Gold Dust

Chapter 5

"Quickly! The Prince scooped up his love in his arms and placed her out of harm's way. He could not see her get injured. The dragon roared in anger, because this human touched his prize. With its jaw opened wide, the dragon sent forth a plume of fire, which was deflected by the Prince's magical Faerie shield protected him from the scorching hot flames. This made the dragon angrier! How dare this human protect himself of his deadly flame."

Gwen was gently brushing Gull's back when Peter poked his head in the tent and waved at her to come out. She glanced at the rest of the group, the women quietly listening and watching the rapt faces of the children. Peter wasn't the only one who caught Gwen's attention, so did Aoife. She gave Gwen a curt nod, and Gwen quietly excused herself. Nobody noticed her leaving.

Outside, the air was fresh and cool, brushing against her face. Gull settled in her waiting arms, not quite ready to go bouncing around on his own yet.

"Gwen, I gotta tell you something. Erik was around, and he got wind that one of his pups had been found and that you claimed it. He says that the pup was stolen from him, and that you stole Gull!" Peter sounded frustrated, "so I told him we found him dying, and he accused you of trying to kill his dog! You can't let Erik take Gull, he'll kill him!"

"Peter," Gwen gave the almost in tears boy a fond smile. "How many people here don't like the Boles?"

"Everybody, but that won't-"

"And why do they hate the Boles?" Gwen calmly interrupted.

"Because they have everything." Peter huffed.

"And what if Erik starts to throw himself around, trying to force people into doing what he wants?"

"They'll probably make him chum and feed him to the sharks."

"Everybody here knows that Erik is lying about Gull. There isn't anybody on this island who thinks I took him, because of my injuries. They won't move a finger to help Erik. Even if Erik goes to his father, even he can't do a thing about it because if he tries to force his way on the village, they'll do the same thing to his son, and they would stop buying wool and lamb." Gwen said, clasping a hand on Peter's shoulder. "You see? Erik has no power here. And neither does his father. That is what they want you to think, however, the village is the one that has the most power over them. You know why?"

"Why?" Peter seemed genuinely curious.

"Because if nobody buys what they're selling, then the Bole's will not have enough money to live in luxury. They would have to work with everybody else, and having a taste of the finer things in life, it would be a hard blow on their pride."

"I've never thought about it in that way." Peter said, in amazement. "Wait until I tell Da' about this!"

Peter rushed off, leaving me alone with Gull in my arms. I had soothed his fears, even though they were about me and Gull. I hadn't done that in a while, but I'm glad that instinct had kicked in.

I reentered the tent just as the woman finished her story. In the end, the Prince had saved the Princess, and the Dragon was a rotting corpse. I'm sure it had been a mighty battle, I'm sure of. And yet, the stories never questioned about the Princess. Did she even want to get rescued? What if she liked being a Dragon's Princess.

I found it unfair and unsettling on how people simply ignore the possibility.

I sat down just as the women were starting to say that it was time for bed. Immediately there was a clamor of voices trying to protest.

"Not fair!"

"One more story please?"

"I don't want to go to bed."

"My older brother doesn't have to go to bed then I don't!"

"Please please please can I stay up another five minutes?"

"I want another story!"

It didn't stop until Aoife, having enough of it, yelled, "enough!"

The children quieted. Aoife relaxed just a tad. "We will have one more story before bed, if and only if you go without complaining. Otherwise it's bedtime now."

There came a chorus of all positive, "yes please."

"Do not forget about not complaining. If I hear one person whining about bed, I will make you all go to bed earlier next time." Aoife warned, which shut the kids up. "Alright, Gloria, what about Beowulf?"

"No, you told us that one last time." An unfamiliar child whined.

"Thor and the mighty quest for Mjölnir?"

"Nooo." Came another child.

"Ragnarok?"

"That one is sad." Pouted a little girl.

Gwen could see Aoife was slowly losing her patience. So she spoke up. "Why don't I tell them a story."

"You know a few tales?" Aoife questioned, and Gwen nodded.

"A few. I hope none of you have heard these though. It might ruin the surprise." Gwen had the fullest attention from the little children, all giving her hopeful eyes. It was this moment, that Gwen knew she had to leave soon, or never at all. Seiland was far away from the dangers that she knew were coming. However, in the week and a half she has been on the island she has found herself wishing she could stay in one place just a little bit longer. However, it always ended with disaster.

"Alright, little ones." Gwen said, "what do you know about witches?"

Words: 8,740