Driving the Last Spike Ch. 01

Qiang nodded. "That she did, I'll not gainsay it."

"Did the sea dragon perish, as Zongxian suggested?" asked Chang.

"I do not know. He was much larger than I, and though the wounds I inflicted weren't superficial, it was entirely possibly he could have survived them. I only know I never saw him again and that the rest of the voyage, aside from illness, cramped quarters, and deplorable hygiene, was uneventful. I managed to have no further discourse with Zongxian for at least that time."

"So there were further issues?" Chang asked.

"Of course there were."

Chang couldn't resist a good-natured chuckle

Qiang snorted, though his muzzle did quirk into a smile. "I'll have you know I was an exemplary worker and managed the illusion handily. Even if I was perhaps a little ill-acquainted with hard labor."

"How bad was it?" Dakota asked, thinking back to the history she had read.

"Honestly, it wasn't that bad, for me. There was much speculation on how long it would take for me to break, since I didn't look like a worker My hands weren't calloused, my carriage wasn't that of the other workers, and I looked quite young. In short, I looked like an aristocrat's son recently slipped his father's leash." Qiang paused, his head tilted in consideration. "Not that that was an entirely... inaccurate assessment," he added with a shrug. "In truth, it was some ways closer than they knew. However, I was a dragon and my hands didn't callous, my back didn't break, and the sun didn't burn my skin. Winter I wasn't fond of, and even then I wasn't as bad off as the others. The worst offense though, to a certain way of thinking, was that I never capitulated. I followed orders and did my work, but I was unbowed. Perhaps even brazen. Most eventually stopped caring. There was more than enough work and misfortune spread about in equal measure to pay attention to any one worker who wasn't making trouble. But for two in particular: I was their bane, and for very different reasons..."

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