Chapter Twenty-Seven
Valora
After being officially inducted as a Dragon Maiden, my daily life did not change much—only now, when I spoke with the other Maidens, I could feel them giving more weight to my words. And when passing other humans in the corridors, they would bow their heads out of respect for my new title. Overall, I could feel a new presence of attention on myself and I was not sure how to feel about it. My daily tasks remained the same—continuing to clean and deliver correspondence to the other Lords.
Dracul acted like he normally did, and it was a relief, something familiar that I could slip back into. We worked together on brewing more of the potions that he was experimenting with. He would have me prepare ingredients or read steps from one of the many books to him. Now he even gave me additional time to read on my own, and would discuss any questions I had.
Despite daily life going back to normal, there were more whispers in the caves now. Borthen’s forces made very bold moves. It was glaringly obvious that he was preparing for war. Lord Firenze and Lord Hiram stopped by Dracul’s quarters almost on a daily basis now, taking up most of his day for discussing next steps. From what I overheard about their conversations, they soon had to discuss with the other Lords about what was to be done.
It took a couple weeks before a strategy meeting was held. I prepared the cavern where all the Lords were to meet, one of my new duties, and I wanted everything to be perfect. There was a room adjacent to the ceremonial hall, big enough for all the Lords in their dragon forms. It was mostly filled by a grand table, and ornate sconces lit up the room. The overall atmosphere was somber as the Lords met. I was allowed to remain to ensure refreshments were always available—each Lord had a goblet filled with cider and a plate full of meats in front of them.
“We’re here to discuss the Starfire clan’s egregious actions as of late.” Dracul started the meeting off, his voice clipped. I could tell the past few weeks had been getting to him, he grew increasingly worried with each passing day. “Lord Firenze, please provide an update on what your scouts have found.”
Lord Firenze, a brilliant crimson dragon, nodded. “From what we can tell, Borthen has gained human forces from both ours and Grathal’s borders,” he said. “He’s been able to entice them with false promises of greater prosperity.”
“We have not been able to gather taxes from those towns on our side of the border for several months now,” Lord Noxus interjected. “Those towns provide us with lumber, stone, and crops that we do not grow here.”
“Our food reserve is in a good spot,” Lord Lorka said. His orange scales looked like fire in the sconce light. “If we do not collect from those towns, we will be fine for many months.”
“Regardless,” Lord Firenze said, looking at each of the Lords, “it does not change the fact that Borthen is trying to overthrow Lord Dracul. He has also been going to Grathal, where he has amassed an army of dragon mercenaries as well.”
A small outcry at this news rang throughout the room.
“Lord Hiram,” Dracul turned to the oldest dragon in the room, “have you come across a situation like this before? How would you recommend we proceed?”
Lord Hiram drew his claws together, thinking over his answer. “I would recommend we go visit Borthen, at least hint that we know what he’s up to, and try to negotiate another treaty with him. If that fails then we will need to call on Lord Fangburn to enlist the Twisturn clan’s forces and bring Borthen down.”
There was silence after his words. The severity of the situation was not taken lightly by the Lords and I could see each of them considering Lord Hiram’s words.
It was several moments before Lord Dracul spoke. “I will go see Borthen,” he said. “And have Lord Firenze and Lord Verhorn accompany me.”
There were murmurs at his announcement.
“Lord Hiram,” he said, directing his attention to the gray dragon, “I want you to remain behind to keep an eye on Borthen’s movements in Lord Firenze’s absence, in case he tries to attack while we are away. If you see any movement, I want you to go to Lord Fangburn and enlist his help.”
“Yes, my Lord.” Lord Hiram bowed his head.
“Does anyone have any criticism on this plan?” Lord Dracul looked at each of the Lords, who all shook their heads. “Then we have an agreement. Lord Firenze, Lord Verhorn, we leave first thing tomorrow morning.” He stood and swept out of the room.
I ran after him back to his quarters. When we got there, he transformed into his human form and slumped against the wall.
“I hoped it would not come to this,” he said softly, and for the first time, I noticed dark circles under his eyes. This problem had been bothering him this whole time. He had hidden his worries well.
“How long do you think you’ll be gone?” I asked. Worry began to gnaw in my stomach as I watched him walk over to his desk.
He sat down with an exhale of air and stared at the papers, beginning to move them around. “Hopefully it will only be a day or two at most,” Dracul said, sorting the papers into a few different piles. “At worst, a week.”
“Will your other duties be fine in the meantime?” I asked as I watched him.
“I’m organizing papers for Lord Hiram and you to take care of while I’m gone,” he said, looking to me and smiling. “This pile is for him to take care of, and this pile is for you.” He pointed to two of the piles, leaving a third one unassigned. “The last one can wait until I get back.”
I walked to stand next to him, taking the top sheet of parchment on my pile and looking at it. From what I could tell, it looked like a sort of staff assignment sheet. “What’s this?” I asked.
“You’ll be in charge of scheduling different servants for specific days,” he said. “Creating the schedule of when they’ll work. Everybody gets two days off every fortnight.”
“You’ve been handling this all this time?” I asked, aghast. “I thought Lord Verhorn would cover this task.”
Dracul chuckled. “He usually does,” he said. “But he’ll also be going to with me on this trip, so I’m passing it along to you. Lord Hiram can help you if you get stuck on anything. I trust you can handle it.” He stood and yawned. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get some sleep before the trip tomorrow.”
“Do you need me to pack anything for you?” I asked, suddenly not wanting to leave him. The knot deep in my stomach pulled me towards him.
“I’ll be fine,” he said, leaning forward and absentmindedly kissing my forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow before I leave.”
He turned and walked back to his bedroom, not seeming to realize what he had just done. But the spot where he kissed me burned and I knew my face was bright red, a heat pooling in my core. Unbidden, the thought that I wished he had kissed my lips instead flashed through my mind and I gasped in shock. I took several minutes to slow my breathing and clear my thoughts before heading back to the Dragon Maiden cavern.
Worry gnawed at me all throughout the night.
* * *
The next day, I awoke bright and early, preparing to bid farewell to Lord Dracul. Vimery and Bethany got ready as well, as they were to join me in saying goodbye to their respective Lords, Lord Firenze and Lord Verhorn. The three Dragon Lords waited for us in their dragon forms, at the entrance I had originally arrived through, almost a year ago. Vimery and Bethany went up to their Lords, wishing them goodbye, and I approached Dracul, suddenly feel self-conscious.
“It’ll be only a short while,” he said, smiling softly. “I’ll be back soon, I promise.”
I gulped past the lump in my throat and forced a smile on my face. “I know you’ll do great,” I said, trying to keep the tears from my voice. This was the first time we would to be apart since I had arrived. Already, I could feel an emptiness growing within me.
Dracul leaned forward and nuzzled my hair with his snout. “As will you,” he said. “Don’t worry. All will be well.”
“Good luck,” I said as he walked to the entrance, his wings spread, ready to take off. Lord Verhorn and Lord Firenze quickly followed, and us three Maidens watched until they disappeared on the horizon.
“What are you two up to for the rest of the day?” Bethany asked, turning to Vimery and I.
“I have cleaning to do,” Vimery said, marching off towards Lord Firenze’s cave. Since the ceremony, her patience for my presence had dwindled to be nonexistent.
Bethany watched her go before turning to me, waiting for my answer.
“I have paperwork to focus on,” I said. “What about you?”
“Lord Verhorn wants me to clean his hoard,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “Usually he has other tasks for me to do so I don’t have time. It’ll be nice to have it all perfect and polished when he returns.”
“Have fun,” I said as she ran off. Her enthusiasm made me chuckle slightly. I had not seen her so animated about her duties before.
With both Vimery and Bethany gone, I walked to Lord Dracul’s quarters, to the paperwork that awaited me.