Free Mistress of Dragons by Margaret Weis

the
meantime, would you like to wash after your journey?” She looked sternly at her
son. “Or did Wilhelm ask you that already? He knows he’s supposed to.”
    The
prince flushed. “I am sorry, Mother. I forgot I was supposed to offer that
first. I did ask him if he wanted refreshment—”
    “I
would like to wash up,” Draconas intervened. “Not a bath,” he added hastily,
remembering that it was the custom in some realms for the lady of the castle of
offer her guests a bath, sometimes even assisting them to bathe with her own
fair hands. “Just splash some water on my face and hands. Perhaps Prince
Wilhelm could show me—”
    The
prince’s glum face brightened. “I will be glad to, sir.”
    “You
will be our guest this night, of course,” said the queen. She paused a moment,
her brow furrowed in thought. “We’ve a great many guests at present, but I
believe there is a room available in the east wing, at the far end of the
corridor.”
    “Please
do not trouble yourself, Queen Ermintrude. A blanket in the stables will
suffice.”
    The
queen smiled, her face dimpled. “You have the air of well-traveled gentleman,
sir. You have probably been to far grander royal courts than ours.” She spoke
very fast, not giving him time or space to answer. “Neither my husband nor I
are much for ceremony. You aren’t either, apparently. You didn’t bow, you know,
when I entered and you don’t call me ‘Your Majesty’ or ‘Madame.’ I came from
the royal court of Weinmauer, where my father is king. Have you been there?”
she asked, but sped on before he could reply.
    “He
is very formal. I found it all quite stifling. So did my dear Ned, when he came
to marry me. Our marriage was arranged, of course, but we found that we suited
one another excellently. My first act as queen was to ship home the twenty
ladies-in-waiting my father insisted on sending with me.” The queen laughed
again.
    Draconas
opened his mouth, but she was off again. “Take Master Draconas to his room,
Wilhelm. When you have washed and relaxed, sir, come back here and we’ll have
some spiced wine. I make it myself. Shocking, isn’t it?”
    Wilhelm
made a dash for the door at the end of the corridor. As Draconas prepared to
follow, the queen halted him with a look. Casting an oblique glance at her son,
Ermintrude walked hurriedly to Draconas, rested her hand on his arm. Her
dimples vanished and so did her flighty air.
    “Gunderson
tells me you are a dragon hunter, sir,” she said softly. “I hope that you can
help us. Ned has not slept in a fortnight. He eats next to nothing. He is so
worried about the people and he feels so helpless. The merchants are in an
uproar . . .” Ermintrude paused, regarded Draconas intently. He was being
judged. She had something confidential to impart and she was trying to decide
if she could trust him. After a moment’s searching gaze, she made up her mind.
    “I’m
telling you this, sir, because Ned won’t. My husband is being pressured by his
ministers to ask my father, the king of Weinmauer, to send in soldiers,
proclaim us a protectorate. My father has long had his eyes on our rich
kingdom. He means to have it for his own. That was his view when he married me
to Ned. My father was sadly disappointed when I refused to go along with his
plotting and scheming. I know he’s heard about the dragon. His spies tell him
everything. If he sends in troops, there will be war, for Ned will never permit
our kingdom to come under the sway of Weinmauer. We suspect that at least two
of the ministers are in my father’s pay—” A sudden shocking thought came to
her. She drew back, regarded Draconas warily. “Perhaps you, too—”
    “I
know nothing of politics, Queen Ermintrude,” said Draconas. “Of that I assure
you. I am here only to do a job.”
    A
tear rolled down her cheek and more glimmered in her eyes.
    Draconas
stepped back hastily, half-turned, and thrust his hands behind his back.
    “Why,
blessed