Rescued by Emery, page 41
part #2 of Deep River Shifters Series
The knight looked as if he had good gear. He'd likely Quested to some forest witch to get better items, gone into some mysterious cave for the sword, or rifled all the gear from a mysterious trader travelling on a rickety cart with a hood obscuring their features. The harder the Quest, the better the item.
Didn’t people fight dragons as well for a chance to reach their treasure hoard?
The knight struck first. He whirled the sword, and some kind of shockwave came from it, which Kazak buffeted aside with his tail, before crushing down on the knight with his front paws. The knight rolled out of the way, and held up his shield in time to deflect a blast of fire, which dissipated into the shield.
Basic anti-dragonfire shield. He's Quested well.
“Taste darkness!” Kazak roared, his wings spreading out to an impressive length, before around them, a black dome materialized, concealing the entire fight from Marea's view.
Wait. Dragons cast spells?
Belatedly, she realized the stupidity of her thought. If dragons could breathe fire and shift into humans, of course they knew how to cast spells. It made her wish she'd paid attention in magic class, since even if you weren't a natural mage, you could still learn some basic chants – though it'd be nothing compared to a trueborn.
She heard an awful lot of shrieking, yelling and clashes of sword against scales, before she saw the Quester suddenly fly out of the dome, hurtling away at an impossible speed, far across the mountains, no longer holding his magically enchanted sword.
“Curse you...!” she heard the Quester bellow, before he disappeared into the distance.
Marea hoped he'd at least possessed a Falling Feather or a null gravity enchant, to make his fall a slightly more pleasant event.
The black dome vanished, and Kazak stood there in dragon form, the sword between his teeth, looking rather smug with himself.
“Well done!” Marea said, clapping her hands, and Kazak glanced up with her, and even exaggerated a bow.
Marea immediately halted her reaction. She'd just cheered for a dragon. A sodding dragon.
He disappeared inside the cavern entrance, and was unlocking her door a moment later. “Phew!” He said. “We had a noble Quester this time. Some like to try trickery or to sneak into the tower. It's a full-time job protecting a princess, but certainly entertaining.”
Marea grinned, imitating his almost boyish enthusiasm, obviously fired up with adrenalin from his encounter. “Is that your first Quester?”
“Not my first,” Kazak replied. “I've helped other dragons before, when the Questers bring companions. You can get full bands of five, so it can be quite a challenge for a newly princessed dragon.” He flopped onto her bed, folding his arms behind his head. “But I've Quested on my own. It's basic for any good adventurer to have at least some enchanted weapons and items to succeed in this world. And I have a few witches as friends.”
“Do you kill Questers?” Marea asked, though she knew it was a foolish question. Dragons got slain. So did Questers.
“Sometimes. It depends on them and whatever conditions they state. And of course, upon the dragon. A perfect match is where both sides are shielded, and the first to break the shield wins. But you get dishonorable Questers and dragons, so that kind of event is exceedingly rare. Mostly, someone tends to die. Our little Quester here didn't state any conditions, and you might be a little averse to some blood, so... I sent him flying. Let's hope he was as well prepared as he looked for the fall, eh?”
Kazak was really talkative now, his face alight, the smile never leaving his face. Marea sat beside him, now stroking his hair, secretly delighted at the idea that he'd stopped himself from killing a Quester. For her.
He turned to face her, green eyes glowing. “Did you see me, though?”
“Well, up until the point when you conjured up the impenetrable cloud of darkness, yes,” Marea said, now settling into the bed next to him. “I'm sure it must have been impressive.”
“Probably.” On sudden impulse, Kazak turned and kissed her fully on the lips. Not a dainty, nice one, but a full one grab of her cheeks and a suck that made it feel like he was trying to draw all the air from her lungs, before he released her, laughing exuberantly. “We should feast tonight! I'll send invitations to some of the others over the mountains, and we can celebrate the event of your first Quester!”
Dragons are weird, Marea thought, slightly disorientated from his effort at sucking the soul out of her body. She couldn't help but smile along with him, though.
Chapter Five
Am I even a princess, anymore? Marea twirled in front of the mirror Kazak had procured, checking out the first dress she'd been given since her confinement in the tower. The more she had cleaned, the more she realized that it served as nothing more than a distraction for her, to keep her busy so she didn't grow bored out of her mind, or plot too strongly about escaping. According to Kazak, he said the dragon manual of How to Keep Your Princess recommended extensive chores, as well as the basic locked tower, and to trim princess hair every now and then so she couldn't use it as a ropeladder. Also, to keep potions of extreme grow and shrink away from them.
The dress shimmered a deep yellow, holding a glossy shine with her glittering blonde hair. Frills and a tight bodice pushed out her chest, making it seem like she had substance there. After a long, hot bath, she'd brushed out her hair until it glimmered, and picked out a sapphire necklace from Kazak's treasury (she hadn't yet seen his treasures, understandable, since dragons tended to hoard a lot.)
One month after Marea’s first Quester, nine more had come along, all of them beaten in a similar manner to the first. Since Kazak had defeated ten Questers, he'd been rewarded formally by a dragon king.
A Dragon king. Apparently, dragons liked to celebrate achievements, and Kazak had messengers turning up outside his cavern to shower him in gifts. More gold, special enchantments, and a formal invite to the king's table in their annual convention.
That sort of thing.
Kazak bought Marea a dress, inviting her to try it on, and now she felt awkward, standing in front of the mirror, closer to the princess she used to be.
Except, she didn't feel like that person any longer. Gone was the woman who felt misshapen and off because she didn't have a husband near the age of thirty. Gone was the jealously and envy towards the servants, for their skill sets and their simpler lifestyles.
Ever since Kazak whisked her away, she'd grown callouses over her hands, and a new hardness about her features. Kazak now left her tower door open, no longer bothering to lock her in, because he saw the light in her face as she appreciated the freedom. She went to his bed in the night, or he to hers. She still didn't know much about dragon society, but he'd promised to take her along with him when he next went to visit the witch of the swamp, and when he needed to check in at the goblin general store to procure new curses.
Marea understood partially why some princesses never returned to their kingdoms after being stolen. Not because they got eaten, but perhaps they learned to fall in love with the peculiar creatures, with their own brand of morality and their irritatingly attractive human forms.
Deeming herself of acceptable appearance, though her eyes seemed too dark for her liking, she ventured down the stairwell, and met Kazak in the main cavern room with the feasting tables, dressed up in a neat black and white suit, smiling radiantly at her appearance. He looked so powerful there, owning the room with his presence, his squared, strong body and rugged features. Though he kept his red beard neatly trimmed, he'd been growing it out a bit, leaving a growth that gave him a rough look to his handsome features.
He held out his arm to her. “Shall we go, milady?”
She looped her arm in his and grinned. “Anything for you, sir.”
All they did, really, was go for a stroll down the mountain path, exploring some of the vibrant scenery there, from the blushing pink flowers to the scraggly ferns that clung to the edges.
“I must say, princess, with that outfit, your beauty could kill.” He bent to kiss her hand, eyes flaming with desire and admiration. She flushed with pleasure from the flattery, feeling confident and beautiful. When they approached a tough cliff edge, Kazak pointed in the distance, to where the human kingdoms stuck out of the land beyond the Wilderness.
“Your home is over there,” he said, pointing to a small city, where the distant castle was the size of her fingernail.
She expected to feel sadness and longing for Glenderal. Instead, she felt nothing. No sadness. No heavy desire to return home. She had no taste for that life again of constant judgement, competing with other princes and princesses far more accomplished than she ever was.
Being a dragon's princess meant more to her than anything else.
How strange.
Kazak watched her expression for a long moment. “You might have a hard time being rescued, princess. I plan to cherish you for as long as possible, and to fight every Quester in your name.”
“I hope you will,” Marea replied, grinning. “But if you want me sticking around, I’d like you to decorate the place better. It’s awfully drab with the gray and the lack of seating areas.”
“That can be arranged,” he said. He bowed to her hand and kissed the back of it, his lips soft and hot against her skin. A pleasant shiver travelled up her body.
“Shall we go home then, princess?”
Home. I like the sound of that.
“Yes,” she said. “Let’s go home.”
She kissed him upon the lips, and he lifted her off her feet, twirling her around, before slinging her over his shoulder, and sprinting for the cave.
She laughed the whole while, her dress billowing in the wind, clutching her new love close.
The End
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TAJA’S DRAGON
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Taja’s Dragon
By: Lisa Daniels
Chapter 1
Nothing out of the Ordinary
Taja pulled the bundled-up items to her chest and tried to speed up, despite the crowd around her. The market was always impossibly busy at this time of day, and the acting stable master knew it. Still, he had told her not to be late after giving her all of the chores. Hating that the real stable master had been needed at the noble’s country mansion for a few months to deliver two new foals and take care of them, Taja took comfort in the fact that it wouldn’t be much longer before he returned. She just had to hold out for another week or two and then everything would go back to normal.
Her blonde hair shone like sunshine, a few stray strands dangling beside her face as the young woman pressed forward. It would be her twenty-first birthday soon, but she had no expectations. The stable master was the only person in her life that actually seemed to care about what happened to her, and he would not be back in time. Not that she wanted to celebrate. The stable master had been like the father she had never known, so she just wanted him to come back so the nightmare that had been her job without him would end. One of the other stable hands had taken to harassing her in the stable master’s absence, and the acting master wasn’t about to do anything to stop the boy. Taja had plenty of experience keeping boys like that away, but it was wearing on her. That and her mother’s steady decline into the bottle. Taja didn’t feel sorry for herself. She just needed that one ray of sunshine back that had made life worth living.
Taja was not a tall woman, just barely over five feet tall. The first impression people had of her was that she resembled a large doll. Despite working outside, her skin was pale and soft. Her large brown eyes were surrounded by thick lashes that combined with her unnaturally yellow hair, hinting that she was perhaps not fully human. The perfect symmetry of her dainty features was striking, and it had gotten her into plenty of trouble when she was young. It was only after she met the stable master that Taja had calmed down and started trying to make a better life for herself. That had been three years ago. Until that point, she had been a complete mess, sleeping with any boy who would give her gifts and expensive items. Her mother had used her daughter as much as possible, turning expensive gifts into high debts with many of the taverns. The stable master had given the young woman something worth living for outside of her different types of abuse.
It was times like these as she was darting through the crowds that Taja was really thankful for being so small. She was able to more easily slip through spaces between people.
Still not fast enough. I’m going to be late. Her mind was already calculating her distance and current rate of speed. Moving her legs a little faster, she shifted to the outside of the crowd. It was risky, particularly since she would be moving so close to the carriages and horses, but it was the only way she was going to get through the crowd in time.
As soon as she reached the outside of the crowd, Taja’s speed more than doubled. With a grin on her face, the young woman hurried past the throng.
Without warning, one of the people moving in the opposite direction stepped into her. He had been trying to step out of the way of a noble lady, and did not notice the young woman trying to get by on the other side.
Taja lost her balance, and fell. Instinctively, her arms tightened around the things she had brought, trying to keep them from spilling all over the road. Scrambling to get up without dropping anything, Taja looked up. A horse was making its way quickly right toward her.
With a little gasp, the stable hand tried to crawl out of the way without getting the things dirty.
“Seriously? Is that stuff more important than your life?” The voice was unfamiliar, but warm. The accent was light, but it was obvious that the owner of that voice was not from the area. And he was clearly male. Taja felt a pair of hands on her waist and she was suddenly lifted off of the ground. Clutching the items to her chest, she couldn’t believe that someone had stopped to help her. Her mind registered the miracle as a warm and firm body pressed against hers. The sound of the horse’s hoofs rumbled past her as she tried to fully comprehend what had just happened.
As soon as the horse was past, she heard the rider calling it to stop. The warmth moved away from her body as she tried to get a hold of herself.
An angry voice was so close to her, and Taja knew it was the rider. “Do you know what you almost did to my horse?”
Taja turned to look, to apologize, but someone else spoke first. “Are you a fool or an idiot? Oh, yes, I see, you are one of the noble. A bit of both, then.”
Taja’s eyes went wide as she turned to look at the man who had pulled her from the ground. Her gaze went back to the noble, and his expression read the way she felt. Neither of them had heard a noble insulted so publically before. Her head turned and she saw the people in the crowd starting to watch them.
The noble had found his voice. “How dare you insult me!”
“Ah, you make it all too easy. A woman is knocked into the street, and you yell at her for what, exactly? Being in danger? Blaming the victim is easy, but it is also very clear who the villain is in these cases.” He tilted his head to the side. Taja couldn’t see his features very well, but his stance suggested that the man was accustomed to power. He was not tall for a man, but standing this close to him she could tell he was about 5 foot 8 or 5 foot 9. His body was not bulky, but remembering what he had felt like as he held her, she knew that the man was muscular. Sinewy, her mind supplied.
The man’s clothing was very nice, which meant that he was at least upper class, if not something higher. His hair was an inch or two long, a style that she had never seen before. Though it was a dark brown color, it shone, highlighting the fact that he was clearly more than just a commoner.
The noble moved his hand like he was about to strike when the young man held something up at him. Taja couldn’t see what it was, but from the look on the noble’s face, the man who had rescued her was far above the noble’s level.
With her concern growing about who the man was, as well as knowing that she was again at risk of being late no matter how quickly she moved, Taja slipped into the crowd and continued toward work.
The rest of the trip back to the stables went much smoother, and Taja made it back with a little time to spare. The acting stable master frowned down at her, eyeing her muddy clothing, but there was nothing he could say since she had returned with everything before the items were needed.
Knowing that smiling at him would only anger the man, Taja lowered her head and inquired, “What would you like me to do next, sir?”
Apparently she had struck the right tone and posture because the man had no insults for her. When she risked looking up at him, she saw his beady eyes looking around. Unlike the stable master, this man was clearly out of shape. His stomach hung over his pants in a way that suggested his body was trying to escape the confines of clothing. His hair was long and greasy. This was pretty normal for stable hands given what they did, but it generally took a full day’s work to look as bad as the man did early in the morning. It was clear from the man’s features that he was once handsome. Time and his ego had led to his decline, a fact that had not improved his personality. He couldn’t have been older than early forties, yet he acted like an old man with a grudge against life.
“Damaris, sir,” the simpering voice of the boy who had been harassing her grated on Taja’s ears. The look of annoyance on the acting stable master’s face nearly matched the way she felt.
Damaris turned to the stable hand, his expression one of barely contained rage at being interrupted. The stable hand saw his mistake and immediately started to bow to the man. His hair was a dirty blond color that might have been nice if he tried to keep it clean.
Taja doubted the boy cleaned more than once a month, a fact that had often helped her as she could smell him coming. The boy was 17 years old and very self-assured, although Taja had no idea why. His face was always covered in pimples and scabs. His nose was nice, but the way he grinned made him look very unattractive. The boy also had a very uncommon name – Semaj – as if his parents were trying to force a better future on him than he was ever likely to have. Semaj’s personality alone would keep him down his entire life.
Didn’t people fight dragons as well for a chance to reach their treasure hoard?
The knight struck first. He whirled the sword, and some kind of shockwave came from it, which Kazak buffeted aside with his tail, before crushing down on the knight with his front paws. The knight rolled out of the way, and held up his shield in time to deflect a blast of fire, which dissipated into the shield.
Basic anti-dragonfire shield. He's Quested well.
“Taste darkness!” Kazak roared, his wings spreading out to an impressive length, before around them, a black dome materialized, concealing the entire fight from Marea's view.
Wait. Dragons cast spells?
Belatedly, she realized the stupidity of her thought. If dragons could breathe fire and shift into humans, of course they knew how to cast spells. It made her wish she'd paid attention in magic class, since even if you weren't a natural mage, you could still learn some basic chants – though it'd be nothing compared to a trueborn.
She heard an awful lot of shrieking, yelling and clashes of sword against scales, before she saw the Quester suddenly fly out of the dome, hurtling away at an impossible speed, far across the mountains, no longer holding his magically enchanted sword.
“Curse you...!” she heard the Quester bellow, before he disappeared into the distance.
Marea hoped he'd at least possessed a Falling Feather or a null gravity enchant, to make his fall a slightly more pleasant event.
The black dome vanished, and Kazak stood there in dragon form, the sword between his teeth, looking rather smug with himself.
“Well done!” Marea said, clapping her hands, and Kazak glanced up with her, and even exaggerated a bow.
Marea immediately halted her reaction. She'd just cheered for a dragon. A sodding dragon.
He disappeared inside the cavern entrance, and was unlocking her door a moment later. “Phew!” He said. “We had a noble Quester this time. Some like to try trickery or to sneak into the tower. It's a full-time job protecting a princess, but certainly entertaining.”
Marea grinned, imitating his almost boyish enthusiasm, obviously fired up with adrenalin from his encounter. “Is that your first Quester?”
“Not my first,” Kazak replied. “I've helped other dragons before, when the Questers bring companions. You can get full bands of five, so it can be quite a challenge for a newly princessed dragon.” He flopped onto her bed, folding his arms behind his head. “But I've Quested on my own. It's basic for any good adventurer to have at least some enchanted weapons and items to succeed in this world. And I have a few witches as friends.”
“Do you kill Questers?” Marea asked, though she knew it was a foolish question. Dragons got slain. So did Questers.
“Sometimes. It depends on them and whatever conditions they state. And of course, upon the dragon. A perfect match is where both sides are shielded, and the first to break the shield wins. But you get dishonorable Questers and dragons, so that kind of event is exceedingly rare. Mostly, someone tends to die. Our little Quester here didn't state any conditions, and you might be a little averse to some blood, so... I sent him flying. Let's hope he was as well prepared as he looked for the fall, eh?”
Kazak was really talkative now, his face alight, the smile never leaving his face. Marea sat beside him, now stroking his hair, secretly delighted at the idea that he'd stopped himself from killing a Quester. For her.
He turned to face her, green eyes glowing. “Did you see me, though?”
“Well, up until the point when you conjured up the impenetrable cloud of darkness, yes,” Marea said, now settling into the bed next to him. “I'm sure it must have been impressive.”
“Probably.” On sudden impulse, Kazak turned and kissed her fully on the lips. Not a dainty, nice one, but a full one grab of her cheeks and a suck that made it feel like he was trying to draw all the air from her lungs, before he released her, laughing exuberantly. “We should feast tonight! I'll send invitations to some of the others over the mountains, and we can celebrate the event of your first Quester!”
Dragons are weird, Marea thought, slightly disorientated from his effort at sucking the soul out of her body. She couldn't help but smile along with him, though.
Chapter Five
Am I even a princess, anymore? Marea twirled in front of the mirror Kazak had procured, checking out the first dress she'd been given since her confinement in the tower. The more she had cleaned, the more she realized that it served as nothing more than a distraction for her, to keep her busy so she didn't grow bored out of her mind, or plot too strongly about escaping. According to Kazak, he said the dragon manual of How to Keep Your Princess recommended extensive chores, as well as the basic locked tower, and to trim princess hair every now and then so she couldn't use it as a ropeladder. Also, to keep potions of extreme grow and shrink away from them.
The dress shimmered a deep yellow, holding a glossy shine with her glittering blonde hair. Frills and a tight bodice pushed out her chest, making it seem like she had substance there. After a long, hot bath, she'd brushed out her hair until it glimmered, and picked out a sapphire necklace from Kazak's treasury (she hadn't yet seen his treasures, understandable, since dragons tended to hoard a lot.)
One month after Marea’s first Quester, nine more had come along, all of them beaten in a similar manner to the first. Since Kazak had defeated ten Questers, he'd been rewarded formally by a dragon king.
A Dragon king. Apparently, dragons liked to celebrate achievements, and Kazak had messengers turning up outside his cavern to shower him in gifts. More gold, special enchantments, and a formal invite to the king's table in their annual convention.
That sort of thing.
Kazak bought Marea a dress, inviting her to try it on, and now she felt awkward, standing in front of the mirror, closer to the princess she used to be.
Except, she didn't feel like that person any longer. Gone was the woman who felt misshapen and off because she didn't have a husband near the age of thirty. Gone was the jealously and envy towards the servants, for their skill sets and their simpler lifestyles.
Ever since Kazak whisked her away, she'd grown callouses over her hands, and a new hardness about her features. Kazak now left her tower door open, no longer bothering to lock her in, because he saw the light in her face as she appreciated the freedom. She went to his bed in the night, or he to hers. She still didn't know much about dragon society, but he'd promised to take her along with him when he next went to visit the witch of the swamp, and when he needed to check in at the goblin general store to procure new curses.
Marea understood partially why some princesses never returned to their kingdoms after being stolen. Not because they got eaten, but perhaps they learned to fall in love with the peculiar creatures, with their own brand of morality and their irritatingly attractive human forms.
Deeming herself of acceptable appearance, though her eyes seemed too dark for her liking, she ventured down the stairwell, and met Kazak in the main cavern room with the feasting tables, dressed up in a neat black and white suit, smiling radiantly at her appearance. He looked so powerful there, owning the room with his presence, his squared, strong body and rugged features. Though he kept his red beard neatly trimmed, he'd been growing it out a bit, leaving a growth that gave him a rough look to his handsome features.
He held out his arm to her. “Shall we go, milady?”
She looped her arm in his and grinned. “Anything for you, sir.”
All they did, really, was go for a stroll down the mountain path, exploring some of the vibrant scenery there, from the blushing pink flowers to the scraggly ferns that clung to the edges.
“I must say, princess, with that outfit, your beauty could kill.” He bent to kiss her hand, eyes flaming with desire and admiration. She flushed with pleasure from the flattery, feeling confident and beautiful. When they approached a tough cliff edge, Kazak pointed in the distance, to where the human kingdoms stuck out of the land beyond the Wilderness.
“Your home is over there,” he said, pointing to a small city, where the distant castle was the size of her fingernail.
She expected to feel sadness and longing for Glenderal. Instead, she felt nothing. No sadness. No heavy desire to return home. She had no taste for that life again of constant judgement, competing with other princes and princesses far more accomplished than she ever was.
Being a dragon's princess meant more to her than anything else.
How strange.
Kazak watched her expression for a long moment. “You might have a hard time being rescued, princess. I plan to cherish you for as long as possible, and to fight every Quester in your name.”
“I hope you will,” Marea replied, grinning. “But if you want me sticking around, I’d like you to decorate the place better. It’s awfully drab with the gray and the lack of seating areas.”
“That can be arranged,” he said. He bowed to her hand and kissed the back of it, his lips soft and hot against her skin. A pleasant shiver travelled up her body.
“Shall we go home then, princess?”
Home. I like the sound of that.
“Yes,” she said. “Let’s go home.”
She kissed him upon the lips, and he lifted her off her feet, twirling her around, before slinging her over his shoulder, and sprinting for the cave.
She laughed the whole while, her dress billowing in the wind, clutching her new love close.
The End
Get Your EXCLUSIVE & FREE Copy of
TAJA’S DRAGON
See the Preview Below!
http://authorlisadaniels.gr8.com/
CLICK THE LINK TO RECEIVE YOUR COPY
PLEASE ENJOY A PREVIEW OF TAJA’S DRAGON
Skip to the end to get your free copy and exclusive copy
Taja’s Dragon
By: Lisa Daniels
Chapter 1
Nothing out of the Ordinary
Taja pulled the bundled-up items to her chest and tried to speed up, despite the crowd around her. The market was always impossibly busy at this time of day, and the acting stable master knew it. Still, he had told her not to be late after giving her all of the chores. Hating that the real stable master had been needed at the noble’s country mansion for a few months to deliver two new foals and take care of them, Taja took comfort in the fact that it wouldn’t be much longer before he returned. She just had to hold out for another week or two and then everything would go back to normal.
Her blonde hair shone like sunshine, a few stray strands dangling beside her face as the young woman pressed forward. It would be her twenty-first birthday soon, but she had no expectations. The stable master was the only person in her life that actually seemed to care about what happened to her, and he would not be back in time. Not that she wanted to celebrate. The stable master had been like the father she had never known, so she just wanted him to come back so the nightmare that had been her job without him would end. One of the other stable hands had taken to harassing her in the stable master’s absence, and the acting master wasn’t about to do anything to stop the boy. Taja had plenty of experience keeping boys like that away, but it was wearing on her. That and her mother’s steady decline into the bottle. Taja didn’t feel sorry for herself. She just needed that one ray of sunshine back that had made life worth living.
Taja was not a tall woman, just barely over five feet tall. The first impression people had of her was that she resembled a large doll. Despite working outside, her skin was pale and soft. Her large brown eyes were surrounded by thick lashes that combined with her unnaturally yellow hair, hinting that she was perhaps not fully human. The perfect symmetry of her dainty features was striking, and it had gotten her into plenty of trouble when she was young. It was only after she met the stable master that Taja had calmed down and started trying to make a better life for herself. That had been three years ago. Until that point, she had been a complete mess, sleeping with any boy who would give her gifts and expensive items. Her mother had used her daughter as much as possible, turning expensive gifts into high debts with many of the taverns. The stable master had given the young woman something worth living for outside of her different types of abuse.
It was times like these as she was darting through the crowds that Taja was really thankful for being so small. She was able to more easily slip through spaces between people.
Still not fast enough. I’m going to be late. Her mind was already calculating her distance and current rate of speed. Moving her legs a little faster, she shifted to the outside of the crowd. It was risky, particularly since she would be moving so close to the carriages and horses, but it was the only way she was going to get through the crowd in time.
As soon as she reached the outside of the crowd, Taja’s speed more than doubled. With a grin on her face, the young woman hurried past the throng.
Without warning, one of the people moving in the opposite direction stepped into her. He had been trying to step out of the way of a noble lady, and did not notice the young woman trying to get by on the other side.
Taja lost her balance, and fell. Instinctively, her arms tightened around the things she had brought, trying to keep them from spilling all over the road. Scrambling to get up without dropping anything, Taja looked up. A horse was making its way quickly right toward her.
With a little gasp, the stable hand tried to crawl out of the way without getting the things dirty.
“Seriously? Is that stuff more important than your life?” The voice was unfamiliar, but warm. The accent was light, but it was obvious that the owner of that voice was not from the area. And he was clearly male. Taja felt a pair of hands on her waist and she was suddenly lifted off of the ground. Clutching the items to her chest, she couldn’t believe that someone had stopped to help her. Her mind registered the miracle as a warm and firm body pressed against hers. The sound of the horse’s hoofs rumbled past her as she tried to fully comprehend what had just happened.
As soon as the horse was past, she heard the rider calling it to stop. The warmth moved away from her body as she tried to get a hold of herself.
An angry voice was so close to her, and Taja knew it was the rider. “Do you know what you almost did to my horse?”
Taja turned to look, to apologize, but someone else spoke first. “Are you a fool or an idiot? Oh, yes, I see, you are one of the noble. A bit of both, then.”
Taja’s eyes went wide as she turned to look at the man who had pulled her from the ground. Her gaze went back to the noble, and his expression read the way she felt. Neither of them had heard a noble insulted so publically before. Her head turned and she saw the people in the crowd starting to watch them.
The noble had found his voice. “How dare you insult me!”
“Ah, you make it all too easy. A woman is knocked into the street, and you yell at her for what, exactly? Being in danger? Blaming the victim is easy, but it is also very clear who the villain is in these cases.” He tilted his head to the side. Taja couldn’t see his features very well, but his stance suggested that the man was accustomed to power. He was not tall for a man, but standing this close to him she could tell he was about 5 foot 8 or 5 foot 9. His body was not bulky, but remembering what he had felt like as he held her, she knew that the man was muscular. Sinewy, her mind supplied.
The man’s clothing was very nice, which meant that he was at least upper class, if not something higher. His hair was an inch or two long, a style that she had never seen before. Though it was a dark brown color, it shone, highlighting the fact that he was clearly more than just a commoner.
The noble moved his hand like he was about to strike when the young man held something up at him. Taja couldn’t see what it was, but from the look on the noble’s face, the man who had rescued her was far above the noble’s level.
With her concern growing about who the man was, as well as knowing that she was again at risk of being late no matter how quickly she moved, Taja slipped into the crowd and continued toward work.
The rest of the trip back to the stables went much smoother, and Taja made it back with a little time to spare. The acting stable master frowned down at her, eyeing her muddy clothing, but there was nothing he could say since she had returned with everything before the items were needed.
Knowing that smiling at him would only anger the man, Taja lowered her head and inquired, “What would you like me to do next, sir?”
Apparently she had struck the right tone and posture because the man had no insults for her. When she risked looking up at him, she saw his beady eyes looking around. Unlike the stable master, this man was clearly out of shape. His stomach hung over his pants in a way that suggested his body was trying to escape the confines of clothing. His hair was long and greasy. This was pretty normal for stable hands given what they did, but it generally took a full day’s work to look as bad as the man did early in the morning. It was clear from the man’s features that he was once handsome. Time and his ego had led to his decline, a fact that had not improved his personality. He couldn’t have been older than early forties, yet he acted like an old man with a grudge against life.
“Damaris, sir,” the simpering voice of the boy who had been harassing her grated on Taja’s ears. The look of annoyance on the acting stable master’s face nearly matched the way she felt.
Damaris turned to the stable hand, his expression one of barely contained rage at being interrupted. The stable hand saw his mistake and immediately started to bow to the man. His hair was a dirty blond color that might have been nice if he tried to keep it clean.
Taja doubted the boy cleaned more than once a month, a fact that had often helped her as she could smell him coming. The boy was 17 years old and very self-assured, although Taja had no idea why. His face was always covered in pimples and scabs. His nose was nice, but the way he grinned made him look very unattractive. The boy also had a very uncommon name – Semaj – as if his parents were trying to force a better future on him than he was ever likely to have. Semaj’s personality alone would keep him down his entire life.
