The Dragon's Curse, Part I
Roshil wiped sweat from her brow, then brought her hammer down again. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a fire poker, but everyone needed them, and they wanted to stockpile them for the next cold season while they weren’t busy. At least, Roshil did, because the alternative was to knit, and she got restless if she sat still for too long.
“Apprentice Roshil!” Master Grund called from across the forge. “Put it down and come here!”
“But—” Roshil began, ready to argue her case again. Until she mastered knitting while walking, she wasn’t convinced she would be able to knit for very long. Even though Oshal and Aonva had both pointed out that she was willing to sit still to read, Roshil wasn’t convinced knitting was the same.
“Now!”
She put her hammer down, then stuck the unfinished poker into a bucket of water. Setting it carefully on the anvil so it didn’t fall (unless someone pushed it again), Roshil walked around the furnaces to find Master Grund. When she did, she found the reason that he had called her over. Also the reason the entire forge had gone quiet, which she would’ve noticed had she not been tuning out everyone and everything else.
King Fohra stood at the entrance to the forge. Apart from the gold trim on his tunic and the medallion around his neck with the Skwyr Court coat of arms, there was little to distinguish him from anyone else. He didn’t look old or wise like Roshil would’ve expected. She didn’t even know who he was when he’d first introduced himself to her after she’d been saved from the dragon. He just looked like a person. Not a person that kept order in the court, but an ordinary person.
“Apprentice Roshil,” he said with a smile. His voice was always calm. He never shouted. Roshil wasn’t sure he ever got angry. “I would like to speak with you and Lord Grund alone, if that’s alright with you.” He glanced over at the furnace at which Roshil had been working. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
Despite her first instinct to tell him she had been in the middle of something, she could almost hear Aonva, Master Ekla, and Kurgm shouting at her not to talk back to the king.
“Nothing she can’t come back to later,” Master Grund said. He turned his chair around and started rolling through the forge. “This way.”
“Keep up the good work, everyone,” King Fohra said before following Master Grund and Roshil.
Master Grund led them to one of the rooms away from the furnaces. He motioned for them to go inside before following them and closing the door.
“Is there a reason you decided to stop by and hijack my apprentice?” Master Grund asked.
“That’s what I like about you, Lord Grund,” King Fohra said with a smile. “You treat everyone equally.” He turned to Roshil. “Apprentice Roshil, how are you doing?”
“Okay, I guess.” Roshil shrugged, although her mind immediately jumped to the scales that had been spreading over her back for almost a year.
Being king meant that Fohra had a mastery in all six specializations. Having grown up with a weaver, Roshil always assumed that any fleeting emotion would be sensed, and thus clamped down her mind before the king decided to go digging.
“There’s no need to worry,” he said, confirming her suspicions that he, like every other weaver she’d ever met, decided that her mind was open to the public. “I’m not here to check up on you.”
No, you’ve got Master Grund or Master Ekla for that.
“I’d hope not,” Master Grund said. “Not only am I perfectly capable of that, but you are perfectly capable of not doing that on my time.”
“I don’t want to keep you longer than necessary,” King Fohra said, “so I’ll get straight to the point. I’ve just come from a meeting with a friend of mine, and she’d like to meet you.”
“Why?” Roshil asked, but she already knew the answer. It was the only reason anyone wanted to meet her: her eyes. She was different, and people wanted to study the freak. Except Aonva; she was interested in the dragon’s curse, but only because she was interested in everything relating to dragons. She didn’t want to study Roshil, she wanted to help her.
“It’s her eyes, isn’t it?” Master Grund said, with a slight edge to his voice. Roshil was a little surprised; normally he would’ve started yelling by now if someone had brought up Roshil’s eyes.
“I’m afraid so,” King Fohra said.
“Tell your friend ‘no’,” Master Grund said. “Just ‘no’. Not even a ‘no, thank you’. No! Apprentice Roshil is not a test subject for your friend to poke and prod and study! She’s a human being! Whoever your friend is can get lost!” He paused for a moment, then added, “Your Majesty!”
King Fohra and Master Grund stared at one another for a minute. Roshil looked around, wondering if she was still needed, or if she could leave. She was quite sure she didn’t want to be there anymore.
“Are you finished?” King Fohra asked.
“No promises.”
“If you’d let me explain, this is no ordinary friend. I hope both of you know that I wouldn’t have interrupted you for another researcher. This friend of mine may be able to help Apprentice Roshil.”
“How?” Roshil asked.
“She doesn’t know, nor does she want to make any promises, but she understands the curse far better than anyone else I’ve met. I promise she isn’t dangerous, and Lord Grund, you, Lady Emgard, and I will be present the entire time.” He turned to Apprentice Roshil. “As well as anyone else you’d like to accompany us.”
Master Grund narrowed his eyes at King Fohra. “Your friend have a name?”
The king nodded. “Umkanokseh.”
“That’s a dragon’s name,” Master Grund said. “Either your friend is so smart she found a way to lie about her name, or…”
Again, the king nodded. “She is a dragon.”