Daughter of the Dragon

Chapter 3: The Daughter (UPDATED)

Darya sucked on her burned fingers, but it didn't help any more than sticking them in the river had. Why had she tried to touch the stone in the first place? Because Valant had done it, of course. She didn't want to be less brave than he. But Valant's hands were big and calloused, used to the forge's heat. Darya's own hands were soft and puny by comparison.

Darya sighed. What a day this was turning out to be. Things had started out familiar enough. She'd followed her father and brother to Old Green. While the men scythed, Darya and the Sweton girls had helped with raking, stacking the grass, and fetching water. The sun burned relentlessly from clear skies. To work, they needed water and plenty of it. Right before noon, after yet another trip to the well, Darya had asked her father if they might be excused. The old man had chewed his lip, looked at the sky and the grass, and finally nodded. She'd kissed him on the cheek, and he'd turned his back on her and resumed working. That was the Travers way. Working, from first light to last, every day, all year. Darya had vague memories of her grandfather being the same. He was always working until the day he died.

The girls had gone down to the river, but the cattle had beat them to it. So they'd gone upriver instead, past the waterfall. They had left their clothes on the bank and swam naked in the pools for a while. That's when they noticed the silver beech was missing. The three girls had gone upstream to check. They found the tree crashed into the river. They also found Meika, the village freak, sitting on top of the fallen trunk, looking at a black stone sticking out of the water. Darya had no idea how the strange rock had ended up in the river. They had bathed there many times, but they had never noticed anything. Only the Inner Gods knew how long the stone had lain hidden in the gravelly riverbed or who had put it there.

"I think we should go back," Ingela said, interrupting Darya's train of thought. "I don't feel like bathing anymore." She turned her back to the stele and made her way toward land. Andrea let go of Valant's hand and waded after her fiery-haired sister.

"Are you coming or not, Darya? Father will be cross if we stay too long. I've got more grass to cut." Haran called as he followed the Sweton sisters. He said something Darya couldn't make out. Whatever it was, it made Ingela laugh—and Andrea blushed and looked away.

That was new. Darya's brother wanting to work. If Haran spent more energy working and less trying to skimp, their father wouldn't give him such a hard time. He just wanted to be away from the stone, Darya was sure. She nodded to no one and waded toward the riverbank, leaving the stele where they had found it. Even had the six youngsters wanted to, there was no way they could have brought the rock with them. It must weigh hundreds of pounds, if not more.

Darya reached land, a little stony beach inside the river bend. The bank was low, the slope shallow. A path had been worn down to the water by generations of bathers. Darya considered folding down her skirt but decided against it—they had a stretch of rugged ground to cross, and a long hem wasn't any good for climbing over rocks.

Not for the first time, she wondered why girls had to wear skirts while men wandered around in breeches. Darya didn't mind wearing a dress for fairs and weddings and such, but for working the fields, shooting a bow, and riding her horse, she'd rather wear leggings. But no, her father had forbidden any such thing. It wasn't proper for a woman to go around in men's clothes. Darya had tried to argue—telling him that the handful of women in the Viscount's guard wore trousers, but he'd given her a dark look and resumed working. Not much for words, her father.

Haran and the sisters had gone ahead. Darya started after them but stopped when she realized Valant wasn't behind her. She looked around. Her shirtless, dark-haired friend stood atop the riverbank, speaking with Meika. Why would he talk to the freak? Valant usually avoided the healer's daughter like the plague. She tried to hear what they were saying, but the sound of the river washed away the words. Finally, the healer's girl took off into the woods, and Valant waved over to join Darya.