Courting a Dragon

Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

“You are moping.”

Eastwei didn’t even flinch at the accusation. He plucked the chess piece off the board and set it in its new position.

Prince Yushir toyed with his ring as he studied his old friend. “Do you deny it?”

Eastwei raised his eyes to the royal and gestured to the board. “Have you come here to play or to scold me?”

Yushir shrugged. “A little of both if that’s what you need. You have been sitting in your palace these last few days doing nothing but staring into the ether. Puren even tells me you have slept little and eaten even less.”

The lord cast a sideglance at the aforementioned servant. Puren stood nearby waiting to serve them and quaked beneath the scolding look. “My apologies, My Lord.”

Yushir leaned to one side to catch the eye of his companion. “My knowing is not the issue. You need to shake off thoughts of the attack and the loss of your pet.”

“What did you suggest?” Eastwei questioned him.

Yushir shrugged. “Why not a short trip? Perhaps one of the land realm clans would tolerate us for a short while as guests.”

“The bear clan is hosting their Fur Festival soon,” Puren spoke up.

Yushir sat up and waved a hand at the servant. “You see? That is something to see. You and I have not attended for hundreds of years. Perhaps now would be a good time to go.”

“I think not,” came the reply as Eastwei nodded at the board. “It is your turn.”

The prince pursed his lips but his eyes twinkled. He grabbed a piece and moved it. “You know, you may find another cat like the one you lost. The silver ones are rare indeed, but the outskirts of the bear clan’s land skirts where you discovered your little friend.”

“A creature cannot so easily be replaced,” Eastwei countered as he examined the board.

Yushir slowly nodded his head. “Yes, but perhaps in your grief you give your furry friend too little credit. She may have vanquished her attacker and traveled home to heal her injuries. I mean, you did not find a body like those in the villages. Should we assume she was killed and eaten when all others were not?”

Eastwei paused with his fingers wrapped around the head of one of the chess pieces. He stared at the floor but his eyes were unfocused.

Yushir saw his bait was working. He suppressed a smile and instead leaned back and shrugged. “Of course, if you prefer to remain here and play your flute to your heart’s content then I would understand.”

Eastwei placed his pawn and draped his arm over one bent knee. “I will consider it.”

Yushir toyed with his ring and studied his friend with a faint smile. The mere thought of this cat being alive has such a grip on him. I wonder why.

His amusement was interrupted by the ringing of the bell indicating a visitor at the front arch. Puren bowed to the pair before he hurried off to obey the chimes.

The prince lifted an eyebrow as he watched the servant hurry away. “Are you expecting someone?”

“No.”

Puren returned with Fuhel behind him looking as meek as a mouse. The young woman bowed low to the pair. “I am sorry to interrupt your game, Your Highness. My Lord.”

Yushir waved off her apology. “No need for those words, Fuhel. What news do you bring from your grandmother?”

“She believes she will have a strengthening spell for the barrier within another six months,” Fuhel announced.

The prince smiled and nodded his head. “Good news indeed, but hardly enough to bring you here. Does your grandmother need something?”

She bit her lower lip and her eyes fell on Eastwei. “I am afraid so. Lord Eastwei must contribute his dragon fire to strengthen the spell.”

“Why should that be such cause for worry?” Yushir questioned her.

The prince was surprised when Eastwei climbed to his feet. “Inform your grandmother I will be there shortly.”

Fuhel bowed her head and hurried away. Yushir scrambled to his feet and opened his mouth to protest her quick disappearance, but she was already gone. He clamped his mouth shut and frowned at his friend who stood with his back to him. “You gave your dragon fire to the last barrier creation, did you not? Why should this time be so different that the young girl would have such a look of deep regret?”

“We will finish our game another day.” And with that pronouncement, Eastwei strolled down the hall.

“You are making me worry about you!” Yushir shouted after him but the imperious lord didn’t break his stride. “Damn him,” the prince muttered before he turned his attention to Puren. The servant also had a worried look on his face. Yushir caught his eye and jerked his head to where Eastwei had gone. “What do you know of this?”

Puren shook his head. “Only what the tales tell, Your Highness, in that Lord Eastwei sacrificed some of his spiritual energy to craft the barrier that then trapped the great evil.”

Yushir crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his ring finger against his arm. “A pity neither of us were old enough to know first-hand what troubles that troublesome man so much.” He caught Puren’s gaze with his stern one. “Keep me informed should you see anything worrisome about your lord. Do you understand?”

Puren pursed his lips but bowed his head. “Yes, Your Highness.”

While the two conspired, Eastwei strolled toward the island abode of the witch goddess. He had nearly reached the bridge to the spooky island when a voice shouted at him.

“Dadan!”

He didn’t slow down nor look in her direction as Shian hurried up to him. She had a bright teasing smile on her face as she joined him at his side, and the young woman wagged a finger at him. “You have been very naughty lately, Dadan! I have not seen you among your favorite haunts for over a fortnight and I had begun to worry about you.”

“There is no need,” Dadan replied without giving her so much as a glance.

She puckered her lips into a pout. “But surely there must be. Why else would you seclude yourself in your palace for so long?”

“I have had other matters on my mind,” came the curt response.

Shian slipped in front of him, barring his path. She clasped her hands in front of her and her eyes pooled with tears. “Dadan, have I done something wrong? Is that why you reject me?”

Dadan was saved from replying by a shout from across the bridge. “Lord Eastwei!” Fuhel called from across the bridge. She waved a hand above her head. “Grandmother is waiting for you, Lord Eastwei!”

Shian twisted around at the shout and frowned. “Lady Wuhel wishes for an audience with you? But why-” She turned back to Dadan and found he had slipped around her other side and had reached the bridge. She balled her hands into fists and stomped her foot on the ground. “Blast him! Why does he fight what fate has ordained for us?”

While Shian tortured herself over her dragon lord fantasies, Eastwei joined Fuhel on the other side of the bridge. The young woman leaned to one side and glimpsed his former companion. “Is that not Lady Shian? Did she offer to accompany you here?”

“Quite the opposite,” he replied as he strolled past her.

Fuhel scurried after him and opened the door for the lord. They stepped inside the dark interior of the old house but Eastwei caught sight of the small figure of Wuhel. She was hunched over her cauldron and tossing in handfuls of spices and herbs.

“A dash of this and a dash of that. . .” she muttered to herself. She took up a two-foot-long wooden spoon and stirred the concoction.

Fuhel slipped around their guest and hurried over to her ancestor. “Grandmother, Lord Eastwei has arrived.”

Wuhel wrinkled her nose and waved away her granddaughter. “In a moment. He may sit if he wishes while I finish this.”

Fuhel bit her lower lip and turned to the imperious lord. “I will stand,” was Eastwei’s answer.

“Suit yourself,” Wuhel countered as she lifted a spoonful of the broth and took a sip. She smacked her lips and wrinkled her nose. “Not enough crumbs of cow hooves.”

“I will fetch them,” Fuhel offered before she scurried across the room to the long table of potions and concoctions.

Eastwei watched the goings-on with his usual face of indifference, but Wuhel cast her sharp eyes over him. “You are nervous, Lord Eastwei.”

“Your granddaughter informed me you needed my dragon fire.”

“That hardly addresses my comment but yes, I need your magic just as I did before.” Fuhel held out an open jar filled with white flakes. She dug around in the container and grabbed a handful which she tossed into the cauldron. The old woman paused and cast a side eye at her visitor. “Are you up to the task?”

“I will offer whatever magic is needed,” Eastwei assured her.

She knitted her eyebrows together. “That is not what I asked, Lord Eastwei. The last time you came here you looked about ready to collapse on my doorstep.” She shoved the long spoon into Fuhel’s arms and marched over to her guest where she beckoned with a wizened hand. “Show me your crystal.”

Eastwei lifted his chin slightly. “There is no need for that.”

“I will decide whether there is or is no need,” Wuhel argued as she put her hands on her hips. “And for me to remove your magic, I must know the state of your crystal.” Eastwei’s eyes flickered to Fuhel. The grandmother got the hint and turned her face to one side to catch the eye of her granddaughter. “Fetch some more wood for the fire.”

Fuhel blinked at her. “But I fetched some-” A look of warning in her grandmother’s gaze cowed her argument. She hurried out of the house and securely shut the door behind her.

Wuhel returned her focus to Eastwei. “Now then, let me see it.”