I knew nothing else until I awoke some time later beneath the covers of my bed in my new chambers. Sunlight shone through the shut windows and swept over the glistening floor so that it shone back on my eyes. I blinked against the harsh light and sat up. All was quiet and calm except for my buzzing brain.
The woman from the night before. She had been real. There was no way a bunch of Medieval Maniacs could conjure up something that enchanting. Unless madness was catching.
I had to get out of here.
I flung aside the covers and swung my legs over the side of the bed. That's when I realized I was not in my clothes, but in a flowing white dress. It was of a simple design with a medium-length v-neck collar and no trimmings on the cuffs or hem. The sleeves were long and hung like bells beneath my wrists, and the hem of the dress reached to my ankles. I patted myself, not believing what I was wearing and wondering who had changed me.
Those questions would have to wait. I needed to make my escape before someone noticed I was awake. I hurried across the cold cobble floors to the nearest window and gave a tug on the pane. Nothing. It wouldn't move. The window was shut tight and locked. I frowned and pounded a fist against the glass. My reward was a throbbing fist. The glass was as thick as it looked, and twice as strong.
That left the two doors. The side one obviously led to another room which wasn't what I wanted, so I went for the front door. I spun around and hurried to the entrance. My bare feet pattered on the stones and I wished dearly for my good, solid, warm shoes. I stopped at the entrance and pressed my ear against the wood. Far off were the sounds of chatter and echoing footsteps. Nothing sounded close, so I dared open the door. It, too, wouldn't budge. I was locked in.
The only option left to me was to scream, but first I grabbed a sheet from the bed. Then, positioned by the door, I shrieked like a banshee.
"Is somebody there? Somebody please help me!" I shouted as loud as I could manage. I pounded my fists against the door for added effect. "Help! Somebody help! There's a-um, a badger in here!" Great one, heroine.
Somebody heard my shouts of dangerous badgers because there came the sound of heavy footsteps in the hallway. In a thrice the key was placed in the lock and the door swung open. I jumped forward with the sheet and covered the lead person, who turned out to be the old woman. Behind her was a male servant of the same age along with one of the guards. I was outnumbered, but not outmatched.
"What is going on?" the woman yelped.
She flailed her arms to try to free herself and the men jumped forward to save her and grab me. I pushed the frantic woman into them and they all three fell back in a tangled mass of sheet and limbs. I stepped over them, or rather, on top of them, on my hasty escape from the room.
I skidded to a stop in the hall. Shouts came from my bedroom and down the passage. More heavy feet approached, and what sounded like armor clattering against more metal.
I whipped my head left and right. To my left was the last door along the passage, and the corner that followed the front of the castle. I chose the door and rushed to it. It was unlocked. I dove head-first into the room and shut the door behind me. The footsteps hadn't arrived before I entered the room, nor had the servants and guard managed to free themselves from the blanket. I was safe until they searched the rooms, but perhaps that would give me time to escape from the current room.
In all my frantic rushing and plotting I'd forgotten that the side door to my room opened to this one. I was abruptly reminded when I turned around and found myself staring at the sleeping Dragon Lord. He lay on a bed much like mine between two large, tall windows. They had shutters to block out the sunlight, but there was enough light streaming between the boards to allow me recognition of his face. I clapped my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming in fright and frustration. Double-whammies that would lead to failure.
Outside the door the castle servants came alive with their own frustrations. The old woman sternly yelled her orders to others, and footsteps rang through the halls. Their sounds rushed to the door and I stumbled away from the entrance. There came the familiar jiggling of a handle as they tried the locked door opposite the one in which I stood.
"Should we check the lord's room?" a man's voice wondered.
"It must be done, but quietly," the old woman replied.
My eyes widened, and I whipped my head to and fro for some place to hide. There was a large gap beneath the bed that was large enough to fit an ox. I dove beneath the dangling covers and just slid in my last foot when I heard the door open. Through the sheets I saw a beam of light slip into the room. Light footsteps stepped inside and the door was partially closed. The bed groaned overhead as its occupant did the same.
"What's the meaning of this?" came the Lord's voice.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, My Lord, but the girl has once again escaped," the old woman explained.
"How and when?" came the obvious questions.
"Only a moment ago, and she-well, she threw a blanket over my husband and me," she admitted.
The bed groaned. There was merriment in his tone. "I see. There is no further cause for concern. She is found and that is all that needs be done on your part."
"I'm sorry your assistance was needed, my lord," the woman apologized.
"There is no need. You may leave us." My heart stopped. Us. The dreaded plural.
"Very well."
The footsteps of the other visitors left the room and receded into the distance. Darkness returned to the chamber. I lay perfectly still, not evening daring to breathe. The bed grunted as a great weight slid from its mattress and stood. I saw the shadow of the lord stride around the bed to the foot.
"Come out where you're hiding beneath the bed," the lord ordered me. I cringed, but remained where I lay. "I know where you are. The mark on your shoulder is more than a sign of your being my possession. It is also an enchantment that allows me to know your location. Also, you are in need of a bath after your hike last night."
At the mention of being a possession I scowled and crawled to the foot of the bed. I stuck my head out to give him the full benefit of my glare. "I am not, nor will I ever be, your-" My breath caught in my throat.
The lord stood naked before me. His body was ripped with pliable muscle, not too hard and not too soft. Just right for a soft porridge of sex. There was also the matter of his member which dangled down, but I guessed would be of some length and thickness when aroused. Somehow the wings were missing.
I let out an 'eep' and slipped back beneath the bed. "P-put some clothes on!" I demanded.
"I don't answer to the whims of my Maiden, now come out from there or I will drag you out myself," he ordered me.
"If you're not getting dressed then I'm not coming out!" I insisted.
"Very well." His shadow slid to the ground and he peeked his head beneath the sheets.
I batted at him with my hands, but he grabbed one of my wrists and pulled me from my hiding place. He pressed my body against his, but I turned my head away from his nakedness. "Let go! Let me go!"
"I will not let you go until you understand your situation," he insisted.
I snorted and whipped my head around to glare into his handsome, albeit evil, face. "You ordered a bunch of thugs to kidnap me from my apartment and bring me to this fantastical world where I would serve you until the end of my days. What exactly am I missing?"
"That you are now a part of this world, and nothing you wish can change that," he told me.
"Wanna try me?" I snapped back.
He pursed his lips and those red eyes of his felt as though they looked into my soul. "You don't understand. The Lady of the Pond granted you a gift, and to leave with the gift put your life in danger."
I froze and felt the color drain from my face. "She did what to me?"
"The Lady has granted you a unique connection to me, and if my enemies were to find out our secret you would be used against me," he rephrase
d.
My eyebrows crashed down and I tried to wrench myself from his grip, but he was too strong. "What kind of a 'favor' is that? I die if I go home, and staying here means I'm somebody's pawn? Yeah, great favor there."
He pursed his lips. "The Lady's favor is a great blessing, and is rarely given."
I snorted. That was getting to be a habit. "What would be a great blessing is to wake up from this horrible nightmare. Even knowing I had to go back to work would be better than this junk about lords and ladies, and curses and blessings with no benefit and plenty of punishment."
His face softened as he studied mine. "I do not know the precise benefit, but I know I do not wish for you to die."
I paused in my tirade and raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
His manner was quiet and calm, as though he spoke to a wild creature. I must admit I was ready to bolt out the window, even if the drop was a good sixty feet. "While you are my servant, you are also my responsibility and, if fate ordains it, my bride. I would never want harm to come to you."
I pulled as far away from him as he would allow and scrutinized his handsome features. "I don't believe you."
He raised an eyebrow, and I was surprised when the corners of his lips twitched upward. "Why not? Do you believe me to be some sort of a monster?"
I nodded. "Uh, yeah. You had those wing thingies at that special pond place." I glanced around him, but the wings were still missing. "I don't know where you hid them, but I know they were there." He chuckled and released me from his grasp so he could step back. My eyes inadvertently wandered downward to his member. A blush warmed my cheeks. I spun around and stared at the bed. "Get some clothes on!"
"I would rather you see this without clothes."
My curiosity overcame my shyness, and I peeked over my shoulder at him. He stood with his back toward me and his arms spread apart. My eyes widened as I beheld the pair of leathery wings erupt from him back just below the shoulder blades. The muscles and bones seemed to stretch and pulled themselves from his very skin and form into the dragon-like appendages. The whole process took only a few seconds, and he unfurled his wings to their maximum length. His wing tips touched from one end of the long room to the other. He didn't hold the position for long, and retracted his wings so they folded against his back.
It was beautiful, insane, and mind-blowing, all at the same time.
CHAPTER 8