36. Why Her?
Mani tries to get Ro to talk through the problem...
The Queen’s Aerie is a MMF fantasy romance (romantic fantasy?) in 57 parts that I serialized throughout 2023/2024! If you are just now joining the story, you can catch up by starting here. Full story ToC here.
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Previously: Agadart found herself trapped in a losing game...
“We cannot, and we will not, associate with that insane, feral dragon.” Ro stood in the middle of the room with his arms crossed, radiating fury. Mani knew better than to try to calm him down, instead sitting in his armchair and sipping a nightcap.
Ro had marched out of Mani’s office earlier that day without saying a word. Mani had just let him go, since they both had a lot of work to do in any case, and there wasn’t much they could do in the interim about Hrecht ver Kleelan short of arresting him.
Mani was genuinely surprised that Ro had not, in fact, arrested him.
“His story is ludicrous and blasphemous. I should have him arrested.”
There it was. Mani tried to hide his grin behind his cup.
“Why are you smiling?” Ro all but snarled at him, coming to an abrupt stop in front of his chair.
“Because I knew at some point you’d spiral down to demanding his arrest.”
“And you think that’s funny?”
“No, beloved. I think it is hilarious.” Mani put his cup down and leaned back in his chair, folding his hands on his stomach and looking lazily up at his dragon. “While I do think his story is outlandish, it’s clear that he believes it wholeheartedly, and that he is a very powerful Kaaltendt dragon. Is he really Hrecht ver Kleelan? Maybe. Honestly I think we should drag Captain Wildt into this situation first thing in the morning. But in the meantime I’m just enjoying watching you get riled up like a young buck at his first mating flight.” He grinned.
Ro’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Are you trying to seduce me in order to distract me?”
Mani sighed and closed his eyes. “Maybe a little. But also to distract myself. Either way, Agadart is still missing and this odd Kaaltendt dragon is disturbing on several levels. How did he even get to Watt, and this far across Watt, without our offices being notified? Why does he wear his hair like that? Where has he really been, out in the Western Barrens? And if — if — he’s right about why Agadart was kidnapped, how does he know? What if his outlandish story is true?”
“It’s absolutely not true,” Ro stated firmly.
“You’re missing the point,” Mani finally snapped.
Ro pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a long, hissing breath. “His hair is an old, old Wattish style. No one alive now has ever worn their hair like that outside of the theater. You only ever see it in paintings from hundreds of years ago, and he’s not that old.”
“Did it signify anything specific? Maybe he’s trying to tell us something with it.”
“He’s telling us that he is a royal consort. So I think you can understand why I fail to take him seriously.” Ro rolled his eyes and flopped down in his own chair, finally picking up his by-then cooled down cup of tea.
Mani just stared at him.
“What?” Ro asked after a couple of minutes of being stared at. Usually he could last longer than that, since dragons generally did not consider staring as rude has humans did.
“That is what his hair style is telling us?”
Ro squinted at him in confusion. “Yes? It’s obvious, but also not something that’s been done for centuries. My brother the prince’s consort would rather cut her hair off, I think. She always wears it down, except for the crown braid of her station.”
Mani continued to stare at him, somewhat aghast at not having known any of that. “Where in the hell is this explained to anyone? I’ve read dozens of books on the history of the Watt Royals; none of them mentioned ‘crown braid’ or ‘consort bird’s nest’ or—”
“Hardly a bird’s nest, Mani. It’s a circlet of forty-eight braids, woven together.” Ro sighed like what he was saying was obvious.
Mani closed his eyes and sipped at his drink again, thinking. If their strange ver Kleelan dragon was wearing Wattish consort braids, it either confirmed that he was insane, or perhaps…
“What if, just hear me out: what if he’s telling the truth.” He raised his hand immediately to stop Ro from arguing. “What if?”
Ro glowered and looked out the window.
“Ro, think about it. We were both taken with Agadart from the first time we saw her.” He rolled his neck, considering his next words. “Do you know I saw her our first night in Ransewellen?”
Ro looked over at him again, his curiosity piqued. “You did? How? We got off the train and straight into a carriage up to the fort.”
“She was on the train platform. She was dressed as a commoner, not a dragon maid yet. I saw her staring at us. That is, everyone there was staring at us, knowing you were the new master of Endestern. But she caught my eye. She stood out. I could not even tell you way, it’s not like I was transported by her beauty.”
“She is beautiful, though,” Ro said, reasonably.
“Yes, but not in any unusual or striking way. She’s beautiful in the same way most people of noble background are beautiful: a good face, a healthy body, the stature granted by never starving in the streets or working hard labor. Stop bristling, yes, she’s very pretty and I obviously appreciate her looks. But we were busy and distracted and being hustled quickly off the platform and I noticed her. I assure you, despite my reputation, I don’t generally go around trying to flirt with strangers, and even if I did, I would not be so stupidly bold as to do it with you standing next to me in a strange new town.” He leaned forward to refill both their mugs with the calming tea. “I think you likely felt the same when you first met her in your lair. You could not take your large, draconic eyes off of her and I was standing right there. My point, if you would consider it for a moment, is that we both noticed her. She stood out.” He eased back in his chair again. “Why? Out of two dozen dragon maid trainees that were crawling all over that goddess-forsaken rock, why her?”
“You honestly believe she is the descendant of Princess Beatra?” Ro looked adorably confused.
“No. I don’t believe that much of the story; but that she might be someone who is more important, more draconic, than anyone suspected? That much, yes, I think is possible.”
Ro looked thoughtful for a moment, then sighed. “What you are saying without saying is that I should not have him arrested.”
Mani snorted, then chuckled. Ro gave him a very pained expression. “What you are also not saying is that I should take Captain Wildt and possibly Mistress Seraphinite with me to visit our erstwhile Lord ver Kleelan in the morning. Yes?”
“You’re not even in your flying form and yet here you are, sharing my mind.” Mani grinned at him. Ro laughed out loud, finally releasing some of the tension he had been holding tight in his shoulders, as if he could feel his wings readying for flight. Mani stood up and held out his hand. “If we are both not sleepy and stressed out, I do have an alternative occupation you might enjoy.”
Ro grinned at him, slapped his hand in his and stood up only to haul Mani over his shoulder and then drop him on their bed. They did not stay up too late but by the time they drifted off to sleep, they were both too exhausted and sated to worry about what the morning would bring.
