The Crimson Dragon

Chapter Two

Ada returned home to see that her sister had two pastries sitting on the table.

"Did you buy these from town?" Ada asked as she entered, wondering where Elise had found the money.

Elise smiled. "I walked with Madam Celeste while she ran her errands and she was kind enough to buy them for us. Not that gold will be a problem for a while. She had actually been intending to see me about the performance at the Palace. She said she wants the best to be front and centre."

"And front and centre gets paid well?" Ada asked as she nibbled at her pastry, savouring the taste. Neither she nor Elise were skilled cooks.

Elise grinned. "Well enough to keep us happy for a while. Performing for the King and the nobles of his court pays quite well. And I'm still not ruling out finding a handsome and powerful husband. I don't care what you say, I think 'future queen' is a title I could wear quite well."

"Isn't the King kind of, you know, not that nice? Weren't you cursing his name just last week, saying that if he raised taxes in the city one more time, we'd end up homeless?"

Elise sighed. "Ada, kings aren't supposed to be nice. They're supposed to be fierce dragon hunters who control their lands with an iron fist. Being 'nice' is what queens are for. Our current king just needs to get married is all."

"You're sure that's it? I mean... I don't know, he's not going to get angry with any of the performers and hurt them, is he?"

Elise raised an eyebrow. "Of course not. Where are you getting these strange ideas from?"

"Mrs Drake said that you going to the Palace might be dangerous."

Elise rolled her eyes. "Mrs Drake is going senile. Everyone knows it. She's a batty old crone who likes to see trouble where there is none. Or cause it. I wouldn't listen to anything she says. She's probably just mad that she was dismissed from her job at the Palace."

Ada frowned. "Dismissed? What do you mean?"

"She used to be the King's tutor, back when he was the Prince. But Father told me not to talk about it. Apparently, she left under not the nicest of circumstances. So, if she said anything about the King it was probably out of spite."

Ada suppressed a sigh. She knew well enough now when her sister wouldn't listen to her. She knew that even if she pointed out that 'not the nicest of circumstances' could have easily been the King's fault, and not Mrs Drake's, Elise would simply find another reason to dismiss it.

Ada briefly considered going back to Mrs Drake and pressing her for more details, but she had been so hesitant to give the few that she had, Ada doubted she would say anything more.

But how else was she supposed to find out what had happened? She didn't exactly know anyone to ask. At least, no one who would talk to her.

The best she ever got out of the customers she had interacted with over the years was politeness, and she had long ago learned not to interact with anyone else.

But then, politeness wasn't nothing, and one of those polite customers was a cook at the Palace.

A cook who had a healing salve waiting in the back room to be delivered.

"If you're going to be performing tonight, you probably want to practice," Ada said to her sister as she finished her pastry. "If you want, I could make the rest of today's deliveries as well."

Her sister frowned. "Are you sure?"

Ada nodded. "Maybe if I practice, I can get better at it, and I'll be able to handle deliveries as well as everything else."