Dragon Lord (7 page)

“He wasn’t quite what I had in mind when I said you needed a stableboy.”

Fen looked up to where Bertrisa stood in the doorway of River’s pen. He grinned. “I like him. Got an attitude as smooth as sand, as agreeable as a cornered rat and a sense of fashion that puts us all to shame.”

Bertrisa chuckled. “The gods forbid anyone else should dress the same as him.”

When Fen had taken Mouse shopping for clothes the day before, the boy had chosen bright red boots, a green shirt, orange trousers and a purple felt hat. He’d swaggered around the stables as soon as he’d washed and donned his new clothes.

“You do realise if anything goes missing around here the finger will be pointed at him,” Bertrisa said.

“Impossible. He’s sworn a blood oath not to steal anything from anyone.” Fen didn’t also say ‘unless I give him permission’ as he had during the oath. It had been easier to add that rather than keep arguing with Mouse about the wording.

“That’s good. Makes things a lot easier. Why a blood oath? A bit unusual wouldn’t you say?”

“I have to make unusual decisions. Grey dragons can’t be blood tracked.”

Bertrisa nodded. “That’s something I didn’t think about. I’ll mention those two bits of information in a few ears. You shouldn’t have any trouble with your choice of stableboy.”

Fen nodded slightly in answer. Bertrisa stared at Fen a moment longer before she gave him a deeper nod and left. A wave of reassurance swept over Fen and he looked at River. Fen moved forward so he could lean up against the dragon who was now much taller than him.

“It’ll be fine,” he assured him.

River sent him a picture of a stone fireplace.

Fen smiled. “We’ll have to see what Bertrisa has to say.”

Wooden floorboards were added in front of the fireplace.

Fen laughed. “I think that might be pushing things. You know how funny people are about dragons and materials that burn easy.”

Mouse came in, a wooden bucket three quarters filled with water. “Don’t see why I have to lug all this water.”

“If you filled the bucket up the job would be quicker.”

“And have my new clothes soaked by the water splashing over?” Mouse sounded horrified.

“Water won’t hurt them.”

Mouse snorted. “That’s what you think.”

“I’ll leave you to it. I’ve got things to do this morning.”

“Not mornin’ yet.”

Fen ignored Mouse and made his way to the horse stables where his old nag was kept. He was soon on his way to meet Edana for their early morning ride.

“We need to get you a better horse,” Edana said in greeting.

“I like this one.”

Edana grinned. “Not the right look for someone as important as a Dragon Lord.”

Fen patted his horse’s neck. “Don’t listen to her.”

“Dragon Lords will keep inviting you to their gatherings. You can believe me when I say people will talk if you arrive on an old nag. Servants are the worst. Far more snobbish than their masters.”

Fen sighed. “There are too many rules in your world.”

“I thought it was your world too.”

“Only because I’ve pushed my way in.”

“How’s your new stableboy working out?”

Fen laughed. “If you skip the word working, he’s doing fine. He doesn’t mind the night errands, it’s the early mornings he curses.”

Edana leaned forward and handed Fen a folded piece of parchment and a bag of coins.

“Now what?” Fen took them.

“Directions of where to get your new horse. I’ve written down the names of the ones I thought suitable. Showy looking but suitable enough for the most incompetent rider. There’s enough money there to pay for your choice as long as you do some haggling. If they charge you more, they’re trying to rip you off.”

“Incompetent rider?”

“You’re not really,” Edana said with a grin. “But they are good horses. They shouldn’t balk at being around a dragon.”

“Any other orders for the day?”

Edana laughed. “Well…”

“I should have known.”

“No. This is important. I overheard my father talking to his lawyer last night.”

“Overheard?” Fen raised an eyebrow.

“I might have been somewhere suitable to hear what was happening when a servant announced the arrival of my father’s lawyer.”

“And what has his lawyer got to do with me?”

“My father’s trying to take your dragon.”

“What? How can he? I have paperwork proving he’s mine.” Fen’s hand went to his waist where a cloth was wrapped around him to hide his paperwork.

“You’re not an adult yet. If you weren’t considered an orphan, you wouldn’t be allowed to own River.”

“Then how can they get him since I am an orphan and I do have the paperwork.”

“By you becoming his protégée. It’s a bit like if he’d adopted you. So, whatever you do, don’t let him talk you into stabling River. It could be seen as you accepting a position as his protégée. As long as you pay your own way and use public stables or have your own stables, you’ll be fine. It doesn’t matter who makes the offer. Anyone can use the same law to take River from you.”

“Great. Any other laws I should know about?”

Edana shook her head. “None I know of, but I didn’t even know that one.”

“So next time he asks I say no. It’s not like he can force me to use his stable.”

“Not exactly. He might make it impossible for others to let you rent space at their stables. Then you’d have no choice but to use a private stable. You need to tell him you’re considering it. Make him wait for an answer.”

“I can’t do that forever.”

“I know. But it’ll give us time to think of something we can do.”

“Any other wonderful news for me?”

“No.” Edana shook her head. “I’m sure that’ll be enough to ruin your day.”

“You’ve got that right.”

“I have to go. If I’m late for breakfast my parents will wonder what I’m up to of a morning. If I make very few waves, they don’t pay any attention to me and I can run my own life a bit.”

“That doesn’t sound like much of a life to me.”

“And yours was much better? Getting beaten near to death for the slightest reason?”

Fen shrugged. “I guess now we’ve done something about my life it must be time to sort yours out.”

“Impossible. I’ve already told you that. I have to go. I’ll see you in the morning. On your new horse.” Edana turned her horse in the direction of home and kicked her into a gallop.

Fen’s day was filled with horse buying, organising room at the stables for it and finding a suitable outfit to wear to that night’s dinner party.

After the dinner party Fen began to dread having to sit through more of them. He’d never been so bored in his life, not to mention needing to watch everything he said. And he knew he had invitations to many more parties and events being held over the next few weeks by different Dragon Lords. He also had very little choice other than to attend, as he couldn’t afford to upset any of the Dragon Lords. He didn’t have the wealth they had. Most of them were of the royal or noble classes. Dragons were nearly always sold privately and the upper classes didn’t want the lower classes in their ranks.

Over the weeks Fen had many offers by the Dragon Lords regarding the stabling of River. Remembering Edana’s advice, he put them off. Offers poured in when they found he was considering his options.

A few months passed. The nights were filled with social events, the mornings riding with Edana and the days with River. The dragon continued to grow and his wings strengthened and matured. He turned two and it seemed as if overnight his ability to fly began to improve. Fen read books on how to teach dragons to fly the complicated patterns for racing and when Bertrisa caught him in the pen reading one day she started to offer her own advice.

They were in the flight arena of the Eastern Dragon Stables late one afternoon when Edana’s father, Adalric, called. He stood beside Fen who leaned against the rail that was to keep onlookers out of the dirt arena where the dragons landed and took off. Afternoons were saved for new flyers when only one at a time could be in the arena. Unlike most dragons being trained, River didn’t need a handler in the arena to tell him what to do. Fen thought of what he’d read in his books, put it in picture form in his mind and projected it to River.

“Who’s training the animal?” Adalric leaned against the rail.

Fen turned to Adalric, annoyed at the interruption. “He’s practising.”

“You can’t throw him in the arena and expect him to know what to do.”

“I don’t. He’s had training. Now he’s practising.” Fen didn’t want anyone to know the full depth of his bond with River. Everything he read showed how unusual it was.

“How long has he been training for?”

“A few weeks.” Fen watched the clumsy take off and showed River where he’d gone wrong. “Sorry, what did you say?” Fen looked over to Adalric who stared at him as he waited for a reply.

“Not bad for so little training. It looks like he might be a fast one. But they say the wild ones often are.”

Fen tried not to sigh. He wished Adalric would go so he could finish his session with River. They had so little time each week in the flight arena. They weren’t the only ones who wanted to practice flying the obstacle course.

“I’ve read somewhere all greys are fast. Both tame and wild,” Fen said.

“Where did you read that? What rubbish. How can anyone say that when no one keeps tame greys? Just because they’re a throwback to their wild cousins, it doesn’t mean they have any other of their traits.”

Fen quoted the dragon book he’d read the information in. “Why do you say no one keeps tame greys?”

“Everyone knows you don’t want to taint a line with that gene. It’s different if they’re wild. It’s good to have new blood brought into the lines. Eventually as you breed along the line from the wild grey you go from half the hatchlings grey to the odd one or two in every few generations, but you have that anyway.”

Fen felt a rush of anger at Adalric’s attitude towards dragons. River sent a calm feeling towards him to help him rein in his emotions. “What brings you to this part of town?”

“We’re holding a dinner party on Halfday of next week. We’d be delighted if you attended. Let me know sometime in the next couple of days.”

Fen nodded. “I’m fairly certain I have nothing on that evening, but I’ll check my planner later and let you know.”

Adalric looked towards River. “You know, if you were in private stables you’d find there was more time available for you in a flight arena. He could do with longer hours in there each day. Have you thought anymore on my offer?”

Adalric had regularly sounded him out over the past few months and Fen had the impression Adalric’s patience was wearing thin. Fen nodded. “But I’ve had so many offers it’s been difficult narrowing it down.”

“You said that last week. Surely it can’t take you so long to make a decision. This indecisiveness is not a healthy trait.”

“I’ve narrowed it down to a handful of choices. You’re one of them. And your neighbour Bastian. Your two offers are the most tempting. You must understand it isn’t a decision to be made lightly. I only have one dragon and I have to think of what’s best for him.”

Bertrisa chose that moment to enter the flight arena and signal his time was finished. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to see my dragon returned to his pen.”

“That’s what stableboys are for,” Adalric said.

“He’s a wild dragon. I’m sure you’ve read about some of their unusual ways. How they rarely take to more than one person. I’m afraid he barely tolerates other people, unless I’m there to assure him all’s well.” Fen was grateful to think of a way to get rid of Adalric. He didn’t know if this was true of wild dragons, but he’d read it. He did know it wasn’t true of River. He only disliked people Fen disliked.

“I hope to see you at my dinner party. I expect you should have figured out your choice by then.”

Fen knew this was his deadline. “Certainly. You’ll be one of the first to be informed.”

Aldaric stared at Fen a moment longer before he turned abruptly and left the arena. Fen looked towards River and mentally called him.

“He’s not the type of man you should upset.”

Fen turned around, surprised to see Bertrisa was back. “I’m trying not to.”

Bertrisa smiled wryly. “Some men are easily upset.”

“So I’m beginning to think.” Fen glanced up at River who had come to stand beside him. “Come on, let’s get you back to your pen.” They left the flight arena with a nod of greeting to the next dragon trainer who waited to use it.

Fen sat on his horse and waited for Edana to join him. He looked upwards with a frown as the sky started to fill with the vibrant colours of the rising sun. Some mornings he waited in vain for her to arrive. He had hoped today wouldn’t be one of them. He’d informed Adalric at his dinner party the night before that he’d continue to use the public stable. Adalric had been polite but incredulous. He’d pointed out all the drawbacks of public stables without appearing to be pushing his own stable on Fen. But Fen was sure he’d seen a glimmer of anger in the depths of his eyes. He’d hoped Edana would be able to tell him what her father’s next move would be.

He was about to give up and head back to town, when he saw a rider gallop towards him. He was relieved to see it was Edana.

She pulled up beside him. “Let’s go. I need to keep my horse moving after how hard I’ve ridden. I also don’t have much time.”

“I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.” Fen urged his horse into a walk and drew alongside of Edana’s horse.

“So was I. You certainly know how to cause a commotion. You should have heard my father after you and all the guests left last night.” Edana grinned. The grin quickly faded. “It’s not going to be pretty.”

“What’s he planning?”

“Exactly what we expected. He’s going to make it impossible for you to stable River anywhere so you’ll be forced to come crawling to him. Everything’s going to be impossible for you. I’m sorry.” Edana reached out to touch Fen’s arm. “I don’t know what to do.”

Fen nodded. He rapidly thought of ideas and just as quickly dropped them. “I’m not letting them get River. He’s mine. I went through too much to get him. Besides, they wouldn’t treat him right.”

“With how quickly he’s been learning to fly and how smoothly he’s moving in the air, he’d be treated royally by whoever had him.”

“I don’t care. No one’ll have him. And they wouldn’t keep him once he couldn’t compete or breed. You know Dragon Lords rarely let dragons die of old age. Dragons live too long for them to bother.”

Edana sighed. “Fen-”

Fen shook his head. “If the plan doesn’t involve River staying with me, forget it.”

Edana fell silent.

“I’ve had worse problems.”

“Unless your dragon has stabling, public or private, he can’t be entered in any of the dragon competitions. The races, the events, the battles, none of them.”

“Is there a definition of what a private stable is?”

“I can get a hold of the Official Dragon Competition Rulebook.”

“I’ll get my own copy.”

Edana shrugged. “Suit yourself. You’ll find it at any of the bookshops out near the competition grounds. What are you planning?”

“I don’t quite know yet, but there has to be something. I’m not letting them beat me.”

There was a strong brush against their minds followed by a fierce feeling of agreement.

“And they’re not going to beat River either,” Fen said fiercely.

“I didn’t know he was following us with his mind. Does he often listen in?”

Fen grinned. “He doesn’t trust me not to get into trouble without him there to look after me.”

“I’m not surprised.” Edana momentarily returned Fen’s grin. “I have to go. I can’t be late or my tutor will complain to my father. And he isn’t in the mood to be generous today.”

“Tomorrow morning?”

“I hope so. It was difficult to sneak out this morning.” Edana turned her horse around and headed for home.

Fen turned towards town, his mind on the problem of what he could do.

After hunting down the book he needed, Fen returned to River’s pen. He ran his hand along the dragon’s neck, comforting and drawing comfort from the action.

“No fireplace now?”

Fen heard the words whispered in his mind. He glanced around. He was alone with River. “That was you? Speaking in my head?”

River lowered his head. His eyes blinked in agreement.

“But how?”

River stared at Fen. A few minutes later, a rush of confusion washed over Fen.
“New. Difficult.”

Fen nodded. “I guess you did once tell me you would.” Fen reached out and stroked River again. The dragon closed his eyes and waves of contentment washed over Fen.

“You find plan.”
A feeling of certainty followed River’s thought.

“I hope so.”

“Are you still talking to that dragon of yours?” Bertrisa appeared in the doorway of the pen.

Fen smiled slightly. “Only way to have an intelligent conversation around here.”

“That’s not surprising considering your stableboy.”

Fen’s smile became a grin. “He isn’t that bad.”

“I’m not getting into that argument.” Bertrisa’s smile disappeared. “So, who’d you annoy? Must’ve been someone pretty important.”

Fen’s smile faded instantly. “Adalric.”

“Adalric as in Renarlo con Vexartian?”

“Afraid so.”

Bertrisa whistled. “You don’t do things by halves. Well, he’s putting the pressure on me, through a third party, to turf you out. I’m afraid I can’t help you much. The most I can do is hold out for five days. Will that give you enough time to find somewhere else?”

Fen shook his head. “No, but I appreciate the help. I don’t suppose you’ve got any miracles stored away?”

Bertrisa laughed. “Not the size you need. Why’d you go and mess with him anyway?”

“He decided to mess with me. He’s hoping I’ll come to him looking for stabling.”

“And the problem would be?”

“I’m not eighteen, I’m an orphan and a potential protégée.”

“Why that slimy snake! Don’t you dare give into him. I’ll see what favours I can call in. Don’t hold your breath though. You’re certainly in an impossible situation.”

Fen watched as Bertrisa strode away. He leaned against River. “And don’t I know it.”