“But...but...” She blubbered, and I shook my head.
“Now, baby sister. Tell me what is happening.”
Elizabeth sniffled and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand before finally meeting my gaze. “You’re not angry with me?”
I grabbed her hand through the bars and shook my head. “I could never be angry at you.”
Her lips turn down in a frown. “But you don’t know me.”
“I know you from your letters. You’re smart, you’re kind, and you’re braver than you give yourself credit for.”
“I’m not brave,” she mumbled, trying to pull her hand from mine.
I gave it a reassuring squeeze before letting go.
“You are brave.” I motioned aimlessly to my cell. “I take it you are not supposed to be here?” Elizabeth shook her head no, and I continued. “And those letters you have been sending me for the past few years? What would have happened if you had been caught?”
I watched the wheels spinning in her mind and I poked her shoulder through the cell bars. “See? Braver and smarter than you give yourself credit for.”
She giggled then blushed, looking down at her hands which were still clenched in her lap. Slowly, she unfurled them and grabbed the sack she had brought with her, thrusting it through the bars.
“See, brave,” I stated as I unbundled the sack, revealing a thick blanket, an apple, and dried meat.
Elizabeth handed me a water flask, and I took it, gulping down the water and quenching my thirst. She looked down the corridor once more before scooting forward. Her face almost fit through the bars.
“Father is losing his mind right now,” she whispered, and I couldn’t help my grin. Elizabeth giggled. “Relationships with the Rover’s got really tense about three years ago.”
My grin dropped. “Why? We don’t get involved with the cities or their rulers.”
“Well, one did.”
“Who and what did they do?”
As much as I loved the panic just stating the Rover name incited with my father, whomever this person was, they were making a rift between the city and Rovers all over the realm. And that wasn’t a good thing.
“It’s the same person I’ve been giving my letters to,” Elizabeth continued.
Ah, so it was Rafael’s contact. I found that interesting.
“Did you get their name? Or what they looked like?”
Rafael had never told me who his contact was, and I had naively assumed it was someone from the castle, not another Rover.
Elizabeth shook her head. “I never got a name, but he looked to be in his late twenties maybe early thirties, dark brown hair that brushed his shoulders, amazing eyes...” Elizabeth blushed and looked down at her hands. “Beautiful caramel colored eyes full of mischief, and he always had a kind smile for me.”
I felt my heart drop into my stomach. My voice shook but I had to ask, “Did he wear a weather-beaten coat? Different leather patches on the elbows and back?”
Elizabeth looked at me, concern blossoming in her eyes. “Yes, he did. He also wore a pendent around his neck. It was worn, made of wood. The Rover’s symbol was etched into it.”
All the color drained from my face as I realized Rafael had no contacts in the city. It had been him all along, sneaking into the city just for me and coming to my cabin to deliver my sister’s letters.
I opened my mouth then hesitated, changing my mind at the last minute. “You said he had been making trouble?”
Elizabeth nodded, but still looked at me with concern on her face. “Was he... is he dangerous, Sister?”
I shook my head and lied. “No, he isn’t dangerous.”
What I really wanted to scream was that my sister had been interacting with a Dragon this whole time. That a Dragon had been sneaking into the city for three years and making mischief. A nervous giggle bubbled up, and I clamped it down before it spilled out. All Dragons were dangerous, even Rafael. I was more than confident he would never hurt my sister, and I filed this new information away in the back of my mind. Rafael knew how to sneak into the city. Maybe, just maybe, I would be able to sneak letters to my sister from the Mountain Dragon Stronghold after all. Sadness blossomed in my chest right after my thought. Who was I kidding? There was no way I would ever see Rafael again.
Elizabeth looked at me hesitantly. “The Rover started making trouble three years ago. Small things that would inconvenience Father and the city council members, but mostly Father. It was like he had it out for him.”
I snorted; it would make sense. Rafael figured out who I was the second time we met. The pendant my sister mentioned around Rafael’s neck which had the Rovers symbol etched into it, had also been charmed to change the color of my eyes to a honeyed brown. It had tumbled from the bodice of my dress late one evening and snagged on the cooking pots when I’d leaned over to stir the stew I had been making. When it snapped off my neck, I had let out a yelp, trying to reach it before it fell in. Rafael had been quick to my side, scooping it up, but the damage had already been done. He had seen my eyes in their natural state. It had been nerve wracking when Rafael left the next day, for I was sure the city sentries of Sheharla would be on their way to drag me back in no time. That, or the Dragon emissaries from the Stronghold. I had run off to Maccus’s camp minutes after Rafael left and didn’t come back for a full month. When I did return, Rafael was there, waiting for me with a smirk on his face, wearing the now non-enchanted pendant around his neck. My eyes never came up in conversation again and no one ever came to confront me. Half a year later, I started receiving letters from Elizabeth. Smirking at the memory, I listened intently as Elizabeth told me all about the small inconveniences Rafael had caused my father for the last three years. Barking out in laughter as Elizabeth became animated, waving her arms around when she started talking about how Rafael had actually broken into the palace and rearranged Father’s entire room. I could not help the rumble of laughter building up, and I fell over snorting. We talked late into the day, Elizabeth asking if I did have a posse of Rovers on standby like my father had suggested. I had shaken my head no. I was actually here in all my nobility to save my baby sister. Elizabeth stayed in the cells for another hour, and I questioned her about everything I could think of; her life in particular. I wanted to know everything from how she was faring in the palace to how she figured out I was alive. My sister was very smart, I had to give her that. As the hour passed, I couldn’t help the yawns wracking my body, and eventually the guards came down, none too pleased to find her with me.
I held back the wash of tears threatening to fall as my baby sister walked away, only to release them after she turned the corner and the heavy door to the holding cells clanged shut. Snuggling up into the blanket she smuggled to me, I buried my face in my hands and finally wept.
Chapter Seven
Well, this was stupid.
I flexed my hands for the hundredth time, trying to get the numbness to subside. The rope binding them together shifted, and I winced as it rubbed over my sore flesh. When the contract was first put in place, my city—then village—deemed it necessary to tie the maidens to horse posts on the contract day. Why we started this tradition centuries ago and why it was something that had yet to change, I had no idea. My best guess was tradition, and by the gods above, the city of Sheharla really loved its traditions.
I blew a stray hair out of my face, then rolled my eyes as the wind stuck it right back onto my sweaty forehead. This was going to be a long day. Only a few hours had passed since the chosen maidens were led out into the field early this morning, and yet the sun beat down relentlessly against the back of my dress. A dry wind was blowing, but it was no help against the heat. If the emissaries from the Mountain Dragon Stronghold didn’t get here soon, we might all die of heat exhaustion. Which, I thought silently as I squinted at a shimmer in the sky, might actually be a blessing in disguise. There it was again, another shimmer, and it was getting closer. Actually, many shimmers were getting closer. The win
d picked up, throwing dust into my face and I squeezed my eyes shut trying not to sneeze. Squeals echoed around me as the other maidens finally noticed the onslaught of Dragons circling the field to land. Coughing slightly, I opened my eyes to the thumps of landing Dragons echoing in front of me.
“Holy Gods,” I muttered.
This was the first time I was seeing a Dragon in its original reptile form up close. They were so much bigger than I had imagined. Leaning away from my post as far as I could toward the Dragons, I drank in the sight. It was rare to see Dragons in their natural form. They preferred their humanoid shape when mingling with humans, so they could blend in or so I was told. I might never see...I shook my head. What was I thinking right now? This would be the normal for me going forward in my life. I was about to marry a Dragon prince. I was probably going to see Dragons in their natural form daily.
I grimaced. Unimpressed, would be putting it mildly if you asked how I felt about the contract my city had signed with the Dragon Stronghold and my life being signed away the day I was born. That didn’t mean I hated Dragons, though. On the contrary, they fascinated me a great deal, and I couldn’t tamp down the excitement fluttering throughout my body. The Dragons landing in the field were all around the same size, but that was where the similarities ended. They ranged in color from the darkest blues I had ever seen to rich greens and earthy browns. Scales shimmered and reflected like stained glass against the sunlight as they shuffled about, making room for the few Dragons still coming in to land. The way they moved was mesmerizing and oddly graceful in a serpentine type of way. Some sported horns curving back among their heads whilst others had their horns spiraling straight up. Squinting, I tried to take in some of the smaller and minute details of a dark green Dragon when suddenly a cloud of glistening fog encapsulated two of the larger Dragons. A copper taste filled the back of my throat as my heart rate sped up, excitement fleeing. The dense fog shifted and fell as two Dragons in human form stepped out. Reality came slamming back and I shuffled backward, leaning onto my post. The negotiations were about to begin.
AS THE TWO DRAGONS stepped out of the fog in human form, a handful of guards, along with my father, rode past to start the negotiations. This was the part of the day I didn’t have to watch or listen to. I knew the ending to this part. So instead, I looked around once more, scanning the maidens on the post line with me. There were quite a few and even squinting, I could barely make out the few maidens on the far end of the line. The contract stated that unmarried maidens between the ages of twelve to thirty were to put their names into the contract book. From the book, thirty maidens would be randomly chosen. Volunteering was preferred though, and if you volunteered, your family, if you had any, were compensated for your loss. The Dragons usually chose from the volunteers, as they were less likely to make trouble. I was also positive the selections from the book were not as random as the council claimed them to be. I had seen the book before and the surnames of the maidens from previous contract days. Rarely anyone in a societal standing above middle class had been present. There were a few exceptions, but again those were all volunteers. Whether it was a willing volunteer, that was also up to debate. The Dragons didn’t monitor how the maidens were picked. They left that up to the city and its officials. As long as the maidens were unmarried and the right age, the Mountain Dragon Stronghold didn’t care. My anger started to simmer. The City of Sheharla was by no means progressive in any sense of the word. Unmarried maidens had always been treated as bargaining chips for the city’s protection and nothing more.
The negotiations happening today would be determining a few things. The most important would be when the Mountain Dragon Stronghold emissaries came back to renew the contract, which could be between a few years to a few centuries. Following that would be how many maidens that time was worth. Bile rose in the back of my throat as my father shook the hand of a tall, skinny Dragon in human form. Both parties had reached an agreement. If I had my way, this would be the last negotiation ever to take place between the Stronghold and Sheharla.
Flexing my hands once more against the bindings, I avoided my father’s eyes when he rode past, taking to the stage next to the hitching posts and the growing city crowd. My sister was probably watching from the third-floor terrace of the palace. We had both agreed she shouldn’t be present for the contract, just in case the Dragons decided they wanted both of us. Focusing on a tuff of dried brown grass in front of my foot, I kicked at it halfheartedly, drowning out the big speech my father was about to make. I’d heard it before. First, my father would take to the stage and thank everyone for coming out. Then the brief history lesson about why the contract was in place and the protection it guarantees to the city. While my father gave his speech, the Dragons would approach the maidens, picking out the number agreed on. Once the scribe recorded those chosen in the books, the Dragons would collect their property and fly off into the sun, disappearing over the mountain pass. Once delivered to the Stronghold, rumor is the maidens are married off or made to work, but no one really knows the truth. All the city knew was that we get protection from outside marauders for a specified number of years, then we started the whole process all over again.
Except this time, I was going to find out what happened over the mountain pass. I growled as a guard approached me, swiftly jabbing me in the ribs.
“What?” I hissed, making him flinch.
“Sorry Princess,” he mumbled, then met my gaze, “but the emissaries want to see your eyes. They want to make sure you really are... well, you.”
I sighed and rolled my ‘special royal bloodline’ eyes. I hated my eyes in this moment, and to be honest, never once could I figure out the reason why our specific eye color made people think our family lineage was special. Sure, they were not the eyes of a pure breed human, but it wasn’t like they held some sort of mystical power. All it meant to me was that someone, somewhere in our lineage messed around, and some ‘other than human’ interbreeding had occurred. With what, that was up to debate. But without fail, children of the Sheharla line always had the same colored eyes. In this moment, I really did wish our eyes held a mystical power, maybe spontaneous combustion. That would be a sight to see. Smirking at my own joke, I ignored the guard and instead glared at one of the Dragons who was staring at me intently. Satisfied, it turned to the other Dragons, and I closed my eyes, leaning against the post.
Chapter Eight
Time seemed to be at a standstill as the day trickled by slowly. By the end, I gladly went off with a tubby looking Dragon and two other maidens I’d paid no attention to. Glancing out of the corner of my eye, one looked extremely familiar, but I had too much on my mind at the moment to really care. Once the transaction was recorded, we were untied and escorted through the field to be brought to our new owners; or for me, my future husband. The tubby Dragon gently steered the other maidens to another Dragon, then grabbed me with one giant paw. Breath whooshed out of my lungs as he launched into the air without warning. Grabbing onto one of his massive claws making a cage around my body, the onslaught of wind and dust forced me to squeeze my eyes shut. Seconds later, I was able to pop them back open. Sucking in a harsh breath, I watched in awestruck as we climbed higher and higher, soaring over the plains and wilderness surrounding the city. Thousands of thoughts skittered across my mind. Do Dragons fly humans often? Do they ever pick people up then drop them from great heights? Would I ever be flown like this again? Would I want to fly like this again? I wonder if I asked nicely, would Rafael fly me like this? Wetness glistened down my cheeks from the cutting wind, or so that was what I was telling myself. Definitely not crying because I knew the answer to my last fleeting thought. I had to start putting Rafael behind me and concentrate on the bigger matters ahead. Like the fact I would be marrying a Dragon prince I’d never met or seen.
Hours passed, and I was just getting used to everything from a bird’s eye view, when we started to descend at an alarming pace. A high-pitched squeal leapt from my throat as we hit
the ground with a jarring thump and the Dragon opened his talons. Flailing my arms around, I failed to maintain my balance and hit the ground hard, face first. Leaping up, I glared at him as he waddled away to a nearby tree without giving any indication of worry in my direction.
“Asshole,” I muttered, looking around for the other Dragon and maidens.
The sudden wind from above alerted me of the second descending Dragon and I dropped to the ground for the second time in a matter of minutes, narrowly avoiding being squished by the two other women. A scowl cut across my face before I pushed myself up and reached out blindly to help the maiden in front of me stand up. Reaching out to pluck a piece of grass stuck in her short blonde hair, I realized I knew this maiden.
“Selene?”
The blonde-haired woman in front of me cracked a heartwarming smile before wrapping me up in her arms and squeezing tight.
Damn, how could I have not recognized her until then? Sure, it’d been twelve years, but Selene had been my closest friend before I ran. Breaking the hug, I studied Selene’s face and realized what the biggest difference was.
I tugged at her shoulder length hair. “You cut off all your hair, and it’s lighter now.” Selene opened her mouth to reply then snapped it shut as we both watched the other maiden make a break for it across the meadow. She didn’t make it far before one of the Dragons, now in human form, caught up with her. He grabbed her waist and attempted to toss the maiden over his shoulder. I stifled a laugh as she wiggled out of his grasp and turned, running our way. Making a grab at her arm, I managed to swing her around onto the ground before she knew what was happening.
“Hey, hey, now. It’s going to be okay,” I murmured softly, kneeling down next to a clearly scared and very young girl. “I’m Maribella, and this is Selene. What is...?” I didn’t get the rest of my sentence out as the girl started screaming in my face.
The Rover Princess Page 5
