Antoinette awoke and found herself staring into gigantic golden-yellow eyes. Something coarse and wet lapped at her cheek, and she heard a purring growl, followed by, Honk!
She turned her head, and there was the snow-white dragon that had borne her from Yewland. “Honk!” Antoinette cried, and she tried to sit up. Pain streaked up her side.
“Easy there, lass,” came a deep, folksy voice. “Now, you lay yer-self back down thar and give that wound time to seal.” Antoinette turned her head the other way and saw a tall Glimpse with a wide brown beard and kind blue eyes. And standing beside him were three children. Two boys and one small girl.
“I thought you was dead,” said the little girl, and she stepped to Antoinette’s side and grabbed her hand. “Da, she’s the one who gave us the cheese this morning!”
“Is she now?” said the father, patting the girl on the head. “Well, Alyth, one good turn calls another, or so it is said.” He turned to Antoinette. “Your dragon brought you ’ere just before sundown. You were sopping with a mortal wound on yer side.”
“The river,” Antoinette mumbled.
“I thought as much,” he replied, and he lifted a cloth that lay across Antoinette’s side. “You can thank the stars that the water is cold this time of the season. The only thing that kept you from bleeding away to nought.”
Antoinette smiled. She did not thank the stars, but voiced a silent thank you to the one true King.
“Smart dragon, that!” said the Glimpse. “Bringin’ you here, that is.”
Antoinette turned and smiled weakly at Honk. “I’m glad you didn’t stay in your hiding spot,” she whispered. The white dragon ducked its head shyly.
“Y’know there are folk in Baen who would just as soon cook you in a stew . . . or leave you fer dead. Myself, I was not sure what to make of you, dressed in fine armor like you are. The littlins here said you are a kindheart, so I took you in.”
“Thank you, sir,” Antoinette said weakly, but she tried again to get up. “My name is Antoinette.”
“Now, then, Lady Antoinette, you just lay back down! I told you, yer wound must seal. I put a fair amount of ruddy wet clay on the gash. The bleedin’s stopped, and it’ll mend fine—if you let it be for a bit.” He went to another room and brought back a waterskin. “’Ere now, drink a bit of this,” he said, putting it to her lips. “It’ll be a wee bit tart, but that’s the dormer herb. Then you’ll rest a bit.”
“But Kearn,” Antoinette mumbled. “And the other knights . . . they’ll get away.”
“Rest now, Lady Antoinette.”
“Maybe just a little while,” she replied, but soon she was fast asleep.
“’Ello!” said the tall boy. He smiled broadly at Antoinette. “Da! She’s awake!”
The bearded man came back into the room. “So she is! There now, that was a good nap. I’ll wager you feel a bit better!”
Antoinette found that she could sit up. There was dull pain in her side, and her jaw still ached, but it was nothing like before. “That’s amazing,” she said. “The pain is almost gone. Thank you again.”
“Yer color’s changed,” he replied. “You were looking a lot like us for a while there.”
“Yer a right regular healer, Da!” said the boy.
“Thank ye, boy,” he replied. “I can’t take much of the credit. The sleep was what she needed. Now, you git out with Alyth and Gregg. Fetch the wood, hear?”
“Yes, Da!” the boy called over his shoulder and was gone.
“I slept how long?”
“The sun has just come up on the second day since yer dragon brought you here.”
“Two days . . . ,” Antoinette muttered to herself.
“What brings you to this bad corner of The Realm?” the father asked. “You are not Glimpse-kind, yet you wear the armor of Alleble, and the littlins say you’ve got no master.”
Antoinette swung slowly around to face him. “I am from the Mirror Realm,” she said. “I am not a slave to any master, but I willingly serve King Eliam of Alleble.”
“It is not safe for you here—nor for us—if you stay. If the Watchman come by, he will take you away, and no mistake.”
“I will leave,” she said. “I do not wish for any of you to be harmed on my account.”
“I am sorry, m’lady. I would like to do more.” The father looked down. “It is not like me to put a lady out in the street, but the littlins . . . I cannot see them hurt.”
“You have saved my life. I do not wish to endanger your lives. I feel well enough to ride. I will be fine,” she said gently. “Is there anything I can do to repay you?”
He shook his head, but Antoinette had an idea. “Where is Honk?”
“The dragon?” he asked. “Behind the cottage, under the gable.”
He led Antoinette outside, and Honk was there. Sound asleep. “Wake up, sleepy beast!” Antoinette said. The dragon opened its jaws in a great yawn. The creature wandered drowsily out from under the gable and stretched its vast wings. Antoinette climbed into the saddle and reached into her satchel for a small loaf of black bread and the half of the cheese wheel, which was almost all the food she had left.
“Please take these,” she said, and she put them into his hands.
The bearded Glimpse stared. “Why, this is three months’ wages,” he said. “Even if I could save it. But, no, it is too rich a gift.”
“I want you to have it,” Antoinette said. “You have three little ones to feed.”
“That I do,” he said. “And they do eat something fierce.”
“I’d better go,” Antoinette said. “I was pursuing a soldier—a Paragor Knight. He and his men took the ferry.”
“They’ve gone to Edge, no doubt,” he said. “To join the others. A fair army came through here not three days ago, tramplin’ as they went. Never seen so many knights. You know your own business, but I’d steer clear a’ them if I was you.”
Antoinette smiled grimly. She knew he was right. She should stay away from Kearn and his armies. She knew she should fly immediately back to Yewland or to Acacia to meet up with the rest of the twelve.
“And, Lady Antoinette,” Da said, “be careful in Edge. It is a different sort that lives there. You will stand out in the town proper, and no mistake. Keep your hood up.” He looked down at his feet. “I wish there was something more I could do for you.”
“I’ll be all right,” she replied. “Tell the little ones I said good-bye. They are brave, and I owe them much more than I will ever repay.”
He nodded and smiled proudly. Antoinette pulled on the reins, and the dragon stretched its wings and leaped into the air. The ground fell away, and Antoinette looked west. She knew that was the way she should go, but she also knew that she wouldn’t.
