The Queen's Aerie

20. Something of a Shame

Word quickly spread that Captain Wildt had confirmed the orders with his own eyes, and for nearly a whole day everyone from the officers down to the apprentice dragons maids were walking around in shock. That faded quickly into an extended burst of energy as the immense scope of their collective mission hit home. They had two weeks to be ready to sail.

The admiral was fierce in the face of the massive operation, and Agadart thought that part of his mood was due to the grim news that was coming regularly out of Watt, sometimes by dragon, occasionally by ship. She mostly saw him during his conferences with Worthan, where she was acknowledged but otherwise ignored while they went over supply lists and tried to reassure each other that Watt had a fighting chance against the emperor's forces.

The first week flew by, but by the second week, tempers were fraying. The dragons, who were all being required to resume their walking forms for the trip, were particularly stressed. Agadart saw little of it, practically chained to her desk doing a crash course on dragon physique and the general culture of dragons on Watt. There were, apparently, some things one should never ever ask a Wattish dragon, such as "how big was your sibling clutch?" and "how old were you when you first took flight?"

Agadart thought that was all very silly, but Worthan assured her that doing so might get her bitten. The realization that their medical patients could bite her was an entirely new concept to her. When she expressed as much to Worthan, he simply laughed and walked away.

She was neck-deep in her studies when the door to the office flew open and Mistress Seraphinite stormed in. "Doctor Worthan!"

Agadart was stumbling to her feet before Mistress Seraphinite finished shouting. "He was called to the war room by Admiral Leonteinparre!" She shifted awkwardly for a moment, trying to get her body to stand at attention.

Mistress Seraphinite stared at her for a moment, her expression gone very blank but her eyes betraying her anger. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking through clinched teeth. "This was the third time a dragon sent a maid screaming from the warrens. If they want their lairs cleaned or help with packing, they need to stop taking their frustrations out on my maids."

Agadart nodded in agreement but could not think of anything to say. She had absolutely no authority over the dragons. She opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. "I can tell Doctor Worthan?" she offered.

"Tell whomever will listen. I cannot even get an audience with the admiral, and his consort—" She paused, took a deep breath, then started again. "His Matrica finds the situation hilarious." Her expression was thunderous.

"He...he laughed at you?" Agadart frowned. She had thought Matrica Roki would take a more serious view of his duties.

"He chuckled, then excused himself from the room. I'm sure the very idea of dragon maids is funny to him, but we take our jobs seriously and we have an important role in the Dragon Corps." She looked Agadart over with an unfriendly eye. "And everyone knows he will listen to you."

Agadart, used to much finer stilettos from her time at court, managed to keep her own temper from flaring. She tilted her head. "I was unaware that anyone would carry more weight with the Matrica than the Mistress of the Maids, but I will bring it up whenever I have the opportunity of being in his audience again."

Mistress Seraphinite's eyes narrowed, but she did not stay to continue to battle with false politeness. Instead she nodded once and turned on her heel, leaving with as much vigor and noise as she had arrived with, slamming the door shut behind her.

Agadart rang for one of the ensigns assigned to Worthan and asked him to send for the Matrica. The boy gulped a few times but then dashed off. Finally, Agadart collapsed back into her chair, wondering unkindly if Mistress Seraphinite was purposely trying to make her life difficult.