Public and Private Selves

"Yes, Your Highness," Sir Guy says. He sounds rather sullen. All does not appear to be sweetness and light in this camp.

Andrea

No, all does not appear to be sweetness and light in this camp. Point in fact, there seems to be some real friction between at least two factions within this very camp. In one corner (of which Sir Guy is a part of) is being (or....had been) lead by none other than the very hidebound, conservative Sir Thiortin. In the other corner is a group lead by none other than my would be owner, Princess Exotica. The cause of this rift seemed to center around the inclusion of Princess Exotica (a female magic user) at the last moment instead of the more traditional male mage. A male mage that was ever so friendly with Sir Thiortin and his views on the woman's place in the grand scheme of things. Sir Thiortin didn't even want Exotica here, but orders from the King (secret or otherwise), are orders. I get the idea from softly muttered comments from Exotica that the other faction on her side is composed of either those who were trying to win favor of Embry...or actually were sympathetic to her.

From muttered comments from Sir Guy and his band they are wondering about two things. One is the question of just when the Dragon of the Southern Caverns would grace them with his immense presence? He was rather overdue for this clandestine meeting. The other was just when Sir Thiortin and his band were going to be coming back? He had gone to actually greet the dragon in his cave....and kill Sir Fred along the way if the Dragon hadn't done so already. They could do that because, unbeknownst to Fred, the map he'd used to find the dragon's cavern had a subtle spell upon it that allowed for tracking.

So, I imagine that that band, after finding the slain dragon, had then gone off to track down Fred.....to silence him?

Maybe.....

But I do learn just why Princess Exotica was along. See, a mage was needed just in case it became necessary to....cover one's tracks. See, in prior meetings with the Dragon where human settlements were nearby, sometimes witnesses saw things that....they should not have. With a wink and nod from the dragon, human mages and soldiers had "silenced" those would be witnesses....permanently, and made it look to be the work of the Dragon.

Princess Exotica could have handled this magery herself, but a familiar would mage channeling that mystical energy easier.

That was....part of the reason why she had cast that binding spell.....

The other, secret reason made her seem a bit more....sympathetic in my eyes.

In the secrecy of her tent, she'd taken off my leash while holding me in her lap, stroking me gently. She had let slip her public persona and was now letting a more private side of her show through....to one she felt she could trust with all her heart.

She looked down sadly at me, lovingly, as a fond master would look at a beloved pet.

1. "Reyna," she said sadly, "Do you know what it's like to live with a secret that could cost you your life?"

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