Indigo chuckled, reclining at an angle in his chair. “Irritable works well, too.”
Vert snorted. “Bleu the asshole?”
Elaina squeaked. “The what? Esshoole?”
“Now she’s making a joke of the way we speak,” Bleu complained. “And I am not an esshoole.” He sniffed again at the chocolate candy, his mouth turning down into a disgusted grimace.
“Just try it, Grumpy Cat, and I guarantee you will like it.”
“I do not trust new things,” Bleu muttered.
“Clearly,” Elaina quipped, rolling her eyes and making a face.
“I’ll eat it if you don’t want it,” Vert said, reaching for the chocolate, but Bleu jerked it out of reach.
Rainger sighed. “Bleu, your feathers are still ruffled over the use of your bed. Eat the fucking chocolate and make peace with our guest. Your snobbery grows tiresome.”
“Grrr.” He took one last sniff, and when Vert tried to reach for it again, he shoved the entire thing in his mouth. At least he was silenced for the time being.
“Let me see if I have your names straight.” She pointed directly at him. “You’re Rainger Galterrium, a dragon huntsman.”
“Yes. But I am a dragon huntsman in name only. I assist the Order in protecting the dragons.”
“And I’ve yet to find out what that really means, although I’m not sure I want to know.”
I’m not anxious to explain my presence here either, glorious one. Out of habit, he glanced down at his tattoos. Still copper-hued. Then he caught Basile looking at them, as well. Basile was a loyal friend, but he needn’t worry.
She pointed at each knight in turn. “Rouge the Inquisitive. Is that because you’re full of questions?”
“I am naturally inquisitive. How better to serve the Order of the Dragon?” he replied with a slight smile.
“And you’re Jaune the Cautious,” she said as she pointed at him next to Rouge. “Let me guess. You wanted to lock me up until you could figure out what I’m doing here.” She arched an eyebrow at him, and he bristled a tiny bit.
“We have a reason for caution and much is at stake,” he replied as he lifted his chin to indicate the tiny dragon perched on her shoulder, taking tidbits from her fingers to her great delight.
“Fair enough, Jaune the Cautious. Annnnd Indigo the Gentle, right? When Basile introduced you, that was an easy one to remember.”
“At your service, milady,” Indigo murmured, giving her a small bow from his seat.
“And then there’s you,” she said with a grin as she looked at Sir Orange.
“Sir Ahrringe at your service, Mistress.”
“Sir Orange the Amiable. It fits you. You must have had quite an appetite if you didn’t spoil your dinner with all that chocolate.”
“Oh, I shared, believe me. After they tried their first piece, they loved it and wanted more. You have more?” Sir Orange asked, giving her his best amiable grin.
“I might,” she replied, tossing a tidbit of meat up for Zayrgrud to catch. He missed, and it went down the front of the sleeveless garment she wore. Giggling, she stuck her hand down the front and retrieved the morsel before looking up just in time to catch him ogling her. Zayrgrud caught it the second time while she still held his gaze.
Sir Vert said, “Mistress, you will be careful about feeding him as he grows, yes? Dragons don’t stay babies for very long.”
“Lord Violet told me. That’s why I’m glad I’ve been taking pictures of him. And you are aptly named, too, Vert the Protective.” Vert bowed to her.
“‘Taking pictures’?” Rainger asked. “How do you take them?”
“With my camera,” she said as she pulled something from a pocket of her backpack, which she’d insisted on bringing downstairs to the dining hall with her. She held it up so he could see, and suddenly a bright light flashed, temporarily blinding him.
All the knights hastened to their feet, drawing swords. Zayrgrud squeaked and retreated into her hair.
“What witchery is this?” Jaune shouted. “I knew we should’ve chained you up for being a witch from the start.”
Elaina didn’t even flinch as she turned the camera around so he could see an image of Zayrgrud. She flicked her fingertip across the flat surface, and a still image of him appeared, or at least it looked as he did when he gazed into a mirror while shaving his beard every morning. “That is me. Did you trap my spirit within this device?”
She scoffed. “No. I recorded an image of a single moment in time. You’re still you, but now I have a memory of you that I can look back on. Or at least I can for as long as the battery lasts, unless you have an electrical source I can charge the battery with?”
“I don’t know what any of that means,” Lord Violet said. “I am truly sorry, Mistress.”
“It’s okay. I kind of guessed that was the way of things around here.” She turned to Basile, who sat on her other side, and ‘took his picture,’ as well. “I can’t help but notice that Grumpy Cat has been quiet through all of this.”
“Grrr.” Bleu couldn’t, or wouldn’t, manage a more intelligible reply as he sat quietly chewing, staring at the candy wrapper.
“How is it?” Elaina said. There was a hint of amusement in her twinkling blue eyes. “It’s good, isn’t it?”
“Grrr.”
“You can’t stand that I’ve given you something you actually like. Now you’ve tried it, you don’t want to live without it. I’m right, aren’t I?”
Finally he swallowed and looked even more irascible than normal. “I’m waiting to be sick.”
Elaina flapped a hand at him. “I’ve got your number, tough guy.”
Bleu growled again. “We do not need such frivolity here. And I have no number, Elaina the Interloper.”
She didn’t even bat an eye, and Rainger’s respect grew for her, along with his enjoyment.
“Complain all you want, but I know you like me. Watch, I’ll grow on you.”
“Like what? A wart?”
Her giggle had an adorable trace of snort in it. “I’m not offended because I know you don’t mean that. You know…I noticed something about you, Bleu. You have very strong-looking, broad hands. In my world, you would make an excellent pole dancer.”
“Pole dancer? What is this?”
“Can you balance well?”
“Of course! Ask any man here! A warrior must have good balance.”
“It also requires great flexibility and strength. But there are rewards in ones and fives and many people would watch you with bated breath. If you keep everything in your G-string you could even go viral on Facebook.” She looked at him with a straight face.
Although Rainger didn’t have any idea what she meant by most of what she said, he had the impression she was pulling a prank on Bleu.
Bleu’s irascibility could be an asset, playing his abrasiveness against Indigo’s gentler nature and achieving better results with reluctant witnesses and informants than they might without him. But still, Bleu could be a pain in the arse.
Rainger played along. “I think there may be something to this, Bleu. You are definitely flexible. And those hands are big.”
Bleu preened a little and cracked his knuckles. “Well, all right then. I will hear more of this pole dancing.”
“You should ask Selena about it the next time she is here. I’m sure she could give you some clear visuals and excellent advice about a possible career as a pole dancer. Who knows? You could even work your way up to a tank top at Hooter’s.”
“Tank. Top,” Bleu muttered before shrugging and rising from the table. “I will ask her about this. I go to my watch duty. Good night all.”
“Is a pole dancer something admirable?” Rainger asked, just so she would look his way once more.
She mulled over the answer for a moment. “Oh yes, but not in all parts of society. He would have to stay away from schools and churches.”
“That’s okay. He doesn’t like children much, and the church wouldn’
t have him,” Vert said with a chuckle. The other knights nodded in agreement.
“But if he worked hard he could gain a heart of gold and use his tips to pay for college.”
“His what?”
“Pay for what? Much of what you say is incomprehensible, Mistress,” Jaune groused.
“Oh, not you, too,” she said with a moan. “Jaune is a nice name, but I need to come up with a colorized nickname for you, too. What can we call you?”
“No, not me, too. I have watch duty, as well. No new nicknames.”
“Sunshine. To fit your sunny disposition.”
Vert and Orange guffawed with laughter until they had coughing fits.
Rouge grinned and called out in a singsong voice, “My sunny, sunny sunshine!”
Jaune turned a glower on Elaina. “I take back all the nice things I said about you.”
“Here, Sunshine,” she said as she tossed him some other sort of wrapped candy from her backpack. “It’s a sucker.”
Jaune looked offended, but he caught it anyway. “A what?”
“You suck…on it. Okay?” she added with emphasis. Rainger caught the way she bit her red lip and heard the slightest snickering sound.
“O-kay,” Jaune replied. “Whatever that means.”
Lord Violet called out, “Jaune, would you take the dog out with you? It reeks.”
“As you wish, my lord,” Jaune said, snapping his fingers as he tugged at the rope that Orange had attached to his collar. “Come, dog.”
“Don’t choke while you suck!” Elaina called.
Jaune replied with a slight growl and a rude gesture.
“You are naughty,” Rainger said as he watched the knight depart with the dog, still keeping its eyes on the baby dragon. Soon the rest of the brethren departed after bidding her a good night.
Basile nodded and said, “If you play them for fools, it could backfire on you when you need them.”
“Hey, I shared from my candy stash with them. And I don’t plan to be here long enough to presume to ‘need’ them for anything.”
“Nurk?” Zayrgrud the Terrifying said with a questioning tone. His ability to grasp language was increasing at a rapid rate, a sign his physical growth spurt wasn’t far behind.
“Oh, honey. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m here for you, but you know I have a home of my own to get back to, just like you have a mama and daddy somewhere, hoping to see you again. Why was he left all by himself in that cave?” she asked, looking at Lord Violet. It was plain that a bond existed between Elaina and Zayrgrud.
Lord Violet glanced at Basile and at Rainger and said, “We’re not completely sure. When we spotted Zayrgrud’s mother, she signaled to us where to search for him but came no closer to the abbey. We immediately dispatched the order, and Rainger and Basile. But you found him first,” Violet offered with a faint smile. “Normally, the female dragon brings the hatchling directly to us for training, particularly the royal dragons. We train them in the art of war but also teach them how to communicate and coordinate. In years gone by, all fledglings came to us, and their movements were of little concern, but times have changed. The heir to the dragon throne is always brought to the Knights of the Order of the Dragon for training in war, language, and diplomacy. At one point, I served as the Western Kingdom’s Ambassador to the Dragons of the Eastern Kingdom beyond the Unsunderable Cliffs. Zayrgrud’s father, Zyrsyrrys the Horrific, was my counterpart and is still my friend. As the king of the dragons, he’s entrusted me to continue our work with the dragon young, even though Draconia instituted the Dragon Huntsmen—”
“Which you are a part of?” she said, pointing at Rainger.
“In name only,” he replied with a nod. “I am Lord Violet’s eyes and ears at Palais de Lune de Sang, the royal palace.”
“Your home?” she asked as she turned to gaze at Basile.
“Not for many years. When I lived there it was in happier times and the palace was known as Coeur du Ciel. Heart of the Sky. Everything changed when Draconia met my father and came to the Western Kingdom—even the palace.”
“This is an awful lot to take in.”
“You have time, Mistress,” Lord Violet replied.
“Can I go home?” she asked. “There are people who will worry about me. My friends. My employer. My landlord?” My barista.
Rainger didn’t know what a landlord was for certain but thought he could guess. “You are a serf?”
“No. Someone else owns the basement apartment I live in. It has my stuff in it. I suppose it’s a good thing I don’t have any pets, or I would be in a panic right now.”
Lord Violet drained his cup and then leaned forward on his crossed forearms. “Selena has a purpose for everything she does, and she’s the one who brought you to the cave, and presumably to us. I can only guess that she also intervened with Cirruth the Cunning for Zayrgrud’s safety—”
“Cirruth the Cunning? Queen of the dragons.”
Violet nodded. “Zayrgrud’s mother.”
“I’m beginning to like all these cool names.”
“If we have time to get to know you, you will show us your name, as well. For now, you are Elaina the White to any outsider.” Basile sincerely hoped they had time to get to know everything about this sexy woman.
Elaina chuckled. “Because I’m pure?”
“Because we know little about you, but it could be so.”
“Or I could wind up being Elaina the Interloper as Bleu said?” she quipped with an up-tilted brow. “You don’t know me that well.” He caught her glance his way and noticed the blush of color that came into her cheeks. A flash of heat seemed to pulse between the two of them. The way she squirmed in her seat, knowing he was watching her, was most appealing. Would she like to know him better?
“I doubt you’re an interloper, Mistress. At any rate, I do not think it would be a good idea to talk about where you came from outside of the knights, whom you’ve already met. If Selena was involved in Zayrgrud’s placement in the cave where you would find him, then it must be for a reason. As far as you returning home, that is entirely in Selena’s hands.”
Rainger said, “I know of no caves anywhere in the vicinity that she would’ve travelled from, but we can search—”
“I wouldn’t bother,” Lord Violet replied. “Selena is well known for the use of dimensional portals, as well as her ability to move them and even occasionally misplace one.”
The candle on the table flickered in a sudden breeze and blew sparks in his face.
“I was teasing, enchantress,” Violet said with a wry grin.
“Two can play that game, dragon keeper,” a disembodied voice whispered. “For now, simply do what you must.”
Violet scoffed. “And there you have your answers, Elaina. We must do what we must for the time being.”
“Which is?”
“Zayrgrud’s daily training will begin tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” she replied in shock as she lifted a hand to the tiny dragon. “But he’s—”
Rainger gave her hand a reassuring pat, and left it to linger there for a moment, allowing his fingertips to stroke the top before withdrawing. “He’s small for now, but he will grow fast. You’ll see.”
Oblivious of the silent exchange, Violet said, “I will return him to you each night since he seems to be thriving in your care. Depending on his progress, there will be some nights away as he grows but don’t worry. He will grow stronger and more capable with each passing day. You may even see a day when he is the one watching over you, protecting you.”
“Urk-nurk!” Zayrgrud crowed, flapping his delicate bat-like wings before getting them caught in her wildly curling hair and toppling head over tail into her lap. He sneezed, releasing a cloud of ash and a tiny, rather frustrated sounding “nurk!”
Elaina flapped a hand over his head. “Ack! Well, at least it’s ash and not gas.”
“Peep?” the dragonling chirped as he stuck his head up over the edge of the table and gave t
hem a dragonish representation of a grin before looking up at her. “Peep?”
“What does he want?” Violet asked as she pulled the backpack up on the arm of the chair and fiddled around with it.
“I told him if he ate all of his supper he could have a treat. A Marshmallow Peep.”
“Mistress, a growing dragon needs meat—”
“He ate all of his roasted chicken like I told him to. Don’t worry. I’m not a permissive parent. He only gets them one at a time when he’s been a good boy.” She slipped a disgusting looking pink blob from a crinkly package, and Zayrgrud made a ridiculously happy face and gobbled it in one bite. Zayrgrud interacted with Elaina in a way that was truly extraordinary, especially for the taciturn dragons.
“A good boy, she says,” Basile murmured, looking at her with something akin to awe. “In another few weeks, that good boy—”
Lord Violet shook his head to interrupt the thought. “Will have had a devoted surrogate mother, and she will have a worthy protector. No point in frightening her, Basile.”
“I don’t frighten easily,” Elaina said. “I stay pretty much prepared for anything. Roll with the punches. Life is easier that way.” He still wasn’t certain what that phrase meant to her personally, but it sounded as though it was words she lived by. Although she had a bit of a prankster in her, when she looked up at him, there was only truth in her gaze, a resolute strength. Something had happened to her to make her that way.
Elaina looked at the remaining occupants at the table and said, “If the abbey is the stronghold for the Order of the Knights of the Dragon…where are all the dragons? I know bad stuff has happened, but I would’ve thought at least one or two would be bee-bop-a-loo-lah-ing around here doing dragon training type things.”
Violet lowered his chin and was quiet for a few moments before he said, “The dragons felt it best, in light of Draconia’s recent efforts, to suspend sending dragon warriors for us to train. Cirruth the Cunning insisted that her offspring be trained here, since we were the ones to train her. Along with her, we hope that Zayrgrud’s success here will lead once more to groups of trainees learning together, to prosper both kingdoms and the entirety of Tangere. Now, it has been a long day.” Violet placed his cup on the tray the servant brought around and rose from the table. “I’ll bid you all a good night. Elaina, I will take him with me for the day after we’ve had our morning meal.” Then he focused on the dragon and bowed. “Happy Hatchday, Your Highness. A good first night to you.”
Dance of the Dragon Sorceress [Tangere Tales 3] Page 6