Gabriel spent the evening deep in discussion with a black haired female named Hannah. They had much in common given she had lost her mate the previous year in a battle. He was also fascinated to learn that she was one of their best stone masons. When questioned, she said that everyone in the village did jobs based on the natural skills they possessed, regardless of gender. When Tianna overhead Hannah speaking, she joined in on the discussion and asked her all kinds of questions about her trade and the other jobs in her village. Seeing Tianna’s genuine interest, Hannah promised to show her around the castle and introduce her to some of the local tradesmen.
After their meal ended, a small group of young females came in and directed them to where they could stay for the night. At first, they took Tianna to her own room but Nathaniel protested. He insisted that they all share a room. He knew that she may need all of them present to protect her from her ‘admirers’.
Their guides gawked at the Draaks and then examined Tianna thoroughly. Tianna thought they were trying to figure out how she was lucky enough to have four males of her own. Tianna gave them a big smile and grabbed Nathaniel’s arm.
They then led them to a larger room. They all entered and their guides said they would be back with clothes. They directed Tianna to a large cabinet in the corner and said, “There are some clothes in there. They’ll be big for you, but you’re free to use whatever you can find.”
Everything in this room was designed for giants. Tianna had stayed in huts that were smaller than the canopy bed. Given the average size of their knights, she guessed it made sense.
Tianna found a very pretty night dress which she decided to wear. It probably was really a shirt but it hung down past her knees. The scooped neck did hang a little too low so she had to keep pulling it up. Wearing local clothes was going to be an issue. She was going to have to find children’s clothes to wear or wear her own. Her own clothes showed off her curves and she didn’t think that was wise around the knights.
After Tianna was dressed, she did a little circle dance to show off her attire. They all chuckled but said it suited her.
Nathaniel scanned her up and down. “Feel free to sleep naked. I won’t complain.” He gave her a crooked smile.
Tianna, ignoring his comment, walked to the edge of the bed and found another issue. Like all of their furniture, the height of the bed was too tall for her. She was about to jump up into it when Nathaniel scooped her up and tossed her gently into the middle of the bed. She thanked him reluctantly. This castle was going to be challenging in so many ways.
They each found a spot somewhere in the room to curl up to sleep. They were scattered all over. One was in a chair, another on a rug on the floor, and yet another next to the fireplace.
As everyone was getting settled in, Tianna spoke to her protectors. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause problems. I just answered the knight’s question without thinking.”
They just grunted back at her. They knew how much trouble they were going to have while they were there.
Tianna rolled over in the bed trying to get comfortable. “I really don’t think it’s going to be an issue. I don‘t even understand why they would even be interested in me. I’m like a child compared to the size of their females.”
Marcus who was lying down by the fireplace sat up. “Well, I guess you need to know.”
Tianna stared at him confused.
“It’s your scent. I was talking to a couple of the males during our meal. Turns out your scent is driving them crazy. Basically, they’re all getting drunk sniffing you. It’s like they’re cats and you’re catnip. I’m assuming it’s your Faye nature.”
Tianna didn’t know what to say. “Oh no,” is all that came out of her mouth. After a moment to ponder on her situation, she asked, “If it’s my scent they like, why did he want to know if I was mated?”
Marcus answered, “To approach another male’s mate is socially unacceptable here. Since you told them you weren’t mated, that gave them permission to ask you to spend time with them. They each want to experience the Faye sensation.”
Nathaniel, who was lying next to her on the bed, stared straight up at the ceiling and cursed.
Tianna shook her head. “I think you’re all over-reacting. By morning they’ll have forgotten all about me.”
Just then there was a knock at the door and Gabriel answered it. Several knights were standing in the doorway, surprised to see Gabriel. The knight in front said, “I’m sorry. We thought this was Tianna’s room.”
“It is.” Gabriel glared up at them.
They scanned the room quickly until they found their target, who was now sitting up in the bed. One of the visiting knights spoke in a hopeful voice. “We wanted to know if Tianna wanted to join us for a drink.” He held out a very large bottle of wine.
Gabriel responded for the room. “As you can see, Tianna is already in bed so she won’t be going out tonight.” He added to himself, “or any night while we’re here.” The thought of her Faye nature being impacted by wine with these already Faye influenced males made him shiver.
One of the other knights called out to Tianna before leaving. “If you change your mind, we’ll be just outside. We’ll wait all night.”
Gabriel pushed them out of the room and locked the door.
By the time Gabriel laid back down, a small rock hit the coverings for one of the windows. This time Nathaniel got up and pulled back the fabric to find several males standing below staring up with hope in their eyes.
Before they had a chance to say anything, Nathaniel yelled down to them. “Tianna is in bed with me! Go away.” He threw the material roughly into place and stomped loudly back to the bed.
Tianna was hiding under the covers so that only her eyes peeked out. Nathaniel settled himself in and pulled her close with another growl.
Over the course of the night, their sleep was interrupted six more times. Several of the knights had brought gifts for Tianna’s protectors as an exchange for letting Tianna come out. Tianna didn’t know how to handle this. Until she met her Draaks, all the men she knew were frightened of her. No one stared at her with the interest these strangers were showing her.
In the morning, Marcus stood and stretched as if he was achy from lack of sleep. “We need a plan, my brothers. I need to negotiate alliance terms with their leaders. Given their obvious strength, we could use their help in the war.”
Gabriel looked at Tianna with some sympathy. “What are we going to do about Tianna’s situation?”
Tianna offered a suggestion. “Maybe I shouldn’t leave my room while we’re here. You can all go out and work with the knights, and I can just lock my door. If they can’t smell me, I should be fine.”
Nathaniel let out a loud, “Ha!” and added, “Given how they acted last night, these walls aren’t hiding your scent from anyone. And given their size, I don’t think a locked door would stop them, especially if they knew you were in here alone.”
Marcus pondered for a few minutes. “She would be safer if she stayed close by where we can keep an eye on her.” He stared at Nathaniel. “You don’t let her out of your sight for a second.” He turned and said, “Gabriel and Seth can stay with you until we see how they react today.”
They all agreed and got dressed with the local clothes their guide had dropped off the night before. Tianna tried to pick something to wear that she thought was the least attractive on her. Once dressed, Nathaniel inspected her outfit and shook his head. He had her put something on that he picked out. It was an oversized shirt that she tied a rope around the center to make into a dress.
Nathaniel hung his head. “Brothers, we’re in trouble. I think she would look good in a feed sack.”
Tianna giggled but then turned it into a serious look when Nathaniel snarled at her.
The day went better than expected. Although Tianna did have a constant flow of admirers coming to catch her scent and bring her gifts, they weren’t aggressive toward her or her protectors. They wer
e truly smitten. If they had been cats, they would have been purring. There always seemed to be a knight close by to offer her their services. The moment she struggled with climbing a step, at least two males would magically appear out of nowhere to carry her to where she needed to go. Her feet hardly ever touched the ground.
The knights weren’t aggressive, so Nathaniel and Seth were able to handle shoeing her admirers away. Since they seemed to have it under control, Gabriel went to help in the training sessions he had seen. He wanted to evaluate their warrior skills as well as convince them of a dragon’s worthiness to fight by their side. For once, he would have to prove that Draaks were strong, formidable warriors even though smaller in size.
Gabriel met with his traveling companions at evening meal and was very excited by what he saw that day. The knights seemed to be equally pleased by his fighting abilities. Tianna healed his injuries while he talked animatedly about his day. Marcus was pleased. He hoped Gabriel’s efforts would sway the village leaders, who were hesitant to establish an alliance.
That night, a guard was posted outside of Tianna’s room to keep away any admirers so Tianna and her protectors could get some needed sleep.
Over the next few days, the knights began to adjust to Tianna’s presence. Although they still reacted to her scent, they seemed better able to cope with its influence. Nathaniel continued to stay close by Tianna’s side but the change allowed the other Draak’s to fall into a daily routine. Tianna was very flattered and overwhelmed by all of the attention. Nathaniel just growled a lot. To give Nathaniel a needed break from his constant guard duties, Tianna spent a day with Hannah at her side. Tianna was thrilled to meet all of the tradesmen in the village—both male and female. She spent extra time with the local seamstresses and they watched with great interest as Tianna sewed several unique dresses for herself. She was trying to embrace the local styles and colors.
Tianna enjoyed spending time with Hannah. Her quiet strength and caring for others made her think of Gabriel. Tianna wasn’t surprised to see her and Gabriel in deep discussion at evening meal each night. Given she had chosen to stay at Nathaniel’s side instead of Gabriel’s, she was thrilled to watch as a friendship seemed to form quickly.
On the afternoon before they planned to leave and continue on their quest, the knight’s leader, Jakkin, announced that they would be having a friendly competition. It would give his knights and the visiting Draaks a chance to show off and compare their skills. They all headed into the training area.
When Jakkin asked the knight crowd assembled what the winners should receive as a prize, they unanimously yelled. “A kiss from the fair Tianna.”
After all of the kindness she had received, she felt obligated to agree. Nathaniel just growled louder.
The competition was going to include knife throwing, sword fighting, wrestling, tracking, and archery. Each Draak picked an event to compete in, although the knights’ size and strength put them at a great disadvantage. Marcus hoped that by showing their skills and determination, even when faced against a much larger and stronger enemy, it might help influence their interest in forming an alliance.
Marcus competed first in knife throwing. Although Gabriel would have been a better choice for this event, they needed him to cover wresting. He was the only one strong enough to go body-to-body with a knight.
Marcus had thought that knife throwing would be an individual event, free of physical contact. He quickly found out that this was not the case. They did have to throw at a wide variety of targets but at the same time, they had to handle distractions. Although they weren’t allowed to physically touch a competitor, a distraction could come in the form of anything from verbal taunts to having to dodge thrown objects. After the first competitor was taken out when he didn’t dodge a lit torch quick enough, Marcus quickly partial shifted to give himself his body armor. The change caused him to receive applause from the females in the crowd. Although he didn’t win, he performed well enough to get several hearty pats on his back. Tianna had to stand on a chair in order to give the winner his kiss. The winner stumbled away, actually drunk from her scent.
Nathaniel competed next in sword fighting. Seeing what Marcus went through on the previous challenge, he also partially shifted to better protect himself. Although he spent most of his time on the ground, flat on his back, he never gave up. After the first few times he hit the ground, Tianna had to turn away. She couldn’t watch. Nathaniel didn’t win either but the knights were fascinated by how he could heal his own injuries with his blue fire. They watched in envy as Tianna came forward and helped him heal his wounds with her own blue fire. At the end of the event, many of those injured during the match asked for their wounds to be healed so they could experience their healing touch. Jakkin had to step in when other knights not even in the competition started to get in line to have self-inflicted injuries healed.
The winner of the sword fight had watched the previous winner, so he was prepared. When Tianna stood on her chair and gave him his prize, the knight actually hung on to her so the kiss lasted longer. Much to Nathaniel’s displeasure, the crowd counted out the seconds. Nathaniel was just about to separate them forcefully when the knight staggered and fell away from her lips.
The knight tried to walk away and lost his balance, falling back on his butt and laughing loud with the crowd. A few of his fellow knights had to help him walk off the field.
Once all the commotion died down, the wresting competition began. Tianna gasped when she saw Gabriel’s opponent approach. He was introduced as Terom and was one of the largest knights she had seen in the castle. He also looked like one of the meanest.
Marcus approached Gabriel and asked, “Are you sure about this?” Marcus thought this knight could snap him like a twig.
Gabriel made eye contact with his opponent and fire flashed in his eyes. “Leave this one to me. The larger they are, the harder they fall.”
“Given what I’ve seen in the previous events, be prepared for anything. My guess is they’ll have some tricks up their sleeves.”
Gabriel smiled a mischievous smile. He hadn’t had the opportunity for a really thorough workout for quite some time and his body craved it. “I’m looking forward to this. I’ve participated in some of their training and have watched how they fight. I think they’ll find that I have just as many tricks up my sleeves.”
Marcus reluctantly left the field, but had both Nathaniel and Tianna waiting on the sides, prepared to jump in with their healing skills.
Gabriel approached his opponent with a look of pure determination and concentration. He stretched and flexed his muscles along the way. Once the challengers were face to face, Terom stared down at Gabriel and laughed. The sound shook the ground and made the hair on the back of Tianna’s neck stand up. She wanted to run in and pull Gabriel out but Nathaniel held her back.
Tianna pleaded, “But Gabriel will get killed.”
Marcus shook his head, “Don’t count our warrior out quite so fast. I’ve seen him in battle where he single-handedly took out several of his enemy with his bare hands and didn’t even break a sweat. Let him show what the pride of Haven’s Royal Guard can do.”
Tianna reluctantly agreed but couldn’t hold back the blue fire that was already waiting at her fingertips.
Terom scanned Gabriel’s body. Staring down at him he asked, “Are you sure about this, boy?” he snickered
Gabriel growled. “Boy? I was fighting in battle before your great-grandfather was even born.” He willed his dragon forward and burst out of his shirt in his partial dragon form. He flexed his dragon strength and said in a low growling voice, “Bring it on…young pup.”
They nodded at each other, accepting the challenge.
Tianna watched the match, astonished with Gabriel’s fighting abilities. Although he looked undersized compared to his opponent, his Draak speed and strength made up for his smaller frame. Terom had a difficult time holding on to a smaller opponent that somehow always seemed to wiggle ou
t from any hold he put him into. Every trick Terom offered, Gabriel countered with his own unique moves, including adjusting how much he shifted the necessary parts of his body to give himself the advantage. His shifting control was extraordinary. The shifting didn’t deter or anger Terom. On the contrarily, he was thrilled to test his skills against a dragon.
In the end the crowd decided their match was a draw. They both walked off the field together laughing and delved right into a deep discussion. They shared wresting move secrets and the possibility of a warrior exchange in the future.
Marcus listened from the sidelines and beamed with pride. Their quest group was winning over the confidence of the knights. An alliance was almost assured.
When Gabriel received his winner’s kiss, he took Tianna in his arms and dipped her low. Tianna felt flushed. Terom wanted to mirror Gabriel’s movements. Due to their extreme differences in size, he scooped her up into his arms, cradling her like a child. He then dipped her low and kissed her while still curled in his arms. Gabriel stood right behind Tianna in case she needed his protection.
Unquiet Slumber Page 22
