Dragon Clan #1: Camilla's Story

CHAPTER TWELVE

Camilla woke at the first touch of Brix’s hand.

“Be quiet. Time to go.”

What is he doing here? She sat up and tried to see in the darkness as she cleared her mind from the anger of waking to find Brix in her campsite. She had left him at the creek the night before. Instead, she heard the stamp of nearby hooves and felt her back tingle so much it felt on fire. She rolled to her knees and reached for her bedroll, tying the rope to the ends and slipping it over her shoulder. She whispered, “Who?”

“Not friends, for sure,” Brix spoke softly, then half-turned and fumbled with his pants. A yellow stream of pee watered the nearby bushes.

Brix’s act triggered Camilla’s body. She had to pee, also. It was the single problem she faced that she couldn’t hide. She turned and found the path to the road while squeezing her thighs to hold it in.

“What are you doing here?” She whispered as she moved past him to take the lead.

“Following you.” He shrugged as if that answered it all.

They moved quietly and kept out of sight as they neared the road. Her back crawled, but no longer hurt. The clomping of hooves told there were more horses strung out behind the first she saw. They hid behind a tangle of briars and watched the King’s men in their colorful uniforms ride past, single file. A quick count said nearly twenty men rode in a ragged line. Their uniforms appeared new and the riders very young.

Camilla glanced at Brix and then back at the soldiers. A shiver of remembrance of the attack on her family led to a flood of nasty memories. Despite the soldiers, Camilla still had to pee, and the need was becoming urgent. Camilla touched Brix’s shoulder and mouthed, “I’ll be right back. Forgot something back there.”

She moved deeper into the forest and relieved herself, wondering how she was going to keep her secret with a boy following her, let alone keeping the birthmark she wore hidden. Could she break apart their new friendship and then join him herding the animals down the valley? It was not a question she had to solve this morning, but it was one she needed to think about.

Concealing either secret from Brix was a chore she didn’t know if she could accomplish for long, and one slip would reveal knowledge only the washerwoman knew. It amounted to being on constant guard. Camilla headed back to the briars with her mind spinning. Her idea of the night before that slipped back into her mind sounded possible.

No, it would work. Most prayers she had observed were said on a regular schedule, but she observed some prayed when they needed help or committed a sin. When needing to pee, she could utter a curse and explain she needed a few moments alone, to say a prayer and ask for forgiveness.

The birthmark was a different story. The last of the riders had passed their hidden position while she was deep in thought. Deceit with a new friend turned her stomach. However, if and when word of her sex or birthmark leaked, her life was in danger. She remembered the words of her father, and her mother had seconded the thoughts with an urgency she remembered well. Always hide the birthmark. Nobody but the family must ever see it, but each of her family wore a similar mark. One was black, another green, but most were red if she remembered correctly. All writhed across their backs in different intricate poses, detailed and fierce.

Only the mark Camilla wore depicted the dragon looking over her shoulder. Her mother had often traced the outline with a finger and cooed soft phrases to Camilla when she was small. She explained that the marks on each one of the family were things of beauty, and something for Camilla to be very proud of. But, always to be kept hidden from ordinary folk.

The phrase replayed in her mind. Ordinary folk. It meant more than she could pin down in her thinking. Others were ordinary, therefore, her family special. Yet, ordinary folk murdered her family and they still lived. If her family was so special, why were they all dead? The answer slipped into her mind like a child creeping softly into its parent’s bed during a thunderstorm. Ordinary folk were not special, but they held power because of numbers.

It was that simple. However, because they were not special, ordinary folk envied and hated those who were. Yes, that’s right. A relative may have explained it to her once, but she was very young and didn’t remember clearly. The information, the insight, filled a void in her mind. The insight also sealed any thoughts of intentionally sharing her deepest secret with Brix.

Brix said, “I think we should go now.”

“They came from up the valley and are headed for Nettleton. There may be more coming down the road.”

“I’m wondering what they were doing up there, too.”

“Is there a town?”

“Somewhere, I guess. Eventually. The road passes through a mountain pass called Gillian’s Cut. Don’t bother to ask me where it goes once it crosses the mountains because I have no idea.”

Camilla nodded, as she stood and boldly stepped onto the road as she shouldered her bedroll. “Arum lives somewhere before the pass?”

“Yes. You’ll like him. He’s old and moves slow, but he’s smart and quick to laugh. His sheep and goats are his life, but the last few years have been hard on him.”

“Because he’s old?”

“No, because of a red dragon.”

Camilla nearly stumbled. “A dragon?”

“A red one. It never came around until the last few years, but when it wants an easy meal, it swoops down and lets out a scream so loud and terrifying the animals just freeze in place. People too. It comes over the treetops and almost falls from the sky while it shrieks. Then it grabs the one it wants and flies off.”

“You’ve seen this?” Camilla fell back a few steps to walk even with Brix.

“Too many times. Seeing is only part of it. The sound is worse.”

“Are there other dragons?”

“Around here? Not that I’ve seen. Just that huge old red one with fire in her eyes. She looked at me once, Cam. Turned her head as she flew down to take a lamb, and looked right at me. Then her attention went to the sheep standing there paralyzed.”

“Back to those soldiers, again. I’ve been thinking. Their uniforms were clean and looked new. The soldiers looked only a few years older than you and me. They couldn’t have come far, or they would be dirty from travel.”

“I got the idea they were searching for something or had a mission.”

“Searching for?”

Brix shrugged and picked up the pace. “Something or some person. Who knows or cares? Let’s talk about other things. How do you know what to steal?”

“Steal?”

“In the village. We all watch you. You’re very good at stealing, but everyone knows.”

“I only take what I need. If my traps have animals in them, I have meat. If the trees grow fruit, I eat it and store what will not rot. Some I dry in the sun.”

“But you also steal.”

“Usually, I only take what the owners don’t want. I take potatoes that are soft, or apples with a bruise. I cut off the bad part and eat the rest.”

“Some also say you give things to old people and help animals. That you’re good for the people that live in Nettleton.”

Camilla remembered a sick dog she fed until it ran away. And a cow that belonged to Master Dean had wandered into a ditch where it was easy prey for coyotes. She found it and used a switch to swat its rump until it ran back to the pasture. Another time she cleaned a cut on the leg of a goat so it wouldn’t go lame with infection. They know about those things?

Camilla realized she had not been as careful as she thought.

“You don’t have any brothers, do you?”

“Why do you say that?” Camilla asked, remembering her older brothers, or what little she could remember of them.

“You don’t take teasing as someone used to it.”

“I had brothers. They were killed along with my sisters and father. Mom, too.”

Brix glanced away, then back again. “Sorry. I didn’t know. Who killed them?”

“Men on horses in uniforms. A lot of them.”

“Who were they?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I think they were King Ember’s men. They wore the same colors as soldiers of the King. The same as those men this morning. That’s why I hide.”

“Why did they kill your family?”

“I don’t know. They came where we were camped in a forest and used swords to kill everyone. Then they burned our wagons and everything else.”

“What about you?”

“I was taking a pee in the woods when they attacked. I watched what happened from behind a bush, then ran.”

“Did you ever go back?”

“Yes. Everyone was dead, so I took a few small things, not much so nobody would know I was there, and then I ran off again and hid. I still hide from them.”

“That’s awful. But you were smart, it sounds like.”

“Scared.” Camilla walked along the road silently for a long while. The memories were vague, and nothing new came to mind except a dawning realization that all was not well. The life she had been leading was a lie. People did know about her. They knew she stole food and helped animals. Some probably knew where her cave was. She turned to the boy and spoke without intending to. “Know what’s worse?”

“Worse than what you’ve told me so far?”

Camilla held back tears and squared her shoulders. “I think they’re still after me.”