Chapter Nine
Valora
Over the next weeks, I continued to clean Lord Dracul’s quarters. From what he had mentioned, the other Dragon Maidens came in once a month for a day to do much needed cleaning, but that was it. And from the looks of things, a cleaning was very badly needed. Each day, I returned to the cavern exhausted, my entire body aching. But overall, I felt proud of what I had accomplished, the work helping keep my mind off my brother. I was too exhausted at the end of the day for my nightmares to plague me. Some days, Lord Dracul let me spend a couple hours in the afternoon to read books from his library, and I would do that while he continued working at his desk.
Lord Dracul eventually gave me a day off to do what I wanted. From what I could tell, this itself was abnormal—the other Dragon Maidens worked every single day with their Lords. But I was not one to question his generosity, as I looked forward to exploring the caves more. Though I had been too busy to think of Ronan, the thought of escape had never completely disappeared. Perhaps today would be the day I could find a way out. The glimmer of hope had not been snuffed out yet.
I traveled past the main tunnels, coming upon a section where they branched off that I had not seen yet. I picked one at random, not expecting to find anything interesting. As I walked, I could hear the sound of voices, the volume increasing the more I walked. Eventually, after numerous turns, I came upon a giant cavern, one that dwarfed both Lord Dracul’s and the Dragon Maidens’ caverns by comparison. At the top of the cavern was an opening that let in sunlight, keeping the crops scattering the cavern floor alive. People, ranging in ages from young children to the elderly, were picking a section of ripened produce, all while talking and laughing together. The only people who seemed to notice me were a few who were weeding nearby. At the other end of the cavern was another entrance where people came in and out with pails of water.
As I entered the cavern, the people closest to me avoided eye contact. They all wore the same gray clothing, similar to what the other servants in the cave usually wore, bare feet and all. I slipped off my shoes, as well, digging my toes into the cool dirt. It had been ages since I had experienced anything besides stone or rugs underneath my feet, and I relished the feeling.
A small boy raced into the cave, water spilling over the sides of his bucket. People moved out of his way, yelling at him to slow down and be careful, their voices echoing through the cavern. He paid them no heed, running full tilt in only the way a child could. He headed towards me, and I foolishly expected him to move. He was too close, running too fast, and I attempted to get out of his way, but he collided directly with me, spilling the remaining contents of his bucket onto my dress, soaking it immediately.
When he saw what he had done and noticed my clothes, his face paled, all color disappearing. “I’m-I’m sorry,” he stammered. “I didn’t see you.”
Silence fell over the crops as everyone froze, having seen what happened. They watched us closely, their gazes trained on me, to see how I would react.
I stood and grabbed the fallen empty bucket, handing it to him. “Accidents happen,” I reassured him. “But next time, you should be more careful.”
He nodded solemnly at my words, remaining silent.
“What’s your name?”
At my question, his face turned even whiter, making his chestnut hair and freckles stand out even more. He began to tremble, and I internally cursed myself. Of course, he thought he would get in trouble.
“Nothing’s going to happen to you,” I said. “It’s okay, really.”
“My name is Henrick,” he said after hesitating for a moment, his eyes darting to someone behind me.
“It was nice to meet you, Henrick,” I said, smiling widely, trying to hide my unease over the way everyone stared. “I hope to see you around. If you will excuse me, I have to go change. Bye.”
As soon as I left, I could hear the cave start buzzing with talk about me.
“What’s the matter with you?” I heard a woman’s voice scolding the boy. “That is to be Lord Dracul’s Maiden, and you just doused her with water! You could be in serious trouble!”
“I didn’t mean to!” Henrick cried. “It was an accident!” I could hear the tears thick in his voice and my heart clenched at his palpable fear.
“You need to be more careful in the future. Now go get more water. Barely any got to the crops. And no running this time!”
After hearing the woman yell after Henrick, based on how her volume increased at the end of her spiel, I could only assume that he would not follow her instructions.
I walked back to the Dragon Maidens’ cavern, my bare, dirt-covered feet feeling cold against the stone floors. Looking behind me, I could see a faint trail of footprints from the dirt and quickened my pace, not wanting to be caught by anyone.
No one was in the cavern when I returned, and I let out a sigh of relief. I stripped down and dropped my wet clothes in a basket to be cleaned later, changing into a purple linen dress that had cornflowers embroidered at the hem. I quickly washed my feet, cleaning them of the dirt before slipping back into my shoes. At last, I took down my braid, combing my hair before tying it back up once more. Then I sat on my bed, relaxing in solitude while I could.
The other Dragon Maidens entered the cavern about half an hour later, stopping when they saw me. The chattering amongst themselves ceased immediately and I could only assume they had been talking about me. If anything, the past couple of weeks had proven that they kept me at arms’ length. Even when I tried to engage them in conversation, they only provided surface level answers to my questions. It seemed that since Lord Dracul had picked me, they all had drawn away. The openness and friendly nature they had shown me when I arrived had quickly disappeared.
“You weren’t wearing that when we all left this morning,” Vimery said, her tone accusatory. “Decided it wasn’t good enough for you?”
The dress I had picked earlier had been a very plain cotton dress, similar to what the other Maidens wore today. I prickled at her accusation, but did not answer her, turning in my bed so my back faced her. Today, I was not in the mood to deal with her antics.
“Valora, what happened to your dress?” Alonsa asked, walking over to the basket where we discarded our clothes for the day. Servants would collect the basket the next morning and take everything to be washed. “Why is your dress soaking wet?”
I bit my lip, knowing that she would chastise me for exploring. No matter what I did, it always seemed to be wrong somehow. Only when I was in Lord Dracul’s chambers did I actually feel peace—he usually complimented my work or offered other words of encouragement. There, with the Dragon Maidens, it seemed I only received comments meant to pick at all my shortcomings. I missed the gentle encouragement Alonsa used to provide.
“Valora?” she prompted once more. “Where did you go? How did this happen?”
“I had the morning off and went exploring,” I admitted with a sigh.
Alonsa let out a sound of frustration, and I flinched, preparing myself for the lecture that always seemed to come.
“You shouldn’t be exploring,” Alonsa said in a tired voice. “The only places you need to know are Lord Dracul’s rooms, his treasure hoard, and where the other Lords reside. You already know how to go to all those places, so why did you go exploring?”
“I’m tired of being cooped up in the same spaces,” I said, turning to look at her. “I wanted something more stimulating to do. Is that so wrong?” When she did not answer, I flopped back on my bed. “I came across the crops and there was a small incident.”
“And that’s why your clothes are wet?” she asked, coming to sit on my bed.
I looked at her and nodded.
Once more, she let out a sigh and pushed a lock of hair out of her face. “I don’t nag you to make you feel bad,” she said, “but because I’m worried that you are going to make so big of a mistake that we can’t help you.” She placed a hand on mine. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, Valora. None of us do.”
I held back a snort at her words. Vimery would probably be happy to see me gone. But looking at the others, they seemed as sincere as Alonsa sounded.
I nodded. “I’m sorry for causing you to worry,” I said softly. “But it can get really boring. I just wanted to find something new.”
“I understand, but give it time. You’ll adjust,” Alonsa said.
Everyone immediately turned to the door as a gentle rustling of scales approached. Lord Dracul appeared in the doorway, his eyes passing over each Dragon Maiden until eventually stopping on me. I was surprised to see him dragon form; usually, in his chambers, he looked like a human, and I felt a strange oddness about seeing him now. From his expression, I gleaned no indication of what he thought. His silver eyes were impassive, and I could not imagine why he would be stopping by at midday. And based on the silence of the other Maidens and their shocked expressions, it was very out of character for him to be there right now. Lately, I had been having lunch with him in his chambers, even though the Maidens usually came to the cavern for meals.
“Lord Dracul!” Alonsa exclaimed. “We weren’t expecting you. How may we serve you?” She and the others fell into belated bows. I remained upright, staring at him.
“Valora, come with me,” he said quietly. The serious note in his tone sent shivers down my spine.
Silently, I got up and followed him to his chambers, where he transformed into his human form. I waited patiently as he began to pace, seeming to gather his thoughts.
“I heard from the servants in the garden that someone ran into you this morning,” he said, his voice quiet. “Who was it?”
Silence descended on the room, as I was shocked he had heard about the incident already. I had not been planning to tell him anything.
“It was an accident,” I explained at last. “There was no harm done.”
I turned to go, but Lord Dracul grabbed my arm to prevent me from leaving, his ring flashing in the light. It was a light touch, but I could feel the strength he held back.
“Tell me who it was,” he said. “Accident or not, they need to learn to be more careful.”
“Well, I’m not telling you.” I raised my chin, meeting his eyes. They glittered in anger, and I realized something. “Did you say they came and told you what happened? Why would they do that?”
“They know that if the Lords find out from our Maiden first and not them, we are less likely to want to listen to their side of the story. They told Lord Lorka, who reported the incident to me,” he growled, and I was starkly reminded that even if he showed kindness to me, he was still a ferocious dragon that the others all feared. “So who was it?”
I argued back. “I’m not going to give you a name so you can punish them, not when it was an accident. They already know better for next time.”
“Valora, I am going to ask you one more time, and you had better give me a name,” he said impatiently. “Who knocked you over?” Steam began to pour from his nostrils, which almost looked ridiculous in his human form.
Crossing my arms, I said airily, “The name escapes me. I seem to have forgotten it.”
The output of smoke intensified, but I did not allow myself to be cowed by him. Henrick was only a child.
He sighed, and after a couple more moments, shook his head. “Very well,” he said. “You win.”
I felt the corners of my lips curl up and did my best to quickly school my features. By the slight smirk, I could tell he noticed anyway.
“Don’t be so smug,” he said, trying to fight back his own smile.
I laughed, and at my reaction, he let out a chuckle. I paused, not expecting to hear such a sound from him. He was more lenient with me than the other Lords were with their Maidens, but I was still surprised he did not push the point further. I had the thought that maybe staying would not be so bad after all. As soon as the thought flitted through my mind, I squashed it.
“So I’m not in trouble?” I asked.
“No, you are not,” he confirmed. “But for the rest of the day, I would like you to stay in the Dragon Maiden cavern. I don’t want you getting into any more trouble.”
“Yes, my Lord,” I said, bowing before turning to leave, returning to the cavern to have lunch with the other Maidens.