Submitting to the Dragon

Chapter 1

“Girl, refill these drinks for the General and his men.” 

I moved quickly to pour the dark liquid into the cups. The guests gratefully brought the hot drink to their lips. “Ah, Lord Valis, its true that you have the sweetest wines and the sweetest women.” The General looked at me pointedly. 

“Sir Garond, you are too kind. We take pride in our hospitality! Let me introduce you to the rest of my family” My master gestured to me to leave. “Girl, summon my daughters and tell them we have guests.” 

Grateful to get away from that room I hurried to inform the ladies of the house that they were being summoned. I was familiar with this routine and so were they. My Master had the misfortune of many daughters and only two sons. He made it a habit to invite bachelors of good standing to the house so he could tempt them with one of his eligible daughters.  

“What is it?” Came a soft voice behind the door answering my knock 

“Karie, the Master summons his daughters.” I answered softly 

“Whos at the door!” Came a shrill voice from the interior of the room “Stop whispering!” 

Karie shuffled inside and I heard a murmur of voices before the door was flung open and a flurry of skirts moved out of the room. The ladies of the house were eager to meet the visitors and had been anxiously waiting for their fathers cue to join the party.  

“Get out of the way, mutt” Eleanor said with a sneer as she elbowed me out of the way. The other girls giggled and followed her down the hall. I heard them repeating “mutt” and laughing obnoxiously as they moved away. 

“Do you think she has fleas?” More laugher floated back to me 

I clenched my fists and buried the anger. It was no use getting mad at them it only made their bullying worse. 

“Are you ok, Mel? 

Karies soft hand rubbed my arm comfortingly. “Of course! Why would I let them get to me?” I shrugged off her hand so I could suppress my emotions. “I have to get back down there. Will you be ok?” I motioned to her swelling stomach 

She sighed softly “I think he’s going to come early. I just wish his father was here.” 

I smiled at her and hugged her gently “You know all of us with be with you when this baby comes. He is all of ours and we will treat him like family. You will never be alone or go without.” I slid my arm around her waist as we turned back to the dining hall. “A boy? You really think so?” 

“Oh I just so hope it will happen! the baby is so strong and keeps me awake all night.” She giggled to herself “Just like his dad did thats why I know its true.” 

I laughed at her and listened to her talk. Her husband had been a kind man who had been like a father to me and when he was sent away to work for the Young Master in the city it had been tough on Karie. She was waiting to have the baby before requesting the transfer knowing that the Young Master would not want a woman in his service who would be slowed down by a child. 

We parted ways at the kitchen and I return to the hall hearing the shrill voice of Eleanor as she gushed compliments to the bachelor in question. I saw Millie the younger of the girls nudge Eleanor as I walked in and took my place in the back of the room.  

“Hey, Mutt girl, come rub my shoulders” Eleanor called to me as her sisters laughed loudly 

I held my head up as I moved across the room. There was no point in ignoring her she would only make the evening worse if I didn’t comply. I saw the disapproving look of my master from the head of the room but he didn’t interfere. He never really tried to stop them after his wife made it very clear that I was only tolerated if her daughters could act as they pleased. I guess it was his only kindness towards me that he kept me in his house. As his bastard I would’ve been destitute and likely the slave of a much more cruel master. 

Eleanors smug smile became irritated when I didn’t rise to the bait and ignored her taunts. She refocused her efforts on Sir Garond. “Tell me more about your heroic battles! I just can’t imagine how brave you must be to ride around and lead all those men.” 

Sir Garond puffed his chest and began to tell gorey stories of battles and how many men he killed, but I kept seeing his eyes coming up to me as he told them. I studiously ignored his gaze and hoped that seeing my disinterest would be enough to dissuade him. While he was undoubtedly handsome, I knew his type. He would likely be a cruel man to be involved with at any level. I pitied the woman who would be his wife one day.

“Lord Valis" The general called from one side of the room "The king is itching to start a war with the northern regions and I’m urging him to find the recruits to begin taking back some of those territories. Prince Tristan is resisting his fathers inclination stating that a war with the north would cause needless drain on the kingdoms resources. You need to come back to Linora with me and convince the Prince. You know he values your input!” 

Lord Valis stood and moved away from the fireplace. “I doubt very much that my words would change His Highness mind. He’s stubborn and holds too closely to his values. He finds war distasteful. It’s such a waste of talent. ive never seen a man so astute at war tactics and possessing so much of the Goddess’s light in him.” 

Grunting in agreement Sir Garond added “It was rumored she appeared during his birth.” 

“As his godfather I can say that no mysterious woman appeared in the room that day. However, he surpassed all his masters at a young age and showed incredible talent for the art. He mastered the physical, spiritual and mental aspects mostly without guidance. He would go into a trance state and we could not bring him out of it until he was done. Oftentimes we would spend days after that trying to heal the boy from malnourishment and dehydration.” He shook his head at the memory “Ive never seen someone so stubborn. He would refuse help and immediately return to the trance. Sometimes it would last hours and other times days.” 

“I heard that he would speak in other languages sometimes and no one would understand him” one of Garond’s men added 

Lord Valis nodded again “Thats true. It was odd to see a young boy so burdened with his gifts. It slowed down when he was of age and it seems that he has mastered most of what the Goddess bestowed on him.” 

I jumped with alarm when Sir Garond suddenly slapped the table loudly with his hand “Then why does he hesitate? Those demons haven’t found their heir. The sons have all tried to enter the sanctuary and have been turned away. With this loss of leadership we should move now!” 

“If I had to guess, Prince Tristan is likely seeking an alliance with Queen Jiraha.” 

“What?1” Eleanor exploded. “That cannot be right! An alliance with that evil witch?” 

My Master glared at his daughter and she shrunk under his intensity. “Sorry.” 

Sir Garond stood and began to pace “I cannot face my men and tell them that their loved ones deaths will never be avenged. She deserves to die and so do her spawn. Those demons can never stand up to the might of our Light.” 

“General, please sit. I understand your feelings. Our prince has lacked motivation but we may be able to convince him still. However, this is no conversation for the women to be part of on a night like tonight. I believe we may have an opportunity to work together in the future for the Prince and we may be able to convince him.” 

I heard no more of the conversation as I was sent away to prepare the younger missus for bed. They chattered excitedly about the likelihood of their older sister snagging the General in the hall. “He is so handsome!” 

“Did you see the way the table shook when he slammed his hand into it?” 

“Oh just imagine being in those arms. I bet he’s pretty good in bed.” 

“Eleanor is so lucky. Maybe she will share him.” 

“Share? I doubt it. Did you see the way she was practically drooling on his arm?” 

A sudden icy feeling crept down my back as I walked back out of the room. I shook off the sensation. I don’t have time for this I need to check on Karie. I felt the icy sensation settle onto my arm like a hand grabbing at me pulling me to the window. This is getting absurd. This sensation has been following me around for so many nights and yet I discover nothing.  

The moon was full and bright outside and a dark figure standing in the garden caught me attention. A man was standing and staring at the manor windows. As he lifted his hand I felt the ice creep down my arm into my fingers. The cold felt like it was seeping into my bones and the pain was suddenly sharp. I looked out the window again and the man continued to move his hand and the ice fell away. My feet began to freeze as the ice that dropped off my hand encased my slippers.  

A sudden piercing whistle shattered the silence of the night. only then did I realize that there had been no sounds. The man jumped visibly and sprinted quickly to the tree line.  

Frustration welled up in me. “What do you want with me! Night after night for months this creeping cold that finds me. This is the first time you’ve shown your face. I won’t let you get away!” I made a plan as I ran to my room. I needed warm clothing and better shoes. I was going to track his steps and force him to explain himself. I had stolen a knife off a visiting soldier a while back and I stuck it into the pocket of my cloak.  

Before heading out I looked in on Karie and she was fast asleep. “Good. No one will notice im not sleeping.” I let myself out the servants exit from the kitchen and ran to the spot where id seen the man standing. I quickly located the spot where his weight had crushed the grasses and flowers and followed his tracks into the tree line. Luckily, it was easy to follow his tracks as the moon was so bright. 

I moved confidently through the small forest following his tracks when I suddenly realized where he was headed. The Grove. It was a place that most people avoided. There were too many weird stories of monsters.  

“Oh well, its not like I haven’t been there before.” I pushed aside a branch as I stepped into the persistent darkness of the Grove “Just not at night.” 

 I stepped lightly into the empty space. It had always been eerie to step into the grove. The thick forest surrounding this space seemed like a ward to keep people away. 

“You came.” A male voice said 

My heart leapt into my throat as I spun around looking for the man. “Come out! I saw you earlier. What do you want from me?” 

“Want from you? Nothing. I needed to see if the rumors were true.” 

Of course. This Is what you get when you follow a weird man into the forest. Riddles. Why can’t he just tell me what he wants. “Stop being cryptic. What rumors could you possibly hear about a slave? You have the wrong person. So leave me alone.” My eyes kept scanning around me in the darkness as my hand went around the blade in my cloak. 

“The rumors are true and you are the one I’ve been searching for all these years.” The voice said 

“Stop speaking from the shadows come out where I can see you.” 

“If you just opened your eyes you would see im standing right in front of you.” 

“Enough! Im leaving. Stop following me.” 

“Havent you noticed the marks beginning to appear?” 

I stopped dead in my tracks. Fear leapt into me “How do you know about that?” 

“Dreams of places that you know you’ve seen but you know that you’ve never visited?” 

My head spun with his words. How does he know! “What do you know?” 

“I know that your life will change. You have been found. My Master will be pleased.” The voice became more solid and suddenly a figure appeared to be standing in the middle of the Grove with her. 

I stumbled away from the sudden figure and spoke quickly “found? Who is your Master? What is going on?” 

"Return to this Grove tomorrow night. My Master will be waiting for you. All your questions will be answered."

A rushing sound filled my head and the pressure began to squeeze into my ears. I cried out as it seemed the weight of gravity became hundreds of times stronger and compressing me into the ground. The world went dark.