The Dragon’s Throne 1

Chapter 11

Anna woke later that afternoon with a start, eyes flying open, instantly aware of where she was and why.  She lay there, stiff and still, listening for the sound of his breathing in the bright sunlight that flooded through the windows, but she heard nothing.  Slowly, she turned, then breathed a sigh of relief when she found that she was alone in the massive bed. 

The sheets where he’d been when they’d gone to sleep were cool to the touch, and the fabric had settled beneath the weight of the heavy blanket.  Wherever he was, he’d been out of bed for quite some time.

He must be close, she thought, sitting up slowly and testing out her sore, tired muscles.  She was pleasantly surprised that the pain from before was almost completely gone, and now that she could breathe easily, she realized how badly she’d been struggling.

She rolled out of bed, putting her bare feet on the floor and pulling them back quickly.  She looked down in shock, regarding the thick, shaggy carpet with suspicion before carefully placing her feet on the floor again. 

She stood, testing the spring of the lush carpet and wondering at its softness.  The room was carpeted from one wall to the other; something that she’d never seen in her life.  Anna had a large area rug that her aunt had purchased from Festival years before she died, but it was handmade and it was nowhere near the size of this one.  The room she was in could fit her entire house inside it and have room to spare.

That must have taken so long to make, she thought, then laughed at herself.  Eli was king, and before that, he’d been the prince and golden child of Silas and Lauren.  If he wanted to carpet all of Aman, the people who served him would find a way. 

A door across the way appeared to be a bathroom, and with legs that still felt a little wobbly, she made her way to it. 

She opened the door and a light came on, startling her enough that she cried out softly.

“What is this?” she said out loud, standing outside the bathroom instead of going in.

“It’s electricity,” Eli said from behind her.  “Haven’t you seen it before?”

“Electricity?”

“Yes,” he said, eyeing her like she was teasing him.  “You know, solar power.  All of the homes that were here when the war happened were solar powered and completely self-sustaining.”

“This is amazing,” she said, looking at the ceiling and the recessed bulbs that lit the entire room though they were so small.

Eli laughed. 

“Wait until you see running water.”

“I have that,” she said.  “I have a rain barrel on my roof and I pull a valve open for the shower, and for the kitchen sink.”

“Yes, but is that water hot?”

“In the summer, it is.”

Eli laughed. 

“Why don’t you take a shower and I’ll bring some clothes for you to put on,” he said.

“I’m not taking my clothes off with you here,” she said.

“You don’t have to.  I’ll show you how to work the shower, then you can take your time and I’ll leave clothes on the bed for you.  I want to show you around the house after you’ve eaten, if you’re feeling up to it.”

She nodded.

“I feel a lot better than before.  I think you were right about the altitude poisoning.”

“That’s my fault,” he said, his face darkening.  “Even in human form, a WereDragon can withstand altitudes of tens of thousands of feet without issue.  I’ll have to remember that your limit is closer to five thousand.”

“Thanks,” she said.  She almost told him that having that knowledge wouldn’t matter, but she thought better of it.  It would be better if he thought that she wouldn’t run.  “Will the water run out?  I don’t want to find myself without water and still have soap in my hair.”

“No.  It’s an aerobic reclamation system, so the water is captured and filtered, then directed down the line.  So, the water that comes out of the kitchen faucet is direct water, and that is filtered to the shower when it’s reclaimed, and the shower is filtered to the bathroom sink and it keeps going down until it gets to the toilet.

 “Whatever is left that doesn’t end up in the septic tank is used to water the grass and vegetation on the property.  Any excess water that isn’t used for the kitchen sinks and showers is used to water the small vegetable garden on the west side of the property.  It’s actually a very interesting system if you want to climb on the roof and see it.”  She gave him a look that made him laugh.  “Not today.  Today, I’m going to feed you and show you around, and then we’ll get to know each other better.”

Her stomach dropped, and he laughed again.

“Relax.  I meant I wanted to find out what you like to do besides sewing.  Surely you have other interests.”

“I like to read,” she said before she could stop herself.

“Something we have in common,” he said happily.  “Do you like the classics or the more contemporary stuff from this century?”

“Both?  Maybe.  I don’t know.  I have a small collection of books that my aunt had and I read those over and over again.”

“When was the last time you got a new book?  I love getting new ones.”

“I’ve never had a new book,” she said. 

“Well, that’s going to change,” he said with a huge grin on his face.  “Go, take a shower and I’ll leave you something to wear on the bed, then you can look at the books I have here and pick one to read after I show you around.”

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.  A new book?  That sounded like heaven.  But she wasn’t staying here, and no matter how he bribed her with lighting that didn’t come from a candle and warm running water, she wasn’t going to let the façade fool her.  She was his captive, not his friend and definitely not his lover.  Any move she made to encourage his behavior would only be a mistake.