Page 25 of The Dragon Queen Complete Series Collection

Chapter 25

“A woman joining us?!”

We stood just inside the doorway of the dining hall, hundreds of dragon riders sitting at their evening meal before us. Except this one. He’d stopped us the minute we walked in, taking in me, my bedraggled appearance, and my dragon with one long look. I met the burly rider’s eyes as his gaze shifted from me to Brom and back.

“King’s orders,” Brom said in a bored tone, one I knew he was putting on for effect. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re all fucking hungry and tired. It was a long ride from Deepacre.”

“Well, if she’s used to a long ride, I’ve got what she needs,” another man said, rising from his bench, grabbing at his crotch, he and his fellows erupting into laughter when he caught my eye. I flushed but refused to look away, forcing my eyes to slide down the man’s body and up again, meeting his eyes without looking away.

“No hair to grab onto but, Mads,” one of the seated men shouted.

“Nah, but she looks like she’s got other things worth grabbing onto,” Mads retorted before ambling my way. “By the gods, you’re a tall bitch.”

“Back the fuck—” Ged started to say, moving in front of me, but I stilled him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Am I?” I said, in my best genteel sneer. “Or are you just too small? I suspect that’s something you’ve heard more than once.”

Once the bloody words were out of my mouth, I was regretting them, all of them, especially when the hall went quiet as the grave, Mads staring at me with wild brown eyes. But then his face split abruptly, a roar of laughter escaping him and that seemed to trigger the others, the hall filling with raucous laughter.

“Alright, so it looks like you can cope with idiots gobbing off,” Flynn said, rubbing at his forehead. “So far, so good.”

“You’ll hear far worse than that, milady,” Ged started to say almost apologetically.

“Pippin.”

“But—”

“My title isn’t going to mean much here, is it? Half these men are like Flynn and are second or third sons of noblemen.” Flynn confirmed this with a sharp nod. “And the others are common-born. The only way you’d work together as a fighting force is to put all that aside.”

“You’ve got the right of it,” Brom said with a terse shake of his head. “But if I was you, I’d cling to whatever the hell you have to keep you safe in this rabble.”

“You’ll teach me to wield a weapon?” I asked Soren, who nodded. “I’m handy with a bow. Being able to shoot targets was seen to be a skill a noblewoman should learn, but I wouldn’t know my way around a sword or shield.”

“You will. I’ll see to it, lass. Now, we’ll go and find a table, sit down and fucking eat something. Maybe if we act like everything is as it usually is, it will be.”

“Wise counsel as always, Rider Soren,” Brom said with a short nod, then clapped the man on his shoulder and led us deeper into the hall.

We were about to settle down on the bench seats when Brom caught my arm, climbing onto the table top and consulting with the room, positioning me just to the right of him. A couple of sharp claps of his gauntleted hands got the attention of everyone again, if they’d even left off staring at us.

“No doubt there will be many of you curious about our newest recruit. With reason, we’ve never had a woman join our number before. But one joins us now. I present to you, Pippin and her dragon, Glimmer.”

This was followed by a moment of silence, then the deafening sound of every man getting to his feet, even Ged, Flynn and Soren behind me. Ged handed Brom a brimming tankard, then passed one to me, as everyone else held up theirs.

“To Pippin and Glimmer!” Ged shouted.

“To Pippin and Glimmer!” came the deafening cries back, joined, of all things, by the roar of the dragons housed somewhere else in the keep. Glimmer crooned along with them, her head thrown back to give full throat to her cry, something that earned her a round of applause and laughter.

“So you’re a girl, then.”

There were plenty of women in the keep, I quickly found out. Several were assigned to each table in the dining hall, bringing out trays of food and filling up tankards with beer or wine, something Soren stopped me from drinking after the first mug. One came up close now, peering down at me with eyes that danced with good humour, a smile on her face.

“I don’t look like much of a one right now,” I said, smoothing a hand over my scalp.

“It’s a look alright,” she said, then thrust out a hand. “I’m Nancy. I look after your table, make sure Brom and his lads… well, his crew, now I guess, get all the best cuts.”

“Pippin,” I said, giving it a firm shake.

“So what happened here? Mum catch you in the bed of the wrong man and shave you bald? Happened to a friend of mine before she married her husband. Made the funniest looking bride I’d ever seen.”

“Lice,” I replied, twisting my mouth when she took an involuntary step backwards. “It was either that or I try and battle the bloody things with kerosene.”

“No, you had the right of it. It never works, the tenacious bastards.” She reached out and rubbed her hand across my scalp in a friendly way that had me freezing still. “You’ve got a good head for it though. Doesn’t always work for some of the men who think they want it. Makes it less itchy when wearing a helmet for a length of time.” She tipped my chin up and then regarded me with a keen eye. “Might be a smart thing, to keep some of the more tenacious bastards away. I can keep it cropped short for you. I do Ged’s.”

Our eyes slid to the big rider who looked somewhat sheepish at the attention. But his eyes held mine, not looking away until I did.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Nancy, and I thank you for the offer.”

“Now, did they give you anything to wear but armour?” She looked me up and down critically. “Those are far too big for you. I’m not sure if we’ve got much for a woman but?—”

“What would a new recruit wear normally?” I asked.

“Simple uniform. White shirt, black pants and the royal insignia embroidered on the breast.” Nancy looked around the room. “You don’t see any up here because the cadets eat downstairs.”

“I’m used to wearing men’s clothes,” I replied. “A cadet’s uniform will suit me well, if you could manage it?”

“I’ll have several sets for you after dinner,” she said with a thoughtful nod. “Now, what can I get you?”

A delicious dinner, it appeared. A plate brimming with tender meat, vegetables, and soft bread appeared before me, all swimming with a rich gravy. And beside that was a small bowl of meat, which Glimmer eyed hungrily, after surviving on thin pickings all day.

“Should she be feeding herself?” I asked Ged as we started to eat. She was selecting scraps from the bowl and then throwing her head back to swallow them before going back for more.

“She’s growing, getting more sense about it, and will have to hunt and kill her own food when she’s grown. Just keep an eye on her when she’s eating, in case she gets too greedy. Like we’ll need to keep an eye on you.”

Again, there was another of those long looks across the table, as Ged stared into my eyes, seemingly not wanting to let go of my gaze.

“You can’t be expected to do that every day,” I replied, focussing on my dinner, slicing into the meat and then spearing it on my fork. “You have important work to do.”

“We’ll be on patrols again,” Flynn said with a groan. “Flying up and down the coast to make sure no outlanders have made it across the sea.”

“The crown keeps us in bread and wine, meat for our dragons,” Brom replied mildly. “We keep the kingdom safe from those who seek to encroach upon our borders.”

“Except there rarely is anyone,” Flynn grumbled. “I don’t mind when Glace freezes those invading bastards in their ships with his breath. That’s worth doing. But the endless flying I can do without.”

“Save the heroics for a real fight and be glad you haven’t experienced one,” Soren said.

“And this is when he starts reciting the tales of the civil war,” Flynn told me with a roll of his eyes. “You’d think he’d been there, fighting for the king.”

“I wasn’t, but—” Soren shot back.

“My great-grandsire fought by the side of the king himself,” Flynn finished for him, then cackled, the effect ruined when Soren picked up a bread roll and lobbed it at Flynn’s head. Ged snatched it out of the air as it bounced back, then bit into the soft bread, grinning around his mouthful as best he could.

“You’ll come with us,” Brom told me, shooting me a sidelong look. “Once you find your place here, we won’t need to safeguard you so closely, but until then…”

“I’d be honoured, Wing Commander,” I said, inclining my head, conscious that no other new recruit would be afforded that privilege.

“We’ll get you fitted for your own leathers tomorrow,” he said. “Nancy will find you some clothes?—”

“And I’ll show her where the women’s bathhouse is,” Ged finished for him.

“Probably because he spends more time in there than the men’s,” Nancy said, appearing by our table with a pert smile. “Now, what’s everyone having for pudding?”

“Nancy can show Lady Pippin where the bathhouse is,” Brom said in a firm tone once the woman had left with our order.

“And who’s gonna help her if one of the riders wanders in, looking for a good time?” Ged answered. “I’m not going inside. I’ll just stand at the door and if Pippin cries out, I’ll hear her.”

I wondered what the hell happened in their bathhouses to warrant a guard? I found out later on that evening.

My arms were laden down with boots, uniforms and everything else I’d need while I served as a dragon rider.

“You sure you don’t want me to carry that, mil… Pippin?” Ged corrected himself.

“Would you offer to do the same for any other new recruit?”

“Not likely. Probably add my own boots to the load and make them run up and down the steps with it at double time.” He grinned for a second, then looked me over. “But you’re not a typical cadet.”

“But I need to be, don’t I? Ged, I have no male family members looking out for me, none that need to be answered to, by me or by anyone else. I’m going to be here for as long as Glimmer is.” She preened at the sound of her name. “And so, I must find my place. I did as a swineherd. Doing so as a rider would have to be easier than that. Now, is this the bathhouse?”

I heard the sound of running water and saw the tiled walls and walked towards the door.

“Yes, but?—”

“I have soap, a towel and clothes. I’ll be fine. You can keep guard here, if you feel you must. I won’t be long.”

But as I stepped into the cool space, spying the many showerheads set into the walls and the shelves set up to hold people’s things, I heard a strange sound. Just a little one, like the hitch of someone’s breath, the stuffing back of a cry. Glimmer stiffened on my shoulder, then let out that strange little croon again. I set my supplies down on an empty shelf and then walked further in.

“Hello?”

Another little sound, then another, the noises growing closer and closer together, then there was a whispered stream of words that I couldn’t quite decipher which had my hackles rising.

I should’ve doubled back and gone and asked Ged for help. I should’ve gotten that knife from Soren, but I hadn’t expected to run into any trouble in the women’s bathhouse. But at another ragged sound, then a little squeal, I moved. Weapon or no, I might have at least the element of surprise behind me as I stumbled onto the attacker?—

Any thought of righteous vengeance was driven out of me the moment I rounded the corner and discovered the source of the noise.

She was held up against the wall, her arms sliding languidly across the tiles as his hands held her where she was so he could drive himself into her, over and over. The air filled with the sounds of her muffled moans. His hand was slapped over her mouth, trying to keep her response inside, rather than let it out, but from the look of both of them, it wasn’t to stop her from screaming. Well, not in pain. His thrusts grew faster and faster, the great big muscles along his back and in his buttocks flexing, flexing until Glimmer’s crooning raised in pitch.

“Gods, I am so sorry. I thought…”

The hand was yanked away and his head whipped around, spying his audience right before we scurried away.

I paced the bathroom floor, going back and forth, Glimmer’s song quietening finally. Instead, she chirruped at me and then peered down into my face, her golden eyes sharp. But before I could deal with her, the rider came out, hitching his pants up and around his hips, giving me a jaunty nod and a smirk before saying, “Evening, cadet.”

I didn’t reply, just blinked, spluttered, wanting to apologise again, but he was gone before I could get anything out, whistling as he swung out the door.

“Evening, Ged,” I heard the muffled greeting filter in through the open door.

“Evening, Hallin.”

But before I could work out what the hell to do next, the woman who’d been… enjoying the rider’s favours came out, naked as the day she was born, with a catlike smile on her face. One that faded when she saw me and my dragon.

“Bugger and shit, you’re the queen-in?—”

“I’m Pippin,” I said, striding forward and offering my hand, then blinking when she smirked, an eyebrow cocking up as if to point out the obvious, that she was not really dressed to make introductions. “I apologise for interrupting. I heard a sound and I was worried…” I sucked in a breath. “I thought someone was being hurt.”

“Pippin.” She nodded, then pursed her lips, as if trying my name on for size. “Well, no one’s going to hurt a woman, not like that anyway, not with the dragons in the keep. Don’t stand for abuse or rape, those beasts. They’ll turn a rider in to the higher ups without a thought, mostly cadets who can’t get their head around the situation here. They get stripped from their dragons and sent to His Majesty’s jail and they see if they can rebond their creature to someone who’s more worthy. Keeps the lads’ dicks in their pants, unless invited.”

“Of course. Someone explained something similar to me before. I acted without thinking. Please accept my apologies…?”

“Maggie,” she said, twining a strand of her hair around her finger. “So you’re the new girl rider I heard mention of. Well, Cadet Pippin, Hallin finished a little quicker than he would have normally, being caught in the bathhouse as he was. I can’t entice you to finish what he started?”