A Pet for the Dragons

20.

IVRET

"I'm not trying that," I heard Zorge say as I slowly crept into the kitchen. I didn't want to scare Arika this time, and that's why I was being careful. After she'd fallen unconscious, I'd tried my best to give her some energy and fought my desire to wring Zorge's neck.

He was with her now because Radrox was doing some chores, and I'd been busy preparing the enchantment for the rig. However, he won't be my headache for a few days now that he'll be out on patrolling duty.

Good. The Gallow castle would finally be at peace without him, and I'd use this peace to learn more about Arika. After the time we spent together in my study tower, she was all I could think of.

I needed to spend more time with her to figure her out.

"Please, give it a try," Arika politely requested while holding a spoon close to Zorge's face. I didn't like that she was trying to feed him.

"No," Zorge answered. Such a fool, but good for me.

"Bring it to me. I'll try it," I said, surprising the two. Arika's eyes widened slightly when she saw me, and I liked that. Meanwhile, Zorge looked like he wanted to fight me again. I was ready for a fight. Heck, I'd been waiting for one, but something always kept interrupting us.

"Give it to me," Zorge hissed, taking the spoon from her and eating whatever she had offered him. I snorted. He was pissed because he knew it was time for him to leave. But the real reason he was pissed was because it was my turn to go on patrolling duty, but he was being made to go instead of me because I needed to stay here to monitor Arika's health.

"Ivret! Try this. I've made this basilisk hotpot," Arika said, bringing a spoonful of something towards me. Zogre looked like he wanted to hold her back, but that would scare her.

"I'd love to try that," I smirked at Zorge before letting Arika feed me whatever she had in the spoon. It was a broth of some kind with the flavour of a few vegetables and a piece of meat in it, too.

I wondered what it was as I chewed it. I didn't like it at first. I preferred to have the meat fresh and uncooked, but the broth's flavour somewhat improved the taste of the cooked meat.

"That tastes good," I told her, and her eyes lit up. "It's different but good," I added. Zorge glared hard at me, but I offered him a smile. He didn't like how the situation was now in my favour.

"You do? Would you like a bowl? I made a lot of it," Arika offered.

"Sure, I'd like more of that," I said, placing the enchantment in front of Zorge and following Arika to the giant hearth in the kitchen. Zorge tried to make me stumble over his foot, but I manoeuvred quickly and followed Arika.

"Give me a bowl, too," Zorge demanded.

"Didn't you say you hated cooking the basilisk meat?" Arika asked Zorge over her shoulder.

Basilisk meat.

It was hard to come by and quite expensive. It was usually preserved for special occasions. So, was Zorge trying to offer her gifts to keep her attention?

That was smart, but I hated that he had come up with it first. I needed to come up with something similar. But what could interest her? I started thinking as the two bickered.

"I need a full stomach before leaving," Zorge answered grudgingly.

"Leaving? Where are you going?" She asked curiously.

"He's going for the patrolling duty. He'll be gone for a couple of weeks," I replied, and Zogre made a sound of frustrated anger.

"Patrolling?" Arika asked as she stopped stirring the pot. She tilted her head to the side, thinking. "What do you need to patrol this area for? What's in here other than snow?" She asked.