A Tale of One Deviant (Book One)

Chapter 140: Interrogating and Bribing Sherfire

Magaris swallowed thickly. It was becoming unnerving, having that stare on her, and harder to ignore.

     "Sherfire."

     "Yes?"

     "Why are you staring at me?"

     "Because you're a strange human."

     The white teapot clinked down on the tray. Two cups were on either side of it, as were the two couches of the parlor. It seemed more appropriate to bring the young Dragon to that place than the lord's office, which had recently become a rival to the littlest lady's own room when it came to seeing who could hold more books inside.

     "How so?" the human asked the Dragon, standing aside, her job fulfilling itself with every second she was present. Magaris' hands folded in front while standing beside the couch the Dragon sat upon curiously, glancing all around the room. Gray light filtered through the filmy curtains beside them. However, it didn't dampen the mood of the cheery Dragon, one that didn't appear the least bit nervous in an obviously foreign environment and after events that had happened only a bit prior.

     After that guy had left, likely kidnapping someone long awaited in the de Libellule manor, "Sherfire" had been left behind. There were only questions with her, and after getting a hold of the situation - or not really, they had yet to figure out what was going on - she'd been moved somewhere else. The door clicked shut behind them, the Dragon still inside, and Sir Frederick peppered Magaris with questions while hovering behind, stopping to collect his thoughts and follow again.

     And it was then that she almost bumped into the lord again as he seemed to be waiting at the end of the hall.

     "Bring her to a parlor. Entertain until I come."

     Then the lord went off for the bath delayed by certain events. It seemed that the servant that had taken the water from before, by the well, had gone off to gossip in the kitchen instead of going to bring the water up. He had to get more because it had become tainted by the smell of lunch and mostly evaporated in that hot room. That was how long he'd gossiped in there.

     "Well," the Dragon began, kicking her heels under the couch, feet bare. "You're Firea's maid, aren't you? And, you have a giantkin lover? It's hard to find one of those these days. I haven't seen one of those since I was a baby."

     What?

     "No," Magaris spoke up, feeling her frown come back. Her head shook, freely letting hair bounce around that desperately needed a cap. "He's not my lover. He's just a knight of this estate."

     "Huh?" She appeared genuinely confused, her legs coming to a stop. Her eyes were the same color as the light hair, which was a tumbling mane. How wide and big they were made her look all the more endearing and innocent, but the more that the Dragon shifted her hands on the couch, the more she looked oversized despite being so skinny. The bigger clothes helped with the look. "But...I smell him on you."

     The frown deepened. "He follows me around."

     "Hmmm...then you must see him a lot."

     The voice tone worried Magaris, as did the constant staring. The twitching of the nose, and the tilting of the head as she was being studied. That "Hmmm" sounded like she didn't believe Magaris. Whatever led Sherfire to think a knight was a lover to a maid must've been strong.

     And that worried Magaris even more.

Now I have to find a better way to avoid him. Start taking night shifts instead of the day?