Princess Ahira (15 page)

             
“Wha?” I said, my mind still trying to register what was going on. I shook my head, thinking my vision may be blurry. Nope, he was still there. “How did you get in here?” I demanded as I glanced around the room, looking for a back door of some sort.

             
“Through the front door. J
ust because you shut it
doesn’t mean I can’t enter by myself,” he said.

             
“Out!” I bellowed. “Out, out, OUT!” I repeated, pointing to the kitchen entrance.

             
“
No thanks,
” he said while taking a bite out of his apple.

             
“You’re unbearable,” I groaned as I walked past him and headed for my bedroom.  He tossed the apple core into the trash and followed me. I glared as I turned around and solidly slammed the door in his face. I sat down on my bed with a happy sigh when I heard the doorknob click.

             
In marched Kohath, acting as though he owned the place. I
murderously glared at him
. “
You
! Out right now!” I yelled pu
shing him back toward the door.

“Shh! You’ll wake up Azmaveth!” he shushed. He didn’t even budge as I leaned against him with all of my weight and power.

             
“Wow! If you like me that much you could just tell me!” I
Kohath teased as
I felt arms around my waist. Kohath’s smarmy front reminded me so badly like a bad actor attempting to fulfill a role he had studied copiously.

             
“What are you doing?” I
said
as
I tried to break his grasp. 

             
“Getting comfortable,” Kohath smoothly said. I
stomped
on his foot.

             
Kohath yelped like a kicked puppy and released me to hold his injured limb.  “That hurt!” he said with a scowl.

             
“Good,” I
replied as I caught him off guard and pushed him outside, closing the door behind him. This time I was sure to tip a chair under the knob so it wouldn’t budge. 

             
“Hey!” Kohath wailed, pounding on my door.

             
“Shh! You’ll wake up Azmaveth!” I quoted back to him.

He growled.

“Goodnight! Kohath I’m sure you have some kind of a home,
probably some sort of cave that you hang upside down in
, so return to it!” I ordered safely through my door. 

             
“I’m gonna tell Azmaveth!” Kohath whined.

             
“And what do you think he’s gonna do about it?
Rebuke
me? Fat chance! Faeries will start living as dwarves the day Azmaveth punishes me!” I snorted.

             
Kohath grumbled. “G
ood night to you too!” he walked away, muttering to himself, as his boots clicked on the marble floor of the tunnel.

             
I felt a peaceful smile slide over my lips. Silence, what I loved best.

             
“You know tomorrow Azmaveth will probably send us somewhere else again,” Kohath said, somehow soundlessly getting back to my door.

             
“Good night Kohath!” I firmly said as I
blew
my
candle
out
, leaving the steward to his own devices. 

Beauty and Intelligence

             
I woke up the following morning to a blinding shaft of
sun
light. I groaned as I rolled out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen, quickly preparing breakfast. I hummed a little tune as I stirred the oatmeal. Strangely my adventure with Kohat
h had uplifted my spirits
.

             
I hurriedly carried the oatmeal to the table, where Azmaveth was waiting with exuberance.

“What are you so happy about?” I politely asked as I placed his oatmeal in front of him before whispering the words to make the bowl grow.

             
“Those feathers you and Kohath got were magnificent! Thank you!” he said, his purple eyes whirling with cheerfulness. 

             
“
You’re welcome, but please
warn me
the
next time you send me off fairy hunting that, that
boy
,” I complained.

             
“Not getting along
with Kohath?” Azmaveth asked, looking concerned.

             
“No. He’s bossy and keeps trying to hold my hand. He’s also extremely annoying. He acts like he owns the place!” 

             
Azmaveth choked on his oatmeal. “So you don’t like him?” he asked after a fair amount of coughing.

             
I opened
my mouth to reply
when I caught sight of his blasted princess book peeping over the edge of the table. If I said anything he was sure to compare it to the book. “I’m going out to beat out the welcome rug,” I declared, leaving the dishes where they were.

             
“So you must like him then! You’re avoiding the subject, that means,” he said, flipping the book open. He was about to inform me of my feelings towards Kohath when I turn around and, in a familiar motion, flung my bowl of nearly finished oatmeal in his face before shouting at the dish to expand, seriously decking him in the nose.

             
Before Azmaveth could start crying I fled the scene, rushing outside.

             
I picked up the rug and was about to start beating it with a stick when Azmaveth burst out of the cave. “I have to go speak to Shammah about the Kee
per
. I’ll be back in time for supper. I promise,” Azmaveth solemnly swore as he tipped his head by me.

             
“Okay, you promised,” I sai
d as I reached out and caressed
a scale on his muzzle. Azmaveth made his funny little purring noise before gently nudging me. He untucked his wings and took off, soaring into the sky.

             
I took a moment to admire the act before I went back to mercilessly beating the rug, picturing Kohath’s annoyingly handsome face in place of the mat.  

             
I groaned as I wiped the sweat off my face and turned around to see Aaron standing a few feet away.

             
“Hi!” Aaron smiled.

             
“Hello. What brings you here?” I asked as I leaned against my stick.

             
“I saw Azmaveth leave,” Aaron confessed as I frowned, remembering their last encounter.

             
“Y
eah, about
your previous experience. Azmaveth can get…protective,” I s
tated as delicately as possible
. 

             
“It’s okay. It’s not your fault, and I should have known better. Dragons are known to be overprotective when they become attached to someone,” Aaron rattled on. 

             
I smiled and dropped the welcome mat. “Do you want to walk down the driveway with me?” I invited Aaron. “If we stick around h
ere Azmaveth
will be able to smell that you were here,” I explained as I slowly wandered toward the road.

             
“Sure,” Aaron agreed as he trotted to catch up to me. “So, do you like it here?” he asked.

             
I fondly smiled. “Yes. I like it more than my home, although I wish I could see my brother.
”

             
“What country are you from?”

             
“Ardeo. It’s in the south.”

             
“I am familiar with it. So what do you think of your dragon?”

             
“
Azmaveth treats me m
uch better than most dragons do.
I’m happy, though I may not necessarily show it,” I admitted with a rueful grin. 

             
Aaron’s eyes widened for a moment. “Did you know that most princesses only stay in a dragon’s home for less than a month? Usually the dragons get sick of them and
send them packing
with a prince.” 

             
“I can see why. Most of the girls are annoying,” I observed.

             
Aaron grinned. “Yeah, most princesses are airheads, beg your pardon,” he added belatedly.

             
“No need.
I couldn’t agree with you more actually,” I said
,
pushing back the stone over our mail hole to peer in and pull out a couple of thick parchments. When I stood up I spun around and found myself nose to nose with Kohath. I yelped and jumped backward as Aaron turned to see what my problem was. He his brow wrinkled when he spotted
Kohath
.

Kohath
would clearly be as welcoming to Aaron as Azmaveth had been
.
He was darkly glaring, his mouth an angry slant.
 

             
“Um, who is he?” Aaron whispered.

             
“Kohath,” Kohath growled out. 
“And you’re Aaron.
Azmaveth
warned
me about you.” 

             
“How do you know Azmaveth?” Aaron said, his eyes taking in Kohath’s clothes.

             
“I’m his steward. I take care of all his possessions, including her,” Kohath said, jerking his thumb toward me. 

             
“She’s not a possession,” Aaron steadily said. “She can make up her own mind can’t y
ou Ahira?” he asked. He
didn’t really want a reply.

             
“You so are full of yourself!” Kohath spat.

I snorted. That was incredibly ironic considering it was popping out of Kohath’s mouth.

             
“What about you? I’ve never known a dragon to take on a human steward before!” Aaron shot back.

             
I sighed and rubbed my eyes. The last thing I felt like listening to was an argument between magic boy and weird-hair-color guy.

             
When I opened my eyes Kohath was ignoring Aaron and watching me with a concerned look. I
half grinned
and waved off his concern. All too easily he returned his attention to the argument with Aaron.

             
“I apologize, I forgot you weren’t from around here. You’re just a
mage
, you don’t live with the dragons,” Kohath smirked.

             
They continued to exchange insults, and I glanced over toward the forest where I saw Tuggles, snorting and snuffing as he watched me with his bulging eyes. I slipped away from Kohath and Aaron and joined Tuggles in the forest, running away from the quarrel. Tuggles and I scampered through the woods, slipping on the moist moss and scrambling over fallen logs. I laughed and sat down on a
stump
, trying to catch my breath as I watched Tuggles pra
n
ce on his stubby legs. 

             
After a short rest we walked a little deeper into the fore
st, Tuggles scuttling beside me. His short legs went
hyper speed to keep up with my strides. I ran my
hand through his fluffy
mane a
nd continued on as the
dappled pony gallo
ped after me. I paused to leap
across a small stream, Tuggles following the suit, and when I looked up
I found
myself face to face with one of the most beautiful creatures in
Somnio
, a unicorn.

             
Unlike short and stubby Tuggles this unicorn was slightly larger than an aver
age sized horse. His coat was a
pearly, glittery, white, and his eyes were cobalt blue. His horn was long, gold in color, and a magnificent sight to behold. He looked at me with his beautiful eyes and I could have sworn I s
aw a smile creep across his lips
.

             
“Hello,” he said in a melodic voice. “What’s your name?” 

             
I bowed, my clean
, purple dress scraping
the forest floor. “Princess Ahira,” I said
,
glancing over at Tuggles to see him scowling. The unicorn didn’t appear to notice him. 

             
“So you’re a princess?” the unicorn said in his polite, whispery voice.