The dragon was deep in thought sitting in his chair before the fireplace while waiting for lunch to be served. She was not scared of the dragon, but she reacted with panic to being carried by a man. So much so that he had to use magic to subdue her. Good thing she had not awakened outside, where he was unable to pull enough magic to do this. What kind of a past did she have and how come she was expendable?
And then there was the amulet. It had traces of dragon magic. It was definitely originally from his world, but … it was bound to her blood. And for a human to be bound to an object of dragon magic by blood… Well. It was impossible. And yet… She existed. It was a puzzle he would have to unravel before spring. Before she was gone…
He heard the creak of a door opening and smiled. Nobody could resist the sounds of lunch being served he suspected and quite rightfully so.
Renna peeked out of the door. Three flame ladies were busy at the big dining table in the center of the spacious cave room. There were a pair of armchairs by the fire and a chalice with dark red liquid on a table between them. She watched as an arm reached for it from the left hand chair and took it behind the backrest.
A voice spoke “Come, join me by the fire.”
The voice was warm, inviting… and quite definitely male. Attractively male. And this was a new sensation for Renna. Male voices in general were either neutral or scary. This was… Different. And she found herself complying. Slowly she moved to the unoccupied chair and lowered herself into it trying to not stare at the man in the other chair. Another chalice was placed on the table between them.
“Try some wine” he invited.
She picked up the chalice and sniffed it. It was a pleasant smell, with a slight hint of honey. It was not really sweet to taste but pleasant nonetheless. She relaxed, sipping her wine. There seemed to be no immediate danger except for the man. And she was now quite sure that this had been the man who had carried her to her bed. So if he was going to do something he would have already. So even that was a lesser risk. But she still wondered…
“Who are you?” She blurted out without much thought.
He chuckled, “So it’s introductions time already? Alright - I am Dragon Arion Darkwind, now exiled from my own realm into this one for reasons we might discuss some other time. Who are you, my lady?”
Renna listened incredulously - did this man actually claim to be the dragon!? And wait - exiled? For unknown reasons?
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“Well, I answered your question… will you answer mine?”, he injected into her derailed thoughts.
She was obliged to respond.
“Renna Johansdaughter, dragon sacrifice for the sin of being too damn scary.”, she responded darkly.
“Nothing too interesting about me. I'm just a farm girl”, she continued, “But didn’t you just claim to be the dragon? I'm not buying that!”
“Why? Isn’t this place magical enough to make this statement believable?”
She had to concede - normal rules did not seem to apply here. But still. Dragons flew out there, in the normal world…
“Not quite. Dragons exist out there too… In the world I know. And out there a big beast and a man can’t be one and the same.”
She drank some more wine. It seemed to make her braver.
“Alright”, he conceded with a smile,” after lunch we will go outside and I will show you. Let’s go eat now.”
They took their glasses and walked over to the table. He held out a chair for her earning a glare promising violence if he was to push his luck but sat curtly anyway.
The table was exquisitely set. There was only one thing off with it. Everything was roasted or baked.
Renna could not hold the question in.
“Why only roasted or baked food?”
He sighed. “They can’t touch water. It hurts them…”
Renna understood. Fire ladies. It made sense. But…
“So, when it comes to dishes, you expect me to wash them? Is that why I’m still not eaten?”, she asked.
He laughed. “Not quite. I do have a little bit of magic to handle this small chore. So you need to look further for your purpose.”
Renna smiled. She hated dishwashing. On the other hand… Needing a maid would have been a good explanation, so now she was still lost as to why she was still alive.
They ate in silence for the rest of the meal. Renna felt his eyes on her when she finally put down the cutlery and looked up.
“Well, want to see what I promised to show now?”, he asked and stood up.
Renna was hesitant to face the possibility that this man, who seemed quite decent sort, would be the dragon. On the other hand - he had said they would be going outside… Maybe there was a way to escape. She got up and was ready to follow him. But he instead came up to her and offered her his elbow. She had worked as a maid in some of the fancy parties at the castle. This kind of thing was common there so she did know what the gesture was about, but the whole idea of herself as a lady was laughable. She took the offered hand anyway and walked out of the double doors at the other end of the hall with him.
Lunch with a stranger was over. It was time to get acquainted.