Sacrificed to the Dragon

4. Katherine

Katherine fled like a spoiled child everyone thinks she is. She shakes in anger because she doesn’t want to make a sound when crying. She is good for nothing. She ruined everything and she made the lord’s mistress angry. She can’t even help make breakfast, the simplest things are hard for her. Why didn’t she pay attention to anything around her? Why did she take her mothers words for anything? She knows her brother went to magic classes and riding and sword fighting. He even sat in on the council meetings. 

What did she do? She read books. She lived with her head in the history clouds and fantasy lands. She took walks in the gardens and she selected new dresses. Oh Gods! The realisation hits her hard. Her whole life was empty and meaningless. No wonder people think of her as a spoiled brat. Looking back now, even she thinks of herself that way.

A poor excuse for a witch she is. Even the party tricks she learned are of no use for anything. And she is ashamed to say that she never held a bread knife in her life. Thank the gods Lory took over and that shameful secret didn’t come out. All the others think she is an incompetent witch, they don’t need to know that she really can’t do anything. Ohhh. And Agneta told her she will find her something else to do. Another thing she can fail at and become the laughing stock of the castle? Why didn’t the dragon just kill her and be done with it? Can she take this humiliation? Should she save them all from the misery of watching her fail again and again and just throw herself in the abyss?

The tears keep streaming down her cheeks and she sniffs again. She feels terrible, just sitting here and crying her eyes out. She made a promise to herself and broke it on day one. Luckily the nice lady behind her back is a statue who doesn’t mind her sniffing. The gentle expression on the lady's face is a comfort, Katherine knows she won’t find anywhere else. She wonders who the lady is, but there are no inscriptions on the base. Although she can read faint names on other gravestones, this one has nothing. Maybe she is a guardian, Katherine thinks.

Wiping off her tears on the sleeve of her dress, Katherine looks up to see a figure approaching her. A man. That is strange, because she hasn’t seen any at breakfast. There were children and women present, but not a single man. Or did she dream about the party last night? There were men at the party and all were suspicious absent today. She has to find out what this is all about. Probably some rule Agneta didn’t mention yet. But it all seems very weird to her.

“Hello, princess.” The man greets her. She looks at him and the first thing she notices is the golden hair gleaming in the morning sun. His face is half in the shadow, but from what she can see, he is young and good looking. And the blue of his eyes is mesmerizing. He wears a simple assembly of a black shirt and pants with riding boots. Is he for real?

“Hi.” She sniffs back her tears. He is real, she’s not dreaming him up. “Just call me Katherine. I was told my title is worthless here.”

“Hello, Katherine.” He smiles at her and sits by her side. “Who told you that?”

“Agneta said that we are all equal here.” She tells him. “But I have the feeling that is not true. Everyone looks up to Agneta and the girls adore and respect Anery. Nobody seems to even like me.”

“Oh!” He laughs. “Don’t hold it against them. They have to get to know you. Besides, liking someone has nothing to do with equality. And the girls all dream of getting Agneta’s job one day, she is the keeper of the castle.”

“How are you here?” Katherine blurts out. She would rather talk about him then Agneta and the girls.

“Straight to the point?” He asks and smirks. “I live here.”

Oh, he’s going to play the mystery card! Smiling to herself she decides to play his game. She can find out other things she wants to know from him. No need to drill him for things he doesn’t seem comfortable telling her. Maybe start with smal, insignificant things? Maybe tell him something and in return he might tell her more? Or is he the kind that can talk for hours and not say one important thing?

“I thought I dreamt about the party last night, because I didn’t see any men at breakfast.” Katherine confides in the stranger.

“Not many men actually live inside the castle. Even some of the women and children you saw at breakfast don’t live in the castle. There are some houses on the other side. I can show you if you want.” He answers and she begins piecing together the puzzle that is castle Eiry.

“I’m not supposed to go out.” Katherine says and wonders what he is up to. Is this a test of some sort? Did Agneta send him? Is she lurking in the shadows and watching what she’ll do?

“We are not going out. I would hate to get you in trouble with Agneta.” He tells her. “There is a balcony on the second floor that looks over that way.”

“Do you think she’s looking for me?” Katherine asks and she is worried. She has no idea what Agneta will think of her now.

“No. And you’ll see her at lunch.” He shakes his head.

He is gorgeous, she thinks. And his company is not forced in any way. He gave her space and didn’t even ask her about her blotchy eyes. A gentleman of sorts. She can’t judge him by his clothes alone, she saw that everyone is dressed up all the time. Even the kitchen girls came in from the gardens in fine silk dresses. Not to mention that she was given a whole wardrobe of fines clothes. How much can she ask him about things that make no sense here? 

Katherine decides to trust him. He is just being himself, she can sense that to a certain extent. It was always good in the palace to be sure who is genuine and who is fake. She learned early on how to judge people by the few things they say and how they say them. She knows he’s not lying to her, maybe he is not telling her everything, but she heard no lies from him.

“Show me this balcony of yours.” She nods to him. She needs to take her mind off of the things she can’t change anyway. Maybe a distraction will do her good. Crying has never brought anything but pain and she knows well how she looks when she cries. Her mother has told her numerous times that she will ruin her face by crying. Nobody will like to look at her with wrinkles and a blotchy and swollen face. But this stranger doesn’t seem to mind.

“Sure. Come this way.” He beckons to her and helps her stand up. She looks way up at him. Gods, he’s tall. She is not a petite girl, but she only comes up to his shoulders. How didn’t she notice this before? He would have stood out from the crowd last night, but she didn’t see him there. His face is totally unfamiliar to her and the way he carries himself would catch her attention. Anyones attention to be fair. He doesn’t strike her as the type to go unnoticed anywhere. There is just something about him that demands undivided attention. He is a figure of mystery for her and she will find out more about him.

He leads her back inside, but they take a different path and come to a set of narrow stairs. It feels a bit tight to her, but the stairs are well worn and there are even scones for torches every once in a while. They climb two stories up and a hallway opens up for her. It is wide and nicely decorated, with doors to rooms in regular intervals. He leads her to a door down the middle and opens it into a small library. She can see the balcony through an open door on the other side. A nice summer breeze blows the curtains up and he closes the door fast.

“Go on, there’s nothing to be afraid of.” He tells her.

“What if the dragon sees me outside?” Katherine whispers.

“He’s not outside right now.” He whispers back and smiles.

“Why are we whispering?” Katherine asks quietly.

“You started it.” He snickers and she thinks he’s just teasing her. The smile and the sparkles in his blue eyes make him look younger somehow.

She shakes her head at him and walks carefully to the balcony. It is wide and spans the length of several rooms. The ornate banister is a sight to see, but she is more interested in what lies below. There is a huge inner courtyard with houses and stables and even a smithy. She can hear the blacksmith hammering away on a piece of steel and the occasional whinny from the horses, but other than that, the courtyard is empty. And beyond the houses, she can see fields and pastures and the tiny dots are people and animals.

“It’s beautiful up here.” She whispers. “I was told it’s a barren land of jagged rocks and dirt.”

“Well, you can see, it’s not.” He say a bit hard.

“How many people live here?” Katherine asks and turns to him. She can see him looking at the sky, wistfully, like he wants to be somewhere else right now.

“About three hundred.” He answers in a clipped way.

“I can stop asking questions. I see I’m bothering you with them.” She tells him. “I’ll just go back to my room and you can go do… What do you do?”

He laughs at her and shakes his head and the sun gleams off of his golden blond hair. She thinks he’s not used to the kind of  company that asks him anything. Whatever his role might be in the castle Eiry, he won’t tell her about it now, she just gave him an out option. How stupid of her! Did she really have to say it so soon? Now she can’t go back on her word and ask more questions. He is the master of the game she thought to beat him at. She used to be good at this! What happened here?

“You can go. The stairs you’re more familiar with are on your right.” He tells her but makes no move away from the banister.

“I said I wouldn’t ask any more questions, but I have to. You didn’t tell me your name?” Katherine asks when she opens the door to leave. She turns around as she gets no answer and he is not there any more. She runs to the balcony and looks both ways. Nothing! He vanished on her.