Dragon Matchmaker

Chapter 2

   "In all my years of running this kingdom, I have never had a squadron come so close to killing a dragon and then lose it. You had it tied to the ground and threatened with swords, but it still managed to get away! Explain yourselves!"

   Kinsey and Audrey knelt before the king, their heads down as they both pondered an excuse. The rest of the soldiers were kneeling behind them, with poor Aldwin shaking in the front. Kinsey sighed. "It wasn't our fault your majesty. It was Aldwin. He walked past the rope holding it down and his sword cut it."

   The king glared down at them, his crown and cloak making him appear three times the size of what he actually was. He wasn't a very intimidating figure, but he had a big voice that got him respect. "You think that's an excuse. You couldn't kill the dragon and then get the horn? It is just as much your fault as it is Aldwin's. Now take your squadron to the mess hall. I'll figure out a decent punishment soon enough."

   They nodded and stood, leading the soldiers out. Kinsey sighed and kept her head down, refusing to meet Audrey's eyes. When they got to the mess hall, there weren't any other squadrons there, so everything was eerily silent as the soldiers tried not to speak lest it angered Kinsey or Audrey. Once they'd gotten their food, Kinsey sat away from the rest, eating alone.

   How could I have been so stupid? I insisted that I torture the Dragon before killing it when in reality that had just gotten me into more trouble. Why did Aldwin have to cut the rope? If he hadn't cut it, I wouldn't be in this mess and neither would my squadron.
  "Has anyone ever told you you think with your face?"

   Kinsey gasped and jerked up, meeting Audrey's eyes. He smirked and gestured to her plate. "If you're not gonna eat that I will."

   She frowned and yanked her plate closer. "Not on your life. What do you mean, think with my face?"

   He chuckled and sat back, tossing back a swig of wine. "Everything you think makes your face change on the outside. I figure you were thinking of how much you hate Aldwin?"

   "How'd you know?"

   He sat back a little and brushed a crumb of bread off his black leather chest guard. "You were making that scowl you always make whenever you see him."

   She sighed and frowned, earning herself a laugh from Audrey. "See? Right there. That scowl."

   She bit back a laugh and ate another portion of her stew. "Well, can you blame me? He's weak, clumsy, and a total doofus when it comes to fighting techniques."

   He sighed and bit a piece of meat off the chicken in front of him. "I just found out today why he's in the squadrons."

   "Why?"

   Audrey glanced over at the men and then over at where Aldwin sat off by himself, not eating. "He's an orphan and his grandparents can't work for themselves anymore. He joined because he needed to get his grandparents the money and now he's gotta be scared out of his wits because if he gets kicked out, he has to think of some other way to help them."

   Kinsey paused as she raised the spoon to her mouth. She glanced over and felt a pang of sympathy. Aldwin moved his spoon around in his food and she saw his shoulders rise in a sigh.

   He wasn't the smallest man, but he surely wasn't the biggest. He wasn't muscular by any means, but whenever they had to do their practices and had to do strength tests, he was always one of the last ones standing because he tried so hard. He was only a few inches taller than her and not much more built. Since she was a woman, she wasn't naturally very burly, but she had built up a fair amount of muscle. Kinsey sighed and looked away from him. He was too sad of a sight.

   "You see? I'm sure that if Aldwin had a choice, he'd stay in the squadron because he's so devoted to getting his family what they need."

   She nodded and sighed, glancing at her lieutenant. He was very handsome and very built, standing nearly a foot taller than her. "Umm…thank you. For catching me, earlier."

   He smiled and nodded. "No problem. You're not all that heavy actually. I would've expected a little more muscle weight."

   She shrugged and laughed. "Well, I would've expected you to let me hit to ground."

   He snorted and flicked a piece of bread at her. "Now why would I do that?"

   She sighed and pit her spoon down, too upset to eat. "It seems like none of this squadron really respects me. Especially not you."

   He frowned and rested his elbows on the able, fingering his cup. "I understand that maybe I haven't really been an ideal lieutenant, but I think it's about time I start actually listening."

   She narrowed her eyes at him and leaned back from the table a little, stretching her back a little. "Why? You've never been this easy going before."

   He shrugged and finished off his chicken real quick. She finished off her stew and they both took their plates over and turned them in to the kitchen workers. Kinsey sighed and walked up the hallway towards her room. The other soldiers had barracks, but the king let her have a room away from the men.

   She thought she was alone, but as she started to open her door, a hand stopped it. She whirled around and her hand went to her knife out of habit. After spending so much time in the castle alone, the soldiers and guards who weren't afraid of her had used sexual comments towards her and the threat of rape was ever present.

   Audrey reared back and held up his hands. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, but I wanted to tell you something before tomorrow when you'll get the king's response. There's always the chance he'll demote you and that may mean you'll become a guard. That means I'll take over as leader and then I won't see you as much. So before that happens, I wanted to do this."

   Kinsey cocked her head at him just as his hand latched around the back of her head. She didn't have a chance to prepare before he forced her to his face and kissed her.