6.1
Jewel was becoming very tired of people being surprised she could talk. She was also becoming a bit upset that she never realized everyone (except the Wizards) who first met her before was surprised she could talk as well!
Also she really missed her baths!
She had spent five days on the road with nothing to clean herself but shallow tubs or basins of water and a precious supply of lavender oil.
Father had forced her to ration it after Jewel used half of the supply by the third night on the road.
Which neatly reminded her of the actions of her Squire.
The sound of Smithson running a polishing stone slick in lavender oil in smooth circular motions against her side.
Taking great care with it too as he had quickly learned.
For Jewel was much to her shame an incredibly ticklish Wyrm.
However she couldn't go meet the Countess dusty and smelling of storms and the road! And she could not afford to do the polishing herself, for one she could hardly reach everywhere without tumbling in the dirt!
So her squire Smithson needed to do it for her.
Thus she couldn't go anywhere or do much of anything but fume and try not to twitch or laugh when he hit a patch from the wrong angle and brought her to giggle.
So Smithson Polished Jewel’s scales.
And he had a lot of yards of Dragonscale to cover before she would be ready!
Which she was ignoring as much as was physically possible in stoic silence because shining all of her was inevitably hitting some of her ticklish spots!
Talking was a fool’s errand; it made it harder to ignore the Squire’s work with the stone and oil.
Which left her only to stew and consider her own stupidity.
It was just so obvious on reflection, the sudden jolts, the surprised jerk. All the signs were there but she had never had it happen too many at a time.
It had only ever been a few here and there. And with only those cases she had just let it slip her mind and then assumed that it was just some people that assumed she was an animal. That it was just the rudeness of the strange peasants.
But the last three towns they had made lodgings did not break the precedent set by Abbot Herbort.
It was not just the occasional rude headman, innkeeper, abbot, yeoman or any number of other strange titles for the same lesser not quite knight position. The same responsibility of stewardship over the fields and pastures their party passed through each morning and evening.
Why did they have so many words for it?!
Sir Broghuilidad had never even mentioned half of the names in his book!
No, it was not just an aberrant rudeness to be found as a rarity in only a select few people and some uneducated peasantry.
It was every single-
Jewel flinched and her scales rippled in agitation as her throat tightened to stop the giggle that wanted to erupt. Smithson had already learned what to do when he brushed an unexpected ticklish spot and he quickly eased off on the stone and applied pressure elsewhere.
Her Squire was learning but she wished she could have been doing this herself!
But her feet would get streaks of dirt and trail dust into the oil despite how careful she had been stepping all day!
So it was Smithson’s duty to polish her scales so as to look her best for the Countess.
The Wyrm tried to turn her attention back inward, thinking about how ticklish she was always made it worse.
She needed the distraction!
So back stoking her anger and frustration to try and smother out any giggles.
And there was plenty of agitation to go around!
Everyone first thought she was an animal at best!
Every single one of the pseudo-knights and all of their staff beside!
Every villager and field hand and even itinerant laborers and that traveling peddler they passed on the road!
Jewel was finding the lessons learned at Muriel's insistence in dealing with the villagers, farmers and woodsfolk of Father’s demesne suspiciously relevant every single day!
And it was exhausting!
Every single day was a new handful, or dozen, or even a hundred people one time that had to be reassured and proven that she spoke for herself as Father’s true and acknowledged daughter as a member of his house!
Every single day she had someone think it was a clever trick she’d been trained to perform!
That she was a particularly strange beast of burden or a warhound of sorts that belonged to Father!
Even SPEAKING did not always dispel this notion (apparently there was a kind of small hunting gryphon which could speak quite well actually.)
She had to fight in word and action and civil poise and grace every single night to prove herself every inch the Lady and Noble she was!
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Prove that she could hear, understand and judge them far more than even Zephyrvam could (and gryphons were far brighter and more judgemental than most of these people realized!).
Jewel was glad that this had been the last day in their march to Kaeketeh.
Because Jewel had already met the Countess Bathory.
She had effectively ordered Jewel to come and knew who Jewel was.
There would finally be no more need to prove that she was deserving of a room (no matter how poorly she fit).
That she was not to be fed fodder or kitchen scraps.
Not to be sent out of the hall to be tied up outside or boarded in a barn.
Not to be feared or even prodded to deter her from eating some one’s goats.
Not to be belittled or insulted or demeaned like an infant or some hound pup that was doing a clever imitation.
Compared to the hospitality Jewel had been afforded in a few of the towns on their way Abbot Herbort was actually among the most civil!
Jewel froze and took in a heavy breath that was assuredly not a gasp as her Squire found yet another incredibly ticklish spot over her right hip.
Smithson, the good Squire that he was, did as he should and paused so as to let Jewel sink back into her intensely roiling agitation again.
The only single person that had been better than the Abbot which cursed at her under his breath was at their last place of rest!
And she wasn’t even the landed ruler of the town or mayor or whatever!
Hożanka was just an Innkeeper!
But that nice innkeeper had been a wonderfully friendly and only slightly fearful woman! And had even gladly gotten Jewel a second pot of stew when she heard how young Jewel was because “growing ladies need good bone broth they do!”
Jewel liked Hożanka and her cozy (if a bit cramped) rooms and tasty stew.
She hoped they would stop by on the return journey when all of this was done!
But besides that brightest spot, every time they had settled in for lodging had been a degree of disaster!
Insults piled upon dishonors towards her!
Atleast Father had gathered up a lot of favors, debts and recompense on their journey from all the insult brought upon Jewel’s person!
Which she supposed was probably a good thing.
It had helped when one of the footmen had done something no one would talk about within Jewel’s earshot regarding the house he had made a night in.
Father had been annoyed but resigned and there had been some performatory shouting from Bromthil afterwards but given the punishment Jewel doubted it was a terribly important transgression.
But still all of that was behind them, they were due to arrive in Kaeketeh soon. Apparently the Lady and Countess Bathory’s demesne encompassed a city of the same name.
A place of almost ten thousand people!
Jewel took in a breath at the thought of just so many and as he had for when she was bracing not to laugh Smithson shifted the polishing stone along.
But Jewel and Father would not be visiting this incredible impossibility of people today.
While the rest would be marching through it and then out to the lake where had been built the multi isle Fortress of Kaeketeh proper.
Fully garrisoned and secured, despite being almost equally distant from any borders of the realm as Rochford.
But apparently still important enough as a mustering point.
A fortress still in use for its intended purpose.
Not like Fort Rochford which was left mostly abandoned, with its battlements used for gardening and its mustering halls and barracks closed or used to age sheep’s cheese.
It was an exciting time and Jewel was anxious to get a chance to see both it and this city!
Which did not help with her ticklishness at all. Still Smithson was almost done.
Just a few more spots on her tail and then maybe a buff on her knees and shins!
Father promised that she would fly in with him and Zephyrvam as part of their arrival ceremony.
Which was going to be wonderful!
Sure it was not going to be a very long flight as Father was going to have to do so in the awful ceremonial armor.
Poor Zephyrvam was going to be exhausted after and likely needing to rest for a full day to recover!
But it was an important show of respect to The Countess!
And that was her tail finished!
Jewel trembled a bit up and down her coils, shaking out her mane. They would not be taking flight until the rest of their party was already arriving at the gates.
But for the noonday meal Father and Jewel had started preparing themselves to be welcomed by their liege.
For Jewel it was almost entirely a proper scale buffing and polishing to bring her to a brilliant almost coppery shine!
With some accents given by the leather of her unburdened harness.
The half emptied panniers for her rations had been moved to the other horses for the last march of the journey.
Smithson had been polishing her while he chewed his own meal to make sure there would be enough time.
And she had to admit that besides her ticklishness she was feeling amazingly vibrant!
But Father and Zephyrvam had to don the absurd metal plate.
All bulky and shiny metal!
So thin as to be almost worse than his actual gryphon lord leathers.
Polished to so bright it would make him stand out even in the sky.
And impossible to hug close enough to Zephyrvam’s back to blend with the flow of his feathers.
For the Gryphon there was an absurd saddle and tack that she could tell the old black feathered beast did NOT approve of.
If it was anyone but Father dressing him in it the unfortunate fool would probably have lost their head!
But Father was careful, gentle and soothing and made sure that there was a prodigious amount of dried jerky on hand to placate and bribe his steed with.
And Jewel could see that Zephyrvam trusted him.
As He Should! Father was, after all, Father!
Jewel shook herself out again, trying her best to ignore how Smithson was polishing her scales again over her knees and shins.
Every muscle locked up and her throat squeezed shut with Wyrmfire as hard as she dared.
Jewel was so INCREDIBLY ticklish there.