Dragon of Storms

Chapter 9

 A loud knock woke Reyna up. Her body jolted, disturbing the now lukewarm water. It took a few seconds for her to look around and remember she fell asleep in the tub. "Right," Reyna muttered, "Should've known a bath was a bad idea." Scanning the room for her dragon, she found him staring at himself in the mirror and trying to paw at his reflection. Reyna shook her head, a smile playing on her lips, before she remembered what woke her up.

The knock came again, and she quickly wrapped a towel around her and went to the door. "Who is it?" Her sleepy voice filled the dark bathroom. The candles seemed to have gone out, and the only light was seeping through the cracks in the door. Again, her unease came, but she ignored it. In the back of her mind Reyna wondered how whoever was out there got past her locked door.

"It's Marie, dummy."

Reyna breathed out in relief, before panic seeped into her. Marie couldn't find out about the dragon, if she did who knows how'll she'll react, not to mention she's a huge gossiper. Reyna ran around the small dark room in panic for a moment, then went to hide the baby dragon. She picked him up and spun around the room, trying to find somewhere to hide him. Reyna considered the bathtub, the sink, and even the toilet, but in the end she had to throw a spare towel over him. "Stay quiet."

Reyna went to unlock the door, and almost immediately after Marie came rushing in. Before she knew it, she was stuck in a bear hug. "Gods, above!" Marie practically wept. "I was so scared, I thought you might have run away then I realized that it was you we were talking about, so then I thought you might've died, or been taken by raiders," She kept on rambling, but Reyna had to tune her out.

Eventually, Marie released her from her killer grip. "So what happened?" Reyna could feel her lady in waiting's eyes scan her, and she had to shift away to hide the dragon tattoo. "Oh Gods! Your leg! What happened to it?" Before Reyna could say anything about the shark or the cliff, Marie rushed off, "Stay right there, I'm going to get a healer."

"Okay," She tried to yell, but it came out as a croak. Her throat was becoming hoarse from a number of things, lack of use, dehydration, and pain from her leg. She was also really hungry, and no doubt the dragon was too. Reyna went over to where he was hidden, and lifted the fuzzy towel.

"Sorry," She laughed out. Even in the dark room, she could tell that the dragon was glaring at her. "I don't know how she'll react, so it's better to just hide for now." He still looked unconvinced and utterly annoyed. "What?" She asked, still laughing. "You're just mad because you wanted to keep playing with your reflection." His head turned in confusion. "Reflection," She pointed to the mirror. "It's an image of yourself you see in a mirror or something shiny." He still looked confused.

Reyna only sighed before picking him up and bringing him into the light filled bedroom. He crawled up onto her shoulders and layed down, warming her neck, which helped ease the forming knots. "Now that I think about it," Reyna started talking aloud, or maybe she was talking to the dragon. "You need a name." She couldn't keep thinking about him as the dragon in her mind. He made no response, but he did seem to vibrate a little. "Are you purring?"

Before she could laugh, a soft knock came from the front room. Reyna slid the dragon off her shoulders, and buried him under her blankets. "Come in!" The door clicked open and in came Marie and a healer she didn't recognize. Reyna didn't usually get hurt in any way, or get sick, so she'd never actually met any of the healers at the castle. Whenever she needed one she'd go to somebody outside the castle, or she'd do whatever she needed herself, since most here at the castle report back to her father.

Most healers were women, as men don't usually have the caring nature that they need. Many came from past generations, but not all. It was a noble profession, and from what Reyna knew, paid well. The healers used herbs and other types of medicines, but way back before the continent split, they used magic to seal wounds and supposedly burn out sickness. Reyna wasn't sure how it worked then, and wasn't super sure on how it worked now, but she knew enough.