The Dragon’s Throne 1

“Thank you,” Anna fished around in her purse, putting the money away and bringing out a hundred dollars for her friend. 

Eleanor waved it off. 

“I have a family that supports me.  I don’t need money.  The look on Charity’s face when she discovers that the hot style right now is your work is payment enough.  She’s going to be furious when she finds out that you made that dress and the one her mother bought for herself.”

Anna cracked a smile. 

“You’re right.  She’s going to be angry.  I think that will be worth seeing her in one of my pieces.”

“There’s that smile.  Try not to worry about my uncle.  I think there’s something wrong with him.”

“I’ll say.”  Anna rolled up her sleeve, grimacing at the deep red marks on her arm.  “Between Gabe and Mayor Freeman, I’m feeling a little tenderized.”

“What happened with Gabe?” Eleanor asked.

Anna recounted the incident as they cleaned up the booth, packing the remnants of her display and picking up a still heavy, but much lighter trunk between them.

“I can’t believe he did that,” Eleanor said.  “I’m glad you flattened him.”

“I am, too.  I’m surprised he isn’t here today.  I was a little worried about him coming after me.”

“What is he going to say?  Nothing he can say will make it anyone’s fault but his.”

“I guess, but we seem to have an epidemic of people blaming me for their issues.”

They turned down the long road that led to Anna’s home, walking in step with each other as if they were one, heavy trunk suspended between them.

“Try not to let it bother you.”

“It’s hard.”

“Thinking of happier things.”

“Like what?”

“Like dancing with the prince.  What was he like?”

“I don’t know.  I was too busy trying to figure out how to get him to let me go.”

“You didn’t seem to be trying all that hard,” Eleanor said with a wry smile.

“Stop teasing,” Anna said, laughing with her friend.

“Admit it, it was nice to be in the arms of a man that handsome.  You two looked good together.  The only thing that would have made it better is you in one of the fancy dresses your mother sewed.”

“I doubt that my mother would look down on me kindly if I sullied one of her creations while dancing with a dragon.”

“I’m sure she would understand.  We’ve all been in love.”

“What?” Anna laughed.  “In love?  You’re insane.  He was handsome, but he’s more trouble than he’s worth, and I didn’t even catch his name.”

“It’s Prince Eli,” Eleanor offered without missing a beat.  “He’s been the talk of the town since he lost his temper and set part of the forest ablaze.  How could you not know about him?”

“You’re the only one in town I talk to.”

Eleanor stopped, looking at her friend with a broken expression.

“I don’t know why everyone treats you like an outcast.”

“Because they think that I’m cursed.  My father was sacrificed to the Dragon King and my mother died in childbirth.  I’m like a walking hex, ready to destroy anyone who dares to befriend me.”

“Oh stop it,” Eleanor said, walking on.  “No one knows what happened to your father and people love to speculate.  And you’re not responsible for what happened to your mother.  And I’m fine, so you can’t be that cursed.”

“Thanks, Eleanor.  I know that it’s hard being friends with me sometimes.”

“What’s hard about it?  You’re always there for me when I need you, and you don’t act like people are beneath you.  Trust me, I’d choose you over all the Charitys in the world.”

“She is such a pain,” Anna agreed, then let out a huge sigh.  “Oh, thank goodness.  I thought we’d never get to my house.”

“At least we don’t have to bring it back tomorrow.  We can go to Festival and just enjoy the atmosphere.  And maybe Prince Charming will return.”

“Bite your tongue.  If he comes back, I’m running.  There’s no way I’m going to let him rope me into dancing again.”

“Maybe I’ll dance with him this time.”

“Or maybe he won’t come back.”

“You don’t mean that.  I saw you ogling his tight backside as he walked away.  And those muscles-” She stopped mid-thought and shuddered.  “He is gorgeous, even if he is dangerous.”

Anna shook her head, setting the trunk down on the porch and shoving the door open.  She peeked in, a little worried that Gabe would jump out of the shadows, but he wasn’t there.

“Do you want me to check out the house for you?” Eleanor asked, laughing.

“No.  I’m fine.”

They lugged the trunk into the house, then Anna went to the bedroom to pull out the box she kept her money in, putting everything into it, aside from the tax money and hiding the box beneath her bed again.

“I can’t believe how much you made today.”

“I owe you some thanks on that.  That was brilliant.”

“I was only cashing in on an opportunity.  The prince loved your work.  You should, too.”

“He loved my mother’s work.”

“Your work is almost identical to hers.”

“Not even close,” Anna argued.

“To the rest of us, it is.  I wish you could see how talented you are.”

“Well, I have plenty of time to work on getting even better.  I have months until the Spring Festival, and I have enough money to buy more fabric from Jennette.  I think I’m going to try my hand at making dyes like my mother did.  There were some colors she made that were more brilliant than any fruit on the vine.”

“I’m glad that you’re not feeling weighed down by fear like you were before.”

“It’s nice to have enough,” Anna admitted.  “I’ve been struggling for so long; I didn’t realize how heavy that weight was.”

“What are you going to do with the rest of your day?”

Anna shrugged.

“I think I’m going to relax here, then have an early night when the sun goes down.”

“Do you want to go with me tomorrow?”

Anna shrugged.

“Ask me tomorrow,” she laughed.

“Fine, but I’ll be here early to wake you up.  I want to enjoy Festival without worrying about selling anything.  It will be fun to just be a spectator.”

Eleanor hugged her friend.

“Eleanor, thank you for always being there when I need you.”

“Anna, you’ve been my best friend for as long as I can remember.  I’ll always be there when you need me.”

Anna smiled, tears welling in her eyes even as she fought them back.  It had been a long day and knowing that Eleanor was by her side made everything better.

“I know you will,” she said, hugging her friend one more time, then closing the door behind Eleanor as she skipped down the porch and headed home.