow my thoughts had jumped along the link I shared with Red. He was cowering in the corner, little pellets of excrement flowing from him.

  Master Lucas followed my gaze to him stared at the dragonling for a moment and then back at me.

  “Your pardon, Lady Alysia. I think you’d better go. My patient has had a relapse.”

  Alysia looked alarmed. “I hope it had nothing to do with my visit.”

  “I’m sure it had not,” Master Lucas said smoothly. “Seeing you has done him a power of good. The fault is mine. He seemed more recovered than he actually is. In any case, I would be grateful if you could leave me alone so that I could examine him.”

  “Of course,” Lady Alysia said. She stared over at me and she looked sad. She said, “goodbye. I hope that I see you again soon.”

  “I hope so too,” I said. The look in her eyes told me that she had her doubts.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The moment she was gone Master Lucas said, “What did you do?”

  “I did nothing, sir. I think it was the link I share with Red.”

  “Is that so? I sensed the surge of power when you were talking with Lady Alysia. I was wondering what was going on.” He looked over at Red now. The dragonling huddled down, upset and alarmed again. I didn’t know whether it was because of the contact or because he was worried about me. Master Lucas sat down on the stool and suddenly he just looked like a tired old man. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

  I told him. He began to ask me questions and I found myself talking about the initial link and how I had fallen sick afterwards.

  “And that’s all of it?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Well it certainly explains some things. Once again you have overdrawn your power and I doubt that you are fully recovered from the last instance of that happening. It’s no wonder you fell sick. Your body must have been very weak after that experience.”

  “You think that is my link with Red that’s making me sick, sir?”

  “Yes and no.” I smiled at him sourly. It was the classic wizard’s response. Evasive and yet sounding like he knew the answer. He noticed my look.

  “These things are complicated, young man. A mixture of circumstances and things is operating here. Your link draws upon your power which weakens your body. Using magic draws upon your life force. That means the fires of your life are banked very low. That makes you vulnerable to disease. Sometimes the effect in and of itself can mimic a fever. Sometimes it just means your resistance to the diseases in the atmosphere is low. You are in a new place. You are being exposed to lots of new humours. People often fall sick under such conditions. Sometimes it simply that they are not used to the water or the food. I’ve seen it happen often enough. In your case it may be a combination of all these things. You’re young so you should get over it. But right now, if what I suspect is true, the link between you and your pet there is growing ever stronger. Not only that I think some of your life force is going to feed your dragonling.”

  He made it sound sinister. “What makes you think that, sir?”

  “Look at him – do you notice anything different?”

  I stared over at R
ed. He hunched down as if trying to make himself invisible. He moved away from his pile of poo and began to make his way under a chair, keeping to the shadows. I thought I saw what Master Lucas meant though. “He looks a little bigger but he has been eating a lot.”

  “That he has,” Master Lucas said. “All the time while you are were asleep. He’s put on considerable muscle. His scales are thicker and glossier. His teeth are longer. His wings are wider. You just haven’t had time to take in all of the changes yet. But you will if you look closely.”

  “I’m sure you are correct,” I said. Master Lucas paused as if he was considering his next words carefully. He was obviously reluctant to say them.

  “What is it, sir?”

  “Young man, that is definitely no ordinary dragonling.”

  “He looks like one to me, sir, and I’ve had plenty of experience of dragonlings. I had to keep them away from my father’s flocks. Sometimes they would pick a lamb although mostly they looked for carrion.”

  “Fascinating,” Master Lucas said, letting me know that my words were anything but. “This dragonling is growing too fast to be normal. And, unless I’m much mistaken, he is capable of breathing fire. No dragonling can do that. Only dragons can.”

  The words hung in the air. Ghoran had made jokes about Red being a dragon but that’s all that they were. Or so I’d thought. “That can’t be possible, sir. I found the egg myself in a dragonlings nest

  “According to the ancients dragons and dragonlings have a complex relationship. Now is not the time for me to go into it. That can wait until you’re considerably healthier. You just have to take my word for it when I tell you that things are the way they are.”

  He had the same sort of authority that Mistress Iliana had when he wanted to use it. He was definitely the master here and I was definitely the apprentice. His tone let me know that. I could not disagree with him and I was curious about what he had to say but his expression told me that he would reveal the information in his own good time.

  “I can’t believe that Red is a dragon, sir. I’m sorry.” Somehow, despite all of my resolutions, the words just slipped out. I was really looking for confirmation of the opposite and Master Lucas knew that.

  “It does not matter at the moment. What matters is that you have a link with him and he appears to be sharing your life force. He may be draining it from you as he uses it to grow himself.”

  I began to see why this would worry the old man.

  It was starting to worry me too. Draining my life force sounded ominous. “Will it kill me, sir?”

  He took his time to think about his answer which worried me more. “I don’t know. No one really knows very much about these things. I will have to dig deep into the old books and see what I can find. I could try and break the bond between you but it’s already so strong that I fear it might do you both irreparable harm. It is something I would only try as a last resort. If your life was threatened.”

  I considered this and I looked across at the little dragon cowering under the chair. It seemed so unlikely that he could kill me. But what did I know? Nothing at all about such creatures. It appeared that nobody really did. “I don’t want anything to happen to him, sir.”

  “Of course you don’t. We will do our best to see to that, but, if worst comes to worst, we must be prepared.”

  I thought about what that meant. Neither of the alternatives looked good. Hurting Red could hurt me. But if he continued to drain my life force, I might die and then what would happen to him. I asked Master Lucas.

  “That’s what makes me hopeful that the process will not go too far. There is a symbiotic link between you. By symbiotic I mean that you help each other. Even if it’s one way and you are helping him, it makes no sense to let you die. Creatures who live in symbiosis tend to have a mutually beneficial arrangement. I’m hoping that is what has happened here.”

  Something about his tone told me it was not quite so simple. “But?”

  “But what happened between you was an accident. That being the case who knows what the consequences might be. It may just be one of those one in a thousand things. I’ve seen them kill people before.”

  He closed his mouth like a trap. He’d already said too much. “I don’t think it will come to that.”

  Even to my unpractised ear, he sounded like he was trying to convince himself. A pall had fallen over the day now. My spirits had lifted when I saw Alysia but they were drooping again now. And I was hungry and tired. “We shall see what we shall see, sir.”

  I closed my eyes and hoped that he would take the hint. “Before I go I must see that you take your elixir. It is lending you strength. Hopefully enough to replace that which the dragonling is draining.”

  He gave me some more of the fluid. It burned in its way down. My stomach felt so empty that not even the spreading warmth relieved the tension in it. I knew I was going to have to eat soon. Under the chair my dragonling’s lips made smacking noises. Red had obviously found something to eat.

  After Master Lucas departed, Red joined me on the bed again. I sat up and I held him at arm's length. It took all of my reduced strength to do so.

  He was getting stronger. His tail was a rope of muscle. His upper legs were thicker. His wings were indeed longer. He felt heavier. He looked like a predator.

  He stared at me with his red eyes. Smoke drifted from his nostrils. A tiny jet of flame emerged from his mouth. Fortunately, it did not reach me although I felt its heat.

  It was an accident that could have hurt me. I was wondering if our link was another of those. He seemed to sense my dark mood because he crawled onto my chest and curled himself up with his wings wrapped round his body and his tail curled around until he could hold it in his mouth.

  It reminded me of something I had seen somewhere but I could not think where. It might have been one of the books Mistress Iliana had. I’m sure it was a symbol of some mystical significance.

  As if his sleep was contagious, I began to drift off myself. My dreams were not happy.

  The next few days were a nightmare of hunger and disturbed sleep. In my dreams I hunted for food. Sometimes I caught a nice juicy mouse and I ate it in one or two bites. I felt its bones crunching in my jaws. I felt its blood flow down my throat. It should have been horrifying but it was satisfying.

  Of course, I was experiencing what my dragonling was over the link we shared. Somehow the touch had become acceptable to both of us. Red was no longer quite so panicky when he felt my presence in his mind.

  I had learned not to try and take control of his limbs but merely remain a passenger in his consciousness. In its way it was exhilarating. I could fly. I saw the room not as a small enclosed space but as a much larger chamber filled with gigantic objects over which I could scamper and under which I could hide.

  I saw myself not as a boy of fifteen summers but as a giant. As I lay sleeping Red tugged at my hair. Once he grabbed the bedclothes I had kicked off and pulled them back over me. I wondered where that thought had come from. Had he lifted it from my own mind or was it something of his own invention? It spoke of a concern for my well-being which was reassuring under the circumstances. Of course, concerned or not he might well be the end of me.

  I brooded on this when I was awake. I had not much else to do. I could not work magic. I could not concentrate hard enough. I had plenty of time to think. I wondered what was going to become of me and of Red. I wondered what would happen to him if anything happened to me. I wondered if my parents would ever find out if I died.

  That thought made me feel even worse. They had already lost so many children and had high hopes for me. Of course, it gave me a good excuse to feel sorry for myself and that was not something I ever needed much encouragement to do. I lay there feeling my life was unutterably sad, consoled only by my memories, in the presence of the little dragon that might be killing me.

  I had visitors. Lady Alysia visited several times. She talked to me but she always seemed constrained. It was as if sh
e felt that she had done something to cause my relapse. Something about her attitude intimidated Red which surprised me. He never again tugged at her hair. Perhaps he associated doing that with me falling sick or perhaps he had simply lost interest. The lady in waiting sat there giggling and occasionally interjecting as we talked.

  There were times when I wanted to tell her how I felt about her. If anything happened to me, at least she would know. But there were always people there, and I remembered what Mistress Iliana had told me. It would do her no good if rumours about the two of us got about. There were times when she seemed to be on the verge of telling me something as well, but the words never came. Things were, as always constrained between us. We were young, confused, of different classes, going in different directions and we just could not find the words, particularly not in front of the audience that was always present. I wished we were back on the road again, with time to ourselves. Perhaps she did too. Perhaps that is why we talked about the journey from Khorba.

  If anybody thought this was strange, they never said anything. Lady Alysia was supposed to have been sick the whole time yet she showed remarkable familiarity with the road and the landscape of the Bleak Lands. I doubted that the lady in waiting knew anything about these things and possibly Master Lucas did not either. He did not seem like a man who travelled much.

  He was usually there when Lady Alysia and I talked. If he was not, my mistress was. She was remarkably quiet. Her tongue was kept in strict check as well. She seemed worried and a little sad and I wondered about what.

  Surely it could not be that she was concerned about me. Sometimes I cynically thought that both she and Master Lucas were but for reasons other than altruistic ones. I was a potentially useful apprentice by their reckoning. I apparently possessed great power or I had before this unfortunate occurrence. That thought gave me pause. What if my power was gone forever. What if I would never be able to work magic? What if all I was good for was being a servant? Perhaps that was my destiny.

  There were times when both Mistress Iliana and Master Lucas were there together. Those were the times when they put me to sleep and worked rituals over my body. Afterwards I usually felt better, as if I was healing. And yet, as the weeks drifted away. I grew weaker. Drugs in the little food that I was taking in the magic did not help all that much.