Blood of Dragons - The Apprentice

Paige flopped over onto her side, her breathing ragged and chest heaving. Haley managed to crawl up to her, embracing her around the middle and cuddling up close. Paige returned the embrace, and her wings folded around them both, snugly covering and shielding them from the chill air. Paige felt herself drifting off into a happy sleep. Tomorrow, she would deal with whatever came from the night’s events; in that moment, with her best friend and lover curled up with her on the floor in the dark, she was content.

*******

Erasmus sat up in bed and stretched, several of his joints clicking and popping. Yawning and scratching himself through his patchy bedclothes, he stumbled into his slippers, reached for his hat and staff, and shuffled towards the bedroom door, all with his eyes closed; a habitual cycle developed over many years. Opening the door, he stiffly bent down to take up the tray of food that Paige would have left for him at the top of the stairs...

His hand met cold stone. He pawed around in confusion, then forced his eyes open to investigate this strange inconsistency. Blinking away the sleep, he saw nothing on the floor in front of him. Erasmus was puzzled; Paige had not made him anything. That was odd, she was always so punctual.

“Paaaaaaige,” he whined. “Where’s my food?”

No answer came. Erasmus frowned. She must be down in the potions lab if she couldn’t hear him. He strode down the stairs, feeling huffy. Paige always knew when he was waking up, she should know better than to be cataloging the potions right now. He stomped into the library, his frustration rising. If he didn’t get a plate of eggs and sausage in the next two minutes...

“Oh, good morning, Master!”

Erasmus looked up. Paige was standing in the library, though not the Paige he remembered. She was clad in a new dress, altered to reveal her entire back and arms, fixed at her neck with a collar and split at both sides from the waist down to show off her legs. The alluring cut of her clothing was not enough to distract him from the blue-scaled wings and tail, or the horns that rose out of her hair. Most disconcerting of all, was the confident smile on her face, and not just because it was filled with fangs.

“P-Paige?” Erasmus spluttered, forgetting that he was supposed to be angry. “What happened to you?”

“Oh this?” Paige said, nonchalantly twirling around, her wings and tail trailing behind her. “A little mishap in the laboratory involving some potion miscibility. I’m so sorry that I did not prepare a meal for you this morning,” she continued, not sounding sorry at all. “I’ve been extremely busy; I had an errand to run, I had to clear up everything in the lab, and I was just finishing up here in the library too.”

It was at that point that Erasmus noticed the bookshelves. They were almost completely empty; every valuable artifact and collector’s item, along with the majority of the books, was gone. He gaped in horror as he watched Paige sweep another couple of tomes into the bag slung over her shoulder. His extra-dimensional travelling bag.

“What is going on here?!” Erasmus shouted.

“I’m simply collecting on our agreement,” said Paige patiently.

“Our WHAT?!” Erasmus’s anger bubbled up once again. “You are stealing from me!”

“Actually, she is acting well within the confines of the law,” came another voice. A brunette woman dressed in chainmail ascended from the ground floor.

“And just who are you?” said Erasmus.

“Haley Russum, of the Sheseon Town Guard. And you, Wizard Erasmus, are under arrest.”

“Ex-CUSE me?” Erasmus was incredibly confused.

Haley produced a pair of manacles from her belt. “I’m taking you in for non-payment of debt, reckless endangerment and the long list of health hazards that I’m sure we’ll find once we give this tower a good once-over.”

“How dare you!” shouted Erasmus. “This is a joke, completely unfounded!”

“On the contrary,” said Paige, her voice calm and even, “they are very well founded. I’ve lived here for two years, I was quite certain of the charges when I brought them to the town guard.”

“YOU brought -?” Erasmus’s eyes were wild.

“According to the agreement we made when I first came here, you were to sponsor my entrance into the Pristine Academy. As you have failed to grant me even a single gold piece towards that endeavour, abusing my services here without acknowledgement, I am claiming the value of what is rightfully owed to me in the form of material assets, having gone above and beyond the requirements for any apprenticeship,” Paige said. “The contents of the laboratory and your library should amount to a decent donation, sizable enough to qualify for a sponsorship.”

“As for the reckless endangerment,” Haley interjected, “the potentially suspect purchase of a bottle of dragon blood has clearly led to a terrible accident that has altered the body of your apprentice against her will. The improper security of such a substance will likely count against you.”

“And the health hazards are no joke either,” Paige added, trying not to laugh at Erasmus’s apoplectic expression at the news of his dragon blood being lost. “This tower is falling apart; I should know, I’m the one who has had to clean it.”

“This is utterly preposterous!” snorted Erasmus. “Those charges will never stick, and you know it!”

“Maybe not,” Paige admitted, “but they will be enough to start a proper inquiry into the history of all your purchases and your failure to pay back your other debts.” Her smile became a little more smug. “I’ve kept extensive books on all of them, which I’m sure will be quite useful in the investigation. And as I brought them to the authorities myself and with Haley to vouch for me, they were willing to absolve me from any unwitting association with anything illegal or negligent that you may have done.”

“So, let’s not make this difficult, shall we?” said Haley, raising the manacles pointedly.

“You can’t do this to me! I’ve given you everything!” snarled Erasmus, hefting his staff. Before he could speak a word, Paige uttered a spell of her own. The staff flew from his hands and across the room, into her waiting palm.

“Not yet, you haven’t,” she said. “But the staff will be a nice little bonus.”

“How did you... without a wand...” Erasmus spluttered.

“It’s amazing what effects dragon blood can have on someone’s innate magic, isn’t it?” said Paige.

Haley stepped forward, grabbing Erasmus and shoving his face into the wall with one hand, the other twisting his wrist behind his back. “Resisting arrest as well, that’s going to look so good on the report.”

*******

Erasmus was still cursing long after Haley had dragged him downstairs and into the custody of the other guards waiting outside. She and Paige watched them disappear into the streets as he was escorted away. The dragon-girl turned and gave her a tender kiss.

“You were wonderful in there,” Paige said.

“It’s not often I get to reference the book of regulations,” chuckled Haley. “Can’t remember the last time I got to say “potentially suspect purchase” to anyone. Makes me sound all official-like.” She smiled. “You were great too. Way to put him in his place!”

Paige blushed. “It’s a good thing you dragged him away when you did, I don’t know how much longer I could have kept that up; my heart was pounding the whole time.”

“Mmm, watching you take charge like that got mine pounding too,” murmured Haley, slipping a suggestive hand around Paige’s waist. As she leaned in for another kiss, Paige put a finger against her eager lips and smiled.

“Tempting, but there’s a lot to do now. I have to see about clearing out the rest of the tower, and then I need to get all of Erasmus’s stuff assessed and valued, and organise transport to Aelodai.”

“True,” Haley sighed, feigning disappointment. “I suppose I’ll have to get my papers sorted out too if I’m going to sign on for their city watch.”

“I can barely believe it,” said Paige. “I’m going to get to join the Academy, like I always wanted.” She rested her head on Haley’s chest. “And now I get to go there with you by my side.”

The thought of sharing a home with Paige sparked a happy tingle in Haley’s stomach. She hugged Paige close, who responded by wrapping her arms, wings and tail around her. “I can’t wait.”