Literature
A Moment of Quiet
Walking into the aerie, I looked at one of the servants as they swept the floor.
“Where is she?”
The servant jumped at my tone, but I was not in a mood to be apologetic.
“Her ladyship is in the enclosure, but my lord-”
I didn't wait to hear what they were going to say, opening the door to the enclosure and finding her nestled in the crook of the dragon's neck as the great beast rested its head by the spring at the base of the pen. The aged drake opened one golden eye to look at me for a moment. I might have been brusque with the servant, but this was a dragon. The gulf between our statuses was as vast as that of the servant and I.
Deeming my presence acceptable, the dragon closed its eye again with a snort that sent wafts of smoke from her nostrils. I looked to my wife as she lay, still in her armor, against the dragon's scales.
“Are you well?”
She nodded silently, running her hand over the dragon's neck gently.
“I saw the bolt strike her,” I continued as I stepped down into the pen
