8
In Which They Meet Their First Dragon
It was about twelve feet tall, which is not very large, as dragons go.
But it was definitely a dragon. It sneezed again, which took care of the remains of the lilac bush, and slid forward over the ashes into the middle of the clearing.
The Princess fainted.
I put my sword away. Walking through the Enchanted Forest with a drawn sword is bad, but talking to a dragon with a sword in your hand is much worse. Fortunately, the dragon hadn't noticed it yet. As soon as the sword was sheathed, I looked up again, and my stomach went hollow.
The dragon was eyeing Shiara, and I didn't like the gleam in its eyes.
I didn't like the militant way Shiara was glaring back, either. There wasn't very much I could do, though. You just don't interrupt a dragon when it's busy with something else. They don't like being distracted.
The dragon slid closer and bent its head until it was staring at Shiara from about a foot in front of her face. Shiara jumped. The dragon blinked.
'Are you a princess?' it asked hopefully.
'No. I'm a fire-witch,' Shiara said. 'And if you bite me, I'll burn your nose off.'
'Oh. I thought you were a princess.' The dragon lost interest in Shiara. It looked around the clearing again and saw me. Its head moved over in my direction.
I bowed. 'Sir or madam,' I said, trying to recall all the proper ways of addressing a dragon, 'I offer you greetings in the name of myself and my companions, and I wish you good fortune in all your endeavors.'
'I beg your pardon?' said the dragon. Its voice reminded me of one of those wooden wind instruments, the deep kind that you have to stand on a chair to play. It eyed me doubtfully. 'Are you a princess?'
'I-' I stopped and stared. Dragons just don't beg people's pardon.
Then I realized that this must be a very young dragon, and I relaxed a little.
Dragons don't usually insist on formality until they get old enough to decide which sex they're going to be. 'I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid I'm not a princess. My Name is Daystar, and I'm very pleased to meet you.'
The dragon sat back. 'I had no idea princesses were so hard to find.'
It blinked and seemed to look at me for the first time. 'I'm sorry I burned your bush, but I couldn't help it.'
'Oh, please don't worry about it,' I said. 'It really doesn't matter in the least.'
'It was the wizard,' the dragon said confidentially. 'I'm allergic to them. All dragons are.'
'I'm sorry to hear that,' I said.
The dragon looked at me. 'You're very polite, Daystar.' Its head swiveled back toward Shiara. 'Say-you weren't polite at all!'
Nightwitch poked her head out from behind Shiara's ankle and hissed.
The dragon started and then peered down at the kitten. 'You aren't polite, either,' it said.
I nudged Shiara. 'Offer to do something for him,' I hissed.
'What? Why?'
'If you insult a dragon, you have to do him a favor,' I said. 'Hurry up!' If she didn't say something quickly, the dragon would probably eat both of us. Unfortunately, the dragon might eat Shiara anyway.
The favor most dragons want is dinner. I couldn't tell Shiara that, though, without offending the dragon. I wondered whether I could talk the dragon out of eating us, if it came to that. I didn't think so.
Dragons are stubborn.
The dragon's eyes glittered. Shiara looked at it. 'Can I do anything for you?' she asked finally. She sounded a little sullen, but dragons aren't very good at tone of voice. Besides, it's the offer that counts.
'Find me a princess,' the dragon said promptly.
I breathed a very quiet sigh of relief. I didn't think there was a polite way to kill a dragon, and I hadn't been able to think of any other way of stopping it from eating Shiara and me if it wanted to. It was nice to know I wouldn't have to try.
'You want a princess?' Shiara looked thoughtful. 'Why?'
'Dragons are supposed to have princesses,' the dragon explained. 'I can't be considered a proper dragon until I have one. But I've been looking for two days, and I haven't seen even a smell of a princess, and I'm tired of it.
So you do it.'
'You aren't going to eat her or anything, are you?' Shiara asked.
'Eat her?' The dragon sounded horrified. 'And waste a perfectly good princess? Of course not! There aren't enough of them to go around as it is. What kind of barbarian do you think I am?'
'Well, I've never met a dragon before,' Shiara said. 'How was I supposed to know? I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.'
'All right,' said the dragon. 'But you have to get me a princess. It doesn't have to be a large one.'
'Do you want any particular kind of princess?' Shiara asked. 'I want to be sure you'll be satisfied.'
'Oh, young and beautiful, of course,' the dragon said. 'Are there other kinds?'
'There are enchanted princesses,' Shiara pointed out. 'Especially around here.'
'That's right. Say, maybe that's why I haven't found one!'
'I wouldn't be surprised,' Shiara said. 'But will you take an enchanted princess?'
The dragon thought for a minute. 'No, I don't think so. Spells make things too complicated.'
'And does it matter how long it takes me to find her?' Shiara went on.
The dragon considered. 'I don't want to wait too long, but I really don't want to be unreasonable, either. How about a week? You bring the princess here by a week from today, otherwise you owe me another favor.'
It licked its lips with a long red tongue.
'That sounds reasonable,' Shiara said. 'But what if I'm early?'
Suddenly I realized what Shiara was planning to do. I edged around the clearing, toward where the Princess was lying, but I wasn't quite fast enough.
'The earlier the better,' the dragon said.
'Then, there's your princess!' Shiara said, and pointed.
'My, you do work fast,' the dragon said. It turned and looked at the Princess. 'She's certainly beautiful enough, but are you sure she isn't enchanted?'
'I'm quite sure,' Shiara said.
'Then why is she asleep in the middle of the day? I didn't think princesses were nocturnal creatures.'
'She just fainted when she saw you,' Shiara said reassuringly. 'It's nothing to worry about. It happens to princesses all the time. Will she do?'
'Quite well.' The dragon nodded. 'You're very prompt. Thank you very much.'
Shiara nodded. I waited until the dragon turned away, then I frowned at Shiara.
'Why did you do that?' I whispered. 'That was a terrible thing to do!'
'Would you rather I got eaten?' Shiara whispered back. 'She won't get eaten. The dragon said so. And I bet it won't want her for long.
Dragons are smarter than some people.'
I didn't know what to say to that, so I looked back at the dragon. As it bent its head to inspect the Princess more closely, the Princess opened her eyes. She gave a small scream, and the dragon frowned.
'You don't have to be frightened,' it said. 'Really. You're my princess now, and I'm going to take proper care of you, and you can clean my scales and cook for me. I believe that's the standard arrangement.'
The Princess burst into tears. The dragon pulled back, eyeing her uncomfortably. 'Did I say something wrong?'
The Princess just cried harder. 'Alas! Ah, woe is me! So recently was I happy, awaiting the coming of my
