Wyvern's Trim and other stories (2 page)

Unfortunately,
after that day with the Colonel and his big mouth, she had
discovered that finding work wasn’t as easy as she had thought it
would be.

She had gone
from agency to agency, but when they had seen that her previous
employer was a dragon they had been fast to drop her.

Apparently
everyone thought that dragons were amoral and by extension anyone
they employed.

Patience shook
her head and turned back to the letter Andre had sent. Patience
wrote out a short refusal to the dinner invitation and went out to
post it.

She knew he
wouldn’t be pleased. The last time she had refused to bow to his
demands he had come to her boarding house and argued with her
loudly. The landlady had not been amused that an enraged dragon had
rampaged through her property and had asked her to
leave.

Patience had
left but mostly because of her lack of money. Since Patience was
unemployed, she couldn’t afford the neat and tidy boarding house
anyway.

Once the letter
was posted she went to the market. She set up a small stall and
offered to write letters for anyone for a penny.

Most of the
people in these neighborhoods couldn’t read or write. She didn’t
make a lot writing letters for people, but it would keep her fed if
not housed in the meantime.

Patience had a
little in the way of savings and hopefully she would find a
permanent position before she went through it
significantly.

It was nearing
evening when a shadow loomed over her and she looked up from the
letter she had been writing. The young man she had been writing for
quickly grabbed his letter. He threw a penny on her small travel
desk before he scampered off.

Patience just
stared at Andre. If she had still been employed by him she would be
worried by his expression. Instead, she started to pack up her
things.

There would be
no way that anyone would approach her for her skills while she was
being leered over by a dragon.

Andre flapped
her refusal in the air and asked, “Why won’t you come for dinner?
How am I supposed to marry you off if you refuse to meet the men I
have found for you?”

Patience didn’t
look up as she answered, “Well, maybe it is because I don’t want to
meet these men you have picked out for me.”

He stared at
her, incredulous. “What is wrong with them? You haven’t even met
them yet.”

She resisted the
urge to roll her eyes. “I’m sure they are upstanding members of the
community, but I don’t want to marry any of them.”

His voice was
loud with confusion. “Why not?”

She had finished
packing up her things and she stepped past him, but he followed her
as she walked.

She knew a human
male would have grabbed her and forced her to speak with him. The
dragon would not touch her unless he knew he could do it with a
gentle touch.

Dragons might be
in a human body, but they were otherworldly beings and had the
power to prove it.

Andre demanded.
“Explain it to me. Is it because you prefer woman?”

Patience gasped
out her shocked answer. “No.”

Was
he really that clueless?

He waved his
hands around as he spoke. “I thought women wanted
husbands.”

She sighed and
turned to him. “Some women don’t have very many options so they
have to marry. Some women are pressured into marriage by family.
Most women marry because they want a family.”

Andre asked
emphatically, “Well, then don’t you want children?”

If only it was
that simple.

Patience sighed
and answered him honestly, “Yes, I want children but I also want to
use my mind. My education is the only legacy my parents have been
able to give me. To become nothing by a breeding mare would be a
dishonour to my family and my education.”

He frowned and
she continued walking. He walked silently next to her.

Eventually Andre
asked, “Do human men prevent their women from using their
minds?”

Patience
shrugged. “It seems like most. Though they will deny
it.”

He was silent
for a long moment then nodded his head as if he had made up his
mind. He said, “If I can find a husband for you who will allow you
to use your mind will you marry then?”

She had hoped he
would realize how futile that was and give up.

She shook her
head slightly as she answered, “Probably not.”

She wasn’t sure
why she wasn’t angry with him. This wasn’t the first time they had
a conversation like this. As usual it seemed useless and
circular.

Usually it was
her trying to explain the motivations of businessmen or nobles in a
way his dragon mind could understand.

Andre stopped
her with a light touch on her elbow.

He must have
calmed down for him to trust himself to touch her. “Why
not?”

Patience looked
into his eyes. They were golden like a reptile and it had taken her
a while to get used to them, but they had grown on her over the
years.

She mirrored his
calm as she answered, “Well, I want to marry for love. I know in
this day and age that is a silly concept, but I want to know that I
am considered of worth by my husband and I want to love
him.”

He nodded his
head. He announced, “Done.”

Andre moved
suddenly making her take a step back by the suddenness of it all.
He flicked off his fur coat and threw it over her shoulders. He
surprised her by shifting his clothes into another dimension as he
started to change into a dragon.

She scrambled
back away from him as his mass suddenly increased and filled the
courtyard they were in. This wasn’t the first time she had seen him
change.

Light filled the
courtyard as he transformed and Patience covered her head with her
arms to stop herself from being blinded by the light. In her time
with Andre he had only ever transformed a few dozen times in front
of her.

She still had
her arm raised about her head so she didn’t see the tail snake out
and wrap around her.

She yelped as
the tail tightened around her waist. Andre bunched his muscles and
launched himself into the sky yanking her up.

If she had
anything for lunch, she would have thrown it up. Her stomach
flipped over and finally settled when Andre glided through the air.
She closed her eyes as the land bobbed in her vision.

Her hands
clasped around the tail, but it became clear that it wasn’t
loosening and she wasn’t going to fall to her death. She opened her
eyes, but the wind made it impossible to see anything without
tearing up so she closed them again.

She was glad
that he had put the fur coat over her as it was bitingly cold. She
wasn’t sure how long they were in the air, but she could tell when
they started coming in to land, as they slowed down and bobbed a
bit more.

Patience opened
her eyes and saw the land rush towards them. Quickly she slammed
her eyes shut and tucked in her legs. Covering her head with her
arms, she prepared to crash into the ground. When they landed, she
was gently placed on cold flagstones.

Because she had
tucked in her legs, she rolled a bit and came to rest on her knees.
She shook herself and slowly stood up.

A flash of light
indicated that Andre had returned to his human form. Her legs were
wobbly so she didn’t turn to him, but concentrated on maintaining
her vertical nature.

Andre asked,
“Are you all right?”

She turned
slowly. “I don’t think people are meant to fly.”

He flashed one
of his rare grins. “Come.”

He was already
striding out of the courtyard so she called after him.
“Wait.”

She stumbled
after him out of the courtyard of a castle.

Glancing around,
she couldn’t tell where they were. Though they certainly were no
longer in the city. There were mountains around them, but they were
generic looking like mountains usually did.

She stumbled
again and Andre caught her. “Hurry woman, it is bloody cold out
here.”

That was when
she realized he wore only pants. His chest completely bare to the
elements. She was wearing his fur coat so she wasn’t surprised he
was cold.

Patience
stumbled forward a little faster as her legs got used to being on
land.

It was much
warmer once they were inside.

Andre didn’t
slow down as he led her into the castle.

She asked,
“Where are we?”

He surprised her
by putting his arm around her waist. “This is my home.”

She asked a
little stunned by the abrupt changes in her life, “Your
home?”

She looked
around and mused, still bewildered. “I thought your town house was
your home.”

He shrugged.
“That house is just where I stay when I am in the human world. This
was my first home here on this plane.”

Andre opened a
door. “In here.”

She entered. It
was a large bedroom. She spun around as Andre came into the room
and closed the door.

He reached out
his arms and said in a low serious voice, “Give me your
hands.”

She hesitated.
She knew from her years working with Andre that when he asked for
something like this in that tone it meant something
significant.

Her eyes
narrowed. “What are you actually asking?”

He countered
with his own question. “Do you think I consider you of worth? That
I allow you to use your mind?”

That was an easy
question. “Yes.”

He offered his
hands out to her again. “Then take my hands.”

She reached out
and took his hands.

Pain raced up
her arms and she tried to pull back but his hands tightened. He
pulled and twisted so her back was pressed against him and his arms
wrapped around her.

His lips came to
her ear and said, “Just breathe through it. It will be over in a
moment.”

The burn on her
arms and down her back faded away. Andre still held her.

She breathed out
and after a moment she asked, “What was that?”

He shifted and
pushed the sleeves of his fur coat out of the way so she could see
her arms. They were branded and she gasped.

Patience turned
her head to look at him and said, “You bonded to me?”

Dragons didn’t
marry like normal people. They had to bind themselves to a woman as
they weren’t entirely in this plane. Andre had explained once to a
businessman, but it had only confused her at the time, but less so
than the man Andre had been explaining it to.

Dragons had to
bond with women and it was more than marriage. It was more than a
lifetime commitment as dragons were essentially immortal and the
bonding meant the women could live as long as the
dragons.

She traced her
fingers over the brand and looked up at him. “I said I wanted to
marry someone I love.”

He snorted. “Of
course you love me.”

Laughter bubbled
out of her and she had to turn away in case he was offended. She
knew he would be able to tell she was laughing by the shuddering of
her shoulders.

He asked, his
voice hollow, “Did I get it wrong?”

She shook her
head. He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her slowly.
“You have put up with me for six years. I’ve only ever kept an
assistant for less than a year. I knew you had to love me to stick
around.”

Patience huffed
frustrated by his unusual astuteness. “Then why were you trying to
marry me off?”

Andre shrugged.
“I thought you wanted a human. I am a dragon.”

She slowly shook
her head. Didn’t he get it? She looked up into his eyes. “But
didn’t you want someone better? Someone who was more… I don’t know,
worthy of being bonded to a dragon. You guys only pick the best for
your collections after all.”

His eyes sparked
as he answered, “I know.”

He just looked
at her and she realized after a moment she was expecting him to
spout something romantic. She also realized she was a fool. Romance
was alien to him. He would never shower her with shallow romantic
drivel and she wouldn’t want to wish it any other way.

She stepped back
from him and said, “I want a raise. And I want more holidays. There
is no way I’m going to be your assistant every day for the rest of
my life without at least a decent holiday.”

Andre’s face
warmed with a smile. “Of course.”

La Brede was a
small town that had boomed into a small city in a short lifetime.
Almost all of the buildings were new and the streets wide to allow
for the steam motors to roll through the streets. Maybe it was this
nod to technology which had enticed Callisto to this particular
city from all the ones she could have chosen.