“Oh! Em… Ehm… Excuse me…”
A young girl had come into the inner courtyard, pulling a large cart. She froze upon seeing the Black Dragon and Cassandra, obviously impressed, but also rightfully frightened. She looked very young, around thirteen or fourteen, and didn’t dare to move.
“I… I have to…”
She was so stressed by Krai’s presence, she kept stuttering, unable to take her eyes off the dragon. But the Black Dragon didn’t care at all, its head not leaving Cassandra’s side.
“Do you need to walk through?” asked Cassandra gently.
The girl nodded frantically.
“Alright… Wait a second.”
Cassandra turned around, catching Krai’s attention. She walked a little ways away and the dragon immediately followed her, leaving the middle of the inner court empty for the young servant to pass through.
“Ah! Thank you.”
While still sending worried glances towards the dragon, the young girl took a wide path to cross the inner court to her destination, pulling her cart quickly. Cassandra made sure to keep distracting Krai until she was gone.
She sighed when they were alone.
“You do look scary,” she whispered to the dragon.
Krai growled a bit and spread its wings, suddenly turning its head in another direction. Had it smelled something? The dragon was watching something beyond the wall, only its height enabling it to see so far away. Cassandra wondered if it usually fed itself as it was obviously distracted by something more interesting.
Headed in the direction it was looking, the dragon suddenly took off towards the source of its focus. Cassandra guessed that it was probably hunting time.
“Slave! Are you done tending to the Master’s dragon yet?”
The old woman had returned and stalked up to her.
“I am the head of the servants here, Patrina. You will call me Madam, understand?”
“Y...yes, Madam.”
“Good. What can you do?”
“Hem… Cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, field work, knitting and writing…”
Patrina frowned.
“Writing? You know how to read and write?”
“Yes, Madam.”
It was very unusual for a slave, but that’s because most slaves were born into slavery and did not have access to any kind of schooling. Cassandra, however, had been taught as a child and practiced secretly by herself. The skill, unique for a slave, had added a bit to her value in front of her previous masters…
“Interesting. Anyway, come with me. Now that the Master is back, we need extra hands in the kitchen. Why do you have this fur cloak? You need to change. Come.”
Cassandra followed the old woman, feeling unsure. Kairen had gone off elsewhere without telling her what she was supposed to do in the Castle.
Walking at a quick pace, Patrina took her to a large kitchen where two other women were working. They both turned their heads when they saw her coming, surprised.
“A new head? And a slave, too?” asked a tall woman with long brown hair.
“His Highness brought her from the Palace,” said Patrina, not stopping.
Cassandra walked right behind her, only glancing briefly at the other women. The tall one didn’t seem to care much about her as she shrugged and went back to her chores. The second one, who was sitting on the side cutting fruit, gave her a gentle smile as their eyes met. She was a redhead with freckles all over her face.
