It is very good.
Aeron smiled. “She says it’s very good.”
“What is her name?” Mallory asked, all innocence, as she watched the young dragon eating.
Aeron sighed. Sharrah was the first of his friends to catch on. Her face fell, and she looked quickly to Aeron.
He cleared his throat. “It’s Anaya,” he said.
Mallory, a mischievous glint in her eye, looked over at Aeron and his friends. “Anaya. What a lovely name. Almost familiar, that name.”
Willem, finally catching on, took a sharp intake of breath and looked at Aeron, eyes like saucers.
Master Doronal glanced at the three of them, narrowed his eyes, and looked at Mallory. “Familiar, is it?”
“Yes,” she replied. “I was approached by certain people about any extra scraps I might have fer a pet they had. Seems like the name of it were something like Anaya.” She glanced sideways at Aeron.
Aeron sighed again. “I do feel bad that I wasn’t completely honest with you about it,” he said, quietly. “But would it have made a difference if I had told you she was a dragon?”
“Nay, lad,” Mallory said, laughing. “I’m just joshing with yeh. I wouldn’ae believed yeh had yeh told me she were a dragon, anyhow.” She looked back at Anaya. “She is a right beautiful creature, she is. But seeing how big she is, the one bowl of scraps yeh asked for each morning wouldn’ae been enough fer her. Were yeh going ta starve her?”
Loud crunching noises could be heard as, finished with the scraps and meat, Anaya gleefully consumed the bones, slowly gnawing and chewing them.
“No, not at all,” Aeron said, wincing when a particularly loud crack was given off by a bone. “I was hunting with her in the caverns. But finding food was getting harder and harder. The scraps were to extend what we were catching.”
“There won’t be a need for that anymore,” Master Canneth said. “She’ll get fed now. Morning and evening I think is what I read in your notes, Sharrah?”
“Yes, sir.”
A boy came tearing up the alley between the Magic Craft Hall and the Glass Craft Hall, nearly out of breath. He saw them all standing around the stable and slowed down, stopping about fifty feet away. He stood there staring at Anaya.
“And so it begins,” Master Doronal said, eyeing the youth. “The sooner, the better, I suppose.”
“Everyone at the fair must have seen her fly over the wall,” Willem said.
“Yes,” Master Canneth agreed. “We’re going to have to do something or you’ll have every boy in the Caer here all the time, moonstruck by her and asking questions.”
“Not just boys,” Master Doronal said. “I wouldn’t miss seeing her myself, if I wasn’t already involved.”
Master Canneth laughed. “True enough.”
Two more had joined the boy, staring intently at Anaya.
“What if,” Willem began, “we set up a time for viewing and questions and let everyone know. That way we take control of it, and set up rules and such.”
Master Doronal looked at Willem. “An excellent suggestion, young man. We shall do exactly that.”
“I’d also suggest a fence,” Sharrah said. “From the side of the building out, say, maybe forty, fifty feet. Because, even if we do have official periods for viewing, people are still going to wander over all times of the day. And if there is a fence, they will at least be that far away.”
Master Canneth nodded. “Yes, another good idea.”
Anaya finished with the food in the chest. That was delicious.
Was it enough?
It was just right. She moved to the side and licked her lips, cleaning herself.
“She seems to be finished,” Master Doronal said.
“Yes,” Aeron said. “She is. And the amount and type of the food was perfect too.”
“Please do continue to provide bones,” Master Canneth said to Mallory. “Anaya will need them, particularly while she is growing.”
Mallory nodded. “As you wish, Master Canneth.” She looked around. “Well, then, if that’s all for now, we best be getting back.”
“Thank you, Mallory,” Master Doronal said.
“Yeah,” Aeron said, a rueful half-smile on his face. “Thank you.”
“Scamp,” she said, a glint in her eye. She nodded to the group, motioned to her two companions, and the three of them headed off. Over her shoulder she said to Aeron, “I still want me bowl back!”
“Oh!” Aeron said, “I forgot! I’ll take it with me at lunch!”
Mallory waved and they continued up the road toward the dining hall.
“Now, where were we?” Master Doronal asked, turning back to the building. After a moment, he snapped his fingers. “Anaya’s den.”
Aeron was amazed. While they had been talking, workers had removed a portion of wall between the old feed and tack room and the stalls, and had begun on what looked like an enormous door frame in the large opening they had opened up earlier, removing some of the supports in the process. “Another door to that room?” he asked, pointing to the wall of the tack room.
“Ah,” Master Canneth said. “Good, they’ve started on it already. Doronal mentioned that you wanted a space for yourself here, which I think is an excellent idea. We’re going to convert the old feed and tack room and set up a space for you there with a bed in case you need to spend the night every now and then. We’re adding a door there,” and he pointed to the spot where the wall had been opened, “to give you access into Anaya’s area, and we’ll move the outside door from that side, now the back, to this side, which will be the front.” He walked over to the large opening being worked on in what was now the front wall. “And this will be Anaya’s door. Or, more accurately, doors.
“Large sliding doors will be installed here,” Master Canneth said, using his arms to demonstrate. “Two of them. One will slide left, the other right, allowing for up to fifteen feet in width.” He looked at Anaya. “That should be plenty of room for her to get in and out, even when she is full-grown.”
“Fortunately, the tack room is on the end of the building, leaving the rest of the building available for expansion should the need arise,” Master Doronal said, gesturing inside the building.
“What a great idea,” Willem said looking through the large opening, Anaya’s door, over at the remaining stalls.
Master Doronal walked into the building through the gap created by the removed supports, which were temporarily replaced with several braces and two small beams. He turned back to Aeron and said, “Could you ask Anaya to come inside? We’d like her to let us know whether this will be adequate room for her, at least for now.”
“Yes, sir,” he replied and turned to Anaya. Let’s go in and look at your new space.
Okay!
Aeron walked in, Anaya padding beside him.
“Anaya, do you think this is a nice place? Is there enough room for you here?” Aeron walked over to the wall of the old feed and tack room. “Your space starts here,” and he pointed to the ground at his feet, “and runs all the way over to that wall there,” he finished, pointing to the wall of the next remaining stall.
Anaya blinked, walked over to the stall divider wall, and turned back.
This will be very nice. But I will have to work on this floor to make it into a comfortable bed.
Aeron laughed and explained her comment that they could not hear. “She says the size is great, but she’ll have to work at the floor to make another comfy bed.”
Anaya turned to Aeron. Where will you sleep?
I will have a room behind the wall here with a bed and will sleep there sometimes.
Oh.
Aeron didn’t need the link to sense her disappointment. I can also sleep in here with you sometimes, if you want. I think it would be fun.
I think it would be fun too. I miss you when you have to leave.
He walked over and crouched down to hug her. “Don’t you worry. I won’t have to leave you in that cavern anymore. It’s
all going to be okay now, just wait and see.”
Master Doronal cleared his throat. “Yes, well. As she approves of the size, I think we should get out of the way of these gentlemen so that they can get on with their work.”
When they all were back outside, Aeron noticed another group of people standing to the northwest, by the corner of the Leather Craft Hall. “We’re going to need that fence soon,” he murmured.
“Yes, we are.” Sharrah looked from one growing group of people to the other.
Master Doronal looked at the two groups and nodded.
“Aeron,” Master Canneth began, “I’d like to ask Anaya some questions, which hopefully her ancestral memory will allow her to answer.”
Aeron nodded. “Okay.” He turned to Anaya. Master Canneth will be asking some questions, love. Can you try to answer them?
I will try my best.
“The dragons live in cave systems in the mountains far to the north, yes?”
Anaya’s pupil slits dilated as she remembered, and she closed both her inner eyelid and her outer eyelids in the bright sunlight. They do, Anaya replied to Aeron after a moment.
Aeron, looking at Anaya, said “Yes, they do.”
At least the dragons in House Yaot, my mother’s House. There are other houses. Some are nearby, but some are not. I cannot remember things from them.
“Hang on, she tells me that there are other . . . Houses . . . of dragons elsewhere. She can only remember—” Aeron furrowed his brows. “Anaya, your memories, they are only of your House?”
My memories are from my mother and her mother and her mother’s mother back until the ancients. They were all of House Yaot.
Aeron was intrigued. “This is interesting. She tells me that her memories aren’t quite ancestral, they’re from her mother. She has her mother’s memories, and her mother’s mother’s memories and on and on, back until what she calls the ancients.”
The older the memories, the . . . less clear they are.
“Maternal memories,” Sharrah said. She had opened her notebook and was writing notes down.
“She says that the older the memory, the fuzzier it is.”
“Excellent,” Master Canneth said. “More information that was previously unknown. So to confirm, dragons from her House live in caves in the mountains far to the north of us?”
“House Yaot,” Aeron said. “Yes.”
“Does she know how many are in, House Yaot was it?”
There were eighty-six dragons, at the time my mother was last there.
Do you know where your mother is now?
I do not. My last memory from her is as she laid my egg. Anaya paused. It was painful.
“There were eighty-six dragons, when her mother was last there,” Aeron replied aloud.
“Are they all of the same family?”
There are nine families in House Yaot.
Master Canneth nodded after Aeron relayed the information. “I see.”
“Only nine families?” Sharrah asked. “That seems a bit low for genetic diversity.” She snapped her fingers. “That might have been what the problem was with the eggs! Too much inbreeding.”
“That’s possible.” Master Canneth looked at Aeron. “Does she remember any dragons with deformities? Or dragons that were sickly?”
Dragons did not get sick very often. I do not remember any deformed dragons.
Master Doronal nodded. “Interesting. Perhaps they have fewer bad traits to share? Something to think on at another time.” He looked back at the stable being remodeled. “What do dragons do in the winter, does it get cold in the caves?”
The living areas are deeper in the caves. It stays warm enough in the winter.
“That might be why her mother chose the caverns to lay her eggs,” Master Canneth said after Aeron explained. “She was familiar with caves. We’ll have to do something for heat in the winter, however. Horses have long winter coats that allow us to keep them comfortable in a stable with only blankets in the winter, but we’ll want heating of some kind in your space.” He looked at Anaya. “And for her den as well. That extremely fine fur she has is short and sparse, and will likely disappear as she gets older, too.”
Anaya yawned hugely and opened her eyes. I think I will sleep now. She moved out of the shade of the building to a sunny spot just to the side and lay down.
“She’s sleepy,” Aeron said. “She’s only eight days hatched and is going to need lots of sleep for some time, I think.”
“Understandable,” Master Canneth said. “The very young tend to sleep a lot.”
“Ah, well,” Master Doronal said. “My questions can wait until later. We’ll no doubt have many to ask her for some time.”
They spent the next few hours going over plans for the building. They decided to create a six-foot-wide walkway of sorts inside the new front of the building. Stone pavers, more durable than bare clay, would be used to create the walkway. That meant all the stall divider walls would have to be removed. Aeron pointed out that he wasn’t comfortable leaving Anaya alone at night after seeing all the curious people that were wandering over, so it was decided that he would actually move into and live in the space provided, allowing him to be near Anaya all the time. And so the plan for his space was modified to include a separate bedroom with a small water closet. The bedroom would have a door to Anaya’s area as well as a door to his main room, which would be fitted out as a living area and study. His and Anaya’s day-to-day needs, as well as furnishings and supplies for the rooms, were discussed and lists made.
It was also decided to convert the last stall on the other side of the building into an office that they would all use as they collected and studied information on Anaya. The office would be the last thing to be finished, the fence and the rest of the building being more important to get done quickly.
“So then,” Master Doronal said, “first the outer walls will be completed and perhaps the doors, and work will start on the fence. There is also the new flooring, and Aeron’s space—the study, bedroom and water closet. And lastly, the office at the other end of the building.”
Master Canneth nodded. “That sounds about right.”
“If need be, the first few nights I can just sleep with Anaya.” Aeron looked at the tawny dragon who was lying on the ground near him. She looked completely at ease dozing on the short grass. He didn’t want her to be swamped by curious people all the time. “I really would rather get the fence done as quickly as possible.”
“Yes. Well, let’s go update them on our latest plans and priorities,” Master Canneth said to Master Doronal as he stood up. They walked together to talk to the supervisor.
Aeron sat next to Anaya on the short grass and leaned against her, one arm over her back. He stroked her neck and looked at his friends. “Everything is moving so quickly. I’m in such a spin that I can’t even think straight.”
“Things do seem to happen swiftly when two masters get together,” Sharrah agreed.
Willem watched Aeron for a bit and asked, “Aeron, why did you help Jessip with Lord Baronel?”
“Yes,” Sharrah said. “I was wondering that myself.”
Aeron looked at Willem a moment, and then said, “I’m not completely sure. I know you badly wanted to mangle him at the fair last night. And before then, I mean, I really hated him before. But after talking with him in the trees . . .” He paused and looked at the workers toiling away on the stable. “I don’t know. He seemed more understandable. Like there was actually someone decent in him somewhere. Even Anaya noticed it, I think.” Aeron looked back at Willem, a crooked smile on his face, and shrugged.
Willem stared at him, looking from one eye to the other. Then he grunted and nodded. He turned to watch the workers and asked, “I bet you never imagined you’d be living in your own building, almost a home to yourself?”
Aeron shook his head. “Not even in my wildest dreams.” He looked back at Anaya and said, “It’s all a bit much. I have this feeling, a scary-excited, st
omach-twisty feeling, that my life is going to change enormously. It worries me a bit.” Aeron frowned and looked back at Willem. “Here I thought my life was all planned out—I was going to be a sorcerer. Simple, right?”
Willem crouched down and put his hand on Aeron’s shoulder. “I suspect all our lives are going to change, in some fashion. We’ll help each other along the way.”
Sharrah smiled and nodded. “Of course we will.”
Aeron, a faint smile on his face, said, “For which I am very grateful, you know.”
“Yes,” Willem said. He smiled and stood up. “Well, it’s getting close to lunch time. All that talking and planning has made me hungry.”
“Me too, despite the twirling of my stomach.”
Sharrah eyed the ever-growing crowds and said, “You might want to send Anaya back to her cavern while we go eat, Aeron.”
“No,” he replied immediately. “I promised her she would never have to go back to the cavern, and I meant it.”
Sharrah nodded. “Then you should probably stay here with her. We’ll see about bringing you something to eat.”
“Alright,” Aeron said. Suddenly, he sat up, ran both his hands through his hair, and made a frustrated sound. “I forgot that I need to take Mallory’s bowl back to her.”
“I can get it,” Willem said. “It’s in your room, right? I’ll just grab it on the way to lunch.”
“Perfect, thanks.”
Willem and Sharrah walked over to the masters.
Aeron leaned back against Anaya again and turned sideways, his cheek on her neck. So many things were going on, he thought and sighed. After a few minutes lying against Anaya in the warm sunlight with his coat on, he began to get sleepy.
She smells nice, he thought drowsily. Like rich wood, and spice maybe, and vanilla and . . . honey? Something.
Someone was shaking his shoulder.
“Aeron, wake up.”
“Hmm?” he replied and slowly opened his eyes.
Willem was laughing quietly. “Get up, but be careful not to wake Anaya.”
Willem offered his hand and Aeron took it. With Willem’s help, he carefully, though somewhat clumsily, stood up. “What happened?”
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