The Dragon’s Apprentice
Linda McNabb
Copyright Linda McNabb 2002
www.mcnabbnz.com
Linda McNabb asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission by the author.
Images Unholyvault / Marciomauro www.dreamstime.com
CHAPTER ONE
THREE AGAINST ONE
“Toby!”
It wasn't a shout, it was a bellow and it rumbled around the empty stables. It meant he was in trouble again. With a small sigh, Toby threw the last of the straw onto the stone floor and went in search of his master. The snow was falling lightly but the dark clouds promised much more to come.
The Master Groomer was standing just outside the stables and he looked furious. His eyes bulged and the cords on his neck stood out clearly.
“Toby, this is the last straw,” he roared as Toby approached him. The smell of stale mead made Toby flinch but he stood his ground.
“What can I do for you master?” Toby asked politely and bowed his head.
“Why haven't you brought the horses in?” Master Groomer put his hands on his well-rounded hips.
“I did, several hours ago.” Toby pointed to the pen where he had put the horses, but it was empty. He frowned, knowing he had shut the gate properly.
“There's no point lying about it! Maybe the feed sack did split by itself the other day but there is no excuse for not mucking out the stables yesterday or for this.” Master Groomer's voice had risen to a bellow again and he slammed his fist on his palm to emphasise his words.
Toby didn't even attempt to defend himself. He knew Stephan, the Master’s son, was doing it all but he had no proof. A stifled laugh came from the tackle room. No doubt Stephan was watching and enjoying every moment.
“And on top of all that the horses have been unsettled the last few days. They can probably smell that dragon on your clothes.” The Master Groomer was shaking his head sadly now and he didn't look quite as angry.
Toby was about to protest that Klel was far cleaner than a horse but his master didn't give him a chance.
“I can't afford the king's horses to become nervous and skittish, or sick from being out in the snow.” Master Groomer heaved a final sigh as his anger faded completely and he rubbed his forehead. “I'm sure you’re a good lad at heart. Bring the horses in and then pack your things. I'm sorry, Toby.”
The Master Groomer stepped forward, awkwardly patted Toby on the back, and pressed two coins into his palm before turning and walking off. Fading footsteps from the tackle room told him that Stephan had gone too. He opened his hand and stared at the two brass coins, which was all he had earned since he started at the stables.
Pack his things and go where? Aggie would be furious that he had been kicked out of another apprenticeship. He briefly considered not telling his foster-mother until he found some other work but dismissed the thought immediately. Aggie would probably know by nightfall as she knew everything that went on, in and around the castle.
The chill of the ground on his bare feet brought him back to the task ahead and he looked out at the snow-covered paddocks. Rubbing his arms to warm them up, he climbed the small wooden fence and headed out to get the horses for the second time today.
His coldness was overtaken by his anger as he ran himself hard chasing the horses back into the pen. Normally it took the best part of an hour to round them up but he was so fired up that he did it in half the time. He slammed the gate shut for the final time and moved them on into the stables. He shook the snow from his short-cropped sandy brown hair, feeling the coldness seep onto his head.
Toby’s first thought after being dismissed was to go and find Stephan make him pay. But now, his anger spent by chasing the horses, Toby changed his mind. Aggie didn’t like him to fight. It didn't help that he was small for his age or that he looked far younger than twelve. It only made it worse when he was picked on by bigger lads and then beat them easily.
He couldn't feel his feet at all by the time he reached his small room. It was directly off the main stables and smelled strongly of horses and hay. A pile of leather straps that he had been cleaning lay heaped in a corner. They would have to be done by Stephan now. It was Stephan's job anyway but Toby had done it to try to make friends with him. It obviously hadn't worked.
He sat down on his small, hard cot and rubbed his feet with equally cold hands. He didn't pack his clothes into the small carrysack that hung on the end of his cot; instead he put them all on. Even then he was still cold.
Toby folded up the carrysack and shoved it into his coat pocket before heading out of the tiny room. He could hear the Master Groomer yelling down one end of the stable so he turned the other way and left by a small door at the back.
It was only a five-minute walk from the stables up to the main entrance of the castle but Toby wasn’t headed that way – that was for visitors. He headed south around the back of the castle to the entrance used by the servants and merchants. The front entrance was paved with magnificent marble slabs brought up from the south and was a very impressive sight. The rear entrance was just a dirt track, which ran around the base of the castle.
Toby walked slowly along the top of the low stone wall that marked the edge of the track up to the main castle buildings. The track was only visible by the fact that a cart had recently travelled along it, leaving two ruts in the deep snow.
The snow stopped falling and a small break in the clouds allowed the sun to creep through. A glint over the castle courtyard in the distance caught Toby's eye and he stopped to squint into the weak evening sun.
A dragon was flying lazy circles around the perimeter of the courtyard, prevented from going further by a thick chain around one leg. Klel was looking a little better today and Toby smiled to himself at the sight of his friend. Lately Klel’s scales had faded from gold to a dull orange colour which showed his health was not good. The winter had been a long one but he should get better as the warm weather arrived. Klel loved the sun.
It had been several days since he had seen Klel and Toby resumed walking, keen to see his friend again. He was so engrossed in watching Klel that he didn't notice three young men come out of the trees ahead of him. One of them jumped up onto the wall and Toby nearly ran right into him.
“We want a word with you,” Stephan yelled and sneered as he jumped back down from the wall to join his friends, Nevan and Rogar. His black, untidy hair was blowing wildly in the brisk wind. Toby sighed to himself and jumped lightly down to face them.
“We wanna make sure you know not to show your face around the stables again,” Nevan added with a whiny voice and wiped a dirty hand across his runny nose. It was impossible to tell what colour his hair was, as he never bathed, and Toby could smell him from several feet away. If anyone would frighten the horses by their smell it would be Nevan.
“You got what you wanted. I won't be around the stables any more.” Toby knew it was a slim chance to try and talk his way out of the fight that was brewing. Stephan was too thick to think he had won without a fist-fight.
“Yeah, but you made trouble before you left,” Rogar added and pushed his sleeves up, ready to fight. Rogar was taller than the other two by a head and they were taller than Toby by the same amount. It didn't look to be stacking up as a fair fight but Toby was used to that.
“How?” Toby asked bluntly.
“Pa wanted to know why it takes three of us over an hour to get the horses in whe
n you did it today in less than half that!” Stephan yelled. He was always yelling. Toby wasn't sure if it was because his father yelled all the time or if he had a hearing problem from being yelled at all his life. “Now he expects me to do it by myself and if I take longer than you he's gonna punish me.”
Toby almost laughed. He had managed to get back at Stephan without even trying. Unfortunately he didn't quite keep the smile from his face.
“Right, here comes lesson number one. Keep out-a-my-life,” Stephan bellowed as he and the others advanced on Toby, stamping large holes in the snow as they walked.
“I don't want to fight you,” Toby insisted as he ducked out of the way of Stephan's fist then felt the second swing connect as a voice behind him distracted him.
“Need a hand, brother?” A deep, rough voice made them all turn towards the stone wall where two young men stood next to it. One was leaning casually on a sword, the other on a longbow. Toby touched at his swollen and bleeding lip, slightly annoyed that his milk-brother, Nathan, had interrupted his concentration.
“Now the fight looks more even.” The archer's voice wasn't as deep but carried a confident tone, and the glint in his eye said he was looking forward to a fight.
“This ain’t nothing to do with you, Cole,” Nevan complained, sounding like a petulant child.
“Three against one… I think that makes it our business, doesn't it Nathan?” Cole replied.
“Yep, as a king's guard it's my duty to make sure all fights are fair,” Nathan replied with a rumble. He twisted his sword until it glinted in the weak sunlight and grinned at the young men. “Who wants a crack at me?”
“But you've got a sword, that's not fair!” Rogar stated bravely, but he took several steps backward.
“And I've got a bow and arrow,” Cole added. He pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back and rolled it between two fingers.
Toby stepped back to join his friends and grinned. It looked like this fight would be avoided after all. Rogar didn't look as sure of himself now and Nevan looked scared but Stephan's expression hadn't changed at all. He was still ready for a fight and didn't care how many there were against him.
“I just remembered I have to … umm …” Nevan mumbled as he backed away into the trees.
Rogar started backing off too and Stephan twisted around to glare furiously at him.
“Get back here, Rogar!” he yelled but Rogar kept retreating. Stephan turned back to face Toby and scowled.
“Don't think this is the end of it!” Stephan said in a voice that was probably supposed to be a whisper but was still quite loud. Then he turned his back on them and walked off into the trees.
“I don't think they like the odds when they're not stacked in their favour,” Nathan remarked as he sheathed his sword.
“It doesn't look like the stables are a very pleasant place to work,” Cole said with a shake of his head and a sympathetic look on his face.
“I don't work there now,” Toby said with a sigh. He jumped back up onto the wall to relieve his feet of the freezing snow.
He scooped up a handful of snow and held it to his swollen lip. He didn't really need it because it wasn't hurting; he was using the snow to cover it up. He shivered as the cold snow touched his skin but left it there. Lately his injuries had been healing unusually fast. In fact right now he could tell that the swelling was almost gone and soon the taste of blood would be the only thing left to remind him of the punch. He hadn't told anyone about his quick healing yet as he didn't know what to make of it himself.
“So what will you do now?” Nathan asked as he jumped up on the wall as well and began walking. Neither he nor Cole looked surprised that Toby was out of a job again. “You've tried every trade and calling in the town.”
“I haven't tried out to be an archer,” Toby said and looked at Cole with one eyebrow raised.
“You could have joined the archers if you hadn't humiliated the Commander at that last shooting competition. Couldn't you have just let him win?” Cole asked with a sigh. “Now you wouldn't get within ten feet of the training grounds.”
Toby knew he was right but it didn't seem fair. Why should he be penalised for being so good?
“You just try too hard at everything,” Nathan added. “You took the wall-guard duty so seriously that you showed up the men who had been doing it for fifteen years. Now they're not even allowed to sleep on duty.”
“But they shouldn't be sleeping anyway. They should be protecting the castle,” Toby protested.
“Protecting it from what?” Nathan asked good-naturedly. “You know that nobody would attack us, not with Klel here.”
“No I guess not.” Toby had to agree. Klel was as gentle as a new-born lamb but not many people knew that.
“Let me know when it’s safe to be near Aggie,” Nathan rumbled a few minutes later as they neared the guards’ gate. “I don’t want to be around when mother starts throwing things.”
Toby nodded, Aggie would be furious but avoiding her wouldn’t make it any easier. The sooner he told her the better, but perhaps it could wait a while.