Forest Keep 6
#8 of Forest Keep
The next morning dawned cloudy and drizzly, James was up and swinging his practice sword at one of his classmates when the gates slowly opened and a large man on horseback entered the bartizan. He was dressed from head to toe in black leather and his stallion was as black as night. The novices seemed to sense the dangerous aura surrounding this strange traveler as he spoke to the seneschal. "I require lodgings for no more than two nights", he told Martin quietly "and stabling and fodder for my horse", Martin looked at the stallion and nodded, "that'll be two farthings for the room and stable milord" He looked the stranger up and down slowly, taking in the quality of the man as lord Tarrant would surely ask after him, there was a strange glint in the man's eye, and he seemed to exude an uneasy presence. "Do you have a young novice- I believe he is called James here?" The man asked abruptly. Martin nodded "Yes Sir, he is in the squad training over in the corner there", he pointed and the man's eyes seemed to sharpen as he looked at the novices practicing their sword drills relentlessly under Joe's watchful gaze. "My name is Sir Nokal, could you inform him I wish to speak privately with him later?" he dropped an extra farthing into Martin's hand. "I shall tell him you asked after him sir", he let out a breath he had not realized he had been holding as the man disappeared into the keep and towards his room. "Oh lord, what's that boy gone and done now to have the likes 'o you asking after him", muttered Martin to himself as he busied himself, he wandered into the kitchen where he caught the plump cook by the hips. "Jane, go and warn that scapegrace James that there's a hard man a' looking for him and if e's in some sort of trouble, to come see me first afore there's blood spilt" Jane nodded nervously and picked up the tray for the men's rest break, sauntering out into the yard she smiled at the men and got the usual compliments and lewd comments, enjoying them as she passed out the tankards. "Ya should all be ashamed of y'selves", she commented, "here I am giving ya cool drinks and all ya do is get hot about the breeches", as she passed by James she leaned closer and whispered. "Martin says there's a hard man looking for ya, and if ya gotten in trouble to go see him about it" There was a chorus of oohs and ahhs and nudges exchanged as James flushed and nodded, his heart pounding suddenly in fear. Who would send someone after him? He was sure he had cleared all his gambling debts. He swiftly ran through a mental list of those he had played tricks on in the not-too-distant past, surely cousin George had forgiven him for the frog in his pocket by now. "Drink up Lads and we'll get back to it", he heard Joe call, finishing his tankard he turned back to the training, trying to lose himself in its repetitive actions as he drilled with the heavy sword. Nokala looked round the room and snorted, at least it had a bed and basin. He was not used to such cramped conditions. The spell seemed to be working well though he tended to itch in odd places, 'damn clothing' he thought. 'How do they stand it?' He walked over to the window looking down into the keep and saw the men training... ahh... There he was, looking at him through human eyes Nokala nodded to himself, healthy, fit and a fine figure for a human, walking back to the table he poured himself a drink of water and thought to himself. He would join the men at their dinner and question this young human closely. Cill woke with a start, clutching the blanket in her paws as she realized she had overslept and that the day was cloudy. She yawned widely and stretched her wings luxuriously, feeling surprisingly cheerful she cleaned her lair, carefully trying a little of her magic to push the dust out the door. Turning to her mirror, she checked herself for loose scales and dirt before attending to her toilet. After making sure that she did not have loose meat stuck in her teeth she made her way down to the lake sniffing here and there, disturbing a bee or two as she stuck her snout in the flowers to sample the scents. Arriving at the edge where she and James had sat the previous day, she sniffed around some more. Quickly finding her mothers scent, and next to it... her fathers... puzzled she wondered why they had both come and what had happened to James. Giving a sigh, she rolled on her back, mentally reaching out for her mother. *Mama?* she called, *yes dear?* replied her mother, her voice sounding tired and worn. *What's the matter mama?* Cill asked, feeling the sadness in her mothers tone. *Oh my dear... Why didn't you tell me about the human?* Carlina asked miserably, *I thought you had found a nice wealthy drake and instead I find a ...a... monkey sitting on your lakeside*. Cill suddenly felt a surge of defiance rise up in her. *He is not a 'monkey' any more than we are lizards... he is kind and gentle and even after you scared him terribly yesterday he stayed and spoke to me and stroked me and even kissed me!*. Carlina's horror grew as she realized her daughter was turning against her. *The council knows now... And your father...well, he wants to know more about him and went to the keep this morning to talk to him* Carlina felt out of her depth, how should she deal with this? To deny her daughter the human would only make her rebel all the more, to let him keep seeing her would only lead to her being corrupted further and making them the laughing stock of dragondom. *And who told the council?* growled Cill as she rolled swiftly onto her belly, her talons suddenly digging into the soft ground. *We had to dear... I read his mind and... And ...* she could not keep the revulsion out of her voice, *He wanted to mate with you! A-a human!* Cill snarled at her mother *Stay out of it! HE'S MINE!*, and broke off the contact abruptly. Carlina rocked back on her tail, shocked at the intensity of the last outburst and sniffling as she tried to re-establish the link, but there was no reply. Cill sobbed noisily as she looked towards the keep, her father talking to James. What could he possibly want to know? What would he do? Nevertheless, the thought kept returning to her mind, he wanted to mate with her! James cautiously made his way to the mess hall; there was no sign of the man in black leathers so he made his way carefully across to collect his supper from the serving girls. Seated at the table with Joe and several others he was feeling a little more secure as he tore his bread apart and dipped it into his gravy, wiping up the leftover juices. He had almost finished when a voice behind him spoke softly and somewhat menacingly, "Ah, you would be young James Laurence hey?" James turned around slowly and saw the leather clad man staring down at him; he swallowed his last mouthful hastily before answering. "Yes Sir, and who may you be if I may ask?" He tried to meet the man's eyes but found his gaze sucked into them. They burned strangely and he felt suddenly pinned in place. "I am Sir Nokal, pleased to meet you at last" He held out his hand and James reached out and shook it slowly, it was a powerful and calloused grasp and he had a horrible sense of knowing this terrifying man from somewhere else. "Likewise Sir Nokal, What brings you to Guildford Keep", there he thought, get it out in the open and perhaps he could pay this vicious-looking person off and get him as far away from here as possible. Nokala sat down slowly at the table, the other men nervously scooting apart to make room for him while glancing nervously at James. "I believe we have some common acquaintances", he said, picking up a loaf of bread and tearing it slowly in half. James found he could not take his eyes off the bread as it tore slowly in twain "If this is about any gambling debts..." he started to say. "No... No... I just wish to talk with you about my daughter", Nokala stated flatly, his voice as cold as iron. He leant back so his face slid into the shadows, giving his rough features a hollow look. Joe and the other men at the table exchanged rapid glances with one another, then slowly stood up and moved off while James gawped at the strange man in front of him. Joe clasped his hand on James shoulder briefly and sighed before walking off shaking his head. "Your daughter?" James managed to stammer out... "I'm sure I don't know your daughter..." Nokala chuckled "Oh yes you do... Her name is Cidiliana or Cill as you are no doubt aware". James felt spots forming before his eyes and his breathing grow ragged. "You are her father?" he huffed, determined not to faint again "but you... Are not... A dragon? How?" Nokala stood up, "let's go out into the fresh air shall we, It's been a trying couple of days" Unable to resist, James let himself be guided out into the night air of the keep and up onto the higher walkway away from curious ears.. "I am a dragon, James... My name is Nokala and you are in a heap of trouble... or maybe not", he shook his head slowly as if in wonder. "For some reason my daughter thinks the world of you and you obviously enjoy her company too despite the obvious physical differences, You caught a hint of that trouble from her mother yesterday and even though she let you live, she isn't at all happy about the situation.. You know how mothers are". James could only listen and think of one thing at a time "but... how are you a human?" he asked finally. "Magic... there is a spell that allows me to remain human for up to three days at a time" Nokala grinned at him and folded his arms slowly amidst much creaking of leather. "You are taking this pretty well, better than I expected", he took a slow drink of wine as his eyes searched James's face. "Now...Do you like my daughter?" James nodded quickly, deciding honesty was the best policy. "Good... because we are going to leave the two of you alone and watch the sparks fly" James blinked "Why? I'd have thought I would have been the last being you'd want around her?" gulping his wine too fast, he spluttered noisily while Nokala patted him on the back. "Let's just say there are some mighty curious dragons out there who want to see what happens. This has never happened before you see, so we don't know what to do, as for her mother... well, that's another thing. Carlina cant stand humans, her old mate was killed by one a couple of centuries ago and she's never really gotten over it, if she decides to take you out, well, There's not a lot I can do about it" James breathed deeply and tried to stand a little straighter, "I wasn't even aware she was a dragon until I saw her mother" he shyly shuffled his feet a little. "But even then it didn't matter" Nokala chuckled "That's what baffled her mother, you didn't care she was a dragon... And you had all those naughty feelings for her too" James blushed brightly; unaware the dragon's superb vision could easily see the heat flush rising up his face. "Hell, she's a fine sexy young dragoness and that brings up another point", he turned serious again, "Dragons set a lot of store on strength boy, and if another dragon takes a fancy to Cill, he will kill you and take her... By force if necessary... so you'll need to be strong and able to defend her" He took another sip of the wine and made a face "This wine stuff really is vile you know", he said before pouring it over the wall. "I'll let you think about what I've told you... and you can ask me any questions about it tomorrow, I know Cill wants to see you again... But just be aware that dragons bond fiercely and if I know my daughter, she holds on tight", giving James another pat on the shoulder, Nokala retired with a grin and leaving the novice staring into the night, his head whirling with the implications of what he had learnt.