The Sorceress of Belmair

The dragon finally opened her eyes.Turning,she found her servant standing by her bed, waiting. She yawned and stretched lazily."How long have I slept, Tavey?" she asked her servant, yawning again."A little over a hundred years, mistress," Tavey replied. "The king has called for you. He is in need of your counsel. The purple sand in his hourglass is almost gone.""Humph," the dragon replied. "How typical of Fflergant," she said."For all his bleating about tradition he has never done anything in a timely and correct manner. Now as his days end he calls for me. I have advised all the kings of Belmair since time began, but never have I dealt with one such as this king.""Perhaps," Tavey ventured,"it was meant to be this way, mistress. Have you not always said that everything happens for a specific reason?"The dragon arose from her bed. Her name was Nidhug, and had she allowed herself to appear in all her glory she would have stood higher than her own castle. For simplicity's sake she used her own magic to stand no taller than eight feet. It allowed her to enter the king of Belmair's residence easily as the chambers there were only twelve feet high."You know me too well," she said."How long have you served me, Tavey?""Since the beginning of time, mistress," he answered her with just the faintest smile touching his thin lips."Humph," Nidhug responded. She stretched out her hands."You have kept my claws nicely trimmed," she noted. "And my scales are quite supple.""I have oiled them weekly, mistress," Tavey said. "Sleeping should not negate your need for maintenance.You are the Great Dragon of Belmair, mistress.""How long ago did Fflergant call for me?" Nidhug asked her servant."Five days ago, mistress," Tavey responded.The dragon stretched again, opening her delicate gold wings and extending them briefly before refolding them. She was a very beautiful creature, her scales an iridescent sea-blue and spring-green. The crest upon her head was purple and gold. She had beautiful dark eyes swirled with both gold and silver, and thick, heavy eyelashes that clearly indicated her gender. "Tell Fflergant that I will come to see him in the third hour after the dawn tomorrow morning," she told Tavey."But before you go to him, tell the cook I will have two dozen sheep, a dozen sides of beef, a wheel of sharp yellow cheese and six cakes soaked in sweet wine for my dinner. Oh! And a nice salad, too, Tavey," Nidhug said. "I am in the mood for greens tonight.""At once, mistress," the servant said, and hurried from the chamber to first speak with the dragon's cook. "She's awake," he said, entering the kitchens and giving the cook the order for his mistress's dinner."Is she ill?" the cook wanted to know."'Tis scarcely a mouthful.""It was only a nap," Tavey said. "Add a few dozen roast geese and capons to the order if it pleases you. She could very well discover she is hungrier than she thought, and will thank you for thinking of it," he said. Then he slipped out the kitchen door to cross the dragon's gardens, which led into the king's gardens and into the king's castle. Before he could find the king, however, he met the king's daughter, the sorceress Cinnia."Is she awake?" Cinnia asked immediately upon seeing Tavey."Yes, my lady, she is.""When will she see my father? The sands seem to be moving faster," Cinnia said."Come with me, and you will learn the answer to your question," Tavey said."Tell me!" Cinnia demanded.Tavey turned and looked at her. "You are not the king of Belmair, my lady, and my message is for the king, not his daughter."Cinnia's green eyes narrowed, but the dragon's servant stood his ground. "I should be Belmair's next ruler," she said darkly."Belmair has never been ruled by a woman," Tavey replied quietly,and he began to walk toward the king's chamber once again."Does that mean it shouldn't?" Cinnia said."It is not our tradition, my lady," her companion replied. "TSmall, Bertrice is the author of 'The Sorceress of Belmair', published 2008 under ISBN 9780373772957 and ISBN 0373772955.