Taniel (The Taverner's Daughter I)

70: Taniel

Crockery clatter startled me awake. Olivia beamed down at me. My eyes must have asked why the witch had not brought my tea because she told me Paget was attending to her husband's bruised bits.

I clamped my lips on a smirk while Olivia poured herbal tea. I declined cream and sugar.

"Well, Taniel," she said. "The time for making our baby is almost here. Your red dragon has come over from the mainland. We will have a quick peek while our drinks cool.

Thrilled speechless, I nodded. I slipped on my shoes and followed her from my bedroom. Our walk was shorter than I anticipated, ending in front of the large window at the end of the carpeted passage. I looked out at a small dragonhold set between the gated wall and the swirling sea.

"Yours is the smaller red one," she said.

I am sure I forgot to breathe for a moment as I stood gaping at the most elegant dragon I had ever seen. Only shoulder-high to the five green dragons, the young red stood out like a beacon on the blackest night. Gold-tipped red scales flashed in the sunlight.

"It's beautiful," I breathed.

"Not that one." Olivia spoke as if to an infant. "That belongs to Paget. The smallest one is yours."

I dragged my eyes from the gorgeous creature, unable to see another red.

"Ah, there it is," Olivia screeched by my ear. "Right at the back, behind those two big greens."

My disappointment was obvious.

"Oh don't let the size fool you, girl. It will be fit for riding by the time our child is born. Dragons grow fast."

"It is pretty, too." I whispered, with my eyes lingering on the larger beast, certain its beauty could not be matched.

"Come along, the tea will be getting cold." Olivia grabbed my arm and I let her lead me back to my room.

My room? Wondering when I began thinking of it as mine, I settled into one of the armchairs by the hearth. We drank our tea and spoke of motherhood until we lapsed into a strange, companionable silence. Olivia was so excited about turning me into a mother that I began feeling bad about deceiving her. I almost told her that her procedure would be futile.

I was glad when she left me alone with my whirring brain. Now that I had seen my red dragon, acquiring it was irresistible.

I wanted that prize.

There was but the one way to make it happen. I must take Paget's advice. I wondered if they really would let me go home to Skerby until my confinement.

But then, when my dearest dream was finally a reality, I would have a babe to nurture, and a husband to please.

Was I wrong to want the dragon, too?

***

1 April 2017 - replaced with revised scene

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