The Dream Keeper's Dragon

1. A Dinner at the Sproots

Aurelie had to remind herself that the Sproots put themselves into a lot of danger by letting her family live on their land every Sunday at dinner. If this did nothing to curb her irritation, she pushed her fingernails into the palm of her hand and squeezed really hard whenever Debil or his mother found a reason to brag.

Tonight, they had spicy beef stew for dinner. Debil's favorite. Everyone but Mrs. Sproot sat with their faces pointed at their plates, attempting to avoid eye contact at the risk of starting a conversation. Uncle Kaiden tried to speak to Mr. Sproot earlier but the giant, glass vase that stood in the middle of the table, filled with bunches of lilac, had them shifting in their seats just to get a quick glance at each other.

Aurelie thanked her lucky stars that Debil was absent this evening. He always looked at her much too intensely, that one. As if she were a prize he had to keep an eye on in case someone stole her while he scooped his stew. By her lineage, she was a prize. Perhaps, even his family's only chance at being granted noble status. That is if Aurelie were to lay her claim on the Highfire throne.

In Mrs. Sproot's mind, the two of them were set to marry, granting Debil a queen for a wife. Neither of these two things would ever happen. Just thinking about it left a sour taste in Aurelie's mouth.

"Nander is thinking of buying a ship," Mrs. Sproot's voice scratched through the silence. "We've invested quite a lot of gold into the Julopi fish market but their delivery is horrid, isn't it, Nander?" Her shoulders jumped in question, but the action was so forced that it looked as if she had gotten a fright instead.

"Horrid," Mr. Sproot confirmed with much less enthusiasm.

Aurelie hid her smile behind a spoonful of stew and glanced quickly in Aunt Elizabeth's direction. She cut her ash blonde hair just below her ears last week and would no doubt be the center of the Sproots' gossip when she left. It was always funny to see her keep her composure at dinner and even funnier to hear her discuss how hard it was, on their way home.

"Is that so?" Uncle Kaiden asked when neither Aurelie nor her aunt showed any sign of a response. Aurelie had her turn when Mrs. Sproot bragged about how wonderfully Debil was doing at school. Everyone knew Debil was dumb as a donkey and the only thing that changed about this was that his mother now sat squeezed into a new, bright red gown while she lied about it.

"Indeed. How much was it again, Nander?" Mrs. Sproot asked, making sure that everyone remembered they were wealthy enough to purchase a ship. The skin on her neck curved loosely like a curtain, especially when she turned her head to her husband and Aurelie saw it from the side.

"For the ship?" Mr. Sproot dragged his thumb and middle finger along his salt-and-pepper mustache. "Ten thousand altogether. Ship, crew and equipment."

"Steep price," Uncle Kaiden said. He received thirty gold coins a year from Mr. Sproot and though he stated that this was already too much, on more than one occasion, Aurelie strongly disagreed. He should have been earning much more than that for all the work he did; looking after the horses, cleaning the stables, fixing whatever broke in the manor, and tending their land.

Elizabeth's pay was counted into the amount too. She watered the gardens every second day, after sundown, so that no one could recognize her. This was the only task everyone felt comfortable giving her. She was a terrible witch and the worst she could do with water was flood the vast lands the Sproots owned.

The Sproots even deducted funds for a horse they purchased for Aurelie as a gift. The horse, Hoofy, was kept in their stables but Aurelie could visit whenever she liked. Uncle Kaiden spent an entire evening convincing her aunt not to march straight over there and tell them exactly what she thought about the matter, which was nothing good and would have probably made them homeless.