by Sarah Noffke
“They may be surprised to find I follow direction quite easily if they are straightforward with me,” Sophia joked to herself as she exited the Castle to find the morning air crisp.
You know straightforward is too easy for them, Lunis offered in her head.
A moment later, the blue dragon landed quietly beside Sophia on the damp grass. She smiled affectionately at her dragon, lifting a hand and resting it on his thick neck in greeting.
“Morning,” she said in a hush. “Have trouble sleeping too?”
He nodded. That which affects you is also my affliction.
“Why do you think we are having trouble staying asleep?” Sophia asked, starting forward, headed for the Nest.
Maybe Mercury is in retrograde, the dragon joked.
Sophia shook her head at the ancient creature. “Or the moon is full, or the change in seasons or some other dumb cosmic reason.”
Or maybe it’s because you had a last cup of tea with dinner or ate the food Ainsley served or had a nap, Lunis offered.
“I didn’t nap,” Sophia snapped, a rude expression on her face.
Oh, really? he argued. You and Wilder didn’t fall asleep on the beach next to the Pond?
She scratched her head. “I can’t really recall. That doesn’t sound like something I’d do.”
It really isn’t, but it’s one of the reasons I support it, he said discreetly.
There was never any keeping things from Lunis for Sophia which was how it should be. It was never an invasion of her privacy. That would be like getting mad at herself for spying on her own thoughts.
Of course, Lunis continued. I know of others who wouldn’t love the idea you are napping with Wilder so much…
He was referring to Hiker. There was a good reason the two dragonriders spent their lunch breaks on the beach of the Pond, which couldn’t be seen from the Castle, and it wasn’t because they both had an affinity for water.
“Well, I’ll simply tell Hiker if he asks, that my early wake-ups are requiring an afternoon siesta,” Sophia declared.
Lunis gave her an annoyed expression as they continued toward the Nest, their steps in time. I don’t think the napping is what would make him red-faced angry.
“I’m certain naps or rest in general would actually put his kilt in a wad,” Sophia said with a laugh.
Yes, and of all people in the world who I wouldn’t want to piss off, Hiker Wallace is at the top of the list, Lunis told her as they approached the fog that always clung around the Pond and Nest these days. I mean, that Viking scares me and I’m a fire breathing dragon who is friends with his bestie.
Sophia laughed, knowing Lunis was closest to Bell, Hiker’s dragon. It was strange her dragon, the youngest of all at the Dragon Elite had aligned with the oldest.
“It’s like she’s taken you under her wing,” Sophia joked.
Stop, Lunis said with a bite as they cut through the fog. It cloaked them as they approached the Nest, making each step a mystery.
He knew she got nervous as they approached the Nest each time, worried about her thousand dragon eggs. They weren’t hers, Sophia knew, but they felt like it since she’d spawned them. Another reason she felt guilty was that there was roughly a dozen missing. They were going to get them back. As soon as they knew where to look and who to kill.
So, are we again simply sitting there and watching the eggs until the sun rises? Lunis asked.
That had been the routine for the last few days, since the strange wake-up schedule. Sophia didn’t know why, but there wasn’t anything else she cared to do with her time, just be near “her” eggs and her dragon and wait for the sun to rise before she joined the others.
“Yeah, does that work?” she asked.
As well as you and me, Lunis answered.
So it was. Their routine was as good as them, and there wasn’t anything better than Lunis and Sophia.
Chapter Three
The rain was pounding against the Castle windows when Sophia sat down at the dining table for breakfast. Usually there was a large assortment of pastries or fruit sitting on the surface of the grand table that stretched the length of the dining hall. It was empty, save for dirty dishes that looked to be left over from last night’s dinner. Sophia definitely recognized the shepherd’s pie sitting in front of her—or what was left of it.
She sat straight, her hands in her lap and her eyes tentatively skirting back and forth, and wondered what Ainsley the housekeeper was up to this time. As if cued by her thoughts, the shapeshifter staggered into the dining hall, not at all looking like her usual self. She hadn’t changed into a different form or anything, but she also hadn’t brushed her hair or buttoned her brown burlap dress properly.
“Ains?” Sophia questioned. “Are you okay?”
The elf turned her head side to side like she was having to search for the source of the voice. Finally, she squinted in Sophia’s direction.
“What are you doing down here so early, S. Beaufont?” Ainsley asked, her words slurring.
Sophia’s eyes darted to the grandfather clock on the far wall. “It’s ten minutes past breakfast time.”
Ainsley narrowed her gaze. “What? That’s impossible! Where are the others? Evan’s hardly ever late for a meal, nor Mama Jamba.”
Sophia shrugged. She didn’t really know the answer. Evan usually preferred to rush down to breakfast so he could nick all the best pastries.
“And why are you here on time?” Ainsley continued to grill her, hands now pinned on her narrow hips.
“I don’t know,” Sophia answered honestly. She awoke early, strolled the grounds with Lunis, checked on the dragon eggs, and had been planning on watching the sunrise, but the rain had started, sending her straight to the Castle for shelter and Lunis to the Cave.
She glanced out the window and noticed the storm seemed to only be inside the Expanse. In the distance, the hills appeared clear, with rays of sunshine cascading down and illuminating the morning dew on the green grass. Sophia shook her head, sure Quiet was behind this somehow.
Ainsley combed her hand over her head, her fingers catching in her red hair. She pulled it away in confusion. “What do I look like right now?”
Sophia scrunched up her nose, not wanting to say it. “Sort of like you just rolled out of bed.”
Proudly, Ainsley nodded. “I did. I always do, but the Castle puts me together. Gets me ready, fixes my hair, and takes care of my clothes.”
She looked down at her dress, her eyes suddenly bulging. “Oh, dear. I look like a right mess. What the hell?”
“The Castle…I mean, Quiet gets you ready every day?” Sophia questioned.
“Well, of course,” Ainsley answered, trying to fix her buttons. “I mean, I have got things to take care of and don’t really have the energy to fix myself. I haven’t brushed my hair in eons. Or dressed me, for that matter.”
“Then, if that’s the case, why isn’t Quiet doing it now?” Sophia asked.
Ainsley held a finger in front of her face and pressed her eyelids together like she was about to get painfully pinched. Her red hair instantly smoothed back into a low ponytail, more polished than usual. The wrinkled brown burlap dress was replaced with a clean, pressed one. She opened her eyes, relief filling her gaze.
“That’s better, but what an effort it takes to get oneself presentable,” she said, shaking her head. “You do that every single day?”
Sophia shrugged. “I’m sort of used to it.”
“Well, no wonder the guys hardly do more than the bare minimum,” Ainsley stated. “Again, I applaud your hygienic efforts, S. Beaufont. I knew you were a real class act, but I had no idea how much energy it cost you.”
“It really isn’t that big a deal,” Sophia protested. “I like being clean.”
“That you do,” Ainsley answered with a smile. “You are such a modern city girl, ain’t ya?”
Sophia didn’t answer since she didn’t think washing behind her ears or brushing her hair should associ
ate her with modern city life. It should be a human thing. It reminded her of the flu season in Los Angeles when everyone was constantly reminded to wash their hands. Liv often remarked, “What the hell have you all been doing before?” Hygiene was a full—time job, not a seasonal one.
“To answer your question,” Ainsley went on, “I suspect that insufferable gnome is mad at me, and that’s why he’s not been doing my hair and getting me ready or waking me up on time.”
“Mad at you?” Sophia scratched her head, wishing she had a cup of tea since she’d been up so long.
“It’s just a guess,” Ainsley answered. “He’s been super sensitive. I realize now that I know he was the Castle all along. I didn’t like learning about it the way I did. At first, I was okay, but the more I started thinking, the more it burned me up.” She shook her head, her face flushing red. “You’d have thought my best friend of the last five hundred years would have indulged me with the information. But oh no. He made me think the Castle was this grumpy, eccentric building that demanded my constant attention. Now I know it was him. So I gave him a piece of my mind last night.”
“It’s understandable you’d be upset,” Sophia consoled. “He kept something important from you, but he did have a good reason. No one knew but Mama Jamba. I’m sure you didn’t say anything he won’t get over.”
Ainsley’s laugh was shrill and loud. “Oh, you don’t know that petty little jerk. He’s quite stubborn and manipulative.”
“He has a very difficult job to do, Ains,” Sophia argued. “I realize the Castle can be…” She paused and lowered her voice, deciding she should choose her words carefully. The Castle was always listening, meaning Quiet was. “It can be particular and all-powerful, but he has his reasons, I’m certain.”
“Particular?” Ainsley laughed again. “Do you know how many times I have cleaned the floors and turned around to find them a mess again? That’s just spiteful. Before, I thought this place was possessed by some ornery spirit who did as it liked. Now I know, the gnome I thought I could sympathize with because he had his own challenges managing the Expanse, was behind it all.”
The housekeeper folded her arms across her chest, a hurt expression in her green eyes.
“I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation,” Sophia reassured her. However, she didn’t know what it would be. The knowledge Quiet was the Gullington had changed everything and brought many things to light. It definitely highlighted why the gnome didn’t want his secret out, but she didn’t think Quiet was a spiteful person. The Castle was often very playful. Maybe that was just how Quiet’s personality manifested inside the walls, or maybe Quiet had a good reason for why he had it behave in certain ways. He was privy to much more than anyone else, being omnipresent and all.
“And the Castle let me oversleep,” Ainsley complained, gauging the time on the old grandfather clock. “Now I hardly have any time to prepare breakfast. Hiker will be livid. Mama Jamba will be starving, and Evan will complain bitterly.”
Sophia glanced around at the empty table. “I don’t think you have to worry about it since none of them are here yet.”
A low growl fell out of Ainsley’s mouth. “Which makes me wonder what that gnome is up to.” She glanced up toward the rafters of the ceiling and waved her closed fist. “Whatever you are orchestrating, you better be careful. I’ll quit on you and get a job in the village. Then who will care for your stupid Castle?”
She strode for the kitchen, continuing to shake her fist.
Sophia knew there were no second career opportunities for Ainsley in the neighboring village. She was stuck at the Gullington for the foreseeable future. At least until Sophia had a chance to investigate and see if there was a cure to fix Ainsley after the attack by Thad Reinhart. Quiet might be mad at her. He was definitely a trickster who liked his pranks, but it was because of him Ainsley was still alive when she should have died long ago.
Sophia rose to clear the table of the dirty dishes from the night before when racing footsteps stole her attention. She looked up just as Evan materialized in the entryway, his face pinched with embarrassment. She didn’t have to wonder why though because the dragonrider was nearly completely naked. The only thing covering his privates was a much too small painting he held in front of himself.
Chapter Four
Sophia slapped her hand over her eyes, shielding them the best she could. The portrait was of an old dragonrider, Bruce Campbell, a man with a boxy jaw and a patchy beard. The painting used to hang outside of Evan’s room and must have been the only thing he could locate to cover himself.
“Um…are you going for a new look?” Sophia asked, her eyes still covered.
“I wasn’t planning on it, but imagine my surprise when I woke up to find all my clothes gone,” Evan retorted. Sophia made out the telltale sounds of his bare feet slapping the floor and him drawing closer.
“I would encourage you to keep your distance,” Sophia told him, pressing her hand more firmly to her face.
Evan snapped. “Give me your cloak.”
She shook her head. “No, then it would touch your bare skin.”
“Is that worse than seeing my bare ass —”
“Yeah, yeah. Fine,” Sophia interrupted. She pressed her eyes shut tightly as she pulled off her long traveling cloak. “Why didn’t you pull your sheets off your bed or use a towel to cover yourself?”
Sophia remembered when the Castle had taken all of Hiker’s clothes and replaced them with retro suits. The Viking had fashioned his bedsheets into togas to cover his body since he wasn’t about to put on Napoleon Dynamite suits.
“Believe me, I would have,” Evan answered. “The Castle, which we all know who that is now, took every piece of material in my room, including the throw pillows on my sofa. The armor outside my room was even gone. I only managed to snag Bruce here before I’m sure the conniving gnome realized his oversight.”
“Poor Bruce,” Sophia grumbled.
“Poor Bruce?” Evan questioned. “Try poor me. It’s freezing out here.”
“I can see that,” Mama Jamba sang, her southern accent strong.
Sophia heard the rustling of fabric as Evan sighed.
“I won’t take offense since you have obviously seen me in my birthday suit, Mama Jamba,” Evan said with a laugh.
“Seen you in it.” The old woman laughed. “I made it. But still, it appears you are extra chilly this morning.” Sophia heard a snap of fingers and then flames rose in the fireplace.
“Okay, you can look,” Evan told her. “I’m all covered.”
“I’m not sure I can,” Sophia joked. “I think my vision was burned by what I saw already.”
He sighed dramatically. “Don’t be a pain. I need your help figuring out what that short guy's problem is.”
With great hesitation, Sophia opened her eyes to find an even more comical sight than before. Standing beside her was Evan, barely covered in her tiny cloak, straining at the seams to cover him. “You can keep that for good.”
He chuckled, turning sideways to admire himself in a mirror. “I think it looks all right on me.”
“You look like Tommy Boy,” Sophia joked.
“Tommy who?” he questioned.
“It’s a pop reference to a Chris Farley movie, dear,” Mama Jamba explained, taking her usual seat.
Sophia smiled at her and winked. “Fat man in a little coat.”
Evan clapped his hands to his chest. “How dare you call me fat?”
“It’s a movie reference,” Sophia explained, afraid he’d rip off the cloak and expose himself.
“You are obviously not fat, dragonrider,” Mama Jamba said, looking back at the kitchen expectantly. “I wonder where my pancakes are.”
“Ainsley had a late start,” Sophia explained.
“Did the Castle take all her clothes too?” Evan asked.
Sophia shook her head. “It apparently let her oversleep and didn’t get her ready.”
A speculative glint passed ac
ross Mama Jamba’s eyes, but she didn’t say a word as her mouth twitched.
“What I don’t get is, I have been extra nice to Quiet,” Evan wondered, his gaze on the floor.
“You might want to stay still,” Sophia advised, worried her cloak wouldn’t hold up.
He shook his head. “No, moving helps me to think.”
“Is that what the problem is when you are sitting at the dinner table then, dear?” Mama Jamba asked, her eyes still expectantly on the kitchen door.
“Mama Jamba, I expect that from the others, but not from you,” Evan complained.
Sophia pointed a finger at the other dragonrider, trying to put an expanding spell on her cloak. To her surprise and utter disappointment, it didn’t work. She grimaced at her finger.
Evan halted, lowered his chin and regarded her with contempt. “Don’t you think I tried that already? I tried to magic some clothes. Tried everything I could think of. I really hope you know I wouldn’t have ventured down the freezing cold corridors of this place with a portrait of Bruce covering my manhood if I had any other option.”
Sophia’s eyes darted to the abandoned painting on the table. “It really is such a small painting, isn’t it?”
“Haha,” Evan said, not at all appearing amused. “I’m serious, though. Last night, I lavished the Castle with compliments. I was nice to Quiet. I even offered him the larger slice of pie.”
Sophia thought for a moment about Ainsley and her predicament with Quiet. “Maybe he doesn’t want you to be nice to him.”
“What?” Evan questioned, throwing his arms in the air, making the cloak rise dramatically.
Sophia jerked her head to the side to avoid seeing something that would be burned into her memory. “Keep your hands down.”
“Fine,” Evan said, tugging the cloak back down to cover himself. “But you have to start making sense. Why wouldn’t the little guy want me to be nice to him? When I wasn’t, he, like the Castle, used to throw all my belongings on the Expanse or throw me out of bed. He did all sorts of other things to torment me.”
