Kiran

It was one of those days. I had gotten little sleep, due to my wounded back. When Burnemarr let me out to do the milking, I was groggy and in pain. I silently made my way to the sheep barn, Burnemarr trailing behind me. The sheep, perhaps sensing my mood, were anxious, and several of them knocked my pail over, spilling the milk. I cleaned up with a set jaw.

When I finished at the sheep pens, I headed back to the mansion kitchen, where I was put to work washing dishes. When a glass dropped and broke on the floor, the bad-tempered cook slapped me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then bent down and picked up the shattered bits of glass.

Finally it was time for my lunch with Silver. I sighed with relief. She was my anchor in the storm, my light in the darkness. She was the reason I persevered.

"Kiran!"

She gave me a worried smile as I came in. She could sense through the bond that something was wrong. I tried to give her my most reassuring smile and carefully sat down, always conscious of my back. I saw her noting the stiffness, but could tell she did not understand the cause.

"What should we talk about today?" I asked, cutting into a leg of mutton.

Silver frowned, then let me distract her.

"I've wanted to ask you - how did you get this?" She gently traced the raised scar on my right cheek. She moved as if to pull back, and I caught her hand and cupped it to my cheek. I turned my face to kiss it.

"It was about 5 years ago, when I was looking for Shanook..."
I sink into the memory, with Silver following.

...I had come out of Creature Caverns and onto the Lly mountains, with no idea what Llyador was like or where to find Shanook, or even what kind of creature he was. I set off down the mountains, determined to travel all of Llyador in search of him. I descended into Winter's Fort a few days later: snowy peaks and snowy trees and snowy lakes with penguins and polar bears. It is where the creatures who must live in cold areas reside. I asked every creature I met if they had heard of Shanook. The answer was always no.
I continued on down the side of Llyador without passing through the Forest of Creatures and found myself in the Abandoned Desert. I had been traveling for 5 months at this point and was weak and weary. The sun in the desert was hot, the sand got into everything, and the only water to be found was in prickly cacti.

Until one day I came upon an oasis. There was a bubbling pool surrounded by grass, with trees shading it from the sun. Exhausted, I stumbled to the water and stuck my head in, parched.

Something large slammed into me from the side, and I was knocked over. I lay there for a second, disoriented, and the creature pounced. I cried out in fear when I caught my first glimpse of it: it was about the size of a buffalo, with scales like a snake and wings like a bat, teeth like knives and long, long claws. A spiked tail thrashed at its end and smoke streamed from its nostrils. Its eyes glittered hard, like jewels.

It was a dragon.

I thought I was about to die. The dragon played with me, letting me struggle, but I could not escape. He tried to pin me down; I struggled harder, his claws tearing into me. He must have decided enough was enough, because he took a deep breath and began to breathe flame.

His concentration wavered for a second. I ripped myself out from under him and rolled a few feet into the pool. I sank under. I hit the bottom and looked around. Water bubbled up between the rocks at the bottom of the pool. I selected a rock. I pushed off, hard, from the bottom of the pool and shot out above the surface of the water, water raining around me. Water splashed the dragon, getting in his eyes. He shook his head to clear it and lunged forward, claws extended. I threw the rock as hard as I could and fell back into the water, out of his reach. The rock struck one of his outstretched wings; he jerked and dropped out of the air with an ear-splitting shriek.

And then the hill moved.

It had been curled around the oasis, tall and a darker orange than the surrounding sand. At the dragon's cry it stood up, sand pouring off its sides.

The hill I had seen - was its back. It half raised its wings and stretched out its neck, fire pluming from its nostrils. It beat its tail twice and launched at me. The thing I thought was a dragon was a baby dragon. And this was his mother.

And she was not happy.

She tried to pluck me out of the water and I rolled. A claw sliced down the side of my face, narrowly missing my eye. I screamed as blood splashed into the water around me. She snatched me up, none too gently.

You will die for hurting my dragonet, she screamed in my mind. Fire burned out of her mouth.

Wait, I said urgently. She dropped me abruptly onto the ground; I felt several ribs snap. I gasped in breathless agony.

Stop, I said feebly, please.

Smoke billowed around her furious form, curled around so all I could see was her snout and sharp teeth, the glowing of her eyes, and the shadows of her wings right behind her.

This will be the last thing I ever see, I thought.

Then she faltered. The wings went back down to her sides.

Did you speak, she said darkly, lowering her muzzle until she was breathing in my face. I choked on the smoke.

Yes, I replied. Please. I meant him no harm. I was only here for water when he attacked me. I merely defended myself.

You're Llyadoran, she said with displeasure.

Of course I am, I said with surprise.

She continued on.
I have sworn not to kill any Llyadoran creature unless I or my dragonet are in mortal danger. And you - she lifted a disgusted claw off me - are not a big enough threat, unfortunately. I cannot kill you.

She gazed at me steadily.

But that doesn't mean I can't claw the skin off your bones while you still live.

I trembled before her merciless gaze.

Please, I said. Forgive me.

Her eyes burned so hot they were ice cold. She turned them on her dragonet, fluttering at her side.

Tell me what happened, she demanded.

They conferred privately. The silence was nerve-wracking. Blood dripped silently to the sand underneath me, and my tattered clothes fluttered in the hot draft of the dragon's wings as she absently flapped them. She finally turned back to me.

I see you tell the truth, she said slowly. Forgive us. Embers-in-the-Night did not realize you were a Llyadoran creature. He thought you were a dumb beast; we often eat the dumb beasts that come by here to drink.

Wonderful. I'd come within seconds of being eaten.

We offer you salve for your wounds and a place to sleep tonight in apology.

She touched my chest gently with her snout and backed away a few steps.

Thank you, I answered with a relieved sigh. That would be much appreciated.

If they don't eat me in the night, I thought wryly.

The dragon turned and walked a distance away. I painstakingly sat up, sand clinging to various cuts. My breath was ragged with the pain, but I forced myself to stand. I took a few stumbling steps.

What are you doing? came the curious voice of the dragonet. It was the first thought I'd heard from him.

Walking - to the - pool, I gritted out between stabs of pain.

Oh, he said.

I heard the woosh of his wings, and he gently scooped me up, his legs curled around me and not a single claw out. He flew me over to the pool and gently lowered me in. I slowly scrubbed the sand out of my cuts and pulled off my tattered shirt. The sky darkened and I looked up to see the mother dragon again. She set a huge nutshell down beside me; it was filled with salve. I sloshed, dripping, out of the pool.

Thank you, I said up to her towering form. I began to slather myself with salve.

I really am sorry, said the dragonet. I didn't know you were Llyadoran.

He is young yet. He has not learned to search for marqs. And even I, so enraged was I, did not see them, the mother said dispassionately.

I carefully smooth some of the salve on the slash down my face.

So if you're Llyadoran ... You have a name. What's your name? I'm Embers - in - the - Night, the dragonet said, bouncing. What a sight! A dragon bouncing.

I'm Kiran, I said.

My mom's Firestorm. I'm so glad you're going to stay with us for a while. You are, aren't you?

If it's safe to, I said dryly.

Of course! We mean you no harm. It was a mistake! The dragonet stumbled over himself trying to explain.

I raised an amused eyebrow.

All right, then. It should be exciting.

I tore my shirt the rest of the way into strips and bound my ribs. Once finished, I continue to sit at the edge of the pool, too injured to want to do anything else.

I have something for you! I'll be right back, the dragonet told me. He sprang up into the air and flew off. He was quickly back. He dropped a small rock in front of me. I picked it up and looked at it.

Thank you? I said uncertainly. What is it for?

You eat it, Embers-in-the-Night said, his tone saying it was obvious.

Embers. He is not a dragon. It is unlikely he eats lavastones, the mother dragon's voice said with disdain.

Oh. The dragonet was disappointed. You don't eat rocks?

I gave a twitch of a smile. No. But thank you anyway.

So what do you eat? he asked curiously.

Some plants and animals, I answered.

Do you like cactus? Embers asked.

I'd been living on cactus for 2 weeks.

Sometimes, I replied.

He flew off again. He returned with a cactus and a lizard. Both were cooked. Being able to breathe fire comes in handy sometimes, I guess.

Look! He said proudly, dropping them at my feet.

Thank you, I said.

I ate them both. They were surprisingly good. When evening came, I moved from the pool to the shelter of the mother dragon, Firestorm. Embers-in-the-Night lay on my other side and spread one warm wing over me. The underside of the wing was surprisingly soft, like fuzz, while the top was scaled like the rest of him.

I'm sorry I hurt you, I told him. Are you okay?

He moved his sinuous neck so that he could see me, his face coming quite close.

I'm fine. I can still fly on it even, it's just a little painful. But don't worry about it. We hurt you much worse. I'm sorry.

I slept warm and almost cozy in the sand between two dragons. In the morning, I got up slowly, more stiff and bruised than I had noticed the day before. My cuts were encrusted with dried blood and some sand. I washed off in the pool and reapplied salve. Embers - in - the- Night brought me more cooked cactus and a desert fox. He peeled off the fur and ate it, then cooked the fox for me. I ate what I could, and then he finished it.

Tell me a story, he begged.

A shadow was suddenly blotting out the sun.

Stay, Firestorm commanded. Embers does not have much Llyadoran company. We are, after all, in the Abandoned Desert. And he seems to like you. Stay until you are healed. We will feed and shelter you.

Please do, please do, Embers begged.

So I stayed, and told stories, and was fed by Embers, and was sheltered by both dragons, that day and the next and the next. Embers-in-the-Night and I became good friends, and even Firestorm thawed a little. Two weeks later, we parted sadly, and I continued on my journey...

I surfaced from the memory, and Silver blinked, coming out of it with me.

"Wow," she breathed. We stared at each other a long moment. Burnemarr shifted restlessly. Every day, he became more and more reluctant to separate us. I stood regretfully.

"L'an nei ile honnay, cere corian." I'm with you always, dearheart.

Silver gave me a puzzled smile and stumbled through her reply. "Amna iln ea ba mai minn."

I left smiling.

_______________________________

Burnemarr and I were walking down a hallway towards the kitchens when a heavy arm dropped across my shoulders.

I screamed involuntarily through clenched teeth.

The arm jerked off me. I turned to see who the arm belonged to; Darrin held his hands up against me, saying "Whoa!" as if I was a startled horse he was afraid would kick him.

Burnemarr, I noticed, was poised, eyes wide, but made no move to intervene. He trusted me, I was pleased to see. I very deliberately relaxed.

"Darrin," I said.

"Hey," he said. "Is everything all right?" He raised his eyebrows at me. He was still somewhat nervous about me. I didn't say anything. Probably he would repeat anything I said to Silver.

"No he's not all right," Burnemarr snapped. "Don't touch his back. Sir," he added, suddenly realizing he had been rude to his master's son. Despite the fact that he had disclosed my secret to Darrin, I was pleased by his protectiveness of me. He would not ordinarily forget himself and speak to a noble this way.

Darrin flapped a hand at him. "Oh, don't worry about calling me sir. I'm just the second son anyway."

I took a step closer to Darrin. "You will not tell Silver," I ordered quietly. He faked misunderstanding.

"That your guard forgot my title? Don't worry. I don't think Silver will care," he said with unconcern. I stared at him steadily. He abruptly sobered.

"What don't you want me to tell her? What's wrong with your back?"

I advanced again.

"It's not your concern," I said darkly. "And you will not tell Silver."

He backed up a step and hit a wall.

"Why not?" He asked flippantly.

I gave him a commanding stare.

"He was whipped," Burnemarr said quietly. Darrin's head jerked toward him.

"What?" He said. He reached out as if to unbutton my shirt and see. I pinned his hand between my fingers.

"No," I said quietly.

"And Silver doesn't know?" Darrin asked.

"She doesn't know. And it would do no good if she did. It would only hurt her."

I waited while Darrin thought about it.

He nodded slowly. "I see your point. All right. I won't mention it to Silver. Is there anything I can do to help?"

I dropped his hand. "This is something I need to deal with by myself. Don't tell anyone, that's all you can do."

He wasn't happy about it, but he nodded again. He pushed past me so that he was no longer backed into a wall. He faked a bright smile that looked obnoxious.

"Well, try not to get in any more trouble," he said.

I looked at him coolly. "I'm not looking for it, but I won't run if it comes for me," I replied.

His smile was more of a grimace as he walked away.

I braced myself against the wall with my forearms and breathed a heavy sigh. His arm had reopened several cuts on my back. I dropped my head. If Silver ever found out... She would want to stop it. But the Baronet was a welcome guest at House Theris. He would claim I had offended him and he had been within his rights to punish me. Silver, despite being Lady Theris, would have little say. Trying to help would only make things worse.

"I can't believe I spoke to the lordling like that," Burnemarr muttered.

"I appreciate you speaking up for me," I said, "but I really didn't want anyone to know about it."

"I can't believe you spoke to him like that, either! You can't speak to the lord's son like that. Make commands, and threats. What were you thinking?" Burnemarr continued.

I started walking on. "That Silver mustn't know."

"I noticed you didn't tell her about it at lunch, yesterday or today."

"I know."

He frowned, but nodded back. "Okay then."

We walked the rest of the way to the kitchens in silence.