Talking To Dragons

by Patricia C. Wrede

“Daystar, you’re impossible!” Shiara was still mad. “She tried to trick you! Besides, she’s been here two days already, and nothing’s happened to her yet.”

  “Alas! I did indeed attempt to deceive you,” the Princess said. “And for that I beg forgiveness. Yet consider my unhappy plight, and be not harsh with me.”

  “Oh, shut up,” Shiara told her.

  “What if Antorell comes back?” I said. “Somebody ought to take care of her. Besides, I made a promise.”

  “Well, I didn’t!” Shiara said. “And I’m not going to sit here doing nothing just because of a stupid Princess! I’m leaving.”

  “You can’t do that!” I said. I was really upset. Shiara didn’t know very much about the Enchanted Forest, and she was going to go tramping off into the middle of it with no one but Morwen’s kitten. I couldn’t let her do that, but I couldn’t leave the Princess sitting there alone, either.

  “Want to bet?” Shiara said. She picked up the bundle Morwen had given her. “Come on, Nightwitch. Let’s go.”

  “Nightwitch? What an unusual name for a cat,” said a new voice.

  Shiara stopped and both of us turned. An old man was standing at the edge of the clearing, in front of a large, scruffy clump of bushes. His beard and what was left of his hair were quite white, and he was stooped over and leaning on a staff. Even without the way my skin prickled, I knew he was a wizard.

  The Princess was the first to recover from the surprise of seeing him there. “Ah, sir, have pity on my sad state!” she said. “Have pity, and if you have seen a knight, bright-armored, hawk-eyed, most fair and pleasing in speech and semblance, then tell me speedily where he may be found. For he is my love, and we are parted, and thus am I in great distress! Alas!”

  “That’s quite all right, my dear,” the wizard said in a kindly tone. “You’ve nothing to worry about. In fact, he should be here before very much longer; that’s why I hurried. Just sit there and wait quietly, like a good girl.”

  “Oh, joy! Oh, bliss!” said the Princess rapturously. “To be with my love again!” She started happily explaining how strong and handsome and generally wonderful her missing knight was. Since she didn’t seem to be speaking to anyone in particular, the rest of us ignored her.

  Shiara, Nightwitch, and I were edging backward. I had my right hand on the hilt of my sword, and my whole side was tingling with the feel of the wizard’s magic. The wizard noticed us and smiled.

  “Take your hand from your sword,” he said, looking at me. “I am not here to engage in a vulgar physical contest with you.”

  “Are you from the Society of Wizards?” Shiara demanded. Her voice sounded a little shaky, but I don’t think anyone who didn’t know her would have noticed.

  “No,” the wizard said. “Why? Are you looking for one of them?”

  “Then why are you here?” I said.

  “Why, to assist you,” the wizard said.

  “Assist us?” Shiara said. “But you’re a wizard!”

  “I am not at all concerned with your baseless prejudices,” the wizard told her. “I have come to offer to help your companion, and I will thank you to cease interfering.”

  I stared at him. “I don’t want to be impolite,” I said before Shiara could say anything else, “but why do you want to help me?”

  “Why, because you deserve it, of course,” the wizard said. “You made a foolish promise to this other young lady,” he went on, nodding toward the Princess, who was still talking to the air. “You could have gotten out of it several times, but you refused to behave dishonorably. I think that is deserving of a reward.”

  “Thank you very much,” I said. I didn’t really know what else to say. After all, there are people in the Enchanted Forest who go around rewarding heroes and Princes for noble deeds; why else would all those people come here?

  “Well, what would you like?” the wizard said after a moment.

  “Like?”

  “As a reward.” He sounded a little impatient.

  I thought about it for a moment. “I appreciate the offer,” I said finally. “But I really don’t need anything. Thank you very much all the same.”

  “What? Isn’t there anything you want?” he asked sharply. He didn’t look nearly as friendly as he had at first.

  “No, I don’t think so,” I said.

  For a moment the wizard looked very disconcerted. Then he seemed to relax a little. “Perhaps I did not make myself clear enough,” he said. “You need not ask for something material; information will do just as well. The word for sorcery in the tongue of the giants, or the location of the Well of Silver Storms where the unicorns drink. There must be something you want to know, even if there is nothing you want to have.”

  The only thing I wanted to know was what I was supposed to do in the Enchanted Forest. Somehow, I didn’t think Mother had told him. “No,” I said. “I don’t think there is anything.”

  The wizard looked at me, and his eyes narrowed. “Come, come! You need to know the name of your father, do you not?”

  “No,” I said, puzzled. I’d never been particularly interested in knowing my father’s name; I mean, he wasn’t around, so what difference did it make? Mother would have told me if she’d thought I ought to know. And I certainly couldn’t think of any reason why I needed to know. “Why should I?”

  “You’re looking for him, aren’t you?” the wizard snapped.

  “No, not really.” That might be one of the things Mother wanted me to do, but it certainly couldn’t be all of it. Furthermore, I couldn’t see how knowing his name would help much, even if I were looking for him. In the Enchanted Forest, looking for someone usually isn’t the best way of finding him. You’re much more likely to run into people by accident.

  “You aren’t? Then you must know! She told you! Who is it?”

  “I thought you were going to tell Daystar that,” Shiara said. “Don’t you know?”

  “Silence, fool! I have waited too long for this.” The wizard turned back to me. “You will tell me now, or regret it deeply: Who is your father?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “And if I did, I don’t see why I should tell you.”

  “There are other ways of learning what I wish to know,” the wizard said. He straightened abruptly. The Princess squeaked and fell silent. Nightwitch hissed. Shiara started edging backward again. And the wizard changed.

  He got a little taller and a lot younger; his beard melted away and his hair darkened and filled in. His eyes changed from brown to blue, but they still glared. “Antorell!” I said, and drew my sword.

  The steel rang as it came out of the sheath, and the blade shimmered and flashed in front of me. It made the whole clearing seem brighter. Antorell’s lips curled into a sneer.

  “Fool! What use is a sword against a wizard?”

  He raised his staff, and a globe of green light appeared at the lower end of it. A thread of green, dark and bright as the shine of a snake, reached out toward me from the staff. I raised the sword.

  The green light touched the Sword of the Sleeping King. The sword hummed a little and the ray of light vanished, and that was all. Antorell frowned, and another, larger ray of green reached out. This time, the humming was a little louder, and the light around the end of Antorell’s staff vanished along with the ray touching the sword. The jangling feeling lessened a little. I was considerably relieved; Antorell looked shocked.

  “You cannot! Not possibly! That sword can’t...” His eyes moved to my face, then back to the sword, and he took a deep breath. “So! She must have known all along. But now I will have that weapon. I must have that weapon!”

  “No,” I said. “Mother wouldn’t like it.”

  Antorell’s eyes narrowed. “Cimorene has had her way long enough. If you will not give me that sword, I will take it.” He started to raise the staff again.

  The bushes behind Antorell rustled noisily, and the wizard shifted. “You, there!” he called over his shoulder. “Show yourself at once!” />
  “Ach— Ach—” said someone behind him, and the bushes rustled again. Antorell frowned and turned around, raising his staff. “I will teach you to interfere—”

  The angry look on Antorell’s face changed abruptly to one of mingled surprise and fear. He stepped backward very quickly and waved his staff through the air in front of him.

  “Achooo!” said the voice, and a large ball of fire demolished the bush and enveloped Antorell. The wizard screamed and disappeared, and we could see the person who had been behind the bush.

  It was a dragon.

  8

  IT WAS ABOUT twelve feet tall, which is not very large as dragons go. But it was definitely a dragon. It sneezed again, which took care of the remains of the bush, and slid forward over the ashes into the middle of the clearing. The Princess fainted.

  I started trying to put my sword away. Walking through the Enchanted Forest with a drawn sword is bad, but talking to a dragon with a sword in your hand is much worse. Fortunately, the dragon didn’t seem to have noticed it yet. As soon as the sword was sheathed, I looked up again, and my stomach went hollow.

  The dragon was eyeing Shiara, and I didn’t like the gleam in its eyes. I didn’t like the militant way Shiara was glaring back, either. There wasn’t very much I could do, though; you just don’t interrupt a dragon when it’s busy with something else. They don’t like being distracted.

  The dragon slid closer and bent its head until it was staring at Shiara from about a foot in front of her face. Shiara jumped. The dragon blinked.

  “Are you a Princess?” it asked hopefully.

  “No. I’m a fire-witch,” Shiara said. “And if you bite me, I’ll burn your nose off.”

  “Oh. I thought you were a Princess.” The dragon lost interest in Shiara. It looked around the clearing again and saw me. Its head moved over in my direction.

  I bowed. “Sir or madam,” I said, trying to recall all the proper ways of addressing a dragon, “I offer you greetings in the name of myself and my companions, and I wish you good fortune in all your endeavors.”

  “I beg your pardon?” said the dragon. Its voice reminded me of one of those wooden wind instruments, the deep kind that you have to stand on a chair to play. It eyed me doubtfully. “Are you a Princess?”

  “I...” I stopped and stared. Dragons just don’t beg people’s pardon. Then I realized that this must be a very young dragon, and I relaxed a little. Dragons don’t usually insist on formality until they get old enough to decide which sex they’re going to be. “I’m very sorry, but I’m afraid I’m not a Princess. My name is Daystar; I’m very pleased to meet you.”

  The dragon sat back. “I had no idea Princesses were so hard to find.” It blinked and seemed to look at me for the first time. “I’m sorry I burned your bush, but I couldn’t help it.”

  “Oh, please don’t worry about it,” I said. “It really doesn’t matter in the least.”

  “It was the wizard,” the dragon said confidentially. “I’m allergic to them. All dragons are.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” I said.

  The dragon looked at me, “You’re very polite, Daystar.” Its head swiveled back toward Shiara. “Say! You weren’t polite at all!”

  Nightwitch poked her head out from behind Shiara’s ankle and hissed. The dragon started and then peered down at the kitten. “You aren’t polite, either,” it said.

  I nudged Shiara. “Offer to do something for him,” I hissed.

  “What? Why?”

  “If you insult a dragon, you have to do him a favor,” I said. “Hurry up!” If she didn’t say something quickly, the dragon would probably eat both of us. Unfortunately, the dragon might eat Shiara anyway; the favor most dragons want is dinner. I couldn’t tell Shiara that, though, without offending the dragon. I started wondering whether I could talk the dragon out of eating us. I didn’t think so; dragons are stubborn.

  The dragon’s eyes glittered. Shiara looked at it. “Can I do anything for you?” she said finally. She sounded a little sullen, but dragons aren’t very good at tone of voice. Besides, it’s the offer that counts.

  “Find me a Princess,” the dragon said promptly.

  I breathed a very quiet sigh of relief. I didn’t think there was a polite way to kill a dragon, and I hadn’t been able to think of any other way of stopping it from eating Shiara and me if it wanted to. It was nice to know I wouldn’t have to try.

  “You want a Princess?” Shiara looked thoughtful. “Why?”

  “Dragons are supposed to have Princesses,” the dragon explained. “I can’t be considered a proper dragon until I have one. But I’ve been looking for two days, and I haven’t seen even a smell of a Princess, and I’m tired of it. So you do it.”

  “You aren’t going to eat her or anything, are you?” Shiara said.

  “Eat her?” the dragon sounded horrified. “And waste a perfectly good Princess? Of course not! There aren’t enough of them to go around as it is! What kind of barbarian do you think I am?”

  “Well, I’ve never met a dragon before,” Shiara said. “How was I supposed to know? I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  “All right,” said the dragon. “But you have to get me a Princess. It doesn’t have to be a large one.”

  “Do you want any particular kind of Princess?” Shiara asked. “I want to be sure you’ll be satisfied.”

  “Oh, young and beautiful, of course,” the dragon said. “Are there other kinds?”

  “There are enchanted Princesses,” Shiara pointed out. “Especially around here.”

  “That’s right. Say, maybe that’s why I haven’t been able to find one!”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised,” Shiara said. “But will you take an enchanted Princess?”

  The dragon thought for a minute. “No, I don’t think so. Spells make things too complicated.”

  “And does it matter how long it takes me to find her?” Shiara went on.

  The dragon considered. “I don’t want to wait too long, but I really don’t want to be unreasonable, either. How about a week? You bring the Princess here by a week from today, otherwise you owe me another favor.” It licked its lips with a long red tongue.

  “That sounds reasonable,” Shiara said. “But what if I’m early?”

  Suddenly I realized what Shiara was planning to do. I started edging around the clearing, toward where the Princess was lying. I wasn’t quite fast enough.

  “The earlier the better,” the dragon said.

  “Then, there’s your Princess!” Shiara said, and pointed.

  “My, you do work fast,” the dragon said. It turned and looked at the Princess. “She’s certainly beautiful enough, but are you sure she isn’t enchanted?”

  “I’m quite sure,” Shiara said.

  “Then why is she asleep in the middle of the day? I didn’t think Princesses were nocturnal creatures.”

  “She just fainted when she saw you,” Shiara said reassuringly. “It’s nothing to worry about; it happens to Princesses all the time. Will she do?”

  “Quite well.” The dragon nodded. “You’re very prompt. Thank you very much.”

  Shiara nodded. I waited until the dragon turned away; then I frowned at Shiara.

  “Why did you do that?” I whispered. “That was a terrible thing to do!”

  “Would you rather I got eaten?” Shiara whispered back. “She won’t get eaten; the dragon said so. And I bet it won’t want her for long. Dragons are smarter than some people.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that, so I looked back at the dragon. It was bending its head to inspect the Princess more closely, and I tried to decide what I ought to do. Just at that moment, the Princess opened her eyes. She gave a small scream, and the dragon frowned.

  “You don’t have to be frightened,” it said. “Really. You’re my Princess now, and I’m going to take proper care of you, and you can clean my scales and cook for me. I believe that’s the standard arrangement.”

  The P
rincess burst into tears. The dragon pulled back, eyeing her uncomfortably. “Did I say something wrong?”

  The Princess just cried harder. “Alas! Ah, woe is me! So recently was I happy, awaiting the coming of my love to rescue me from this dismal forest! And now am I a prisoner of a monster, and when my love arrives he will be eaten by this awful beast, and I abandoned to my fate! Alas, that I should come to this!”

  The dragon looked considerably taken aback. It turned to Shiara and me. “This is a Princess?”

  “Yes, she is,” I said. Shiara nodded, too.

  The Princess had heard the question also and she raised her head. “Indeed, I am a Princess, and the daughter of a King, and see to what misery I have been brought!” she said tragically. “Alas, the day I left my father’s house! Yet would I flee again, and endure with patience all the trials and woes which have come upon me, only to be with my love once more!”

  The dragon backed up a pace. “Are you sure this is a Princess?” he asked.

  “Alas! Now even my birth is doubted, and to whom shall I turn in my distress? Ah, pity my sad state! For I am alone and friendless, and parted from my love. Ah, woe! That ever I let him leave my side. For he is mighty among men, most brave and fearsome in battle, and of a fair and pleasing appearance in all things, and he would not leave me thus, did he but know my fate.” She went back to crying.

  “If this is a Princess, I’m not sure I want one,” the dragon said. It looked at the Princess speculatively. “Maybe I could eat her, instead.”

  “Ah, help!” said the Princess.

  “I really don’t think you should eat her,” I said. “After all, you did say you wouldn’t.”

  “That’s right, I did,” the dragon said. It looked at the Princess, who was crying again, and sighed. “Nobody told me Princesses were like this,” it said in an aggrieved tone. “And who is this love she keeps talking about?”

  “We haven’t met him yet, I’m afraid,” I said. “She says he’s a knight that she ran away with because her father wanted her to marry someone else.” I was still trying to figure out what to do about the Princess and the dragon.

  “A knight?” The dragon backed up a little farther. “I don’t think I’m ready for knights yet. They’re so unpredictable. I don’t suppose you could find me a Princess without a knight?”