Dragon Clan #1: Camilla's Story

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Brix, Camilla, and Robin walked together. Down the hillside, a small group of thatched-roof stone huts appeared in the small valley. It sat beside a fast flowing stream too wide to leap. The huts were simple, made of flat rocks that broke easily from the closest cliff. All flat land was cultivated, and crops abounded. Cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, chickens, geese, and others roamed freely.

People waited for them. Word must have been sent to them. Women, children, and more men stood and watched them approach. Camilla felt the eyes on her as much as she felt a red dragon flying above her. The group drifted closer to the stream.

Camilla saw a ring of stumps, crude chairs, and logs placed in a half-circle, a rock shelf; a place for the speaker to stand. She did a quick count. Thirty adults, twelve children and a few babies.

A boy of about seven ran to the path in front of them and paused long enough to pull his leather shirt over his head to expose his back. A red dragon seemed to writhe. Not as pretty or fierce as mine. Camilla quelled the urge to show hers, but the attraction to someone that not only had a dragon on his back but a red one was unmistakable.

Myron strode directly to the ridge of rock and waited. When he judged all were present and seated, he spoke. “The Slave Master is dead.”

A few smiled, but no cheers broke the afternoon warmth.

His eyes turned to Camilla. “We don’t yet know the full story, but this is Camilla. She is one of us.”

Pleasant murmurs and a few claps welcomed her. Myron went on quickly, “The woman is Robin, who was the lover of Pylori. She is welcome here, as is the boy, Brix. He too will tell his story, but not now.”

All eyes turned to Edward.

Myron said, “This man will one day be the Earl. Robin thinks he may be our friend. But this is a decision I cannot make without you. We kill him or release him. Debate?”

A young man bounced to his feet before anyone else could talk. “I say kill him. If we let him go, he’ll tell them where we live.”

“A good point,” Myron said. “However, the Weapons Master accompanied him most of the way here and knows where he left the King’s road, and the direction the Slave Master took. The Weapons Master will bring hundreds of soldiers to scour the land until they find the Slave Master and our valley.”

A woman stood, “Then we have to flee this valley.”

Robin stepped to the side of Myron. “Fleeing is probably the right thing to do, but this valley is safe, as it has been for so many years. Outside, what will you find?”

“Better to run and hide than be killed by the King’s men,” an unknown voice shouted.

Myron turned to Robin. “What are you proposing?”

“I have an idea. It’s said the son of the Earl is honorable. What can he offer?” She asked, looking only at him.

Edward had seated himself on the end of a log, and nobody had sat near him. He slowly stood and walked to the ridge and stepped up where all could see him. “I can offer little. I will tell you how the Weapons Master and Slave Masters have mistreated me my whole life. They poked fun and embarrassed me in front of others. That might not sound like much to you, but I want to be respected.”

“Your problems. How can you help us?” A woman with an infant near the front asked, her voice sounding reasonable.

Edward shrugged. “Your people have never done any harm to me or to anyone I know. If I have to choose my friends between the King’s men and you, I choose you.”

Myron said, “The Weapons Master still knows the general area where we live.”

Camilla found herself on her feet, again. “No, he does not. He knows the general route I took to flee from him; not that there is Dragon Clan living here.”

The boy who had first called for Edward’s death leaped to his feet again, “All the more reason to kill him. Don’t let him return knowing about us.”

Camilla shook her head. “Listen to me. If Edward and the Slave Master do not return the King and Weapons Master will send so many troops to where they were last seen that they will certainly find this valley.”

Myron said, “There’s another option?”

“I think so,” Camilla said, thinking as she spoke. “The Earl’s son can return to Princeton with a tale that the Slave Master was attacked and killed by a bear. After all, he was heading for Bear Mountain. Easy to believe. Edward ran away from the bear and made his way back to the road. Maybe he ‘escaped’, instead of ran off.”

Edward flashed her a grateful look.

“The Weapons Master is no fool,” Myron said.

Camilla didn’t sit. “Okay, so we build on the story to support Edward. Robin said when you tell a lie, tell a big one. If we didn’t know about the pass, we couldn’t keep walking east because of the cliffs, and Bear Mountain was to our north, so we would have had to go south. Where would we be if we had gone that way?” she looked over the crowd.

“Shatter Village,” a voice called.

“Maybe Duncanville,” another added.

Camilla smiled for the first time. “You have people here who spy in those places, even buy a few necessities now and then?” she waited for a few heads to nod. “Great. Suppose you send out a couple of people to spread rumors of sighting Robin and me near those places?”

Robin said, “The King and his men will think we escaped by going down there, and then never search around here.”

Myron smiled, too. “South of Duncanville is Renton. A few sightings there would take them further away. I like it.”

“It will only work if you keep the Earl alive,” Camilla pointed out.

“Can we trust him?” Myron asked the group.

Several heads shook. Their lives depended on making the best of the situation and trust in royalty was lacking. After all, the King had ordered their deaths.

Camilla said, “If he does not go back, they will find this place and follow you, no matter where we go. If he agrees to help us, he helps himself, too. If you have a couple of people go to Princeton and keep their ears open, they will hear if the army is getting ready to raid this valley. They can ride back and warn us, and you are no worse off than now.”

Edward raised his hands to draw attention to himself, again. “Camilla is right. But there is more you need to know. After I am crowned as the Earl, I intend to end slavery. I came to that decision in the Red Dog Inn at Nettleton, of all places. This will sound like I’m bargaining for my life, but I believe Camilla already convinced you I’m worth more to you alive. What I want to say is that I’ve discovered and I do not like the people in the palace. I do like the people I’ve met since I left it.”

“Who cares who you like?” a woman snarled.

“You do!” He answered, looking directly at her. “As the Earl, I will have power second only to the King. His son is my friend. My only friend. Together Ember and I can make changes that favor the Dragon Clan.”

“You cannot make people stop fearing us,” Myron said. “People are jealous of us and afraid. It has been that way since the beginning.”

Edward placed his hands on his hips and looked at Myron. “Here in front of all, I pledge to help your clan—but demand something in return.”

“You’re in no position to demand anything,” a voice called, and several people laughed.

“You’re wrong. Politics in the palace change daily. There are rumors of an invasion from Chretien when King Ember dies. A war they hope to win quickly because we will have a new King, who has not taken control of his troops, yet. If I support the Dragon Clan, will it support me? Will you give your word that you’ll use your powers to call down your dragons and attack our common enemies?”

Myron stuck out his hand.

Edward shook it.

Camilla hugged Robin. “I have a home. People.”

“We have a home. And you have me.”

Camilla laughed. “Now that I think about it, we don’t even have a roof to sleep under.”

“Then we stay with family until we build our own home. It’ll be ours, and if we have to stack one rock on top of another until we have a wall, that’s okay. Our family will help.”

Camilla turned to Brix. “And you?”

“I never wanted to spin cord my whole life anyway. I can help build. But, can we send someone to Nettleton to let my family know I’m all right?”

“All right?” Robin teased. “That’s all?”

“Okay, tell them I’m doing really good. I’ll come visit them soon.”

Camilla turned to Myron. “You talk like this is the only place where our people live. I’ve heard rumors of more in the Raging Mountains.”

Myron furrowed his brows. “There was a family living there at one time, but I heard they were all killed years ago. Who did you hear that from?”

“I hid in the bushes and listened to some of the soldiers on the King’s Road talking. They mentioned them.”

“It might be true, I suppose. I will send people to hunt for them, but if they’re hiding, like us, it may be hard to find them. But it’s welcome news. We assumed we were the last. If there're others, we must find them.”

“Can I go look?” Camilla heard herself say.

Myron smiled, “Perhaps next time. You have many people to meet, tales to tell, and relatives you will want to know. You also need to learn about dragons. There is so much you don’t know.”

The small boy who had shown them his red birthmark as they first entered the village raced to stand beside Camilla. He took her hand in his. She asked, “Tell me more about dragons. Do they do anything besides fly down and kill people?”

He giggled. “Of course, they do lots of things, just don’t make them mad. I’ll tell you all about them later. Can I see your dragon on your back?”

“If I can see yours, again.”

“Yes.”

“Babies have them when they’re born?”

“They do if they’re true Dragon Clan.”

She smiled. I have so much to learn.