Treasured by the Dragon

Ch 5: Money

Hope gave me energy. I don't intend to spend today curled up on a bed. If I'm to make it down the mountain to the town below, I need to prepare. Supplies will need to be collected and I have to learn the layout of the castle so I know exactly where to run once the opportunity presents itself.

Thankfully, Andre can help with that.

In the morning, he informs me of two options. Cephias will allow me to stay by myself in my bedroom locked behind a door, or I can follow Andre around as he does his chores.

The choice is obvious.

Over the next couple of days, I trail after my guard as he goes from one task to the next. Unfortunately, one of those tasks is butchering meat brought in by hunters.

Stomach turning as it is, I endure the bloody unpleasantness for access to his other chores. Being a large man made of pure muscle, Andre is often tasked with lifting and carrying things all around the palace. Which gives me ample opportunity to map the mess of hallways in my head.

My guard, however, is the silent type. He doesn't dole out information freely. I could ask him questions to coax details about their routines out of him, but I imagine any answer he'd give me will be a half-truth at best.

And I do want to learn more about these dragonith people. As much as I want to run away, there's something whispering beneath the surface of this castle. A secret the dragons are keen to hide. And I suspect it has something to do with the tributes they demand.

Besides observing the twists and turns of the hallways during our daily excursions, I notice a strange theme with their furnishings. Mainly that they are horribly maintained.

Elegant couches are dull with worn-down armrests bandaged with fresh leather. Beautiful, handcrafted wood pieces are now drab with flaking lacquer and scuffed stains. Rugs, curtains, and bedding are sun-bleached, threadbare, and often laden with a subtle scent of mildew. Even the clothes, which would have once been highly fashionable, are many years out of season, and covered in patches to fix frayed seams and tears.

For a people that claim an annual tribute with enough gold and riches to feed an entire kingdom for a year, they sure live in squalor. What have they been doing with all that money? Especially with only twenty mouths to feed.

Perhaps if I unearth their secrets, I can bargain my way out of here.

Thankfully, even if my chaperone is useless for such information, I have the family meals which brim with conversation around the table.

With each passing day, Cephias's people feel more comfortable with me, and discussions flow easier. It's provided some snippets of dragonith history, though Cephias is always quick to keep talk squarely in the present. Discussions about the past and concerns over the future are not to be had.

Or perhaps it's just that they aren't to be had in front of me.

Based on Cephias's ever darkening eyes and thickening stubble, he's having hard conversations with someone, and it's keeping him up at night. Considering those discussions are likely about me, I'd prefer to be a part of them.

However, the dragons remain tight-lipped on anything other than the day-to-day trivialities—especially Cephias. I haven't even had a moment alone with him since our argument in the bedroom.

Fortunately, I continue to have access to the library in the evening. Andre's chores end by the time dinner starts, so I am allowed a couple hours after the meal to do as I please.

For the past few nights, I've spent my time perusing the expansive library, searching for some information to help me out of this prison.

Tonight, I lounge in a wingback, flipping through the book in my hand.