The Dragon's Prize (6 page)

“You should run.”  Sandra whispered to Mira.

“I won’t leave you…”

“That’s not a good choice.”  Sandra laughed, which hurt.  Then she started to crawl to her feet while the rest of the castle crouched in cover.

Mira helped, and soon Sandra was on her feet.  Once there, she managed to walk without much effort.  She didn’t want to imagine what she looked like: blood coming from her mouth, bruises across her face and posture broken by her rough treatment.  Instead she focused on one goal in her mind: getting the prince back.  Riprock mountains were two weeks away on horseback, which was plenty of time to heal up before the fight.

“Captain!”  Yelling hurt.  She didn’t care.  “You can kill me later, but you need me now.  Take me with you on this expedition!”

In the silence she could hear the shuffling of nervous feet.  Maybe people thought another dragon was coming?  They didn’t have any more crown princes…

“Uhh… what?”  Finally the captain spoke up, peeking around the corner of the keep.  “We don’t need you.”

“Like Hell.  I didn’t see anyone else trying to take that thing down.”

“Take it down?”

“On the expedition.”

“I don’t see how getting gold from the treasury needs bravery…”   It didn’t look like anything else was going to happen, so the captain came out from around the corner of the keep and strode toward Sandra.  Now that the danger was passed, he struck a noble and confident figure in comparison to an injured guard who could barely stand.

“What?  You’re not going after it?”

“To what?”

“To punish it for this trespass!”  Sandra was angry now.  Yelling.  “It broke a peace treaty with us and you want to kowtow to its demands?!”

“Umm…”

“It took the prince!”  She pointed at the sky for emphasis.  “We hunt it down like the filthy cur it is and show it what awaits the enemies of the kingdom.”

“You’re both right.”  A woman’s voice, cool and regal and commanding, interrupted their argument.

Sandra turned to see who it was and was confronted with a stately middle-aged woman in a lavish gown dripping in jewels.  She was surrounded by a dozen women in gowns which were nearly as lavish, although with fewer jewels, and a half dozen guards in crisp white-enamel plate armor.

The queen!

Sandra found herself falling to one knee without even thinking about it.  The jarring pain in her stomach made her think that, maybe, she might not be able to get back up after.

“Your majesty.”

A chorus of ‘your majesty’s echoed throughout the bailey.  People had started to trickle out of their hidey-holes to watch the shouting match between Sara and the captain, but their attention was now entirely on the queen.  While it was her castle, she was rarely seen outside of the sumptuous gardens at the top of the keep or the great hall where she and the king kept audience.  Sandra had only seen her once, from afar, when her class graduated to full guard status.

“Rise, brave guard.  I witnessed your effort on behalf of the prince earlier and you have my respect.”

“But, your majesty…!”  The captain surged to his feet and tried to protest.

“Enough, captain!”  The queen held out an imperious hand which stopped him dead.  “I also know of the fate intended for her.”

Sandra couldn’t disobey a direct order from the queen and stood.  Tried to.  She managed it on the second attempt.  The queen graciously didn’t say anything.

“Now.”  The queen raised her voice so everyone could hear her.  “You are both right.  We must mount a rescue attempt, and if that fails we will gather the bounty that the creature has proposed.”  She paused for dramatic effect, then continued.  “I will not order anyone to make an assault on this creature’s lair, for it is dangerous and there is no guarantee of success.  I will, however, take volunteers.”

“I’ll go, your majesty!”  Sandra stepped forward.  She was up now, so she could manage that.

She waited with her heart in her chest for someone to protest.  Or, worse, for the captain to volunteer as well.  It would only make sense, but she didn’t think having him on the expedition would do much to help her life expectancy.  He probably wouldn’t be stupid enough to throw away her help on the way out, but he might do something on the way back.

Didn’t matter.

What mattered now were the prince’s life and the kingdom’s honor.

It was quiet.  Someone coughed.  Someone else shuffled their feet.  Another cough.  Sandra felt her anger rising with each passing moment.  Cowards!

“I’ll go.”  A female voice and someone stepped forward.  Mira?  Sandra turned to look.

“Oh, Mira, no…”

“I can be… a squire, you know?”  Mira shrugged.

“Oh, that’s rich.”  The captain barked out a sharp, derisive laugh.  “The commoner guard and a maid, against a dragon?!”  He slapped his leg and laughed again.  There was no mirth in that sound.  “This filth won’t last a second against the creature’s might, your majesty!”

“We’ll see.”  The queen cut through his derision with cool indifference.  “Still, they are the only ones who have volunteered.”

“Because they’re the only ones crazy en-…!”

“Your respect, captain.”  The queen snapped at him this time.  “They are the only ones willing to lay down their lives for the honor of our kingdom.  They are the only ones willing to save my son.”

“Majesty.”  The captain knew when to be quiet, so he did.  He bowed and took a step away from the gathering crowd.

“Majesty.”  Sandra bowed as well, though not as deeply.  She didn’t know if she could get back up if she went down too far.  “With your leave, Mira and I will go and pack for the journey.”

“Yes.”  The queen nodded.  “I think you should.”  Then she raised her voice and addressed the crowd which milled about, waiting for answers and saviors.  “My people!  Your prince has been taken by a most foul beast, but fear not!”  Clearly she was hamming it up for the audience.  “Your champions will prevail!”

A cheer went up from the crowd.  Ragged at first, it gained momentum when Sandra hopped up to the top of the stairs and raised her arms in defiance.  She was bruised and bloody, barely able to walk, but to see her like that and still willing to go through with such a dangerous course helped morale.  They knew she was doing this for the good of the kingdom, for their good, and that she would let nothing stand in her way.

Afraid she might not say the right thing, Sandra just cheered.  The crowd cheered.  Mira cheered.  The queen beamed at the two of them, apparently quite satisfied with the state of things.

*

After the queen’s brief address, Sandra and Mira were escorted to Sandra’s chamber by one of the queen’s guards.  The captain slyly offered to provide the escort, but the queen knew better than to let him.  Sandra had to admit, for a woman that was rarely seen around the castle, the queen was remarkably well-informed about the politics of the day.  She was even more surprised that the queen knew enough about Sandra's own predicament to understand the danger Sandra would be in if one of the captain’s men were left alone with her.

When they got through the door and were finally alone, Sandra immediately collapsed on the bed.  It felt good.  Great!  It felt great.  She could just stay there forever…

She rolled over to the side of the bed and coughed out a glob of blood onto the ground.  Not a great sign.

“Umm…”  Mira looked confused and a little unsure of herself now.

“Want to do some of that squiring now?”  Sandra kept her voice low to avoid stressing her battered self.  “Learn on the job and all that?”

“Oh!  Of course… you look like you’re barely able to stand!”

“That’s a good way to put it.”

“Okay… okay.  What do I do?”

“For now: pack.”  Sandra gave a wan smile.  “We’ll need clothes, supplies and gear.”

“Gear?”

“Weapons.  Armor.  Something to take down a dragon.”

“Oh… oh!  You have something like that?”

“No.”

Mira let that sink in for a second.  Then she stuck out her tongue in defiance and went about raiding Sandra’s wardrobe.

The room itself was sparse, with only the cot, a small dresser and the wardrobe.  It was more than a lot of peasants had to themselves, and it was far more than enough for Sandra.  She’d gotten her own room due to the fact that she was the lone female in the guard.  There had been some grumbling about it, but she was grateful not to have to share a bunk with one of the other men.

She imagined that Mira’s room was much the same, although the maid probably had a roommate or two.

Mira turned out to be very methodical when it came to packing.  She quickly stripped out the most important items: extra underclothes, plenty of socks and comfortable tunics.  She started to look confused at that point.

“Umm… Sandra?”

“Yes?”

“Where are your skirts?”

“Skirts?”

“Skirts!  You can’t wear those awful pants all the time, can you?”  Mira made a derisive gesture at the stained and torn pants Sandra was currently wearing.  Sandra raised on weary eyebrow.

“Why not?”

“You’re a lady!  In armor it’s fine, but otherwise it’s… indecent!”

“Indecent?  Really?”

“I can’t think of a better word.”  Mira pouted.  “Fine.  No skirts.”

“You probably shouldn’t pack any either.”

“Oh?”  With purpose again, Mira grabbed several pairs of pants, then she set about rolling everything together.  She rolled each item into a tight cylinder, then packed the underclothes between the outerwear, at the bottom of Sandra’s pack.  Sandra had to admit, it was very meticulous and seemed to have a method to it.

“Skirts aren’t great for horse riding.”

“I’ll ride side saddle!”

“For two weeks?”

Mira got quiet for a moment.

“Oh.”

“Take some of my pants.”

“Thanks!”  Mira nodded, and Sandra guessed that the maid probably didn’t even own a riding skirt.  Why should she?  Chamber maids don’t spend a lot of time on horse back.

“What are you doing with my clothes, by the way?”  Sandra gestured at the precise order Mira was packing things in.  Watching her was keeping Sandra’s mind off the pain lancing through her gut.

“Packing them.”

“…”

“Okay, fine.  If you roll them like this, then they take up less room and you can fit more in a single pack.  And if you pack the shirts and… pants around the underclothes, then if the inside of the pack gets wet you’re more likely to have dry underwear.”

“Oh.”  Sandra never would have thought of any of that.  “Where did you learn that?”

“Wasn’t always a maid…”

Sandra was about to press on that point, since it was the second time that Mira brought it up, but didn’t get the chance.  They heard the guard outside conversing with someone, and then the door opened.

The queen.

Sandra tried once to get out of bed so she could bow like Mira, but she couldn’t manage it.  Her arms wouldn’t summon the strength, and her abdominal muscles refused to cooperate.  She settled for blushing.

“No need to get up.”  The queen smiled kindly.  Behind her came a small man who smelled like sulfur.  He bustled over to Sandra and prodded her in the gut.

Hard.

Sandra grunted in pain and lashed out for the man in reflex.  He was fast enough to get out of the way, but only because Sandra was not at her best right now.  If she were feeling okay he would not have escaped.  That didn’t bode well for her chances against the dragon…

“As I thought!”  The little man exclaimed cheerfully and came back over to Sandra.  He didn’t look like he was going to do that again soon, so she let him be.  “Internal bleeding in addition to the external damage, your majesty.”

“Sandra, this is my personal physician.”

The little man beamed.

“Your majesty?”  Sandra was confused.

“I know what happened to you, my dear… in fact, I had my own little escape plan all ready for you if that dragon hadn’t shown up.”

“You…?”

“Don’t look so shocked, dear.  I know how fond my son used to be of you, and I heard all about that ridiculous sparring match.  The captain should have known better than to put a commoner in the ring with a royal, and then to let the prince goad you into hitting him like that?”

“I…”

“And of course, the captain did know better.  As I’m sure you already guessed, he planned the whole thing.”

“Yes.”  Sandra nodded.  “I figured he-… urk!”  She was interrupted by the little man jamming a bottle of herbaceous liquid against her lips.  The suddenness of the motion caused her to swallow some of it without thinking.  It tasted like thyme, but lit up like a starburst of fire when it started going down her throat.

Sandra started to cough and struggle against the doctor, but for now he was stronger.  He held her against the bed with one hand and poured the rest of the medicine down her throat.  Mollified by the idea that if the queen were going to have her killed, this would not be the chosen method, Sandra stopped fighting.  The liquid burned in Sandra’s throat.  And, when it hit her stomach, it felt good.  Strange.