Mother Knows Best
“Cassarah,” my mother screeched. “You’re filthy, And your dress is covered in dirt and sand! Has nothing I taught you managed to stay in that simple brain of yours?”
I bowed my head, taking the harsh words she sent my way. I really wasn’t hearing anything she said, anyway. All I could focus on was the hollow feeling deep in my chest. This must be what the apprentice meant about not liking being apart from Vasin.
My attention was snapped into focus as I felt the lingering sting of a slap across the cheek. I finally looked up from the ground to meet my mother’s furious eyes with my murderous gaze.
Keep it together, Cassarah. You just need to let her be mad. Don’t piss her off even more. It never goes well in the end.
“How could you do this to your family? After all we’ve done to get you accepted into court and proper society. You have ruined any chance of marrying a noble! Who would want to marry the woman pair-bonded to the black dragon?” she said, shaking with anger.
A spark lit inside of me at her words. Typically, I would hang my head and let my mother cut me open with her words, but not this time. I was not going to let her speak that way about my pair-bond. She could do whatever she wanted to me, but I would never let her speak ill of Vasin.
“Did I ever say that I wanted to be married?” I barked back, furious that I was being blamed for something I had no control over.
“No, Mother. You can’t blame this on me, not this time.
I never wanted the court life… you did. Furthermore, that black dragon is not a blight on our name any more than you are. ”
Another slap on the same cheek was my mother’s answer. She stood there glaring at me, her chest heaving with anger. “Clearly, you have dealt with a large shock today and will need to be taken home as soon as possible.”
Turning her back to me, she signaled to one of the maids. “Please inform the queen that we will be unable to attend dinner this evening due to Cassarah’s condition.”
“Mother, what are you doing? I’m fine, and I don’t need to be sent home like some disobedient child.”
“I will not show my face at court with you by my side while you’re paired with that creature.
I have dealt with the looks and the gossiping behind my back for years because of marrying your father.
I will not endure more because of my daughter.
I just can’t do it,” Mother answered, still not looking at me.
“There is nothing I can do to change the fact I am paired. It’s a lifelong bond,” I said, trying to get her to understand I couldn’t just walk away from this.
“Then you will just have to learn to live as if you’ve never had a pair-bond. I forbid you from seeing that thing ever again.” With that, she flung open the door and marched down the hall.
“Lady Cassarah, the carriage is waiting,” Becka said as she draped my cloak around my shoulders, pulling the hood up to cover my face.
Slowly, I followed Becka as she led the way to the carriage. Mother’s words replayed in my mind repeatedly as I tried to figure out what had just happened. Never had I seen my mother express so much emotion before. She was always the cold, proper woman.
As I stepped into the carriage, I felt a stabbing pain in my chest, causing me to gasp.
Would it kill me to be taken away from my dragon?
As the carriage began its rattling journey out of the palace courtyard, I heard a pain-filled wail come from the direction of the roost. Vasin was feeling the same pain I was.
I then began to panic, wondering if this could harm him somehow since he was already so weak.
“Mother, we have to go back. I can’t leave Vasin yet… he’s wounded,” I pleaded, a sense of panic growing in my chest.
I made to jump out of the carriage door, but my mother grabbed a handful of hair and yanked me back. The footman she had strangely asked to ride with us pulled me down to sit next to him, blocking my way to the door and keeping hold of my arm.
“What was that, dear?” Mother asked as if she hadn’t heard me.
“Stop it, Mother. You know exactly what I’m talking about. I think it might kill him for me to leave him while he’s still wounded,” I shot back, frustrated.
“It’s better if the thing dies. Then we won’t have to worry about it anymore. It’s really doing us a favor,” she said, looking out the window.
“If he dies, there is a chance that I might die as well. Our pair-bond is so strong that one cannot live without the other for very long.”
“Don’t be so foolish… you’ve only just met the thing. There is no way your so-called pair-bond could be that strong already. Now drop the matter before I start your punishment now,” she said, ending the discussion with a firm look.
As we traveled further from the castle, the pain in my chest subsided to a dull ache that radiated through my entire body. I tried to sleep on the ride home, but I was unable to, kept awake with worry for Vasin.
Could I survive being away from him forever? I’d never heard of someone who was forced away from their dragon. Most of the time, it was an honor to have a pair-bond, but it would seem this was not the case for me.
My thoughts drifted from Vasin to the strange events that had occurred with Lord Everett. Why would he go behind the king’s back to kill my dragon and me? I know he said the black dragon was a bad omen, but what would possess him to act on his own?
Furthermore, how had I managed to shoot him with that arrow?
My Birthright was more powerful than any I remembered hearing about.
Was it because I’d pair-bonded with a dragon?
Could this be the original manifestation of our family’s Birthright?
I would need to sneak into Father’s office and look at the books he kept hidden there.
If I couldn’t find anything, I’d just have to make him tell me.
It seemed our past was not meant to be forgotten quite yet.
“Cassarah!” Mother’s sharp voice demanded, pulling me back to the present.
Seeing we were home, I silently followed after her, keeping my head down in hopes she would forget my presence.
Father, who’d been riding alongside the carriage, fell into step beside me, letting me know with his presence that he was not upset with me.
I truly felt he was the one person who understood me and could ease my troubles.
I didn’t know how he was going to help in this situation, but I knew he would try to lessen my punishment.
Without even being told, I went straight up to my room and got ready for bed. I just wanted this day to be over.
Try as I might, I couldn’t seem to fall asleep.
Every position seemed to be uncomfortable for one reason or another.
Finally, I gave up on sleeping and slipped on my dressing gown, then walked out to the balcony, hoping the cool night breeze would calm my mind.
I took a deep breath and looked up at the brilliant twinkling stars in the black sky.
I let my thoughts drift to the dull pain that tied me to my dragon back in the roost. Could he still hear my thoughts from this far away?
Deciding to give it a try, I touched the painful feeling and then listened intently to see if I could hear anything in response.
As I stood silently in the moonlight listening for my dragon, I felt a slight tug in my chest, as if he was answering my call.
Then, as I tried to respond to him, I was overcome with dizziness, and a moment later, I was swallowed up in darkness.
“Cassarah, what are you doing sleeping out on the balcony?” Becka asked worriedly as she shook me awake.
I groaned as I sat up, my muscles punishing me for sleeping on the stone floor.
How had I ended up sleeping out here? Try as I might, I couldn’t seem to remember anything from last night after I crawled into my bed.
Then the memories of what had happened yesterday came flooding back.
I was pair-bonded to a black dragon, and my mother was planning on locking me away.
“You really need to get ready for breakfast. You know how your mother hates to be kept waiting,” she fretted.
“I know all too well about that, Becka,” I grumbled as I walked past her into my bedroom. “Can’t say I’m excited to find out what punishment she has cooked up for me.”
“We’ll get through it, just like we always have. I have some healing herbs in my chambers so I can treat your wounds when she’s done,” Becka whispered as she filled a ceramic bowl with hot water for me to wash my face and hands.
While I was cleaning up, she went to the closet and picked an outfit for the day, then laid it out on the bed.
After I was dressed, I sat on a low stool so Becka could begin the process of taming my hair.
After the many years we’d been together, she knew a few tricks about getting it to behave.
Once I was presentable and ready for the day, I made my way down the large staircase to the dining room.
A large wooden table that could seat about twenty people was the room’s central feature.
I’d never seen the table filled with that many people in my life, but just in case, we were ready.
I never could understand why my mother insisted we eat every meal there.
Yet there she was, seated at one end of the table while Father was at the other.
I quietly sat at my place in the middle between the two of them.
Good thing my mother hated to talk during meals—it would have been difficult for any of us to hear each other.
“Cassarah, you will need to write a letter to the queen asking for her pardon for leaving so suddenly. Also, include that you are going abroad and cannot attend court for a season,” Mother said as the dishes were taken away.
“Oh yes, and that you are flattered she is adding you to the list of women considered for the prince’s hand in marriage. ”
“I’m going abroad?” I asked, stunned she would go to such lengths to keep me from Vasin.