The Dragons Queen Saga

Part 31: A Graceful Distraction

Dresden did not leave Tibuk right away. He went to a small hut made of mud and covered with a straw roof. Some of the mud was chipping in places and in need of repair. When he knocked on the door, wood chips rained down, a testament to the age of the building.

"Who's there?" A raspy voice bellowed, less of a question, more of a command.

"It is Dresden madam. Please entertain me. I am lost." He had used this greeting before and the door whipped open in front of him. A small woman with long, thin legs, a barrel chest, and pendulous breasts stood before him, eyes shining. Her shoulder-length wiry hair hung loosely in the breeze, greying at the edges of her forehead with stubborn strands poking the air like an antenna.

"Well bless my soul. I thought for sure you'd never come back here Dresden. Get your ass in here and close the damn door." She ushered him in and peeked cautiously out the door. He dropped his pack near the entrance with a thud then headed straight to her dining table and sat down without being asked, face in his hands. She wobbled over and patted his back in a motherly fashion without saying anything. Then she sat down across from Dresden and just looked at him quietly, grinning. Humans might have considered her a witch by her appearance alone, disproportionately long arms and legs resting on a squat frame with an unusually long nose and strange eyes. She was not human though, and never pretended to be.

"Midge, I don't know what to do with myself. I know too much to remain idle, and not enough to make a proper plan." He addressed her like an old friend, as someone he trusted with his true self. She sat without judgment, nodding her head and making squeaking noises of approval. He looked up from his lamenting, waiting for her to say something, hopefully wise. When she spoke it was obvious that she could see the pain of indecision in his eyes.
"Dresden, I have known you since the beginning of your exile. You have brought excellent beer and I thank you for the time we have spent. Let me get you something. I've been saving it for a special occasion. Nothing special ever happens in this place, so I still have it." She fished a couple of badly made glass bottles from the cupboard and brought them to the table. Dresden took one and fingered the cork.
"You still have these Midge?" He chuckled to himself. I meant for you to drink them yourself."

Midge tugged at the cork on her bottle with a toothy grin.

"Dresden, I don't have anything to celebrate but you. What the devil are you doing here anyway? Visiting Dierdre maybe? Tired of human things maybe? Lost you say, I doubt that. I bet you're right where you need to be." She popped the top and a fizz crept up from the bottom of the bottle. "It's aged well," She added, taking a sniff.

"Yeah. Two hundred years does that I suppose." He reflected on the last time he had chosen to visit her. It was his last transformation as a Dragon. He had wanted someone to share a drink with before he decided never to return to his Dragon form again. That had been a pivotal moment in his life. At the time, he hadn't realized the chain of events it would cause.

Midge grabbed his bottle out of his hands and opened it before handing it back to him. "I know you won't get as drunk as I will, but it'll be fun for old time's sake. I won't see you after this. I heard of a place that exists where magical folk are gathering. There are supposedly a few, but the one I'm talking about is real special. Deirdre might come with me. Did she tell you about it? You could come with us too and forget about this mad world. It's a dangerous place anymore and Tibuk is going extinct. We can't stay here much longer."

Dresden didn't have much to add to the conversation except for a simple 'no' in answer to what Deirdre had or hadn't told him. She told him a few things, but not that, which seemed irrelevant to him now. He couldn't think of any place to run away to that would distract away from feeling the immense weight of the situation crushing him into the Earth.

"Drink up man. I'm gonna finish mine first and then yours won't be safe." She chuckled at her own joke and added, "I have known you for what, five hundred years now? Damn close I bet, if I think back hard enough. You were in rougher shape then, than you are now. I assure you of that!" She sat back and chugged her ale. "Whatever you have going on, it's not going to get any easier. You can be sure of that, so drink with me and forget about it for a time. I have an extra bed. Stay here for the night and don't think about where you're going when you wake up. If you do wake up, it might make more sense when you do." She was pointing at him with her long knobbly fingers.

"Can I show you something, madam?" Midge straightened and nodded her head. Dresden brought the ingot to the table and set it down carefully. Midge stood up and marveled at it. She ran her hands over it, closed her eyes, and hugged it even. He leaned into the high-backed chair and chugged some of the ale. It had a decent flavor after aging for so long. He remembered where the batch had come from and how horrible it tasted when they drank it the first time. He drank more, thinking about how much he preferred the flavor over tea.

"My my my, Dresden you have been busy over these years. Where'd you get it? It's dreamy. I want it. Are you giving to me?" Her eyes lit up at the thought of keeping the ingot for herself. Its delightful aura made her head swoon with pleasant feelings.
"No madam, I cannot give it to you. I have to keep it."

"Have to. You sound like it's a chore to keep such a nice artifact. What a drudge you are! If you don't want it, at least give it to someone who will appreciate it. Doesn't it make you feel great? I want to dance! I want to sing, and I don't even sing. It makes me want to make love to something. I don't even care what." She let out a high-pitched giggle like a little girl and danced around the room with her bottle of ale. "Come on Dresden! Get off your chair and dance with me!"
He sighed, set his bottle down, and took her by the hand, letting her lead him around the room gaily. Her head reached only as high as his chest so she had to look up to see his face and he looked down at her. Most men would think her ugly, but he had not met a more beautifully kind creature in all his travels. Midge had always been genuine with him, whether that was to rage or to be mirthful, he could count on her to go with the moment and the mood and allow him his thoughts and space without judgment. He wondered why he hadn't spent more time with the odd woman. He'd never met another like her and she never revealed which realm she had come from. When the portals at Carnak were destroyed, she was one of the creatures that had been abandoned here on Earth. Millions like her had lost their only way home and had to surrender to a new life, in a new world, so she understood how his exile had changed him and devastated him to be separated from his own kind. He danced with her, trying not to think of the other Dragons, the betrayal, the information that had no answers, and the questions he wasn't allowed to ask. Midge was a good distraction and he needed that right now.