Taniel (The Taverner's Daughter I)

83: Taniel

I lay in the hot bathwater, admiring my new bedroom. Like other rooms in Castle Stakkr, it had a silly name based on its appearance: the white suite. Every solid surface was lime washed. At first, I thought the limed wood furniture hideous. I grew up with the soft glow of beeswax, but, as I relaxed, the muted tones became a pleasant backdrop to the pale green fabrics. The copper bath with the firebox underneath was an unexpected treat.

Would these two rooms be my living quarters until I birthed? Would Olivia let me go, with my dragon, once she had whatever she needed from me? I frowned, unable to recall exactly why they wanted me to have a child. They must have told me while I was too caught up to listen. I would ask Paget.

If they intended keeping me here for the full nine months, though, I would insist on a room with a view. The windows had been filled in. To keep out stormy seas, Katerine had said, and prevent adventurous guests from using the slick steps spiralling up to the roof.

The handful of sticks in the firebox popped and crackled underneath me. I watched the fine haze of wood smoke swirling on the ceiling. I could get used to having a bath in my bedroom.

Back home, we bathed at the bathhouse a few doors along the street. Father said if that was good enough for us; it was good enough for our customers.

I had not been this relaxed since Dragonhold Day when I had tried my luck at Watchward Skerby.

I wondered how Father coped with my absence, this time. I supposed had my mother's letter, by now. Aunt Rita would be frantic.

I sighed. I was done crying over lost dragonriders. I was done worrying about what would happen to me. I would bide my time and I would get my dragon.

Where I would keep it? Father would not want it in the cow paddock. I remembered then, with a start, that Skerby was not my destination. I must find out more about the haven Driscoll readied for me.

A thud came from the sitting room.

I hoped it was the servant girl for I had not secured the locking bar. Katerine had sent my dresses away for freshening and I did not expect them back until nearer to dinnertime. Afternoon tea?

No, someone sneaked about in the other room. Wizard Ritter?

Surely not. I fumbled for the long handled back-scrubber on the little shelf and eyed the door as it creaked open. I held my breath, sinking lower in the bath.

Dax sidled in. Watching the other room, he eased the door closed. He looked over at the bed and let out a long breath.

I glanced along the water. Ample soap scum screened my most interesting bits. I cleared my throat.

He jerked about, tripped over his feet, and slammed back against the door. He looked wildly around the room.

"What do you want?" I asked. His wide eyes found my narrowed ones peering over the rim of the bath.

He turned his face away.

I managed to confine myself to a single half-smothered giggle.

"Sorry, I thought you were still downstairs." He swallowed, fixing his gaze on the lime washed floor. "Driscoll wants me to make a hole in the window." He took a step further into the room. "Part of his plan."

"I can't leave now." I said. "I will lose my dragon if I just go."

His jaw clenched and he studied the mottled floor, his thoughts flitting across his countenance until he carefully met my eyes.

"If Mother finds you were already pregnant, she might wish to start over. Your child is not safe here," he said.

Horrified, I wasn't sure that I believed him, though Jarryd had said more or less the same thing. He looked sincere.

"Alright, you can rescue me, then," I said.

His eyes flicked to the wall behind me. "There's a screen." He maneuvered it into position while, bemused, I watched on. He seemed different to the swaggering rogue who tried to seduce me, back at the tavern. I was learning that wizards were not all smelly old men. Perhaps I had been wrong to be so worried about Eighalh.

"How long will this take?" I asked, staring at the white wood between us. I dared not push the bounds of decency by getting out and drying off, despite the relative privacy.

"Not long." His voice came from over by the window. The drapes rattled as he opened them. "A few minutes."

With an attractive man in the room, I felt extra naked. I splashed some water around so I would not hear the low grinding noises he made. Curiosity won. Kneeling, I leaned sideways until I could see him.

A scream rose from my gut.

I stuffed it down and reminded myself it was Dax. I knew some wizards shape-shifted. I had heard the tavern stories.

Still, seeing a winged wizard in my bedroom shocked me.

Once the initial hysteria passed, I drank in the breathtaking sight. He had removed his shirt and it hung on the nearby bedpost. His leathery wings splayed against the wall, hiding what he did. Mesmerised, I did not care what he did. Under the mage lights, iridescent blue, green, gold, silver, and a myriad of other colours, rippled and quivered across the leathery wing membranes.

I dragged my eyes from the spellbinding wings to his back. Spilling from under his hair, hundreds of tiny glossy blue-green-red scales covered his bulging shoulder blades. They trickled down his spine and into the top of his trousers.

I desperately wanted to see his front.

His wings folded and, with a shimmer, vanished. My ogling was over.

As he reached for his shirt, I threw myself back into the water. I closed my mouth, and chewed the insides of my cheeks to take away the dryness. I breathed. Above the slosh of the settling water, the drapes swished.

"All done?" I sounded shaky.

"Aye," he said, softly. Still buttoning, he walked past, eyes averted. He cautiously inspected the other room. "After dinner, sit in front of the curtains. Driscoll will instruct you."

"Are we still going to Newhaven?" I asked. Perhaps he could tell me about the place.

"I don't know. Just be ready."

"Thanks, Dax." My voice was nearly normal. "You better tuck in your shirt."

He grinned at me. "I would be hard put to look innocent if someone came in."

I was pleased that he kept his dancing eyes on my face while he tucked in the shirt.

"I best go," he said. "I'm pretty sure that I didn't leak any magic. See you later."

He slipped out, but briefly. "Look, Taniel," he said, standing in the doorway. "I am really sorry about this baby making thing. I want you to know, I'm proud to have you as the mother of our child."

He held my eyes a moment, earnest, and then he was gone.

I slid under the water, dousing my flaming face. Quite some time passed before my heartbeat settled. I reached for the pale green towel.

"Our child?" I whispered.

He had said our child.

***

4 April 2017 - replaced with revised scene

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