My legs ached and the skin around my ankles rubbed against my boots becoming red with irritation. I huffed out a cloud of warm air and sweat dripped down my face despite the cold snow that drifted to the ground.
A large rose bush stretched alongside a stone pathway for several feet and I have been circling it for hours. The path lead deeper into Lady Deinan's garden, deeper than I've already gone.
Chasing a mischievous little dragon that had been eating the Ice Queen roses has lead me astray. The magical roses were known for surviving frigid temperatures and thrived on the highest peaks of mountains. To be seen on low elevations such as Lady Deinan's garden was absolutely unheard of. Her rich position afforded her the constant care that would be needed to keep them thriving. Such a rarity needs to be protected, even if it's from her own pets.
Von, the head gardener and my supervisor said to gather up the dragons if I see them eating the roses amongst other tedious chores. Thankfully, these dragons were no bigger than my forearm. They're easy to handle but this opened up more getaways for their snakelike bodies to slither out of. My entire day was wasted chasing down one particular dragon that enjoyed the taste of the frozen flowers.
I was employed by Lady Deinan a few months ago, she assigned me to a zone closer to the mansion so the path out of the garden is manageable. Lady Deinan's garden is the largest in the world or so she gloats about, being hopelessly lost I have come to agree.
A small iguana shaped head popped out of the bush two arms lengths away. The dragon stared at me with emerald eyes and the tuft of feathers on it's head said it was intrigued. I've never learned dragon body language before, it could be alarmed or cautious but the way it accumulated an audience of scaly friends I assumed they were enjoying this game of chase.
The dragons nose swiftly turned towards a rose with mischievous intent gleaming in its eyes.
"No…" I said with a cautious tone. My intentions weren't to scare the dragon away, I needed to catch him not chase him until I die of exhaustion.
Sharp white teeth appeared between its lips.
"Don't you dare!" My voice laced with anger.
The dragon jerked forward and snapped the roses head off the stem. The rose tumbled to the ground without a single petal being digested.
"Wha… Why? You didn't even eat it!" Its head dived back into the safety of the rose bush then peaked out again, a few feet away from its original location. "You're just teasing me now, aren't you?"
It squawked at me and the audience of dragons that perched on high branches and tops of hedges croaked and cackled too as if they were laughing. Their beady eyes observed as I circled the rose bush once again. They left the duty of mutilating roses to their ring leader that hid behind the ultramarine petals of the bush and enjoyed the show. Again, the dragon sank into the leaves and we continued our little game of hide and seek. The sapphire scales blended in with the icy branches of the Ice Queens and its baby blue underbelly gave it an advantage to blend in with the rose petals. I relied on movement to find the dragon.
"Pretty little dragon, where are you?" Dragons are easily coaxed and I faked my sweetest voice until it sounded real. A rustling in the bush gave away it's hideout.
"My sweet little friend, will you please come out so I may gaze upon your alluring wings?" I spoke in the direction of the rustling twigs. "Would you like a piece of fruit for an exchange of your presence?" I upped the ante to my gamble, hoping it would work.
A flash of blue rushed before my face then tangled underneath my braid. The dragon's talons pinched my shoulder, but I had not removed him for fear it would fly away and eat the roses again. A chipper rumbled against my fingers when I scratched it's neck, the scales were surprisingly soft. Its wings spread then dropped it's weight from my shoulder. It's slender body twirled in the sky to perform aerial aerobatics.
"Little show off," I said as the glimmering scales outshined any of my own features. It squawked at me. "Ok, I guess I'll do as I promised."
I reached into my aprons pocket and untied the sack that I kept bits of fruit and nuts in. The dragon picked the fruit from my fingertips then snuggled in my dark brown hair once again. I walked along the path hoping I could find my zone. The dragon hitched a ride the entire way.
"Mae!" I turned to see Von in a sweat. He jogged up to me with an exasperated look on his face.
"I've been looking for you all day! Why aren't you in your zone?" Von had bulldog cheeks and a balding scalp, his face was wrinkled into a dour expression. I've never witnessed any emotion other than plain boredom from him.
"This little guy was eating the roses. I tried to catch him."
Von reached out towards my braid and the dragon slithered around his arm pulling strands of my hair with it.
"I said to drive them away, not chase them." He explained. "You're fairly new, so consider this a warning. If Lady Deinan slips on the ice due to your negligence she'll kill us both."
"How did Lady Deinan get wyrms anyway?" I asked as I absent mindedly followed him back to recognizable terrain. He turned to stare at me with widened eyes. The heat in my cheeks increased as I realized what I said. "I didn't mean she has worms! I meant she has these wyrms. Dragons… She has d-dragons."
I lowered my head. My face became hot with embarrassment.
"That's not the reason why I'm surprised at you, Mae. Lady Deinan is a dragon enthusiast, if she heard you calling them wyrms she'd hang you by your toes. They're Amphipteres."
"She wouldn't do that! Would she?" I asked, I haven't worked here long enough to know.
"Do you remember, Jackson?"
"I think so? He left work when I started. Never had a lengthy conversation with him."
"He didn't just leave work, he hung himself."
My mouth gaped open. I closed it as soon as a dragon leaned forward, readying itself to pounce inside my mouth.
"What! How unfortunate! What happened?"
"He destroyed one of the grey scale garden rose bushes. Lady Deinan put so much debt on his shoulders his only way out was to commit suicide. She covets her garden more than anything and her pets second."
The dragon looked up at him and hissed.
"I'm sorry, my little friend. You are no pet, you are her companion." He reiterated.
The dragon nestled its nose into his hand and chippered.
I followed Von out of the large maze of plants. We hiked up small hills, around fountains, and through several zones that gave the impression we were in different realms. Von stopped in my zone where I left my shovel lying on the floor.
"Thank you." I said. He nodded for a reply.
With the wooden handle of the shovel tightly gripped in my hand I scooped up snow until my back ached. A few hundred more silver coins is all it took to meet mine and my husband's financial goal. With a few more months of work we will be able to move out of our mold infested apartment. With dedication powering my work ethic, I continued to work with plenty of strength even when my feet froze and my body ached.
I finished the pathway and all my other chores. Chasing the dragon took up a majority of my day and I needed to work an hour overtime to make up for it.
"I'm going home, Von!" I informed the head gardener as I returned the supplies to the gardening shack that looks like a tiny Lady Deinan's mansion.
"Thank you, Mae. See you tomorrow."
We said our goodbyes and I headed home seeking the comfort of my husband. The journey home was a long walk, three miles across country.
I stopped to stare at my destination. Arvon'te, the pure city. From a distance, the name was misleading. The slums of Arvon'te were made up of broken apartment buildings with little room to move between. It's a stark contrast to the city's innards. The center of the city housed the rich and showcased the city's marketplace. White stones created beautiful paths to walk upon while marble statues complimented the towering pillars they held up. Each structure in and of itself was unreal to look upon, but put together… the inner beauty of Aryon'te was a testament to the rich who lived there.
Of course, if a fraction of that money went back into the slums then all of Aryon'te could be beautiful. The city could radiate purity to anyone from anywhere. However, it would never happen into ours. Ours was a world of dirt and starvation, so far beneath them they couldn't imagine it.
Daniel said the rich didn't want to fund the rebuilding of the slums because we protect the inside of the city. He said that if a war were to break out then we'd be collateral damage. If a war came, we would be the wall that protected the rich from death.
But Aryon'te hadn't seen war in a hundred years and there was no reason to believe my home would become that wall.
~~
Snowflakes tumbled gently from the sky, landing on my skin and melting immediately. Several stuck to the braid that cascaded down my right shoulder. Inches thick, the blanket that covers the ground is as white as Aryon'te. Overhead, the sky is dreary and gray. It's eerie to say the least. As I neared my home, the sound of children laughing stopped me. They ran through the streets, flinging snowballs at each other. Watching them made my heart heavy. With a crunch at each footstep I slowed my pace. I stopped to clearly hear the children across the street laughing as they played. Their laughter was joyous, hearts warm with excitement, and their intentions were innocent. Little did they know that their toothy grins heavied my burden.
I've prayed day and night to the god and goddess for a single thing. However, I'm cursed with a body that will never conceive a child. Daniel has been wonderful about it all. He reminds me we don't need children to be happy. I have him and he has me. But still… my world was empty without a child. As I travelled further into the slums, the deterioration and excrement increased. Piss stained every corner, and homeless men and women sleep where they can, smelling greatly of filth. Every apartment is built the same with the same red brick, the same broken plaster, and the same rotten wood. Even still, I stopped in front of a five-story apartment building. The chipped plaster revealing red bricks, and darkened wood framing seemed unique against the buildings around it. I loved this building because it was ours. It was where Daniel and I had built our lives together.
Daniel greeted me as I opened the heavy door to our apartment. The sight of his drooping eyes and charming smile made my heart flutter. From the sparkle in his eyes to the way his mustache curled loosely over his lips, he was as handsome as ever.
"Hello, my darling." He smiled at me as he helped me out of my shawl and took the heavy basket from me. He kissed my nose and went to the kitchen. I would've loved to start dinner, but my hands were frozen. There was no way I could handle a kitchen knife. The sound of snoring drew my attention to the living room. My mother was slumped in her rocking chair with a knot of white yarn and a crochet hook in her lap. The sight of her brought a grin to my face.
"How was your day?" His voice was muffled by the wall separating kitchen from living room.
"Like always."
"Was it really that bad?" Daniel peeked around the kitchen wall. I scrunched my nose and sneered at him jokingly. He replied by placing a finger on his mouth, signaling me to keep quiet. "Don't wake the beast!"
I carefully walked across the creaky floor, and crouched by the fireplace. The small fire gave off enough light to fight off the wintery dark and keep me warm. For a moment, I lost myself in the embers. Being home made me happy. Even my mother's snoring created a cheerful hum to the room.
From the kitchen, I could hear my husband talking at me, but I couldn't make out a word he was saying. Abandoning the warmth of the fire, I went to the kitchen to find him attempting to cook. He poured over a cook book with a knife in hand and an expression of confusion on his face.
"Here, sweety," I said, taking the knife from him. "Let me make dinner."
"Good. I hate cooking." He shrugged his lean shoulders.
I shimmied into the small space my husband had reserved for me between him and the counter. As I did, my butt gently rubbed against his groin and sent a tingle along my spine.
"Jeez! You take up a lot space for such a lanky guy!" I wiggled my hips, hinting for him to move. Instead, he wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my cheek.
"Am I making this difficult for you?"
"Yes!" I smiled wide, giggling. I turned my head, my lips meeting his. "But I like difficult."
The long strands from his light brown hair tickled my cheek as his lips touch mine. I caressed his calloused hands, slipping my fingers between his. With each kiss, all my loneliness floated away. Any negativity that could've been disappeared. I only needed him, and my life was complete.
Like all good things, the moment came to an end. A sharp knock on the door pulled me from my fantasy world with Daniel, and I'm forced back into reality.
"Are you expecting company?" He asked.
"No," I replied, unsure. My stomach turned with anticipation as we opened the door together. My brain ran through the possibilities of who was on the other side. Was it someone from the building? Had we done something wrong? Were we somehow late on our bills?
Standing on our threshold was an unrecognizable person. Head-to-toe, tattered wrappings made it impossible to make out any discernable features. A stained shawl fell around the person's shoulders, only adding to the difficulty.
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