Gloria Oliver (7 page)

After looking through the list a second time, she rolled it back up, set it aside, and moved on to the next.

The new parchment contained a long poem. It was simple, the rhymes not well thought out, but it was very funny. The poem told of how the sun learned of the beautiful moon by the gossip of the clouds and then went on to spend his every waking moment trying to see her for himself. This could not be, of course, since the moon would normally only show herself once he’d gone from the sky. The sun however kept on, and on, oblivious.

Talia was forced to put her hand over her mouth a number of times as she read through the poem to keep from laughing out loud.

“Say, which one of these do you think I should wear today?”

She glanced up and found Lareen standing before a long dresser holding up a number of brightly colored and strangely cut clothes. Talia frowned, not having seen the like before. “Uh, ah, I’m not really sure, ma’am.”

“Oh well, never mind.” Lareen put the clothes back and then pulled out others which looked even stranger than the first.

Wondering what that was about, Talia rolled up the poem and reached for the third parchment.

The next one was sixteen pages long. And though it was written in a somewhat winded and dry style, she still found herself instantly fascinated. The contents went into some detail about the proper daily maintenance of dragons. A section was even devoted to the likes and dislikes of the different colored types of dragons. She was surprised at the many distinct types. The paper only listed eight, but suggested there were more.

A point of interest, common to all types, was their almost compulsive love of cherries. If the pits were left in them, the fruit even tended to have an intoxicating effect. Bold lettering strongly proclaimed though that if given too many pits, it could prove dangerous for the dragon. While small quantities were inebriating, large quantities of pits were poisonous. Cherries were poisonous?

The last section of the parchment dealt with a common vermin to dragons called worms. From what the parchment said, it seemed these worms worked to get underneath a dragon’s scales and latch on to the skin beneath. While the parasite was mostly an annoyance to the dragon, the parchment said they could be dangerous to a rider. It didn’t say how, although it did go to some length to explain the steps for their proper removal. Talia never heard of such a creature before, though now one of Kel’s references when he first picked her up made sense. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know more, though.

Talia glanced up to see what Lareen was doing before going on to the last parchment in the cart. She spotted the Administrator looking in her direction. The robe was gone, replaced by a frilly red dress of gossamer material, which seemed to accentuate certain parts of her and didn’t look overtly utilitarian. This was how the top person in a school dressed?

“Do you like it?” Lareen came closer and twirled before her so she could see all of it. Talia was hard-pressed to say anything, though Lareen did look beautiful in it.

“Hmm.” Lareen pouted lightly. “Maybe it’s not quite right for today. Oh, well. Carry on.” The Administrator went back across the room and pulled out other dresses as fully inappropriate and as strange as the first before disappearing behind a tall set of screens to change.

Talia forced herself to stop watching her and grabbed the last of the parchments.

This was the thickest of all—over thirty pages long. Unlike the previous one, however, it was written simply and was easy to read. It was a story of a Dragon Knight.

The whole tale was fun and interesting, though it seemed to be lacking in substance. The knight in the story was very busy—he was off saving princesses, slaying monsters, and doing other courageous deeds.

Yet the descriptions in the story were vague and didn’t impart much of anything. It did have a good ending though—he married the most beautiful princess he’d rescued and got his own kingdom. She doubted anyone could ask for more.

When she finished with the last and set it down, she found Lareen sitting quietly on her bed staring at her.

“Finished?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Talia noticed with some amusement the Administrator was wearing the same red dress she’d originally put on.

“Which of them do you choose?” Lareen asked, sounding almost as if out of rote rather than interest.

“Or do you need more time?” She lay down on her side on the bed, in no way appearing as if she was in a hurry.

“No, I … I’ve made my decision.” Talia took the parchment on dragon maintenance.

Lareen’s brow rose on her lovely face. “That one? Why not the first?”

The Administrator’s seeming amazement at her choice surprised Talia. Her mind stumbled to come up with an explanation even as a small part of her now doubted her choice. “The, the list is nice and is made up of useful things, but other than to maybe be used for figuring out the general weight of things, you can’t really use it. Though it has prices on it, there’s no way to tell whose prices they are so the information is worthless.” She hoped she didn’t sound as unsure as she felt.

Lareen nodded. “And the poem?”

“It was funny. But other than possibly cheering someone up it has no real use.” Her stomach knotted as the notion occurred to her that Lareen might have written it.

“Hmm, and the story?”

Talia forced herself to take a breath and plunge on. “Entertaining, but lacks any real information.”

“All right, then why did you pick the one you did?” Lareen asked, her eyes bright.

She looked away from the woman’s suddenly intense stare. “Well, it has good, practical information.

Things which as a guild member I could use.” She tried to come up with more to say but her brain wasn’t cooperating. She hoped it would be enough.

“Keep it then. I think you’ll definitely find it helpful.” Lareen rose from the bed. “Let’s go on over to my office. Bring the cart, won’t you?” Her colorful skirt rustled as she crossed the room. Talia picked up the other parchments, dumped them into the cart and, tucking the one she was to keep inside her vest, rushed to follow.

The Administrator’s office was the door closest to the golden door. A large, abused looking desk sat prominently in the back. Papers lay in neat stacks on one side of it. Lareen waved her toward the three padded chairs facing the desk.

Talia rolled the cart to the closest one and sat down.

“If you’ll look at the last shelf on the cart, you’ll find a nice assortment of knives there. Look through them and find one you like. Sheaths for them are in the drawer beneath it.” As she spoke, Lareen sat down and picked up one of the stacks of papers.

“Yes, ma’am.” She turned to do as she was told.

The last shelf of the cart held thirty-two knives in all. Some were made of silver, others of bone, some even of gold. Some held long blades; others were curved like snakes. Just as she’d done with the gems, she took all of them out of the cart and spread them before her. At least this was something she knew a little about.

Without much thought, she set aside the strangely curved blades and those made of precious metals. The curved blades would be too awkward for her to handle and the others were either made of a metal which would be too soft to prove useful for anything but decoration, or would tarnish too easily. The blacksmith’s son, Lir, taught her these things even as he learned them. Unlike her, Lir knew all along what he wanted to be. He, too, would be apprenticed to a guild soon. She wished he were here with her now.

Telling herself she had no right to think such things, Talia studied the eleven blades left. One by one, she picked them up and tested their balance and weight as well as how they felt in her hand. She put three of these quickly off on the rejected pile. After several more minutes, she finally settled on a thin, double-edged blade with a leather grip. She very much enjoyed the comfortable fit of the grip in her hand. The blade was also light, possessed good balance, and appeared to be able to take a good amount of abuse.

She placed all the other knives back in the cart, then opened the drawer beneath and sifted through the sheaths there until she found one that would handle her blade.

Once done, she stood up and glanced at Lareen, wondering what the Administrator would want her to do next. The fact she was being tested was obvious, but what the results of the tests would be used for she wasn’t so sure. Lareen was still at her desk, busily writing, her eyes moving over a number of other papers set before her. Her round face was set and focused, almost as if she were a different person from the carefree one Talia met not long before.

Before she could decide if she should interrupt her, the Administrator looked up as if sensing her stare.

“All done?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Lareen beckoned her over. “Let me see what you picked.”

Talia brought over the sheathed blade and handed it to her. Her eyes glanced down at the papers on Lareen’s desk and she noticed the neat handwriting on the papers. One of them contained her name at the top. She was about to try and see what it said about her when Lareen spoke.

“Very nice choice. You’ve done quite well.” The Administrator’s smile was warm.

Talia guiltily looked away from the papers. “Thank you.”

A knock reverberated into the room from the hallway. Lareen glanced in that direction. “Ah, lunch is here. Perfect timing.” She turned to Talia. “Would you mind getting the door?” She gave her back her knife.

Talia nodded, amazed so much time had gone by, then took the knife and walked to the hallway. To her surprise, she saw the overwhelming door wasn’t gold on the inside but a deep, dark wood with steel reinforced supports. She went ahead and opened it.

A severe-faced, middle-aged woman nodded at her as she wheeled in a cart full of food. Her hair was cut very short and was colored black and gray. The woman immediately headed toward the Administrator’s office. Talia quickly closed the door and followed.

“Ah, thank you, Tula. Your timing is as impeccable as ever.” Lareen rose from her desk.

The scent of roasted pork and a tangy sauce whisked in the air making Talia’s stomach rumble in expectation.

“Tula, meet Talia, our newest recruit.” Lareen said.

“Pleased to meet you.” The newcomer’s accent was thick.

“Tula is our head cook. She rules the kitchen with an iron fist.” Lareen smiled as she spoke. “She has many talents.”

“Don’t listen to her, child. She’s just trying to flatter me to get more dessert.” Tula’s blue-gray eyes suddenly twinkled, brightening her face perceptively.

“Pleased to meet you, too, ma’am,” Talia said.

“None of that, please. I’m nobody’s ma’am, just Tula.” The head cook started uncovering the dishes on the cart.

Lareen brought over a small table and lifted two wings on its sides to make it larger. Talia jumped in to help and quickly brought over a couple of chairs for them to sit on.

Tula served them both, making sure both their plates held plenty of vegetables and meat before taking her leave.

Lareen poured them cups of watered wine. “This is to celebrate your addition to the guild.” She raised her cup high. After a moment, Talia rushed to follow suit. “Congratulations and welcome.” Lareen beamed. Talia tried her best to return her smile, feeling suddenly a little overwhelmed and awkward.

“The rest of your class will be arriving over the next week. Until then, your time will be your own,”

Lareen said. “Since you have money now, you might want to visit Nertak’s store. It’s located in a cave in the back of the grounds. I’m not sure how much you actually brought with you, but if you have need of anything, you should be able to find it there. If he doesn’t have it, he can order it for you.”

Talia nodded. She wondered if the Administrator knew what rumors were being spread about this man.

“He can also take care of any mail you might need to send.” Lareen stared at her knowingly. Talia truly didn’t know what to make of her.

“Your teacher will be Helyn. She will probably introduce herself to you sometime before your classes officially begin.”

As they ate, Lareen added little pieces of information to the meal. The building and the school it housed had stood for over eight hundred years. Over time, the rooms were given the names of knights who’d studied there and gone on to gain great fame. Lareen told her she herself was only one of a long line of administrators, and had cared for the school for the last five years. The school was one of six teaching the general, rudimentary skills. Specific schools for particular lines of work were seeded throughout the world.

“School is six days a week. The seventh day is your own, but part of it is to go toward the changing of the water in your tub and the linen on the beds,” Lareen told her. “There’s a bag in your closet for laundry. You just put what needs to be cleaned in there and set it out in the hallway on the way to breakfast. You should find it returned by the next day.”

Talia tried to commit all this to memory.

“Do you have any questions?” Lareen asked her amicably.

Talia sat back and seriously considered if she should ask anything. One of her many questions from earlier came up to the fore. “What is the lottery?”

“Ah.” Lareen appeared intrigued by her choice of question. “It’s a process we use to assign a knight to a dragon. Every year we have more people than there are dragons available. With the lottery, those who want to participate choose the color dragon best suited to their personality and then numbers are drawn to see who actually will be paired with one.”

“Is it how Kel got Clarence?” She inhaled quickly, not sure if she’d stepped out of line in asking this. She saw Lareen’s brow rise.

“Well, as you’ve seen, Clarence does have a certain flying disability. Though he’s spent quite a long time with the guild, he wasn’t normally included as part of the lottery—it was his choice. After Kel won his draw he specifically requested Clarence. Since Clarence agreed to it, it was done.”

Lareen sighed, a wistful look crossing her face. “Unfortunately, to become a full knight, the rider and dragon must pass a final test once they’ve bonded. Though expectations were high some of Clarence’s deficiencies would be overcome once he and Kel joined, it wasn’t the case—and so the final test proved beyond them.”