Gloria Oliver (36 page)

Talia stared at her friend, not having seen her this excited about anything before. The thrilled expression on the normally sour face was a radical change and made her appear an entirely different person. Yllin ran to the stand in question, almost as if afraid it would suddenly disappear.

“Well, this is new,” Mandee said, an amused smile on her face. “I didn’t know she had it in her.”

“She never mentioned she liked cherries before?” Talia asked her.

“Yeah, but…” Mandee shrugged.

By the time they caught up with their friend, Yllin had already gulped down half of the two servings she bought. She grinned as she spotted them, her teeth stained red. “They’re fresh
and
pitted. You’ve got to get some!” She herded them to the front of the booth.

As Talia bought herself a cupful, her eyes widened a little as she remembered something. “Excuse me, but do you have enough of these that you might consider selling me a bushel?”

The young man behind the counter raised an eyebrow. “Actually miss, we have tons of cherries. They’re quite popular with the dragons, so we made sure to bring quite a few.”

“The pits are dangerous to them though, isn’t that right?” she asked.

Mandee came to stand beside her, staring at her curiously.

“Only if they eat too many,” the vendor told her. “A small amount is not bad for them. It makes them slightly intoxicated actually.” He grinned.

Talia’s brow furrowed. Would Clarence enjoy them? She decided to take the chance. “How much?”

The young man turned away and then returned with a large basket filled to the brim with cherries. He set it on the counter with a slight thump. “One small gem, miss.”

“Talia, what are you doing?” Mandee asked her this in a whisper as though already suspecting the answer.

“Just buying some cherries.” She dug in her bag for one of her gems.

“Yes,” Mandee hissed in her ear, “but for
whom
?”

The vendor took her money and then pulled a lid out for the basket. Before he set it on, he sprinkled a layer of unpitted cherries over the top. “Here you go.”

“Thank you very much,” Talia said with feeling. She was very glad Yllin had found this place. She grabbed the basket by the handles and pulled it off the counter only to almost drop it. It was heavier than it looked.

“Talia!” Mandee stared at her, worry openly staining her face.

Yllin came over, all of her cherries gone, and looked with admiration at her purchase. “I should have thought of that.”

“Yllin, this is serious! Those aren’t for her.” Mandee still kept her voice low even as she chastised her friend. “Don’t you remember what they told us about cherries in class?”

Yllin hesitated, not immediately recollecting what Mandee was talking about. Then her eyes grew large and she turned to Talia. “You’ll get in trouble!”

Talia set the heavy basket on the ground after moving several steps over into the small alley formed by the cherry vendor’s stall and the one next to it. She put a determined look on her face. “Look, I’m going to do this. I need to do this. I wasn’t told I couldn’t, and it’s the least I can do. If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t even be having this carnival. Don’t they have the right to get something out of it, too?”

Her two friends stared at her, neither knowing what to say.

She plunged on. “It won’t take me long, and you don’t have to wait for me. I really
need
to do this.”

“You can barely lift it,” Mandee pointed out. “How are you planning on getting it there?”

Talia already knew of a solution. “I’ll leave it with the store keeper and go get the dolly from the kitchen.

No one will think much about it.”

“That’ll take too long,” Yllin told her. “We’ll help you with it.” Her expression was set. “With all the other dragons there, no one will know who it is we’re taking it to.”

Mandee’s wrinkled brow suddenly smoothed. “Yes, it should work.”

Talia stared back and forth from one to the other. “I appreciate it, but I can’t let you. There’s still a risk.”

“But we want to,” Mandee said. Yllin nodded in agreement. “Besides, you have permission to go into the dormitory and if we’re with you, we might be able to get in, too, and take a closer look at all those dragons.”

“That’s right.” Yllin leaned over to grab one of the handles on the basket. “It’ll be a good learning experience. So lead the way.”

Hesitating only a moment longer, she gave in and nodded. Mandee took hold of the other handle and with Yllin’s help followed Talia into the crowd. She led them off the main thoroughfare and took the long way around to the dragon habitat. Watchers still stood by the doors turning away students trying to get in for a peek at the visiting dragons.

Nervous, but trying not to let it show, she walked right up to the doors, paying them no attention. Yllin and Mandee followed close behind. The watchers didn’t interfere with them in any way.

“I was sure they were going to stop us,” Yllin whispered once they were safely inside.

Mandee preened. “I told you she’d get us inside.”

Talia glanced back at them, getting the impression the two of them had had a discussion about this before she ever brought it up. Had she inadvertently come up with a good excuse to get them in here when it was something they actually wanted all along? She supposed she couldn’t blame them. In their place, she would have wanted very badly to get a closer look at the dragons herself. “This way.”

As she led them down the center of the aisle, Mandee and Yllin both gawked about them as they caught glimpses of the dormitory’s occupants.

Talia? Is something wrong?
She reached Clarence’s stall, and the dragon raised his head just enough to look over it at her.
I didn’t expect you again until this evening
.

“Everything’s fine. I, we, just came to bring you some dessert.”

Mandee and Yllin froze as his gaze turned to them.
Dessert?

Talia opened the stall door and waved her friends to go inside. Hesitantly, their eyes never leaving the towering dragon, they scooted in and set the basket on the ground before rushing back out.

Clarence reached down and with one carefully placed claw, flipped the lid off the basket.
Cherries!

Talia almost burst out laughing at the dragon’s reaction, the glee and amazement in his tone too closely resembling Yllin’s. “I was hoping they would be all right.”

Clarence’s tongue rolled out like a snake and snatched a single cherry from the pile. His eyes shone as he swiftly brought it back to his mouth.
You’ve just made this whole ordeal almost worthwhile
.

She smiled and stepped out of the stall, knowing this was going exactly as she hoped. It felt good to have been able to find something to make the dragon happy. And this in turn would make Kel happy as well.

“Excuse me, miss.” A gravelly voice whispered to her from the right. “Could I speak to you for a moment?”

Not having thought anyone else was there, she turned around, as did Mandee and Yllin. To her surprise, she didn’t find a guest or even a watcher, but instead found herself looking into the long-snouted face of a red dragon from three stalls down.

Glancing at her friends for a moment and then at Clarence’s closed stall door, Talia stepped over toward him. “What can I do for you, sir?” She hoped she guessed the gender correctly, not having any idea how a female dragon would sound. Other than for Clarence, this was her first experience speaking to a dragon. And Clarence, unlike this one, didn’t vocalize his words. Nervous but simultaneously excited, she waited for what he would say next.

As she came near, she noticed the dragon’s red scales looked faded, a few of those around his face almost discolored to white. Clarence’s scales were bright and deeply green and this matched what she’d seen of most of the other dragons now visiting there. Could the discoloration be a sign of age?

“Pardon my intrusion, but I couldn’t help but overhear part of your conversation.” Dark brown eyes with orange rims studied her intently. “By any chance, were those cherries?” He said the word as if it were a cherished treasure.

Talia sobered, not sure what she was about to get herself into. “Yes, as a matter of fact, they are.” She thought she saw the old dragon’s mouth water. In the stalls around them, several heads popped up from behind the stalls, their eyes shining with interest.

“Talia!” Mandee and Yllin came close, as all the dragons in the dormitory raised their heads to stare at them except for Clarence.

The old dragon’s head drew closer, his hot breath washing over her. “If you wouldn’t find it too inconvenient, might I impose on you for a favor?”

“What do you need, sir?” She fought to keep her voice steady, the staring dragons and the old one’s piercing attention proving a little overwhelming.

“As you might imagine, it’s difficult for us to roam about with all the students loose on the premises. So since we are not able, would you mind purchasing cherries for us so we may all partake of them as well?”

he asked.

Talia glanced back at her friends, who nodded quickly, staring nervously at the hungrily watching dragons around them. “Yes, we’d be happy to.”

“How kind of you!” Agreement rang out throughout the dormitory, some vocal and others not. The old dragon disappeared behind his stall for a moment and then quickly returned with a medium-sized purse.

He dropped it on the ground before them. “We’ll need nineteen servings, a bushel a piece. There should be more than sufficient funds there. Whatever is left, please split amongst you as my thanks for your services.”

She lifted the heavy purse from the ground. From the weight of it she could almost guarantee it contained more than they would need. “No payment is necessary, sir. We’d be happy to do it.”

“Of course it is!” the dragon said imperiously. “A payment for a service. It does not matter how large or small, each act deserves recompense.”

Talia decided it might be in her best interest not to argue the point. “Thank you, sir.” She gave him a small bow. “We’ll return shortly.” Mandee and Yllin nodded, looking eager to be gone.

She led the way out, her two friends sticking very close. They felt themselves watched every step of the way by eager, reptilian faces.

“They, they talked to us!” Mandee laughed out loud as soon as they got outside and were out of hearing range of the watchers keeping guard. Her voice was full of a mix of fear and awe. “And Yllin, they seemed as crazy about cherries as you! Though they were much more scary looking.”

Yllin threw her a sour look. “It won’t be much fun traipsing nineteen bushels around. Why didn’t they get their partners to do this?”

“Maybe they are,” Talia said, a sudden amusing thought flashing through. “This way though, they might get twice as much, especially if they don’t mention to anyone we’ve already done it for them.”

“That’s evil,” Mandee exclaimed. “I love it. And if Yllin could get away with it, she’d do it, too!” She quickly dodged a grab by the dark-faced girl.

“We can get the dolly I use to bring Clarence’s meals. It should make this easier,” Talia suggested.

“Sounds good.” Yllin tried to grab Mandee again as she spoke, but was again unsuccessful.

After retrieving the dolly, the three of them made their way over to the fruit seller’s stall. Weirdly enough, he didn’t seem surprised to see them. He didn’t even raise a brow when she gave him their request.

“Yeah, I’d a feeling you’d be back. That group never passes up a chance for these if they can help it.” He gave them a wide grin. “Just glad it wasn’t me. It’s so hard to refuse a bunch of hungry dragons.”

“Will you have enough?” Yllin asked as Talia took out the payment.

“No problem,” he told them. “More are on the way. Dragons just can’t get enough of the stuff.” He grinned. “Come around to the back and we can get started.”

Mandee grabbed the dolly, and with Talia and Yllin following they walked over to the back of the tent.

They could see stacks upon stacks of crates filling the interior as the proprietor lifted the flap up for them.

Two men sat on the outside with a crate open and a bushel basket next to each leg. Their fingers were stained red as each reached into the open crate and pulled out cherries and then took out the pits from them. The scent of the fruit was overpowering.

The proprietor looked over at the two busy men and then winked at the girls. “Dor, Sti, our big order has arrived ahead of schedule.”

They both looked up and over at him, their expressions not pleased. “That’s not funny.”

“Who said I was joking?” He gave them both a hard look.

The men’s faces fell.

“You won’t have to carry them though. For this round we’ve got some help.” He hooked a thumb in the girls’ direction.

“Well, at least it’s something…” Both of the men sighed. As one, they pushed to work faster.

Talia guessed the carnival wasn’t really fun and games for everyone involved.

“The stack over there is ready.” The vendor indicated a pile of bushels just inside the tent.

“Thank you.” She and Yllin grabbed the first one off the top and loaded it onto the dolly. Taking three more, they left with their first load. The girls took turns stacking and pulling. Each time they arrived at the dormitory, a silent cheer would ripple through the dragons waiting expectantly for them. By the time they finished bringing them over, the atmosphere was quite cheerful inside and the dragons were happily conversing with one another.

Much to her surprise and pleasure, Clarence rose from the back of his stall and even deigned to engage the old red dragon in conversation.

After about an hour, the three girls were finally done.

“That was almost as bad as bringing in the water,” Yllin complained rubbing briskly at her arms.

“You think they might want us to do this again for them?” Mandee looked very excited at the prospect as she asked.

“It’s likely.” Talia couldn’t help an amused smile. Remembering the leftover gems, she pulled them out.

She gave Yllin and Mandee four apiece, and kept the last three for herself.